Steam and Bethesda remove paid modding from Skyrim Workshop

[Smael]

It was a good motivation to develop mods, I wonder if you ever had try to mod something. It is a lot of work, and can be easily broken, and might not be compatible to some other monstrous mods.

 

Yes, it is a privilege that Bethesda release Creation kit, but, the way Skirim has been improved is amazing, it is almost a new game. At least compared to piece of cake vanilla Skyrim, modders might be the only reason Skyrim is still popular 4 years after.

 

Im agree, 75%-25% was a fair proportion, becuase we are using the Skyrim and Creation kit plataforms, which belongs to Bethesda, thats 99% of the job, even for rights and hosting.

 

Honestly, I think many amazing modders has lost an opportunity, so as Bethesda.

[sunshinenbrick]

It was a good motivation to develop mods, I wonder if you ever had try to mod something. It is a lot of work, and can be easily broken, and might not be compatible to some other monstrous mods.

 

Yes, it is a privilege that Bethesda release Creation kit, but, the way Skirim has been improved is amazing, it is almost a new game. At least compared to piece of cake vanilla Skyrim, modders might be the only reason Skyrim is still popular 4 years after.

 

Im agree, 75%-25% was a fair proportion, becuase we are using the Skyrim and Creation kit plataforms, which belongs to Bethesda, thats 99% of the job, even for rights and hosting.

 

Honestly, I think many amazing modders has lost an opportunity, so as Bethesda.

Sorry to have to intrude but as modders of all degrees are such a valuable asset to the gaming market why should they then just take the first offer given like a child would candy? Realise your worth and potential as a customer, modder or however you want to see yourself and demand better rights, protection, recognition respect (and maybe even money) from a company that will more or less be employing you to do part of their work for them.

 

Again I'm sorry to have had to interject, but no oppourtunity is necessarily lost as this is probably only the beginning...

[WulfenNinja]

In response to post #24997194. #24997379 is also a reply to the same post.

hshowal wrote: Not sure what the big deal was...when I saw a mod for an armor that had a price of $2, I said to myself, "No."

When I saw the "Forever Free" thingy banner, I said, "Hey, that's cool, good for them."

IF, knowing what I know about it now, I saw Caliente's Bodyslide tool for a price of say $4, I would have said, "...worth it!"

hshowal wrote: You nailed it right on the head, hshowal. I also suspect you're very good looking.

Hey, you're almost as vain as some guy I met who thinks he's both a wolf and a ninja!

[phinix]

In response to post #25128639.

misleading wrote:

I'd rather play something made by an enthusiast who enjoys what they do over some shill trying to make some shekels any day.

 

Mod authors don't deserve to get paid at all. It's a privilege when developers release mod or map tools. And it's nice when developers and publishers set it up so modders can get rewarded for the content they contribute.

 

But it's not like anyone's stopping you from putting your mod on your own site and charging for it or e-begging for donations (get a job). If you're so set on making money, why not make some indie game? I mean, Unreal Engine is free. You could even put crafting, zombies, and building in it and make it early access on Steam because there aren't enough of those.

 

Be glad you can even mod these games. I remember when Call of Duty was synonymous with a great modding community with new content and mods every week. But now it's some lousy "AAA" rushed and over-priced title with the rest of the game sold in DLC installments of 15 bucks a pop.

 

Also, Steam taking 75% isn't that bad. They're providing hosting for your content and providing the media for you to profit from your content. You want to put your mods on your own site and sell them? You have to buy a domain and hosting, develop that website with a members area and at least link paypal into it.

Was this the right approach to try and motivate modders to take on more elaborate and time-consuming projects? Maybe, maybe not. But I will say one thing. That attitude you just expressed, that entitled, disrespectful, arrogant and condescending attitude towards the people that develop content for people like you for nothing, frankly makes me sick and ashamed to be a part of anything a mindset like that represents.

Thankfully most people in this community are a little more open minded. Modders deserve nothing?

Go make it yourself!

[2854misterdent]

I've been using mods in games for many years but Skyrim, Oblivion and Fallout 3 (incl. Fallout NV) were the games where I benefitted most. I was able to download very professionally made mods which were offered free to me and massively increased my gaming enjoyment and expanded the lifespan of those games by a factor of not just months, but years. I was incredibly saddened when I heard that we would have to pay for mods in the future.

 

I think there's a line in the sand between professionals who earn their living working for game publishers and the amateurs who spend their spare time modding for fun. I think it would have been the first steps down a very slippery slope with no happy ending. The big corporations would have stepped in, once they realised they could harvest extra income via the paid modding scene and eventually they could well have "frozen" out the amateurs altogether.

 

PAID MODS ARE CALLED DLC...

 

EA Games milk the DLC Money Tree with games like The Sims. The publisher of Evolve (2K) has followed in EA's footsteps with a ridiculous amount of paid extra content issued "bold as brass" right at the moment of launch; that takes the mickey big time!

 

I have never used mods through Steam Workshop, I have always found Nexus to be far better and less restricted.

 

I have pressed the Donate button for the good mods that have earned the right to be paid for their effort, but I would potentially have wasted a lot of money on mods I tried for a few days but they didn't work as expected, or didn't fit into the way I wanted to play.

 

I fully endorse the Donate system as it is "optional", giving us the chance to reward the modders who have meant the most to us over an extended period of gameplay. I think the Donate system needs to be made a lot more prominent, as long as it doesn't become like a constant nag from everyone begging for money. This will be a delicate balancing act, if implemented, but I believe it would be the best overall solution.

 

Thank you, Nexus, for all your hard work...

Edited May 17, 2015 by 2854misterdent

[AzureRaptor]

 

I think there's a line in the sand between professionals who earn their living working for game publishers and the amateurs who spend their spare time modding for fun. I think it would have been the first steps down a very slippery slope with no happy ending. The big corporations would have stepped in, once they realised they could harvest extra income via the paid modding scene and eventually they could well have "frozen" out the amateurs altogether.

 

PAID MODS ARE CALLED DLC...

 

EA Games milk the DLC Money Tree with games like The Sims. The publisher of Evolve (2K) has followed in EA's footsteps with a ridiculous amount of paid extra content issued "bold as brass" right at the moment of launch; that takes the mickey big time!

 

This. This is _exactly_ where the previous system was headed.

[hammerhorde]

In response to post #24731944.

badconductor wrote: Aww. Sorry your vacation got canceled for what was effectively nothing. :/

Been modding a lot of years and no matter how broke I was or how unhappy I am at my crap job, I would never have considered selling mods. The modding community was always a brotherhood, a family that came together to share creations for free because it was something they loved doing. I can understand wanting something for putting time into creating something. At the same time though wanting that I believe makes you lose track of why you started doing it in the first place.

[OrangeblossomGaming]

 

In response to post #24731944.

 

 

 

badconductor wrote: Aww. Sorry your vacation got canceled for what was effectively nothing. :/

Been modding a lot of years and no matter how broke I was or how unhappy I am at my crap job, I would never have considered selling mods. The modding community was always a brotherhood, a family that came together to share creations for free because it was something they loved doing. I can understand wanting something for putting time into creating something. At the same time though wanting that I believe makes you lose track of why you started doing it in the first place.

 

 

Would you say that very same thing to a doctor who is passionate about their work? Do you think just because they're paid that not all of them have a desire to make people feel better? That they're only in it for the money? What about the person who became a nurse because as a child they had a family member who was sick & wanted to make things right? Now that they're getting paid for healing would you call them selfish?

 

This can be applied to many other hobbies where people are paid for doing what they love. Other examples are car modding, fish-keeping (esp Salties/SW), house improvement/reselling, etc.

 

Money moves the world. Imagine your favourite modders out there not having to get a job they loathe, but instead put 100% of their 9-5 (and more) into making the very mods you love. They get paid, can buy healthy(ier) meals, maybe a gym membership (or new sneakers) to offset all that sitting time, maybe even upgrades to their computer/microphone/etc so that they can bring in better quality mods in the future.

 

A lot of folks seem to think modders making money are going to buy yachts & drop quality of their mods. Some will, and more reputable ones will take their place. Some want to get paid for their passion. Others like giving away their time & money. That's fine. But that's their personal choice.

 

I want to add, I don't think Valve/Bethesda did this right. They should never have messed with an already old game in an established modding community. They should have done this with a new game & let us get our feet wet (as modders & tryers) without fear of losing our beloved mods from drama and re-selling. They failed, they were burned in the process, but they'll try again.

 

Like every other paid hobby, paid-for-mods are inevitable & it's up to us to form some solid guidelines for them of what we will & will not allow - as a whole community of paid-for and freebie modders.

 

Just my $0.02. Hopping out.

[RGMage2]

I'd rather play something made by an enthusiast who enjoys what they do over some shill trying to make some shekels any day.

 

Mod authors don't deserve to get paid at all. It's a privilege when developers release mod or map tools. And it's nice when developers and publishers set it up so modders can get rewarded for the content they contribute.

 

But it's not like anyone's stopping you from putting your mod on your own site and charging for it or e-begging for donations (get a job). If you're so set on making money, why not make some indie game? I mean, Unreal Engine is free. You could even put crafting, zombies, and building in it and make it early access on Steam because there aren't enough of those.

 

Be glad you can even mod these games. I remember when Call of Duty was synonymous with a great modding community with new content and mods every week. But now it's some lousy "AAA" rushed and over-priced title with the rest of the game sold in DLC installments of 15 bucks a pop.

 

Also, Steam taking 75% isn't that bad. They're providing hosting for your content and providing the media for you to profit from your content. You want to put your mods on your own site and sell them? You have to buy a domain and hosting, develop that website with a members area and at least link paypal into it.

@misleading, let's put your post in proper perspective. You registered this account May 10, 2015 at 10:03am. You posted at 10:34am the same day and you haven't logged on with this account since. You have made exactly one post, so it seems you registered this account for the single purpose of making this one post. Obviously this is a duplicate account, which breaks the TOS btw.

 

There is nothing wrong with having opinions and we don't all have to agree, but you should at least have the courage to stand by what you say.

 

I will give you points for choosing an appropriate name.

[HadToRegister]

Bethesda didn't even release a modding program until a year later, and people went ahead and modded the game anyway before Bethesda even released the tools to do so. WHY?

 

BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE TO MOD, end of story.

It has/had nothing to do with making mods to get paid for them, never did, never will

 

The whole purpose of modding was to build something like a portfolio of sorts and hope that the Devs saw or heard your work, it wasn't to make a few texture replacers and (hopefully) sit back and wait for all that mod cash to come rolling in.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2015 by HadToRegister