Steam and Bethesda remove paid modding from Skyrim Workshop

[SirTopas]

In response to post #24734844. #24735134 is also a reply to the same post.

PROMETHEUS_ts wrote:

badkrma wrote: This is true....if it weren't for mods, I would never have put 100's of hours into each Bethsoft game...

Indeed, which makes Bethesda's ham-handed handling of the whole thing doubly puzzling. They took a potential win-win and turned it into a lose-lose.

[BounceDK]

The statement from Valve (and Beth) clearly states that only mods for Skyrim will not be hidden behind a paywall cause the game is old. And now people are going absolutely crazy and went back to admiring Gabe and Valve.

 

Paywalls are coming back. Get it through your heads.

The only reason Skyrim is even alive is thanks to the modding community, which Valve and Bethesda effectively tore apart overnight.

 

I see fail written all over. On Valve, Bethesda, modders and Nexus. I can't believe anyone would support this, it blows my mind. You must either be young or just extremely naive.

Edited April 28, 2015 by BounceDK

[Zink6]

Would really like to know if these moders that where going to or already did update their mods for steam will now release their mods on Nexus or anywhere else.

[Vhaltyrr]

Thank the divines. I'm sick of those stupid "o beth/valve suks" mods. I just want things to get back to normal, clicking on the nexus bookmark and not expecting more 5 second """""Protest"""""" mods.

[CheesyWeesy]

Yay!

[XiNAVRO]

Read the Bethsoft blog, and glad that this whole fiasco is over. That being said...

The blog may have pointed out a few interesting points, but ultimately made me scratch my head even more. If what they state is true, then this system was being "under development" since as early as 2012, with possible legal issues needing up to three years to have been solved out by Valve. While they very much could have tried to establish an understanding and find a working solution with the modding community, they decided to pull a few select modders, made them sign an NDA to know about an "exciting new change" and rolled it out as a surprise for most. Then Gabe Newell had to visit Reddit and conduct a quasi-AMA for damage control, all the while stating as if he did not know what had been planned under the hood and how the community reacted. (Also interesting to note that Robin, you were there asking him questions and Gabe left most of his answers as vague as possible - while he was able to state exactly what drink he got from Starbucks. Quite frankly, I found that a bit insulting).

Also the blog states that they had been with the modding community since 2002, and also that opening up a market is full of problems. So they knew exactly what sort of issues modders would point out in the course of THREE DAYS. Copyright infringement, no protection in case of mod theft. unable to share a common denominator plugin and/or script, etc. Yet they still thought this was a good idea, and proceeded nonetheless.

"While others in the industry went away from it, we pushed more toward it."

That may have been true for over a past decade, but somehow every decision they made with this incident points the other way. At least they decided to listen to the community and shut the program down without further ado, that is respectable from both companies.

[HurrlingMercator]

Quite a surprise. I do have to agree with feeling slightly sorry for Bethesda, and even more so for the modders who were given the opportunity, some of whom came back from the real world for this. However, as you said, a lot of this could have been avoided if Bethesda had communicated with the modding community with a similar blog piece to the one they have published now. Lesson learned, I guess.

 

On another note, as result of this Steam Workshop crash, I'll be making some donations to some of my favourite modders soon.

[jfisha]

In response to post #24735309.

BounceDK wrote:

Jesus man. Can't you give us just a few hours to celebrate a win?

[Brasscatcher]

In response to post #24733934. #24734419, #24734709, #24734869, #24734934, #24735014 are all replies on the same post.

kjj92 wrote:

Beetlecat wrote: Heh. No kidding. Even so -- I made a point of visiting his and chesko's paypal pages (via nexus) to kick them a thank you for all they had provided me up to this point.

Maybe it was a backhanded "f*#@ you very much" and maybe it's passive aggressive of me --I am from Seattle after all-- but I honestly *do* feel like they've contributed in no small part to making Skyrim a better game after all these years.

I'm not expecting a more heart-felt apology from isoku, but I know this SW implosion has to hurt. ;)

As for most of the rest of those "top mods" chosen for the roll-out. What the HELL?

phantompally76 wrote: Indeed. Almost none of them would have been endorsed or popular as FREE mods, let alone paid mods.

If I was a talented modder, and I was contacted by that company, and if I didn't have any principles, and was dumb enough to buy into that scam, you can bet your sweet bippy I would have brought my A-game with the most impressive mod I could create. Otherwise, what would have been the point?

The general consensus was that of those 17 (19) mods, only one of them was worth any amount of money, because all the others were either 1). crappy mods, 2). still in very early development, 3). stripped down updates of mods we already have for free.

SirTopas wrote: Why on earth would you believe that isoku or any one else owes you an apology? Quite a sense of entitlement you're carrying around there.

jfisha wrote: It did hurt to see Isoku go. However, once I saw that Cabal (maker of all the great amidianborn textures), was firmly with us, I didn't worry about it to much. If I took everything out of my load order but the cabal's mods, it would still be a gorgeous game.

phantompally76 wrote: @SirTopas

True, Isoku doesn't owe us an aplogy.

We don't owe him an apology, either.

@phantom +1'd

There's so much bitterness in this thread. It's just as disgusting as the derps with the ASCII baners on the steam workshop comments.

By TALOS, grow up people.

[SirTopas]

In response to post #24733199. #24733474, #24733594, #24733919, #24733969, #24734114, #24734584, #24734984, #24735109, #24735199 are all replies on the same post.

Elta1 wrote:

sa547 wrote: All the damage could've been averted if the powers-that-be asked for a public consultation in the first place.

Saije wrote: Stop trying to ride the white horse here.

Modders turncoated on the community with hilarious haste.

Users responded in the way that an individual betrayed will always respond.

And now that the dust is settled and the greedy have shown their true colors.

(The fact that they don't give flying f*#@ about the community, just money.)

Now that the paid modding has been vanquished and said greedy individuals have no

recourse except to accept that they were completely happy in their betrayel.

You try to paste the blame on the ones betrayed rather then the ones betraying...

Ridiculous.


I hope if one lesson has been learned from all this it is this...

People will betray each other in a heartbeat when money is involved.


The only modders who deserve any sympathy are the ones that were attacked by the

greedy capitalist pushing pissants for not standing at the side of their fellow turncoats.

Sorry if I get banned for this comment... But it needed to be said.

focusv5 wrote: In a world where everyone has a voice (the internet), you're going to get all kinds of extremes in terms of opinions, and it clearly showed over the past few days. The blame cannot be placed solely on the users as if they were all issuing death threats and spewing absolute hatred. There were of course many users that were constructive and not issuing death threats by explaining that this system could have worked if it was implemented better. Don't let the sour few spoil your opinion of the masses. I wouldn't hop on the 'pity bethesda/valve' train as a result of hearing death threats as these sorts of statements are not uncommon in nearly all avenues of life. You make absolute statements like 'the users' as if they represented everyone, there were many who were calmly involved in the discussion as well.

JCDNWarrior wrote: Change is not neccesarily good. We're talking about a hobby that many of us have put thousands of hours into. I don't think the modding community should be seen as villains in this. Especially if people wish to ascribe good intentions to Valve and Bethesda (Two companies that would probably not even exist anymore or be very small without their modding communities).

AAA gaming has been going downwards for years and modding is what keeps the spirit of gaming alive for millions of people. Messing with that by introducing money and consequentially greed, on top of a very easily abused system of Steam Workshop and more and more information uncovered about how this was planned long in advance, and there's no way that the modding and gaming communities wouldn't raise absolute hell over this.

I just truly hope that all parties learn from this. However, with monetary interests involved, I think everyone should be vigiliant that this could happen all over again, just better repacked in PR-speak than Gabe Newell's meltdown AMA.

daedriccat wrote: Lets stop calling those who wanted to keep to the TES tradition of sharing free mods as being afraid of change. That is short sighted and ignorant and the typical cry of those who wanted to profit from modding.

SirTopas wrote: Oh, horsecrap, Saije. If modding does come to an end, it will be folks like you with your pitchforks, torches, tar and feathers who end it with your demands for "ideological purity". You and your ilk have already driven Chesko, the author of Frostfall and other outstanding mods, out of the community completely. On the other hand, you, I note, have never published a mod. Again I ask, who is more greedy? The modders who have put thousands of hours and real money into modding or people like you who demand that the results of that work be provided to you for free?

Hamthaak wrote: SirTopas: You just received a kudo for this.
Saije: no offense, mate. but this kind of attitude is just what i got tired of in the last days. Who betrayed you? Who owes you (and me, and anyone else here) anything? We should be thankfull to anyone who creates mods we can use for free. THEY are the basis of this "community".

TehKaoZ wrote: ^This

phantompally76 wrote: SirTopas, what about the thousands of hours mod USERS have logged playtesting mods, providing quality control, reporting bugs and glitches, providing feedback and suggestions to mod authors? Hmmm????

Not having ever created a mod does not invalidate one's opinion or stance on the matter. Without mod users, there would be no mod authors. Don't you ever forget that.

phantompally76, not having produced a mod absolutely does have a bearing when people are making demands about what modders may or may not do with the product of their own work.