The Pending Death of Fallout 4 - Murder by Mod System

[DOOMBASED]

Dat title.. lol.

[PoliteRaider]

 

I think paid modding will change the entire way we use mods. Would anyone shell out money for a better-looking ivy or nightshade? I know I would wait for the reviews to come in on everything. No more spur of the moment downloading. Many good things would never be explored and given a chance. When serendipity has a price tag it changes everything. some mod authors might back away from attempting labors they suspected would be relegated to the great pile of the undownloaded.

 

That's strange. I was down at the supermarket the other day and decided I'd try a new brand and flavour of mustard, it was american style and I figured it might be nice to try on a hotdog and embrace the cliche. I spent an entire three dollars (well, $2.99 but you know) based on the idea that it could be fun and interesting and I'd like to give it a try. Didn't even check review sites or anything, just judging completely on the label and packaging written by the company who made it. I couldn't even taste it.

 

I know I risked a few dollars on a potentially unwise investment, but thankfully it turned out to be fairly delicious. Plus it was a lot of fun trying out my "american style" dinner and anticipating the experience. Imagine if I hadn't liked it, but... I do live dangerously in my life of wild adventure.

 

I also tried a new mod the other night, for free which took the author months to make. It lasted a lot longer than the hot-dog and was a lot more fun, I'd have risked a dollar or two on that mod easily and if it hadn't been all that great then so be it.

[ColdVVolf]

 

 

All Bethesda potentially have to do is change a couple of references in the workshop scripts, and almost every settlement mod 'breaks'.

 

I remember years ago when Microsoft had a similar situation with competing business productivity suites. A tweak here and a tweak there with the OS and suddenly those other programs were not so competitive. That is not to say that Bethesda would in any way feel competitive with the Nexus. Heaven forbid. How could a mega-mod site possibly pose a competitive threat when they do not charge for mods?

 

I think paid modding will change the entire way we use mods. Would anyone shell out money for a better-looking ivy or nightshade? I know I would wait for the reviews to come in on everything. No more spur of the moment downloading. Many good things would never be explored and given a chance. When serendipity has a price tag it changes everything. some mod authors might back away from attempting labors they suspected would be relegated to the great pile of the undownloaded.

 

 

Agreed! I've often thought this might be the case.

 

The smaller texture tweaks will never sell, instead people will be looking for entire packs. I honestly think this could be a good thing in the long run, but it's hard to tell.

Instead of having pages and pages of single 'water bottle retexture' mods, you'd have a lot more stuff along the lines of Chem Redux, with a lot more work and attention to detail involved.

 

That said, there'd be nothing wrong with putting your first few re-textures out there for free... I doubt they could FORCE you to charge for everything.

The trick would be finding a decent method along the lines of releasing 'demo' packs for your plant re-textures; as you said...no-one is gonna pay for just a single 4k ivy retexture, but as a sample for a larger mod, it'd get noticed.

 

The unfortunate thing is that the flip-side of this is few will release 100% of their first release of new content as a preview or 'beta' anymore, it'll more likely be 'you'll get it when it's finished, for $2'

That's where the modders start having the real issues I reckon. If I release my mod for a buck-fifty, it'll have to be completely bug-free and working out-of-the-box, or you'll see en-masse refund requests sinking you into downvote hell!

No-one will CARE whether or not a recent patch broke your mods, they want it fixed NOW! "I'm a customer, dammit. I know my rights" ensues.

*trailer theme kicks in*

Inevitable nonsense and drama. Entire cities razed. Parents set their children on fire in protest.

The modder vs. mod-user uprising begins, millions die in the first week.

PayPal and Patreon take a new form as PMCs, to defend their interests.

Nexus goes underground, with the top modders as admins or 'Overseers' of underground habitats.

Then, finally, they do it. They launch the nukes.

 

 

*sigh*

 

 

Consumerism... consumerism never changes.

[JaYmZeE311074]

For me I have the greatest respect for modders - there is no question they add untold hours to a games life - fix far more things than they break and if something goes wrong as far as I'm concerned - I'm aware of the risks involved and it cost me nothing so the only person I have to blame is myself.

 

If there was cost involved - even small amounts it would change everything for me - quite simply, I couldn't afford to pay for even a small percentage of the mods I use - never mind thinking about getting angry because I suddenly saw myself as a paying customer, I'd likely vanish from the scene if not altogether to a large extent because I'd essentially be sitting in the sweetie shop with only 10pence to spend - it'd be torture.

 

I'd love to be able to afford to donate to all the mod authors who've greatly enhanced my experience on all of Bethesda's games. There is no question or doubt in my mind so many of the mods I've used creators DESERVE something for their outstanding efforts - but if it cost, I wouldn't know that because I wouldn't be downloading them.

 

I only became a premium member on the Nexus because guilt got the better of me - I could no longer continue take take taking without doing what was right. It was one payment of which there is no repeat. Which leads me to the only way I'd be able to pay for mods - If there was a one-time fee - reasonably priced that allowed me to download as many mods I wanted for a given game. I'd be able to accept the one time fee only covered one specific game and if I wanted unfettered access to a different game I'd have a fee to pay again. If modders could form a union and decide how the money was dispersed within themselves without several deaths and the loss of modders devaluing the one time fee I'd paid - I'd be happy to live with that - and I mean that seriously.

 

Do I think that could happen........ :laugh:

 

Do not for a second think modders are undeserving - but for what it's worth, as long as mods remain free you will all remain on a pedastal where people who do things for the love of it rather than for profit belong.

[JuJooGuppy]

Since we are on the topic of paid mods now..

Personally, my biggest concern with paid mods is the user entitlement. As it currently stands, users constantly feel entitled, wanting the mod made to their exact desires, or yelling and cussing when things go wrong. This is easy to ignore, as they are getting a free resource. But now, if they start PAYING for it, I imagine there will be a lot more entitlement issues, and honestly they would have at least some justification as well.

Just a thought.

[lelcat]

Since we are on the topic of paid mods now..

 

Personally, my biggest concern with paid mods is the user entitlement. As it currently stands, users constantly feel entitled, wanting the mod made to their exact desires, or yelling and cussing when things go wrong. This is easy to ignore, as they are getting a free resource. But now, if they start PAYING for it, I imagine there will be a lot more entitlement issues, and honestly they would have at least some justification as well.

 

Just a thought.

That can be easily avoided. Clear descriptions on what a mod does and then the user can buy it if he wants. Get what you pay for.

[Royhr]

 

Since we are on the topic of paid mods now..

 

Personally, my biggest concern with paid mods is the user entitlement. As it currently stands, users constantly feel entitled, wanting the mod made to their exact desires, or yelling and cussing when things go wrong. This is easy to ignore, as they are getting a free resource. But now, if they start PAYING for it, I imagine there will be a lot more entitlement issues, and honestly they would have at least some justification as well.

 

Just a thought.

That can be easily avoided. Clear descriptions on what a mod does and then the user can buy it if he wants. Get what you pay for.

 

Ya right. Like that will be the solve all... Please....

[lelcat]

There is no entitlement. If you buy a quest mod that says one quest and then you complain that you want more quests, then your request is void. If you buy an apple and then complain why it does not taste like a banana then you are not entitled to a banana just because you complain.

[JaYmZeE311074]

Yeah - just to be clear - not all users are idiots.

 

Bethesda have got bugs all over the place - I'm not trying to organize a mass lawsuit!

 

I'm aware of the risks - I don't feel entitled - other than to ask questions when something is beyond me to fix - users who scream over everything should be banished to the Daggerfall Abyss which takes 1000 years to digest you even though you'll not live that long to be aware of it so it doesn't matter - they'll only be in agony for say 40-80 years.

[Darole]

 

 

I think paid modding will change the entire way we use mods. Would anyone shell out money for a better-looking ivy or nightshade? I know I would wait for the reviews to come in on everything. No more spur of the moment downloading. Many good things would never be explored and given a chance. When serendipity has a price tag it changes everything. some mod authors might back away from attempting labors they suspected would be relegated to the great pile of the undownloaded.

 

That's strange. I was down at the supermarket the other day and decided I'd try a new brand and flavour of mustard, it was american style and I figured it might be nice to try on a hotdog and embrace the cliche. I spent an entire three dollars (well, $2.99 but you know) based on the idea that it could be fun and interesting and I'd like to give it a try. Didn't even check review sites or anything, just judging completely on the label and packaging written by the company who made it. I couldn't even taste it.

 

I know I risked a few dollars on a potentially unwise investment, but thankfully it turned out to be fairly delicious. Plus it was a lot of fun trying out my "american style" dinner and anticipating the experience. Imagine if I hadn't liked it, but... I do live dangerously in my life of wild adventure.

 

I also tried a new mod the other night, for free which took the author months to make. It lasted a lot longer than the hot-dog and was a lot more fun, I'd have risked a dollar or two on that mod easily and if it hadn't been all that great then so be it.

 

The difference is that you didn't decide to buy 100 or more mustards to put on your hotdog, which you would do for the game. At even a dollar a piece, that would break the bank for some, and the more mods the more cost.

 

So it isn't a risk of a couple dollars, as in your example, it is a risk of potentially hundreds of dollars as you buy mods, decide you don't like them then buy another, find it doesn't work with other mods you bought, etc.

 

Not that modders don't deserve compensation. I just don't agree with your analogy.