Jump to content

Sorry to see more great mods removed


damanding

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 145
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I'm wondering if theft/piracy is the main issue behind the recent spate of disappearing mods. It certainly was six months ago, but since then, I'm pretty sure I've seen comments by senior modders such as Arthmoor claiming that Beth.net has gotten its act together and resolved many of the issues. I can't say either way because I've never used the site.


However, if this is true, it suggests the current issue of disappearing mods is more the result of a breakdown between authors and users. From what I've seen, there are some very responsible and knowledgeable users. However, there are also many who have no understanding of how to manage mods or the work that goes into them, and when things go wrong, they're very quick to blame the author. Others seem to have an unbelievable sense of entitlement. It's the "me, me, me" mentality.


For instance, I've seen several conversations criticising Astralify, the author of Wonder Body, for daring to provide an alternative body mod to CBBE. It didn't seem to occur to them that not everyone is a fan of CBBE and some might actually like to have other options. Luckily, Astralify comes across as a very philosophic chap, plus there were a lot of other users who closed down these unnecessarily negative comments very quickly.


Unfortunately, I can't see this sort of attitude changing. If anything, it will get worse. As mods for consoles becomes more popular, that's going to mean more inexperienced mod users (and possibly more trolls). Inexperience isn't a problem. Everyone has to learn somewhere; when I look back at some of my early posts, I truly cringe. :blush: But inexperience combined with arrogance IS a problem. The introduction of paid mods will also serve to embolden certain users (personally, I have some sympathy here - if you pay for something, you expect a certain level of service... which is one of the reasons I am not a huge fan of the whole paid mods idea).


One alternative is that the Nexus could get very ruthless with its moderation, but that then leads to a different set of problems.


In the end, I guess the only solution is for modders to develop very thick skins - or alternatively, not to bother uploading their work in the first place, which would be a perfectly reasonable reaction, but also a real loss to this community.


I have noticed that certain more experienced modders - expired6978, Ethreon, Millenia, etc. - operate a very no-nonsense policy and quickly slap down any silliness. DDProductions took this attitude to an extreme before getting himself banned. That guy didn't suffer any fools. It was zero tolerance right from the get-go. At the time, I thought he was taking things too far, but maybe he was right all along. It would be a shame if modders had to go down this route, but it may be the only way.


Another option might be if more modders start working within a team. CBBE and Raider Overhaul are examples of big projects where modders have come together, allowing them to share the burden, not to mention the frustration of dealing with the demanding user-base. Of course, this approach isn't always going to be practical or desirable for certain mods.


So basically there is no easy solution and no end in sight... And in the meantime, as others have said, if there's a mod you can't play without, then for Heaven's sake make a back-up. :wink:

Edited by crawe1x
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally I think the trolls should be ignored, never responded to, posts/message deleted, and reported. Eventually they'll get tired when no one bothers to comment or listen to them.

 

As far as Bethesda.net, at least from the brief look I seen it mostly had mods from here by the authors themselves I think or someone posing as them, which means that I have no reason to go over there. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing specific, as far as I'm aware. It's more just a sense of inevitability.

 

Out of interest, how do you guys now feel about paid mods? Personally, I can see advantages and disadvantages. If I had to come down off my fence, I would be against, but I'm open to opinions either way.

 

The last time I saw this discussed in these forums, which was earlier this year, several mod makers were very much in favour of paid mods, but it was hard to tell if theirs was the general consensus or if they just represented a very vocal minority.

Edited by crawe1x
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It can go either way. Being paid to essentially develop software makes sense and doing it for free makes sense. I like to keep my mods out of that discussion without a patreon, donation button, etc. I think releasing them for free means I get a lot of free beta testers and ideas. Plus if you go for a job at a game studio you can show free mods as portfolio pieces potentially so I don't see anything wrong with free mods. The guy who made Falskaar for Skyrim got hired for Bungie Article about that

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While nothing certain, all signs seem to indicate a future paid modding scene. We'll live and see :smile:

 

AGreatWeight, on 19 Dec 2016 - 9:52 PM, said:
I'm not clued up on what the furore was with the first attempt at paid mods; whether it was people uploading mods that weren't their creation, or other things?
People got upset they had to pay for mods. Simple as that.
Edited by Ethreon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...