Paid mods are now available on the workshop

[Neovalen]

I find it funny the open letter has been removed... lol.

 

That being said, this is a dark day in gaming. Wait until the tools we use and take for granted start going paywalled.

 

FNIS, SKSE, xEdit, SkyProc, etc. etc. because people use them to make paid mods. They deserve a cut too no?

[Octopuss]

25%????? What the actual F*CK?

How can anyone agree to that? Like Dark0ne said, 25% of something is better than 100% of nothing, but seriously, how can anyone support this sort of ripoff?

 

Plus it's funny how Bethesda is "done" with Skyrim and won't bother fixing at least the few most annoying bugs, but gladly spends time inventing this. That's a stupid observation obviously, it's money, but it pisses me off.

[werewulfking]

Also another thing I would consider for me generally not a target for this kinda thing. The great thing for me about mods is finding new mods and trying them out developing a new load order and so forth. Its like playing with lego. The great thing is the building not necessarly the playiing with it.

 

I have one complete walkthrough of skyrim when i still didn't mod it on an old laptop. the rest are like 10 to 50 playing hours with varying mod load order. So I really am not the target audience.

[Neovalen]

 

 

Also another thing I would consider for me generally not a target for this kinda thing. The great thing for me about mods is finding new mods and trying them out developing a new load order and so forth. Its like playing with lego. The great thing is the building not necessarly the playiing with it.

 

I have one complete walkthrough of skyrim when i still didn't mod it on an old laptop. the rest are like 10 to 50 playing hours with varying mod load order. So I really am not the target audience.

LEGO is not cheap.

[werewulfking]

Yeah I am not talking about the monetary aspect but where I get my enjoyment from. Modding is kinda like free lego. For me at least.

[Nozzer66]

Just read a bit further into this... facepalmed, and promptly deleted everything I have from Steam, and uninstalled Steam. Belay that. Looks like my modding career/life is done.

 

Screw you, Valve aka EALite.

 

Why do I foresee a rush on the Nexus troubleshooting forums of people trying to get mods to work on pirated copies, etc?

[kryptopyr]

I'd much rather send the full amount directly to an author. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem like an option. Sure we're still talking less than five lousy euros here, but out of general principle, you know...

It's absolutely an option, at least for modders who are also putting their work on Nexus.  Just send them a donation. They'll get almost all of it that way (minus PayPal's cut), and you'll be supporting their efforts to continue to provide their mods free of charge.

 

 

Honestly, I feel that 25% isn't too bad.  We are creating content for their game, modified or based around their content (in most cases), and generally using tools that they've provided.  There are a lot of professional fields where the artist is entirely responsible for producing the work and they still end up with 25% or less.  Many writers often only receive 10% of the retail price for their books, stock photographers will generally get less than 20%, and so on. 

[EssArrBee]

I get wanting to pocket some cash from a lot of hard work, but what do I get in return besides the mod? Do I get support for your mod that may not be stable? Do I get a refund if it's unstable? I wish they started slower and did something like Valve did with Source engine mods. They choose the mods they want to support and allow people to charge for. You can't just show up and slap a price tag on a couple Portal maps. They have a bit of scrutiny going into this stuff.

 

I imagine mod piracy is going to be a thing now that some of these are behind paywalls. By the way, anyone gotta link for that Shadowscale Armor?   

[Octopuss]

It's absolutely an option, at least for modders who are also putting their work on Nexus.  Just send them a donation. They'll get almost all of it that way (minus PayPal's cut), and you'll be supporting their efforts to continue to provide their mods free of charge.

 

 

Honestly, I feel that 25% isn't too bad.  We are creating content for their game, modified or based around their content (in most cases), and generally using tools that they've provided.  There are a lot of professional fields where the artist is entirely responsible for producing the work and they still end up with 25% or less.  Many writers often only receive 10% of the retail price for their books, stock photographers will generally get less than 20%, and so on. 

I know! I meant those mods that are exclusively (or at least for a time) on Steam. I'd rather send the money directly to Chesko or Nikkita. I can do that anytime I like, but I'd still have to wait 3 months until I could download the mod from Nexus :P

 

P.S. How on Earth do I make Steam mods work with MO, when they are automatically downloaded and installed+updated?

Edited April 23, 2015 by Octopuss

[Nozzer66]

You would subscribe to the mod, download it via the base launcher. Then unsub from the mod on steam. 

 

Like this: https://wiki.step-project.com/User:Nearox/Steam_Installation_Guide

[Kelmych]

For mods I feel a much more relevant comparison is with the percentage of app cost for smartphones that developers receive. This is currently 70%.

[Octopuss]

Damnit, it's getting late and my already limited english fails. How do you mean Kelmych? :)

[EssArrBee]

Well, app devs get 70%, but they don't end up with 70% after they pay their licensing fees. If you make a game and have to license the engine then you owe money for that, just as an example. Bethesda made the CK, so they get their share up front instead of the backend. Steam/Valve get their share up front to.

 

I'm worried about how these mods are supported now. Do I get a refund if it doesn't work and is unstable? What is the protocol for mod making it through verification?

 

I'd have to say that it may cause an issue for a few mods in different STEP guides if a mod goes paid only. We have to troubleshoot and support our guides, but not for something that already cost money. We aren't getting a cut for the S&T.

[Nozzer66]

What annoys me most is now I have to reacquire GTAV using the Rockstar hamster in an exercise wheel download server.... :S

[Neovalen]

I already said it in another thread, I will not buy nor support a paid version of a mod. Free versions only. Donations were cool, forcing to pay is not.

 

I will also no longer help fix or report bugs for said mods even after they are released free as it will support the paid mod indirectly.