Paid mods are now available on the workshop

[darkside]

I think we will lost some of the most talented Skyrim modders.

[TehKaoZ]

Just signed but I mean, do many people know about this one (you know, besides the "Steam Workshop" users)? I know a lot of people have been posting on Chesko's threads showing their support

Edited April 29, 2015 by TehKaoZ

[Nozzer66]

There's such a thing as 'Too Soon'. Let the dust settle first.

[mikegray]

Here's someone whose heart is in the right place:  https://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/611704730328798977/?tscn=1430234103#p1

 

( Here's where it ultimately leads:  https://www.change.org/p/chesko-skyrim-modders-chesko-and-skyrim-modders-please-come-back )

 

Of course, reading the comments will make you feel like last weekend never ended...  You've been warned.

 

Sweet! Finally a petition *I* can sign!

[Nozzer66]

There's at least 2 of those who have signed that are either jokes or saying please don't come back.

 

While I like the guy's sentiment, I doubt a petition will do much.

[hishutup]

Its funny but you can donate 30C to someone which is unnecessarily evil but I totally didnt do it to a few people I know. 

 

 

 

I'll make it up to them later

[keithinhanoi]

Well, I guess I lied. I can't click in TES5Edit very well while eating lunch, so I've been doing a bit of reading, and popped in to share.

 

The landscape of things has been altered. The few of the effects I'm aware of:

• Isoku says he will return, with the newest version of iNeed / Wet & Cold coming to Nexus. I also received the e-mail from him, and I don't care what anyone thinks about the way he handled communication after the opening of the paid Skyrim mods - I am honest shocked and humbled that he would even consider coming back after seeing the things people have said.
   
• Shezrie, on the other hand, has left modding completely, returning all recent donations with a very kind note, and there's no trace of her or her mods on Nexus or Steam Workshop. Very disheartening.
   
• Arthmoor has publicly stated he is deeply disappointed with Valve / Bethesda pulling out so quickly, and is seriously considering stopping modding. He's also commented on the same thing I noticed, which is that for some reason(s) he did not receive nearly as much flak as many of the other authors who published paid mods in the initial opening. Nevertheless, his mods are still available both on Nexus and Steam Workshop, where the comments threads for which I checked things seem to be business as usual.
   
• Chesko is still MIA, and as mentioned, some users are apologizing and "begging" for him to return. Nexus activity shows he's still logging in, mods still available as before, and Steam Workshop is empty.
   
• Laast, whose Purity mod seemed to have gotten the most sales until it was pulled with all the others, is leaving modding as mentioned. A complete shame, but with great civility and graciousness, he has posted the mod as a kind of final gift to the members of the community who've supported him. I've had some number of interactions with him, and I'm really saddened to see him go.
   
• ramccoid, author of numerous popular high-quality Skyrim re-texture mods, seems to have possibly exited modding out of disgust over the turn of events. All of his mods are now hidden with the message "I've had enough."

Also, here are a couple of good reads:

• The uncertain future of paid mods by Scott INtense!, the founder of ModDB
   
• Paid mods are dead: PC Gamer reacts - reactions from 7 PC Gamer writers, with all kinds of interesting viewpoints

Edited April 29, 2015 by keithinhanoi

[cstarkey42]

I'm only guessing but I would say that the intense reaction to Isuko and Chesko wasn't so much the fact they were a part of the workshop but was more due to which mods were behind the paywall and, even more importantly, due to the fact that Wet and Cold, iNeed, Frostfall and, to a lesser extent, Art of the Catch and Arrisa had all been "hyped" and "promised" for weeks, if not months, by the authors themselves.  I know I had been putting off a new playthrough for those updates specifically and had seen numerous comments from others that had been doing the same.  Many seemed to feel that SkyUI was a finished product that hadn't been updated in ages and the authors only released a 5.0 after seeing an opportunity to "cash in" on it.  Arthmoor, on the other hand, AFAIK hadn't been promoting his mod and, again, AFAIK the mod he had on the workshop was new or at least one that I wasn't familiar with.  If it was instead an update of Open Cities or USKP, or any of his well known and very popular mods, for that matter, I think the reaction would have been very different, especially if he had been promoting the update, minus any info on the paywall, of course.  Still, it would have had to have been quite the update to be on the same level as what WC or FF were promoting.  These weren't just minor updates with a couple of new features and bug fixes, these were updates that were being hailed as huge improvements to speed and stability and which undoubtedly had people salivating at their potential.

 

These aren't necessarily my views, mind you, but the way I was interpreting the events as they played out.  I'm very happy to hear of the reports that Isuko is fine and returning and that the SkyUI crew have no hard feelings and are updating.  The fact that Chesko is logging in and seeing the many posts of good will is encouraging, I think, especially since they seem to be overwhelmingly outnumbering any negative posts.  I'm sorry to hear that Artmoor feels that way, however.

 

My only other observation right now is that the longer this plays out the more it seems that many of the negative and immature posts were made by the same people ( I'm so sick of seeing certain icons and, when I do see them, have a good idea of what is being posted before I even begin to read it ) or people that hadn't posted much before and are either opportunistic anarchists looking to fan the flames or recent Skyrim buyers who were "promised" a game backed by free mods and had the whole paradigm changed before they even got a chance to play ( of which I'm sympathetic but is certainly not an excuse for attacking any of the authors in any way ).  My point is that, by and large, I think the majority of the Nexus users were actually mature and supportive with a small, small minority being an immature and brash bunch of 12 year old ****wads.  The Steam workshop community, however, is like an unmonitored grade-school from a Simpsons episode.  I'm not as familiar with things over there but, judging from the past few days, I certainly don't ever want to have to be either.

[keithinhanoi]

Oh, a couple more things before I slip back into the dark again. Confirmed by Arthmoor:

• All of the refunds from Valve to people who paid for a mod, as per the Steam User terms of agreement, are paid back to the user's Steam Wallet. So, Valve will get that money either way.
   
• Valve / Bethesda still has not contacted the mod authors after pulling their paid mods off the Skyrim Workshop. So there's no word on whether they will receive any compensation for their mods' sales.

"Hung out to dry and wither in the wind" is certainly how I would feel...

Edited April 29, 2015 by keithinhanoi

[Teabag86]

@cstarkey I agree with what you say. I also think Chesko and Isoku copped it the most because they were the ones sent over the trenches first. They were put forward as the figureheads of paid modding like it was their idea. I've donated to both of them. I don't say this to big note myself, only that it might influence others to do the same if they are sitting on the fence. For what it's worth I've decided that every month I'll be making donations to different mod authors. They could be new or old mod authors that I'd like to show my appreciation for. Sort of my own system in the absence of anything else.

[Octopuss]

• Valve / Bethesda still has not contacted the mod authors after pulling their paid mods off the Skyrim Workshop. So there's no word on whether they will receive any compensation for their mods' sales.

Not gonna happen, but if they actually do, it would be nice gesture and Steam might not be completely lost.

[CJ2311]

 

 

Seeing the petition with 27 signatures in 22 hours is what's got me down.

Well the petition has literally not been posted anywhere, so people are unlikely to hear about it...

 

It seems SkyUI 5 will also be coming to the nexus, for those who are interested. schlangster said the update was already done either way and that he wasn't a sore loser so he'd upload it soon.

[sheson]

 

Arthmoor has publicly stated he is deeply disappointed with Valve / Bethesda pulling out so quickly, and is seriously considering stopping modding. He's also commented on the same thing I noticed, which is that for some reason(s) he did not receive nearly as much flak as many of the other authors who published paid mods in the initial opening. Nevertheless, his mods are still available both on Nexus and Steam Workshop, where the comments threads for which I checked things seem to be business as usual.

If my values do not align with the values of the majority of a community I would rethink staying in that community, too.

Edited April 29, 2015 by sheson

[TehKaoZ]

 

My only other observation right now is that the longer this plays out the more it seems that many of the negative and immature posts were made by the same people ( I'm so sick of seeing certain icons and, when I do see them, have a good idea of what is being posted before I even begin to read it ) or people that hadn't posted much before and are either opportunistic anarchists looking to fan the flames or recent Skyrim buyers who were "promised" a game backed by free mods and had the whole paradigm changed before they even got a chance to play ( of which I'm sympathetic but is certainly not an excuse for attacking any of the authors in any way ).  My point is that, by and large, I think the majority of the Nexus users were actually mature and supportive with a small, small minority being an immature and brash bunch of 12 year old ****wads.  The Steam workshop community, however, is like an unmonitored grade-school from a Simpsons episode.  I'm not as familiar with things over there but, judging from the past few days, I certainly don't ever want to have to be either.

I think this part annoys me the most, you have certain users (who I won't name) posting as if their some sort of heroes from a great war and that because monetized mods were pulled everything they said and did was "correct" and "justified". My favorites are the ones who act as if the whole protest was THEIR idea. Still, a large portion of them are either fake accounts with a few posts or people who probably never existed on Nexus before and came over from the Steam Workshop or somewhere. I really wonder how many people were angry and disappointed versus people just jumping on a bandwagon.

 

I hesitate to generalize the hatred and vitriol as a reaction of the "community" as a result.

[cstarkey42]

Today's moment of Zen:  People seeking support on the SkyUI Nexus page for what are obviously pirated versions of 5.0.  Bethesda's debacle is a gift that truly keeps on giving.