Money for Mods: Valve Announces Paid Skyrim Mods

[Fat Hippo]

I'm certainly not against the idea of mod creators getting paid for their time but why are Valves getting such a big cut and there are no quality guarantees or refunds?

Seriously. If I wanted to support a mod developer, I'd do so over paypal or patreon, after I had already tested and enjoyed his work. Asking people for an upfront payment, of which only 25% will go to the creator of that product? That's just insane. The terrible precedent which this sets is enough reason that I hope people will refuse to participate in this scheme. There is simply no way Valve deserves to get 3/4 of the money for merely hosting someone else's product.

 

[Fappy]

I imagine the old boys in the TES modding community are having a conniption over this. Valve's really fallen far these last few years.

 

[gigastar]

Well i still dont own Skyrim, and thus im finding it difficult to care.

I will say though, i dont believe for a second that Valve is actually getting 75% of the cut from modders. Bethesda/ZeniMax wouldnt let them get away with that kind of cut.

 

[loa]

Will this inhibit free mods that don't utilize this system?
Because you sure make it sound like going through valves official channels would be strongly "incentivized".

People keep listing as a pro how this may possibly lead to better mods maybe (lol more like 13 year olds flooding this to "get rich") but this could mean the guaranteed end of nude mods, sex mods, blood mods for region-censored games, mods that use copyrighted material, mods that use custom servers, mods that mimic another game of that dev, mods that mimic DLC, free mods that have similar functionality of paid-for mods, mods a dev just doesn't like for no particular reason.

Also they can already have a tip jar.
Nothing stops modders from adding a tip jar to their site with valve taking 0%.
There is no reason tip jars would have to be steam integrated, especially if that means tips are now mandatory, standardized, have to be quadrupled just to break even, have to be paid up-front and what exactly does valve do that they think they deserve that crazy cut of 75%?

Also charging for something its creator has no reason to keep supporting, that may stop functioning after an official patch and never get fixed or that just won't necessarily work in conjunction with other (paid for) mods seems like a poor idea.
I can buy all the DLC of a game, it'll still run with all DLC enabled, guaranteed.
There is no such thing as a DLC that breaks a game.
The same doesn't have to apply for user-created mods that use weird backdoors in the game or break a few ribs of the engine just to function.

You see how many worms this can inhibits without even getting to all the subjective, ethical stuff like "should mods cost money"?
This looks like a poor idea for everyone involved.

Especially when it's only added to their Steam Wallet, meaning they can only buy more fucking games with it.

Are you shitting me? Valve pays modders their 25% cut in Valve-credis they may only spend on Valve-stores?
How gross is that? They can't even use that to pay their rent or any expenses spent on creating the mod or like, you know, food?
Who would do this? This doesn't even really support modders and if anything degrades them to chumps that will make DLC for free.

That wallet thing is fake, right? Can't be real.
That would push this from kinda exploiting modders into utter contempt for them.

Edit: Well turns out this is fake. Good.

 

[SomeLameStuff]

I'm certainly not against the idea of mod creators getting paid for their time but why are Valves getting such a big cut and there are no quality guarantees or refunds?

I'm thinking part of the reason why 75% of it is taken by Valve is because part of that cut goes to Bethesda, because the modders are now making money off their IP.

This sucks. Like, really sucks. Nexus Mods must be thrilled with all their new traffic though.

 

[nickpy]

The more I think about this, the more I hate it. Especially when it's only added to their Steam Wallet, meaning they can only buy more fucking games with it.

Just to clarify - this is not true. The mod author's part is transfered to them by bank transfer on the 15th of each month.

OT: I definitely have mixed feelings on this matter. I do believe that mod authors deserve something back for their time, when its a good mod at least, but this was not the way to achieve it.

Firstly, as we all know, mod interdependencies and content-reuse is labyrinthian... Yes, before, most mod authors were perfectly happy to allow others to reuse their work, because they knew no-one was getting paid. Now? One of three things will happen: mod authors will refuse to allow their content to be reused (bad), the already small 25% will be split between even more people (not great), or the copyright wars will ensue (very bad).

Secondly, if Valve/Beth really cared about helping mod authors to earn money, why are they taking a full 75% cut for doing abolustely nothing? This is a blatent cash-grab.

Thirdly, I suspect that from now, many mods going up on workshop will be paid-for. Yes, a mod author can still specify that the mod be free, but the question is asked to them "Paid or Free?" and most mod authors, obviously, will choose paid-for, so over time the proportion of free mods on workshop will diminish rapidly.

Finally, it sets a bad precedent - if this experiment works out well for valve/bethesda, I strongly suspect that they'll put in some kind of restriction in future games so you cannot get mods from places other than Workshop, in order to increase their revenue stream. True, they'll probably still allow free mods on workshop (the uproar if they didn't could be heard from mars) but the idea of restricting the availability of mods to one storefront is abhorrent and completely counter to the spirit of modding.

I believe a much, much better way of doing this would have been to have an optional donation system. The mod author specifies a "suggested price" and you have to manually override it if you want to download for free; this will play on people's morality ("really? am I actually saying this guy's work is worth nothing at all?") so some people will pay, more so than with the easily missed donation buttons on nexus, but there isn't an expectation of huge quantities of money being involved, alleviating many of the problems above, and also not permanently gating off mods to those who genuinely cannot afford them.

Another option would be to go humble-bundle style and allow the purchaser to set sliders as to who gets how much money out of Beth, Valve, Mod Author and a charity-of-the-month. Probably there would need to be a minimum of 5% on the first three (especially as valve will have genuine costs to cover), but again it comes across much better and certainly less money-grubbing.

 

[CpT_x_Killsteal]

I've been gaming since I could hold a bottle in my mouth without holding it with my hand. In everything that's ever happened in gaming in all the time that I've been alive, I've never felt physically ill because of something that happened, in the industry, public perception, or in a game itself. What a milestone to kick over.

 

[Dying_Jester]

but this could mean the guaranteed end of nude mods, sex mods, blood mods for region-censored games, mods that use copyrighted material, mods that use custom servers, mods that mimic another game of that dev, mods that mimic DLC, free mods that have similar functionality of paid-for mods, mods a dev just doesn't like for no particular reason.

As mentioned on the Nexus mod site, and possibly here to( I might have missed it when reading some of the comments) A very large number of mods use other mods to get to where they are. And it's not like it is likely to only be large mods either. I've seen mods such as companions crediting multiple other modders for things like the characters default weapon, clothing, script, hair, eyes, etc.
Are they going to get a cut? If so, how, and will that require the mod to earn even more before the person who submitted the mod, and the credited modders even get their virtual steam bucks?

 

[Bat Vader]

I wouldn't mind paying for a full conversion mod like the Game of Thrones mod or the Elder Kings mod for CKII but I can't see myself paying 75 cents for a weapon.

 

[VinLAURiA]

This is the future you chose, you fools!

Your constant concessions to and worship of the false messiahs of gaming merely allowed their souls to become blacker and blacker!

 

[SecondPrize]

I've always loved Bethesda's games for their blind ambition, while hating them for their piss-poor QA. This has been the case since Morrowind and that Pirate's game. There is only one reason I will buy a game from them, because I know modders are going to fix their shit. I'll either pay for a game or pay the guy who fixes it, but I sure as shit won't do both.
It baffles me that they've joined forces with Valve to be the first to jump on this thing. It's not a secret how people view Mods and Elder Scroll's games. There is a running joke that Bethesda relies on modders to fix their games for them. It's a pretty widespread joke too. All I'm saying here is, if I had a reputation for releasing jank shit and relying on others to fix it, I'd be cautious about attempts to make consumers pay for those fixes.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Called it at the start of Steam workshop, it was a terrible idea to have platform exclusive mods then, now they are taking passion projects down cut throat alley.

Sure if you have good content to sell, package, polish and test it to a commercially acceptable degree then you deserve to put a price tag on that, and you should be the one getting money not Valve. But then you must also be held accountable for bugs, copyright material, stolen assets, establishing and holding your IP,...
Dumping the whole dumpster on the ground and putting price tags on shit however is completely moronic. Most mods do not work properly or only ever for once specific version, they were made by several people who might or might not know, they borrow and upgrade on one another with no solid track record where things came from, copyright characters and textures are all over that shit and most really are of no value as they are so badly made.

And then there is the community aspect, modding communities have sprung up because it was a big open collaborative effort to improve a game. When you put money on that stuff people can no longer be open and collaborative because that causes legal issues, money needs to be split, someone might steal your assets, someone might take your idea, you have to go after anyone doing similar things to yours,... the moment money is involved this turns into a wolves den, everyone needs to carve out their own piece of meat before anyone else can get it.

 

[Aeshi]

Ok, I just discovered this:

Spoiler: somewhat large image

Yes, you are reading that right. Somebody is already trying to do an Early Access paid mod.

I can't even joke about this.

 

[gigastar]

I've been gaming since I could hold a bottle in my mouth without holding it with my hand. In everything that's ever happened in gaming in all the time that I've been alive, I've never felt physically ill because of something that happened, in the industry, public perception, or in a game itself. What a milestone to kick over.

Oh if thats the case then stay the hell away from iOS/Android games. You might just end up with cancer.

 

[Shinkicker444]

The more I think about this, the more I hate it. Especially when it's only added to their Steam Wallet, meaning they can only buy more fucking games with it.

It's like being in the 1700s again with Food Stamps and company stores... But seriously, I'm sceptical of this, I've seen it mentioned in a number of places but reading the terms and FAQ Valve is asking for bank details. So why would they need bank details if it's just going into their steam wallet and you can only trade is US$? I could be missing something though. If it's true it's a massive slap in the face, the modders are essentially getting nothing.

Speaking of the split, which is completely stupid, apparently the seller can register other creators to supposedly share profits with (which sounds good for those whose resources you use). But a different part of the FAQ says that they can't split profits between accounts... so... which is it?

Also Steam is actively removing 'donation' links off of free mod pages.

Ok, I just discovered this:

Spoiler: somewhat large image

Yes, you are reading that right. Somebody is already trying to do an Early Access paid mod.

I can't even joke about this.

Don't worry, FNIS already shut him down because...

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=430324898

 

[holyshaman]

time to vote with our wallets. this can possible end up in chaos.

and to all those who says they don't care, you need to care about it because this is a game changer and can have i huge impact on sales and the modding community.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I wouldn't mind paying for a full conversion mod like the Game of Thrones mod or the Elder Kings mod for CKII but I can't see myself paying 75 cents for a weapon.

Neither of those full conversions are legal when you start selling shit, and all the weapons need to be cross-referenced with art from other games/sites because there is a very high likelihood someone borrowed something... and as you start selling shit that becomes illegal.

 

[Shinkicker444]

Speaking of legal, wonder how many of modders use a free student version of autodesk...

Oh.. I hope not [http://knowledge.autodesk.com/customer-service/account-management/account-access/education-community-account/educational-licenses#Can%20I%20use%20free%20Educational%20licenses%20for%20Autodesk%20software%20obtained%20through%20the%20Education%20Community%C2%A0for%20commercial%20purposes]

 

[elvor0]

Why, of all games, would you start with Skyrim? Most Skyrim fans (Not all, there are exceptions...) loathe the Steam Workshop and hit up the Nexus for their mod fix.

What's wrong with the workshop for getting mods? It auto updates, has 1 click install and there isn't really much missing from it that isn't on the Nexus. Don't get me wrong, the Nexus is great too, I used it for years, but I don't see what's "loathable" about the workshop.

 

[direkiller]

I said this in the outher thred

This will end in the fireball it deserves when valve get sued for IP/copyright infringment.

As the creators are getting store credit, Valve are the only ones making real life money off this.

I'm sure Games Worshop or Disney will be happy to sue over that power armor or light saber mod people are charging for now.