[Lakyn Ellery]

They operate in the EU. They are subject to EU laws and regulations with regards to consumers in the EU. As is the case in any other country or jurisdiction in the world.

Frankly, the EU is not a beast Valve should wish to poke with a stick. The EU is lawmaker, enforcer and judge.

[Antony Holdsworth]

Enderal will be free: http://sureai.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=136&t=7057

[john palmer]

I meant hypothetically. There are a few abandoned mods which were scrapped which I would gladly pay to get them finished.

[kirsty joanne hines]

(From the last page of the previous thread)

And then they released the Ultimate Doom upgrade (the fourth episode) for free too. Half of the game was free. Nowadays you have to http://store.steampowered.com/app/311340/ so it should have been obvious this was coming.

Capitalism, baby!

Still, i think this will have pretty small impact on Skyrim modding, and i'd expect their next game to have similar system too. The game after that? Maybe only Workshop allowed for distribution? The one after that? All mods have price?
Or maybe BGS themselves hate this idea as much as majority here does, and will take their games off Steam as soon as they are able without breaching any contracts they have with Valve. Of course the fact that this was first done on Skyrim makes that quite unlikely possibility.

Regardless, i have not bought Hearthfire, so what chances do you think there is of me buying a mod?


QFT. If i pay for something, i expect a product with everything the word involves. Out of the hundreds, if not thousands i've used, the ones i think fulfill those requirements i could count with the fingers of one hand and have plenty left over.

[Flutterby]

I agree pretty sure no need to worry about UOP for Skyrim. But the can of worms is now open. So there is no guarantee for future Bethesda Game Studio games.

[Enny Labinjo]

Sadly, I disagree with all that. The whole industry has proved it wrong long ago. All they need is yet another disclaimer of some sort to discard all those expectations.

[tannis]

I'm not real worried about the effects of this on Skyrim modding. It's already well established and I do have a certain amount of faith in the community.

It's the next game (presumably Fallout 4) that worries me, and the possibility that Bethesda will try to channel all modding through the Steam Workshop.

[Marquis deVille]

So now all mods are going to be paid DLC that hasn't been vetted by anyone? Sounds kinda stupid. My gaming time is already severely limited because of work/family so I don't have the kind of time it's going to take to vet these mods myself. And I'm also worried that someone will post a mod that says it will do "X" but in actuality it doesn't either because the modder doesn't know what they're doing or they're just straight up lying in order to make money.I'm also a little surprised that Bethesda are the ones who decided to start this nickle and diming of their fan based. This really sounds like something EA or possibly Activision would do. I know a lot of people throw out the ol' "Horse Armor" argument about DLC/mods but at least I knew what I was getting with that DLC. With a paid mod made by someone not affiliated in any way with the publisher I can't say the same thing.

[Kelly Osbourne Kelly]

What about data encryption methods or password protected Mod files (.BSA files for example)? I think that would potentially put a damper on people ripping content from mods and reselling them as their own. I've always proposed this idea to counteract asset theft and think that now would be the perfect time to add a feature like this if possible.

~DE

[Britney Lopez]

Thinking about this scheme.... a lot of youtube channels are based on playing mods... so why actually shouldn't the mod author getting something from the youtubers for using his hard work. It would only be fair. (It's pure sarcasm, no worry, but a tiny glimpse in the future as it seems).

[Add Me]

Yeah perfect. Protect the work that no one can learn anymore how it's done. That's what happend for the SIMs 2 as the big business with payed mods started.

[Janeth Valenzuela Castelo]

Having just deleted all but the Helgen Keep save for my level 33 Skyrim character because Shezrie removed four of my previously subscribed mods, I really wish this had been introduced with a new game. It's also worrisome to me that if mods can change from free to paid, I'll be reluctant to use even free mods because of the danger of saves being broken, although I suppose that's only an issue with Steam Workshop mods. Perhaps this will be the trigger that will cause me to join Nexus. A mod you download to your hard drive is inherently more stable than one you subscribe to on Steam.

All of that said, assuming that modder resource issues get sorted out, there are types of mods I'd consider paying for (think Nehrim), but of course I'd evaluate them as I would any other paid content.

[Sandeep Khatkar]

Regarding your point "What about sales elsewhere?" - I have read that when a Steam user goes through the process to get set up for publishing paid user content mods, there is a section of the agreement that Valve makes you click "Agree" to that states any for pay Steam Workshop mod cannot be sold elsewhere. The recourse for doing so wasn't mentioned in the post.

I'm really sorry that I can't find the original URL where I read that, because there is just a massive ocean of text on this topic on so many different websites. If I can find the source for that, I will post here again. I do remember that post was a response to conjecture about the reasons for banning / pulling Workshop mods with donation URL links in the description / comments thread.

[Sam Parker]

I doubt previously subscribed mods would actually be removed from your computer by Steam, and you could have preserved them by simply backing them up in any event. They were just an .esp and .bsa file for Workshop downloads. You didn't need to delete your saves.... they are probably still in the recycle bin.

[Emily Graham]

you know what i think is said if these mods were never free to begin with how much you wanna bet there wouldnt be all this going on right now.

i cant afford to pay for every mod i have but i will pay for those i hold dear and to me are a must have.

I see no problem what so ever if modders can make alittle money doing what they are good at...heck id be glad to help him get a meal,or pay a bill or whatever they want to spend their money on.

No one is making anyone buy mods use the free creation kit to mod and modify mods for free.

[Steve Bates]

To learn how it's done is what tutorials are for. Example code, youtube and other sources. Looking into a mod to see how it's done is only one method of learning how to mod. I think asset theft is a much larger concern in this case, so why not encrypt the files so they cannot be ripped? It would at least give mod authors some kind of security.

Not that I condone this whole business model in the first place, but if we're forced to play along, then at least give us a better option to protect our files.

~DE

[Ashley Hill]

Youtube tutorial about my precious business secrets? Won't happen. How would I sell a zillion mods then?

There is a very good reason why Open Source is a succesfull modell (even in business). That's why Bethesda Game Studios games where such successfull in the past. The full source was available and we had a very free information flow because no money was involveld.

Now? Yes it's time to make new protection schemes and more DRM. "Funny" times ahead.

[rebecca moody]

It's a terrible idea. How can people sell trademarked property liked LOTR mods? Steam has given the modders with paid material to STEAL other modders work withouttheir knowledge. What happens when the makers of mods used by lots of other mods like SKSE don't want people profitting off their work? It's already happened with the fishing mod and fore's idles. What if some mods aren't compatible and you find out after 24 hours? You don't even get a proper refund. Modding is about passion. People sharing ideas for the enjoyment of everyone, not aiming for the quick buck. Look at the terrible mods that have already been put up. I bought Skyrim for ￡8 inc all dlc. A SINGLE SWORD is not worth 1/11th of the ENTIRE GAME. Thank god we still have moddb and Nexus.

There should be DONATION buttons. Instead corporate greed has taken over. The modder gets 25% of the sale. They only make any money if there are $400 of sales. It's putting money into a system that doesn't need it. It will discourage first time modders. The whole modding community was like the perfect society. One person creates a product and in turn gets access to all these other free products. Everyone wins.

[Amy Masters]

The problem with this change lies within the psychology of introducing money into something that used to be done for free. Here's a relevant excerpt:

-- http://99u.com/articles/26185/how-money-makes-us-lazy

Dramatically shifting the underlying motivations of people participating in a community like this seems certain to have unpredictable, if not outright disastrous, consequences. I don't want to see a modding scene that has flourished for the past thirteen-plus years wither away as a result of one giant misstep like this, however well-intentioned.

[alyssa ALYSSA]

An exclusivity clause isn't the same as banning mods from being sold anywhere but Steam Workshop (I think it's pretty reasonable, all things considered), but it would be interesting if that could be verified.

[Big Homie]

Thank you.

[lydia nekongo]

Also, mods that were intended to be free can suddenly find itself behind a pay wall. What if, say, the Apachi Sky Hair mods suddenly go behind a pay wall? That would mean that every mod out there, created in good faith that required it would also find itself effectively behind a pay wall regardless of the authors intent, drastically reducing the number of players that could use those mods.

[Hairul Hafis]

Let's just hope, that behesda see what they did and what is happening on all modding and gaming forums and they will stop this madness until they can. I am really afraid that if this "new modding era" will continue, TES6 or other bethesda games that are based on modding comunity, may and they will be failtures.. and that's bad - no one what to let this happen nor bethedsa nor players. Behesda created beautiful modding comuntiy during years and this is a sad end of it.

[aisha jamil]

The petition to remove the paid mods feature currently has 24000 + signatures

(Not linking to it because that would be against forum rules afaik.)

[Kate Norris]

I agree with most of this. But it ignores human nature (greed). Also, it ignores the likely outcome of DRM being imposed on mods for future games (Fallout 4).

I know most here don't know me, but I have been around a looooooooong time, since the the dawn of MW modding. I can remember the enthusiasm and camaraderie of the then new TES modding community. It is very sad to see this depressing turn of events.

Also, if DRM (or worse) is imposed on modding future games and that effectively kills the Nexus, Dark Creations, TES Alliance, I am dome with Bethesda game. No pre-orders anymore until the ramifications of this decision have time to evolve.

It kills me to write the above.