RIP spirit of modding...

[oldladyonthemoon]

http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/aboutpaidcontent/

 

 

[Tamira]

This is the black Thursday for modding.

I am seriously considering to stop uploading modder's resources. Who takes care on Steam Workshop if they are used in the making of paid mods?

[DarkRider]

The spirit of modding lives on as long as we mod in the spirit of modding, my mods will always be free and hosted free. Long live modding

[Witty]

Interesting times ahead

[HeyYou]

Paid mods in skyrim? Really???? I thought that was specifically ruled out in the EULA for the game, and the CK??

[DaMage]

I can see why this has happened. In other games (and maybe even skyrim) modders have moved to patreon in order to get a small amount of money back from dedicated fans of their work. Basically it falls into the case that if a modder does really good work and you like their stuff you could send them a bit of money through patreon. Since it acted as a donation system, it would get around the 'pay for mods' thing in the EULA.

 

I think Bethesda and Valve have seen this and decided they want a cut, and have made it possible to pay for mods. There are just so many problems with this as Valve does not police its service at all. There is nothing (even though they say there is) to stop another person taking your free work and uploading it as paid, not to mention that not all mods are actually bug free. One of the best things about games with modding is that you get to customise o your heart's content, having to spend $10, $20 or what ever to get hundreds of mods like you used to just does not feel appealing.

 

I can see the appeal, but unless I was working on a huge mod that completely revamped the game, I would never think about charging for it. Thankfully I don't use many mods so this shouldn't effect me too much. But unless a mod is actually big and worth the money I will not be paying for mods.

[Vouivre]

At the simplest here's my thoughts.

 

If I want the mod, I will either download it and don't donate, or if I want to donate I donate not "buy". If it is buy via steam I look for it elsewhere.  If it is not elsewhere if it offers something that can be replicated I make my own version myself.

 

Either free download or make it yourself. Donations are optional and you shouldn't feel obligated. Would I like to be paid for things I do? Sure, but my skills are no wheres near good enough to make it worth money. Even at that I'd leave it to the person... it's why I enjoy twitch streamers who either don't have donations pages or have one there and if you feel like donating, if not cool. This shouldn't effect people as much as it does. There are however problems on the development side that worries me(the actual developer who makes the games) and that's where I'm more concerned over.

[DarkRider]

Paid mods in skyrim? Really???? I thought that was specifically ruled out in the EULA for the game, and the CK??

Its an arrangement between Valve and Bethsoft, they actually get the biggest cut around 45%, Im not sure if this means they will allow paid mods on private sites, I reckon no.

[HeyYou]

After poking around a bit..... It's a scam.

 

My understanding is: Steam/Beth get 75%, the modder gets 25%, BUT, only once the total reaches/exceeds 400 bucks. Now, I will grant, for some mods, even at 10 cents a download, they could hit that in a day..... But, for the most part, most mods will never get there, therefore: Steam/Beth keep the money.

[Vouivre]

After poking around a bit..... It's a scam.

 

My understanding is: Steam/Beth get 75%, the modder gets 25%, BUT, only once the total reaches/exceeds 400 bucks. Now, I will grant, for some mods, even at 10 cents a download, they could hit that in a day..... But, for the most part, most mods will never get there, therefore: Steam/Beth keep the money.

 

I... really have nothing on this... there is nothing I can even conceive of thinking. This legit is happening? The fact that they get paid is probably gonna make things even more angst worthy. Looks like other sites may get more business for those who refuse to download from steam.

[HeyYou]

You think we have problems with mod theft now? Just wait till this hits...... How is steam going to handle that? And what about mods done by teams??

 

Really, this is just flat out stupid. But then, it was a 'corporate' decision...... I don't expect 'intelligence' from corporate..... just as much as I don't expect it from our government.

[DaMage]

You think we have problems with mod theft now? Just wait till this hits...... How is steam going to handle that? And what about mods done by teams??

 

Really, this is just flat out stupid. But then, it was a 'corporate' decision...... I don't expect 'intelligence' from corporate..... just as much as I don't expect it from our government.

 

I expect they'll poilice the mod workshop the same way they do Early Access and Greenlight (where they really have even more responsibility).....they won't.

[Vouivre]

I can gaurantee with how some things go, there might be some cases coming up within the first three months of mod theft. Even though "technically" mods you make could be in a sense property of the company, any assets you make with this violates liscenses.. and even if you have a liscense you could still bring suit for theft of IP you yourself made. Steam is going to have to do a lot of policing and research into making sure mods belong to the owners and aren't being ripped off and someone else profiting.

[HeyYou]

A lot depends on how you interpret the EULA for the CK...... (and if the laws where you live even recognize such things.....) It *could* be interpreted that any assets the you put in-game using the CK now are licensed to Bethesda.... whether you made it or not. (assuming that you had rights to use it in the first place....) I think the interests of greed are going to end up being a major complication for modding, and its communities.

[sa547]

My position on the matter is that all of my works will remain free of charge, on both Nexus and TESA.

 

Also, the worst-case scenario of monetizing mods can be seen with how mods for The Sims 3 are handled; already at least one Sims modder had issued DMCAs for "illegally" converted hair mods.

[DaMage]

An interesting note.

 

SKSE is released under the MIT license meaning that you cannot use features from SKSE in a commercial application. That means legally any mod that uses SKSE commands cannot be put behind a paywall. HOWEVER the only person that is going to enforce this is the SKSE team themselves, and considering how many mods use SKSE I cant see them being about to enforce the license.

 

If that's the case I can assure you it will be less likely to be a script extender in the next game, as why would you do it if other are going to ignore your license and make money off your work.

[donnato]

... far reaching consequences... I`m done.

[Vouivre]

The only thing for SKSE as Mage mentioned would be to host it on non profit sites, as I believe Nexus is the only place that still isn't for buying. Donations yes buying no. So they could easily say they will not endorse any steam hosted mods. And could contact the modders via steam(as I'm sure there's tags to search for requirements) for a cease and desist. This whole thing is going to get ugly fast and may cause a huge rift in the community and may make things much more difficult for future mods and modders for current and future games. The implications will ring and echoe back to the developer in time.

[sa547]

I wish everyone should consider about the Sims3 modding scene. Already the appearance of payware mods have divided that community. 

An interesting note.

 

SKSE is released under the MIT license meaning that you cannot use features from SKSE in a commercial application. That means legally any mod that uses SKSE commands cannot be put behind a paywall. HOWEVER the only person that is going to enforce this is the SKSE team themselves, and considering how many mods use SKSE I cant see them being about to enforce the license.

 

If that's the case I can assure you it will be less likely to be a script extender in the next game, as why would you do it if other are going to ignore your license and make money off your work.

Asides from SKSE, many animation, skeleton and body mods also rely entirely on XPMS, HDT and FNIS.

Edited April 24, 2015 by sa547

[oldladyonthemoon]

The list of "under review" paid mods: http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/browse/?appid=72850&searchtext=&childpublishedfileid=0&browsesort=forsale_pendingapproval&section=readytouseitems&requiredflags[0]=paiditems&browsefilter=forsale_pendingapproval&p=1

 

Bookmark it.

[sa547]

More than half of them were intended to underscore just how much of a terrible mistake mod monetization is.

[InsanitySorrow]

The spirit of modding lives on as long as we mod in the spirit of modding, my mods will always be free and hosted free. Long live modding

 

[_echo]

The bulk of my modding exposure came from the Oblivion era. I grew to think of modding as a hobby, and trying to get money for a mod was taboo. When my modding scope branched out to Minecraft, I was basically struck by a sledge hammer at how rampit "adfly" links were used for texture packs and whatnot. It sickened me. Whenever I had the chance, I would make a comment about how the TES modding community basically shunned monetization of mods. If this is truly how Bethesda feels about their modding community, then I will sadly have to turn away from them.

 

The news is young, so I will wait to see how things progress and what, if anything, Bethesda has to say after seeing the initial public reaction.

 

Dark times are upon us. I hope they don't last long.

[ResolveThatChord]

Our community at TESA has a fantasitc culture that is accepting and collaborative. It's easy to see how this change could threaten that.

 

As this plays out, we'll see how the culture of the community at large comes to grips with it. If we go into this with our eyes open we may yet keep what is precious to us at TESA.

 

I think it will succeed or fail on the actions of our forum moderators. If we become frightened or politicised over this issue we may see yet another political divide in gaming culture.

 

Please remember to be compassionate. And please be wary of the damage that taking sides could do to us.

[Grits]

The spirit of modding lives on as long as we mod in the spirit of modding, my mods will always be free and hosted free. Long live modding

Thank you, DarkRider. This was the first place I came when I heard the news, wondering if there would still be a place for students or if everyone was suddenly a potential competitor. It’s a relief to hear a calm voice amid the hysteria.