In a move that is not even remotely surprising to me, Valve has started rolling out the ability for mod authors to sell their works. I think it’s a nice move, and could even help some even more amazing mods be created. You already had some mods release as a full paid game on Steam, but they still required you own specific games.
It was a given that Steam Workshop would work towards this, and I’m surprised anyone is shocked by it. The first game to allow it is Skyrim, so it doesn't mean much for us Linux gamers yet, but in future we hope to see it rolled out to many more games.
This has already been met with a ton of negative feedback from a whiny crowd, and there’s even a petition going against it. No surprise that it has over 24,000 votes already, but it won’t stop Valve, and it shouldn’t. It’s a good business decision, and the whiny crowd will get over it eventually.
QuoteThe workshop is a place for people to share content with each other they made so all can enjoy it for free.
Since recently this is not the case for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Workshop. Valve has now erected a paywall for the mods.
Mods should be a free creation. Creations made by people who wish to add to the game so others can also enjoy said creation with the game.
We need to unite and reject this act by Valve. Unite have Valve remove the paid content of the Workshop.
It seems the creator of the petition feels that mods are supposed to be free, but I completely disagree. Mods can end up creating an entirely new campaign, or even an entirely different game, so why should developers have to release them for free? They shouldn't.
I just don’t get the big hoohaa about it. Nothing stops people releasing mods for free as the petition suggests by calling it a “paywall”, and there’s even a simple to use filtering system to filter-out paid mods.
What are your thoughts?
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I had curiosity and entered his steam page. I hit the hub community site, and I found a message by the developer complaining that the future of the mod was uncertain due the fact he wasnt finding people who could work for free.
(here is http://steamcommunity.com/games/fof/announcements/detail/190613441175294143 )
That was a very upset message saying that the mod wasnt going to receive as many upgrades as it deserves, and that the ones who were going to be done, were going to be insufficient. He was saying things like: The mod could have a ton of content, but it is impossible to do being free. And admiting that it was going to remain free, but this would make the game to stay very very limited.
Guess what? The first 4 replies were people saying: Add more weapons...add exploding arrows....
We live in a world where you make a lot of work, you give something for free, you complain about the impossibilities of making a work whithout being paid, and the only reply you have is "gimme more".
Everyone wants the goods. No one wants to pay the bill.
I really hope that mod authors find a way to make some money, and can live with the developing of games.
For the ones who wants free mods I have a suggecstion: Learn to make a game, do it yourselves, and then release it free. Then we speak.
I've read nothing that has said that mod makers have to charge for their mods or cease simply asking for donations. As I understand it, all Valve has done is say that modders can now charge for their efforts in addition to giving away mods and maybe asking for donations. And if a modder decides to charge for their creation, the money will be split three ways, with the lion's share going to (appease?) the original developer (without whom, let's face it, there IS no mod).
This new system has caused a huge stir, it's true. But I expect that when the dust settles the landscape will be one somewhat familiar to members of the LInux/Open Source community: most projects will be free with a request for a donation, and a very few will be so valued or unique as to command a set price.
Why would I pay for kMusicplay at the Ubuntu Software Center when I could just as easily use Amarok, Clementine, Rhythmbox, Banshee, VLC or umpteen other music players for free The answer is that I would pay if I really, really loved kMusicplayer. I expect the same dynamic will set in with the mods and the modders at Steam. Popular but pricey mods will be mimicked and undersold. Some users will switch to the cheaper copy and others won't.
I donate to FOSS/Linux projects that I love and use regularly. No doubt were I to use mods at Steam I would donate or pay for those I loved and used regularly. Perhaps, intentional or not, the Steam community will become more like the Linux/Open Source community over time because it simply makes sense.
Quoting: GuestI watched the TotalBiscuit video, and he raised a very good point in it about: what happens to mods outside of steam? If this situation makes it so that games can only be modded via Steam Workshop, that (in my view) is rather bad. I view reliance on Steamworks as being bad too, btw.
Too much under the Steam umbrella. Competition badly needed. Let's hope GOG Galaxy can provide it.
Let's just hope that GOG Galaxy doesn't delay the Linux client.
Comandante Ñoñardo Apr 27, 2015
Quoting: GuestYou need to separate price and freedom.
When I said FREE, I was talking about price.
The problem with the english is the use of the same word for two different things... In spanish, free of charge is Gratis, and free from freedom is Libre.
And about the potential lawsuits, I was talking about the unauthorized commercial use of homemade assets (3d models, music, sounds, etc) from other (free of charge or paid) mods... As you must know, the copy-paste of assets is very common in the modding world.
If I make a free (of charge) mod with the 100% of the additional assets made by me (or my studio), and someone else makes money with my work without my permission, I'm gonna be veeeery upset..
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