Steam Workshop: Now get paid for your mod creations on Steam

[sweenish]

Mod dependencies was always going to make it a nightmare, especially for Skyrim.

Add to that the fact that someone WILL try to sell copyrighted material (like the My Little Pony Dragons or something similar).

There was no way Valve could take the same approach to premium mods like they did to Early Access and Greenlight. There is obviously a place for premium mods, as their own games make liberal use of them already.

But they're actually going to have to implement a smart, reasonable system; not just open a gate and walk away. As for right now, they did the right thing by calling mea culpa and reverting it.

I've never understood the Valve circlejerk. I respect them as a company (still do, no one is perfect, and Valve is one of the few that can admit to a mistake), but as a consumer, giving blind loyalty to any company is the stupidest thing you can ever do.

 

[Bateluer]

Thank the gods they killed this idiotic cash grab before it got too far. Now, just need to ensure they don't pull this crap again in Fallout 4/Elder Scrolls 6.

 

[Subyman]

Some of the comments on steam forums are great. An armor pack for $10, and people grabbing mods of Nexus and posting them up. I think there was one mod that was posted at $50 or something lol

Oh wow, rampant stealing lol. I didn't even consider that angle. Any time money is introduced then you better have all bases covered.

 

[BFG10K]

This is a great victory for consumers, and I'll bet those ~133,000 signatures played a part.

It was never about rewarding modders. It was an attempt at taking micro-transactions to the next level by leveraging Steam's monopoly.

If any problem arose (e.g. new patch breaks the mod), the entire burden would be on the modder and/or the player. Meanwhile, Steam/Bethesda would continue raking in money without providing any quality assurance or support to paying customers.

If Uplay or Origin had attempted this, they'd be laughed out of the universe. But because it was Valve, it's okay because "they care about modders".

 

[DeathReborn]

A win for the consumers (I signed the petition and got 41 others to sign too) but I can't help but think that this is just a temporary victory. This will e back, even if slightly modified but probably either in FO4, TES 6 or HL3.

I can see things like Total Conversions or mods that fundamentally change a game as being paid. I can understand that provided it's shared amongst all the contributors not just 1 or 2 of them. That does still leave the worry of broken mods but the devs who make mod tools should make updated mod tools with every patch so modders can easily update their mod to a new patch without spending hours/days/weeks recoding things.

Maybe thanks to this people will start to look at Valve for what they really are, a business and not Gaming Jesus.

 

[crownjules]

Maybe thanks to this people will start to look at Valve for what they really are, a business and not Gaming Jesus.

It has. The PCMR subreddit is already talking about changing their banner to not idolize Gabe anymore. Multiple threads about no longer continuing the circlejerk over Gabe/Valve. And so on. Valve's definitely taken a big hit by trying this all for a few thousand dollars a day of extra profit.

 

[PowerYoga]

But because it was Valve, it's okay because "they care about modders".

Yea they canceled the blatant cash grab attempt after a public outroar because everyone said "it's okay, Valve cares about modders".

 

[Super56K]

It's their own fault for putting Gabe/Steam up on a pedestal to begin with. That PCMR stuff is a case of people becoming far worse than what they claim to hate, and it's immense popularity and spillover into gaming in general was pretty sad overall. Hell, I'm still kind of mad about HL2 and Steam, and how the used game market is gone, and how we don't even own the majority of our games anymore. Hopefully this knocks some sense into those people who just hopped on to the PCMR bandwagon because it was the cool thing to do.

 

[CP5670]

I agree, I never understood why Valve has had so many supporters to begin with. They have been doing things like this and seeing how much customers will tolerate for a long time. Nice to see that the backlash had an effect, but I wouldn't be surprised if this came back in another form. Not only do paid mods introduce another revenue stream, but they give developers an incentive to release unfinished games with bugs and missing features.

The problem with mods being broken by patches really goes back to Steam itself and the way it forces you to auto-update games, even singleplayer ones. I don't have this issue with most of my non-Steam/Origin games. As a former mod developer myself, I still release occasional updates for mods I made several years ago to maintain compatibility. I see my mods as a labor of love and do it out of pride for my work more than anything else.

 

[PowerYoga]

It will come back, guaranteed. All they've said is they were sorry they tried it with an established game like skyrim. I fully expect this to reappear in some other less well known games and eventually creep up to the next elder scrolls game, to be available on release. They're playing the long game here.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Maybe, but this was so wildly unpopular I'm actually not sure they'll risk it again on any game where it would really matter. This has done some permanent brand damage which everyone involved with the decision should have seen coming a mile away. How this actually made it from bad idea to bad implementation absolutely baffles me.

 

[Dahak]

I am glad they removed this, I had read about the removal on ars, but the way the wording over at ars seems to indicate that it might be back, maybe at the start of a new game release vs a game that been out and popular for a long time

But either way, I personally believe this is a bad idea...
While I do recognize that some for some modders compensation would be nice, like the ones that make a full mod like Falskarr. But not so much for the modders that make a simple texture change or something basic as that.

Modding should stay the same as it always has been, free to end user, mod creator can ask for donations etc.

 

[DeathReborn]

There's also the possibility of a backlash against mod makers who adopted the paid system and especially those who used ads in their mods to try and force people to pay.

If they want paid mods they should have reliable, fully functional and up to date mod tools which make keeping mods up to date a matter of running it through the tool and releasing the output. If they focused on the gamer they would have a system that could work. It wouldn't be liked but it wouldn't suffer this kind of backlash. There are a few mods with my work in them out there and I personally would block them going behind a paywall. Thankfully the guys I worked with are all thoroughly opposed to what Steam/Bethesda did.

 

[Subyman]

I agree, I never understood why Valve has had so many supporters to begin with. They have been doing things like this and seeing how much customers will tolerate for a long time.

I actually like Valve for these types of experiments. They tried something, which I didn't care for, and there was backlash so they promptly killed the program. A program like this has never been done before. Valve is out in open seas with regard to digital distribution, so there isn't a guide to follow. Everything they do is new and innovative and may fail miserably. Its good that they listen to the community and are quick to kill off things that their community dislikes.

I've actually gained some respect for Valve for their quick response. I don't harbor any animosity to them for this experiment.

 

[Subyman]

There's also the possibility of a backlash against mod makers who adopted the paid system and especially those who used ads in their mods to try and force people to pay.

That is very unfortunate. This is exactly why features should be announced days before they go live so the community can voice their concern before it actually takes place. Modders that jumped on board were part of the experiment that failed, they shouldn't be labeled as anti-gaming or failures themselves.

 

[smackababy]

I think this was pulled because Hasbro sent Valve a C&D letter stating: you are selling a Skyrim mod that allows My Little Pony intellectual property in the game. Stop or get sued.

Do you guys really think Valve listens to the community? Clearly, none of you remember the backlash it faced when Steam was the only way to get HL2.

 

[Aikouka]

What about pushing for greater communication between modders and the developers? I always heard people talk about "essential Skyrim mods", and at least in my opinion, there's a point where a mod becomes so ubiquitous that it should probably be a part of the game. Blizzard tends to do this from time to time, but they're kind of a poor example, because Blizzard usually actively supports the modding community as they realize the benefits.

 

[DeathReborn]

I actually like Valve for these types of experiments. They tried something, which I didn't care for, and there was backlash so they promptly killed the program. A program like this has never been done before. Valve is out in open seas with regard to digital distribution, so there isn't a guide to follow. Everything they do is new and innovative and may fail miserably. Its good that they listen to the community and are quick to kill off things that their community dislikes.

I've actually gained some respect for Valve for their quick response. I don't harbor any animosity to them for this experiment.

I would give them credit for the quick response if they hadn't tried to defend it just before they pulled it. It could be sinister or just a case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing but it shows they wanted it to stay. I am not anti Valve but I do think that they are a virtual monopoly that needs trimming.

That is very unfortunate. This is exactly why features should be announced days before they go live so the community can voice their concern before it actually takes place. Modders that jumped on board were part of the experiment that failed, they shouldn't be labeled as anti-gaming or failures themselves.

It is unfortunate but perhaps the same modders should have thought a little more before jumping in. People who make mods are often more reliable than game devs themselves & sometimes can save entire games. I do applaud them and I do donate to mods (that I use) that have that function as I feel they deserve it. I don't like the abuse some will get but I do feel that some have invited it.

 

[Subyman]

I would give them credit for the quick response if they hadn't tried to defend it just before they pulled it. It could be sinister or just a case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing but it shows they wanted it to stay. I am not anti Valve but I do think that they are a virtual monopoly that needs trimming.

To be fair, Gabe discussed the community's issues on reddit only a day before he canned the program. He said he wanted to hear their concerns and make sure they weren't simply uninformed, but that they had real and thoughtful reasons. Obviously the discussion had an impact on Gabe. That coupled with the whirlwind of fraud, stealing, and other nefarious acts sealed the fate of the program.

In the business world, 4 days from launch to shutdown is insanely fast. Look at MS's metro screen

It is unfortunate but perhaps the same modders should have thought a little more before jumping in. People who make mods are often more reliable than game devs themselves & sometimes can save entire games. I do applaud them and I do donate to mods (that I use) that have that function as I feel they deserve it. I don't like the abuse some will get but I do feel that some have invited it.

It is a hard call for them. As with any new business venture, the first ones there make the most money and quickly establish themselves with high volume due to lower selection. I personally won't hold anything against them going forward and certainly wouldn't agree with people being rude to them.

 

[sandorski]

I would give them credit for the quick response if they hadn't tried to defend it just before they pulled it. It could be sinister or just a case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing but it shows they wanted it to stay. I am not anti Valve but I do think that they are a virtual monopoly that needs trimming.



It is unfortunate but perhaps the same modders should have thought a little more before jumping in. People who make mods are often more reliable than game devs themselves & sometimes can save entire games. I do applaud them and I do donate to mods (that I use) that have that function as I feel they deserve it. I don't like the abuse some will get but I do feel that some have invited it.

Why wouldn't they defend it?

What wrong did Valve/Bethesda commit here? I mean really. People reacted out of fear and some sense of entitlement to the idea without even knowing what the result of it was going to be. Then some of those people purposely started posting Mods with the sole purpose of making the experiment look bad.

I'm sorry, but I predict this kind of thing is going to happen and when it does we will see that it opens up all kinds of opportunity for great things in Gaming.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Why wouldn't they defend it?

What wrong did Valve/Bethesda commit here? I mean really. People reacted out of fear and some sense of entitlement to the idea without even knowing what the result of it was going to be. Then some of those people purposely started posting Mods with the sole purpose of making the experiment look bad.

I'm sorry, but I predict this kind of thing is going to happen and when it does we will see that it opens up all kinds of opportunity for great things in Gaming.

No, there were no safeguards and regulations in place for the purchaser. Anyone could post up a mod without verifying if they were the original author or not and there was no limit on pricing. You don't see a problem with a free for all? You think all the mods posted up were to make it look bad? No and if it does happen prepare to have the mod community fall apart because there will be a big problem when a mod is broken after a game update or another mod update and when the author bails since he made his money you have a bunch of pissed off people.

 

[tidy]

.

 

[sandorski]

No, there were no safeguards and regulations in place for the purchaser. Anyone could post up a mod without verifying if they were the original author or not and there was no limit on pricing. You don't see a problem with a free for all? You think all the mods posted up were to make it look bad? No and if it does happen prepare to have the mod community fall apart because there will be a big problem when a mod is broken after a game update or another mod update and when the author bails since he made his money you have a bunch of pissed off people.

Issues will be addressed.

 

[mmntech]

No, there were no safeguards and regulations in place for the purchaser. Anyone could post up a mod without verifying if they were the original author or not and there was no limit on pricing. You don't see a problem with a free for all? You think all the mods posted up were to make it look bad? No and if it does happen prepare to have the mod community fall apart because there will be a big problem when a mod is broken after a game update or another mod update and when the author bails since he made his money you have a bunch of pissed off people.

It's the exact same problem they had with Early Access. Too many unscrupulous devs out there looking to make a quick buck, and Valve did nothing to ensure that customers were protected.

For payware mods to work in the future, this is what they need to do:
1) Standardized pricing
2) Clear and concise rules and guidelines for payware mods
3) A vetting process to ensure payware mods meet those rules and guidelines
4) A system for flagging inappropriate or stolen content
5) A streamlined refunding process

All very basic stuff which online app stores have been doing for years now.

 

[zinfamous]

What if you purchased the mod much longer than 24 hours ago, and while it may have worked immediately after you purchased it, the devs of the original game push an update that break your paid-mod? Will you get a refund then? What if the modder decides to stop supporting his paid mods, or - in a more extreme scenario - dies/disappears? Who will fix it then?

Mods are a finicky thing, once people start paying for stuff they are going to feel entitled to a working version. Also help and support.

Lots of problems with this. It would make more sense to just have a donate button so people can give money (if they want) to modders they really like. A la Nexus.

yup and

Terrible idea, the can of worms this opens up is unreal especially with Valve half-assing every feature they bring out of alpha.

I can understand making a donation possible to the creator but not straight up paying for a mod.

yuppers