To CA, mods make no money (modding summit)

[baptistus]

I know a lot of you are waiting for the modding summit report of Wangrin.
Be ready for the very first line, because CA decide to begin the summit by this: ( I try to translate correctly, sorry I am not very good in english)

"for CA, there is not absolute proof than mods help to sale more games
and they use the steam statistics to demonstrate that

in french :
"Pour CA, il n’y a pas de preuve absolue que les mods contribuent à augmenter les ventes.
En cela, CA s’appuie sur les statistiques fournies par Steam."

I really want to watch the video, to really see how they said that. But to begin a modding summit by saying "you don't make money men ! do you see how kind we are to let you make mods with our game!", WOW, this is what I called a dawn good communication !
Is there no developpers who said that mods help to gain sale, to maintain community which will buy addons (dlc now), buy the next games, create a "buzz" when a big mod is realeased ? I think bohemia interactive recently said that DayZ help to sale more Arma 2 years after launch date.
Well I let you debate to it, but it is a very very strange communication. Very strange



PS/ please don't close too fast this topic, because I am quite sure when the report of wangrin will be ready, they will be a lot of comments about this point in particular. So to don't pollute his report (because there is a lot of other points to debate in the report) I think we should have a topic to really discuss about this point which are ..... strange.

[GRANTO]

I know a lot of you are waiting for the modding summit report of Wangrin.
Be ready for the very first line, because CA decide to begin the summit by this: ( I try to translate correctly, sorry I am not very good in english)





I really want to watch the video, to really see how they said that. But to begin a modding summit by saying "you don't make money men ! do you see how kind we are to let you make mods with our game!", WOW, this is what I called a dawn good communication !
Is there no developpers who said that mods help to gain sale, to maintain community which will buy addons (dlc now), buy the next games, create a "buzz" when a big mod is realeased ? I think bohemia interactive recently said that DayZ help to sale more Arma 2 years after launch date.
Well I let you debate to it, but it is a very very strange communication. Very strange



PS/ please don't close too fast this topic, because I am quite sure when the report of wangrin will be ready, they will be a lot of comments about this point in particular. So to don't pollute his report (because there is a lot of other points to debate in the report) I think we should have a topic to really discuss about this point which are ..... strange.

if it were not for mods the whole total war thing would be an average lame duck......i would actualy turn it around and say.... 'look CA if you dont give us the tools than rome 2 will soon be dead as a dodo'....the cheek of them {if they did say that}....modding is the life of total war....modders have made the game 1000 better than CA could ever do ...from shogun 1 to rome 2

[Keyser_Soze]

That's odd. I very clearly remember buying M2TW specifically to play Third Age: Total War...

[stevehoos]

I bought Medieval 2 because of Stainless Steel, I never played vanilla, not a single minute. I bought Mount and Blade Warband because of 1257 AD mod, and Byrtenwalda, never played a minute of vanilla. I purchased ARMA 3 for mods, But that's irrelevant I suppose. I won't be buying another CA product for a long time.

It's an arrogant and unflattering thing for CA to say, good riddance, don't let your profit margins or your pis poor game hit you on your way out.

[baptistus]

I buy all the operation flashpoint/arma because of the mods. (but I don't bought the operation flashpoint from codemaster). I know that even if I don't like the map (arma 1 and 3) or the units (arma 3) there will be mods.
I buy all the mount and blade becaue of the mods.
And I remerber the old time too, when A LOT of people bought half life and quake 3 only to play mods (urban terrors, day of defeat ect...).
Recently, a lot of player bought arma 2 only for dayz.
And I am quite sure fans of lord of the ring bought medieval 2 and kingdoms years after the released only to play Third age total war and other mods.

[Totalheadache]

I wouldnt have bought Rome2 if it wasnt for my faith in the modders.

This really smacks of petty jealously or denial. Or simply an excuse because they still view mods as detrimental to sales. "oh look obviously steam figures are like the gospel truth so you should believe it as well" (i tell u what i'll flush steam figures down the loo).

Comments like this actually paint a different picture to the "we love working with modders etc"

[Destin Faroda]

That statement explains a lot.
I would have never spent a single penny to CA if it were not for the great realism mods like Empire Realism and Stainless Steel with RCM.
Vanilla TW games are ridiculous, unrealistic, unhistorical and arcadish.

[Totalheadache]

That statement explains a lot.
I would have never spent a single penny to CA if it were not for the great realism mods like Empire Realism and Stainless Steel with RCM.
Vanilla TW games are ridiculous, unrealistic, unhistorical and arcadish.

Amen mein herr!

[HunterWolf]

Well I let you debate to it, but it is a very very strange communication. Very strange

it would be different if:
1. In the world there would not be capitalism.
2. Owner of CA would be mad philanthropists that can waste one hundred million dollars to a homeless shelter cockroaches.
3. If we did not live on Earth platene where money rules, lust and power. And we would be living in the universe JRR Tolkien where the world is ruled by a fairy tale and magic.

[Totalheadache]

it would be different if:
1. In the world there would not be capitalism.
2. Owner of CA would be mad philanthropists that can waste one hundred million dollars to a homeless shelter cockroaches.
3. If we did not live on Earth platene where money rules, lust and power. And we would be living in the universe JRR Tolkien where the world is ruled by a fairy tale and magic.

? can u xplain ?

maybe this is lost in translation but I cant see any point to this post..

[DaciaJC]

That's odd. I very clearly remember buying M2TW specifically to play Third Age: Total War...

Yep. I bought Medieval II and its Kingdoms expansion in anticipation of Europa Barbarorum II.

Seems like an odd way to begin the summit, though. Where you there, baptistus? If not, what's your source for CA saying this?

[stevehoos]

it would be different if:
1. In the world there would not be capitalism.
2. Owner of CA would be mad philanthropists that can waste one hundred million dollars to a homeless shelter cockroaches.
3. If we did not live on Earth platene where money rules, lust and power. And we would be living in the universe JRR Tolkien where the world is ruled by a fairy tale and magic.

Capitalism does not reserve the right for a company to be condescending and ignoble, sorry. Baseless post.

[Totalheadache]

Capitalism does not reserve the right for a company to be condescending and ignoble, sorry.

i thought that's what he meant.

so some companies behave unethically to make money that makes it ok....no it doesnt...

[m_1512]

Translation from another source.

In CA, there is no absolute proof that the mods help increase sales.
In this CA is based on the statistics provided by Steam.

Focusing on the part of statistics provided by steam, did CA provide for the fact that not every player downloads the mods from the steam workshop? Interestingly, brings up another question.

Was the Rome 2 workshop launched to monitor and study mods and player behavior?

[MrOuija]

Is this the next contrived thing everybody is supposed to rage about, really? It's like the attendees to the mod summit didn't take the flame bait in their threads so we'll do it ourselves. Why not just wait for the report instead of trying to translate bits and pieces that you yourself admitted to not knowing the context it was said in?

[Thorn777]

I think they fully realize mods do cause more sales of the original game, but I think they think its being offset by not making as much money on the other end in form of lazy unit-pack DLC's and other nonsense they hoped people pay for without them really doing any effort at all.

In the long run though CA, mods make you more. Its why I kept with the TW series at all.

[HunterWolf]

Actually that was sarcasm. But seriously what the creation of global mods for Rome 2 is not the same as for MTW2, here we need ten times more skill in creating models and working with the script, it takes years of work, unfortunately hardly will gather when the team is really qualified for modders creating a global mod for Rome 2.
CA understands this issue and limited tools for entertainment inexperienced users, now in Workshop around 1000 mods, of which less "big" can be called 20-30 (maybe less)therefore CA will release a few more and tweakers will be happy that users entertain them, and is supported interest in the game.

[stevehoos]

Actually that was sarcasm. But seriously what the creation of global mods for Rome 2 is not the same as for MTW2, here we need ten times more skill in creating models and working with the script, it takes years of work, unfortunately hardly will gather when the team is really qualified for modders creating a global mod for Rome 2.
CA understands this issue and limited tools for entertainment inexperienced users, now in Workshop around 1000 mods, of which less "big" can be called 20-30 (maybe less)therefore CA will release a few more and tweakers will be happy that users entertain them, and is supported interest in the game.

My bad, I should turn my sarcasm detector on, it's the time change here.

[Totalheadache]

Is this the next contrived thing everybody is supposed to rage about, really? It's like the attendees to the mod summit didn't take the flame bait in their threads so we'll do it ourselves. Why not just wait for the report instead of trying to translate bits and pieces that you yourself admitted to not knowing the context it was said in?

it is the report

[Swamidude]

Well if they look at steam statistics now that's obvious... How can you see this??

But you should look after 1 or 2 years how many players are still playing rome II and how many players are still playing vanilla? Guess the answer is pretty obvious... I'm still playing vanilla, with a few small mods, but no overhaul mods, but as soon as patching is done and there are some really nice finished mods I'll probably use them. I just don't like using a mod that's still being worked on, I like them finished, at least most if it, that's why I always wait a bit longer and that's way I'll never pre-order again from CA, because having an unfinished game is even worse then an unfinished mod :@