About Paid Modding

[swoosh so]

I was wondering what the modding communities thoughts are on the advent of Paid modding, steam have done this already for skyrim I see with 75% of the monetary gain going to steam and 25% to the modders themselves, theres an interesting youtube video about this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGKOiQGeO-k .

So what are your thoughts on this? Would especially like to hear from the experienced mod teams who's mods are currently very popular, would monetising the mods you create help you to create better content or do you prefer the current system? I guess depending on uptake and downloads there is a chance here to make a career doing what you love but ofc there may also be negative implications.

[morfeasnikos]

I was wondering what the modding communities thoughts are on the advent of Paid modding, steam have done this already for skyrim I see with 75% of the monetary gain going to steam and 25% to the modders themselves, theres an interesting youtube video about this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGKOiQGeO-k .

So what are your thoughts on this? Would especially like to hear from the experienced mod teams who's mods are currently very popular, would monetising the mods you create help you to create better content or do you prefer the current system? I guess depending on uptake and downloads there is a chance here to make a career doing what you love but ofc there may also be negative implications.

I am modding for 10 years at Total war series, and not only!
And i agree with this "at least i can pay my rent ...", but I have to know that the forum, that i am a part of, agrees!
But here is not the place to talk about this ! With some admins is better
Thank you!

[Phalangitis]

I personaly have been spending countless hours (like most other modders i guess) in modding and researching but i still feel that Modding scene must remain free from the money virus that corrupts all it touches..
But imagine another practical thing..If now that all is free people stole eachother work why not do that and get payed at the same time?And what we would do to prevent it? live a life in a court room with law cases one after another for 200 dollar profits ??

[morfeasnikos]

Yes credits tunnel is huge phalgitis!
For me it is to complex the hole thing not only the credits!

[LestaT]

I was wondering what the modding communities thoughts are on the advent of Paid modding, steam have done this already for skyrim I see with 75% of the monetary gain going to steam and 25% to the modders themselves, theres an interesting youtube video about this here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGKOiQGeO-k .

I don't think Steam will take all 75% from the mod sale. I'm pretty sure portion of the 75% goes to the game developer themselves. They actually does not do nothing but they provide the platform for the sale o happen (by Steam workshop). Otherwise I agree with the rest.I guess it's easier to mention 25% for modders and 75% for Valve rather than 25% for modders and x% for game developer and y% for Valve since maybe Steam have different deals between different game developers. Most probably, out of the 75% Valve only take 30% while 70% goes to Bethesda (for example).

[GeneralWolfe]

I think monetary gain will encourage modders who put a lot of hard work and time into their mods. Let's say a modder works 10 hours a week on a mod, then why shouldn't he be paid for it? And if a mod is worth playing, I would not mind paying a reasonable price to play it.

[wangrin]

Peoples should think twice about introducing money in modding.

First, modding is sometime, if not often, a collaborative work, especially for big mods.
Introducing money coul add "tensions" in a team. How to redistribute gains ?

Moreover, an other practice is about exchanging materials (models, textures, scripts, ideas, etc.) between modders.
What to do then if one modders want his mod being paying, when the other is free ?

Modding is also about helping, giving advices, creating tutorials.
What about helping someone who could become a competitor ?

And what about modding tools ?
They are essentials to create mods, andAssembly Kits didn't provide all tools needed.
Will modding tools also be considered as mods and will we have to paid for ?

Finally, you will also have to deal with "intellectual properties" and "copyrights" issues.
As long as mods are free, they cannot be considered as business.
But when they become paying, situation change.
Will you be able to afford 3ds max, photoshop, mudbox, etc. ?
Read Autodoesk Education condition. Autodesk products can be use for free if you are stients AND for non-profit activities.
Moreover, remember that Assembly Kit provide converters only for 3ds max, Motion Builder and Maya. None for free software like Blender.

And what about a modder releasing a mod tool under GPL licence or allowing to use it only for non profit activities ?


Finally, a 75% for Steam, 25% for modders is a pure joke, a new form of slaving, the worst of all, "slaving by consent".
And what about CA/Sega, they didn't earn anything whereas they product the game that is a base for mods ?
What about EULA ?


I fear that paying mod will have a very negative impact on modding community, reducing collaboration between modders.
You will maybe see more professional mods, but it will depend of how much money modders can gain.


I must said it is not the first time I hear about such idea, in the forum as well as in other places and more professional interlocutors.
But now, because Steam decision to allow modders to charge for mods, I think it is urgent to openly debate about this.
The question is far more complex than being pro/cons paying mod.
Peoples should think twice about consequences and not only look at benefits.

[Tyso3]

I would never do it nor have any respect for anyone who charges for a Modification.

Donations are fine, thats cool as thats a gift to show the author you appreicate the quality . But charging for something? No. Never.

[argonaught]

Modding is a hobby, not a job. You want to make money then get a job. Allowing people to charge for mods is ludicrous regardless of how much time is spent in making them. When does one draw the line and say enough is enough? You think Bethesda and Valve haven't made their money hand over fist from their games already? So what, now since people don't want to pay were going to have mod piracy as well? It gets better! Now modders can do what the big companies do and create an add-on, then leave some bits out, claim they were developed at the same time as the main mod and sell it as ModLC! Brilliant!

If a modder wants money for their efforts they are in the wrong business. If they open up a donations page for people to donate if they like their stuff, that's cool. But flat out charging people for a single sword, or for a simple house? $3 Horse Armour DLC for Oblivion comes to mind....

Sorry if I sound hostile to you gents, I'm not. It's just that I'm tired of greed ruling over all common sense.

As John Green said...
"Don’t make stuff because you want to make money, it will never make you enough money.
Don’t make stuff because you want to get famous because you will never feel famous enough.
Make gifts for people and work hard on making those gifts in the hope that those people will notice and like the gifts.
Maybe they will notice how hard you worked and maybe they won’t, and
if they don’t notice, I know it’s frustrating, but ultimately, that doesn’t change anything
because your responsibility is not to the people you’re making the gift for but to the gift itself.”

[wangrin]

Please, note that the main thread about this topic has been moved here : TW General Discussion, Resources and Multiplayer > General TW Discussion and Resources > Paying for mods?

This thread, being in the Total War: Attila Mod Workshop subforum should be better use to collect modders feeling or to be closed or merged with the main discussion.

[lolIsuck]

Thread closed. Please use the thread linked in the above post for discussion.