So, Bethesda announced that there's going to be this Steam Workshop thing to make searching, rating, and installing mods really easy and integrated with Steam.

Some people on these boards have implied that Bethesda or modders will be able to sell their mods for money using the Steam Workshop.

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

I have mixed feelings about the idea. I love trying out mods for free. However, I also appreciate the modding community and I guess I'd be happy for them if they made money from their efforts.

However, one of the reasons I bought Skyrim at full price was because I assumed that free mods would really make it worth the money and make the game even better and allow me to enjoy it longer. If I thought I'd have to pay for mods, I might have waited till the game itself was cheaper.

HOWEVER, if modders could make money on their mods, they might work even harder and make even better stuff. HOWEVER, modders already do such amazing things for free! HOWEVER, how could anyone figure out what a mod is worth? Are bug fixes $0.99? Are texture mods $2? What about cheats? Overhauls? HOWEVER, what if you just want to try out a mod? Will you still have to pay for it?

Ugh, I can see a few pros to possibly paying for mods, but mostly, it seems like opening up an big can of wyrms.

You can still get mods off of Nexus and I haven't heard about paying for mods.

If they tried charging, people will just use nexus exclusively, instead of mostly.

If I have to pay for mods, then this series is officially dead.

THIS! everyone knows so they won't bother charging.

I have seen nothing indicating that you'll have to buy the mods.

Why? As indicated in the opening post - and a really good point - it may improve the quality and speed of said mods. If it means that some bloke is willing to work with a team to make the equivalent of an expansion - something the likes of which you would never see in mods now - it might help.

Don't like it? Then use the Nexus like people have been using for the past decade.

http://skyrimnexus.com/

Beth nor Steam could put a price on the amount of content in every mod so such will not happen.

Can't be force to use the workshop its just a easier simpler way.

So no those "some" people are wrong, as said mods can be posted on the workshop for an somewhat easier alternative then Nexus.

I think it is actually illegal for a person other than bethesda to sell mods for their game

Development toolkits are free on steam.

You download them through steam. That is to say, the creation kit will be released through steam. That is all.

Mod will be downloaded from community websites and installed the same way as with every single beth game.

/thread

So no one thinks that, if they did it, some enterprising modders might try to make really good mods that you can only get on Steam Workshop for a price, and they won't upload em to sites like TES nexus?

If I need to pay to use mods, then I will not buy them. I also would not buy the next Elder Scrolls game, or any official DLC for Skyrim, or any other Bethesda game. I'm fine with people having a "donate to me" button, but if I need to pay to use mods, then they will essentially not exist to me. The potential cost of paying for all those mods would be better spent buying other things, like other games that don't milk my wallet.

It's one thing for Bethesda to charge for official DLC, which I'll probably get at some point (though I wouldn't complain if they decided to give it away for free). But I'd rather save up for other things, than pay for what should be free.

how in gods name did they even go with steam . that program is notorius for not allowing patchs or fixes , and wont let you add things to the games you do have like maps or added content , its also has a very poor support team to steam took months to get them to fix a simple problem with a game so people could even play it

So, you're saying you wouldn't pay for, say, OOO or The Lost Spires if they cost $2-3, but you would pay for Bethesda DLC, which also costs around $2-3 (I think) and does substantially less? Like the Thieves Den or the Orrey?

Hey, if they do this, and the quality is up there - they may certainly see a good profit from them, too. And if you had people who saw a part of their income come from modding as opposed to the free effort they put in - obviously you would begin to see better and better work, too - and on a much different timetable than someone who does those things for no income. Sure, there are those who would put out lower quality mods, but with proper reviews or something in motion - and of course word of mouth - the proper ones would be recognized. That's not to say that I think a mod that changes something minor should cost something, like allowing you to move the compass location.

yeah, it may improve them. But how could you know? The good thing about user-made mods is that you can try them out. Sometimes they are wonderful, sometimes they don't work the way you wanted them to.

How would you know that what you are getting was worth the money?

With bethesda-released DLC, at least you had confidence that there was at least some level of quality and behind it. Well, I'm not so sure about that anymore, not with the constant dumbing down of TES series in order to appeal to a wider audience simply to make more money.



Modders have been making really really good mods for a long time now, and they've been doing it for free. It's never been about money. It's always been about sharing their creations so that everyone else can enjoy them.

If they make us pay for user-made mods, I'm boycotting them. And every single bethesda game ever released, or future releases. And I know a lot of people will do the same.

Games have changed a lot. What used to be (mostly)artwork, has now become (mostly)a product, a way to make more money. It's sickening.




Besides, The Nexus is where all of the good mods are at anyway. I'm not even going to use Steam Workshop for mods. No point.

You also don't "know" what you're getting into when you buy Bethesda DLC - the only way you know is to read reviews of said DLC and/or pay for it. Listening to the experience of other users, etc. And we all know that (some) user made mods are leaps and bounds beyond some of the DLC Bethesda put out for Oblivion.

If this were to happen, I bet you would also see said "enterprising modders" mods uploaded on torrent sites where you can get them for free. I would have no qualms about torrenting them.

Mods are the only thing we have left that are free. You pay 60 dollars for a broken game, and then you have to pay 99 cents for each mod that you want? What if I want 20+ mods? And what if some of the mods are 2 or 3 dollars? Would I end up paying 100 dollars to play a game that is fun for me? 100 dollars for a freakin game?! That's blasphemy.

Ah well - for what it's worth, I hope a lot of these modders - who have been putting their effort in for free - are given a means to use the Steam Workshop to sell their products - and that there is a means for prospective buyers to show off their work so no one is buying it blind. Yes, they have been giving their work out for free - but again, if the same people can begin to make more of a dedicated return on their time, you'll likely see a lot of improvement on the mod front. Don't like it? Fine - I'm sure the Nexus will stay the same - just maybe not have all the mods available.

Here's my perspective:

1. I have been creating Oblivion mods for 4+ years now, for free.
2. I've seen countless hours working on my Guard Overhaul, for free.
3. I've dealt with user issues, user complaints, etc, etc, for free.
4. If there is the possibility of making even some pocket change for all the work that I've done, why not?

Not all mods need to cost money - many would still be free. If some modders want to make a select number of high-quality mods cost money, I don't see why they shouldn't at least try it out.

Do you want my honest opinion?

I think Bethesda's DLCs were crap. They should have been released for free. They weren't worth the money. Ok, I take it back, they weren't "crap". But they definitely weren't satisfying. They should have been released with the game from day one, definitely. I think they could have had a lot more depth. When I tried them out, I just kept thinking to myself "....this is it? really?"

I think the reason they cost money though, is because of Microsoft not allowing DLC's on xbox live to be free. It wasn't bethesdas fault.

i could see this turning into a paysites thing like they did with the sims games -.-

thing is the modders won't have any profit Steam or Beth most likely Beth with steam having a small share will.

Modders cannot sell their content on an open market especially one such as Steam.

Why not? Look at TF2. Valve pays modders X percent for every item sold that the modder created. It's a simple system and it works, at least for TF2.

Hell, look at something like Second Life. There are people on SL that make over a million dollars a year (http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2009/03/million.html) just making stuff to sell on SL.