I am a modder. I helped contribute to Mass Effect mods (MEHEM, CEM, and Harby Module, specifically). Now, I have not contributed to Skyrim mods, but I feel that I have enough experience on modding itself that I can at least have a justified opinion on the subject of Valve charging for mods. Basically, it is a terrible idea.
"Why is that? Don't good modders deserve support?" some may ask. Absolutely. Black Mesa, for instance, is a good example of a mod that might deserve monetary compensation. Counter Strike started as a mod too. As a modder and a human, I like money. But this isn't the way to go about it.
This situation Valve started is terrible, because it has resulted in, or will result in, the following:
First, Valve, you have now made "modder" a dirty word here on the steam forums almost overnight. Thanks a bunch. You have now divided PC consumers and modders, when we used to be a pretty tight bunch.
Second, I now see mods going up that are little tiny swords and whatnot going up for sale. Bundles already that cost more than the game itself. In other words, I am concerned about a complete influx of mods that are completely useless and tiny and unsupported and updated, just because of money-grabbers who want a piece of the pie.
Third, this leads to microtransaction hell. Hell for consumers, and a deluge of stuff to compete against for us modders. This isn't healthy competition. It is gonna be cutthroat. Thanks again for taking the fun out of it.
Fourth, there will be inevitable stealing of other's people's content and then selling it as their own. Some may claim that because they modified another mod's content, they now have created their own mod and are free to sell. I disagree. They are making money at the expense of others.
Fifth, you have a "return policy," if it is even worth of the name, that is full of holes. First, 24hrs isn't much time to test if a mod will glitch out or not. Ever heard of a standard 14 or 30 day return policy? Let's say a consumer buys a mod, then one week later the modder releases an update. This update has a bug, and the game crashes or glitches out. Then let's say, for whatever reason (even a good one. Like real life got in the way) the modder doesn't release an update to fix the bug. Before today, big deal. You could either uninstall the mod or revert to a previous version. Given it was free, most people wouldn't complain too much. But NOW, a consumer will likely be stuck with a useless piece of software they paid good money for. Software that now is worth zilch. They will be, understandably, really upset, with no way to get their money back.
Lastly, you, Valve, are likely hurting good, legal sites like Nexus Mods as some greedy people take their mods, or the "premium versions" off the site in favor of posting to the Steam Workshop. These sites rely on advertising revenue to run, and you will very likely hurt this revenue. Why do that? You used to have a reputiation of siding with the underdog. It is not like you are in competition with people like Nexus. It is not like they are EA, taking a corner of the market. And it isn't even like you really need the money Valve. This just feels to me like a cash cow. A move EA would be proud of, sadly.
As a modder, I disapprove of this move Steam. This may have far reaching consequences, for everyone involved.
As for the rest of you, if you are still reading (thanks by the way) please support the effort against this initiative by Valve. Sign the petition here
https://www.change.org/p/valve-remov...steam-workshop
More importantly, speak with your wallets. The best way to change this policy is to not spend One. Single. Cent. on mods. No matter what.
Keep mods free!
Ad Astra per Aspera
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