Quote Originally Posted by rickinator9 View Post
Paradox Interactive patches it's games at least twice per month and still, there is a thriving modding community there. I do think we will see modding tools. That Shogun 2 level editor shows they are willing to help the modders out.
Patching and adding content aren't really the same thing.

And Paradox doesn't really patches its games twice a month. Maybe once a month for the first 6 months or so and then much, much rarer.

We'll see just how well Paradox new DLC policy will work with modding. I'm hoping for the best but I'm not really convinced.

Quote Originally Posted by Nightbringer View Post
I think Skyrim stands out as an excellent example of a game that is both very mod-able, and commercially successful. With fallout and oblivion the DLC still sold well, despite the high levels of modding, and I would hazard a guess the same will be true for Skyrim. No, they don't release skin pack and expect them to sell, but the Total War franchise has had large scale dlc/expansions, such as Fall of the Samurai, Barbarian Invasion, Kingdoms, etc...

As such, I think it would be quite financially feasible for them to make a highly modifiable game. However, I am less sure that most companies realize this, and the last few Total War games have made me doubt that Sega does. Sega games in general seem to be very opposed to the concept, and Sega's acquisition of CA marked the change in the Total War series.

Basically, I doubt Sega will let CA make the game very modifiable, even if CA wanted to do so.
Expansion packs are quite different - they are large, they add much content to the game at once and they are are, in 99% of the cases, there's one or two for any game.

Modders can adjust and actually create content before anything else comes, while when they sold piecemeal it's another situation totally. Kind of like CIV V - why would they want their game moddable so that someone can make a Babylonian civilization (like they could in CIV IV) when they can make it and sell for 0.99?

There are some semi-successful example, yes, but overall the situation is poor and is deteriorating quickly. When even a developer like Paradox, whose arguably main selling point is the ability to easy mod their games without practically any tools or knowledge is going to go the DLC route, it speaks volumes. Supposedly, they have found a fantastic way to have both DLC and modding. I'm not very convinced but we'll see in a year or two.

Here's to hope but CA's prior record and industry trends don't give much hope