Any thoughts on paid mods?

[GoguRomania]

Just read a news (which is the singular for news actually?) which stated that paid mods have been introduced for Skyrim and that other games might get the same facility pretty soon.

EU4 is pretty mod-friendly and some of the mods are quite awesome. Will EU4 implement this? Should it? It is only normal for hard work to be repaid somehow but I have this strage feeling of... unnaturalness, to say so. MODs are by definition free. Community work for community. How would paid mods change the EU4 workshop?

I think we would have more awesome mods but probably fewer users. Th prices are pretty small but still...
Any thoughts on this?

 

[Brucesim2003]

I think demanding payment for a mod is against TOS.

 

[Rooz]

8) You may not charge to buy the mod or charge fees of any kind.

Source: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...or-user-made-mods-edits.779853/&sdpDevPosts=1

(For some reason I can't add it as a multiquote, probably because the thread is locked)

 

[TheDenzian]

I wouldn't want to pay for any mod, even if it were allowed by the ToS.

 

[neondt]

The way it's been implemented for Skyrim is terrible and will lead to all sorts of problems. I don't think it should be implemented in this form by any other game. What would be nice however would be if Paradox re-thought their policy of disallowing solicitations of donations, and/or if Steam switched to a purely voluntary payment system.

 

[Mardal]

I dont wanna pay up front for mods.

But if Steam implemented some sort of subscription service, kinda like the one Youtube is considering, where you pay a monthly fee or perhaps a small share of the money from your purchases goes to the mod creators of the mods you use the most, I could get into that. Of course it could be difficult to decide how much each modder should get. Should the creators of a big overhaul mod get the same as the creators of some minor UI tweak mod?

 

[hjarg]

First reaction would be "no". Or rather, lots of swearwords and no.

Then, come to think of it- we have youtubers and such who are also monetizing Paradox (and all other) games and such.
So, if the people want to do something they love and get paid for it, what's the problem. You don't have to pay for this mod, you know

 

[solidprice]

My answer.

 

[Straigthtsilver]

I dont wanna pay up front for mods.

But if Steam implemented some sort of subscription service, kinda like the one Youtube is considering, where you pay a monthly fee or perhaps a small share of the money from your purchases goes to the mod creators of the mods you use the most, I could get into that. Of course it could be difficult to decide how much each modder should get. Should the creators of a big overhaul mod get the same as the creators of some minor UI tweak mod?

My thoughts exactly. I've done modding in the past and I'd be loathe to force people to pay for the content I made for fun, let alone pay other people for theirs!

That being said, I do like the idea of Steam (and Paradox for that matter) allowing modders to receive donations or perhaps a sort of Patreon-style subscription system. Money is a hell of an incentive to do good work and maintain a consistent schedule, and on the users' part it's a nice way to show appreciation and promote further development.

 

[MaReDioa]

My answer.

Same for me.

 

[Broken Lantern]

What would be nice however would be if Paradox re-thought their policy of disallowing solicitations of donations, and/or if Steam switched to a purely voluntary payment system.

I like this idea, it would allow popular mod makers to earn more than just gratitude for their work, without turning mod making into a money making scheme, rather than a passion.

 

[Illianor123]

Voluntary donations is something I would support, but otherwise no.

 

[in heaven]

I think paid mods would not be a good idea, but allowing donations would be nice for modders, specially ones who create huge mods and invest alot of time into them.

 

[Clownie]

Donations or pay-what-you-want are good systems.

Paid mods are not.

 

[edwardianed]

Just read a news (which is the singular for news actually?)

There isn't a singular for news, it's a mass noun. One would either say "I just read news which stated..." or "I just read a news story which stated...".

 

[maitrecarotte]

Only if it was pay-what-you-value-it-at. Skyrim mod prices are a joke.

 

[EldarPanic]

Donations are good but paying for a mod? Nah. If that would be the case with PDX people couldnt afford the dlcs and the mods and it would affect either PDX or the modders.

 

[Haldan]

First DlC, then even more pay to play content? Nah, this is sick. Not to mention the fact that Steam gets a whooping 75%. Even if they should have this system the tables should be flipped around and steam only gets 25% from the Modders own work.

 

[maitrecarotte]

First DlC, then even more pay to play content? Nah, this is sick. Not to mention the fact that Steam gets a whooping 75%. Even if they should have this system the tables should be flipped around and steam only gets 25% from the Modders own work.

Is there a source on this? I have only seen a speculation on Nexus about this figure.

 

[Zan Thrax]

I'd love some way where modders can earn money, while we still get our cut.

Johan, what percentage of such sales would you want to see Paradox get from such a system?

Would it vary by the nature of the mod?

Is it reasonable that Paradox deserves a cut of such a sale in the first place?

If the answer to the third question is "yes", I think that the second answer would also have to be "yes". There are mods that exist purely to fix things with the base game. If I had to pay a modder for my Battle Sound Dampener and Better Font mods, I'd be unhappy that Paradox gets a cut of that (just as Bethesda getting a cut of any of the various bug fix mods pisses me off); whereas if I had to pay a modder for MEIOU, or some other mod that is simply enhancing or expanding what the game already offers, I'd be fine with Paradox getting a cut.

But I'm still against it in general, because many, many mods are the work of multiple people, often using and building on the work of other people, all of whom did that work without the expectation that someone down the line was going to start selling it. I don't use many mods for my games, so I don't have great examples, but I know that the font size & various interface panel size mods all used and modified versions of each others work. If I buy a mod that combines larger diplomacy view, better font mod, and some version of thicker borders and water - who would get paid? As far as I can see, it would just be the guy who posted the compilation, Steam, and Paradox - the three entities that had the least to do with with the creation of the files in that mod. And at that point, a lot of modders are going to go away, because most people aren't going to be okay with their work getting monetized by some other random person, even if they were fine with it being included in other people's work previously.