Video Game News and Miscellany
- Thread starter figmentPez
- Start date
I'm going to wait a week before putting my GabeN shrine back up... but it will go back up.
Well, good, the PCMR crowd is no doubt relieved that Lord Gaben is no longer excommunicated.
I wonder how this is going to change the Mod community though... a lot of mod makers have just been told by the people they provide content for that they don't deserve compensation for that content, at least not in the same way the people who made the actual game do. How many are going to stick to pay to play, gating mods behind donation paywalls? How many are just going to quit now that they know their fans won't support them?
By the same measure, how many fans are going to withhold donations now that they know the people making mods knew about this months in advance, created pay versions of their modsand free ones with annoying pop-ups, did all of this in secret, hoping to get money for it? This is almost worse the fans being unwilling to pay because it's collusion between the mod community, the biggest PC market place, and one of the biggest publishers.
At any rate, this might work in the future, if it's tested on a brand new game and not one with an established community. But this was totally a boneheaded move on the part of Valve, who should of fucking knew better.
By the same measure, how many fans are going to withhold donations now that they know the people making mods knew about this months in advance, created pay versions of their modsand free ones with annoying pop-ups, did all of this in secret, hoping to get money for it? This is almost worse the fans being unwilling to pay because it's collusion between the mod community, the biggest PC market place, and one of the biggest publishers.
At any rate, this might work in the future, if it's tested on a brand new game and not one with an established community. But this was totally a boneheaded move on the part of Valve, who should of fucking knew better.
Lots of modmakers do already get compensation, though, either through donations, patreon, or other voluntary compensation methods. The reason people were willing to give to those methods is because a) they really liked the mod, and b) they felt like a part of the community. B is very important there, and those that did things like add popups and paywalls to their already existing mods are going to experience the bad publicity backlash. What's unfortunate for them, though, is that their success came from being a part of that community, of which many will now view them as having separated themselves from it. Whether they will reintegrate, or simply stay away and leave others to fill the holes (which will happen) has yet to be seen.
Calling it now: Fallout 4 is going to have paid mods from the start. Valve's statement basically said "okay, trying this with an already-established mod community was a bad idea." With Fallout 4, they'd have a new game that doesn't have a pre-existing modding community. It's also a Bethesda game, like Skyrim.
Pretty much.
It'll probably run much smoother on a fresh game. But I already know I'm not willing to pay for a mod unless it's quite exceptional... I can forgive A LOT when something is free but you better have your Triple-A game on if you want money.
Paid mods are DLC but without having to bother to make it themselves. Imagine SkyUI being a priced mod. Heh. Even less incentive to make a game good and proper and work right out of the gate - any annoyances other people can deal with.
Also:
a) One problem with this as "supporting the mod-artists" was they only got 25%. That's fairly ridiculous, depending on type of mod.
b) Donation buttons aren't a good comparison - income, especially on mods, is ridiculously low, to the point of not even paying for hosting.
I can understand and accept paying mods for really big game changers - Counterstrike was originally a mod, after all. Total War: Lord of the Rings? Sure, I'd have been happy to throw them some money, I sure spent enough time in it. Re-colored Skyrim armor - now in blue! €.99! In Black! €.99! In strobing yellow! €.99! ....Not so much.
There's other types of mods, too...Someone makes an original piece of music, puts it up as background in Skyrim. Why does Bethesda deserve part of it? let alone, 45% of it? Even iTunes takes less. Valve, sure, a small percentage for hosting - but for that, 30% is still ridiculous.
Also:
a) One problem with this as "supporting the mod-artists" was they only got 25%. That's fairly ridiculous, depending on type of mod.
b) Donation buttons aren't a good comparison - income, especially on mods, is ridiculously low, to the point of not even paying for hosting.
I can understand and accept paying mods for really big game changers - Counterstrike was originally a mod, after all. Total War: Lord of the Rings? Sure, I'd have been happy to throw them some money, I sure spent enough time in it. Re-colored Skyrim armor - now in blue! €.99! In Black! €.99! In strobing yellow! €.99! ....Not so much.
There's other types of mods, too...Someone makes an original piece of music, puts it up as background in Skyrim. Why does Bethesda deserve part of it? let alone, 45% of it? Even iTunes takes less. Valve, sure, a small percentage for hosting - but for that, 30% is still ridiculous.
GasBandit
Staff member
Well, I bet there's also lots of bile left for SkyUI. THAT was the one that really sent people into an uproar.
IIRC, the term for that kind of mod is "Total Conversion Mod," IE, it uses the engine but all the game assets are pretty much changed. The analog here would be Skyblivion - the project to port Oblivion into the Skyrim engine.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/40-batman-arkham-knight-dlc-pass-revealed-offers-s/1100-6426941/
Oh FUCK OFF. This is the same bullshit as the Mortal Kombat pass.
Oh FUCK OFF. This is the same bullshit as the Mortal Kombat pass.
Well this game just went from "must buy" to "might get it in a Steam sale three years from now".
Arkham City was still awesome without buying the Nightwing Pack, Robin Pack, Skins Pack, Challenge Map pack, or Harley Quinn's revenge, so as long as the main game is up to par, I'm still in as much as I was before.
So Konami has voluntarily removed itself from the NYSE and will only report finances in English from now on as a courtesy to its few US investors.
I really don't understand the default decision to go the "season pass" route. It's one thing when you've taken great pains to establish a reputation for regular really strong desirable DLC, such as map packs for MP shooters, or Borderlands having overall excellent content packs, but when your DLC is a hodgepodge of minor extras it just leaves a bad taste in the mouth.[DOUBLEPOST=1430236599,1430236497][/DOUBLEPOST]
That's interesting, but it's not actually that strange for a foreign public company to voluntarily de-list if they're not deriving much volume or value from the exchange in question. It does say quite a lot about their choice of market focus.
Yeah, I mean the article even says they barely have anyone in the US investing, so it makes sense. I read somewhere that Japan might be legalizing gambling soon, so they might be shifting their focus domestically, back to their pachinko/slot machines.
...man, I could see that one going really badly.
On the plus side, it appears that the dlc in this is all challenge maps and skins/characters for said maps, which is all stuff I give absolutely no shits about.
Though, we'll see if they wall off some of the actual story stuff behind a paywall. This is WB we're talking about, and they're getting shittier and shittier on their dlc models.
As long as people accept and buy it, the model's not shitty enough. Voting with your wallet etc.
GasBandit
Staff member
China is once again demonstrating how many (hint: 0) fucks the average person gives about intellectual property, this time via the most infringingest game ever sold: Clash of Zombies
Not only is the gameplay an exact 1:1 ripoff of Clash of Clans, it infringes on character designs of the Avengers, Dragonball Z, Bleach, Wall-E, Resident Evil and Silent Hill. And probably more.
http://www.dailydot.com/geek/clash-of-zombies-copyright-infringement-china/
And google play customers barely give a shit, buying it up and suggesting further (infringing) characters to be added.
Not only is the gameplay an exact 1:1 ripoff of Clash of Clans, it infringes on character designs of the Avengers, Dragonball Z, Bleach, Wall-E, Resident Evil and Silent Hill. And probably more.
http://www.dailydot.com/geek/clash-of-zombies-copyright-infringement-china/
And google play customers barely give a shit, buying it up and suggesting further (infringing) characters to be added.
I remember the reddit thread, and I was pleased to see how many people there remember the Infraggable Crunk.China is once again demonstrating how many (hint: 0) fucks the average person gives about intellectual property, this time via the most infringingest game ever sold: Clash of Zombies
Not only is the gameplay an exact 1:1 ripoff of Clash of Clans, it infringes on character designs of the Avengers, Dragonball Z, Bleach, Wall-E, Resident Evil and Silent Hill. And probably more.
--Patrick
I got all that shit, plus the main Arkham City game for $30 in the GOTY edition. I never even played most of it, except the Catwoman interludes. I say just wait it out.
Besides, Witcher 3 will have us busy
Fixed for me.
I have no idea who Rachel Byrk is, I have no idea what she's ever done, this is the first time I've ever heard her name.
And yet nonetheless this news enrages me to the point of wanting to punch my monitor.
Apparently she worked on Gamecube emulators. I hadn't heard of her, either.
You monster.
GasBandit
Staff member
That's a bad comparison. It's more like an asthmatic choosing to smoke.
Seriously, you know what 4chan does. Everybody knows what 4chan does. It's not right or good but it's predictable.
Just to see, I googled up the thread where they talk about her dying, in /v/.
They are celebrating.
So, if you've got breathing problems already, maybe smoking wouldn't be a good idea. And if you've got suicidal thoughts to begin with, perhaps going somewhere where the solution of first resort, no matter the question posed, is "kill yourself."