Oh boy. Hhhhhh-oh boy. Here we go... (Gaming)

by MacAddictXIV , Seattle WA, Wednesday, June 14, 2017, 15:19 (2719 days ago) @ INSANEdrive

So Bethesda announced Creation Club, which looks to be a way that developers can approach Bethesda with pitches and plans for DLC. My first impression is that it would be a great way to open flood gates on professional development of new content for Fallout/Skyrim...

But, uh, that's not exactly how the online community sees it. Whoops. I'm late to the whole "Paid Mods" debate that's raging across the internet. Bit of a raw nerve there.

Anyway, for the life of me I cannot see this as a paid mods/micro-transaction issue. I see this a way for professional (or semi-professional, aspiring) developers to open up the Bethesda worlds.

I've read posts about slippery slopes, about modders who will move to paid content, or about core framework mods pushed behind paywalls, and I understand those arguments, but this seems like it is more aimed at allowing professional contractors access to Bethesda's game worlds.

I think there might be some opinions here at DBO on this subject. Thoughts?

Thus the en-mass internet denizens grabbed their pitchforks and declared in collective action; React first! Think Later! SALT! SALT! SAAAAAALLT!

Alright, So lets... fill in the gaps here for those us who are just joining this saga. This here will be a TL;DR, but if you want a deeper idea, here is a bunch of links talking about this stuff

• Forbes, Kotaku, Digital Trends, Polygon, Gamespot •

Short Vers: Traditionally how mods work in the broadest sense, is ANYONE with the tools can go in to the game engine and make whatever it is they make. Sometimes it's released into the wild for their peers, as is. If it's buggy or brakes something else in the game or is crazy unbalanced - what ever. It is what it is. You are on your own. Sometimes it's stuff to just play around and have fun with the elements on the engine. Ever wonder what it would be like in Halo 1 if everything had the property of the Hunter Shield? I can tell ya, it's pretty crazy. Everything ricochets, and unless you are on Legendary, you are basically invincible. Never released that mod, that was an example of just having fun, but I digress. This is basically "how things have always worked". How things, have always, worked. CHANGE BAD! SAME GOOD!

Well Valve and Bethesda came out of nowhere and proposed to the Internets what if money was involved. As far as I can tell, that is all that was proposed, with foundations put in place. Now a modder, who signed up and was vetted, could put a price on their work if they so chose. Now, for my purview, this was the wrong way for Valve and Bethesda to go about it. I think there was indeed many good points against this version of implementation.

Here is the FAQ steam page to the old policy, which of course works as of posttime.

I'm going to quote here what I feel is the most relevant question, which is asked on the player side of the FAQ.

Q. What happens if a mod I bought breaks?

A. Sometimes one mod may modify the same files as another mod, or a particular combination of mods may cause unexpected outcomes. If you find that mod has broken or is behaving unexpectedly, it is best to post politely on the Workshop item's page and let the mod author know the details of what you are seeing.

Now here is the new policy. FAQ Link Here.

If I’m accepted to be a Creator, what can I create and what is the dev process?

Creators are required to submit documentation pitches which go through an approval process. All content must be new and original. Once a concept is approved, a development schedule with Alpha, Beta and Release milestones is created. Creations go through our full development pipeline, which Creators participate in. Bethesda Game Studios developers work with Creators to iterate and polish their work along with full QA cycles. The content is fully localized, as well. This ensures compatibility with the original game, official add-ons and achievements.

THIS. CHANGES. EVE-RY-THING.

In short - User Created DLC. Before hand, if it was broke, you were up shits creek with your money, with a modder who might not know how to fix it. Who might of had to jury rig something to make their mod work, unknowingly breaking other things - so they COULDN'T fix it.

Now. When you buy something; IT. WORKS. Vetted modders going through the SAME Q&A you would in any professional game creation studio. That is NEW STUFF including:

• WEAPONS: New weapons, material skins, parts, etc.
  
• APPAREL: New outfits, armor, and items for your character.
  
• WORLD: New locations, decorations, foliage, etc.
  
• CHARACTERS: New abilities, characters, companions, etc.
  
• CREATURES: New enemies, mounts, pets, etc.
  
• GAMEPLAY: New types of gameplay like survival mode, etc.

It's a WIN-WIN. Everyone Wins. Modders get a side hustle THAT THEY LOVE, and Users get professionally tested content, that gets blessed by studio, which becomes PART OF THE GAME. Not, "oh-we-have-to-disable-some-stuff-because-mods". Just imagine what Destiny 1 would have been like if WE had access to such a program. I can tell you right now, I could make you some KICKASS Armors, Weapons, and World Locations. All tested by BUNGIE Q&A, that goes into the game WITHOUT RESTRICTION. Oh - but a dream.

In essence, the money is to pay for Q&A of a mod. I don't know about ya'll, but I like quality. I like stuff that doesn't break other stuff (unless it's supposed to do that).

So yeah. That.

Kinda reminds me of how Dota 2 does skins and stuff. Half of it is done by Valve, but anyone can submit a design and have it approved by Valve to be released officially. I know, slightly different but it's the same concept.