Paid mods pulled from Steam Workshop, full refund to those that purchased

Thanks to overwhelming feedback regarding the new paid mods in the Steam Workshop, Valve is pulling the plug on the new feature.

We didn't like the idea when it was announced last week, and it looks like those affected share the same feeling on having to pay for game mods.  Valve announced the removal of the new payment feature in a Steam Community post.

"We're going to remove the payment feature from the Skyrim workshop. For anyone who spent money on a mod, we'll be refunding you the complete amount. We talked to the team at Bethesda and they agree.

We've done this because it's clear we didn't understand exactly what we were doing. We've been shipping many features over the years aimed at allowing community creators to receive a share of the rewards, and in the past, they've been received well. It's obvious now that this case is different.

To help you understand why we thought this was a good idea, our main goals were to allow mod makers the opportunity to work on their mods full time if they wanted to, and to encourage developers to provide better support to their mod communities. We thought this would result in better mods for everyone, both free & paid. We wanted more great mods becoming great products, like Dota, Counter-strike, DayZ, and Killing Floor, and we wanted that to happen organically for any mod maker who wanted to take a shot at it."

Bethesda also updated their blog post and released a statement on the matter.

After discussion with Valve, and listening to our community, paid mods are being removed from Steam Workshop. Even though we had the best intentions, the feedback has been clear – this is not a feature you want. Your support means everything to us, and we hear you.

Last week, Valved introduced a payment method for creators to charge players for the content they create for their game. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was the first game to implement the new feature. The charge was made optional, giving the creators the choice to charge players any amount or give it for free.The feedback was mostly negative.

What we think: We see the  reason to why they introduced this feature, but how it was implemented shows ways to abuse the feature and overall affect the modding community in a negative way. Valve tested the waters  with Bethesda and it looks like they will have to go back to the drawing board if they want to try anything like this again.

If they really want to support modders to earn from all their hard work, a simple donate button would be enough to do just that. Or they could just leave the modding community alone and let them do what they do best.

What are your thoughts on paid mods? Is it a good idea and needs to be looked at in the future? Or let game mods stay free?

Huge mod for Skyrim used as a job application to Bethesda

Mods is one of the big perks in PC, especially when it comes to playing games like Skyrim. The mod community creates these to enhance the experience, and share it to the world. They are one talented bunch, but one modder in particular goal in creating this amazing mod - To hopefully land a job at Bethesda.

Nineteen-year old Alexander J. Velicky developed a mod called Falskaar that adds 25 hours of unique content, complete with new voice acting and an original sound score. The passion and determination is inspiring, he invested around 2,000 hours into this mod with his family all behind him, providing the support he needs. Have a look at the trailer for Falskaar below.

With work like this, Bethesda should take notice and get in contact with Velicky. With results like this, heck any big studio would love to take this kid under their wing. Kudos to him, and I hope he does land that dream job at bethesda.

I might just reinstall Skyrim just for this mod because additional 25 hours of content is no joke.

You can download the mod right over at Skyrim Nexus.

[Source: PC Gamer]

Skyrim DLC's for PS3 now dated

We posted a few weeks ago that Bethesda has announced that Skyrim's DLC is finally heading to the PS3. During that post, no date was given but they now dated each DLC, that's all coming out this February.

First DLC hitting the Playstation Store is Dragonborn coming on Feb 12. Next will be Hearthfire, giving players the chance to buy their own land in Skyrim to build their dream house, it comes out on Feb 19. Last will be Dawnguard and it will be available on Feb 26.

All DLC will be 50% off on its first week of release, so if you've been waiting for new content, you get a good deal if you get it early.

For PC players, Dragonborn will be available for purchase and download on Feb 5.

A bit too late since I'm sure many players have moved on, the game is already a year old after all. But there might be a few out there that was patient enough to wait for Bethesda to figure out their porting issues to the PS3.

[Source: Gamespot]

Skyrim PS3 DLC's finally hitting in February, 50% off at launch

Bethesda has finally figured it out. All three of Skyrim's DLC's will be heading to PS3 this February. First up, the Dragonborn DLC.

They didn't give a specific date for when each add-on content will be available on PSN, but they did give the order of release. The latest DLC Dragonborn will be first, followed by Hearthfire, then Dawnguard.

On launch, each DLC will be 50% off on the first week, a way of compensation for PS3 players that waited for months to get their hands on the content.

The 1.8 patch will also hit February prior to the Dragonborn release, so get ready to patch up.

For PC players, Dragonborn will be available in Steam on February 5.

[Source: Bethesda Blog]

Skyrim's first DLC gets a trailer

Bethesda finally reveals Dawnguard as Skyrim's first DLC. It was teased awhile back with the developers showing one image teasing fans of the upcoming DLC. Take a look at the trailer for the new content.

Dawnguard seems to give the player a choice to either side with the Dawnguards or the vampires. The content also adds new features to the game. Like new vampire forms, crossbows, and different mounts. Mounted combat is shown in the trailer but is not a Dawnguard feature I believe. The patch for this feature has not been released but the patch is out in Steam for players to beta test the patch changes.

Dawnguard at the moment is listed for this summer(Around June to September) for the Xbox360 for 1600 Microsoft Points. No word yet when PS3 and PC will get the DLC. So Xbox 360 might get the content exclusive for a month just like what they did with Fallout: New Vegas' added content - Being released in Xbox Live 1 month earlier than the rest.

[Source: Bethesda Blog]