Mod bounties?

[ajb1978]

I had a thought; would it be possible to post bounties for mod requests? Whether it's officially managed by Hinterland, or even if we used GoFundMe or something, where players could pledge money towards mod creation, and whoever completes the requested mod claims the pot. 

I'm well aware that the nature of something like this could become a legal snafu, especially where taxes are concerned. But maybe @Admin can weigh in on the feasibility of this. I'm an idiot when it comes to business admin stuff, because I just punch a clock at my day job.

I'm just saying, there's a few things I'd love to see done with survival mode that I would be more than happy to throw money at....but I'm also well aware that the amount I'm willing to spend won't buy more than a sneeze's worth of time from an experienced programmer. But if a bunch of like-minded folks all chipped in some cash,  the collective bounty could become worth the effort.

[Digitalzombie]

Maybe that could help getting new modders on board, but for the current modding community it's a bit different.

Very few of us want another job. And taking money would make it a job with obligations. We already have the possibility of Patreon accounts or something similar for quite a while. And while 1-2 may accept the monetary equivalent of a cup of coffee every full moon, it's more a show of appreciation than an actual "bounty" or commission request. No one of us is in modding for the money (in terms of the current TLD modding community).

The important part for most is to have a project they are interested in themselves. Let's take the popular topic -> GUNS. A lot of people want more/different guns in the game. But the current modders are just not interested in that. And those people who are ... players ... are not interested in learning and doing the work.

And do you really want to have modders that are just interested in the money you are offering? That may work in other fields ... but mods are a thing you pour your passion and heart in. (imho :D)

[odizzido]

Any little mods I've made have always been free for people to download, but I work on what I want when I want and I do it for myself. I might look at modding TLD once the game is in a more finished state and they've opened it up more. There are a few things that could be done that would greatly enhance my enjoyment of the game to the point where I would want to play it. But we will see how everything turns out.

[ajb1978]

6 hours ago, Digitalzombie said:

Very few of us want another job. And taking money would make it a job with obligations.

Excellent points, thank you for your feedback. I see why a bounty system won't really work, because relegating it to a commission-based or bounty-based model would steal the soul right out from it.

Meh. I just feel like there has to be some middle ground. Where random buffoons like me can be like "Hey, I'd love to see X Y and Z" and have a way to push that forward, without having to actually go full commitment and learn how to program stuff.

[Digitalzombie]

7 hours ago, ajb1978 said:

"Hey, I'd love to see X Y and Z" and have a way to push that forward, without having to actually go full commitment

Don't we all? 😆

TLD is a niche game. There were never many modders around. Quite a few of us even started with modding in the first place, just because of the passion for TLD. I never modded anything (myself) before starting the work on the fox companion. I wanted that feature, no one else wanted or could do it ... so I did it myself.

Was it a lot of work? Oh yeah! Was it painful at times? Definitely! Was it worth it? It was one of the best decisions I made over the last few years and shifted my focus to something that might even open new career paths for me if I don't funk it up. And then there is that little endorphin shot with every new mod release

[piddy3825]

Oh, this is indeed an interesting topic of discussion.
I wish I had gotten to this a little sooner, but I guess my question at large is; 

where does free passionate modding and paid DLC begin to crossover?   

I'm even more curious now how that is all gonna work given the roadmap for paid dlc with the seperation of story mode from survival mode.  
I get the impression that Hinterland only be charging to have items from story mode loadable into survival mode?   
 

In the mean time, I am loving the "free" content being made available by the modding community, there are definitely some talented individuals out there with a passion for the game!

[ajb1978]

5 hours ago, piddy3825 said:

where does free passionate modding and paid DLC begin to crossover? 

Now we're talkin'. Maybe some kind of hybrid approach. I accept that modders do it out of love and not for pay, that makes total sense once I put myself in those shoes. They already have a day job, they don't need another set of commitments. But...there are also people for whom "modding" this game IS their day job. i.e. the fine folk at Hinterland, and the "mods" are not mods, but formal releases.

So...yeah. Maybe some kind of poll where people can vote on new content, which is then officially developed and implemented as paid DLC.

I'd get on board with that.

[piddy3825]

13 hours ago, ajb1978 said:

So...yeah. Maybe some kind of poll where people can vote on new content, which is then officially developed and implemented as paid DLC.

I'd get on board with that.

yeah, that's kinda what I had in mind, although I would prefer the suggestions come from the community of players at large
and not necessarily by the "programmers."   

@Digitalzombiepoint that the current player/modding community isn't in it for the money might ring true for the time being but I suspect that some of modders might be interested in a little compensation?  I could be wrong, but I quess it all depends on the complexity of the mod and the amount of time it takes to get the work to integrate seamlessly?  

Well considering all the recent events with Nexus/Vortex and the whole modding authorship/ownership issues resulting from those events I guess we shouldn't be looking a gift horse in the mouth, eh?

 

[Admin]

Thank you for the suggestion. We don't have any current plans for these kinds of changes, but we will continue to evaluate our plans around mods and provide updates when they are available. 

[RegentRelic]

Paid mods would be good for all parties.

[Guest jeffpeng]

As always with me (and frankly: with society) everything I say is just my opinion, and as such there is no obligation to agree with it.

I believe that paid content should be something reserved for the original developer/publisher of any given game. They are the owners of the original IP, and any profit directly derived from that should land in their revenue stream - at least in my tainted opinion as a software developer. That's not to say I think you shouldn't drop a buck or two via Patreon or Paypay or whatever for mod developers whose work you like. But then it's not a customer relationship in the classic sense, but more like you appreciating the work of a street artist by contributing a few dimes. And even if those dimes amount to what others would call a pretty good salary it's still not that the contributor bought anything or has any right to demand anything - which, I guess, is one defining thing separating an artist from a worker.

Modding, at least in my naive mindset, is something you do out of love for the game, and which you would like to share with others and seek some appreciation for. And frankly I really frown upon trends, especially in the Minecraft community, to offer additional fan-made content in exchange for money only. Plus there is also the advantage someone has who is not driven by sales numbers: they can do what they believe is good and right, and do not have to adhere to "what sells", and as @Digitalzombiehinted at, that what sells isn't always a good idea, often in the contrary. And not having to follow the money allows a modder to preserve the "soul" of the game they are tinkering with as much they are able to.

All of that is not to say that I do not appreciate the often outstanding work modders have done for many, many games, some of them so outstanding that playing some games without certain mods just don't feel right anymore. In fact I am always amazed when people take time out of their life to give to others for free, and those receiving gifts should always be grateful.

If Hinterland really wanted to help out mod developers the best and most natural way to do this would be to advertise those they feel are adding to the game in a way that aligns with their vision, and that meet a certain bar of quality. Appreciation, financial and otherwise, will follow all by itself.

Edited June 15, 2022 by jeffpeng