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Paid Mods Creators Faced Abuse And Death Threats

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Valve’s attempt to introduce paid mods to the Steam workshop came to a close yesterday when the company announced it was cancelling the program. The move to allow modders to charge for their work on the Steam Workshop incurred the internet’s wrath in a big way not least due to its atrociously mishandled roll-out. The community seemed to feel almost betrayed that Valve and Bethesda would simply go ahead and introduce this scheme without first discussing it with the public. Even worse, the two companies remained largely silent on the matter for several days before Gabe Newell, Valve CEO, finally took to Reddit to defend the move. That didn’t go so well, with most of his comments downvoted to obscurity. Valve and Bethesda both took a hit to their popularity, Valve in particular. But when you’re a company, hate is easy to deal with. For individuals, it’s much harder.

Two days ago, a Skyrim modder called James Ive told Polygon he’d faced abuse and death threats from the gaming community. Ive, who creates mods under the name Jimo, was one of the modders charging for his work on the Steam Workshop. There was also an artist named Thiago Vidotto, who created weapons for Skyrim based on DOTA, who received messages saying that he was “destroying the gaming world.” Meanwhile Ives was faced with “countless death threats, attacks and hateful comments… Just about everything you can think of.”

Valve’s actions may have brought the paid mod debate to a head last week, but it has actually been going on for some time. There are modders that work exceptionally hard to create superb and original content for games. For Skyrim, a great example is the Falskaar mod. Created by Alexander Velicky, it adds an entirely new land to the game as well as 20-30 hours of extra gameplay. Since creating the mod Velicky has been given a job at Bungie, but until then he was receiving nothing but donations for his work. For most, it would be hard to imagine putting so much time and energy into a project for so little financial return, but this is how the modding community has been going for years. There have always been arguments on both sides. It’s hard to argue that modders like Velicky would have been unjustified should they have chosen to charge for their work, but the community wants mods to remain free and available to everyone.

Valve’s ill-fated plan to enable modders to make money off their work should have worked. It should have benefited the community and helped modders, but instead it was so mishandled, it had to be shut down less than a week after it began. The absence of a pay-what-you-choose slider and the fact that Valve implemented the plan without warning riled up the community to the point of no return. Two days ago, I wrote about the risks of giving 75% of the revenue from mods to the developers and Valve. Gabe Newell said on Reddit, “Our goal is to make modding better for the authors and gamers.” I hope it’s become clear to Gabe by now that giving just 25% of the revenue to modders was never going to make them any better off than they are relying on donations. In fact, the decision to give them only 25% makes it look suspiciously like Valve didn’t care at all about the interests of the modders.

Now, not only have modders missed out on an opportunity to monetize their work, but any future attempts to monetize mods will also have to deal with the fallout from this attempt. And we can only hope this whole fiasco won’t discourage modders from continuing to create awesome content for the games they love.

Rhiannon likes video games and she likes writing, so she decided to combine them. As well as writing about video games, she also belts out the occasional science fiction or fantasy story, edits videos, and eats strawberry oreos. In that order.

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Documentary Explores the Making of the Highly Praised Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for PS5

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Square Enix has launched a captivating documentary series that explores the intricate process behind the creation of the highly praised Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. In the first episode, titled “Shaping the World,” the developer delves into the process of reimagining the expansive PS1 map of the original game into a vast sandbox for the PS5. The film includes personal stories shared by directors Naoki Hamaguchi and Tetsuya Nomura, as well as other important members of the team.

This reimagining of the all-time PlayStation classic was truly enjoyable. In our review, we praised Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth for its ability to enhance the already impressive combat system of Remake. The game truly shines in its portrayal of an iconic RPG setting. If you have a deep appreciation for the original PS1 game and found enjoyment in Remake, then Rebirth’s character-focused adventure will surely captivate you from start to finish.

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Gran Turismo 7 for the PS5 and PS4 shows continuous improvement

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While Sony may not classify Gran Turismo 7 as a live-service game, the team at Polyphony Digital certainly approaches it with a similar mindset. The game continues to impress with every new update, and although v1.44 may be smaller compared to previous versions, it still manages to enhance the already extensive content of this simulation racer.

The update, now available worldwide, introduces three new cars: the Audi R8 Coupé V10 Plus ’16, the Lamborghini Urus ’18, and the Toyota GT-One (TS020) ’99. Furthermore, it introduces three fresh events to World Circuits, an extra menu to conquer in the GT Café single-player campaign, and a collection of livery stickers inspired by the upcoming Highspeed Étoile anime, set to debut next week in Japan.

If you’re not already acquainted with Highspeed Étoile, you can watch a trailer right here. “Sony has announced that a collection of 26 stickers, consisting of 8 title logos and 18 main character stickers, will be made available for a limited time,” stated Sony on the PS Blog. In addition, Fukushima will be included as a backdrop in the title’s beloved photography mode.

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TopSpin 2K25 appears to be a standout title in the recent PS5 and PS4 gameplay showcase

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This author has consistently praised the realistic portrayal of tennis in TopSpin 4. After more than a decade, we are thrilled to witness the release of TopSpin 2K25, which expands upon the success of its renowned predecessor. This gameplay video provides a comprehensive overview of the features discussed in our recent preview while also incorporating relevant footage to enhance understanding.

The series’ swing system sets it apart from arcade-style games like Virtua Tennis, as it requires players to charge up their shots in a different way. In order to succeed, timing is crucial, and fortunately, a new meter above your player will assist you in achieving that. Surfaces have their own distinct characteristics, such as clay, where you’ll experience a noticeable amount of sliding.

The game ensures that every player has a distinct set of animations, adding a touch of individuality to each competitor. The courts, found in all Grand Slams, possess a remarkable amount of individuality and charm. It is mentioned in the video that with each in-game season, players can expect a plethora of additional content, such as animation packs. This indicates that there will be plenty to anticipate even after the game’s initial release.

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