KillingArts
@killingarts.bsky.social
I think „because it always was that way“ is not a good argument. Either there is some ethical reasoning against it, or there is not. I just don’t see any. If someone puts 100h of work into something, why should he not be allowed to take money for it? It can still be a passion project.
January 22, 2026 at 5:29 AM
I think „because it always was that way“ is not a good argument. Either there is some ethical reasoning against it, or there is not. I just don’t see any. If someone puts 100h of work into something, why should he not be allowed to take money for it? It can still be a passion project.
But why would they have to be free, though? Is there an ethical reasoning that concludes mods must be free? I don’t see why they would have to be. It’s like saying phone cases must be given out for free, because they are complementary items and only work if you have the phone as well.
January 22, 2026 at 4:32 AM
But why would they have to be free, though? Is there an ethical reasoning that concludes mods must be free? I don’t see why they would have to be. It’s like saying phone cases must be given out for free, because they are complementary items and only work if you have the phone as well.
So it’s ok to develop the mod. It’s also ok to ask for money for it. But somehow the money must be given voluntarily or it’s not ok anymore? What is the ethical reasoning for that?
January 21, 2026 at 5:38 AM
So it’s ok to develop the mod. It’s also ok to ask for money for it. But somehow the money must be given voluntarily or it’s not ok anymore? What is the ethical reasoning for that?
One could argue that charging for cyberpunk in its original state was just as ridiculous. :)
January 21, 2026 at 5:34 AM
One could argue that charging for cyberpunk in its original state was just as ridiculous. :)
This is not like releasing a redub, though. It’s more like you’ve wrote your own subtitles for a language the studio doesn’t care about and sell print-outs of it on paper, without selling the DVD with it.
January 21, 2026 at 4:30 AM
This is not like releasing a redub, though. It’s more like you’ve wrote your own subtitles for a language the studio doesn’t care about and sell print-outs of it on paper, without selling the DVD with it.
In reality they take no money out of their pocket, though. In fact, they probably put some extra money in there.
January 21, 2026 at 4:28 AM
In reality they take no money out of their pocket, though. In fact, they probably put some extra money in there.
Anyway, gotta go and this clearly leads nowhere anyway. ^^ See ya.
January 20, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Anyway, gotta go and this clearly leads nowhere anyway. ^^ See ya.
I do have a grasp on it, you simply disagree. Again, it’s very simple.I think that if you do original work without using any protected assets or code, you should be able to ask for money if you want to do that.It’s accepted in other SW industries like A/V plugins. I don’t see why games are different
January 20, 2026 at 3:28 PM
I do have a grasp on it, you simply disagree. Again, it’s very simple.I think that if you do original work without using any protected assets or code, you should be able to ask for money if you want to do that.It’s accepted in other SW industries like A/V plugins. I don’t see why games are different
Again, I simply have a different opinion than yours. Equally valid. I could just as easily say that you seem stupid and don’t understand what I have said multiple times times now. I just don’t think that’s a good way to have a discussion. I think it’s a matter of respect and decency.
January 20, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Again, I simply have a different opinion than yours. Equally valid. I could just as easily say that you seem stupid and don’t understand what I have said multiple times times now. I just don’t think that’s a good way to have a discussion. I think it’s a matter of respect and decency.
Dude, why do you have to start with the insults now? Can we not have a grown-up discussion without resorting to insults? What do you expect me to do? Do I have to insult you too now, and we do that for a few hours until we’ve forgotten what the discussion was about?I have a different opinion,so what
January 20, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Dude, why do you have to start with the insults now? Can we not have a grown-up discussion without resorting to insults? What do you expect me to do? Do I have to insult you too now, and we do that for a few hours until we’ve forgotten what the discussion was about?I have a different opinion,so what
As a software developer, I know how much work software is. It’s great that most mods are free. But I absolutely understand and support if people spend many hours on software and want to get a few bucks for it. Non-devs always think everything should be free and never consider the amount of work…
January 20, 2026 at 3:04 PM
As a software developer, I know how much work software is. It’s great that most mods are free. But I absolutely understand and support if people spend many hours on software and want to get a few bucks for it. Non-devs always think everything should be free and never consider the amount of work…
Only because some mods are paid, doesn’t mean free mods go away. We had paid mods for many years, and still most ones are free. So this is just not something that happens. If anything, I would fear what greedy publishers will try to do with mods (remember Bethesda’s attempt at selling mods?).
January 20, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Only because some mods are paid, doesn’t mean free mods go away. We had paid mods for many years, and still most ones are free. So this is just not something that happens. If anything, I would fear what greedy publishers will try to do with mods (remember Bethesda’s attempt at selling mods?).
Yes, you are directly modifying Windows with stuff like explorer integration. You’re modifying how your OS functions. Now, if your mod puts an extra button in the game menu that does something, how is that different? Same thing. Both are fundamentally software, both get an enhancement.
January 20, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Yes, you are directly modifying Windows with stuff like explorer integration. You’re modifying how your OS functions. Now, if your mod puts an extra button in the game menu that does something, how is that different? Same thing. Both are fundamentally software, both get an enhancement.
It’s a bad idea because they might force you to shut down, sure. I’m saying it shouldn’t be that way. It really shouldn’t.
January 20, 2026 at 2:56 PM
It’s a bad idea because they might force you to shut down, sure. I’m saying it shouldn’t be that way. It really shouldn’t.
It’s a VR mod. It’s not art. And why can it not have a relation to other work? I don’t see why that should ever be a rule. Outside of games this is totally accepted. If you buy a tool either explorer integration that enhances your OS, you don’t even think about this. Same thing, basically.
January 20, 2026 at 2:53 PM
It’s a VR mod. It’s not art. And why can it not have a relation to other work? I don’t see why that should ever be a rule. Outside of games this is totally accepted. If you buy a tool either explorer integration that enhances your OS, you don’t even think about this. Same thing, basically.
It’s no different to me from selling tools to enhance Windows, or plugins for audio/video software.
January 20, 2026 at 2:48 PM
It’s no different to me from selling tools to enhance Windows, or plugins for audio/video software.
Sign of greed? I don’t develop mods. How am I greedy here? I am merely defending people who put many hours of work into their original product. Sure, I’d prefer everything to be free myself. But I absolutely get when people want some money for their work. I think it’s absolutely justified.
January 20, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Sign of greed? I don’t develop mods. How am I greedy here? I am merely defending people who put many hours of work into their original product. Sure, I’d prefer everything to be free myself. But I absolutely get when people want some money for their work. I think it’s absolutely justified.
…be fine to do what you want. It’s only your own original work you’re selling and you should be allowed to do that.
January 20, 2026 at 2:44 PM
…be fine to do what you want. It’s only your own original work you’re selling and you should be allowed to do that.
I think it’s the other way around. If we always let big devs and publishers push modders around (Nintendo, anyone?), then they can just shut down and mod they like, no matter the actual legal situation. Ethically, this seems so clear to me: if you don’t use any original assets or code, you should…
January 20, 2026 at 2:42 PM
I think it’s the other way around. If we always let big devs and publishers push modders around (Nintendo, anyone?), then they can just shut down and mod they like, no matter the actual legal situation. Ethically, this seems so clear to me: if you don’t use any original assets or code, you should…
If you look at my first post, I am not asking a different question but gave my opinion on this from the start. Copyright law and such is famously outdated and not equipped to handle all software cases properly. I think it’s way more promising to discuss this on an ethical and not legal basis.
January 20, 2026 at 2:39 PM
If you look at my first post, I am not asking a different question but gave my opinion on this from the start. Copyright law and such is famously outdated and not equipped to handle all software cases properly. I think it’s way more promising to discuss this on an ethical and not legal basis.
I don’t see it that way. What right would the dev have to prevent me from adding to the game with my own source code? Why would I need that green light? I’m not selling their stuff, I’m selling my own stuff that merely enhanced their stuff.
January 20, 2026 at 2:20 PM
I don’t see it that way. What right would the dev have to prevent me from adding to the game with my own source code? Why would I need that green light? I’m not selling their stuff, I’m selling my own stuff that merely enhanced their stuff.
I don’t like the mod personally (because no motion controls), but I know there’s a lot more to it than you think. He invested a lot of time to make it run smoothly and updated it countless times.
January 20, 2026 at 2:18 PM
I don’t like the mod personally (because no motion controls), but I know there’s a lot more to it than you think. He invested a lot of time to make it run smoothly and updated it countless times.
I don’t claim to know the legal details on this. But from a purely ethical standpoint - if I develop a mod, put tens or even hundreds of hours into it, make the community happy, fill a niche the dev doesn’t care about and don’t hurt the dev in any way, should it not be ok to take a few bucks for it?
January 20, 2026 at 2:16 PM
I don’t claim to know the legal details on this. But from a purely ethical standpoint - if I develop a mod, put tens or even hundreds of hours into it, make the community happy, fill a niche the dev doesn’t care about and don’t hurt the dev in any way, should it not be ok to take a few bucks for it?
Sure, that’s very possible. But does it matter? My point was that paid mods can be very good and appreciated by the community, and also beneficial to the game dev. I guarantee they sold a few copies purely because that VR mod exists.
January 20, 2026 at 2:13 PM
Sure, that’s very possible. But does it matter? My point was that paid mods can be very good and appreciated by the community, and also beneficial to the game dev. I guarantee they sold a few copies purely because that VR mod exists.
AC has basically created a whole little sub-industry with professional companies creating paid mods for it. Check out sites like racesimstudio.com for instance.
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Race Sim Studio is an organization with the purpose of creating high quality content for the most popular racing simulations.
racesimstudio.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:02 PM
AC has basically created a whole little sub-industry with professional companies creating paid mods for it. Check out sites like racesimstudio.com for instance.