Scam level over 9000!

[LurchUSA]

Scam level over 9000!

First it was the scorched earth drama, releasing paid DLC before the game was finished.

Now that Wildcard has seen how it got away with that little money scheme, they've kicked up the greed machine a notch. Why should they go through all the hard work of making DLC themselves, when they can throw a pittance at the already active mod community and get THEM to make the DLC, they'll make a fortune over!

I present to you WildCard's next money making venture...

Ark: Survival Evolved Developer Announces $4,000 a Month Stipend for Modders
http://www.hardocp.com/news/2017/02/27/ark_survival_evolved_developer_announces_4000_month_stipend_for_modders
http://www.pcgamer.com/ark-survival-evolved-developer-will-pay-modders-4000-per-month-to-complete-their-mods/

Yes that's right, now WildCard is turning to the mod community and, as noted from the article:

Quote

They will be paying each group $4,000 a month to complete their Ark mod with the understanding that each completed mod will become paid DLC. Each month the mod team's work will be evaluated and some might be dropped in favor of another mod.

That bold text is where it gets interesting. So far we've enjoyed the fruits of the Arm mod community for free. Now we're expected to pay for it?

So what's this going to do to the mod community now? If modders can see that they can make money from this, will they forgo releasing mods on the steam workshop and try to go this route, in the hopes of a payday? Will we see WildCard continue to cut corners, relying on the mod community to take up the slack, all in the name of maximizing profits over producing a quality product?

I don't see this going well, since they have already muddied their name by releasing paid DLC for a yet UNRELEASED product! This is just yet another example of them taking the easy way out, going for the quick cash grab utilizing other people efforts.

I have to say as a business plan, this is pure genius! However they are going to screw the player-base to improve their bottom line.

 

[Captnmorgan]

I don't see it that way at all... Cedric got employed and evil frank from making a mod and map. They did it because they liked it and got hired it was a perk. In this industry it's good to see people working on things they like and getting paid is a nice perk. steam should allow people to sell mods in my opinion.

did you even read the article it's more to support modders why shouldn't they get a little bit of cash for hard work. This is more of a steam issue anyway. It's no different then having a contest like they did before.

[Orion]

Well, can't say I wasn't expecting WC to start charging for mods. I don't think anything good will come of this. WC refuses to implement their own bugfixes or finish their game, but they now want to pay modders to finish their work. I expect WC to start charging a monthly fee to play Ark soon.

[PuffyPony]

Re-read the article. Wildcard isn't making people pay for mods. They're paying others for mods; the paid mods is a Steam implementation. It appears Wildcard intends to move ahead with the sponsored mods regardless of whether Steam promotes that idea, but Stieglitz thinks that paid mods wouldn't be a bad thing.

[Captnmorgan]

6 minutes ago, Orion said:

Well, can't say I wasn't expecting WC to start charging for mods. I don't think anything good will come of this. WC refuses to implement their own bugfixes or finish their game, but they now want to pay modders to finish their work. I expect WC to start charging a monthly fee to play Ark soon.

Read the article

 

Studio Wildcard, developer of Early Access dino-survival game Ark: Survival Evolved, is in agreement with Newell's sentiment about modders being paid, and are launching their own program that will allow Ark modders to earn some money. Not by allowing the sale of mods to players, but instead by paying modders directly on a monthly basis to work on and complete their mods.  

 

Woking on the modders own projects not wildcards. Paid to work on your own mod... and it's only 13 ppl.

[TheGreatDarko]

Both articles contradict each other, one says is going to be paid dlc the other say they will paid the modders and keep it free.

[Captnmorgan]

1 minute ago, TheGreatDarko said:

Both articles contradict each other, one says is going to be paid dlc the other say they will paid the modders and keep it free.

Hard ocp is a junk news site. Notice pc gamer had quotes way more info they actually had interview. Hardocp just copied pasted some junk parts not even realizing what they were writing.

[powerstuck]

They are already dealing with shady server hosts to cut cost.

And you guys expect them to pay modders but not charge players for it ? 

Mods I enjoy I would be more than happy to pay the modder directly to be able to use their mod. 

[Dracul]

This is opposite of what you were implying lol. Yeah scorched earth was dirty and boarderline P2W and pretty much earned a lot of the downvoting ark got on steam over the past few months all on its own but paying modders to make content is a good thing. Have you seen some of the stuff on the workshop? If they throw money at those guys to make some of that official im all for it, skilled modders get money, ark devs get blamed for less ball dropping and we get more officially supported goodness.

 

(Not like Prim+ feels like a clunky add on or anything..... <.< )

[Captnmorgan]

7 minutes ago, powerstuck said:

They are already dealing with shady server hosts to cut cost.

And you guys expect them to pay modders but not charge players for it ? 

Mods I enjoy I would be more than happy to pay the modder directly to be able to use their mod. 

I agree I would pay for mods as well but here is a problem with modders. Some won't keep up with recent patches making mod worthless this program is nice because it lets wildcard own it they are basically sub contracting modders which means even with updates if a modder stops wildcard can still update the mod so it never will be broken or obsolete due to a patch. Well it may break but they can fix it lol..

 

 

[Lewiatan]

I think those mods will be free as The Center and PrimitivePlus. It would be PR suicide for Wildcard if they asked money for those mods from their playerbase. We do remeber how Valve's paid mods has ended. 

At least we know what Cedric has been doing instead of fixing PrimitivePlus. I stopped believing it would have ever been in bug free state.

What concerns me is that mod authors may lose the rights to their own work and Wildcard could use their work shamelessly to improve their own game, something like "why should be bother fixing this on our own?  Let modders do it and then implement it and call it our own fix" < that kind of way of thinking.

All in all this idea is great to encourage people to mod, however with so many serious issues ARK has with constant premiere delays, is it really that top priority thing you want to do now Wildcard? Will you ever release your game from Early Access when you spent so much money on side projects here and there?

(Not like Prim+ feels like a clunky add on or anything..... <.< )

Prim+ feels like it is a mod abandonded by its author long time ago. Promise of better communication regarding Prim+ was broken too and Community Manger hired to work with Cedric is not doing his job and should have been given a sack long time ago. 

[Captnmorgan]

Another side note on this whole thing say a person learns to code design ect from this contest isn't that a win for all gamers. What if that person hated going to work loved gaming gets in the program can quit there job and also have on there resume a released shipped mod. Gets a job in the gaming industry makes more money loves life. So much negativity look at opportunities where you can. 

[Lewiatan]

3 minutes ago, Captnmorgan said:

Another side note on this whole thing say a person learns to code design ect from this contest isn't that a win for all gamers. What if that person hated going to work loved gaming gets in the program can quit there job and also have on there resume a released shipped mod. Gets a job in the gaming industry makes more money loves life. So much negativity look at opportunities where you can. 

It's not that easy to work in game industry. For example look at Wildcard's requirement for getting a job in their studio. 3 years experience and working on at least one gaming title which has already been released on the market. That's basic requirement to apply. Modders are talented people, but they have no experience nor time to risk and try working in game industry on big projects. 

I have also a feeling Wildcard wants get people in this modding program to help them finish the game paying less than they had to for full-time employee.

[Captnmorgan]

4 minutes ago, Lewiatan said:

It's not that easy to work in game industry. For example look at Wildcard's requirement for getting a job in their studio. 3 years experience and working on at least one gaming title which has already been released on the market. That's basic requirement to apply. Modders are talented people, but they have no experience nor time to risk and try working in game industry on big projects. 

I have also a feeling Wildcard wants get people in this modding program to help them finish the game paying less than they had to for full-time employee.

Cedric had zero experience got hired from making a mod. Although I dislike the guy a streamer got a job in the industry artknives. Jen got a job as community manager. It's a difficult industry to work in long hours sometimes crap pay. Just because it says they are looking for x amount of experience doesn't mean they have to have that. A lot of small companies and large out there just dying for dedicated people sometimes they will train. 

As for what you think about modders to complete the game you couldn't be more wrong in my opinion. But we are all entitled to what we think. We will just agree to disagree on that. 

[Lewiatan]

15 minutes ago, Captnmorgan said:

Cedric had zero experience got hired from making a mod. Although I dislike the guy a streamer got a job in the industry artknives. Jen got a job as community manager. It's a difficult industry to work in long hours sometimes crap pay. Just because it says they are looking for x amount of experience doesn't mean they have to have that. A lot of small companies and large out there just dying for dedicated people sometimes they will train. 

As for what you think about modders to complete the game you couldn't be more wrong in my opinion. But we are all entitled to what we think. We will just agree to disagree on that. 

Yeah, they are exceptions from the rule. Heh, I had no experience in QA testing, but I was asked if I'm interested in joining QA of Primal Carnage: Exctinction and I did good job there. 

Regarding my thought of modders to complete the game, that was my assumption. I can be wrong or right, only the time will tell. I'm not a preson who will be defanding his believes for end of the world when there is good proof saying I'm wrong. 

[Captnmorgan]

27 minutes ago, Lewiatan said:

Yeah, they are exceptions from the rule. Heh, I had no experience in QA testing, but I was asked if I'm interested in joining QA of Primal Carnage: Exctinction and I did good job there. 

Regarding my thought of modders to complete the game, that was my assumption. I can be wrong or right, only the time will tell. I'm not a preson who will be defanding his believes for end of the world when there is good proof saying I'm wrong. 

Yeah I hear ya.. the only reason it I know it would be crazy to let modders finish the game and why it couldn't happen. You look at it from a coding it could take you months to get up to speed on someone else's work. Giving source codes or any vital info to a modder paid or otherwise kinda insane. But I am no expert I only can learn from articles I read on the subject. The base game I see pretty much done anyway I fully expect more paid dlc and some free either way. As far as alphas go this is by far one of the more pleasant experiences I have had. I always bring up dayz rust and h1z1 no finish line even in site. miscreated at least tells you we're going to be in a alpha for years and years. Another company I respect right now.

but mods are just add ons I don't expect much from them. Costume mods and glass wall mods are extremely nice wish we had glass walls to see out of that had durability not like the greenhouse walls.  

 

Sorry for the side track lol

 

[Lewiatan]

1 minute ago, Captnmorgan said:

Yeah I hear ya.. the only reason it I know it would be crazy to let modders finish the game and why it couldn't happen. You look at it from a coding it could take you months to get up to speed on someone else's work. Giving source codes or any vital info to a modder paid or otherwise kinda insane. But I am no expert I only can learn from articles I read on the subject. The base game I see pretty much done anyway I fully expect more paid dlc and some free either way. As far as alphas go this is by far one of the more pleasant experiences I have had. I always bring up dayz rust and h1z1 no finish line even in site. miscreated at least tells you we're going to be in a alpha for years and years. Another company I respect right now.

but mods are just add ons I don't expect much from them. Costume mods and glass wall mods are extremely nice wish we had glass walls to see out of that had durability not like the greenhouse walls.  

 

Sorry for the side track lol

 

I agree. Modders don't have skills of proffesionals, but they may provide a good idea for new gamplay mechanics or different point of view on a problem that is so needed somtimes. I wish ARK used development time for improving gameplay mechanics and then add dinosaurs, but well. We can't have everything. 

No problem, my posts are off-topic as well to be honest  

[Jostabeere]

58 minutes ago, Lewiatan said:

I agree. Modders don't have skills of proffesionals, but they may provide a good idea for new gamplay mechanics or different point of view on a problem that is so needed somtimes. I wish ARK used development time for improving gameplay mechanics and then add dinosaurs, but well. We can't have everything. 

No problem, my posts are off-topic as well to be honest  

What makes someone a professional? Both learned the same things. Having a publisher doesn't make you a better programmer.

Clearly seen when you look at indie games or popular mods for certain games.

If we nitpick, Wildcard is also a modder team. They are using an existing engine and just modify it.

[waterKeeper]

How you managed to turn such a positive thing into a pool of poop is beyond me.

 

Maybe one of those dlcs will be what you've been looking for and you will stop complaining. 

 

Wildcard seems stretched thin with extras like primal and sotf on console delayed. Let the community focus on dlc while they focus on the core game. Why wouldn't you do the same?

 

Also all console players hate you trying to deny us the potential of mods.

 

And i thought you quit.

[d1nk]

3 hours ago, Dracul said:

This is opposite of what you were implying lol. Yeah scorched earth was dirty and boarderline P2W and pretty much earned a lot of the downvoting ark got on steam over the past few months all on its own but paying modders to make content is a good thing. Have you seen some of the stuff on the workshop? If they throw money at those guys to make some of that official im all for it, skilled modders get money, ark devs get blamed for less ball dropping and we get more officially supported goodness.

 

(Not like Prim+ feels like a clunky add on or anything..... <.< )

Se was not nor will ever be p2w. Its a dlc. To say its p2w or even close is just being moronic. 

 

Did they sell wyverns for cash? No. Did they give you free ones for buying dlc? No. You still had t raise them, get eggs, etc. 

 

Its pure idiotism to say its p2w

[vashshadow]

ya we all know how good prim plus turned out that bug filled bullpoop "DLC"

[Jtmorris]

Why would we as customers pay for something like a mod that someone has invested thousands of hours of time into? Who cares if they worked hard to perfect it? Who cares if it turns out to be an exceptional addition to the core game? 

We should have all their work for free.

Paying for mods and DLC is just a money grab. Why should we spend valuable hard earned cash on someone else's art and hard work? Let's stick with a model where modders work on their own time for free, and share that work with us for free!

In fact, Wildcard choosing to pay them for their labor will only encourage them to find value in their work. Soon others will start charging us too! Totally bogus. #KeepGivingUsFreeStuff!!

 

 

 

 

*end sarcasm.

[Jerryn]

 

Quote

We will be providing a $4,000 stipend towards 15 projects each month to assist with ongoing development costs of their projects, with a possibility of completed mods being integrated into the Official Release of ARK: Survival Evolved on PC and Console.

What a dastardly devious plan!  Supporting mods and possibly making them part of the game!  Inconceivable!

 

[Jtmorris]

45 minutes ago, Jerryn said:

 

What a dastardly devious plan!  Supporting mods and possibly making them part of the game!  Inconceivable!

 

And paying them for it! Those greedy monsters. 

[Dracul]

5 hours ago, d1nk said:

Se was not nor will ever be p2w. Its a dlc. To say its p2w or even close is just being moronic. 

 

Did they sell wyverns for cash? No. Did they give you free ones for buying dlc? No. You still had t raise them, get eggs, etc. 

 

Its pure idiotism to say its p2w

Narrow minds are easy kills. They sold access to wyverns and golems, yeah still need to work for those but if you didnt dish out the dosh you can work your little ass off all you want you wont have a wvyern or golem. Or fire arrows, whips, flame throwers, homing missiles, chainsaws or cluster grenades.

eat that humble pie, eat it!