Counter-Strike 2, Subscriptions (Long winded mindless droning)

[chemicalagent]

I'm suprised the CS (Counter-Strike for those that live on mars) team (which now comprises of some of the Valve Team I suppose) Is going for the "Half-Life Mod" approach... Yet again.

It seems like Valve would be ready to cut these guys loose and let them actually develop the game on their own- not a mod limited by the constraints of the game the engine was designed for (well, then again, source is not exactly what I would call limited- but im sure there were specific changes for the source they will license and the source for Hl2).

I am personally not a huge Counter-Strike fan, but this really had me thinking the other day. From the financial perspective, I suppose the Online "by the mod" paying style would make sense after all, If it were indeed just a mod and not standalone. That way they would generate more money from CS2 Players, given that they will be forced to buy HL2 and pay for CS2- and cs players are the market at this point - there are now (1:29 AM EST) 37257 cs players playing RIGHT NOW vs the 2000 playing other mods / vanilla HLDM.


Of course, wheather or not we will be paying for certian mods / expansions like cs2 still remains uncertin and undetermined at this point.

But, I'll tell you, if they DO decide to make us pay subscriptions or introduce mod specific pricing, it will be because of CS2.

There is just so much money to be made.

What about some feedback guys? I hope this remained coherent, I kind of went off on a tangent.

 

[Flyingdebris]

thanks a whole bunch CS players, thanks to you valve got the idea to grab up popular mods and make us pay to have them...all because you can't stop playing CS for 5 goddam minutes

I hate you CS players

*stomps pff to gripe some more....turns around and glares at cs players while shaking his fist like an angry old man....

 

[Curator]

The only difference between now and the first HL concerning mods is that Valve is now allowing modders to license the Source engine and sell their mod, mostly through steam. It is still entirely up to the modders themselves to decide whether they want to charge for their mod or not. Given the success of CS, I'd say it's pretty certain CS2 will cost something. However, in order to license Source you also need money to pay Valve which i'm certain won't be cheap. Some may decide to give it a try while others may not want to risk the possibility of losing their investment if their product fails. Only time will tell.

The good thing about this is it opens up alot of new possibilities for mods. If team members have the incentive of making some money off of their mod they may actually work harder and thus produce a better product than you would normally get.

 

[Polykarbon]

Good Luck to Valve on giving CS2 same feel that CS has. CS is one of those rare games, that in a sense, got lucky[bad use of words]

As much as I WANT to see CS2 on the source engine, the probability of it being duplicated and as fun is very minimal.

With that said--I am ready for Valve/etc to prove me wrong.

 

[Polykarbon]

The good thing about this is it opens up alot of new possibilities for mods. If team members have the incentive of making some money off of their mod they may actually work harder and thus produce a better product than you would normally get.

I see mod developers releasing their games for free at first, and in a sense, leaving them at a [beta] stage. Then, when the game gets a good amount of success from gamers, and has over A LOT of servers playing it, they release a 2.0/3.0 etc and call it final and charge 10 dollars for it.

 

[Gunner]

Originally posted by chemicalagent
Of course, wheather or not we will be paying for certian mods / expansions like cs2 still remains uncertin and undetermined at this point.

But, I'll tell you, if they DO decide to make us pay subscriptions or introduce mod specific pricing, it will be because of CS2.

You have to realize, most CS players are teenagers and they cannot afford to pay for anything. I am a CS player (not the 1337 type) and I'll be glad to see all the kids leave, it's no problem for me it's more of a blessing. If you can't afford paying for your hobby then that's your problem, Valve has every right to make people pay for their products besides no one is forcing you to buy them.

 

[JavaGuy]

Originally posted by Flyingdebris
thanks a whole bunch CS players, thanks to you valve got the idea to grab up popular mods and make us pay to have them...all because you can't stop playing CS for 5 goddam minutes

WHAT?! YOU MEAN THEY WANT TO MAKE MONEY? WTFOMG!!!1

Oh wait... I charge for my time, work, and efforts too....

Nevermind.

 

[oldi1knoby]

The whole ****ing idea of COMMUNITY CREATED MODS was so that the community could make FREE games. If these assholes want to undermine the whole process of mod-making by charging people for mods, then it is going to suck. I am just going to buy HL2. **** all this other bullshit. I could care less how good CS2 is gonna be. I only played the first for maybe a month or 2 on and off. It never held my attention for more than a few days before I had to play something else.

 

[Mackan]

its up to the modmakers if they want people to pay for their mod.. there will still be free mods

 

[Anwar]

Most mod makers are making the mods so they can get experience making games and they can get a job with a real company.

With hl2 they can start their own company if they have enough talent.

 

[JavaGuy]

Originally posted by oldi1knoby
The whole ****ing idea of COMMUNITY CREATED MODS was so that the community could make FREE games. If these assholes want to undermine the whole process of mod-making by charging people for mods, then it is going to suck. I am just going to buy HL2. **** all this other bullshit. I could care less how good CS2 is gonna be. I only played the first for maybe a month or 2 on and off. It never held my attention for more than a few days before I had to play something else.

Dude, take a breath.

Free mods that were community-created were free because a) they were not of commercial quality, and; b) it required expensive technology licensing to go retail.

If someone has the resources to overcome these two things, why in the world should they produce it for free? If you had a capable team and a financial backing, would YOU spend your blood, sweat and tears months on end just to serve your precious baby up to the world for free? Hell no.

I'm all for free mods, but you can't get pissed when a few teams have the potential to actually kick off a studio. I mean, that's just about every gamer's dream - why ignore it when you can realize it?

Some people are just too stuck in their self-righteous view of "damn the world for not giving me free stuff!". Look at it from their vantage point. Mod creation (that's free) is good for those who do not have the experience or financial backing quite yet to break into the biz... the fact that YOU benefit from this is merely a side-effect. The world owes you (or myself) nothing.

 

[Flyingdebris]

WHAT?! YOU MEAN THEY WANT TO MAKE MONEY? WTFOMG!!!1 Oh wait... I charge for my time, work, and efforts too.... Nevermind.

dude, calm down, i'm am making with the jokes. Do yo really think i hate cs players so much that i would blame them for something that isn't really their fault?












You damn right I would, screw those guys!

 

[TseTse]

folks, cs and dod and tf were basically... mods in the most basic sense.

what, imho, has made the "hl revolution" was the brilliant idea of really supporting these mods as BOTH free addons as well as comemrcial/shelf products.

buy-1-get-all-free

that is what made the HL Phenomena what it is online, and what has driven all the modding interest in HL2.

frankly, as a modder, im no longer interested in hl2 given that they are simply rolling out a line of commercial products (an unknown line, at that) and the real support for user-mods is completely unclear...

as a gamer, well, im no more or less interested than before. i will NOT "pre-buy' games simply due to some knee-jerk faith in valve.

im in it for HL2 right now... but that's about it, until i see more.

personally, i think they could make MORE money in the end with the "buy 1, get all free" business model... and that is a lot more inviting for mod makers...

 

[dscowboy]

Originally posted by TseTse
frankly, as a modder, im no longer interested in hl2 given that they are simply rolling out a line of commercial products (an unknown line, at that) and the real support for user-mods is completely unclear...

What exactly is unclear about it? Why does everyone think that because CS and DoD were purchased, that nobody will ever make good mods again? Seriously, what's the confusion here? Make a mod for HL2, then distribute it for free. Or if you feel it's good enough that people will actually pay for it, charge money through Steam and pay Valve a percentage. I guarantee that the vast majority of community developed mods will still be free, simply because people will refuse to pay for them until they reach a professional level. What is so hard to understand about this?

Originally posted by TseTse
personally, i think they could make MORE money in the end with the "buy 1, get all free" business model... and that is a lot more inviting for mod makers...

How could that POSSIBLY be more 'inviting' to mod makers? "Work real hard on mods for HL2, and maybe you'll get a cookie someday!" Are you suggesting that if I buy Warcraft 3, I should get all the expansion packs for free too? It's not that difficult to understand:

Blizzard develops The Frozen Throne using the WC3 engine
just like
Valve develops CS2 using the Source engine

Guess what, they were both developed by professionals that get paid salaries to make games. Suggesting that their work should be free is an insult to them.

 

[Ahnteis]

Originally posted by chemicalagent
I'm suprised the CS (Counter-Strike for those that live on mars) team (which now comprises of some of the Valve Team I suppose) Is going for the "Half-Life Mod" approach... Yet again.

Where's this info - I haven't found anything on the subject.

Thanks.

 

[Mackan]

amen to that dscowboy

 

[The more on]

Even if CS is not a free add-on, new mods will apear, new mod team will show their talent a creativity and we shall all rejoice.

 

[JavaGuy]

Originally posted by The more on
Even if CS is not a free add-on, new mods will apear, new mod team will show their talent a creativity and we shall all rejoice.

Ahh... someone who gets it.

 

[Mountain Man]

I'm most uncomfortable with the idea that traditionally free mods might turn into commercial products. The success of Half-Life's mod community is that the mods were freely available. If gamers see themselves getting nickle and dimed to death by every garage developer hoping to make a buck, Half-Life 2's mod community could die before it even gets started.

 

[dscowboy]

"nickle and dimed"? I know that I've gotten a lot more enjoyment out of CS, DoD, and NS EACH than I've gotten from most games I pay 50 bucks for. Heck, I've played CS more than any other game in my life. What's the big deal about paying for something good?

I'm EXCITED about non-free mods coming out. Mods that acutally have funding will be able to go so much further and get there so much faster than amateur mods. How long did it take for NS 2.0 to get released, like, over a year? Simply because their funding is so limited. I'm also excited about how many new, original, amateur, free mods will come out for HL2.

The mod scene for HL2 is going to be so much bigger and more diverse than for HL1. People should be excited about this, not paranoid that everthing will somehow 'collapse' just because some games won't be free.

Seriously mountain man, what's your favorite HL1 mod? Wouldn't you be happy to pay 10 - 15 bucks for all the fun you've gotten from that mod, and to promote further development? Why wouldn't it be the same with HL2 mods?

EDIT: spelling

 

[WaSwAt]

i wont mind if i have to BUY cs to play it (it must be beneath 15 € though) but i wont subscribe for it... i'd rather play the old cs instead of subscribing

 

[dscowboy]

As we understand, subscription is only a payment _option_. There won't be anything available to subscribers that isn't available for people to purchase outright. Nobody will have to subscribe to any Valve games, but subscription may be cheaper if you want to play four games for a month and then cancel your subscription.

Gabe really should've referred to 'subscription' as 'renting'. You're renting games you could always buy if you wanted to.