Modding single player Mass Effect 3 bans you from Origin

[Soviet Heavy]

thirdly I could just as well argue that since you have no evidence that this is in fact Origins fault, which the fact that sims 3 exists as it does is evidence that it isn't, I have no reason to believe your claims.

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/344/index/9917845/2#10648995

Modifying the Sims 3 doesn't get you banned, but modifying Mass Effect 3 will. That's bullshit. If Origin can't stay consistent throughout the games it hosts with its rules, then there's no reason for me to buy anything from them.

The ironic thing is that Bioware contradicted themselves. On the first page of that thread a BW member said that they will only take action against multiplayer modders. They redacted that statement at the end to say that SP players will be banned as well.

 

[SajuukKhar]

You are obviously missing the point and creating bullshit to further your own arguments. I see no point to continue this discussion if you're just going to keep pulling the same idiotic points up over and over again.

Tell me what you point is because you seemingly have no clear one.

Your point seems to be "Origin should either force all Devs to allow modding or force all Devs to not allow modding"

Both of which are stupid, and would murder their service, you cant blanket force other devs not owned by you to follow such unrealistic demands such as that.

 

[Kahunaburger]

No, because there are other avenues to play the game if they ban you. It's really stupid when you actually look at the reason. What should have happened is they should have referenced separate datafiles for SP and MP. It wouldn't have taken much programming or space at all. Instead they were lazy as hell and didn't do so. Thus the bans. However, all the bans will do is increase piracy.

Seriously. You know who doesn't have to deal with childish studio behavior?

 

[IMGF]

You are obviously missing the point and creating bullshit to further your own arguments. I see no point to continue this discussion if you're just going to keep pulling the same idiotic points up over and over again.

Tell me what you point is because you seemingly have no clear one.

Your point seems to be "Origin should either force all Devs to allow modding or force all Devs to not allow modding"

Both of which are stupid, and would murder their service, you cant blanket force other devs not owned by you to follow such unrealistic demands such as that.

And why are they stupid? Steam does it reasonably well.

If you have a mod in one of your games that the developers don't want you modding, you simply can't play that game until you remove the mod, and then you can play the game. You're not banned from the entire service like Origin appears to do to you.

 

[SajuukKhar]

No, because there are other avenues to play the game if they ban you. It's really stupid when you actually look at the reason. What should have happened is they should have referenced separate datafiles for SP and MP. It wouldn't have taken much programming or space at all. Instead they were lazy as hell and didn't do so. Thus the bans. However, all the bans will do is increase piracy.

Considering the amount of people who modded Me1 and Me2.... which is to say almost none, and considering how many people bought ME3 with the expectation and/or desire to mod the game, which is again almost none.

The piracy these bans will induce is almost nil.

this isn't like Elder Scrolls or Fallout3/New Vegas that bases itself on modding.

 

[Dansen]

thirdly I could just as well argue that since you have no evidence that this is in fact Origins fault, which the fact that sims 3 exists as it does is evidence that it isn't, I have no reason to believe your claims.

http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/344/index/9917845/2#10648995

Modifying the Sims 3 doesn't get you banned, but modifying Mass Effect 3 will. That's bullshit. If Origin can't stay consistent throughout the games it hosts with its rules, then there's no reason for me to buy anything from them.

The ironic thing is that Bioware contradicted themselves. On the first page of that thread a BW member said that they will only take action against multiplayer modders. They redacted that statement at the end to say that SP players will be banned as well.

It was probably around the time a guy unlocked the prothean on the disk. :/
Keep it classy Bioware

This is retarded and should be brought to court. EA should not hold the rights to how people use their product. It is invasive and absurd, no other industry does this. If I wanted to put some homemade movie clips on to a dvd of a movie I bought, I am perfectly able to do that legally.

A little kid wants to paint his toy a different color, then all in a sudden a man in a suit comes out of no where and takes the toy. The kid asks why the toy was taken away? "You weren't playing with it correctly and you were defacing the artistic vision of its creator, the toy is mine, I am simply licensing this to you."

It is ridiculous and infringes on the rights of the consumer. As long as it doesn't hurt anybody or ruins their gaming experience mods should be welcomed with open arms. They extend your games life and increase its value, its in your interest to encourage this behavior not punish it.

The thing is though, games are not YOUR product, they belong to the developers, you are only renting a license from them.

"Buying" a game is the same as paying to borrow someone elses lawnmower, they can come and take it away any time they want.

Also both the movie and music industry have similar rules on their products, gaming is not alone in this matter.

That is how it has been for decades.

Just because it has been that way for years doesn't mean its right. I can write whatever I want in the book, that doesn't mean the book should be taken away. The whole thing is retarded, as long as people aren't making a profit off the game mods then modding should not only be allowed but endorsed.

 

[SajuukKhar]

Funnily enough, there was another game that based itself heavily around modding. In fact, the fanbase is still creating and releasing mods to this day. It was called Neverwinter Nights, and it was developed by Bioware!

It would be nice if they could at least get some consistency in how they handle modding in their games.

Ah, who are we kidding. It's blatantly EA. They've been trying to make PCs a closed platform for years, so they can sell gamers those $10 gun packs, rather than allowing people to create them themselves.

Classy. Real classy...

Considering
-NWN was released almost a decade ago
-None of the previous ME games had modding tools
-Bioware gave up on the mod tools for DA
-Bioware was making ME1.... before they were bought out by EA

Bioware had pretty clearly been going to a no-mod zone for at least the past 5 years, nor was it really EAs fault.

Hell did Jade Empire have mod tools? I don't remember any, and if so then it has been 7 years that they have going down a no-mod road, and thats still before EA bought them.

 

[ResonanceSD]

And yet every time I say "origin is a smelly pile of poo, which no one in their right mind should use, the same for EA", I get shouted down.

EA: Public company, answers to shareholders. History of being idiots.

Valve: Private Company, does what it wants. History of being awesome.

 

[Alex Tom]

Dis anyone else read the thread? i mean one Bioware guy said no and one said yes so....jumping to conclusions is fun right?

 

[SajuukKhar]

You're acting as if Bioware are still a separate entity from EA, and this was their own decision.

It's not. Bioware is now a subsidy of EA. EA bought them, EA controls them, Bioware is essentially just another in-house EA studio which happens to have its own name.

This decision wasn't Bioware's. This is clearly an EA decision.

Lastly, there is a difference between not releasing mod tools for a game, and actively banning people from using mods in said game. I don't believe Valve released modding tools for the original Half-Life, but they still supported people who came up with great mods for the game. Half-Life 2 even moreso. If you can explain to me how Counterstrike is a bad thing for the industry, I'd be very amused.

Actually no I'm not, despite Bioware being owned by EA they COULD tell EA to fuck off.

This "the second a dev is bought by a publisher everyone in the studio becomes mind slaves to every whim of the publisher" thinking is BS, and not how reality works.

Its the result of old-school Bioware fans desperately trying to put the blame solely on another company in a very vain and transparent attempt to save their nostalgic image of how Bioware was when faced with the reality of how Bioware really is. EA is part of it yes, but the decision is NOT EA's alone, bioware and thier staff is just as much to blame as the EA heads.
.
.
Also I never once stated or implied mods are bad for the industry. All I have ever stated is that a company has the right to dictate how something they own is used by someone else.

Would it be cool if Bioware allowed mods? yes.
Could people possibly make better things using said mods? yes.
Do I think Bioware should allow mods? yes.
Is Bioware's saying "we don't want mods" and banning people over it some violation of consumer rights? no, because the game belongs to them and they can do with it as they please.
Is this Origin's fault? no

 

[Your Fearless Captain]

Uhh were is the problem in this?

-The game belongs to EA/Bioware
-They have the right to say no modding SP


Again, where is the problem?

When most people buy a game on PC they assume that they would be able to install things texture packs, new player made content, bug fixes, ect. Banning someone from their entire Origin library is completely ridiculous.

 

[SajuukKhar]

Does this include save game edits? I didn't want to play the multiplayer so I changed the value of some of my war assets so I could get EMS to 5000.

I doubt they could ever track save-game edits, but they might count.

When most people buy a game on PC they assume that they would be able to install things texture packs, new player made content, bug fixes, ect. Banning someone from their entire Origin library is completely ridiculous.

I practically live on Steam and most of the people I know on there don't expect a game to be moddable or have mods at all unless it is a game like the ES series that prides itself on modding.

I dont know anyone who expected Bioshock or Prey or most games to be moddable.

 

[370999]

Seems a bit weird to ban these guys. I know they can but why? Like what does EA gain from it?

 

[Atmos Duality]

Are EULA's even legally binding in theory?

They are in theory since they are legal contracts.
However, the order in which they are presented matters. If the user had no alternative but to sign AFTER the purchase (implying no incentive for negotiation) they are Contracts of Adhesion and might not be upheld if challenged.

If presented as a Service (like Origin) pre-purchase, they are most likely going to be held up, barring unconscionable/illegal terms or unless EA terminates their agreement in a manner that violates the contract.

However, even if some the terms of an EULA are thrown out, neither party can break any terms that are enforced/required by other laws. In this case, Modding and Copyright Law (since modding utilizes existing coding; there is precedent for this).

 

[FallenTraveler]

Uhh were is the problem in this?

-The game belongs to EA/Bioware
-They have the right to say no modding SP


Again, where is the problem?

I agree here, it is something that they should come out and say up front. Otherwise, some unaware person will get banned for something they had no way of knowing.

 

[SajuukKhar]

I agree here, it is something that they should come out and say up front. Otherwise, some unaware person will get banned for something they had no way of knowing.

I do agree they should make such information more obvious.

But then again the steam icon on the front of the box of steam games, and the warning label on the back that says "THIS GAME REQUIRES A INTERNET CONNECTION AND TO SIGN UP FOR THE STEAM SERVICE" still eludes people.

God I can't count the n umber of times I saw a "SKYRIM/NEW VEGAS REQUIRES STEAM? WHA?" threads when those games first came out.