Poll: Mods: Do They Cheapen a Game?

[Miumaru]

I hate mods mostly. Though Id love the unnoffical Oblivion patch, but thats a fixer. But modding Oblivion, thats your own choice. Its when multiplayer it annoys me. *flashback to watchign friend play Halo 1 on PC online with snipers that shoot plasma grenades* Shiver...

 

[Neverhoodian]

Mods often give my old PC games a new lease on life. When I grow tired of the basic game, I go online and see what the modding community has cooked up. Depending on the genre, I gravitate towards different types of mods:

RTS games: new factions/new units (keeping it relatively balanced is a plus)
RPG games: new quests/storylines/areas/professions
FPS games: custom single player levels/character models

EDIT: I should say I only download mods that alter gameplay for single player games. "Hacks" that give you an unfair advantage in multiplayer isn't my style.

 

[Eponet]

The question in this poll is confusing, it's asking for one of two possibilities (Does it cheapen it or repair/enhance it) while the options only allow you to answer one of those two.

Anyway, recently I've been enjoying Nehrim much, much more than I did Oblivion.

If by cheapen, you mean shine light on how badly and generically designed the original was, and making it look bad by comparison, then yes it does.

If by cheapen you mean present an inferior game, then no it doesn't.

 

[Dys]

Modding adds huge value to the games, there's no obligation to alter the original game if you don't want to, but doing so can breath new life into otherwise old or boring games. I wouldn't have ever bothered with half life 2 if not for the incredible modding community. If people didn't feel the need to modify games there would be no counter strike, team fortress or dystopia.

 

[Ldude893]

http://www.moddb.com/mods/research-and-development

No mods, no masterpieces. Mods enrich a game and enhance it after you've completed the game already.

 

[migo]

I was going to respond, but the poll results are pretty decisive, I don't think I can say anything that hasn't been said before. Mods are awesome, and also why the PS3 trumps the 360, because you can run mods on UT3.

 

[Nouw]

No, they make it better.

Look at Firestorm over Kronus for example. And the mountains of custom made banners, symbols and skins that brighten up your game. Speaking of brightening up your game, they can also make the graphics better.

 

[War-hamster]

So! My question to you, and the TL;DR version of this: Does modding cheapen the purchase of a game by in some way altering the material, or is it more of a tool for enhancing or repairing otherwise 'broken' or 'unfinished' material? Keep in mind: this is a question from the standpoint of a *purchase*, not the playing of the game.

Some games are built around the fact that you can mod them. I mean Bethesda released construction set for Tes 3,4 and FO3. It doesn't cheapen their gamem, imo it is one of their main selling points.
Now, if a game comes out half-finished etc. and the developers can't be bothered to fix the bugs... well, that's just stealing our money. A good example would be Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. Really great game, it's propobly one of my top 10 all time favourite games, but the game crashed at a certain point. How cool is that? I pay money for a game that I can't finish? It was up to the modders to save the day (which they did).

 

[Imbechile]

Oblivion, proof that mods can make ANYTHING good, well except F3 I couldn't mod that enough to know that enjoyable.

Haha I also hate those two. I'm gonna mod Oblivion soon and see if I can actually enjoy it. With F3 i won't even bother
OT:I mod games only when I start my second playthrough. Mod's are great and can sometimes change the gameplay drastically. For instance I know Morrowind inside-out, so I'm gonna install some mods to change the game to get a little diffrent experience.

 

[Unrulyhandbag]

How could mods in general be bad? If you see a bad one or one that sounds like a cheat or outside the games canon you simply don't use it. If you see a good one it enchanced the game, and some mods are immense.


played a game and ever wondered why it has a item with stats so poor you can't reasonably use it or a quest reward that just looks nice and gets sold immediately? someone's probably fixed that (and someone else has probably turned it into a cheat item)

Dislike the levelling system? chances are it can be tweaked.

Ever played a game where half the content has been cut, the ending is rubbish and the thing is crippled with bugs? If the assets are still on the disk we can fix it ál a KOTOR2 and vampire:masquerade

Every game has features that stop it being perfect and the ability to polish them within the player community


No mods would mean no Nehrim for oblivion which I've been playing since it came out the other day and is, in fact, a far better game than the one it's made with.


edit: damn that preview button for being so close to post, that's twice I've hit the wrong one now.

 

[blankedboy]

Oblivion, proof that mods can make ANYTHING good, well except F3 I couldn't mod that enough to know that enjoyable.

You should see DaggerXL... someone's putting Daggerfall in a new engine using OpenGL.
So far, it kicks ass. They're also making the game fully 3D, so you have enemies with 3D models now... can't wait until it's done.

 

[DazZ.]

Your poll is nonsensical, you can't ask two questions and then give the answers as variations of yes and no.

Seeing as my main game at the moment is TF2 I'm going to have to go and say mods most certainly don't cheapen a game for without mods TF2 wouldn't exist.

 

[Jandau]

How does it "cheapen" the game? The only way it might cheapen the game is by highlighting (and subsequently fixing) unfinished or broken aspects of a game, in which case a game is also cheapened by a negative review.

Basically, one big NO to your question. Mods only serve to enhance a game and they are completely optional. You lose nothing by ignoring them if they bother you. As for your own personal feelings about the whole thing, those are your problem and not any fault of the mods themselves.

Also, Borderlands is mediocre on any platform, and no amount of modding will change that...

 

[Good morning blues]

Not necessarily. Counter-Strike didn't "cheapen" Half-Life.

I rarely enjoy mods that just alter the gameplay of the original game somehow, however. If they're fixing bugs that's one thing, but anything more usually detracts from the fiction of the game if not the gameplay. A mod that lets you dual-wield everything, for instance, is of no interest to me whatsoever.

 

[Bob_Bobbington]

No, they make it better.

Look at Firestorm over Kronus for example. And the mountains of custom made banners, symbols and skins that brighten up your game. Speaking of brightening up your game, they can also make the graphics better.

I just found that mod. It makes the game much more playable as IG. One of the most complete mods out there and it still isn't finished.

OT: Nope. Mods can enhance or even redirect the way I play a game and I find that awesome.

 

[Segadroid]

Mods can not only repair broken bits of a game, they can enrich the original and add replay value when done right.

Now bear with me for a minute if I say HL and HL2 mods are an example of that. I know, I know, there are a ton of shitty ones that are just a waste of effort and creativity, but some gems, like CounterStrike(which was at first a mod), They Hunger, Empiresmod, Synergy, AHL2, Combine Destiny and of course Garry's Mod 10, are an example of mods adding something to the existing game.

 

[Canid117]

If you don't like the mod then don't download it.

 

[L-J-F]

Most games are much worse than any mod that was ever made on them, so definitely not. In fact, probably the opposite is true, actually, it IS!

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

ehh..i love mods and all, but sometimes ppl rage and worship games FOR their mods, please, when you are describing a game, dont call it awesome unless you are talking about the vanilla game, and if you do call it awesome, be sure to include that the mods make the game/ fix the broken parts of it. so many people forget to include those minor details..

On the same token, though...could a patch not be considered a mod as well? It is altering a vanilla game, adding, removing, or repairing elements in a way similar to a mod. It is, however, endorsed and developed by (at least I presume) the original creators of the game. I do, however, agree that some people should be more aware of what it is they are praising about the game in question, especially when they are discussing that game with possible buyers. Personally, I'd be more comfortable with a purchase if I knew what to expect out of a game, be it a solid vanilla product or a game rife with opportunities for modding.

that is true, but as you mentioned it is by the developer and for the most part it keeps all the aspects of the original game the same, just fixes any broken glitches or broken parts/weapons/etc...

yeah all im asking really is that people judge the vanilla game first, then if they mention that the mods can make the game THAT much better, then i might consider it a bit differently and go in open minded that the vanilla game might not be where the fun is at.