Name: arQon
Location: California
Posts: 270
One of the most annoying, pointless things about Q3 was the constant reinvention of the wheel. Now it's already happening in Q4 and there aren't even any real mods yet. This is ridiculous.

OSP and CPMA were the gold standard for Q3 not just because Rhea and I were better developers or put more time into our work than most people, but because everything we each did improved both mods. Every bug that was fixed, every feature that was added, was done so for half the effort that it would have taken if we'd been working independently, allowing us to tackle the NEXT bug or feature that much more quickly.
(I'm simplifying here: Khaile, PhaNToM, HighlandeR, Dessignator, all contributed too, and when Q3Comp was around we also worked with Papa on several things).

We also shared a ton of stuff with other mods for the Greater Good: notably the PM skins and several key bug fixes, and while that didn't help US at all, it enormously helped the community as a whole.

With Q4 enabling whole new levels of customization, significant amounts of any given mod are going to be in assets, not developer time. Graphics, models, scripts, and so on. It's a HUGE waste of time for every mod group to just keep duplicating everyone else's work, and in many cases to do an inferior job of it (how many half-assed rip-offs of the PM skins and OSP HUDs were there?)

I want to see the community actually try and ACT like one for a change, instead of a bunch of infighting brats. I want a Bazaar, with content put under a Creative Commons license, so that EVERY mod has the best possible PM skins; the best possible HUDs; the best possible sounds, and so on, with the people who actually do the work getting the recognition that they deserve for their contributions.

If you make a HUD that people like but try to keep it to your own precious little world, someone will rip off the UI file, tweak it a little, and then claim it's their own and use it anyway. Doesn't it make more sense to give it to everyone in the first place and get due credit for it than to have some asshole just steal it and deny you that recognition?

There will doubtlessly be people who try to take advantage of this by grabbing everything they can get their hands on and giving back nothing in return. The thing is, in the grand scheme those people don't MATTER. What DOES matter is that you as a player don't have to put up with some piece of shit HUD and black-on-black enemies just because the developer of your mod of choice has no artistic talent or no time to do such things.

Make it happen. Use Creative Commons for any content you do for Q4, and you'll not only be better rewarded for the work you do as a creator, you'll have a better all-round experience as a player as well.