u/Merker6

Something that's probably slid under the radar for the vast majority of DCS players is ED's evolution of their proprietary 3d modelling plugin that converts 3d model files into the DCS-required file type. Previously, this plugin was exlusiviely for 3ds MAX, a professional modelling software that requires a very expensive annual subscription to run. However, they've since moved to the free and beloved Blender in recent years. Today's Weekly Update features their latest version, now availible on GitGub

I can't stress what a big deal this is to modders. For some frame of reference, a 3ds Max subscription is $300 annually, which at this point has probably cost me about $1k since I returned to the A-4 project. Perhaps this is also interesting to some, but I think I've personally invested about $2k into this project over the years and a big chunk of it was simply to have access to the model in its native format.

I know ED gets a lot of criticism for things, so I think it's worth giving them kudos for this big change. Was glad to cancel my annual 3ds renewal about a week ago, lots more money availible for other A-4 dev work :)

This isn't necessarily exlusive to Vic3, but with the latest DLC being an absurd $30 and clearly being in a largely untested and unfinished state, it really seems relevant.

Over the past few years, I've seen community reaction to poorly polished DLC go from outrage to "You gotta wait a few months for it to get ironed out". Have we really just accepted that its okay for a company the size of paradox to consistently launch DLC in an abysmal state for half the price of a AAA title? Reddit may not be even a fraction of the playerbase, but it seems increidbly defeatist at this point for people to try to rationalize this awful practice. Is there any way to reverse this? I'm tired of seeing the post where people try to defend Paradox for this stuff, with excuses like Steam's season pass system or "its actually the free updates" as though those things justify selling unfinished products for ever-increasing prices. When you're sending out a hotfix every few days after release, it strongly suggests that they were working right up to the bell on a deadline they've probably known about for 12 months

When modding teams, made up of loose organizations of ameteurs working on their free time have a higher productivity and more polish than Paradox's full-time, professional game devs do, there is really no excuse for this stuff. I'm paying $30 for a product that is fundementally less expansive than any of the major overhaul mods for this game, and somehow they do it with completely breaking the game's core mechanics at the same time