Some people in the LSPDFR community have started putting mods, tutorials, and “how-to” content behind paywalls, and I don’t agree with it. LSPDFR was built as a free modding community where people shared ideas, files, and knowledge to help others enjoy the game. Charging money for basic support, access to mods, or tutorials takes away from the open-community spirit that made LSPDFR popular in the first place. I was very active years ago and decided to give LSPDFR another shot, and I see a lot hasn't changed, and if anything, the greed is becoming more rampant. I understand creators spend time making content and deserve recognition, but hiding essential mods or information behind subscriptions can divide the community. New players may feel excluded if they cannot afford paid access. I think modding communities work best when creators share knowledge freely and collaborate instead of locking content away. Donations and optional support are fine, but turning a free community into a paywalled environment changes what LSPDFR originally stood for. Just my opinion, and I am talking about the modders who now have Patreon and other forms of payment systems. I have even seen how-to videos on YouTube on certain mods, where, to access the video, you have to pay. What are your thoughts? Am I blowing it out of proportion, or do you agree?

Edited May 21May 21 by lucianboi
add some more info

Yeah I agree.

But every developer should have their right especially if you put money into software or spend a lot of time in their plugins to receive payment for their work.

Maybe another aspect is now gta 6 is coming and gta 5 is getting old there are not that much devs around as when it was released.

But I agree, there are more mods who are paid now

Yeah, I get that too. Developers absolutely deserve compensation if they’re investing money, time, and effort into creating high-quality mods and plugins. Some of these projects take hundreds of hours and ongoing updates, so charging for early access or premium content makes sense.

I just miss when more of the LSPDFR community was open and collaborative. It feels like a bigger portion of mods are locked behind paywalls now compared to before. I think you're right that GTA 5 aging and GTA 6 getting closer probably plays a role too, since there are fewer active devs than there used to be.

Absolutely agree to an extent. Of course, modding is significantly time-consuming, especially for an older game such as GTA V. With FiveM, I somewhat understand the high-priced scripts, vehicles, etc., as you’re selling to the owners of large servers that often bring in hundreds of players who will be using your resources.

However, for LSPDFR, seeing things like a single EUP vest model with a few basic textures being sold for $15+, or a vehicle livery pack where you also have to purchase separate vehicle models for $25+, is kind of crazy. In a way, I don’t blame the developers, because of course they want to maximise the return they get for the work they put in. But that dosent change the point.

Regardless, it’s kind of sad to see how many modifications are left outdated, only for the developer to release the “fixed version” behind a Patreon paywall 🤷‍♂️

That’s the part I think that frustrates a lot of people in the LSPDFR community. Most players understand supporting developers financially, especially for large-scale projects that take real skill and time. The issue is when basic fixes, compatibility updates, or small edits get locked behind subscriptions after the original free content breaks. It also changes the spirit of the community. LSPDFR grew because people shared resources, helped each other, and built on free community-made content. Now it sometimes feels less like a hobbyist modding scene and more like a marketplace where even minor add-ons are monetized separately.

It's not just GTA either, it started with unfinished texture packs for minecraft, and clothing addons for the sims. Now its every game seems to go crazy with this paid model. I mean the fact cars for LSPDFR will cost as much if not more than GTA itself, for high poly optimized vehicles with hardly realistic meta files is insane.

Only way to make a change is to not buy them and stick to the thousands of free mods.