Your logic is pretty lame.

You base your argument that mods with extra planets and variation is good and desirable, but then blast the game developer for adding content following an approach you obviously like.

Further you imply that the actual game developers are somehow less capable of delivering a quality product than an amatuer mod developer 

Also, with all that content that is found in Maelstrom stability issues abound. In contrast the actual game developer must ensure stability across multiple systems/hardware and ensuring the memory limitations are kept in check at max settings. These are things mods do not have to follow as short cuts and deliberate exceptions can be made to quality.

Then the obvious thing to realize... Maelstrom has an audience of around 5000 people in Rebellion and is considered fairly unbalanced by most accounts. In contrast un-modded sins has a player base dramatically higher than that who are much more likely to purchase the DLC then they are to search out and install mods from moddb.

And don't think I'm picking on Maelstrom as I'm a fan of his work- but this applies to all mods including my own. 

Ya, I didn't cover this enabled more modding features. The new planet bonus options are pretty good too.

Just thought the guy is missing the difference from a commercial product release and what mods do.

People hate on this DLC too much. It's added in a lot of features, moddable features at that, that add a lot of depth to the game, in particular to base Sins.

The fact that there are four new planet groups allows for a wealth of planet mods to make plenty of planet groupings rather than having to rely on the few that are currently ingame, which is something that has adversely hit mods in the past, such as the famous Sins Plus.

The specialization system allows modders to make planet features, such as a bonus to ship construction time, a part of a planet's entity itself, rather than coding it as a passive ability, which will result in RAM savings.

Plus there have been new options added to planet bonuses, such as an increase, or decrease, in the number of star bases and mines that can be built, and in the maximum allegiance a planet can have.

Heck, I don't even plan to use the DLC in my own modding, but it's pretty damn clear that this DLC adds a wealth of possibilities for modders to use and exploit.

You really should listen to all the modders here.

They are right, you know?

It also makes it far more easier to find people on MP to play with. Finding people who have your mod installed and are willing to play in MP with it are very rare.

Last but not least... Maelstrom is nice.... but is balancing is anything but good.

So please spare us your unjustified complaints!

And come on.... 5 pathetic dollars.

The only group that I think really should be complaining about the DLC is the competitive MP crowd...the new planet types don't add much to ICO, the new planet bonuses are too much of a crap shoot, and the planet specialization is too unbalanced....and yet, even from their perspective, all they have to do is NOT BUY THE DLC and still enjoy all the balance tweaks and additions made by the v1.5 patch (and the DLC doesn't screw up ICO, that's nice too)....

Ironically, the MP community has done little complaining despite it's history....

I guess you only eat at a restaurant once then move to a different one... because surly there is no way you spend 8 bucks for a quarter pound deal at McDonalds and then go back for the same exact meal. I mean really, you just gave them 8 dollars last week for the same burger.

Man MyFist0, McDonald's has surely ripped me off.  Those snarky, corporate bastids!

I tried to install that off the disk once recently. I totally tripped out seeing an asteroid with 4 resource nodes and no pirate toggle.  

You do realize that a minimum of 50%, if not more, of SoaSE:R owners don't own Trinity or any of the previous versions, right? While on these forums this number is quite different, on the whole most people are newcomers in comparison to veterans, and thus your statement does not hold with reference to the "average" SoaSE:R owner.

But we are doing exactly that. The OP is comparing the DLC to content-heavy mods, and modders are telling him how his comparison is entirely illegitimate and how these changes will result in better mod content, which is something the OP will benefit from and enjoy once the modding community includes it enmass.

All i can do is facepalm in astonishment. There is so much under the hood of this DLC that has improved Sins 100 fold. 5 bucks is definitely worth the price. EA would have charged 30+ bucks then abandoned it. Sins is still being supported. I have much respect for the sheer amount of work put into this game that the average gamer doesn't see.

There are people who see the glass half empty.  There are people who see the glass half full.  Then there are people who insist the glass is filled with piss and it doesn't matter which it is.  The last group is never happy unless they are talking about piss.  It's their only version of "fun", "smart" or "original".