Dheuster

So... JUST FYI, The add blocker I am using allows you to right click an add and block it. It causes the ad blocker to examine the pages DOM, identify what you clicked on and prevent it from rendering based on attributes. In this case, the slide in menu came back as an iFrame on the nexus site with the name/id: google_ads_iframe_/58309977/nexusmods_0 Since I blocked that element, I haven't seen the slide in window or had any stability issues with nexus. Still running the ad-blocker, but I have an exception for nexus and other sites I support. And now my ad blocker has a filter for this element. So either one of two things: That element is being injected into the dom by another ad/javascript dependency library, or it is a part of the site by design (doubt it). Regardless, I have disabled the element as it appears to be what was causing my lag and stability issues. For anyone reading this with similar issues, I am using the Chrome extension "AdBlock" with the following custom filer: @@||www.nexusmods.com/$documentwww.nexusmods.com##IFRAME[id=google_ads_iframe_/58309977/nexusmods_0][name=google_ads_iframe_/58309977/nexusmods_0] If the name/id changes and the block stops working, I will update this post. UPDATE: After a few days, the number in the google ads iframe changed. So I had to make my filter more general and filter out all iframes: @@||www.nexusmods.com/$documentwww.nexusmods.com##IFRAME

Happens on Chrome and Edge. If I install an Ad Blocker, it stops. I don't see these slide in ads on any other sites.

Next Slide in Ad. Note the time.

Expanded Details of Last URL request

Here is the Ad playing. I activated the Network Traffic Bar

Recently, when I visit nexus, I see slide in ads coming in from the lower right hand corner of the screen. They have different ads in them, and they are normally movies. The bandwitch is expensive and decreases the usability of the site. It also sometimes causes the browers to react slowly and even crash. Here are some screen shots. The slide in:

I say Kudos to Nexus for trying out something new. But as others have mentioned, I think this first shot will backfire. But hopefully it will be refined into something that works. Personally, I don't like the fact that it will discourage complex mods and overhauls. I fear it will also anger Bethesda, because the system essentially encourages mod authors to pull their mods from other sites and force everyone to download from here. I dont think Bethesda will say "don't do that". Instead, they will just put code in place that requires all Bethesda game mods to come from Bethesda servers. I think the pool is a good idea, but I think it should be treated as a members-only, private internal lottery focused on authors, not mods. When mod authors download some modding tools (the creation kit), we/they agreed to a legal disclaimer saying we/they won't make money directory OR INDIRECTLY from the mods. But nexus supports more than just mods. It supports images, articles, videos (Machinima), save games, batch files, executable programs. A content author is vague and doesn't have to equate to a mod. Focusing monetary rewards on content authors and not specifically mods helps avoid the legal issue of saying the money is somehow related to a specific MOD that was created with Bethesda Tools. It also allows the system to consider an authors previous works. I think there should be a smaller number of "winners" each month (maybe 10?), and getting elected to win the lottery should use a lottery election system similar to kudos but new. Results and leaderboards should be visible to the public, but voting ability should be limited to premium members and users who donated to the current months pot. (Give everyone the button, but tell them what they need to do when they click on it). Allow eligible voters to elect up to 10 other content creators a month. Require a minimum vote to qualify. And If someone wins the pool, they can't win again for 1 year. Any monetary gains by using botnets or fake accounts would be negated by the cost of making a minimum donation and meeting the minimum vote requirements. Such a system would not discourage large mods or push mod authors to pull their mods from other sites and would stand up better in court if a lawyer tried to claim the money was paying users for a mods since technically the lottery would be open to all content authors. My two cents. (Original Post Edited to include legal concerns)

The lack of documentation plays into the learning curb issue. Throughout the code, there are comments like "See http://institute.bethsoft.com/index.php?title=SOMETHINGTECHNICAL for more information". Well, that URL doesn't work and never has. So figuring out things like how the companion system works and how the workshop system works... are all basically through trial and error. There is a huge learning curb for anyone wanting to make a mod of any complexity. I should know, I have been working on mine for 10 months...

Why: Because of consoles, plain and simple. You have to build your game to the lowest denominator. I don't know what is the lowest spec console that runs FO4, but that is what the limit was for. Shame they didn't think to remove it for the PC release. So our build budgets are all based on the capabilities of an 8 to 10 year old console system. How: That red workbench in the middle of the settlement actually tracks the-settlement information. There is a script attached that adds lots of properties like... if the settlement has been unlocked, how many settlers you have, what they have been assigned to, merchants, traderoutes, etc.. It has 4 other important values. A max poly, max draw, current poly and current draw property (accessed as actor values). Most settlement workbenches have a default max budget of 1000000 polys and 1000 draws (objects). Sanctuary has 3M/3000. Spectacle Island has 5M/5000. What I find most interesting is despite these max values, the current values do not start at 0. Notice when you get to Sanctuary and start building, the progress bar is already 1/3 of the way full. Each settlement has a unique starting "currentdraw" count that I suppose accounts for the surroundings. One way to fix the problem is to is to increase the max. You just have to be careful that you don't go crazy. You can accidentally exceed max-int, especially on a 32 bit machines. The other way is to reset the "current" values. IE: Just set them both to zero. That is a lot safer and you can do it as many times as you want and nothing will care. The reason I know all this is because my mod has an auto-scrap and I have to update the current poly/draw counts when I scrap items.

Anyone have a save game where they have taken the time to make a cool settlement (or 20) they would like to share with the world? =) I am finishing up a mod and one of the features is that you can tell followers to scrap settlements and/or build a selection of pre-fabs. Using my mod, I can take a snapshot of a settlement and make it one of my pre-fab options. But I need the settlement to exist to take the snapshot. Specifically I am looking for settlements that use only vanilla game resources (No mod or DLC items) and adhere to the games limits. My mod will be console compatible, so the settlement can't push the limits too far (10 extra items wont break the bank, but 25 might). My snapshopt script recognizes 2000 items. Pretty much anything the vanilla crafting system will allow you to CREATE OR SCRAP. That includes cars and trees which are not part of the normal crafting pallet. So it is OKAY if you use a mod or console to help create the settlement, as long as the elements are vanilla and you don't exceed the settlement budget by more than 10 items. My script also records scale, so scaling items is a viable trick.... If anyone has save games (settlements) they would like to share or would like to take a stab at contributing let me know here or via a message. (This is a repost from the Mod Talk Thread, but I dont know how to move messages...)

Moving this post to: https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/5668257-need-savegames-with-settlements/?p=50435017

I don't see how F4SE would help. It would prevent compatibility with consoles, but that is about it. An activation code is a console friendly solution (which is what I prefer). As for circumventing, if you excluded all source code and the bootstrap was self contained (Use Game.GetForm() instead of injecting/exposing properties) and there was a handshake with all activated quest scripts (You couldn't simply remove the file and tell the quests to start using console), it would be difficult. But... yes, pex files can be decompiled. With enough effort someone could decompile/recompile your bootstrap and remove the prompt. But... any solution can be circumvented with enough effort. It is not about a bullet proof solution. It is about mitigation solutions that make your mod a harder target than the next mod. Whether someone goes the extra mile and adds handshakes to make removal harder isn't really the debate. Here I am simply asking... after all that trouble, you have a prompt and a file that someone has to go download to unlock the mod. Is that too annoying? Also, I am unaware of the Steam ID info. What about people who don't have a steam account? Can you not run Fallout 4 without steam?

I was thinking about the pirating issue (people uploading mods they don't own to unauthorized sites) and I figured the easiest solution would be a bootstrap script that pops up a message box with 5 buttons (2 numbers per button) and a message that says:"Enter Activate Code: (download from .....)". Thus even if someone uploads your mod to other sites, users would need to download that file from nexus to activate it. So you would get a sense of the mods usage and popularity by the number of downloads. The idea hinges on the assumption that Bethesda (like steam) will only accept valid archives. An activation code is simply a text file and can't be distributed as an archive. Alternatively you could add the Activation code to a readme and make it a separate download. Then you kill two birds with one stone : Ensure users are aware of your readme and also get a sense of usage. Only thing is... it may be too annoying. So I made a poll to see what others think.

I don't think he is trying to do harm to the console users machine. Rather, he knows he is not uploading to Bethesda.net, so if a console user is playing the mod, it obviously was pirated. One option would be to make a Boot strap quest with an onInit that enables the other quests by ... setting a Global. Or maybe add the player to a faction. That is harder to bypass. The bootstrap script could check for Game.UsingGamePad() and refuse to allow the other quests to start with a warning message if one is detected. PC users with GamePads could bypass by simply changing to keyboard until after the check. Need to confirm that console users can't disable the GamePad setting. A savvy user could edit the mod and remove the check, but it would require effort. More of a deterrent than anything else. Hey, if your mod is > 1 Gig, it can't be uploaded to Bethesda.net :)