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dimmu1313

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So I have another thread going, to which I gotten a few replies, and a few comments on the file page, mostly positive. What I'm looking for is feedback and reviews, and general input. I can't tell if the problem is me, if my mod sucks, I don't know. But it shows me almost 4000 views, and only a couple hundred downloads. 5 endorsements so far, and all I can think is "what am I doing wrong?"

 

By my estimates, I have over 300 hours put into my mod, which is a series of dungeons and quests. I realize the content isn't for everyone, and the way some of the quests work (in part due to the way I set them up and in part the bugginess of skyrim/CK) are found to be rather difficult. Personally I enjoy having to look a little and think a little, and I don't really like quest markers, but it seems like some people want to race through content and not "stop and smell the roses" so to speak. That's fine, but feedback that tells me that would be nice, because I can certainly tone down the difficulty or just make the dungeons/quests last all of 5 minutes if that's what people want.

 

Regardless of the issues, I need actual feedback in order to make the mod more appealing overall. Do people like it and they just don't know or understand the endorsement function? Is there something about the file page that are making the majority of 4000 page views pass over the file and not download.

 

I would very much appreciate it if some seasoned reviewers could take a look at not only the file page but actually install and run the mod and send me a PM or leave feedback on the file page. If it is particularly scathing or bad, probably a PM would be better as I would like people to judge for themselves, but either way let me know. Right now I feel like hundreds of hours have largely been wasted as it seems like not many people are running and/or liking what they are seeing :/

 

PS - it is the mod linked in my signature.

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I can't speak for other people, but I didn't download it because you said it was 'ongoing'. I hate that kind of thing because I dislike updating mods frequently mid playthrough, particularly when progress is restricted by having to wait for these updates. It looked pretty good and I'll definitely give it a go once it's finished though :D

 

Some nice graphics and stuff on the front page might help too, the red font isn't overly professional. :smile:

 

Good luck getting more notice, I sincerely hope it goes well for you.

 

EDIT: Also, visual spectacle is a huge deal when it comes to downloads. The stuff you've shown looks very vanilla for want of a better term. I recommend thinking about maybe trying to use custom clutter and stuff to make the dungeons look unique and interesting. Maybe you've already done that and avoided pictures so as to not spoil things, but from what I can see, it's not overly aesthetically appealing.

Edited by Issa 5
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Hey,

 

I now that feel bro. I have spent a lot of time with my Vakarian Castle mod and still, it got only about 8 Endors. The important stuff is, talk to the people who leave feedback. Make good screenshots, a good description, etc. And dont ask for Endors.! Thats not only against the rules of th Nexus, it sounds kinda needy too.

How ever, keep on making mods, update your mod. Maybe ask some Skyrim Youtuber to make a video about it and stuff like that. I managed to get around 22 Endors. on my mod so far.

 

Just keep on going.

Thats how it is.

 

I will check out your mod and leave you feedback btw :)

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I don't think you're doing anything wrong Dimmu, the ratio per view to download is roughly 10 to 1, that's the usual rate for most mods. I can understand and respect the time you have dedicated to your work, I learned about making quests the hard way, and have myself been bitten by the quest bug. Maybe you should include more popular features like a follower in your quest, someone who can be recruited after the quest is finished, there's plenty of talented voice actors you can get to voice the actor and custom voiced actors are few and quite unique. Tie one into the quest with ultimately the player having the option to recruit them after completing the quest or some unique custom armor, weapons etc.

I'll download it and play it later with Rigmor and give you some feedback when it's completed.

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Quest markers should be used for quests regardless of if you like them or not. If you don't like quest markers there is ini tweaks to shut them off. Most people do not like playing hide and seek in a game that is not a find the hidden item type game which is why the markers are turned on by default. By not using them you are telling potential users of your mod that your preference is the only preference and they do not have a preference of their own. That's how they can feel subconsciously and that makes them like the mod as a whole less.

 

Skyrimprefs.ini default settings

[GamePlay]
bShowFloatingQuestMarkers=1
bShowQuestMarkers=1

 

There is a couple other things I noticed there are only 3 images. 2 are showing where the dungeon is located and one shows the inside. Theres nothing in the images that says what to expect inside except it's a cave. Some random images of enemy NPC's coming at you or view of other parts of the cave would help gain interest.

 

The mod is not finished "You'll notice the main quest can't be completed yet." and that turns potential players away. Many will hit the track button if the mod sounds interesting. But... there is no info on what the mod is about, giving a brief description of the story besides meet Hilda nearby The Graven Deep will get more interested in the mod. Why is she there? What does she need help with? What's her story? and many other questions. You can say what kind of quest the mod is such as a fetch quest or a rescue quest. That can be done where it is a teaser and not a spoiler. As it is there is an air of mystery and that's everything except Hilda, cave, and mystery quest.

 

Otherwise Don't get discouraged, complete the quest mod and improve upon it. Most importantly is enjoy making it.

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Ok thanks all for the tips and info. I guess an idea I had back when I started it was to make it a "serial" mod. I had hoped, and maybe this was asking too much of the community, to make the main quest and series of dungeon cells, an ongoing adventure. It takes literally *forever* to complete a cell, at least for me. My turnaround time is anywhere from 2-3 weeks, unless I have extra time off from work. I have friends and family members asking why the heck I've fallen out of touch lol. So that's why I thought I would roll it out in pieces and use player feedback to see where it would go. Things like "can't wait to see what happens to such-and-such" or "It would be great if 'this' happens to that NPC" or "I would like to see this unique item be used in the story 'this' way". Basically player-driven content. I enjoy writing and I do enjoy the development process but I thought it would be cool to defer to actual player input, not just spend weeks or months developing a dungeon then rolling it out all at once, hoping people notice it, and move on.

 

Maybe that was a bad idea, I guess. Kinda deflating, actually :/

 

As far as quest markers, unfortunately they just don't want to cooperate. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't and I can't really do anything about it. I have been placing them though. There is one treasure hunting side quest that is entirely optional and largely the items are found just from normal movement about the dungeon. I wanted people to actually spend time in the dungeon and not blaze through it, but made it optional, which is why it is somewhat hidden, and not story-driving.

 

I kind of thought screenshots would be an issue and I will be working on that directly.

 

I thought about having one of the NPCs be a potential follower, depending on the outcome of the quest, but that just seemed like it would add a level of scripting complexity that is beyond me. I spend a large amount of my dev time debugging and troubleshooting papyrus enough as it is already :/

 

I'm not a graphics designer by any means. The red font on the picture looked eerie or creepy to me, and I thought it gave a sense of what the dungeon and overall writing would be like. Guess I'll get rid of it :/

 

 

Thanks again for the input, and certainly continue giving feedback as it is much appreciated :)

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I had no end of problems with my quest markers, I got them back by loading up a save that had never had the mod on it. They magically returned along with other stuff not working such as aliases. You don't need to complex scripting for a "vanilla" type follower, even if they are custom voiced. It is in fact quite a simple process. Check out Deck16's tutorial here

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I had no end of problems with my quest markers, I got them back by loading up a save that had never had the mod on it. They magically returned along with other stuff not working such as aliases. You don't need to complex scripting for a "vanilla" type follower, even if they are custom voiced. It is in fact quite a simple process. Check out Deck16's tutorial here

 

Thanks! I'll take a look at that. Not sure where or how I'll add one, but if it adds to mod appeal, I'll definitely consider it :)

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