Extension updates and the extensions_1_2.json file

[agc93]

I briefly raised this on Discord, but I think this might be an easier medium to discuss. To be clear, I'm not trying to blame/complain/anything, I'm just curious and want to understand the process a bit better

 

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Why exactly does Vortex only update extensions once the extensions_1_2.json file on GitHub is updated? What is the goal of using that file to control updates rather than Nexus Mods itself?

 

Related point: is the intention that this will stay a manual process, even for updates? Assuming the goal is human review of new extensions, is there a way to use this process for new extensions, but not updates to existing ones?

 

As it stands, if an author misses the roughly daily update (even by less than an hour), it's possible for a bugfix release to only get rolled out to users up to 3 (or more) days after the author has submitted a new version, which makes it hard to communicate to users when to expect a fix. I understand that there's been exceptions made before for critical fixes, but I'm more concerned about just general fixes for existing extensions.

 

To be clear, I also understand that the group of non-Nexus-affiliated extension authors with multiple, high-complexity extensions in widespread use (that might need to update frequently) consists of, at best, a handful of people so understandable if it's not a priority.

 

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EDIT: and in fact through a combination of 100% reasonable reasons (weekend, days off, new release work), the extension file has made it to 5 days old, which personally feels like a long time for a user to wait for a bugfix in an extension.

[Pickysaurus]

Hey agc,

 

You're right in saying we use this method to review any extensions before they're added to Vortex's UI as this gives the impression of an official endorsement, so we want to make sure they at least work.

 

I believe the plan is to somewhat automate the process for updates but Tannin will probably be able to shed more light on this.

[agc93]

Any update on the plan or any of the earlier questions?

[Tannin42]

Nexus Mods allows the upload of any kind of crap, e.g. we can't stop users from uploading their favorite pron flick and putting it into the extensions category. And I don't see how we'd be able to automate that.

Even for an update, someone could upload a completely valid game extension that we approve and in an update replaces it with something that deletes everything on c:\ the moment that game gets activated.

With manual review we at least have a chance to catch those kinds of cases.

 

So no, I don't see us automating this process unless the volume of updates gets to a point where we're overwhelmed and can't review the code anyway.

 

There are ways we could optimize the process though, I've been thinking about a small service that would fetch updates hourly (for example) and then sends emails to reviewers that include the code and that we can then review and approve/reject directly from the email application. That would increase the reaction time and it's something I could do even on the weekend.

 

But this too would require time to set up which I currently don't have.

[agc93]

Just to loop back on this, is there any chance we'll see any improvements or even just a bit more consistency around the updates for the extensions file?

 

I uploaded a fix yesterday for one of my extensions and when I went to tell the reporter that the bug was fixed I realised I genuinely couldn't tell them when it would be available to them. At time of writing, the extensions file hasn't been updated in almost 2 full days, and I have no way of knowing when it's next going to be looked at.

 

I was going to suggest to the user that they could manually install the update to get it sooner, but currently that would completely break extension updates. I understand the reasoning behind wanting to use this method but it's making it really hard to give a decent user experience in its current form.

 

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EDIT: I know its not a Vortex thing and you've all already heard the feedback, but this is already on top of the manual-only update procedure for Nexus Mods files which makes shipping updates to extensions involve a lot more meta-work than seems ideal to me.

Edited September 23, 2020 by agc93

[agc93]

Just going to (probably fruitlessly) bring this up again as I just got stung by it again. I made sure to push out an update to the AC7 Support as quickly as I could yesterday since there would be new DLC dropping today and I wanted to be prepared for it.

 

As it turns out, that was pretty pointless because the DLC is now out and my extension is sitting on Nexus waiting for an update to the extensions file. I can't tell people to manually update to the new version (because that would completely break updates), so users still end up with a couple of days of subpar experience even though I published my extension before the DLC was even out.

To reiterate the same comment from last time I (also probably fruitlessly) brought this up: I understand the reasoning behind wanting to use this method but it's making it really hard to give a decent user experience in its current form.

[Dark0ne]

I've poked the Vortex and community team on this matter, agc93, as I would like people who write extensions for Vortex to be looked after. It might just be as simple as you pinging the Vortex team on Discord when you have an update so they can prioritise things a bit more?

[agc93]

I've poked the Vortex and community team on this matter, agc93, as I would like people who write extensions for Vortex to be looked after. It might just be as simple as you pinging the Vortex team on Discord when you have an update so they can prioritise things a bit more?

 

Big thanks for the follow up!

 

I don't want to sound too demanding about it since I understand the reasoning behind the design and imagine the Vortex team already has plenty of work on their plate. Ideally, I wouldn't mind either of a more on-demand solution (i.e. requesting an update, whether over Discord or another mechanism) or even if it's just a regular thing (updates happen at the same time, every day so I can plan ahead). I've added a little more detail below.

 

For me, personally, it's the inconsistency that can get a bit frustrating (and what lead to my previous post), and I likewise wouldn't want to suggest a solution that increases load on the Vortex team or any solution that would become untenable in the long term.

 

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My only concern for an on-demand solution would be that it could overwhelm the team, even if it was used responsibly. All it would take would be for a few authors to coincidentally request an update on the same day and it would a big hit. Although Tannin also mentioned an idea above that might simplify that by pushing changes out, I'll leave that to him and the team to comment on. Alternatively, just having a reliable "submit updates before X time on weekdays" convention would be workable for me as well, but I don't know how effective or consistent that would be given the small number of people reviewing these updates.

 

Again, I really don't want to be acting too demanding or entitled given the handful (if that) of people this applies to, but would be good to get some feedback from the team on whether and how this process might look going forward.

[Tannin42]

I'll be spending some time on our tools, I feel like it shouldn't be on you to poke us for an update since there isn't really a technical challenge to *notify* us about an update, it's just that I have to make time to review it.

 

I'm setting up a service that will send me an email when an extension gets updated and I will prioritize the approval process.

[agc93]

I'll be spending some time on our tools, I feel like it shouldn't be on you to poke us for an update since there isn't really a technical challenge to *notify* us about an update, it's just that I have to make time to review it.

 

I'm setting up a service that will send me an email when an extension gets updated and I will prioritize the approval process.

 

That sounds awesome Tannin! If there's anything I can do on my end to make that review process easier, just let me know. As it stands, my release process is almost entirely automated so I can add extra steps pretty easily if need be (or in future).