Deleted800173User Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Hi everyone, I'm just finishing up my first mod in a few weeks and I've been working on it for 4 months. I certainly feel it is a quality mod, I've play tested it a bunch and in a few weeks, when I finish, I think it will be a mod with a good and unique experience. However, I worry that it will not be noticed by modders or that it will be noticed by very few modders. I've already considered sending a message to my favorite mod reviewer, but I'm wondering if anybody on the nexus has any other advice as to how I can get my mod noticed and give it a shot at being downloaded, and maybe even endorsed. Advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadeybladey Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 There are people who always check for new mods being released. If you upload it to the Nexus, you will get some downloads before you've completed the description page.Then post a thread with a description and a link to the mod page here and at other Skyrim modding forums like Bethesda, Steam Forum etc. Then let it take it's course. ~.~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghosu Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 (edited) Keep the different time zones in mind, release it when most people are online...chances to hit Top Files is good if it's a good/stupid/nude|body/immersionRedone18kHDtextureOverhaul mod - once it's there it takes its course itself. Edited November 29, 2013 by ghosu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtMurder Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 It's rather hard to be to be honest.. At least on the Nexus. They had a method of displaying new mods that worked AMAZINGLY a while back that got a lot of my mods new vies constantly, but they change dit so they randomly pick one mod a day and display it, it's usually some really dumb, poorly made mod no one cares about, while the interesting mods get totally bypassed, and unless they hit 50+ endorsements within a few days they just disappear into the endless see of mods. They also have a very poor search system, I find myself making insanely annoyingly long mod names so when people search words like "galaxy" and "stars" they find my mod, since the name "more alien skyrim" alone would basically totally prevent it from EVER appearing in search results... All you can do is make a thread, put in your signature, and post around forums a lot. I get an endorsement like, once or twice a week when I stay active on the forums with my signature displaying my mod, if I go inactive, it drops to like, one a month. =[ It's taken me months to get 30 endorsements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veltoss Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 On 11/29/2013 at 7:49 PM, ArtMurder said: It's rather hard to be to be honest.. At least on the Nexus. They had a method of displaying new mods that worked AMAZINGLY a while back that got a lot of my mods new vies constantly, but they change dit so they randomly pick one mod a day and display it, it's usually some really dumb, poorly made mod no one cares about, while the interesting mods get totally bypassed, and unless they hit 50+ endorsements within a few days they just disappear into the endless see of mods. They also have a very poor search system, I find myself making insanely annoyingly long mod names so when people search words like "galaxy" and "stars" they find my mod, since the name "more alien skyrim" alone would basically totally prevent it from EVER appearing in search results... All you can do is make a thread, put in your signature, and post around forums a lot. I get an endorsement like, once or twice a week when I stay active on the forums with my signature displaying my mod, if I go inactive, it drops to like, one a month. =[ It's taken me months to get 30 endorsements.Agreed, the search and how new mods are shown is absolutely horrible. Most mods, however good, will never get the attention they deserve because of this. The best way to get a mod in the top files, even if it's not the best of it's kind, is to post it near the beginning of the game when there's thousands more people looking for mods than there are now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted800173User Posted November 29, 2013 Author Share Posted November 29, 2013 Thanks guys! Ill contact that mod reviewer, post a thread on skyrim mod talk and maybe a few other mod sites like (bethesda), and ill change my signature. Two more questions: what time an day of week do you think is best to post the mod. And the other thing i wanted to mention is that my mod requres skse, how much do you think that will cut into my downloader base? Any other advice would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TehKaoZ Posted November 29, 2013 Share Posted November 29, 2013 Even if the mod doesn't require a picture, upload one for it. I think a mod can't hit hot files without it.As far as SKSE is concerned, most users use it, at most you'll just have the occasional anti-culture rebel who screams "SKSE is lame, I don't wanna use it, it's buggy based on my reading random forum"Not a modder myself mind you, just a user on the lookout for new mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsharaMeradin Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 My experience has been this.... The longer the mod is around, the more downloads/endorsements it tends to get. If you are really seeking quick turnaround on downloads and endorsements, then releasing a polished product tends to backfire on you. A polished product will sit and seemingly stagnate and not reach hot files unless you work on advertising it on other forums and get video reviews. Even then it does not stay in the public eye. Mods that have stuck out are those that keep updating/adding features. This is because of the download count bloat. Many users search categories for the "most downloaded" and while Nexus has a unique download count the site uses the total download count to sort. Meaning that a mod which has had 20 updates and as a result has had 200 people download it 20 times each will have a download count of 4000. While a mod that was polished before release and rarely needs any more attention might have 2000 total downloads from 1000 people. Obviously when looked in that way, the second mod has been used by more people than the first. But the first gets the spot light as the constant updating and total download bloat keep it within the first few pages of most user's searches. So you could, create seven versions of your mod each with something new. Then use them to update on a daily basis for the first week. Thereby keeping it in the public's eye. The constant updating also gives users a false sense of "the author cares and supports the mod". Doesn't mean the author does not, but that immediate rush of comments about nice additions and keeping it fresh convince other users to use the mod. The worst thing you could do, but it has worked in the past, is to "false advertise" with a scantily clad female in the picture despite that not being the focus of the mod. Personally, I don't worry about all that. I'd rather produce something that is polished and ready to go from the start. I feel that in the long run, a mod can prove itself. Some updating might be necessary for compatibility purposes or because you finally got the last DLC (that's me and I need to check all my mods to be safe), but on the whole a mod that changes very little since release, has no complaints (course with the new system you can't always tell as authors can delete comments) and delivers what it says is much better than something that is constantly updated for the sake of keeping it in the public eye. I fear, I may have gotten carried away. Oh well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted800173User Posted November 30, 2013 Author Share Posted November 30, 2013 Well that works well for my mod. I had planned to add three extra fights that i came up with during making the mod but have not had time to put in. Im finishing one of them soon and i think that's the only one that ill have time to complete before my personel deadline. Wasnt sure what to do but now i know i can just add the other two as updates and that'll boost my number of downloads and my chances of being noticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadeybladey Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 Having the mods in your signature (with a link) is also a good idea. Then they are displayed with every post you make. Also, a good description page and nice screenshots help, with very clear installation/de-installation instructions for newer players can make the mod look attractive. And a good read-me is a must. A read me of the most recent data on the mod, or at least a copy of the text from the Description page, with a link to the Nexus page should be included in every download. We don't all have ultra-fast broadband with unlimited download allowance. This is what I look for in a mod. If there are several that do similar things, I get the latest. But if the latest has no read me and the oldest does, I get the oldest. I certainly would not update a mod every day for a week. Once every two weeks would be better. But it should be an update worth having, not just a minor thing that does not fix a bug. Bug fixes should be uploaded as soon as they are ready and tested with a fresh start. I find it a real pain when mods are updated several times a week. I just think "Why didn't he test it and fix it properly?" So it can back fire and I lose patience with the author. Is he just carelessly rushing it or is he trying to spam his download count? Either way, it is not good. Especially if you have to download the same textures and meshes every time for a trivial addition and no bug fix. I uploaded a few mods because they were too large to e-mail to friends and I don't advertise them. I had downloads before I had finished editing the Description from people browsing the latest uploads. I have a few hundred downloads and at most 15 endorsements, which is fine by me. I have had some feedback, but no bug reports. I wanted them to be completely working and not need any updating, unless they were overhauled; like my Druid Spell mod which has been hidden for ages because I don't have time for it at the moment, although I mostly finished it. I improved the spells and added a mini quest to find the tomes in the game. I have no interest in being a Nexus star and I'm quite suspicious of people who go primarily for download count and endorsements, particularly now I see some people might make fake updates just to get a higher count! That's not really what it's about. And I don't know if I could support 20,000 users with the sorts of demands you get for changing things to their taste. But good luck with your mod! :D ~.~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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