How to get your mod noticed

[Fistandilius]

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.

See, since you brought that up and you're talking about how to get your mod noticed, I absolutely HATE WIP mods. You wrote, "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." What do you mean you did not have time? Do you have someone breathing down your back telling you that you need to release the mod now? Finish it first!

 

I'm gonna rant a bit here, so feel free to skip this part if you don't want to hear it, but there are so many people who come on Nexus and talk about their great idea for a mod, and "it will have" this and that, and I just stop reading at that point. I would say 90% of these people are only good at writing a mod idea because I hardly ever see any pics, or anything. The biggest reason I won't download a WIP mod unless it's way far along is because you never know if the author is going to finish it or support it. IMHO, the only reason to even discuss a WIP mod is if you're looking to assemble a team. And I wouldn't even do that until after I'd done everything I knew how to do on my own first. Otherwise, do the work, keep it quiet, and release it when you have something worth talking about. /end rant

 

I also have to ask why you're so worried about endorsements? Are you interested in making a cool mod, or making a mod that will make you popular?

 

Here's the thing about endorsements. Once they get to a certain point, they're like feedback on Ebay. Sure, the guy had 10,0000 positives, but I want to know what happened in those 1000 negatives he's got.

 

I absolutely will NOT download a mod without reading the forum comments and description and looking to see how bad it's going to wreck my game. Is it incompatible with other mods? Does it require SKSE? Do other people have problems with the mod? Are there things about the mod that aren't fun?

 

I think you build a mod that you think is cool, you do it for your own reasons, and make it how YOU want it. Post it with good screen shots, good presentation on your description page, and talk to some of the mod reviewers about covering it, then put it in your sig, and you'll be fine. If it's a good mod, or something people want, they'll use it.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Fistandilius

[Fistandilius]

I'm confused why some think the nexus has a poor way of showing new releases

 

It has a latest files tab with a picture and short description of all new mods released, then a "New Today" files tab where it shows all mods done in X time in a list.

Plus has all mods updated with a new file, image, etc etc right below that within X time also.

 

I find many new mods just from them being updated or stuff added too that i normally wouldn't have ever seen before.

 

In my opinion, the problem with people who complain about Nexus new mod thing is that they only seem to see the mods they want, and they forget that there are thousands of other people out there using the site.

 

There's no way to screw up a "new mod" section if it's randomly pulling mods. I hated the old system where you'd see the same mods over and over again, or the same types of mods. Now there are all different kinds of mods posted no matter if they're big or small. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean someone else won't.

[Terra Nova]

Hmm, a long time ago I used to be heavily concerned about this. First of all, I don't make REL threads anymore. especially at the beth forums where the last 2 I've made barely got any replies. I got it that people just didn't care for the mods I made.

 

If I release anything, it goes straight to the nexus. If it doesn't get any downloads in a few hours(has happened before, and I only put it back up upon request) I take the mod down.

 

Endorsements I don't care about. Just simply trying my mod out will suffice.

[chicky540]

See, since you brought that up and you're talking about how to get your mod noticed, I absolutely HATE WIP mods.

 

well, for quests / new lands thats true, but also sometimes stuff gets adjusted or fixed over time. again, i agree with lands and quests, but for example weapons (or armor), some dont show up correct in the world when dropped (also famous mods, like for example the skull helmets (orc and daedra) that when dropped or even in inventory look like regular orc- or daedra-helmets, it got not only hundreds of endorsements but also several features on youtube and that never got fixed), others are placed wrong on racks, some disappear, or whatever... ppl need to have a chance to learn and grow, of course you should ensure that stuff is at least playable... but when youre a rookie / newbie in modding you should also have a chance to increase your skills because you simply cant know everything when you start.

no matter what level of skills im ever gonna reach, im never gonna declare a mod really finished, theres always something to increase, adjust, maybe just a new retexture option, or some tweaks that slipped your tests in game... i dont think that all modders here are professional texture-artists or 3d-modellers (at least i am not) :smile: its my personal way of modding-kung-fu :smile:

 

(and if someone doesnt like that, no one forces anyone to play mods, so in the end it doesnt matter... lets simply enjoy the game :smile: )

Edited November 30, 2013 by chicky540

[Deleted800173User]

I recognize that the idea of "Getting Endorsments" is very controversial here on the nexus. Personally, I don't put too much value in endorsements, but I suppose my posts may not have made it sound that way. I do however recognize that they are somewhat of a metric that down-loaders use to decide whether to download a mod or not, and so it IS important to some degree as it does have an effect on your chances of being noticed. I however do not put much value into this metric, but I have noticed that there is an inherit issue with the metric in that any player of the mod has to (download the mod from the page, play it, and then go BACK to the page to endorse it) and many players don't feel concerned with taking that last step. I know I forget to check my mods I have downloaded all the time. So a player who enjoys your mod may not go back to the page simply because, they are busy, or they are playing a new mod, or they forgot, or a dozen of other reasons. Personally I wish there was a better way, but I'm not trying to focus on arguing about that system, I'm trying to focus on seeing if anybody has some good ethical advice on how to get players whom enjoyed the mod to go back and endorse it.

 

As far as the WIP mod comments. I don't mind WIP mods as long as they have a cool mechanic and you can somehow get into development on it by either joining the team or giving them feedback and thus shaping somewhat it's development. My mod has a very short quest that is almost finished (just waiting for 2 lines of dialogue to finish being recorded and then playtesting to ensure quality and challenge) But the fights cannot be added into the quest at this time. The mod has developed too far to rewrite the quest, and I also want to ramp up the challenge on these fights without having players quit because it is too difficult, so I'm adding them as post quest content. I also want to finish at the end of the college semester as it is going to time well, and I plan to turn my focus on possibly developing a game or perhaps a larger mod when the semester ends. I still intend to add on the content to this mod however and I realize that it will work out well if I post the mod with the quest finished and one of the addon fights finished. For the other two addon fights, I can tell the player to check back at the webpage in a few weeks to play the new fights that I will update. (Each fight takes about two full weeks to develop and implement correctly, playtesting all that. So the updates are not adding small content.) This also gives my mod a better chance of being endorsed by players whom actually like the mod but otherwise would not have bothered to go back and check. I do recognize that it will get some free downloads, which is not the intention of adding the fights, but the downloads are not for some small or fake update, so it isn't as bad as a lot of modders methods, and again it is not the intention of adding the update, it's just a side effect or perhaps you could view it as a bonus. If anybody feels there is something unethical here I'd like to hear your opinion but I do think its my best option atm. lastly, as another bonus, I can use feedback about the first two fights to make the third fight better :3

 

Uhh... and yeah I think that's all I wanted to say. Just remember, I'm a human being. I think that if I got 100 downloads or just 20 endorsements, these four months would have all been worth it.

[TehKaoZ]

I disregard anyone who uses "HATE" in capital letters to describe a mod (status or otherwise). WIP mods are technically any mod that still gets updates but doesn't mean it's not playable or stable. unstable mods would be more geared toward "beta" and similar if they weren't entirely stable and in need of testing to play properly. That being said, the best way to test a mods playability is to release it to the public and place the appropriate info in the description to test it out and report bugs (although more than half the users won't read your description and bombard you with well known bugs and issues over and over again). plenty of people like to test out beta's and I've seen "WIP" mods get files of the month more than once, so frankly, this has no bearing in the long run. Everyone loves when an author improves their mod, fixes bugs and adds new content.

[Deleted800173User]

let's not turn this into a flaming thread and just keep it to topics about techniques, methods, or tricks for ethically getting mods noticed.

[Fistandilius]

Content added later to a finished mod is not the same as a WIP mod. And bug fixes aren't WIP either. You guys should know the difference.

 

 

 

 

As far as the WIP mod comments. I don't mind WIP mods as long as they have a cool mechanic and you can somehow get into development on it by either joining the team or giving them feedback and thus shaping somewhat it's development. My mod has a very short quest that is almost finished (just waiting for 2 lines of dialogue to finish being recorded and then playtesting to ensure quality and challenge) But the fights cannot be added into the quest at this time. The mod has developed too far to rewrite the quest, and I also want to ramp up the challenge on these fights without having players quit because it is too difficult, so I'm adding them as post quest content. I also want to finish at the end of the college semester as it is going to time well, and I plan to turn my focus on possibly developing a game or perhaps a larger mod when the semester ends. I still intend to add on the content to this mod however and I realize that it will work out well if I post the mod with the quest finished and one of the addon fights finished. For the other two addon fights, I can tell the player to check back at the webpage in a few weeks to play the new fights that I will update. (Each fight takes about two full weeks to develop and implement correctly, playtesting all that. So the updates are not adding small content.) This also gives my mod a better chance of being endorsed by players whom actually like the mod but otherwise would not have bothered to go back and check. I do recognize that it will get some free downloads, which is not the intention of adding the fights, but the downloads are not for some small or fake update, so it isn't as bad as a lot of modders methods, and again it is not the intention of adding the update, it's just a side effect or perhaps you could view it as a bonus. If anybody feels there is something unethical here I'd like to hear your opinion but I do think its my best option atm. lastly, as another bonus, I can use feedback about the first two fights to make the third fight better :3

 

You do what you want to do, but it sounds like you have a nearly finished mod and you want to rush it out so you can jump on another project, so I certainly wouldn't consider adding another feature at this point, but that's just me. You sound like you've been working on this too long and you just want to get it out there.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Fistandilius

[Ragicka]

One thing I would add, as far as getting noticed is concerned, is to write up an accurate and informative short description. Doesn't need to be fancy, just a short paragraph that says what it is, what it does and who it's for. You can always expand on it in the description page. There's also a few uploads in the resources and tutorials categories that give tips on mod uploading.

As far as tangible benefits to endorsing mods are concerned, there was a post by Dark0ne last February in network news.

 

 

You block all ads, you don’t use the endorsement system, 750kb/sec
You block all ads, you use the endorsement system, 1MB/sec
You do not block ads, you turn off the site skin ads, you don’t use the endorsement system, 1MB/sec
You do not block ads, you turn off the site skin ads, you use the endorsement system, 1.25MB/sec
You do not block ads, you turn on site skin ads, you don’t use the endorsement system, 1.25MB/sec
You do not block ads, you turn on site skin ads, you use the endorsement system, 1.5MB/sec

If you endorse at least 75% of the mods you download and turn off ad blocking, you could potentially double your download speed. I assume that's still in effect unless things have changed since then.

 

edit: for clarity

Edited November 30, 2013 by Ragicka

[Indigoblade]

To be honest, even with all of this, best thing to do is to have a good mod. I mean if it is as good as you say it is, you really don't have do anything to promote it, people will flock to it in droves if it is high quality.

 

When I started modding I made 1 bandit edit, called it OBIS, posted it and started building from there. 10 months later I made 1100+ bandits and is the most endorsed mod with the word bandit in it. I didn't start having videos (all which were asked by reviewers) until my 8th month, I didn't have a nice concise description till recently, my mod was a complete mess... But it was still pretty popular

 

You shouldn't worry about dls and popularity, you should worry about what you want to make and how to make it better. Videos and reviews or whatever is great but there's no point if your work is rushed or sullied to appeal to the masses. Just do what you want... Popularity comes with it

 

Wanting to get noticed and getting noticed are two different things bro, from the words of a stripper, 'you gotta wiggle those hips if you want to get those tips'

 

..... Yes I learn life lessons from strippers I like learning things with a show, don't judge we all have been there and if you haven't then I guess you haven't lived yet

Edited December 1, 2013 by Indigoblade