LE Question about this board

[faffman]

I've put up a few suggestions for mods since I started coming here, in late 2013. I can accept that people don't think as I do, but I still think most of my ideas are great, and can easily imagine quite a few people digging them. This is obviously not the case, since none of them has been made reality, which is fine of course.

 

But is that really the reason? That the ideas weren't good enough, I mean. I often see threads for great ideas here, and when I do, I submit my own interest in having the mod made, since a greater interest supposedly should increase the chances, right? But none of them ever seem to get made. Take this amazing idea, for example. http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/1370889-of-teachings-and-trainers/ A lot of discussion and interest, but none skilled enough to realize it. This can't be because it's not hot enough, right?

Occasionally with hot requests like this, someone says "why don't you learn how mod yourself?" Isn't it obvious? We request mods since we can't mod ourselves. And if everyone learned how to mod, well that would be a perfect modding community, but it would kill the purpose of having request boards. And this is a request board, right?

 

In a lot of cases, someone requests a mod, and someone links to an already existing mod fitting the description. That's good, the important thing is you get what you want. But those seem (to me) to be the only fulfilled requests.

 

I'm not butthurt about not getting my ideas realized. I just have to ask, are there actually any modders worth their salt here? Or are we wasting our time requesting? Last time I saw a mod get made through a request here was when Ghosu made Auriel's Sword, and that was 3 months ago, I think.

 

This thread is purely for discussion, and is not intended to critisize.

[McclaudEagle]

The problem with a lot of mod requests is that the person requesting it doesn't realise just how difficult, demanding and time consuming making their idea into a reality would be. You can often find a lot of very complex requests that just aren't feasible to do without a lot of interest, and a skilled modding team.

 

Another problem is that some requests are short, such as "Please make this, that and the other, thanks." That doesn't really help prospective modders get interested in the idea, especially if the person requesting it doesn't even explain what they want exactly.

 

The request you linked is an example of a well made request, and would likely get a decent chance of being made, provided any modders are interested and willing to take it on. I could probably do a significant amount of that mod myself, but I can't as I already have enough to do myself.

 

This leads me to another point. A lot of modders are too busy working on their own mods, or helping others. When I finish a mod, I almost instantly start working on another, meaning I don't have the time to work on someone else's.

[faffman]

The problem with a lot of mod requests is that the person requesting it doesn't realise just how difficult, demanding and time consuming making their idea into a reality would be. You can often find a lot of very complex requests that just aren't feasible to do without a lot of interest, and a skilled modding team.

 

Another problem is that some requests are short, such as "Please make this, that and the other, thanks." That doesn't really help prospective modders get interested in the idea, especially if the person requesting it doesn't even explain what they want exactly.

 

The request you linked is an example of a well made request, and would likely get a decent chance of being made, provided any modders are interested and willing to take it on. I could probably do a significant amount of that mod myself, but I can't as I already have enough to do myself.

 

This leads me to another point. A lot of modders are too busy working on their own mods, or helping others. When I finish a mod, I almost instantly start working on another, meaning I don't have the time to work on someone else's.

 

Those are fair points. Much like the one I linked to, I always make sure to thouroughly describe what I want when I make my own requests, but there are rarely even any responses. I grant that they may not be good enough ideas, of course. But many good mod requests I see here are quite simple (they seem simple anyway), and could easily be made as long as you aren't a complete CK noob (like me).

 

As I'm not a modder myslef, I suppose I should expect that good modders do it for a hobby, and would prioritize their own ideas. That's just natural, and just the gratitude from the requester is not a good enough reward to take the time to make them. I guess I can also see how no matter how good an idea someone comes up with for a modder to make, no idea is as interesting as your own, simply because it is your own.

 

So yes, I understand more clearly now. Maybe I was slightly butthurt after all... :P

 

Jokes aside, curious question. Do you, as a modder, ever see a good enough requests to interest you, but think "if only I had the time"? I'm thinking, from a requester's perspective, it'd be good to know if you've caught the interest of a capable modder.

[McclaudEagle]

There have been quite a few mod requests I've seen where I've wished I had the time or skill to make them. Problem is, those kind of requests are the ones that need the most of both. I have done a few requests in the past; my last Fo3 mod 'Evil Church of Atom' was born from a request. Unfortunately, it's nothing special and took me a matter of 5-10 minutes to make an upload.

[faffman]

So what types of mods do you usually do, and how long may an average mod take to make?

 

I'd like input on this question, as well as the previous, from other modders if there are any.

[McclaudEagle]

There isn't really a specific type of mods I do, as I have quite a bit of skill in all areas of the GECK/CK. I've made combat realism mods, new land mods, character mods, etc. Some mods are quite easy and quick to make, while others aren't.

 

The 'Evil Church of Atom' mod took me about 5-10 minutes from starting the mod to uploading it. The majority of that time was spent trying to come up with the half-decent and amusing description the mod currently has.

 

In contrast, my Fo3 Combat Realism mod took me about 3-4 months, although most of that time was spent desperately trying to regain sanity after spending so long editing countless numbers.

 

And finally, I'm currently working on a Skyrim mod that takes the player to a new island with towns, people, quests, etc. I've been working on it for the good part of a year or more, on and off.

[daventry]

I have Mod Requests witch are Simple and Small, yet they get Ignored allot

Edited June 15, 2014 by daventry

[bben46]

Most modders have plenty of their own ideas to keep them busy. There are a few who do requests. But again, first it has to be something they are interested in doing for themselves, If they are not interested in it why would they do it? Not insanely difficult, actually possible with the limited tools we have and that they have the time for outside of their real life and actually playing the game. (yes, some modders do actually play)

[faffman]

Indeed, the time to do other stuff. I myself have a few hobbies IRL that I make the time for, as well as work, so if there's time to spare, I'd rather play Skyrim than learn to mod it. If there was time, well that would be a different story.

[Ceruulean]

Yeah, I'll say it's mostly time. I tried to do a small mesh tweak of someone's armor because I noticed it was requested a lot in the comments, but I didn't want to download blender and learn how to use the program for something small. So I used nifskope and Outfit Studio by Caliente, changed the model and when I got it in-game it was totally different from what I expected due tot he way the modder created it. I had to work on and off for a few weeks to complete it in a satisfactory manner. It was a larger mess than I anticipated, but I finally understood the time spent into creating mods.

 

If it took me that long to simply alter something, I imagine it's quite hard to implement new features, quests, scripting, etc. Then there's the endless troubleshooting it takes to fix a mod, and you don't know if it's because there's a problem on the user's end or on your end.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Ceruulean