Dark0ne Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Some of the site features I have in the pipe-line or on the to-do list right now are focusing on trying to reduce the amount of clutter mod authors put in their file descriptions by providing them separate areas to list important information. One thing that I know many users find annoying is having to try and find a description of a mod underneath all the other information mod authors feel is more important than actually describing what their mod does. Popular things to put at tops of pages are news, bug reports, requests for help, notifications that help won't be offered, requests for endorsements and the full file version history/change log. Personally I think you should describe what your mod does first, and then provide all the additional information afterwards. Something I've been meaning to get around to for a while now is a feature that creates a special area for mod authors to list their change logs for their files. Today I've implemented that feature and mod authors can now access the change log feature from their management area. Inputting all the changes you've made to your file over time and the different version histories is very handy for users who keep up-to-date on your files so they can see what's been updated and what's been fixed. Mod authors should put in a change per line, and a bulleted list will automatically be created by the site for each version of your file that you add a change log for. Once you've added a change log for your file it will be visible on a file page by clicking the "View change log" link under "Options". Similarly if you link up your version numbers on your files with the version numbers in your change log then a new link will be visible for those files that will show the specific change log for that version. So if you've added change logs for version 1.42 of your file and version 1.42 is available to download in the files tab, you can click on the change log link to see updates in that version of the file. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surazal Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 This is a really great idea. It may be that I don't understand how to use it properly, but I was hoping that it would allow me to upload a text file where I have defined all the changes made to my mod (currently I am using the ReadMe feature for this purpose). When I tried to do this, I got two text boxes to complete - one for the change and the other for the version. Does this mean that for multiple changes I would need to enter one line for each change and retype the version number each time? If this is how it is intended to work, then I think it will be a bit too tedious for me to use. I normally have a text file that I maintain locally and add descriptions of the changes I have made to my mod. When I release the mod, I use the text file as the change log. Is there any way to provide the option of uploading a text file containing the change log in much the same way as for the readme upload? Many thanks for continuing to look for ways to improve the site - it is very much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark0ne Posted June 18, 2011 Author Share Posted June 18, 2011 Indeed it might be tedious to start with, but the features (such as linking version numbers between the files and change log) wouldn't work with just a .txt file upload. If you do not want to maintain the change log feature then it might be best to simply refer people to your ReadMe upload for the change log. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnterSevenSeven Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Thanks. It's working just fine. Entering one field at a time could take a while. Would a resizeable entry list be possible so users can add more than one field for each version each time? Or something similar to the image upload forms for each mod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaime74 Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 I like the idea of this change log (because I've always been a great fan of change logs! ;)), however, to make this a useful feature, it should at least allow to enter multi-line text per each change, otherwise it won't make much sense for any release changes that add a lot of stuff (just think of big mods like Better Cities or OBGEv2... how should these guys be able to pack their changes into ONE line of text?). Hence, wouldn't it be a good solution to change the single line into a text block? As far as I understand it, this shouldn't break the linking of files to change entries, or would it? Furthermore, if the main intention of this is to clean up mod descriptions, there should also be similar features in the near future for- news- links (e.g. links to other mods, or translations of the same mod) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaldir Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 This is a really nice feature! Though, I must agree that having only one line is very tedious when you make an update for the mod with fixes lots of bugs, as well as adding new features. (Yeah, I know, I should test my mods more before I release them^^) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riven1978 Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Mainly the things i put before actually describing the mod are things that i am often "criticized" or messaged about (well use to anyway) Such as a lot of the mods i add are considered Novelty mods. One thing i have noticed from reading comments and answering the questions myself are quite a few people that don't even look over to the side of the page to even know where the options (readme/credits/permissions) even are. I remember telling someone to take a look at the readme file that was on the description page (I also mentioned that i didn't mean the readme that came with the file) and after about and hour of explaining he finally found it. This is the main reason why i try to put any info that pertains to my mods in the actual read me file. I still use LHammonds readme generated format, although i tailor it to my specific needs The change log is a good idea though, I think I may start not adding that info in the readme file, it just seems cleaner to do it on the actual file page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neovinci Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 O.K. Question. I add every sinlge my old files 'change log', but still 'new feature'(peach coloured) message exist on top of my management page. It needs time for disappear? or something remain what I have to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaldir Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 One more thing Rob. Could the "Add change notes" box always stay on top in the change notes management page? When you have a lot of updates (imagine Better Cities for instance), it gets tedious to scroll down to the bottom to add a new note. It's a small problem, but would make it a whole lot easier for some modders I believe. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomeWelshGuy Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 (edited) I really like this, but could there possibly be a way to change the order of the logs within versions? Just so that you can always make sure the most important changes are at the top, and the least at the bottom, without having to delete them all just to re-order them. Edited June 18, 2011 by SomeWelshGuy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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