New file feature: change logs

[Antiscamp]

Arthmoor: As it is now, I have a whole separate .txt-file with my changelog included in the download of my mod. I publish the latest changes on my TesNexus-page as well every time I update the mod. Since my mod is in Beta still, the separate .txt-file has gotten rather large.

 

I also update my mod very frequently with a lot of points on the update list to be mentioned each and every time. Later, when my mod's done and I'll start patching, I might use the TesNexus changelog function, but right now, that txt-file along with publishing the version updates on the main page on TesNexus suffices.

Edited June 19, 2011 by Antiscamp

[Arthmoor]

If you'd seen the changelog in Open Cities Classic you'd know my pain :P The readme is huge but easily 95% of it is changelog going all the way back to version 1.0 which was before I took over the project.

[Vorians]

Some people complain when a readme is really large. For this reason, Better Cities now has a separate txt file for the changelog, and a separate txt file for the extensive Credits list. Taking these out of the readme itself reduced the readme length by several pages.

 

With regards Nexus, providing a separate page for the changelog certainly seems like a great idea, but after seeing how it is implemented, I am in agreement with others who have posted here, that for larger mods which have many changes, it simply isn't practical to have lots of separate fields breaking the changelog down - a single unlimited text field would be much more suitable, and much quicker for the modder to update.

 

However for smaller mods or those which are complete feature-wise and now only have bug-fix updates, the current system would be very suitable. How about providing two options for the changelog, allowing the modder to pick either the line-by-line method or the free-size text box method? And the modder might be allowed to choose a different method each time, depending upon what they want to add into the changelog.

 

Another thing I see as potentially useful here by the way, modders could update the changelog while editing their mod, listing what will be in their next release as they go. This will give existing users of their mod a glimpse of what to expect, will provide references to any known bugs which are fixed for the next release, and once the release-date arrives, the modder can just copy/paste the contents of that changelog into their readme (or changelog.txt) straight from the Nexus page.

 

EDIT Also as has already been mentioned, there needs to be a field to enter the date the version was released (this could be optional rather than a required field). Also, there is no way that I can tell to edit a changelog entry once created, only an option to delete a line.

 

EDIT2 And some time in the future, I too request to be able to control the order the entries display in. For now at least, could you make it so that new entries to the same version are appended to the list instead of prefixed? I'm sure everyone else must be the same as me, they start at the top of their changelog and copy/paste their way down until they run out of changelog fields, then submit and return to add more. Having the new additions placed above the previous entries is rather odd.

Edited June 19, 2011 by Vorians

[Riveon]

Haha, I was just annoyed at the very problem mentioned by the OP with a mod a few seconds before I clicked here.

[jaime74]

Once more I agree with what Vorians said, and I'd like to second thge following of his suggestions:

 

- The order in which the change entries are displayed is opposed to what one expects while entering the changes!

- Still a text box instead of single-lines would be MUCH more helpful (I am thinking of one text box per release, not one single box for everything)

- Being able only to delete changes is not sufficient. Editing must also be possible.

 

In addition, I am still having severe problems with displaying the change log (maybe these are browser specific problems? I am using Firefox 4.0.1):

 

- my change log is floating above my mod text, with no background, so it's nearly unreadable! I hope this is not intended.

- I created a change log for one of my files (for testing). Afterward I had a new change log link appended to the file, but when clicking it, nothing happened at all . This means, the only way to open the log is to click the global "View change log" link.

 

Altogether, I will wait a good amount of time to watch where this feature is going, before I'll use it.

[Vorians]

For me, it is working as currently intended. I have transferred my changelogs from the Description page to the Changelog page for my uploads of Brew House, Villages, Five Blind Mice, UL Cliffs of Anvil and UL Silverfish River Valley. All are viewable without issue in the Changelog box, which has its own background overlaying the Description page behind. I'm also using Firefox v4.0.1, so jaime74's problem is not purely the browser.

 

To see how useful it would be for the logs to display in the order they are submitted, take a look at the log for Villages, entries for v1.1b. There are three villages added by the mod, and in the changelog v1.1b I first listed changes which affected all villages or none specifically, then I listed changes specific to each village, prefixing each entry with the village name, submitting entries for one village at a time to keep them together. But the result is that the non-specific entries are at the bottom instead of the top, and the specific village entries have all been shuffled by placing each new batch of submissions above the previous sumbissions (though I also noticed that if you submit four changes, then submit some more, the first entry of the 2nd batch will still be appended after the fourth of the 1st batch, then the rest of the 2nd batch goes to the top).

 

EDIT

The slideshow thumbnails sits on top of the Changelog box, instead of being behind it.

Edited June 19, 2011 by Vorians

[tumbleworld]

I just wanted to say thank you. Anything which helps persuade mod authors to include a clear description of what their work actually DOES to the start of a mod's page is extremely welcome as far as I'm concerned.

 

I'd say that a good 30% of mods I try to look at have to be discarded long before download just because there's no clear 'about' information. What's more, after looking at the first three or four mods in any given session, I'm usually so fed up of wading through irrelevant crud that if the page doesn't obviously start with an ABOUT section, I just immediately close it again.

 

I know mod authors are close to their work, and want to talk about stuff they've done recently, not stuff they did (possibly) years ago, but anyone new to the mod needs the basics, clear and up-front.

[Thor925]

This new log thing. what is it?

I couldn't be bothered to read the description. It was boring.

Can someone tell me?

 

I notice that my microwave oven has stopped working. Could it be due to this log thing?

[Zaldir]

The image slideshow thumbnail sits above the change log box instead of underneath it, as Vorians reported.

 

And I also agree with Vorians to have the changes displayed in the order they was submitted.

 

 

lol @ Thor ;D

[bben46]

@thor925:

 

TL:DR http://www.zurmat.co...e-of-a-log2.jpg

 

And yes, putting this in your microwave can cause problems - we are working diligently to fix this bug. :tongue: