mod updating program

[zantetzou]

Hey guys, I'm here with a simple question.

If a mod had an updating.exe would you be more likely to download it or would you avoid it?.

keep in mind the exe would only be for a single author but it would list all the authors mods and if there was an update available.

[NorthWolf]

Why do this when I can just have the FOMM do it? In short, no, unless the author's mod was very major (i.e. Project New Vegas or CaliberX or somesuch). Even then I would feel like it would be pointless -- I keep all the correct mod pages stored in FOMM just to check for updates.

[deu58]

I do not know if I would be "more likely" to down load it but it would be a nice way to keep tabs on my preferred mods as long as it only notified me of an update and did not just auto update.

[deu58]

Why do this when I can just have the FOMM do it? In short, no, unless the author's mod was very major (i.e. Project New Vegas or CaliberX or somesuch). Even then I would feel like it would be pointless -- I keep all the correct mod pages stored in FOMM just to check for updates.

 

 

Does yours acually work? Mine has never notified me that there are updates available. Or maybe I am doing something wrong?

[NorthWolf]

It actually works reasonably well provided I let it fill in the information after I set the website; it seems to work for 80 - 90% of my mods in terms of validating the version code and suggesting updates, the others usually get failure codes, but it's a small enough number I can just check for updates if need be.

 

On the other hand, it crashes whenever I install a new package (it installs the package successfully, then ganks itself...), so maybe I just traded one functionality for another. :confused:

Edited June 23, 2011 by NorthWolf

[deu58]

Thanks North Wolf yeah ok I get the same kind of thing and simply stopped using that feature. Thought it might be just me. So in that case considering FOMM is not really dependable in that particular area could you agree that the OP's idea is not really a bad idea at all?

 

I am thinking along the lines of notification really. Not exactly 100% sure how the OP plans to implement their idea but using a program example that I actually use is the defraggler defragmentation program. Every so often I crank it up and it notifies me that an update is available. I kind of like that because I hardly ever check for updates myself. Always intend to and then get side tracked kind of thing. :)

 

If it is just an automatic download with out any notification then of course that would be a horrible idea.

[NorthWolf]

The idea is sound but not general enough. I'm not sticking a third party executable on my computer that connects to the internet unless:

 

1.) It does a lot of things so it's not a waste of time for me to ensure it's safe.

 

2.) It's made by an actual software developing company or official source that I know I can trust.

 

Personally I'd much rather see this developer help overhaul FOMM's code regarding updates, but failing that it would be nice to have a general system that supports a wide selection of mods, not specific ones... unless, again, the specific mod is a big one that I pay a lot of attention to.

[deu58]

I have read quite a few of your posts here since you have joined and I know you are much more program savvy than I am. You use the term safe. Are you worried about Malware/spyware hidden in the program? I mean if a malicious person wanted to go to such lengths and pork somebody with a malicious program couldn't they just do that with an ESP? I do agree we take a chance on anything that we download because there are to many devious people out there with programming skills these days.

[NorthWolf]

If Bethesda wrote its software properly? No, it shouldn't be possible for an ESP to be dangerous to anything other than the game itself, with your system never really being on the line. The game hosts the plugin and thus can choose how they allocate memory, how they use CPU, and what they write to your drive. Since the game isn't going to let a malignant plugin go beyond the bounds of its own memory or write to anything but a save file, you can't cause a lot of damage beyond wrecking someone's game (probably only their save game, at that).

 

Files like remote update utilities are more hit-or-miss. It's an executable that can request allocation of memory, write to your drive, and otherwise tamper with system resources in a way you can never do with a plugin. Furthermore, this would access the internet, something an ESP cannot ever do even if pigs started flying. Mind you, I know well enough that not everyone's out to nuke my system with .exe's, since I run FOMM and NVSE like (nearly) everyone else. Nothing magically stops these from being malignant, but the community widely uses them and the authors are trustworthy so it's unlikely they're festering with viruses.

 

My problem with this idea is that it's unlikely to see widespread use unless it:

 

1.) Supports a big project.

 

OR

 

2.) Supports plugins in general.

 

For me it's just downloading an .exe to keep a small part of my mod list up to date wouldn't be worth it. I'd feel a bit uncomfortable about it and moreover probably wouldn't use it often enough to enjoy the benefit... whereas if it checked all my mod list without FOMM's, uh, loveable... eccentricities, I'd be all over it.

 

Edit: Just reread my post. To clarify, it's not really that I think anyone would write malignant software to put up on the Nexus so much as it would still put me on guard too much to make good use of it unless it was more generalized. Maybe I'm just a bit of a Luddite that way, though. :wacko:

Edited June 24, 2011 by NorthWolf

[deu58]

Well, Considering the recent rash of hack attacks maybe being a Luddite is not such a bad idea these days :) Thank you for the enlightening post.

 

A further problem is it does not appear that FOMM is going to be fixed anytime soon if ever. Even though there is a message on the FOMM page that the author has not abandoned the mod FOMM does seem to be now an orphan.

Edited June 24, 2011 by deu58