Site redesign - sneak peek - part 1

[rubenpaca]

I hate to hate, but this looks like steam workshop too much. So I don't like it.

[Loveblanket]

In response to post #41277490. #41277685, #41278220, #41278890, #41280530, #41281770 are all replies on the same post.

Raum777 wrote: OK; I want to say something here. If I have many Typos it's because I can't see very well. I can still play the games.
1. No Author should post their mod on Nexus until all the bugs, issues, or Problems are worked out.

2 Authors are to tell you how to install their mod and NOT take for granted you know what you are to do with their mods.

3. If a mod is to be installed it should tell you that it is to be installed by Nexus Mod Manager, Manual, or something has to be changed and what to change it to, in the Game's ini. Authors are dropping the ball quite a bit lately on what to do with their mods or how to set up their mods to use.

You did a wonderful job of setting up NMM and is easy to use and not lose all your mods trying to open it up to download. I use to lose up to 40 mods at a time for the last 5 years. But not it's not taking my mods away any more. Thank you so much for fixing it. As for the work you have been doing on Nexus; thank you for all you've been doing to make it better for everyone.

Sincerely,
Raum777

vlainstrike wrote: While quality assurance is an important goal, asking authors to withhold mod release until ALL bugs & issues are worked out is an impossible demand - especially for large, complicated mods.

TheeDugster wrote: Exactly. my little tiny mods I take hours to make still have issues.

Thallassa wrote: All software inherently has bugs. If you expect mods to be bugfree, well... congratulations! No mods for you!

And it's not the authors job to tell you how to install mods. There are literally hundreds of guides teaching you how to do that. Have a little bit of wherewithal and learn to google.

Or just RTFM. Most mod authors *do* explain how to install mods.

Timmster wrote: Apply your rules universally if you truly believe them, not just to modders. No Bethesda game would ever be released, because there is no limit to human's stupidity and creativity. We can try forever to make a perfect game or mod, but all it takes is one mistake on the creator's part or one inconceivable set of coincidences by a player to create a bug. That's why Nexus Mods has bug reports. I have one mod I work on and have over a dozen hours invested in it, and it still needs some kinks sorted out.

Personally, my one mod is a lone esp, so I assume anyone coming to Nexus Mods is completely capable of installing it without my help. Plenty of that can be found with a google search.

Most mods I've seen do have detailed enough descriptions if they're more complicated than that, but maybe I'm just more picky about what mods I even look at in the first place. If you've seen it with recent mods, ask the author to fix it. Don't try and get Nexus Mods to force them to. Nexus Mods is so popular because it is just as friendly to mod authors as it is to mod users.

forli wrote: 1. No mods is bugfree, and many bugs can only be discovered when thousands users play the mod (which require the author to upload the mod in the first place).
If we follow your rule, then the Nexus would be an empty place.

2. There are "Beginner guides" everywhere on the forums. If every author must tech to every user how to (generically) install a mod, then they would need to create a 300 lines long description/readme every time.
Except for complex mods, the procedure is always the same: download the package, extract it, read the readme, and if you understand what will happens to your game with the mod then drop everything in the Data folder, enable some esp/esm and play. The middle steps procedures are not our responsibilities. It's your problem if in 2016 you don't know how to extract a zip/rar/7z file. We must not teach you how to use a mod manager, as it's not our creation. The author of the mod manager is responsible for giving you the manual. If you don't know how to use a mod manager, you have to blame the mod manager's author, if he didn't give you enough/clear instructions, or yourself, if you don't like to read the readme.

3. I agree with this, but very often I see mods which clearly state there's a configuration file, with users which don't know just because they don't read what must be read, and very rarely I see mods which don't state there's a configuration file.
Many ini I saw were very exhaustive with explanations (sometimes the explanations are contained in the readme/manual, but they still exists). This means most (not all) of the times the cause of the problem are the users who don't read.


Finally: NMM is still far from begin a complete mod manager. I'll give you 3 trials:
a) Try to change the "Installation order" (not the "Load order") of the mods with NMM.
b) Tell me which files (one by one) are overwritten when you install/uninstall a mod.
c) Install a complex package without the support of scripts.
Complete mod mangers like Wrye Bash and Mod Organizer can execute these trials in no time, and the user is always informed of the situation before/after the changes.
Instead, NMM can't do any of them.

What you're asking for is impossible. There will always be incompatibilities once people start tinkering with their games. No mod author can possibly discover them all. As for number 2, that is like saying an autobody shop shouldn't sell car parts and enhancements unless they show every customer how to install every product they buy, or that someone that sells you a wok should teach you how to make stir fry. There are tons of very good resources on youtube and elsewhere, that make modding idiot proof. It is up to you to learn.

[VanScythe]

In response to post #41281885. #41282050, #41282875 are all replies on the same post.

Hoamaii wrote: It's all really great and good looking for me too EXCEPT for the direct download link placed into the mod browsing section. From a user point of view I can understand how this may seem appealing, but from a mod creator point of view it can only lead to more errors and complaints from users - as it truly looks like a direct invitation to completely ignore mod authors' descriptions, instructions or warnings.

As long as there'll be users able to download modders resources or utility programs and later complain that "it don't work!...", I'm not sure it's in our best interest to encourage blind download at all.

Perhaps a good middle ground would be to make that feature optional and let mod authors decide if they want to offer that direct download option or not, depending on the type of mods they upload. It may be a perfectly acceptable option for retex or armor replacements, but for more complex mods (think of Frostfall or OSA and thousands of others), it'd be an open door to a lot of resentment from both authors and mod users, I'm afraid.

Gamwich wrote: We should not, in any shape or form, support a feature that will lead to less informed mod users. I too, am befuddled by this new "feature" to bypass the description pages that hold vital information for would be downloaders.

It's already bad enough with the amount of people who simply neglect reading the descriptions and go straight to posting questions..... this is not behavior we want to encourage.

The other changes I can live with, but this is something that needs to be nipped in the bud.

GordonGekko1992 wrote: I don't even get how people have the courage to just push the direct download button and trust that "all will be well". I never used it. I never will. It's the fine line between courage and ignorance I will never walk on

You never know what's on the other side of a button that doesn't tell you EXACTLY what will happen once clicked.

So yeah I really hope they remove the "Muttonbutton".

I think it's a great feature, but it is open to a lot of problems. Especially for those mods that have multiple main files and optional files. I agree with everything said here, it should either be an optional feature at the mod author's behest, or take the user to the download page rather than doing a "quick download".

[Loveblanket]

I think it looks really good. The site is long overdue for a modern makeover. Hopefully in time the favorites will go up to 10 or 12, but it is a minor gripe. I get what people are saying about the instant download button, but for knowledgeable users it is a nice time saver. If users send mod authors horrible comments, block them, that is their problem. Some mod authors are too tolerant of the more negative users on Nexus. What I'm really looking forward to is the continued development of NMM. Any chance we could get some news on that? Possibly a version with a dark background as I think NMM might actually make me blind with all the hours I tinker in NMM :)

[VanScythe]

I think it looks amazing! This is why Nexus is my favourite site on the net. You guys.

 

As for suggestions: If we're getting a collections option, we should get an "add to collection..." option on the drop down menu for a mod that opens a "pop-up" where we can select which collection to add the mod to.

[VeryNaughtyBoy]

Hi,

 

thanks for the update. No criticism here - except of cause: get'on with'it!

 

only joking ;) looks pretty great and I hope to see more soon.

 

cheers.

[MasterJediHamilton]

The new design looks great overall. I'm sure the kinks will get worked out and it will be a welcome change.

 

For those of you that just use mods, and are not authors yourselves, I have a couple of points you may want to think about.

 

1) If YOU choose to mod YOUR game, then it is YOUR responsibility to read descriptions, do some research, and inform yourself of what you are doing. There is a ton of material already out there that will allow you to educate yourself. Get informed!

 

2) As a mod user, you cannot possibly expect that every single bug will be worked out of a particular mod before it is publicly released. This is simply not possible, and it is not reasonable.

 

3) By and large, mod authors are contributing to the gaming experience for YOUR enjoyment, and are doing so for FREE. Authors work very hard on their mods, and they pour a lot of creativity and talent into their projects. The least we can do (as mod users) is to read descriptions, follow instructions, and make every effort to help OURSELVES first.

 

Thank you to all mod authors for your excellent work.

Thank you to Nexus for the community and the hosting.

[Blacksage81]

I only got a minute in on the video, and yeah, I want that new site now!

... Yes I am fully aware that these things take time, and I will have to impatiently wait for the new sexy nexus. Great work.

[TiraBlue]

Not really crazy about Windows Tile layout. So Sad.

 

[PTC001]

I believe you are going on a good path, at least for the look, but we need to know what are your plans for the user management part, how the editing will be, especially to add more efficient tools, such a floating tool-bar with more BBcodes (or alike). Can you make also a more intuitive and single profile editor?

 

Next big topic to cover in my opinion, the image-share section. Again, more efficient editing tools with a floating-bar...and allowing posters to hide the endos and views so to stop the non-sense competition while giving the possibility to still be able to know who are the supporters. Also, one IP, one view.

 

Tracking options...that needs some serious uplifting. If a buddy decides to put on 3 changes on his mod, 6 images, 2 videos while I am away, I don't need to receive 11 notices. That's not social networking but social exhaustion.

 

You have your architecture and your fields already, they just need a little love to be rearranged properly ;)

 

Cheers, keep it up folks!