What makes a good mod page? User opinions wanted.

[genolune]

Basically, what do you as a mod user think a good mod page has? Graphics, videos, testimonials, etc.?

 

I've seen some mod pages where I couldn't find how to use the items or what it was or there was five pages of changelogs, etc. So I'm curious as to what you think is user-friendly, gets to the point, and gives tidbits you might care about. I know the average mod user doesn't care enough to read it, comment on it, endorse it or really have any type of interaction other than downloading, but for those that do what are your thoughts?

 

For example, here are some thoughts on my mod page: Children of Atom Overhaul

a) Graphic banner: I was lucky enough to get the graphic banner by accident (meaning I didn't ask for it so it was a bonus). I think that makes the page more appealing. What do you think?
b) General Description: I tried to put the what it is and how to use it up front in case you get nothing else.
c) Overall style: I put all the bigger text blocks in spoiler tags to make it easier to read instead of a massive wall of text. Is that a good idea?
d) Videos: I haven't really branched out into that but does anyone know of some good tutorials and software for giving people a preview of the file?
e) Comments: What kind of developer comments do you like to see? I know community interaction is a good thing.
f) Pictures: What kind of pictures do you like to see? For outfits and BodySlide presets, what shows off the outfit or preset the best?

 

Overall I like to take a somewhat minimalistic approach to the page. Get straight to the point and keep things nice, compact and readable but does that work?

[DoctorKaizeld]

what the mod is should be the first thing. not hidden in a spoiler like yours is either. it should explain what your mod does and how it works. if you want to avoid spoilery stuff hide that in the spoiler tag.

 

graphic banner should be the one and only thing above the mods description. in my opinion you dont need one but hey you're selling your mod here so class it up where you can.

 

install instructions go underneath the description no matter how simple it is. required mods go either above or below this, i personally dont care, but i guess it should be best above.

 

recommended mods go under that for mods that you think makes your mod work better but arent required for it.

 

you have a picture section on the page already. your mod description doesnt need them there.

 

testimonials go here

 

credits should be at the bottom. they shouldnt be hidden.

 

shameless plugs go here.

 

videos should also be at the bottom below credits.

 

change logs should be kept to the readme section and not on the description page. the worst sin you could do is put them above everything in your description.

 

 

 

the only thing that should ever be spoiler tagged are actual spoilers, videos (seriously spoiler them people sometimes have bad load speeds and these things hurt that... same as pictures but again you have an image area, use it. also i believe there is a video section as well), or if you're gonna be one of those mod authors spoiler the freakin change log. so remove those spoiler tags you got, i respect you for trying to keep things shorter but people dont like clickin stuff that seems important. oh and remember there is no winning someone is going to complain.

 

oh and seriously dont put the change log in the description it looks awful, most dont read it anyways, and you have a readme tab for that stuff.

[damanding]

As someone who wants to read the full tl;dr disgusting level of detail I appreciate having it all. But I think there are things you can do to break up a wall of text and make it easier for people to find the parts they want. Use large visible headers to describe each section so people can easily find and skip to the parts they care about. The most important stuff on top, less important stuff on bottom. qwertzy handled that pretty well already.

[AGreatWeight]

For creating videos for your mods, I highly recommend using OBS to capture video footage, and Shotcut to edit said footage to make it as presentable as possible. Both are free and pretty easy to learn to use.

OBS here

Shotcut here

How a mod page is presented is pretty important, I like to try and strike a balance between words/images/video although I wouldn't say that I've perfected it myself in any way. One thing I have learned is that having a video linked near the top of the mod page goes quite some way to improving engagement with potential users. People naturally like to look at visual stuff to help inform their opinion, that's probably why I tend to put that first in my mod descriptions, and then add a paragraph of two about the mod itself/installation. Simple things like altering the colour of various parts of the text can help to direct a users attention.

I like the information to be as informative and consise as possible (without being too technical) so that the user fully understands what the mods actually does. I find that mod pages where there is a cursory three sentence description/install instruction by themselves to be off-putting as it invokes the impression that the mod author is either lazy or doesn't care, likewise not adding a comment or bug section is the easiest way for me to dismis a mod. If your not prepared to engage with users or allow them to submit bug reports then your missing out on having that as a potential avenue for growth and development. Pet peeve sorry.

Stating exactly what the mod does in the brief description (when your browsing mods) is also very important, as is adding mod dependancies. A visual banner is (imho) essential to help differentiate your mod from other mods. It's the details like that that matter.

I think spoilers tags should only be used for spoilers. When one of my mods had it's final update, I didn't want to state in the mod description directly where a certain object/s would be found, so rather than using a spoiler tag, I decided to add some clues in the image gallery and the changelog, and made a reference to those clues being there; but then I also blatantly mentioned the location further down the page. I've not had anyone mention that they saw the actual reference, so imagine that most user didn't read the description thoroughly, and just went from the clues. Not that it wouldn't be too hard for most users to figure out from the clues, but just an attempt to strike a balance between being obscure and being blatant.

I like to have an f.a.q. near the bottom of the mod description that covers most of the questions that will generally pop up regulary, and then leave a sticky post in the comment section to point users to the f.a.q. I used to leave a sticky post every time the mod was updated too.

With pictures, if your not able to take good images of your mod (especially armor/clothing mods) you should definitely contact a screenarcher who's work you admire, and ask them if they'd be willing to try out your mod and take some pictures for you; there is a wealth of exceedingly talented screenarchers on Nexus who'd be willing to help you out.

[genolune]

I just tweaked the page, let me know if it looks a lot better.

 

@qwertyzeldar Well it's not a spoiler but I wanted a collapsible menu so people can open and close. I looked through the Nexus wiki for the BBCode and couldn't find something else out. So I removed those tags. I know I read the whole mod page, but you know how the too long didn't read crowd is. The texts hurts muh brainbox!

 

@damanding I added some colors and headers to draw attention to the most important parts (the what and how).

 

@AGreatWeight Thanks for all that! I'll download them and take a look at it.

 

Thanks guys for all the input.

[AGreatWeight]

I think it looks a lot better yes. I'd be tempted to use the image of the player character in hazmat chilling in the rad breeze (first image in your mods image gallery) as a temporary placeholder until you get a video made up (or someone else makes one showcasing your mod) just to break things up a little more.

When you edit the attributes of the mod description, click on the empty area just above the how do I use this: section, click the insert image button and add https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1151/images/19498-0-1478342387.jpg

After you click save, if you left-click once on the image, you can then resize the image horizontally or vertically by then left-clicking (and holding) on one of the corners and just dragging it.

If you want, I can message you the best settings to use when recording footage with OBS, likewise for when encoding video with Shotcut.

 

p.s. I always thought that the nuclear explosion that you witness in Pre-War Sanctuary looked like it was in Cambridge (which would mean that the Crater of Atom occured sometime after the player enters Vault 111 for the first time)

Bethesda were a little fuzzy on that one.

[DoctorKaizeld]

yeah that looks way better

[gamefever]

Your mod page looks fine now.

 

The thing about long winded details in descriptions is that it isn't always appreciated and can backfire badly resulting in confusion and more questions than you can shake a stick at.

[genolune]

p.s. I always thought that the nuclear explosion that you witness in Pre-War Sanctuary looked like it was in Cambridge (which would mean that the Crater of Atom occured sometime after the player enters Vault 111 for the first time)

Bethesda were a little fuzzy on that one.

 

You know what, maybe you are right. I forgot that a crater was there considering I don't visit Cambridge often. Given the size of the crater that may be the more canon one. That would also probably be what wiped out Boston and such from the shock wave and explosion. I added your theory to my post about it. Thanks.

 

 

@gamefever Yeah, that's what I want to avoid. That's why I'm asking so I can learn to make better mod pages.

 

 

Question: Do people even read the readme and changelogs? I've tried to avoid having any of those tabs and keep the mod page simplistic. The only way I could think of a changelog would be even remotely useful would be if I was trying to help another mod author debug their mod, otherwise, it's not even worth having up.

 

The readme may be more important if I move onto more complicated mods and need a manual or walkthrough.

[AGreatWeight]

I'd say a changelog is useful if your mod does go through several changes/updates during it's development cycle; whilst it's true that most casual users probably don't bother reading them, it can also be argued that most casual users don't thoroughly read a mods description page.

I usually check the changelog first on a mods page when an update has been released to see exactly what changes have occured, and don't think that having one clutters up the mod page. For me, it's just another way of acquiring information to be able to make an informed decision.