NMM2 - Update and recruitment

[TheTokenGeek]

Back in October Dark0ne announced the recruitment of Tannin and the subsequent development of a new Nexus Mod Manager. Since then, we've been working extremely hard and while things might seem a bit quiet on our end, I assure you, we're moving at a great pace! I apologise for the lack of updates but, in between the site redesign and the new mod manager things have just been rather busy here at Nexus Mods HQ.

 

Today I would like to give an update on the status of the project and also to reach out to our community for possible assistance, but more on that a bit further on.

 

The new mod manager (name still yet to be decided!) has been in development since the beginning of August 2016. The initial process saw us spend extensive time researching which platform we should use to develop the application on. After a lot of deliberation, we have decided upon Electron. Electron made sense due to its cross-compatibility with Windows, Linux and MacOS; the 'themeability' of the platform and because it is open-source and widely known. Its usage of Chromium and Node.js allow the utilisation of HTML, CSS and Javascript to write the application, and this will then give us the ability to use additional frameworks such as React and Bootstrap. That may all sound a bit gobbledygook if you don't speak 'developer', but to provide a TL:DR - it's easy for us to develop on and ticked all of our requirements far more than other potential platforms.

 

Around mid-September, we began coding, and by mid-October, we had a very early, pre-alpha "internal release." This was a quick proof of concept to answer some questions that we had - will this platform provide us with the power to create an amazing mod manager? Will it be able to be expanded upon by the community? Will we be able to add new games into the mod manager quickly? Well, the answer to all of these is a resounding "yes".

 

At the end of November, we began to add in game specific features such as plugin management for Gamebryo games and LOOT integration. DuskDweller shifted his work full-time to the new manager after working mainly on the legacy NMM up to that point.

 

Over the past couple of months, Tannin and his team have released some early versions for the rest of us here at Nexus Mods to try out and while it is beginning to function nicely, it is still unstyled and sparse of content - looking more “Hello World!” than powerful mod manager.

 

Up until now, the look, style and general user experience hasn't been our primary concern. Not because it isn't important, but because extensive time and effort has gone into the underlying logic of the mod manager rather than the user interface or user experience. It's now time to bring that underlying logic all together into what we hope will be an extremely newcomer friendly UI and intuitive user experience for initial and beginner users, while also providing extensible advanced functionality for the more hardcore modders out there. A piece of software that caters to newcomers and experts alike.

 

This is where you all come in.

 

Like we did for the website, we would like to recruit from within our community a UX/UI designer. This person will assist the team in making the software not only function incredibly, but be a pleasure to use, intuitive, and great to look at. Below you will find the position we would like to fill and the requirements needed to fill it.

 

Details on how to apply are below.

 

UX/UI Designer required

We are now after an experienced, passionate and driven User Experience / User Interface Designer (UX/UI) to work with our Nexus Mod Manager team on a paid freelance basis (to be negotiated), helping them to create an intuitive and robust system that will provide our users with not only incredible functionality but also be simple to navigate and instinctive to use. This particular role will require the applicant to have an understanding of design principles, user personas and of course, the various current mod tools that are available to users.

 

Responsibilities:

• Work with our team to create the UI for our new 'Mod Manager' from wireframe to implementation.
  
• Provide visuals such as concepts and journey flows.
  
• Provide advice and ideas to enhance the User Experience.
  
• Provide own ideas while also adhering to team requirements.
  
• Produce HTML and CSS for primary interface and additional themes.
  
• The creation of a Nexus Mods UI style guide.
  

Requirements:

• A team player with a sense of humour
  
• Previous professional experience within a UI/UX position.
  
• A thorough understanding of how a user interface is essential to a smooth user experience.
  
• Excellent knowledge of HTML, CSS and Javascript - including experience with either SASS or LESS.
  
• Be an expert of known design packages such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or Sketch and prototyping tools such as Balsamiq, Marvel or Invisionapp.
  
• Excellent organisational skills.
  
• Strong communication skills both verbally and written (English).
  

Preferred:

• Experience with React
  
• Experience with Bootstrap
  
• Lives in Europe, east coast US or similar time zone.
  

To Apply:

In order to apply, please send an email to [email protected] with the subject of "UX/UI Designer Application" detailing why you would be suitable for the role, attached to this email we would also like:

• Your up to date CV / Resume 
  
• A quick wireframe, sketch or mockup example of your vision for the 'Mod Page' in the mod manager. The "Mod page" is the page that displays all the mods the user currently has installed or downloaded (the mods tab in NMM). 
  

[FaiixTardiZz]

that timing tho, i was just thinking about it when this update came xD

[lued123]

It's great to hear that things are coming along.

Edit: And might I suggest you call it NEMO? NExus Mod Organizer? It's an appropriate name for a merger of Nexus Mod Manager and Mod Organizer, it sounds adorable, and it invokes the same "I'll use two letters if I want to," attitude that USLEEP had before it got ported to the Special Edition.

Edit: Nexus Mod Organizer was vetoed by Dark0ne, so it's probably not happening. Also, please don't reply if all you have to say is "+1". I'd like if this thread was a *bit* less repetitive than that, and I think other users would appreciate it too. Add some commentary in there or something.

Edited February 8, 2017 by lued123

[Loveblanket]

Thanks for the update. I'm looking forward to the new site design and the new NMM (I don't think you have to change the name at all btw, NMM is fine). Please offer a "dark version" of the interface. Looking at that all white screen for hours kills my eyes.

[Deleted28570945User]

I say name it Nexus Mod Organizer!

[Gyzzidonth]

Name it:

 

NNMM (New Nexus Mod Manager)

[lued123]

In response to post #47378675.

Loveblanket wrote: Thanks for the update. I'm looking forward to the new site design and the new NMM (I don't think you have to change the name at all btw, NMM is fine). Please offer a "dark version" of the interface. Looking at that all white screen for hours kills my eyes.

They talk about the new platform's "themeability" and under the job requirements they list "A thorough understanding of how a user interface is essential to a smooth user experience."
I assume that means... well... a theme system. If it doesn't ship with a dark theme, it won't be hard to find one.

[Elianora]

In response to post #47378955.

ShmooZ wrote: I say name it Nexus Mod Organizer!

+1

[TacticalAce]

Very nice! So basically most of the hard work is done and you guys need someone to make it look pretty. I hope you guys can get a UI designer soon, I have been absolutly fiending for this mod manager to release. I was an avid mod organizer user but decided for SSE I would just wait for the new fully supported mod manager. Seems Like its still a couple of months off but its good to know progress has been great! Thank You!

[LPlates]

In response to post #47379180.

Bonechip wrote: Name it:

NNMM (New Nexus Mod Manager)

Observation : In a years time (or so) would it still be new ?
:)