Redesign Launch - Stage 2 in progress

[jbvertexx]

In response to post #55669781. #55673186 is also a reply to the same post.

Jebbalon wrote:

Not very constructive on the feedback here. Folks need to get used to the only constant in the universe - Change -

It took very short amount of time for me to get used to the new layout. I have suggested a couple issues I have had with it, and most have been addressed. (social media links need to say "Nexus" not "Us")

It takes time to get all the folds ironed out.

If you don't like it you need to explain - in detail - what it is you don't like and offer a suggestion as to how it can be better.

The old site IS going away, and they are working on the new design now. So, now would be good time to get your suggestions on improvement out there. Threats to leave along with the old design is not being constructive.

My 2 copper ... given!

 

-Jebbalon

Grandy12 wrote: > Folks need to get used to the only constant in the universe - Change -

Terrible argument. Change for the sake of change isn't needed. Change for the sake of improvement is.

Even in nature, if a creature changes to something that is less efficient than it's peers, it dies more easily.

There's no need for anyone to explain why they preferred the old site, anymore than there is a need for anyone to explain why they prefer the walls of their bedroom to have an specific color.

Instead, it's the job of the painter guy who's painting the bedroom a new color to convince the people that the new color is a better choice. And no, "Let's paint your bedroom because change is a constant in the universe and as such we can't have the same bedroom color" is not an argument at all.

Constructive feedback is that the new one needs to be thrown out and started over - not sure how that's not clear by the overwhelming response. The new design was well intended, and something I looked forward to, but in the end it was poorly executed and needs to be redone. The specifics are all contained in this thread - there is a wealth of feedback.

Do the right thing for the customer. Edited December 8, 2017 by jbvertexx

[jbvertexx]

Some constructive feedback - Site main page:

 

1. On mobile

 

- I'm not sure why it's different than on PC, but it leads with News & Updates, then a bunch of tiles, then All of Our Mods, then a bunch of tiles. No intuitive way to just get to a Game main page. I bet 90% of landings to the main page, users are trying to get to a Game, but it's just not there. Menu at the top is of no help, it's multi-layered, and primarily has options of Mods, Images, Videos on a site-wide basis. How many users actually use the website in this manner?

 

- News - drop-down that lists 9 ways to view news. Seriously? Just have something simple that shows the news, then once your'e there, allow for different views, if that's really necessary. I mean, did you guys actually look at usage metrics to figure out what functionality is actually used?

 

- News shouldn't be displayed in tile form, and it shouldn't be front and center. It should just be a highlight feed that takes up less real estate.

 

- ALL OF OUR MODS - Caps, why caps? And how many people actually navigate to nexusmods.com in order to view ALL mods accross ALL games? I would wager that 99% of the people come to the site to view mods for their top 2-3 favorite games. So this is just noise using up valuable real estate.

 

- That's basically it. On the mobile main page, I see no intuitive way to get to what I really want, is to go to my favorite games quickly or to look at site news ( in a manner that takes up much less space)

 

2. On Desktop

- Different experience - I'm seeing the games front and center, which is a good thing.

- +1 for the favorite games drop-down. That is a nice enhancement - but's it's lost in all the other crap you have in that main menu bar - and is that the main menu bar or is the menu bar above it the main menu bar (Nexus Home, Chat, News - again!!)? I don't know - 90% of it is unnecessary on the main page.

- Overall, it's way too cluttered. One recommendation is to create a couple different views. The main one should just have the basics of what 90% of the people navigate to 90% of the time. You could create a "mod author" view, with all the "My mods, my files, with posts for my mods, etc"

- How many people actually look at mods accross all games? Same feedback. Perhaps create a My Favorites section that shows new mods, etc for favorite games. But seriously, how many people actually want to see new mods, videos, etc across ALL games? Getting rid of all of this clutter would vastly simply the interface.

- News - why tiles? And with 8 different tabs at that? Seriously? I'd like to see the metrics on how often all those tabs are clicked. News is a single simple feed with perhaps a filter option. Tiles should be used for objects or records. Slim this down to minimize the real estate used by news. Right now, your news is a big waste of space and doesn't present the pertinent info to the user, which is simply the headline - that's it - that's all you need for news.

- ALL OF OUR MODS - who wants to see ALL mods from ALL games? Big waste. Maybe give a power user the option, but not on the main page.

- Bottom line is you are wasting main page precious space with what you could be using to highlight select featured mods, staff picks, mods of the month, new games, features/promotions, mod contests, really important updates, etc. Who knows, but right now, it's a big blur of useless info that is all a waste of precious real estate.

 

That's my feedback on the Main Page.

Edited December 8, 2017 by jbvertexx

[DiaborMagics]

In response to post #55731251. #55818026 is also a reply to the same post.

DiaborMagics wrote: Alright, I see there are many people with (mostly valid) complaints, others whom just say 'I hate it', without offering any constructive criticism and lastly, people whom actually help with usable feedback. And more than I could add at this point, because I must admit I have not used the new layout for more than 5 minutes.

Instead of doing any of that, I would like to ask a question (and okay, state 1 thing clearly, even if I know it's in vain: I would very much like it if the old.nexusmods.com would not disappear and for us to get the option to turn it on or off by default. If we are logged in, www.- will redirect us to old.- if we desire that).

The question is: why is there this much focus on mobile use?

The reason why I ask you this, is because Skyrim is a laptop/desktop game, not a mobile game. I use the website on my phone, too, but that is only to quickly check things. I believe that the new design takes us away from the heart, the main focus of the website: to find mods quickly, along with all the needed information and to download and track them when wanted.

The downloading part - I don't think any user does this on their mobile devices, correct me if I'm wrong. And even if some do (although I wouldn't know why), I think that is only a really small percentage there.

I personally feel like the new design impacts desktop/laptop use negatively, for as far as I have seen it - it hurt my eyes in a litteral, non-exaggerated sense when I first saw it, as there was too much strain put on them all at once - everything is designed in tiles/images too big for good usability with a mouse and everything is slower and harder to find.

In my opinion, desktop/laptop use should always take priority for sites such as these, because they are mostly directed at computer gaming and thus computer users. Not mobile users.

In short, we are moving too far away from what I believe this website should focus on and that is a waste of time and effort on not only your part, but on everyone's. I must admit I have not even used the new website on even my phone yet, because I have old.nexusmods.com/skyrim on its home screen. I almost have no doubts about the new design working very well (maybe too well (too big images and buttons perhaps, if the desktop version is any indication)) on phones and tablets, but again, that should not be the focus in my opinion. Even if I check the website with my phone, the previous version was easy enough to navigate on a smaller iPhone 4 and it is also easy to navigate on a tablet, or bigger Galaxy A5 2017. All I have to do is zoom in and I can use the old version perfectly fine, no matter on which mobile device I use it.

And even though I use it on my phone, 95% of my time spent on this website, is through Google Chrome and Firefox on either a desktop or laptop.

Do with my explanation as you will, but I would very much appreciate an answer to my question.

Just to be thorough: The question is: why is there this much focus on mobile use?

Thanks in advance,

DiaborMagics

jbvertexx wrote: To answer your question from my perspective, playing Skyrim is 100% at the desktop for me. However, about 85% of my time on the Nexus is on mobile. I travel extensively for work and precious time at home I want to game, not read the Nexus. Even when I'm home gaming, I'll check the Nexus on my phone, well, because my PC is running the game, duh. So I am constantly on the Nexus while mobile keeping up with new mods, posting, watching videos, etc.

Mobile use for Nexus is essential IMO.

But it wasn't good enough yet? I never had problems with how it was, even on the phone. And you'll use your pc for downloads, right? Or do you download to your phone?

[DontBlnkBadWolf]

I don't mind the new layout. When it was announced that they were planning a new Mod Manager, I figured the website would get an overhaul as well. Some things that I would like to see are ones that I mentioned before, and it's for the User Download History.

 

1. Let us choose alphabetical order.

2. The option to remove mods from our history that we know we won't need to download again. (Either because we didn't like it, or it has been abandoned.)

3. This is a new add, now listed in the Download History, "Removed File" needs to already be removed from our history or let us remove it.

 

As for the website in general: I had stated that there should be something put in place to contact mod authors that have not updated their mod in, oh lets say, 6 months. Asking the mod author if they are still working on the mod or do they wish to abandon it. If there is no response in a fair amount of time (what their idea is on a fair amount of time), then that mod is removed from the site. Or they can even make it hidden so if the author comes back to it, it can be visible again. I think that there are way too many mods from a couple of years ago that do not work since they have not been updated, or didn't work in the first place. And in my opinion, they need to be removed. That could free up a ton of server memory on Nexus' end.

 

Just my thoughts.

 

Bad Wolf

Edited December 9, 2017 by DontBlnkBadWolf

[DominickHide]

In response to post #55840746.

DontBlnkBadWolf wrote: I don't mind the new layout. When it was announced that they were planning a new Mod Manager, I figured the website would get an overhaul as well. Some things that I would like to see are ones that I mentioned before, and it's for the User Download History.

1. Let us choose alphabetical order.
2. The option to remove mods from our history that we know we won't need to download again. (Either because we didn't like it, or it has been abandoned.)
3. This is a new add, now listed in the Download History, "Removed File" needs to already be removed from our history or let us remove it.

As for the website in general: I had stated that there should be something put in place to contact mod authors that have not updated their mod in, oh lets say, 6 months. Asking the mod author if they are still working on the mod or do they wish to abandon it. If there is no response in a fair amount of time (what their idea is on a fair amount of time), then that mod is removed from the site. Or they can even make it hidden so if the author comes back to it, it can be visible again. I think that there are way too many mods from a couple of years ago that do not work since they have not been updated, or didn't work in the first place. And in my opinion, they need to be removed. That could free up a ton of server memory on Nexus' end.

Just my thoughts.

Bad Wolf

The idea of removing mods just because a mod author has not updated in 6 months *or any other time period* is quite frankly madness.
That would remove almost all of the mods on Nexus for every game. and defeat the entire point of the site.

Many if not most mods have not been updated in many months or even years, including the biggest and most popular.
They do not need it since the game content or executable is not changing.
Even if other mods around them change, patches are made by others to deal with that change.
Many mods work with a certain selection of other mods, tailored to the individual's taste, which also do not need updating.
If you remove the mod from the site the mod is lost forever and then you have lost all those years of work.
Then people have to start sites like 'Morrowind Modding History' to find them again.

It would not free up any memory, since no memory is used unless they are accessed.
Storage is what costs, but that is the whole point of Nexus - to have a repository of mods - not just the most popular at the time.

And if you make it hidden you are saving nothing, in fact you are using the server to store something that no-one can see.
And the author cannot know if people want an update because it becomes invisible.

Also pestering mod authors who take a break for the adult necessities of real life, as most of the popular ones do, is a sure-fire way to stop them modding - they get enough of that in the comments and forums.

[Ethreon]

In response to post #55840746. #55848856 is also a reply to the same post.

DontBlnkBadWolf wrote: I don't mind the new layout. When it was announced that they were planning a new Mod Manager, I figured the website would get an overhaul as well. Some things that I would like to see are ones that I mentioned before, and it's for the User Download History.

1. Let us choose alphabetical order.
2. The option to remove mods from our history that we know we won't need to download again. (Either because we didn't like it, or it has been abandoned.)
3. This is a new add, now listed in the Download History, "Removed File" needs to already be removed from our history or let us remove it.

As for the website in general: I had stated that there should be something put in place to contact mod authors that have not updated their mod in, oh lets say, 6 months. Asking the mod author if they are still working on the mod or do they wish to abandon it. If there is no response in a fair amount of time (what their idea is on a fair amount of time), then that mod is removed from the site. Or they can even make it hidden so if the author comes back to it, it can be visible again. I think that there are way too many mods from a couple of years ago that do not work since they have not been updated, or didn't work in the first place. And in my opinion, they need to be removed. That could free up a ton of server memory on Nexus' end.

Just my thoughts.

Bad Wolf

DominickHide wrote: The idea of removing mods just because a mod author has not updated in 6 months *or any other time period* is quite frankly madness.
That would remove almost all of the mods on Nexus for every game. and defeat the entire point of the site.

Many if not most mods have not been updated in many months or even years, including the biggest and most popular.
They do not need it since the game content or executable is not changing.
Even if other mods around them change, patches are made by others to deal with that change.
Many mods work with a certain selection of other mods, tailored to the individual's taste, which also do not need updating.
If you remove the mod from the site the mod is lost forever and then you have lost all those years of work.
Then people have to start sites like 'Morrowind Modding History' to find them again.

It would not free up any memory, since no memory is used unless they are accessed.
Storage is what costs, but that is the whole point of Nexus - to have a repository of mods - not just the most popular at the time.

And if you make it hidden you are saving nothing, in fact you are using the server to store something that no-one can see.
And the author cannot know if people want an update because it becomes invisible.

Also pestering mod authors who take a break for the adult necessities of real life, as most of the popular ones do, is a sure-fire way to stop them modding - they get enough of that in the comments and forums.

Removed from personal history - cool, should be a feature.
Removed from website - absolutely not. What's with this idea being circulated by some?

[sopmac45]

In response to post #55840746. #55848856, #55849866 are all replies on the same post.

DontBlnkBadWolf wrote: I don't mind the new layout. When it was announced that they were planning a new Mod Manager, I figured the website would get an overhaul as well. Some things that I would like to see are ones that I mentioned before, and it's for the User Download History.

1. Let us choose alphabetical order.
2. The option to remove mods from our history that we know we won't need to download again. (Either because we didn't like it, or it has been abandoned.)
3. This is a new add, now listed in the Download History, "Removed File" needs to already be removed from our history or let us remove it.

As for the website in general: I had stated that there should be something put in place to contact mod authors that have not updated their mod in, oh lets say, 6 months. Asking the mod author if they are still working on the mod or do they wish to abandon it. If there is no response in a fair amount of time (what their idea is on a fair amount of time), then that mod is removed from the site. Or they can even make it hidden so if the author comes back to it, it can be visible again. I think that there are way too many mods from a couple of years ago that do not work since they have not been updated, or didn't work in the first place. And in my opinion, they need to be removed. That could free up a ton of server memory on Nexus' end.

Just my thoughts.

Bad Wolf

DominickHide wrote: The idea of removing mods just because a mod author has not updated in 6 months *or any other time period* is quite frankly madness.
That would remove almost all of the mods on Nexus for every game. and defeat the entire point of the site.

Many if not most mods have not been updated in many months or even years, including the biggest and most popular.
They do not need it since the game content or executable is not changing.
Even if other mods around them change, patches are made by others to deal with that change.
Many mods work with a certain selection of other mods, tailored to the individual's taste, which also do not need updating.
If you remove the mod from the site the mod is lost forever and then you have lost all those years of work.
Then people have to start sites like 'Morrowind Modding History' to find them again.

It would not free up any memory, since no memory is used unless they are accessed.
Storage is what costs, but that is the whole point of Nexus - to have a repository of mods - not just the most popular at the time.

And if you make it hidden you are saving nothing, in fact you are using the server to store something that no-one can see.
And the author cannot know if people want an update because it becomes invisible.

Also pestering mod authors who take a break for the adult necessities of real life, as most of the popular ones do, is a sure-fire way to stop them modding - they get enough of that in the comments and forums.

Ethreon wrote: Removed from personal history - cool, should be a feature.
Removed from website - absolutely not. What's with this idea being circulated by some?

I back up this idea : to be removed from our personal history.

@ Dark0ne : is there any way to add a function like "add to a cart" some mods that are very difficult to find so the next time we log in, and after making sure that we want to download that particular mod ( after reading all posts, making questions about compatibility, etc ) we would find that mod easier in our cart rather than go look again for it ? Assuming that you guys decide to add this function, perhaps you can allow us to add certain amount of mods to our personal cart, let's say : 5 only.

The above idea is kind of cool because you do not loose tracking. So far I have not find any function like that in the new site nor the old one as well. If there is, please point the finger and forget about my suggestion and in advance thank you if you already added it or if you add my suggestion ( cart suggestion ).

@ Dark0ne : a friend of mine showed to me how to "add to a cart" .... there is a tab inside each mod called "track" ... and it is working perfectly ... so disregard my suggestion and thank you so much. This is very cool, however, just to let you know, the Search function is not working properly. Thanks again.

... and yes, some mods are difficult to find. For example, I could not find the mod : Advance Turret Set by ccmads .... even using the filters and not matter how I tried, I could not find it via Search function. I had to go find a mod from this person and find inside the description of that mod, the mod I was looking for, click on it and voila ... the mod exist ... but again, I was not able to find it via Search function. Somehow, there is a problem with that and still is not functioning at 100%. I could not even find ccmads, so, that is why adding a function "add to our cart" is IMHO, a necessary function so it could help us as a back up and a very short cut to look for mods that were difficult to find in the first place.

Thanks so much Dark0ne and again, except for the Search function not working at 100%, I do really like the site. :) Edited December 9, 2017 by sopmac45

[sewagerat]

In response to post #55809056.

RestlessPilgrim wrote:

Redesign

Nobody asked for it. Nobody wanted it. Now it's forced on us anyway.

It's basically a massive step backwards for Nexus.

Search is now useless due to complete arbitrary "definitions". Layout is the same as every other shitty website out there. Simply put, if it isn't broke, don't ram it down my throat!!!

How about a choice NOT to use this AWFUL new "design"?

clap clap clap.

[TLymond]

Hey! People complaining about Search being broken...

Have any of you ever bothered to hit the "Refine Results" button?

[twowolves80]

There should be no removal of mods, save those that, like before, are blatantly stealing assets. I do think there should be a system in place (and made a part of the ToS) where if there is no activity on your account for...say a year. No activity whatsoever. Then, the account is flagged, but only to get a moderator/admin's attention so they can email the person, say "Hey, we miss you on the nexus! Come back!"

Then, the mod isn't just arbitrarily being taken over, we're not removing anything, and the author is being alerted. I will volunteer to do follow ups if there's a lot of them--PM me, Dark0ne, and I'm your man. I have no problem sending out emails to take some of the burden of the simple but tedious admin stuff off you guys.

Basically, you don't have activity in a year, you get a courtesy email. Then if there's still no response after a month, you could make an argument to simply caretake the mod--it's there, it's being updated (maybe only so far as SKSE goes?), but it's still theirs, and as soon as they come back, they can take it back.

I have no problem helping out like this if you need more paperwork help.

I'm sure Ethreon will have an opinion on this...lol

 

*waits for Ethreon's inevitable acerbically witty quip*

 

:P