New design constructive feedback

[twowolves80]

The site could be experiencing problems from them attempting to fix something on the back side of the site.

[Radiantdawn571]

I can't find a place to download the NMM. This is very frustrating.

[TheVampireDante]

I can't find a place to download the NMM. This is very frustrating.

 

Very top of the main page on each game site.

 

Fallout 4 main page for example: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4

[kenobi1]

So I just took the time to read through all the posts in this thread, and it seems very clear to me that many of the people here do not bother to read any of the previous posts. They simply come here, say they would like the old design back, and leave. That is probably the single biggest problem on the internet - people do not bother to read stuff that they really should. It's the exact same problem with people who don't read mod descriptions, and then go to the page and whine about the mod not working, when it would have worked just fine if they had spent a couple of minutes beforehand to read through the description. It would be really nice if people would pay attention to the fact that the old design is not coming back, wouldn't it? If only...

 

Personally, I like the look of the new design. I believe it looks cleaner and showcases mods better than the old one did. However, I realise this is entirely subjective. I mostly use the site to find new mods, so the "New Today" and "More Trending" tabs are a godsend for me. As far as I'm aware, the functionality to see more trending mods on the front page was not present on the old design, so I find myself taking a look at more mods than I did before. Also, I find that the larger images tend to draw my attention more. Again, this is entirely subjective though, and I can see that a lot of people would probably disagree, in the same way that I disagree with the person who said that the posts tab on mod pages seems "cold" and "barren", whereas it used to be "warm" and "homely" in the old design (D'oh, should have taken note of the page that post was on!). Please define "cold", "barren", "warm" and "homely". These are completely subjective terms based entirely on the likes and dislikes of that person, so they should be left out of a thread meant to provide objective constructive feedback.

 

In my opinion, one of the biggest issues in the new design (that is present in the old one as well) is the unused space at the sides of the screen. It would really reduce the amount of scrolling needed if it was stretched out to match my monitor's resolution, or if certain elements (such as site news) were moved to the side, as others have suggested already. Other than that, I don't really have any big problems with the new design. Obviously, there's still a couple of bugs here and there, but taking the time to read the posts in this thread has reminded me of the fact that the current focus of the staff is on Vortex, so they will all be addressed in due time.

 

TL; DR: Good work on the redesign, I would like to see it continue to evolve. Also, I'm incredibly excited about Vortex! :dance:

 

You make a lot of good points. To be fair though, while I agree there's a problem with people not reading, 26 pages of comments is rather a lot :tongue: I'll also say, personally, I'm not fond of the new design, however as time has gone on they've made some tweaks (one of which I think actually came from me, the redistribution of the layout on mod list pages, which lil' ol' nobody me was surprised they actually followed through on XD) and it's grown on me slightly since then. I just wish they could figure out why the comments section of mods is so uncooperative in updating when you hit the 'submit' button.

 

I do agree the new design seems 'colder', but I wouldn't go so far as to say the old one was necessarily/overly 'warm and homey' either. To attempt to elaborate on whoever said that originally, I think what he was trying to get at was, it seems more 'mechanical'. Like when you look at/think of a stereotypical robot, what comes to mind? Cold emotionless logic, and similar thoughts and feelings, right? That's what he's getting at, that the new design seems less welcoming and like a bot came in and said 'HRRGGKKRK SITE LAYOUT DOES NOT COMPUTE, MUST REORGANIZE, LOGIC, LOGIIIIIC!' and in reorganizing the layout, updated the overall aesthetic to be more in line with it's own machine oriented aesthetics.

 

Can someone also explain to me what this Vortex thing is? I keep seeing it mentioned but I can't find an explanation anywhere in the thread.

Edited December 21, 2017 by kenobi1

[TheVampireDante]

 

I just wish they could figure out why the comments section of mods is so uncooperative in updating when you hit the 'submit' button.

 

That should clear up when the old design is removed, since the posted comment won't need to be presented on two different setups.

 

 

Can someone also explain to me what this Vortex thing is? I keep seeing it mentioned but I can't find an explanation anywhere in the thread.

 

Vortex is the new mod manager being developed to replace NMM.

[Thandal]

@kenobi1; "Vortex" is the under-development mod manager that will replace the NMM. Dark0ne gave it priority over the website UI in the recently hired professional web designer's assignments.

[kenobi1]

 

 

I just wish they could figure out why the comments section of mods is so uncooperative in updating when you hit the 'submit' button.

 

That should clear up when the old design is removed, since the posted comment won't need to be presented on two different setups.

 

 

Can someone also explain to me what this Vortex thing is? I keep seeing it mentioned but I can't find an explanation anywhere in the thread.

 

Vortex is the new mod manager being developed to replace NMM.

 

 

 

@kenobi1; "Vortex" is the under-development mod manager that will replace the NMM. Dark0ne gave it priority over the website UI in the recently hired professional web designer's assignments.

 

Ahhh, gotcha. Is there somewhere I can find a "new features" page to see what's going to be different between the two, get details on how things will transfer from NMM, etc?

[dragnhuntr666]

I agree. All this hub-a-lub about how Vortex is supposed to be better, we have gotten diddly to see for ourselves. Let alone ANY info of how our mods and mod organization is going to be affected. All they have ever said is that it's better. What I want to know is HOW WILL IT BE BETTER? Is all of our mods going to have to be redownloaded, reinstalled, or is it literatly going to be a swap from one to another? There are some mods that some people have that are no longer available on the Nexus and having to redownload them will be impossible. Can we at least get a screenshot or two to see for ourselves for comparison.

 

As a SUGGESTION, I would recommend showing off the screenshots and letting the people look and see what they like and don't like BEFORE it's thrown to the wolves. Doing Vortex like the way the website is done is just going to make people mad and they will just stop using the Nexus altogether.

 

Personally, I want details and screenshots so I can see if I want to even use Vortex, or if I want to just skip the entire NMM/Vortex and install mods manually from now on.

[kenobi1]

I agree. All this hub-a-lub about how Vortex is supposed to be better, we have gotten diddly to see for ourselves. Let alone ANY info of how our mods and mod organization is going to be affected. All they have ever said is that it's better. What I want to know is HOW WILL IT BE BETTER? Is all of our mods going to have to be redownloaded, reinstalled, or is it literatly going to be a swap from one to another? There are some mods that some people have that are no longer available on the Nexus and having to redownload them will be impossible. Can we at least get a screenshot or two to see for ourselves for comparison.

 

As a SUGGESTION, I would recommend showing off the screenshots and letting the people look and see what they like and don't like BEFORE it's thrown to the wolves. Doing Vortex like the way the website is done is just going to make people mad and they will just stop using the Nexus altogether.

 

Personally, I want details and screenshots so I can see if I want to even use Vortex, or if I want to just skip the entire NMM/Vortex and install mods manually from now on.

Oh snap, didn't realize there was literally NO real info on it O_O Personally the only thing I'd fix about NMM is adding a 'mass uninstall/deactivate' button for those moments when you're trying to narrow down a mod that's not playing nice with one you just downloaded and there should theoretically be no issues; other than that I'm fine with how it is.

[twowolves80]

I've been following three of these threads, page-for-page, (mostly because I have no life and nothing better to do) so I think I've seen a bit more of both sides than others who post here, or are only aware of one thread for the new site.

To whit:

There's this thread
There's Redesign Launch - Stage 2 (Been following that for over 100 pages)

And the newest one I picked up, New Nexus Mods design launched

 

As far as the details about Vortex go, Dark0ne is playing it close to his chest. However...the first page of that last link explains the method to his madness, and from the things that have been hinted and said by SirSalami, my guess is that Vortex will integrate directly into the site. This means, while you browse on your phone, you will have the option to "like" something, or favorite it, or whatever, but the result will be that it will activate le site-wide Vortex profile (I'm going out on a limb on this one, ain't I? lol), which will automatically download the mod for you as soon as Vortex is fired up on your pc and connects to the site.

 

A note on the UI, UX and overall look. When we started this process we worked with a professional designer to create the initial mockups because we didn't have a full-time designer ourselves. The designer we worked with was great, but naturally as we didn't have him full-time and our work on the code took way longer than initially anticipated, it meant that he could only go so far. As such, the current design on the new site is, I'd say, 75% the designer's, following good UI/UX principles and 25% ours, without expert supervision (and likely lacking good UI/UX principles). We've had to change or add functionality that was missed in the original mockups that was not done by a UI/UX professional and as such, we're aware there are some areas of the site that, already, could do with the touch of an expert. Thankfully, our very own UI and UX designer has begun working from our office now. Her initial focus is going to be solely on Vortex, the mod manager to replace NMM. I can tell you right now, I'm extremely excited about her work from what I've seen so far and I think she's going to do great things for both Vortex and the Nexus Mods sites.

Once we're happy with Vortex she will move her focus on to the sites. I tell you this for two reasons. To inform you we're aware there are a few UI/UX issues with the redesign at this time, and to let you know that it will be resolved to an expert level at some point in the not too distant future. We won't be making any changes to the design until she is able to give it her full attention in a couple of month's time and, while we know some of you are budding UI and UX people yourselves and love to share your feedback with us, we'll obviously not be touching anything major until our own expert is ready.

I'm sure that, when she comes around to looking at it, she will appreciate feedback on the topic and we'll likely be asking for input soon enough.

Thank you for any help you can provide, even if it's browsing the site and finding nothing.

 

That gives you the timeline.

 

 

I agree. All this hub-a-lub about how Vortex is supposed to be better, we have gotten diddly to see for ourselves. Let alone ANY info of how our mods and mod organization is going to be affected. All they have ever said is that it's better. What I want to know is HOW WILL IT BE BETTER? Is all of our mods going to have to be redownloaded, reinstalled, or is it literatly going to be a swap from one to another? There are some mods that some people have that are no longer available on the Nexus and having to redownload them will be impossible. Can we at least get a screenshot or two to see for ourselves for comparison.

 

As a SUGGESTION, I would recommend showing off the screenshots and letting the people look and see what they like and don't like BEFORE it's thrown to the wolves. Doing Vortex like the way the website is done is just going to make people mad and they will just stop using the Nexus altogether.

 

Personally, I want details and screenshots so I can see if I want to even use Vortex, or if I want to just skip the entire NMM/Vortex and install mods manually from now on.

This isn't a Vortex thread. This is a thread for constructive feedback for the new site.

 

There are already threads up about Vortex, which can be found here.