How much a mod's popularity affects your decision to download it?

[BeranabusBarnes]

It's just one of the many factors I assess when deciding whether to download a file or not.

 

On the Nexus, I consider the date of upload, the last update period, the comment thread (users posting about problems and the modder's response or lack thereof), compatibility, the number of endorsements and downloads, the modder's other projects and general presence on the site, the mod's features, and other similar mods.

 

On this site, due to my recent registration and general lack of knowledge, I usually just read the thread through to see if there are any problems and if the modder is still active.

[StayFrosty]

How much does a Mods popularity effect my decision to download it?

 

It doesn't....in fact most of the Mods I use are little known ones, brilliant little Mods forgotten and left in the dust, over shadowed by their big popular brothers. I generally find the popular ones too large and cover too much, they are the Modders vision and don't reflect my own wants for my game. Plus I am very careful and wary about larger game changing Mods, I like mine smaller and easily controlled, all hand picked for a balanced realistic and aesthetically attractive gaming experience...without breaking my game. I do use one large scripted Mod...also not as popular as it should be, is an awesome Mod...but am in constant dialog with the Mods Author (has become a good friend) and I get to have a say in what he is adding to the Mod, the effects on it's stability, etc... Most of the other Mods I use are built up around this Mod to enhance my experiences with it and have achieved the game I want....challenging and realistic.

 

When browsing Mods, first I know what I am looking for and concentrate my search on that theme and no matter what comes up I always read through the last 5-20 pages (depending on thread size) of feedback, checking for issues, incompatibilities, size of the Mod, how much it changes in game, etc...and make my decisions based on those criteria....Popularity means nothing.

[Groovtama]

Popularity is a good thing to get good mods front page teatured, so you can't miss good stuff, but other than that. I mostly go on the today and recently new page and look what is new, when I like a mod, I look closer at it and depending on the quality it either goes to the game folder or to the dump.

[winny257]

A game is only as good as its mods, so it was and so it will always be!
I do not know any game that all was perfect. therefore have very large for me some modder deserves respect, because they are artists who were making a game worth playing.

 

deutsch !

ein spiel ist nur so gut wie seine mods , so war es und so wird es immer sein !
ich kenne kein spiel ,daß für alle perfekt war . deshalb haben für mich einige modder sehr großen respekt verdient , denn sie sind die waren künstler die ein spiel spielenswert machen.

[Plantman]

I find that popular mods are better put togeher than most of the other mods found on the Nexus. I am not saying there aren't good mods that are not popular because I have downloaded quite a few myself. I just find that the quests, textures, meshes, etc. are better made on a popular mod and due to the support they have gotten from the community, bugs that the mod causes are identified quicker and usually resolved.

[MarilynsRockzzz]

Yea, yoou have to read the discription. Some real gems under the radar. And alot of stinky ones that are on top

[Guest Vendayn]

Yea, yoou have to read the discription. Some real gems under the radar. And alot of stinky ones that are on top

 

Yeah, pretty much this. But all personal opinion, too.

 

Personally, I look at screenshots and the description...I don't pay attention to number of downloads at all or anything else. Does it sound (or look good ) to me? Then I'll get it...if not, I'll move on.

[Madmartigan34]

Its entirely based on a number of different things. NONE of which are some popularity system. For me.

[Galacticat42]

A mod's requirements for me to download:

#1 Pique my interest

#2 Description/Images of the mod so I know what I'm getting

#3 Bug reports so I know what to evade.

 

Popularity is really just a tool to spread mods on the front page. There are too many 'diamonds in the rough' to even THINK about sorting mods by popularity.

[yic17]

It depends. For quest mods, I generally care about how many endorsements it has. But for weapon/armor mods, not so much. As long as they look good on screen, I'll try them out. Sometimes some weapons are just unpopular it's not because the mod is badly made. For example, rapiers, claws, quarterstaffs, etc.

 

Also for ENBs, popularity and endorsements don't mean much since it's based on taste. Many popular ones don't suit my taste - I like my game looking cinematic instead of ultra sharp and realistic. =)

[Endorse]

I personally try to ignore the popularity of a mod, I just go by what I find is enjoyable to me. Though I do check endorsements as a sign of trust from other people who've downloaded it to see if it's safe to use and won't completely destroy my save game.

[XunAmarox]

It doesn't affect my decision to download it whatsoever, it does however strongly affect my desire to work on it or update it as a mod author if it's one of my own mods.

 

For instance, if i make a mod and after a month there's only like 0-4 comments I have a pretty good idea that nobody really gives a crap and I won't bother to do anything to it unless I do it for myself and even then sometimes I'll never bother to upload anything I change because I have no motivation to bother packaging it up if nobody's going to care.

[Bloodfang]

I'm glad most of us here can actually think and not download all the tops mods because they're more popular. So many unpopular mods are just full of talent, which is a shame for those who do not try it, but also it makes those who use it special/unique

 

I'm not a modder myself, but I definately think that too many mods are overrated, specially those with eyecandy followers.

[kurisu7885]

Popularity doesn't hurt, but I base my decision more off if I see pictures or a description, as that tells me effort has at least been made.

[Bob Minos]

None whatsoever. What the majority of the masses make popular are usually the mods which I avoid the most. If anything, I skip the hot files lists on any site. Why? Because of things like "HD, HQ, H cup, Realism, better, and anything with a bunch of letters for a name, like chbhbbsdhhhffs" always being in the titles. These are red flags to be avoided at all costs. "Immersive" can, but not always, fall into this category too.

[Sophisa]

There's also the issue of mods that were popular, but are now well broken thanks to incompatibility with newer versions of the game - Claralux for Skyrim is a good example of this, and New Vegas Bounties II broke in half between one of NV's patches. Endorsements only go away if the users remove them.

[javamonsoon]

I tend to select mods that I like. During Fallout3's hayday I ran Beware-of-Girl mods (and they're still in my FO3-install) and Xcaliber Arsenal (Sad how that ended, totally ruined the groundfloor of realism-mods for FO3. It's where my aversion to dependancy on other mods comes from.) Earache falling into the background heralded the end of FO3-modding IMO.

FONV wasn't that interesting as everybody was merely porting over their FO3 mods. (I hope that FO4 totally goes innovative, so that the modders are back to square one, sorry guys, but it's the truth. I'm not looking happily ahead towards FO4 with recycled mods.)

The only notable thing that happened is that I got a personal note from one of the guys behind Sexout.., I ran a FONV full realism website at the time. I'm quite loyal to JoshNZ however and never really got Sexout to work correctly. It was his note that led to me creating my account here, however.

Skyrim has too many basement-dweller mods. Stupid skimpy mods get more endorsements than something that actually requires thought instead of a crotch-tingle.

I gravitate towards realism (though I balk at realism in games, ironically), because I find ingame days that whisk by annoying as hell. Eating, drinking, sleeping should by now be an out-of-the-box option coming with a serious WRPG that boasts about realism. Chesko's Frostfall is must-have even though at default it can kill a Nord, which by lore should be impossible. Wet&Cold. Private Needs. Prison Overhaul that is because of it's user-options viable for me.

Lustmord Armor I discovered on it's release-day, so I had it before it was cool, even though that lasted for what... 2/3 hours? Lustmord deserved, and still deserves, all the praise it got/gets. (Though I think that an optional patch to do away with the Lost Tongue Overlook quest should be released.)

The Dread Weapon set. I have still to claim to set from the dungeon without resorting to console 'KILL', lolol

Jaysus' Swords and Hothtrooper's Immersive Armors. The Art of Magicka. AP, NiruinsBP, SL, SL-Aroused, SL-Submit, SL-Romance.

Come to think of it, I'm naming very popular mods here, but popularity is not why I select them. I select mods based on what I want. Realism and aestethics. Whether or not a mod is popular is secondary.

I'm still hoping that Beware of Girl takes up Skyrim-modding...