Supporting Mods Thread

Closing down a mod due to lack of support is silly, as you aren't going to get solid support unless you really have something to show that you are for real on the project. Even then, I still have made and released mods and have had zero support for doing them.

Support is gauined by having a team that can act maturely, good media and design, but most of all, a good core concept that is refreshing and interesting.

I support mods which are active. If there isn't anything new in a couple of weeks then it gives me the feeling that the team isn't taking the project seriously.

Posting a news item every two months which start "Sorry for the..." is like giving CPR to the project.

I have noticed that there is ups and downs in the activity on our forums which go pretty monotonously like ..xXXxxx...xXXxxx...

This is what I like when visiting other projects forums. If there is too much activity (especially if the forums are poorly categorized/managed) the reading becomes more of a mission than enjoyment. If there is too little activity for too long time then I sub-consciously stop visiting those places.

Edited by (in order): StudioHorisen, StudioHorisen, StudioHorisen, StudioHorisen

Depends on what you mean by "support."

I will offer my assistance to mods that show promise, if they ask for it. So far, I have supported 3 different mods in this way, two of them are still in development, one of which has just gotten started.

On the other hand, I look for media shots from mod devs, and offer (sometimes brutally) honest criticisms. Then they will release more media, and I will critique that as well. And the cycle continues...

And honestly, I don't think the level of support people get should be a total show-stopper. If they would see the project through, I'm sure the level of support from the community would be massive. It was the same way for Obsidian Edge, which was one of the mods in which I've had a small hand. They were getting virtually no support from the community. In fact, I believe that whenever they would post media on Ubi's site, they'd be considered spammers by the moderators. On the initial release, the level of support skyrocketed. They were getting more than 70 new users a day on their forums, and were even featured on several websites and magazines. The level of support has died down in comparison to what it was on release, but it's natural for people to lose at least some interest in a mod once a new game comes out. You get the satisfaction that you had released a product people loved.

Edited by (in order): Radcliff, Radcliff, Radcliff, Radcliff, Radcliff

But the people should try to invole people to spark interest. I have gone onto many forums where there is nothing to involve potential players of the mod.

TKAzA wrote:
What makes you support a mod?

1)HL2, has to be for halflife2

2)Good looking site! I've never seen people good at modding who also aren't pro webdesigners too!

3)Unskinned renders that will look nothing like that ingame.. Its just a must

4)A "Team Members" list that spans over 4 pages! More people means more product right?

5)Must have something everyone already knows about! Hmm, lets think of something people know.. but arent direly sick of.. oh! I know! an m4a1! oh, another one is coming, an ak47!

6)Custom mod logos banners and doo-hickys to put on every render. that just makes it look even better

7)weekly news updates with no content that is really relevant to the end gamer!
"Oh we finished the map model of the bowling ball"
leet!

Blatant drowning out of other mods that don't fall into this group. Hell, if everyone else loves it, i must too! Fuck developers!

9)Concept art! I want 10 different angles of a park somewhere so I can know exactly what the game doesn't look like!

10)Unbearably long explanations of gameplay. Especially those so complex and badly written it feels like work just trying to understand what is being conceptualized.. That just means the gameplay will be so awesome we won't even know what we're doing.. right?

11)Terrible Public Relations (PR)! Without that 11 yr old stubborn kid pimping out your lack of thought we'd never have so many people drooling!

12)Boobies and such, if it has boobs or has the word women or a "babe section" of their forum. I MUST SIGN UP!

13)Open position for coder! That just means all the coders so far that've worked for them haven't been good enough, there will probably be someone to come by.

14)Controversy! What makes a fan more horny than copyright infringment? Furries!

Absolutely bang on the money there Carni - I wish some of that wasn't soo true though

Yeah. It really is kind of disturbing, especially when you hate them all and realise your own mod is guilty of a couple of them.