Mod of the Month - a good feature?

i think the awards are based on opinion and unfair because of it
i say, add a voteing system that polls every month

I voted to change the name but keep the current format, which is that mods get highlighted from time to time.

Having to find a mod for each month of the year is difficult for many reasons:

Firstly, the suggestion of taking older mods is mostly defunct. As far as MP mods are concerned, its only function is one of nostalgia, since unless the mod is still being played, the average ModDB member is not going to want to know. Single-player mods are a slightly different kettle of fish, though, so perhaps this should be considered for SP titles. However, the problem with many of the older mods is that they aren't listed on the ModDB, not to mention they rarely have mirrors and those mirrors that do exist aren't very reliable.

Secondly, from the mods that are still properly hosted and maintained and listed on the ModDB, it would be difficult to maintain a reasonable degree of quality for the mods that were highlighted if one were to be chosen for each month. The ModDB staff aren't mod encyclopedias and therefore don't know of every mod under the sun. They want to be introduced to worthwhile mods as much as we do, but the community doesn't seem to be showing any initiative on this level. Perhaps staff-member communication could be improved to let members know the staff welcome suggestions for mods deserving of recognition. In any case, if one mod were chosen for every month of the year the staff would soon run out of decent mods to spotlight, and the standards would slip. At the end of the day we want the awards to be given to worthy mods, not for the staff to feel like they're scraping the barrel.

"Mod of the Moment" has no sense of exclusivity. It cheapens the award. Plus, it's just lazy. Think of all the work that goes into these mods! Compare that with the amount of work it takes to research and write an article.

If mods honestly think they're deserving of recognition they should get in contact with the ModDB. It doesn't take a PR man to send an email.

I like the concept of getting awards, because its little things like awards & good feed back that keeps modders going at times, as modding can be very difficult & time consuming, & that's when we all need a boost, or we would just give up. So keep it up & let me live in hope that I will get the first MAX PAYNE award in the future for my modding work. :thumbup:

because its called mod of the month it should be updated evry hmm yeahr? :D

I love it, when it is updated. It sometimes shows me something worth a look.

I love it. It really highlights the awesome mods that sometimes get themselves lost in the database.

I like the feature, but the problem with periodical columns/features are that they require monthly installments, and mods don't tend to offer that kind of content so frequently.

I knew that. I theoretically love the idea of it being every month, but I know Joe has trouble finding a mod to feature every month, so every whenever as a "mod of the moment" or "mod spotlight" could work out really well. I still think that keeping its slot would work out well. That way deserving mods get really thrust into the spotlight, and possibly for a long period of time as well.

With MOTM having to be released mods, and kinda current.. It drops the available to pick from field down quite a bit.

I quite like the idea of a kinda mod spotlight which could encompass anything from really old mods to not even released mods, A Mod spotlight thing would shine the spotlight on deserving mods and would be easier to do, therefore you would maybe even see more more in the spotlight at certain times.

I like it because it gives the modders high spirts thus makeing them work better and harder :)

but its the oposite to the modders that dont win
they put all that hard work and effort in and dont get noticed

mod of the WEEK

re: cheapalert

like that idea! ;)

Seriously though, why does a motm have to be of current mods? There's dozens of excelent mods that came out years ago on Quake, Doom, HL1, etc. that nobody knows about. Just review an older one if need be. If current mods sucks, put one of the older ones up. Readers shouldn't have to suffer a lack of a MotM because everybody is "under developlemt" all the time now. :)

This isn't "Only newly announced/made moddb.com", it's "moddb.com". Bring on the oldies but goodies!

I'd like to see a random mod be selected & put on the main page though. That would be cool. Only publicly released ones though so peopel can play them.

In version 2, mods used to be randomly picked and slapped up on the frontpage, not sure what happened to that though. They weren't only released mods though, it was completely random from all the mods in the database, as far as I could tell.

scrap it, always the same junk tat wins.... the smaller underdog mods never stand a chance

Not all of our mod of the month winners are current mods, nor are they always big name games. The MOTM right now is based off of the Unreal Tournament engine and one of our previous one's from a few months back, Hollow Moon, was an almost unheard of mod that had next to no press out there, which is part of why I picked it.

Invariably you are always going to get people complaining when their mod doesn't win. The funny thing is, whenever I go in the forums and say, "Hey! Someone recommend me a mod for review!" I hardly get any responses. I'm always looking for cool stuff to feature. If you want your mod reviewed \ interviewed \ awarded, all you have to do is draw my attention to it.

That aside, I personally like the idea of a Mod of the Moment or Mod Spotlight article better, one we can update freely and doesn't make itself such a restriction. This way, we could feature any mod for doing something well, rather than searching for mods that do everything well.

I'm also sick of writing the things, since no one on the staff will touch them and I've been doing them solo since I first started writing on the site. But, you know, 'ya gotta give the people what they want.

Yeah its great and I agree about the voting system though am sure someone would vote unfairly.

The overwhelming majority of voters are in favor of MOTMONTH. It does a great service to the community.

Mods and modders deserve and NEED awards. LEGITIMATE, MONTHLY AWARDS ARE NECESSARY FOR MODS TO ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY, TO GARNER PRESS IN OUTLETS WHICH MAY HAVE OTHERWISE IGNORED THEM, TO GARNER NEW FANS, AND TO ATTRACT THE TALENT THEY NEED!

"Mod of the Moment" has no sense of exclusivity. It cheapens the award. Plus, it's just lazy. Think of all the work that goes into these mods! Compare that with the amount of work it takes to research and write an article.

With that said, I realize that MOTM is a lost cause. THESE MODDB.COM POLLS DON'T AMOUNT TO MUCH. THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY MEANT TO ELICIT INPUT FORM THE COMMUNITY. THEY'RE JUST CORNER FILLER, THE ONLY THING THAT IS SIMPLE ENOUGH TO UPDATE. WHATEVER THE STAFF WANTS TO DO (READ: IS EASIEST), IT WILL DO. REMEMBER WHEN THE COMMUNITY VOTED TO REVERT TO THE PREVIOUS WEB DESIGN, AND HOW THE STAFF PROMISED DIFFERENT SKINS?

Yeah, so say goodbye to Mod of the Month.

maybe try to find a motm review. Don't know why anyone has to "win" it. It's not a contest, it's just you guys saying "hey, check out this mod, it's pretty cool." Even mods that suck have something cool in them. :)

Maybe call it "Mods in Highlight" instead, then people won't think "ohhh..... obiviously this mod is 'da-bomb' because they reviewed it." Pick any mod. Heck, make a random # generator, put in the current released # of mods & then go at it. Then there's winners/loosers, the order is randomly generated. :)

I just stress picking public released mods (in any state). I don't want a review/preview of something that isn't out. It could never be released. IF they only want to release it to youto review then don't review it because WE couldn't try it out (I've been offered an updated version of a mod to review once or twice but always said "I only want what the public can play").

Maybe even get another person to write with you & you can argue back & forth about the mod. :D

more often plz

and thats a fact

"TheHappyFriar" wrote: Maybe even get another person to write with you & you can argue back & forth about the mod. Big Grin! \:D

Margaret and David style (For those of us who get the movie show):D That could be quite cool.

I like the TheHappyFriar's idea of older mods even though many aren't interested in the older ones. Some of the original doom mods are wonderful. And the new ones are great too. Action Doom I'm looking at you.

And giggling at methulah's reference to one of Australia's awesomest movie reviewer combos.