Post news Report RSS Icons, Sorting and Searching

It seems a lot of people have been having issues with the new v4 browsing system, so we listened and here is the solution we came up with.

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I'll be the first to admit that finding stuff you want on Mod DB v4 is not as easy as it was on v3. It seems the main issues our visitors faced was that the “search is dumb”, “sorting isn't there”, “we cannot filter by game”, “the linked mod is no longer shown” and “the related game icon is no longer shown”.

These were major issues which are now hopefully resolved. Here are the changes which were just deployed:

  • Sorting is back, you can sort by any of the fields shown under the “filter” area
  • Search is smarter. The most relevant results will be shown first and partial matches will now be found. So for example if you search for “hal” Half-Life will be returned
  • More filtering options have been added including a smart “by game” filter which lets you find exactly what you want to find
  • The related game icon is now shown consistently to the right when browsing
  • Finally, the best and biggest change. The mod, game, engine or group the content is linked to will now be shown. Better yet, when you click on the subject you will be taken direct to the profile the article / download is linked with. For mod teams, games, engines and groups this means you now have people coming to your profile when you post news, downloads etc. This provides you with a great opportunity to show off your profile and hopefully get another follower. This will also act as a double bonus when your content is posted on ModDB.com as that will likely help boost your mods popularity skyward and help it climb the “most popular” list.

As always if there are still areas you think we can improve in please let us know, because we won't change the site unless you help us out by proposing ideas.

Post comment Comments
Varsity
Varsity - - 1,044 comments

Great changes, especially linking news to profiles. Just get prettier game icons! :-)

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TKAzA
TKAzA - - 3,154 comments

The games staff are constantly trying to raise the bar on game profile content including game icons, media news and linked mods and groups.
Leave us some feedback on the game icons your not happy with and we will endeavour to replace them.

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Gibberstein
Gibberstein - - 52 comments

Very good news - one of the big reasons I missed v3 has now been put to rest :D

@varsity - most (if not all) of the icons are the desktop shortcuts that come with the game. If they are ugly, blame the game devs, not Moddb ;)

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Spector
Spector - - 511 comments

well I bet we could convert them to .png now, to anti alias the edges, since this site uses a script to make alpha transparencies in IE.

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Varsity
Varsity - - 1,044 comments

That's the kind of thing I meant. There are lots of jaggy edges right now.

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Godwin
Godwin - - 291 comments

I think that's the problem with the icons themselves, that they weren't anti-aliased to begin with? Converting them to png won't make a difference.

Good news anyway, good to see this back.

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Varsity
Varsity - - 1,044 comments

ModDB's HL2 icon: Media.moddb.com

Actual HL2 icon: Steamreview.org

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Spector
Spector - - 511 comments

by converting them, I meant remaking them ;)

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TKAzA
TKAzA - - 3,154 comments

Its hard to deal with and make icons that look good for such a small size, as per my comment above tell us what you dont like.

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Jyffeh
Jyffeh - - 982 comments

Perfect. I really wanted the icons back :)

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DJ-Ready
DJ-Ready - - 456 comments

Yeah having the icons back is great :)

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weroper.GX
weroper.GX - - 50 comments

Aw yeah! Icons! I missed them. Now i know what news is for what game again. Nice!

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scratch
scratch - - 138 comments

I have to admit, being sceptical at first i'm starting to like the new site even though it looks a bit sterile. It has become alot more comfortable than i expected, especially the page loading times are far better.

Nice work!

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ambershee
ambershee - - 865 comments

Fantastic, things are certainly picking up.

So, what's the next fix ;)?

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Dragonlord
Dragonlord - - 1,934 comments

Nice updates. Not sure though if this linking to the profile is the right thing. Maybe I simply misunderstood the new system though, quite possible.

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Lucífer
Lucífer - - 3,393 comments

now who was it saying that the staff weren't listening. :D

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TKAzA
TKAzA - - 3,154 comments

Scotts always listening :D

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Ragiko
Ragiko - - 40 comments

This is a great update. Now the only thing I'm waiting on is the Help Wanted page, and I'm set for life.

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Grogdon
Grogdon - - 144 comments

Yes! My complaint has been heard. OK, now v4 is definatly the best version.

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Lucífer
Lucífer - - 3,393 comments

I feel like going Jay and Silent Bob on the people who claimed this so bad without giving it a chance.

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jacksonj04
jacksonj04 - - 631 comments

Thanks for the support guys! It's not only Scott who's always listening, there's a whole set of staff who are constantly looking out for your comments and suggestions, and doing our best to make sure Mod DB is honed to perfection.

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