last night I compressed the current mod I'm working on using 7zip and it came out at 130mb - I haven't finished this mod yet but know it will hit the 250mb mark when compressed

In one of my first mods which was just 10mb someone pointed out that the screenshots I had included took up 2mb of the mod - while I have a reasonable internet plan and don't panic if I want to download 500mb I know this isn't the case with everyone

Some don't like the use of TGA due to file size (um there are other technical reasons but I'm just mentioning the file size one) and others couldn't care less

I just thought it might be interesting to see what people around here think of downloading medium to large file size mods as I know there are a number in development that may come out this year or next

I don't care about file sizes at all. I've got a 30 mbit connection and it's downloading really fast since Tesnexus increased their speed for non-premium users.

As long as you post some screenshots so I can actually see what I'm about to download, no, I don't really care about size.

Yes, definitely, it's... Oh, wait, you mean mod file size?

Seriously... For me I'd dl anything I really wanted, regardless of size (I downloaded TU2 on dial-up, and I'm in Australia - it took about a week using a download manager).

Only thing where it might matter to me is due to harddrive space, I'm not too keen on people using big textures that don't need to be big (I'm thinking of e.g. basic colourmaps that don't have any real detail and are going to be obscured by other texture maps like refl anyway - these don't need to be big). But I can resize them myself so even that doesn't really matter all that much. B)

Current estimates for when TR is completed are just under 400MB, uncompressed. Large mods are a pain to download sometimes, but hopefully that problem will be largely alleviated within the next several years, as faster and faster connections become more available. On an uncapped server connection, I can regularly get 1.5mpbs download speeds, so large files don't usually bother me... although I don't really use mods either.

For me the dl time doesn't matter much at all, its more about the contents of the mod filling up my data files folder. And that's not so bad as long as the author takes the time to put their stuff in unique folders or BSA's. I really can't stand it when mods dump a ton of textures into the main folder, makes it a pain in the butt trying to figure out what came from where.

I checked depends on the mod, although to be honest I don't think there have been any mods I wanted that I didn't download because of the size. The main annoyance for me with a large file size is the time it takes to download, but even then I can just let it download at night or while I'm at school.

The only thing I don't really like is if there are screenshots included in the download, because by the time I've downloaded it I've most likely seen them already from TESNexus or PES, and by the time I've downloaded it I already know I want the mod, so the screenshots are no longer useful. It doesn't really bother me much that they add to the file size, just that they have no purpose.

I also have to agree with NZdawghaus that it is much more convenient if the data files are all in unique folders, preferably named by the author or the name of the mod. When all the files are just thrown together into the main meshes or textures folder, particularly textures, it makes me think twice about whether I really want to use it because of the size added to my Data Files and inconvenience of removing the files if I decide I don't like the mod.

I don't care about file sizes at all but if i recognize it' for using tga's instead of dds I'm a bit... well... maybe I'm a little bit annoyed - i know it can be a quality fact but it shouldn't be a fact of laziness. i love opulent, well-made clothing and faces mods like westly's stuff or plangkye's and i use it anyway when i trust the modder making good works (which is true for both of them for instance). same goes for detailed tex replacers like qarl's and connary's. i trust you and your work because i've seen your shots and very much like the work you did on your akaviri clothes (you know I'm using it ) and your faces.

anyway I'm experienced enough to take only things I like if it comes to limitations of space or I don't like or need everything a mod offers but I have no probs so far.

trusting the modders like westly or knowing of wonderful meshes and textures like korana's makes a decision faster.
usually the comments or rating of mods do not influence my decision, but it depends on the facts, that are given - e.g. if there is stated that it's unclean. screenshots are good and it's okay if they are in the download but I prefer them to be visible before I dl. and last but not least: if a huge file is only used once, it depends on what it is but that would be the last thing that would change my mind.

since most of the modders name their textures unique i don't care if the texes go to the main folder or in subfolders (actually i had more problems with unique folders when unexperienced modders are not able to set their pathes the right way - that happend far more often than finding out where textures came from). if I want to delete them I can use wrye mash or just look up in the dl-file to check out which texes are which.

hm. maybe i should add, that i have around 200 mods checked (counting the merged it should be around 250), some 40 espless replacer and my data files is 13 gb huge, containing nearly 21000 texture files only in the main texture folder my mw-dl-folder, containing every zip i downloaded so far has over 1000 files. so i hope I'm quite experienced about that topic...

Ooh, textures in the main texture folder, that's one of my pet peeves! :angry:

It's not just a convenience issue, it's an issue with the file system - with XP, once a folder gets too much stuff in it, nasty things start happening (like disappearing files, and files that aren't found by the game even though they're there). I've spent WAY too much time moving textures to subfolders with TESRESPEC and packing stuff into BSAs to fix these issues. Put your textures in subfolders people!!! Or at least make sure the texture path in the nif points to *exactly* the right filename (ie including extension) to make it easier to fix with TESRESPEC (it has bugs handling files that don't do this).

/rant

But of course it's up to the individual modder, it's not up to me to tell other people how to mod, and I'll dl stuff anyway and fix it up myself if I really want it.

...
A mod like that people would still download even if it was 400 gigs

Sure, its a pain at first. But once you're used to it, its no problem. Can't wait to see what you've got in store for us....

Let me first clarify. I don't play Morrowind any more, or computer games that much for that matter. But for the most part mod sizes are not that much of a problem. It took me several days to put together a mod list that I was happy with so I just leave the mods downloading in the background. However if the mod was over 100MB, I would have to be sure I wanted it. In other words, good screenshots are a must.

The thing I would be more concerned about is the amount of harddrive space it takes up, but I don't think that is an issue many people have.

really? I never experienced the problems you describe O.O but i really often experienced the wrong path issue (maybe because i also use works of unexperienced modders). btw: if i set textures in nifskope it won't let me set no extension. very interesting reading other people's issue

but btt: you are right, it's up to the modder. and I fix my stuff the way i want it too - like unpacking bsa's because i have the feeling, the game is faster then.

My Morrowind folder is about 10gigs, most of which comes from replacers and such. I haven't run into much Problems in-game

Hm, mine is currently 31.4GB, 118347 files, 2478 folders - and I packed a lot of stuff into BSAs and cleared out unused textures fairly recently too. The limit is large but it definitely exists (it's a known issue with XP and older).

The default XP filesystem (NTFS) doesn't have a limit on the size of a folder, but the maximum number of files in a folder (and also the maximum number of files on a logical drive) has a limit of 4,294,967,295. I'd be amazed if you are hitting that limit.

That is not to say there is something above the filesystem that is causing issues.

1. Depends on the mod
2. Bosmer sized HD
3. Useful screenshots, video trailer (if needed), user comments (and by extension, user ratings), WiPz threads (or RELz threads where I can ask questions), mod description (the more thorough and detailed, the better), whether it looks interesting.
4. TGA instead of .dds (especially for wicked large textures), screenshots in .zip (esp. if they are .bmp or - heaven forefend - .png), large size object used only once (as in, mostly not necessary), and other (= lots of extra doo-dads that don't fit in with the rest of the game).

I'm always willing to try mods from authors I've not seen mods from before. Everyone has to start from somewhere.

If the mod includes new objects and textures, then of course I'd expect it to be a large size. However, I have little inclination to wait 20 minutes for a 50MB download, so it had better be really worth it.

In general, I don't tend to seek new model additions to the game (such as new outfits, new armors, and the like). Texture replacers, by far, eat up the most of my HD space as far as mod sizes are concerned.

And yes, my HD is on the 'smallish' size of about 150 GB, and I've used up a bit more than 1/2 that space. I could probably save space if I deleted a bunch of stuff, but I'm not ready to do that quite yet....

Not that one, no!


Something like that. :shrug: My husband is the one for this kind of thing, and he's asleep atm. I've had lots of problems with that textures folder though, and reducing the number of files in it fixes the "missing texture" when it's really there errors, for example.

A bit off-topic, but you could always buy a 250 or 320GB hard drive for under $50. :3

As far as I'm concerned, the major concern regarding file-sizes is something that hasn't been explicitly mentioned by anyone so far (the focus seems, curiously, to be on download speed :huh:). There are a lot of ISPs that have 'fair usage' policies in place that restrict the amount that a customer can download in a given period without there being a penalty (like throttling your service or a per-gig payment on top of the subscription fee for 'excess' usage) - typically, this cap is something like 30GB-50GB per month, or in that region.

With regards to speed complaints, there are numerous exceptional cases where speed might be an actual problem (stability of connection, shared connections, genuinely slow _{[<512Kb, to my mind]} connections), but I would view these as the minority of speed complaints (the rest being attributable to impatience). Even being the exception, however, they probably encompass a wide enough proportion of mod-users that they are very worth taking into account.
Returning to my original point... Download caps, when in place, are always an actual problem, being so directly tied to file-size. They're especially problematic on a shared connection - and especially if you're not the one who is actually paying for that connection, which will be the case for many of the younger mod-users.

So, yes, size definitely does matter.
That being said, I haven't ever particularly bothered about it in my own mods (23MB for a signpost replacer? Are you kidding me?), so I'm a total hypocrite. But, y'know, Whatevs. :shrug:


...HDD space is an actual problem for people though? :huh:
That, I don't really understand. Even if you're not tech-savvy enough to install a new HDD, can't you just burn some DVDs?
Or delete some less important files?

Wow - thanks to everyone who has replied so far - I've learnt a bit more from this poll though I'm not sure I can trust it's statistics

So far only 4 voted for - Yes it does matter but for the second question which asks if you voted yes it does matter - is this because ... has 26 votes in one of the choices

Anyway - the section on what would influense you to download has been interesting to watch as most prefer user comments over user ratings - the mod's description is almost important as screenshots and WIP threads are useful as well though Alaisiagae made a comment about release threads being useful to for asking questions

I was surprised how many don't like screenshots included in the mod - I guess I like screenshots if it is a headpack or a clothing mod as it reminds me what's in the files instead of looking through the textures

I'm all with those who have pet peeves about textures not being in unique folders

So while the poll has only been going for a day the feedback has been really useful for me - thanks

Tbh I answered 'There's another reason and I'm going to post it' for the 'If you answered - Yes it does matter - is this because' poll, because you didn't include an 'it doesn't matter to me' option, and it said I had to vote in all the polls before it would put my votes through. :shrug:

It doesn't really matter to me, as long as it isn't bigger then 500 MB. I find 500 MB the limit. Kat's Kastle is about 420 MB, Alakazar's Lamp 246 MB and CoV 226 MB. Kat's Kastle didn't take much time to download, but it takes time to unpack it. The larger a package is, the more time it takes to unpack.
While WinRAR is busy to unpack KK i can drink a cup of coffee in the meantime I find myself that a modder can include some screenshots in it's mod, but not too much. Best is to add those screenshots to the downloadpage and offcourse in their WIP thread.

Well I think including screenshots could be a good idea when you upload a mod to a site where you can't put up screenshots on the download page, I'm thinking about elricm here. Otherwise, if it's on pes or tesnexus, I don't really care whether screenshots are included or not, but apparently many do mind, so better not to include them I guess.

Personally I don't really care about that kind of things when I install a mod, so long as it works it's fine by me. However, when I release a mod I make the effort to put all my meshes and textures in my own subfolders meshes/Mand and Textures/Mandamus, I don't know why just makes me feel my release is more "polished" this way I think!

Oh and slightly off topic but I will download your mods once I get morrowind back this summer, no matter their size :foodndrink:

same here. you cannot leave it out, you have to answer in every poll. so the people choosing this would have mainly been those that didn't care at all