I agree. If you're fixating over how to market your mod, then your modding for the wrong reason. Do it because you think it adds something to your own game, the rest is just a bonus. I have a small mod up now, Friendly Fire for Frans, that so far has had a whopping 85 downloads and 1 endorsemant. One person made a comment that I should rename it in order to get more exposure, but I don't really care. I made it because it addressed something I thought was lacking in the game, and it was working out so well I decided to upload it. But how many people notice it is irrelevant to me, that's not the reason I made it.

True, true. But ... it's only human to want a bit of validation for one's work, a bit of egoboo, to feel proud of what one has done and want to show it off and to have people go "Oh COOL!" when they see it.

Of course, but even if just one person downloads me and tells me they liked it, I'm happy

I'm much the same. I originally made Shining Creatures just because I'd like it in my game. Then I released it because I want to give something back to the community. But I couldn't care less if it's popular or not really. Would be different if I was aiming to work in the gaming industry or something like that I'd guess.

For my http://www.tesnexus.com/modules/members/index.php?id=262197, yea, I'm happy if one person likes it or finds it useful. However, when I've put a http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22401, I'm going to promote it and hope that it becomes popular.

As for what makes a mod popular... I'd say its luck/timing as much as anything. Factors you can't really control.

[edit] wtf, my book jackets modder's resource has 1k unique downloads :blink: how in the world did that happen

:rofl: Because they're gorgeous and we house modders adore having spiffy looking books in our homes. :foodndrink: Which reminds me, my village needs better book covers. Thanks!

:D

Oh and popular, shmopular. While I love knowing if people enjoy my mods, I don't endlessly cruise my download pages noting every download and slavering for each rating. :lmao: I think when you start worrying more about how many people like your mod than whether YOU like your mod, you're setting yourself up for eventual disappointment.

Wow! Quite an outpouring of comments here folks. It's going to take me a while to read through everything. Thanks!
Just to reiterate - the lack of response to my first two mods is not the motivation for posting this topic. I certainly hope I do not sound like I'm whining about the situation. There has been some excellent feedback in other threads for these mods, and I do not want to discount that.
Rather my interest in posting this topic is to learn what the community as a whole considers the most important/critical aspects of a mod...as that will be important to keep in mind for my future efforts!

I should also remember that when a mod for a five-year-old game has only been out for a month, a little more patience is warranted .

As long as a Mod does not add more of the same stuff, I will consider downloading it.

It is my conviction that Oblivion (Mods) must be fun, not something which bores me to death.

:)

For me, what drives me to download a mod is something is bugging me in the vanilla game. I've found though I also have a very strange sense of taste and things alot of people download, I don't. Like I have no problem with the leveling system, never did the major is minor stuff so don't have any "leveling fix" mods. I wanted more variety with the magic system but not necessarily more power, so I use a mod that enhances magic to give me more choices but seems to remain decently balanced. I love more choices for housing so I have every house mod WhoGuru's made. I chose hers as they are very well laid out, nice eye candy, nothing overpowering and doesn't make my system scream. I tend to like being lore friendly. I'm really fussy about armor and clothing mods. I don't do armors with high heels - that really, really annoys me. And I try very hard to find things my characters would wear that leave them actually clothed instead of busting out all over. I may play around with mods who offer things I don't like to take screen shots or whatever because they look very nice, but for serious game play, I don't use them. This is nothing more than a personal preference as obviously those mods are well received. I'm not saying anything against them, they just aren't for me in my actual game play. The art and hard work in most of those mods is fantastic! I like things to be "real" in this fantasy setting of ours we all love so much

Hope that helps you some!

when i look for a mod it must

1. be something im interested in or something that catches my interest
2. must have pics(if applicable) i want to see what im downloading. if its animation or sound related a video is HIGHLY recommended because pictures and a description just dont cut it.
3. i want a well detailed description of what im going to download before i even download it.... in fact i prefer it when the description on the web sight is near identical to the actual readme i will get.
4. i use endorsemants and downloads as a guide to see what mods seem to be better in that category or what im looking for. though i have found mods with lower ratings that were newer and worked much better than the higher rated one... so its usually a hit and miss thing.

i pretty much use : armor, clothing, performance enhancements, body mods(only because i think the vanilla ones are god awful) and facial mods.

Marketing shouldn't be the issue, but it often is. There are those who contribute, and those who game the system. Some do both.

I like stuff that blends in well with the game. Mods that don't jar you the moment you find the content and make you say "yep, mod". I gravitate toward village and city improvements, so anything along those lines that's done well but not over the top is where I look first. As a natural extension, it's where I focus most of my own modding energies too.

I'm also a fan of good quest mods that also fit in nicely and provide significant new content. There's plenty of quest mods out there that just don't fit that bill for me and so I pass on them.

Weapon and armor mods tend to generate little interest from me since the vast majority of them feel out of place with the rest of the game. Those I do use blend in and are done well enough that it doesn't stand out.

Magic overhauls generate no interest for me since my play style clashes with magic in general. So it can be the greatest overhaul of magic in history and my reaction at best is "meh".

As a contrast, anything favoring brute force or stealth related characters I'll take a look at.

In general, as long as a mod is well presented and it looks like the author cares enough to maintain it and handle support, a mod usually does pretty well.

Your particular set of mods, while they look well done, are just not areas of the game I'm interested in modifying.

You need to be patient and wait a bit longer to see if your mod is going to pick up before getting frustrated that it's not popular enough. It could simply be that you're serving a niche market, much like I am with village mods, and you may never see huge numbers. It doesn't mean your mods svck, it just means they appeal to a specific type of player.

:wavey: I was one of them

A few things I take into consideration:

1: Quality. I like a mod that has a professional quality to it, and by professional quality I mean is stable, works well with the game (relatively bug-free), and that you can tell the person who made it really cares about it.

2: Balance - I look for mods that are well balanced with the game and will fit in well with my palystyle

3: Lore - I also look for mods that are lore friendly, or expand upon the lore. Granted, I do have some mods that are not lore friendly but they are quality mods that are as good, if not better than the original game

4: Reviews - I look for mods that are well reviewed by the community.

I also tend to occasionally browse the top lists at tesnexus/falllout3nexus to see what's popular there.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5135