TwoSheds Posted December 14, 2000 Share Posted December 14, 2000 When a Mod Maker sends out a Mod that is 40% complete then sends it out again when it's 42% complete, then another update when it's 45% done, what chance do we have of keeping track? Especially when there's close to 100 "somewhat" useful Mods out there? This is not a slam on any particular Mod, (although there are a few I have in mind) but there is a tendency of the CM Mod Makers to throw what they can over the fence to the once hungry (now "fed" up and confused) CM Community. I've stopped d'loading Mods a while ago because there are too many Mods and no quality control. How can we get the quality (we expect out of BTS) out of the Mods that are being created. Yes, some of you might recognize that I wrote the (imminent to be released) CM Mod Manager, BUT it can't solve the problem I'm discussing here of how to choose between 30 different Tiger "skins". Any Ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croda Posted December 14, 2000 Share Posted December 14, 2000 Well.... First of all I think that anyone who is generous enough to create a mod and make it available for everyone for no charge whatsoever deserves to be graciously thanked, and not chided about "quality control." If you don't like the mod, don't get the mod. I could create a mod that made a Tiger look like cheese, but you'd have to be a flipping moron to use it, or just like cheese a lot I guess. Also, I don't have a problem with what you're talking about. If someone creates a mod and says "hey, here's my new Panther. Tell me if you like it, there are a few changes I may want to make to perfect it," then great. You know it may change. Get it or don't get it, but please don't act as if the mod-maker owes you a complete and perfect product because you are doing him the favor of downloading it. Imagine if everyone bitched and moaned about your mod manager. Imagine they told you that it should have been done totally differently, or that there were some bugs that should have been caught, and that you were a shoddy tester and the product was of low quality because of it. I can imagine you'd be pretty put off since you did a lot of work to create something to help people out and for no personal gain. Well that's what the modders are doing. So perhaps you mis-spoke or I'm being to cynical today (I was earlier), but from the tone of your post, this is what you appear to mean. Please don't act like the modders owe you anything. The choice on using the mod is up to you. ------------------ WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! - THIS SIG FILE BELONGS TO A COMPLETE FOO. MR T WOULDN'T BE SO KIND AS TO WRINKLE AN EYEBROW AT THIS UNFORTUNATE BEING. PLEASE OFFER HIS PARENTS AND COHABITANTS ALL SYMPATHY POSSIBLE. MAY BE CONTAGIOUS. CONTAINS ARTIFICIAL SWEETNER, INTELLIGENCE AND WIT. STAND WELL CLEAR AND LIGHT WICK. BY ORDER PETERNZ Damn Croda. That is one funny sig!!! must suck to be you - Hiram Sedai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSheds Posted December 14, 2000 Author Share Posted December 14, 2000 ok, 0 for, 1 against point taken... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Måkjager Posted December 15, 2000 Share Posted December 15, 2000 Hi TwoSheds , i would just like to comment on your statement regarding the % of completion a mod may seem to be released at. Like all things in life you learn new stuff constantly....it never stops. All the mod authors are learning their trade , each at their own pace, which usually boils down to the amount of time that they can spare from "Real Life". People , depending on their ability will take different lenghts of time to know everything everything , if they even ever get to that stage. The mod authors have a desire to share the fruit of their labour with their fellow CM breathern , but are put under a constant application of gentle pressure from the very same people who are looking for something new via requests for mods. This may partly answer your question of why in your honourable opinion mods are released that are updated later. This "early release" does have a positive side in that constructive suggestions can flow back to the author for the improvement of the mod , who given time can release a great mod. On a personal note as a junior mod author i can say that i do test my mods 100% with a very pinickity tester and critic( you know who you are ) Even when he gives the OK i still revisit the mod to see if i can improve it any further. I know there are certain things that i would like to do...but i dont have the know how yet...because i am still learning..... and i hope never to stop learning. At the end of the day as Croda has said it is down to personal choice weather you download a mod.....but it would be a sad day if we did not have that choice. Regards Måkjager ------------------ Once an Ubërcabbage Always an Ubërcabbage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juju Posted December 15, 2000 Share Posted December 15, 2000 I download every mod that becomes availabe. I do my own quality control, and frankly, when it comes to (my) taste I do the best quality assurance I can get myself. Keep 'em coming I say! ------------------ I prefer an enemy who's willing to die for his country. That way both him and me have the same aim in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-E Posted December 15, 2000 Share Posted December 15, 2000 isn't that what the screenshots are for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathfinder Posted December 15, 2000 Share Posted December 15, 2000 and ifn ya don't likes the mod..overwrite it! If you have ever tried to what these folks have done, you'd better appreciate it. I have similar stuff for another game and trust me, this stuff ain't done in 2-3 minutes. Soooooo, bring 'em on mod-makers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanco Posted December 15, 2000 Share Posted December 15, 2000 To put a charitable interpretation on TwoSheds comments, I believe he is exhorting the mod makers to take pride in their work, and to do the best job possible. I agree with that. I personally check my mods before I release them because I want the end user to install a mod that works perfectly. This reflects upon me if it doesn't. However, due to time constraints, oversight, lack of sleep, or whatever, sometimes things slip past, as when I released a faulty .bmp in my last mod. In that case I tried to find the problem and fix it as fast as I could. However, I pretty much agree with y'all. You can't expect everyone to have the time or inclination to go that extra mile to get it perfect when basically they are doing it for fun and experience, and providing it free of charge. So I just take what comes, and keep the mods I like and chuck the rest. ------------------ DeanCo-- CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sitting Duck Posted December 15, 2000 Share Posted December 15, 2000 Hi TwoSheds - I'm with you brother! Have you heard of the "Developer's Triangle Dilema?" Fast / \ Cheap - Good A developer can have any two of these, but not all three of them. I think NASA recently discovered this triangle written in the sands of Mars. "Faster, Cheaper, Better" has a nice ring, but doesn't often play well in the real world. At least in my experience... Many commercial software developers have 2 competing Customer interests to balance: 1. What have you done for me lately? Many Customers are on a never-ending quest for new features and bug fixes. After getting a new release, they often quickly forget it in favor of newer features and more bug fixes unless the release is really bad. In which case the Customer has... 2. Black-eye Syndrome If a developer releases a bad product, then users will often remember the experience much longer...They may even move on to another vendor. In the case of the Mod Makers, I'm not sure they are affected by either of these considerations, but it sounded nice, so I included them. Upon reflection, there are some other little proverbs that might be more applicable in this case: 1. Never look a gift horse in the mouth 2. You get what you pay for 3. We will sell no whine before its time Here's a smiley, just in case anyone takes this too seriously. ------------------ Steve of BTS - "With a company our size, every sale does in fact count (unlike every vote in certain assbackwards states )." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSheds Posted December 15, 2000 Author Share Posted December 15, 2000 Here are 2 axioms we have to live by at work: 1. If you only listen to A students for requirements you leave the C students in the dust. 2. The world is made up of 5% A students and 95% C students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSheds Posted December 15, 2000 Author Share Posted December 15, 2000 hmmm, double post [This message has been edited by TwoSheds (edited 12-15-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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