As an avid modder of many games I have accumulated several 'builds' of various games, each build consisting of different types of mods aimed at inflicting a different experiences.
However with these different builds comes an issue, the swapping of mass amounts of mods for each build and theme.
By implementing 'Profiles' for each of these builds we can group together the various mods we use, thus hiding the clutter we aren't using. Other uses would include defining mod packs and assigning them there own tab so users don't get confused during installations etc.
Creating a master tab containing all mods registered in NMM as on the system would allow them the ability to easily assign mods to particular builds by giving an 'Add to active profile'. active being whatever one is set to load at the time. further adding a click and drag interface aswell as a right click/assign to profiles option that would open a window allowing them to add it to multiple profiles.
alternatively, and probably easier to implement, is the option to hide all inactive mods. (If such an option is established anyway. I would suggest a highlight if any are classed as 'out of date')
The ability to clone profiles would be a nice option aswell. allowing users to create similar instances of the build and thus creating an environment where they can attempt to update there mods without hindering previous build of the game.
Problems I can see occurring with such systems though would require a bit of work.
as you can't install all the games mods at once, due to instabilities and incompatibilities, the profiles would have to install from scratch each time a profile is switched. In the case of uninstalling the mods its rather easy in most cases.
However in the case of installation, the order of mod installs aswell as the input of information into interface launching mods (SKYUI, SkyRe etc) could be issues. install order could be logged from when the user last edited it and load order can be logged aswell. The mods however I believe would require the modders to change there code to use this feature. Should this be implemented then the ability to log chosen settings ingame would be helpful for list transit.
Should such features be added smaller features would be nice to augment them such as:
Custom naming of profiles - Easier to identify builds
User selected/customizable order of profiles
On mod update list profiles using said mod. preferably also highlighting and naming child mods and mods registered under the same mod ID
On mod give option to hide from current profile or delete from system. if mod file (checking actual file locations) is used by another profile, display warning and list other profiles containing said mod
Import/Export Profile Modlists & load order- allowing users to share profiles without actually moving mod data. On import, create a 'Dummy' list of mods allowing users to select and download the mods individually. Alternatively an add to download Que and have the entire list automatically download, this however poses the problem of users not visiting the pages and discovering important news, such as an end in development or a bug report.
Import/Export Profile instal options - in reference to the above query of logging mod install method and inputted options, this would allow and exact replication of an installed profile. Combined with the previous feature would allow for easier bug hunting, as it would allow the Diagnoser to recreate the instance for testing purposes.
anyway. it's 05:27 am here in the UK and I need to sleep so I shall stop typing my gibberish and see what responses you may have to my ramblings.
night
finalsliver~
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
As an avid modder of many games I have accumulated several 'builds' of various games, each build consisting of different types of mods aimed at inflicting a different experiences.
However with these different builds comes an issue, the swapping of mass amounts of mods for each build and theme.
By implementing 'Profiles' for each of these builds we can group together the various mods we use, thus hiding the clutter we aren't using. Other uses would include defining mod packs and assigning them there own tab so users don't get confused during installations etc.
Creating a master tab containing all mods registered in NMM as on the system would allow them the ability to easily assign mods to particular builds by giving an 'Add to active profile'. active being whatever one is set to load at the time. further adding a click and drag interface aswell as a right click/assign to profiles option that would open a window allowing them to add it to multiple profiles.
alternatively, and probably easier to implement, is the option to hide all inactive mods. (If such an option is established anyway. I would suggest a highlight if any are classed as 'out of date')
The ability to clone profiles would be a nice option aswell. allowing users to create similar instances of the build and thus creating an environment where they can attempt to update there mods without hindering previous build of the game.
Problems I can see occurring with such systems though would require a bit of work.
as you can't install all the games mods at once, due to instabilities and incompatibilities, the profiles would have to install from scratch each time a profile is switched. In the case of uninstalling the mods its rather easy in most cases.
However in the case of installation, the order of mod installs aswell as the input of information into interface launching mods (SKYUI, SkyRe etc) could be issues. install order could be logged from when the user last edited it and load order can be logged aswell. The mods however I believe would require the modders to change there code to use this feature. Should this be implemented then the ability to log chosen settings ingame would be helpful for list transit.
Should such features be added smaller features would be nice to augment them such as:
anyway. it's 05:27 am here in the UK and I need to sleep so I shall stop typing my gibberish and see what responses you may have to my ramblings.
night
finalsliver~
Thanks again for your feedback, this is also on our todo list :)