Collections Open Alpha - Testers Required

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Today, our upcoming Collections feature is moving into the Open Alpha testing phase. This means we're extending an open invitation to anyone in the community who would like to try out an early build of the system so that we can continue to fine-tune it for the full, public release.

This new wave of volunteers will join our existing testers who have already provided lots of incredibly valuable feedback over the past few months to help us in shaping the core experience of the Collections feature - thank you to those involved! We're now eager to hear more of your voices and ensure the system is thoroughly tested in terms of both usability and scalability. 

For those unfamiliar with the Collections feature, it's a project we've been working on for several years which will allow users to curate and share lists of their favourite mods - along with important metadata - with others. These tailored experiences will serve as a great introduction to modding a new game and allow a convenient way of helping users replicate a working setup.

You can learn more about Collections in our original announcement or the documentation.
 

It is important to understand that this is not the full release of this feature and as such it's not yet suitable for general usage. We have moved from the invite-only Closed Alpha phase to the Open Alpha phase which allows anyone to join in on the fun and help with testing. Please be cautious when testing and don't install collections into your existing playthrough without making backups.


What this means is that every Nexus Mods user can now browse and use Nexus Mods Next, join in on testing the system, download, endorse, rate, and even create their own collections. If you're now wondering what Nexus Mods Next is, well, you can think of it as our "workshop" microsite that we use to test new features.

We have selected a number of the most popular Collections for each game that have been curated by testers during the Closed Alpha phase. This means you can get started using collections for some of our most popular games straight away.

During this next testing period, all newly created and published collections will at first be "unlisted", meaning they can only be accessed via a direct link provided by the Curator of the collection, rather than being listed along with the already existing collections (similar to how "unlisted" videos work on YouTube). Users can, however, "nominate" their collection for listing - meaning they can essentially submit an application for being listed that we'll then review. We've written up our approval guidelines to give you an idea of the criteria we'll be taking into consideration when deciding on whether to list a nominated collection.


How to get started with testing Collections

  1. Make sure to download and install the Vortex Next Preview Build - this is the version that includes the new collections feature. You can now test Collections using the public stable build of Vortex.
  2. Go to Nexus Mods Next and start browsing collections
  3. Make sure to read the Collections documentation on our wiki which covers all the bases from installing your first collections to curating your own.
  4. Please make use of the "feedback prompts" in Vortex and on Nexus Mods Next to submit bug reports and feature suggestions, or discuss Collections in the appropriate channels on our official Discord server.


Does this mean collections are now live?


Yes and no! "Yes" - everyone can now play around with the feature, but "no" - this is not the grand opening ceremony for the collections feature (yet). We're confident enough in the primary functions of the system, but we know it's still rough around the edges - as you would expect from alpha software. The only place we are currently publicizing the Collections feature is in this news post so we are calling this a "soft launch". We want people to use it, but we don't think it's ready for an all singing, all dancing full site release just yet. So, please, curb your enthusiasm and don't start installing/uninstalling massive collections into your current, intricate mod setup only to run into unforeseen issues. You're welcome to help us test and provide feedback, but please be cautious and back up your mods and/or savegames - just in case.

We're hopeful and excited to see what other collections our community will come up with now that the feature is open to everyone and we're looking forward to approving quality collections as they're being nominated for listing by their respective curators. 

61 comments

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  1. BethKitten
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    Would like to be tester, but until Vortex or now Vortex Next is made for systems other than Windows, I and many others are left out.  Sure do wish others would realize that they are leaving out a lot of people by not making things compatibility for other operating systems: Linux, Android, Mac, etc.. 
    1. chrisj165
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      96.19% people are on windows going by steam stats, they're not gonna waste time adding other os support for sub 5% of people which is perfectly understandable, not to mention vortex wouldn't likely recoup the costs that it requires to keep other OS's supported unfortunately.

      Ironically enough I'd love linux support so i could switch back to garuda and ditch windows, only thing holding back is things like vortex.
    2. LegendaryHiccupz
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      @chrisj165 No they won't but Windows is a rapidly dying OS that offers nothing new or practical. They will eventually need to start considering that number as it gets bigger.
    3. stonedpiper
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      No game is going to make me switch to windows, it's that simple, windows has been dying for a while, the future is open source

      linux user since 1994

      I am retired now, but, I never worked for any company using windows
    4. shreduhsoreus
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      "Dying OS" yet most people use it. There are like, 30 distros of Linux and none of them are anywhere near as
    5. Idolmir
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      To be honest, there are so many games that only work on Windows or have trouble with non windows I can not see myself switching ever.
      Windows sure is taking a while to die, will it be before or after the end of civilization?
    6. Pickysaurus
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      As far as Linux and Mac versions of Vortex go, it's not high on the priority list but it'd be nice to have. The entire app is open source so if there are any developers who would like to have a go at porting it, we'll support you where we can. 
    7. rpgfreak9999
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      "Windows is dying."
    8. chrisj165
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      Rapidly as well so i've been told lmao.
    9. ewolfg1
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      @chrisj165 Even if you assume only 1% of the people in the world would want to ever use Nexus at 4% of them not being on Windows that's still 2.8 million people. Not exactly a number to be ignoring.
    10. chrisj165
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      Quality maths, which orpheus did you pull that out from?
    11. madwolf2006
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      you can run Vortex using proton/proton ge/wine but it is buggy

      Note is there any point in reporting bugs running Vortex  using proton/proton ge/wine
  2. criticalannihilation151
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    Looks good, just waiting for the collections to start coming out/stabilize.
  3. QQShoe
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    Back in the day I got Skyrim LE to run stable and crash free with 800+ mods, and it was AWESOME. The only problem is that it was a nightmare that took me two weeks to finish setting up, and I just don't have the will to get that all set up again. Will we be seeing huge mega-mod-packs containing 500 or 600 or 700+ mods using Nexus Collections, or is there a certain size/mod limit set, or some other limitation that would prevent such packs?
    1. Pickysaurus
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      There's no limit on size at the moment. You can check the Next website for some examples :) 
  4. Snowy161
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    Just one word: amazing. Absolutely amazing feature!
  5. Joaocsn
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    yoooooooo this will be cool i think i will try
  6. Stankybawls
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    I have a moderate level of load order knowledge. I can at least make my own load orders that mostly work well. I do have a lot of interest in collections and would like to test it out though. But I do not understand how it works alongside normal load order creation. Can I use a collection, and laterally move back to my own load order at will? Similar to the way profiles work? Can I have one playthrough on one custom made load order I made myself, and then move to a community made collection? Thanks.
    1. Tannin42
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      You can have multiple profiles of course and enable the collection only in one of them.
      But because Vortex uses rules to define the load order there is no problem with mixing multiple collections or adding collections to your own setup.
      If your custom setup has a rule "load a after b" and the collection includes a rule "load x after y", those rules aren't in each others way, Vortex generates a load order that obeys both.

      Because of this, Vortex can install multiple collections plus as many custom mods as the game will support in the same profile. Not all collections will be compatible of course in the same way not all mods are compatible but the system doesn't prevent it outright.
    2. Stankybawls
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      Thanks
  7. WiseChimp7
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    Finally this! 

    I can easily share my collection with friends who want to set something up instantly. 

    Great stuff. 

    Not being interested in collections is not understanding their use. 
    1. SkyLover264
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      It's not the collections that are the issue (in fact, most mod authors agree with the idea of collections), it's that the way they're implemented involved removing the ability for mods to be deleted, and not giving mod authors a say in whether their mods are valid for inclusion in collection. (Not helped by the former change not being formally announced before being implemented, which made many mod authors feel that it was done behind their backs) The sudden lack of control over mods was seen by many modders, especially longtime Nexus veterans, as disrespectful of their work, and as being against the philosophy the site was originally founded on, resulting in a collective not-what-I-signed-on-for reaction, and a general feeling of betrayal.
    2. LiiTheBaddie
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      I'm not interested in mod collections mostly cause I like to pick and choose what mods I have installed and have never seen a mod list that I wanted all the mods installed
    3. Zanderat
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      You can do both.  I made a collection of essential mods needed for a stable experience that you would need for any game.  You can then add any individual mods that you want over it.

      Basic Essential Mods For SSE v1.5.97
    4. shreduhsoreus
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      SkyLover264 there were like 3 or 4 high profile modders that got upset, Nexus is still going strong.

      Are you against Wabbajack then? Because it does the same thing. 

      I'm currently playing Ultimate Skyrim. It has been thoroughly tested and is mostly stable, but it relies on a few older versions of some mods. Especially Requiem(an almost ancient version of Requiem, at this point). Modders deleting old files just screws over people. Getting upset at the community and pulling your mods or deleting old files so people can't reinstall old load orders or run old saves is what is disrespectful. 
    5. Zanderat
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      A new Requiem was just released last week.  https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/60888.  Even though the old version is part of the collection you can replace it.  Also, I would notify the collection curator.
    6. DarkDominion
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       Modders deleting old files just screws over people ... is what is disrespectful.
      What is disrespectful is that you apparently want to decide what they should do with their mods ? 
      Well guess what, you're not If they want to pull their mods from the Nexus, they can, it's their mods. Simple as that.

      Have a nice day
      Cheers
      -=DD=-
    7. KaptainCnucklz
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      Nexus has always had unlimited distribution rights. We're the ones who uploaded mods after reading the ToS.

      AFKMods is always an option if revokability of distribution rights is going to be a concern, but you didn't deactivate your account during the month long grace period. So I'm guessing that's not as big of an issue to you as you make it out to be.
    8. nadalcameron
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      And yet you kept your mods up and support nexus in doing so.

      Do you always talk nonsense? Its a big deal, except for you and how you benefit? Should have taken your s#*! somewhere else if you had such a big problem, but now you look like a two faced b&@*$ man, not a  good look DarkDominion
    9. Pickysaurus
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      Seems like this conversation has been completely derailed. 
  8. FredBassett
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    As someone who has never modded a game, I've been really excited for collections. I have a list of mods that I want to use for numerous games as time goes on (mostly Skyrim and Fall Out 4) and collections will be a great starting point to get on the way to modding before I start adding additional mods. Thank you for this 
  9. FORGEDINPAINx
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    is this like a file folder to save mods we want to try with out downloading ? 
    1. a1racer
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      No this is a system to download a complete mod list that others have made and can be used with a few clicks. 
    2. Idolmir
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      It is more like a streamlined guide making process.
  10. luckydonald
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    While I'm not interested in the collection as the feature they are intended for, I think it can suit to have a good way to backup your mod installation, and perhaps even versioning them properly.
    1. Idolmir
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      Yep, also you can make unlisted collections,  it works great for that.