Kerbal Stuff, an open-source Space Port replacement

[Virtualgenius]

Maybe put in a check in the upload to see if the public is profile before it does it then warns if it isnt and that your profile needs to be public will cut down people complaining they cant upload

[SirCmpwn]

Maybe put in a check in the upload to see if the public is profile before it does it then warns if it isnt and that your profile needs to be public will cut down people complaining they cant upload

Yeah, that check used to be there but was accidentally removed. I'll fix it soon.

[TMS]

Great work on the redesign. Using a muted background, rather than ksp/mod-specific images is a lot easier on the eye. I also like the angular style. Overall, the site works very well and I can see that a lot of thought has gone into making it easy to use.

You indicate that you're at the point of tweaking the site, so perhaps this is the time for some minor, OCD-driven feedback?

Apologies if I have missed anything or not understood functionality. I'll break this into discrete chunks...

Registration process:

• Would it be worth permitting other social media account names to be added? I'm thinking mostly Reddit, given the strength of the KSP community over there.
  
• I love the fact that you set profiles as private by default and that one has to elect to be made public. Good decision. I note that this is a one-way process and that you're up-front about that fact. Also good. I assume that this is because of database dependencies, but it might be worth (at some point) explaining why it's a one-way process (with a clickable tooltip or something).
  

End-user experience:

• When hovering over the mod's main picture, the layered text boxes fade out to reveal the full picture beneath. This is neat trick, but it took me a while to understand what was happening (and why) due to the delay in fading. You have transition-delay set to 1s, any chance you can shorten that delay? 0.2s gives enough time for the mouse to move around normally without it fading in and out constantly, but is quick enough to be responsive.
  
• On a mod's specific page, you have the mod's name and snappy description in a box to the left of page, with the "download latest version" button set within it positioned bottom-right. I'm finding that this button sometimes occludes the mod description, such as:
  
  
• Minor point, but it might be worth enforcing a requirement to use images that are at least a certain size for the background image. I know that you'll want this to remove as many barriers to entry as possible and that enforcement = offputting, but smaller images make your carefully crafted text boxes on the right-hand side look kludgy - even more so on smaller screen sizes where the image intersects with the box edges. See:
  
  
• I would expect slider images to open in another tab when clicked on.
  
• On the browse mods page, when scrolling the page down, the images associated with each mod stay static. So when a mod is at the top of the page, the part of the picture shown will be different to when the mod is at the bottom of the page. It's difficult to explain. Best way is to scroll the page with your cursor over the grey background at the sides, so that your cursor doesn't interfere with the slide transition. It's an interesting visual effect (kinda like looking through a window), but not certain if intentional or not.
  

Mod upload process:

• Above the license field, it would be nice to have a link to a page (external?) that listed common types of license. You could even link to Majiir's guide, if necessary. Although many of the bigger and more experienced mod creators will already know their license options inside out, many of the smaller/opportunistic modders will not and it could result in a lot of blank entries over time (or did you make this a mandatory field?).
  
• When completing fields and uploads, the screens don't explicitly tell you that you'll be able to edit or add to fields later on.
  
• On uploading images, only 1 of the 4 I uploaded displayed a thumbnail to confirm successful upload (although all successfully displayed on the mod's unpublished page). The other three displayed 'unloaded' image placeholders (on latest Chrome, Win 8.1):
  
  
• Unless you're intending to provide the ability for the end-user to define (post-upload) in what order those images will be shown on the slider, it might be worth stating that the order of upload will be the order of display.
  

Mod maintenance:

• Is it possible to upload older versions of a mod at a later date, but have them ordered 'correctly' on the versions/changelog? For example, if I upload v2 of a mod, can I later upload v1 for nostalgic reasons and not have that notify everyone of a new release? Does the system understand that when I type "1" into the version field, that it comes before "2"? This was covered in the Majiir thread as a desirable feature.
  
• If it possible to upload older versions at a later date, I'd also like to be able to edit the changelog text - in particular, the default value that was assigned to the first upload: "The first version of "&{modname}.
  
• On a similar note, shouldn't we be able to edit the KSP Version number, post-publication? Not all mods will require a new version publishing every time KSP gets patched.
  
• Further to this, I can't see a way of deleting a given mod version. Perhaps there's a need for a "manage version" section where some of this could be handled?
  
• My ancient, prehistoric approach to user interface still feels it would be preferable to have a confirmation dialogue when deleting images. I managed to delete two images through stray clicks and thinking I could view them in full size from the "Edit Media" screen. I know, I know, it says "click to delete" above it... but, y'know, some of us are dumb.
  

I know that might look like a list of niggles and gripes, but I honestly think you're onto a winner here. Hope to see it successful.

Edited June 28, 2014 by TMS

[Justin Kerbice]

[*]On a mod's specific page, you have the mod's name and snappy description in a box to the left of page, with the "download latest version" button set within it positioned bottom-right. I'm finding that this button sometimes occludes the mod description, such as:

http://i57.tinypic.com/a3l56h.png

I've been ninja'ed, as I have the same issue:

Maybe leaving a blank area below the text (the size of the button) will just do the job.

It seems to be that mods list is not complete as each list (features, top, new) only contains 7 items, but there is no full list (pages maybe) at all.

[SirCmpwn]

First of all, stats are now live:

Note that I only started tracking referrals and followers as of today, so they'll be a little out of date. I'll add a raw export mechanism soon.

Next, replies:

Would it be worth permitting other social media account names to be added? I'm thinking mostly Reddit, given the strength of the KSP community over there.

Yes.

I love the fact that you set profiles as private by default and that one has to elect to be made public. Good decision. I note that this is a one-way process and that you're up-front about that fact. Also good. I assume that this is because of database dependencies, but it might be worth (at some point) explaining why it's a one-way process (with a clickable tooltip or something).

It's a one way process simply because I decided that should be the case.

When hovering over the mod's main picture, the layered text boxes fade out to reveal the full picture beneath. This is neat trick, but it took me a while to understand what was happening (and why) due to the delay in fading. You have transition-delay set to 1s, any chance you can shorten that delay? 0.2s gives enough time for the mouse to move around normally without it fading in and out constantly, but is quick enough to be responsive.

Good idea, I'll see about changing that soon.

On a mod's specific page, you have the mod's name and snappy description in a box to the left of page, with the "download latest version" button set within it positioned bottom-right. I'm finding that this button sometimes occludes the mod description, such as:

Thanks for pointing that out, I'll look into it.

Minor point, but it might be worth enforcing a requirement to use images that are at least a certain size for the background image. I know that you'll want this to remove as many barriers to entry as possible and that enforcement = offputting, but smaller images make your carefully crafted text boxes on the right-hand side look kludgy - even more so on smaller screen sizes where the image intersects with the box edges. See:

I'm going to change a bit of how this works so it shouldn't be that jarring in the near future.

I would expect slider images to open in another tab when clicked on.

Fair nuff

Above the license field, it would be nice to have a link to a page (external?) that listed common types of license. You could even link to Majiir's guide, if necessary. Although many of the bigger and more experienced mod creators will already know their license options inside out, many of the smaller/opportunistic modders will not and it could result in a lot of blank entries over time (or did you make this a mandatory field?).

Good choice, I'll add that. And yes, it's a required field.

When completing fields and uploads, the screens don't explicitly tell you that you'll be able to edit or add to fields later on.

Will add that.

On uploading images, only 1 of the 4 I uploaded displayed a thumbnail to confirm successful upload (although all successfully displayed on the mod's unpublished page). The other three displayed 'unloaded' image placeholders (on latest Chrome, Win 8.1):

Yeah, weird bug, it's on my mind but I haven't looked into it yet.

Is it possible to upload older versions of a mod at a later date, but have them ordered 'correctly' on the versions/changelog? For example, if I upload v2 of a mod, can I later upload v1 for nostalgic reasons and not have that notify everyone of a new release? Does the system understand that when I type "1" into the version field, that it comes before "2"? This was covered in the Majiir thread as a desirable feature.

I plan on adding this.

If it possible to upload older versions at a later date, I'd also like to be able to edit the changelog text - in particular, the default value that was assigned to the first upload: "The first version of "&{modname}.

Yup.

On a similar note, shouldn't we be able to edit the KSP Version number, post-publication? Not all mods will require a new version publishing every time KSP gets patched.

Yup. But you probably want to upload a "new" version anyway so your followers get emailed.

My ancient, prehistoric approach to user interface still feels it would be preferable to have a confirmation dialogue when deleting images. I managed to delete two images through stray clicks and thinking I could view them in full size from the "Edit Media" screen. I know, I know, it says "click to delete" above it... but, y'know, some of us are dumb.

Yeah, I know, I just threw in the "click to delete" because I needed some means of removing media. I'll improve that whole UI later.

I know that might look like a list of niggles and gripes, but I honestly think you're onto a winner here. Hope to see it successful.

Feedback is good Thanks!

It seems to be that mods list is not complete as each list (features, top, new) only contains 7 items, but there is no full list (pages maybe) at all.

The entire browse page is temporary. I'll make mod discovery much more fleshed out soon enough.

[Kerbal01]

I keep getting 500 server errors whenever I try to access my mod (antares mod), no idea what's causing this. And i get 404 errors when I try to reset my password.

Review: rather buggy at this point, I know it will be stabilized soon, but it has good aesthetics and some features I think are missing from curse. A+

Edited June 28, 2014 by DarthVader

[SirCmpwn]

I keep getting 500 server errors whenever I try to access my mod (antares mod), no idea what's causing this. And i get 404 errors when I try to reset my password.

Review: rather buggy at this point, I know it will be stabilized soon, but it has good aesthetics and some features I think are missing from curse. A+

500 errors fixed. Forgotten password mentioned earlier in this thread.

That's why we call it "beta"

[Ippo]

Hey, I was thinking that maybe in the downloads graph you could also have an indicator that highlights the day when you released a new version.

Also, downloads per version might be nice (especially with optional downloads like on Nexus)

[SirCmpwn]

Hey, I was thinking that maybe in the downloads graph you could also have an indicator that highlights the day when you released a new version.

Also, downloads per version might be nice (especially with optional downloads like on Nexus)

Downloads per version is already there. Look at the screenshot in my post earlier, each version gets different colors.

[Ippo]

Downloads per version is already there. Look at the screenshot in my post earlier, each version gets different colors.

I'm dumb

[SirCmpwn]

Password reset implemented.

[SirCmpwn]

You can now use a slightly extended version of Markdown (documented here) that includes support for embedding YouTube videos and Imgur albums.

[mythic_fci]

Wow. Consider me an avid supporter of this new service. I really hope this new modding site grows to be one of the most commonly-used hosting repositories. Maybe, if that happens, it'll even get featured by Squad itself!

[CalculusWarrior]

Wow! I fully support this as a replacement for SpacePort. Keep up the great work, and I hope that more modders start hosting addons there!

[tygoo7]

This site is great! I support this site too and I hope that more mods get put on it.

[xrayfishx]

I don't know if this has come up before, but it seems there's no censoring (or it needs to be improved). At least it seemed to happily accept it when I wrote in my profile description that I'm an a-hole. Just saying...

[SirCmpwn]

I don't know if this has come up before, but it seems there's no censoring (or it needs to be improved). At least it seemed to happily accept it when I wrote in my profile description that I'm an a-hole. Just saying...

This is intentional. We'll police it if it gets out of hand but I ain't no censorship police.

[DMagic]

This is intentional. We'll police it if it gets out of hand but I ain't no censorship police.

I think not having commenting available will alleviate most of these kinds of issues. It seems fairly unlikely that mod creators will make overly offensive mod descriptions.

[SirCmpwn]

Made profiles fit the new design better, and fixed the bug that was causing forum profile links to be broken.

[SirCmpwn]

You can now move images inside your profile's header pic to get them cropped nicely. I'll extend this feature to support mod headers soon.

[Moderator removed defunct website link]

Edited August 28, 2022 by James Kerman
link removed

[SirCmpwn]

And now you can do the same thing to mods.

[Justin Kerbice]

I just tried to add a mod header picture (PNG), upload progess shown, final result not displayed and "internal server error"

temporary error maybe, the 2nd attempt was a success .

Edited June 30, 2014 by Justin Kerbice

[SirCmpwn]

Sorry! I was fixing up several of the header images that stopped looking good as a result of this change, and I ended up breaking things. It's fixed now, I apologize for that.

[Ippo]

I'd like to see also a compact list of all the mods in the browse section. You know, just like the list view in the file explorer: very compact, just the name and the short description with the link to the mod. Also, in this section, the total number of available mods would be nice.

[hab136]

Registered, and tried to edit my profile. 500 Server Internal Error. Thought maybe it was what I entered, so I just clicked "Edit your Profile" and then immediately "Save Changes". 500 Server Internal Error again, so it's not any data I entered.

When adding a mod, "Description / Additonal Info / Upload Files" are clickable but don't do anything for me. I had to press "Back/Continue" instead. I really hate that I can't just put up a minimal amount of information first (ZIP file, name, description, image, license) and then go on to fill out all the extra fluff info. There's also no indication how much data I have to actually enter (or what's required), and halfway through I'm like "geez, this is a lot of work" and felt like just giving up. Curse is also guilty of these things.

I uploaded an image and it gave me a 404 for the resulting mediacrush link (https://cdn.mediacru.sh/_4Q8xPX0mA1Y.png). I already have an imgur picture for the forums; it would be nice to just allow for imgur/mediacrush links directly instead of having to reupload.

I selected the ZIP file to upload and it said "Ready to Continue". I wasn't sure if the file was uploaded yet or not, because there's no indication if it already uploaded it, or was doing do, or would upload when I pressed "Continue". I clicked on "Continue" and was taken back to the beginning of the "Create a mod" (http://beta.kerbalstuff.com/create/mod), with it all blank. Searching for my mod gives no results, so I guess all the work I did filling out the forms was lost. Another reason to get a minimal version amount of data first, then add in all the extras.

For the upload section, the most important part (the actual mod ZIP file) is at the bottom. Also, my video is on Youtube already, so it seems silly to upload it again somewhere else. Allowing for Youtube/Vimeo links instead of an uploaded video would be nice.

So, it's pretty, but doesn't work. I agree with Ippo that an optional compact listing would be nice, along with categorization (which I've read you're working on).