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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 7th Jan 2022 at 7:07 PM
This website is way too confusing
I work as a programmer and business analyst, so I have quite a fair bit of using different systems both good and bad and a great deal of familiarity reading guides on how to find things... But this website literally confuses me so bad. It is so incredibly confusing.


The sectioning is confusing. Whenever you go to the main page for Sims 4 there are several sections including updated, picked, featured, popular 30 days, etc. These sections are really confusing. I feel like it would be much more beneficial to just have a homepage for the Sims 4 or 3 or whatever where it just shows either a mash up of random mods, or the most recent ones spanning across the page


The search functionality and browsing through mods is really confusing. This is the first mod website I have found where you can't search most popular mods of all time. Just most popular in the last 30 days, or updated recently. Which is confusing because I literally found a mod that was in updated recently that was updated in February of 2021. Not sure why that is because that's not very recent



Navigating through different areas and filtering is also a little bit confusing to me. Other websites appear to allow you to go right into specific areas like hair, facial hair, men. Clothing, women. Easy to understand and figure out. There is a top bar which tells you what area of the website you are on, but there are also these weird tag looking buttons below them. It makes it a little bit confusing



Overall, I would love to see this website become a little less confusing to use for new users, or to just be able to infinitely scroll down mods of all kinds completely random of all categories, sorted by new.... But I just get such a headache browsing through 30 of them at a time across 250 pages
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Warrior Gryphon
site owner
#2 Old 8th Jan 2022 at 8:59 PM
Thanks for the feedback. To answer some points:

We already have the most recent mods (per game) on each individual games Downloads Home page, so I'm not sure why you are suggesting it. Random mods could be an option that I'll think about.

I'll think about adding most popular (All time) but usually I find that once a download gets on most popular it stays there because nothing else is shown. As you're a programmer, you should know what happens to "All time" lists - they hardly ever change and favour older downloads rather than new ones.

I'm not sure how navigating/filtering is confusing. You have the sidebar for filtering, and the top for navigating, much like most websites these days. Just filter what you want, and then choose the section.

As for infinite scrolling? Nope. Not gonna happen. Your last point doesn't actually make sense - random mods sorted by new? That's just the same as... sorted by new aka recently uploaded... which is already there.

Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies.
Inventor
#3 Old 10th Jan 2022 at 6:54 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Tashiketh
I'm not sure how navigating/filtering is confusing. You have the sidebar for filtering, and the top for navigating, much like most websites these days. Just filter what you want, and then choose the section.

Hello @Tashiketh
I have a problem with the sidebar i.e. no sidebar tool.
I did have it and possibly I may have tried to close the sidebar but even if I visit the site as a guest it is not available to me.
In Settings, there is an option to flip the sidebar but as I don't have a sidebar, nothing happens. (The other option to change the layout does work.)
I can navigate the site and filter without the sidebar from the sub-sections and 'see other sections' headings, but it would be good to have the sidebar as an additional option.
Thank you in advance.
Warrior Gryphon
site owner
#4 Old 10th Jan 2022 at 11:11 AM
The sidebar appears once you drill down the categories. There’s just way too many options to have it on the top levels but once you go down to, say, body shop/create a sim/clothing, then they appear. It depends entirely on which section you are looking at.

Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies.
Inventor
#5 Old 11th Jan 2022 at 6:18 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Tashiketh
The sidebar appears once you drill down the categories. There’s just way too many options to have it on the top levels but once you go down to, say, body shop/create a sim/clothing, then they appear. It depends entirely on which section you are looking at.

Hello @Tashiketh
Thank you for your reply.
When I click on any of the Sub-Sections, I can drill to specific parts of the sub-section e.g. Sims, then sub categories Celebrities and Real People, then Male, Female or Groups; but the sidebar doesn't materialise to be placed on the left or right side of my screen.
There is a chance I may have inadvertently removed the sidebar altogether - I can almost visualise an option to remove the sidebar.... perhaps I am just havering?
Is there some way to restore the sidebar in my settings or a step by step guide when the sidebar shows up for you to work out where I am going wrong?
Warrior Gryphon
site owner
#6 Old 11th Jan 2022 at 10:12 AM
Well, you’re not doing anything wrong - it’s just that specific section doesn’t have any search parameters, and hence no sidebar. (That’s what the sidebar is for, basically). Going to Lots and Housing you do get a sidebar because that section has search parameters.

Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies.
Theorist
#7 Old 16th Jan 2022 at 5:06 PM
Why are there no subsections shown at the top of the page when I click on Sims3/Downloads Home or Sims4/Downloads Home as they are for Sims 2?
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retired moderator
#8 Old 16th Jan 2022 at 7:59 PM
@ScaryRob Are you not seeing these?





Screenshots
Theorist
#9 Old 17th Jan 2022 at 2:49 AM
Quote: Originally posted by simsample
@ScaryRob Are you not seeing these?


I'm only seeing the subsections listed for Sims 2, not for 3 or 4.
I had the same problem a couple of months ago, and I think I mentioned it here in this forum somewhere, after which something was presumably done and I was able to then see them. I know I didn't do anything on my end.
I'm still running Win 7.
Inventor
#10 Old 17th Jan 2022 at 7:25 AM Last edited by Ladysimplayer8 : 17th Jan 2022 at 5:45 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by ScaryRob
I'm only seeing the subsections listed for Sims 2, not for 3 or 4.
I had the same problem a couple of months ago, and I think I mentioned it here in this forum somewhere, after which something was presumably done and I was able to then see them. I know I didn't do anything on my end.
I'm still running Win 7.

Hello @ScaryRob
I am running Windows 7 too but I see the same screenshots that @simsample has uploaded.
You could try changing the downloads from 'Compatible' to 'All'?
I think there is a setting that you can select to only show the Sims game that you have or want to view - perhaps you may have inadvertently used this to switch off Sims3 and Sims4?
Theorist
#11 Old 17th Jan 2022 at 5:10 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Ladysimplayer8
Hello @ScaryRob
I am running Windows 7 too but I see the same screenshots that @simplesample has uploaded.
You could try changing the downloads from 'Compatible' to 'All'?
I think there is a setting that you can select to only show the Sims game that you have or want to view - perhaps you may have inadvertently used this to switch off Sims3 and Sims4?


OK, I edited my Sims 3 and Sims 4 preferences by checking off on about 30-40 check boxes to indicate that I "own" the various expansions and stuff packs - which I really don't own, but I want to be able to see uploads for those items.
This solves my problem, but having to do that, in and of itself, is stupid. I've long ago given up on trying to make sense of how this site is micromanaged.
Senior Moderator
staff: senior moderator
#12 Old 17th Jan 2022 at 5:41 PM
Quote: Originally posted by ScaryRob
OK, I edited my Sims 3 and Sims 4 preferences by checking off on about 30-40 check boxes to indicate that I "own" the various expansions and stuff packs - which I really don't own, but I want to be able to see uploads for those items.
This solves my problem, but having to do that, in and of itself, is stupid. I've long ago given up on trying to make sense of how this site is micromanaged.


Did turning off Compatibility mode not solve it?
e3 d3 Ne2 Nd2 Nb3 Ng3
retired moderator
#13 Old 17th Jan 2022 at 8:07 PM
@ScaryRob







Dunno if there's a way to turn off compatibility mode permanently, maybe someone else knows?
Screenshots
Warrior Gryphon
site owner
#14 Old 17th Jan 2022 at 8:38 PM
The site stores your last chosen view as a cookie, so once you select all, and then come back again later, you should still be on all. There’s also an option in the profile options.

Selecting “All” as pointed out, would have solved the issue. There’s also a bit of text on the page itself for compatible mode that tells you which EPS, SPs, etc it’s using, where you can click edit.

It’s not us micromanaging. It’s all up to the individual member how they want to see things. . Sounds like at some point it got switched to Compatible.

Story books are full of fairy tales, of Kings and Queens, and the bluest skies.
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