Modification File Size

[Gary]

I was downloading some mods on a public wireless network as I can't download anything large at home due to a download cap. But it got me wondering; I know most people have better internet connections than me, but does a mod's file size still affect your decision to download the said mod?

I'm not sure if I will ever release a mod, but I thought it might be useful for those who still do. And at least interesting to anyone else.


Steam's hardware survey. Showing that most people have anywhere from 100 to 250 GB of free space on their main drive. And that 1/4 of people have a download speed of 0.25MB/s. Those people could download a 1GB mod in a little more than an hour. Nearly 18% of people can download a 1GB mod in 15 minutes.


Here are some questions for you guys. And I know there is a poll, but I would prefer people post to talk about it.

1. Does a mod's file size affect your decision to download the mod? If so, how?
   
2. If a mod requires external content to be downloaded, does that hurt the chance that you will download it? For example; Source SDK Base 2006/2007, HL2:EP2, AlienSwarm.
   
3. Do you have the Source SDK Bases installed? If not, does it bother you to download them along with the mod?
   
4. Do you have Alien Swarm installed. If not, does it bother you to download it along with the mod? (2.5GB)
   
5. For mod makers: Do you keep file size in mod during development?

[Dives]

1. Nope. Unless its absolutely gigantic, like 50GB.
2. No not really. If I'm interested in a mod, it's likely I have the game it requires installed. If I don't, its not much of a hassle to install it.
3. I do.
4. I don't have Alien Swarm installed. I didn't like it very much.
5. Yes, I try to keep things optimized but I will almost always choose larger file size if smaller causes a drop in quality.

BTW I think there's a typo in question 5.

[Kosire]

1. No, the bigger the better (in most cases).
2. No, I got all those games installed anyways.
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. Yes

[fishshapedfish]

That certainly is an interesting topic.

QUESTION 1)the reasons I might not download a very large mod are:
1. My internet speed is terrible with an average speed of 20kbps, this means it would take most of the day to download a 1gb mod.
2. I am quite limited for hard-drive space, I have about 10gb left on my C drive. But then again i could install more onto my relatively empty D drive
3. I am on a 20gb deal with my ISP, if i downloaded more than 20gb per month they would get pissed.
That's the end of my rant on why I wouldn't download a excessively large mod.
Onto the other questions:

QUESTIONS ABOUT EXTERNAL CONTENT)I do have most of the external content already installed so that doesn't really affect me. This includes Source SDK Base 2006/2007, HL2:EP2 and AlienSwarm.

QUESTION 5)When I develop mods I do keep file size in mind, not only because it might put people off downloading it but because it is hard to haul around over 1gb of files constantly between the mod team.

I hope you find my answer useful!

[StefanC19]

1. no not really I have a 120mb/s connection which comes to about 13~15MB/s so most of the time the installation takes longer than downloading it
2. see above
3.no
4.no
5.yes, models and textures take up a lot of space.

[kraid]

Got a 5GB limit on my mobile internet, so big things have to wait till i'm home again (every 2-3 weeks) where i ain't got a limit.

Imo mod teams should always try to get the overall size of their installers to a reasonable size and in case of an update also offer a patch for everyone who allready has the previouse version.

[Gary]

[...]hard to haul around over 1gb of files constantly between the mod team.

I hope your team doesn't zip all the content and toss it around... that is terribly inefficient. Since I didn't feel like setting up an SVN, I ended up using DropBox and a system hacked together with symbolic links. But still, an SVN is recommended for larger teams.


Thanks to everyone so far for your input.


Oh, and here are my answers to all the questions. In case others were wondering.

1. It only affects my immediate decision to download it. Since I can't download them at home, I am forced to wait until I'm on public wifi or someone else's home.

2. I have plenty of free drive space. And I will just download external sources when I'm downloading the mod.

3. Both are installed.

4. Yes.

5. Like Dives said; I won't sacrifice quality for a smaller file size.

[Swog]

1. No, I only tell if I should download by proof and media content.
2. Only if the branch of the mod requires a game that requires buying and I don't have it, No. Until I buy it.
3. Yes. I downloaded both 2006 and 2007.
4. Yes, but I do not play it a lot.