Mod User Preferences and You (Kano model)
In the world of business, people talk about customers and feedback from them. The Kano model is a helpful way to think of products and features, which can be applied to modding (however, customer is a loose term here, it doesn't just literally mean someone paying for a thing). For the purposes of this page, we'll apply the Kano model to mod features, to look at them in a different way. You can learn even more details about the Kano model here.
The Kano model splits up features into multiple categories, but for this example, we'll only look at 3 categories: Basic Must-Haves, "More is Better", and The Elusive "Delighters".
Basic Must-Haves
If this feature is not there, the customer is not happy. For example, I install the mod and it is error-free. If it gives errors, I'm not happy. It's a "dissatisfier" because if it works, people aren't giving you points and congratulating you like, "oh wow, no errors!"
This is considered a basic requirement, and people may speak up if you don't meet it (like reporting errors on the mod page).
"More is Better"
If this feature is there and a lot of it, customers are happier. For example, having a config. Having no config is not usually a bad thing (depending on the user), but if the mod has a config? Woo! If the mod has a ton of options and is highly configurable / modular? Big woo, I can pick only the features I want! etc.
People may leave compliments on the mod page for the feature, and may even make suggestions / requests to have more of the feature, like adding more options to toggle on the config.
The Elusive "Delighters"
These are things the customers didn't even know they wanted but when they see the feature they're like "AHHH! 10/10"
This one will obviously vary depending on the mod and vary depending on the person. The other key thing to note is once you introduce this delighter feature, it quickly becomes a must-have, and stops bringing excitement, because now it's the new standard.
For example, vanilla NPCs don't have seasonal outfits. However, mods like Seasonal Villager Outfits (SVO) and Diverse Stardew (DSV) that add seasonal outfits have raised the bar so that for new mods for portraits or sprites, mod users prefer ones that include seasonal variants.