A mod for Skyrim is in development that aims to add a multiplayer mode to the game. However, there have recently been tensions between the developer team of Skyrim Together and the community that financially supports it. One of the developers says someone in the team received death threats.
It’s about this mod: The mod is called “Skyrim Together” and aims to bring an online multiplayer mode to Skyrim.
The mod is currently supported via the platform Patreon with $14,742 a month (about €13,200). However, it has been significantly more: At its peak, the project received nearly $34,000 from donors each month.
The project has already faced some controversies. In March, the team was accused of using the work of another team.
This was the latest controversy: At the end of April, there was again trouble with the mod. In its own subreddit, there were repeated inquiries about what the mod was doing, why there was no progress, and what was going on. People were hearing so little.
In response, lead developer MaxGriot stated, “We owe the community nothing at all.” They will only post updates when the team feels like it. They are developing it for themselves because they enjoy it and learn a lot.
This was received very poorly by the paying supporters. In the meantime, the team has lost about $3,300 in monthly support via Patreon.
This is what the team says now: In a new statement, MaxGriot has reached out again. He has now apologized for his post from the end of April.
According to Griot, one of the developers received several direct death threats, which were then reported to the authorities. Others had demanded weekly updates from the team.
Griot says: “I know you probably want to help, but that won’t help you.”
They have no time to write weekly reports. The work is very irregular; some people might go weeks without being able to work on the mod, but then might be able to help full-time for a few weeks.
In the future, he wants to make sure not to respond when he is frustrated.
Is Skyrim Together making progress? With the statement also comes further information. They have published a monthly report (via docs.google) describing the team’s progress:
- The team has now eliminated all traces of another code (SKSE) – the team had been accused of stealing the work of other modders. That is now all gone.
- The next milestone will be the open beta; until then, they will provide “Nightly Builds” that players can try out. The “night builds” come daily and are updated with the day’s work. The team admits that the builds will definitely be buggy or may not work at all. But these builds are meant to provide a new perspective on the project.
In a YouTube tutorial, it is shown how interested players can use the nightly builds themselves.
