The gaming world often thrives on the addition of innovative mods, enhancing player experiences and extending the life of popular games. “Skyrim Together”, a multiplayer mod for Bethesda’s “Skyrim”, notably achieved widespread acclaim and garnered over 80,000 downloads. However, recent developments indicate a shift in this modding trend, especially for Starfield.
“Starfield”, a space exploration game, launched to significant fanfare, becoming Bethesda’s biggest launch with over 10 million players in just three weeks. Despite this success, the game has faced mixed reviews. Some players and critics have highlighted issues with its gameplay, which is the opposite of Bethesda’s previous titles
The initial excitement surrounding “Starfield” sparked interest in the modding community, particularly among the creators of “Skyrim Together”. Anticipation grew for a similar multiplayer mod, tentatively titled “Starfield Together”. However, the project’s recent shelving has led to disappointment among fans.
The decision to abandon “Starfield Together” comes as a surprise, given the potential it held for enhancing the game’s interstellar journey. The reasons behind this decision reveal a deeper dissatisfaction among the modding team with the base game itself.
Why was the Starfield Multiplayer Mod dropped?
The decision by the “Skyrim Together” team to discontinue the development of “Starfield Together” is rooted in their dissatisfaction with Bethesda’s “Starfield.” Despite its commercial success, the game has faced criticism from the team, especially regarding its gameplay and world design. They believe the game misses the mark on what makes Bethesda games special.
A prominent modder from the team openly shared their disappointment with “Starfield.” Their words were clear and resonated with many gamers’ thoughts: “The game is boring, bland, and lacks the main draw of Bethesda games: exploration in a lively and handcrafted world.” This opinion is a mirror to the larger discussion in the gaming community about “Starfield’s” depth and quality.
“Starfield Together” will no longer be developed by the same modders that made Skyrim Together
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Adding to the complexity, this key modder revealed that substantial progress had been made on “Starfield Together.” They had successfully transferred around 70% of the “Skyrim Together” code to this new mod. But upon recognizing the perceived flaws in-game, they decided to cease development entirely.
In a commendable effort to support fellow modders, the team released the unfinished “Starfield Together” code as open-source. This decision gives an opportunity to those out there who want to continue the project. But the official team has declared that completing the task would take a 100 hours of work, which is obviously a huge challenge.
To sum up, “Starfield Together” has become one of the many abandoned endeavours in the gaming community. This occurrence underscores the vital role a game’s appeal plays in nurturing a successful modding community and how a game’s reception can influence its longevity through mods. While “Starfield” still captivates a global audience, its foray into multiplayer modding, at least for the moment, appears to have come to a premature close.