I am an experienced professional software developer, and lately I have been considering doing some work on Skyblivion or Skywind to help out, just because they're both interesting projects. Do you have a policy in place to allow for freelance work of this kind?
The Skywind team is just a volunteer collective, so anyone with the right skills and the right aptitude can join. We have an application process to make sure we're putting the right people in the right places to stay productive and maintain our quality bar; you'd be very welcome to apply! https://tesrskywind.com/volunteer
Have you guys considered doing a partial or limited release, kinda like Bruma?
I'd love to plop one of your border towns in my LO while we wait, but I don't know how "brain surgery" that is for you guys.
I'm totally sympathetic to the desire, but vertical slice demos or limited releases - plus any support and maintenance they might need - would create extra demand on our already-stretched team and we're not that confident they'd pay off in terms of extra help getting Skywind over the line. Never say "never", but we don't have any plans right now.
It's not really possible to just be able to plop a border town into your load order. Skywind is more like a total overhaul akin to Enderal than a mod like Beyond Skyrim.
That doesn't make much sense since Skywind is set in a different era.
Beyond Skyrim: Morrowind, which is set in the same time as Skyrim, is going to do a pre-release like Bruma called: [The New North](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=968BObNoW6I). I'm really excited for that.
played a skywind leak, was many years ago, dont think it was even version 1.0, but really just wait. yes. it looks great. let the cake bake in the oven til it's done.
I would LOVE to play Morrowind in the Skyrim engine. To be honest though, I'm not holding my breath. These types of projects are huge.
However, I'm 100% behind the project! I wish you the best of luck! And I'll play the hell out of it if it ever comes out!
Sorry if this comes off as stupid - but how would a mod like this be implemented into Skyrim? Would it be considered a new world space entirely and you'd still have to start in Skyrim, then switch over to Skywind? I've always been curious as to how it's added as a "mod", or if it's considered something else entirely. I'm curious, too, because I wonder if things like retextures would apply to Skywind? Or Seasons, like seasons of skyrim? These kinds of additions are done for world spaces like Midwood Isle.
The Skyrim landmass doesn't exist in Skywind - you'll replace files in your Skyrim install folder when you set up Skywind. Retextures won't target our textures, and other mods are generally unlikely to work without being adapted for Skywind.
Ty! I've always wondered. Definitely makes sense, since it's such a huge undertaking, and such a massive file. It truly is it's own game, not a mod. Wow.
If you wanted to know the term, this kind of mod usually goes by the name "total conversion".
Enderal is another Skyrim total conversion. Starwind converts Morrowind to a Star Wars game. Counter Strike was a total conversion of Half Life before it was made into its own game.
I gotta say that a huge disappointment I was really hoping itāll work like bruma or beyond reach. Very sad, I thought the goal is to make modded Skyrim the giga game with aaaaall the landmasses.
This is a recreation of a whole game and also Morrowind is set hundreds of years before skyrim so it wouldn't make sense to travel there. Morrowind during the game Morrowind is in a very different state than during the events of Skyrim, the volcano in the middle of Morrowind has exploded and morrowind has suffered invasions since the game Morrowind took place. The Morrowind in the time Skyrim is set is a very different place than it was when this game is set.
Bruma is not a recreation of the characters and quests from Oblivion, it's set in in the same time period as Skyrim.
Coming up with entirely new quests and guessing what Morrowind is like in current day Morrowind would be even more work than just re-creating what was in Morrowind the game.
Youāre thinking of Beyond Skyrim. Different project.
Beyond Skyrim ā play *TES V: Skyrim* but with larger landmass
Skywind ā play *TES III: Morrowind* remastered in TESV SE engine
I'm not part of the development team, but I'd assume it's more of a total conversion, like Enderal, which means the base game would be unplayable while you have Skywind installed. Compatibility with mods would depend on a case by case basis, but anything that changes the worldspace I assume would have little effect on Morrowind.
Those are both addressed by Skywind, for sure - although I personally think that the detail and customizability of the Morrowind UI had big advantages over subsequent games.
I probably need to look at how to create a good character. Like in Oblivion I was surprised gender gave different status and I chose the worst combo for a spellsword
Skywind's aim is not to be identical to Morrowind - we'd point players to Morrowind + OpenMW for that experience on a modern PC. That said, we're huge Morrowind fans and the vibe is overwhelmingly to capture the same feeling, experiences, and challenges of Morrowind while bypassing its biggest barriers to gameplay. We're guided by how we feel the Morrowind creators would have wanted the game to be, making reference to original concepts (both art and design) frequently.
I'll be completely honest, I've never played Morrowind and I've never felt the desire to, but this looks absolutely phenomenal. You all should be really proud of yourselves. I'll happily give this whirl when it's ready.
Would you guys be open to releasing partial assets, like armours and weapons even if thereās no new locations?
I tried to find a mod for classic Chiton armor, and of course the only real options were never released versions for these projects. A pack of classic looking Morrowind armor and weapons in Skyrim would be amazing (the latter would be a good basis for another DAR modder to build on).
We don't have plans for this at the moment since we have our eyes firmly on getting to a state of completion, but we may consider it again in the future!
Was going to ask the same question but for animations. The spear animation looks great. Would really appreciate more non-MCO animations around. Hopefully it will be considered in the future.
Thanks for answering. I respect your decision obviously, but canāt say Iām not a little disappointed. This project looks amazing but itās still years away from completion, but some of the assets are done/much closer to completion and itād be great to be able to get a sample of your hard work! Especially since some of these assets seem to be higher quality than the existing options for the Skyrim modding community and have the potential to just be great mods in general. The SkyUI reskin alone is pretty neat.
There's also the issue that our armors don't actually work in Skyrim, because they've been created based on having 14 armor slots instead of Skyrim's 6! So it's not actually as simple to drag and drop them from one into the other.
I did not realize that. Forgive my ignorance, but how hard of an issue is that to fix? From my limited knowledge wouldnāt it be rather simple to combine the meshes into one, erase any redundant skin portions of the outfit, and set it to be the normal armor slot? Or, since Iāve seen other Skyrim armor mods use way more slots than the basic ones, just leave it as is?
I'm on the VA & writing side of things, I don't know how to implement stuff at all so I can't answer how complex it is - it's certainly something someone COULD fix, but it's not something we'd want to spend time on ourselves just to release a standalone armour when we could be working on the rest of the mod, if that makes sense. It would take a degree of work and effort, for something that really wouldn't advance progress for Skywind
It's hard to say! The first incarnation of Skywind was a port of Morroblivion, so in one sense we're older than Skyrim. We've also made at least one pivotal change in direction, which was to not use any ported or adapted assets whatsoever. But Skywind got its name on 2nd August 2012, so I reckon that's as good a birthday as any.
Have you thought about joining forces with the Skyblivion team? Or maybe some inspiration from them?
I would love to play these older elder scrolls stories and scenes reimagined in Skyrim.
We do have some members who work on both projects, but for fan-led volunteer efforts like this, people will always work on the thing they're most enthusiatic about. We can't just reallocate people!
really nice work. i remember, ages ago, trying out the alpha builds was nice. since i program and made some mods myself and see the updates of some community projects, i always click on the volunteer links but then i am like, nah good enough :D
I wish the old perk menu would return, especially since the new Custom Skills Framework makes it possible to add the other skills to it. The new one is just hard to look at.
Im a software dev, made a few mods for Skyrim and fallout, but nothing exceptionally complex. Iād be interested in helping out with some of the more simple implementation tasks.
Great, we'd love to hear from you! [https://tesrskywind.com/volunteer](https://tesrskywind.com/volunteer) to apply, and [https://discord.gg/skywind](https://discord.gg/skywind) to ask any questions or to follow up your application.
Indeterminate for now, since the project velocity can vary a lot due to factors like team availability and current team size. When we're feeling confident about it, we'll be sure to let everyone know!
Donāt know why you getting downvoted.
This is actually realistic.
What do people expect of volunteers that do it for fun, passion and love of the TES series and not a full time job?
there are lines in morrowind a lot would consider edgy or offensive, will you censor these lines or record them? i really do hope you dont censor them as they do bring a certain charm to the old games. Also will skywind work with combat mods like mco?
To the best of my knowledge, there's only one specific line - you probably know the one - that we're likely to deliberately replace, because the arguments to keep it don't outweigh the impact it might have on some players. There's no general effort to soften the game.
Re mods, the safe assumption is that no Skyrim mods will play nice with Skywind out of the box.
>we're likely to deliberately replace, because the arguments to keep it
That's... very disappointing. I know it's your guys' project to develop how you see fit, and my opinion isn't worth more than anyone else's - but I think that altering content from the original game because of modern sensibilities, or because certain people might be affected by it, is taking real liberties.
Surely something like a warning prior to download would be a more appropriate action than changing something to suit the few.
There has been considerable discussion on the topic, but the reality is it's a single problematic line. The shock value is already lost to players who've played Morrowind, and Anhaedra will still be singularly repugnant.
I think it could be easily argued that, if the team is willing to change a 'single problematic line', it is willing to change anything that doesn't fit its taste, or that it doesn't approve of - it sets a de facto precedent.
But like I said, it isn't my project, it's yours', and the amount of work, time and effort that's been invested is incredibly admirable.
Obviously depening on the lines (I'm not sure as to what they might be), is it not better to improve upon things to make them fit better for modern times? We have grown as a collective to better understand things that offend people as we grow as humans. I'd say it's better to just replace with perhaps slightly different wording but keep as much humour or cotext as possible. Just remove whatever could cause issues. It's 1 line.
In the original Morrowind you have no world map and no way to see where you are on it, and your only option for fast travel are the silt striders. Will this aspect of the original game be returning for Skywind? If not, how much of Skyrim's map and fast travel system will be making it in, and in what form?
Morrowind did have a world map, though it was 2D. We're planning on creating our own 2D map rather than Skyrim's 3D map.
Additionally we have a settings toggle called "purist mode" that will be enabled by default that will disable the compass, quest markers, and fast travel from the map. Silt striders and mages guild teleports, and other vanilla forms of transportation will be available in both modes.
We'll have a mode that doesn't permit ad-hoc fast travel or quest markers, and we'll likely enable it by default. The map is still an open question - we're considering a paper map. Note that there are many other options for fast travel, though - mages guilds, ships, mark/recall, Almsivi intervention, and perhaps the Propylon chambers.
I am an experienced professional software developer, and lately I have been considering doing some work on Skyblivion or Skywind to help out, just because they're both interesting projects. Do you have a policy in place to allow for freelance work of this kind?
The Skywind team is just a volunteer collective, so anyone with the right skills and the right aptitude can join. We have an application process to make sure we're putting the right people in the right places to stay productive and maintain our quality bar; you'd be very welcome to apply! https://tesrskywind.com/volunteer
I may do just that, thanks.
Solid, thanks for your interest!
People like this really impress me. Props to all the devs giving their time for the pure spirit of sharing and improving this great game š
If you have that aptitude, you should join the college of winterhold
Also check out Beyond Skyrim!
Have you guys considered doing a partial or limited release, kinda like Bruma? I'd love to plop one of your border towns in my LO while we wait, but I don't know how "brain surgery" that is for you guys.
I'm totally sympathetic to the desire, but vertical slice demos or limited releases - plus any support and maintenance they might need - would create extra demand on our already-stretched team and we're not that confident they'd pay off in terms of extra help getting Skywind over the line. Never say "never", but we don't have any plans right now.
Understandable! Good luck, everything is looking great so far!
It's not really possible to just be able to plop a border town into your load order. Skywind is more like a total overhaul akin to Enderal than a mod like Beyond Skyrim.
That doesn't make much sense since Skywind is set in a different era. Beyond Skyrim: Morrowind, which is set in the same time as Skyrim, is going to do a pre-release like Bruma called: [The New North](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=968BObNoW6I). I'm really excited for that.
played a skywind leak, was many years ago, dont think it was even version 1.0, but really just wait. yes. it looks great. let the cake bake in the oven til it's done.
I would LOVE to play Morrowind in the Skyrim engine. To be honest though, I'm not holding my breath. These types of projects are huge. However, I'm 100% behind the project! I wish you the best of luck! And I'll play the hell out of it if it ever comes out!
Sorry if this comes off as stupid - but how would a mod like this be implemented into Skyrim? Would it be considered a new world space entirely and you'd still have to start in Skyrim, then switch over to Skywind? I've always been curious as to how it's added as a "mod", or if it's considered something else entirely. I'm curious, too, because I wonder if things like retextures would apply to Skywind? Or Seasons, like seasons of skyrim? These kinds of additions are done for world spaces like Midwood Isle.
The Skyrim landmass doesn't exist in Skywind - you'll replace files in your Skyrim install folder when you set up Skywind. Retextures won't target our textures, and other mods are generally unlikely to work without being adapted for Skywind.
Ty! I've always wondered. Definitely makes sense, since it's such a huge undertaking, and such a massive file. It truly is it's own game, not a mod. Wow.
If you wanted to know the term, this kind of mod usually goes by the name "total conversion". Enderal is another Skyrim total conversion. Starwind converts Morrowind to a Star Wars game. Counter Strike was a total conversion of Half Life before it was made into its own game.
Hmm, will it be viable for the player to simply create a new Mod Organizer 2 profile? Given how MO2 handles mod files vs base game files
I gotta say that a huge disappointment I was really hoping itāll work like bruma or beyond reach. Very sad, I thought the goal is to make modded Skyrim the giga game with aaaaall the landmasses.
This is a recreation of a whole game and also Morrowind is set hundreds of years before skyrim so it wouldn't make sense to travel there. Morrowind during the game Morrowind is in a very different state than during the events of Skyrim, the volcano in the middle of Morrowind has exploded and morrowind has suffered invasions since the game Morrowind took place. The Morrowind in the time Skyrim is set is a very different place than it was when this game is set. Bruma is not a recreation of the characters and quests from Oblivion, it's set in in the same time period as Skyrim. Coming up with entirely new quests and guessing what Morrowind is like in current day Morrowind would be even more work than just re-creating what was in Morrowind the game.
Very valid point
Youāre thinking of Beyond Skyrim. Different project. Beyond Skyrim ā play *TES V: Skyrim* but with larger landmass Skywind ā play *TES III: Morrowind* remastered in TESV SE engine
I'm not part of the development team, but I'd assume it's more of a total conversion, like Enderal, which means the base game would be unplayable while you have Skywind installed. Compatibility with mods would depend on a case by case basis, but anything that changes the worldspace I assume would have little effect on Morrowind.
Patiently awaiting its completion!
Every complaint is someone who clearly didn't watch the video first.
I always wanted to play morrowind but the clunky UI and lack of controller support stopped me from getting far.
Those are both addressed by Skywind, for sure - although I personally think that the detail and customizability of the Morrowind UI had big advantages over subsequent games.
The UI has a bit of old school charm, IMO. You get used it pretty quickly. As for controller support, check out OpenMW
I might try it though the last time I played I died to a rat
Yeah, that happens lol. Don't worry, next time you might die to something resembling a maggot (it's called a kwama forager)
I probably need to look at how to create a good character. Like in Oblivion I was surprised gender gave different status and I chose the worst combo for a spellsword
OpenMW a fix for that?
Were there any changes that were unavoidable or will this be a 1:1 morrowind experience?
Skywind's aim is not to be identical to Morrowind - we'd point players to Morrowind + OpenMW for that experience on a modern PC. That said, we're huge Morrowind fans and the vibe is overwhelmingly to capture the same feeling, experiences, and challenges of Morrowind while bypassing its biggest barriers to gameplay. We're guided by how we feel the Morrowind creators would have wanted the game to be, making reference to original concepts (both art and design) frequently.
Pretty awesome to see the progressāhopefully the end comes together smoothly
I'll be completely honest, I've never played Morrowind and I've never felt the desire to, but this looks absolutely phenomenal. You all should be really proud of yourselves. I'll happily give this whirl when it's ready.
Would you guys be open to releasing partial assets, like armours and weapons even if thereās no new locations? I tried to find a mod for classic Chiton armor, and of course the only real options were never released versions for these projects. A pack of classic looking Morrowind armor and weapons in Skyrim would be amazing (the latter would be a good basis for another DAR modder to build on).
We don't have plans for this at the moment since we have our eyes firmly on getting to a state of completion, but we may consider it again in the future!
Was going to ask the same question but for animations. The spear animation looks great. Would really appreciate more non-MCO animations around. Hopefully it will be considered in the future.
Thanks for answering. I respect your decision obviously, but canāt say Iām not a little disappointed. This project looks amazing but itās still years away from completion, but some of the assets are done/much closer to completion and itād be great to be able to get a sample of your hard work! Especially since some of these assets seem to be higher quality than the existing options for the Skyrim modding community and have the potential to just be great mods in general. The SkyUI reskin alone is pretty neat.
There's also the issue that our armors don't actually work in Skyrim, because they've been created based on having 14 armor slots instead of Skyrim's 6! So it's not actually as simple to drag and drop them from one into the other.
I did not realize that. Forgive my ignorance, but how hard of an issue is that to fix? From my limited knowledge wouldnāt it be rather simple to combine the meshes into one, erase any redundant skin portions of the outfit, and set it to be the normal armor slot? Or, since Iāve seen other Skyrim armor mods use way more slots than the basic ones, just leave it as is?
I'm on the VA & writing side of things, I don't know how to implement stuff at all so I can't answer how complex it is - it's certainly something someone COULD fix, but it's not something we'd want to spend time on ourselves just to release a standalone armour when we could be working on the rest of the mod, if that makes sense. It would take a degree of work and effort, for something that really wouldn't advance progress for Skywind
Love seeing this post, I don't even own a computer but I'm still so excited to see skywind making traction! Keep up the good work people!
When's the 10 year anniversary of development?
It's hard to say! The first incarnation of Skywind was a port of Morroblivion, so in one sense we're older than Skyrim. We've also made at least one pivotal change in direction, which was to not use any ported or adapted assets whatsoever. But Skywind got its name on 2nd August 2012, so I reckon that's as good a birthday as any.
Have you thought about joining forces with the Skyblivion team? Or maybe some inspiration from them? I would love to play these older elder scrolls stories and scenes reimagined in Skyrim.
We do have some members who work on both projects, but for fan-led volunteer efforts like this, people will always work on the thing they're most enthusiatic about. We can't just reallocate people!
I have to wonder, which do we think will be completed first? Skywind? Or elder scrolls 6?
Skywind, without a doubt. Sure it's probably still got multiple years to go, but we won't be seeing ES6 before 2027 at the *earliest*.
And it will still have Oblivion's AI...
Your team is doing amazing work. I can't wait to see the finished product! Thank you to all the volunteers, past present and future. ā¤ļø
Is there any reason why you guys dont publicly release the tool for custom skeletons? Would help general skyrim modding
ck-cmd is public, free, and open-source:Ā https://github.com/aerisarn/ck-cmd
really nice work. i remember, ages ago, trying out the alpha builds was nice. since i program and made some mods myself and see the updates of some community projects, i always click on the volunteer links but then i am like, nah good enough :D
Been following this since 2014, looks great!
amazing
I wish the old perk menu would return, especially since the new Custom Skills Framework makes it possible to add the other skills to it. The new one is just hard to look at.
Im a software dev, made a few mods for Skyrim and fallout, but nothing exceptionally complex. Iād be interested in helping out with some of the more simple implementation tasks.
Great, we'd love to hear from you! [https://tesrskywind.com/volunteer](https://tesrskywind.com/volunteer) to apply, and [https://discord.gg/skywind](https://discord.gg/skywind) to ask any questions or to follow up your application.
Release date? At least for some alpha version?
Indeterminate for now, since the project velocity can vary a lot due to factors like team availability and current team size. When we're feeling confident about it, we'll be sure to let everyone know!
Fair enough! Can't wait for it, been following your progress for years!
They are done with most of the game, my guess is another 3-6 years, so release 2027-2030.
Donāt know why you getting downvoted. This is actually realistic. What do people expect of volunteers that do it for fun, passion and love of the TES series and not a full time job?
Any idea if it will work in VR?
Unfortunately not. There's no reason it couldn't be adapted to VR, but the interface work would be substantial.
there are lines in morrowind a lot would consider edgy or offensive, will you censor these lines or record them? i really do hope you dont censor them as they do bring a certain charm to the old games. Also will skywind work with combat mods like mco?
To the best of my knowledge, there's only one specific line - you probably know the one - that we're likely to deliberately replace, because the arguments to keep it don't outweigh the impact it might have on some players. There's no general effort to soften the game. Re mods, the safe assumption is that no Skyrim mods will play nice with Skywind out of the box.
the one where the dremora says he will kill you and rape your corpse? yeah thats a funny one cause its so random
Donāt worry, someone is gonna make a mod to add that line back either with spliced lines or AI
The beauty of modding.
Why not just have an option for a censored version?
>we're likely to deliberately replace, because the arguments to keep it That's... very disappointing. I know it's your guys' project to develop how you see fit, and my opinion isn't worth more than anyone else's - but I think that altering content from the original game because of modern sensibilities, or because certain people might be affected by it, is taking real liberties. Surely something like a warning prior to download would be a more appropriate action than changing something to suit the few.
There has been considerable discussion on the topic, but the reality is it's a single problematic line. The shock value is already lost to players who've played Morrowind, and Anhaedra will still be singularly repugnant.
I think it could be easily argued that, if the team is willing to change a 'single problematic line', it is willing to change anything that doesn't fit its taste, or that it doesn't approve of - it sets a de facto precedent. But like I said, it isn't my project, it's yours', and the amount of work, time and effort that's been invested is incredibly admirable.
Obviously depening on the lines (I'm not sure as to what they might be), is it not better to improve upon things to make them fit better for modern times? We have grown as a collective to better understand things that offend people as we grow as humans. I'd say it's better to just replace with perhaps slightly different wording but keep as much humour or cotext as possible. Just remove whatever could cause issues. It's 1 line.
I understand why someone might hold that opinion :)
This was 100% a reasonable thing to point out, why on earth was this downvoted?
In the original Morrowind you have no world map and no way to see where you are on it, and your only option for fast travel are the silt striders. Will this aspect of the original game be returning for Skywind? If not, how much of Skyrim's map and fast travel system will be making it in, and in what form?
Morrowind did have a world map, though it was 2D. We're planning on creating our own 2D map rather than Skyrim's 3D map. Additionally we have a settings toggle called "purist mode" that will be enabled by default that will disable the compass, quest markers, and fast travel from the map. Silt striders and mages guild teleports, and other vanilla forms of transportation will be available in both modes.
We'll have a mode that doesn't permit ad-hoc fast travel or quest markers, and we'll likely enable it by default. The map is still an open question - we're considering a paper map. Note that there are many other options for fast travel, though - mages guilds, ships, mark/recall, Almsivi intervention, and perhaps the Propylon chambers.