Aiera is now hosting the Morrowind 2011 site
The Morrowind 2011 Mod
Tyler “Warwon” Smith is known to myself and many others by a slightly older nickname: Warwon Dragon. He was briefly part of my Lost Sosaria team, and we’ve been in semi-regular contact for several years now. (I mean, heck…we only live a few hours apart.)
Anyhow, Tyler — being a consummate Morrowind fan — took it upon himself to produce the Morrowind 2011 Compilation, a massive collection of mods that enhance the graphics (and other aspects) of Morrowind.
Now, here’s where it gets a bit complicated:
Just a few short days after its public release, Tyler Smith’s Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind graphical update, the “Morrowind 2011” mod, is under attack, its torrent link blocked after Smith received threats of legal action from modders whose work was appropriated for the pack. Though Smith admits there were issues with how content was credited in the initial release, he insists the credits were being updated.
Modders claimed on the Bethesda forums (in a thread that has since been removed) that their work was being used illegally and without their permission.
“The real problem here, however, was that when the package came out, a few modders (myself included) contacted the compiler and simply asked for [him] to a) ask permission to use the mods and b) remove ones that he couldn’t get permission for,” one modder, who preferred not to be named, told Joystiq. “Just a bit of respect for the modders who put their time and effort in, and most of us would’ve given permission if asked.”
You Dragons and Dragonettes who have done mod work before know that it’s certainly considered a common courtesy, to give a short verbal nod to those whose content you have used in your own projects. And admittedly, Warwon missed that step…initially.
That got him into a spot of trouble, with some of the modders whose work he incorporated even threatening legal action against him. As far as I understand the legalities associated with mod-making, those are hollow threats which cannot possibly be enforced (this discussion at Escapist Magazine is informative), but obviously a few people got their noses bent out of joint.
Warwon has taken pains to compile a list of credits, which was the condition I imposed when I agreed to host his site. He’s in the process of uploading the older version of the mod, which I gather has a few conflicts and issues; a newer, lighter version is on the way.
I’m telling you all this for a couple of reasons. First, if you were a Morrowind fan at all, you’ll want to check out the mod. Second, if for whatever reason the site goes down tonight…or tomorrow…or the day after…blame a spike in traffic. Apparently, Warwon was getting 120K+ hits per day on his WordPress.com project blog (now closed) when this beast was announced.
Consider yourselves duly informed.
If you need to host the mod as a torrent my tracker is available. Also as a reminder my IRC server is still open to public use (eightvirtues.com). For all I know there are a thousand people in there right now; I haven’t checked.
there are still things in there that though he credits the makers explicitly do not want there work in this compilation.
We’ll see what his light version includes and doesn’t, then. Hopefully he addresses those concerns.
Kevin…I’ll ask Warwon about a torrent.
That’s strange. I wonder what their problem is. Maybe the initial mistake of failing to properly credit the original authors has left a bad taste in their mouth and they’re holding a grudge. He should use TPB or the like, as they surely don’t give a fuck about IP or crying in general.
Sadly, 90% of the modders griping about their mods being used most likely have not touched Morrowind in years. Ive played through it many times and still to this day I spend hours each time I start it back up trying to fix broken mods to work with other broken mods that have never been updated nor fixed from their original broken state. If I had a mod in this, I would want credit yes, but I would be honored to have my mod in it.
I would however, like to see a list of those modders who want their mods removed so I can boycott using any of their mods they ever made. I hate people who think the world was made to revolve around what they can do, and what they can get out of it.
I’m not going to comment on the actual pack, however, upon learning that you’re hosting a mod compilation that has been essentially shut down by Bethesda themselves, I must wonder: “Is that Virtuous, Avatar?”
Arguably, I’m just hosting the site right now. Which is fine…and is proving to be a place for some mostly-fruitful discussions about the thing.
The controversial “version 1” of the pack won’t be hosted here for download, though the corrected, hopefully-less-troublesome “version 2” might be. That’s not been decided yet.
I’m not 100% at ease with this thing, but I’m trying to give Warwon the benefit of the doubt, since he and I do go way back. You could argue this relates to Compassion, though as yet the jury is out on whether it’s misguided compassion (read: enabling).
Well ultimately it is your server to do with what you wish, I just do not think it terribly just to use the work of others without permission. I sincerely hope he is able to reconcile things to everyone’s satisfaction.
It’s a fair point, which is why I’ll again draw attention to the upcoming second version of the mod, which should hopefully resolve most of those issues (e.g. by removing content that the creators of which have said cannot be used in it).
From a legal standpoint, of course, it’s all B.S.; if there is any content owner, it is Bethesda* through and through, not the individual modders themselves. From a “manners” standpoint, it’s nice to give appropriate credit where appropriate credit is due, and Warwon admits to making the error of not doing so, at least initially.
In all honesty, this is a head-scratcher for me; I’m used to the rather more laid-back NWN/NWN2 community, which basically exists and thrives on content sharing. Appropriate credit is still given where it is due, because that is what is polite…but I doubt any modder in the Neverwinter community would raise a stink over the assembly and release of a Neverwinter Nights 2011 compilation. Much of the controversy around this mod seems to be needless drama-whoring by a bunch of people, many of whom probably haven’t actually played Morrowind in the last five years.
Everyhow, I’ve always tried to run Aiera in an “above board” sort of way, and the point is taken about the potential for injustice (though that may be too strong a term to use) in the original version of the mod.
Which is why the original version of the mod is not going to be made available for download off of my server. The revised version, which is still pending, will be made available, and hopefully it will be less controversial. (Actually, I’m pretty sure it will be.)
I see no problem in hosting the site proper, in the interim. Warwon deserves to have a space to explain himself; his critics deserve a space where they can address him personally and raise their issues for his attention.
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* I am aware that Bethesda has shut down discussion of the mod on their forums, in no small part due to spam attacks being launched against same. From what I gather, this was mostly a bunch of folks from Reddit (possibly with an assist from 4chan) who were pissed off at the over-reaction (and let’s be fair, it was an over-reaction) of the miffed modders.
That’s no excuse, of course; I despise such tactics. I observe this merely to point out that Warwon’s own culpability for same is…limited, at worst.
I’m just not very enthused by his website, to be honest, but – as I said, I’m not going to tell you what to do with your own server.
I think the one thing we can both agree on is that I hope the second version addresses the problems that have been raised.
Just so, Wizardry. Just so.
And yeah, his site is kinda “meh”. I’m gonna redesign it later this week.
It’s the content of the site that concerns me. It comes off as egotistical and defensive. I can understand defensive, I would be too if someone started beating around my work, TFL for example, but certain posts, particularly the one about legal rights, come off as “I can do whatever the hell I want so f— off.” Maybe that’s not how he intended it. I would hope it is not. Yet its how it comes off nonetheless. I suspect I’m not the only one that gets that impression of his speech, given the mod community’s reaction – and I’d futher posit that this tone is probably what the community’s reacting too, more than the actual compilation.
I think if he changed his tune, and people thought that change was genuine, it would mend a lot of fences.
If you don’t know Warwon or his manner and demeanour, yes, the site can be off-putting. I’ve known the guy for years, so perhaps I just instinctively know to parse his words a little differently. To quote Garth Brooks, let’s just say that Warwon isn’t “big on social graces” and leave it at that. I don’t think ego has all that much to do with it.
In the end motive counts for very little, only what you do, and how your thoughts are communicated. People take very little time to really think about what people mean. In this case, they should not have to. If someone wants to use my own works, and came to me with that attitude, I would have said a very plain no, as well. People have to consider how their work is going to be put out there, and generally they don’t want their work associated with someone who comes off poorly, as it tends to come off (usually incorrectly) as them endorsing that kind of attitude or behaviour. I think a lot of the stigma in the MW mod community has come from people that don’t want to become associated with someone who seems to give very little care to the concerns of the modders that make these work – being associated with that kind of thing, after all, is a good way to get yourself cut out of a community.
I’m just rambling at this point though, and I feel almost like I’m repeating myself. I feel that if he’s genuine about wanting to fix things, he will be able to change his tune. Time will tell.
Honestly, I’m skeptical. I would love to be proven wrong, though, and I’m not being facetious saying that.
That’s not a bad summary.
I don’t think, at this point, that Warwon’s own personality is going to shift all that much, so his presentation of his case and his tone are not likely to shift all that much. I think his “version 2” of the mod will address most of the issues people had with the first one, though I doubt anything can be done to address the issues people have with him proper.
There’s not much I can do about who the man is and how he presents himself, I’m afraid; I can only ask that any work of his that’s to be released as a download from my server be…reasonably free of controversial material.
Were I to censure the man himself for being impolitic and suchlike, I’d have to censor myself as well for various rants and verbal ejaculations I have put to pixels in the past.
Hopefully when the drama dies down, if it dies down, though I hope it does, people will realise that it was just another mod compilation whose author made a (hopefully honest) mistake, and tried to make the game better for people.
All in all, its out there now, for better or worse, and I hope at the very least people can stop tarring-and-feathering him as they seem to have; it’s not like he killed someone or something.
At the risk of sounding preachy, I’m reminded of a quote,
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27, iirc)
Because, honestly, even if he went in it with the worst of intentions, what he has done isn’t some great crime, and I don’t feel he deserves the stuff he’s had to deal with. (Legal threats? For using freeware? Honestly?)
You’ll get no guff from me, at least, for citing Scripture. Rather fond of it myself.
I do agree that whatever Warwon’s faults, the over-reaction to this whole affair is, frankly, beyond absurd. Nobody should have to put up with the sort of crap he’s had to deal with.
Im rather Gnostic in my beliefs, not agnostic in the modern meaning being all on the fence, but rather, I believe that whether or not there is a god, or Jesus was really his son, or whatever, that there’s still plenty of good stuff in the good book regardless.
Personally, I made TFL a GPL licensed code for a reason – I want people to be able to freely distribute the code and use it as they will, but there are still very clear legal language saying that you can’t plagarise the code or whatever. I can’t help but think an ounce of prevention on the mod authors parts, would have been worth a pound of cure, here. Of course, it does go both ways – I doubt many mod authors would admit they could have handled this better.
The whole thing strikes me as kind of immature – on both sides – and I hope all involved learn and grow as a result, instead of stewing in all this e-angst that seems to surround it.
Neat. I’m Catholic myself, kind of an East-meets-West doctrinal fusion thing.
Anyhow…I have to ask: how will these modders cater to their dramatic tendencies and sort out their daddy issues if they aren’t allowed to iStew in their e-angst, using the use of their long-ago-created Morrowind content as a vehicle for venting the stresses (real or imagined) stemming from the problems they suffer (or think they suffer) in real life?
I kid, but only a bit.
This seems relevant.
Catholic school survivor myself, and while not meaning to be offensive saying survivor, well, its probably the best word for all kinds of reasons.
The clear answer to your half-joking question is to invent a time machine, so they can get more hugs as a child 😛 But you know, more seriously, I think that touches on part of the reason some people are as emotional about it as they get about this kind of thing. These games – especially RPGs – are a form of escapism for people, and it can violate the “sanctity” of their escape fantasies when others meddle in them.
You’re Canadian, right? Though I suppose it depends on which part of Canada you’re from. I know in the U.S., Catholic schools are essentially private schools; it doesn’t work that way in at least some parts of Canada.
Then again, in Alberta, Catholic education — though it is considered a form of public education — isn’t particularly Catholic. Win some, lose some. (This is part of why I’m tempted to homeschool the Dragonlets.)
As to escapism, that is likely part of it…although, if so, that speaks to deeper psychological issues that probably need to be addressed in more…professional ways than venting frustrations on the Internet.
Well thats between them and the long line of counsellors who won’t be able to help them 🙂
I live and grew up in Ottawa. Among other places, since my father is navy.
Ah, okay. Neat. Certainly explains the “.ca” TLD of the Feudal Lands website.