As fans of Bethesda's fantasy RPG franchise The Elder Scrolls wait to hear more about The Elder Scrolls 6, Skyrim continues to offer endless enjoyment thanks to a steady stream of fan-made content. Some of these additions are simple, such as a mod adding cat adoption into Skyrim, or another that gives players usable wings with flight mechanics. Then there are more jaw-dropping feats like The Elder Scrolls Renewal: Skywind.
Skywind is described as a "total recreation" of The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind using the Skyrim: Special Edition engine. The Skywind mod has been in development since 2012, and periodically shares its progress with fans. Yesterday, the developers released a 15-minute gameplay demo centered around Morrowind's Battle at Nchurdamz quest that they say, "Represents some of the progress we have made in every avenue of development."
The video is a testament to the skills and dedication of the modding team, showing off a variety of locales updated from the 2002 game with voice acting, combat mechanics, and more. According to its description on YouTube, one massive update made since the last gameplay demo in 2019 is the use of custom creature skeletons and animations, allowing for a Dwemer Spider enemy model different from what appears in Skyrim.
Morrowind is a fan-favorite game in The Elder Scrolls series, and Bethesda knows it. In 2017, Bethesda added Morrowind into its MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, and at the time Skywind coding lead Kninja50 told Game Rant that any content and lore included in this revival of the continent would be taken into consideration for the fan project.
For those who prefer a different flavor of fantasy adventure, a separate team is also working on Skyblivion; a Skyrim-based remake of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. However, the team developing Skywind continues to grow, and yesterday's demo video encourages applications from volunteers who can help with voice acting, level design, coding, and more.
According to the FAQ on Skywind's website, the recreation will probably not work with most other mods, but the team is planning to open a separate page on Nexus Mods for fans who want to create their own content for the Morrowind recreation. This may limit compatibility with other impressive mods, such as an AI-enhanced Skyrim texture pack, but it will hopefully open the door for even more brilliant creations going forward.
Skyrim is available for PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox 360.
Source: Skywind