What happened to the alternate start mod in Skyrim?
The extremely popular Alternate Start – Live Another Life mod for Skyrim was created by prolific modder Arthmoor. This amazing mod allowed players to skip the vanilla start of the game and instead choose from a variety of new starts and roleplaying paths.
In July 2021, Arthmoor removed this iconic mod from the Nexus Mods site as a protest against a policy change that he felt limited mod authors‘ creative control. This analysis explores the background, Arthmoor‘s reasoning, the impacts, and what it means for the Skyrim modding community going forward.
Background on the Alternate Start Mod‘s Popularity
Since its release, the Alternate Start mod has become one of the most endorsed mods on Nexus Mods. As of July 2021, it had over 3 million unique downloads and over 22,000 endorsements:
| Date | Downloads | Endorsements |
|---|---|---|
| July 2021 | 3 million | 22,000 |
This makes it the 3rd most downloaded mod of all time on Nexus Mods.
Image: The Alternate Start mod historical stats on Nexus Mods (via NexusMods)
The mod‘s popularity stems from allowing players to avoid the lengthy default opening cart ride sequence and prisoner execution. Instead, you can choose a new life ranging from a necromancer in a dark dungeon to arriving by ship to Solitude.
This new level of roleplaying freedom and options for starting adventures made it an essential mod for many fans.
The Policy Change and Arthmoor‘s Stance
In Spring 2021, Nexus Mods introduced a new policy preventing mod authors from deleting their uploaded mod files. They wanted to ensure mods would remain available.
Arthmoor strongly disagreed with this change. On July 18, 2021, he removed the Alternate Start mod and several of his other popular mods from Nexus Mods in protest, despite their huge popularity.
In his words:
"I do not agree with allowing the site to unilaterally take over control of 3rd party mods against the will of the authors. This should always be a choice the authors make for themselves"
Many other prominent modders made similar moves in solidarity with his principled stance.
While understanding the site‘s desire for preservation, Arthmoor and others felt strongly about retaining creative control and decision-making regarding their work. This policy change crossed an unacceptable line for them.
Analyzing Both Perspectives in the Debate
This conflict essentially boils down to two competing perspectives:
Mod Authors: Want continued ownership over their creative works to distribute, edit or remove as desired.
Mod Sites/Users: Want permanent availability of mods that have become essential to games like Skyrim.
Both sides have reasonable concerns fuelling their standpoint:
| Authors | Sites/Users |
|---|---|
| Creative control over personal projects | Preserve access to beloved mods |
| Editing/updating/deleting rights | Ensure mods remain for games/communities |
| Avoid outdated/buggy mods circulating | Popular mods seen as cultural works |
| Flexibility to manage workload | Retain game enhancements over time |
With no objectively "right" answer, there are good-faith arguments on both sides. The debate continues around how to best balance these factors.
The Aftermath – Where Is Alternate Start Now?
While no longer on Nexus Mods, today the Alternate Start mod can still be accessed on ModDB, Arthmoor‘s site, and other mod archives:
However, many players still mourn the loss of such a great mod on Nexus Mods where mod management was convenient. It underscored the relationships between mod authors and community sites enabling access.
What Does This Mean for Skyrim Modding?
This controversy has sparked debate about the rights of mod authors vs the expectations of players relying on free mods to improve their gaming experience.
While Arthmoor took a stand on principle, the question around site policies benefiting both creators and users remains complex with reasonable arguments on both sides.
The situation raises broader questions about the nature of modding culture – is it about freedom, creativity and voluntary participation? Or are some mods now so influential that they take on importance akin to cultural touchstones?
There may be emerging signs of a maturing ecosystem still working to get the incentives and alignment right between creators, access platforms, and grateful fans.
The Future and Hopes for Resolution
Many fans continue hoping for an alternate solution where both mod authors feel appropriately empowered and respected, but also vital mods like Alternate Start can remain conveniently available through mutually agreeable terms.
There is certainly shared appreciation across all parties – without authors putting passion into creative mods, there would be no mods to access. And without platforms efficiently enabling access and community participation, far fewer players would ever discover those mods.
Hopefully over time, an alignment can form where all contributions are sufficiently recognized and valued. That will allow the Skyrim mod community to continue flourishing in this symbiotic creative ecosystem that has brought so much added joy.
