So what is MultiTES4?

MultiTES4 is my attempt at an Oblivion mod/add-on that, you guessed, adds multiplayer to this awesome game. I started the work on this project around the 7th of May, 2006. It's come a long way, and has a long way to go, but with perseverance and a little luck, it'll go a long way. At the moment, MultiTES4 consists of three components: A client application, a server application, and a Oblivion 'esp' modification file. All these combined with a little luck (and a whole heap of code) and voila, we have multiplayer!

What can MultiTES4 actually do?

The current version (being only an alpha) is pretty limited in it's capabilities. It supports only 2 people running around Cyrodiil. The other players in the game are represented as NPCs to each individual on their computer. The NPC will move and travel to match the players that are connected to the server.

What can't MultiTES4 do?

At the moment, the following haven't been implemented: time/day/year synchronisation, quest sharing, deathmatch, cell/world synchronisation, err pretty much everything else you can think of. Console commands aren't blocked, either is fast travel. Animations aren't shared, neither is inventories or attributes. I wasn't kidding when I said it was the basics.

Why did you make the mod?

Oblivion is such a fantastic game, the only thing that could truly add a new dimension to it would be a multiplayer component. Knowing that this would never be officially developed, and seeing that little-to-no progress had been made on anything similar, I embarked on my little quest and give it a try. With enough research and time, it eventually comes together into what you see now.

What do you have planned for the future?

This plan for the next major release of this mod is to firstly allow for 8 players ingame, as well as an implemention of a simple form of player deathmatch, and probably capture the flag. So not only will you be able to run around with your friends...you'll be able to kill them too ;-) As things are developed, I'll post the details on the forums and let you know how it's going. If things at uni become to busy, or I generally lose interest in the mod, I'll probably release my source code (once I get around to commenting it all) and let the Oblivion community mod it as they please.

Who works on the mod?

The initial release was entirely developed by my lonesome, here's a pic. It is relatively small and easily handled by myself. However, the mod has a lot of potential, and is only going to grow exponentially in size. Because of this, I will be enlisting the help of some fellow students who study the same course as me. To find out more, visit the official forums under "Official Announcements".

What do you study at uni?

It's a bachelor of computer science, but is heavily focused on game technology and development. There's only about 20 people a year let into the course, and because of it's general difficulty, not many remain. In fact there's about 6 people in my year who have stuck it out this long (I'm in my third year now). The testing of this mod took place in the 'Games Lab', a room full of pretty fast computers that only students studying our degree can use, for whatever we please... such as playing games.

Your website sucks.

Heh, tell me about it. Still, it's all I could do in an hour or so, and I link to think that my skills are more programming orientated. When I have some free time in between uni and developing the mod, I'll look into doing up the website, perhaps even outsourcing to someone with a little more time on their hands then myself.

I've got a fantastic idea about your website/mod/personal life!

I'd love to hear it. Just head over to the forums linked at the top of the page, head over the 'Suggestions' group, and post to your hearts content. If you've actually done some work with scripting or some modding in the Construction Set and you have some ideas that would add to the mod, post it in the 'Contributions' group. Of special interest to me at the moment is all the script functions used in Oblivion, specifically, any that would be useful in a multiplayer environment. If you've had some experience with them, let me know how it went and how to use them. If you have contributed to the project, I'll be sure to add your name somewhere in the credits ;-)

I've heard enough. Where can I get the files??

Just click on the 'Download' link at the top of the page. From there, you'll find brief installation notes, as well as the files needed to install and play the mod. Then check out the support page do give you details on how to play!

Crap, I can't get it working!

Go to the 'Support' link at the top of the page. Hopefully the information there will help you on the way. If things still aren't working, head over to the forums and the 'Support' group. From there I'll try to assist you in any way I can, but chances are if nothing from the 'Support' page worked, you may be out of luck. If something really serious is broken with a release and its affecting a majority of players, I'll try to fix it as quick as possible and re-release a fixed version.

Have fun everyone, and let me know how it goes. Your enthusiasm for this mod keeps me inspired and motivates me to make the most of this mod. I'll see you out there in Cyrodiil!