Why are you doing this?

BACKSTORY

On January 7th, I released Pierce’s Better Sieges on the steam workshop for TOTAL WAR: Warhammer II after 2 months of development and testing. Within one week it surpassed 8k subscribers and over 50 awards.

8,000 subscribers may seem like a lot, and it may be, but it pales to Steel Faith Overhaul (SFO). SFO is the most popular content mod on the steam workshop with over 300,000 subscribers. Supporters of SFO contribute to its creator, Venris, via patreon so that he is able to work on this mod full-time.

Because SFO is an extensive overhaul to the game, it is famous for incompatibility with other mods. Popular mods will often require an SFO patch for compatibility. These are usually created either by the original modder or a fan of both. Important: these patches should still require the original mod.

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Several requests for such a patch and Better Sieges were already incoming before the latest SFO update, slated for release on January 16th. I had never used SFO, so I asked supporters to wait until then.

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On January 16th I opened the database files of Better Sieges and SFO to get to work creating that patch, and was surprised to discover several similarities in the first database. At first I thought that great minds must think alike. Then I looked at the second database that Sieges alters, and saw more striking similarities. When I saw the third database, I downloaded the old version of SFO to see if this was genuine coincidence, or if they were new additions made after the release of my mod.

You can probably guess the answer.

Even more troublesome than discovering that SFO copied my mod without contacting me, was the complete lack of credit. My name, mod, or profile was nowhere to be found on the SFO page or patch notes.

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Now to you the reader, I want you to know I created my mods because I thought they would create enjoyment and enhance the gameplay experience. I do it to have that better experience for myself and for anyone who also wants it. I have not and will not ask for compensation for this work. It is a gift from me to you. (If you feel moved to contribute, please give aid to your local food bank. They probably need it now more than ever.)

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Since Better Sieges is a gift, I was quite open to more people being able to play with my work and inspired-work via SFO’s larger audience. Though credit was still due.

I quickly demanded credit from Venris in the Modding Den (a discord channel for modders), with a message I will post below. After initially denying it and pushing back, Venris added me to the patch notes.

At this point, I was satisfied to look the other way over this incident. But over the next day, other modders came forward to me stating they had also been copied by Venris. And that... to see a pattern of behavior that Venris will someone profit of others’ work, and to do still without credit...

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That’s just lacking basic decency.

So here I am. We are. Writing and asking you, dear reader, for your voice. To stand with us and demand an answer. To make our community whole.

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Provided below is my conversation with Venris, testimony from other modders, and my proof, which is free for all to inspect from the source on Steam.