Why this project still exists after almost 15 years ...
What people often don't see is that modding is actually a quite fulfilling hobby.
In many ways because we find aspects in modding that we often lost in our real life jobs.
There is purpose, impact, appreciation, equality, control over your own self and team spirit
In our real life job we often feel that what we do does not have much impact and no actual purpose no matter how hard we work.
But in modding this is different. You will find purpose easily. And if you are motivated and skilled you will have impact.
First aspect of purpose is that you can make the game experience better for yourself - thus rewarding yourself.
But the maybe even more important aspect of purpose is that you can share with others - thus contributing to a community.
Also impact is pretty easy to explain - because you will see the results of your work pretty immediately when e.g. a bug is fixed.
Also you will be able to see the results of your work to create a features, graphic, map, ... by the feedback of community if it likes it or not.
Appreciation is a bit more difficult, because honestly it is not distributed evenly in modding - there are some "stars" that get more - maybe too much - of it.
It is mostly due to the fact that feature developers and graphical designers can show and demonstrate their work most easily - thus also getting most appreciation.
However the work of the people that fix the bugs, write the texts, implement the AI, create the maps, ... is often a bit forgotten by community.
It is simply because that work is not as spectactular and easy to grasp as e.g. a new graphic or a new feature which can be directly experienced as player.
But still, the team and community should never forget how important those contributions are and thus at least try to also give some appreciation from time to time.
Without people also willing to do boring and less spectactular work a mod project like this could not function and would be very poor quality.
Another aspect that should be discussed is "equality" which is also a bit more difficult, because although in modding there is no boss, some are more respected.
But still in a team all team members make decisions in a democratic way and everybody should be able to participate and be heared equally in discussions.
Also not to be underestimated is the fact that you always have full control over your time, what you work on and how much you contribute.
Nobody can force you to do things that you are not motivated to do ... nobody can force you to work unless you want to.
It is actually quite liberating to get aware of that fact ... you work because you want ... not because you have to.
You yourself are in control ... and if you don't have this feeling "it is worth my time" ... just don't do it.
Also there is a lot of team spirit because all team members have one simple goal: To make the mod better.
There is no competition because there is nothing to compete for ... sharing and cooperating will always just benefit everybody.
Thus if there is a problem and some team member cannot solve it he can usually always rely on being helped.
If there is somebody less experienced and still requiring to be taught stuff he can always rely on being taught.
In the end in modding you succeed together or you fail together ... you don't succeed or fail alone.
But honestly in modding real failure does not exist anyways as long as you enjoy and have fun.
It is actually a pitty that not more people have given modding a try. Some of them may have fallen in love with it as well.
Actually creating something instead of just consuming is a surprisingly satisfying experience ...
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About 15 years ago we started this project ... and we are still here. We had hard times but we also had many good times. We have become friends.
People may take a break when their lifes get difficult ... which is perfectly fine ... but they still often return and are welcomed with open arms.
People simply return because they miss being part of a community and part of a team.
Each time we take the challenge of creating a new release it is because we are actually motivated to.
How many companies can say the same?
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So thanks for being a part of this community and this team.
And thanks especially to everybody who ever contributed to this project.
