20th Anniversary - Modern Masterpieces Results feature - Enderal mod for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2024)

Welcome to the 20th Anniversary Modern Category results! With votes across twenty new legends to join the line-up of epics, the freshest of faces have been decided!

ModDB has been running for twenty years now, and seen many generations of modders come and go. The modern era of ModDB has had to survive a shift in the industry away from modding support, but these mods stuck it out and as we see a renaissance in UGC, they're poised to guide the next generation of creators. In the end, only five mods from the poll could take pole positions, and you can find them below!

It's no secret in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. community that the games all launched in rough shape with a lot of content removed, and whilst still compelling enough to generate their own communities, the true test for modders has been restoring much of this original design goal and expanding the scope of the game to what fans expected. Call of Chernobyl stands as one of the most influential mods in this community, evolving from a map pack to a total overhaul aimed at restoring a classic. Though the project has since reached its conclusion, it still presents a great front for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans looking for something more.

There's little to be said about Black Mesa that hasn't already - as one of the all-time examples of a modder success story, its spot in the results is well-deserved (even if the 1st place winner has skewed the percentages with its sheer amount of support!). Black Mesa has had a long development journey, from ambitious mod to Valve-backed standalone commercial title, to the then highly-anticipated Xen remake. That journey is beginning to reach its end, but Crowbar Collective has plans for the future, and we're so excited to see where they lead.

Created by the very same people behind Nehrim, which also placed in our category results, Enderal is the team's effort to replicate their monumental success on a new foundation - Skyrim - and thus take it further than the original ever could've. Bringing us back to the immersive and remarkable world introduced in its predecessor, Enderal continues the story in a fantastic example of continuity across the years, giving us ample reason to be invested in the world as it evolves. The team now work on standalone releases, but who knows? Maybe we'll be back in this world when Elder Scrolls VI eventually hits storefronts.

Mental Omega has had a long history on-site, beginning development back in 2004, but despite all its fantastic additions, struggled to get player attention in the highly-competitive MOTY events - until 2015, when it finally received the recognition it deserves and made a modern name for itself despite its older origins. The team continues to update the mod to this day, enhancing this RTS classic with more units and ways to fight, proving that hard work and consistent effort is a determining factor in the success of a mod.

The sweeper of this vote was The Chronicles of Myrtana, receiving more votes in one poll than all previous polls put together and demonstrating the monumental impact this game-sized expansion mod has had on the community. Boasting a whole new story in the classic Gothic II and writing that some say is on par with the original game, it also features a full Polish voiceover, and speakers of that language can enjoy an all-star cast of professional-quality Polish VO to narrate their journeys. Meanwhile, the team continue to work on new patches, cultivate their community, and enjoy their spot not only as our most recent mod of the year, but now, the top modern mod in the last ten years.

Congratulations to all the modders and community members who participated in the 20th Anniversary event! This is the final results article, and we just want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has been a part of ModDB. Whether you're a veteran or a newbie, a hardcore modder or casual player, ModDB's success and history is in large part thanks to you - the users. Thanks for Changing The Game, and here's to another twenty years of modding history!