Bully: Scholarship Edition Multiplayer Mods - Breathing New Life into Bullworth
Bully: Scholarship Edition, Rockstar Games' take on the open-world formula within the confines of a boarding school, has maintained a dedicated fanbase since its release. While a sequel never materialized, the modding community has stepped up to expand the game's possibilities, most notably with ambitious multiplayer modifications.
The Allure of Multiplayer in Bullworth
The original Scholarship Edition did feature a limited two-player mode on consoles, restricted to class minigames. However, modders are striving to create a more expansive multiplayer experience, allowing players to explore Bullworth Academy and its surroundings together.
Bully Online: A Promising Project
Bully Online is an ambitious modding project for the PC version of Bully: Scholarship Edition, aiming to bring a full-fledged multiplayer experience to the game. A team of modders is working on this modification that promises to allow players to roam the grounds of Bullworth Academy and the nearby town with their friends. Building on the foundation of the earlier BullyMP, this mod adds far greater functionality and moddability to the Bully game engine.
SWEGTA, a community creator, is developing Bully Online. The mod boasts free roam support, solo and group minigames, and even a role-playing system. This version will supposedly let you role play your life as a pupil at Bullworth Academy just like in the original Bully release.
Key Features of Bully Online
- Free Roam: Explore Bullworth Academy and its surrounding areas with friends.
- Minigames: Participate in a variety of minigames, both solo and group-based.
- Role-Playing System: Emulate the life of a student at Bullworth Academy.
- Inventory System: The modders were able to add a 'fully fleshed out inventory system' so that players can earn money through side objectives, minigames, or item finding/trading. Money can be spent on houses, weapons, vehicles, and various items.
- New Minigames: There will also be some new minigames, such as Rat Wars, a team shooter mode where oversized cartoon rats wield guns, as well as racing, which includes custom vehicles and tracks. These minigames will be instanced, avoiding potential issues with griefing or mode conflicts.
- Object Spawner: Bully Online also features an Object Spawner, a highly advanced tool which lets you add new props and decorate the world of Bully with new detail. The Object Spawner basically allows you to make custom maps, something that will probably be taken great advantage of by the community. Custom game modes such as on-foot parkour races have already been teased.
Access and Availability
The current plan is to open the private official server to Ko-Fi supporters. The final vision for the project is a public release after the early access period is over. Bully Online is available now as a free mod for Bully: Scholarship Edition on PC. It’s an open-source mod, meaning that anyone can contribute to the mod’s development, provided they have the know-how.
Read also: Scholarship Edition English
Potential Challenges
The future of this project remains unsure considering publisher Rockstar Games' past records of shutting down ambitious modding projects. Charging any amount of money at all for a fanmade mod is a good way to attract the ire of large companies… especially one as famously litigious as Rockstar's publisher Take-Two.
Other Notable Bully Mods
While Bully Online focuses on multiplayer, other mods offer a variety of enhancements and changes to the single-player experience.
- TBD Adventure Bully: ZAMBess: A total conversion mod that mashes up Zombies and Bully Myth altogether.
- Third Person Shooter Boarding Academy: Almost every texture has been updated.
- Draw Distance Increase: This mod increases the draw distance of the world map.
- Jimmy Hopkins PS2 Model: This mod aims to bring the original Jimmy Hopkins from PS2 to the PC.
- Clique Faction Relations: A fairly simple mod that modifies all clique faction relations so that they fight with each other on sight.
- Lights… Camera… Action! This mod allows you to control up to 8 actors ingame, play animations, toggle the HUD and lots more!
- Bully : Zombie Edition: A total modification of Bully scholarship edition.
Local Multiplayer Mod Development: Seeking Ideas
One modder is working on a local multiplayer mod and is seeking ideas from the community. The modder has already implemented features such as:
- Freeroam
- Player 2 spawning at the saved location
- Health bar activation/deactivation
- Ally recruitment/dismissal
- Model selection
- Teleportation
- Drive-by/riding bikes together
- Camera switching
- Spraycan for player 2
- Make Player 2 sprint
- Make Player 2 ride bikes
However, the modder has encountered limitations and bugs, including:
- Fixing skateboard
- Expanding player 2 limitations
- Throwing weapons
- Riding bikes independently
- Panoramic camera
- Interactions (opening doors, climbing ladders, etc.)
- Player 2 locking on target
- Shooting weapons
- Taking weapons from the ground
- Kicking objects
- Crouching/uncrouching
- Jumping bug
- Player 2 attacking too fast
- Hole fight bug
- Model switching issues
- Spraying bug
The modder is looking for suggestions to improve the mod and make it "perfect."
Read also: Unlockables in Bully: Scholarship Edition
Read also: In-Depth Bully: Scholarship Edition Completion Guide
tags: #bully #scholarship #edition #multiplayer #mods
