Last week, users on Reddit and ResetEra noticed that the GitHub library of DIY developer Lyall had been completely erased, with all links resulting in a 404 error. Lyall's work included ultra widescreen patches for major games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and more.
I have reached out to Lyall and GitHub for comment and will update this story if I hear back. Lyall has posted a message on Patreon apologizing for the takedown, saying they aren't sure what caused it, and noting that they have appealed the ban through GitHub support.
"Having the rug pulled out from under me has been quite the stressful experience and it's exposed the fact that all my eggs are in one basket when it comes to hosting the fixes that I write," Lyall said on Patreon.
"Going forward I plan on looking into alternatives for hosting the source code and releases for my work. I'll likely continue using GitHub if I can alongside mirroring my repositories and releases elsewhere.
"Hopefully this situation will be resolved soon but until then I have quite a lot to think about. As soon as I have an update on the suspension, I will let you all know."
In the meantime, and if GitHub does not reinstate Lyall's account, they have begun uploading their projects to NexusMods as a backup.
The big question posed by all this is why such huge games are reliant on an external developer's unofficial patches for fixing (or even providing in the first place) their ultrawide support. My only answers are unsatisfactory supposition: Time, money, and the utter tyranny of the standard, 16:9 aspect ratio.
A rising tide lifts all boats, and I've actually benefitted from ultrawide patches as a CRT sicko—once arbitrary aspect ratios are in play, it's just as easy to squash things to 4:3 as it is to stretch them to 21:9. Ditto for the Steam Deck's slightly funky 16:10 screen.
This whole situation goes to show how fragile and ephemeral the ecosystem of user patches and mods that make many games playable can really be.
Thankfully, Lyall is in a position to reupload their work, and they may even make it back on GitHub, pending appeal, but there are no easy answers to the wider issue of fan patch/mod preservation as we stare down an increasingly balkanized, enshittified internet.
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