Since obviously the developers have no time and money to make multiplayer a reality, could modders possibly make a tournament mode that would be one vs one in a bracket to the top? Seems like all they would have to do is connect the two players and let them fight with the already determined mechanics, in a bracket with the winners and losers going up against each other. No story affect and would let people have fun with their friends and I know that it would convince my friends who were on the edge of taking the leap.
Not trying to be rude but a lot of threads about a multiplayer mode have people insulting the authors of it. Just remember it would be optional and not affect you if you don’t want it.