Poll of the Day > Does anyone here still play / mod Morrowind?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've gotten back into Skyrim for the first time in years, loving it. I grew up on Morrowind, though, and can't help but be disappointed in a lot of the simplifications made in TES over the years. I'm really itching to get back into Morrowind, and I'd love to try it with some accessory mods (definitely interested in sound & graphics overhauls). I think ideally I'd just want mods that add to the game while keeping the original flavor intact.

Anyone have experience with Tamriel Rebuilt? I love the idea of going to mainland Morrowind. Also just interested in any mods people here recommend.

Idk if you still frequent this board, @BTB, but I remember you developing mods in the past. I just thought of you because I randomly saw a user on the morrowind subreddit mention your name.

As a side note, has anyone played and liked Elder Scrolls Online? I'm seeing it's 12$ on the humble bundle store right now, and while I don't necessarily want to get reinvested in a MMO, it could be fun.
---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF-XMtNEudQ

I want to play it, but I'm waiting for the remake to come out as it looks really promising.

EightySeven posted...

I want to play it, but I'm waiting for the remake to come out as it looks really promising.

I wouldn't be surprised if they remade it, to be honest. I think at this point Bethesda knows that a core part of their TES fanbase are hardcore fans of Morrowind. I haven't checked it out, but I know their big expansion to elder scrolls online gave the players the chance to go back to the same island that Morrowind takes place on. That and the big expansion for Skyrim being a retread of Morrowind's expansion Bloodmoon.

Is it just the gameplay that's keeping you from checking out the original?
---

I still play it occasionally. I just wish I can remember the locations better since the quests only give you references of where to go and half the time I do not know what or where those references are. Telling me said cave is south of X location doesn't help me much if I can't recall where X location is. I can't say it is fun to deal with cliff racers while looking for said location. I also need to find a mod for the stealth system. The default stealth I recall is pretty bad.
---

Unfernal_Server posted...

I wouldn't be surprised if they remade it, to be honest. I think at this point Bethesda knows that a core part of their TES fanbase are hardcore fans of Morrowind.

I'm talking about the fan remake which has been in progress for a few years: https://www.reddit.com/r/skywind/

Unfernal_Server posted...

Is it just the gameplay that's keeping you from checking out the original?

That and it's an eyesore (even with the graphics mods). Old games really only hold up well graphically if they're from the late 2D era (see: SNES) or you played them as a kid and have a nostalgic softspot.

Unfernal_Server posted...

Is it just the gameplay that's keeping you from checking out the original?

me personally it what keeps me from wanting to replay it. otherwise it would probably be my favorite out those i've played.
---

Yeah, I think I'd just wait for a remake. I tried playing the original -- but it was after playing Oblivion and maybe even Skyrim -- and the thing just looked and played kinda clunky. (The other issue is that I had the PC version and I'm not a big PC guy.)

Granted, I now have the GOTY edition as part of that Elder Scrolls collection so I probably *should* give it another go at some point.
---

Morrowind is never going to live up to my rose-tinted view of it, so no, not anymore.
---

Zareth posted...

Morrowind is never going to live up to my rose-tinted view of it, so no, not anymore.

I do wish they'd bring back how the dunmer sounded in morrowind though, that would be enough for my nostalgia
---

EightySeven posted...

Unfernal_Server posted...

I wouldn't be surprised if they remade it, to be honest. I think at this point Bethesda knows that a core part of their TES fanbase are hardcore fans of Morrowind.

I'm talking about the fan remake which has been in progress for a few years: https://www.reddit.com/r/skywind/

Unfernal_Server posted...

Is it just the gameplay that's keeping you from checking out the original?

That and it's an eyesore (even with the graphics mods). Old games really only hold up well graphically if they're from the late 2D era (see: SNES) or you played them as a kid and have a nostalgic softspot.

Wow that's wild! I still have so much vanilla/dlc content to play through in skyrim that I can't see myself checking this/similar things out anytime soon. Looks awesome though. It would be very sad if Bethesda ended up rerelease Morrowind on the modern engine after the work these people are doing
---

Unfernal_Server posted...

I wouldn't be surprised if they remade it, to be honest.

at this point, if they announced they were remaking it, some people would be excited.

most everyone would be annoyed. we want a new elder scrolls at this point, and instead they keep trying to shove skyrim down our throats
---

helIy posted...

Unfernal_Server posted...

I wouldn't be surprised if they remade it, to be honest.

at this point, if they announced they were remaking it, some people would be excited.

most everyone would be annoyed. we want a new elder scrolls at this point, and instead they keep trying to shove skyrim down our throats

Helly used to be a Skyrim fan, then he took an arrow to the knee and now he can't stand Skyrim any more.
---

I'm slowly playing Morrowind for the original XBox. I love it but it can be frustrating at times.
---

Unfernal_Server posted...

Wow that's wild! I still have so much vanilla/dlc content to play through in skyrim that I can't see myself checking this/similar things out anytime soon. Looks awesome though. It would be very sad if Bethesda ended up rerelease Morrowind on the modern engine after the work these people are doing

They're also remaking Oblivion in the Skyrim engine. I'm not sure which one I'm more looking forward to tbh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfhtHRdaAnA

Zeus posted...

it was after playing Oblivion and maybe even Skyrim -- and the thing just looked and played kinda clunky

it looked and especially played 'kinda clunky' at the time. it's not an RPG that can really be power gamed and still enjoyed. you have to focus more on the actual role playing and far less on the combat.
---

Zeus posted...

helIy posted...

Unfernal_Server posted...

I wouldn't be surprised if they remade it, to be honest.

at this point, if they announced they were remaking it, some people would be excited.

most everyone would be annoyed. we want a new elder scrolls at this point, and instead they keep trying to shove skyrim down our throats

Helly used to be a Skyrim fan, then he took an arrow to the knee and now he can't stand Skyrim any more.

i own six copies of skyrim

at this point i'm not surprised that i hate it
---

helIy posted...

Unfernal_Server posted...

I wouldn't be surprised if they remade it, to be honest.

at this point, if they announced they were remaking it, some people would be excited.

most everyone would be annoyed. we want a new elder scrolls at this point, and instead they keep trying to shove skyrim down our throats

what if a new elder scrolls was announced but then it was announced a morrowind remake would be the next project after that? think that would please people on both sides? me personally I just want them to wait on valenwood for at least another console or two. place is supposed to have moving cities and I want to see the place done right. I want dense forests, moving cities would be incredible but i'm already have expecting to be the plot has some curse that caused it to stop.but being a long time fan of wood elves when it comes to fantasy creatures I want the game to be one of the best looking
---

I never felt like Morrowind needed any gameplay mods. Just cosmetic and bugfixes. I used to use better heads and better bodies with MGE XE, now I use OpenMW which is a more modern engine that uses vanilla assets and data files.

I did use a mod called Book Rotate(I think), which makes it easier to put books on shelves so you don't have to stack them.
---

IMO a large part of the problems with Morrowind come from simply archaic design and poor explanations. For example, the quest journal was just horrible. Disorganized, vague, and simply not well-made. Better difficulty scaling would also be very good. I remember my first (and only) time playing it went basically like this...

Made a mage because, ya know, magic be awesome! Went out into the first town and stumbled about like a wide-eyed newbie would. Eventually left and started heading out until I entered into a cave that had some bandits/slavers in them. Figured 'Okay. This should be easy! Let's see what combat is like!' After all, who in their right minds would put enemies that could so easily kill you right outside the starting town? Died.

Got annoyed and reloaded before heading out. Encountered a little bug thingy. Tried to cast and, since I wasn't being stabbed to death swiftly, realized that my spells were CONSTANTLY failing despite having basically gone as magey as possible in creation. Only theory is because I was trying to move as I cast which seemed like a no-brainer. I mean, I'm squishy so why would I stand in the way? Killed it after much frustration and went '**** this' and rerolled a pure melee meathead. Pounded that bug thingy into dust, reached the next town, ended up getting a journal with a bunch of quests and went 'they're not even gonna sort them out?' Pulled the game out and put in KoToR instead.
---

The game has a bit of a slow start. Once you level up your skills and relevant attributes combat is cake. Eventually you will hit pretty much 100% of attacks/spells. By the endgame you are godlike.

That bandit cave is every newb's bane, but it's not impossible. Did you get any spells off on the bandits? The merchant in town sells spells.
---

kind9 posted...

The game has a bit of a slow start. Once you level up your skills and relevant attributes combat is cake. Eventually you will hit pretty much 100% of attacks/spells. By the endgame you are godlike.

That bandit cave is every newb's bane, but it's not impossible. Did you get any spells off on the bandits? The merchant in town sells spells.

wouldn't say god like. but then again I never got super high leveled. I remember having a lengthy bout with vivec though and actually winning. had to use the pillars in the room though to duck behind so his spells would hit them instead. and i'm talking fighting him for the hell of it, nothing mission related.
---

I've been meaning to get back into the Morrowind modding game, but I keep getting distracted by side projects.
---

it's kinda funny to me how btb is kinda online famous

I still do. It remains my favorite Elder Scrolls game by far.

I don't have much experience with Tamriel Rebuilt. I always install it but don't get round to actually playing its content. The base game and its expansions already have loads.

On mandatory mods, you have things like the Code Patch, Exe Optimizer and Graphics Extender. Less Generic NPCs and Westly's Pluginless Head Replacer are good.

I've been meaning to try Rise of House Telvanni. They're my favorite Great House (and many people's).

For an all-in-one graphics and sound mod, there's MGSO (the Morrowind Graphics and Sound Overhaul). Some of the decisions its developers have made I find a bit questionable, but I don't know if I can be bothered installing the many separate mods nowadays. It seems to do the job (and includes the Graphics Extender mentioned above).

Morrowind Rebirth seems like an interesting one. It essentially rebalances the game and removes a lot of exploits that make it easier (so I think it's intended for experienced players), while adding some more content and moving things around. I've been watching SorcererDave's recent Let's Play, in which he uses it (part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y4uxJrIqFE; part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUsfOVavvp0).

Unbridled9 posted...

IMO a large part of the problems with Morrowind come from simply archaic design and poor explanations. For example, the quest journal was just horrible. Disorganized, vague, and simply not well-made. Better difficulty scaling would also be very good. I remember my first (and only) time playing it went basically like this...

I personally think the journal system is a great idea, but I do agree that it could have been organized better. The GotY Edition fixes it somewhat.

The thing I love about it is that it's written like an actual journal, from the point of view of your character. It's not just a bunch of bullet points like Skyrim's, including things that could only be known with psychic powers.

Unbridled9 posted...

Made a mage because, ya know, magic be awesome! [...]

The game does have quite a steep learning curve initially. It took me a while to really get into it, but when I did, I found it massively rewarding.

With magic, there are a few possible explanations. Fatigue governs basically everything (walking/running, combat, magic, lockpicking and I think even speech). Low fatigue will reduce the chance of casting spells. The Willpower stat also affects the casting chance (as do spell type and intensity). Not having enough Magicka will stop you from casting spells of course. Unlike in Oblivion and Skyrim, Magicka doesn't replenish naturally. You have to rest, use potions, etc. to do so. If you take the Atronach sign, even resting doesn't replenish it.

Even then, a low level character will still struggle to cast most spells, either through not having enough Magicka or having a low / non-existent casting chance.

Magicka is extremely precious for most characters, especially early on. High Elves (which are weak to magic) and the Mage, Apprentice and Atronach signs (the latter having the pitfall mentioned above and the second giving you a weakness to magic, even on top of that of the High Elf) increase your Magicka pool. Without these, you won't have much at all, which will lock you out of certain powerful spells.