Hi guys,

After momentarily delving into MGSO, I decided that the best route for me was to build a custom load order. Out of all the things that MGSO add, there are two I want to keep: the bugfixes/optimizations to the .exe and .ini files, and the drawing distance and shaders that come with MGE XE.

My first goal is to reproduce those bugfixes/optimizations that need to be applied to the .exe and .ini files. Can you tell me if those are the right steps to follow?

0. Starting point is the Steam verion of Morrowind (GOTY edition). Steam is NOT installed in program files so I don't need to worry about running executables as administrator.

1. First I apply http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/19510/?

2. Then I apply the http://timeslip.users.sourceforge.net/exeopt.html Can you please confirm that this is the right version? (I found the link here: http://wiki.theassimilationlab.com/mmw/Exe_Optimizer)

3. After that I apply the http://www.ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php Again, can you please confirm that this is the right version? (I found the link here: http://wiki.theassimilationlab.com/mmw/4GB_Patch)%C2%A0

Max FPS=60 and DontThreadLoad=0 look like optimization/stability tweaks. Questions: Are those the ones that Morrowini adds? Any other tweaks of the same nature that you would recommended?

Many other tweaks in the guide enhance graphics (dynamic lighting, more shadows, more cells stored in RAM so that they can load instantly...). Question: do such tweaks conflict with MGE EX?

Going beyond .exe/.ini fixes for a second, I know that some .esp / .esm files are also crucial to have a game as bug-free as possible. The big patches that I'm aware of are:

Morrowind Patch 1.6.6 beta

Poorly Placed Object Fix 1.2

Texture Fix 2.0

Texture Fix - Bloodmoon 1.1

Are there any other large bug-fixing mods that I'm missing?

And finally, I was using Wrye Mash Standalone but I just discovered there is a newer version (Yacoby's) that integrates MLOX and Tes3cmd into Wrye Mash. Is Yacoby's the recommended version of WM?

Apologies for the vast amount of questions and thanks for any help you wish to provide!

PS: I'll edit the OP as more questions pop up. I plan to turn this into guide if I gather enough, up-to-date information.

Looks like your plans are in the correct order. (MCP -> Exe Opt -> 4gb Patch)

Ini tweaks will work fine with MGE XE. You can even do most of them through the UI itself. Thread loading, FPS caps, etc can be tweaked through checking boxes on the "In-Game" tab of MGE XE.

No *major* patches other than those you've mentioned spring to mind at the moment either. I may be forgetting something though.

Oh yeah - regarding Mash. Yacoby added some extra features as you mentioned, but also introduced some extra bugs as well. You can still "integrate" tes3cmd and mlox into mash using the Utilities tab on both versions, just Yacoby's allows some extra convenience such as right-clicking mods and cleaning with a simple click or sorting your load order by right clicking the mod header.

If you want the latest version of the code patch, the beta is http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/26348/?tab=2&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fmorrowind%2Fajax%2Fmodfiles%2F%3Fid%3D26348&pUp=1; it has to be installed over 2.1

I'd also suggest a Delayed Dark Brotherhood Attacks mod. There are a few of them, such as http://mw.modhistory.com/download--7300 one.

Since you say you are going to use PPOF v1.2, you might like to read http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1478059-ex-drystonewall-c-01/#entry23122307.

You might want to read up (in the Wrye Mash readme) about replacers and how to load them. I found this to be the most useful part of Wrye Mash and use it extensively. You do need to know how they are loaded and what they will do before you jump into them, though. They are some of the best ways to load graphic updates and manage them.

If I recall correctly, they are loaded by the game after the esm's (and possibly after the bsa's) but before any esp's, so they will be overwritten by those. This can be handy if you want to load a very large graphic replacer like Vivid Morrowind and then add small areas, such as Vurt's or Vality's mods afterward.

Thank your for your comments and suggestions all, much appreciated.

After installing MGE EX (latest beta) and messing with the options for a while, I was surprised to notice that I don't like the 'high quality (exponential) fog' that much. Even when I combine it with 'high quality atmosphere and distance coloring', it still looks like a bluish filter to me. Question: is that normal? Please have a look:

High quality fog and distance recoloring http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2qnw3eo&s=8#.Vb052_ntlBc. Is it supposed to look like this?

High quality fog and distance recoloring http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=10r251w&s=8#.Vb06s_ntlBc.

I also went ahead and installed Vurt's trees and animated grass. My game is starting to look http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=ke81lc&s=8#.Vb40oPntlBc to me, altough in exteriors my FPS took quite a good hit and dropped to 28-38. Questions:

1. When I was using MGSO, there were several options regarding Vurt's mods such as Vurt xxx lite or Vurt YYY lore friendly. I wasn't able to find those options when downloading those mods from the Nexus. Are they custom packages that the MGSO team made themselves?

2. I've heard there is a texture optimizer utility for Morrowind. Is it this http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/12801/?? If so, is it worth it using it on Vurt's mods or are they already as well optimized as they can be?

As always, thank you for your input!

Look at MGSO's credits page to find the specific mods they used. The Vurt Lore Friendly is Vurt's Ascadian Isles II.

Also, check out this thread: http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1526708-help-building-my-morrowind-graphical-mod-setup/

Yes that is the one. The couple Vurt Archives I looked at quickly all had DDS textures, not TGA or BMP, so they likely are already as optimized as they can be. I would have said just run the program on your whole MW directory, but, I have a vague memory of doing that very thing and messing up my interface....so I would say do not try that. Pick specific mod added directories to run it on.

I think you can have a list of files that it skips, but I'm not sure. I recall seeing something about it in MD's Lyithdonea thread.

Edit: Found it

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1526994-alpha-lyithdonea-the-azurian-isles/?p=24163048

More like texture uglifier, don't bother with it, more often than not, it does nothing but butchering the work of texture artists, DXT5, DTX3 and DTX1 are lossy compression algorithms, while textures without alpha/transparency don't need DXT5 for example, compressing an already compressed texture will noticeably degrade the quality, it's better to work in a lossless format, and when you save the file to a lossy format, do it only once.

I strongly disagree. There are many texture packages using dxt5 or dxt3 for saving all textures, also those with no transparency, and this (or other similar) tool can automatically convert them to dxt1.
Textures in Icons and BookArt folders (or generally interface textures) should have no mipmaps, while most others should have them to avoid "texture swimming, sparkle, or shimmer while moving, and lower performance if the texture is used often"*

Like most tools, result depends on how you use it, and how receptive you/your setup is to these things.

*quoting textureanolysis.py by MGE-XE author
[EDIT[typos

Yep. Texture Optimizer is very important. There are mods out there with such awful ( or absent ) compression and they will needlessly tax your GPU probably 5000% more than they really should. I always run every single mod I download through some basic texture/mesh optimization before actually installing them.