I bought the game for $10 when Steam was having its Christmas sale, but I just now got the time to play it.

Now I completely understand why so many people consider this the best Elder Scrolls game. I'm only about 15 hours in, but two words keep running through my head when I do anything: organic and visceral. A good example is the lockpicking. I enjoyed the mini-game from Fallout 3 and Skyrim (not so much in Oblivion), but Morrowind's lockpicking is so much fun because it embodies those two words for me. Another example is the combat. Before playing the game, I heard (from some people) that Morrowind had horrible combat and it was one of the flaws of the game. I am thoroughly enjoying it compared to the combat of Oblivion and Skyrim where almost every attack hits. And again, it embodies the two words I mentioned before. Also, because everything is not done by voice actors, I have more of an inclination to read the text and actually care about the quests I'm doing. I'm playing with no mods and the graphics don't bother me at all and the environments in particular are really amazing. I haven't even beaten Skyrim and probably won't because of buying this. This game is just too amazing, even 10 years after its release.

Hello Mr. Ignavus, and welcome to our humble corner of the gamesas forums.

I'm glad you've had such a positive first experience with Morrowind, so many people have trouble understanding the basic mechanics at work or fail to see the game's sheer quality through the occasional hiccup or design misstep attributed more to the age and time period of the game than anything else.

Even many die-hard Morrowind fans will say the combat in the game svcks, but I have to disagree. In its own way it's exciting, not knowing if my attack will hit or miss, frantically bashing at the enemy, hoping I stagger him just one more time so I get the killing blow before he finishes me off. And it's the same with lockpicking - it's a much different feeling when the game world doesn't 'freeze' to let you take your time with a lock. Instead, you're thrusting your pick at the lockbox as quick as you can, praying that it finally opens before the guard comes back around that corner.

But then, I'm a true Morrowind lover. Even the things people say are flaws with the game tend to be stuff I find strangely compelling, and add to the game's charm.

Yeah. I never had any problems understanding the mechanics; that's what Google is for. Also, since you're really experienced with Morrowind, are there any mods you would suggest and are easy to install? I have no experience with mods and don't know where to start in terms of choice or installation.

That depends on what you'd be looking for in a modification, and how powerful your computer is.

For me personally, I use a combination of two mods - Morrowind Graphics and Sound Overhaul (MGSO) which is almost purely cosmetic in every way, but dramatically improves the graphics of the game to the point where it looks like it's one generation short of Oblivion while still remaining faithful to the game's original aesthetic and art styles. And the other mod I use is 'Morrowind Rebirth', which is a mod that mostly just expands cities. For example, in the vanilla Morrowind the village you start out in, Seyda Neen, has something like four wooden shacks, a couple of houses, and a trade house. Morrowind Rebirth adds a watch tower, something like twelve additional shacks, more vendors, a tavern - really it doubles or even triples the size of Seyda Neen, and makes large scale improvements to Balmora and a few other towns. It's very challenging on the average computer's hardware though, so beware.

As a start, I'd recommend just MGSO if you care to experience a dramatically improved Morrowind from a graphical standpoint, even though you say the graphics don't bother you, I think that if you have a powerful computer it's definitely worth it to try the mod out.. For me the gameplay is great as is, so I don't need to modify it but there are mods which add quests to guilds, add new guilds or unlock existing ones that you couldn't join in vanilla. There are also mods for companions, mercenaries, player-owned housing, and pretty much anything you can think of thanks to the extremely dedicated and active modding community which has had 10 years to devote to their craft.

Here is some more information about Morrowind Graphics and Sound Overhaul http://morrowindoverhaul.rpgitalia.net/

And here is an all-in-one download link incase you're interested. http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=8987 The install is mostly automated and fairly self explanatory, but if you need help I'd be happy to assist. Just be careful to answer anything it asks you correctly.

Again, I'd recommend you start out with just this mod, since this is your first time in Morrowind. Wouldn't want to color your perceptions with mods, or make it difficult for you to detect what in the game is vanilla and what is added by a mod incase you used Morrowind Rebirth, for example.

Ok. So do I just download that huge zip file or do I need an account on that site?

Yeah. you download the huge .zip file. It's a big compilation, and contains replacements for many game textures and objects as well as shaders and general plugins.

Ok, thanks. So this has a lot of requirements. Do I need to download these to a specific location or just download them?

just download .then you will need a utility such as 7zip to unpack the download ,then read the enclosed readme for installation instructions.For most mods it is to copy and paste the contents of your download into your BethesdaSoftworks /morrowind /datafiles folder then to activate the mod when you launch the game, beneath the play button ,click on datafiles then tick the check box next to the name of the mod.

Have a look at the 'mod recommendations for new players' link in my signature which gives lots of information which will come in handy for you.

Aside from graphics, the only other mods I'd recommend for a new player would be:

the Morrowind Patch Project (MPP), which replaces the old Unofficial Patch and fixes literally THOUSANDS of bugs, placement errors, dialog mistakes and misspellings, and other details. Highly recommended, or even more highly recommended.

the Morrowind Code Patch (MCP), which fixes a number of issues with the main program which were unfixable until a relatively short time ago. It's very modular, with a menu when you run the setup, so you can choose which fixes to make and which to leave original. I use about half of the changes. For instance, if you decide to add the Tamriel Rebuilt expansion mods sometime down the road, you'll need to select the map fix or you won't see half of the new regions on your map; if not, you dont need to select it. Without this mod, Unarmored requires you to wear at least ONE piece of armor, or your armor class will remain 0, no matter how high you raise the skill. It also prevents merchants from automatically equipping items you sell them, and not being able to buy them back a month later when you find that it's needed for some quest, or the only one of that piece on the entire island to complete the set you're wearing.

When you download MGSO it should have an executable file that you can just double click and it will run the installation. It has a lot of steps, but you do have the option to automate them (I recommend that) and it will only ask you for input on certain things, and also allow you to choose preferences i.e. what type of grass you'd prefer, do you want this feature or that feature. etc. So hopefully it's simple enough for you to follow the installer along. It also contains both of the 'mods' that Kovacius referred to, and he's right they're pretty important for ensuring your game runs smoothly and has no glaring bugs or issues.

What's great about MGSO is that it's got a lot of options and customizations so you can run it with virtually any computer provided you're realistic. In particular there's one part where, with a slider, you choose how high a quality graphics you want, and gives a suggested computer specs for each possible choice. Make sure you choose wisely, and don't be afraid to bump down to one of the lower options if you aren't sure, the graphics will still be pretty amazing.