Hey eveyone,

It's been a long time since I've played MW, and I just got a new high-end computer, so I figured I'd dust off my MW GOTY addition and pump it full of the latest mods!

I didn't want to create a pain-in-the-butt "must-have mods" thread, so I read the stickies and came across the "Morrowind for 2009" link here: http://morrowind2009.wordpress.com/

I just wanted to check with you guys first and see what you thought of this compilation, and/or if it is outdated or anything now as far as compatibility goes and such. I've had some headaches in the past with MW and OB mods, so I just want to make sure everything will run well together so I can minimize any conflicts I run into.

Thanks!

I just point people to the mod list on my site.

Compatibility wise I don't think it's outdated, but the Morrowind Graphics Extender and the Code Patch have both been getting updates so the info about those on that page may not be completely accurate anymore. And of course since it was made in 2009 there aren't any mods on the list that were released in 2010, like Vurt's grass/tree mods, and other cool stuff like http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=8118 But other than that there isn't really anything that's horribly outdated on that list. Still it would be a good idea to look at other lists.

Well, when I came back to MW a year or so ago, I used that site's recommendations and was very pleased with the result. I have since changed a few things so maybe it is now a little outdated but nothing too important. I found it easy to follow for the MGE installation which was completely new to me ( although his water comments are no longer valid IMHO). It's an excellent start.

BTB's list is good as well.

Thanks for the help everyone,

BTB I'll definitely check out your list, and if you guys have any other popular lists out if you could throw them my way it'd be awesome.

Just so I don't screw up off the bat, are there any mods that should be installed first? Like MGE or any tools like Mod manager or Script Extender?

Thanks again

I can only speak for MGE, since I use Morrowind only for developing it, and other mods I install only if I need to test something.

MGE can be installed anytime, but can be properly configured only after you set screen resolution in Morrowind Launcher. (It's the best to install it after you set screen resolution.)
One thing you need to remember when you use Distant Land feature of MGE, is that you need to regenerate Distant Land or/and Statics, when you add or remove a mod that changes landscape, adds some objects to the world, or is a texture replacement of world objects or landscape.

And MGE already has its own built-in MWSE, so external Script Extender isn't needed.

Other thing I can think of, that can be installed and applied to Morrowind anytime is MCP (Morrowind Code Patch).

A good place to start modding is this http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1060141-mod-recommendations-for-new-players/ dont forget to check http://www.mwmythicmods.com/starting.htm if you feel overwhelmed

if you have any other questions just post here.

and have a http://www.imperial-library.info/dogate/til_fishystick.jpg

Just an update: I started downloading the Morrowind for 2009 stuff just to get the big things out of the way, and for some reason the Morrowind Plugin Manager won't seem to install anything. I've been saving the Zip archives to a folder on my desktop, then clicking install and locating them in that folder. It worked for a few texture mods and the Unofficial Patch, but I tried to do it with other textures mods and Tamriel Rebuilt, and it's not showing the Zip file in the folder and when I try to manually type in the file name it comes up with an error saying it can't install it. Is this a big problem, or should I just keep installing the mods myself?

Also, the Tamriel Rebuild mod is not showing up in my "Data Files" screen on the MW launcher, is it not suppose to show up or is something wrong?

Thanks for the help

Any time a mod doesn't show up on that screen, it means the .esp or .esm file didn't get into the Morrowind/Data Files directory on your hard drive. Either find out where it went and move it, or redo your installation of that mod. Preferably the latter, because if that file went wrong, probably so did all the other files associated with the mod.

http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=27588.

Alright, it seems like for some reason, many of the mods I installed didn't end up in the "data files" screen, even though I followed the directions in the "readme." At this point, instead of just fishing around for files and seeing what went right and what didn't, I may just uninstall everything and do a fresh install. Before I do that, when a mod calls for being extracted into the data files folder, you do just that right? Like it won't find its way to the data files folder if you extract it to the main "morrowind" folder? It seems like I did everything right, but a few mods wouldn't show up in "data files" and every mod I tried to install using MPM wouldn't show up when I clicked the "install" button on MPM.

Should I just ditch MPM and use Wrye Mash instead for the clean install?

Oh and I don't think this would affect anything, but I installed to D: Morrowind instead of the regular path, would that screw anything up?

You used the default install path on Win7? I did the same thing originally and had so many problems I had to reinstall it in its own directory. The only problem is that you'll have to delete the path in the registry to install it somewhere else.

oops, just saw your edit. That should be OK.

Yup, the path I used was simply D: Morrowind, and I extracted everything from Winzip to where it said it should go in the readme, but apparently a lot of stuff ended up in the wrong place for some reason.

Hmm... Try reextracting the files to desktop and moving them manually to Meshes, Textures, etc. I never extract directly to the morrowind folder (or Data) and that works well for me.

Alright, I'll give that a shot. So basically just extract the whole file to a folder on the desktop, and then manually move each piece to where it goes?

Right. Just make sure you have "use sub-folder" on when you extract (I think that's the default in most extractors, I use zip genius) That way, you can merge the folders instead of moving each item individually.

Alright thank you, I'll give it a shot. I also meant to ask you about the Zip program, I'm using the evaluation version of Winzip, is there something better that I should be using instead?

I've been using zipgenius for years and it works for zip, 7z and rar files and it's free. Highly recommended.

There are several places to DL, just google zipgenius.

Awesome, I'll definitely get that, thanks. I'm doing a fresh install right now and I'm going to try the new suggestions, so hopefully all goes well. Just one last thing, do I actually need the Morrowind Plugin Manager if I'm going to be using Wrye Mash?

Well, Mash is all I use.

Alright, I forgot how to install Mash, so I have been following this link: http://wryemusings.com/Wrye%20Mash.html . I installed Python 2.5 fine, but wxPython 2.8.0.1 ANSI I can't get to install for the life of me, it's some weird file type that I can't open with anything. What should I do?

Try http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionUtilities.Detail&id=44 instead. It should include all prereqs for Wrye Mash (and for Wrye Bash for Oblivion).

Thank you, I'll check it out now.

Just a quick question: When you clean a file with TESTool, and it creates a "clean" file, do you activate that one in the "data files" and de-activate the original one? Or do you delete the original one, or activate them both?

Or should I just tick the box that disables the renaming of files and not have to worry about this?

You'll want to use the 'clean' file in place of the original.

I like to move the original out of 'Data Files' and put it in a 'Dirty' folder under 'Data Files'.

You might not want to disable renaming the file to 'clean' since then it will overwrite the original and you won't have a backup (except for the copy from the original archive you downloaded, so you're ok then if you keep your archives somewhere).