I'm tired of playing Oblivion and have only played on the PS3. I want to play TES V on the PC so I want to get comfortable playing Morrowind on the PC.

First, which version should I purchase? Should I just get the regular game or should I get the GOTY? Can I even find the Collector's edition? What do you think?

Second, are there any tips for playing on the PC that I should be aware of? How do I know if my PC can handle running the game? Do you play with a keyboard and mouse or with a controller? Do you customize your command keys?

Any help on these matters would be greatly appreciated!


Or should I just say F*uck it and plan to play TES V on my PS3? Are mods even worth it?

GOTY. its super cheap and has everything you need.

if your PC was made anytime during the last 8 years you can probably run morrowind.

mods are definitely worth it. dont like leveling? change it. want more quests? get some. want to play as a naked anthropomorphic bunny? sure. it adds tons and tons of replayability to the game and enhances your regular experience too.

Heh. If you can even find a cost-effective copy of the collector's edition that's got all the bells and whistles and is in decent shape, then kudos.

Get GOTY. Cheap and covers everything.

And mods can completely redefine how a game plays over 100 times over.

I think I will sig that...

That shouldn't even be a question, mods are what gave continuity to the TES series since morrowind, mods are the backbone of TES for quite some time now, like everyone said it allows you to change so many things from the game, even if you don't want to stray from the official game and expansions/plug-ins, enabling mods is essential for fixing things like the bugs the devs haven't been able to (or were too lazy to) clean-up, i'm mainly talking about the unofficial patches, but what about the messed up magic system? For oblivion two mods immediately come to mind, LAME (Less Annoying Magic Experience) and Midas Magic, both some of the most popular mods around, then we have the re-texturing mods like 'Little Things' which make loads of miscellaneous stuff look so much more realistic, then of course we come to the major overhauls like MMM (Martigen's Monster Mod) and OOO (Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul), and of course there are environmental mods and interface mods and race mods and home mods, the list is literally endless so i'll stop there.

For me i played vanilla oblivion for a long time on PC without the use of the console or mods (not because i didn't want to, at the time i didn't even know what the little button that enabled console commands did, and i had no idea what a mod even meant at the time -_- ) Anyway, after about maybe a year of vanilla, i started getting into the CS and learned about mods and now i can't play without them! Mods made oblivion addicting for me, same goes for Morrowind when i got it.

I've only played vanilla MW, but I recommend getting the GOTY edition like I did. It's interesting to see Barenziah in Mournhold, though be warned that the Tribunal don't . . . exactly live up to their billing. And the expansions "Tribunal" and "Bloodmoon" aren't as good as the main game. Still, MW is a must-have.

Well, if considering, many mods requires these expansions.

Anyway, get the one that ya can get ya hands on, and that it is also cheaper. GOTY might be it.

I would recommend you customize your command keys using keboard and mouse. Put your left hand on the ASDF keys, with your "pointing finger" sitting on F and setup your controls around those keys. Works best IMO. I use S=strafe left, F=strafe right, D=backwards, E=forward for basics. Setup your controls to how you memorise them best or how you find they work best for you. Of course the mouse is used to look around and I usually use the Spacebar for jump.

I also recommend getting GOTY edition of Morrowin.

You guys are the best! Thank you all for kindly and thoroughly replying to my questions.

The GOTY version is ordered and on its way! Oh yea!


Now I just need to go and read a bunch about these mods. I am somewhat familiar with them as everyone obviously talks about them all the time on these forums. However, I still have a bit of a hesitation. I just feel like if there are endless numbers of mods out there I may get a little overwhelmed with them all. Where does a guy even start? I'm assuming I missed out on all the good discussions about mods that pry took place years ago?or maybe I don't even know what I'm talking about. I'm just going to have to do some experimenting and reading. Can you undo a mod once you install it?

As a matter of personal taste, I'd recommend playing vanilla first, with the exception of the http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19510 and the http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=2083 Then, once you've experienced vanilla Morrowind well enough and know what things you like or dislike / wouldn't mind changing, then go for the mods.

Whether or not a mod can be uninstalled easily or not depends on what kind of mod it is. Most mods involve a .esp file that you'll have to check on or off by clicking "Data Files," just below Play, on your autorun program. These mods can be turned on or off with a click of a button. Some other mods, like texture replacers and the like, don't use .esp's, and you must manually delete the files that come with the mods to remove them. Most mods will come with a fairly detailed readme that explains the uninstallation process.

As for what mods you want to use... Check around the Morrowind Mods forum. Ask users for their load orders to see what they personally use, check http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=106063 that http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=106063&st=0&p=1772836&#entry1772836. Explore around sites like http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.List. Check around screenshot threads in the mods forums, because people will often see screens with unique things in them and ask what mod they come from.

Steam has the GOTY edition doesn't it? If I buy Morrowind via Steam, will I still be able to use mods?

Most likely yeah, but I'd just buy it cheaper somewhere else.

Off topic: Personally I boycott steam because of its poor price vs. distribution cost (in my country atleast), not to mention that in my country there's no vat on digital distribution, yet I still get charged taxes. It's usually cheaper to buy the boxed version in a physical store... which is too bad, I'm all for actual incentives that saves the environment.

Edit: I don't know if the construction set is included in the steam version, I vaguely remember a comment on that.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/22320/

You won't get the Construction set. Kind of a downer (and a potential inhibitor if you want to tweak things yourself). But you'll still be able to use mods regardless. And since Morrowind Script Extender isn't like Oblivion Script Extender in the sense that MWSE runs independently of the main .EXE file, you'll be able to use that too. There was a problem for a little while where OBSE was unable to work with the Steam version of Oblivion, because the .EXE was where the verification process took place. But they were nice and worked some kind of compatibility magic.

Pretty much, you'll still be set to run mods. Though I would really miss the CS, personally.

I saw Morrowind in a store a year ago for $10, but I'm not sure whether it was the GOTY edition. I haven't seen it there again, though.
I take it you can't download the construction set separately then. Annoying, but I can't picture myself modding it, so unless I find it cheaper in a store, I'll get it from Steam.

so what do i need to do to be able to use the constrution set?

The CS is kind of intimidating at first, and second, and third....

You call up the CS program, then you need to choose which files to work with, kind of like activating mods in the Data Files directory from the game loader menu. Typically, you'll choose Morrowind.esm (.esm are MASTER files, .esp files are typically the mods), Tribunal and Bloodmoon if you need any of those functions or want to change those areas as well, and the .esp files for any mods you want to alter or include things from (or only the .esm files, if you're making a new mod). Checking one of the .esp files as an ACTIVE file will cause your changes to modify that file when you save, not choosing an active file will create a new .esp file. A lot of it is simple "drag and drop" to add things to the game world, but script writing, dialog, quests, and other processes can get considerably more complicated, fast.

There are a number of tutorials on the subject on sites such as Planet Elder Scrolls, TES Nexus, and ElricM, and I highly recommend downloading several before you begin.

Oh, just a note: many of the newer copies of the GoTY edition do not include the full color map and detailed manual. I only got a thin pamphlet with the basic installation instructions, key commands, and a brief starting guide edited down to about 8 pages, with no map. I suffered through a lot of trial and error for a while, until I started asking a lot of silly questions on the MW forum, or reading other players' silly questions and the answers. Online maps are available on the wiki site and other places.

for mods: i recommend playing the game clean for a while (maybe with the code patch and unofficial patch to fix actual errors). that way you know exactly what you do and dont like. then, after youre as far in as you want to go, go through your list of things you dont like and find the mods that fix them. as ive already said, there is something for every taste. its certainly more helpful to actually know what you want out of the game before you jump into mods: even with lists and recommendations it can be very intimidating. there is no point in downloading a texture replacer, for example, if the textures dont bother you in the first place.

yes,very much agree with above advices in playing it with only the patches first before you get into mods.

there are tools though that helps out with mods and eventually hassles with them,some easy,some more difficult and some hard initially,elricm,pes and nexus have separate departments for thoose,so you could with time take a look,and in the mod forums there is at all times threads about them.

but yeah,find out what you like and dislike first

Stock up on GotY editions, in case they break move on to the next copy.

Good idea, learning how file structures and dirctories work on a computer can help alot. Before you start with mods I recommend using http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2097 Makes sorting, organizing, installing, and especially unistalling mods MUCH easier. On some mods, when you uninstall a mod manually, you have to find each individual file and remove it from that directory yourself. You can use OBMM to tell it which ESPs and content to add to an "omod" file and then create the omod. Once the omod is made, then all you have to do is use OBMM to activate and deactivate the mods you want to use, and when. OBMM also allows you to sort the load order (can affect how mods work) and comes with a slew of other useful features if you ever decide to make your own mod content for Oblivion. So I highly recommend installing Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM for short) and learn how to use it (fairly easy). OBMM enables you to sort your mods a lot easier as well as keeping your Oblivion game directory clean.

Edit: Oops forgot we're talking about Morrowind. If you ever play Oblivion with mods I recommend OBMM.
I believe Morrowind has a similar utility software somewhere, let me see if I can find it for ya.

Edit2: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Tes3Mod:Wrye_Mash

Well, unless it changes the aesthetics and over feel of the game negatively, I don't see anything wrong with getting a texture replacer to enhance the graphics, even at the start of the game. :shrug:

How do you sig a quote from a member in a topic ?

Even worse for me, I got nothing but the CDs in the case.

Edit: Nevermind.