[Georgine Lee]

The "NPC Head Replacer" Comparison Thread!!!



Greetings, Outlanders!

One of the most recurrent requests on this forum is suggestions for NPCs head replacer. Alright, threads asking for that are a lot less numerous than, say, your average "recommended mod-list" topics, but there are enough of them around to make one wonder why nobody ever bothered to launch a "NPC Head Replacer Comparison Thread"鈥?br />
Well, I had some free time on my hands, so I did.


So what is it?

Here you will find (links to) screenshots from the main replacers available in the community. The purpose is to give the user a general idea of what to expect from each one of these replacers.
For each replacer I uploaded 3 pictures featuring the same 36 NPCs, for the sake of comparison. Namely (in order of appearance on the pics):

01 - Jiub
02 - chargen boat guard 2 (the male guard inside the prison ship)
03 - chargen boat guard 3 (the female guard)
04 - chargen boat guard 1 (my Redguard bro on the deck)
05 - chargen dock guard (as the name says鈥?
06 - Socucius Ergalla
07 - Ganciele Douar
08 - Sellus Gravius
09 - Fargoth
10 - Eldafire
11 - Vodunius Nuccius
12 - Indrele Rathryon
13 - Teleri Helvi
14 - Thavere Vedrano
15 - Foryn Gilnith
16 - Arrille
17 - Tolvise Othralen
18 - Hrisskar Flat-Foot
19 - Raflod The Braggart
20 - Albecius Colollius
21 - Elone
22 - Kunthar
23 - Mebestian Ence
24 - Yakum Hairshashishi
25 - Samia
26 - Nelos Onmar
27 - Ladia Flarugrius
28 - Hrordis
29 - Nels Llendo
30 - Darvame Hleran
31 - Selvil Sareloth
32 - Heddvild
33 - Sottilde
34 - Caius Cosades
35 - Tyermaillin
36 - Rithleen

Here is a reminder of what they look like in vanilla Morrowind:

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/9658/trombinoscope01defaultm.jpg
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/8774/trombinoscope02defaultm.jpg
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/6475/trombinoscope03defaultm.jpg

(By the way, it's a pity that this forum can't display pictures. Clicking links to get to the screenies is an acceptable workaround, but this kind of topic cries out for a more "eye-friendly" presentation.)


The Replacers

As of now, 10 of the main replacers are featured in this thread. That is, in alphabetical order:

1) All New Faces Compilation
2) Beryl's Head Replacer
3) Better Heads
4) Changing Faces NPC Replacer (+ Add-on)
5) Gary Noonan's Head Pack
6) Illy's Fresh Faces II
7) Riptide's Face & Clothing Replacer (+ Patch)
8) THE Morrowind NPC MakeOver
9) Vvardenfell Visages Volume I
10) ZeroTheHero's NPC Replacer

Due to time constraints, GhanBuriGhan's http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=335 is not included yet. I will add it later, probably next week. If anyone knows of any other big scale replacer I may have overlooked, please let me know. Done. (Sept. 17, 2009)

Ok, enough talk. Here are the screenies:

1) http://download.cnet.com/The-Elder-Scrolls-III-Morrowind-Faces-Compilation-mod/3000-7539_4-10235014.html?tag=mncol;lst, by Tanjo
http://mw.modhistory.com/download-42-12386

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/922/trombinoscope28allnewfa.jpg
http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/2867/trombinoscope29allnewfa.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/7555/trombinoscope30allnewfa.jpg

2) http://mw.modhistory.com/download--3275, by Beryllium

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5682/trombinoscope04beryl.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img560/4345/trombinoscope05beryl.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img11/4796/trombinoscope06beryl.jpg

3) http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=2735, by Motoki

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7743/trombinoscope07betterhe.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8543/trombinoscope08betterhe.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/862/trombinoscope09betterhe.jpg

4) http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=661 + http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=3035, by Leeloo

http://imageshack.us/a/img199/9277/trombinoscope10changingf.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img213/4664/trombinoscope11changing.jpg
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/4227/trombinoscope12changing.jpg

5) http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=1789, by鈥? Gary Noonan (duh!)

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6717/trombinoscope13garynoon.jpg
http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/5964/trombinoscope14garynoon.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img402/7418/70782641.jpg

NB: Additionally to replacing faces, this mod features a pre-Better Bodies body replacer.

6) http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=9310, by Illuminiel

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/4659/sffii.jpg
http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/4659/sffii.jpg
http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/4659/sffii.jpg

7) http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=1689 + http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=3929, by鈥? Riptide (yes鈥?

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/9261/trombinoscope1.jpg
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6176/trombinoscope2.jpg
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3096/trombinoscope3.jpg

NB: Riptide's Face & Clothing Replacer is meant to work with Better Heads. This explains why you will recognize some of the BH faces on the pics.
The mod has 2 additional features: first it gives community-made clothes to several NPCs; second, an optional esp introduces a few X-Jiit (custom race) NPCs to the world of Morrowind.


8) http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=6171, by Tarnsman

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/3188/trombinoscope19thenpcma.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img9/3605/trombinoscope20thenpcma.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/889/trombinoscope21thenpcma.jpg

NB: This mod does more than just updating NPCs faces. The following mods have been incorporated into it: Aerelorn's Less Annoying Guards, Enmesharra's Light the Way , Khan Raider's Imperial helms, Puma Man's Gnisis Guard Fix, SotiCoti's Better Dreamers, Tarnsman's Elders 0 count add-on and TheLys鈥?Imperial Guards Anticlone.


9) http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=5883, by Telesphoros

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7134/trombinoscope22vvardenf.jpg
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/6324/trombinoscope23vvardenf.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img255/3461/trombinoscope24vvardenf.jpg

NB: This one has the particularity to be a pluginless replacer.


10) http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=1007, by 鈥eroTheHero (how did you guess??)
http://mw.modhistory.com/download-42-12387

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1241/trombinoscope25zerotheh.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1534/trombinoscope26zerotheh.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5746/trombinoscope27zerotheh.jpg


The Future

If there is interest, I might as well include local replacers such as Emma's Dagon Fel and Tel Mora headreplacers, Carnajo's Unique Heads Balmora, Boethia539's Unique Faces Project - Seyda Neen, etc鈥?or smaller scope projects such as Astarsis' race-specific replacers. Emma's Dagon Fel & Tel Mora and Carnajo's Unique Faces have been added (Sept. 17, 2009).



Local Head Replacers

This section will cover smaller scope replacers: the ones which only change NPCs in a specific area or affect a limited set of characters. Put aside Detritus' Khajiit Faces Replacer (which will be dealt with in a future update) I have identified 4 of them so far:

1) Emma's Dagon Fel Headreplacer
2) Emma's Tel Mora Headreplacer
3) Unique Faces Project - Seyda Neen
4) Unique Heads Balmora

Each one of the aforementioned 4 mods features a different set of NPCs. To allow comparison with vanilla characters the pictures are divided in 2: the upper part of each pic features the NPCs as they appear by default in unmodded Morrowind; on the lower part are the same NPCs once the changes from the mod have been applied.

For each mod I randomly picked 18 NPCs that I distributed into 3 pictures (6 NPCs/pic). Keep in mind that I didn't attempt to show all NPCs affected by said mods. As with the major mods above, the purpose here is only to give you an overview of the general quality of the replacers, as well as some clues about the artistic choices of the modders.

1) http://lovkullen.net/Emma/faces.htm, by 鈥mma

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7959/emmasdagonfel1.jpg
http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/4851/emmasdagonfel2.jpg
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/5026/emmasdagonfel3.jpg

2) http://lovkullen.net/Emma/faces.htm, by Emma /shrug.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':shrug:' />

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/7571/emmastelmora1.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/4234/emmastelmora2.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1764/emmastelmora3.jpg

3) http://morrowind.nexusmods.com/mods/14006, by Boethiah539

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7008/ufpseydaneen1.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/521/ufpseydaneen2.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img715/9004/ufpseydaneen3.jpg

4) http://mw.modhistory.com/download--1399, by Carnajo

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/3449/uniqueheadsbalmora1.jpg
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7222/uniqueheadsbalmora2.jpg
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7550/uniqueheadsbalmora3.jpg



Misc:

I created this category for replacers which, for whatever reason, can't be filed under the "Main" or "local" replacer categories.

1) http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=mods.List by Astarsis

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/9514/picastarsis1.jpg
http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/7748/picastarsis2.jpg
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4920/picastarsis3.jpg

NB: What I call Astarsis' Replacers is not actually a mod but a suite of 6 mods, namely http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=1740, http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=1712, http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=1611, http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=1636, http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=1739 and http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=1678.
Put together they cover most of the population of Vvardenfell but are not comprehensive enough to be listed among the main replacers.


2) http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=9571 by AHRIZ

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/9645/originalfaces1.jpg
http://imageshack.us/a/img696/4753/originalfaces2.jpg
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9257/originalfaces3.jpg
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/5964/originalfaces4.jpg

Despite editing 2426 NPCs and the readme stating that the mod "adds unique faces to almost every NPC in Vvardenfell (version MV+TB+BM in Solshteim and Mournhold too) - aside from few bandits and cultists", many of the NPCs I used to showcase the other main replacers are not covered by this mod. That's why Orginal Faces ends up in the "Misc" category.

Should it be updated, I would move it to the "Main" section. (Hint, hint, in case AHRIZ reads this鈥?/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':wink:' /> )

Note: It's spelled "Orginal" (instead of "Original") on the PES page, the readme and the ESP name, so I leave it this way until the author confirms it's a misspelling.


3) http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1340173-westlys-head-packs-and-headhair-replacers/ by Westly

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/8104/picwestly1.jpg
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9708/picwestly2.jpg
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/6937/picwestly3.jpg

This one intends to replace all vanilla heads, but is still a work in progress. The Dark Elves and Imperials models (that is many of the NPcs I chose to showcase the other main replacers) have yet to be released. That's why Westly's head replacer is temporarily hosted under the "Misc" section.


4) http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=335, by GhanBuriGhan

http://imageshack.us/a/img4/5426/worldoffaces1.jpg
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/3097/worldoffaces2.jpg
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/6652/worldoffaces3.jpg

World of Faces edits about 650 of the NPCs of Vvardenfell. That's much more than the local replacers, but not enough to warrant this mod a place among the main replacers.

--------------- o ---------------

If you know of any other replacer, please let me know, so I can include them in the next update.

Next on my to-do list:

- Add screenshots of Astarsis' replacers and Detritus' Khajiit Faces Replacer; (Astarsis' Replacers added Aug. 22, 2012)
- Add shots of Argonians, Khajiits and Orcs to the major replacers (thanks to CABRON for pointing their absence out);
- Fix/replace the darkest shots (thanks to Tanvar for reporting this issue);
- Fix any inaccuracy caused by mod conflict should they be confirmed (the ones reported so far regarding Beryl Head Replacer have been invalidated through the CS on a clean install).

Also, you may have noticed that the NPCs featured in my screenshots so far are (mostly) randomly chosen. I think it could be interesting to have a picture comparing how the major replacers handle prominent characters from Morrowind, Tribunal and Bloodmoon main quests. If not key-NPCs, at least characters that every player is bond to meet in the course of his/her adventures.
Unfortunately I have not beaten the game yet, so I'm not sure which NPC should be featured on this pic. I will need your suggestions. A dozen names should do.

Again, thanks for the feedback.


Changelog:

May 23, 2009 : Original post
Aug. 21, 2009 : Fixed Vodunius Nuccius on pic I of THE Morrowind NPC MakeOver
Sept. 17, 2009: Added local replacers
Sept. 26, 2009: Added Tanjo's All New Faces Compilation under the main replacers section
Feb. 19, 2011: Minor cosmetic fixes
Aug. 17, 2012: Sneaky update 脿 la Westly. Added Illy's Fresh Faces II Update!
Aug. 19, 2012: Created the "Misc" category and added Orginal Faces Update!
Aug. 21, 2012: Added Westly's Pluginless Head Replacer Update!
Aug. 22, 2012: Added Astarsis Replacers Update!
Moved World Of Faces into the "Misc" section for the sake of coherence
Apr.03, 2013: Fixed some broken links
Apr.04, 2013: Fixed some more links.
Added alternate download links (courtesy of Spirithawke).

Any other edit being some pathetic attempt at fixing my desperately broken English and spelling.

[Monika Fiolek]

This is definitely deserving to be incorporated into the stickies. Very well done! /thumbsup.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':thumbsup:' />

[Soph]

AfroKing, this is excellent and most appreciated. /fing34.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':goodjob:' /> Thank you.

Those ideas for developing it sound very good indeed.

[Rebekah Rebekah Nicole]

Afroking you are awesome thats really great work!

[Jynx Anthropic]

Most generous of you, many thanks!

[Judy Lynch]

I agree with all above, thank you for this effort! /fing34.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':goodjob:' />

If you were to copy this over to GHF, where we do allow images in the thread, I would be more than obliged to "sticky" it. It is shaping up to be a wonderful resource that I will be proud to point people towards.

[Brian Newman]

Joining the chorus - GREAT work.

This is so helpful. When people come here looking for mods (and which mods) this is the sort of guidance they're really looking for. Thank you.

I just reviewed this again, and just WOW. I am not a modder, and I don't ever plan to be. I just like the game and I also have made sort of a hobby of adding mods to it. This resource is precisely what I would want for any mod. It is a mind changer. Excellent concept artfully executed.

[Bethany Short]

Thanks man, I've been using better heads forever and have wanted to try something rlse for a while now.

[Claudz]

Wow, that is fantastic. And reinforces my decision to only use Vvardenfell Visages. *chuckle*

[Jason Rice]

Yeah I see several great looking faces but for overall quality Vvardenfell Visages is unmatched (although running into 3 Billy Joels an the same time in Ebonheart was kind of unnerving) I used Better Heads for a long time since it came out, and that pack is still holds out pretty well after all thses years. It would be nice if someone took over Telesphoros to continue that work
BTW Afroking I noticed that there are no shots whatsoever of Argonians, Orcs & Kitties

[Syaza Ramali]

Oh wow... I just realized that most of those change NPC's faces a lot.

[suzan]

Yepper. Thank for the comparison and ya effort on making this comparison! *bookmark'd*

Indeed.

[Andrea Pratt]

Nice thread - I like how you started with the vanilla headshots for comparing against.

[Kelly John]

I'm still waiting for Westly's head replacer!

[Helen Quill]

A great thread! Better Heads still rule /biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':D' /> (although I do like a particular lass here and there) /tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />

[Dean Brown]

This is a brilliant idea - I've actually been wishing for a thread like this for quite some time. Having said that... after comparing all eight replacers, I still prefer Vvardenfell Visages. /happy.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='^_^' />

[Cash n Class]

This is brilliant! Thank you so much, Afroking! /falloutop5.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':tops:' />

[Conor Byrne]

Thank you, everybody, for the nice feedback. It's appreciated.

@ Fliggerty:

Thank you for the suggestion, too. I will follow it as soon as I find some time. /falloutop5.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':tops:' />

@ CABRON:

Ooops. Will you believe that I didn't even realize it? The ironic part is that I have a weak spot for Argonian and Khajiits...
I'll try and fix this as soon as possible.

[Andrea Pratt]

Very good idea, thanks! /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

One thing. Caius Cosades in http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4246/trombinoscope15garynoon.jpg picture looks really weird, because it uses one of the heads replacers, but not Better Bodies like the others.

[adam holden]

Thanks for this, guess I'll be sticking with Changing Faces though, but it was funny seeing that Morgen Freeman head on so many of them. /tongue.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />

[Eduardo Rosas]

Hm. Some of those NPCs look very different in my Beryl's Head Replacer. And I've only recently downloaded it.
For example, the guard from the character generation ship, Socucius Ergalla, Eldafire and Fargoth look exactly like the ones from Better Heads in my game.

Good idea to make this kind of comparison, however.

[Baylea Isaacs]

Actually it's not Better Bodies but Better Clothes. /wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />
Yes, I know what you mean. I thought about it before taking the screenshot. I finally decided to deactivate Better Bodies to let you catch a glimpse of the body replacer included in Gary Noonan's mod. (The difference with the original bodies is more noticeable on female NPCs.)



I encountered the same situation while taking the screenshots. I assume it is due to some interaction with other mods (I couldn't identify which ones). I had to open the CS to make sure which pics I should post.

But your remark reminds me of something I should have stated in the original post: those of you who use a replacer which makes use of the original hairs (i.e. ZeroTheHero's Replacer) are likely to notice http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5210/differences.jpg from my screenshots if said hairs are replaced by another mod in their game.

[Setal Vara]

I've also been using Better Heads for years. I've tried Beryl's Head Replacer a month ago, but it just wasn't my thing...

Here is my present setup:

0. Vvardenfell Visages VolumeI (for MCA/TR/other mods that use stock faces)
1. Better Heads v2.0 (still my favorite)
2. Riptdies Face, Armor, & Clothing Replace + patch (gives promonient NPCs of Morrowind original faces & clothes - no more shirtless Causius, he has a robe now, the same as "naked Nord fighter north of Caldera). It seems more "unified" that most of replacers that I have tried before.
3. Barabus Orcs (Orcs were the only heads from Better Heads 2.0 that I do not care for)

No problems yet discovered and I'm rather happy. I do recommend it.
Cheers.

[sara OMAR]

That's a great work, thanks.
I'd rather see more faces on replacers already covered, from Balmora or Vivec specifically.

It seems that most of replacers have some spot-on hits that they do better than others, but it's hard to pick one specific - each time there are some choices I wouldn't agree with. I wonder how Westly's replacer will look like.

[Camden Unglesbee]

I also think that there is a problem with screenshots using Beryl's Head Replacer here, since Beryl is based upon Better Heads 2.0 and only changes some faces from it, but not Eldafire, Fargoth or Socucius Ergalla.