Poll of the Day > Have you played Morrowind?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Just playing it again, and wow, it sure is good in so many ways.

I'll try to avoid writing a whole essay about it, but to sum up a lot of things at once, what really strikes me is the richness of the world. It reminds me a lot of Dune, actually. It's an *ecological* setting. It's not just "a volcano so we'll throw some lava in somewhere", there's full-on cultures and ecosystems based around living right next to an active volcano. There's also a lot of Cthulu-esque "Lovecraftian" stuff going on as well, which is not normally my kind of thing necessarily, but it's very cool here, and I never really understood that's what it was before.

Also... TFW you start playing a game again and check your previous saves and realize you were last playing close to 10 years ago... 8(

(I don't even know how that's possible honestly, since some of those saves are from before I even built this computer; I guess I must have copied my saves forward. My earliest saves are from Nov 2009, and my latest saves were from 2012... I don't know what the hell happened to this decade...)
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It has plenty of issues but it's one of my most favorite games. Such a weird and uncomfortable world. So much to do. So much detail and the Elder Scrolls world is generally rich in lore. I got super into it.

Required mod: Less or 0 or at least smaller aggro distance Cliff Racers. XD
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First ES game. Watched a friend playing it he came upon someone and said to me "hes got nice boots" proceeded to stab him to death take the boota and flee the guards and im just like "you can do that?!"

Wasnt used to games where you could choose to be bad and also enemies weapons/clothing etc could be taken after killing them.

Think it was my first western rpg ever.
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I actually slowly lost all interest in Eastern RPGs because of that sort of freedom in Western RPGs.
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Moonjay posted...

I actually slowly lost all interest in Eastern RPGs because of that sort of freedom in Western RPGs.

I generally think jrpgs have more entertaining stories and worlds but yeah western tends to have more freedom. ES tends to lack epic boss fights also. Think aluduin was the first final boss that felt/looked like a final boss to me.

I think I got into both roughly the same time not counting pokemon. Same dude also got me into final fantasy.
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It's on my backlog along with Oblivion.
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Moonjay posted...

I actually slowly lost all interest in Eastern RPGs because of that sort of freedom in Western RPGs.

I feel the same way. Played lots of jrpgs growing up but once I got into western rpgs it was hard going back to eastern titles

I still find a jrpg every once in a blue moon that I enjoy but for the most part they just seem weird to me now

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I loved Oblivion and Skyrim but for some reason Morrowind didn't really grip me like those other two.
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it also has I think the single best paper map of any game ever made (would love to see anything that comes close). it's so detailed and accurate. most other game maps I have are basically useless and are at best meant as posters.

another thing that I just yesterday discovered is that "Morrowind Graphics Extender" makes the game look incredible and run better at the same time. I've always used "Morrowind FPS Optimizer" up till now, which was great too, but MGE is just jaw-droppingly better.
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not in a really long time. now that i have a good computer it's on my list to play (after i install mods)
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Nope. Oblivion was my first Elder Scrolls. I'd buy remasters though on consoles of the older games in a heartbeat.
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I have played it and I must say I didn't like it much. I will say it's harder to get into having played Oblivion first and how outdated Morrowind feels in comparison.
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Nostalgia? Best game ever.

Realistically? I tried to play it a few years ago and found it basically unplayable.

Give me Morrowind with the quality of life from Skyrim and none of the dumbing down I'd love it.

Never played it, but my cousins did and it always looked like poop to me.
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I have Morrowind GOTY edition for the original Xbox.
I play it occasionally.
I think I'm only level 3 or 4.
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I'm playing through Morroblivion atm

It's pretty much crap compared to Oblivion IMO
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The world building is just so so much better than Oblivion or Skyrim.
It's cool that you can find a super overpowered weapon (or an enemy who will absolutely wreck your shit) at level 1, unlike the later games.
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trodi_911 posted...

I have played it and I must say I didn't like it much. I will say it's harder to get into having played Oblivion first and how outdated Morrowind feels in comparison.

My brother and I have often stated it does feel hard to go backwards on ES games. Even if you feel one of the older ones is objectively better the newer ones just seem I guess subjectively better. Imo anyways. Well truthly for me for everything the newer games fuck up there is something they add that makes up for it.

I need to replay morrowind to completion. Bugs me that i saw it on xbox live and nostalgia gripped me and I didnt hesitate to buy it but have barely played it. The early levels are just rough since you being able to land hits is stat based. Thats my one main complaint about the game.
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Sahuagin posted...

Also... TFW you start playing a game again and check your previous saves and realize you were last playing close to 10 years ago... 8(

(I don't even know how that's possible honestly, since some of those saves are from before I even built this computer; I guess I must have copied my saves forward. My earliest saves are from Nov 2009, and my latest saves were from 2012... I don't know what the hell happened to this decade...)

Steam cloud?

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Anyway, not a fan, sorry to say. People might complain about how easy the later games are with their fast travel, mission markers and other quality of life additions, but I simply have no fun with Morrowind as it is. Hope the Morrowind mod for either of the later games is completed someday, preferably Skyrim for full gamepad support, Oblivion on PC had mapping issues when I tried it.
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I tried to enjoy it. I keep thinking it's a fun game. There's so much to do and play with. But I don't like it. No matter how hard I have tried

I also hate leveled rewards. Terrible thing really. If I'm going to sneak in and run around to get a chest in an area I have absolutely no business being in, only to get a shitty reward (such a common silver axe), that's garbage game design. It should be a set reward for that chest. I should KNOW what will be there waiting for me and it should be something good.

(middle of the night insomnia post)

I'll try not to argue too much but I do want to say I don't think at all that I like it out of nostalgia.

For one thing, when I played it new way back when, there were lots of things I didn't like about it. It was just as clunky then as it is now.

Really, this time I'm just appreciating so many little things that I wouldn't have before. It does so many things so well, and so much better than any other game. Really, it has yet to be replicated; there just aren't games like this. (In many ways Oblivion and Skyrim don't even count; they've moved so far away from what MW is doing that they aren't even the same thing anymore.)

Two things I've learned since then, the first of which I was taught by playing MW (the second I learned from Starcraft and/or other Blizz games):

- Role-playing is different from power-gaming and MW is better played with RPing. (really, power-gaming just outright breaks MW). The game has an awesome progression curve (you start out almost helpless, and you end up almost godlike.) So, you don't have to focus that much on being powerful. Rather, focus on making your character and thinking through how you character interacts with the world. (A small flaw here is that all characters have to have 10 skills. Most of the time I have a hard time finding all 10 skills that make sense with my character idea.)

(One thing helping here is that I'm using a feature of MW Code Patch that identifies if anyone owns an object, so you can tell what not to steal. In vanilla, the fact that you can't tell what is or isn't stealing tends to encourage you to just take whatever you see.)

- Balance is boring; imbalance is interesting. It's only true to a point (you can't just give an item a million damage), but perfect balance just sucks all the fun out of a game. You *want* to be able to find cool things. You shouldn't be able to anticipate exactly what you're going to find. ("Oh I'm level 2, so any dungeon I enter will be a level 2 dungeon, and any loot I find will be level 2 loot."... boring.)
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DeltaBladeX posted...

Steam cloud?

no, I actually stupidly bought it on Steam the other day and had to ask for a refund because I entirely forgot I already had it installed to my computer with FPS Optimizer and everything. I own original discs from when the game came out, including for both expansions, and also including a separate copy of GotY edition.

CTLM posted...

I also hate leveled rewards. Terrible thing really. If I'm going to sneak in and run around to get a chest in an area I have absolutely no business being in, only to get a shitty reward (such a common silver axe), that's garbage game design. It should be a set reward for that chest. I should KNOW what will be there waiting for me and it should be something good.

as far as I recall, this is something MW does not do, that the later games do. yes, MW dungeons are sometimes short with no clearly defined "boss" or "boss chest", with just unimpressive random (leveled) loot in them. but IIRC it doesn't have "leveled rewards"; rather it has a huge list of unique and powerful items that do not level. (it's Oblivion where there are leveled quest rewards, so that if you complete a quest at a low level you get a crapified version of a unique item.) (and I'll try to refrain from mentioning Skyrim loot...)
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i'm not a fan, its far too unbalanced. for one. why the fuck do my hits phase through the enemy like they're a damn ghost? there should be ONE check to see if you actually physically connected, not one for that AND one to see wether you actually hit them for damage

secondly while the idea of loot not being levelled is nice, it means you can immediately bee-line for some of the most powerful stuff in the series like Auriel's Bow within about 5 seconds of starting the game. my last playthrough i spent 2 seconds in the starting town before silt stridering to balmora and using a combination of the mages guild teleporter and ships to get The Bow of Shadows within about 10 minutes of playtime. that is unbalanced as all hell

my last gripe is the progression system. a combination of the whole "Whiffing hits" bs and moving as slow as molasses practically forces you to grind out levels in those skills so as to reliably do damage and move at a manageable pace.

not kidding when i say i'd rather play Daggerfall nevermind Oblivion

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MachoPony posted...

why ... do my hits phase through the enemy like they're a damn ghost?

they don't, they rebound off the enemy with no damage. it's an extremely common RPG mechanic for hits to have to roll to succeed. (here, there's just the unusual mix of FPS style attack coupled with RPG roll-to-hit, but it's not like the FPS part is very challenging. (IE: it's not like you can miss that way.))

MachoPony posted...

it means you can immediately bee-line for some of the most powerful stuff

yes, see comment about RPing vs power-gaming

MachoPony posted...

moving as slow as molasses practically forces you to grind out levels

maybe if you have no patience, but there's no shortage of content here. there's no reason at all you should have to grind. (grinding mostly comes into play with some of the skills that level absurdly slowly.) it sounds like the game is just not for you if you can't savour the slow start. (I know that something else would have to click to be able to get past that. try to focus more on the setting and your place within it than just beating the game mechanics.)
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It's tied with City of Heroes as my all time favorite game.
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Top 3 game for me. I originally owned the buggy ass pre-goty Xbox version and I had never played a game like it before. I too was mainly a JRPG kid up until then, but then I had to get a gaming PC to play Morrowind in its full glory(it was a beast in its time) and that's been my main platform ever since. I haven't played it in a few years and this topic is making me want to start a new playthrough.

MachoPony posted...

not kidding when i say i'd rather play Daggerfall

Isn't Daggerfall worse for the things you didn't like about Morrowind? I didn't play it long enough to know where all the unique items are(assuming there are any), but getting around in Morrowind is a breeze compared to Daggerfall, and it has the same dice roll combat system. It's a pretty good game though, I just hate how randomized it is.
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Morrowind is one of my favorite games of all time.
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I did long ago, it was great from what I remember. Only thing I really never liked was how charges from magic weapons were used up whenever you attacked and hit anything (ex. the Glass Jinkblade I found w/ paralysis I basically used up on the very first monster I fought).

I didn't really get the whole soul trap and gems thing at the time so I thought it was a big waste.
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A little bit, but I played Oblivion a lot more, which made Morrowind kinda tough to get into, it's not that fun when you start a game, go into like the first cave near the start, miss all your attacks and then die to a couple of scrub dudes lol

Been forever. But I'd almost prefer watching someone else play now.
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no, and i never will, and fuck, ok?
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I really miss the incredibly overpowered enchantments and created spells. I don't want game balance, I want to be ridiculous!
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It looks great, but no.
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I've played it and I despise it.

I found Oblivion much easier to get into, and Skyrim's easily the most accessible of the three (if somewhat shallow - but as far as I'm concerned, all Elder Scrolls games are), but I absolutely could not stand Morrowind. I sold my copy of the game back to GameStop for $1 and still feel like I got the better of that bargain.
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Yes I have the original Xbox version love it even though it glitches and freezes constantly love how guilds actually have skill requirements. Plus non dumbed down magic

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ParanoidObsessive posted...

I've played it and I despise it.

I found Oblivion much easier to get into, and Skyrim's easily the most accessible of the three (if somewhat shallow - but as far as I'm concerned, all Elder Scrolls games are), but I absolutely could not stand Morrowind. I sold my copy of the game back to GameStop for $1 and still feel like I got the better of that bargain.

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Mead posted...

...

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Although I love Morrowind I can see a million reasons why someone wouldn't like it so I don't need to get defensive about it. :P
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@BTB <_<

I played the Co-op mod for it a little while ago, even in that I can see how why it's considered the best ES game.

Also can we talk about how stupid it is they removed Spears after Morrowind?

Moonjay posted...

Although I love Morrowind I can see a million reasons why someone wouldn't like it so I don't need to get defensive about it. :P

Sure but theres a huge difference between saying you dont like the game because of the mechanics or some other aspects of it and saying that you dont even think a critically acclaimed game is even worth $1

thats just trolling

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Cruddy_horse posted...

I played the Co-op mod for it a little while ago, even in that I can see how why it's considered the best ES game.

Also can we talk about how stupid it is they removed Spears after Morrowind?

Thats like one of my biggest bitches even though I never used them much.
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Mead posted...

Sure but theres a huge difference between saying you dont like the game because of the mechanics or some other aspects of it and saying that you dont even think a critically acclaimed game is even worth $1

thats just trolling

Or maybe it's just me forming my own opinions based on my own experiences and my own preferences, rather than passively waiting for critics or "the masses" to tell me what I should think and what I'm obligated to like or dislike.

But hey, you do you.



For what it's worth, I also dislike Ocarina of Time, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Undertale. I'm sorry if some people are horrified by the concept that someone is capable of not masturbating over all of the Internet's sacred cows. I don't even dislike them because they're popular - I disliked most of them before they were popular. They just don't appeal to me in any of the aspects I actually enjoy in games.

And it's not even as if I'm opposed to a given brand/franchise in and of itself - I really liked Link to the Past, I liked Chrono Cross, and I like Oblivion and Skyrim to some degree. But as hard as it may be to believe, gaming is subjective, and not everyone is going to love any given game unconditionally, no matter how popular it is or how rabid and vocal its fanbase is.
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Or maybe it's just me forming my own opinions based on my own experiences and my own preferences, rather than passively waiting for critics or "the masses" to tell me what I should think and what I'm obligated to like or dislike.

Yeah everyone that likes a popular game only likes it cause people said they should

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Like did you not bother reading all of PO's post?
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Moonjay posted...

Like did you not bother reading all of PO's post?

I did

I stand by my eyeroll. Plenty of other users were able to constructively criticize the game or say they didnt like it in ways that werent obnoxious.

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Moonjay posted...

Like did you not bother reading all of PO's post?

Why would he start now?
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Not beyond the 15-30 min I "played" testing out my copy -- I might not have even taken control of my character and I simply watched the intro sequence.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Mead posted...

Sure but theres a huge difference between saying you dont like the game because of the mechanics or some other aspects of it and saying that you dont even think a critically acclaimed game is even worth $1

thats just trolling

Or maybe it's just me forming my own opinions based on my own experiences and my own preferences, rather than passively waiting for critics or "the masses" to tell me what I should think and what I'm obligated to like or dislike.

But hey, you do you.

For what it's worth, I also dislike Ocarina of Time, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Undertale. I'm sorry if some people are horrified by the concept that someone is capable of not masturbating over all of the Internet's sacred cows. I don't even dislike them because they're popular - I disliked most of them before they were popular. They just don't appeal to me in any of the aspects I actually enjoy in games.

And it's not even as if I'm opposed to a given brand/franchise in and of itself - I really liked Link to the Past, I liked Chrono Cross, and I like Oblivion and Skyrim to some degree. But as hard as it may be to believe, gaming is subjective, and not everyone is going to love any given game unconditionally, no matter how popular it is or how rabid and vocal its fanbase is.

I know someone like you. At first I thought he was kidding, but no he's an actual contrarian. His primary concern on how much he likes something is how many other people like it. He would frequently bring in some of the oddest music that I could only find unpleasant.

I dislike shooters. I can still identify that some are good and have redeeming qualities, even if I don't like them. My similarity in the dislike is just that they're shooters.

The similarity between the dislikes you've posted here are that they are all games that many people consider some of the best ever made. So we have two options, you're very young in which case I get it. Or you're like my former friend who was just a contrarian, and I could never understand him.

I'm honestly pretty amused by the idea of PO being very young.
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