Am i spoiled by Skyrim and Oblivion?

Just tried Morrowind and ive gotta say i hated it.

I didnt like the design, the inventory screens, the slowness of the character, the combat… I felt like i played an alpha version of Oblivion.



But still many people consider it a very good game. Do you think that because ive played more polished RPGs i became "spoiled"? That my "game taste" for design (its not the graphics, but the design that puts me off) is too high because of what i played?


I dont say its a bad game. Im just saying that i cant bring myself to play it, even though iv been able to do so with much earlier RPGs like PS:T, and SoulBringer.

Install the MSGO mod. Morrowind hasn't aged well visually, and MSGO makes a HUGE difference.

Not sure how you could possibly dislike the inventory screen unless you're simply used to consoles. Morrowind's UI is a lot more PC-like, and imo vastly superior, compared to the consolish UIs of Oblivion and Skyrim.

The combat is obviously a lot different being that it's stat-based. I can understand how someone who played the later games first wouldn't like it. You can change it dramatically with mods though.

For character slowness, you need your speed and agility stat over 50. Unlike Oblivion (where it was normalized) and Skyrim (where it doesn't exist anymore), those stats impacted your character movement speed a lot.

I wouldn't blame you if the horrendous combat turned you away, but I'd give it some more time. For most people, the setting and exploration usually pulls them in. There is always a sense of mystery, and surviving a long journey and returning to a friendly town actually feels like an accomplishment. There's a lot of neat secrets to find, and the fact these can't be found with a compass leading you straight to them is a rewarding feeling.

While I played as a melee combat character on one of my playthroughs, I recommend playing as a mage. Being creative with your spell choices (and especially creating your own) is much more enjoyable than the awfully bland melee combat.

Originally Posted by RPGfreak
I dont say its a bad game. Im just saying that i cant bring myself to play it…

I feel the same way about Skyrim and Oblivion. Apart from (obviously) graphics and combat in Oblivion, Morrowind is, in my humble opinion, vastly superior to both its successors. Especially when it comes to exploration, quests and atmosphere.

Originally Posted by JDR13
You can change it dramatically with mods though.

I've always played Morrowind vanilla out of nostalgia - even though there are elements that drive me nuts, the clunkiness and the awful combat is strangely part of the game's charm.

That being said, I think I am ready to try out some gameplay and combat related mods. What do you recommend that, in your experience, enhances the combat to make it more tactical and/or enjoyable?

one does not simply "try" Morrowind. It's not the type of game that's going to wow you right out of the gate.

It's a game that needs to be played a while, it demands a some time and immersion before it clicks. The world, culture,exploration, and yes even the combat. I like the combat, ive never had a problem with it.

Need to get fast travel figured out, need to level stuff up, need to keep your encumbrance low, and most of all - you need to consult a beginners guide and FAQ.

I went back and fired up vanilla, no mods, and yeah - its ugly by todays standards. I love it, but will not play vanilla. Theres a ton of mod packs out there that make it more than suitable, thankfully

I could deal with the combat in Morrowind but the thing that ultimately keeps turning me off is the conversation system. It drives me nuts having to talk to someone that had the same 20 topics as everyone else in town, and having to scroll through them all looking for one topic that that npc might have, that the last 15 npc's didn't have. I'm not sure of I explained that well, but I think you get my drift.

Aren't the new topics a different color?

Originally Posted by Thrasher
Aren't the new topics a different color?

They should be, they are hyperlinks and work just like it (i.e used = different color).

Yeah they are links but what I'm taking about is walking up to someone in a tavern, speaking with them and having to scroll through 20 topics, then realize they are the same topics as the last 10 people you talked to, then going to the next person, and repeat. Do that 25 times until you finally notice someone that has a new topic buried in their list that the others did not.

Would you rather have them repeat the same inane things like in Skyrim?I find that much more annoying.

Originally Posted by Thrasher
Would you rather have them repeat the same inane things like in Skyrim?I find that much more annoying.

I dont particularly like either way, but the still standing wiki clones annoyed me more. With the verbal conversations you can tell pretty quickly who is just going to repeat the same stuff, and click out of it. In Morrowind that one different piece of information might be the 17th topic in a list that needs to be scanned through

It wasn't nearly as fast for me. But my eyes have aged since then.

Originally Posted by Nukester
Yeah they are links but what I'm taking about is walking up to someone in a tavern, speaking with them and having to scroll through 20 topics, then realize they are the same topics as the last 10 people you talked to, then going to the next person, and repeat. Do that 25 times until you finally notice someone that has a new topic buried in their list that the others did not.

I vastly prefer that over the majority of RPGs where an NPC simply has 2 or 3 lines of fixed dialogue to choose from.


*Edit* Didn't see this reply earlier…

Originally Posted by Nerevarine
That being said, I think I am ready to try out some gameplay and combat related mods. What do you recommend that, in your experience, enhances the combat to make it more tactical and/or enjoyable?

I've never used one myself. I just know there are several out there from taking part in discussions such as this. I'm sure they're not hard to find though. I know there's at least one mod that completely does away with the stat-based hit %.

I don't share the opinion that the combat is awful. Though I agree that it could be better. The only mods I use are MGSO and a mod that delays the Dark Brotherhood assassins from attacking you in relation to the Tribunal expansion plot.

I feel the opposite when I venture into Skyrim or Oblivion nowadays. But I agree, Morrowind is not easy to love at first. The NPC:s struck me as shallow and when you are a low level character things move very slowly. Give it time, install a mod to make it amazingly beautiful, and you'll soon see which game offers the most wonderful sandbox rpg experience

Originally Posted by JDR13
've never used one myself. I just know there are several out there from taking part in discussions such as this. I'm sure they're not hard to find though. I know there's at least one mod that completely does away with the stat-based hit %.

I don't share the opinion that the combat is awful. Though I agree that it could be better.

I see, I'm not quite looking for something that does away with the chance to hit entirely. Although I mentioned in the other thread that I'm not a fan of such a system, the whole combat would need to be overhauled from the ground up to replace it - and that isn't really possible within Morrowind's engine.

I do think the vanilla system could work much better. I was hoping that there was something that took advantage of the fact that there are different attacks in melee. In vanilla, this is useless because you can select the "choose best attack" option, rendering the different attacks pointless. I guess my dream combat mod would implement the different attacks in such a way that the player could choose which one would be best for a particular situation, rather than just clicking mindlessly.

At any rate, thanks for the reply JDR. I will start searching on my own to see if there is anything that keeps the spirit of the vanilla combat but just makes it more engaging/involving, if such a thing exists.

Originally Posted by RPGfreak
Just tried Morrowind and ive gotta say i hated it.

I didnt like the design, the inventory screens, the slowness of the character, the combat… I felt like i played an alpha version of Oblivion.



But still many people consider it a very good game. Do you think that because ive played more polished RPGs i became "spoiled"? That my "game taste" for design (its not the graphics, but the design that puts me off) is too high because of what i played?


I dont say its a bad game. Im just saying that i cant bring myself to play it, even though iv been able to do so with much earlier RPGs like PS:T, and SoulBringer.

I you are not in a hurry you can wait for the Skywind mod. If it ever gets done, it will run Morrowind in Skyrim's engine. I feel the same about the game, but I think the slowness of everything - character develpment above all - is what kills the thing right away. I can't play 100 hours of a game just to start getting the hang of it. I can play a game that much time, if it means finishing it…

Morrowind certainly isn't a quick gratification game. Put in a few hours and take your time, read the lore and get used to the crafting system. If you invest in Morrowind it will pay big dividends after several hours.

I love all the games. The obvious improvements in combat and animations in the later games came with huge compromises as the games were dumbed down compared to Morrowind. In the end the only thing I still cringe about in Morrowind are all the damn Cliff Racers. Other than that I loved it. Loved the Blight, loved the exploration and the sense of real dread as things can actually kill you in Morrowind. Risk reward? Imagine that! Once I was more powerful I loved the combat and crafting items to support it.

But yes you must install the MSGO mod. It is impactful to bring the game forward with resolutions and textures. Excellent mods.

I've never been fond of Morrowind.

Arguably the setting is one of its high points for fans - and it didn't do anything for me. I'm fine with the bland, high fantasy setting of Daggerfall, but ash fields and luminescent mushrooms don't do it for me (and it doesn't even have the cool claustrophobic aspect of Avernum).

I never cared much for the Dark Elves/ Imperials political aspect, either.

For me, Elder Scrolls game are about jumping in and living the life of a lovingly created character. To me, it's RPG fast food - which explains why I never cared much for everything that came after Daggerfall. The character progression has always been atrocious from ES III onwards IMO. It's not "you become what you do", but "you do what you need to do to become what you want to be".

Regardless, I've bought the game numerous times over the years.