Non-nostalgia players: What do you think about Morrowind?

[Pavouk106]

Hi people,

because I'm nostalgic fan of this game and my reasoning is inclined toward Morrowind I wanted to ask non-nostalgia or new palyers of Morrowind (= those who started it after playing Oblivion/Skyrim) what do they think about the game.

Some friends say it's too old, too cumbersome, bad graphics, non-player-friendly, no voiceovers, slow movement speed, slow progress, not clear about what you have to do (no quest markers), ...

Does every new player of this game think so? (or even people who didn't play the game because of these reasons)

Please write what do you think about this game (non-nostalgia people only).

Thanks

[MetaCthulhu]

Morrowind's still the same thing it's been since day one: a diamond in the rough.

I started with Skyrim (*gasp* heathen!) and I never really got sucked into Oblivion. But I wanted to try Morrowind, so I found a GOTY copy of Morrowind on Ebay, dragged down my old dusty Vostro computer from the attic, used a paper clip to manually open the disc tray, and I started playing. I can't imagine playing Morrowind with UESP; I had to look up how to even open the first dungeon (crankshaft, weird) and how to build my character so I didn't get destroyed out of the gate.

But even though it is old and cumbersome and not user-friendly and broken in places (I'm looking at you combat), it's still in my top 5 games. Maybe it's because I never ran into a cliff-racer tornado?

[Dalos]

... I never ran into a cliff-racer tornado?

I did once and it was horrible!

Hidden:

I played Morrowind long before Skyrim or Oblivion so no survey for me.

[Pavouk106]

MetaCthulhu: Glad to know there are still some people who can get into such an old game the Morrowind is.

Dalos: Ok, I suppose you could tell us what you think about Morrowind after you ahve played the two sequels... (Try to be unbiased about it. I can't )

[Dirty Spaceman]

Just started Morrowind tonight! I played Skyrim first, and then Oblivion, so I seem to be on a weird pattern of playing all the games in reverse order. Anyway, I haven't even left Seyda Neen yet but I'm finding it pretty enjoyable! I'm gaining comfort with the controls (I can understand the 'cumbersome' complaint, but I'm inexperienced with PC controls anyway so I hardly can tell the difference), and I'm running Better [Bodies, Heads, Clothes] to make things seem not so 2002-ish. Besides, I'm normally a console player, so since when have "meh" graphics bothered me? /selfdeprecation

I'm not bothered by the lack of quest markers - it'll be a good challenge, and a realistic one. I do find myself preferring Skyrim's dynamic skills system to Oblivion/Morrowind's locked-in classes format, but I mean to use the restriction in a positive way, building my playstyle around my character's top skills. Oh yeah, speaking of which, he's a Dunmer named Stanley. Soon to become the legendary Nerevarine who will save us all...

There is definitely a sense of adventure that I'm feeling so far which transcends technical things. There's something so purely fantasy about finding yourself on this foreign shore, with its otherworldly landscape, strange flora and fauna, and unusual architecture. It has me really looking forward to getting out and exploring the world. I might take a break before I really get into the game so that I can finish Dishonored on my Xbox, but you can be sure that I plan to play Morrowind through to the end.

[Pavouk106]

Nice to hear the story, Dirty Spaceman. May I advise you to take a break right now to finish Dishonored before getting into Morrowind? Otherwise you may end up playing tw games at the same time (Morrowind won't let you go away).

It's always good to hear there are people who tries to get into "old" games. Thanks for keeping some hope alive!

[legoless]

I played Oblivion first. After being unable to kill the wizard in Addamasartus and then being attacked by a Dark Brotherhood assassin while I tried to rest, I decided to play my first playthrough on godmode. Worth it to learn the lore and mechanics, and I've replayed the game several times since. It stands out in my mind as the best TES game, once you get used to the objectively terrible learning curve.

[Unionhack]

Played Oblivion first.

I can't play Morrowind without a few mods fixing the things that irk me to no end. I need a mod that makes every hit connect (if my sword goes through a guy's face that should count as a hit), I need movement speed mods, etc etc.

My order of favorites is still Oblivion > Skyrim > Morrowind. Not to dog on Morrowind, it's a great game with a story that is rarely bested, but I still can't really say it's my favorite in good consciousness when I just had so much more fun with Oblivion and Skyrim. I can say I look forward to playing TESIV or TESV; I can't say I want to replay TESIII, but I'm glad I have at least once.

[Impaleify]

I played Skyrim first, then Oblivion, and then Morrowind. I really like the atmosphere of Morrowind, and the story alone makes me like it much more than Skyrim. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to play Morrowind much due to me wanting to play through Oblivion more. And considering how fickle I am when it comes to character creation, it may take me a while to get into Morrowind. And it will only take longer when I start getting into Morrowind, due to that pesky character creation.

[msico]

I played Morrowind first while waiting for Oblivion to be released, having never played a TES game. I remember getting to Balmora and getting a solid feel for things, but never advancing much farther. Then I sunk 300 hours into Oblivion, 200 into Skyrim, and a couple of years ago picked up the TES Anthology... and since then, I've played and beaten Arena and Daggerfall (and some others) and now I'm right back where it all began, to finish the job.

...how is Vivec SO BIG

[Pavouk106]

I'm right back where it all began, to finish the job.

The same here. I haven't been able to finish this game for 13 years!

I was pretty close 2 years ago, but I have accidentally deleted my saves. Kicked my own butt for doing this! My character was like lvl 25-30, many HP, great skills, great equipment, ready to roll (over the final encounter)... and deleted!

[Kevaar]

I played Morrowind first, so I doubt you can consider me non-nostalgia. But here's my opinion on it:

Morrowind was my first TES, and I thought the main questline started off horrendously blah until the Big Reveal of who you were (or at least, what the Blades were trying to masquerade you off as).

Loved it ever since. While I like that the spells are a lot more creative than older games (flying and levitation!), and it doesn't hold your hand, I think the rest can be considered meh from a gameplay perspective compared to modern games.

But that story...amazing.

[Dirty Spaceman]

Came back to Morrowind today after taking a break to finish Dishonored. I took a wrong turn on the way to that Dwemer ruin you get sent to out of Balmora, and wound up experiencing my first cliffracer run-in (two of them, to boot). Already low on health thanks to that crazy Imperial mage on the bridge, I tried to run away, to no avail as they were already on me. Fun times.

One thing I will note is how I'm finding myself asking NPCs about world info much more often than I normally do in games. I can't pinpoint exactly why this is, and it's certainly not something I'm trying to do on purpose. I just want to find out what's going on in the world organically as opposed to looking everything up (I'm pretty sure I read a lot of Morrowind articles on the wiki at one point, but I forget most of them now), and it really does add to the feeling of being an 'outlander' in a new country.

[noobishlord]

I played Oblivion first, then went to Skyrim, and only really started looking at getting Morrowind after the Dragonborn DLC.

I'll start good, I love Morrowind's atmosphere and story. It is quite possibly the best of all the games. It's music isn't too bad either.

On the other hand, I hate how slow and clunky the UI feels. Combat is horrendous for me, since it's entirely RNG based. RNG and I have a... troubled relationship. If I can spend minutes in fights with a stinkin' mudcrab because I keep missing with a weapon I have as a major skill, something is wrong. In fact, I would say RNG is the greatest downfall of the game. Random loot? I'm fine with that, it's pretty much a standard in wRPGs these days anyhoo. Random quest locations like what Skyrim has? Gets me out to explore the world. But randomness in combat where it can (and does) cause several reloads? Horrible. And gods, those cliff-racers!

Plus I think the game is miss-named. It should really be The Elder Scrolls III: Vvardenfell.

[Tingz0r]

Yeah, I'll just say that I've only tried playing Morrowind without cheating once, when I first played it. Ever since, it's been "player.setspeed 500" on every single character.

I've been trying to beat it recently, but a crash at a very bad time has put a damper on that.

[LugkAgumbuk]

Starting off from the shores of Skyrim, I travelled back into the chaotic countryside of the counties of Cyrodiil, and then to the east, to Morrowind, in the year 2015.

I found (and still am finding) it to be a clunky but character-building experience with an emphasise on good story-telling, brilliant world design, and old-fashion combat system. I've only played 180~ hours, yet I haven't even finished a single quest-line (compared to 380~ on Skyrim, whether I've completed all the quest-lines at-least once).

Overall, Morrowind is a really s'wit, but like a sweetroll , you just want to keep going back for more.

[Rezalon]

I played Oblivion first and I think it's the best TES out there. Skyrim is alright but incredibly casual, ESO is riddled with crappy lore and repetitive gameplay, and the games before Morrowind are far too clunky for me to play.

Morrowind is the same; very clunky. The inventory system, the quest log, talking to NPCs, the god-awful combat, and the maze-like level design just plain infuriated me. I've tried playing Morrowind probably three times and all three times I gave up playing because it was mind-boggling clunky to play the game.

I also think the province's environments (giant plant-life and insects) don't belong in a medieval-fantasy game series and belong in a sci-fi one.

And finally there's the lore. While most of it shaped what lore we have today, some of it is utter nonsense, and has spawned a toxic community of "fans" that believe everything Michael Kirkbride has wrote is canon, even when it's UNOFFICIAL and NOT sanctioned by Bethesda.

Morrowind has got to be one of the worst games I have had to experience, along with Duke Nukem Forever, Deus Ex: Invisible War, and Daikatana.

EDIT: I do plan to play Skywind though, so I can experience the game in a more palatable form.

[Dalos]

...

Morrowind is the same; very clunky. The inventory system, the quest log, talking to NPCs, the god-awful combat, and the maze-like level design just plain infuriated me. I've tried playing Morrowind probably three times and all three times I gave up playing because it was mind-boggling clunky to play the game.

...

EDIT: I do plan to play Skywind though, so I can experience the game in a more palatable form.

You have a peasant's palate.

[Rezalon]

You have a peasant's palate.

Well, like I said before, Skyrim is a far more casual game and thus a hell of a lot easier to play, meaning that Skywind is bound to be a hell of a lot easier to play. I would play Morroblivion as it is on Oblivion's engine, and I prefer Oblivion over Skyrim, but it appears all work on it has completely stopped in favour for Skywind.

[KingFeraligatr]

Morrowind is the only other TES game I even like besides Skyrim. I started with Skyrim, liked it (today's opinion on it is lower). Upon hearing legit criticisms of the Skyrim, I noticed how people where gushing about Morrowind. So, I decided to try out this game these people where talking about. It took a bit to get into, but Morrowind got a grip on me (not as big as some others). I've heard other legit criticisms of Morrwoind, and now my opinion on it is lesser. I still like the game with mods, but it's very flawed.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Morrowind is an objectively lackluster game with some blah/flawed mechanics, so many bugs, a dearth of content, small gameworld, etc. The game needs mods like any Beth game to worth a dam (IMO). When you give it mods, patches, and go in full god mode though, it can be a fine game to explore when it isn't crashing. Really, Morrowind probably has the best lore of the series and is the only one with a decent main story (the others have lame, stupid, weird, and/or bland main stories. The game world seems the most in tune with what you're told in the TES series and feels more alive than anything than maybe Skyrim can throw at me in this series. Also, modding this game is very easy and I recommend anyone who wants to mod a Bethesda Gamebryo game to start with this game (as many concepts you learn here can be brought all the way to Skyrim or even FNV). Still, since the game needs mods to be playable (speed up, many passive animals, patches, overhauled leveling system, more life, more attacks connect mods, etc.) and the fact that the game crashes all the time even with patches makes this game objectively lackluster and brimming with bad game design (like all of Beth's games). Gosh I hope we can fix the core game with OpenMW.

Sorry, I used to be more of a TES fan but man have I got burned out and jaded on it. So many things objectively wrong with the series. And I hate Bethesda.

[legoless]

I started with Skyrim, liked it (today's opinion on it is lower).

My opinion of it has gone down over time as well actually. It's definitely not ageing gracefully.

and the fact that the game crashes all the time even with patches

I've never once had vanilla Morrowind crash on me, couple thousand hours in. It's far more stable than the later entries.

[Damon]

and the fact that the game crashes all the time even with patches

I've never once had vanilla Morrowind crash on me, couple thousand hours in. It's far more stable than the later entries.

90% of my Morrowind playing time came from Xbox over the last 8 years or so, but still, I've safely got a good 300 hours into Morrowind on PC (which I only got in 2013), and a good 2/3 of that was heavily modded, and I've only had 2-3 bad crashes, but those were easily fixed and haven't happened since.

Definitely a more stable game. Of course, the technology of the time meant it was oh so simplified compared to the latest games, where everything is dependent on an elaborate scripting of some sort to help everything move and flow and look good these days.

And, while some mods can get creative with scripting, the engine itself doesn't get anything super busy and risky for crashing, because without a lot of effort the power to do such things isn't there.

And, also, this is a little note to commemorate that this is [&@%!] number 100 on the forum. Had to eventually get there after making one post every many weeks for ages or something! :p

[LugkAgumbuk]

and the fact that the game crashes all the time even with patches

I've never once had vanilla Morrowind crash on me, couple thousand hours in. It's far more stable than the later entries.

90% of my Morrowind playing time came from Xbox over the last 8 years or so, but still, I've safely got a good 300 hours into Morrowind on PC (which I only got in 2013), and a good 2/3 of that was heavily modded, and I've only had 2-3 bad crashes, but those were easily fixed and haven't happened since.

Definitely a more stable game. Of course, the technology of the time meant it was oh so simplified compared to the latest games, where everything is dependent on an elaborate scripting of some sort to help everything move and flow and look good these days.

And, while some mods can get creative with scripting, the engine itself doesn't get anything super busy and risky for crashing, because without a lot of effort the power to do such things isn't there.

And, also, this is a little note to commemorate that this is [&@%!] number 100 on the forum. Had to eventually get there after making one post every many weeks for ages or something! :p

congratz!

Morrowind is soo much more stable than Skyrim

[Eladan]

This is a good question ... and I hope I'm not beating a dead thread ... but I'd say I like the story, the intricacy of the plot, the dialogue, and the myriad ways you can build up your character. I like the immensity of it, and the sense of wonder at the wide-open spaces. The exploration is great.
I love the music.

I'm on the fence about the lack of fast travel, other than what's offered. It's rough having to go from a Daedric shrine to a small town, perform the mission for the Daedra, and then slog back to the shrine. I do enjoy being "on the ground," though, and seeing the world, but there are times I wish I could just complete something a bit quicker. Also, along those lines, I wish there wasn't such a Fatigue penalty for running, because having to walk makes a long slog even longer. I feel like a turtle crawling through pudding.

I dislike that the Journal records some quests but not others that are semi-given in dialogue (such as someone "hearing weird noises coming from so-and-so's house") because unless I drop everything and go to that person's house, I'll forget. I could write it down--and do sometimes--but isn't that what a "Journal" is for?
Also, on on the topic of quests, I could use at least a quest marker on the map. I'm not saying I need radar or GPS markers on a HUD, but a dot for the shrine I'm returning to would be very helpful, since I've run into a lot of caves, tombs and shrines, and it's easy to forget where each one is. Failing this, let me put a note marker on the "World" map, not just the "Local" map, so I can find my way back.
The graphics are a bit hard to look at, but I've kind of adjusted to them. I will say that, after the great graphics in Skyrim and even Oblivion, I notice that the Morrowind graphics sort of break the immersion for me. Everything is so sparse and basic, and the characters have that "video gamey" look and choppy way of moving, that I don't feel as swept away by it like I was with Oblivion, and less so, Skyrim. Those long, featureless halls of Vivec are semi-nauseating and drab for what's supposed to be a grand city.

All that being said— know you said no nostalgia, but I think you mean nostalgia for Morrowind—I love the things that remind me of Oblivion, such as the way stories and quests turn, the music and the voice talent (whenever I recognize a voice actor from Oblivion, I get a little jolt of nostalgia). So, I'm enjoying myself, for the most part (as I walk around very slowly ).

[Wolfborn]

It's rough having to go from a Daedric shrine to a small town, perform the mission for the Daedra, and then slog back to the shrine.

Two words: Mark and Recall.

Saves the slog back, at least. And there are mods that allow multiple Marks to be set if you find it convenient to have more than one.