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

[Eladan]

Thanks for the reply Wolf. It's a testament to the quality of the game that people are still discussing it 15 years after its release!
I actually did use recall to bring me back to town, but it was kind of annoying to have to walk all the way to Malacath just so he can say, "Thanks, buddy." Since he's a Deadric prince, I would think he could communicate with you remotely as soon as the task is done and just give you the helmet, kind of like how Hircine gives you his armor in Skyrim as soon as you finish his quest. Oh well! I guess I explored a little more after so maybe it was good to be out and about.

[Cassandra]

Mark and Recall are the two most blessed things I've found since starting the game. Because, honestly, "a turtle crawling through pudding" is a perfect description of how it feels a lot of the time.

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.

Yes, yes, and yes. This has got to be the biggest thing for me. Morrowind lacks that same sense of immersion that Oblivion and Skyrim gave. And I don't blame it all on the graphics (tbh, I blame it partly on my malfunctioning controller), but I don't have the same sense of being in the world. The story is great, I love the setting, and the variety of spells and equipment is fantastic. But it lacks the sense of captivation that I've gotten from other games in the series.

Overall, I like it. Though perhaps a little less than others.

[Wolfborn]

It's a testament to the quality of the game that people are still discussing it 15 years after its release!

Heck, I didn't even start playing MW until 10 years after it's release! And there are still faction questlines that I've never completed... and now I'm buried in trying to write a mod...

And I don't blame it all on the graphics

Of course, being on the Xbox you unfortunately don't have access to any of the graphics improvement mods which help with the immersive element considerably...

Because, honestly, "a turtle crawling through pudding" is a perfect description of how it feels a lot of the time.

I think I'm the only gamer in the world who doesn't mind walking around in a video game (well, most of the time, anyway). Heck, I don't even run most of the time. Walking around helps with the immersion aspect for me; after all, I don't go running around everywhere IRL...

[Cassandra]

Of course, being on the Xbox you unfortunately don't have access to any of the graphics improvement mods which help with the immersive element considerably...

Ha, yeah. I figured as much. I wouldn't mind playing a modded version at some point, just to see what it's like.

I think I'm the only gamer in the world who doesn't mind walking around in a video game (well, most of the time, anyway). Heck, I don't even run most of the time. Walking around helps with the immersion aspect for me; after all, I don't go running around everywhere IRL...

I enjoy a romp around the wilds of Tamriel as much as the next adventurer. And when I want to frolic, I frolic. But if I want to quest, then I want to do what I have to do without wasting my time and resources fighting off hoards of Cliff Racers and who-knows-what-else. Realism to a T doesn't always equal immersion, for me.

[Crawldragon]

I'm the only gamer in the world who doesn't mind walking around in a video game (well, most of the time, anyway). Heck, I don't even run most of the time. Walking around helps with the immersion aspect for me; after all, I don't go running around everywhere IRL...

Holy crap, I found another one! Hooray! All of my friends always get on my ass for not using fast travel systems! Finally all of those hours watching a horse's bum wobble back and forth have paid off!

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

I'm not going to say that you're wrong, but I'd like to know where you're coming from, and what you're looking at, that gives you that impression in Morrowind. I don't exactly have an encyclopedic knowledge of every video game ever, but Morrowind might be the least "basic" video game I've ever played. There are environments in Skyrim that are lusher and more organic, but at the end of the day they are made out of simple fantasy set pieces; in Morrowind, the defining characteristic of the game is how alien it is, and when I look at it I see a world jam packed with strangeness.

and the characters have that "video gamey" look

I think you've said something profound here. Morrowind is kind of in an odd position in video gaming history. At the time that it was released, most role-playing games on the market were either (A) based around menu combat, like JRPGs; or (B) Ultima/Arena-type games in which you had a first-person perspective that controlled like a tank. Really, before Ultima, RPGs were basically limited to dungeon crawlers played on text-based interfaces with a little @ symbol portraying the main character. It was very much a prerequisite that the player be able to abstract out a lot of the actual role-playing and do it in their minds. After Morrowind, however, it became much more normal for everything to be explicit; no longer is your hit rate determined by a die roll, but now it is done by your real-world aim. Morrowind was released in the transitional state between these two extremes, and you can observe that by playing Daggerfall and Oblivion, and its gameplay can be thought of as an early attempt to marry the two concepts.

I wonder if that disparity is part of why newbies often have trouble picking Morrowind up, because it's not really abstract like Daggerfall or the early Final Fantasy games, and it's not quite natural like Skyrim.

[Eladan]

I'm not going to say that you're wrong, but I'd like to know where you're coming from, and what you're looking at, that gives you that impression in Morrowind.

You hit it on the head by referring to it as kind of a transition game between text-based RPGs where there might just be a map and an image of your current enemy on the screen, and a fluid, almost photorealistic modded Skyrim or Crysis 3. The environments are lacking in detail (kind of basic) compared to, say, Dishonored II, where the screen is filled with little details like artwork, graffiti, machinery, smoke, etc.
I guess by video-gamey I'm also thinking of how the NPCs move and interact; very choppily and unrealistically. For instance, if you come up behind someone, he instantly does an about face without actually turning his body. One second he's looking away, the next he's facing you. It's kind of a basic-feeling video game movement reminiscent of Doom or the like. I guess there's no getting around it: It's graphics from the early 2000s. But I knew that going in!
As I said, though, I'm getting used to the graphics (if I squint I can almost pretend it's Oblivion ), and I'm enjoying seeing my character grow and unraveling the mysteries and completing the missions.

[BiggJobag]

I started out with Skyrim in about 2012, and in 2015 I started playing Morrowind. After 20 hours - which I would call a valiant effort - I caved in and installed a lorryload of gameplay tweaks, graphics mods, and bugfixes. I have by now probably played about 190 hours, which, split between several restarts, has just got me to

Spoiler:

the bit where you find the Nerevarine Cult hideout place

, and I firmly believe it has the best fundamental design of any TES game. That's not to put any blame on Bethesda - Oblivion and Skyrim sought to appeal to a wider audience, and so - to oversimplify - the "hardcore" gamers had to sometimes lose out on design decision in compromises to appeal to the "casual" gamers. These compromises can deliver for the "hardcore" audience too, though - if they get bigger sales, they can invest more in a bigger, deeper, more fleshed out world. Without "casualisation", Bethesda would have struggled to implement voice acting, live orchestral soundtracks or huge DLC like Shivering Isles.

But enough excuses. Why is M/w so great? Well, the core engagement of any TES game is about independent exploration. A feeling that this is a mysterious and unknown world that you have to have the courage and skill to conquer. And almost every aspect of M/w's design, in contrast to its successors, adds to this engagement. From the lack of one-click fast travel to the lack of passive health and magicka regeneration, from the impregnability of the Ashlands and the Red Mountain to a low-level player to the mutually exclusive faction membership, from the diversity of different region’s flora and fauna to the way lore was integrated into the experience - everything combines to make this the shining light of the franchise for truly working towards its core engagement.

It's my belief that Bethesda could (but won't) learn from the successes of M/w, as well as the many successful innovations made in the later titles and within the modding community (Skyrim with Frostfall is a vastly improved game) to make a game that uses strong design, modern technology and the increased scale of the company to the betterment of its entire audience.

[buru5]

I think it's slightly overrated and not much better than Oblivion, but I did start with Oblivion so I may be biased. Seems like a lot of people started with Morrowind so naturally that's their favorite and anything that came out afterwards is a "perversion", which is basically how I feel about Skyrim compared to Oblivion.

Main points of contention I have are the steep learning curves, how slow movement is at the beginning of the game, and missing on direct hits. All these things can be overcome, of course, but they're off-putting for most players who try to hop into the game having played Oblivion or Skyrim first. The great thing about Elder Scrolls, however, are the mods. I mod these problems out every time I play Morrowind and enjoy it immensely, been thinking about replaying it again too.

[noobishlord]

Having just finished it, I can definitely say for a fact now that Morrowind has the most satisfying story of the three I've completed, with a very satisfying (and a little heart-racing) ending battle. That really gives it a lot of props. Oblivion's "final battle," wasn't really anything at all, I just walked around the outside and that was that. Skyrim's was anti-climactic and somewhat easy. Also the wide variety of factions and guilds you can join allows for a lot of flexibility for character development, and it's quite enjoyable to work your way up through the ranks, and have to actually work your skills up to go up the ranks is something I enjoy as well. It only makes sense after all to have great magical skills and be the Archmage of the Mages Guild, rather than knowing next to no magic and doing the same in Oblivion or Skyrim.

I still detest RNG combat and skills just as much as they seem to detest me. I've used the quicksave/quickload so much just for Persuasion, and I've wasted so many ingredients making potions. As annoying as Speechcraft is in Oblivion, at least it always works.