Why Daggerfall Unity?

[HunterN]

I like to play the original version of games usually. In the past few months I played through vanilla Fallout 1, 2, New Vegas, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines, and Morrowind. What are the reasons why I should play Daggerfall Unity over the base game, and what are the notable differences? Thanks

[Steve (Dawn's Hubby)]

I think the website sums it up pretty well.

https://www.dfworkshop.net

[AC Denton]

Originally posted by HunterN:

I played through vanilla [...] Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines

Please never do that again. I beg you. Get the Unofficial Patch Plus, it fixes everything, adds cut content and much more while being completely faithful to the vanilla game - all of the content it adds is stuff that was either cut or hinted at in the game files by the devs.
It's the definitive way to play. Truuuust me.

Originally posted by HunterN:

What are the reasons why I should play Daggerfall Unity over the base game, and what are the notable differences? Thanks

Well it's esentially a remake of the game in a much more modern and stable engine, less bugs and crashes, better visuals and rendering. On top of all that, being made in such a standardised and widely-used engine means there was a LOT of mod support[www.nexusmods.com] for Daggerfall such as new quests, 3D models, better rendering/lighting, distant terrain.
Daggerfall Unity, like the UPP for Bloodlines, is the only recommended way to play.

Just look at how fantastic it looks modded visually:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHnRDj-yt0Y&t=5s

[TheDiaz]

Bugfixes
Crashes fixes
Better dungeon crawling with the smaller dungeon option
Mods
Mods
Mods

[lonetrav]

Originally posted by AC Denton:

... Daggerfall Unity ... is the only recommended way to play. ...

... from your perspective.

@HunterN:
One of the main reasons to play DFU is the availability of a huge number of very diverse mods (see nexus site). Many prefer it because of the graphics (have a look yourself), some claim it has fewer bugs (the common debate: these bugs of classic DF seem to hit some players more than others, whatever this means - I myself get only one problem occasionally, caused by the "void bug", and there is a workaround ...). And finally, some players prefer DFU because of its "modern" interface - again, have a look yourself.
In addition, DFU claims to fix a number of exploits and to make many things work which don't work in DF - some players are of the opinion that these changes go beyond what a "remake" should do though. I doubt that this matters (either way) for someone who has never played Daggerfall before (you wouldn't notice the difference).

My personal recommendation is to play classic Daggerfall first. There are 3 common releases (all identical, as far as the original game goes, the DOSBox configuration is slightly different, all 3 work equally well), from Steam, GOG, and then there is DaggerfallSetup from wiwiland. I prefer DaggerfallSetup, for two reasons: The wiwiland site is very informative, and it comes bundled with a big number of interesting mods (of DF, not of DFU), which can be installed or not: additional quests (some of which are available for DFU, too - as mods, I believe), gameplay changes, and a tool to improve the viewing distance. For example you can play as a werewolf, if you like. These reasons are not really relevant for first time players though (except possibly the utility extending the viewing distance).

As someone who has played classic DF from the time it was released, I'm very familiar with the UI (and see advantages and disadvantages compared with DFU's), but it takes some getting used, too, initially (not more than the UI of the old games you mentioned above).
After a while I'd have a look at DFU, too, and then decide - or play both in parallel (it's what I do - play DF for the normal gameplay, and DFU when I want to use mods). It's your choice.

[Zsrai]

I have no idea what wiwiland is, but UESP has DaggerfallSetup[en.uesp.net] as well, and it's what I've used.

[HunterN]

Thanks lonetrav, I think I will most likely play the original as I've done for these other games. AC Denton's response was like exactly the opposite of what I wanted ha

[lonetrav]

Originally posted by Zsrai:

I have no idea what wiwiland is,...

Go to the UESP site whose link you included in your post, and you'll find the link to the "DaggerfallSetup Web Site" (UESP quote) right next to the download link.
Wiwiland is DaggerfallSetup's homepage, and here is the direct link: https://wiwiki.wiwiland.net/index.php?title=Daggerfall_:_DaggerfallSetup_EN.

Originally posted by HunterN:

... I will most likely play the original ...

You're welcome.
The workaround for the void bug (a graphics glitch) I mentioned is ALT-F11, the official desciption is
"if you fall into the void, pressing this will take you back to the previous object you were standing on. This can help you get out of the void when you fall into it."

Have fun!

[Jay_square]

main reason is that you'll have a much better chance of beating the game on unity than original. the original game emulated on dosbox will have you running dungeons only for the to repeatably crash. unity fixes this problem.

[lonetrav]

Originally posted by Jay_square:

main reason is that you'll have a much better chance of beating the game on unity than original. the original game emulated on dosbox will have you running dungeons only for the to repeatably crash. unity fixes this problem.

... for example, DFU has an option for "smaller dungeons", and it doesn't have the "void bug" - really no big deal, if you use the workaround I described in my previous post. You can make the dungeons easier in DFU indeed, But be aware that you play a very different game if you do - exploring Daggerfall's gigantic dungeons is a key feature of the game (and there are ways to make dungeon crawling in Daggerfall more accessible in-game, too, if you want). It's the player's choice.

[✠Wagner✠]

Originally posted by HunterN:

I like to play the original version of games usually. In the past few months I played through vanilla Fallout 1, 2, New Vegas, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines, and Morrowind. What are the reasons why I should play Daggerfall Unity over the base game, and what are the notable differences? Thanks

Many games especially Bloodlines are janky and broken on release. Modders in the community fix them with unoffiacial patches so it gets closer to the original vision. Why would you say no to that? Cant see the logic. Daggerfall Unity is smooth and not janky. Thats why you should play that instead of Dosbox. New quests and content are optional mods that you obviously dont have to download. Daggerfall unity is a more stable vanilla game

[✠Wagner✠]

Originally posted by HunterN:

Thanks lonetrav, I think I will most likely play the original as I've done for these other games. AC Denton's response was like exactly the opposite of what I wanted ha

So you prefer janky, buggy, broken, unstable games? You make no sense. Daggerfall unity can be played in retro mode. That means the original resolution but with a stable engine, no crashes and no bugs. How is that bad?

[lonetrav]

Originally posted by Hans von Hammer:

... So you prefer janky, buggy, broken, unstable games? You make no sense. Daggerfall unity can be played in retro mode. That means the original resolution but with a stable engine, no crashes and no bugs. How is that bad?

Wrong assumptions - wrong conclusions. :-)
No, I don't "prefer janky,... games". Please read my posts: For me Daggerfall is not "buggy, broken", or whatever you call it. Having played the fully patched game for 100's of hours, I never had a single real crash - the "void bug" is a bug, a graphics glitch, but no crash, it appears occasionally, and you can work around it. Like I said, from reading forum posts I have the impression that DF crashes hit some players more than others.

I have read the documentation describing the differences between DF and DFU on dfworkshop (and uesp), and DFU seems to fix a number of DF issues indeed - issues I'm aware of, but which are not gamebreakers for me. On the other hand, DFU changes a couple of things, too, which, in my opinion, are not DF bugs, but (perceived) "improvements". There is nothing I find unacceptable, but nothing which would motivate me to play DFU rather than DF either.

DFU's UI is described as "more modern". Fine with me, but again no reason to prefer DFU over DF. I'm familiar with DF's UI, and, again like I said earlier, for me there are advantages and disadvantages of both UI's. In addition, I have no problem with DF's graphics.

This leaves the DFU mods, some of which I do like - mainly because they let me turn DF into a very different game, gameplay- and mechanics-wise, and thus extend the scope of DF considerably.

That's it in a nutshell. Like I said earlier, I play (and like) both DF and DFU, for different reasons. And I don't tell others what to do - it's their choice. In this thread I replied to someone who mentioned DF in the context with other older games and expressed interest in playing the original versions of games. In this case I do recommend to play DF and not DFU (at least initially).

PS: Regarding Bloodlines, I would never play it without the unofficial patch, but this is a different story.

[Lathanx]

If you don't want your eyes to bleed from crappy UI scaling, stick with unity. No reason to play daggerfall setup unless you're an uppity, overopinionated grognard incapable of change.

[lonetrav]

Had you read my post, you would know that I play both DF and DFU, for different reasons. By the way, my eyes don't bleed. If yours bleed, you ought to consult an eye doctor.
You may feel the way you do, ok, but please don't expect everyone else to feel the same way or call others "uncapable of change", just because they have an opinion different from yours. Believe it or not, there are people who are incapable of accepting and tolerating views which are not their own.

[HunterN]

This is ironic since I have literally no opinion on this but as is so often the case super opinionated weirdos are showing up and meanwhile lonetrav presented exactly what I needed. No need for further comments! Thanks again to lonetrav. If someone's reason for why I should play a mod for 1996 videogame is "look how good it looks visually!" then I have no idea why you think I want that for a game from nearly 30 years ago. I prefer to play games as they actually are the first time unless there's a really strong reason not to (VTMB probably is correct to play it modded but then if you ask these questions for Morrowind a bunch of weirdos will be like "USE THE MOD THAT MAKES IT LIKE SKYRIM" like bruh what is happening)