Is this good out of the box?

[Towerbooks3192]

I was wondering if the game is ok out of the box. I mean granting it is old especially in comparison to its sequels. I am more concerned about how OK is it to play it as it is or is the GOG version better? I am kinda willing to give it a shot especially when I managed to get through Baldur's gate 1 and 2 last year.

[puppychow]

+1 for the nice breakdown, Conkwer! :)

[Towerbooks3192]

Originally posted by Conkwer:

Originally posted by Towerbooks3192:

is the GOG version better? //
I am mainly concerned about how this is vs GOG since GOG usually makes sure that everything is good once you download and install.

GOG version..
Pros:
1. You not need to run Steam. No DRM. Offline
2. offline installer
3. uncompressed, hi quality bmp textures instead of compressed dds
4. Morrowind Prophecies - GotY guide.pdf (poorly scanned)
5. Tes Construction set
6. +8 official plugins http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Plugins
7. Can work better on some machines with Win7 where gameux is not disabled

Cons:
1. > 1Gb in size. GotY guide = 160Mb
2. lot of gimmicks inside Morrowind folder.. goglog.ini, galaxyfilelist, webcache.zip, gogame-11111, and million of junky files
3. Forced Admin Rights and Aero disabled + 999999 unnecessary compatibility fixes in registry that can cause trouble on some hardware.
4. Incorrect file dates (that can cause troubles with mods)
5. Problems with mods that use "Textures" folder because it not empty. Game already have 2 set of textures (dds in Morrowind.bsa and bmp textures in "Textures" folder)
6. Official plugins are preinstalled, but many peoples don't like them as there is better alternatives around. Merged and patched, for example: https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43931?tab=files
7. Installation is longer and not optimized for extremely low spec hardware and Androind phones as uncompressed textures are used.

Steam version
Pros:
1. no gimmicks and junky files, pure vanilla
2. cheap

Cons:
1. You can't run game without Steam (if not use OpenMW or some kind of patch).
2. Incorrect file dates (that can cause troubles with mods)
3. Problems with GameUX bug (that integrated in every copy of Win7). Not a big problem, if you know how to disable Game Explorer

Bethesda Launcher version:
Same as Steam, but no DRM. Morrowind.exe same as in GOG-version and can be used without Bethesda Launcher client.
Some videos are in folder "Videos" instead of "Data Files/Videos". It can cause some trouble with mods and OpenMW, until you move that files manually to "Data Files/Videos".

So, Bethesda Launcher version is the best, must be. No bells and whistles and no DRM. But this version is harder to obtain as Bethesda Launcher is a piece of crap.

Originally posted by Towerbooks3192:

I will want to try it vanilla first.

You will get corrupted saves one day.. Use MCP, at least.
MGE XE can be recommended too, as it allows you to upscale the UI and Morrowind can be more stable on modern hardware with it.
Don't forget about Patch for Purists!

Thanks. I will keep this in mind. For now I got the steam version only and I was eyeing the GOG one. I always try to get the GOG version of something should it be available.

[IcewaX]

I would at least use Morrowind Code Patch and MGEXE to smooth out frame rates and use custom resolutions and field of view, and so it doesn't stutter and run like poop.

[redgreen999]

The GOTY edition can have a dlc story line trigger when your level 1. Not ideal but there is a mod to fix it. I added a few appearance improvement mods and later, some convenience mods as the game can be a bit tedious in some aspects.

Particular annoyments include not being able to get past guards that stand in front of you in a hallway and other places. No work around for that - that I am aware of. I plan on killing all the guards once I get strong enough. Graphics out of box are meh, but it came out about 17 years ago.

[Messsucher]

Games are rarely finished when released. The work and funding on them has just been more or less ended. That's why modders are awesome, they keep working with the game.

One could argue a game complex enough can't ever be finished because computing power go up and graphics techniques go up, so there is always things what can be done better.

Don't be afraid to use mods. Mods are to a game what AMG workshop was for Mercedes.

[Messsucher]

Originally posted by مَعيق الكذاب:

Originally posted by Messsucher:

Don't be afraid to use mods. Mods are to a game what AMG workshop was for Mercedes.

No. I disagree. Developers shouldn't rely on a bunch of amateurs to do their work for them. I paid for a finished product.

No, you paid of what execs chose is ready to be sold or must be sold now. That is completely different than "finished product", which I already said is oxymoron in complex game. You can have a finished version of minimal Pacman, but that's about it. If don't want to do modding, then consoles might be better for you.

[Turtleswatter]

Originally posted by Messsucher:

Originally posted by مَعيق الكذاب:

No. I disagree. Developers shouldn't rely on a bunch of amateurs to do their work for them. I paid for a finished product.

No, you paid of what execs chose is ready to be sold or must be sold now. That is completely different than "finished product", which I already said is oxymoron in complex game. You can have a finished version of minimal Pacman, but that's about it. If don't want to do modding, then consoles might be better for you.

Right from day 1 Bethesda has encouraged the modding community to do whatever they want in the Elder Scrolls series. This game actually came with the creator pack. Admittedly, in recent times, that has included "fixing" it but that was not the original intention.

This game is almost 20 years old and it is natural that over the years people have added things to it, so it would keep up with some of the basic advances in technology. This is a far cry from "finishing the game" considering that, in it's day, it was groundbreaking.

I would certainly run the unofficial patch as that does fix bugs. Other than that its up to you. I would advise against running the Morroblivion mod first off as that does have a massive impact in the gameplay.

I welcome Bethesda giving us the freedom to mod. It's better than some of the other publisher's banning or suing people over the years for doing a lot less to their games.

[PainkilleR]

Originally posted by Conkwer:

GOG version..
Pros:
3. uncompressed, hi quality bmp textures instead of compressed dds

Wait, for real? Where did GoG get those textures from? I am pretty sure the CD version of Morrowind never had any "uncompressed" textures... It was just like the Steam version. Also how do they work? Morrowind uses .dds files... I am pretty sure if they are just loose .bmp files they aren't even being used by the game, no?

[Conkwer]

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

Wait, for real? I am pretty sure the CD version of Morrowind never had any "uncompressed" textures...

Yap. That unbelievable, but true.

pic1[oketado.ru]
pic2[oketado.ru]

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

Where did GoG get those textures from?

From Bethesda, I believe. Where else would they get it? CD version of Morrowind never had it

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

Also how do they work? Morrowind uses .dds files...

No, Morrowind engine and OpenMW support BMP too.

"The original Morrowind game uses DDS and TGA files for all kinds of two dimensional images and textures alike. In addition, the engine supported BMP files for some reason" (С) openmw.readthedocs.io

It support BMP, for sure.

Originally posted by PainkilleR:

I am pretty sure if they are just loose .bmp files they aren't even being used by the game, no?

No. It's original textures, must be. Not just converted or upscaled.. Some not compressed, some lossless compressed (TARGA bitmap).

1756 BMP files
1133 DDS files
3435 TGA files

Game loads resource by date, textures with newer date have priority.
So, why they aren't being used? They are used, if have newer date then Morrowind.bsa.

[Messsucher]

Originally posted by Suave Kharoof:

Originally posted by Messsucher:

If don't want to do modding, then consoles might be better for you.

I never stated that I'm against modding in general, that would be silly. I'm against the developers growing complacent and relying too much on the modding community to finish their product for them at launch.

I do use mods but I think of them as embellishments, nothing more. The game has to be playable as is.

My preference for the PC over consoles has absolutely nothing to do with mods whatsoever.

Deciding that console gaming would be better for someone who doesn't use mods simply because you can't mod on consoles is antilogical and doesn't make sense.

Why so mad? To teach you a lesson about logic I say I never said what you say there, though, you don't say I said so. You sounded like such modding hater that I said you MIGHT be better off with a console. I could had said you might not. Neither of those needs any logic. They are just suggestions.