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I took over a decade off playing MW and just decided to get back into it.

Back then, the big mods were basically Balmora Expanded, Suran Underworld, and Giants creature additions. TR existed but it was just basically in outline form.

Now we have TR getting more than halfway done, a bunch of cities have been given "Epic" versions, Balmora has about 5 different expansion versions out, and then there are mods like OpenMW and MWRebirth that change the entire island.

Plus now the unofficial patch is massive enough to require a checklist to decide all the changes you want, instead of just doing some missed bug fixing that Bethesda missed. I also saw Morrowind Overhaul that seems to go beyond patching and change the mechanics of just about everything. Back when I was playing those mechanical changes were individual plugins for the specific change you wanted.

Frankly, I'm just overwhelmed at my choices available and worry about these massive mods being in conflict when I try to add content/quest mods.

Even just adding mods to the game is harder now. Back then you put in the patches, official plugins, wyre mash, added all your small mods, leveled your lists, and called it good. Now it seems you need about 4 or 5 basic utilities just to manage all these complex mods and deal with the changes from XP to Win7/8/10.

I really need some advice on choosing what big mods to get into, so to avoid conflict, and which utilities and utility mods I should go with.

In one respect, I'm really happy the game kept expanding. But due to the nature of the complexity of the CS, it seems that complexity has been taken as a given. Little was done to make mods fundamentally easier to use over the years. Making it easier to use mods and the utilities behind them would have brought more newcomers to the game. I cringe a bit thinking I'll have to learn how to load all those mods again and making them work in my Win7 machine. It wasn't easy then, so it won't be easy now.

No need to feel I'm asking about every mod out there. I'll muddle through the choosing and using all the smaller content/quest mods. I'm more concerned about the overhaul and massive island changing stuff. I'll probably skip installing TR, btw. I'll wait until they are done (maybe years from now).

I also realized I have my old mod downloads from 2005. Maybe 75-100 mods in all. Most of it was mainline content, but I had some obscure stuff too. I noted a couple mod sites closed years ago and it seems a lot of mods were lost as a result. I'm wondering if there is a place someone would like me to place a listing of those I have to see if any of these were some of the lost ones. I figure if I can ask for some advice the least I can do for the community is see if I have anything in my old toy box that can be returned to the game.

Thanks in advance. I know I'm asking for somewhat subjective opinions here. Different folks like to play the game differently. Just give it your best shot and I'll appreciate it.

I'd suggest making a fresh installation on your C:/ drive, then download this:

http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/36945/?

It's a huge, comprehensive collection of mods that almost turn Morrowind into a whole new game. It's an all-in-one automated installer that let's you choose what you want. It doesn't have any quest mods or additional areas, but it might just be what you're looking for.

Let me know if you run into any problems.

I personally recommend OpenMW, especially if you're running modern hardware/a modern OS. Not all mods work with it (Compatibility list), but it does have its own method of managing mods which helps keep everything tidier (Mod installation instructions).

The MWOverhaul seems good, but seems mostly a graphics enhancement mod from what I can see. That's nice and all, and I'll have check compatibility with other mods, but there really isn't any new content. I do like the included utilities. I'm definitely keeping this one in mind if it doesn't conflict with most content mods.

Am I to assume MWO makes MWRebirth redundant? I'm sure they might conflict and both seem basically focused on appearance. I doubt I need two mega mods to help appearance. I'm not hell bent on trying to focus on appearance because it is really the content mods I'm after. Seems like MWO solves the appearance issue and throws in a nice utilities boost that is easy to install.

Also, it seems it includes the patch project work. I have the old GOTY physical disc version. Am I to assume that MWO takes care of all other patch related functions beyond what Bloodmoon supposedly fixed? Does MWO work with the few official plugins Bethesda put out? I remember that Firemoth was still buggy by the time Bethesda finally threw in the hat.


As for OpenMW, it seems to have a pretty short list of verified compatible mods according to the compatibility list. Worse is most of those mods aren't content related. At this point I'm not very eager to try this one. I do appreciate what they are trying to do. They are basically recreating the out of date engine. A worthy effort that needs to mature some more. A bit like TR in that respect.


If I go with MWO for graphics and utilities then my next issue are the very large content mods, like the city replacements. As I mentioned before, it now seems like Balmora is up to 5 or 6 expansion possibilities, and that just one of the cities even if Balmora will always be the city most popular to completely rebuild. Some guidance on city replacement mods would certainly be appreciated.

And then finally I would like some suggestions on massive quest content mods. The Underground and Black Mill were a couple of the biggest back in my day. I'm not sure if they have been updated or would work with OMW. I'd like a few more large scale content/quest mods that don't conflict with OMW or the big city replacement mods. I realize some get bent out of shape over the "lore" aspect some of these large mods add, but I'm not as purist about it. I also have seen that DarkElfGuy has a YouTube channel that might help me in that respect, but it never hurts to get more viewpoints.

So if you don't feel comfortable offering large content mod advice I'm cool with that. But the MWO compatibility questions I had above and city replacement mods are still on my mind. Any help in those regards would be greatly appreciated.

I am a fan of MGSO, but it really does come down to taste. I like a fairly vanilla experience, which MGSO can help, depending on the settings. I haven't used either OpenMW or Rebirth, but they both seem pretty cool too. If you can get Madd Leveler working properly, it's pretty interesting in the way that it manages attributes. The code patch (included with MGSO) has a lot of options for bug fixes and mechanic changes, but it's really up to taste. Personally, I use MGSO,Madd Leveler, Fair Magicka Regen, MNEM, and several cosmetic mods. (Mostly to help the Khajiit look better.) A lot of the older mods are lost to history, or can be found at the Morrowind Modding history website. Worth checking there out too.

I'm gonna have to check those out.

I like more content beyond vanilla. I'm far less concerned with appearance. I really don't even mind the vanilla visual/sound experience. MGSO seems more interesting to me for the utilities and bug fixes you get than it's sensory qualities. Of course, if I get some sensory upgrades without hassle, or even as part of a useful utility combo then I'll take it.

We seem to have fairly opposing desires out of the game. I would even take a sensory reduction in quality to get more active location and quest content. To each his own, I guess.

As for the older mods, I wasn't asking where to go get them. I was wondering where I could put a list of my 100 or so downloaded mods from 2005 to see if any were lost in the website closings, so I could offer them up to return them to the modding community. Again, it seems we are talking at cross purposes.


So back to my issues.

I'd like to go with MGSO as my primary utility and sensory upgrade mod. I can readily find smaller mods on my own for content, but I still have questions.

Does MGSO work with the few official plugins, and also include the bug fixes for that?

Do I need to sort through mods carefully to see if they clash with MGSO? Or is it the opposite where most content mods work?

Does MGSO work with the old school GOTY physical disc version or is it mainly just for the Steam version?

What are the better city/region replacement mods (especially when it comes to Balmora) ?

Btw, if there is an exhaustive MGSO usage and answer thread/FAQ I would be happy to research my own MGSO questions if someone posted a link. Then it would be down to my very last city replacement question.

I personally enjoyed Deus Machina by Trainwiz. Fantastic, but not very lore friendly. Also, Wyrmhaven by Neoptolemus is Fantastic. Large, beautiful, and much more lore friendly.

You'll be missing out. It's probably the largely lore-friendly content mod out there. You can stick entirely to the completed areas.

I've done enough reading to know why I don't want to load it.

It's unfinished and only sparsely populated where is is finished. It messes with the intervention spells. It doesn't really tie into the quests and relationships on the main island, and that was done on purpose to avoid lack of conflict, yet it causes a complete disconnect like it was new game using the old rules. They foolishly tried to create the capital city even before finishing, without realizing that when all roads lead to the Tribunal area that so do the vast flung quests. The capital should be the absolute last thing made for TR to help tie it all together. And they should realize they can only add so much exterior content in those capital city cells before it becomes a frame rate disaster.

I add mods for things to actually do, not just things to see. TR is a noble effort but it is still just half baked after over a decade. Maybe they will get it together at some point or maybe not. Until then I'll leave them to their work.

I'm more interested in the city replacement mods on the main island. Those and my MGSO questions. Still hoping someone could tackle those questions.