Coming from Morroblivion to Tamriel Rebuilt

[crimsonblade02191973]

Hi folks, I am new so go easy on me. I am coming off of Morroblivion to Tamriel Rebuilt. Morroblivion for the lack of a word I won't say here is junk. The people who are making these projects are totally unprofessional and when it comes to their forums anything goes. The game itself is terrible. It totally takes away the lore and feel of Original Morrowind and they will probably never finish any of their projects. So I've dumped all of them.

Tamriel Rebuilt just from reading the introductory information sounds very professional. It is being created by top of the line modders, programmers etc. I just downloaded what is available at this point in time but have no clue where to go to see some of the stuff that has been created. I would ask that someone get back with me on where exactly do you travel to the new land. From the map in game it looks like you could take a swim or levitate across the water LOL!

Well anyways that is where I am coming from and my question. I am a player and a very novice modder and Tamriel Rebuilt looks like exactly what I need to get enthusiastic about Morrowind again.

[Theminimanx]

For now, you actually have to swim/fly to the mainland, because proper transport between the mainland and Vvardenfell hasn't been added yet.

[crimsonblade02191973]

Hey and thanks for the response. Yep I figured it out on my own this morning. I went all along the coast of Vvardenfell and couldn't find any transport so I went for a swim. I got tore up by Slaughterfish but finally made it to the new land. I did run into a bunch of errors about Nif files and when that would happen I just said Yes to accept them all because I knew if I didn't the game would shut down on me.

Anyways I did make it to the new land and took a look around. Looks awesome. Feels like Original Morrowind Lore. I know that the work is not complete which was the reason for the errors and yellow exclamation marks but that is alright. I am glad I made the switch from that junk game Morroblivion.

Those folks are never going to finish their work because they keep thinking of things to add to the game that were not a part of the original and they have left out a lot of stuff that made Morrowind such a great game.

Tamriel Rebuilt keeps the original Morrowind Lore and adds a whole lot more to it. Keep up the good work and in the end you will have a project that you can be proud of.

[gro-Dhal]

I know that the work is not complete which was the reason for the errors and yellow exclamation marks but that is alright.

Those aren't incomplete bits- you probably didn't register your .bsa properly or you wouldn't see them.

[Miraclestone]

The yellow exclamation points and errors are not intended to happen and means you didn't install the mod correctly. The BSA that comes with the download needs to be introduced to your ini. You can find 'Morrowind.ini' in your Morrowind folder and open it with Notepad. Find '[Archive]' in the ini and below that write in 'Archive X=TR_Data.bsa' X being whatever number came before it +1. For example an unmodded Morrowind game's ini should look like:

[spoiler]...
[Archives]
Archive 0=Tribunal.bsa
Archive 1=Bloodmoon.bsa
...[/spoiler]

and after the change it should look like:

[spoiler]
...
[Archives]
Archive 0=Tribunal.bsa
Archive 1=Bloodmoon.bsa
Archive 2=TR_Data.bsa
...[/spoiler]

and then save it with the correct name 'Morrowind.ini' over the one you had before. If you don't feel comfortable changing it, you can back up the ini before making the change.

Also you can look into the Morrowind Code Patch to fix the map to make sure you can see the mainland if that is an issue. Go to '-interface changes-' and the first option under is 'Map expansion (for Tamriel Rebuilt)'. Check it and anything else in the patcher which looks appealing to you and run the patch. Hope these recommendations help you enjoy the mod!

Here is Nexus' link to Morrowind Code Patch [url]http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/19510/?[/url]

[crimsonblade02191973]

Now that is what I am talking about. Genuine Help! I didn't know that the BSA file had to be put in the INI like this. Thanks so much for the help. I made the change in the INI and the Code Patch and went to the new land and bingo. No errors or yellow exclamation points. Got tore up really bad by the Slaughterfish again. There must be hundreds of them and you can't see them until they are on you. LOL! Anyways again I appreciate your sharing this information with me. I had no idea that the BSA file had to be placed in the INI. I simply installed the mod like any other mod. One final question would be the proper load order for these. Could you or someone fill me in on that. Right now I have the ESM files loading right after Bloodmoon and the ESP file loading right after the one that comes with the Morrowind Code Patch. It doesn't seem to be causing any conflicts like this but if this load order is wrong I'd like to know and know the correct one.

[Miraclestone]

BSAs are the same type of archives that Bethesda used in the game and drastically reduces the initial download speeds among other things. To be clear you didn't need to do the code patch in order to fix the issue with the exclamation points but it fixes the map so that you can see the mainland.

If all you have is Tamriel Rebuilt and the Morrowind Code Patch then that load order should be fine. I can explain more in depth if you have more issues.

Glad to hear that it's working for you and enjoy.

[crimsonblade02191973]

Yep everything is working just fine now. I based the load order on the Master Files that the Tamriel Rebuilt files require in order. I put the Alpha ESP after the Code Patch ESP because the Code Patch is a Patch and I also put the Morrowind Unofficial Patches above the Code Patch but after the Tamriel Rebuilt ESMs.

I've been working with BSAs for a good while. I am a novice level modder and have made several different types of mods for Skyrim that are doing quite well on the Nexus. My best is a texture overhaul to help people with low end computers get better performance out of Skyrim on their PC. It is called Skyrim Halfsized. It has over 3000 downloads and over 100 endorsements. I just overhauled it a few days ago to try to breathe new life into it and the overhaul took off just like the original. My original set of mods were in ESP/BSA format but the overhaul I made is in loose file format. All these are are textures and I simply used a texture optimizer to reduce their size in half. This produces a low res texture but the trade off is a faster running Skyrim and it doesn't look that bad.

Anyways I am no good at 3D Items or Scripts etc. Advanced level stuff can't do it but I can make characters like vendors etc. So if Tamriel Rebuilt needs a simple vendor I might be able to help with something like that.

[Miraclestone]

Sounds interesting, I have a have powerful computer so I don't need mods like that but I'm glad someone is making them. It sounds like you know about as much as me if not more about elder scrolls file types so just trust your gut.

You will need to make a showcase in order to become an official developer. Check out the showcase section if you are interested in contributing. There are seven different types of showcases: Writing, Concept Art, Models and Textures, Sound and Music, Quests and Scripting, Interior Design, and Exterior Design. If any of these sound up your alley feel free to make a showcase. It can take a long time for a showcase to pass so only do it if you think your interest in the project will last a long time and you have time to spare. If none of these sound up your alley, that's ok too. We can use help testing the mod which you will already be doing by playing it, post any issues you find with the game in the Public Testing Forum. If any of these sound up your alley but you don't feel strong about your skill, practice a bit and come back when you are ready.

I don't think we are looking for people to make simple vendors or such but I'm not a senior member so I can't confirm this. Its hard to keep everyone in the loop as is and we try to distribute in as large a quantity as possible to lower the confusion. People who are doing the work of making the quests and fitting the cells together are also placing the NCPs. The best thing you can do is continue the support with interest in the project!

[crimsonblade02191973]

Hey and thanks for the information. All that sounds a little above my current modding knowledge though but that is OK like you said. I am just glad someone is actually responding to my posts. It wasn't like that with Morroblivion.

Sounds like the development of Tamriel Rebuilt is in more advanced stages and simple vendor mods are definitely not what you are looking for right now and that is OK with me. I am just being honest about what I can do and what I can't. I don't want to say I'll make a Quest when I don't know how to do that kind of modding.

I tried my hand at 3D Item Creation by first of all learning how to texture and I just couldn't do it. I have no training. I was trying to do it on my own. So the mods I have made are really simple. That texture mod I mentioned was really easy. I just extract all the files out of Skyrim BSAs and allow a texture optimizer program to do the work for me. I can get the whole game and DLCs done in a day. I just turn it on and go away or asleep LOL! and when I come back in a couple of hours it is all done.

My thinking behind the reduction of textures to increase the performance of a low end PC was just based on computer knowledge. The less the CPU has to process the better it will function. Anyone can make the mods I made. It is that simple. Some folks even asked me to teach them how to do it so they can do it on their own mods. The software is on the Nexus and it is really easy to use. You simply point it to the folder that the extracted textures are in and let it run.

One last thing I would like to know is what file do you use in the Morrowind Construction Set to create mods off of? I tried opening the Main Land file and I got hundreds of warnings. I said Yes to them for about 5 minutes but they just kept popping up so I said No to one and that shut down the CS.

[RyanS]

Welcome to TR, crimsonblade!

I tried opening the Main Land file and I got hundreds of warnings. I said Yes to them for about 5 minutes but they just kept popping up so I said No to one and that shut down the CS.

[url=http://www.mwmythicmods.com/Archives/CS/Construction%20Set%20warnings%20while%20loading%20all%203%20Master%20Files.htm]Here[/url] is the solution to your problem.

[crimsonblade02191973]

So just keep saying Yes until all those Warnings stop. I got you and thanks. It was my first time opening one of the TR files and I wasn't sure I was doing it right or something was terribly wrong with the CS.

Welcome to the world of modding LOL!

I was going to make some mods of my own like maybe a transport ship to the TR Mainland. So I don't have to swim. Those Slaughterfish are a nightmare. The last time I went over I almost didn't make it.

EDIT: OK I went through all the warnings and the CS crashed. I bet that is because I am on my old laptop right now and it couldn't handle it all. Information overload caused the CS to crash. I will try again on my Desktop which should be able to handle it as it is several years newer than this laptop but it is located in our office of the house which is very close to the Master Bedroom and it is late where I live and my folks don't want to be disturbed.

I am going to try to make a Transport mod for myself by looking at how original Morrowind transport works. Sometimes I can pull off a mod that is above my knowledge by looking at how similar stuff is done.

[Miraclestone]

I'll let you explore the CS and see if you can find the answer yourself. If you can make a Vendor you will probably be able to figure out how to make transportation, doesn't require custom scripts. There are plenty of tutorials for modding that can explain things better than me.

If the CS keeps crashing that may be a problem, try not to move any of the windows during start up or it may crash. It crashes if you forget to check all the mods you need in order to load what you want. Even if all you are doing is opening TR you still need Tribunal and Bloodmoon on. CS wont tell you if you are missing dependents so you have to do that work yourself.

Do what Ryan suggested and add that line to your ini. All that will do is add a cancel button which skips all the errors so you don't have to hold down enter. The errors are normally not an issue and will happen anytime you open the CS with anything that changes dialog from the original game. Unless you are messing with scripts or the dialog these errors are useless to you.

Hope this helps

[crimsonblade02191973]

Hey and thanks. I feel kinda dumb. I was on my old laptop last night when I got the message about adding that line of code to the INI. My laptop screen is so bad that I couldn't tell that the word Here in the sentence was a link. LOL! but anyways I can see now on the desktop.

It works like a charm but I have another issue. The CS crashes everytime it gets to the point of fully loading the TR ESM. Any thoughts on that issue? I am using Steam Morrowind but I have the disc version as well. The Steam download doesn't come with the CS so I have to use the disc to install it.

[Miraclestone]

[url]http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/42196/?[/url]

^ seems to be the fix you are looking for. I can't vouch for it because I've only ever used non-steam versions of the game but no harm trying. The issue should have nothing to do with TR and more to do with Steam.

[crimsonblade02191973]

Bingo that was it. The CS disk version is sort of incompatible with Steam Morrowind. I went ahead and deleted Steam Morrowind and installed the disc version for that reason and another and that would be the MGE (Morrowind Graphics Extender). Steam Morrowind doesn't like that either. You have to jump through some hoops to get it to work and I'd rather not go through all that.

I now have a Morrowind with MGE working and I just opened the TR file in the CS and it loaded up all the way. NO CRASH.

Got a question about a previous comment. I noticed in the INI of the disc version that there is no [Archive] and the BSAs in there. Do I need to add that for TR to work properly with the disc version. I don't know why the disc version didn't add those lines like the Steam version does but I look all through the INI and unless I just missed it, it isn't there.

[Dragon32]

BSAs
Unlike in Oblivion (and I guess from your comments, Skyrim) we need to explicitly instruct the game to load BSAs (apart from Morrowind.bsa) by editing morrowind.ini

You saying that there is no [Archives] section in your morrowind.ini kind of implies that Tribunal and Bloodmoon aren't installed. You haven't installed to Program Files have you? In Windows since Vista (with UAC and folder virtualisation) this can cause problems: [url=http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/781497-vistawindows-7-problems/]Vista/Windows 7 Problems[/url] (Bethsoft).

MGE
You may mean MGE XE (a fork of the original MGE) but that is a much more advanced and, importantly, maintained version of the graphics extender than the original MGE. The latter hasn't seen any development in two or three years.
Grab MGE XE from Morrowind Nexus.

MCP
You don't need its showcase plugin loaded to receive the benefits of MCP. MCP patches the game's executable and the plugin is intended to be used before and after that patching.

Load order
Whilst it appears you don't have many mods installed at the moment I'd recommend grabbing [url=http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43001/?]mlox[/url]. It will arrange your mods in their optimum load order as well as highlight any known conflicts between mods and missing patches to get mods to play nice with each other.
It's similar to BOSS but goes into much more detail on the mods it includes than BOSS does.

[crimsonblade02191973]

Yeah I installed it all to Program Files but I have Windows 7. So there is a problem with installing Morrowind to Program Files with Windows 7? I didn't know that and thanks for the info on the MGE.

OK so lets say I reinstall it. What folder should I install it to? Couldn't I just create one directly on the C drive called Morrowind or is there a specific name I should use? This is all new information to me. I didn't know that the disc version of Morrowind had a problem with Windows 7 and I will definitely get the MGE from the Nexus. Didn't know it was there either.

[Miraclestone]

You can name it what you want, making a games folder outside of Programs Files is advised for older games. The issue with Programs Files for vista/7 is that windows has a way of restricting rights for such programs inside the folder during installation and such. Newer programs are smart enough to ask for those rights but older ones can become confused. A good path to start is C:/Games/Betheda/Morrowind. The name is doesn't matter as long as Morrowind knows where it is.

If you are interested in Overhauling your game this might be for you:

[url]http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/36945/?tab=1&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fmorrowind%2Fajax%2Fmoddescription%2F%3Fid%3D36945%26preview%3D&pUp=1[/url]

I use this myself on one of my Morrowind folders and it makes for a prettier experience to say the least. This includes MGE XE and MCP so you don't need to install those this time if you use this but you still need TR. It will control your mouse at times during the installation so don't freak out. You'll have to decide if you and your computer want this. If you do use it, understand that your CS will be effected from any mods you install and you will need to have a clean install if you want to make a showcase because the overhaul changes a lot of models so reviewers will be seeing different things than you. It is recommended you have a clean version for any personal mods you make as well.

I'll explain more in depth about clean vs modded Morrowinds and how you make them if you want.

[crimsonblade02191973]

Ah ha. I reinstalled it to a folder outside the Program Files. I figured it could be named whatever so I simply back deleted the Program Files out of the file structure and now Morrowind is in C:\Bethesda Softworks\Morrowind. Real simple to do and now I have an [Archive] section in my INI.

You guys are the best. I am learning and getting help with stuff I didn't even know about and I really appreciate all of it.

EDIT: I am downloading the Morrowind Overhaul right now. It is pretty large but looks pretty cool. Yeah, I kind of left Morrowind in the dust when Oblivion and then Skyrim came out. I've never beaten Morrowind and what I need is some cool stuff to get me interested in the game again.

I thought Morroblivion would do that but it had the exact opposite effect. Those people making that and their other projects don't seem to get that putting an old game into a newer engine actually takes away from the lore experience. From everything I have read what they are doing is illegal. They say they have worked out the legal issues with Bethesda but that is just what they say. How do we know it is true. Anyways I am done with them and if it is illegal I don't want to be involved in that type of stuff.

I'll let you know how all this turns out. I think switching back to the disc version was a good idea though. It made Morrowind more compatible with lots of stuff. I am going to do the same with Oblivion. Wish Skyrim was non Steam but there is no getting around that.

[Dragon32]

Some things to beware of with MGSO:
The bundled versions of MGE XE, MCP and mlox in MGSO are two years out of date.
There are unfixed issues. Unofficial patches are available.

More information in this thread on Bethsoft: [url=http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1504990-relz-morrowind-overhaul-sounds-graphics-30-thread-5/][RELz] Morrowind Overhaul - Sounds & Graphics 3.0 Thread #5[/url]

[Miraclestone]

As I state you will have to decide if it is right for you. I have had issues with MGSO including missing meshes and etc. It is a good thing to use if you want to get right into the action without hours of downloading mods and checking for compatibility issues but the down side is you have less control over what is in your game. I was iffy about mentioning it because it is slightly off topic and my job is to help you get your TR working. Don't feel pressured to use what I recommend it is just my personal opinion .

[crimsonblade02191973]

Ok, I got the Morrowind Overhaul installed following the instructions. When I got to the mod choices I chose all Green ones as I am on a low end PC. Anyways when I start the game I immediately get an error saying can't find Enchanting Shirt Hair or something. Other than that the game looks better than Skywind. My concern is errors though.

From what I've read on this mod there may be a lot of them and that one that occurs at the Launch of the game is one that is being mentioned a lot but no one knows of a fix.

For my purposes getting a better version of MGE may be all that I need. I don't want to be playing and keep running into errors and CTDs etc and I think the Morrowind Overhaul mod is dead in the water so to speak. I don't think the creator is maintaining it and fixing problems. He may not be able to as this is a compilation of lots of other folks' mods. If their mods have errors then this will too.

But at least I tried it. The only thing is that to get rid of it I am going to have to reinstall the game from scratch but that won't take long and then get the new MGE by itself.

Anyways I appreciate all of this. I've just gotta find what is right for me and a mod full of errors isn't.

[Miraclestone]

Frankly this mod pack isn't perfect and you can probably do a better job picking mods for yourself. I'm glad you gave it a chance and even more that you rejected it honestly. The overhaul is more of a 'lazy noob' solution from lack of a better word. Sounds like its not for you and that's fine. Stick with what you want and enjoy the game as you see fit. Glad we were able to help you get set up!

[crimsonblade02191973]

You bet. You and the others have helped me learn things about these games that I would never have picked up on on my own. Like the Windows 7 issue. That is a big one. I had no idea. All that time my games were installed wrong. LOL! and the other is the Morrowind BSA thing. Every BSA that goes into Morrowind has to be put in the INI like this. I read about that while installing the Morrowind Overhaul. Morrowind is different from Oblivion and Skyrim and this BSA thing has to be done with every one.

And now I can get into the CS without it crashing. I am going to take a look at making a transport mod even though I don't know how. Sometimes when I look at how original stuff is done or another person's mod I can piece together a script or whatever I need to get my idea working. Two examples of that are my Pocket Workstation and Pocket Merchant mods for Skyrim. I had the idea but had to do some serious digging to find what I needed to make those work. Advanced level scripts. I figure I can take a look at a transportation character already in the game and figure out how all that works.

[Dragon32]

Ok, I got the Morrowind Overhaul installed following the instructions. When I got to the mod choices I chose all Green ones as I am on a low end PC. Anyways when I start the game I immediately get an error saying can't find Enchanting Shirt Hair or something.
<snip>

Explained in mlox or [url=http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1305729-mod-recommendations-for-new-players/page-3#entry23136256]here[/url] on Bethsoft.

[crimsonblade02191973]

Hey and thanks for showing me the info on that error. I decided not to use that set of mods and just go with the MGE XE only. It by itself makes a big difference. I've got a new Graphics Card in my PC that has twice the VRAM as my old one and I am able to generate mid to high range stuff with the MGE XE and the game still runs smooth. One thing I don't like about a lot of Morrowind mods is that they are in loose file format and sometimes they are in the same folder as an Original Mesh or Texture and if you want to remove it you have to be careful not to remove the Original Game files but I guess modders make Morrowind mods that way for the most part because you have to register every BSA with the INI file is my best guess and if there is no ESP with the mod you can't have the Morrowind Mod Manager generate a working BSA. Tried it on a texture mod and it didn't work. I made my own ESP file for the mod thinking it would trigger the game to use the Textures but this does not work in Morrowind like it does in Skyrim.

[Dragon32]

Morrowind will use loose files in Data Files in preference to those in BSAs (although this behaviour can be changed in morrowind.ini, I can't see any reason to).

There was something I read over on the Oblivion side at Bethsoft and I assume it's the same for Morrowind. If you have multiple BSAs with the same texture in then the game will randomly pick from the textures in the BSAs without paying attention to the BSA files' modified dates.

Actually on the Oblivion side it appeared to be that the BSA with the last used resource was used.

Also, you can use the [url=http://wiki.theassimilationlab.com/mmw/Wrye_Mash:Installers_Tab]Installers tab[/url] of Wrye Mash to easily add and remove mods without worrying about removing Bethesda's content.

A number of Russian mods are distributed in BSA format but very few from English-speaking modders.

[crimsonblade02191973]

Yep, BSA files are the last to be used. Oblivion and Skyrim and I am assuming Morrowind will use what is packed in a BSA file last. If you have loose files they will override a BSA.

When I made my Skyrim Halfsized mod I made a simple ESP that would trick the game into using the Textures I had packed into a BSA. All I changed was an actor and I didn't even change anything about the actor. I simply opened up the actor an clicked OK and it put an * by the actor showing that it was changed. It was a test actor by the way.

The problem was that folks couldn't seem to understand my clear instructions on load order of these ESP files. So I redid the mod into loose files and those override what is packed in Skyrim Texture BSAs without any worries about load order. The only thing though is that they also override original texture changes made by the UOPs but the textures in the UOPs whatever they are I have never noticed them.

The good thing now is that I am not getting any complaints about load order and it not working.

Anyways I downloaded a Texture Mod for Morrowind and it was all loose files so I thought I could make a BSA out of it and I did. Then I needed a small ESP file to trigger that BSA and I made one and registered the BSA with the INI but it didn't work. So Morrowind must be different in that way. I loaded the loose files into the game and it worked but it changed a whole bunch of stuff that I didn't want changed and being that there were hundred of textures I didn't want to risk deleting Original Morrowind stuff I once again reinstalled Morrowind.

OK a question. I have the Morrowind Mod Manager or whatever it is called and I think you can create files similar to OMODs with this and that would be one way to get rid of the problem of hundreds of textures. I could make a MMOD out of it all and then if I decided to delete it I could just deactivate the MMOD. My question is will Wrye Bash work for Morrowind? When I install Wrye Bash it only gives me options for Oblivion and Skyrim but I think there is an option to install to other locations. I'll have to take a look at that.

[Dragon32]

BSAs are handled differently in Morrowind to Oblivion, and I guess Skyrim.

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by Morrowind Mod Manager, is it from Timeslip? An old version of OBMM ported to Morrowind? I started off using OBMM on my Oblivion install but then moved to Wrye Bash and its installers tab.

Wrye Bash and Wrye Mash are two separate programs (Wrye wrote Mash first then started work on Bash, other people took up Bash development but Mash has languished a bit). You need Wrye Mash for Morrowind.

[crimsonblade02191973]

Yeah, you can find the Morrowind Mod Manager on the Morrowind Nexus.

[url=http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/26260/?]Morrowind Mod Manager[/url]

It is by Timeslip and is very old. Another person found it and posted it to the Nexus. It functions very similar to the Oblivion Mod Manager.

I've been using it to arrange my Morrowind Load Order. Anyways you are right about Wrye Bash. It doesn't work with Morrowind even if you place it there using the extra location option. So I will get and try Wrye Mash.

EDIT: I made a MMOD out of Tamriel Rebuilt using the Morrowind Mod Manager and it works just like the Oblivion Mod Manager. I just downloaded the CS for Steam Morrowind and it works perfectly. I loaded the TR file and it didn't crash. Now when I get some spare time I can take a look at making a Transport Mod to the Mainland.

I really need to go over there and see everything before making a mod like this. I wouldn't even know where to transport to right now so a mod like that may be several weeks down the road.

[Dragon32]

<snip>
I've been using it to arrange my Morrowind Load Order.
<snip>

I'm biased but I'd recommend running your load order through [url=http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43001/]mlox[/url].

[crimsonblade02191973]

Ah MYLOX is an automated mod sorter. Cool deal and it does a good job. MY load order with MYLOX is a little different than what it was doing it by hand with the MMM (Morrowind Mod Manager). I am still going to make MMODs out Mods especially those that are in loose file format. The MMM works just like OBMM and was made by Timeslip but got lost somehow and someone found it and posted it to the Nexus.

I re-downloaded that Texture mod I talked about that I didn't like and made a MMOD out of it. What I didn't like about it is that it totally changed the way my current character looked. It gave me a high ponytail hairstyle and changed my facial features.

Well I decided to give it another go with a new game and I found a Redguard look that I liked. Other than that this texture pack plus the MGE XE makes Morrowind look awesome.

[crimsonblade02191973]

Here are my computer specs.

Dell Optiplex 320 (8 year old computer)

Intel Pentium D Processor (First Generation Dual Core CPU)

2GB System RAM (I can't upgrade to 4GB with a PCI Express Graphics Card. This is a well documented issue with this model of computer and I called Dell and they confirmed it.)

Asus Radeon R7 240 Graphics Card (2GB DDR3 VRAM - Brand New)

I've replaced the original Hard Drive and other parts as they went bad. I am trying to make this computer last as long as possible because right now I can't afford to just up and run out and buy a new system. I plan to get one but I am going to have to save up the money for it which is going to take a while.

Anyways what I am getting at are recommended Morrowind mods that won't tear up the performance of my PC. So far everything I have doesn't affect performance at all not even the MGE XE which was a big surprise to me. If someone could just make a short list of some mods I could try that would be great. I am not looking for any particular type just some that are really awesome that won't hurt the performance of my PC.

Thanks - Crimson Blade

[Dragon32]

<snip>
Anyways what I am getting at are recommended Morrowind mods that won't tear up the performance of my PC. So far everything I have doesn't affect performance at all not even the MGE XE which was a big surprise to me. If someone could just make a short list of some mods I could try that would be great. I am not looking for any particular type just some that are really awesome that won't hurt the performance of my PC.

Thanks - Crimson Blade

This thread from Bethsoft should help out: [url=http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1305729-mod-recommendations-for-new-players/]Mod Recommendations for New Players[/url].

Basically I'd suggest avoiding mods which add lots of NPCs, so avoid Morrowind Comes Alive or Starfire's NPC Additions; also be careful adding beautification mods, a number of people seem to create models with an insane number of polygons which may strain your graphics card.

A lot of which mods to add depend on what you want to change in the vanilla game. Check out that thread.

[crimsonblade02191973]

Ah thank you. That forum has a lot of good stuff on it. I just took a quick look at it. It should provide all I need to get some good mods on my own.

My new graphics card is allowing me to do more with this PC. It has double the VRAM than my old ATI Radeon 5450. That card was playing out on me. I would get weird flashes of color across the screen all the time. I talked to the computer store that I do business with and the associate told me my card was on its way out so I got a new one.

I mentioned the fact that I only have 2GB of System Ram and he said this new card would take some of the stress off of it and allow me to play in higher setting and simply do more and so far he's been right.

I got the Oblivion Graphics Extender which is a whole lot more complicated than the Morrowind one to learn. It is all about shaders and shader settings and it is still a work in progress. Shader creators are still creating shaders for the mod. As it stands there are about 2 dozen of them fully functional and each one does different things to the game.

I've got Oblivion looking sharper and with vibrant colors with no performance loss. There is even a shader you can activate in the mod that will cause the sun to shine beams of light into the world and when it happens man it makes Oblivion look good.

Tomorrow I will delve into the Morrowind Mod forum and see what I can find. Showing me this forum is definitely better than just giving me a list. I left Morrowind behind when Oblivion came out and I've missed out on a lot of good Morrowind Mods. The Tamriel Rebuilt mod has gotten me enthusiastic about playing Morrowind again but I want some mods and I have no idea what is out there and what is good and this forum should provide me some answers.

Thanks - Crimson Blade

[Miraclestone]

Morrowind might be too old to utilize your Graphic card's ram, MGE EX could be using it, however, because it is rendering outside of the program so that ram may still be coming into play there.

PS. I would recommend maybe finding a Dark Brotherhood Delay mod, that's just a little pet peeve of mine.

[crimsonblade02191973]

I remember something about Morrowind using the CPU and System RAM only somewhere so I bet you are right about that. The MGE XE is definitely using my graphics card because Morrowind will barely play plain without a graphics card on this computer.

This Texture Mod I am using is called Morrowind Texture Pack and I am finding that a lot of mods conflict with it. Better Bodies, Heads and Clothing all conflict with this Texture Mod. I am glad I made all of them into MMODs to try them out because all I have to do to get rid of them is deactivate the MMOD.

The Texture Mod is better than single area mods. It covers everything. So I am now going to bypass any mods that add new Meshes and Textures because chances are they are covered by the Morrowind Texture Pack.

This texture mod was number 2 in the list of most downloaded Morrowind texture mods and was the only one that covered all areas. I didn't like it at first because it changed my character's head. It gave me a high ponytail hairstyle and changed facial features but I decided to give it another go with a new game and I found a Redguard look that I liked.

So I have my Mesh and Texture mod that I want to use which is the biggest one I was looking for. There are lots of others but they all conflict with this one and the one I have is number 2 in the list so I am going to stick with it and start looking for other types of mods.