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Kohlar the Unkilled

Time for some ale
I'm not enough of a game historian to proclaim that Morrowind is ahead of it's time. Yet, this 12 year old game has an uncanny familiarity too it. I've made notes thus far. I'm level 7; if I were playing Skyrim, I'd be level 17, at least. Here are some random ruminations on Morrowind.

Every where I travel, there are always strange animal sounds in the background. Sometimes the sounds signal actual animals. Sometimes they're just sounds.

There is an Argonian named: "Only He Stands There." This is the absolute best name that I've ever seen.

What about the sheer number of spells? It's amazing the number of ways an enemy mage can fuh'k you up with various spells...I'll have no idea what spell has been cast upon me, and suddenly I can't move, or I'm just dead..! You have to drink a potion, or cast a spell that counter-acts the one cast against you... Magic is so much more involved, and therefore more fulfilling.

Here's something good: Reputation! I love walking into a place where everyone acknowledges your triumphs and deeds! This aspect alone renders the guild quests more fulfilling than any other I can think of presently. They start out hating you, end up loving you!

Many times my spells fail. Same with attempted enchantments, very frustrating. What do you mean my enchantment failed, and my soulgem was destroyed?? What a slap in the face. More realistic though, perhaps? I can accept that there might be a learning curve with spells, and even the occasional failed cast, during times of duress.

One thing's for certain, Morrowind does NOT have the same addictive quality that Skyrim has. Not for me. In fact, I have a hard time playing Morrowind for more than 2 hours at a time. It just gets too frustrating. This ensures that the game will keep me occupied for... what, YEARS? What do I mean by this? Well, there's the lack of quest markers, for one. In a way, it's good. I mean you actually have to look for things. Where Skyrim gives you a compass and a destination marker, Morrowind gives you a few vague clues in a journal... which brings me to:

The Journal. I've started a real-world supplement to my in-game journal. Come on... back me up fellow Morrowind players. Don't you find yourself flipping 42 pages back in your journal trying to remember something.. Sometimes the info is so vague, like: Bring these shirts to so and so in Ald'ruhn. OK, then you get to Ald'ruhn and realize, "this place is fairly big. Where in the f'uk do I even start? So then you begin the process of asking every individual in town, and they all hate you, of course.

If there were a Hearthfire type option in Morrowind, I'd certainly choose the Ald'ruhn area for my dwelling. I don't know what it is, but the raging dust storms are just awesome! I guess I like the effect, but, the whole time my character has his hand to his face, (he actually does put his hand to his face during a dust storm), I've a smile on me own.

The A.I. I met a fellow on the road to Mar Gaan who asked me to escort him to some cave. I agreed, and then proceeded to run up the side of a mountain, in the direction of said cave. Turns out I can't climb that mountain, so I tread back down toward the path and, my Dunmer friend is stuck behind some rope. There were stakes and rope tied along this path, and my new found friend could not get out from behind the ropes. I waited for... awhile. He just kept running against the rope, hopelessly. So I killed him. There was nothing else to do, for he was stuck for eternity behind the rope...

Solstheim. I went to Solstheim and promptly got killed by a snow bear. I joined the East Empire Company, to start the building of Ravenrock. Ravenrock is one of my favorite cities in Skyrim, so it thrills me to be a part of it's genesis here.

Last thing I'll mention for now regards health bars and theft. First of all, an enemy's health bar only appears if you hit it with a physical attack, and even that doesn't seem accurate, because sometimes an enemy dies before the bar is depleted. Destruction magic registers no damage, even though it's inflicting damage. When you drink a potion, you can't see the effect before you drink it, so you just drink four or five bargain potions of restore health and hope it's enough..!

This is enough for now. I'll leave the floor open to all now. :beermug:
 
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Kohlar the Unkilled

Time for some ale
Twas a bit late when I composed the above post. After rereading it this morning with a rested mind, it comes across like I'm complaining about Morrowind. Complaint wasn't my intent though, and I find myself being drawn towards this wonderful game once again. It calls to me; there are things which need doing. Skyrim remains my favorite, yet I'm continuously amazed that this old game actually manages to do many things better than Skyrim, and I'm hoping that these positives are incorporated into the next installment, (reputation building, weather effects, extensive magic etc.).

I'll add that I did feel a bit bad for killing the guy that got stuck behind the rope, but I didn't tell the whole story. You see, I initially just left him there as I continued on my way. I came across him days (in game) later, still stuck in the same spot. I tried waiting and resting, which in Skyrim would've extricated him. It was to no avail. He did have 160 in gold on him though, which I used for buying much needed potions.
 

Kohlar the Unkilled

Time for some ale
Just thought of something else that I've come to enjoy: The fact that you can taunt people into fighting you. I don't do this all the time, but since just about everyone in this game seems to detest my presence, it's come in hand a couple of times now.
 

HouseHosted

Mundus 9-5, Oblivion weekends
Oh, wow... You're writing more. I'll need to reply with something relevant after some deliberation...

edit: Okay, well... yea!

I guess we all deal with indulgence in different ways-- and, furthermore, have different learning curves to adjust to. For myself, Morrowind was an instant hit. Like, I was watching a friend play it for five minutes and thought, "I need this game. I need this game. Now!" When I was able to acquire it, it was like the rest of the world didn't exist. That may not be saying a lot since this is a standard occurrence... Still I played as much as I could whenever I could. Quite similar behaviour as when after I'd discovered Fallout 3, Perfect Dark before it, and Turok 2 even farther back. Bottom line: Game blew my mind, and I had to play all the time. I hope after some more exposure, the frustration you encounter subsides a little and lets you play more often.

Magic and its seemingly unending capacity to wonder? That's just elementary! Seriously some of the mages early game instill a fear hard to reconcile. It makes me wonder if this was the reason magic was dumbed down so much in later releases. There were just too many ways for an enemy to render you null and end you... This isn't even limited to mages alone. Those bloody Greater Bonewalkers, man! BEWARE! Take it from me, it is not a good idea to explore Ancestral Tombs without enough aiding supplies...

Concerning the follower AI: Yes, it's quite terrible. I eventually took to creating Fortify Speed on touch spells to deal with how slow they are. I'm not sure if I know of any solution to a stuck follower... Can't help but wonder if you could have cast Levitate on him to free him...
 
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Parselmagic

Member
I started my first Morrowind play through ever earlier this week. It's certainly an adjustment. At this point I'm just trying to get used to the controls. One question: is there a quick menu system for spell casting? This is my first elder scrolls game on the pc version so if its like the other games, I still don't know how to use it.

I haven't exactly accomplished much yet. I did decide to walk to Balmora, and wow. My character is slow! It is amusing to watch him run in third person, which does help distract me from how slow he is. Anyways, on the trip to Balmora I heard this screaming. I looked around thinking someone would attack me. But it turned out that some guy just fell out of the sky. His corpse had scrolls that I'm assuming send you flying, and he fell. I joined the Mage's guild, and got lost on the first quest. I was confronted by a bandit. I decided to ignore him like in Skyrim, and ended up dying in seconds.

I think I'll really enjoy the game once I get used to everything. Right now I'm not taking it too seriously and just wandering and dying all the time.
 

HouseHosted

Mundus 9-5, Oblivion weekends
Third-person running can be amusing. Haha...

There aren't any quick menus or anything, however, there is a quick cycle. Hold whatever your ready hand/weapon button is + your attack button to cycle through your spells or weapons in inventory. In many ways, I prefer it over the Favourites menu in Skyrim. 'Course a lot of that is dealt with in SkyUI...

I am glad you're not too concerned about dying... a lot... Beginning Morrowind for the first time is a crash course, for sure.

edit: It's been a while. I am pretty sure the attack button cycles down the list and the jump button cycles up.

Oh, right and Kohlar, I wouldn't attempt to enchant anything until you have Enchant to 100 with Fortify Luck spells/potions. It's a really hard roll, and obviously the more valuable it is worsens the chances. It does cost a lot to have your items enchanted for you, though, it is very much worth it.
 
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Parselmagic

Member
Okay spell casting does make more sense now after messing around with it. Before it was crazy having to open the menu every time I switch spells!

I think I'm slowly getting the hang of this. Still only at level 1 and dying, but it's progress. I also found out that people recommend not using a mage for the first play through. I think I'll stick with mine for now though. If I'm dying a lot anyway, what's a few more times right? As a side note, I'm not a fan of cliff racers. And, when I was resting between these evil cliff racer mobs, I get ambushed by a dark brotherhood assassin! I screamed. I was not expecting a game with graphics like this to actually startle me. I'm actually not sure whether I should be excited or ashamed...
 

Kohlar the Unkilled

Time for some ale
Oh I've been startled many times so far! Many times by the damn cliff racers because they'll just float down on you, though usually you hear their distinctive whistling cries first. Last night I really jumped.. was exploring this cave where I killed some scamps, searching through some crates when I hear my scamp, (that I'd summoned), attacking something. What I saw when I turned around precipitated an audible gasp and a curse, all that I could manage before I died. I don't know what it was, but it was BIG. Good thing I saved!

I didn't get to play today, but got much done yesterday. I'm working my up the ranks of the Mage's and Fighter's guilds, (the Mages love me), and House Redoran of which I'm a proud member.

And House, with your love of Morrowind, you simply must obtain the Dragonborn DLC for Skyrim. I imagine that you'd appreciate the return trip to Solstheim as much as I've appreciated returning to it in the past. :beermug:
 

HouseHosted

Mundus 9-5, Oblivion weekends
Parsel, you've every right to be startled. That DB Assassin gets me every time. I'll just be thinking it'll be a quick rest when I'm woken up and attacked... I mean, realistically you wouldn't even be stirred, but I guess you have to fulfill the prophesy...

Yup, and Cliff Racers have had their go at messing with my nerves too. You think you're safe. You think you're alone. You think-- AHH! There's something attacking me!

...I do have the DLCs on the PC. Maybe it'll be time to try them out... 'Course I still need to work up the courage.

edit: I'm finding as I sift through your earlier post, I'm remembering things to reply with...

They do give you a sort by letter type filter with the journal. It isn't the best, but it is far better than flipping through 50 pages to find what you're looking for.
 

Kohlar the Unkilled

Time for some ale
Ok look...

I feel I owe it to all my fans who've been following this... (all couple of you)

Today I took Morrowind back. I accepted the fact that I would never compete it. Was it worth buying an Xbox, and then getting only a tenth of the value back?? Yes. YES.

Be that as it may, I can no longer play this game. I haven't played it since the last time I posted in this thread. DO I regret buying an Xbox just to play it? No. I'll summarize by saying that Morrowind gave me a better appreciation of Skyrim. I'm a bit sad now at having traded the game, so I'll adjourn. Feel free to ask any questions, but judging from this forum's traffic, that prospect seems fanciful at best. :beermug:
 

Kohlar the Unkilled

Time for some ale
I made an Atronach Breton Mage... I ran out of magicka... I needed to rest to regen magicka... whenever I tried to rest, an assassin would wake me up, and I wouldn't have any magicka to fight with... this repeated... endlessly...I restarted.

This was in the past, or are you playing Morrowind currently? Aspects of lore that I've learned of since have made me regret not completing the game, but I will not go back to it. It's Oblivion and Skyrim for me, until the next Elder Scrolls game arrives. :beermug:
 

ciphoenix

Member
I think another reason magic was dumbed down in later games was the location of these games e.g. Skyrim - where physical prowess earns more plaudits than arcane prowess. So they focused more on that aspect while diluting the magic experience

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 

Wauten Dayhil

Demon Hunter and Wordplay Extraordinaire
I think another reason magic was dumbed down in later games was the location of these games e.g. Skyrim - where physical prowess earns more plaudits than arcane prowess. So they focused more on that aspect while diluting the magic experience

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
I wish that were true. Sadly, I do not believe so. :sadface:
 

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