spindown: Do we have another rep abuser? I've seen several of your posts today which are all high rated, just like this one.

Roman5: This thread pleases Roman

Detlik: Since you are just Morrowind fan I have to ask, what would you recommend? :)

spindown: Do we have another rep abuser? I've seen several of your posts today which are all high rated, just like this one.

AlexY: I am going to sound terribly, gruesomely dickish, but what the hell are you talking about? The difference is amazing! Vivec actually looks intimidating and the Bitter Coast is gorgeously lush. And the way it all naturally blurs and fades away, and how you don't see anything during an ashstorm/blizzard with the exponential fog, it feels better than vanilla Oblivion and its distant land!

Psyringe: Morrowind has lots of content in the base game already, and also has tons of mods (about 15,000 in my library, which should be fairly complete). Therefore, no matter which kind of mod one's looking for, there's a good chance that it does exist. It also means that everyone asking for advice about mods will receive dozens of totally different answers, reflecting the personal preferences of the respective players.

Taking this into account, my advice to new players is this:

First, install the game (GotY version, which includes the two expansions - they add content, improve usability, and lots of mods need them to work), and only two mods: The Unofficial Code Patch by Hrnchamd, and the Unofficial Patch Project. Both mods correct bugs (and the former offers some optional tweaks as well), but they don't change anything else.

Then, start playing a bit. Take some hours to experiment with the game, try out different characters, do some battles and quests. Take note of the things you like and don't like.

Then, look or ask for mods that match your preferences. Common picks are:

- Graphics mods, like Better Bodies, or one of many head replacers. Bethesda's original models and textures were very crude. Most people think of these mods as essential improvements.

- MGE (Morrowind Graphics Extender), which extends the view distance up to infinity if your hardware can handle it. It's also seen as essential by many players, though some prefer the original short/foggy view distance as more atmospheric. Personally, I wouldn't play without MGE and for me, the increased view distance adds much more to the atmosphere than distracting from it. But as can be seen in this thread, there are people who feel different.

- Forestation mods (which add lots of trees to the exteriors) have also become very popular. They make Morrowind a much more beautiful place, though some people (myself included) believe that Morrowind was meant to be gritty and exotic (it has some giant mushrooms as stand-ins for trees) rather than beautiful. Again, different strokes for different folks.

- Dialogue mods: LGNPC project gives each NPC a unique personality, and adds lots of dialogue and some quests. Fits very well in Morrowind's original atmosphere. Recommended by many (myself included), though there are also players who don't regard dialogue as important anyway.

- There are mods that improve the game's combat, though personally I wouldn't recommend them, as the main mods (Morrowind Enhanced) is known to cause stability problems for many players. Still, combat is one of Morrowind's weak spots, so this mod is worth a shot if the combat is perceived as a deal breaker otherwise.

There are also many, many mods that add new quests (several of them sporting an amount of content that rivals those of the official expansions), new challenges (more powerful creatures, or changes to the game rules that make the game harder), new objects (weapons, armor sets, magical items, crafting mods ...), NPC/companion mods, or player-owned houses (something that most players felt was lacking in the original game). However, none of these mods will be crucial for a beginner. The game has a lot of content even without these additions, and for a beginner it might even be challenging. In most cases you can add these mods later if you want to.

In short, my recommendation is: Experience the original game (plus a few bugfixes) first. Afterwards you'll know much better which kind of mods you want (and which you won't need). Then, ask specifically for mods that improve the aspects of the game that have turned out to be important for you. This will help creating a mod setup that matches your personal preferences, as opposed to having a setup that matches the preferences of someone else (which you will get when asking for mods without knowing what you're looking for).

ThorChild: Are you the 'Psyringe' that did some of the great Morrowind Mods? If so i just want to say thanks, people like yourself(and all the other great Morrowind Modders, Emma, Grumpy, Wrye etc) really inspired me to build my Massively Modded Morrowind game, and i still play it to this day and have hardly scratched the surface. Awesome work by all you guys :)