New Skywind Update Makes Morrowind Look Better Than You Thought Possible

IanDavis

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New Skywind Update Makes Morrowind Look Better Than You Thought Possible

The Bitter Coast looks so real, you'll swear you've contracted Helljoint.


While Skyrim did an admirable job filling up its nordic world with unique cultures and settings, it came nowhere near the acid trip that is the isle of Morrowind. That game featured giant mushroom forests, houses carved from the husks of dead beings, and spiraling towers that you could only navigate via magic. However, time has not been kind to Morrowind. While you can always try [a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119908-Morrowind-Overhaul-3-Modernizes-Morrowind]modding[/a] the 12-year-old game, the ancient engine is rickety at best. Instead, the [a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131032-Skywind-the-Morrowind-in-Skyrim-Mod-Gets-Impressive-Dev-Video]Skywind[/a] team plans to rebuild the entirety of Morrowind in Skyrim. To show off their work, the team's released a 13 minute video, showing off the beautiful and alien landscape.

The video, which is clipped from a larger live stream, showcases an activity familiar to all Morrowind players: wandering around aimlessly through the Bitter Coast. Towards the end, they even show off a Nix-Hound, one of the many weird inhabitants of Morrowind. Why have wolves when you can have [a href=http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131221220923/elderscrolls/images/f/f0/Nix-Hound_(Morrowind).png]creepy chitinous beasts[/a] with foot-long mandibles and glowing red eyes instead?

I recently went back to play Morrowind again, and was surprised just how different it feels. It's not the graphics, or the wonky combat, or even the weird-ass setting, but the sense of exploration. The lack of quest markers and easy fast travel requires you to walk pretty much everywhere, regularly checking your journal to make sure you're not lost. That, and the entire island is pretty much a plague factory, rife with diseases that sap your attributes. I'm interested to see how well the Skywind team can capture that more meditative pacing.

Source: [a href=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llvcBLnzuVQ]Skywind[/a]

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Fappy

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Looking good so far. I will never get tired of going back and replaying Morrowind every two years or so, but I have no doubt I'll enjoy Skywind when it comes out.
 

hentropy

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Meh. It'll be great if they ever actually finish it. If it just ends up being a quarter-finished and thoroughly broken abandonware Skyrim mod then all these old articles hyping might look silly.

I'm mostly pessimistic about it because if it does end up working it'll be glorious. I just don't want my heart broken.
 

Imre Csete

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Jul 8, 2010
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Are they still planning to do fan voiceovers of all the dialogue?

It just seems so needless to me, not to mention gigantic work I could do without.
 

Tiamat666

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hentropy said:
Meh. It'll be great if they ever actually finish it. If it just ends up being a quarter-finished and thoroughly broken abandonware Skyrim mod then all these old articles hyping might look silly.

I'm mostly pessimistic about it because if it does end up working it'll be glorious. I just don't want my heart broken.
I haven't tried it, but [a href="http://tesrenewal.com/forums/morroblivion/mods/753"]Morroblivion[/a] claims to be very playable. All main quest lines plus expansions seem to be supported. I wouldn't have believed it myself, but if that is true, that project has made amazing progress.

But what I'm really waiting for is [a href="http://sureai.net/projects/enderal/"]Enderal[/a], the new project from Sure AI. Nehrim was simply fantastic, and I can't wait to see how they put the Skyrim engine to use.
 

Pickapok

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Correction: Morrowind is not an island. The island is Vvardenfell and while it makes up at least half of Morrowind, it is not all of Morrowind.
 

Kungfu_Teddybear

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As pretty as it looks, what the hell have they done to the ebony armour?
 

IanDavis

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Pickapok said:
Correction: Morrowind is not an island. The island is Vvardenfell and while it makes up at least half of Morrowind, it is not all of Morrowind.
Agh, you're right. Ever since I read Terry Brooks and his [a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elf_Queen_of_Shannara]Island of Morrowindl[/a], I've been pretty confused.

Yes, they're both islands that feature elves, a volcano, and a protective forcefield, but the original features a dumbass "L" at the end.
 

Rutskarn

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Well, the sounds are wrong so far, but that's probably one of the last things going in. I'm optimistic.
 

RandV80

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I can't remember since I didn't get too far in Skyrim (crashing problems), but will you be able to turn the compass off?
 

saito82

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If you want to see how well they do at capturing Morrowind's greatness play Morroblivion. I have played it for a while and it is extremely well done. They have all the traditional dialog and they really captured the look and feel of ES3.
 

VanQ

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Nowhere Man said:
As if I need yet another reason to never finish Skyrim.
I know right? I think I made it to the first time you kill the evil dragon on top of a hill and when he flew away I was like "This is boring, why am I playing this?"

I very much can't wait for Skywind. I've been following it closely and can guarantee that once again, the modding community is going to provide a far better Elder Scrolls experience than Bethesda themselves can.
 

Zydrate

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I'll have to do a full reinstall when this comes out in full. As it is, my Skyrim can't run 20 minutes without crashing.