Morrowind graphics hate?

[iseko]

Over my time on the escapist I've heard a lot of grief on morrowind. While I do agree with a lot of it there is one thing I most certainly do not.
The graphics suck, even for its time

Now I don't know about you (which is the reason for this post) but I don't think that is true. Morrowind was released in 2002. I've posted some pics of popular AAA games of that time. I was just wondering where this particular piece of hate is coming from? Or if I am wrong and graphics do suck for their time?

Spoiler: morrowind

Spoiler: star wars jedi outcast

Spoiler: GTA III

Spoiler: medal of honor

Spoiler: splinter cell

Like I said, you can say a lot about morrowind but not that the graphics sucked for its time. I loved the game when it first came out btw so I might be having the fanboy goggles on. Although even I think the game has not aged well...

EDIT: Damn you guys are right, the photo is from modded version. Egg on my face yea it was 1 a.m. here when I read the bashing on morrowind and even later when I posted (obviously). So yea sorry...

Here is a new photo posted by lilani

Spoiler

 

[sneakypenguin]

That MW screen has to be modded.

Heres the best vanilla MW shot I could find

Spoiler

Also whats up with that splinter cell screen, I just fired up the pc version (based on xbox version) and I can't make it look that bad, its like its missing shadows also its gui lol.

 

[shrekfan246]

Yeah, that Morrowind screenshot is definitely modded. Or at the very least tweaked by an artist, given the fact that the page source says it's from Deviantart.

That's not to say I think the game is particularly ugly comparative to other games of its time, especially given the expansiveness of its world, but I think you're doing a little bit of unfair representation here.

 

[Elfgore]

There is no way that isn't modded. My game on ultra doesn't look like that. And are you sure the other images aren't from the console releases instead of PC? The Jedi Outcast one is, but those appear to be low settings as the image I found looks a lot better.

Spoiler

I for one first played Morrowind in 2006, that probably lead to me thinking it was terrible.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Yeah, that's for sure a modded Morrowind screenshot. In fact, I'm 90% sure that that's using the relatively recent Morrowind graphics overhaul, which is a relatively recent compilation of a bunch of graphics mods for the game. The original game has no grass, pretty low view distance, low res textures, low-poly models for characters, and horrible character animations (which is the thing least improved by mods).

One thing Morrowind did have going for it back in the day is that the environments looked pretty good. Not necessarily technically impressive, but the art direction is damn good, and one of the things that makes the game unique.

Also, it really doesn't matter what the game looked like back when it was released, because there's no reason why you can't just install graphics mods for the game. It should run fine as long as you don't go overboard, and even minor adjustments help dramatically. Right now I'm doing a playthrough where my graphics adjustments basically consist of antistropic filtering, a small amount of distant land, and a modern resolution, and I think that's more than enough to make the game look good (although I freely admit that I've long since gotten used to the graphics of that game).

 

[Lilani]

Whoa there now, why don't we level the playing field and use a Morrowind screenshot that isn't from a modded version of the game? And it's not just that, all the screenshots of the other games have close-ups of the NPCs, and yet the MW screenshot is a nice scenery shot with one NPC that's nice and far away so you can't tell how well rendered its features are. Here's a Morrowind vanilla NPC for you.

Spoiler

These are all just cursory glances at these games, and I don't think there's enough evidence here to say if MW was really definitively worse than the other games of its time (however Bethesda has a long-running reputation for making very large and vast worlds that skimp just a bit on the details and graphics), but as with the others here I am going to have to call bullshit on the legitimacy of the screenshot you posted.

 

[Radoh]

Uhh....
That's an extremely extraordinarily extravagantly modded picture of Morrowind.
Believe me, as a fan who has Morrowind flowing through my veins and the firm belief that it was bar none the best of the modern Elder Scrolls games, the graphics of Morrowind are terrible, even for its time.
Also the combat is bad.
But do either of these two things somehow negate that Morrowind was a fantastic game? Of course not, that would be nonsense.

 

[Muspelheim]

Yes, well... No, I can't say that I'm in agreement that Morrowind's technical graphics were particularly good even for the time. Personally, I think the fact that it was so relatively Spartan in the technical department is why the developers could fill it so full of content as they did. It seems they focused less on the actual graphics, like Bethesda often does (and in my opinion should do more, since it'd give them more time left over for features and the all-important context). They favoured art direction, and for big, open world games with ridiculous amounts of content, it's the better choice.

Of course, the picture provided is very lovely, but that speaks more of a dedicated modding community, patching a game up in its more lacking areas. Morrowind was a fantastic game, but like every Elder Scrolls title, it had glaring problems and graphics destined to age poorly. But then again, there will always be one modder able to squeeze just that little bit more out of the engine.

(Furthermore; Praise Saint Jiub!)

 

[DoPo]

1. Yes, that is a modded screenshot.
2. Yes, Morrowind did look a bit sucky for its time.

The question is "So what?" Why do you care how Morrowind compared to the other games at the time? It was a bit bad - not the worst or close, mind you, but "below average" describes it well. Yet I don't know exactly why should this matter, either.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Yeah, that's one of those graphical overhaul mods. There's a ton of them out there. The game still has an extremely dedicated modding community that never ceases to amaze me with what they can wring out of the game's clunky engine.

Having said that, I really don't mind Morrowind's vanilla visuals. For me, aesthetics trumps graphical fidelity, and the game delivers in spades on this front. The world is extremely imaginative, populated with all sorts of weird and wonderful flora and fauna. Where else are you going to encounter giant flying jellyfish, wolf-bug hybrids and wizard towers made from vines all in the same experience?

 

[DementedSheep]

Already said but moooooddds!
Environment wise? it wasn't bad and has interesting design but Morrowind dose have particularly hideous character models. However it is a large open world game so you can forgive it for not having the best graphical fidelity. Now if only the combat wasn't also ass.

 

[Muspelheim]

Yeah, that's one of those graphical overhaul mods. There's a ton of them out there. The game still has an extremely dedicated modding community that never ceases to amaze me with what they can wring out of the game's clunky engine.

Having said that, I really don't mind Morrowind's vanilla visuals. For me, aesthetics trumps graphical fidelity, and the game delivers in spades on this front. The world is extremely imaginative, populated with all sorts of weird and wonderful flora and fauna. Where else are you going to encounter giant flying jellyfish, wolf-bug hybrids and wizard towers made from vines all in the same experience?

The more time that pass, the more I appreciate how well they nailed the "Stranger in an Arcane Land" feeling they were trying to achieve. I don't mind the more rustic, grounded aesthetics we've seen in Oblivion and Skyrim (although Oblivion really did push it at times), but I feel it's well about time they attempt to catch that spirit again. It's time to go wierd, to be brief. The Shivering Isles prove that the talent is still there, and I do hope the next we see of the series takes place in a slightly more exotic province.

The studio could probably do well in reducing their emphasis on fidelty in favour for aesthetics the next time. A new game with fancy new graphics will only look fancy and new for a year or so, while the content is what people will remember. The lesser parts can stand to look slightly less shiny if the bigger picture they make benefits from it. Within reason, of course, but you can make anything look pretty even if the tools are rather Spartan, as Minecraft builders have been demonstrating.

 

[fix-the-spade]

I was just wondering where this particular piece of hate is coming from? Or if I am wrong and graphics do suck for their time?

That screen shot is from the TESOverhaul 3.0 mod, which is completely gorgeous, but not at all representative of the very flat world of Morrowind originally.

Having used the mod, I have to say I find Morrowind almost unplayably ugly without it. Obviously the story is the same, but it's like coming home to find your house and furniture replaced by cardboard cut outs, the overhaul version is so much more immersive.

 

[Jiveturkey124]

Vanilla Morrowind had great water/sky textures and a great art style, but most defietly had some of the worst character models.

Easy solution, get TESOverhaul 3.0 and combine it with the Morrowind FPS Optimizer and Bam! Amazing looking Morrowind!

 

[Sarge034]

Snip

On top of the modded Morrowind screen, that you have already been deservedly lambasted for, notice how the Morrowind shot is a long view and all of the others are close ups. Morrowind had really good long views but the up close textures were on par with the time. So that is to say, bad. Morrowind is still the best TES game to date content wise in my opinion. If they were to re-work it with the Skyrim engine I would buy it again at full price on the console. I say this because as much as I want to play Morrowind again I can't due to the graphics giving me headaches.

 

[Tellis Argonis]

Obvious clickbait post is clickbait. I will say this, For the time, it -didn't- look great on console. And I can say this, as I still have it and the means to play it with it's overly long load times. It's because of the hardware limitations of having such a huge world with a looot of interiors.

And by hardware, I mean a DISK. IT ONLY HAD SO MUCH SPACE ON IT >:V

And it's aged like milk that's been frozen in an industrial freezer.

 

[Bad Jim]

I'd say Morrowind still looked okay in it's time. In fact I seem to remember it looking pretty awesome in it's time, though not quite as good as the OPs screenshot. The weird and wonderful art direction more than compensated for the low poly models.

I remember the main issue was getting a good framerate.

 

[Windcaler]

While Im sure the original source is modded I do have to agree that I dont think its graphics were bad for the time. I would classify them as above average. By todays standards, yeah theyre awful but theres still charm and obvious art direction there. The same could be said about even older games like Megaman and Dragon warrior. At the end of the day graphical fidelity does not equal a good looking game. You can have excellent graphics but if you dont have solid art direction behind your game you end up with a bland feeling place like many of the battlefield 4 maps.

To me Morrowind still looks good to this day because of its good art direction that gives the game a certain sense of charm. I could care less about graphical fidelity as long as the game is good and morrowinds not just good, not just great, but its in my top five favorite games of all time

 

[RedDeadFred]

So OP abandons thread after everyone immediately catches on to them using a modded image to support their argument... Anyway, I think it was decent looking for its time but it has aged extremely poorly.

 

[Vrach]

There is no way that isn't modded.

Actually I'm pretty sure it's not. You're distracted by what most people are - the water. It's one of the easiest things to pretty up and Morrowind had pretty water even without mods (mods prettied it up more later too)

It's what annoys me with a lot of games. Most graphics-touting games or mods show you pictures with water. Dazzled by that shit, it takes you until you buy the game/install the mod to realise you don't really give a toss about it, especially when it just makes the rest of the graphics even uglier by comparison. I can't for the life of me understand why we still have painted on terrain in almost all open world games, the textures on ground/rocks/walls/houses are often downright terrible.

It's really a bit of a moment breaker when you're standing out on the coastline, the sky looking like you've just looked out the window, the water looking like you're at the beach at Hawaii and the beach looking like it was painted by a 4 year old, uploaded to a computer and resized about 20 times to pixelate it to hell.