Morrowind to an Oblivion Player

[willard3]

Can you imagine the godlyness that would have occurred if Morrowind simply had fast travel and quest markers? After all, the only thing that really pissed me off in that game was spending 30 real time minutes to get anywhere, plus another 30 minutes to find the god damn quest location, assuming it wasn't already 30 minutes away in the first place >_<. Sure this is mostly exaggeration on the whole, but i do know, for a fact, that i have searched for certain quests for an hour or longer! FUCK THAT!

Morrowind, as stated before, is much more hardcore (read: REALISTIC) than Oblivion, except for the combat system. Would you really have a magical Jack Sparrow-esque compass that tells you how to get to everything? No, you'd either be given a mark on your map or verbal directions which you have to memorize or write down. Never mind that the journal in Morrowind is GODAWFUL.

Your post seems rather whiny and spoiled by modern linear gameplay, just saying. Yes, I know I cut out the informative bits re: BoBS and CotSH, and those are good pieces of advice.

 

[AWOL]

I'm also a Morrowind to Oblivion player, having picked up Morrowind after seeing it in a game rental store and thought, "Swords AND its first person?! Golly that sounds awesome!". And even though I've racked up hundreds and hundreds of hours in both, I've gotta say I prefer Morrowind. The story was all around better and more immersive, the world was amazing, and the freedom was exhilarating.

Sure, in Oblivion, I was still more or less free and the world was cool and pretty at least, but it was really generic. There were no grand cities like Vivec or lore-riddled Dwemer ruins and towns like Ald-ruhn, just bland western European castles and towns. They also hold your hand waaaaaaaaaaaaaay to much for my liking. I wish they had some kind of option to turn the quest marker off and actually explain things to you like in Morrowind, and the fast travel system killed the exploration factor that I loved from Morrowind. I actually enjoyed having to re-read directions to a fort or something from my journal if I couldn't remember how to get there.

Honestly, the combat never annoyed me, though I do prefer Oblivion's as it simply makes logical sense, but Morrowind's variety in manners of combat and types of magic spells far surpasses Oblivions. The only thing I'd ask if they were to remake Morrowind would be for current gen graphics and Oblivion's combat. That'd be a perfect game.

So yeah, that's my two cents. Now I have plans to make a character for every faction in each game and beat all of them before Skyrim comes out. Wish me luck!

 

[AWOL]

Can you imagine the godlyness that would have occurred if Morrowind simply had fast travel and quest markers?

You sir, are my exact opposite. Nice to meet you!

Anyway, sorry for the double post.

 

[Sovvolf]

I wish they had some kind of option to turn the quest marker off and actually explain things to you like in Morrowind, and the fast travel system killed the exploration factor that I loved from Morrowind. I actually enjoyed having to re-read directions to a fort or something from my journal if I couldn't remember how to get there.

Aye, not the only one . Though I guess you can just ignore the fast travelling altogether... That's what I did. Though to be honest, I spent most of the time in Oblivion skipping the main quests (seriously, check my achievements, everyone apart from those achieved by doing the main quest). I actually did a game through just going from the bottom left corner of the map to the top right corner. No fast travel... Just simply setting off in one direction and trying to make it up there. Was brilliant.

Also, when I unlocked Wizards tower... I didn't think you could fast travel there (I hadn't been to that location yet) so I had to make my way up the mountain. I missed the path your supposed to be travelling up and ended up actually trying to jump up the mountain. How beautiful was it to just see that tower from the distance and know you had to reach it... Then when you finally got there you could unlock it and you had your place to stay.

Felt like a bit of an adventure. Then on the next game through... I realised you could fast travel to it... No where near as cool.

The only thing I'd ask if they were to remake Morrowind would be for current gen graphics and Oblivion's combat. That'd be a perfect game.

I wouldn't say remake Morrowind, however I would say to take the mechanics from Morrowind and combine them with Oblivions combat.

 

[Kajt]

Morrowind for Oblivion Players [http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Morrowind_for_Oblivion_Players] at the UESP. Enjoy.

Also, Morroblivion [http://morroblivion.com/].

 

[Erana]

Morrowind is for people who want to explore, and who want a real RPG experience.
Oblivion is for people who want immediate action, and consider "RPG" to mean that their character has stats.

If you can't enjoy Morrowind, then you probably don't know that much about the roots of the RPG genre.
Today's RPGs seem to be all about hiding the mechanics behind the game, instead trying to give an experience more like an interactive movie than anything else.
Earlier RPGs take the role of a DnD Dungeon Master, saying, "Here's the outlines of the world. Here's what defines your character's abilities. You provide the imagination, I'll do the math and the visuals."

I really, really suggest you go find yourself the copy of a DnD manual, and find someone to explain the general mechanics. It will allow you to genuinely enjoy the hundreds of outdated, but still amazing RPGs out there.
If I hadn't done this, I wouldn't be able to enjoy Neverwinter Nights after having played its decendant, Dragon Age.
And trust me, the jump between the two is just as, if not more severe, than that between Morrowind and Oblivion.

 

[Sovvolf]

Morrowind is for people who want to explore, and who want a real RPG experience.
Oblivion is for people who want immediate action, and consider "RPG" to mean that their character has stats.

I'd say Oblivion leans more towards action adventure with RPG elements than a pure RPG but I'd still consider it an RPG when compared to most. After all, your still Role playing, you create a role, a race and you can give him his own backstory (in your head of course) and you play that character in what role you feel like.

I really, really suggest you go find yourself the copy of a DnD manual, and find someone to explain the general mechanics. It will allow you to genuinely enjoy the hundreds of outdated, but still amazing RPGs out there.

Not really, I'm a DnD player my self and it still doesn't make a lick of sense when it comes to the combat. The whole rolling thing working in DnD because its not real time, the action takes place in seconds in the DnD world however to you it isn't. Combat stops, you make your move (Shielding Spite and such) take your role... Then you hit. Then it goes on to the other character. That works in games like EQ or Bualders Gate... However in a game like Morrowind... It doesn't. The combat system just feels very much out of place.

If I hadn't done this, I wouldn't be able to enjoy Neverwinter Nights after having played its decendant, Dragon Age.
And trust me, the jump between the two is just as, if not more severe, than that between Morrowind and Oblivion.

Really?... I could enjoy Neverwinter Nights without ever playing DnD... Though I played Neverwinter Nights way before Dragon Age. So I guess its harder to jump into it after not playing it.

 

[Metrin_Slerba]

I also started with Morrowind and my mind was blown at the time. I really like oblivion, but still prefer the grittiness of Morrowind. There are few things in Oblivion that annoy me somewhat. The combat system is greatly improved from that of Morrowind, but at high levels it usually boils down to just swinging a weapon as fast as you can until your enemies die. If you have good armor, you never really need to block. It gets repetitive and boring.

I wish they had some kind of option to turn the quest marker off and actually explain things to you like in Morrowind, and the fast travel system killed the exploration factor that I loved from Morrowind. I actually enjoyed having to re-read directions to a fort or something from my journal if I couldn't remember how to get there.

I used a simple mod to turn the fast travelling off. I enjoyed the vague descriptions in Morrowind that we're your only clue to find your target from the map, since it made it feel even more like an adventure. I don't like the way that almost every RPG nowadays has a compass and you just blindly follow an arrow between a NPC and a quest location. I would be nice to have a option to turn it off.

..but that's just me, many people don't want to wander aimlessly and frustrated in the game world.

 

[Signa]

..but that's just me, many people don't want to wander aimlessly and frustrated in the game world.

In Morrowind's case, I'd actually argue that as a plus for it. Morrowind's map is designed well enough that if you find yourself lost, you probably will just wind up in a cave to murder the monsters inside instead of getting frustrated at the bad quest locator system. If you're the type of gamer that just bee-lines for the main quest and rushes through it as fast as possible, then I guess you can say for sure that wandering aimlessly is a bad thing, but if you are that type of gamer, you probably shouldn't be playing Morrowind anyway.

A friend of mine was trying to get me into Ruins of Magic once, and I got pissed off at the quest locator system. It practically was Oblivion's journal with Morrowind's markers. The thing was, I was basically in a giant town that was nothing more than a field with a lake in the middle. There was no benefit to getting lost, it was just simply irritating. I was a little worried with my mood, because I'm not one to need hand-holding, and I didn't want to admit to myself that I was requiring it to have fun. Thankfully, I think the game's design was just pissing me off and not the omission of features.

 

[blankedboy]

If you guys hate the speed in Morrowind so much, be an Argonian specialising in Athletics born under the Steed. You go unbelievably fast.

From me, I'd say just talk to people. Not random NPCs, go to some weirdo-sounding place like the "Telvanni Council House" or the "Morag Tong Guildhall" and talk to people there. There's heaps to the game that can take ages to find, I've spent at least 300 hours in the game and I doubt I've done more than half the quests. The more you put into it, the more you get out. It's not a very good first impression, but if you delve deep you'll find epicness.

And bother to finish the main quest at some point, it's got an amazing storyline.

 

[Gyrefalcon]

i think Morrowind has the best story of them all. Mainly, i like how the history of the triad is revealed. in the end you are left with multiple conflicting accounts of the events that took place, and are left to believe what you want. If you want all of the juicy story bits from all of the games, just go to the elder scrolls wiki. you can read every book and piece of lore that exist in the series.

both games were breakable, but i think morrowind was more so. as soon as i found the boots that give you +200 speed, i could get from one side of the map to the other in a matter of minutes. (this requires 100% magic resistance, but only for the instant you equip them.) later on i made some utility cloaks, one of which let me levitate, allowing me to get anywhere i need to go as the crow flies, and at a speed of 300. the custom spell and item system was pretty exploitable in both games, especially if you have azura's star and can summon golden saints.

Graphics are poorer in Morrowind but the story is better. The intro is much shorter than Oblivion's. You get going faster. But you need to save often. VERY OFTEN. You can easily run into stuff way past your level. But you can also find treasures way past your level sometimes too! The area has more variety, you travel on bugs like you would a bus or a train, you can drink an intelligence potion and make another which is higher and keep doing that until you max out the ability and then make other potions at uber-levels. You can fight flying jellyfish-cows. You can "fly", or at least levitate and walk across the sky. (Watch your time limit on the spell or energy of the device.)

You can make better magic weapons and you don't use up all your soul-gems charging them. It's a good game. Just be sure to get the game of the year edition to avoid the plethora of ridge flying monsters. They were everywhere all the time in the original.

 

[waive]

The combat in Morrowind is really, really, bad. It gets better at the higher levels, but it's still pretty mediocre.

The freedom in Morrowind, on the other hand, is great. Any spell you can imagine, any location, tons of different weapons and armor, each covering different body parts allowing you to mix and match to create your own look.

In addition, Morrowind is a much cooler area. While confusing, there are so many different types of areas to explore, from swamps to plains to islands to under water temples to city scapes. It has everything. And each area has its own cultures, its stories, a look, a soul. Oblivion can't even compete with it.

That alone is good enough reason to explore morrowind. You just need to be able to get past the first 10 levels (so you can find and get all your favirote weapons and armor, and be strong enough to not be threatened by anything in the wild, as well as have enough fatigue to run anywhere).

 

[Zer_]

I prefer Morrowind's Aesthetics over Oblivion's. Building Telvanni Towers was amazing. Those "treehouse" type things are just gorgeous.

 

[John the Gamer]

The argonians look like crap in morrowind. I don't like a game when the dragons don't look awesome. If they didn't look so much like humans in Oblivion, the game would be awesome.(and yes, I know argonians aren't really dragons, but shut up)

 

[Blaster395]

The only real difference I noticed between argonians in morrowind and in oblivion is that, in morrrowind, they have a very fucked up walking animation, and are usually nude.

 

[DaemonicShadow]

Always did love Morrowind but I never got into Oblivion. I especially enjoyed being able to jump ten feet in the air when you fully level acrobatics.

Scroll of Icarian Flight
But yeah, the transition from Oblivion to Morrowind is a *****. But Morrowind has such and immersive storyline and a generally better setting (apart from Cliff Racers,which were the stupidest idea since the Parachute Coat) so there's no reason to shun it straight away. It's a fantastic game.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

Played Morrowind before Oblivion, and found Oblivion to be such a massive step up.
The combat system in Morrowind, for all the excuses of it being 'rpg' like, was dreadful. Having to repeatedly click for the first half of the game until something invisible decided you were allowed to make contact is not fun. Spell failures, a terrible idea, instead of wasting time and energy trying to cast something it was a much better choice to restrict what you can use until you have the skill to use it.
The guidance I can admit, in Oblivion it did make things much easier with the quest markers, but those are easily removed. Also, given that Oblivion makes much better use of the second axis, having an indicator for harder to reach places is quite understandable. I shall probably mod it out on my new playthrough though, would have been better had it been a difficulty option.

 

[RADlTZ]

For me part of the charm of morrowind was finding all sorts of shenanigans to undertake just to give me an advantage over how hard it could be, the entire world seemed very opressive, it was dank and gloomy, everyone hated eachother, and especially hated you, the landscape was swamp, desert or volcano, (or barren ice-land if you had bloodmoon). Oblivion certainly had better combat and some interesting physics capabilities, which were rarely taken advantage of. For me the better engine diddnt make a better game though, Morrowind had the atmosphere and lore to keep me interested,

Oblivion had some awesome one liners for the imperial guards at least,

 

[Echo136]

I liked Oblivion better. The horrible, horrible graphics in Morrowind, combined with lack of compass, confusing paths through terrain, and worst of all, an extremely confusing journal system that had me writing down my own notes on pad and paper, made me glad I missed the game all together.

 

[Echo136]

Morrowind is for people who want to explore, and who want a real RPG experience.
Oblivion is for people who want immediate action, and consider "RPG" to mean that their character has stats.

If you can't enjoy Morrowind, then you probably don't know that much about the roots of the RPG genre.
Today's RPGs seem to be all about hiding the mechanics behind the game, instead trying to give an experience more like an interactive movie than anything else.
Earlier RPGs take the role of a DnD Dungeon Master, saying, "Here's the outlines of the world. Here's what defines your character's abilities. You provide the imagination, I'll do the math and the visuals."

I really, really suggest you go find yourself the copy of a DnD manual, and find someone to explain the general mechanics. It will allow you to genuinely enjoy the hundreds of outdated, but still amazing RPGs out there.
If I hadn't done this, I wouldn't be able to enjoy Neverwinter Nights after having played its decendant, Dragon Age.
And trust me, the jump between the two is just as, if not more severe, than that between Morrowind and Oblivion.

I dont want to know the mechanics. Thats for the developer to know, and me to impliment in game. I dont want to have to calculate dice rolls when they are hidden behind the game. The one thing that killed any love for Morrowind for me was when I tried going out and exploring on my own for the first time, and got killed by a slug in the swamp. You wanna know why I got killed? I spent half an hour swinging a sword at it and missing every fucking time. Used up 2 potions I had because I was determinded to kill the damn thing! Thats not enjoyable. Thats immersion breaking. Thats complex random dice rolls to determine combat, and its not fun. It was a fucking SLUG. The first enemy you fight in Oblivion is 2 giant rats and unless you are totally incompetent, you bleed them dry.