194 replies to this topic

[Pluto]

[There are many great sites and guides for setting up new players, but now this can be used as a hub for those links, instead of periodically searching and typing every time a new player comes along (and since no one checks the Pinned Threads) send them here and they'll hopefully find what they need. If there's anything you think should be included, mention it in the thread.]

New to Morrowind? New to mods? Recently re-installed?
Are you looking for some ideas on what type of mods to add to your new installation of Morrowind?
You don't need to start a new thread, just look here.

First, check the Pinned Thread FAQ if you're a complete newby to mods.
Second, read through some of the long-trusted sites to see what others have spent years compiling and many of your questions will already be answered without even needing this thread as anything more than a quick reference.

• Telesphoros' List - a large listing of mods separated into 35 different categories.
• Specialty and Theme Lists - a large list of mods separated into over 40 themes.
• Empirical Morrowind Lists - a very large list of lists, with a section on Realism mods.
• Gluby's Guide - detailed outline on some of the mod options for balancing your new game. *very current
• Arcimaestro Antares Suggested Mods
• Povuholo's ToMorrowind - recommended mods for all aspects of the game. *very current
• BTB's Must-Have Mods - with a focus on compatibility *very current
• Starting Out With Mods - clearly explains everything you'll ever to need to know about using mods.
• The Morrowind Tweak Guide is also very handy for increasing your game's performance. Includes instructions on some ini tweaks and Hardware optimization.

Too much reading, I just want the essentials!

• MW Code Patch ( alternate link )
• MW Patch Project <-- BTB's edited version currently seems to be the most stable ( alternate links for older versions )
• Better Bodies (There are also body mods for the two Beast Races: New Beast Bodies, Better Beasts, among others)

Wait, that's it?
Yup, those are about the only things almost everyone can agree is essential. Everything else is your personal taste.
The patches are still updated regularly, be sure you have the most recent version.

How do I find the best mods?
Planet Elder Scrolls, TESNexus, and ElricM are the main sites for mods.
There are no "best" mods, although you can see the mods listed at PES or TESNexus in order of popularity. Note that some great mods don't appear at the top of the popularity lists.

I need a specific type of mod, like Quests!... or Ninja Robots.
You can easily search PES and TESNexus by category, like "Race" or "Quests" and also by specific words, like "ninja robot."
ES Search will search through many sites at once for you. Making it the best search tool to use for finding any type of mod; even if you're unsure of what the mod is named, just type in a key-word.

[!]And don't forget the lists mentioned above, which often list mods by category. (eg: There are lists specifically created for picking House Mods, Landmass Mods, Evil Mods, etc.)

[!]If you're looking for an older mod that might have been lost, Morrowind Modding History is a great archive.

I need better graphics!!!
Probably the best place to start is the List of Needed Graphics thread. It's very current and concise, that also includes a section on MGE links.
The above mentioned ToMorrowind list has a great section on graphic updates.
Another great thread is the GRAPHICS thread.
Here you will find many links to many new textures available, and lots of information on using mods in general.
Separated into categories:

• Mod lists for: Fixes, Landscapes, and Architecture.
• Mod lists for: head/body replacers and creature replacers.
• Mod lists for: Weapons, Armor, Clothes, Miscellanea, and Lighting.

The Morrowind Overhaul - Sounds & Graphics compilation is a large project that will alter and enhance the visual graphics and the sounds of the game. Perfect for people not interested in finding and installing each mod themselves. Includes a personalization guide as well.

You can also manually search through the Textures section on PES, HERE, to find many of the excellent replacers that improve the visuals.

A large list of World Texture replacers can also be found at here at the TES3 Mod section of the wiki.
Thepal's Texture Replacer Comparison and X-Calibar's Comparison Charts are both very good ways to see world textures compared.

[!]If you use Better Bodies you'll be wanting some better heads to match, so there is the handy NPC Head Replacer Comparison thread.

[!]And, of course, Morrowind Graphic Extender
MGE allows you to use shaders and blooms to change how the game is displayed. Also lets you have distant land, dynamic water and animated grass, like Oblivion. For more info, there is always a recent MGE thread in the Morrowind Mod section.

What common mistakes should I avoid?

• Don't just randomly add every mod that looks cool! Take your time choosing and adding mods, making sure each one has been installed correctly before moving on. Avoid mods that will obviously conflict with each other.
• Don't ignore the ReadMe! Mods usually come with text documents that explain certain criteria on how to use the mod properly. Read the instructions, and follow them! Asking a question that has been explained in the ReadMe is annoying to everyone.
• Don't blame the mod! Chances are the mod works just fine, but you made a mistake during installation or the mod has special instructions that you neglected. Slow down and read a tutorial.
• Read the ReadMe... Again!
• Learn how to merge your Leveled List, clean a mod, and sort your Load Order! There are great tools (see below) to help you do these things. Neglecting to learn about these things will quickly cause problems for your game.

[!]Need more info on Leveled Lists, Load Order, GMSTs?? Read through Basic Knowledge from the Starting with Mods site.

What important tools do I need?
(Be sure to read all documentation on these tools before you start messing around with them, they can be confusing at first)

Wrye Mash: For your own sake, learn to use it! Wrye Mash has everything you need to keep your mods in order and your Saves clean, along with the very important leveled list merger called Mashed Lists. Most answers given for any questions relating to your mod problems will assume that you have Wrye Mash installed.
The Wrye Mash online document has all the info on how to use it.
Trouble installing Mash? Use the Wrye Python 03a files found here (or here) to automatically install the needed Python programs.
[!]There is also a new Wrye Mash Stand Alone Version that doesn't require any messing with Python. Makes installation much easier!

TESTool: Great for cleaning ESPs/ESMs of the Evil GMSTs. Has the handy Merged Object function, but avoid using its Merged Dialog/Leveled Lists, and the JUST FIX IT button seems to cause more problems that it solves. Wrye Mash is best at fixing problems.
Escog is another easy to use tool for removing bad GMSTs.

Mlox: Use Mlox to check for plugin dependencies and conflicts, and to sort your plugins into an optimal load order.

FPS Optimizer: Not a tool for mod help, but a handy utility that runs behind MW to boost performance. Very popular and works with MGE. You don't have to launch MW from it, as long as it's running it will do its thing. (Version 1.96 is the preferred version, since there have been well documented problems with Version 2)

Smart Merger: A new tool that I believe is still in development. But it does seem to merge objects/levels/etc very well so far.

[!]There are many other tools out there, TESPCD, Enchanted Editor, etc. But the ones mentioned above is all that a beginner will need.

What if I have problems with my modded game?
If you need to start a thread because you can't find a specific answer to your Warnings, mod conflicts or strange behaviour caused by mods, here are some tips for providing the correct info needed to get help.

• Post your Load Order: The most helpful
  

  Open Wrye Mash and highlight your Save. Right click on the 'File' header in the lower right hand box, and select Copy List. You can now paste that list in your thread or Notepad.

• Post your Mod List:
  

  If you don't have Mash yet, open your Morrowind.ini file, found in your main Morrowind Folder, and scroll to the bottom. Copy/paste the entire list of mods under the [Game Files] heading.

• Post your Warning.txt file: you will be asked for this
  

  All the Warnings you encounter, in-game or upon start up, will be listed in a text file in your main Morrowind Folder. Copy/paste that for us to see.

• Mention any third-party programs you are using:
  

  Are you using MGE, MWE, MWSE, etc? And which version number are they?

• Use Mlox and post the output:
  

  If you've used Mlox on your list of mods but are not sure what to do next, copy/paste the text that Mlox produced for you.

[!]Be clear in describing your problems, there are many mods out there and no one has seen every possible conflict.
[!]Problems directly related to MGE should only be posted in the current MGE thread.

What else do I need?
Patience and Common Sense.
For unpacking mods after download you'll need to unzip them. WinRAR, WinACE or 7Zip (among others)

[!]A widely used trick to help increase performance is to open your Morrowind ini file and change this line: Max FPS=240 to Max FPS=60
This often improves the frame rate flow, and improves the functioning of some menu buttons.

[!]You will never need money or credit cards. All mods are always free. Some sites require that you register, but that is also free.
Bethesda released eight Official Plug-ins for Morrowind, they are free and can be found Here.

Ready to make your own mods? Check the Tutorial Thread in the Construction Set forum to get yourself started.

Edited by Pluto, 12 August 2011 - 01:16 AM.

[john.moonsugar]

Nicely done. Bookmarked for future question answering!

[tetchy]

Nicely done Pluto! Pin It!!!

You might want to link to the sourceforge page for MGE in addition / instead since any specific MGE forum thread will quickly become obsolete.

A link for 7zip should also be provided.

[Pluto]

Good thinking, tetchy. Got it.

[Dragon32]

Great stuff. Another handy texture pack resource is X-Calibar's Comparison Charts, check the various albums linked on the left.

Maybe a "What if I have problems" bit? Basically, post on here with mod list and warnings.txt.

[Pluto]

Great stuff. Another handy texture pack resource is X-Calibar's Comparison Charts, check the various albums linked on the left.
Maybe a "What if I have problems" bit? Basically, post on here with mod list and warnings.txt.

Done!

[Mantriel]

Reported for stickyness.

[Red Eye]

Removed misplaced post

Edited by Red Eye, 08 December 2009 - 08:45 AM.

[Pluto]

I've got Arcimaestro's and BTB's lists of suggested mods, does anyone else have a personal list like that hosted somewhere?
The more options the better.

[haplobartow]

I've got Arcimaestro's and BTB's lists of suggested mods, does anyone else have a personal list like that hosted somewhere?
The more options the better.

Perhaps a link to a tutorial directory? For those who play these mods or use lists like these and then discover they want to make changes or make their own mods but don't know how to do whatever it is they want to do.

Also, you left out an i in FPS Optimizer's link.

[Pluto]

Perhaps a link to a tutorial directory? For those who play these mods or use lists like these and then discover they want to make changes or make their own mods but don't know how to do whatever it is they want to do.

Also, you left out an i in FPS Optimizer's link.

Most people don't start modding until after they have played with mods for awhile, and this was more for helping people find/use mods when they've never used them before. But I'll add a little addendum at the bottom just for total coverage.

[Pseron Wyrd]

does anyone else have a personal list like that hosted somewhere?

Well, I've been posting my list for about two years now. Here's the latest thread in which it can be found: http://www.bethsoft....h...1060317&hl=

[Lyssia]

This is superb, Pluto! Bookmarked.

I'd second the suggestion it be pinned, but, well, then no one would read it, would they?

Edit: Do you have a permanent spot for the initial post? Just in case this thread eventually falls off into the void.

Edited by Lyssia, 08 December 2009 - 10:02 PM.

[Mr KWMonk]

Great stuff

Couple of links I can think of straight away...

Mod conflict listing thread

Galahaut's Morrowind Mod List Wiki has lots of info on conflicts too, maybe worth mentioning that?

Will post more if I think of any.


Cheers
kwm

[BTB]

Hey, can I get a "very current" tag for my list, too? >.>

Also, the stated purpose of mine is to list a small number of "must-have" mods with a focus on compatibility, which is how it contrasts with most other mod lists. You know, if you wanted to give it a description

[Pluto]

Hey, can I get a "very current" tag for my list, too? >.>

Also, the stated purpose of mine is to list a small number of "must-have" mods with a focus on compatibility, which is how it contrasts with most other mod lists. You know, if you wanted to give it a description

Sure thing, BTB.

[jaxawier]

perhaps a bit outside the target audience,but I got to try it out on linux recently,for real this time.

tespcd and testool works straight out of the box more or less (perhaps minor adjustments).
later versions of wine everything works including paperdoll,water,music.(music eventually added music stuff,codecs for example).

python are included in every distro but regarding mash linuxes python are too new,install the correct thing in wine=problem solved.

forget about mge and mwse,that means a lot of mods are a no go

and naming, think mr moonsugar got something for that over at his place
also solved if you use a filemanager in wine

[Pluto]

BUMP

[BTB]

I just realized how insane it is that we need lists of lists of mods >.>

It's like, "Yo dawg, I heard u like mod lists, so we put a mod list in ur mod list so u can mod while u mod!"

[AfroKing]

I have a weak spot for Tarnsman's Empirical Morrowind. This list has been very useful to me.

[Pluto]

I have a weak spot for Tarnsman's Empirical Morrowind. This list has been very useful to me.

Added.
I forgot about this one, but I've used it many times in the past. It has the great "realism" section which makes it unique.

[BTB]

This thread needs a good bumpin'.

[Mr. Swiveller]

Let's send this one back to the first page.

[Pluto]

Updated to include a new section: What common mistakes should I avoid?

[Kovacius]

While you list a couple of "warranted" warnings about the otherwise useful Testool, you make no mention of the various issues with the 2.0 version of FPS Optimizer. 1.96 is the preferred version, but anyone unfamiliar with it would naturally assume that they should get the "latest and greatest".

Nice job on the Recommendation page, otherwise.

[Pluto]

While you list a couple of "warranted" warnings about the otherwise useful Testool, you make no mention of the various issues with the 2.0 version of FPS Optimizer. 1.96 is the preferred version, but anyone unfamiliar with it would naturally assume that they should get the "latest and greatest".

The link goes to v1.96
but I'll make a note on v2. Thanks.

[C.Carjades]

If a new player really want to know what is going on about the 'GMST' ? I would say Yacoby's escog. I've already try it and I was suprised how easy that was to know which 'GMST' was evil or safe.

[piinyouri]

If a new player really want to know what is going on about the 'GMST' ? I would say Yacoby's escog. I've already try it and I was suprised how easy that was to know which 'GMST' was evil or safe.

I agree with this. Even a MW modding noob like me could navigate around it very easily.

[C.Carjades]

I agree with this. Even a MW modding noob like me could navigate around it very easily.

What's your opinion of the 'Morrowind Enchanted Editor', when you must edit the saved gamefiles or cleaning a mod ?

Edited by C.Carjades, 15 January 2010 - 02:12 PM.

[moosa]

Wow. Well done, Pluto.

I returned to Morrowind recently (6 months ago is recent? ) and I beat the MQ of vanilla and expansions and a few guild questlines. I was about to make a thread asking for mod recommendations but you saved me the trouble .

Thanks.