Morrowind.. and why its crap

Nickzer on 27/10/2002 at 18:27

Yep i know what your all thinking. This is just another example of someone who cant understand how good morrowind is. But, the thing is i can, or at least, i could.
You see I used to love jumping in the pools and looking for any rare plants on the sea bed, taking them back to my tower at the end of the day and attempting to make potions in my efforts to become rich purchase better equipment earn enough money to train myself up in light armor and short sword and parrying skills, and do my 'lifelong' dream. Set off around Vvardenfall visiting every town and outpost, and every other thing the world had to offer. But for now i was just content was gazing at the beatiful stars in the moonlit sky at the top of my tower.
Sounds wonderful doesnt it, but thats when it hits you. Hang on a minute, i get to visit the whole of amn in bg2 visiting every shop and doing every little thing, but for one major difference, its included in the actual main storyline, making it infinately better in quality sense. You see i dont think the developers of Morrowind really took that much time perfecting the non-linear side of the game, it seems like they have gone straight from the drawing board to the game, not scrapping anything. This is way when it actually comes to game, it is too far fetched and massive to posess any real quality, just a mediocre conversation system that feels like you are accessing a glossary and npc's that are so un-alive it makes you feel lonely.
The difference in bg2 is that it contained so much quality, and JUST the right amount quantity. You feel so much more involved when npc's come to you off the streets asking for your help or (as in trademeet) you hear 2 of them squabbling about religion.
Then as you are playing Morrowind you begin to compare the 2 and thats when i uninstalled the game and put it back into the rack.
You see guys, morrowind is'nt a bad game in effort and heart. It tries so desperately to break boundaries but it eventually falls short. Its a constant reminder that no matter how non-linear games get because of new technology there is always a need for linearity in a sense, and morrowind doesnt provide that. It just feels, to sum it up: Lonely lame and half finished.
Im sorry guys, Im sorry i desperately want to praise morrowind for whats its accomplished, but there so much more it hasnt accomplished. It (as with many other games) set it sights too high, and couldnt reach them.

Munkilord on 27/10/2002 at 20:05

Pestilence on 27/10/2002 at 21:27

BG2 is in totally different world when you compare the plot of it to Morrowind. But I still love to wander around Morrowind doing what ever the game offers to do. The fact that the AI is "kinda" dumb is putting me off mostly but I still dont want to go back to BG2 as Im in the very end of ToB and the game has turned to total hack & slash :erg:

Jordana Chal on 27/10/2002 at 23:04

I totally take your point about the dialogue system, one of the worst things in MW to my mind. It does feel like you're flipping through an encyclopedia index rather than actually having a conversation with someone. I keep meaning to make a mod to change this, don't know when I'll get the time though, or how easy it would be to do....
I haven't really played any other RPG's apart from Daggerfall, so I don't have anything to compare MW with, but from what people have been saying it souds as though the NPCs could use some work in the next Elder Scrolls game to make them more individual and 'real'.
I do love the total freedom of MW though; I really like the idea of having loads of people and places which are there as background, not just because you need them for part of a main quest.
I've been wondering about playing one of the Baldur's Gat games myself; can anyone tell me more about how it compares to games like Daggerfall and Morrowind?

JoJangles on 28/10/2002 at 04:10

BG2 > MW as far as quality is concerned. So is BG1 but BG2>BG1.

Right...

MW might be bigger than BG1/2, but most of MW is just copied content.

Baldur's gate was beautiful at times, just the scenary plain stuff.

They're more or less the same type of game, just MW is more of not so important stuff and not as much good stuff, heh..

Vigo on 28/10/2002 at 04:19

Morrowind isn't all bad, though I must agree with your complaints.

What is DOES have going for it is one of the best Character generators I have ever seen, almost as good as fallout. Character cusomization is great, with all the different types of races and clothes and equipment that you can wear. But as others have said, the character becomes bland in that you cannot interact with other interesting characters. There are also no real moral dilemmas or character moments to help shape your character, as there were in Planescape and Fallout, and thus the game becomes a hack and slash that lets you go where you want.

Munkilord on 28/10/2002 at 19:45

Planescape: Torment was my all time favorite RPG. It was nice being able to talk through many situations (even the showdown with the end boss). The world was unique and interesting, and the plot was among the best I have ever experienced in a game. It would have been nice to be able to customize your character more, but then it would not have worked quite as well with the story. I loved all the other characters who would join you on your journey.

Don't get me wrong, I love Morrowind. But if it had the level of character interaction in Planescape, it would take it to a whole new level.

Forsythe on 28/10/2002 at 20:33

Hrm... I mean no offence, but it seems like most people see what they want to see in Morrowind, not neccessarily what is there.

Point 1) The average NPC has nothing interesting to say. How's that so very different from the average NPC just saying "I have nothing to say; leave me alone"? The former, while not terribly nice from the perspective of a powergamer, is also much more realistic. Some NPCs may not feel like talking, it's true, but that's relayed in their % towards you. That's not to say that I like reading the same text 500 times, but it's more realistic. (BTW, you've got to try rather hard to find two NPCs with the same name [as opposed to 400 NPCs named "A peasant])

Point 2) It needed more intimate character interaction. This is very easy to do if you're dealing with a static character (as in Torment), but when you're talking about doing so with a fully dynamic character generation system it becomes nigh impossible to establish the same level of rapport between characters.

Point 3) Being able to wander all over the world and it doesn't neccessarily have anything to do with the main plotline is a bad thing. Wuh? *shakes out his ears* Erh? How do you figure? If you fully fleshed out the game worlds of most games, the main plot of 90% of all games covers no more than 10% of available terrain.

Point 4) BG, BG2, and Morrowind are suitable for comparison. They're both technically RPGs, but BG & BG2 are combat-oriented games with a veneer of plotline liberally applied whereas Morrowind is primarily based on its non-linear quest model. I'll be the 1st to admit I may have missed something, I just don't see where, here.

Illuminatus on 28/10/2002 at 22:00

In order to come up with an accurate evaluation for any game, both its positive and negative aspects need to be taken into consideration and weighed against each other. If you're only going to notice all the places where Morrowind falls short, then obviously the whole game will seem dull and repetitive. But, IMO, Morrowind's core goodness nearly completely overshadows its weaker aspects, and unless you want to purposely prove that the game is "lonely lame and half finished", there's no point to criticize it to death.

Vigo on 28/10/2002 at 23:03

Well, this is a thread about how Morrowind fails in certain areas, so you have to expect the failings to be the main part of the discussion. Most of the people here aren't bashing it pointlessely, and are stating that Morrowind had some good elements, but has several bad ones as well. Personally, I think people have a right to say what they thought was bad in the game, just as others have a right to praise it.