Morrowind 2011

[Darkobra]

A mod has recently been released that breathes a new life into Morrowind. This mod revamps the graphics to be clearer, crisper and more beautiful than before.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106608-Morrowind-2011-Brings-New-Life-to-an-Old-Classic

A little warning: The file is 4GB and is a torrent.

Or so it says in the article. Mine is only 1GB for a strange reason.

[RobertMc123]

Downloading this as we speak, the torrent is 1.8gb but is extremely compressed using 7zip.
I can't wait to try it out, I always loved Morrowind, more so than Oblivion (apart from the Dark Brotherhood quest line of course). So a facelift on this game is all the excuse I need to jump back into it.

[GreigKM]

Torrents? Used for... legal purposes?!? Just kidding, I've gotten many a linux OS via torrent. Anyway, looks great, downloading right now.

[Darkobra]

I had an ex who was very adamant about NEVER downloading anything from torrent. Even game patches that I had already downloaded for her to check if they were fine. She was sure that EVERYTHING run through a torrent is virused and is out to steal your soul and bra size.

"Well if you've downloaded it, you can just send it to me yourself rather than making me download a torrent! HA!"
".... Fucking..."

[zfubarz]

holy balls that's some pretty lighting and water

also fuck that video clip and the music made me miss that game. I may have to give this a try come summertime.

[Dubious_wolf]

It has become apparent that by not playing things on the computer I am missing out on some great stuff. I may have to go out and buy a solid gaming computer now....

[zfubarz]

0_o

[GreigKM]

Wait... Something seems... off about that guy... Hmmmm...

[Darkobra]

It could be that his voice is slightly higher on account of his incredibly small genitalia.

[empath]

"Clever girl." - Muldoon, Jurassic Park

[Vaughn]

if i just bought Morrowind off Steam last week, can i apply this?

EDIT: "everything is covered, including Steam versions of the game and the Tribunal and Bloodmoon expansions"

Nevermind.

[empath]

"morrowind2011.wordpress.com is no longer available.

The authors have deleted this blog."

Did this chap go beyond what Beth/Zeni permit for modding? I didn't see that much that'd be objectionable, but going DEEP into the engine to re-do stuff (water modeling, for example) can break the EULA - providing alternate textures and meshes for a graphical update is a COMPLETELY different thing...

...of course, I get all my Elder Scrolls-related mods from a unified source, so I know where to contact the authors, etc.; I'll see if this Tyler Smith has popped up over there.


ADDENDUM: Yeah, not even a MENTION of "morrowind2011" on the forums there (redacted?) and it sounds like BethSoft contacted MediaFire before Mr. Smith:

File Removed for Violation.

The file you requested has been removed from MediaFire for a violation of our Terms of Service or our Acceptable Use Policy

Yep; sounds like Mr. S mucked around with the executable (the size of the download supports that idea) i.e. he reverse-engineered or decompiled the engine itself.

...big no-no in ANY Terms and Conditions boilerplate...

Pity.

[Darkobra]

Wow. I genuinely didn't think the guy did anything wrong OR that Bethesda would even care. I mean the game's 9 years old and single player.

[empath]

Wow. I genuinely didn't think the guy did anything wrong OR that Bethesda would even care. I mean the game's 9 years old and single player.

HAHHAHHAAAAAHAAAAHAAHAA!!!!!

Betheda Softworks CARES

Yes, that's right - they hold a tight noose on the manual for a game a) much older than TES3, and b) they themselves released as Freeware (which still holds rights to modding/etc., just provides a free End User experience)


Buuuuuut, it looks like it wasn't the original creator, but more a case of one guy (probably naively) ticking off the whole modding community by re-distributing their mods without ASKING or (initially) giving credit.

I.O.W. Mr. Smith didn't make any mods himself, he took a VAST number of extant mods from a variety of people, shuffled and wrangled them so that they would all work together, and then bundled them all together and threw them out there.

And while this accomplishment of getting them all to work is something that should be applauded, you STILL have to get PERMISSION to redistribute the MODS THEMSELVES.

...and I bet no one would pay nearly as much attention to him (i.e. gaming news sites) if he just distributed a 2Mb text file that explains a) where to download the mods, and b) how to get them to work. [/inner-cynic™]


I'll wager at least SOME of the mods have since been removed from public distribution (either the mod-maker is working on a better version/debugging/making compatible with different popular mod, or even mod-maker just retiring and 'taking their ball with them' which while selfish is STILL TOTALLY THEIR CALL) which makes Tyler either painfully naive (gotta get permission to re-distribute ANYTHING), or criminally indifferent to other people's intellectual property.

Sorry Russ, but I'm not really surprised at this when the first I hear of it is from the Escapist.

[GreigKM]

This got cooler somehow, now that it's illegal.

[theDreamer]

I find that weaksauce bullshit.

I get that credit where credit it is due, but I think the modding community is being the dick here.

I agree with you completely empath: if he had released a .txt and even some "get this shit to work" deal he would be lauded, it would be spread around massively, and they would all love him.

That's hypocrisy.

[ThrashJazzAssassin]

Maybe that's fair, but Tyler Smith was being a dick too, not bothering to check with as many of the mods' creators as he could contact. I think that empath's point was that the only reason he made the all-everything-super-duper-mod rather than post a set of links and a How-To guide was to take all the credit for himself.

Basically, everyone is a dick.

[GreigKM]

Basically, everyone is a dick.

Truer words have never been spoken.

[empath]

I find that weaksauce bullshit.

I get that credit where credit it is due, but I think the modding community is being the dick here.

I agree with you completely empath: if he had released a .txt and even some "get this shit to work" deal he would be ignored.

Fixed that for you; TJA grokked my point - Smith was not so much a dick as a douche (I say Wil Wheaton plays him in the TV movie about this whole debacle )

Yes, the modders are being somewhat dickish, too, but you know what?

THEY'RE FUCKING ENTITLED.

THEY created these mods (often creating new storylines and content beyond what the original game provides), and they're THEIRS to control as they see fit; they already have to jump through the hoops the game-makers have set down, so it's ONLY FUCKING FAIR that anyone ELSE that comes along DO THE SAME per their conditions. If they say "do not redistribute this mod" (something you see a fair bit), that's pretty fucking clear-cut.


Look, try creating something - put time, sweat, blood and tears into making it work and sing and live - and then have someone else come along later, strip your attribution from it, slap it up on THEIR website with THEIR fucking copyright boilerplate implying THEY wrote the damn stories, and see how YOU feel about this SHIT, alright? Until then, I'm not going to pay you much credence.


Oh, and Grieg/TJA - word. Even you and I.

[omega_peaches]

Does anyone still have the instructions?
I have all the files, but no instructions.

[Darkobra]

I'll have a look through the two I downloaded. If I have them, I'll PM them to you.

Found them now. I didn't realise how much work it would be installing this one.

[Mowinckel]

I think that Bethesda is GENIUS for keeping up with the monthly "the best mod" for both Morrowind and Oblivion

[zfubarz]

seems to make sense, know how people wanted your last game changed, and you know how you should make your next game.