TES Anthology

Well, I found myself playing the old Elder Scrolls games recently, as you could probably guess by my previous log entry. So there I was sitting at my screen cussing as I tried to remember how to code in the old Dos config and autoexec files, something I haven't really had to do for almost 20 years, not to mention trying to get a 3.5" floppy drive to work in a new system. Apparently the girls noticed their father's bloodpressure rising and decided to take steps. Being the sweet girls they are, they decided to order The Elder Scrolls Anthology, recently released by Betheseda.

Now knowing Betheseda's record regarding re-releases, I was actually pleasently surprised at how well the TES Anthology package was put together. Not only did it contain all five of the Elder Scrolls games as well as all the expansion packs, but the first two games (which are dos) came with their own Dos Emulator which worked flawlessly without my having to go in and tweek the code. So how much did this package with every TES game from Arena to Skyrim including every expansion pack and necessary periphial software cost? About $30 for the PC version. That's actually a good price, so I'm going to continue with my write-up on The Elder Scrolls by going over what you'll need to actually play them.

ARENA & DAGGERFALL

Not a whole lot to discuss with the first two TES games. They're Dos so they can't really be modified. All you need is the Dos emulator, which is not only included but installs automatically. You just have to choose whether to play "windowed" or "full screen".

MORROWIND

This is the first TES game that was easily modifiable, which is a good thing because it really needs them. The game was released in 2002 which means it was designed to run on some pretty primitive systems. The first two "mods" you need to be aware of are the Morrowind Code Patch (MCP) and Morrowind Graphics Extender (MGE). These two are all you need to run Morrowind on a modern system. There is an "all-inclusinve patch" called MGSO that has both within it, but I actually recommend against it because it is pretty tempermental during "install" and can have you cussing and throwing things at your screen as you're forced to "Clean Install" Morrowind and re-try installing MGSO for the third or fourth time hoping you don't screw it up again.

As far as optional mods go:

Better Bodies - Morrowind was released in 2002. Many people complain about the graphics quality of the NPCs, but they're ignoring the fact that Morrowind was designed to run on a 486 computer. High end 486, but 486 nonetheless. The NPC models are about as good as they could be for those systems. "Better Bodoes" brings the NPC "dolls" to a substantially higher graphics level and smoothes away the polygonal shapes. There is a "nude option", but I don't use it. Realistically, I have trouble understanding the idea of "looting" the underwear off a dead body.

Face Packs - Again, the developers of Morrowind were restricted by the limitations of the systems most people used in 2002. For this reason there was almost no variation in regards to faces and hair. If memory serves, Bretons (for example) got to choose between four (4) faces and four (4) hairstyles. As you can imagine, this meant that all the NPCs looked pretty much the same. Face Packs add as many as 400 more options, making the population of Morrowind a lot more diverse.

Magika Regen Packs - One of the biggest complaints about Morrowind today is that Magika doesn't regenerate except when you "rest". Keep in mind that at the time this came out all RPGs, such as AD&D limited magic users by requiring them to "rest" after firing off a certain number of spells. Magic Users in Morrowind are designed to get around this limitation by utilizing their ability to "Enchant" objects such as staves. Mana Regen mods tend to make magic users WAY overpowered in Morrowind, but if you must...

Faction Mods - One of the biggest critiques of Morrowind was that it had so many factions with their own questlines that players would lose interest / track of the "main" questline. Maybe they hadd a point. Morrowind has three (3) "Native" factions, five (5) "Imperial" faction, three (3) Vampire factions, and two (2) Werewolf factions if memory serves. On top of that, there are a few "sub-factions" a player may come across as well such as the "Abolutionists" faction that's focused on freeing Morrowind's slaves. Apparently that's not enough since players have written a whole slew of additional "Faction Mods" that can be plugged in. Most of them are pretty weak, but there are a couple of exceptions such as;

Alimia's Daughters - A "Faction Mod" that introduces an all-female "Courtesan" faction. Alimia's Daughters are best described as prostitutes / spies that use their "assets" to infiltrate Morrowind's higher enchelons of power and subtly influence events from behind the scenes. What really sets this mod from other faction mods is that not only does it have its own questlines, but opens up alternative methods to complete parts of the "Main" questline.

OBLIVION

Oblivion really only needs two "mods". The first is "The Unofficial Oblivion Patch" which fixes a whole slew of bugs, such as quest items being in a completely different location than the map-marker points too. The second is a "Monster Overhaul" patch such as either "Oblivion Overhaul Patch" or "Francesco's Leveled Creatures and Items Patch". Both do roughly the same thing, altering "monster levels" in teh game. OOP's focus is to make the game more challenging by making encounters much more varied and the game more challenging. Francesco's Patch is similiar, but is much more forgiving at early levels and more challenging at higher ones.

SKYRIM

Skyrim was a "modder's dream" in that not only does it allow alterations in the environment, but actually allows alterations to be made to animations. Of course this resulted in a whole slew of "Hentai" animations coming out of Japan, if that sort of thing interests you. Still, not everyone who likes to code is adicted to Japanese Hentai animation, so there are a few floating around that are actually worth looking into. So far my favorite is a "pregnancy" mod that allows the PC (or spouse if the PC is male) become pregnant. Yes, the belly grows and stats are altered as the pregnancy progresses until finally comes the little rugrat's birthday. There's another mod that allows for "cross breed" children (if your character is an Orc and his spouse is a Human, the child will be a Half-Orc with features of both races), but I've forgotten the name. In a game that allows you to marry and adopt children, this makes you scratch your head wondering why Betheseda didn't include something like this to begin with.