There are numerous fixes for this bug on ATI cards, anyone know which is the best option?

The fix I use I got from here. I just tweaked its format to integrate with Wrye Mash.

I wasn't aware of other fixes. I just did a quick search and used this one. I'd also be interested in hearing about other fixes.

Yeah, I'm trying that one out now. It works fine, but it seems to get rid of the glare of the original sun.

anyone?

Hi. I'm having the same issue and its incredibly frustrating because a load of the links that people posted for this are now dead.

I tried the fix that WyleCoyote suggested, but this did not seem to work for me, however I can tell it has changed the lighting to a degree, but still got a black sun. One thing I did notice about the fix is that the texture "tx_sun_flash_grey_05.dds" did not already exist in my case. I pasted it in. It doesn't say anything in the readme about replacing an existing file or deleting other ones? I think I may email the developer as per his instructions at the bottom of the download page.

**EDIT**
I have now emailed the developer. I will respond with an answer when I get one.

One thing I did notice is that even if you take all the sun textures out of the game folder, the black sun still exists. I dont think this is a stored cache issue, as I have left the area and returned with the same issue. I am on win 7 with an ATI 3800 card. I believe the later ATI card support allows some of the fixes to work better, which could explain why some of us are being left behind on the issue.

**Edit**
Just got a return error on the email. Looks like the developer has moved on. Nothing on the Bethesda site that is pragmatic for proper troubleshooting of Morrowind on PC.

Ticket submitted to gog.com on the issue. Was up half the night looking for a simple answer, nothing. Hopefully gog can throw some light on the issue.

I'll consider it, although I'd prefer to go with the original look of the game for now.

That's fine, of course!...but honestly I don't see much of anything especially redeeming about the look of many older games (I've been gaming for more than a couple of decades, and often I didn't like the look of some games even way back then when they were new)...;) I mean, improving the graphics & sound doesn't in any way change the core game itself--it's still the exact same game in every particular--it just looks a whole lot better than it did then.

I mean, I don't see any value in playing older games without a decent mod here and there--I agree that I don't care for mods that change the core game--but mods that add to the core without changing it are sometimes all that make the game worth owning (recent example of that is Skyrim--without mods it is very pedestrian and mundane.)

Anyway, just wanted to reiterate that the MGSO mod adds some nice functionality mods--but you don't have to install any of them if you don't want. Basically, it only improves the graphics in the game by a huge extent, and if you have a SM3.0 + GPU you should definitely use the mod--it makes the game just that much more enjoyable, imo. Anyway...luck with the black sun!

Folks.

Fixed at last. Really obvious fix, which I assumed was already in place due to the main settings disabling windows themes.

Right click your morrowind desktop link and click properties and then the open file location button, or go to C:GOG games/Morrowind (or your custom install directory).

Right click on Morrowind launcher.exe and click properties. Go to the compatibility tab. Check the box which says "run this program in compatibility mode for", and select Windows XP service pack 3. Then check the box under privilege level "run this programme as administrator". Click apply and then ok.

Right click on the Morrowind.exe and click properties-compatibility again, selecting both run in compatibility with xp sp3 again and also run as administrator. Apply and click ok. Then open up the game.

Worked fine for me. I have informed GOG.com of the fix and sent them screenshots of before and after the fix. (See attached). I have also sent them a dxdiag file and asked them to update the common problems FAQ for the game with the fix.

Let me know if this works for you. If I hear anything back from GOG.com I will post again. It does look like a good programme. Unfortunately I couldn't get it to run (just kept black screening me). I have to say I used a similar thing for playing Oblivion, because it was essentially a broken game without a proper fix. The functionality that these kind of mods adds is great, even if you keep the graphics and sounds the same (for instance there are fixed for things like improper weight calculations on items e.t.c. (some multiple items are either too light or too heavy without the fix). As I cant run the mod I am going to take my chances, but it looks like it has been well put together for the purposes of Morrowind. Just a shame I cant run it haha.

I just tried setting it to XP SP3 compatibility mode per your suggestion, and it did fix the black sun. I have no idea why the problem occurs under Win 7 but not XP.

Unfortunately, that fix cuts my frame rate in half. At the start screen on the ship, I normally get ~40fps, but when set to XP compatibility mode I only get ~20. Of course, I have an ancient PC so it may not be a problem for newer systems.

I just did a test and believe I've found a better solution to this problem.

I just uninstalled and reinstalled Morrowind from GOG.
Then, I used Wrye Mash to remove the dirty official addons included in the GOG version.
Finally, I installed the Morrowind Code Patch (MCP) v2.2.

The above fixed the "black hole/sun" problem. (NOTE: I did NOT install the ATI Fix I posted about earlier this time).

I believe the only thing needed to fix the "black hole/sun" problem may be the MCP, which I highly recommend for other reasons anyway.

For those interested, I'm running Win 7 on an ancient PC with an ATI HD4670 AGP video card.