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Elder Scrolls seriesUgh Morrowind's lousy draw distance is distracting.(27 posts)(27 posts)
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Posted August 26, 2015
I mean look at these screenshots, is the land of Vvardenfell permanently covered in fog or something and it gets worse if rain, ash-storms, and blizzards occur.

http://www.gog.com/game/the_elder_scrolls_iii_morrowind_goty_edition

Partly the reason I have used the Morrowind Overhaul is to increase the draw distance so I can see more of the landscape (and whats ahead of me) the better graphics was just the icing on the cake.

Is there any mods that soley increase the draw distance?
Post edited August 26, 2015 by Elmofongo
Posted August 26, 2015
I think the Morrowind Graphics Extender that comes with Morrowind Overhaul is able to do just that. But if you have the machine to run it I really don't see any reason not to go with the overhaul. If you want a more conservative modding that is certainly possible with Morrowind Overhaul.
Posted August 26, 2015
There is the FPS Optimizer which allows double view distance:
[url=http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Tes3Mod:FPS_Optimizer]http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Tes3Mod:FPS_Optimizer[/url]

and also the Morrowind graphics extender for infinite view:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/morrgraphext/
Post edited August 26, 2015 by Mondkalb
Posted August 26, 2015
The increased draw distance comes from the "Distant Lands" portion of the Morrowind Graphics Extender (MGE XE).

Just download it from Nexus mods, and you can set it up to simply unlock the resolution, improve the lighting and water shaders (optional), and increase the draw distance as far as you want using the "Distant Lands" module, while keeping everything else vanilla. :)
Posted August 26, 2015
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KajQrd: I think the Morrowind Graphics Extender that comes with Morrowind Overhaul is able to do just that. But if you have the machine to run it I really don't see any reason not to go with the overhaul. If you want a more conservative modding that is certainly possible with Morrowind Overhaul.
I most definitely have the machine to run it. My PC has a GTX 970 and I can play Crysis 3, Metro Redux, and Mass Effect 3 all 1080p, 60 FPS, and Ultra settings.

But the Overhaul tends to be a bit finicky.
Posted August 26, 2015
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KajQrd: I think the Morrowind Graphics Extender that comes with Morrowind Overhaul is able to do just that. But if you have the machine to run it I really don't see any reason not to go with the overhaul. If you want a more conservative modding that is certainly possible with Morrowind Overhaul.
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Elmofongo: I most definitely have the machine to run it. My PC has a GTX 970 and I can play Crysis 3, Metro Redux, and Mass Effect 3 all 1080p, 60 FPS, and Ultra settings.

But the Overhaul tends to be a bit finicky.
Installation guide is at http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1513057-relz-morrowind-overhaul-sounds-graphics-30-thread-6/ I think.
Posted August 26, 2015
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Elmofongo: I mean look at these screenshots, is the land of Vvardenfell permanently covered in fog or something and it gets worse if rain, ash-storms, and blizzards occur.
Well, the world of Vvardenfell is entirely different from our own, including very different weather effects. This is part of the immersion feeling and role-playing experience, for me at least. If you feel differently, then maybe Oblivion's world is more what you expect.
Posted August 26, 2015
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Elmofongo: I mean look at these screenshots, is the land of Vvardenfell permanently covered in fog or something and it gets worse if rain, ash-storms, and blizzards occur.
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Greywolf1: Well, the world of Vvardenfell is entirely different from our own, including very different weather effects. This is part of the immersion feeling and role-playing experience, for me at least. If you feel differently, then maybe Oblivion's world is more what you expect.
Now listen. I have played Morrowind long before. I have beaten it. I know the island of Vvardenfell inside out (I have it on steam)

The Draw Distance was a product of its time because computers back than could not handle a huge 3D game world this large without hampering the framerate. Same with games like Everquest 1 and Bioware's Neverwinter Nights.
Posted August 27, 2015
The low draw distance is why the Morrowind Graphics Extender is pretty much an essential mod. Set the draw distance to whatever you prefer, and I think it now also includes distant land features (such as what was introduced in Oblivion).
Posted August 27, 2015
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Elmofongo: The Draw Distance was a product of its time because computers back than could not handle a huge 3D game world this large without hampering the framerate. Same with games like Everquest 1 and Bioware's Neverwinter Nights.
You are probably right that Morrowind's draw distance is not as good as that of newer games. It's good enough for me.
I assume you have set the distance slider to max?
Post edited August 27, 2015 by Greywolf1
Posted August 27, 2015
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DarrkPhoenix: I think it now also includes distant land features (such as what was introduced in Oblivion).
That's correct. It even looks better than Oblivion's distant land feature but it's very demanding on your system.
Apart from being very demanding, the feature has another issue. Some distant objects are invisible under certain circumstances, so the distant land feature is not perfect.

All in all, MG XE is an extremely awesome program. :)
Posted August 27, 2015
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DarrkPhoenix: The low draw distance is why the Morrowind Graphics Extender is pretty much an essential mod. Set the draw distance to whatever you prefer, and I think it now also includes distant land features (such as what was introduced in Oblivion).
So I downloaded the mod and simply just used the distant lands feature while keeping everything else vanilla and man it feels so much better that I can now see the entire world and can see whats ahead of me. I even got the bonus having much better water textures like the one I see in Morrowind Overhaul. And 1080p.

Using distant lands I notice that from 35 to 50 draw distance the framerate gets impacted bit. So to me its best I keep it at around 25 to 30, the draw distances is big enough.

Man now I can see the entire land in all its vanilla graphics galore.
Posted August 27, 2015
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Elmofongo: snip
Have you seen the dynamic shadows? They're quite the thing, as well.

In my experience, it is a good idea to set up hotkeys so that you can disable and enable taxing graphics options in-game. If you're in a city for example you may want to reduce the viewing distance. :)
Posted August 28, 2015
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Elmofongo: snip
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0Grapher: Have you seen the dynamic shadows? They're quite the thing, as well.

In my experience, it is a good idea to set up hotkeys so that you can disable and enable taxing graphics options in-game. If you're in a city for example you may want to reduce the viewing distance. :)
Dumb question but is there a way to reverse the water texture making it look more Vanilla?
Posted August 28, 2015
I'm running MGSO 3.0 on a Geforce 980. This is at the default MGE draw distance of 50 cells. It runs great, and from the nearest climbable hill you can see both Red Mountain and Vivec.
I can push it back to 100 cells and it's still relatively playable. I didn't go up to the mountain, but I'm certain you can see from one side of the island to the other.

The only other game that has let me push the draw distance that far back to see the entire world was Ultima 9.

Anyway, it's great! Try it!
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Post edited August 28, 2015 by artician
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Elder Scrolls seriesUgh Morrowind's lousy draw distance is distracting.(27 posts)(27 posts)
(27 posts)