Guide for installing mods

[Kurpulio]

GUIDE FOR SETTING UP MODS FOR MORROWIND

Purpose of this thread is to collect every information needed to set up a modded Morrowind step by step.
For this, here you will find links to the most up-to date guides, tutorials, and videos about all necessary topics.
Aim is that new users don't waste time on trying to find and understand wrong guides that are hard to follow, out of date, or lack important information.
Note, that this guide is not for OpenMW users, see chapter 5 for info why. If a link is broken or something is not clear, leave feedback, so i can fix that part.
Check the last section for modlists!

0. Introduction, game install

Setting up everything will require some time, but it will be worth it.

You'll have to learn how to use a few programs for handling the downloaded mods, or enhancing game engine/graphics.

Setting up the basic must have patches/programs/mods is fairly quick.

What is more time consuming is to browse modlists and mod sites for mods you want, than make sure, that all those mods are compatible with each other, so your Morrowind is running stable without errors. It is recommended to use many mods as there are incredible additions to the game, but than you'll need to get familiar with using some mod managing tools.

It' best if you have an official CD install, or Steam version, or the GOG version of the game.

It is strongly recommended to not install Morrowind in Program Files folder, as there can be access permission problems with mods

After successful install, you'll need to find these folders, they will be used later on:

The game folder is best identified as the folder that contains Morrowind.exe and the Data Files folder
The Data Files folder is where all of the data that the game uses is stored (textures, meshes, sounds, plugins, etc.). Normally this is where all mods are installed, and where their data is stored.

For Steam users there may be additional necessary steps:

 

As Steam version dates the game's .bsa files to the day you installed the game, you need to redate Morrowind.bsa to 2001, and the BSA from the expansions to 2002. This is because Morrowind.exe will not use any mod files if their date are before these main bsa files.

Simply running the Morrowind Code Patch once will do this for you.
Or if not, you can use FileDate Changer tool. After you used that, right-click on the .bsa files (located in Morrowind\Data Files\) and mark them as read-only to lock the dates. If you don't read-only the files then Steam will overwrite the date again, which could cause you problems where mod managers don't recognise files, or MGE XE can mess up.

- If you use MGE XE: You need to disable the Steam Overlay option. Open Steam, right click on the Morrowind game in your list of games, click on Properties, and then uncheck the "Enable the Steam Overlay" or "Enable Steam Community In-Game" feature.

- If you want to make/edit your mods, you need to use This Fix for the Construction Set to work properly

 

CD install, Expansions:

First install Tribunal and then Bloodmoon.If you do not have the GOTY version, then you will need to install Bloodmoon patch 1.6.1820 after the installation of Bloodmoon. There is no need to install the Tribunal patch before installing Bloodmoon, as patch 1.6.1820 contains the Tribunal patch fixes.

You may check this site for additional info: http://lifeininkandpixels.com/buying-and-installing-morrowind/

 

1. Morrowind Code Patch - download : v2.4 https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/19510

MCP is recommended to install before everything, as it modifies the actual codebase in Morrowind's .exe to fix many of the hardcoded bugs that are unfixable with typical mods.

It also offers many optional additions and tweaks, and it's recommended for improved stability and reduced chance of crashes.

In older guides, "4GB Patch" or "Exe Optimizer" are mentioned, but they are outdated and not needed, do not install them.

First extract the downloaded archive somewhere. Then, apart from the Data Files folder, copy everything into your game folder. The extracted Data Files folder can be ignored as it only contains a showcase mod. Then download v.2.5beta update from here, and exctract it in game folder to overwrite v2.4 files.

To install MCP, with all of its files in your game folder, run Morrowind Code Patch.exe as admin. When MCP running, you can see lists of all of the patches it can apply.

Clicking on an entry will provide a short description of what it does. The patches are categorized on the left side: for example in -Bug Fixes- section, you'll see all of its patches are already checked.

Recommended to visit every category and read each patch's descriptions before you click on Apply. If later you want to disable/enable something later, just rerun the .exe, uncheck/check the patches, and hit Apply again.

You'll find recommendations for which patches should be avoided here in Sigourn's list and Abot's list.

2. Mod files

Ideally when you download a mod's .rar archive file, and exctract it, its content should look like this:

 

This arrangement is the replication of the file order in Morrowind's Data files folder. So without any mod managing programs, you could paste the mod files in Data Files folder to make the mod work.

However, next to the raw mesh/texture/sound files, mods can contain .esp (or rarely .bsa) plugin files, and you'll need a mod manager to enable and handle them.

The .esp files contain game settings/scripts/etc, and also, in most cases they are needed to force the game to use the mod's files instead of the vanilla ones, for example to replace a texture or a model.

The .bsa files contain resources(textures,meshes) in a single archive. To enable them you'll need to register them in the morrowind.ini file, but you'll do this with the mod managers.

3. Programs for managing mods
mod installing and sorting

Before downloading any mods, you'll need a "mod manager" program to properly handle them.

There are many programs for this. Mod Organizer 2, Wyre Mash, Nexus Mod Manager, Oblivion Mod Manager, Vortex, Kortex, and others.

The best 2 options are Mod Organizer 2 and Wrye Mash, they have different perks. For new users, Wrye Mash may be better, as with it it's harder to do things the wrong way. In section 3.4 and 3.5 you'll see how to use these (if you choose Wrye Mash only check 3.5)

mod install order

While using mod managers, you'll need a proper mod install order to avoid file overwrite conflict which means you don't get content from multiple mods in the way you want (see below).

Generally core mods with big content should be installed first, and the small ones later. So for example if you use Intelligent Textures which replaces all vanilla textures, but you also want to use a specific armor texture replacer mod, then you should install that one later.

For this, in MO2 you can rearrange mods' "priority" so that mods' files are loaded upon every game launch in an order according to that. In Wrye Mash you'll install mods manually, so you should categorize and prioritize your mod installers in advance by giving the installer archives new names that indicates their content.

mod load order

Either mod manager you choose, you will also need to maintain a proper mod load order to avoid plugin conflict which result in bugs and errors (see below).

As neither MO2 or WMash has this function integrated, you will either have to do it with a program, or manually (if you know what you're doing).

For this an easy solution is Mlox where you'll need to press 1 button. It simply recommends the 'best' load order for your .esp plugins. In most cases it will be ok, but it doesn't necessarily mean there will be no conflicts. In that case, you'll have to check for conflicts and change load order manually.

merging leveled lists

Leveled lists account for generating random loot and enemies based on character level. The .esp files contain them.

If multiple mods modify the same leveled list, without merging them they would overwrite each other and you'd only get the content from the .esp which is loaded the latest.

For creating an .esp that contains the merged leveled lists you'll need Tes3CMD. If you use Wrye Mash, it has Tes3CMD's commands integrated

Merging will only extract and combine the leveled list parts from the .esps' of different mods into a new .esp. So you will still have to enable the mods' original .esps, and in the mod load order you'll have to set the merged .esp the latest.

fixing mod conflicts

Installing many mods can lead to some of them conflicting. We can distinguish these 2 types of mod conflict:

file overwrite conflict: If multiple mods contain mesh/texture/etc files with the same name, they will overwrite each other upon installing.
The game will simply only use the latest, so it won't crash your game or cause errors. Just keep mod install order in mind to get the all the content you want.
When using MO2 or WryeMash as mod manager, they'll be able show you this kind of conflict. They'll flag conflicting mods, and if you select one, the program will show what other mods modify the same files.

plugin conflict: If the .esp files in different mods modify same things and conflict, that can lead to errors/crashes.

This kind of conflict may still appear no matter how you change your .esp load order.

Mod mager programs can't show you the cause of these conflicts, you'll need other tools to actually find what .esps are responsible for the errors.

For this, your options are TESPCD, TesView.

In these programs you'll select your active .esps, and the program checks for conflicts and tells which mods are causing the problem.

You can even search for a keyword in your .esps to check which one contains the 'Model', 'Texture', 'Object', etc which gave you errors upon loading.

Alternatively you can use search programs like AstroGrep or SearchMyFiles to search for text keyword in .esp file content to find the conflicting mod.

After you find the problematic mod, the easier solution is just to not use it. To fix certain conflicts either by cleaning or merging, you can try using TesTool, TesAme, or Tes3Merge, or if you have skills in TES Construction Set or Morrowind Enchanted Editor you can edit the .esp in it.

cleaning / merging plugins

In case your downloaded mod is 'old' or 'dirty', it might need fixing. Cleaning can fix dirty references, duplicated entries, wrong game settings, junk cells , which would cause errors, bugs, mod conflicts, corrupt savegames,etc.

For auto cleaning, available tools are Tes3CMD or TesTool, also you can remove individual unwanted records with TesAME.

You can merge plugings with Construction Set or TesAME if you wan't to use lesser .esps or force fix conflicts.

Note that if the .esps modify same things, merging them means the common entries will only be overwritten by the secondary mod, and not combined.

For combining, you may use Tes3Merge which creates a new patch .esp that contains only the combined entries.

After merging, remember to clean the resulting .esp.

repair a save game file

Your save game can become dependent on mods. When you make any changes to your mods, your save game file can become corrupted and crash the game, as it can't find files/settings from a mod it depends on. In this case you can use Wrye Mash to remove dependencies and fix your save game file.

For this you should check Danae's Wrye Mash guide linked a little below

3.1 Mlox - download : https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/43001

Its best if you create an 'mlox' folder in morrowind game folder, and after downloading, extract contents there (and keep the game folder clean)

There is a 'For users of Wrye Mash Standalone' folder in the archive, but ignore it, leave everything as is.

When opening the program, you'll see a wall of text in the 'Messages' tab, but those infos are outdated, ignore that too.

Later on you will run and use Mlox through the mod manager you choose.

When Mlox is opened, you only need to press the 'Update Load Order' button and close it.

It is best if you do this every time you install a new mod.

Check this video for further info : www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKuMT5RT2IE&t=1144s

3.2 Tes3CMD - download : https://code.google.com/archive/p/mlox/downloads (get tes3cmd-0.37v)

New players may only need this TesXXX program, only check the others if you run into problems.

A command line tool, but don't be frightened, fairly easy to use. (In Wrye Mash the commands below are integrated in the UI if you installed Tes3CMD)

For installing, put tes3cmd.exe into your Data Files folder.

Mostly you'll only need to use 2 commands, you'll find out how to use them in the following videos:

<clean> : Removes various junk entries from individual .esp files - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlea3Ozrtaw

If you run the command on a .esp, it will create a new, 'clean' version of it.

<multipatch>: Checks for issues in your current mod load order, fixes some conflicts, creates a merged leveled list - https://youtu.be/Dlea3Ozrtaw?t=514

Running the command will create a new "multipatch.esp" which will contain the merged leveled lists from the .esps, and it will be activated as latest.

More info - here , here, here

3.3 TesPCD / TesView / TesTool / TesAME / Tes3Merge / CS

 

TesPCD - for detecting conflicts

download : here

short video : here

how to use : here

TesView - for detecting conflicts

TesView is an altered version of "xEdit" program, which is a tool used in modding other games (for example its incarnations are FNVEdit for Fallout or TES5Edit for Skyrim).

For Morrowind, you can rename certain builds (versions) of xEdit into TES3View.

 

xEdit is a tool that let's you see records and conflicts in mods, and edit records (and solve conflicts) on the fly.

For morrowind it isn't anywhere near as accurate as the Skyrim and New Vegas versions, and it also doesn't let you edit mods. But it does let you see many mod conflicts.

If you join the xEdit Discord and go to #xedit-builds, you can download different builds for xEdit.

For Morrowind you can use:

xEdit_4.1.3a_EXTREMELY_EXPERIMENTAL.7z

You extract the archive, rename the folder to TES3View as well as the .exe to TES3View.exe

And then run the .exe (through MO2 if you use it), load all plugins and see conflicts.

How to use : here

(thx to Sigourn for info)

 

TesTool - for auto cleaning

download : here

how to use : here

 

TesAME - for removing unwanted records, or merging plugins

download : here

how to use : here, and here

Tes3Merge - for automatically patching conflicts between mods

download : here

more info : here

The tool is under development, it's best to get v.0.5 and not use faction or npc merging.

Construction Set - for merging plugins (among many other things)

You can learn how to merge plugins with CS : here

 

3.4 Mod Organizer 2 - download : https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/6194

pros:

-All mod files will be put in a separate folder, and loaded from there each time you launch the game.

It is possible with MO2's Virtual File System(VFS), which tricks the game and other programs into thinking that the mods are installed in the data folder while they are actually installed in their own separated folders. So your original game folder will stay intact/clean. This is useful if you want to remove a mod that replaces vanilla files.

-Ability to link MO2 program with your nexus account and download mods directly with MO2. The downloaded mods' original rar/zip files will be in a separate 'downloads' folder.

-Ability to easily rearrange downloaded mod files. Using the content in 'downloads' folder, in MO2's UI you can extract only the needed files into a separate 'mod files' folder which the game will use.

-Lots of handful features (though some aren't useful for MW), and built in tutorials on how to use them.

cons:

-Game loading time is worse than with Wrye Mash

-Certain mods don't work, or complicated to make them work with MO2
-No built in tool to create merged leveled list

Install & use:

 

MO2's earlier (pre2.0) versions required a compatibility patch for Morrowind. But you won't need it with MO2 as it already supports Morrowind.

MO2 Installation & Setup : https://youtu.be/ruq6hQIAvB8?t=28

Recommended to follow video above. If you receive "VCRUNTIME140_1.dll was not found" system error message at first start, you have to install Visual C++ 2019 x64.

At first start click (Change Game)→Create a new Instance→Select Morrowind from dropdown→Select game folder.

In settings, change the path for downloaded mod files to a folder which is easier to access. It is not recommended to do this after you start downloading mods.

After downloading a mod through MO2, make sure you rearrange its content inside the MO2 program like the file order that is described in the 2. chapter.

External programs & MO2

To use other tools (mlox, MGE XE, CS, WryeMash, Tes3CMD) along with MO2 , you have to run these through MO2.

To do this, you have to add the programs .exe locations to MO2, and after that select them from the list, and click Run.

 

The used programs do not need to be installed in a different way or to another location than usual. MO2's VFS will guide the program to MO2's mod files.

MO2 & Tes3CMD: You'll need Tes3CMD's <multipatch> and <clean> command, as MO2 can't do merged leveled list or mod cleaning.

There are various ways to access these:

-Running cmd.exe through mo2, then load Tes3CMD.exe:

Easy way to do this is by assigning a new executable in MO2 with these parameters:

Running this will first load C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe, then it will change directory to your game DataFiles folder(where you put Tes3CMD.exe earlier), and finally it will run the .exe, then you can type in the needed commands. (Of course it will work if you don't fill the "Start in" and "Arguments" fields, but you'll have to navigate cmd manually each time.)

After running the commands, MO2 will save the modified .esp files in your MO2files/overwrite folder. You can load .esps directly from this folder with MO2, but if you want you can move them to your MO2files/mods folder too later.

-Running Tes3CMD.exe through mo2:

You can directly assign Tes3CMD.exe, and type the needed commands in Arguments field

Drawback is that tes3cmd's window will close instantly, you won't know what results did it bring. The modified files will land in same 'overwrite' folder as above.

-Running Tes3CMD.exe without mo2:
For cleaning mods you can do it the following way too:

1. Copy the plugins you want to clean into Data Files, where tes3cmd.exe is.
2. Clean each plugin, then .zip the cleaned .esps into separate mods
3. Install them in MO2 over the dirty plugins.

 

 

MO2 & WryeMash: To repair broken saved games by removing mod dependencies, you can run WryeMash through MO2.

MO2 & MGE XE: For distant land creation MGE XE will need to access your MO2 mods, so you'll need to run MGE XE through MO2. Generated files will be saved to MO2files/overwrite folder, you can leave them there.

MO2 & CS:If you run Construction Set through MO2 to alter a mod, CS will still save the .esp inside MW main folder. So you'll have to copy the .esp afterwards to your MO2 mods folder.

To give you a hint, this is how a properly modded MW modlist should look like in MO2:

It is important to categorize your mods like this so you can set load priorities easier.

(gif by Sigourn, see his guides below. Note that this list contains some mods that aren't mentioned in his guide)

 

Additional information in Sigourn's and Thastus guide

You can also ask for help in Mod Organizer 2 discord, or Skyrimmods discord.

 

3.5 Wrye Mash - download : https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/45439

pros:

- As its made directly for managing mods for Morrowind, it only has features that you need, and feels simpler to use.

- Easier to use external tools/programs along with it (like CS, MGE XE, mlox, TesXXX, etc. )

- Tes3CMD commands are integrated into UI

cons:

- Mod files will be put into original game folder. If mod files replace vanilla files, there is no going back after you installed the mod unless you made backup.

Install & use:

Extract archive in morrowind game folder and launch Mopy/mash64.exe. Upon first start in config wizard you'll have to set the following:

-game folder

-modinstallers folder

-mlox.exe location

I recommend installing mods with Wrye Mash the following way:

0. Create a 'ModDownloads' and a 'ModInstallers' folder outside your morrowind installation.

1. Download the mod archives in ModDownloads folder

2. Many of the downloaded mods' content will be in wrong order, so before installing them you have to rearrange their files.

Original mod archive may contain optional files, or have unnecessary containing folders.

Goal is to select the needed files, and remake a .rar/.zip archive out of them which matches the file order in Morrowind's Data Files folder.

3. Add a new matching name to the new archive, then put it in ModInstallers folder.

I recommend this video for additional info. (after 12:00, content is outdated, don't watch that part.)

Installers tab:

Wrye Mash will use the archives in ModInstallers folder, and show them to you on the Installers tab.

This is where you can actually install the mods. Right click→install will extract the archive to your morrowind Data Files.

To install mods, you should follow some pattern, and not do it randomly.

For this, you should categorize your modinstallers by naming the archives according to what role they fill in:

 

On the left of a modinstaller, if the box is checked means the mod is installed, and the color of the box indicates the status of its content.
If you click on a modinstaller, on the right side you can see what the color means: the program checks if any files are missing, cause conflict, or properly installed. Check Danae's WM guide a little below to see what exactly the colors mean.

Mods tab:
After installing the mods, move over to the mods tab. Here you will see the installed .esp plugins, and this is where you'll create a merged leveled list.
To do this, you'll use Tes3CMD's <multipatch> command which is built in WryeMash and you can access it from its user interface.
Note, that older tutorials recommend using "Mashed Lists.esp" from Mopy/Extras folder to create a leveled list, like this video, but don't use that.
To create a leveled list, switch to Mods Tab, right click on the header → Tes3CMD → Multipatch
You can check this video for it, and for more information on leveled lists.

You can use Tes3CMD's <clean> command by rightclicking on a mod, and select "Clean with Tes3CMD"


External programs & Wrye Mash
On the bottom of left side, you'll see icons for other tools, which you can run through Wrye Mash.

To update your load order, just fire up mlox from here.

Danae's Wrye Mash guide - https://danaeplays.thenet.sk/wrye-mash/
Recommended to visit this guide for additional and more detailed information

This guide covers information on how to repair save files, but for this, you can check last section of this video also.

4. Patch for Purist & Morrowind Optimization Patch

After you digested all the info above, got acquainted with your mod manager, and set up everything, it's time to start downloading actual mods.

The first ones you should get are PFP and MOP as they contain important fixes and improvements, there's no reason not to install them.

Patch for Purists - download : https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/45096

PFP is an unofficial patch to make the game completely bug-free while avoiding unnecessary balance and gameplay changes.

Older guides may mention MPP (Morrowind Patch Project), or UMP (Unofficial Morrowind Patch), but no need to install these, as PFP covers all the fixes from these which are needed.

Morrowind Optimization Patch - download : https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/45384?

This project aims to fix vanilla meshes by optimizing them, improving performance significantly and eliminating most bugs and errors with vanilla meshes.

5. OPENMW or MWSE & MGE XE

In past years two awesome projects emerged to improve gameplay mechanics and enhance graphics. For mysterious reasons, the two projects development went on different roads, and currently are not compatible, so the user has to choose between them.

OpenMW : An open source game engine recreation, replaces the original program.

MWSE & MGE XE : Engine mods that directly modify Morrowind.exe.

As OpenMW is written from scratch, its development is a few years behind, as first it has to make up for the original engine before becoming actually better than it.

So currently, while it already has really nice improvements, these aren't enough to compensate for the things it lacks (and not speaking about mod incompatibilies).

In the long run OpenMW will supposedly prevail to be the best choice, but currently you can achieve better graphics and gameplay mechanics by using MWSE & MGE XE.

5.1. Install MWSE & MGEXE

Downloading MGE XE from here will also contain MWSE(don't forget to run MWSE-Update.exe), which will allow you to use lua-scripted gameplay mechanics mods.

These guides cover most needed info about these: MGEinstall by Leonardo ; Thastus ; Sigourn

You'll find useful infos in this video also: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKuMT5RT2IE&t=1004s

6. Downlading mods

Where to download mods:

1. https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind

2. http://mw.modhistory.com/download

3. http://download.fliggerty.com/download

Nexusmods is the currently used site by most people, before this, Modhistory and fliggerty site was used to collect mods, so they store mods which haven't been reuploaded to Nexus.

It's recommended to only start playing after installing the most important mods to avoid corrupted save games from mod dependencies.

You should always read the mod page and glance through the readme of any mod you're downloading, so you'll at least be aware of what you're getting and what your options are.

7. Modlists

Morrowind 'Immersion' Mod List by Lucevar: https://github.com/Lucevar/mw-immersion-mods#morrowind-themed-mod-lists---2019-edition

A 'themed' collection of mods, where mods are sorted by their role/purpose.

An alternative to Morrowind Rebirth - A guide by RandomPal : here

A mod list to overhaul most towns and dungeons

Danae's character guides: here, or a better list here

Mod selections fitting for different vanilla class playthroughs

Morrowind Graphics Guide(MGG) by DassyD: https://wiki.nexusmods.com/index.php/Morrowind_graphics_guide

Recommendation of mods for achieving better graphics

Mythic Mods guides and modlists : https://www.mwmythicmods.com/index.htm

Various collections of old mod recommendations and guides, like Telesphoros' List o'Mods , Empirical MW, Gluby's Guide, etc.

Keep in mind these are old stuff, but you may find treasures here.

Modlist by Kongha : https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1291912363

8. Guides

Guide by Sigourn :https://github.com/Sigourn/morrowind-improved

Morrowind Modular Mod Guide - by Doublemoulinet : here

Mod setup guide + modlist

Thastus guide: https://github.com/Tyler799/Morrowind-2020/blob/master/Morrowind_2020.md

A guide on how to set up mods

Edited January 24, 2021 by Kurpulio

[IFchaos]

This is exactly what ive been looking for. After a long hiatus away from Morrowind, i came back this morning to find my game completely broken. I had MGSO, MGE xe, Tamriel Rebuilt and SHOTN all working well. Now the FPS is down to 5ish fps and the landscape moulds away like its melting.

 

Returning to NMM i found that theyd updated to a new system (not that versed with computers so not sure what theyve done) and all my previous mods non updateable and the like.

 

As morrowind is my favourite game of all time, getting it to run again, with the new lands mods, while looking good is pretty important to me.

 

cheers for the list, ill follow it keenly :)

[frodobaggins91]

I really wish there was this guide exactly in video form. I don't really understand it all just reading as im quite new to p.c. Any videos on this kind of stuff?

[TerryWithSpices]

Thank You for this.

I know someone wants this "Quick" guide VS your guide for super modded morrowind. Mine is Only with mods that require MGE XE https://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/41102 and this guide took me 2 minutes to write so no cheering please.

Here's the list of my mods of choice:

Encumberance Increaser

Oblivion Crosshair

Real Sinposts

Unskilled Books

English-International fonts

No Accidental Stealing

Happy Harvesting

Morrowind Code Patcher.

 

Follow step 0 & 1 of the guide and then drag in all the mods you want! (Be sure they only need MGE to work.)

 

And generate distant land for all your mods in MGE XE.

Done (modded Morrowind in under an hour)

Now you just need to activate them in Morrowind Launcher.exe

 

Edit: Grrrrrrr it's Always the mods that change the effect in some way or another that crashes the game. Here's how to avoid it. In Code Patcher Don't patch any of the effect and dont download a mod with lightning unless your testing it. And you should have instant loading screens. Yes instant loading screens. I crashed because of lightning patch or lightning mod and now I have instant loading screens and 9000 fps.

Edited May 19, 2020 by TerryWithSpices

[TerryWithSpices]

Check if Morrowind is in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Bethesda Softworks or no mods will be "patched."

Edited May 19, 2020 by TerryWithSpices

[kangxi]

Hi there, I'm attempting to installing Wrye Mash (Podemas Fork) which came without installation instructions. During installation the first thing it tells me is to launch the installer from the morrowind folder. So I copied it to that folder and started the installation again. It then tries to install the program in a folder called Morrowind it creates inside the c drive (C:\Windows\Games\Morrowind). I attempted to override this to put it in the existing Steam folder that Morrowind was installed in.

The installation then informed that that a folder called morrowind was already at the location and should I install the program there anyway.

That surprised me - they obviously knew the morrowind game folder already exists so why do they want to create a separate one? Does wrye mash have to exist in a different folder? So my question is: should wrye mash be installed in the steam folder or in a different folder also called morrowind located on another drive?

[twinpeaks]

This is daunting. It looks like some of these steps are educational steps that you aren't actually supposed to do anything with until later. I got completely lost at Morrowind Optimization Patch and that's where I wound up just deleting everything, cleaning my hard drive, and am re-downloading Morrowind to start from scratch. Once I have a question I'm just going to stop instead of fiddling my way through and then getting frustrated later and losing another two hours. I think I got through everything except that Morrowind Optimization Patch. Essentially there are 4 directories (if I remember right.) The page says not recommended to install manually and to use a mod manager. Fair enough. Well I've been using Nexus for the last two weeks spending ~hour a day trying to get my 2015 save games to load and decided to start over (which is how I wound up here.) This guide has me tending towards Wrye Mash. Fair enough. But when I got to a mod, the web page has "vortex" or "manual" and vortex opens Nexus. I cannot figure out after fiddling with the various tabs, buttons, googling, help files, forum posts how to get Wrye Mash to actually install something I just downloaded instead of recognizing what's already there.

 

I will not be defeated - after ~15 hours at this in the past two weeks I'm starting over from scratch, wondering if I've learned enough to actually have success this time.

[Kurpulio]

Well I've been using Nexus for the last two weeks spending ~hour a day trying to get my 2015 save games to load and decided to start over (which is how I wound up here.) This guide has me tending towards Wrye Mash.

 

yeah MW modding is hard at first as there are lot of programs and tools. i wasted even more time with trying out which mod manager and stuff suits me best so don't worry

yeah with WyreMash i think you'll succeed:) i hope the guide helped at least a little.

 

But when I got to a mod, the web page has "vortex" or "manual" and vortex opens Nexus

with WryeMash ofc always do manual download

 

how to get Wrye Mash to actually install something I just downloaded instead of recognizing what's already there.

 

well just "Right click→install will extract the archive to your morrowind Data Files" should install it

You can figure out if its already installed by the icon next to it. If it has cross in it, its already installed.

But i linked Danae's Wrye Mash guide, in there you can find there what the colors and stuff means.

Maybe i'll copy that part here too so its easier to find

 

So my question is: should wrye mash be installed in the steam folder or in a different folder also called morrowind located on another drive?

hi, sry im no expert with steam mw

but wrye mash should be in Morrowind\Mopy\mash.exe, and not in a separate different folder

maybe worth to ask the question on the wrye mash mod page or in the morrowind modding community discord

[twinpeaks]

Thanks - I missed a step here "Install & use:" in the first post that rendered clumsiness with me trying to get Wrye Mash to install mods. That section is critical. It only took me 10 minutes the second pass through to get all through the first post in this thread.

 

But now I'm not sure exactly what to do next. I have not yet installed any mods. My goal is to get an old savegame loaded by installing as many mods and/or replacements as I was using back in 2015 and at that point then attempt the methods to 'clean' the savegame.

 

So I'm looking at this list of mods "master"s that Wrye Mash is listing. The first one is Morrowind Patch 1.65 Beta (BTB Edit). That seems to be old and superseded by some of the newer patches I've already installed so I don't really think I should install it; I should deselect it. Is that the process I should continue with?

Edited September 6, 2020 by twinpeaks

[kangxi]

Hi Kurpulio - many thanks for the assistance. Wrye mash is now installed - now to figure how to work the thing...