Morrowind FAQ version 1.5 - part 4 by Gavin "kathode" Carter (kathode@themasquerade.org) submitted with permission by Dave Booth. @~Continued from Issue 73 Section 10: Relationship to Previous ES Games 10.1 How will Morrowind be an improvement over Daggerfall? The team has three major design goals in place for improvement. First of all, the team is committed to releasing a less buggy product. Todd Howard has made a commitment to have absolutely no bugs in this product. Second, many gamers complained that the gameplay in Daggerfall was overly repetitive. The Morrowind team is trying their best to make areas in Morrowind look as unique as possible. Third, NPCs will no longer be simple and repetitive as in Daggerfall. In Morrowind, they will basically be characters every bit as full as the player is him/herself. (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind_c.shtml - RPGVault Interview) 10.2 Will the random dungeon generators of Daggerfall be in Morrowind? No. Daggerfall's randomness allowed for an exceptionally large world, albeit with cookie cutter locations and overly generic, labyrinthine dungeons. Morrowind will sacrifice a bit of the size allowed by randomness by attempting to make all locations as unique as possible. This way, there is a sense of reward and discovery at the end of a journey, instead of boredom and monotomy. 10.3 How will the character system in Morrowind work? Will it be the same as Daggerfall's? Bethesda is keeping quiet on the character system for now. What we do know is that it will build on what was in place in Daggerfall. 10.4 Will the potion maker/spell maker/item enchantings be included? Yes, all of those made the cut. It is generally the same as in Daggerfall where you mix together different ingredients to create different effects. The more random stuff you mix, the higher chance you have of creating poison, though. (Reference: http://www.m0use.net/~crodo/teaser/ - The Essential Site Interview) (Reference: http://www.gamespy.com/interviews/morrowind_a.shtm - Gamespy Interview) 10.5 A cool feature of Daggerfall was the "ability" to get turned into a vampire or werewolf. Will this also be in Morrowind? Yes, although with some modifications, the exact nature of which are unknown at this time. 10.6 Will Morrowind feature full nudity like Daggerfall? No, there will be no nudity in Morrowind. (Reference: http://www.elderscrolls.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi - Official Forums) 10.7 Will I be able to buy my own house like in Daggerfall? Yes, ownership will be in. (Reference: http://www.elderscrolls.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi - Official Forums) 10.8 Will there be a way to import my character from Daggerfall? No, this feature will not be available in Morrowind. (Reference: ../features/velog.shtml - VoodooExtreme Chat) 10.9 Could you tell me more about how the potion maker works? Potion creating is based on the alchemy skill, with a high skill reducing the chances of producing a toxic potion, as well as provides more accurate knowledge of potion ingredients. Potions require ingredients, which can be obtained from the wild and from shops. Each ingredient has several different effects. The ingredients require an apparatus, such as a mortar and pestle or alembic, to reduce them to a mixable form. Apparatuses come in varying qualities, and will in turn produce varying qualities of potions. A potion must contain at least two ingredients with the same effect in order to generate any potency. Since many ingredients have harmful effects as well, balancing the recipe to double the beneficial effects and not the harmful effects can be tricky. (Reference: http://www.zdnet.com/gamespot/stories/previews/0,10869,262 2653- 6,00.html - Gamespot Feature) 10.10 Will Bethesda expand upon the story of the vampires in Morrowind? Yes. There will be several vampire clans, all with story and gameplay hooks. The secret origin of the vampires will also be revealed. (Reference: http://www.zdnet.com/gamespot/stories/previews/0,10869,262 2653- 6,00.html - Gamespot Feature) Section 11: Plot 11.1 What is the starting premise of your character in Morrowind? Very little is known. What is known is that you begin the game as a foreigner in Vvardenfell, a land notorious for its xenophobia. In the game opening, you are dropped off by a prison ship on the island of Morrowind. In exchange for your freedom, they give you specific tasks to accomplish, the nature of which are unrevealed at this time. You can choose to follow the orders or disobey. In the words of game designer Ken Rolston, you are a "blind pawn to the Emperor's will". You are also cursed by some prophecy, the exact nature of which is unknown at this time, and (perhaps because of the prophecy) you also have some secret enemies who you do not know at the start of the game, but who know you. (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind.shtml - RPGVault Interview) 11.2 What if I choose to play as a dark elf? Since I start in Vvardenfell, home to the dark elves, would people still hate me? Yes, even if you play as a dark elf, you were born outside the province, and people still mistrust you. To the Dunmer, you are either in with Morrowind or you are an outsider. (Reference: http://www.elderscrolls.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi - Official Forums) 11.3 Will there be a classic antagonist? Like the Evil Wizard (TM) seeking the destruction of the land? Probably not. Certainly there will be masterminds behind the plot lines. However, the primary conflicts in Morrowind are political and social in nature. For example, one of the major conflicts is between the major ruling Houses of the Dunmer, each strong in its own right, however none being strong enough to overthrow all the others. (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind.shtml - RPGVault Interview) 11.4 I thought my character was just a courier! How am I supposed to have any political power? As your character grows, so will his importance in the politics of the Dunmer. For example, there is the Grand Council of Vvardenfell Province, the ruling body that is authorized to wield the power of the Empire in Vvardenfell. The Council is made up of representatives of three of the Great Houses of Morrowind, the head of the Tribunal religious organization, and the Duke of the Land. Each of these five people votes on issues with profound social and political consequence in Vvardenfell. Through the Reputation stat, the player will be able to directly influence the outcome of votes in the Council. There will be many quests in relation to the Grand Council. (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind_b.shtml - RPGVault Interview) 11.5 So what will the main plot specifically deal with? What will be the overarching issue? Not revealed in full yet. Todd Howard has stated that it will deal with an ancient House/Guild resurfacing. There is also a mysterious disease called the blight which is sweeping across the land. (Reference: http://www.ga-rpg.com/article.cfm?id=4294 - GA- RPG Article) (Reference: http://www.zdnet.com/gamespot/stories/previews/0,10869,262 2653- 2,00.html - Gamespot Feature) 11.6 What themes from past Elder Scroll games will Morrowind explore? These are straight from game designer Ken Rolston: " . . . the rise and fall of Imperial power, the mysterious disappearance of the Dwarves, the subtle and sinister powers of the Daedra Lords and their powerful artifacts, the hidden society of ancient vampires." Also explored will be the mysteries of the disappeared Dwarven people and their peculiar arcane technology, a theme developed in Redguard. (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind.shtml - RPGVault Interview) (Reference: http://morrowind.telefragged.com/features/rolsview.shtml - Destination: Morrowind Interview) 11.7 Will the peculiarness of the Vvardenfell setting introduce any new plot elements into the fray? Of course. Again, these are straight from Ken Rolston: " . . . the bitter rivalries of the Dunmer Great Houses, the clash between civilized Great House Dunmer culture and barbarian nomadic Ashlander Dunmer culture, the obscure riddles of the Nerevarine prophecies, the looming threat of the Blight, and the shadowy menace of the Sixth House cult." (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind.shtml - RPGVault Interview) Section 12: Quests 12.1 With the tremendous emphasis on the free-form exploration nature of the game, will there be any formalized quests to undertake? Yes! Hundreds, probably! Quests make up the core of the roleplaying game experience. Walking around and seeing stuff can only hold someone's interest for so long. 12.2. In other CRPGs, like Baldur's Gate, side quests seemed rather isolated, in that they didn't relate to the main plot at all, and were just there for something to do. Will there be these types of side quests in Morrowind? Side quests like that are inherently unavoidable in CRPGs. Surely there will be the type of side quests in Morrowind that are there just for fun and just for something to do. However, for the vast majority of quests, even the smallest of side quests, Bethesda is seeking to incorporate them into the main storyline. (Reference: http://www.elderscrolls.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi - Official Forums) 12.3 Will the quests be all hack n' slash? There will be plenty of hacking and slashing in the game, that's for sure. However, there will also be many, many other types of quests to undertake. There will be quests that revolve around political issues, there will be Thief like quests where stealth and planning are paramount, and there will be hack n' slash quests where you can't kill anyone. You will be able to fight someone until they fall unconscious from fatigue, thus eliminating the foe without killing him/her. (Reference: http://www.elderscrolls.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi - Official Forums) Section 13: Multiplayer 13.1 Will Morrowind feature a multiplayer component? No, Morrowind will be a single player only game. The team felt that to do a multiplayer game right, they would have to either concentrate all their resources on multiplayer and make a multiplayer only game, or make a simple multiplayer game, lose valuable development time and have the multiplayer feel like it was just "tacked on". The team decided they would rather do "the best single player game money can buy." (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind.shtml - RPGVault Interview) Section 14: Combat 14.1 What are the team's major design goals for combat? The team wanted combat to be something that was fun, as well as not overly complicated. They also wanted combat to have a more "kinetic" feel to it, rather than the detached feeling featured in most other RPGs, where you point to an enemy and wait for the battle to be over. Animations, visuals, and sound effects will make sure you feel like you're part of the action. Also, the team wanted all weapons to be useful in some way, even tiny daggers. (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind_c.shtml - RPGVault Interview) 14.2 Will combat be real time or turn based? Combat will be completely real-time. (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind_c.shtml - RPGVault Interview) 14.3 What kind of control scheme will combat use? Will it be like Daggerfall where you swing with the mouse? Combat will feature many different vectors of control for the player. The direction the player is moving when he or she presses the attack button will determine what kind of attack is executed. A forward movement will be a thrust, sideways will be a slash, and diagonally will be a chop. The default (standing still) attack is the chop. Also, the player can control the strength behind an attack. When the player presses the attack button, the controlled character will start to pull the weapon back. The longer you hold the attack button, the farther back the weapon is pulled, and the stronger your attack. The control scheme is said to be primarily influenced by Jedi Knight, with elements resembling Thief and System Shock 2 as well. (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind_c.shtml - RPGVault Interview) (Reference: http://www.elderscrolls.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi - Official Forums) 14.4 How will weapons and stats affect combat? Certain weapons will be useful in different ways. For example, an axe is a great weapon to chop with, but you won't do much damage with an axe thrust. On the other hand, a dagger is great for quick thrusting. Weapons will have damage ratings for each attack style, as well as speed ratings, which govern how quickly you can attack. Weapons will also differ in how long it takes to pull them back for stronger attacks. Your character's stats determine if you hit, how hard you hit, as well as how tired you get. (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind_c.shtml - RPGVault Interview) 14.5 Will the player be able to execute "combos" or combinations of moves for more effective combat? No, in an effort to keep things simple, there will be no combo moves. (Reference: http://www.elderscrolls.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi - Official Forums) 14.6 Will there be a block button or ability? Yes, blocking will be completely automatic, based on your combat skill. There will be accompanying animations to make the block seem more realistic. (Reference: http://www.elderscrolls.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi - Official Forums) 14.7 Will damage be location-based? For instance, will head shots hurt more? Yes, there will be general location-based damage. As Todd Howard put it on the forums, "If you see a guy without a helmet, go for the head". To aim for a specific location, just point and shoot. The weapons currently aim for the center of the screen, with a little up/down randomness to make it harder to hit specific locations over and over. (Reference: http://www.elderscrolls.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi - Official Forums) 14.8 How many weapons will be in the game? There will be over 200 weapons in the game, more than likely running the gamut from standard fantasy swords and axes to more exotic Vvardenfell fare. (Reference: http://www.elderscrolls.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi - Official Forums) 14.9 What steps are being taken to ensure a level of balance with all those weapons? Each weapon will be useful in a specific way. For example, a dagger will be useful for quick thrusting, while a hammer is useful for powerful chopping. Also, the bigger and heavier your weapon is, the quicker you will tire. Fatigue plays a large part in the strategy of combat. (Reference: http://rpgvault.ign.com/features/interviews/morrowind_c.shtml - RPGVault Interview) 14.10 Will I be able to use two weapons simultaneously (dual- wield)? Probably not. The control scheme would be far too complex for that. 14.11 Are missile weapons in? Yes, missile weapons are in. More next issue - o -