2 hours ago
3
Cantering around the cantons
While not as close to release as its sibling-of-sorts Skyblivion, we've been getting regular looks at what Morrowind remake mod Skywind for a looooong time now. The latest of these peeks at its team's efforts to reinvent The Elder Scrolls 3 in Skyrim's engine came as part of a charity modding streamathon, and featured a nice stroll around Vivec.
Streaming as part of C3, an annual fan-run weekend of Bethesda game modding streams in aid of the Make-A-Wish charity, the Skywind team showed off the town of Gnisis and did some dungeon delving that was briefly interrupted by an encounter with a seemingly unkillable scamp. Fairly early on, the mod's 2D lead DalSifoDiyas mentioned that the group have recently hit a "big milestone" by finishing a tile set for Redoran location interiors, something that's been on their to-do list for a long time. Judging by the interiors in Gnisis, with their classic Dunmer curved roofs, hanging out indoors in Skywind'll be wonderfully atmospheric.
A lengthy section of the stream was spent wandering around the cantons of Vivec. While the original Morrowind does a great job of conveying the labyrinthine nature of the city and its numerous quarters, I certainly wasn't disappointed by what I saw of how Skywind conveys the looming scale of the split-skinned warrior-poet's metropolis, with the addition of walls surrounding the city and its port underscoring the intimating message sent by patrolling ordinators' masked faces.
Sure, you can achieve something similar - if nowhere near as detailed - simply by modding Morrowind itself if you've got the chops, but I've long been keen to see what starting from a more modern baseline can do to further increase the breathtaking splendor of Vvardenfell's various vistas. I'm not usually one to crave a remake for graphics' sake, but the alien sights and sounds of Morrowind's landscape are one of the aspects of it I loved even when grappling with mechanics or clunkier elements that a mod like this has the potential to sand into a shape that's more accessible to Skyrim and Oblivion babies like me.
As of right now, Skywind's still without a concrete release date, but it's always nice to see it keep evolving and reminding us that we should get to play a Morrowind remake some day even if Bethesda don't fancy making an official one. If you're keen to read about an Elder Scrolls remake mod that should be on track to arrive soon, check out my coverage of Skyblivion's showcase at C3 yesterday.
English (US) ·