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Morrowind Mod Installation Tutorial

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What is a Mod?

A mod, or a plug-in, is an addition to the game of Morrowind. Mods can add:

-Game play improvements
-New items such as ingredients, clothing, weapons, etc
-New Housing
-New Landmasses
-Creatures
-Mods can also replace existing items in game!

 

What Makes Up a Mod?

An important part of the installation process is understanding what a mod consists of. Mods have the potential to contain:

-Meshes
-Textures
-Icons
-A ESP or ESM
-Sounds
-Music
-Bookart
-Video
-A document file known frequently as a “Read Me”

Meshes are most simply put as the shapes you see in game. Housing, clothing, items, creatures, weapons, and even the characters themselves are made from meshes. Most files found in the meshes folder are .nif format; however .kf files (animation files) are also present in some mods.

Textures are what make the world of Morrowind so lovely. The easiest way to think of textures and meshes is this: It is your friend’s birthday, and you wish to give them a present. You found a box, but it is just plain and unattractive. It needs something special to be added to it. So what do you do? You wrap it with paper. The mesh is the box that needs something special, and the texture is the picture that wraps around it making it beautiful to the eye. Texture files commonly come in these formats- .bmp, .dds, and .tga

Icons are what you see when an item is in your inventory, or when the curser is over an item. Icons usually come in .tga or .dds format.

There is indeed a difference between an ESM file (Elder Scrolls Master File) and a ESP (Elder Scrolls Plug-in File). Both files are the heart and soul of the mod you are installing. These files contain data that lets the game know what additional meshes, textures, icons, sounds, etc to use in game. An ESM is dependant only upon itself. An ESP however is dependant on an ESM, such as Morrowind. Bloodmoon and Tribunal are also ESM files. These files typically have a knife icon.

Sounds are generally .wav files. Music files are generally mp3 files. I will not go into more detail on sounds and music, as I believe most people are familiar with their functions.

Bookart is appropriately named, as it is the art found in Morrowind’s books, notes, and scrolls. These files are commonly in .bmp or .tga format.

If you have Bloodmoon installed, you videos folder already contains some videos. As many mods do not add additional videos, I will not cover them.

Most mods contain a document file commonly know as the “Read Me” file. These files contain information such as:

-Installation Procedures
-Bugs/Conflicts
-Contact Information
-Where to find the locations, items, etc.

I highly recommend taking a moment to read these files before giving up on installing or using a mod.

 

  
 

How Do I Install Mods?

Mods for Morrowind can be a lot of fun. However, installing them can be somewhat difficult at times. This tutorial’s goal is to help the beginning mod user understand how to install the files correctly.

There are a few general steps to properly installing a mod:

-Place the plug-in into the Program Files/Bethesda Softworks/Morrowind directory.
Many plug-ins have been packaged to extract directly into the proper folders. To
Start off I suggest right clicking on the plug-in and selecting the option “extract-here.”
If that does not work, then the mod must be installed manually. *see below*

-READ THE READ ME. Many valuable information about the mod’s installation and content may be contained in this file.

-Once properly installed, the mod must be enabled in the Morrowind Launcher. To do this, open up the game as you normally would to play. Select “Data Files”. Locate the recently installed plug-in on the list and click on it. If the plug-in has a check mark in the box you have enabled it, and it will be part of your playing experience.

 

  
 

How Do I Manually Install a Mod?


First extract the mod to a subfolder in your Program Files/Morrowind directory. Installing mods manually is generally a simple task of putting things where they belong.

1) Lets begin with the meshes:

The Morrowind/DataFiles/Meshes folder contains subfolders. Some meshes need to be placed into these subfolders, while some need to be placed loosely in the directory.

If the mod contains its own subfolders (for example "H" or an "M" folder) and you do not have an "H" or an "M" subfolder inside of your Morrowind/DataFiles/Meshes, simply cut and paste those folders from the mod’s meshes directory and paste them into the DataFiles/Meshes directory.

If the relevant subfolders already do exist (for example another mod has installed the “H” and “M” folder and you do not wish to overwrite the folders), open up one folder (i.e. "H") and "cut" the files. Then go to Morrowind/DataFiles/Meshes/H and paste the files inside that folder. Do the same with the "M" folder.

NEVER choose to overwrite a folder in the meshes folder. It is always best to add to those folders. Many mods may use the files from one folder. Removing meshes from a folder may cause errors to your mod files.

2) Installation of the icons:


Icons are the same process as meshes. Some Icons need to be placed in subfolders, while some are placed loosely in the Morrowind/DataFiles/Icons directory.

The placement of subfolders and individual icons is the exact same process as meshes.


3) Textures

Textures are the easiest to install. Textures are almost always simply cut and pasted loose in your texture's folder. However, some mods may have sub folders in the textures directory. Those sub folders need to be placed with in the textures directory. Once again, do not overwrite a folder, but add to it, if a certain folder already exists.

4) The Read Me, Screenshots, Maps, etc.

ALWAYS READ THE READ ME!

These files can be printed, saved, or deleted...your choice as they are not essential for mod functioning.

10. Sounds, Dialogue, Video, etc.

All of these follow the same principle for installing as icons, meshes, and textures. DO NOT overwrite any existing folders.

5) The ESP or ESM

The esm or ESP file (identifiable by the knife Icon and the name of the mod) should be placed directly into your Morrowind/DataFiles directory. Once placed there, the mod needs to be enabled as an active mod in the Morrowind Launcher before playing. To do this, open up the game as you normally would to play. Select “Data Files”. Locate the recently installed plug-in on the list and click on it. If the plug-in has a check mark in the box you have enabled it, and it will be part of your playing experience. ENJOY!

 

Mod Users Frequently Asked Questions

Q. The mod consists of a self installer! What do I do?

1. Place the mod in your Program/Files/Bethesda/Morrowind directory.

2. Make a back up of your .ini (Configurations File). This is most easily done by copying the file to your “My Documents” directory.

3. Double click on the installer. This should prompt the installer to begin the extracting of its files.

4. Some installers will ask you where to install the files. Choose to extract all the files to your Morrowind directory (unless noted otherwise in the read me). They should automatically be placed into the proper directories.

5. Some self installation mods will automatically enable themselves in the Morrowind launcher. Always double check.

Q. Where do I unzip (or extract) the files to?

A. It is best to always extract your files into the Program/Files/Bethesda/Morrowind directory unless instructed to do otherwise by the read me.

Q. What is my Morrowind.ini file and how do I find it?

A. Your .ini file is commonly known as your Configuration Settings File. If you set Morrowind to install at its default path this file should be located in your ProgramFiles/Bethesda/Morrowind directory.

Q. I keep getting the error similar to this:

"One of the files that "WaterDrow.esp" is dependent on has changed since the last save. This may result in errors. Saving again will clear this message." What is this? What do I do?

A. This error is common. All it means is that the version of Morrowind you are playing with is made from a different version than the mod was created with. You may safely ignore these errors, however if you wish to fix it:
Open up the Construction Set. Under "File" Select "Data Files". You will now be given a list similar to the one in your Morrowind launcher. Find and double click on the mod that is giving you the errors. Select "set as active file" and hit "ok". Allow the mod to load in the construction set, and select "yes" to any errors you are given. Once it is finished loading, select "save" and exit.

If you choose to ignore them, but are tired of selecting yes a million times every time you load the game:

Open your Morrowind .ini file (configuration settings) and type in AllowYestoAll=1
Exit and save. You will now be given a "yes to all" button to save you time on clicking those errors.


Q. I keep getting annoying yellow boxes with exclamation marks! What are these?

A. Either you installed the mod wrong, files where misplaced in the packaging of the mod, or your download was incomplete. No matter what the situation, you are missing those files. First thing you need to do is to check your “warnings.txt” (Found in your Morrowind Directory) for errors such as:

“Meshes/A_BlckBrotherhood_Gr_GND.NIF cannot be found”

Basically...in your ProgramFiles/Bethesda/Morrowind/DataFiles/Meshes/A folder you need to have a file named "A_BlckBrotherhood_Gr_GND.NIF". I recommend completely reinstalling the mod that adds this item.

Q. How do I uninstall a mod?

A. Open up your Morrowind launcher, and double click the mod so that it no longer has a check mark in the box next to it. The mod is now disabled.

If you wish to delete associated files, you can either use a program designed for this, or do it the old fashioned way:

1. Re download the mod.
2. "Reinstall" the mod...only select "Yes to All" on replacing files.
3. Once your extraction program has placed the files, they will be highlighted. You may delete these files.
4. Delete the ESP or ESM for the mod

Remember that some mods may share files. Make a backup of your .ini file...and be prepared to reinstall some mods due to the loss of common files.

Make sure you do not save in an area affected by this certain mod.

You will be given error messages upon loading your saved game. Select "yes" to the question of running the executable while loading. Resave your game and exit. Upon restarting the error messages should be gone.