By now, everyone and their grandma has played Skyrim, but fewer of you have returned to the older games in the series like Oblivion and Morrowind. Well, one group of modders is trying to change that by recreating iconic Tamriel locations within the Morrowind engine.
Project Tamriel is the name the modders go by, and they’ve just released a playable build of their latest piece of the puzzle, Project Cyrodiil: Abecean Shores. This is the first release of Project Cyrodiil and it adds “the sunny fields of the Strident Coast, the blue waters of the Abecean Sea, and the jungles of Dasek Marsh.”
There are over 160 quests, including paths for the Thieves Guild (my personal favorite Skyrim quest line), Fighters guild, and Cyrodiil Mages, as well as two new factions, Kingdom of Anvil and the Itinerant Priests.
The trailer for the mod looks absolutely gorgeous, way better than any game originally released in 2002 has any business being. My old housemate’s favorite Elder Scrolls game was Morrowind, but a lot of people are put off by the combat. It almost functions like a D&D-style dice roll, where your hit chance is based on a number of modifiers and kept fairly secret from you.
There’s no word on the official site about combat changes, but does emphasize the mods are intended to “maximize roleplay and choice, and to immerse players in the world and the culture of [Cyrodiil’s] people.”
The overall project is meant to recreate Tamriel’s regions “within the time frame and worldspace of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.” If you’ve not given the original game a go, I’d recommend it, as it’s a fascinating look into the history of the series. If you like it, then Project Tamriel is just going to keep building the game up, as it current has projects for Skyrim, High Rock, and Elsweyr. I always play as a Khajiit, so this is the one I’m most looking forward to.
In the meantime, you should check out our ranking of the best Elder Scrolls games.