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OpenMW 0.40 is the latest release of the open source game engine for playing Morrowind. It's crazy how far along it is now, close to feature complete by the looks of it.

I have fond memories of Morrowind, as it was one of the first proper 3D RPG games I think I ever actually played. This was back on the original Xbox too when I was rather a lot younger.

They need more coders, if interested check out the code on github.

This release only implements a few new features:
- Implemented NPC “Face” function
- Implemented weather dependent sun/moon reflections
- Implemented effect removal for abilities, fixes locked player movement upon exiting portable house mods
- Implemented deletion of moved references

It does also have a ton of bug fixes, which is obviously important for being able to play through the game properly and in full.

It does have a few issues left to address:
- Shadows are not re-implemented at this time, as well as distant land
- To use the Linux targz package binaries Qt4 and libpng12 must be installed on your system

Once Shadows and Distant Land are addressed, I personally plan to dive in and give it a proper go.

Find the release announcement here.

Hopefully when this is finished, they will move onto Oblivion and eventually Skyrim. That would be really something for us. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Snowdrake Sep 6, 2016
This game was so awesome (superior by many aspect to its sequels). Hope openmw will finally implement a proper multiplayer for this game !
Seegras Sep 6, 2016
Hm, it wants a newer OpenSceneGraph than Debian provides... I'll guess I'll wait a bit.
rustybroomhandle Sep 6, 2016
Quoting: SnowdrakeThis game was so awesome (superior by many aspect to its sequels). Hope openmw will finally implement a proper multiplayer for this game !

I see this requested often. What exactly would one do in a multiplayer version of this? How would questing work, for example?
Magamo Sep 6, 2016
'Distant Land': meh. Awesome when it's available, but not a feature I'm waiting for. We had no option of using it even under Wine until the last year and a half or so. Shadows though, the shadows 0.36.1 and earlier had were very nice, far superior to any of the options in the original engine with mods. But they're a really minor thing. Playing with 0.40.0, I don't particularly miss them.
Gnurfos Sep 6, 2016
I have fond memories of MW too, but in 2016, I could not get myself to enjoy OpenMW, however close to "perfection" it is. The interface is just too clunky.
Snowdrake Sep 6, 2016
Quoting: rustybroomhandleI see this requested often. What exactly would one do in a multiplayer version of this? How would questing work, for example?

The way most cooperative rpg works: quest and objectives are shared between players.
ProfessorKaos64 Sep 6, 2016
Quoting: SeegrasHm, it wants a newer OpenSceneGraph than Debian provides... I'll guess I'll wait a bit.

Not even Sid or Stretch? I could give building the package source a go for you maybe.
rustybroomhandle Sep 6, 2016
Quoting: Guest
Quoting: rustybroomhandle
Quoting: SnowdrakeThis game was so awesome (superior by many aspect to its sequels). Hope openmw will finally implement a proper multiplayer for this game !

I see this requested often. What exactly would one do in a multiplayer version of this? How would questing work, for example?

I think, when people say they want an Elder Scrolls multiplayer experience, they are saying they want to explore the world with a few friends, like a co-op game. NOT like Elder Scrolls Online, which is a MMORPG.

Issue is quest structure. The way they are in these games do not lend themselves well to multiplayer. Let's say you have two players co-opping - do both players get Fargoth's ring? If one player completes a quest to kill an NPC, does this quest become unavailable to the other player, or does the other player just get rewarded when player 1 completes the quest?

If said quest has multiple steps, each with dialogue options that might affect the outcome and is also determined by the player's stats, must both players have the same conversation, with different outcome? What if this causes the quest line to diverge?

None of these are unanswered questions, but they are answered in games that are specifically designed to accommodate multiplayer. Morrowind is not one of these. It would need specific multiplayer content created for it.
Mountain Man Sep 6, 2016
Quoting: SnowdrakeThis game was so awesome (superior by many aspect to its sequels).
I agree. Morrowind is such an interesting locale compared to the generic medieval settings of Oblivion and Skyrim, and Morrowind had some genuine choice-and-consequences role playing as opposed to Oblivion's and Skyrim's "You can do everything and be awesome at everything!" premise.


Last edited by Mountain Man on 6 September 2016 at 1:42 pm UTC
paasisti Sep 6, 2016
Quoting: rustybroomhandle
Quoting: Guest
Quoting: rustybroomhandle
Quoting: SnowdrakeThis game was so awesome (superior by many aspect to its sequels). Hope openmw will finally implement a proper multiplayer for this game !

I see this requested often. What exactly would one do in a multiplayer version of this? How would questing work, for example?

I think, when people say they want an Elder Scrolls multiplayer experience, they are saying they want to explore the world with a few friends, like a co-op game. NOT like Elder Scrolls Online, which is a MMORPG.

Issue is quest structure. The way they are in these games do not lend themselves well to multiplayer. Let's say you have two players co-opping - do both players get Fargoth's ring? If one player completes a quest to kill an NPC, does this quest become unavailable to the other player, or does the other player just get rewarded when player 1 completes the quest?

If said quest has multiple steps, each with dialogue options that might affect the outcome and is also determined by the player's stats, must both players have the same conversation, with different outcome? What if this causes the quest line to diverge?

None of these are unanswered questions, but they are answered in games that are specifically designed to accommodate multiplayer. Morrowind is not one of these. It would need specific multiplayer content created for it.

I think the easiest way to implement a multiplayer element into a single player experience would be the way that the Fable games (at least Fable 2) handled it. In it, the other player(s) are just "henchmen" that are there just to help the "main" player and explore the world with them, rather than complete the quests for themselves. I could see this model working well with TES games: you would just invite a friend to play - with their character about the same level as you - and then you could go on playing as normal, with the exception that you have a friend there to help you.
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