Skywind, an ambitious Skyrim mod that seeks to update Morrowind to use the Skyrim engine, continues to show progress. The mod is the latest project of the team behind Morroblivion, which recreated Morrowind in the Oblivion engine, and seeks to do the same on an even grander scale with the Skyrim engine.
The project, which is currently in alpha, is far from complete, but it has recently added monsters and interactions that give a better impression of the potential of the mod.
And that potential appears to be high in the latest release. Red Mountain has never looked so imposing as it does in the Skyrim engine, and the creatures of Vvardenfell seem are deadlier than ever.
Skywind will not only make all of the content from Morrowind and the Bloodmoon and Tribunal expansions prettier, it will also bring the gameplay systems from Skyrim to Morrowind. That means the smithing, crafting, and combat systems from Skyrim will be integrated into the Morrowind world. You can even fast travel if you really want to, although you can avoid it if you want a more pure Morrowind experience.
However, that also means that Morrowind's complex skill, class, and attribute system is being replaced by Skyrim's streamlined system, with some of Morrowind's 27 skills being merged to fit into Skyrim's 18 skill slots. The Morroblivion team does seem committed to creating the most authentic Morrowind experience possible within Skyrim's confines, however, making tweaks like adapting Skyrim's armor system to be more like Morrowind's.
The volunteers behind the game are also working on adding voice-acting to Morrowind's largely silent citizens.
No release date is estimated for the final Skywind mod, but the modders are already thinking to the future with eventual plans to update Oblivion with the Skyrim engine is well.
You can download and try the alpha version of Skywind now. A copy of Skyrim and a copy of the Morrowind with the Bloodmoon and Tribunal expansions is necessary. The download and more information about the mod, including how you can help out, are available at the mod's official site,
http://morroblivion.com/.
