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Tamriel Rebuilt

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Tamriel Rebuilt
Splash screen of version 23.10 (Andaram)
Developer(s)Tamriel Rebuilt Project
Platform(s)Windows
Release23 September 2006
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Tamriel Rebuilt is a third-party modification for the Bethesda Softworks 2002 role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Founded in 2001, the Tamriel Rebuilt project is a long-term, collaborative effort by volunteer modders to expand the content of Morrowind to include wider settings consistent with the setting of the Elder Scrolls' universe of Tamriel. Since foundation, the project has published eight releases for Morrowind, described as 'expansions', that allow the player to travel to and explore the mainland of the province of Morrowind, featuring new factions and quests. In 2006, Tamriel Rebuilt briefly launched a secondary project to recreate the province of Hammerfell in the succeeding Elder Scrolls game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, although the project was cancelled in 2009. Publications have praised Tamriel Rebuilt for the scope and detail of the project, the faithfulness of its additions to the source material of the original game, and noted their content has since eclipsed the size and features of the original game. The current release, Andaram, was published on 31 October 2023.

Gameplay

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Main article: The Elder Scrolls III:Morrowind § Gameplay

Gameplay in Tamriel Rebuilt is identical to the gameplay in Morrowind, with the content serving the same function as an expansion to the game. Content in Tamriel Rebuilt is not a total conversion or overhaul of the game, but introduces an additional landmass, the mainland of Morrowind, which the player can freely travel to directly or by ship.[1] In contrast to Morrowind, Tamriel Rebuilt does not currently feature a main quest, but provides factional quests that sit alongside the questlines in the original game, including for the Great Houses Hlaalu and Telvanni, guilds, vampire clans, and miscellaneous quests. As of the Andaram update, Tamriel Rebuilt features over 600 quests, in contrast to the 506 quests in Morrowind and its expansions.[2]

Setting

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Tamriel Rebuilt expands the world of Morrowind to the mainland of the province of Morrowind in Tamriel, enveloping the original game's setting, the island of Vvardenfell. As of the Andaram release, Tamriel Rebuilt have released content that covers the northeastern to southern part of the province, controlled by a wide set of factions seen in the original game. The northeast of Morrowind's mainland spans the land owned by the Great House Telvanni, including the faction's capital, Port Telvannis. The southeast includes the holdings of the Tribunal Temple and the Great House Indoril, including the cities of Akamora and Necrom. In the south are lands controlled by the Great House Hlaalu, with cities including Andothren and Hlan Oek that border the western end of the Thirr River south to Lake Andaram. Scattered across the mainland are the forts and outposts of the Cyrodiilic Empire, who control large inner coastal cities including Firewatch and Old Ebonheart.

Development

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Development for Morrowind

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The Tamriel Rebuilt project was conceived in 2001 prior to the release of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Previous Elder Scrolls titles, including Arena and Daggerfall, were set across several large, procedurally generated open-world provinces in the continent of Tamriel. In contrast to initial assumptions that Morrowind would provide a similarly large scope, early previews of the game by developer Bethesda Softworks revealed the setting would be limited to Vvardenfell, an island within the province of Morrowind, to provide greater detail.[3][4] Disappointment about the scope of the game prompted several fan proposals to create the remainder of Tamriel with the game's announced Construction Set. In 2001, Ender, a member of the Elder Scrolls Forums, posted an idea for users to create a modification that would expand the game to all of Tamriel,[5] with the post leading to several forum users collaborating to create a website and forum to organize the project.[6] Upon release of Morrowind, the Tamriel Rebuilt project assembled as a "consortium of largely autonomous modders" of different levels of commitment and experience, with the project co-ordinating claims to create different areas using the game's grid-based exterior cells. Later years have seen development become more comprehensively planned, to ensure a higher level of quality and consistency across the project.[7]

Development for Oblivion

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From 2006 to 2009, Tamriel Rebuilt diverged to develop expanded content for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with a project to implement the province of Hammerfell into the game. Initial concept and design work was undertaken by the project, including the publication of a forty-page concept art book.[8] On 14 February 2009, the project made its first and only formal release, Stirk, which implemented a small island in Hammerfell of the same name off of the western coast of Cyrodil.[9] In December 2009, the Tamriel Rebuilt project announced an end to its work on Hammerfell, citing a lack of manpower to create assets, which were of a higher level of quality compared to those in Morrowind.[10]

Releases

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Tamriel Rebuilt has formally released eight 'expansions' for Morrowind for download, and one for Oblivion:

Game Release Release date Key additions Citation
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Telvannis 23 September 2006 Firewatch, Port Telvannis [11]
Antediluvian Secrets 30 November 2008 Helnim, Kemel-Ze [12]
Sacred East 6 June 2012 Akamora, Necrom [13]
Old Ebonheart 31 July 2018 Old Ebonheart [14]
Aanthirin 19 December 2019 Almas Thirr [15]
Dominions of Dust 24 November 2022 Andothren [16]
Embers of Empire 24 November 2022 Firewatch, Helnim [16]
Andaram 31 October 2023 Almas Thirr [17]
Grasping Fortune Upcoming Narsis
Poison Song Upcoming
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Stirk 6 February 2009 Isle of Stirk [9]

Reception

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Publications have praised the Tamriel Rebuilt project for its ambition and large scope, with some remarking that the project provided ample reason for players to revisit Morrowind,[1] and many noting the additions met or exceeded the amount of content found in the original game in terms of the size and number of locations and quests.[18][19][20] Describing it as a "must-play", Will Nelson of PC Games Network praised the mod as "next-level stuff" due to the "sheer amount of content" added to the game, and highlighted the project's close adherence to the "official lore" of the Elder Scrolls universe.[21] PC Gamer awarded the Tamriel Rebuilt project as one of the best single-player mods in 2009.[22] Also writing for PC Gamer, Luke Winkie highlighted its faithfulnes to the "canon, themes and tone" of Morrowind in contrast to other recent representations of the Morrowind mainland as in Elder Scrolls Online, stating the project "intends to fill in the blanks of Morrowind as honorably and dutifully as they can", citing the inclusion of fan-created literature in in-game books.[5] Game Rant, who cited the mod as one of the best for Morrowind,[23] noted that whilst the game was an "enormously ambitious project" compatible with the "general look and feel" of Morrowind, the additions looked a "little dated" given the age of the original game.[24] Dr. Matthew S.S. Johnson of Southern Illinois University has written on how Tamriel Rebuilt is a unique example of community-based authorship of game-inspired texts, where the "serious dedication and participation" of the community blurs the line between the authors and audiences of video games.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hall, Charlie (1 August 2018). "Fan-made Morrowind mod 17 years in the making is a great excuse to reinstall the original". Polygon. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  2. ^ "FAQ: Quests". Tamriel Rebuilt. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  3. ^ "First Looks: The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind". RPGPlanet. GameSpot. 20 October 2000. Archived from the original on 10 November 2000. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  4. ^ Winkie, Luke (3 May 2017). "The 15 year quest to mod the mainland into The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 23 July 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b Wolens, Joshua (28 September 2023). "'Coups, schisms, near-death experiences': The scarcely believable 22-year development of a Morrowind mod older than the game itself". PC Gamer. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Interview with Ender". Tamriel Rebuilt. 4 June 2004. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Project History". Tamriel Rebuilt. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  8. ^ Myzel (December 2009). The Art of Hammerfell (PDF). Tamriel Rebuilt. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Stirk 1.0 Released!". Tamriel Rebuilt. 6 February 2009. Archived from the original on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  10. ^ "On Hammerfell". Tamriel Rebuilt. 5 December 2009. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Release - TR - Mainland Morrowind - Map 1 "Telvannis"". Tamriel Rebuilt. 23 September 2006. Archived from the original on 4 October 2006. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Antediluvian Secrets". Tamriel Rebuilt. 30 November 2008. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Sacred East". Tamriel Rebuilt. 6 June 2012. Archived from the original on 9 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Tamriel Rebuilt - 18.07 release". Tamriel Rebuilt. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Tamriel Rebuilt - 19.12 Release". Tamriel Rebuilt. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Tamriel Rebuilt - 22.11 Release". Tamriel Rebuilt. 24 November 2022. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Tamriel Rebuilt - 23.10 Release". Tamriel Rebuilt. 31 October 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  18. ^ Broadwell, Josh (25 November 2022). "Morrowind mod Tamriel Rebuilt adds two more massive expansions". USA Today. Retrieved 21 December 2023. Tamriel Rebuilt was already an impressive undertaking, adding new regions, quests, and more to the classic Bethesda game, but its latest update is practically a new game in itself.
  19. ^ Warren, Mark (1 November 2023). "Massive Morrowind mod Tamriel Rebuilt just got a fresh expansion featuring over 100 quests". VG247. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023. In an incredibly impressive twist, this means...the entirety of Tamriel Rebuilt now includes over 600 quests, surpassing the amount included in the original game and its expansions.
  20. ^ Wheeler, CJ (24 November 2022). "Morrowind's Tamriel Rebuilt mod now has as many quests as the base game and expansions". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  21. ^ Nelson, Will (22 July 2023). "The Elder Scrolls Morrowind's biggest mod is about to get even bigger". PC Games Network. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Top 50 Single-Player Mods". PC Gamer UK. November 2009. Early Elder Scrolls games could include the entire continent of Tamriel because so much of the world was randomly generated. As later games included more handcrafted content, their scope narrowed. The Tamriel Rebuilt team are recreating those missing areas, beginning with huge areas of mainland Morrowind missing from Elder Scrols III: Morrowind. They've completed two areas so far, with new quests and new characters, all lovingly detailed. A small island for Oblivion is also complete.
  23. ^ Kluz, Arron (29 July 2021). "Best 8 Best Mods for The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind". Game Rant. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  24. ^ Heaton, Andrew (4 December 2021). "Huge Morrowind Mod 'Tamriel Rebuilt' Now Halfway Complete After Nearly Two Decades". Game Rant. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  25. ^ Johnson, Matthew S.S. (2007). "The Texts of Tamriel: Online Gaming Projects, from Playing to Writing". In Mary Valentis; Tara P Monastero; Paula Yablonsky (eds.). TechKnowledgies: New Imaginaries in the Humanities, Arts and TechnoSciences. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 317–19. ISBN 1-84718-136-8.
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