With Bethesda’s (kind of) shock announcement of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Remastered, you may discover that there are some on the market who’d attempt to encourage you to play fan-made Morrowind remakes as a substitute. Ignore these individuals, they’re cowards and fools. Try to be enjoying Daggerfall proper now, like all right-minded particular person. And with Daggerfall Unity, you may benefit from the all-time basic RPG in HD widescreen solely free of charge.
Daggerfall Unity, a fan-made ardour challenge that rebuilt the second Elder Scrolls recreation in Unity, was in improvement for over ten years. However final 12 months, it was lastly thought-about full, the entire extraordinary endeavor made accessible free of charge. And due to Bethesda’s glorious determination to launch the unique 1996 recreation free of charge, you don’t even must pay for the bottom recreation both.
The way to set up Daggerfall Unity
As with my submit about Morrowind, my purpose right here is to offer you an idiot-proof information for getting Daggerfall Unity operating in your laptop, with no need to talk the key arcane language of modders. Then, to simply encourage you to play it. And fortunately, this one’s far simpler to get operating.
The very very first thing you’re going to need to do is get your self a replica of the unique Daggerfall. That’s simply completed—you simply seize it from Steam or GOG, and as talked about, it received’t value you something. (Bethesda was internet hosting the free model on its website for a bit, however now it simply hyperlinks out to Steam.)
Set up that, and then head to this web page to obtain the Unity model, the latest being 1.1.1. As ever with these initiatives, there’s no “Obtain it right here!” button on the high of the positioning, as a result of that’d make life straightforward. As a substitute, you’re going to need to scroll to the underside of the entry for 1.1.1 (simply above the beginning of details about 1.1.0), or Ctrl-F for “dfu_windows” after which decide both the 32 or 64-bit model. In the event you’re undecided, you then’re secure to choose “dfu_windows_64bit-v1.1.1.zip,” the fourth one down within the listing. (There’s additionally a model for Linux and Mac within the listing.)
Obtain the .zip to your laborious drive, after which unzip it right into a folder. Open that folder and also you’ll see a number of information, together with “DaggerfallUnity.exe.” Double-click on that, and it’ll ask you the place you put in the unique Daggerfall. Assuming you’re utilizing the Steam model, you’ll discover the sport on the laborious drive you put in it to, then “steamappscommonThe Elder Scrolls DaggerfallDFDAGGER.” Click on OK, select your decision, and also you’re good to go!
Having spelled this all out, I’ve simply found that the fantastic individuals at Daggerfall Unity have written a really clear information themselves, which you’ll find right here.
If you load the sport, it’ll present you a bunch of primary choices. However if you wish to have a correct fiddle, click on on “Superior.” Right here, you are able to do all types of vital enterprise, like regulate your mouse sensitivity, bump the standard as much as max, and set it so it’s operating in 3440×1440 in your ultrawide monitor in a method that the unique builders in 1996 wouldn’t be capable of conceive.
Get modding
However you received’t need to cease there. Daggerfall Unity has a built-in mod part, letting you allow or disable any you might need added. However you’ll must get some first, so head over to the devoted web page for this model of the sport on Nexus Mods. You’ll additionally need to have this web page open, which is an excellent step-by-step information for putting in mods on this recreation.
The very first thing you’ll need to get is Daggerfall Expanded Textures. That is required for lots of the different mods that’ll enhance how the sport appears to be like, so is value putting in immediately.
As with most mods, the file has the extension .dfmod, and also you’re going to need to put it within the moderately buried “mods” folder of your important set up. So, return to the place you unzipped Daggerfall Unity, and in there, you’ll need to open “DaggerfallUnity_Data,” then “StreamingAssets,” and at last “Mods.” Put any .dfmod file you need to use within the recreation on this folder, so on this case, “daggerfall expanded textures.dfmod.”
Subsequent time you launch the sport, click on on the “Mods” button backside proper, and also you’ll see the mod within the listing!
With that in place, many different mods will now work. As an illustration, DET-DREAM (do you see what they did there?), which overhauls numerous the fashions. Taverns Redone makes pubs extra pleasurable. Quest Pack 1 provides 200 new quests to the sport. And Improved Inside Lighting…properly, you may determine that one out.
And now get enjoying!
With this all completed, you’re good to go. However it’s helpful to know a number of key particulars about Daggerfall that aren’t instinctive in 2025.
The primary is that it is a recreation about going with the circulate. Generally you’ll fail at a quest, however this doesn’t imply you might want to reload and begin it over—simply proceed on in a world the place you failed at that quest. There are a lot extra to search out, and let your experiences outline you.
It’s additionally a recreation about huge exploration, the seemingly infinite stretches of the sport procedurally generated, with a mind-boggling 15,000 cities, cities, dungeons, and villages to search out and discover. The picture under, created by Redditor Mister_Cranch, superimposes the complete map of Skyrim onto Daggerfall’s world. It’s that tiny brown rectangle in the midst of the ocean.
Oh, and combating! It’s not instinctive in any respect, and within the 30 years since this recreation got here out, I may not have been in a position to overlook the door opening sound, which is branded onto the floor of my mind. I had forgotten that combating isn’t simply holding down the mouse button. (By default, the proper mouse button, however you may change that.) As a substitute, you might want to maintain it down and swing the mouse round to assault. Imagine me, you’ll be glad I stated. (Or you may toggle it off within the choices, however that’s not the spirit of issues.)
On the topic, because the optionally available in-game tutorial will inform you, you’re not meant to have the ability to win each combat. The opening sequence intentionally has you encounter an imp that your weapons received’t be capable of hurt, leaving you solely with the selection to run away. That’s vital! Operating away, like in life, is okay in Daggerfall. The sport received’t provide you with XP for kills, so there’s no judgment.
So get in there. “Welcome to your new obsession,” because the tutorial concludes. It’s only a place so that you can go dwell. There’s no large, opening calamity, nor determined have to be someplace by a sure time. Only a huge world so that you can discover, discover quests, be a part of guilds, begin fights, go to jail for years, no matter you want to do.
.