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247 changes: 151 additions & 96 deletions docs/ports/openmw-guide.mdx
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Expand Up @@ -9,40 +9,53 @@ tags:
slug: openmw-guide
---

Getting OpenMW running on an Xbox Series S or Series X in Developer Mode is a fantastic way to experience *The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind* on modern console hardware. Because this is an unofficial community port running through a custom translation layer, setting everything up properly takes a bit of care.
OpenMW lets you play *The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind* on an Xbox Series S or Series X in Developer Mode.

This guide walks you through installation, storage configuration, performance tuning, and migrating desktop mod lists.
This guide covers installation, storage, the setup wizard, useful settings and mods.

*This is an unofficial port. Xbox specific issues should be discussed in dev mode community discords and not reported to the upstream OpenMW development team.*
*Please do not report Xbox specific problems to the upstream OpenMW team. Use the Xbox Dev Mode community instead.*

### Requirements
- You will need an Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X configured for Developer Mode (Xbox One is not supported).
- You will need the OpenMW `.msix` package.
- You will need the dependency file supplied with the release.
- You will need your own legally owned copy of **The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind**. The **Game of the Year (GOTY)** edition is strongly recommended, as it includes the **Tribunal** and **Bloodmoon** expansions.

This port is strictly an engine package and does not include original game files, textures, or mods.
- An Xbox Series S or Series X configured for Developer Mode. Xbox One is not supported.
- The OpenMW `.msix` package.
- The dependency file supplied with the release.
- Your own legally owned copy of **The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind**.

The **Game of the Year** edition is recommended because it includes the **Tribunal** and **Bloodmoon** expansions.

This port contains the OpenMW engine only. It does not include Morrowind game files, textures or mods.

### Install OpenMW
1. Open the **Xbox Device Portal** on your browser while your console is in Developer Mode.
2. Install the OpenMW `.msix` bundle via the App Manager.
3. Install the required dependency file supplied with the release.

### External Storage Setup
Copy the complete **contents** of Morrowind's original `Data Files` folder to your USB drive:
1. Start the Xbox in Developer Mode.
2. Open the **Xbox Device Portal** in a browser.
3. Install the OpenMW `.msix` through the App Manager.
4. Install the dependency file supplied with the release.

### External storage setup

Copy the complete **contents** of Morrowind's original `Data Files` folder to:

```text
E:\OpenMW\data
```

Copy `Morrowind.ini` from the original Morrowind installation folder to:

```text
E:/OpenMW/data
E:\OpenMW\Morrowind.ini
```

The folder should contain essential files such as:
Your files should include:

```text
Morrowind.esm
Morrowind.bsa
E:\OpenMW\Morrowind.ini
E:\OpenMW\data\Morrowind.esm
E:\OpenMW\data\Morrowind.bsa
```

It should also contain subdirectories including:
The `data` folder should also contain folders such as:

```text
Meshes
Expand All @@ -51,156 +64,198 @@ Sound
Textures
```

Add the **Tribunal** and **Bloodmoon** files as well if your edition includes them.
Copy the Tribunal and Bloodmoon files into the same `data` folder if your edition includes them.

OpenMW automatically uses external storage when it finds:
OpenMW uses external storage when it finds:

```text
E:/OpenMW/data/Morrowind.esm
E:\OpenMW\data\Morrowind.esm
```

If this file is not found, OpenMW will fall back to internal `LocalState` storage instead.
If it cannot find this file, it checks internal `LocalState` storage instead.

### Internal Storage Setup
1. Access the app's `LocalState` folder in the Xbox Device Portal.
2. Create this folder:
### Internal storage setup

Open the app's `LocalState` folder through the Xbox Device Portal and create:

```text
LocalState/data
LocalState\data
```

3. Upload the **contents** of your Morrowind `Data Files` directory into:
Upload the contents of Morrowind's original `Data Files` folder into it. Upload `Morrowind.ini` directly to the root of `LocalState`.

The final layout should include:

```text
LocalState/data
LocalState\Morrowind.ini
LocalState\data\Morrowind.esm
LocalState\data\Morrowind.bsa
```

OpenMW will use internal storage whenever it detects:
### First launch and setup wizard

A clean installation opens the **Setup Wizard** automatically. You can run it again later from the launcher front page.

The wizard checks external storage first, followed by `LocalState`. It looks for:

```text
LocalState/data/Morrowind.esm
Morrowind.ini
data\Morrowind.esm
data\Morrowind.bsa
```

### First Launch & Controls
A clean first launch automatically generates a default configuration file:
For a new installation:

1. Leave **Import Settings From Morrowind.ini** enabled.
2. Leave **Import Add-on and Plugin Selection** enabled.
3. Disable **Import Bitmap Fonts Setup From Morrowind.ini** if you want to keep OpenMW's clearer TrueType fonts.
4. Review the detected installation and select **Apply**.

Importing `Morrowind.ini` restores original game information used for intro movies, weather, level up text and other Morrowind data.

If you run the wizard again after setting up mods, enable only **Import Settings From Morrowind.ini**. Disable the add-on/plugin and bitmap font options so your content order is preserved.

The wizard backs up the current configuration as:

```text
openmw.cfg
LocalState\openmw.cfg.bak
```

*Tribunal* and *Bloodmoon* expansions are automatically recognized when their files are present.
Rerunning the wizard also refreshes the archive list from `Morrowind.ini`. If you use mod archives, check **Modding > Archive Files** afterwards.

Start with an unmodded game and confirm that it reaches the main menu before adding mods.

The launcher features graphics settings alongside three core modding tabs:
- **Data Directories**
- **Content Files**
- **Archive Files**
### Launcher controls

#### Launcher Controls
- **D-pad:** Navigate menus
- **A:** Select / Confirm
- **D-pad:** Navigate
- **A:** Select or confirm
- **B:** Go back
- **LB / RB:** Switch tabs
- **D-pad Left / Right:** Switch between list items and sidebar buttons
- **Menu / Start:** Launch Morrowind directly from any page
- **D-pad Left / Right:** Switch between a list and its action buttons
- **Menu / Start:** Launch Morrowind from any launcher page

Start with an unmodded, vanilla game first to verify your base installation works smoothly before adding mods.
### Recommended settings

#### Recommended Initial Settings
On your first launch, run through these menus to tweak your base configuration:
The launcher settings closely follow the desktop OpenMW launcher. Options that are unsafe or unsupported on Xbox have been left out.

* **Graphics:** Set your resolution and enable **VSync**. If playing on a higher resolution display, increase the **UI Scale** for better text readability and enable **Stretch menu background** to display backgrounds cleanly in widescreen.
* **Input:** Enable **Controller menus** for easier console navigation. You may also want to reduce the **Menu cursor speed**.
* **Gameplay:** Check the **Gameplay** tab for additional quality of life toggles and settings to fit your playstyle.
- **Display:** Choose the resolution, VSync and frame limit. Fullscreen is recommended. You can also enable **Show FPS** here.
- **Interface:** Adjust the GUI scaling factor and font size if text is too small. Enable **Stretch menu background** for widescreen displays. Controller menus and controller tooltips are also found here.
- **Input:** Adjust look sensitivity, stick dead zone and menu cursor speed.
- **Gameplay:** Contains OpenMW gameplay fixes and quality of life options.
- **Visuals:** Contains animations, textures, shaders, terrain, post-processing, shadows, lighting and water settings.

### Performance & Graphics Settings
Because OpenMW translates graphics calls through a custom multi-layer pipeline:
### Performance and graphics

This port passes the game through several graphics layers:

```text
OpenMW > OpenSceneGraph > desktop OpenGL > Mesa/Gallium > Xbox GPU
```

Performance can drop quickly if heavy visual settings are enabled. To maintain a steadier frame rate:
- Keep **post-processing off**.
- Keep **shadows off**, or only enable essential options with modest shadow resolution.
- Keep **water textures and reflections modest**, and avoid combining multiple water effects.
- Keep **viewing distance sensible**; avoid expansive distant terrain.
- Reduce the **rendering resolution** if you need to lower GPU load. You can only do this in the launcher, not in game.
Vanilla Morrowind can run well, but heavy graphics settings and large mod lists add up quickly.

To improve performance:

> **Important Warning:** Anti-aliasing is disabled by default because it crashes Mesa. Do not attempt to add or restore an `antialiasing` setting in `settings.cfg`.
1. Disable **Settings > Visuals > Post Processing**.
2. Reduce or disable options under **Settings > Visuals > Shadows**.
3. Lower water textures, reflections and ripple detail under **Settings > Visuals > Water**.
4. Reduce viewing distance and distant land under **Settings > Visuals > Terrain**.
5. Select a lower resolution under **Settings > Display**.
6. Reduce heavy texture, groundcover and script-heavy mods.

### Installing Mods on Xbox
External mods can be stored on your USB drive under:
Rendering resolution must be selected in the launcher before starting the game. Changing it from the in-game menu is not supported reliably by the Xbox graphics path.

> **Important:** Anti-aliasing is disabled because it can crash the Mesa graphics driver. Do not manually add or restore an `antialiasing` setting in `settings.cfg`.

### Installing mods on Xbox

External mods can be stored under:

```text
E:/OpenMW/mods
E:\OpenMW\mods
```

Keep each mod inside its own dedicated subfolder while preserving the directory structure provided by the mod author. Internal mods can also be stored under `LocalState`.
Internal mods can also be stored under `LocalState`. Keep each mod in its own folder and preserve the layout supplied by the mod author.

In the launcher:
1. Add the mod's actual data folder under **Data Directories**.
Open **Modding** from the launcher and use its three tabs:

1. Add each mod's actual data folder under **Data Directories**.
2. Enable its required plugins under **Content Files**.
3. Add any `.bsa` files under **Archive Files**.
4. Arrange your load order strictly according to the mod instructions.
3. Add any required `.bsa` files under **Archive Files**.
4. Arrange everything in the order given by the mod instructions.

Do not enable every plugin automatically. Many mods include optional files, compatibility patches or choices that should not be used together.

Avoid enabling every plugin automatically, as mods often include optional or mutually exclusive plugin choices.
### Move a desktop mod setup to Xbox

### Move a Desktop Mod Setup to Xbox
For a large mod list (such as the **Morrowind Starter Pack** from Modding-OpenMW), configuring and testing everything on PC first is much easier.
For a large mod list, configuring and testing everything on PC first is much easier. The **Morrowind Starter Pack** from [Modding-OpenMW](https://modding-openmw.com/) has been tested this way.

1. Finish and validate the setup on PC.
2. Let `openmw-navmeshtool` finish generating navigation data if you want pre-built pathfinding caches.
3. Copy your complete PC mods folder to your USB drive:
1. Finish and test the setup on PC.
2. Let `openmw-navmeshtool` finish if you want to transfer its generated navigation cache.
3. Copy the complete mods folder to:

```text
E:/OpenMW/mods
E:\OpenMW\mods
```

4. In `openmw.cfg`, replace desktop drive paths with USB drive paths:
4. In `openmw.cfg`, replace desktop mod paths with their Xbox locations. For example:

```text
data="E:/OpenMW/mods/Patch for Purists"
```

*(Replaces paths like `data="C:\OpenMWMods\Patch for Purists"`)*

5. Change the main game data path to:
5. Set the main game-data path to:

```text
data="E:/OpenMW/data"
```

6. Check that no `data=` line still points to local PC drives.
7. Upload `openmw.cfg`, `settings.cfg`, and `navmesh.db` (if generated) directly to the root of `LocalState`.
6. Check that no `data=` entry still points to a drive or folder on the PC.
7. Upload `openmw.cfg`, `settings.cfg` and `navmesh.db`, if generated, to the root of `LocalState`.

Do not run the complete setup wizard import after uploading an existing mod configuration. If you need to restore the original Morrowind settings, run the wizard with only **Import Settings From Morrowind.ini** enabled, then check **Archive Files** before launching.

Large mod lists can be demanding. The Morrowind Starter Pack has run at roughly **15 to 25 FPS** in testing, depending on the location and enabled graphics settings.

*Note on Performance:* Complex setups like the Morrowind Starter Pack run around **15–25 FPS** on console. Treat heavy modding as an experimental compatibility test rather than a target for high-framerate gameplay.
### Saves and backups

#### If Performance Drops Severely, Lower Settings in This Order:
1. Disable post-processing.
2. Reduce or disable shadows.
3. Lower water quality and reflections.
4. Reduce viewing distance and distant terrain.
5. Lower rendering resolution.
6. Remove heavy visual or texture overhaul mods.
7. Reduce active script-heavy plugins in your load order.
OpenMW keeps saves, configuration files, logs, caches and `navmesh.db` inside `LocalState`.

### Saves & Backups
OpenMW keeps saves, configuration files, logs, caches, and `navmesh.db` inside `LocalState`. Always back up `LocalState` via the Xbox Device Portal before uninstalling the app or making major changes to your mod list.
Back up `LocalState` through the Xbox Device Portal before uninstalling the app or making large changes to a mod list. Uninstalling the package removes its internal storage.

### Quick Fixes
### Quick fixes

#### Morrowind is not found
Verify that `Morrowind.esm` exists in one of these paths:

Check that the required files exist in one of these layouts:

```text
E:/OpenMW/data/Morrowind.esm
LocalState/data/Morrowind.esm
E:\OpenMW\Morrowind.ini
E:\OpenMW\data\Morrowind.esm
E:\OpenMW\data\Morrowind.bsa
```

```text
LocalState\Morrowind.ini
LocalState\data\Morrowind.esm
LocalState\data\Morrowind.bsa
```

#### Intro movies are missing

Run the **Setup Wizard** and import the settings from `Morrowind.ini`. These settings include the original movie entries.

#### A mod archive disappeared after running the wizard

Open **Modding > Archive Files** and add or enable the mod's `.bsa` file again. The wizard refreshes this list from `Morrowind.ini`.

#### Copied desktop settings crash the game
Remove anti-aliasing and desktop only post-processing settings from `settings.cfg`. Start with lighter shadow and water options.

Remove anti-aliasing and desktop-only post-processing settings from `settings.cfg`. Start with post-processing disabled and lighter shadow and water settings.

#### Performance is poor
Disable post-processing first. Next, reduce shadows, water effects, viewing distance, and resolution. Test on a clean, unmodded save.

Disable post-processing first. Then reduce shadows, water effects, viewing distance and resolution. Test without mods to separate a port problem from a demanding mod setup.

---

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