General:Michael Wagner's Posts

Michael Wagner's Posts
Medium/Format	Online Forum
Interviewee(s)	Michael Wagner
Hosted By

Michael Wagner, also known as sentinel, is the Senior Marketing Art Director at Bethesda Softworks, who drew the map of Morrowind by hand. These are a few notable comments from Wagner on The Elder Scrolls setting.

2001

On difficulties downloading part one of the Official Morrowind Video Tour (2001-10-12)

Well, unfortunately we have a limit on the number of concurrent downloads that can occur at any one time. So there are just a LOT of people downloading the movie right now...

On additional official videos on an "Art of Magic" CD (2001-10-15)

Well, we did include a Morrowind Video CD with Art of Magic, but the video is not really a higher resolution, just in a different format (mpegs instead of Bink).

Also, we've included ALL the videos at one time with Art of Magic. And the TES Construction Set videos are really impressive.

How many sections are there in the Video Tour? (2001-10-23)

There are 7 total videos that were included in the Art of Magic game, Morrowind Video Preview CD. These are the movies that are now appearing each week on the Elder Scrolls website.

4 Movies are about the Morrowind game itself, the other 3 are related to the TES Construction Set.

On the panning feature from the recent video tour (2001-11-02)

That pan around the figure occurs automatically when you don't move for an extended period of time. Let's you see all of your cool armor and weapons and stuff.

Actually there are probably other ways to pan around the character like that. That's the only one I've experience with the game though. But, I'm a newbie at Bethesda. ;)

On why the then-latest part of the Morrowind Video Tour was considered the "Fourth" (2001-11-05)

That's because there are really two series of videos that are being released consecutively. The Video Tour series of which parts 1, 2 and 3 have been shown. And the TES Construction Set Tutorials (of which the editor video is a part). Since there are seven videos in all, you still get three more weeks of video goodness! ;)

On the system specs of the computer he used while working on Morrowind (2001-11-16)

Well I use a 700mhz PC at work and only a wimpy Viper 770 video card and Morrowind runs pretty good at 800x600.

Granted things don't run as nice as they do on the systems that have GeForce 3's, but its definitely playable. :)

Responding to a fan who jokingly said they saw Morrowind on store shelves in November 2001 (2001-11-19)

i was in the electronics boutique the other day (getting the xbox!!! amazing piece of machinery by the way you all should get one!) and they had Morrowind on the shelf. i asked the guy about that and he said it should be there by the next day. i wonder if it's in yet. i should go check.

Wow, that means we shipped the game a few weeks ago. Hmm... I guess I can go home early today.

Seriously, though, go by Pete's announcement. It is the only official date we have put out.

i was being sarcastic. i know it's not out yet :) for some reason sarcasm doesn't come over well when it's typed.
..so how about that Cameron Manheim eh?? shes pretty hot! i'd like to get in to her LAW SUIT!! get it? again sarcasm.

Wow, I completely missed the sarcasm in your first post... Sorry 'bout that.

Is your second example really sarcasm or just witty humor? ;-)

Woo hoo! Just realized that in two hours I get to go home and not have to come back to work for another FOUR days!

Gotta love Turkey Day!

On Friday, 14 September 2001's community update (2001-11-21)

Sadly no one will be here to do a Friday update. :-( But we will be doing lots of stuff NEXT Friday to make up for this.

On making your own set of necromancer armor (2001-11-28)

Well, a simpler solution is to take an already existing set of armor. Glass for instance, and just edit the textures for the armor. You just need a program like Photoshop to do this. You can make some very distinct looking armor without changing the 3-d models.

Just a thought for people that don't have access to 3ds Max.

On pending updates to the elderscrolls.com website (2001-11-29)

Tell me about it... I have to update the site each Friday and even I get confused sometimes by the sites layout... ;)

Hey, it's almost December, which means new screenshots are coming soon! We just need to finish up these movies first. :)

On the size of Morrowind's game world (2001-12-04)

As far as the size of the game world goes... It is BIG! Really, really big. Some of the bigger cities like Balmora and Vivec (Especially Vivec!) will get you lost in them for hours, just like real life cities. Even with a map, traveling from one city to another often results in getting lost. Fortunately the graphics and surrounding landscapes are so impressive that getting lost is often the best part.
And, this is just the outside cities and towns! This doesn't include the huge number of ruins, dungeons, mines, shipwrecks and other surprises out there.
So, I wouldn't worry too much about the size of the game.

On the community update on 30 November 2001 (2001-12-07)

We are only adding the Stealth skills today. Maybe next week for Magic.

On the dimensions of a cell in the editor (2001-12-10)

Also, an easy way to get an idea for a cells size is to look at ONE of the buildings in Vivec. The main buildings are slightly smaller than a cell in size.

And, Vivec is drawn the most accurately of all of the cities on the map. It really IS that big in relation to the maps geography.

On the detailing for the physical map included with the game (2001-12-11)

We excluded a large number of dungeons, mines, etc. from the map.

So what you see is not everything in the game. You must explore to find all the little dungeons and mines.

Also, the final map is still being refined, so symbols and such may change on the final printed map.

On the specifications of the game box's dimensions (2001-12-21)

Uhm, not really sure why you want the specifics, but here goes:

Standard Morrowind Box is about 7.75" wide x 9.5" tall (Pretty standard game box size)

Collectors Edition is about 9" wide x 11.5" tall.

Hope that helps...

2002

On screenshots posted to the website Voodoo Extreme (2002-01-09)

Well, up until that editor shot, I don't think we really showed Vivec before. Course it is an editor overhead shot, so no biggy.

Actually as the game gets closer to release and more magazines and sites get to test the thing, I have a feeling more revealing screenshots are probably on the way...

On the usage of Ships in Morrowind (2002-01-16)

Ships are either a fast travel option or an explorable building. So you can't really sail(navigate) a ship, but you can use them for travel.

On the options for in-game shadows (2002-01-16)

Yes, you can turn the shadows on and off. And that screenshot was probably taken with the shadows turned off. Another thing to realize is that there are screenshots on this website that are over a year old and don't really represent how the game looks now.

On creating different structures in the Construction Set (2001-01-17)

You can definitely create structures on the outside that you can walk into (like a barn) or something, but these will take a larger hit on resources than having a house with a door that "zones" to an interior. Also, I'm pretty sure you can't create doors that close if you do this, but a dev with more editor experience could probably answer this better. It's late, I need to head home soon. ;)

On the physical map included in the game's release (2002-02-24)

Actually all three versions of Morrowind will include the full color PAPER map.

On ranged projectiles (2002-02-24)

Will there be different types of arrows? can you enchant arrows? do crossbows use the same arrows as bows?

yes,yes,no. :)

On Marksman and using bows (2002-02-26)

You can pull back and hold the bow. Obviously the longer you hold it back the farther/more powerful the shot.

On the community update for 1 March 2002 (2002-03-01)

Something related to the release of the game is coming today as well. ;)

On the size of the Xbox manual (2002-03-01)

There are strict guidelines for the size of Xbox manuals. so we are definitely constrained by the number of pages the Xbox manual can be. Also, the same issues are now faced with the mini-box format that PC games are shipping in now.

The manual is very important to us and we have spent a lot of time getting as much detailed information on playing the game as possible within the manual. Considering the size limitations I think we did a pretty good job of including the vital information.

2005

On design "inaccuracies" of the Shadowkey map (2005-01-04)

Well the thing with map making is that the maps are done from the point of view of the cartographer. A resident of Tamriel may not have access to a flight spell to gauge accuracy and certainly would not have access to a satellite photo. So is it really so far fetched to believe that a cartography from that area of Hammerfell would draw his map with inaccuracies? It seems obvious the maps highest function was to point out the most important areas that a traveller to that area would need to take note of.

[...]

And who was the crazy cartography who drew the island of Vvardenfell without any of Morrowind's coastline surrounding it?

[...]

Our ever friendly Shifty Eyed Dog was the creator of the Shadowkey map and she did an outstanding job on it!