I never thought I would see GOGers complaining about graphics ;p

the polygonal mongrels morrowind tries to pass off as npc' really are hideous

After an hour of playing that didn't bother me anymore ^ ^

The version number doesn't tell you anything about how far they are, you know. It just means that it's the 39th major release that has not met all their requirements of being feature complete.
There'll most likely never be a 0.70 release or anything like that. The OpenMW team does not do content, so any visual improvements you can expect come from the engine. For textures and meshes you ned to find a mod.

A modded Morrowind can look far better and more colorful than Skyrim or Oblivion, imo. It can also run very poorly.
OpenMW has its advantages but at the moment it is visually and regarding mod-compatibility quite a bit inferior to standard Morrowind Edit: with MGE XE - obviously vanilla Morrowind looks worse than OpenMW.
https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/100/images/36945-1-1349366194.jpg
https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/100/images/41102-3-1326062681.jpg
https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/100/images/36945-2-1349366502.jpg
https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/100/images/36945-4-1349366196.jpg
https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/100/images/41102-1-1322087092.jpg
NPCs:
https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/100/images/41102-2-1322086967.jpg
https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/100/images/41102-3-1322086933.jpg

A graphical mod compilation that also improves upon the NPCs (they still don't look as good as many of the other assets. There are also other texture packs that aren't included. Maybe you'll find one):
http://www.nexusmods.com/morrowind/mods/36945/?
Morrowind overhaul (graphics and sound) -MGSO

MGSO can destroy your performance if you want all the features, though.

I wanted to attach an image of my modded OpenMW which looks great too but the file size is too large, finding another way to upload it is too much work atm.
Edit well I uploaded some screenshots of OpenMW with the mod Morrowind Rebirth in a ridiculously low resolution due to the size limit per upload.

Great advice on MSGO. I would also add that you can get Rebirth:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/morrowind-rebirth

Working with it as well, which adds a bit more life to the worldspace - do note it does change the game a bit - i.e. new items and such like.

I personally like the vanilla graphics.
The only thing that bothers me is the view distance.
But that is right now a work-in-progress feature.
And there are mods that increase view distance, but they have .exe files so they don't work with OpenMW.

This is basic stuff... but given the complaints in this thread...

Make Your NPCs Shiny and New:

Better Bodies
(or Better Bodies for NMM)

Better Heads

Better Clothes

More Better Clothes

Unique Shadow Pack

New Beast Bodies (mature)
(or New Beast Bodies (clean))

Robe Replacer
(I recommend the Hurdy Gurdy version.)

There. Now all your NPCs look purdy. :P

I played the whole Morrowind in OpenMW 0.36 and 0.39.
version 0.36 was awful (like the original) but I had to play on mac osx so I played it anyway.
version 0.39 is really good, there is almost no waiting for loading time, and it is easy to swim.

you can finish the game with OpenMW.

PS. I only used a mod to translate the game in my language. I usually don't play any games with mods.

or i could just play oblivion or skyrim where i dont need a fuckload of mods to make the npc's not look like mutant refugees from a fallout game

or you can play morrowind without mods and live with the "mutant refugees"...

for me the main weakness of morrowind is that in the first part of missions you have to walk really slow to do some boring missions... from the end of seyda neen to Vivec Informants I think morrowind is boring.

After that point I think the game is really great (the main quest is interesting).
but the best thing about morrowind are the 2 expansions. I love Tribunal.

I think the best thing to do is just find boots of blinding speed as soon as you can and create a 1 sec magic to resist magic and be able to use them with no penality.

You... like the look of NPCs in Oblivion?!

And you'd still need a fuckton of mods to make either game really enjoyable. :P

Is it really that bad for you? Honestly I like Morrowind and Oblivion comical character model more compared to realistic skyrim. I find it easier to remember a face.

The problem in morrowind NPC IMO is not model, but stiff animation. Just look at the posture of NPC while walking.

I have a mod that delays the dark brotherhood assassins attacking you.
Because the DLC was intended to be activated after you completed the main story and it makes the start unbalanced.
And the the DLC had some patches so I want to keep it activated :-)

Play oblivion or skyrim without mods, are you mad? That's like "playing" the construction set, its just an engine.

I like that you are in danger as soon as you start the game... yes I know, I played the dlc after the main story and the attack are a little annoing, but I still want to play the game like they decided to release it.