Is anyone going to be playing Elder Scrolls Online?

[Flip]

I feel like this game crept up on everyone... its out next week!

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder- ... 0-6418485/

If it has a Skyrim, solo'able, feel, i might pick it up, but i havent heard much about the engine, story, or batte system at all. Did they have a beta?

[Shrinweck]

I hated it. Here's my post from the Now Playing thread:

I can't even manage the enthusiasm to create a new thread for Elder Scrolls Online, which dropped its NDA recently. I got into a beta event a few months back and just found this to be the most formulaic MMORPG to grace my PC in the last several years. This is the kind of game you'd have expected several years ago before the industry started introducing new ideas. The weapon abilities are about as limiting as they are boring. The very nature of the game is just by-the-books in a way that doesn't bear me giving it another chance.

So the combat is boring, how about the exploration? It doesn't have the same feeling of openness as the single player iterations, which is understandable, but the only reason why someone would even want to buy an Elder Scrolls flavored MMO. Without rich exploration it's vanilla fantasy at its least flavorful.

The only interesting thing, on paper, that this game had was its class customization/mixing/openness but even that was pretty bland.

To put it simply, I wouldn't reinstall the game even if they released it F2P, but $50-60 with a monthly fee is just a damned joke. The problems I had with the game aren't the "It's beta.. they'll sort it out" variety.. It's just a fundamentally disappointing game.

I heard some person in the Wildstar beta event last weekend complaining that there's a point in leveling in ESO where soloing becomes next to impossible.. but that could just be bullshit.

Basically the developers tried to marry Skyrim with the MMORPG genre and the 50/50 mutant that came out is just an abysmal failure on both fronts. To make matters worse you have to pay (way, way) more to unlock a magical race (Imperials) that can be any of the factions. Basically they've gated off content DLC-style and the god damned thing isn't even out yet. This is what even I, someone who doesn't particularly mind Day Zero DLC if it's good, calls bullshit. This is how greedy suits would run a MMO, and Day Zero'ing content with a pricetag like that is just unprecedented in a MMORPG afaik. This would be like charging people to be Elves in LOTRO. This is like charging people to be furries in Final Fantasy MMOs. Just... fuck them.

Edit: I think this MMORPG will probably attract the DAoC crowd, which was never my particular cup of tea.

[Eric]

It's awful, I love MMOs and this is probably the worst MMO I've played in the past 10 years.

[Shrinweck]

I agree. I enjoy the genre enough that even MMOs that I end up hating me usually have a feature or two that grab my attention for two weeks. I played the game for 1.5 hours the first day of the beta weekend before my power went out for ~3 hours. I didn't even care about having my play session getting interrupted. When the power came back I sat down and tried to give it an honest chance for another 2-3 hours and at the end of that just didn't want to play the game ever again.

[kali o.]

I do not think it is fair to call ESO a "bad" game...it's just entirely mediocre. There isn't a single thing that feels original or interesting.

I was in the beta, and just stopped logging in for the events. Even free, I didn't want to play the game...I don't imagine it will last long with a fee.

When MMOs start doing something more interesting, I'll start caring. The genre couldn't be more stale right now.

(PS, Funcom is the only "big" MMO dev I still like...they just need to stop half assing).

[Shrinweck]

What's that kali? You would prefer Funcom NOT develop MMORPG winners like Lego Minifigures Online and Pets vs Monsters? :D

[kali o.]

What's that kali? You would prefer Funcom NOT develop MMORPG winners like Lego Minifigures Online and Pets vs Monsters?

You know, I don't mind that companies basically have to pander to that particular demographic -- it's the money maker. I get it. But what drives me crazy is when Funcom attempts creative new [real] MMOs like AoC or TSW, then effectively butchers it all with poor execution and rushing the product out the door.

[Shrinweck]

Yeah.. I always want to like TSW more than it deserves. It's a tragedy that they couldn't have taken their time with it.

I also quite like Turbine for MMORPGs but they've gotten mired in this League of Legends/DOTA2 clone that seems to be driving them to financial ruin.

[Eric]

Well guys, this game is officially dead in the water.

The launch is actually smooth, there's no crashing servers or long queues, that's like the worst thing imaginable for an MMO launch.

If your game isn't tripping over itself and people aren['t crying about not being able to play, you've done something horribly wrong.

[Don]

Well guys, this game is officially dead in the water.

The launch is actually smooth, there's no crashing servers or long queues, that's like the worst thing imaginable for an MMO launch.

If your game isn't tripping over itself and people aren['t crying about not being able to play, you've done something horribly wrong.

I think people do MMORPG launch like the guys camping out for sales. If I was making a MMORPG, I'd put up a fake queue and have fake bots kill stealing stuff just to make it look like it's crowded during launch, even if I have more than enough capacity.

[Shrinweck]

I think an MMO version of this game was just a mistake. They should have put in some kind of Borderlands on-the-fly coop system. Elder Scrolls MMO is not even something that had even come to mind as something possible before they announced it.

[kali o.]

I think an MMO version of this game was just a mistake. They should have put in some kind of Borderlands on-the-fly coop system. Elder Scrolls MMO is not even something that had even come to mind as something possible before they announced it.

It would have been better as a multiplayer normal TES game...no doubt.

I still want a Fallout MMO. A hardcore, pvp-based wasteland...

[Shrinweck]

Basically DayZ except Fallout? That could be great. I'm not really a DayZ type of gamer but I'd buy a hardcore PvP Fallout game just on principle.

[kali o.]

Basically DayZ except Fallout? That could be great. I'm not really a DayZ type of gamer but I'd buy a hardcore PvP Fallout game just on principle.

DayZ is a great concept -- just a really shitty and inexperienced team behind it (and yes, I purchased the alpha). Now put Bethsoft money that idea...

And to be fair, I like DayZ's concept, but I don't imagine that level of unavoidable douche-baggery would fly today as an MMO...

I imagine a game where the actual Wastelands are DayZ level chaos. But most other civilized areas are "protected" by factions (BoS, Tribal, NCR, whatever), some are neutral. Players can choose to form "guilds" aligned:

Gangs
+ PvP positives (no statloss on death, boosted stats based on kills since last death, etc)
- Cannot enter nearly all faction controlled or neutral civilized areas without being attacked by NPCs

Faction-aligned
+ Benefits with aligned faction
- Some other faction areas are hostile
= Can freely attack and be attacked by opposing faction players in Wasteland

Unaligned
= All areas accessible, no benefits

If a non-gang flagged player kills another player (not hostile flagged based on faction), player gains the "Sociopath(whatever)" flag -- attackable by all players, statloss on death, increased item drop on death, lasts for 14 days. Your alliance can change but results in a "Renegade(whatever)" status of 30 days, making you freely attackable everywhere but Neutral areas. 1 character per server. You never "have" to enter the Wasteland, but there are benefits to doing so. Travelling the Wasteland on foot should be worrisome, whether you are scavenging, exploring, etc -- it's should always get your heart racing.

I am a big fan of accountability in MMO's. No one is entitled to access 100% of the game (though the unaligned is an option without positives). Choices have benefits and consequences. Pvp is optional, but should be desirable. Non-consensual/lore inappropriate pvp is always possible, but has major consequences.

I don't know why I wrote all that...I got excited thinking about my dream MMO.

[Shrinweck]

Heh well that game I'd play. DayZ I'll probably never buy.

[kali o.]

Not going to make a new thread but since I wrote that, Sony announced/teased H1Z1....sounds like it might fit the bill, though the f2p part worries me.

Oh well, fingers crossed.

[Oracle]

Unfortunately, no game has come close to Dark Age of Camelot in the past 13 years with respect to fantasy PvP-based MMOs. Not saying DAoC is a gem in every regard, but they did PvP right.

I'm always so disappointed when I try out new MMOs. I haven't tried ESO online yet, but from what I've read, there really isn't anything for me there.

The genre (MMO) needs a new approach... Then again, I avoid online multiplayer games almost as a rule (FUCK YOU MS for making your Xbone/Titanfall bundle look so appealing, only to find out the game is STRICTLY online, requiring a gold membership [not to mention all the BASE functionality dependent on a gold membership]... dirty motherf...), so maybe the genre isn't for me anymore.

[Eric]

Unfortunately, no game has come close to Dark Age of Camelot in the past 13 years with respect to fantasy PvP-based MMOs. Not saying DAoC is a gem in every regard, but they did PvP right.

I'm always so disappointed when I try out new MMOs. I haven't tried ESO online yet, but from what I've read, there really isn't anything for me there.

The genre (MMO) needs a new approach... Then again, I avoid online multiplayer games almost as a rule (FUCK YOU MS for making your Xbone/Titanfall bundle look so appealing, only to find out the game is STRICTLY online, requiring a gold membership [not to mention all the BASE functionality dependent on a gold membership]... dirty motherf...), so maybe the genre isn't for me anymore.

Why would you buy Titanfall for Xbox One anyway when you have a PC!

In other news some reviews for Elder Scrolls Online say the game is buggy, meaning they have managed to bring the core Elder Scrolls experience to the MMO at least.