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Elder Scrolls Online Game Informer Details

The first reveal a few days ago had me super excited with what they can do with this game.

Now the details + the screens + footage = Dog shit. I usually like to look at things from a glass half full perspective, but this thing doesn't even have a drop in it.

If Zenimax wanted to make a MMO, make a MMO, and don't sully a solid franchise name. :/

There is footage?
 

FLEABttn

Banned
Star Wars, for all the hate it gets, justifiable or not, at least had some things it tried that were new and different and (I think) improved the genre even. Even for the most inane of quests, the dialoguing that went with it was great and it's hard to go back to WoW and quest and not feel like you're in 2004. The companions and the love interests there, their story, a unique story for every class, all things I think TOR brought to the genre as a whole.

And what does Elder Scrolls bring? A TBC era list of bulletpoints and vague allusions to maybe the PvP being as good as you remember DAoC's to be because there's totally these two dudes who worked on DAoC on the Elder Scrolls dev team.

At least other MMO's released after WoW tried to blow smoke up our asses with their half baked features and and delusions of grandeur. The PR on this one couldn't even come up with completely made up bullshit that, at the very least, sounded remotely interesting. Like their designer said "eh, I got nothin', just run with it".
 
My favorite so far is:

hindenburg.gif


BeTESdenburg
 

Kintaro

Worships the porcelain goddess
Everywhere I look, nobody wants this shit. Hell, even majority people on the official Elder Scrolls Online forums don't want it.

Sounds about like the people who didn't want Final Fantasy XI when it was announced. Turns out that it was the last great Final Fantasy game to be released.
 
what is even the purpose of the existence of this unnecessary wart of a game? Who were they trying to entice here? Clearly not MMO fans, they have other MMO's. Clearly not TES fans, they have real TES games.

The RPG experience of TES is literally one of a kind, it's a genre of its own, and they want to fist fuck the rich experience into the most generic, tired and not to the strenghts of the genre fitting format that even Star Wars could barely do with TOR?

You can't just keep reskinning WoW over and over again with different themes
 
Sounds about like the people who didn't want Final Fantasy XI when it was announced. Turns out that it was the last great Final Fantasy game to be released.

Although looking through those first screenshots was like a bullet to the heart, I agree with this. I've been whining to my friends all day about the Hero Engine and the design not even being TES-related, but I whined about FFXI and even hated it during my 30-day trial with the PS2 HDD.

Afterwards it was the only MMO/game I played for 5 years.
 
The art style in the screenshots make me wonder if this was originally not called Elder Scrolls Online and just had the Elder Scrolls IP thrown onto it.
 

Everdred

Member
-Third person perspective
-The game uses a hotbar to activate skills like other traditional MMOs
-Visually it looks like other Hero Engine MMOs like SWTOR
-The general art style is kind of like RIFT or Everquest 2
Everything this game SHOULDN'T be.
 

Riggs

Banned
Bethesda's gameplay is pretty bad as well, but huge, detailed, sandbox worlds and mods are why I play the Elder Scrolls series. MMO-style basically kills that.

I can't wait to see what excuse/lore they come up when Cyrodiil still isn't a jungle.

UoHrh.jpg

Laughing so hard, ty sir.
 

Woorloog

Banned
I'm confused by non-realtime combat. What's an example of a game that uses this?

WoW, SWTOR. As opposed to, say, Planetside Online which is a MMOFPS, yes?

Most WoW-like MMOs. You press a number for an attack or skill and wait a second or two for it to happen.

Right, so i'm late. Ideally you don't need to wait that second, or even half a second... though i swear i haven't had lag free day in SWTOR, unlike in WoW.
 
You would think it would be cheaper to just put like 4-8 player co-op in ES6 and call it a day. At least then they could have avoided putting millions into a stillborn product.
 

Brannon

Member
What in god's fuck.

I can only imagine the weeks before they had to make this reveal; the realization that WoW-types are declining in favor and popularity and profitability, the debut of a fresher combat experience in TERA and Guild Wars 2 and the upcoming TITAN, which, by the way, is Blizzard's way of saying that even they are getting off the WoW train pretty soon, the realization that the HERO Engine is... subpar (putting it mildly) at best, that not even STAR WARS in the traditional MMO format can keep subs up reliably AND that its method of having fully voiced dialogue renders it quite difficult to be profitable, and so on and so forth.

But even though the announcement would earn them a nice, slow hatefucking with a barbed mallet, they knew they had no choice; somehow 2007 disappeared and now, in 2012, they have to show off a HEROic WoWClone with barely any TES elements and boring hotkeyed combat, full of fully voiced dialogue at an E3 with people still hyped about the upcoming retail release of games like Guild Wars 2 and salty as all fuck about THIS ONE, and make people like it enough to buy it and pay monthly for it when it comes out in 2013, which may or may not be a TITAN beta year.

I do not envy them their position.
 
The first reveal a few days ago had me super excited with what they can do with this game.

Now the details + the screens + footage = Dog shit. I usually like to look at things from a glass half full perspective, but this thing doesn't even have a drop in it.

If Zenimax wanted to make a MMO, make a MMO, and don't sully a solid franchise name. :/

IMO, this is for the best. People will always think they want a TES MMO because, well, it sounds "right". It sounds like a franchise that would make the transition well. Fans want it, devs want to make it...I think it's for the best that they realize sooner rather than later what a stinker it'll be so we can just move on with our lives and forget such nonsense. I don't want TES:O to be cancelled - I want it to release, and to fail miserably. I can predict no better outcome for the series.
 

spirity

Member
What in god's fuck.

I can only imagine the weeks before they had to make this reveal; the realization that WoW-types are declining in favor and popularity and profitability, the debut of a fresher combat experience in TERA and Guild Wars 2 and the upcoming TITAN, which, by the way, is Blizzard's way of saying that even they are getting off the WoW train pretty soon, the realization that the HERO Engine is... subpar (putting it mildly) at best, that not even STAR WARS in the traditional MMO format can keep subs up reliably AND that its method of having fully voiced dialogue renders it quite difficult to be profitable, and so on and so forth.

But even though the announcement would earn them a nice, slow hatefucking with a barbed mallet, they knew they had no choice; somehow 2007 disappeared and now, in 2012, they have to show off a HEROic WoWClone with barely any TES elements and boring hotkeyed combat, full of fully voiced dialogue at an E3 with people still hyped about the upcoming retail release of games like Guild Wars 2 and salty as all fuck about THIS ONE, and make people like it enough to buy it and pay monthly for it when it comes out in 2013, which may or may not be a TITAN beta year.

I do not envy them their position.

The problem in keeping quiet for as long as possible means there's no real way to gauge reaction to your product until its too late. I'm expecting some worried expressions over at Zenimax today.

When your very announcement is met with derision, you are truly, truly fucked.
 

Boss Man

Member
Sounds about like the people who didn't want Final Fantasy XI when it was announced. Turns out that it was the last great Final Fantasy game to be released.
I agree 100% with this post, but wasn't FFXI at least a little bit unique? FFXI went in its own direction and turned out to be a pretty damn solid MMO and a great online venue for fans of the franchise (a last bastion, even). I don't think it's fair to write this game off because of third person, no real time combat, and stuff like not being able to fly on a dragon...but I understand the backlash for it being a WoW clone. I mean, it doesn't look the least bit interesting from any standpoint other than being an MMO in TES universe, and then it seems like it's even shitting on that.

Everything about this and the angle that Zenimax is approaching it from just seems completely wrong. I mean, "1000's of players all prophesied to be the hero hurrr." was so easy to avoid in an Elder Scrolls MMO. And why not let players join factions freely, perhaps with just a few race restrictions? The Nord-Dunmer-Argonian thing is still irking me really bad. It's just so lazy. Oh, and their solution to multiple players completing important quests is going back in time. Again, extremely lazy.
 
The problem in keeping quiet for as long as possible means there's no real way to gauge reaction to your product until its too late. I'm expecting some worried expressions over at Zenimax today.

When your very announcement is met with derision, you are truly, truly fucked.

Unfortunately, when you're this deep in, and whether they do it consciously, they'll probably all be stricken with "haters gonna hate" syndrome.

They'll just find the 6 people that haven't bitched about the logical shortcomings and say these are the true fans.
 

Carcetti

Member
I won't comment on the lore side, but on the gameplay side all the bulletpoints in the OP make me wonder why they removed everything I like in Elder Scrolls games. I mean 'no player housing'? It reads like a huge troll post. I guess it's okay if they're making a generic fantasy MMO ('looks like everquest'??), but I don't think that cuts it in 201X
 

sangreal

Member
As absolutely horrible as all this sounds, the fact that it uses the Hero Engine ensures that I would never give a single cent towards this.

SWTOR uses this engine and even with all the resources and money thrown at it from EA/BW it is an absolute piece of shit

I was excited for games using Hero Engine... in the 90s. Seriously though, it sucks, stop using it please.
 

Won

Member
Pretty fascinating to watch all the negative reactions. Must really suck to work at Zenimax at the moment. 5 years of development and no one likes what you have to show.
 

megalowho

Member
IMO, this is for the best. People will always think they want a TES MMO because, well, it sounds "right". It sounds like a franchise that would make the transition well. Fans want it, devs want to make it...I think it's for the best that they realize sooner rather than later what a stinker it'll be so we can just move on with our lives and forget such nonsense. I don't want TES:O to be cancelled - I want it to release, and to fail miserably. I can predict no better outcome for the series.
I'm no game designer, but every idea I can come up with that would equal an interesting online experience for this franchise pushes it in the opposite direction of what's been announced. More like EVE and UO for starters, a sandbox for people to create their own stories and storylines in.

I think that's what makes this announcement more disappointing than anything else - the potential for an open, make your own fun online experience in Tamriel is inherently intriguing. Just because ZeniMax decided to follow in the footsteps of WoW, LOTR, D&D, Conan, Rift, Warhammer, etc. doesn't make online TES a bad idea, but it certainly makes me grow even more weary of the inherently addictive and barely iterative design philosophy all those games are based on.

At least the series will continue unaffected at Bethesda proper, so if this indeed the trainwreck it appears it could be we can all ignore it and be none the lesser for it.
 
IMO, this is for the best. People will always think they want a TES MMO because, well, it sounds "right". It sounds like a franchise that would make the transition well. Fans want it, devs want to make it...I think it's for the best that they realize sooner rather than later what a stinker it'll be so we can just move on with our lives and forget such nonsense. I don't want TES:O to be cancelled - I want it to release, and to fail miserably. I can predict no better outcome for the series.

If they followed SWG, Ultima Online, etc. sandbox route and used a proper engine, the game would be fine. Instead they followed WoW, DAOC, and GW2 and while those games work, it doesn't fit Elder Scrolls in any regard. By going this route, they effectively destroyed everything that makes Elder Scrolls...Elder Scrolls. From the combat, to restricted class system that takes away the freedom of the skill based system, to the lack of housing and other iconic features of the series. You name it, they fucked it up. Down to the engine that's very name pisses people the fuck off.

They shouldn't have kept this secret for 5 years and now the verdict is out, people don't want this shit, and there isn't a damn thing they can do.
 

FLEABttn

Banned
And why not let players join factions freely, perhaps with just a few race restrictions? The Nord-Dunmer-Argonian thing is still irking me really bad. It's just so lazy.

Hard-coded factions are much lazier than systems which promote similar motivations and activities that a hard-coded faction would, but that doesn't cut your player base in half (or in this case, thirds).

--//--

I really think the best hope for this game is some sort of of F2P scheme, because what's supposed to draw people away from WoW/TOR/Tera/Rift and into TESO?

Not that I think GW2 is particularly good, but that game's just straight up free, outside of the box and a small cash store. How's TESO supposed to compete with that if it's Pay to Play?
 
Pretty fascinating to watch all the negative reactions. Must really suck to work at Zenimax at the moment. 5 years of development and no one likes what you have to show.

Hah, and it's not even out yet. I'm sure they're used to the positive hype machine followed by negative backlash when the product doesn't meet the hype. The best Zenimax can hope for is negative hype leading up to release, followed by a lukewarm response. Or the game really could be as bad as everyone thinks it'll be. Maybe worse.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
-Visually it looks like other Hero Engine MMOs like TORtanic

*Seinfeldleavinghisseat.gif* Just all my WHY.gifs here.

Unless it runs better than TOR (which I doubt it will) you can officially count me out and I was hyped as hell to travel the whole world of Tamariel even if I had to pay to play online for it. :(
 
I'm no game designer, but every idea I can come up with that would equal an interesting online experience for this franchise pushes it in the opposite direction of what's been announced. More like EVE and UO for starters, a sandbox for people to create their own stories and storylines in.

I think that's what makes this announcement more disappointing than anything else - the potential for an open, make your own fun online experience in Tamriel is inherently intriguing. Just because ZeniMax decided to follow in the footsteps of WoW, LOTR, D&D, Conan, Rift, Warhammer, etc. doesn't make online TES a bad idea, but it certainly makes me grow even more weary of the inherently addictive and barely iterative design philosophy all those games are based on.

At least the series will continue unaffected at Bethesda proper, so if this indeed the trainwreck it appears it could be we can all ignore it and be none the lesser for it.

For what it's worth, Bethesda has engineered vast departures from the TES formula before. Redguard, Shadowkey, etc. TES:O will likely join their ranks in the annals of forgotten TES experiments. Only question is how long it'll take.
 

drizzle

Axel Hertz
The marketing team fails too:

1336152553141qsk2a.jpg

I'm sure they mean between Skyrim (the game) and Morrowind (the game). But yeah, it's dumb. Morrowind isn't even the first game.

From High Rock to Black Marsh would be a better analogy, but who the fuck knows about those? :D
 

BigDug13

Member
*Seinfeldleavinghisseat.gif* Just all my WHY.gifs here.

Unless it runs better than TOR (which I doubt it will) you can officially count me out and I was hyped as hell to travel the whole world of Tamariel even if I had to pay to play online for it. :(

Looks like arena is as close as you can get. Not sure how far the Tamriel Rebuilt project got.
 

owlbeak

Member
Maybe it's just me but I didn't know anyone wanted a TES MMO. I thought we just wanted coop enabled so we could travel the worlds and games with a friend or two as a companion.

This looks like absolute garbage.

HERO ENGINE?! Fuck that. SWTOR looks awful.
 
Maybe it's just me but I didn't know anyone wanted a TES MMO. I thought we just wanted coop enabled so we could travel the worlds and games with a friend or two as a companion.

This looks like absolute garbage.

HERO ENGINE?! Fuck that. SWTOR looks awful.

People have been asking for a TES MMO for a while. TES has pretty much everything an MMO could need. Plenty of lore, a large variety of races, a huge, diverse landscape, etc.
Thing is it seems like the developers are taking the easy way out and going for lowest common denominator here. Dat WoW market, which I think will prove to be disasterous.
This hardly looks like TES so fans won't be jumping in. People that want WoW already have WoW and hundres of WoW clones. GW2 and Tera are on the horizon so people that want something new are gunna flock to those.
I don't see where this game fits into the market.
 

PatzCU

Member
How does shit like this even get green lit? This looks absolutely horrific and completely generic. So with SWTOR falling short of expectations and this Elder Scrolls MMO assuredly a flop, will we finally start seeing the end of generic WoW-clone trash?

If they wanted to provide a sense of player freedom like Skyrim, this would be been a perfect opportunity to implement a player-drive game ALA EVE with "easy" mechanics of a standard MMO. Instead of critically thinking about game design, we just get another IP-ruining piece of shit that will hold people's interest for a few months at most.
 

BigDug13

Member
Well the main problem is that they started this project 5 years ago before WoW and WoW clones completely drained the life out of that design. Their problem was not seeing the writing on the wall and steering the direction another way once it was clear that every other WoW clone released in the past 5 years was a total flop. Maybe it was too late and the money was already spent and the investors liked the WoW clone idea too much.

Disappointing all the same.
 
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