The Elder Scrolls Online

[Dark_MadMax]

Hmm it doesnt look as bad as  I expected from those impressions , yet it doesnt look like something worth releasing in 2013 either.    Video also shows nothing of subtance ,besides really unpolished UI and low settings graphics. They have a lot of work to do on this.

[Samprimary]

from october 2012:

I'm waiting for a video of the combat system.

It'll be one of those things like when you look at Tera's mass pvp and have all those feelings about Why You Don't Do This Anymore™ dredged up.

short copy: watched. it was that.

sucks, but then again I don't look like i'll have to eat a hat.

[Falconeer]

Speaking of which, where's our little buddy Blackwulf? I figured he would enjoy this.

I agree, I am sure he loved this. And he even has reasons.

[rk47]

some beta forum leaks

http://www.abload.de/img/teso-leakscopyn4a5w.png

[blackwulf]

Speaking of which, where's our little buddy Blackwulf? I figured he would enjoy this.

I agree, I am sure he loved this. And he even has reasons.

Oh, I'm still here.  No, I don't think the video looked good.  I'm not a moron.  I still have some irrational hope that it was an older build they knew was stable for the beta, and it had a lot of graphics options disabled.  I'm also hoping that even if graphics aren't awesome, other systems will make the game worthwhile, like character advancement and end game RVR.  Still cautiously waiting for more info and maybe my own chance at the beta.  I'm a bit less stoked than before, but what else is there to spend time waiting for?  McWoWstar?  Sorry, but I already tried a few WOW clones.

[Merusk]

That things are now called WoWclones instead of EQclones or DIKU still amuses me for a variety of reasons.

[blackwulf]

The reason I label some games WoW clones as opposed to EQ clones or DIKU are because they copy, specifically, aspects of WoW.  Raid mechanics, rules for how many resurrections people in a raid can have, dungeon finders that teleport you into a dungeon with a group of strangers, etc.  The list is massive, but I think you know what I mean.

[Modern Angel]

I still have some irrational hope that it was an older build they knew was stable for the beta, and it had a lot of graphics options disabled.  I'm also hoping that even if graphics aren't awesome, other systems will make the game worthwhile, like character advancement and end game RVR.

ahahahahaha



AAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!

[Mrbloodworth]

It looked to me that the targeting was reticule based in first person, but as soon as he switched to third person he was able to kite backwards with his spells hitting the target automatically.

Uhyep. That's what I had seen to. 

[waffel]

some beta forum leaks

http://www.abload.de/img/teso-leakscopyn4a5w.png

Between reading that and watching the video I've lost any excitement I had about this game

[Draegan]

The question is, how will they try to get the hypetrain rolling again?

Speaking of which, where's our little buddy Blackwulf? I figured he would enjoy this.

He just got back from a banning on the forums I run.

edit:
Oh by the way, the new term for Neckbeards to try to ridicule you for your choice of game if it isn't Camelot Unchained, SomeFormofEQ or TESO is that you are playing "McWowStar". They think they are insulting you by saying this for some reason.

It's not "WOWClone" any more. At least saying DIKU clone had a sense that you understood the history of the genre.

[palmer_eldritch]

I don't get it. Is it something to do with Wildstar?

[Merusk]

The reason I label some games WoW clones as opposed to EQ clones or DIKU are because they copy, specifically, aspects of WoW.  Raid mechanics, rules for how many resurrections people in a raid can have, dungeon finders that teleport you into a dungeon with a group of strangers, etc.  The list is massive, but I think you know what I mean.

Oh, I get it.  I'm amused by it because even 9 years later some developers/ pundits insist that "wow brought nothing/ changed nothing about the genre.  It succeed only because: BLIZZARD"

[Lantyssa]

Possibly, because Wildstar uses cartoony graphics.  From what I've seen they're very different games once you get past their shared background.

[Draegan]

I don't get it. Is it something to do with Wildstar?

Possibly, because Wildstar uses cartoony graphics.  From what I've seen they're very different games once you get past their shared background.

Most people see Wildstar as a cartoony game that talks about raids and quests and such. The comparison between Wildstar and WOW is a good one though. It's your typical level 1-Max, the Raid/Dungeon/Housing/Craft/PVP type of game. They seem to have iterated on the genre and are launching a game with all the new bells and whistle including updated poly count.

Wildstar gets put on my radar because Carbine is actually launching with a dungeon finder. First studio to do that at launch except maybe TERA I think (I can't remember TSW).

They like to stick "Mc" in there to insinuate that the pinnacle of your taste is analogous with wanting nothing more than to eat at McDonalds.

[Modern Angel]

Who gives a fuck? I mean, really, who gives a fuck?

This shit where you are what you own, that your geek-cred is tied into the realness or whatever of the MMO you choose to play is way past its sell-by date.

McWoWStar? Jesus Christ, shoot me now. Want to know why I'm interested in it but not TESO? Because one looks reasonably competently made and not the other. Full stop. I'm not invested in the success or failure of either one, other than a bit of snickering once the chosen game of the neckbeards once again crashes and burns because it sucks ass. Give me something that doesn't destroy my will to live for two months that I can return to off and on over a period of several years.

[Lakov_Sanite]

TESO is the worst possible thing to do to the next elder scrolls game.

[Modern Angel]

TESO is the worst possible thing to do to the next elder scrolls game.

This has studio killer written all over it. Bethesda's big enough and independent enough to absorb the inevitable blow, but goddamn... I just don't get this. At all. And I'm in the camp which thinks that you CAN make a good TESO. Everything I'm seeing about this says that this isn't it.

[Nija]

Possibly, because Wildstar uses cartoony graphics.  From what I've seen they're very different games once you get past their shared background.

Didn't they copy the WoW arena almost entirely and raids are capped at ... 40.

[Lantyssa]

It's a similar issue as we saw with Bioware-Austin.  It's a different group's take on Elder Scrolls.

Didn't they copy the WoW arena almost entirely and raids are capped at ... 40.

There's a lot Wildstar will have that WoW doesn't.  It's not the similarities people should be worried about, it's how they differentiate themselves.

What's publicly known is that they are trying to do some new things.  Like launching with Housing being a focus of the game, a more active combat system, and professions that change up gameplay.

[Paelos]

I agree, the best case scenario is the scrap the project before they dump another year of development costs, salaries, and fees into a project that will do nothing but damage the brand. I seriously doubt that the game will recoup enough in 2013 to make up for the interval costs associated with the interim.

Well almost a year ago, I said they should scrap the damn thing and cut losses. Now they are a year later and buried even deeper, and this leak is going to ruin their chances at lying about the game in PR hype. I still recommend they walk away before this thing buries the brand.

But they won't. They'll go down with the ship and this game will torpedo Zenimax and their lead boy Myopic Matt. His secret power is hindsight.

[waffel]

To be fair, the decision to go ahead and devote resources to this game was made back in 2007. The MMO climate was rather different back then. They then chugged along with development while other MMOs released around them and F2P blew up. I'm sure a year or two ago they looked at what they had with kind of an "eh....." attitude, but were galvanized by the popularity of Skyrim so they just kept going.

[Paelos]

I can't see how they were galvanized by Skyrim. The game isn't even close to the same system, graphics, gameplay, or setting. It should have driven a further nail into the coffin to cut and run. You can take one look at Skyrim, and one look at this, and you realize immediately this will not fly with the people that bought Skyrim.

EDIT: If you look back a year ago, they even had articles to that effect. They wanted to draw in Skyrim people, but they were already apologizing for the systems in place. They knew the combat wouldn't be the same, and they knew this wouldn't work. I think they are releasing this with a loser's mentality of just trying to push some boxes to recoup what will be an agonizing development cost, then shut the doors in less than 12 months.

[Mattemeo]

I think Skyrim was a misstep, personally. I know it took people a long while to warm to Oblivion but I've found it almost impossible to like Skyrim. There are lots of good things in it that Oblivion didn't have (out of the box, that is. I can pretty easily find mods for Oblivion that allow me to do almost everything new to Skyrim), but the skill tree system was horrible and the UI appalling. The game requires even more graphical modding to be able to make characters that don't look like sweary crag-faced kitchen monster Gordon Ramsay than Oblivion required to stop people from looking like moon-eyed six-fingered valley dwellers. The dragons are cool, though. When they work.

[Paelos]

While you are entitled to your opinion, I disagree that it was a misstep. I think that's too harsh of a label for a game that broke Steam records for sales. It certainly has flaws, and the UI is a valid one, but that's never been Bethesda's strong suit. It's like they hand UI development to the guy in the back of the office that failed C++ in school.

[Draegan]

It's a similar issue as we saw with Bioware-Austin.  It's a different group's take on Elder Scrolls.

Didn't they copy the WoW arena almost entirely and raids are capped at ... 40.

There's a lot Wildstar will have that WoW doesn't.  It's not the similarities people should be worried about, it's how they differentiate themselves.

What's publicly known is that they are trying to do some new things.  Like launching with Housing being a focus of the game, a more active combat system, and professions that change up gameplay.

The things that Wildstar adds on top of Warcraft:
Housing
Warplots (i.e. guild housing PVP)
Soft-targeting system (similar to GW2) with action-y combat, "The Telegraph" system with a limited hotbar loadout (deck building)
Dynamic Events
Paths - A layer that is class independent that gives you extra stuff to do in the world not related to leveling your character or class. This could be very cool or very gimmicky in practice.

It does enough to the WOW model to make you think they are actually iterating the process. Of course, if you don't raid and don't do heroic dungeons at level cap, we don't know if they will be sticking you with a shit ton of dailies.

[Ingmar]

I have to admit I've never understood the visceral hate people have for the Skyrim UI. I never felt the need to mod it, unlike Oblivion; there's basically one thing in it that doesn't work well, which is the weird bug with conversation option selection at times.

[Falconeer]

In a short sentence: paperdolls are fun but Skyrim sacrificed that for some insane item-listing consoltic bullshit. We have a mouse, we love to use it.

[HaemishM]

The Skyrim Inventory UI especially is utter shit at least on the PC. It sort of makes sense on the console version but still shit when you are collecting 50 billion goddamn plants for alchemy. Not a huge fan of the 3D perks/skills constellation but it's better than the inventory.

Also, for those saying that TESO video doesn't reflect the same UI as Skyrim, IT HAS THE SKYRIM TARGETING RETICULE!!!! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? 

[Lakov_Sanite]

You may not LIKE skyrim but it was almost the complete opposite of a misstep, it's a game that will be hailed in top tens for a long, long time.

[Dark_MadMax]

What Skyrim has to do with TESO ? Absofckinglutely nothing besides having Elder Scrolls in the name (which by itself is pretty meaningless unless you are interested purely in lore)

[Lakov_Sanite]

What Skyrim has to do with TESO ? Absofckinglutely nothing besides having Elder Scrolls in the name (which by itself is pretty meaningless unless you are interested purely in lore)

Well this is kind of the point isn't it? Skyrim was a huge success and games like the recent fallouts and skyrim have been refreshing changes of pace to a genre saturated in grindy jrpg styles.  So what could go wrong? Well, a game could be released ruining all the goodwill that skyrim created to the IP and if the company goes tits up, we won't see good games made any more by them.

All because of a 2007 era bland piece of shit mmo.

[Paelos]

The only upside I can see out of this is when it fails, they can distance themselves from the project because Bethesda had nothing to do with it. They specifically created the Zenimax Online studio for this one game so they could insulate themselves from the possible failure.

[Ingmar]

Yeah. My (perhaps mistaken) understanding is that Bethesda proper is reasonably well insulated from what might befall ZMO.

[Rendakor]

They can't insulate themselves from damage to the brand though, particularly because many gamers don't know that this is being made by some new studio and not the team that made Skyrim.