The Elder Scrolls Online - New Screens

[Couchpotato]

The Elder Scrolls Online developer Bethesda has released a bunch of new screenshots. They show off some characters up close, combat, and various locations from the game’s vast world.

Thanks AGB use this link for larger size pictures. I'm still trying to work out the whole image posting. Sorry for the inconvenience.

​

​

More information.

 

[Roq]

The graphics and artwork look exceptional.

Initially when Elder Scrolls Online was first announced everyone was trashing it in forums and blogs. But progressively people are realising that it's a pretty serious attempt and may have some good ideas, not to mention that it should have learned a lot from the many things that worked well in Guild Wars 2 … and the many things that didn't.

Perhaps the problem for MMOs is that they are attempting to address such a wide range of players and playing styles that they inevitably fail to satisfy any one of them. Think, at the very least, the game should be a fun romp for a few weeks to a couple of months, even if it doesn't turn out to have compelling reasons to play it long term.

 

[Pongo]

I've never played an MMO before, the idea tends to leave me cold. I could genuinely be tempted by this though. As long as they don't go overboard with microtransactions etc! Have they said anything about how that will work yet - subscription or free to play etc?

 

[Roq]

I've never played an MMO before, the idea tends to leave me cold. I could genuinely be tempted by this though. As long as they don't go overboard with microtransactions etc! Have they said anything about how that will work yet - subscription or free to play etc?

Initially they said they were going to go with a subscription and I don't think they have said anything to alter that. I do hope they stick to this model as cash shop games inevitably get designed to attract people into the cash shop, usually at the expense of gameplay. Even with buy to play games (B2P) such as Guild Wars 2 the effect of the cash shop & real money transactions is pretty evident.

According to current info we can expect TESO to be designed so that the story/campaign can be done completely solo. Although they will also have areas that require grouping and one probably wouldn't want to do the RvR PvP solo either .

 

[Pongo]

Great, thanks for the info Roq. Sounds very promising!

 

[Gloo]

Initially when Elder Scrolls Online was first announced everyone was trashing it…

Don't mind the graphics, I'm still sad to see where the series have been heading since Daggerfall. Hope it'll be a good M.M.O. (for those who like the genre) but it'll never be a good Elder scrolls to me.

 

[Roq]

Don't mind the graphics, I'm still sad to see where the series have been heading since Daggerfall. Hope it'll be a good M.M.O. (for those who like the genre) but it'll never be a good Elder scrolls to me.

TESO isn't really a part of the Elder Scrolls series, it is being made by Zenimax, which is a separate company; just part of the same group. Bethesda will no doubt continue to make further single player games, although I don't see them altering the successful formula too much, maybe next time they'll at least make a proper PC interface.

Personally I liked the first Elder Scrolls and Morrowind best, although Skyrim is impressive in many ways, it's console controls & orientation, plus balance issues hold it back IMOP.

 

[wolfgrimdark]

Thanks for the screenshots - hadn't seen them. I don't know I go up and down on this game. For some reason the latest batch of screenshots got a meh reaction. Sometimes the news on the game gets me excited other times not. I don't know they justed seemed rather generic. Who knows was just the first impression. I know I will play it - I play most any fantasy RPG game that is open ended - bit I still have mixed feelings.

 

[azarhal]

Initially they said they were going to go with a subscription and I don't think they have said anything to alter that. I do hope they stick to this model as cash shop games inevitably get designed to attract people into the cash shop, usually at the expense of gameplay. Even with buy to play games (B2P) such as Guild Wars 2 the effect of the cash shop & real money transactions is pretty evident.

They said nothing about their payment model. All their answers to that question have been "we are not going to talk about it yet", which most people take to mean it's going to be subscription based. But if you go by the state of the game* and SWTOR, TSW massive failure to sustain a sub-based game, making ESO sub-based is just a repeat of history: moving to F2P under a year.

*Adventure zones, the real PvE elder content won't make it for release or it will be incomplete if it does (they haven't started doing them yet). This was announced at PAX East.

Also, subscriptions does not equal into "no microtransaction". WoW, Rift and EvE have cash shops (with cosmetics mostly). In EvE you can even do real money transaction by buying PLEX and selling them in-game for ISK...

 

[Roq]

They said nothing about their payment model. All their answers to that question have been "we are not going to talk about it yet", which most people take to mean it's going to be subscription based. But if you go by the state of the game* and SWTOR, TSW massive failure to sustain a sub-based game, making ESO sub-based is just a repeat of history: moving to F2P under a year.

*Adventure zones, the real PvE elder content won't make it for release or it will be incomplete if it does (they haven't started doing them yet). This was announced at PAX East.

Also, subscriptions does not equal into "no microtransaction". WoW, Rift and EvE have cash shops (with cosmetics mostly). In EvE you can even do real money transaction by buying PLEX and selling them in-game for ISK…

Yes, checking it out, it turns out that the early information that it would be subscription based may have originated from an industry analyst rather than Zenimax themselves, so could be just a rumor. Still, I'll be quite surprised if TESO *launches* F2P or even B2P.

I've played WoW, Rift and Eve; but because they are basically subscription games they don't tend to to be designed to pull you into the cash shop in the same way non subscription games are. I tend to find that uncomfortable in F2P games and in even in GW2 (B2P), where I think the whole market system & real money transactions hasn't worked out that well.

 

[Roq]

*Adventure zones, the real PvE elder content won't make it for release or it will be incomplete if it does (they haven't started doing them yet). This was announced at PAX East.

I think this is endgame content for PvE players. I expect there will be the usual discontent from those players who rush to maximum level and then find they have little to do.

 

[CelticFrost]

Hope it does whatever it does...Zero interest on anything online....
Graphic's do look nice though

 

[ToddMcF2002]

I really don't get the hate for MMOs. As long as there is ample solo content why do you care? They are all being designed now with solo in mind. Group when you want to or do your own thing. Choices.

 

[TheMadGamer]

Think, at the very least, the game should be a fun romp for a few weeks to a couple of months, even if it doesn't turn out to have compelling reasons to play it long term.

I was a big fan of UO, EQ1, EQ2, and WoW. Played MMOs for a good ten years. The thrill of MMOs in the early days, for me, was pretty simple - the idea that I was playing in the same game world as thousands of other real players was cat nip. It was a huge step up in terms of numbers of people and game complexity compared to ipx sessions playing Doom 2 with a buddy.

But honeymoons end and the reality sets in that MMOs are pretty much a treadmill at the 'end game.' Movies end. Books End. Single player games End. Most everything has an end. Figuring out how to create a game that goes on and on without it devolving into a treadmill situation is going to be a tough puzzle to solve.

I am so very tired of the treadmill and I actually regret the many days of my finite life I dumped into that treadmill all in the name of 'being in the same game world as thousands of other players' repeating things ad-nauseam just to get the next modestly better piece of virtual gear.

That said, TES Online does look pretty and has some decent sounding gameplay mechanics. There are always new players who haven't dumped years of their life into the treadmill and are willing to do it. So best of luck to all involved. But I'm a dedicated single player gamer these days. I like games where I can save at any time and games that actually have a story that ends.

 

[bagelobo]

I really don't get the hate for MMOs. As long as there is ample solo content why do you care? They are all being designed now with solo in mind. Group when you want to or do your own thing. Choices.

The solo content in MMOs isn't the same as solo content in single player games. You will never be allowed to affect other players, directly or indirectly, in any meaningful way with anything you do, nor will you be able to do anything that other players can't also do. Then theres just having all the other players around completely screwing up any cohesion or immersiveness that the game world might have had.

 

[Santos]

The solo content in MMOs isn't the same as solo content in single player games. You will never be allowed to affect other players, directly or indirectly, in any meaningful way with anything you do, nor will you be able to do anything that other players can't also do. Then theres just having all the other players around completely screwing up any cohesion or immersiveness that the game world might have had.

Exactly. It's mostly all the children running around, dancing on posts, and hopping, always hopping, everywhere they go (complete with cosmetic pets, following them step for step) that REALLY pulls me out of the experience.

 

[elikal]

I say it looks good. But all can be made to look better, if you just make screenshots the right way. I am skeptical with the Hero Engine, esp. after one of the SWTOR devs revealed MOST of the many million dollars of SWTOR went into the crappy Engine.

If SWTOR is by any means representative of the Hero Engine I remain skeptical. They don't have much of a distance drawing nor any really populated towns or cities. Maybe it's the engine, maybe just Bioware's inability. Who knows. So yes it does look good, but these days I am harder to convince. I want to see ingame HD vids, or ideally I want to see it myself.

 

[Arkadia7]

It has been years since I played a MMORPG, but I can see giving this one a go. It certainly is looking good, and there seem to be some intriguing things about it. But if I get one whiff of a micro-transactions based system, then it will be an easy "no sale" for me.

 

[Deleted User]

I don't understand the hate for MMOs either. So other people are playing with you. So what? You can pretty much solo these games if you want to. And the content is often just as great as a single player game. Then you add in the huge amount of customization options and the size of the game world, and you can make a case that MMORPGs are even better than single player games.

Skyrim is great but there's more quests in one zone of Lord of the Rings Online then there is in the entirety of Skyrim.

And micro-transaction hate is another thing I don't understand. Those options exist for people who want to spend real money on the game. Don't want to spend money? Then don't!! No one is twisting your arm to use the cash shop.

Some of the stuff I read on this site is ridiculous.

 

[Deleted User]

By the way, game is looking good, but what's with the low draw distance? I hope the zones feel open and large. I'm sure they will.