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Elder Scrolls Online, finally, the game I have been waiting for...
ShadowZERO
Member Posts: 102
Elder Scrolls MMORPG confirmed?
ZeniMax Buys 'Elder Scrolls Online' Domain
Quoted by the G4 television network's Layla Kayleigh as the first possible "WOW Killer", she says about $200 million has already been invested into the game. ZeniMax and their new studio is remaining quite tight-lipped, so no official information has been revealed. But, if the single-player franchise and the amount of money invested already is any indication, this may be the only next-gen MMORPG I will actually spend a monthly fee on.
Comments
This would be sweet! I'll be all over this if it really happens.
Bethesda said that Fallout 3 will have an upgraded version of its "Radiant AI" from Oblivion.
For me to get excited about Elder Scrolls Online it would have to have an even further upgraded version of its Radiant AI.
It would be great to have an MMO where the NPCs dont just stand in one place forever and ever.
I can't imagine there are $200,000,000 dollars already invested in this game. That would be around about three times what World of Warcraft cost all up. If they've invested more than that at this stage in development, they're wasting money, pure and simple.
As for the Radiant AI; it'd be nice to see an MMO with decent NPC AI, but I wasn't really impressed by Radiant. I guess so long as they don't have those jarring "unscripted voice conversation" I'll survive.
Quote from IGN.com, as per the link in my original post:
"ZeniMax announced the creation of its online division in August, and Internet registration records show ZeniMax bought the www.elderscrollsonline.com domain name in June.
In October, the company announced that a private equity firm was to invest $300 million in ZeniMax and the funds would go, in part, toward funding MMOs and acquisitions."
If they've already officially announced $300 million invested in ZeniMax, is it really hard to believe that two-thirds of that money is going to their next big project, only a month after they purchased the domain name and the announcement of the new division? And, as I mentioned, an official G4 TV news representative quoted from an inside source that that was, in fact, the case.
Just because they've invested 200 million doesn't mean they've spent it already.
Half a decade away from even being able to alpha anything along these lines. I'll save my sense of anticipation and excitement for when there's something tangible to touch.
http://www.destructoid.com/elder-scrolls-mmorpg-confirmed--53151.phtml
OP, that story you quoted is old and Bethesda countered it with the article I quoted. Basically an overzealous journalist took two different stories and claimed it proved that The Elder Scrolls MMO was in the works.
Any link showing that ZeniMax invested $200 million into ZeniMax Online Studios? I find that suspect and I would definitely take it with a grain of salt.
Hmm... I think it's likely that they were referring to the $300 million (zomg over 200 million dollars invested in MMO zomg!) and had failed to take into account Bethesda specifically saying that wasn't just for the MMO.Honestly, just because G4 says it doesn't make it true. They also had an article up like the ones you posted to begin with which shows they fail at checking their sources.
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Life sucks, buy a helmet.
Still a rumor, but I hope it's true then again I don't..
Too many MMORPG are out and good ones that.. Bioware's upcoming one, Blizzard's expansion to World of Warcraft and hopefully Square's next MMO is good.FFXI was great but, Square got lazy, lol..
Thats not even half and now this?
Thanks Impyriel for the sig^^
Fair enough. But look at it this way.
It was ZeniMax who opened the new studio, not Bethesda. I'm not an expert, but I believe since they are the parent company, they could easily utilize the Elder Scrolls franchise for their own purposes. This also means that Bethesda "countering" it doesn't really mean much, since they aren't a part of the new studio. They are just as much a subsidiary of ZeniMax as the new ZeniMax Online studio, and they could have had many reasons for downplaying the hype of a game franchise that they are popular for that is being developed by their parent company rather than themselves.
Everything at this point is pure speculation, including the Bethesda representative neither confirming nor denying the potential development of the game. What we do know for fact, is that ZeniMax just received $300 million dollars, opened a new studio specifically for online games, and registered elderscrollsonline.com, all within the period of just a few months.
It is very true that these facts don't automatically = the game. But, you would have to think 2+2=5 to deny that there isn't a high probability that some type of early development for the game hasn't been considered, possibly even started.
Still, my post was based on the idea that the facts point to a high probability of us seeing the game sometime in the future, not that there is any "proof" of the game's existence, even in development.
Definitely there's a lot of circumstantial evidence. ZeniMax is the parent company (mostly a figurehead holding company made up of a board of directors), but I'm pretty sure their PR comes from Bethesda's PR department, for example Pete Hines is the public face of both ZeniMax and Bethesda. Basically if Bethesda says it, you can be sure it's ZeniMax approved.
I for one would be very wary of any Elder Scrolls title not developed by Bethesda personally. A lot of what makes the Elder Scrolls great is the influence of key developers (they've already lost a few of those since before and after Oblivion's release).
I just don't think a TES:MMO would be a good thing even though I like the series. So I'm clinging to whatever I can in the hopes that it isn't true.
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Life sucks, buy a helmet.
having shipped a little known TES multiplayer RPG with betshsdas's blessings a few years ago i dont hold water to the TES 'fanbios' saying that elder scrolls will never go MP. it already has. you can lookup the title on besthada's website its called elder scrolls: shadowkey (officially 2 player MP but we slipped in a cheat code to unlock 4 player)
what does this info prove- nothing. but it also proves the TES fanbios saying elder scrolls will never go MP have no ground to stand on in my book.
$$$ is what publishers care about. it wasnt an awesome port tho im not proud of it the graphics are bad and the AI isn;t so bright. i was shocked we got above 60s when we shipped
Definitely there's a lot of circumstantial evidence. ZeniMax is the parent company (mostly a figurehead holding company made up of a board of directors), but I'm pretty sure their PR comes from Bethesda's PR department, for example Pete Hines is the public face of both ZeniMax and Bethesda. Basically if Bethesda says it, you can be sure it's ZeniMax approved.
I for one would be very wary of any Elder Scrolls title not developed by Bethesda personally. A lot of what makes the Elder Scrolls great is the influence of key developers (they've already lost a few of those since before and after Oblivion's release).
I just don't think a TES:MMO would be a good thing even though I like the series. So I'm clinging to whatever I can in the hopes that it isn't true.
I pretty much agree with all your points. But the hopes I'm clinging to are pretty much as follows:
A fully action oriented MMORPG with a dynamic combat system that strays as far away from the "auto-attack with special moves thrown in" as much as possible.
A game with a skill-based leveling system, based on skills that improve with use, rather than skills given to you or improved by arbitrary levels or spending arbitrary points.
A dynamic, branching, fully optional quest system, so you could play many characters and never have to experience the exact same quests in the exact same manner.
A fully seamless world with beautiful graphics that rival that of the modern single player games of today.
I could probably go on, but basically, if they were to properly implement many of the features that the Elder Scrolls series was made famous for without defacing or degrading the original games, it would be my dream MMO.
"Bethesda's blessings"? Vir2L Studios is a subsidiary of ZeniMax...why the hell would they need "Bethesda's blessings" to ship a TES title? Wait...are you claiming to work for Vir2L (or maybe TKO Software)?
Ever heard of The Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire? That was developed by none other than Bethesda in 1997, seven years before Shadowkey and it introduced multiplayer to TES. No one is claiming Bethesda wouldn't introduce multiplayer to the IP because they already have.
Adding multiplayer to spinoff titles is a whole different ballgame to adding it to the main series. There's nothing preventing ZeniMax Online Studios from making a TES MMO. The question is whether it would have any quality if it weren't developed by Bethesda. There's a big difference between a cell-phone game and an MMORPG.
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Life sucks, buy a helmet.
quite simple a TES MMO will suck because it won't be the same team that makes the single player games.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
"A rose by any other name smells just as sweet" - Juliet to Romeo, from Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
(sorry if the relevance of the quote eludes anyone, its kinda an analogy to the exact opposite of what the actual quote meant)
I feel quite the contrary. A new studio, dedicated specifically to online games, would be exactly what TES:MMO would need to succeed.
Bethesda has no experience developing MMOs and therefore, a fresh team of devs would be the best option.
All they need is the rights to the franchise so they can implement the features I stated in my previous post, as well as the financial backing to fund the technology needed to implement those features.
And as preliminary as everything is at this point, it appears they have exactly that.
Edit: Oh, and a a little experience couldn't hurt the dev team either. Didn't I read somewhere that one of the lead developers/designers of DAOC is part of the new studio?
Edit#2: "ZeniMax owns both Bethesda - developer of Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - and a new division called ZeniMax Online Studios, which is dedicated to the development of massively-multiplayer online games. The latter studio is headed by Mythic Entertainment founder and former Dark Age of Camelot producer Matt Firor.
Yeah, that couldn't hurt
command & conquer we didnt have one single original developer from westwood and c&c 3 did well. fans put way too much stock in keeping the original guys around. at best i think maybe we had 1 designer and 1 engineer
you guys realize we get tired of working on the same title over & over at some point we all need fresh, new IP
i forgot about louis castle (from westwood days) so I guess he counts for a lot tho
My bad, you were right. Fixed for you.
It still won't be an elder scroll game. It'll just be an MMO with TES lore, and in some likeliness a complete bastardization.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
Juliet:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
I apologize in advance for this troll-like response, but perhaps now my Shakespeare quote makes a bit more sense?
As long as it has the 'name' the fans will come running not every WC3 was happy about WoW I'm sure many vowed it would blow too but alas, their opinions fell on death ears like it should.
The quote really doesn't make sense because it's not the same thing. it could very well be like declaring a pile of dung a rose. instead of declaring the rose a pile of dung and it still being a rose.
EDIT: at least acknowledge potentiality. especially considering how cheap it is to reserve a website address it's not exactly PROOF. if everyone followed tiny stuff like this there'd be nothing but overly hopeful spam here. and sending 200 million to a new department is extremely small all things considered(getting new office equipment, support staff, even setting up the building for networking)
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
Alas, I stand defeated.
I wouldn't trust a MMO from Bethesda, despite it being a "Elder Scrolls".
Evidence is in the Elder Scrolls franchise itself.
From a huge world of endless oportunities, the game and franchise has been simplified to a barely a RPG with mostly the bling bling(read gfx) going for it.
How can you believe or trust that someone that has simplified their own franchise (turning a 5 star restaurant into McD's) to build a quality MMO, that wouldn't be just as downgraded simple?
Why would they need to invest 200 mil. all they have to do is mod oblivion so its online and bam. its now an excellent game. the only thing which made me bored of oblivion so quick was that it was singleplayer.
I think funcom and invested more in AoC, but might be wrong. as much as I like elder scrolls you have to admit its just generic fantasy really, made good by graphics and FPS style play. I'm much more excited about the more original 3rd gen games - kotor online and AoC.
PS: bethesda it seems to me can't balance for SHIT!!! single player games are easy to balance and they did a terrible job on oblivion, simply awful. all you had to do was make a spell hexing foes for 100% weakness to magica + 100% weakness to lightning, then zap them with a lightning staff from mage guild quest - and you can own anything in the game.
My blog:
I wouldn't trust an MMO from Bethesda either, which is why I was very happy to read the following news from IGN.com:
"ZeniMax owns both Bethesda - developer of Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - and a new division called ZeniMax Online Studios, which is dedicated to the development of massively-multiplayer online games. The latter studio is headed by Mythic Entertainment founder and former Dark Age of Camelot producer Matt Firor."
Bethesda isn't making it, a brand new studio headed by someone with actual experience in running an MMO development company is.
DISCLAIMER: EVERYTHING is pure speculation at this point, including the existence of the development of an Elder Scrolls MMO.
But as a previous poster pointed out, all the "circumstantial evidence" we have received in the news recently certainly points to (IMHO) a damn good possibility of one in the (albeit distant) future.
I wonder how many times I will have to insert quotes from links in my ORIGINAL POST before people realize that Bethesda isn't developing the damn game?