The fact that they even mentioned "Instanced Dungeons like you see in World of Warcraft and Star Wars:The Old Republic" makes this an automatic NO BUY for me.
Its not the instancing so much (though Im sick of it in MMOs) as its the mention of WoW and SWTOR.
Dont you Devs get it?! We (me) are sick of games like WoW and SWTOR!
It's an example, doesn't mean they're followng those games in lock step, they're high profile titles readers will most likely be familiar with which is great for I don't know, passing on information?
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Originally posted by toddze Originally posted by DannyGlover
Originally posted by toddze Hero engine has a lot of limitations, If this game indeed uses the hero engine, You can kiss a living breathing game world goodbye along with hopes of a sandbox type game.
The Repopulation says hi.
haha The repopulation can say hi once its released. Until then I have serious doubts about its claims. Hero engine is a cheep P.O.S engine, it has no place being used in a high profile MMO. I said the same thing when I found out TOR used it. I was exteremly excited about an elder scrolls MMO, but hero engine would kill any hope for me. I dont have to hear or see any feature of this game to know that if it uses the hero engine that its just going to be another money grab attemp, by cashing in on a very popular franchise name. I can understand your skepticism. You didn't like TOR so the engine is bad? That's what I don't understand. Disney's Brother Bear uses the Unreal Engine. That game is grade A shovelware. Must be the engine's fault.
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.
Hero engine has a lot of limitations, If this game indeed uses the hero engine, You can kiss a living breathing game world goodbye along with hopes of a sandbox type game.
The Repopulation says hi.
haha The repopulation can say hi once its released. Until then I have serious doubts about its claims.
Hero engine is a cheep P.O.S engine, it has no place being used in a high profile MMO. I said the same thing when I found out TOR used it. I was exteremly excited about an elder scrolls MMO, but hero engine would kill any hope for me. I dont have to hear or see any feature of this game to know that if it uses the hero engine that its just going to be another money grab attemp, by cashing in on a very popular franchise name.
I can understand your skepticism. You didn't like TOR so the engine is bad? That's what I don't understand. Disney's Brother Bear uses the Unreal Engine. That game is grade A shovelware. Must be the engine's fault.
Right there with ya Glover.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
No, the devs don't get it, or the ones that do have little to no influence in the overall game design and direction. However to offset your concern somewhat, the article did mention there will be both instanced and non-instanced dungeons, although no details on how similar they will be.
"Hey guys, we're making Elderscrolls online finally, but we're going to use every feature from World of Warcraft. We'll have phasing, hotbar combat, a skill tree, meaningless pvp, heroic dungeons, and even raids. We know some ES fans wont' like it, but we have to do it because it's not possible to do FPS/ action combat, have housing, or use the same skill progression found in every other ES game in an MMO. Besides, no one would understand how to play it if it wasn't like World of warcraft. By the way, did we mention world of wardcraft? World of warcraft. World of warcraft."
^^An exceptionally accurate synapsis of that link^^
I'm having a really hard time believing what's in that link is real.
If they make it anything like WoW the fanbase that actually plays the TES games for what they are will definetely not like it going from having almost limitless freedom to a restricted enclosed small linear paths I really think it won't fly to well with fans of TES .
This is why, until I have the GI issue in my hand or see legitimate info, I'm going with the assumption that someone's playing a joke.
I simply can not believe that they would announce that thier premiere game franchise for the last decade is finally being made into an mmo and that they admit that they're using World of Warcraft as thier model for how the game should play.
I'm I the only one that noticed that just about every page has at least one mention of WoW? Even so far as to say that the game has to use the same gameplay control as WoW.
It's to perfect a joke for me to think otherwise, until I have real proof otherwise.
"It needs to be comfortable for people who are coming in from a typical massively multiplayer game that has the same control mechanisms......"
"Within the world of Tamriel there are 3 alliances users can join, each consisting of 3 three races to chose from." Come on, Elder Scrolls with faction locked races?
"... but unfortunately players are barred from contracting porphyric hemophilia (Vampirism) and lycanthropy (werewolves) themselves."
"Making player housing the way fans expect is too hard to implement in an MMO, so Zenimax has no plans to let you accrue realestate."
While there was some stuff that made me optimistic the above points have my expectations for this game extremely low. As a fan of Bethesda and TES series as a whole this should be a no brainer for me, but... this doesn't sound like it will be an MMO for me.
I expect certain things from a TES MMO, if technology hasn't progressed to the point where these things are possible it doesn't make sense to me to develop the game anyways. Also wtf? We could have player housing back in the late 90's but it's not possible in 2012/2013? How can a developer with devs from UO state that?
I expect certain things from a TES MMO, if technology hasn't progressed to the point where these things are possible it doesn't make sense to me to develop the game anyways. Also wtf? We could have player housing back in the late 90's but it's not possible in 2012/2013? How can a developer with devs from UO state that?
I think it comes down to vacant residences dotting the landscape making games look overly deserted when players move on. The only real alternative is instanced or phased, but that's not what players want.
That says to me they only want to implement things they can do right the first time, I don't see that as a bad thing.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I'm with you, grayghost. Although there are some noteworthy things they seem to be doing, those quotes stuck out at me as well. As for the housing thing, there's absolutely zero excuse for that. Period. In fact, that quote really makes me question the entire motivation and capabilities of the studio. Perhaps they mean player-built housing located non-instanced anywhere in the world, but of course that's not at all how the single-player ES RPGs do it at all anyway.
Hero engine has a lot of limitations, If this game indeed uses the hero engine, You can kiss a living breathing game world goodbye along with hopes of a sandbox type game.
The Repopulation says hi.
haha The repopulation can say hi once its released. Until then I have serious doubts about its claims.
Hero engine is a cheep P.O.S engine, it has no place being used in a high profile MMO. I said the same thing when I found out TOR used it. I was exteremly excited about an elder scrolls MMO, but hero engine would kill any hope for me. I dont have to hear or see any feature of this game to know that if it uses the hero engine that its just going to be another money grab attemp, by cashing in on a very popular franchise name.
I can understand your skepticism. You didn't like TOR so the engine is bad? That's what I don't understand. Disney's Brother Bear uses the Unreal Engine. That game is grade A shovelware. Must be the engine's fault.
Uh I have never liked the Hero engine for a high profile MMO.
You should re-read my last post. once I found out TOR used the Hero engine I knew TOR was going to have an uphill battle, and this was well before TOR launched. The Hero Engine is not an engine you want for your beloved MMO to use.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore) Now Playing: N/A Worst MMO: FFXIV Favorite MMO: FFXI
I expect certain things from a TES MMO, if technology hasn't progressed to the point where these things are possible it doesn't make sense to me to develop the game anyways. Also wtf? We could have player housing back in the late 90's but it's not possible in 2012/2013? How can a developer with devs from UO state that?
I think it comes down to vacant residences dotting the landscape making games look overly deserted when players move on. The only real alternative is instanced or phased, but that's not what players want.
UO had a decay system in place to remove vacant housing.
Again it could be done in a game made in the late 90's but it's to hard to do now? Hell have it so that if a player hasn't logged in for an extended period of time that vacant house becomes for sale or claimable in some other way.
Limit it to when an account is canceled and give a grace period.
Implement systems where NPC's take over a vacant house and use it until killed or run out etc.
I simply can not believe that they would announce that thier premiere game franchise for the last decade is finally being made into an mmo and that they admit that they're using World of Warcraft as thier model for how the game should play.
while it does sound incredibly stupid..... thats exactly the same scenario that played out with SWTOR. 8)
even if SWTOR made them see things differently now, its probably way too late to go redesigning the game from scratch.
UO had a decay system in place to remove vacant housing.
Again it could be done in a game made in the late 90's but it's to hard to do now? Hell have it so that if a player hasn't logged in for an extended period of time that vacant house becomes for sale or claimable in some other way.
Limit it to when an account is canceled and give a grace period.
Implement systems where NPC's take over a vacant house and use it until killed or run out etc.
Problem is in those games there was never a good way to handle this stuff (UO/SWG), not to mention the extra development needed to come up with these solutions after a time. When you're moving backward you're no longer moving forward.
SWG also had the decay system, it didn't destroy a house though, it just hindered access. The pack up system was a nightmare when it came to items. It's essentially like destroying a players bank vault. I lost many rare items during my pack up that were not replaceable (no longer available, after NGE).
This is what I think they mean by too hard, it's a headache. ANd causes development hiccups.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Originally posted by toddze Uh I have never liked the Hero engine for a high profile MMO. You should re-read my last post. once I found out TOR used the Hero engine I knew TOR was going to have an uphill battle, and this was well before TOR launched. The Hero Engine is not an engine you want for your beloved MMO to use.
why?
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.
I would like to think this is all a ruse. Right after the GI announcement hits there is "leaked" information with some screens and an article that wouldn't take more than a night to write. The teaser trailer tomorrow would be the perfect moment to show the "real" ESO and makes everyone's head explode from keening so loud.
IF if waney for the 2007 article about them using the Hero Engine. We'll have to see I guess. If what was leaked is the real thing I'll have 0 interest unfortunalty. I'll hold on to hope through a conspiracy theory until tomorrow.
Did anyone quote the article about how latency wouldn't allow the ES combat system to work in an MMO environment? I got a chuckle out or that one.
Uh I have never liked the Hero engine for a high profile MMO.
You should re-read my last post. once I found out TOR used the Hero engine I knew TOR was going to have an uphill battle, and this was well before TOR launched. The Hero Engine is not an engine you want for your beloved MMO to use.
why?
it limits large spaces, doesnt handel large loads(a lot of players) well. Result is smaller "zones" with instances.
dx9
low poly count
just to name a few, the first one I listed being my biggest beef.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore) Now Playing: N/A Worst MMO: FFXIV Favorite MMO: FFXI
"It needs to be comfortable for people who are coming in from a typical massively multiplayer game that has the same control mechanisms......"
"Within the world of Tamriel there are 3 alliances users can join, each consisting of 3 three races to chose from." Come on, Elder Scrolls with faction locked races?
"... but unfortunately players are barred from contracting porphyric hemophilia (Vampirism) and lycanthropy (werewolves) themselves."
"Making player housing the way fans expect is too hard to implement in an MMO, so Zenimax has no plans to let you accrue realestate."
While there was some stuff that made me optimistic the above points have my expectations for this game extremely low. As a fan of Bethesda and TES series as a whole this should be a no brainer for me, but... this doesn't sound like it will be an MMO for me.
I expect certain things from a TES MMO, if technology hasn't progressed to the point where these things are possible it doesn't make sense to me to develop the game anyways. Also wtf? We could have player housing back in the late 90's but it's not possible in 2012/2013? How can a developer with devs from UO state that?
Easiest answer? They didn't.
Am I the only person that thinks that this would be one of the most epic jokes ever? Seriously, think about everything those scans are saying. Is it not perfectly funny!?
People seem confused.
Zenimax IS BETHESDA. It was started by the guy that founded bethesda as a means to brach the company out into multiple division. Bethesda is Bethesda softworks (dev studio), and then bethesda the publishing division. Zenimax media is the name bethesda uses to lump all of its studios and divisions under. ID, Arkane, Bethesda SW, etc. Unlike ID and Arkane though, zenimax online is a bethesda created studio and not a studio that they purchased. And bethesda does not seem to function like an EA or activision. John Carmack seems to have free reign to develop games as he wants.
Anyways. I can't believe that Bethesda would be so stupid as to decide to make an MMO out of their best selling franchise, but completely scrap everything that made the franchise a best seller. Especially when they've already got millions of loyal fans, and an entire market that is virtually untapped.
Like many, I'm intrigued, but I'm basically hype-resistant after TOR.
If there's open world RvR combined with the already fantastic open ended exploration, this could be hot.
That being said, they need to avoid:
A Trinity style combat system. Elder Scrolls has never been about tanking, dps, and "healers." You could do all three, and if you wanted to survive, it was wise to at least have some ability to do all three.
A straight linear themepark: That isn't what Elder Scrolls is about.
They also need a heavy bit of the unexpected. One person relates a story in Skyrim: they are sent to steal some information from something heavily guarded. They find no "easy approach", and blood will almost certainly be spilled. And then...... a dragon attacks. All the guards rush to fight the dragon, allowing him to slip in and get the info. This is the kind of "randomness" that made Skyrim special. Adopting the Bioware approach of "find whatever WoW did, and copy it" would be a travesty for the series.
Imagine a big pvp fight. People on both sides slinging spells, clashing metal. Then the Imperials or (even better!) Molag Bal sends his minions, a huge group of dremora to attack everyone. What began as a straight up predictable fight has turned into a hot chaotic mess.
Or have things like jail, and players can help organize a jail break, only to have the NPC's reinforced by actual players. Full blown prison riot!
Anyways. I can't believe that Bethesda would be so stupid as to decide to make an MMO out of their best selling franchise, but completely scrap everything that made the franchise a best seller. Especially when they've already got millions of loyal fans, and an entire market that is virtually untapped.
I can we have seen it time and time again, You make it as cheep as possible, and you take advantage of your fans, they are going to buy it up like mad men, they make a hefty profit off the poor saps, and they are happy fans are pissed, but it doesnt matter because they will make millions. Fans will continue to buy the ES games.
TOR cashed in big time off of Star Wars name alone.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore) Now Playing: N/A Worst MMO: FFXIV Favorite MMO: FFXI
Anyways. I can't believe that Bethesda would be so stupid as to decide to make an MMO out of their best selling franchise, but completely scrap everything that made the franchise a best seller. Especially when they've already got millions of loyal fans, and an entire market that is virtually untapped.
"It needs to be comfortable for people who are coming in from a typical massively multiplayer game that has the same control mechanisms......"
"Within the world of Tamriel there are 3 alliances users can join, each consisting of 3 three races to chose from." Come on, Elder Scrolls with faction locked races?
"... but unfortunately players are barred from contracting porphyric hemophilia (Vampirism) and lycanthropy (werewolves) themselves."
"Making player housing the way fans expect is too hard to implement in an MMO, so Zenimax has no plans to let you accrue realestate."
While there was some stuff that made me optimistic the above points have my expectations for this game extremely low. As a fan of Bethesda and TES series as a whole this should be a no brainer for me, but... this doesn't sound like it will be an MMO for me.
I expect certain things from a TES MMO, if technology hasn't progressed to the point where these things are possible it doesn't make sense to me to develop the game anyways. Also wtf? We could have player housing back in the late 90's but it's not possible in 2012/2013? How can a developer with devs from UO state that?
Easiest answer? They didn't.
Am I the only person that thinks that this would be one of the most epic jokes ever? Seriously, think about everything those scans are saying. Is it not perfectly funny!?
People seem confused.
Zenimax IS BETHESDA. It was started by the guy that founded bethesda as a means to brach the company out into multiple division. Bethesda is Bethesda softworks (dev studio), and then bethesda the publishing division. Zenimax media is the name bethesda uses to lump all of its studios and divisions under. ID, Arkane, Bethesda SW, etc. Unlike ID and Arkane though, zenimax online is a bethesda created studio and not a studio that they purchased. And bethesda does not seem to function like an EA or activision. John Carmack seems to have free reign to develop games as he wants.
Anyways. I can't believe that Bethesda would be so stupid as to decide to make an MMO out of their best selling franchise, but completely scrap everything that made the franchise a best seller. Especially when they've already got millions of loyal fans, and an entire market that is virtually untapped.
Yes... Zenimax Media includes Bethesda but Zenimax Online is a development house under the Zenimax Media name but seperate from Bethesda. They do work with Bethesda though.
So you are correct but you are also incorrect. Check it out, I posted the info maybe a year or so ago breaking down the different companies under the Zenimax Media name.
August 1, 2007 (Rockville, MD) – ZeniMax Media Inc., parent company of Bethesda Softworks, announced today the creation of ZeniMax Online Studios. The division will be headed by Matt Firor, a well-known expert in the field of online gaming, and will focus on the Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMO) market segment.
Firor was one of the founders of Mythic Entertainment, where he worked for over 10 years on MMO titles. At Mythic he was the producer of the worldwide #1 smash hit Dark Age of Camelot, a MMORPG considered one of the most influential online games of all time. When he left Mythic in 2006, Firor was responsible for all development projects at the company. For the past year, he has been a consultant in the online gaming industry, advising leading publishers interested in entering the online market.
“This could not be a more perfect opportunity for me,” said Matt. “I am extremely impressed with ZeniMax and Bethesda Softworks management – their development philosophy closely matches my own, with an emphasis on quality, innovation, and craftsmanship. I am eager to get back to what I love – the development of cutting edge MMOG titles.”
“We are excited about the opportunities we have in the online gaming space and felt that Matt is the perfect person to lead this effort,” said James Leder, COO of ZeniMax Media. There are relatively few people who have the actual experience and knowledge that comes from having created a successful MMO, and Matt is the real deal. We feel fortunate to have him join our group.”
Firor is a graduate of George Washington University and has worked in the gaming industry for 17 years. He has lectured at the University of Virginia and Massachusetts Institute of Technology on game development topics, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. Firor has written articles for Game Developer Magazine and was a regular columnist covering online game development for the Korean gaming magazine “Onplayer”.
Comments
It's an example, doesn't mean they're followng those games in lock step, they're high profile titles readers will most likely be familiar with which is great for I don't know, passing on information?
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I've long thought Tamriel was tailor-made for an MMO to take place in. Hope this turns out better than SWTOR!
___________________________
Have flask; will travel.
The Repopulation says hi.
haha The repopulation can say hi once its released. Until then I have serious doubts about its claims.
Hero engine is a cheep P.O.S engine, it has no place being used in a high profile MMO. I said the same thing when I found out TOR used it. I was exteremly excited about an elder scrolls MMO, but hero engine would kill any hope for me. I dont have to hear or see any feature of this game to know that if it uses the hero engine that its just going to be another money grab attemp, by cashing in on a very popular franchise name.
I can understand your skepticism. You didn't like TOR so the engine is bad? That's what I don't understand. Disney's Brother Bear uses the Unreal Engine. That game is grade A shovelware. Must be the engine's fault.
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.
Right there with ya Glover.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
No, the devs don't get it, or the ones that do have little to no influence in the overall game design and direction. However to offset your concern somewhat, the article did mention there will be both instanced and non-instanced dungeons, although no details on how similar they will be.
This is why, until I have the GI issue in my hand or see legitimate info, I'm going with the assumption that someone's playing a joke.
I simply can not believe that they would announce that thier premiere game franchise for the last decade is finally being made into an mmo and that they admit that they're using World of Warcraft as thier model for how the game should play.
I'm I the only one that noticed that just about every page has at least one mention of WoW? Even so far as to say that the game has to use the same gameplay control as WoW.
It's to perfect a joke for me to think otherwise, until I have real proof otherwise.
“bold new direction”
"It needs to be comfortable for people who are coming in from a typical massively multiplayer game that has the same control mechanisms......"
"Within the world of Tamriel there are 3 alliances users can join, each consisting of 3 three races to chose from." Come on, Elder Scrolls with faction locked races?
"... but unfortunately players are barred from contracting porphyric hemophilia (Vampirism) and lycanthropy (werewolves) themselves."
"Making player housing the way fans expect is too hard to implement in an MMO, so Zenimax has no plans to let you accrue realestate."
While there was some stuff that made me optimistic the above points have my expectations for this game extremely low. As a fan of Bethesda and TES series as a whole this should be a no brainer for me, but... this doesn't sound like it will be an MMO for me.
I expect certain things from a TES MMO, if technology hasn't progressed to the point where these things are possible it doesn't make sense to me to develop the game anyways. Also wtf? We could have player housing back in the late 90's but it's not possible in 2012/2013? How can a developer with devs from UO state that?
I think it comes down to vacant residences dotting the landscape making games look overly deserted when players move on. The only real alternative is instanced or phased, but that's not what players want.
That says to me they only want to implement things they can do right the first time, I don't see that as a bad thing.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I'm with you, grayghost. Although there are some noteworthy things they seem to be doing, those quotes stuck out at me as well. As for the housing thing, there's absolutely zero excuse for that. Period. In fact, that quote really makes me question the entire motivation and capabilities of the studio. Perhaps they mean player-built housing located non-instanced anywhere in the world, but of course that's not at all how the single-player ES RPGs do it at all anyway.
Uh I have never liked the Hero engine for a high profile MMO.
You should re-read my last post. once I found out TOR used the Hero engine I knew TOR was going to have an uphill battle, and this was well before TOR launched. The Hero Engine is not an engine you want for your beloved MMO to use.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore)
Now Playing: N/A
Worst MMO: FFXIV
Favorite MMO: FFXI
UO had a decay system in place to remove vacant housing.
Again it could be done in a game made in the late 90's but it's to hard to do now? Hell have it so that if a player hasn't logged in for an extended period of time that vacant house becomes for sale or claimable in some other way.
Limit it to when an account is canceled and give a grace period.
Implement systems where NPC's take over a vacant house and use it until killed or run out etc.
Guess you didnt read the article.
I suggest doing that before throwing your opinion out at people who did read the article on TES online.
Tab Target is not TES.
while it does sound incredibly stupid..... thats exactly the same scenario that played out with SWTOR. 8)
even if SWTOR made them see things differently now, its probably way too late to go redesigning the game from scratch.
---------------------------
Corpus Callosum
---------------------------
Problem is in those games there was never a good way to handle this stuff (UO/SWG), not to mention the extra development needed to come up with these solutions after a time. When you're moving backward you're no longer moving forward.
SWG also had the decay system, it didn't destroy a house though, it just hindered access. The pack up system was a nightmare when it came to items. It's essentially like destroying a players bank vault. I lost many rare items during my pack up that were not replaceable (no longer available, after NGE).
This is what I think they mean by too hard, it's a headache. ANd causes development hiccups.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
why?
I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means - except by getting off his back.
IF if waney for the 2007 article about them using the Hero Engine. We'll have to see I guess. If what was leaked is the real thing I'll have 0 interest unfortunalty. I'll hold on to hope through a conspiracy theory until tomorrow.
Did anyone quote the article about how latency wouldn't allow the ES combat system to work in an MMO environment? I got a chuckle out or that one.
Just not worth my time anymore.
it limits large spaces, doesnt handel large loads(a lot of players) well. Result is smaller "zones" with instances.
dx9
low poly count
just to name a few, the first one I listed being my biggest beef.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore)
Now Playing: N/A
Worst MMO: FFXIV
Favorite MMO: FFXI
Easiest answer? They didn't.
Am I the only person that thinks that this would be one of the most epic jokes ever? Seriously, think about everything those scans are saying. Is it not perfectly funny!?
People seem confused.
Zenimax IS BETHESDA. It was started by the guy that founded bethesda as a means to brach the company out into multiple division. Bethesda is Bethesda softworks (dev studio), and then bethesda the publishing division. Zenimax media is the name bethesda uses to lump all of its studios and divisions under. ID, Arkane, Bethesda SW, etc. Unlike ID and Arkane though, zenimax online is a bethesda created studio and not a studio that they purchased. And bethesda does not seem to function like an EA or activision. John Carmack seems to have free reign to develop games as he wants.
Anyways. I can't believe that Bethesda would be so stupid as to decide to make an MMO out of their best selling franchise, but completely scrap everything that made the franchise a best seller. Especially when they've already got millions of loyal fans, and an entire market that is virtually untapped.
Like many, I'm intrigued, but I'm basically hype-resistant after TOR.
If there's open world RvR combined with the already fantastic open ended exploration, this could be hot.
That being said, they need to avoid:
A Trinity style combat system. Elder Scrolls has never been about tanking, dps, and "healers." You could do all three, and if you wanted to survive, it was wise to at least have some ability to do all three.
A straight linear themepark: That isn't what Elder Scrolls is about.
They also need a heavy bit of the unexpected. One person relates a story in Skyrim: they are sent to steal some information from something heavily guarded. They find no "easy approach", and blood will almost certainly be spilled. And then...... a dragon attacks. All the guards rush to fight the dragon, allowing him to slip in and get the info. This is the kind of "randomness" that made Skyrim special. Adopting the Bioware approach of "find whatever WoW did, and copy it" would be a travesty for the series.
Imagine a big pvp fight. People on both sides slinging spells, clashing metal. Then the Imperials or (even better!) Molag Bal sends his minions, a huge group of dremora to attack everyone. What began as a straight up predictable fight has turned into a hot chaotic mess.
Or have things like jail, and players can help organize a jail break, only to have the NPC's reinforced by actual players. Full blown prison riot!
I'll tell you what it means. NOTHING
When the developers decide to go for a cross between WoW and DOAC there is NOTHING changed.
TES: Online should have been a sandbox FFA PvP game end of story. For it not to be is an insult to the franchise,
Full Sail University - Game Design
I can we have seen it time and time again, You make it as cheep as possible, and you take advantage of your fans, they are going to buy it up like mad men, they make a hefty profit off the poor saps, and they are happy fans are pissed, but it doesnt matter because they will make millions. Fans will continue to buy the ES games.
TOR cashed in big time off of Star Wars name alone.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore)
Now Playing: N/A
Worst MMO: FFXIV
Favorite MMO: FFXI
This is what confuses / disappoints me the most.
I Reject your Reality and Substitute it with My Own!
TES has never been either of those things, you can say it has until you're blue in the face, but it will not make it true.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Yes... Zenimax Media includes Bethesda but Zenimax Online is a development house under the Zenimax Media name but seperate from Bethesda. They do work with Bethesda though.
So you are correct but you are also incorrect. Check it out, I posted the info maybe a year or so ago breaking down the different companies under the Zenimax Media name.
August 1, 2007 (Rockville, MD) – ZeniMax Media Inc., parent company of Bethesda Softworks, announced today the creation of ZeniMax Online Studios. The division will be headed by Matt Firor, a well-known expert in the field of online gaming, and will focus on the Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMO) market segment.
Firor was one of the founders of Mythic Entertainment, where he worked for over 10 years on MMO titles. At Mythic he was the producer of the worldwide #1 smash hit Dark Age of Camelot, a MMORPG considered one of the most influential online games of all time. When he left Mythic in 2006, Firor was responsible for all development projects at the company. For the past year, he has been a consultant in the online gaming industry, advising leading publishers interested in entering the online market.
“This could not be a more perfect opportunity for me,” said Matt. “I am extremely impressed with ZeniMax and Bethesda Softworks management – their development philosophy closely matches my own, with an emphasis on quality, innovation, and craftsmanship. I am eager to get back to what I love – the development of cutting edge MMOG titles.”
“We are excited about the opportunities we have in the online gaming space and felt that Matt is the perfect person to lead this effort,” said James Leder, COO of ZeniMax Media. There are relatively few people who have the actual experience and knowledge that comes from having created a successful MMO, and Matt is the real deal. We feel fortunate to have him join our group.”
Firor is a graduate of George Washington University and has worked in the gaming industry for 17 years. He has lectured at the University of Virginia and Massachusetts Institute of Technology on game development topics, and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. Firor has written articles for Game Developer Magazine and was a regular columnist covering online game development for the Korean gaming magazine “Onplayer”.
http://www.zenimaxonline.com/news_zenimax_online_studios.html