Yes. None of this makes the game seem to be Solo Friendly in any way. At all.
"The best part of Skyrim for me is picking a direction and wandering down a path. It really opens up your gameplay experience. It makes you think, and you can enjoy the game on your own without following question marks and exclamation points. If you stumble into a quest, great, if not you kind of make your own up. I have enjoyed this type of gameplay in other games as well."
I don't play Skyrim like this, and I actually hate games that don't have clearly defined objectives and waypoints. I use the Journal in Skyrim and the Fast Travel system a lot. The quests I have gotten have all been either given directly according to a storyline, or were very close to the areas where I was doing a main quest anyway. Then there are the prompted quests where couriers or NPCs actually approach you and give you a quest.
Players will simply create a Third Party website with a list of ALL the quests in a zone, and the locations of the NPCs. Therefore this will just force players to have a second window open and Alt Tab or print quest locations and information. Tedious and unnecessary. MMO development over the last 10 years has already idenfitied that the majority of players want easy and quick access to quests and objective information. Every MMO that has launched without this has retrofitted it after the fact (and a looking for group system). ESO could very well offer a "purist" option to turn everything off for those who don't want the icons and information that we're accustomed to.
I would hate to have limited time and end up wandering the world for an hour without ever finding a quest of my level and just attacking random camps and groups. The idea of a progressing storyline that my character plays a part in is what I like about RPGs. Skyrim has this, and so do most MMORPGs. Guild Wars 2 has done a fantastic job of having a personalised story, as has SWTOR (probably the only thing they got really right in that MMO).
The interface was also a failing in Skyrim (and Morrowind,and Fallout New Vegas in my view). It was fairly terrible from a usability perspective. SkyUI for Skyrim fixed this a bit, but it was still very clunky to use on the PC. I still wish for a standard MMO interface for Skyrim, with a hotbar, minimap and normal WASD + mouse controls with active combat and a proper third person view. I am hoping that ESO provides this :-)
"If you are playing solo though, this is a major part of the game. It is all about being self-sufficient. My main character in Skyrim has both 100 Blacksmithing and 100 Enchanting."
And now Crafting is supposed to be a draw for the Solo Player? I never craft in MMOs. I hate it. I prefer to buy what I want with Gold, buy and sell on the Auction House or get by in other ways. In Skyrim I do quests to get Daedric and other high level weapons and armor and build my weapon and armor skills to do more damage and get more protection. Crafting in an MMORPG involves grinding. It is one of the classic time and money sinks that designers build into Subscription based MMOs. Going out and searching for resource nodes, killing multiple enemies to collect materials and ingredients etc. Not my style of play, and I really don't see this as making a game geared for the Solo Player.
Sure, if you grind like hell you could maybe get the same gear as someone that groups up and runs a dungeon. But in my view grouping up and running the dungeon is more fun with way less time. So actually what you are saying here is that the Solo player will be at a distinct disadvantage. It will take them a lot more time to get similar gear, and most likely cost a lot more in materials as well.
Now if this article indicated that the dungeons and other content will scale to my Solo playstyle I would cheer and note one feature geared for the Solo player. It does not seem that this is the case with Elder Scrolls Online, though.
Secondly, the game needs a robust auction house and trading post for players to sell their items. Not a real world style market with "storefronts" that you need to wander through to find something. Reality check, in 2012 people use the virtual and quick online markets known as Amazon, Craigslist and Ebay to find what they want. The new ways are more efficient. There are several MMOs that have integrated auction house and trading systems. Copy one of them.
Thus far I think Guild Wars 2 has the best trading post and delivery system I've seen in any MMORPG. It's the most efficient and flexible of them all out the box. Each player setting up a little store building that players must wander around clicking to see what is for sale is ridiculous, in my view. If that is what ESO is proposing then it's definitely not a buy for me.
"Random Loot"
Really? This article goes way off course with this point. Since when is Random Loot aimed at the Solo Player? It isn't. It is part of the normal loot system of the game and is not in anyway something included in MMOs to benefit the single player. Loot SCALING is something different, and that too is expected. Also Random Loot without the aforementioned auction and trading post system will result in third party auction sites (that will provide the services that an in -game trading systme should) or indecipherable Trading Channel chat spam.
From the article I have gathered that as far as the author knows, ESO contains no specific features and mechanics for the Solo player and is a Group based MMO focusing on Open World exploration. i.e. not my style of play, which tends more toward the Guild Wars 2, Rift, Neverwinter Online (from what I have seen in preview videos) playstyle. In those games I can play Solo, Duo or in a larger group and have a fantastic experience. From this article it seems that as a Solo Player I'm pretty much screwed in ESO, things will be a lot harder for me, and I'm not a masochist ;-)
Thats because the games that are coming out in recent years are buidling their gameplay around solo play, not because of what players find more enjoyable.
Grouping has become counter productive, it's less exp, makes the encounter too easy, and they have systems like anti social dungeon finders. Play any of the old school games where they reward you for grouping.
Make grouping always the better exp, better loot, and a better experience and I promise you that stats will show players prefer grouping.
The way mmo's were: Community, Exploration, Character Development, Conquest.
The way mmo's are now : Cut-Scenes,Cut-Scenes, solo Questing, Cut-Scenes...
Thats because the games that are coming out in recent years are buidling their gameplay around solo play, not because of what players find more enjoyable.
Grouping has become counter productive, it's less exp, makes the encounter too easy, Anti social dungeon finders. Play any of the old school games and grouping is much more preferred.
Make grouping always the better exp, better loot, and a better experience and I promise you that stats will show players prefer grouping.
Actually, MMOs have tried that. It resulted in much less people subscribing and a lower player base. So, the evidence does show that more people enjoy playing Solo in an MMO Environment. Whether this is right or not is irrelevant for a developer that wants to appeal to a broad customer base. What has shown to be of most benefit is that the players get the same rewards regardless of whether they group or not, and "grouping" or rather players working together, becomes something that is natural and effortless for all involved.
SWTOR ignored the last two decades of evolution in the MMO space and things did not turn out too well.
One thing I do when I'm just too tired and in no mood to get organized for anything is to just go to a zone and start grinding mobs, to try and drop some cool item with an obscenely low drop rate. These random drop item hunts, some of them take weeks and you can do them while chatting away with friends (even written chat), listening to music, etc... Relaxing stuff, I'd even call it some sort of a downtime.
Yeah, it sounds terribly boring on paper, but I've found I miss it when there's no option to do it (as in, no meaningful zone or world drop to chase).
I like what this article said about soloing. That would make it my kind of game, with grouping for dungeons or just socializing. But, another poster said ESO wasn't planned for solo, so I guess it remains to be seen who is right.
This article is pretty interesting ... But to be honest: I don't want a solo friendly MMORPG where you can manage everything alone. I would prefere classic content where you'd have to look for a group with a good well-thought-out groupsetup to manage it. Thats why I play MMORPGs
GuildWars 2 is one solo friendly "MMORPG" except the dungeon-content ... Plenty people don't read the chat, just focus on their own survivability and pure damage - I didn't really like the results.
This is nuts, "open world" yet "closed faction areas"...
How about we just call things what they are instead of trying to change their meanings in order to try to sucker people (mostly TES fans) into liking it?
It isnt open world, there is no such thing as PARTIAL open world, Part open world or LIKE open world.
Its either OPEN WORLD or it isnt and if it isnt, dont call it open world. See, if Bioware hadnt called SWTOR an MMO, tried to make people PAY as if it was an MMO and just called it what it WAS...it would have done better.
Dont set expectations at a point you have NO CHANCE of meeting just because you want to use words people LIKE over using words that actually discribe the product you are making.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
I don't hold out any hope that this game will be solo friendly. Like all other MMOs, players will be able to solo to some extent, but it will be much grindier, and solo players will be unable to obtain the best gear and/or crafting mats.
I hope I'm wrong, but even Guild Wars 2 went that route, after specifically promising they wouldn't and from what little I've read about ESO, the devs have strongly hinted that their game is about group play.
I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals.
This is nuts, "open world" yet "closed faction areas"...
How about we just call things what they are instead of trying to change their meanings in order to try to sucker people (mostly TES fans) into liking it?
It isnt open world, there is no such thing as PARTIAL open world, Part open world or LIKE open world.
Its either OPEN WORLD or it isnt and if it isnt, dont call it open world. See, if Bioware hadnt called SWTOR an MMO, tried to make people PAY as if it was an MMO and just called it what it WAS...it would have done better.
Dont set expectations at a point you have NO CHANCE of meeting just because you want to use words people LIKE over using words that actually discribe the product you are making.
By this logic a person could claim SWG wasn't "open world"... as well as TES titles. It all boils down to the size of the world space you're given, as well as whether it's corridor like or wide open. If I'm playing within the daggerfall cov.. My world space is the lands that that entails, that world space could be open world or a series of small zones. The game is setup as if there are three different segregated world spaces and a shared space to war in. How those individual world spaces are designed dictates whether or not it's an open world game or a zoned one. I have no idea what the size or design of these world spaces will be.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Player shops?? Thats a waste of game time and resources. Thats one of the major things I hate about some Asian games. Having to spend game time searching hundreds and hundreds of shops for what I need is a total waste of my time. Its usually because the developers are too lazy or inexperienced to create the data base and related systems for a good AH. I *really* hope TES doesn't go that route.
Originally posted by Brynn I like what this article said about soloing. That would make it my kind of game, with grouping for dungeons or just socializing. But, another poster said ESO wasn't planned for solo, so I guess it remains to be seen who is right.
From what I've seen and read, its a group focus game, with some limited solo around the edges. Given the focus on PvP, thats hardly susprising. Its too bad, as other wise it looks like it would be an entertaining game.
By this logic a person could claim SWG wasn't open world... as well as TES titles.
No, in SWG you could go from one end of the world to the other, no loading screens. it wasnt divided into 3 parts and you could only go into 1/3rd of them.
Nice try though seeing as how the argument for factioned worlds holds no ground...doesnt even apply to TES where you are free to enter the lands of all factions until you pick a side, a side YOU CAN CHOSE no matter the race and even after you have chosen, go right up and smack the other factions in their faces anywhere you choose.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
By this logic a person could claim SWG wasn't open world... as well as TES titles.
No, in SWG you could go from one end of the world to the other, no loading screens. it wasnt divided into 3 parts and you could only go into 1/3rd of them.
Nice try though seeing as how the argument for factioned worlds holds no ground...doesnt even apply to TES where you are free to enter the lands of all factions until you pick a side, a side YOU CAN CHOSE no matter the race and even after you have chosen, go right up and smack the other factions in their faces anywhere you choose.
There was a loading screen before entering any planet in SWG.
Anyway i explained more in an edit to my original post, not going to repeat it.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Originally posted by rnkis I still... just don't get... why people want a MMOrpg to be a single player RPG experience. I. Do. Not. Get. It. It's an MMO! NOT a single player RPG!
Everyone who enjoys soloing in a MMORPG are in that "class" for different reasons. I guess, when I was playing in the late 90's and was self-employed, I would have thought the same as you.. ? Not sure to be honest. I do know that I grouped exclusively in my early years of online gaming.
For me, it was having kids that changed things. All the sudden, I could play my game while the baby was sleeping but I had to be prepared to go afk or logout at a moment's notice. Grouping was a chore and it wasn't fair to the others in the group. I started doing a lot more soloing, as I still enjoyed playing MMOs.
The "forced" soloing, in addition to new habits and likes formed during that time, changed the way I enjoy MMORPGs. I love to challenge myself, to see what I can accomplish by myself in these games. I learned to love grinding out mobs solo for the sake of having fun and relaxing.
Like I said, it's different for everyone. But there's my reason fwiw.
EDIT: As to why I still enjoy MMORPGs instead of resigning myself to SP games, I enjoy being social either with my guild or in general chat. I enjoy BSing with others while I'm playing. It's really that simple.
By this logic a person could claim SWG wasn't open world... as well as TES titles.
No, in SWG you could go from one end of the world to the other, no loading screens. it wasnt divided into 3 parts and you could only go into 1/3rd of them.
Nice try though seeing as how the argument for factioned worlds holds no ground...doesnt even apply to TES where you are free to enter the lands of all factions until you pick a side, a side YOU CAN CHOSE no matter the race and even after you have chosen, go right up and smack the other factions in their faces anywhere you choose.
There was a loading screen before entering any planet in SWG.
Anyway i explained more in an edit to my original post, not going to repeat it.
the worlds in SWG were seperate, so in that sense there was 'zoning' in as much you had to either fly a starship between worlds or grab a shuttle ticket, it still however contradicts your statement, on each world in SWG, you could travel around each one without encountering a loading screen, when traversing tatooine for instance you could go in any direction you wanted, and these were large worlds. i don't know how long it would take to circle on on foot, but even in a vehicle it would have taken a significant amount of time, and no loading screens.
There was a loading screen before entering any planet in SWG.
Anyway i explained more in an edit to my original post, not going to repeat it.
Perhaps the word "world" is being lost.
It isnt open WORLD. Its open ZONED. OPEN WORLD IS OPEN WORLD. Open ZONED is just about every single MMO ever made...they are even calling INSTANCES, CAMPAIGNS, in order to push that label aside.
Once you toss out their attempts to chang meanings and remove their attempts to exchange one word for another, less damaging word you see what it is. instanced. they can call it cottoncandy in place of isntance if they want, its instanced. And no, even if the "campaigns" are persistant, being able to change from one to the other makes it more an instance, than open.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
I still think, that having crafted gear in loot is a bad idea, that removes a lot of content/gameplay.
Players should only loot/find materials and let crafters do their job.
Also: smithing, leather, tailor, armor craft, weapon craft, enchanting, etc, etc... should each have it's own skill line, to invest in, wich will stretch gameplay.
Originally posted by Rthuth434 i hope all the art in these articles isn't really from the game. somehow looks way worse than the art in even oblivion.
Sorry to break it to you man, but the screenshots you see are indeed directly from the game. (Pretty bad, huh?) Now to be fair, those are images from the game's alpha or even pre-alpha stage, so it's quite possible they've improved since then. At least I hope...
Yes. None of this makes the game seem to be Solo Friendly in any way. At all.
"The best part of Skyrim for me is picking a direction and wandering down a path. It really opens up your gameplay experience. It makes you think, and you can enjoy the game on your own without following question marks and exclamation points. If you stumble into a quest, great, if not you kind of make your own up. I have enjoyed this type of gameplay in other games as well."
I don't play Skyrim like this, and I actually hate games that don't have clearly defined objectives and waypoints. I use the Journal in Skyrim and the Fast Travel system a lot. The quests I have gotten have all been either given directly according to a storyline, or were very close to the areas where I was doing a main quest anyway. Then there are the prompted quests where couriers or NPCs actually approach you and give you a quest.
Players will simply create a Third Party website with a list of ALL the quests in a zone, and the locations of the NPCs. Therefore this will just force players to have a second window open and Alt Tab or print quest locations and information. Tedious and unnecessary. MMO development over the last 10 years has already idenfitied that the majority of players want easy and quick access to quests and objective information. Every MMO that has launched without this has retrofitted it after the fact (and a looking for group system). ESO could very well offer a "purist" option to turn everything off for those who don't want the icons and information that we're accustomed to.
I would hate to have limited time and end up wandering the world for an hour without ever finding a quest of my level and just attacking random camps and groups. The idea of a progressing storyline that my character plays a part in is what I like about RPGs. Skyrim has this, and so do most MMORPGs. Guild Wars 2 has done a fantastic job of having a personalised story, as has SWTOR (probably the only thing they got really right in that MMO).
The interface was also a failing in Skyrim (and Morrowind,and Fallout New Vegas in my view). It was fairly terrible from a usability perspective. SkyUI for Skyrim fixed this a bit, but it was still very clunky to use on the PC. I still wish for a standard MMO interface for Skyrim, with a hotbar, minimap and normal WASD + mouse controls with active combat and a proper third person view. I am hoping that ESO provides this :-)
"If you are playing solo though, this is a major part of the game. It is all about being self-sufficient. My main character in Skyrim has both 100 Blacksmithing and 100 Enchanting."
And now Crafting is supposed to be a draw for the Solo Player? I never craft in MMOs. I hate it. I prefer to buy what I want with Gold, buy and sell on the Auction House or get by in other ways. In Skyrim I do quests to get Daedric and other high level weapons and armor and build my weapon and armor skills to do more damage and get more protection. Crafting in an MMORPG involves grinding. It is one of the classic time and money sinks that designers build into Subscription based MMOs. Going out and searching for resource nodes, killing multiple enemies to collect materials and ingredients etc. Not my style of play, and I really don't see this as making a game geared for the Solo Player.
Sure, if you grind like hell you could maybe get the same gear as someone that groups up and runs a dungeon. But in my view grouping up and running the dungeon is more fun with way less time. So actually what you are saying here is that the Solo player will be at a distinct disadvantage. It will take them a lot more time to get similar gear, and most likely cost a lot more in materials as well.
Now if this article indicated that the dungeons and other content will scale to my Solo playstyle I would cheer and note one feature geared for the Solo player. It does not seem that this is the case with Elder Scrolls Online, though.
Secondly, the game needs a robust auction house and trading post for players to sell their items. Not a real world style market with "storefronts" that you need to wander through to find something. Reality check, in 2012 people use the virtual and quick online markets known as Amazon, Craigslist and Ebay to find what they want. The new ways are more efficient. There are several MMOs that have integrated auction house and trading systems. Copy one of them.
Thus far I think Guild Wars 2 has the best trading post and delivery system I've seen in any MMORPG. It's the most efficient and flexible of them all out the box. Each player setting up a little store building that players must wander around clicking to see what is for sale is ridiculous, in my view. If that is what ESO is proposing then it's definitely not a buy for me.
"Random Loot"
Really? This article goes way off course with this point. Since when is Random Loot aimed at the Solo Player? It isn't. It is part of the normal loot system of the game and is not in anyway something included in MMOs to benefit the single player. Loot SCALING is something different, and that too is expected. Also Random Loot without the aforementioned auction and trading post system will result in third party auction sites (that will provide the services that an in -game trading systme should) or indecipherable Trading Channel chat spam.
From the article I have gathered that as far as the author knows, ESO contains no specific features and mechanics for the Solo player and is a Group based MMO focusing on Open World exploration. i.e. not my style of play, which tends more toward the Guild Wars 2, Rift, Neverwinter Online (from what I have seen in preview videos) playstyle. In those games I can play Solo, Duo or in a larger group and have a fantastic experience. From this article it seems that as a Solo Player I'm pretty much screwed in ESO, things will be a lot harder for me, and I'm not a masochist ;-)
Hoping that I am wrong about that!
Funny. I wholeheartedly disagree with everything you said. No one says you have to USE a website. Gamers like you take all the challenge out of a game. Hopefully TESO will be a game you hate so I can enjoy it.
Originally posted by Rthuth434 i hope all the art in these articles isn't really from the game. somehow looks way worse than the art in even oblivion.
Sorry to break it to you man, but the screenshots you see are indeed directly from the game. (Pretty bad, huh?) Now to be fair, those are images from the game's alpha or even pre-alpha stage, so it's quite possible they've improved since then. At least I hope...
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
Well, the writer is not an ESO developer, so is this just what the writer wishes for ESO as player? It would be nice if ESO would actually offer Skyrim/Morrowind kind of exploring. Especially if you can stumble upon quest objects like in Skyrim.
There are points made in each "why I want solo play" explanation I see that I completely understand. I even feel the same way about many of those points.
Yes, there are times I just want to explore or meander about and not have to worry about being on someone else's schedule. Absolutely I agree you should be able to do so - to an extent. Sure, you should be able to wander - solo - into a forest you haven't explored yet to hunt for wolf skins to either sell or use yourself, happen across a bandit camp, systematically do away with the occupants and make off with their booty. However** - I think it should be a challenge to do so, not jump in, hit 3 buttons and completely destroy the target in less than 30 seconds.
The thing I have a problem understanding is when players want to have to rely ZERO percent on other players - on other people inside this world full of other people.
This extreme of "I should be able to do every single thing that can be done completely by myself (with the exception of "raids" "because that would just be silly...")" that players have adopted is just freakin ridiculous.
You enjoy crafting? Great! The world needs master crafters. But no I don't think you should be able to craft or gather every single component you would need to create exceptional goods on your own. You should need to trade with other professions for bits and pieces that you yourself would not have the expertise to create. A tailor wants to make a bag that's both stunningly fashionable and exceptionally functional - however his talent lies in tailoring, not in the metalworking required to make the perfect fasteners.
Yes, you should be able to travel solo - with the added danger of being alone in a very dangerous world that traveling with companions would lessen. I think I described my thoughts on that above.
Someone else in this thread said exactly what's happening to MMORPGs. People don't want an MMO anymore. They want a single player game with a live chat room. It's just friggin silly.
Comments
Yes. None of this makes the game seem to be Solo Friendly in any way. At all.
"The best part of Skyrim for me is picking a direction and wandering down a path. It really opens up your gameplay experience. It makes you think, and you can enjoy the game on your own without following question marks and exclamation points. If you stumble into a quest, great, if not you kind of make your own up. I have enjoyed this type of gameplay in other games as well."
I don't play Skyrim like this, and I actually hate games that don't have clearly defined objectives and waypoints. I use the Journal in Skyrim and the Fast Travel system a lot. The quests I have gotten have all been either given directly according to a storyline, or were very close to the areas where I was doing a main quest anyway. Then there are the prompted quests where couriers or NPCs actually approach you and give you a quest.
Players will simply create a Third Party website with a list of ALL the quests in a zone, and the locations of the NPCs. Therefore this will just force players to have a second window open and Alt Tab or print quest locations and information. Tedious and unnecessary. MMO development over the last 10 years has already idenfitied that the majority of players want easy and quick access to quests and objective information. Every MMO that has launched without this has retrofitted it after the fact (and a looking for group system). ESO could very well offer a "purist" option to turn everything off for those who don't want the icons and information that we're accustomed to.
I would hate to have limited time and end up wandering the world for an hour without ever finding a quest of my level and just attacking random camps and groups. The idea of a progressing storyline that my character plays a part in is what I like about RPGs. Skyrim has this, and so do most MMORPGs. Guild Wars 2 has done a fantastic job of having a personalised story, as has SWTOR (probably the only thing they got really right in that MMO).
The interface was also a failing in Skyrim (and Morrowind,and Fallout New Vegas in my view). It was fairly terrible from a usability perspective. SkyUI for Skyrim fixed this a bit, but it was still very clunky to use on the PC. I still wish for a standard MMO interface for Skyrim, with a hotbar, minimap and normal WASD + mouse controls with active combat and a proper third person view. I am hoping that ESO provides this :-)
"If you are playing solo though, this is a major part of the game. It is all about being self-sufficient. My main character in Skyrim has both 100 Blacksmithing and 100 Enchanting."
And now Crafting is supposed to be a draw for the Solo Player? I never craft in MMOs. I hate it. I prefer to buy what I want with Gold, buy and sell on the Auction House or get by in other ways. In Skyrim I do quests to get Daedric and other high level weapons and armor and build my weapon and armor skills to do more damage and get more protection. Crafting in an MMORPG involves grinding. It is one of the classic time and money sinks that designers build into Subscription based MMOs. Going out and searching for resource nodes, killing multiple enemies to collect materials and ingredients etc. Not my style of play, and I really don't see this as making a game geared for the Solo Player.
Sure, if you grind like hell you could maybe get the same gear as someone that groups up and runs a dungeon. But in my view grouping up and running the dungeon is more fun with way less time. So actually what you are saying here is that the Solo player will be at a distinct disadvantage. It will take them a lot more time to get similar gear, and most likely cost a lot more in materials as well.
Now if this article indicated that the dungeons and other content will scale to my Solo playstyle I would cheer and note one feature geared for the Solo player. It does not seem that this is the case with Elder Scrolls Online, though.
Secondly, the game needs a robust auction house and trading post for players to sell their items. Not a real world style market with "storefronts" that you need to wander through to find something. Reality check, in 2012 people use the virtual and quick online markets known as Amazon, Craigslist and Ebay to find what they want. The new ways are more efficient. There are several MMOs that have integrated auction house and trading systems. Copy one of them.
Thus far I think Guild Wars 2 has the best trading post and delivery system I've seen in any MMORPG. It's the most efficient and flexible of them all out the box. Each player setting up a little store building that players must wander around clicking to see what is for sale is ridiculous, in my view. If that is what ESO is proposing then it's definitely not a buy for me.
"Random Loot"
Really? This article goes way off course with this point. Since when is Random Loot aimed at the Solo Player? It isn't. It is part of the normal loot system of the game and is not in anyway something included in MMOs to benefit the single player. Loot SCALING is something different, and that too is expected. Also Random Loot without the aforementioned auction and trading post system will result in third party auction sites (that will provide the services that an in -game trading systme should) or indecipherable Trading Channel chat spam.
From the article I have gathered that as far as the author knows, ESO contains no specific features and mechanics for the Solo player and is a Group based MMO focusing on Open World exploration. i.e. not my style of play, which tends more toward the Guild Wars 2, Rift, Neverwinter Online (from what I have seen in preview videos) playstyle. In those games I can play Solo, Duo or in a larger group and have a fantastic experience. From this article it seems that as a Solo Player I'm pretty much screwed in ESO, things will be a lot harder for me, and I'm not a masochist ;-)
Hoping that I am wrong about that!
"Stats show that more players are playing solo".
Thats because the games that are coming out in recent years are buidling their gameplay around solo play, not because of what players find more enjoyable.
Grouping has become counter productive, it's less exp, makes the encounter too easy, and they have systems like anti social dungeon finders. Play any of the old school games where they reward you for grouping.
Make grouping always the better exp, better loot, and a better experience and I promise you that stats will show players prefer grouping.
The way mmo's were: Community, Exploration, Character Development, Conquest.
The way mmo's are now : Cut-Scenes,Cut-Scenes, solo Questing, Cut-Scenes...
www.CeaselessGuild.com
Actually, MMOs have tried that. It resulted in much less people subscribing and a lower player base. So, the evidence does show that more people enjoy playing Solo in an MMO Environment. Whether this is right or not is irrelevant for a developer that wants to appeal to a broad customer base. What has shown to be of most benefit is that the players get the same rewards regardless of whether they group or not, and "grouping" or rather players working together, becomes something that is natural and effortless for all involved.
SWTOR ignored the last two decades of evolution in the MMO space and things did not turn out too well.
Random loot grind is something I actually enjoy.
One thing I do when I'm just too tired and in no mood to get organized for anything is to just go to a zone and start grinding mobs, to try and drop some cool item with an obscenely low drop rate. These random drop item hunts, some of them take weeks and you can do them while chatting away with friends (even written chat), listening to music, etc... Relaxing stuff, I'd even call it some sort of a downtime.
Yeah, it sounds terribly boring on paper, but I've found I miss it when there's no option to do it (as in, no meaningful zone or world drop to chase).
This article is pretty interesting ... But to be honest: I don't want a solo friendly MMORPG where you can manage everything alone. I would prefere classic content where you'd have to look for a group with a good well-thought-out groupsetup to manage it. Thats why I play MMORPGs
GuildWars 2 is one solo friendly "MMORPG" except the dungeon-content ... Plenty people don't read the chat, just focus on their own survivability and pure damage - I didn't really like the results.
here's all the solo content I want in my mmo:
This is nuts, "open world" yet "closed faction areas"...
How about we just call things what they are instead of trying to change their meanings in order to try to sucker people (mostly TES fans) into liking it?
It isnt open world, there is no such thing as PARTIAL open world, Part open world or LIKE open world.
Its either OPEN WORLD or it isnt and if it isnt, dont call it open world. See, if Bioware hadnt called SWTOR an MMO, tried to make people PAY as if it was an MMO and just called it what it WAS...it would have done better.
Dont set expectations at a point you have NO CHANCE of meeting just because you want to use words people LIKE over using words that actually discribe the product you are making.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
I don't hold out any hope that this game will be solo friendly. Like all other MMOs, players will be able to solo to some extent, but it will be much grindier, and solo players will be unable to obtain the best gear and/or crafting mats.
I hope I'm wrong, but even Guild Wars 2 went that route, after specifically promising they wouldn't and from what little I've read about ESO, the devs have strongly hinted that their game is about group play.
I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals.
~Albert Einstein
By this logic a person could claim SWG wasn't "open world"... as well as TES titles. It all boils down to the size of the world space you're given, as well as whether it's corridor like or wide open. If I'm playing within the daggerfall cov.. My world space is the lands that that entails, that world space could be open world or a series of small zones. The game is setup as if there are three different segregated world spaces and a shared space to war in. How those individual world spaces are designed dictates whether or not it's an open world game or a zoned one. I have no idea what the size or design of these world spaces will be.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Player shops?? Thats a waste of game time and resources. Thats one of the major things I hate about some Asian games. Having to spend game time searching hundreds and hundreds of shops for what I need is a total waste of my time. Its usually because the developers are too lazy or inexperienced to create the data base and related systems for a good AH. I *really* hope TES doesn't go that route.
From what I've seen and read, its a group focus game, with some limited solo around the edges. Given the focus on PvP, thats hardly susprising. Its too bad, as other wise it looks like it would be an entertaining game.
No, in SWG you could go from one end of the world to the other, no loading screens. it wasnt divided into 3 parts and you could only go into 1/3rd of them.
Nice try though seeing as how the argument for factioned worlds holds no ground...doesnt even apply to TES where you are free to enter the lands of all factions until you pick a side, a side YOU CAN CHOSE no matter the race and even after you have chosen, go right up and smack the other factions in their faces anywhere you choose.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
There was a loading screen before entering any planet in SWG.
Anyway i explained more in an edit to my original post, not going to repeat it.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Everyone who enjoys soloing in a MMORPG are in that "class" for different reasons. I guess, when I was playing in the late 90's and was self-employed, I would have thought the same as you.. ? Not sure to be honest. I do know that I grouped exclusively in my early years of online gaming.
For me, it was having kids that changed things. All the sudden, I could play my game while the baby was sleeping but I had to be prepared to go afk or logout at a moment's notice. Grouping was a chore and it wasn't fair to the others in the group. I started doing a lot more soloing, as I still enjoyed playing MMOs.
The "forced" soloing, in addition to new habits and likes formed during that time, changed the way I enjoy MMORPGs. I love to challenge myself, to see what I can accomplish by myself in these games. I learned to love grinding out mobs solo for the sake of having fun and relaxing.
Like I said, it's different for everyone. But there's my reason fwiw.
the worlds in SWG were seperate, so in that sense there was 'zoning' in as much you had to either fly a starship between worlds or grab a shuttle ticket, it still however contradicts your statement, on each world in SWG, you could travel around each one without encountering a loading screen, when traversing tatooine for instance you could go in any direction you wanted, and these were large worlds. i don't know how long it would take to circle on on foot, but even in a vehicle it would have taken a significant amount of time, and no loading screens.
Perhaps the word "world" is being lost.
It isnt open WORLD. Its open ZONED. OPEN WORLD IS OPEN WORLD. Open ZONED is just about every single MMO ever made...they are even calling INSTANCES, CAMPAIGNS, in order to push that label aside.
Once you toss out their attempts to chang meanings and remove their attempts to exchange one word for another, less damaging word you see what it is. instanced. they can call it cottoncandy in place of isntance if they want, its instanced. And no, even if the "campaigns" are persistant, being able to change from one to the other makes it more an instance, than open.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
I still think, that having crafted gear in loot is a bad idea, that removes a lot of content/gameplay.
Players should only loot/find materials and let crafters do their job.
Also: smithing, leather, tailor, armor craft, weapon craft, enchanting, etc, etc... should each have it's own skill line, to invest in, wich will stretch gameplay.
Sorry to break it to you man, but the screenshots you see are indeed directly from the game. (Pretty bad, huh?) Now to be fair, those are images from the game's alpha or even pre-alpha stage, so it's quite possible they've improved since then. At least I hope...
Funny. I wholeheartedly disagree with everything you said. No one says you have to USE a website. Gamers like you take all the challenge out of a game. Hopefully TESO will be a game you hate so I can enjoy it.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
There are points made in each "why I want solo play" explanation I see that I completely understand. I even feel the same way about many of those points.
Yes, there are times I just want to explore or meander about and not have to worry about being on someone else's schedule. Absolutely I agree you should be able to do so - to an extent. Sure, you should be able to wander - solo - into a forest you haven't explored yet to hunt for wolf skins to either sell or use yourself, happen across a bandit camp, systematically do away with the occupants and make off with their booty. However** - I think it should be a challenge to do so, not jump in, hit 3 buttons and completely destroy the target in less than 30 seconds.
The thing I have a problem understanding is when players want to have to rely ZERO percent on other players - on other people inside this world full of other people.
This extreme of "I should be able to do every single thing that can be done completely by myself (with the exception of "raids" "because that would just be silly...")" that players have adopted is just freakin ridiculous.
You enjoy crafting? Great! The world needs master crafters. But no I don't think you should be able to craft or gather every single component you would need to create exceptional goods on your own. You should need to trade with other professions for bits and pieces that you yourself would not have the expertise to create. A tailor wants to make a bag that's both stunningly fashionable and exceptionally functional - however his talent lies in tailoring, not in the metalworking required to make the perfect fasteners.
Yes, you should be able to travel solo - with the added danger of being alone in a very dangerous world that traveling with companions would lessen. I think I described my thoughts on that above.
Someone else in this thread said exactly what's happening to MMORPGs. People don't want an MMO anymore. They want a single player game with a live chat room. It's just friggin silly.