Games need sort of Art Direction and Gameplay Direction, Development Direction, you can let customer Feedback flow into design decisions but at some Point you need to stick to you decisions and i would not have reimplemented Hands for example.
If you go for cheap textures bcs your MMO can not handle more stick with it and say so.
If you have Artists, that have defected artistic visions by years of WoWing shapes and forms eat it or hire different ones that can draw a Bookshelf that looks like a TES Bookshelf looks (that have a Realistic Art Approach and not like a WoW-Bookshelf with low quality TES-Textures).
If you make a console game do not pretend to have a good UI, you do not, simply have an ompitmized UI for console use.
Etc.
Zenimax is not a Good Guy - a Good Guy is a Good Guy and many a Good Guy may work at Zenimax and i feel sorry for them.
Critic on the game has nothing to do with being a Good Guy, it has to to with the expectations that come from making a game with a certain IP, a certain Artistic Approach/Art Direction of a certain Quality etc.
They still can make Coke out of this Pepsi but i wont say its Coke when it ends up Pepsi.
"Torquemada... do not implore him for compassion. Torquemada... do not beg him for forgiveness. Torquemada... do not ask him for mercy. Let's face it, you can't Torquemada anything!"
Originally posted by Righteous_Rock This is the mmorpg.com covers thier ass save face article. If this isn't icing on the cake before launch, then I might as well be playing mmorpgs with a bunch of dead dogs.
Originally posted by Righteous_Rock This is the mmorpg.com covers thier ass save face article. If this isn't icing on the cake before launch, then I might as well be playing mmorpgs with a bunch of dead dogs.
What a dbag statement.What purpose does your statement serveother than to be a dbag?Get back under that rock.Seriously stupid people on the internet.
I would have respected the author more if instead of using "Zenimax has taken a game that needs to balance perfectly on the edge of a sword.".....he used the term "edge of a knife". Then he would have used a Galadriel quote who I respect more than any other fantasy character lol.
If the game looks like it isn't going to do well for some reason, like the starting area, then developers change it. This isn't about "because the fans", it is about "generating enough revenue to cover costs". Not to say that this is bad, just to say that it isn't particularly unique. If you know something is going to impact your bottom line, you address it. Whether or not they are the the best ever is something we will find out based on how they handle post release, fixing issues and getting out new content in a timely manner.
I also agree that this type of editorial does hurt the credibility of mmorpg in general. At least if it was post release out of the blue article about the developers I could see merit, this appears to be nothing more than a fluff piece to drive hype and sales.
wow...seriously? Are things so bad that something like this needs to be written?
"So I ask you, is Zenimax one of the best companies that has developed an MMO? I think so"
Literally made my jaw DROP. Its like something off of Infowars.
Proving once again that no matter how much time and money you spend to try and make your player base happy haters are gonna hate. They cant't even bear to grudgingly admit that ZOS might actually be trying to make the game better for the player base in the slightest.
Honestly? ^This
Some of you people posting here...you wear your asshattery on your sleeves. You are so see through and act like we don't know it. Keep posting against every game or company...the Devs aren't paying attention to you. They are paying attention to those with real input.
"This may hurt a little, but it's something you'll get used to. Relax....."
There a company nether good or bad. They're not your friend, they just want your money, like any other company. Keep in mind only select few have tested the current version of the game. The beta version is 3 months old(which makes no sense stress testing it but whatever). So we have no idea how the current version will due with a the launch load. Then there is the frequency of updates, we have no data on that, no history even.
So calling Zenimax one of the best companies the has developed an mmo is silly.
The have add thing and fix thing is in the beta version the have fix few bug and the add Imperial White Horse which will be in CE and only people that have perorder CE can buy so i wonder when was last time you play ESO beta and ofc then cant add new version for then we would get full game serious man think before you write next time.
There a company nether good or bad. They're not your friend, they just want your money, like any other company. Keep in mind only select few have tested the current version of the game. The beta version is 3 months old(which makes no sense stress testing it but whatever). So we have no idea how the current version will due with a the launch load. Then there is the frequency of updates, we have no data on that, no history even.
So calling Zenimax one of the best companies the has developed an mmo is silly.
Actually, it makes perfect sense. When you are doing a test of your infrastructure you will want to control as many variables as possible over the course of the test so as to more accurately judge your progress. The client being uses for the last few stress test was introduced in January while on the PTS they have continued to test updated clients. The real problem for some is the confusion caused by companies that run a promo of the game while calling it a beta test. Thus when a company such as Zenimax does an actual beat stress test some people think it is a pomo of the game an expect a current if not a gold client of the game to be uses
Magic is impressive, but now Minsc leads! Swords for everyone!
"So I ask you, is Zenimax one of the best companies that has developed an MMO?"
It certainly looks promising so far. Not only have they shown that they actually ARE listening to their prospective customers, but have also made some significant changes to the game in response to that feedback.
They have certainly achieved something that I thought was impossible, in that they managed to somehow turn generally negative perceptions of ESO into generally positive ones in a relatively short time. That's no mean feat.
But it's too early to induct ZOS into the "MMO Developer Hall of Fame" just yet. Their performance in the months after launch will clinch the deal. So far they are strong contenders.
ok at Zenimax there are people who are hardworking to build this game and every aspect of the game and is harsh to blame them as bad people, but the publishers/top head are truly assholes from my point of view and they just want $$$, so if it was to make a bad release yes they had to respond cause the critics were really bad.
so no Zenimax is not the best company maybe one of the worst, just their developers are very good cause they were able to deliver many changes in so little time, and its sad for those people..
about the numbers, ok somewhere i read an example of McDonalds well here in Greece they have been removed and only on places with tourism they still exist just for US tourists
I still think the subscription will put a lot of people off. In the beginning a lot will try it out, then stop playing (and paying) once they went through all the best features of the game.
As a 14 year mmo vet maybe I'm just burned on the current status quo but this game has so much hype and so little game. This game needs more game. 8 months of development to even consider releasing it. Also, it needs complete core redesigns.
World- It's big... boring... unrewarding to explore.... beautiful...packed with stuff i don't actually want to find... It has a look that makes me want to wander around but then nothing is really there. Who goes exploring to find stuff that sucks.
Combat- It's a joke. 5-6 buttons. you can create all the millions of abilities you want. You can put 5 more on another weapon. this isn't going to create deep meaningful combat. It's crap pure and simple. The balance and cookie cutter arguments are just pathetic. How in the world are you going to be an interactive force on an ever-changing battlefield with no range in what you can do? Think about every motion you do in an average day. Pick 5. No right? you couldn't even leave the house .
Group interface/the MMO side of the game- What group interface? why is this so bad? Just try to make a group with someone find them and trade an item. This is terrible.
Story- Well its ES. There's story all over. I can't hit them hard on this. I liked what I've seen of it.
Economy- Did noone tell them about FFXIV? Wow....
Taking it to the next level- They didn't. Might be back a few levels actually.
The bright side- It's just a few sweeping changes from being awesome. So many easy concept fixes can be made... in 8 months... They already have a lot of systems in that can make everything great they just chose to cap them all off so it can't be great. This is one of those games where it just has this epic and awesome feel then you realize the few things you can do now are all you'll ever do... Short ascent to a capped experience. Get rid of that add in a few ballsy game mechanics and it goes from being a small shallow game with a big story and world to a pretty awesome game. Will they do it? We'll see if this article is correct I guess.
I'm sorry but the moment you put things like a race behind a paywall you lose any right to being a good guy developer.
Doesn't make them morally bankrupt or evil. It just makes them developers who are in it for the money first and, by extension, not a good guy developer.
There are developers out there working their asses off for basically no monetary compensation whatsoever purely out of love for the games they're making, those are good guy developers even if they aren't producing hyped-up AAA MMOs.
I'm sure Zenimax Online is a fine bunch of people with some great devs there but this article is really just twisting the good guy words.
We are the bunny. Resistance is futile. ''/\/\'''''/\/\''''''/\/\ ( o.o) ( o.o) ( o.o) (")("),,(")("),(")(")
This is a business not some fan game where they slave over the game for you for nothing. Of course they want to make money. That does not make them a bad developer.
The fact that they listen to feedback about the important things - adding the first person, npc collision detection, improving the starting experience (tutorial has been revamped too), adding more clutter and using the beta to see what kind of add-ons are unfair for competitve PVP impresses me.
Usually on a MMO beta you see the patch changes and it is generic moving a stat 0.1 in some direction and a few bug fixes.
So now I feel like, this developer will make changes in the future. There will be improvements. It gives me a feeling of trust.
Right, so exactly as I'm saying they're just a normal developer.
Not an evil money-hungry dev that will sell out anything for an extra buck. Nor a good guy dev who'll sacrifice profit for the sake of their users by providing things like the complete set of races for free.
Just a normal dev.
We are the bunny. Resistance is futile. ''/\/\'''''/\/\''''''/\/\ ( o.o) ( o.o) ( o.o) (")("),,(")("),(")(")
Originally posted by Righteous_Rock This is the mmorpg.com covers thier ass save face article. If this isn't icing on the cake before launch, then I might as well be playing mmorpgs with a bunch of dead dogs.
This site has actually been one of the few that hasn't just mindlessly jumped on the hate bandwagon and has presented coverage on the game fairly in my mind - focusing on both positives and negatives. Sites like Massively, PC Gamer and a few others have been the worst for consistently putting a negative spin on everything to do with ESO.
Comments
Yeah this whole thing sounds like it was written by a 12 year old. No offense to anyone but you must be really desperate for articles for this site.
Yes.
Wow, is the situation already that bad?
Games need sort of Art Direction and Gameplay Direction, Development Direction, you can let customer Feedback flow into design decisions but at some Point you need to stick to you decisions and i would not have reimplemented Hands for example.
If you go for cheap textures bcs your MMO can not handle more stick with it and say so.
If you have Artists, that have defected artistic visions by years of WoWing shapes and forms eat it or hire different ones that can draw a Bookshelf that looks like a TES Bookshelf looks (that have a Realistic Art Approach and not like a WoW-Bookshelf with low quality TES-Textures).
If you make a console game do not pretend to have a good UI, you do not, simply have an ompitmized UI for console use.
Etc.
Zenimax is not a Good Guy - a Good Guy is a Good Guy and many a Good Guy may work at Zenimax and i feel sorry for them.
Critic on the game has nothing to do with being a Good Guy, it has to to with the expectations that come from making a game with a certain IP, a certain Artistic Approach/Art Direction of a certain Quality etc.
They still can make Coke out of this Pepsi but i wont say its Coke when it ends up Pepsi.
"Torquemada... do not implore him for compassion. Torquemada... do not beg him for forgiveness. Torquemada... do not ask him for mercy. Let's face it, you can't Torquemada anything!"
MWO Music Video - What does the Mech say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF6HYNqCDLI
Johnny Cash - The Man Comes Around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0x2iwK0BKM
What a dbag statement.What purpose does your statement serveother than to be a dbag?Get back under that rock.Seriously stupid people on the internet.
There Is Always Hope!
If the game looks like it isn't going to do well for some reason, like the starting area, then developers change it. This isn't about "because the fans", it is about "generating enough revenue to cover costs". Not to say that this is bad, just to say that it isn't particularly unique. If you know something is going to impact your bottom line, you address it. Whether or not they are the the best ever is something we will find out based on how they handle post release, fixing issues and getting out new content in a timely manner.
I also agree that this type of editorial does hurt the credibility of mmorpg in general. At least if it was post release out of the blue article about the developers I could see merit, this appears to be nothing more than a fluff piece to drive hype and sales.
This ^
Played-Everything
Playing-LoL
Honestly? ^This
Some of you people posting here...you wear your asshattery on your sleeves. You are so see through and act like we don't know it. Keep posting against every game or company...the Devs aren't paying attention to you. They are paying attention to those with real input.
"This may hurt a little, but it's something you'll get used to. Relax....."
The have add thing and fix thing is in the beta version the have fix few bug and the add Imperial White Horse which will be in CE and only people that have perorder CE can buy so i wonder when was last time you play ESO beta and ofc then cant add new version for then we would get full game serious man think before you write next time.
Actually, it makes perfect sense. When you are doing a test of your infrastructure you will want to control as many variables as possible over the course of the test so as to more accurately judge your progress. The client being uses for the last few stress test was introduced in January while on the PTS they have continued to test updated clients. The real problem for some is the confusion caused by companies that run a promo of the game while calling it a beta test. Thus when a company such as Zenimax does an actual beat stress test some people think it is a pomo of the game an expect a current if not a gold client of the game to be uses
Magic is impressive, but now Minsc leads! Swords for everyone!
"So I ask you, is Zenimax one of the best companies that has developed an MMO?"
It certainly looks promising so far. Not only have they shown that they actually ARE listening to their prospective customers, but have also made some significant changes to the game in response to that feedback.
They have certainly achieved something that I thought was impossible, in that they managed to somehow turn generally negative perceptions of ESO into generally positive ones in a relatively short time. That's no mean feat.
But it's too early to induct ZOS into the "MMO Developer Hall of Fame" just yet. Their performance in the months after launch will clinch the deal. So far they are strong contenders.
ok at Zenimax there are people who are hardworking to build this game and every aspect of the game and is harsh to blame them as bad people, but the publishers/top head are truly assholes from my point of view and they just want $$$, so if it was to make a bad release yes they had to respond cause the critics were really bad.
so no Zenimax is not the best company maybe one of the worst, just their developers are very good cause they were able to deliver many changes in so little time, and its sad for those people..
about the numbers, ok somewhere i read an example of McDonalds well here in Greece they have been removed and only on places with tourism they still exist just for US tourists
what games they are make on mmo market
I know they working on ESO , but what games they have done & why they are good?
As a 14 year mmo vet maybe I'm just burned on the current status quo but this game has so much hype and so little game. This game needs more game. 8 months of development to even consider releasing it. Also, it needs complete core redesigns.
World- It's big... boring... unrewarding to explore.... beautiful...packed with stuff i don't actually want to find... It has a look that makes me want to wander around but then nothing is really there. Who goes exploring to find stuff that sucks.
Combat- It's a joke. 5-6 buttons. you can create all the millions of abilities you want. You can put 5 more on another weapon. this isn't going to create deep meaningful combat. It's crap pure and simple. The balance and cookie cutter arguments are just pathetic. How in the world are you going to be an interactive force on an ever-changing battlefield with no range in what you can do? Think about every motion you do in an average day. Pick 5. No right? you couldn't even leave the house .
Group interface/the MMO side of the game- What group interface? why is this so bad? Just try to make a group with someone find them and trade an item. This is terrible.
Story- Well its ES. There's story all over. I can't hit them hard on this. I liked what I've seen of it.
Economy- Did noone tell them about FFXIV? Wow....
Taking it to the next level- They didn't. Might be back a few levels actually.
The bright side- It's just a few sweeping changes from being awesome. So many easy concept fixes can be made... in 8 months... They already have a lot of systems in that can make everything great they just chose to cap them all off so it can't be great. This is one of those games where it just has this epic and awesome feel then you realize the few things you can do now are all you'll ever do... Short ascent to a capped experience. Get rid of that add in a few ballsy game mechanics and it goes from being a small shallow game with a big story and world to a pretty awesome game. Will they do it? We'll see if this article is correct I guess.
___________________________
Have flask; will travel.
I'm sorry but the moment you put things like a race behind a paywall you lose any right to being a good guy developer.
Doesn't make them morally bankrupt or evil. It just makes them developers who are in it for the money first and, by extension, not a good guy developer.
There are developers out there working their asses off for basically no monetary compensation whatsoever purely out of love for the games they're making, those are good guy developers even if they aren't producing hyped-up AAA MMOs.
I'm sure Zenimax Online is a fine bunch of people with some great devs there but this article is really just twisting the good guy words.
We are the bunny.
Resistance is futile.
''/\/\'''''/\/\''''''/\/\
( o.o) ( o.o) ( o.o)
(")("),,(")("),(")(")
This is a business not some fan game where they slave over the game for you for nothing. Of course they want to make money. That does not make them a bad developer.
The fact that they listen to feedback about the important things - adding the first person, npc collision detection, improving the starting experience (tutorial has been revamped too), adding more clutter and using the beta to see what kind of add-ons are unfair for competitve PVP impresses me.
Usually on a MMO beta you see the patch changes and it is generic moving a stat 0.1 in some direction and a few bug fixes.
So now I feel like, this developer will make changes in the future. There will be improvements. It gives me a feeling of trust.
Right, so exactly as I'm saying they're just a normal developer.
Not an evil money-hungry dev that will sell out anything for an extra buck. Nor a good guy dev who'll sacrifice profit for the sake of their users by providing things like the complete set of races for free.
Just a normal dev.
We are the bunny.
Resistance is futile.
''/\/\'''''/\/\''''''/\/\
( o.o) ( o.o) ( o.o)
(")("),,(")("),(")(")
This site has actually been one of the few that hasn't just mindlessly jumped on the hate bandwagon and has presented coverage on the game fairly in my mind - focusing on both positives and negatives. Sites like Massively, PC Gamer and a few others have been the worst for consistently putting a negative spin on everything to do with ESO.