Elder Scrolls Online release date 4-4-14

[Markbnj]

http://elderscrollsonline.com/en/news/post/2013/12/11/eso-release-plans-announced

Coming in April for the PC/MAC, and June for the PS4/XBO.

 

[imaheadcase]

This game was terrible in the beta. mindless quest and quest of doing same repeatable things. Run here, press this, killed 20 chickens, etc stuff. You can spend a hour doing 3 quests that are so easy but you have to run around.

 

[cbrunny]

I watched the trailer earlier today. Looks like even in the trailer there are framerate issues.

Will wait for thorough reviews.

 

[clok1966]

This game was terrible in the beta. mindless quest and quest of doing same repeatable things. Run here, press this, killed 20 chickens, etc stuff. You can spend a hour doing 3 quests that are so easy but you have to run around.

and there is another MMO that doesn't do this? I play alot (not all, maybe i missed this game that does it differnt) didn't see anything with this quest system (that wasn't in every other quest system), but.. I feel there was more to these (be it small or large).. but a NDA sorta stops anybody from discussing it.. and I can say I have never spent an hour doing 3 quests because of running around, One quest took about 20 minutes (and was around other quests) and it was a PUZZLE, not laid out for you as all other games do, it was designed to make you figure it out (and was one of the better quest I must say).

But as with all games, there will be more beta and ways to test.. try it yourself (most beta's are free, unless they are early release on steam it seems )

IMA- you don't like, no issues with that, but please don't make it sound like other games are doing something better (with quests, they are not). now if you want to talk other reasons, there are some Im sure, and if you dont plan on playing, break the NDA and tell um all.

 

[smackababy]

and there is another MMO that doesn't do this?

Ultima Online! or EVE if you want to be a weirdo.


But, most MMOs are not WoW clones, which is sad. =(

 

[Annon2255]

I love ES games, but I'm still on the fence about this game. I was so excited when I first heard they were making it, but since the beta I'm feeling a little more cautious. It seemed good, but too generic. If I want to play a cookie cutter MMO I might as well go back to WoW or SWToR where I have established characters. I'm really hoping this game has more to offer beyond what I was able to see during the beta.

 

[lamedude]

Glad to see the policy of catchy release date is still in effect. Will 4-14-14 be worse than Skyrim's 11-11-11?

 

[ShintaiDK]

Looking forward to try it. But the console compability already lowered my hopes drasticly.

 

[Grooveriding]

90% possibility this will be an epic fail imho.

 

[imaheadcase]

and there is another MMO that doesn't do this? I play alot (not all, maybe i missed this game that does it differnt) didn't see anything with this quest system (that wasn't in every other quest system), but.. I feel there was more to these (be it small or large).. but a NDA sorta stops anybody from discussing it.. and I can say I have never spent an hour doing 3 quests because of running around, One quest took about 20 minutes (and was around other quests) and it was a PUZZLE, not laid out for you as all other games do, it was designed to make you figure it out (and was one of the better quest I must say).

But as with all games, there will be more beta and ways to test.. try it yourself (most beta's are free, unless they are early release on steam it seems )

IMA- you don't like, no issues with that, but please don't make it sound like other games are doing something better (with quests, they are not). now if you want to talk other reasons, there are some Im sure, and if you dont plan on playing, break the NDA and tell um all.

Other games do it better by having interesting quests at least. These are very VERY dumbed down quests. Most don't have even a story to them, just some lady wanting you to do something. Its basically what MMO did in the early days.

 

[clok1966]

I love ES games, but I'm still on the fence about this game. I was so excited when I first heard they were making it, but since the beta I'm feeling a little more cautious. It seemed good, but too generic. If I want to play a cookie cutter MMO I might as well go back to WoW or SWToR where I have established characters. I'm really hoping this game has more to offer beyond what I was able to see during the beta.

HUGE fan of Elder Scrolls, the open world, exploring part is what lures me in. Silly stuff like a skeleton laying by a stump and chest hid in the stump in some nowhere area .. love that stuff. SPOILER (skyrim) the flooded prison, that was my cake.. a story, not deep, not long, but fun to read and see the aftermath, stuff like that.

I must admit I cant see the MMORPG recreating that feeling, and without it, it could be very much like "all the rest". As I mentioned before, there are quests that have a interesting feel to them, but as right now all MMORPGs just hand hold you (and the masses must like this as they all do it, and you see the hits on spoiler sites, nobody wants to do it themselves anymore) Some (minority) are much more involved and make YOU figure it out. I liked this very much. No spoiler sites, nobody knows how to do everything.. it was VERY refreshing to have to figure stuff out. The problem with this, as soon as beta gets bigger all the info will be up and nobody will take 2 minutes to even try figure it out themselves, just tab out and read it.

would love to give some real thoughts on it (good and bad) but again, cant.. I must say I dont see anything it does "worse" then the others..

 

[SexyK]

Actually, the release date is 4-4-14, not 4-14-14.

 

[Markbnj]

Actually, the release date is 4-4-14, not 4-14-14.

Oops, you are correct, sir. OP edited.

 

[Markbnj]

I must admit I cant see the MMORPG recreating that feeling, and without it, it could be very much like "all the rest". As I mentioned before, there are quests that have a interesting feel to them, but as right now all MMORPGs just hand hold you (and the masses must like this as they all do it, and you see the hits on spoiler sites, nobody wants to do it themselves anymore) Some (minority) are much more involved and make YOU figure it out. I liked this very much.

That's the main thing. I have hopes for this with Firor's involvement, and I have heard some pretty good feedback about the RvR. I also agree with your second point about the game not doing anything worse than any other mainstream MMO. That may be the problem, in the end. But who knows? With WoW waning a little bit people are looking for something, and maybe what they want is more of the same in a new world with a few interesting differences and improvements.

But the main thing... the sort of sad thing... is that modern game producers don't realize investment == engagement, and risk accentuates reward. You run around these theme parks they produce with little lights that pop up telling you what door to run through, it all gets kind of meaningless.

At the other end of the scale you have something like Darkfall, where you're tossed in with almost no help at all. A game like that, with some pseudo-real "danger" and an initial period of confusion and newbishness makes you feel like you accomplished something when you figure it out. Unfortunately that game isn't doing well, so I guess that shows what the masses want.

 

[pathos]

At the other end of the scale you have something like Darkfall, where you're tossed in with almost no help at all. A game like that, with some pseudo-real "danger" and an initial period of confusion and newbishness makes you feel like you accomplished something when you figure it out. Unfortunately that game isn't doing well, so I guess that shows what the masses want.

I'm curious. Normally, if you make a game more difficult, it narrows your user base down to a fraction of what it's total could be. There is a market for something like that, but the market is much smaller than if you make it "general use", so to speak.

There have been games with hard difficulty, that have been profitable. Like, for example dark souls. The ninja gaiden games have been known in the past for their difficulty as well.

So, it makes me wonder, how well a modern mmo could sell in todays market, if it's difficulty was comparable to, say, the original EQ release.

Say, the game had decent graphics, released without a lot of bugs, and general play of the game was serviceable, without being flashy.

But, the game punished you for being stupid, encouraged grouping above all else, and just generally made you work hard for anything you accomplished.

Could a game like that make money today?

 

[Markbnj]

I'm curious. Normally, if you make a game more difficult, it narrows your user base down to a fraction of what it's total could be. There is a market for something like that, but the market is much smaller than if you make it "general use", so to speak.

There have been games with hard difficulty, that have been profitable. Like, for example dark souls. The ninja gaiden games have been known in the past for their difficulty as well.

So, it makes me wonder, how well a modern mmo could sell in todays market, if it's difficulty was comparable to, say, the original EQ release.

Say, the game had decent graphics, released without a lot of bugs, and general play of the game was serviceable, without being flashy.

But, the game punished you for being stupid, encouraged grouping above all else, and just generally made you work hard for anything you accomplished.

Could a game like that make money today?

I honestly don't know. I don't know what people really want, and I don't know how valid the assumptions that the industry currently operates under actually are.

The bottom line is probably that the most popular MMO by the numbers basically invented the idea of leading the player around by the hand, so if I were a betting man I'd have to say that we'll never again see a mass success in the MMO field that requires any individual effort on the player's part.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Glad to see the policy of catchy release date is still in effect. Will 4-14-14 be worse than Skyrim's 11-11-11?

haha, I hate it when companies do this. All COD games try to do this, or have tried in the past from what I could remember.

It's so lame.

4-4-14 isn't even anything special. Seems like they are trying to hard and stretching to use 4-4-14 and think it's a "catchy" date.

 

[smackababy]

haha, I hate it when companies do this. All COD games try to do this, or have tried in the past from what I could remember.

It's so lame.

4-4-14 isn't even anything special. Seems like they are trying to hard and stretching to use 4-4-14 and think it's a "catchy" date.

9-9-99 is my favorite. The Dreamcast and those awful Beatles commercials...

 

[Squeetard]

I'm looking forward to this game. It will be the second MMO I've tried. Did SWTOR for a month and got bored. I do love wandering around in the Elder Scrolls universe though. I like the idea of quests being puzzles too, not just fetch stuff. As long as combat is cool this should be good.

 

[blastingcap]

I hope this game fails totally and immediately so they can pour more resources into developing Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 4.

 

[gothamhunter]

I was interested in it until it turned out to be absolutely horrible.

 

[smackababy]

I hope this game fails totally and immediately so they can pour more resources into developing Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 4.

I sure do hope it fails and fails fast. Otherwise Fallout 4 might turn into Fallout Online. =(

 

[magomago]

I'm going to call massive fail. I don't want it to fail, I like MMOs despite having no desire to play them anymore, but, if there are as many issues as described with just 5 months to launch (doing some googling) that are a combination of the actual quests, gameplay, and basic functionality, there is no way it will get fixed in time.

At this point in time, with less than 5 months to launch, all they need to be focused on are lots of server stability tests and bug fixing. The point of a beta is knowing that rare issues have a low probability, and the way to encounter them is to increase absolute play time; this is why hordes of gamers willing to play for ungodly hours is so valuable.

 

[ShintaiDK]

I hope this game fails totally and immediately so they can pour more resources into developing Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 4.

If it fails, there will be less resources and money for those 2 games.

 

[clok1966]

I hope this game fails totally and immediately so they can pour more resources into developing Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 4.

Its my understanding its totally different teams, so manpower is no issue, cash on the other hand? But unless they are stupid ( beth seems to do well) budgets have been mapped for years. Win/fail of ESO will not impact the stand alone games at all.

I am rooting for it as I am enjoying it some, but $15 a month for something 99% of the existing MMORPG dont charge for is going to be a hard sell no matter how good or bad the game is. I really doubt if WOW came out today it would make it, but you have 5 million people with 5+ years of gaming in, they cant just let it go. I must say in the end $15 will kill it, nobody will pay that. many of us love the ES series and will invest for a few months, so it should launch ok, but thats it (opinion), it will loss subscribers quickly, and as its geared for P2P, it will be really hard to swap to a decent F2P model quickly. I hate to say it, but BETH is banking to hard on the fanbase to eat up anything ES, just wont happen at $15 a month.