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Reactions from 5 folks I played with for their First Beta
Belgaraath
Member UncommonPosts: 3,204
This was my 3rd beta, which isn't really a beta, its more of a Stress Test like the last two. I'm disappointed I never got into the real beta, but at least this gave me a feel of what to expect and I saw enough of the game to realize this WILL be my home for at least 3-6 months.
I played with 5 others either in Vent or via the friends list and typing lol. Let me state up front they don't visit these forums, or even the ESO forums, and had no clue about upcoming patches, what people liked or disliked, etc. The reaction I was getting from them as we all played on Vent or typed away were things like:
1) I love the fact that I feel like I can explore.
2) Exploration feels more than just looking for datacrons like in SWTOR.
3) They generally loved the beauty of the world.
4) 2 decided to preorder as a result. 2 others had already preordered.
5) One of them spent more time in PVP then the rest of us, but I don't know his opinion yet.
6) One of them felt so excited that he wanted to start his own guild after leading an Aion Guild I believe (which also surprised me since I hated Aion lol).
7) We spent a lot of time just talking about our different builds which was fun to do. I also enjoyed since I had more game experience being able to help them with some of the things they didn't know. I'm a good teacher lol.
8) I didn't hear one negative other than a few bugs. Most of our chat was talking about what we were doing or seeing and to me that was a very good sign.
My reaction as of this morning is:
a) Daggerfall Starter area, 2nd starter island, was frustrating since two of the quests were bugged which means you couldn't progress off the island. However, I think it was a phasing issue since when I would close the game and log back in, for me at least the quests continued to progress.
b) I was disappointed we weren't going to see Patch V.18 even though I knew this beforehand, but at least I got to try more builds like a Dragon Knight Wizard I was tinkering with :-). Here are those UPCOMING patch notes again--->
http://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/1yso0g/upcoming_v018_patchnotes/
c) I LOVE the feel of the skill progression. It just feels light years ahead of my last MMO which was GW2.
d) I don't feel the animations are bad at all anymore. In fact I think they are just fine. I have no idea what some folks are talking about as I wasn't even thinking about it at all in game. I do think one exception is the bow, that could still be improved a lot in my eyes.
e) Same about the combat. I love it. I actually enjoyed it more than Skyrim because you don't have to pause it to keep changing the main abilities I want to use and I hated the Kill Cam in that game as well lol.
f) My advice to some folks, put on a headset, the music and sound effects just jump out of the game and surround you. I wish my gaming headset was just a tad lighter though lol.
g) I LOVED that even by level 8, I found two instances of NPCS WITHOUT quest markers that I only found through exploring/talk to NPC folks, one in a tavern, that sent me to two places on my map that I wouldn't have known about up front without that NPC interaction. I LOVE stuff like that.
h) I'm hooked. I played two nights until 5am and was tired most of the day yesterday including today lol. I haven't felt this much desire to log in for a very long time. I am anxiously awaiting release. I believe 4 of my 5 friends were hooked too. Will be curious to hear the thoughts of our PVP guy.
There Is Always Hope!
Comments
Good news for you and your friends! I'm glad there's an audience for it. I was bored to tears. The graphics aren't all that great for me either. The Secret World looks much, much better with more atmosphere.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
Crysis has much better graphics too. So does the latest Tomb Raider. We still loved the graphics anyway. I think the Secret World looked fine and I actually enjoyed it, but I definitely DO NOT think the graphics nor the animations are better than this game. Everything felt more blocky in that game and not to me at least not as detailed. However, I do think they did a great job with the general atmospheric feel of the areas :-). I guess opinions are just that, opinions :-).
There Is Always Hope!
I agree it was boring for me too. I was in beta since mid last year and each time I played, I had to make myself log in to test it. I kept hoping it would grow on me, but it never did. It was boring, and so much of the game I had issues with that are still with it today.
Every family member, friends, old guild mates I know all decided to give it a pass except for 1 and the reason he was going was the pvp was better than GW2.
What happens when you log off your characters????.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
Dark Age of Camelot
Sir welcome to club ! )))
I personally decided to delete my account of MMORPG.COM most of people are are incredibly dumb. What about You OP see ya in Tamriel ^^
Yes they are, and I hope you enjoy the game with your friends. This is just another themepark for me, and I'm all themeparked out.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
I can respect that. Actually before this was the first time in 10 years I wasn't playing any MMO. I had picked up a PS4 instead. I'm still even more excited about upcoming Virtual Reality headsets by the end of the year, but just something about being able to explore in this game once you leave the starter areas and to do it with others around was just enough to grab me. I do think due to themepark weariness I'm not so confident I'll be playing as long as I initially played WOW for example lol, but I guess I'll see how I feel in 3-6 months. I was super excited about GW2 for the first month and it quickly bored me to death by the 3rd month.
There Is Always Hope!
I'm done with MMOs until a good indy game like The Repopulation releases to try. To me, it's very sad that a game like Battlefield 4 is much more immersive and compelling than any MMO game on the market these days. I'd like a game to log into where I'm completely lost in its depth and scope, and have to learn the hard way how to make it all work. I guess, in my old age, I need something more mentally and emotionally challenging than the mainstream wants in their MMOs.
I've been saying for years now that this is going to be a growing trend as more and more people get sick of playing the same MMOs over again. I honestly believe we aren't going to see a real revolution in MMOs until Oculus Rift and other VR hardware starts to take over the market. That's going to change everything.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
I got bored. I am level 8, I do love PvP, but I just can't bring myself to keep doing these solo quests, especially since I know my character will be deleted.
Everyone use up all the content you can now, so when the game releases you will be bored extra fast!
Betas are the most terrible-ist idea any company could possibly think of.
"Yes, lets let all the people experience the same content 3x in a row, deleting their characters, so when the game comes out they can EASILY rush through it to end game and then complain that there is nothing to do, thus causing them to quit"
I am entitled to my opinions, misspellings, and grammatical errors.
True, but I wouldn't delete your account. There are some very good articles here and some good info from both supporters and those who don't like it, but I realize that when certain folks focus only on these forums it can get tiresome, but I keep coming back anyway lol. I definitely enjoy the forums at reddit more. Regardless, see ya in game :-)
There Is Always Hope!
Did you guys ever hear about personal preferences... Graphics are such a thing... But i dare say that the graphics of eso are among the best in MMO land...
and you cant compare graphics in non massive games with mmo graphics... There is just to many u predictable things in mmos to have good predictions for your cpu/ gpu
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
To some extent I agree with you which is why I'm purposely skipping most of the stories themselves (just clicking really fast) with my focus more on testing my builds as I acquire skill points. I want to enjoy the story more as well as the books and lore at release and take my time. However since they cap around level 17 or 18 (area wise), at least I know there is a ton of stuff I still haven't seen (beyond level 18, 50+ and 50++ content for the other faction areas I haven't seen beyond level 10-18, adventure zones, dark anchors, ect).
Whoops I just realized something else I liked, riding the horse and feeding it an apple every day lol. Stupid little things :-).
There Is Always Hope!
^This^
What happens when you log off your characters????.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
Dark Age of Camelot
You may want to check EQ Landmark out when it's done. I'm having lots of fun in the bare bones alpha. Looking to be a nice sandboxy game to play. I'm with ya though, it has been sad for mmorpgs for so many years now. Themepark after themepark.
What happens when you log off your characters????.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
Dark Age of Camelot
Or, if you know you don't like repeating content, you could just play it once to see if you like it. There are 3 starting areas as well, so you could conceivably have two unplayed areas at launch so it's fresh. Complaining that you bored yourself by playing the same content multiple times and blaming the game seems a bit silly
As to the OP's impressions, I've heard generally the same thing in zone chat. People seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves. There were a lot of helpful people in the area I played this weekend as well, helping with quests, crafting, and general information for the new people. Very positive.
Although I had a glitchy first Beta session over a month or so ago, I had another go this weekend and the difference has been remarkable. The graphics look far from washed out and are incredibly smooth and detailed. The combat is simplistic but when using a shield you really can decide when to block and the inertia from an enemies failed strike really does give a sense of fighting a 'solid' npc ... I have not taken part in PVP yet but can imagine this facet would be brilliant.
I have used a bow and do feel that it lacks a thump when the arrow hits it's mark .... if the same sort of mechanics as the shield block / stun / bash were applied I would not hesitate to carry a full quiver hehehe.
I think that the weather and sound really emerges you in a sense of drama and the quest npc vocals are extremely engaging. I usually skip through thin story banter but from what I have played so far it is way above the average.
It does feel like an MMO which for me is most important. I love seeing random folks doing their stuff ..... also I don't have to engage in conversation to appreciate the existence of others and it brings a game to life for me. It does have loading screens / sections...but they do seem to merge in a speedier fashion than in similar games . The Secret World's loading screens on my PC are ridiculously slow even though they both seem to boast similar textures .... so a positive for ESO.
I am more impressed with Elder Scrolls after today and am certainly considering purchasing it. I am not bothered by monthly subscriptions because to me it demonstrates confidence in a product. However I do think paying for another race at launch to be a nonsensical decision made by a blinkered marketing team and would not be surprised if they reverse it. Staggered that they even considered something so stupid in an already fickle marketplace when so much time, money and effort has been exhausted into making such an epic game. ....... someone, somewhere needs a punch in the face ... I bet Carbine are jumping for joy hehehe.
Talking of Carbine .... Wildstar is looking fantastic too ....though I have never played it I can certainly see me buying both. This might be an odd statement being on an ESO thread, but thats the point. Four or five weeks ago I was seriously doubting this game..... now however, like many the nearer the 4th of April comes the more I will become overtaken by a childlike excitement for something new and I will want to splash the cash ... 2013 I felt was very poor for mmorg's .... 2014 is going to be ace...
but the pvp is still so bad in TSW.
I've tried it. Minecraft with decent graphics.
This bit here, It's weird but true. I never realized until I just read your post.
The same goes when deciding if you have time to land a heavy blow or not (to release), and the sense of a heavy blow landing is a far different feel.
Core i5 13600KF, BeQuiet Pure Loop FX 360, 32gb DDR5-6000 XPG, WD SN850 NVMe ,PNY 3090 XLR8, Asus Prime Z790-A, Lian-Li O11 PCMR case (limited ed 1045/2000), 32" LG Ultragear 4k Monitor, Logitech G560 LightSync Sound, Razer Deathadder V2 and Razer Blackwidow V3 Keyboard
I played EQ and EQ2 but this Disney shite they are pushing this time makes me puke. Honestly. I was hyped about EQN until they revealed it. Being able to dig tunnels is not enough for me, sorry.
no dude, just no.
I agree with most of what you wrote. Its actually refreshing for someone who likes two totally different games with different target audiences appreciate both, so thank you for your post. I agree about the race comment as well, but it is what it is :-).
There Is Always Hope!
I'm a Trailblazer in Landmark. It's neat and all, but it's missing the "game" aspect. I learned a while back with Xsyon that just being able to build and craft doesn't make it an MMO, and to be honest, Xsyon had a more interesting system. I'm aware they are making Landmar a full MMO, so they say, so I will check in on it from time to time.
In my opinion, you really need a hybrid MMO, complete with some lore, conflict, reasons to build other than "because you can", etc. If Landmark just tries to become MMO-Minecraft with no compelling reason to log in but building things, then it won't be something I'll enjoy.
Having said that; going back to a static-world game like TESO is a huge step back when you realize the potential of something with more emergent gameplay / sandbox features. It really drives home the themepark feel of the old style games.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
Crazy times we live in, eh?