Originally posted by Bensor The leaked version is from an early alpha build. Confirmed by an inner source.
Creation date and time on the video has already been posted from the video files. It was an hour or so before upload. They've removed the vid's from most sites, so me going to youtube to see when it was uploaded isn't possible, but i promise you the video hadn't been up since 'early alpha'. We know that much. We DONT know what level of PC he was using, or whether or not the textures in game were low res, etc. You should try using that ammo to defend with. Inner sources just make you look rather silly.
I'd like to say that from the conent I have seen at PAX and from the leaked video (Which was pretty much what we did at PAX), I am far from impressed. However, it is WAY too little info and gameplay to judge the entire game on. The "soft locking" annoys me the most, as it takes a huge chunk out of gameplay in not really having to aim....but still KINDA having to aim.
That being said, there is a lot of repetive crap in this article such as "herp derp most mmos have da grind!" Uh yea. An MMO is made to play for years and years, if anyone has some grandiose idea where an MMO releases and has some magical self creating content where after you hit max level in a week, you still have years of gameplay ahead of you, they're out of their minds.
And that is EXACTLY what is happening with all these newer MMOs who try to "eliminate the grind!" Stop. The grind is part of the MMO. Lets take The Secret World for example. I waited sooo long for that game, it had SUCH potential, and I "beat" it in a week. I did all the story content, all the missions, I beat the gatekeeper, I did all the hard modes, I got all my gear. Then I look back at it going huh....what happened, im bored already. This is the same for pretty much every newer MMO.
So I look back, wondering what kept me playing the MMOs I played for such a long time. Everquest. Dark Age of Camelot. FFXI. WoW (vanilla). Hm why did I play these for YEARS? Heck, I put 8 1/2 into EQ, and 3 into WoW before it went LOLEASYMODE. Oh, right. I had a reason to log in. It took a long.....long time to level in those games. You didnt just run from ! to ! to ! grabbing xp for killing 5 rats. You killed a billion rats.
Now why did such games with long long level grinds do so well? Surely they should have bombed with such grindy play! No, they made the grinding FUN and CHALLENGING. In a modern MMO I can, on an extremely low level player, fight ridiculous amounts of monsters on my own, and this continues for the entirety of the game. Gather up tons of monsters, smash them down, have almost no downtime, repeat. Then game companies wonder Y OUR GAME LOSING PEOPLE!? Because they beat it, game companies. You gave them the means to do so in days. Old school MMOs kicked your butt, no question about it. I remember dying to the KICK of a deadly ....moss snake in EQ. Or the drudges in Asherons Call, oh noes! And when I was done barely fighting that skeleton and living with 10% hp....I didnt magically pop to full hp and mana by stuffing bread in my face. I had to bandage my wounds and meditate to restore my mana. TIME. Time is the currency that keeps an MMO alive. MMOs today just do not challenge you, and while they do initially SELL to a broader population, they do not STAY which is what keeps it running. Time.
That being said, ESO is looking to fall into the same boat. They tried to get rid of the grind, and essential part ot keep your players there, and peopel are going to get bored fast. People whine. People cry. People complain. Just remember, people have a very firm idea of what they WANT but usually no idea what they NEED. The "i want it now, gimmie gimmie gimmie" attitude of all the instant gratification seeking plebs does not signify what the players need. Yes they will play your game if you give them what they want. Guess what? THey'be most likely play it if you didnt, and they'd play it a lot longer with a bit of a grind in it.
Basically, I am skeptical at what I've seen, and I feel this game is just going to be "over" too quickly. I can only read "the game only begins at (level cap)! The adventure starts there!" so many times, and see it fail so many times before I look at it and make the face closest resembling -_- as I possibly can. So while I very seriously doubt anyone of import will look over this from ZOS, and it will mostly be the aforementioned I WANT IT I WANT IT crowd, I will still say PLEASE......think about what you're doing, lengthen the time to takes to do....well....anything. Dont let people hit max level cap off quests alone, make them have to go kill a few cave bears or bandits just because they need to get stronger. Dont fall into TSW mode and have huge, elaborate zones, with AWESOME stuff, that no one is in for longer than a few hours.
I don't mind the subscribtion model myself, there is room for 1 such game...not 2. However, I will be expecting more, and investing myself more in the game...if I choose to leave because I am bored or get to the point I switch to something else, I will praise the game...if I felt cheated of my ending, I hope I would just move on and not post thousands of posts about it...maturity is hopefully kicking in. But to say the least, I would definitedly do everything I can to avoid playing a game which try to put my end in some weird gameplay, no matter what it is...if I play to solo, group or even tradeskills, I expect to be geared thoses ways...and none other.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
"and they'd play it a lot longer with a bit of a grind in it."
I must respectually disagree with Chilton. I hate grind. I really loathe it. Slow levelling is ok, and we shouldn't finish a game in a week, shouldn't get great gear really quickly.
However, a recent short-lived jaunt into a certain Asian F2P MMO reminded me of how ghastly grind is. Quest 1. Kill 20 of mob A. Quest 2. Kill another 20 of mob A. AARGH!
Fallen Earth had slow advancement but wasn't grindy because the world was huge, exploring took time, and there were plenty of different bad guys and lots and lots of non-grind quests.
Slow doesn't have to be grind. Diversity in gameplay, allowing you to choose what you want, that can be slow. Grind is repetitive horror.
It seems that players increasingly like to focus on one or two aspects of an MMO and, if expectations are not met, tend to brand the game a failure. But there's more to a game than one or two things, most importantly how "playable" it is. See what we have to say about this issue in our latest Elder Scrolls Online column before heading to the comments.
I define playability as “am I having fun in the moment?” When I log into the game what is there for me to do? Many MMOs act as grindfests where you are repeating a process to reach a single goal. Is the process that you are repeating fun? Probably for a while, but it will soon become boring. Elder Scrolls has shown its quest system, its open world maps, and its ability to accomplish character goals through different ways. These three systems can take the grind out of leveling in the game. On their own they work well, but it is the balance of the three which allows you to have fun from moment to moment. If I log in any random night, I should be able to pick any one of these three options and play. If I am in the middle of a quest chain, they I can complete it. Or maybe I just want to explore the world tonight and not follow a quest. That choice for a player is very important and how a game like Elder Scrolls allows for players to make that choice is important to their success and retention.
Maybe it is just me, but I cannot quite agree with that viewpoint. For starters, quests and how you can complete them are still one single system or game mechanic. The different ways to approach a quest are just a feature of that quest mechanic not a different system on its own, at least imo. I mean, it's like saying: Well, today I will quest. But tomorrow I will approach the quest differently. It is still questing, and not offering a different option.
Then the open world maps. I suppose you could say that this is the exploration mechanic, and yes, that's something you could consider as a unqiue occupation aside from questing. I have another issue here: where exactly is the open world exploration possible?
Correct me if I am wrong but from what I read in various articles isn't it more like 5 zones each faction that you progress through depending on your character's level? You start in a starter zone, then have to complete certain main quests to be able to go to the next map/zone. Does it open up then? Can you freely explore the available 5 zones or do you get eaten alive if you step into a zone not suited for your level?
Maybe you have more insight about this than me, but I don't really see that open world happening, and that is even ignoring the fact that you can't enter the other 2/3rd of Tamriel until you are max level. What I see is that you can run around on the level appropriate map/zone and then progress to the next map once you reach a certain level. So, exploration is probably only happening within a particular map/zone, pretty much like GW2.
Ok, back to the point you made with "I define playability as “am I having fun in the moment?”". The three systems you mentioned are for me just one system, and that is called questing. When I think of different options that can distract from the grind a bit, I think of PvP, Crafting, RolePlaying. Those are different mechanics/systems and they offer some variety and also allow to have "fun in the moment".
At PAX the game was shown privately to each person who waited 2 hours in line to play. They had to guide you through it and tell you which classes not to pick. It was not on the big screen for all public eyes. The game in the leak was likely a recent build as they are far from finished anyway. Not sure what people are expecting as it has been said many times that it isn't a sandbox. If you are looking to level up a character to 60 and wait for content, then this is your game. If it has Guild Wars 2 model I will try it, if not will wait till they go F2P. No mmo game this era will survive off subscription, too many good free games to play. People aren't going to pay xx dollars a month to cap level and wait for content.
i was very worried it would look plastic and horrible like swtor since it uses hero engine.
TOR's look has nothing to do with HeroEngine, it is the art style they choose to use. The Repopulation uses HeroEngine2 and looks noothing like TOR. Also TESO uses HeroEngine, they tried to claim they dropped it here, http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/26/the-elder-scrolls-online-using-heroengine-as-a-whiteboard/ , which is utter bull, they are trying to dodge the accusations that people like black_isle are claiming. I have used HeroEngine for 2 years, I know it when I see it and the leaked video is a slightly modified version of HeroEngine (modified water shader).
I don't care what the pay model is if I like something I will play it. 50c a day is still the best entertainmet value you can find for 24/7 365 game access, thats my opinion..:)
I have followed the game, the things I like is the game is not a wow clone at last, the hybrid model will take some learning, it is time for some new style mmo's after you have played as many mmo's as I have you welcome change.
I have resonable expections of the game, I know what the dev's say do not always meet their expections, the fact that there is progession after max level is a win in m book. This game deserves a deeper look and no a gloss ove rlike most clone games get.
I myself am tired of short term game play that most mmo's offer today I am looking for a game my toon can live in the world and play with my friends for years.
But in the end time will be the true test, are players willing to get off the wow clone tit and try something new.
Originally posted by marz.at.play After the leaked video, is anyone actually still excited about this game considering it's going the subscription model route? Just curious as a game would have to blow me away to justify a subscription anymore. Most MMO's are going the B2P or F2P route, plus there's so many choices now as a result.
Yesss. I would ban by law free games. To create quality one need money. I seriously doubt you or any free lover would actually work for free.
Well yes, but 'fun' is a complex and ever-changing beast.
I hope they can get it right, fingers crossed because I want to love and live the game!
Fallen Earth, back in the old days, was fun because of the different setting, huge open world, 6-faction PVP, free aim, vehicles and the deep-as crafting system.
Guildwars2 is pretty fun because of the dynamic events, different ways to complete quests, story and graphics etc.
SWTOR had story, but wasn't fun because it's standard themepark full of identical characters and the worst ever feature of MMOs - tab targeting.
TSW had story but it's uber-themepark, you can't interact with the world, and has the worst ever feature of MMOs - tab targeting.
But maybe you disagree, maybe you think Korean-style grind is worse than tab targeting? A game where you just push some combo buttons and watch health bars, hoping the enemy's falls faster than yours, is not much of a game IMO. That's one thing TERA improved upon. Shame about the grind.
So... if TESO has story, free-aim, no grind, beautiful graphics, character customisation, open world, great crafting... I guess it has to be a winner.
Still haven't got a beta invite.
To be more accurate, if the game has free-aim AND tab targetting as options for attacking something, then it WILL be a winner in that regard. If it only has one of the options for that, it loses players that likes the other option.
The more features/options whatever you want to call it that are left out, the more players will complain and not play the game because it doesn't have it. Free-aim is what YOU like! It's how you enjoy playing an MMO, it's not how I enjoy targetting my enemy. if it has free-aim only, I won't be playing the game. PERIOD.
I'm sorry, but you state it as if everyone enjoys playing a certain way, but that's not the case. Give the player the choice of how he wants to play in regards to different aspects of game play and it will appeal to more players.
Originally posted by marz.at.play After the leaked video, is anyone actually still excited about this game considering it's going the subscription model route? Just curious as a game would have to blow me away to justify a subscription anymore. Most MMO's are going the B2P or F2P route, plus there's so many choices now as a result.
I am even more excited after seeing the video. I can't wait. Looks to have some cool features, menus, customization, open world, PvP, and many other cool features.
I prefer subscription MMO's I hate free to play MMO's, I find the free to play always lacking vs the sub base.
I also found the leaked video purposely made shed the game in a bad light. I looked beyond the trival things and looked deeper at the menus/abilities/fluidity/organic features.
Also the graphics were phenom
"The King and the Pawn return to the same box at the end of the game"
Comments
SUP
Creation date and time on the video has already been posted from the video files. It was an hour or so before upload. They've removed the vid's from most sites, so me going to youtube to see when it was uploaded isn't possible, but i promise you the video hadn't been up since 'early alpha'. We know that much. We DONT know what level of PC he was using, or whether or not the textures in game were low res, etc. You should try using that ammo to defend with. Inner sources just make you look rather silly.
The Deep Web is sca-ry.
This.
Love the last sentence in italics:
Garrett Fuller is the Industry Relations Manager at MMORPG.com.
The Deep Web is sca-ry.
I'll take a great game with a niche market & subscription vs mind numbing experience F2P/B2P with 5 million people any day.
I'd like to say that from the conent I have seen at PAX and from the leaked video (Which was pretty much what we did at PAX), I am far from impressed. However, it is WAY too little info and gameplay to judge the entire game on. The "soft locking" annoys me the most, as it takes a huge chunk out of gameplay in not really having to aim....but still KINDA having to aim.
That being said, there is a lot of repetive crap in this article such as "herp derp most mmos have da grind!" Uh yea. An MMO is made to play for years and years, if anyone has some grandiose idea where an MMO releases and has some magical self creating content where after you hit max level in a week, you still have years of gameplay ahead of you, they're out of their minds.
And that is EXACTLY what is happening with all these newer MMOs who try to "eliminate the grind!" Stop. The grind is part of the MMO. Lets take The Secret World for example. I waited sooo long for that game, it had SUCH potential, and I "beat" it in a week. I did all the story content, all the missions, I beat the gatekeeper, I did all the hard modes, I got all my gear. Then I look back at it going huh....what happened, im bored already. This is the same for pretty much every newer MMO.
So I look back, wondering what kept me playing the MMOs I played for such a long time. Everquest. Dark Age of Camelot. FFXI. WoW (vanilla). Hm why did I play these for YEARS? Heck, I put 8 1/2 into EQ, and 3 into WoW before it went LOLEASYMODE. Oh, right. I had a reason to log in. It took a long.....long time to level in those games. You didnt just run from ! to ! to ! grabbing xp for killing 5 rats. You killed a billion rats.
Now why did such games with long long level grinds do so well? Surely they should have bombed with such grindy play! No, they made the grinding FUN and CHALLENGING. In a modern MMO I can, on an extremely low level player, fight ridiculous amounts of monsters on my own, and this continues for the entirety of the game. Gather up tons of monsters, smash them down, have almost no downtime, repeat. Then game companies wonder Y OUR GAME LOSING PEOPLE!? Because they beat it, game companies. You gave them the means to do so in days. Old school MMOs kicked your butt, no question about it. I remember dying to the KICK of a deadly ....moss snake in EQ. Or the drudges in Asherons Call, oh noes! And when I was done barely fighting that skeleton and living with 10% hp....I didnt magically pop to full hp and mana by stuffing bread in my face. I had to bandage my wounds and meditate to restore my mana. TIME. Time is the currency that keeps an MMO alive. MMOs today just do not challenge you, and while they do initially SELL to a broader population, they do not STAY which is what keeps it running. Time.
That being said, ESO is looking to fall into the same boat. They tried to get rid of the grind, and essential part ot keep your players there, and peopel are going to get bored fast. People whine. People cry. People complain. Just remember, people have a very firm idea of what they WANT but usually no idea what they NEED. The "i want it now, gimmie gimmie gimmie" attitude of all the instant gratification seeking plebs does not signify what the players need. Yes they will play your game if you give them what they want. Guess what? THey'be most likely play it if you didnt, and they'd play it a lot longer with a bit of a grind in it.
Basically, I am skeptical at what I've seen, and I feel this game is just going to be "over" too quickly. I can only read "the game only begins at (level cap)! The adventure starts there!" so many times, and see it fail so many times before I look at it and make the face closest resembling -_- as I possibly can. So while I very seriously doubt anyone of import will look over this from ZOS, and it will mostly be the aforementioned I WANT IT I WANT IT crowd, I will still say PLEASE......think about what you're doing, lengthen the time to takes to do....well....anything. Dont let people hit max level cap off quests alone, make them have to go kill a few cave bears or bandits just because they need to get stronger. Dont fall into TSW mode and have huge, elaborate zones, with AWESOME stuff, that no one is in for longer than a few hours.
Dunno...
I don't mind the subscribtion model myself, there is room for 1 such game...not 2. However, I will be expecting more, and investing myself more in the game...if I choose to leave because I am bored or get to the point I switch to something else, I will praise the game...if I felt cheated of my ending, I hope I would just move on and not post thousands of posts about it...maturity is hopefully kicking in. But to say the least, I would definitedly do everything I can to avoid playing a game which try to put my end in some weird gameplay, no matter what it is...if I play to solo, group or even tradeskills, I expect to be geared thoses ways...and none other.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
"and they'd play it a lot longer with a bit of a grind in it."
I must respectually disagree with Chilton. I hate grind. I really loathe it. Slow levelling is ok, and we shouldn't finish a game in a week, shouldn't get great gear really quickly.
However, a recent short-lived jaunt into a certain Asian F2P MMO reminded me of how ghastly grind is. Quest 1. Kill 20 of mob A. Quest 2. Kill another 20 of mob A. AARGH!
Fallen Earth had slow advancement but wasn't grindy because the world was huge, exploring took time, and there were plenty of different bad guys and lots and lots of non-grind quests.
Slow doesn't have to be grind. Diversity in gameplay, allowing you to choose what you want, that can be slow. Grind is repetitive horror.
Maybe it is just me, but I cannot quite agree with that viewpoint. For starters, quests and how you can complete them are still one single system or game mechanic. The different ways to approach a quest are just a feature of that quest mechanic not a different system on its own, at least imo. I mean, it's like saying: Well, today I will quest. But tomorrow I will approach the quest differently. It is still questing, and not offering a different option.
Then the open world maps. I suppose you could say that this is the exploration mechanic, and yes, that's something you could consider as a unqiue occupation aside from questing. I have another issue here: where exactly is the open world exploration possible?
Correct me if I am wrong but from what I read in various articles isn't it more like 5 zones each faction that you progress through depending on your character's level? You start in a starter zone, then have to complete certain main quests to be able to go to the next map/zone. Does it open up then? Can you freely explore the available 5 zones or do you get eaten alive if you step into a zone not suited for your level?
Maybe you have more insight about this than me, but I don't really see that open world happening, and that is even ignoring the fact that you can't enter the other 2/3rd of Tamriel until you are max level. What I see is that you can run around on the level appropriate map/zone and then progress to the next map once you reach a certain level. So, exploration is probably only happening within a particular map/zone, pretty much like GW2.
Ok, back to the point you made with "I define playability as “am I having fun in the moment?”". The three systems you mentioned are for me just one system, and that is called questing. When I think of different options that can distract from the grind a bit, I think of PvP, Crafting, RolePlaying. Those are different mechanics/systems and they offer some variety and also allow to have "fun in the moment".
TOR's look has nothing to do with HeroEngine, it is the art style they choose to use. The Repopulation uses HeroEngine2 and looks noothing like TOR. Also TESO uses HeroEngine, they tried to claim they dropped it here, http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/05/26/the-elder-scrolls-online-using-heroengine-as-a-whiteboard/ , which is utter bull, they are trying to dodge the accusations that people like black_isle are claiming. I have used HeroEngine for 2 years, I know it when I see it and the leaked video is a slightly modified version of HeroEngine (modified water shader).
I don't care what the pay model is if I like something I will play it. 50c a day is still the best entertainmet value you can find for 24/7 365 game access, thats my opinion..:)
I have followed the game, the things I like is the game is not a wow clone at last, the hybrid model will take some learning, it is time for some new style mmo's after you have played as many mmo's as I have you welcome change.
I have resonable expections of the game, I know what the dev's say do not always meet their expections, the fact that there is progession after max level is a win in m book. This game deserves a deeper look and no a gloss ove rlike most clone games get.
I myself am tired of short term game play that most mmo's offer today I am looking for a game my toon can live in the world and play with my friends for years.
But in the end time will be the true test, are players willing to get off the wow clone tit and try something new.
Yesss. I would ban by law free games. To create quality one need money. I seriously doubt you or any free lover would actually work for free.
To be more accurate, if the game has free-aim AND tab targetting as options for attacking something, then it WILL be a winner in that regard. If it only has one of the options for that, it loses players that likes the other option.
The more features/options whatever you want to call it that are left out, the more players will complain and not play the game because it doesn't have it. Free-aim is what YOU like! It's how you enjoy playing an MMO, it's not how I enjoy targetting my enemy. if it has free-aim only, I won't be playing the game. PERIOD.
I'm sorry, but you state it as if everyone enjoys playing a certain way, but that's not the case. Give the player the choice of how he wants to play in regards to different aspects of game play and it will appeal to more players.
Beating a dead horse?
LEAVE SARAH JESSICA PARKER ALONE!
I am even more excited after seeing the video. I can't wait. Looks to have some cool features, menus, customization, open world, PvP, and many other cool features.
I prefer subscription MMO's I hate free to play MMO's, I find the free to play always lacking vs the sub base.
I also found the leaked video purposely made shed the game in a bad light. I looked beyond the trival things and looked deeper at the menus/abilities/fluidity/organic features.
Also the graphics were phenom