I had a suspicion this would happen, although I would like to hold off on forming an opinion until I hear something more substantial.

The things that made the prior Elderscrolls games so enjoyable (to varying degrees) such as exploration, crafting, factions, skills and story..these things do not translate well into an MMO for the masses. So that feeling of immersion and depth I have when playing these games (morrowind), will be absent from the online version.  Its just a sad state of fact that I think will increasingly come to light as we learn more about ESO.

Originally posted by Sora2810

Yesterday; I was thrilled. Today; I am ashamed. 

Zeni: "We have the opportunity to enter the MMO market. Our sandbox style gameplay could easily interest MMO players for years to come. Timeless story and lore at our fingertips. The following of an entire gamerbase. Let us brainstorm."

/developerRaisesHand "Let's make it a third-person, hotbar clicking, ability spamming action combat. Let's also not use any sandbox features such as player housing or anything. Oh--and traditional dungeons and raids! No one like an Elder scrolls style MMO, look at Mortal online. It obviously failed! We shouldn't do anything like that! Players love WoW; so lets follow suit!"

I really wish I knew the team who decided this was the best call for ESO. Faith and hope that the MMO industry will change back to innovation has severly dwindled for me. I'm on the brink of taking a break. I don't even have cautious optimism for TSW. I just know it'll suck; but hey, what mmo in 2012 doesn't. =\

Change BACK to innovation, by making a straight up sandbox game, where is the innovation? And Mortal Online, definately not a roaring success...

Personally I would love it if the game was Skyrim Online, but meh, not going to lose sleep over  it.

Direct quote from an article: "Recreating the freedom Elder Scrolls players expect within the World of Warcraft-style mechanics Zenimax Online is using for this MMO..." (that is a quote from another article. not the one in the OP)

"and will vissually resemble other current online multiplayer games, including "Star Wars: The Old Republic." (that is a direct quote from the OP article)

FAIL!!!!

Just by mentioning WoW or SWTOR as a blueprint for this game is an Automatic  Fail.

Derivative game is derivative

Ouch...just read the article....sounds like they are trying to "TOR-ify" TES....sorry but pass...I'm not interested in buying that crap. If you are going to make a TES MMO...do it right...don't just think you can plop down an Elder Scrolls skin on some other game and call it a day..... haven't Dev's learned already that's a recipie for fail?

---

Originally posted by Vyeth

---

Originally posted by kingotnw
How are people surprised by this? The Final Fantasy online games are certainly nothing like the offline versions, and there are a crap-ton more Final Fantasy games than there are Elder Scroll games. World of Warcraft is nothing like the original Warcraft games... It's going to be an MMORPG, it needs to play like one.

---

 
My point exactly..

---

Originally posted by GrumpyMel2

Ouch...just read the article....sounds like they are trying to "TOR-ify" TES....sorry but pass...I'm not interested in buying that crap. If you are going to make a TES MMO...do it right...don't just think you can plop down an Elder Scrolls skin on some other game and call it a day..... haven't Dev's learned already that's a recipie for fail?

It turns a profit. That's all they care about. As long as the plebes keep scooping up these pre orders, and supporting this type of business model why in the world would they bother making good games?

Still to early to condemn this game but, if they turn ES into your typical theme park mmo it will be a disaster before its even released. I understand the need and want to make money but, create a quality product please. I'm excited to see what Bethesda can do with the mmo genre but I'm extremely scared about the final product.

I'll have to wait to see quite a bit more to form an opinion, but it's not looking very promising.  But I am surprised they aren't jumping feet first into the sandbox model.  If anything, that's a hole that needs filling.

Yeah, it's likely to be a train wreck. Oh well, that's why other games exist... so I don't have to play the ones where my favorite IPs get ruined.

Originally posted by Unlight

  But I am surprised they aren't jumping feet first into the sandbox model.  If anything, that's a hole that needs filling.

They wont because, and I quote from ZeniMax, - "Its Too Hard!"

Damn...all I'd read up until now was info from players. Now from Game Informer. Wow, that's really disappointing. I mean, people have to consider the game has been "in development for years" so maybe they missed the changing trend, but even that isn't really an excuse. What's the point of attaching the name of Elder Scrolls to a game that's nothing like it? Except yanno, to pull an SWTOR and hope people will pay purely because of the IP...which evidently they will. At least, at first.

The series has never been a true sandbox. You guys just need to wait for Pathfinder Online. Personally if all I get is Vanguard 2.0 done right then I'm happy

Originally posted by tcosaddict

That's what the Game Informer article says.  It's pretty disappointing.  Anyone who was hoping for a game like Skyrim or Oblivion, except online with tons of other players, will be left wanting.  As far as the typical MMO goes, it might be better than most but The Elder Scrolls Online will certainly not be THE ELDER SCROLLS online. 

I'll wait to learn more before I completely write it off.  It may still be entertaining, at least for a while, but I suspect I'll have put more time into Skyrim than I do into the mmo.  The only redeeming factor that I see is that it has 3 factions that are constantly at war, like DAoC, so the endgame PvP may have some entertainment value to it.

And they sound like they are racial factions that you choose to join when you start the game and can't unjoin ever.

Originally posted by monarc333

Still to early to condemn this game but, if they turn ES into your typical theme park mmo it will be a disaster before its even released. I understand the need and want to make money but, create a quality product please. I'm excited to see what Bethesda can do with the mmo genre but I'm extremely scared about the final product.

Yup. Fully seconded.

Originally posted by adam_nox

Originally posted by Vyeth

To be fair, you do understand that the lore of the Elder Scrolls Series has been translated to other styles of games?

I don't know what you are trying to say, this is pretty much unintelligible.  Elder scrolls games are nothing like what it describes ESO will be.

I figured he was referring to how there have been TES spinoffs, like Battlespire and Redguard, which weren't sandboxes at all.

Leveling to level cap sounds so ridiculous in the day and age. Gogo TSW! I crimge at the thought of leveling for the sake of leveling lol. I still don't understand why gw2 has levels. 

Levels are an out dated concept that we will see come to an end after 2013. releases.

You heard it hete first. 

---

Originally posted by adam_nox
New details have emerged, and I think I might be sick.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/337278/20120504/elder-scrolls-online-game-details-mmorpg-announcement.htm

First a real gem:

---

The game will also use a hotbar to activate skills like many classic MMOs and will vissually resemble other current online multiplayer games, including "Star Wars: The Old Republic."

oh.. kay what else:

---

Players will not be able to transform themselves into werewolves or vampires and there will be no flying mounts, player housing, non-playable character (NPC) romance or marriage, and no dragons in the upcoming game.

and:

---

the game will use genre standards like classes and experience point based leveling up.

---

but wait it gets better:

"Elder Scrolls Online" will feature raids and heroic mode for its dungeons

---

Surely that's all the bad news... what... oh god make it stop:

The combat system will not play out in real time. Instead it will be based on a stamina bar, allowing the player to sprint, block, interrupt or break incapacitating effects.

---

 
There's no sadface that can properly describe this, if it's true.

---

Well as i am solidare to everything i like and play they lose me as LONGTERM fan is they indeed make ESO as this article says i won't play ESO.

Im no idiot that becouse its Elder Scroll and Bethesda stick with them nomatter what crap they make.

But will see if its a money grab themepark for casuals they won't get my money for sure.

Originally posted by PyrateLV

Originally posted by Unlight

  But I am surprised they aren't jumping feet first into the sandbox model.  If anything, that's a hole that needs filling.

They wont because, and I quote from ZeniMax, - "Its Too Hard!"

Not good to hear.

It's also discouraging how much they seem to be relying on 'standard' methods of making games, rather than coming up with their own thing.  They sound really adverse to trying anything risky or untried.  That was something that REALLY turned me off of Bioware when they announced something similar.  It sounds like they are following the same "touchstone" path.

Originally posted by Hazelle

Originally posted by tcosaddict

That's what the Game Informer article says.  It's pretty disappointing.  Anyone who was hoping for a game like Skyrim or Oblivion, except online with tons of other players, will be left wanting.  As far as the typical MMO goes, it might be better than most but The Elder Scrolls Online will certainly not be THE ELDER SCROLLS online. 

I'll wait to learn more before I completely write it off.  It may still be entertaining, at least for a while, but I suspect I'll have put more time into Skyrim than I do into the mmo.  The only redeeming factor that I see is that it has 3 factions that are constantly at war, like DAoC, so the endgame PvP may have some entertainment value to it.

And they sound like they are racial factions that you choose to join when you start the game and can't unjoin ever.

 If anybody knew anything about the Elder Scrolls Lore, during the earlier more unstable time periods these type of factions used to happen alot.

I just don't get the Redguard and Orcs being on the same side, nor do I get the Dunmer and Argonians on the same side either. This kinda doesn't make sense. The Redguards once kicked the crap out of the orcs so badly it sent them back to the stone ages and the Dunmer's favorite slave stock were the Argonians. I'm guessing this was done just due to the popularity of the races with each side needing a popular race that players would pick and an unpopular one as well.

Due to the time period they better put in Redguard Swordsaints (The Swordsaints were basically Jedi with psychic lightsabers, ala Rifts Cyberknights- they were the ones that led the charge against the Orcs)