First before you flame me, look into my post history.  Check my Twitter feed (same name). Check the GameInformer articles and Massively.com articles for my responses in the comment sections.  Since the first week of May when information started coming out about TESO I have been the most ardent and vocal "hater" of this game. 

That was then, now after 3 days of E3 and countless articles, and forums readings I have had a change of heart.  Before I begin I will say that I agree with everyone who says TESO only shares the name with the single player RPG's.  Thats not to say Zenimax has not tried to work some TES ideas into the MMO version, because they have, although like most I believe they could of done a much better MMO successor to the series.

 

Ok so why have I changed my mind about TESO you may ask?  Well let me list them but first I do realize theres not been one iota of ingame combat footage shown so it could still be relatively clunky or uninspiring.  Knowing what I know no about the game I have became very excited and as long as the game is polished and has great production quality akin to WoW or GW2 then I will be thrilled.  The only thing to make me even more happier about the game would be if they were to add player housing.  Its the one core concept that is missing and I will continue to vocalize my displeasure of housing not being included.

 

TESO's combat design is next gen.  Even though there are classes (which isnt a staple of Skyrim and Oblivion) it does allow any class to use any weapon.  With the action bar (hotbar) only devoted to 3 of the 6 hotbar slots then there should be an illusion to hide some of the class based system.  I agree with the E3 article that said this system will give freedom of choice to TES veterns while still being comfortable for MMO players who have never played a TES game.

 

The ability to have active dodging, sprint, and Stealth for all classes also plays into freedom of choice in a class based character system while still staying true to TES games.  Plus There’s an incentive to fight intelligently too, as skilled play rewards you with extra treasure following a fight.

 

Public Dungeons will harken back to the old days of MMO's which is also a plus.  I absolutely love open worlds/dungeons and even though it will still have instances (which I hate with a passion) theres still plenty of the open-ended gameplay that is reminescent of TES games.

 

Removal of the quest hub is probably my greatest reason why I am excited for TESO.  I loathe "bread-crumbing" or linear paths from character creation to level cap.  Nothing is as detrimental to my immersion as being told "what to do" and "how to do it".  Open ended gameplay with open worlds to explore and the re-addition of the TES style compass to show you where P.O.I.'s are at is yet another feature that I love in TES games.  Glad that more MMO's are doing away with the traditional quest hub system.

 

 

All in all I have grown quite excited about the possibilities and I will await any further speculation or hype untill actual game footage with working systems are in place.  Even though I still consider them using the IP as a cash grab I dont mind because at least they are innovating on features that have grown stale ever since the behemoth that is WoW entered the MMO-verse. 

 

Pretty much in the same boat. There have been a lot of positive aspects surfacing to offset the initial "TES mmorpgification" shock. But I'm still a bit wary. I need to know more on a wide range of aspects before they'll win me over but at the moment I'm cautiously optimistic realizing that this might not be a typical TES game with typical TES values but perhaps a good game on its own merrits.

 

...that actually sounds pretty awesome. Maybe I've been too harsh to ESO without really knowing what I was talking about...

I have little doubt it will be a reasonable game, which sets it above the rest of the market for the last 5 years.

 

However, if my two subscription choices for next year are pandas or an MMORPG'ized TES...  I think that just cemented my direction in favor of something else.

i would say that next gen mmo combat is twitch based aim based, this is not next gen its tried and tested with a few minor alterations and that pretty much sums up this mmo, tried and tested. In reality we have already tried and tested this mmo our selves with the countless mmos we have already played. Isnt the whole point of a TESO mmo to be like TES? if it misses that vital part of the puzzle then wtf are we waiting for here?

 

i have no real dobut that TESO will appeal greatly to those who love WOW like mmorpgs and who know or care very little for TES. but for anyone with any love for MMORPGS, thier future and the TES world created by Todd Howard and his team then i urge you to boycott this abomination. If we dont make a stand against this insantiy of SWTOR TOS RIFT etc then how do you ever epxect to see a change in the genre???

 

next we will all be seeing a TES fighting game like street fighter, Or a TES racing game and you will all eat that shit up like good little drones.

Spin it all you'd like, but when you make a TES game and remove the core elements to "MMORPIZGS" it, it's off the radar.

They might as well call it something entirely different, because it offers nothing for a TES game fan as those games were famous for their gameplay and not their story.

While they have raised my disposition above threatening, I still remain dubious. Despite decent features being touted, theres too many unknowns and too many buzzwords flying around.

The "any class can use any weapon, but you're not going to be as effective as a primary class" kind of bothers me. They say that you'll be effective enough to be able to complete dungeons sub-optimally, but then does that mean with a real group (each class playing their specialty roles) the dungeons are going to be a snooze-fest?

I would boycott this if it would stop it but the fact is, like it or not, it's coming. I was hoping for a lot more but over the last couple weeks I find myself coping more and more with it. I don't hate it now and who knows may even come to love it. Time will tell.

While i have never played any of the predessor games, I am very excited about this game...if it lives up to it's potential, which many other recent releases have not. I first "cut my teeth" back in DAOC, well before the TOA release. I loved the "Realm wars" and the pride one took in victory; I myself was a Hib. Hopefully, using the DAOC experience, they can expand upon the 3-faction concept and create a great "end game" experience. Imho, after all the questing and dungeons, the PvP in DOAC was better than ANY other game and kept me interested long after the game itself declined. Here's to hope...

Originally posted by Mike-McQueen

I would boycott this if it would stop it but the fact is, like it or not, it's coming. I was hoping for a lot more but over the last couple weeks I find myself coping more and more with it. I don't hate it now and who knows may even come to love it. Time will tell.

 so when the game releases and 4 million people sub to the game zenimax can pat themselves on the back and say we did it, we made exactly what the fans want. Look we have 4 million of them playing our mmo to prove it, now lets think of a sequel we will make it exactly the same but borrow a few more features from our rival mmos and give it fancy graphics and be giving them exactly what they want. All because such a large proportion of the gaming community boohoed and moaned but baught it anyway, because they need their mmo themepark fix.

Originally posted by DarkPony

Pretty much in the same boat. There have been a lot of positive aspects surfacing to offset the initial "TES mmorpgification" shock. But I'm still a bit wary. I need to know more on a wide range of aspects before they'll win me over but at the moment I'm cautiously optimistic realizing that this might not be a typical TES game with typical TES values but perhaps a good game on its own merrits.

 

Pretty much this. 

 

What we know of TESO right now I like, but I gotta see how its put together and how polished it becomes but for now I too remain cautiously optimistic since it has a lot of things I like about MMO's.  I think it would of been better off in the long run if TESO was a new IP though.

Originally posted by simplyawful

Spin it all you'd like, but when you make a TES game and remove the core elements to "MMORPIZGS" it, it's off the radar.

They might as well call it something entirely different, because it offers nothing for a TES game fan as those games were famous for their gameplay and not their story.

Disregard the notion of it being TES.  Base your judgement purely on the MMO and not the title.  Still though there is a little bit of TES hidden within just about every development system inside the game, from the weapon system to the block/stealth use.  Its hidden but suspend belief a bit like I have and judge the game on its merits and not on "this sint a TES clone".  Now if you dont like most of the elements of the game then sure be vocal.

And most important: What did you learn from this?

Originally posted by Zylaxx

Originally posted by simplyawful

Spin it all you'd like, but when you make a TES game and remove the core elements to "MMORPIZGS" it, it's off the radar.

They might as well call it something entirely different, because it offers nothing for a TES game fan as those games were famous for their gameplay and not their story.

Disregard the notion of it being TES.  Base your judgement purely on the MMO and not the title.  Still though there is a little bit of TES hidden within just about every development system inside the game, from the weapon system to the block/stealth use.  Its hidden but suspend belief a bit like I have and judge the game on its merits and not on "this sint a TES clone".  Now if you dont like most of the elements of the game then sure be vocal.

The title looks exactly like almost every other game out there. The block/stealth use, non-public dungeons, no quest hubs, are just minor elements to an MMO, this is exactly like the overuse of voice acting in SWTOR -- a minor feature in an mmo. The main system in TESO remains the same, and that's what makes 75% of people leave within the first three months. You, in your OP, are just falling to the hype once again by putting too much attention to the minor elements, which won't matter in the long-run.

Originally posted by Thillian

Originally posted by Zylaxx

Originally posted by simplyawful

Spin it all you'd like, but when you make a TES game and remove the core elements to "MMORPIZGS" it, it's off the radar.

They might as well call it something entirely different, because it offers nothing for a TES game fan as those games were famous for their gameplay and not their story.

Disregard the notion of it being TES.  Base your judgement purely on the MMO and not the title.  Still though there is a little bit of TES hidden within just about every development system inside the game, from the weapon system to the block/stealth use.  Its hidden but suspend belief a bit like I have and judge the game on its merits and not on "this sint a TES clone".  Now if you dont like most of the elements of the game then sure be vocal.

The title looks exactly like almost every other game out there. The block/stealth use, non-public dungeons, no quest hubs, are just minor elements to an MMO, this is exactly like the overuse of voice acting in SWTOR -- a minor feature in an mmo. The main system in TESO remains the same, and that's what makes 75% of people leave within the first three months. You, in your OP, are just falling to the hype once again by putting too much attention to the minor elements, which won't matter in the long-run.

What do you consider the main features in an MMO?

 

I mean if active Combat, non-linear Questing, open-ended Exploration, skill based character skill systems. 3 faction siege warfare and elements like dodging and stealth for all classes are not considered major functions of an MMO then I think you've set the bar a "wee" bit to high dont you think?

 

Fact is all the features that TESO are promoting have rarely been done and none all at once (cept minus GW2 but we all know its the savior of the genre so we will exclude it for the time being).

Originally posted by timtrack

And most important: What did you learn from this?

 

 

^ this and we leaned next to nothing from the OP. I was particularly surpised to find that no mention was made of the three faction initiative. I too started playing way back with DAoC. The three realm, Hibs, Albs and Mids was awesome. Great to see this coming back and some of the same DAoC developers involved. I will subscribe just for this. Until then I will be playing the 3 faction The Secret World. The beta is awesome.

The major problem with TESO is that it sounds good in theory, but most MMO's do, until they put it in practice.  For this, i will still be skeptical until i see real time footage of all the different aspects of it.

Originally posted by SlavojZizek

Originally posted by timtrack

And most important: What did you learn from this?

 

 

^ this and we leaned next to nothing from the OP. I was particularly surpised to find that no mention was made of the three faction initiative. I too started playing way back with DAoC. The three realm, Hibs, Albs and Mids was awesome. Great to see this coming back and some of the same DAoC developers involved. I will subscribe just for this. Until then I will be playing the 3 faction The Secret World. The beta is awesome.

Yea I left some things off on accident but defenetly 3 faction should of been included.  Sorry bout that, yet another innovative feature.  Just shows you that with all my rambling I was still able to forget a few "key" features which only reinforces the main argument I was trying to make.

Originally posted by Zylaxx

Originally posted by Thillian

Originally posted by Zylaxx

Originally posted by simplyawful

Spin it all you'd like, but when you make a TES game and remove the core elements to "MMORPIZGS" it, it's off the radar.

They might as well call it something entirely different, because it offers nothing for a TES game fan as those games were famous for their gameplay and not their story.

Disregard the notion of it being TES.  Base your judgement purely on the MMO and not the title.  Still though there is a little bit of TES hidden within just about every development system inside the game, from the weapon system to the block/stealth use.  Its hidden but suspend belief a bit like I have and judge the game on its merits and not on "this sint a TES clone".  Now if you dont like most of the elements of the game then sure be vocal.

The title looks exactly like almost every other game out there. The block/stealth use, non-public dungeons, no quest hubs, are just minor elements to an MMO, this is exactly like the overuse of voice acting in SWTOR -- a minor feature in an mmo. The main system in TESO remains the same, and that's what makes 75% of people leave within the first three months. You, in your OP, are just falling to the hype once again by putting too much attention to the minor elements, which won't matter in the long-run.

What do you consider the main features in an MMO?

 

I mean if active Combat, non-linear Questing, open-ended Exploration, skill based character skill systems. 3 faction siege warfare and elements like dodging and stealth for all classes are not considered major functions of an MMO then I think you've set the bar a "wee" bit to high dont you think?

 

Fact is all the features that TESO are promoting have rarely been done and none all at once (cept minus GW2 but we all know its the savior of the genre so we will exclude it for the time being).

It's just a hype of the developer. Non-public dungeons is the main feature of games like Vanguard or Everquest 1. Skill based system? Please, educate me, all I read was - 4 classes and all classes can use any weapon they want, but if a mage decides to use swords, he won't be as good as warrior or rogue, which is pretty much the same as every other MMORPG. Active dodging, we'll see how it is done.

I'm immune to any kind of hype and promises given by the developers prior to release. The core mechanic remains the same, non-dynamic world, generic lore, gearfest in the end-game, linear progression, very little social interaction (by the developers, you won't even need to talk to other players most of the time, if you hit a mob, you still get partial XP and loot from it). Fact is, I'm not interested in GW2 for the same reasons, I'm currently solely interested in SW due to the lore behind it (its features are also not too appealing, despite the fact, that their character skill system is actually truly open and unique, compared to the pseudoskill system in TESO).

Zenimax Online can claim anything they want to right now.

What they actually DELIVER however, is something entirely unpredictable right now.

Getting hyped for this game, like its so common to do on this forum, is really something people should think twice about. Need I even speak of swtor?