Elder Scrolls Online: Enjoying Life Immensely

We stopped playing Elder Scrolls Online within a month of launch, mostly because the little things were so highly irritating they were driving both of us bonkers.  We resubbed two weeks ago and while Hubby hasn’t had much time to play, I’ve been enjoying the game once again.  I’m fully immersed in the word, loving every quest and off the beaten path I find. 

As reported by Tamriel Foundry this week from the guild summit meeting with Zenimax, there are upcoming quality of life improvements coming to the game.  A collection system for maps, pets, and trophies immediately springs to mind.  I have so much inventory space that will be freed up with this implementation.  There are also changes coming to crafting which will result in non-faction specific foods and fewer ingredients.

Admittedly, there was no discussion of housing coming and I’m still waiting (impatiently admittedly) for an announcement about housing.  I’m pleased with the state of the game.  The world is full, community is friendly, and there is no pressure to rush to the end game.

I’ve gotten three characters, one per faction, to approximately the same level where they can move on to the next zone.  I am undecided about which character to concentrate on moving forward, so undoubtedly I will continue with my normal play style and play what character and faction I want on any given day.  I’ve taken the pressure off myself with my RP blog and now all my characters are free to write glimpses of their lives.

I am having fun, and after all isn’t that why we play video games in the first place?

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Elder Scrolls Online: First Month of Launch

Elder Scrolls Online released a month ago and while the game is stunningly beautiful, did it live up to my expectations of perfection once I started playing the game on a daily basis?  Complicated question with a short answer, not really.

Don’t misunderstand, I love the game.  I love the depth of character immersion and questing.  I love that I can get lost and uncover quests I would have otherwise missed and that not every NPC is young, fit, and wrinkle free. 

What I’m not loving is the inventory management nightmare and the horribly unbalanced gains in crafting.  It makes no sense that provisioning (cooking) can be leveled to the maximum before a player reaches level fifteen but any other skill you are lucky if you make it to level ten.  Enchanting is the worst of all the skills with the least available raw materials out in the world.  It levels slower than a glacier moves and deconstructing every glyph you craft for a slightly larger miniscule gain is frustrating and irrational.

Inventory management is a mini-game all it’s own.  I don’t mind the high costs associated with increasing bag and bank space.  I would prefer it if I got more space for my gold however.  What truly irritates me to no end is that each and every time I open my bank it is sorted automatically from Z to A and not A to Z.  This one thing makes me grind my teeth every time I open the bank.  I love that there is shared storage, what I don’t love is that there is no individual storage.  Having to create characters just to hold crafting goods, maps, pets, etc. is poor game design.

The director’s letter just released did not give me hope.  There is no mention of housing, not one.  Housing is an integral part of every Elder Scrolls game since Morrowind.  Housing had the potential to solve inventory issues for a lot of players.  Instead, they are working on horse racing?  Really?  Horse racing is a quality of life improvement?  I could care less that other players will now have the ability to kill guards and NPC’s.  All that is going to lead to is an unplayable world where quest givers can be killed by the bored to irritate others.

So now the question becomes, do we renew our subscriptions and give Zenimax and Bethesda the benefit of the doubt?  Or, do we rationally cut our losses now and wait for the bots and gold spam to lessen while the game loses players at an incredible rate?  I’m on the fence.  Part of me desperately wants to play ESO and love it and lose myself in the world but the other part of me is extremely tired of reporting gold farmers, dealing with botters, shuffling inventory, and crafting skills.

I do know that right now, as the game stands it is beautiful, immersive, and frustrating.  I can’t imagine it will be that much better on the consoles either.  Speaking of consoles, not a word of a beta is mentioned in the producer’s letter and not a hint of if they will hit their target release date of June.  My guess is that it will be pushed back.  And honestly, the game is either going to be much better on the console or so frustrating controllers will be flung across rooms globally.

I’ll confess, I haven’t logged into ESO in almost a week.  We have been playing SWTOR and enjoy ourselves.  I will log into ESO this week but probably more out of guilt than a desire to report gold farmers, botters, and to juggle inventory.  I love the beauty and questing but that experience is marred by the negatives for me at the moment.

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Elder Scrolls Online: So, Did it Meet Expectations?

Surpassed every expectation I had from beta, which was high.  I’ve run across one bug so far and it is on a side quest.  I’ve reported it and will come back to complete the quest later.  The game sucks me in, literally time flies by and next thing I know it is time to cook dinner and I wonder where the day went. 

The game reminds me so much of Oblivion that I forget there are other players in the game.  I am wandering around exploring and gathering raw materials for crafting.  I haven’t reached level ten yet on any character, in part because I’m having so much trouble deciding who to play.  The choices are endless and a small change here or there can completely alter game play. 

There are a couple of minor improvements I think they need to work into the game in the first update.  One is a pet inventory system.  Right now I have four pets and that is four bank slots consumed.  Another is for account bound consumables like treasure maps, I had to park one of my characters as a mule simply to hold treasure maps.  They are bank space intensive and clumsily implemented.  Don’t get me wrong, the loot from those pre-order treasure maps is great but having it clutter up bank space indefinitely isn’t great.  Or better yet, give me housing with a trunk and I won’t mind one iota the amount of space the treasure maps consume!

The world is alive and vibrant.  NPCs clearly have lives of their own and while friendly they aren’t intrusive.  The world feels like Oblivion to me, minus all the creepy Oblivion gates of course.  I have discovered more chests and lore books from just wandering around then I would have had I not done so.  The music is amazing and adds so much to the atmosphere.

The Elder Scrolls Online isn’t going to be a game for everyone.  Respec’s are expensive (which I am more than fine with), leveling isn’t lightening fast thru PvE, crafting isn’t make 100 of this and walk away, and grinding mobs is the slowest way to level.  But if you are looking for that kind of game, I can’t imagine you would be interested in TESO to begin with.  However, if you want immersive gameplay with gorgeous scenery, then TESO has more than accomplished that and much, much more.  The launch has been incredibly smooth and incredibly well done and the entire team at Bethesda and Zenimax Online deserve a much needed round of applause.

Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to go make a cup of coffee and head back into TESO.

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Elder Scrolls Online: Quick “Class” Breakdown

So Hubby said I should share, just in case you were on the fence about what “class” to play.

DragonKnight: Ardent Flame – deals AOE

DragonKnight: Draconic Power – increased armor (tanking)

DragonKnight: Earthen Heart – Crowd Control

NightBlade: Assassin --  Close up; quick kills

NightBlade: Shadow – Fears; Pet

NightBlade: Siphoning – Damage over Time

Sorcerer: Dark Magic – Crowd Control

Sorcerer: Daedric Summoning – Pet class

Sorcerer: Storm Calling – AOE

Templar: Aedric Spear – Crowd Control

Templar: Dawn’s Wrath – Damage over Time

Templar: Restoring Light – AOE heals

 

If you are undecided, try a NightBlade DOT Mage.  I played one in Beta, and it was a bloody blast of death and destruction.

 

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Elder Scrolls Online: Rumors

The lifting of the NDA is going to prove to be a blessing and a curse for Zenimax and Elder Scrolls Online.  It is a blessing because true fans of the Elder Scrolls can now openly express their opinions of the game.  Sure, there are purists who go into beta with a preconceived disposition to hate the game because it isn’t single player but if they drop their preconceived expectations, they come to love the game for what it is.

Now for the curse and it is a dozy, the rumor mill of what is and isn’t happening in the closed beta is now running rampant.  There is currently a rumor that starting islands are being removed from the game.  Since no beta invites have been issued yet for the much anticipated and hoped for beta this weekend, it can only be assumed that the rumor was instigated by someone in the ongoing 24/7 closed beta testing group or an individual with malicious intent. 

Personally, I’m thinking that the rumor was started by someone in the 24/7 beta test group who violated their NDA.  Now there is the expectation that the starter islands are gone and that players will immediately go from Cold Harbor to the first city of their faction. 

What the rumor actually states is that the starting islands are now optional.  This will be a boon to those individuals who rush to the “end game” and then begin to whine and moan about how the game is a failure because they’ve reached level cap and there is nothing for them to do.  Sure, starting islands aren’t going to make that much of a difference to those that rush, which begs the question why make them optional in the first place?

Making the starter islands optional does provide and element of freedom that has been present in all of the single player games, I freely admit this benefit.  But this isn’t a single player game and those couple of levels that you gain on the starter island may mean a shift in your play style you didn’t anticipate when you made your character.  You may discover that you hate the way that the Assassination line plays while fighting creatures of equivalent levels or that you are breezing through enemies as a Dragon Knight utilizing a Restoration staff.  Making those discoveries as a level three player against creatures several levels against you will not be a pleasant experience.

I won’t be skipping starter islands, there is too much to experience and figure out on them.  I have enjoyed the stories and quests on every single starter island.  I will have done them multiple times by the time the game releases and I still won’t be skipping them.  If you aren’t an Elder Scrolls lore junkie, then skipping the starter islands won’t help you get immersed in the world either.  You won’t meet characters whose families were devastated by the last war with the Akaviri (2E 572) or meet soldiers stranded by a hurricane out of nowhere.  Personally, meeting these characters made the MMO version of the Elder Scrolls feel like an Elder Scrolls game.

There are plenty of places to roam and explore on the starter islands.  I have yet to feel constrained because I landed on a starter island and couldn’t “escape” until I completed the requisite quest chain.  It’s an Elder Scrolls game after all.  Quest chains are how the story progresses and moves forward.  Quests and the non-player characters are what gives any Elder Scrolls game it’s “flavor” and character. 

Personally, I think making the starter islands skippable is a mistake on the part of Zenimax.  It caters to the crowd that rushes to the end game and in the end, that same crowd destroys the game in the long run.  This move is the first in what is a slippery slope for Zenimax in catering to the “wishes” of the loudest whiners.  I pray that it isn’t a slippery slope they traverse long and that Zenimax stays true to their vision of the game and doesn’t try to continual edit a game based on popular opinion.  That is the slippery slope of doom and will destroy the game.

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Elder Scrolls Online: Lore Tidbits 2

The environment of Elder Scrolls Online is littered with unassuming crates and barrels, much like the ones pictured above from Skyrim.  Don’t assume these are meaningless debris scattered about to fill blank spaces.  Crates and barrels often contain crafting materials, like food stuffs, lock picks, and if you hit the jackpot on occasion a gold or two.  Often in ESO these vessels will be marked as empty but don’t despair chances are that someone looted them before you got there.  Don’t stand around and wait for them to respawn either, just be aware that if you run across them then loot them if you have inventory space.

Lock picking is the bane of my Elder Scrolls love but essential.  First word of advice, always have lock picks on you.   If you think you have sufficient lock picks, purchase more.  I’ve figured out lock picking in ESO, thanks to my hubby, but it isn’t easy and I’ll admit I miss the force feedback from the Xbox Controller.  But as difficult as lock picking can be, it is a thousand times worse when you come upon a chest only to discover you have no lock picks on you and you are forced to walk away from what was obviously the greatest chest of all time because you were too lazy to stock-up on lock picks.

Soul gems are essential.  A filled soul gems are used to refill the “charge” of a magically enchanted item or to resurrect a fallen player in ESO.  Different levels of soul gems refill items to varying degrees and the level of the player dictates the level of soul gem required to resurrect them.  Soul gems are available for purchase either empty or filled in any town of decent size.  Filled soul gems are far more expensive than empty ones, so stock up on empty ones when in town too.  It is not funny when your weapons run out of charge in the middle of no-where and your inventory is devoid of soul gems. 

Soul gems are filled with the use of the Soul Trap spell that all players have access to, it is a good idea to keep this spell on your spell bar.  In addition to filling a soul gem, it is also a damage over time spell available to all players even if the creature fails to die before the Soul Trap spell expires. 

Black Soul Gems are used to store the souls of humanoids in Elder Scrolls lore.    I haven’t personally seen them in ESO but it is a safe assumption they are in the game, it wouldn’t be an Elder Scrolls game without them.   Levels 1-10 in ESO require only petty soul gems to resurrect a player, by the way this is the only way to resurrect a player.

Repairing your own gear is possible in ESO.  General merchandise vendors and others sell repair kits.  Repair kits will prevent your gear from breaking out in the field.  Any vendor in the game can also repair your gear when the store inventory menu is open.  I haven’t yet tested the repair kits in the beta but if they work anything like Oblivion, then the kits are of limited use (i.e. the kit will break as well).  I’m also not sure if the repair kit will level the Armorer stat like in previous games, I will test this in the next beta.

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Elder Scrolls Online: Lore Tidbits for New Players

The fearsome creature above is a mudcrab and in previous games they were deadly.  No seriously, first thing you’d do in Oblivion after escaping the prison and sewers was go beat up on mudcrabs.  They were more than capable of killing you as you leveled up hand-to-hand combat or if you were running around without clothes.

Elder Scrolls Online has removed the mudcrab threat from Nirn, or perhaps it is more accurate to say that mudcrabs haven’t yet become the dangerous and fearsome creatures of games set later in the timeline.  Mudcrabs are now non-hostile, peaceful creatures and a companion pet for those that purchase the Imperial Edition.

The Slaughter Fish or the Chihuahuas of the water, swim to deep or too far and you will be fighting slaughter fish.  Buried treasure at the bottom of the lake or river, safe bet it will be guarded by slaughter fish.  Not really paying attention and swimming, be prepared to be slaughtered by the slaughter fish.  They exist in fresh and salt water bodies and usually your first indication that they are there is the bright red bloom of blood as they take a chunk of your flesh as payment.

 

Don’t be surprised if you come across a player in ESO that stares down at formations like this and looks baffled.  In previous games, this formation would net you loot that sold for a decent amount of gold when you first escape the prison.  Many a time I would be low on cash in Oblivion and I would never fail to stop of loot the seashells.  Now, they are very fond memories of the hundreds of hours I’ve spent in Elder Scrolls games.

Books are scattered about Tamriel all over, in dungeons, in bookcases, on top of barrels, etc.  Don’t blindly pass them by for you never know what book might contain a skill up or amazing and consistent lore throughout all the games.  Reading in Elder Scrolls games is important, only a fool passes up the chance to pick up a book and read.

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Elder Scrolls Online: PvP & the Rest

PVP

I haven’t had the opportunity to participate in PvP the last couple of betas, however I can honestly say it is incredibly enjoyable.  I don’t have any PvP screenshots to share either but the battle are huge and intense. There are quests to do in Cyrodiil in addition to battling the other factions. 

PvP is a viable alternative to leveling via questing but that is something I will skip.  You can enter PvP at level 10 and begin your quest to become Emperor.

The Rest

The game isn’t perfect, but then again it is still in beta and I expect to discover and report bugs.  I have stumbled across and reported more than a couple and I’m fine with that.  Unlike the so-called “professional” reviewers who gave every impression that the game was all but unplayable.  That being said I have not run across any bug that was game breaking or that has caused me to rethink the purchase of collector editions.

I have a wish list, like most players, but nothing on my wish list is so earth shatteringly important to me that it will prevent me from playing and loving the game.  Sure, I’m love a cosmetic armor slot and armor dyes but I won’t find my game diminished if they aren’t included.

I don’t have problems with the combat either.  I don’t get all of the complaints that the combat is “floaty” or fails to connect to the enemy.  I’ve experienced none of that.  If I push a button, the game always responded in a timely manner as expected. I love being a Dragon Knight wielding a restoration staff while effortlessly killing enemies or my heavy plate wearing, damage over time Nightblade battle mage with duel daggers of doom. 

Classes are more of a starting point then anything else.  Oh the complaints and moans from alleged healers that tried to heal standing back and standing still.  Let’s be clear, that healing style doesn’t work in this game and hallelujah for that.  Healing is mostly area of effect based and in melee ranged.  It is a blast to play to be honest.  Mages are incredibly powerful and again a blast to play.  Bow skills are fun and overpowered.  Healing on my Nightblade is fun  and a breeze.  To be honest, healing isn’t complicated or magicka intensive if you think and understand that standing back and healing is the path to failure.

The game is so immersive and challenging that it has brought out my inner role player that I didn’t know existed.  No I won’t be roleplaying in game, but I will definitely be chronicling my characters adventures and exploits.  I’ve got the blog space reserved already (just not set-up yet) and now I just need the ability to reserve character names to get started.  It’s a journey I can’t wait to begin! 

So, ignore the negative reviewers who don’t know what they are talking about.  Journey to Nirn and discover what Molag Bal has planned and experience Elder Scrolls Online for yourself and decide.

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Elder Scrolls Online: Crafting & Economy

Economy

Let’s be clear, stuff isn’t inexpensive and frankly it shouldn’t be.  Armor, weapons, and potions can be purchased from NPC vendors but you will pay the price for having access to NPC produced goods.  Prices aren’t unreasonable but they aren’t meaningless either. 

So you didn’t purchase the Imperial Edition and you want to buy a horse?  Then be prepared to save all your gold because the most basic mount will run you 17,500 gold.  That price does not include the price to feed your one active mount once a day either. 

There has been a lot of complaints about the economy in beta and honestly I think it is all bunk.  In single player Elder Scrolls games, having a horse was a luxury and a rarity.  That same behavior should carry over to the MMO game, failure to do so diminishes the franchise as a whole.  Horses are actually more of an impediment to immersion then they are a necessity in ESO in my experience.  You are MUCH more like to miss lore books, hidden quests, etc. when on horseback then if you are out and about wandering the countryside on foot.

There has also been a lot of talk about the lack of an auction house/broker system.  I have no problem with this being “missing” from the game.  A character can join up to five guild (this does NOT include guilds like Fighter’s or Mage’s) and guilds can establish guild stores.  Guild stores allow you to purchase things from other guild members who may be willing to sell you stuff at prices lower than NPCs. 

Crafting

Crafting is not the over-simplified creation of meaningless goods that exist in other games.  Crafting has six choices: Alchemy, Enchanting, Blacksmithing, Tailoring, Woodworking, and Provisioning. 

So far in beta weekends, you can have every crafting profession.  However, crafting is resource intensive for all skills expect Provisioning.  It is much easier to acquire goods to craft food and beverages because these items are easily located in the crates and barrels all Elder Scrolls players know to scavenge whenever they can.

Nodes do not magically glow out in the wild, until you place a skill point in the profession to make a node glow.  If you fail to pay attention to your surroundings you will miss that maple log or jute plant you could have harvested.  And just because you harvested the raw materials doesn’t mean you can open the crafting menu out in the middle of nowhere and make yourself an upgrade.  No, you need the appropriate crafting station to even open the crafting menu in the first place.  Once again, planning ahead and thinking are required.

Crafting is very fulfilling.  It is complex without being overly so.  It pulls goods from your shared bank storage to craft which is extremely nice.  There is also the chance to fail when crafting an improved item.  That’s right, there is no guarantee that when you go to improve an item it will be successful unless you put enough of the raw component to improve the item into the recipe.  That chance of failure makes the successes all the more sweet.

Crafting will keep you in weapons and armor appropriate for your level that will allow you to succeed, even with the common white level weapon or armor that isn’t improved.  Ignore crafting at your own peril my friends.

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Elder Scrolls Online: Questing

And thus begins your questing experience in Elder Scrolls Online.  Simple, clean and minimal to begin with and yet perfect for the setting of the first quest of the game. 

The prison setting is being called trite and over used by critics but the setting fits with the Daedra at the heart of the main story line.  If Molag Bal were the villain and the story began anywhere else, it would just instantly not make the game an Elder Scrolls game.  So, yeah the game begins in a prison environment but get over it, that’s where it should start.

A common complaint among gamers is that quests boil down to nothing more than, as my husband likes to phrase it, do my laundry bitch quests.  I have yet to run into a single quest that had me go kill ten of this or fetch ten of that.  Quests are far more involved than fetching and retrieving.  I’ve saved a village from a father determined to protect and feed his vampire son.  I’ve acquired tomes of arcane knowledge to help free a mage.  I commune with spirits and defied the express wishes of the undead. 

Quests are varied and unique and make the world and environment come to life.  Do you stop and aid the merchant along the road?  The environment is filled with quests that will never be discovered by standing in town waiting for the quest givers to come to you.

There is no central quest hub crowded with players trying to grab quests and run.  Sure places like the Fighter’s and Mage’s Guilds can be crowded at times with players but stop and think about it.  If your home was under attack from the god or gods that were regularly worshipped and were known to take personal interest in the lives of the world’s inhabitants wouldn’t you be rushing to the nearest organization you thought could help to protect the one’s you love?  So, yeah congested quest givers isn’t a problem for me on those rare occasions it does occur.

The quest dialogue is fully voice acted and isn’t overly long but isn’t too short.  The quests don’t hold your hand and led you from point A to point B.  Players have to think, listen, and figure things out on their own.  There is a directional pointer on the HUD to aid the player, identical to Skyrim in fact, but that is the only “help” in questing that exists in the game.

Immersion in the game is complete and total because of the quests.  They suck you in, they make you care about not only your character but the NPC characters.  The quests are by far the best I’ve experienced in any MMO to date and questing is my thing, it is something that makes or breaks a game for me.  I cannot stress how well done the quests are or how well they’ve managed to completely immerse me in the content.

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Elder Scrolls Online: User Interface, Graphics, & the User Experience

The User Interface

There is the User Interface while fighting.  Minimal, non-intrusive, non-immersive breaking, and clean.  There is a complete absence of clutter on the screen, which is how the single player Elder Scrolls games play and look.

No mini-map, no numbers flying by, just simple and clean interface.  The beauty behind this clutter free UI?  Players are more involved in what is going on than they are concerned with the amount of damage or a mini-map which points out every little detail for them.  To be honest, more than once I’ve forgotten to hide my UI when taking a screenshot and it hasn’t diminished the beauty of that screenshot.  That says A LOT about the quality and functionality of the UI.

Just like the single player games, ESO rewards the player for exploration.  Chests tucked away in far off little corners of the world, Skyshards in unexpected locales, or on object or NPC that leads to some amazing quest chain you wouldn’t have discovered just standing around in town.

This is the UI when you have your inventory open (yes, I’m riding my Imperial Edition horse.)  This interface too is simple to understand and uncluttered.  I cannot begin to tell you how much the clean and simple UI has grown on me, every other game’s interface is now cumbersome and tedious.

Graphics

The game is stunningly beautiful.  More times than I can count I stopped just to take a screenshot, just because it was so pretty.  The environments are amazing, details like snakes slithering through grass or frogs and toads frolicking in the water or swamp.  The world is a living and breathing place and your character feels like an integral part of that world.

The User Experience

The user experience is fantastic if you understand that this isn’t your typical MMO.  If you play ESO and expect everything to be face-roll easy with everything handed to you then you will be extremely displeased and disappointed.  ESO expects their player base to think and be willing to explore and figure things out.  Do not expect to play ESO and be able to spam a dungeon finder queue to level your character, and may Zenimax Online never make the mistake of placing a dungeon finder system in the game.

Questing is awesome but more on that in an upcoming post.  The overall user experience is superb.  NPCs are humorous or having their own petty squabbles that do not involve the player at all.  There has been a consistent concern that given the MMO aspect of the game, how is it possible that your character can rise to be the hero?  To be honest, my experience has been that I forgot that the other player characters are doing things similar to my character. 

There are fights that are vastly more difficult than others, and the assumption that you should be able to kill a quest level boss because you are of equal level is an invalid assumption.  Fights can be quite challenging and I love it.  I love that if I’m lazy or careless my character will die.  I love that failure to think strategically or tactically results in a far more difficult fight than if I thought about it or paid attention to boss mechanics during a fight.  Any game that rewards the careful and intelligent player is doing it right.

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Elder Scrolls Online: Does it feel like an Elder Scrolls Game?

Simple answer is yes.  More detailed answer is that it has all of the components of an Elder Scrolls game that make Elder Scrolls games so immersive and compelling.  The  grandeur of Ayleid ruins is present, the lives of NPCs is present, the environments are lush and alive, the interesting little clues about the lives surrounding you that you know nothing about, and the presence and interference of the Aedra and Daedra in the lives of citizens of Nirn.

You just know that there is a story behind this items, left out in the wilderness by some unknown NPC on the starter island for the Aldmeri Dominion.  My characters who have gone through the starting area for the AD are intrigued and wanted to know more.  There are little touches like this all over the place, just like any single player Elder Scrolls game.

Humor is everywhere throughout the game.  More than once hubby and I would bust out laughing at something a NPC said.  The sarcastic, dry, humor is present all over the place, not just in quest dialogue.  I love the NPC in the first village in Morrowind named Fetches Glitter. 

Next up, the graphics, UI, and user experience. 

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Entitled Gamers: Stop the Insanity

Zenimax Online and The Elder Scrolls Online have gotten nothing but hate and flames for keeping their NDA for all but a select few in the media, not having an open beta, selling copies of the game, and going with a subscription model.  Well, those are just a small portion of the recent whines that have been flying around in the last week or so.  And then there is a praise Sony is getting for selling ALPHA access to Everquest Next: Landmark. 

Sony is basically selling ALPHA access and thereby getting free game designers to build their next game instead of hiring and paying talented game designers and artists a decent salary and benefits.  Sure, Sony improves the bottom line but in the process becomes a bad citizen, deprives the local economy of growth, nickels and dimes their “customers” to death and consistently produces crappy, bug filled games.  Everquest 2 still has bugs that were there upon release, Planetside 2 was almost unplayable upon release, and Sony just announced the closure of four games this year.  Why on earth would any reasonably intelligent gamer invest money in any product Sony tosses out there? 

Zenimax on the other hand, hasn’t sold beta access and has refused to release the NDA to the overwhelming majority of their beta testing community.  This isn’t hiding what may or may not be a crappy game, it is controlling the out of control entitlement of the gaming community that is notorious for vomiting hate for any game that doesn’t meet preconceived notions.  ZOS is in a no-win situation no matter what road they travel down.  The majority of released media reviews are less than favorable but a careful read of those opinion pieces makes it clear that the reviewer had their review written prior to ever playing the game.  If ZOS lifts the NDA for those who have been included in the beta but aren’t press, the positives reviews will undoubtedly increase but so will the incessant whining.  Keeping the NDA in place allows ZOS to build and create TESO and let the market decide upon release.

Now for the real problem, the gaming community is the problem.  The never ending demands for content and then the accompanying complaints when the content is buggy; the hardcore versus casual ceaseless debate; the end game is all the matters crowd; and the refusal to let game developers and publishers design, build, and test the game they spent all the time and money producing.  Gamers are responsible for being nickel and dimed to death by free-to-play games because they are too eager to buy their way through content rather than relax and play the game.  If you can’t afford the box fee and a monthly sub of a mere $15 dollars (which by the way hasn’t changed in over a decade) then you shouldn’t be gaming.

NDA’s exist for a reason and betas are not free previews to play until the game releases.  Betas exist to track down and quash bugs, problematic combat, typos, etc.  They are not there for gamers to play for free, trash, and then move on to the next beta to wash, rinse and repeat.  If you play a beta and are under NDA and aren’t enjoying yourself, then move and and go spend your time doing something you enjoy.  There are always plenty of beta testers who are willing to test, report, and live happily under the terms of the NDA.

Gamers are responsible for buggy games and rushed content releases because of their incessant drive to burn through content as quickly as possible and then demand yet more new content.  Gamers, not gaming companies, are responsible for the state of games today.  The sense of entitlement and personal hurt when the game isn’t exact what they envisioned it to be is an endless black pit cesspool of garbage.  Unless you are a game designer and work for a gaming company, no game will ever meet your expectations completely.  If you don’t like a game, then move on and play one that suits your play style.  There is no reason to demean those that enjoy something you don’t. 

Look, I strongly, no vehemently, oppose the selling of alpha or beta access by any company but if there are gamers that enjoy what they pay for great.  Just don’t expect sympathy from me when the game doesn’t meet your expectations.  I will support any game I play with my monthly subscription, when I stop enjoying it I will cease to pay for the game.  I will also support any gaming company that keeps their beta locked down and their testers under NDA.

Technorati Tags: The Elder Scrolls Online. TESO,Zenimax Online,Sony,Everquest Next: Landmark,beta,gamers,alpha

Elder Scrolls Online: Oh the Angst & the Humor of Pre-Order Bonuses

 

Yesterday, The Elder Scrolls Online released the pre-order bonuses and the hate immediately began to flow.  People are outraged over complete nonsense and I am enjoying their tears immensely.  The majority of the tears go something like this: “OMG they destroyed faction pride!”  or my personal favorite, “It is a money grab by ZOS and it destroys the lore!”

First off let’s deal with the race issue.  Past Elder Scrolls games, you fire it up pick the race you want and you are on your adventures in Tamriel.  No restrictions, no artificial barriers.  ESO had artificial barriers in place, and still does for those that do not pre-order.  Those barriers restrict your race choice to one of three factions.  That severely limits role playing opportunities for those that want to actively role play in game.  You cannot, without pre-ordering, role play an Orc Sorcerer orphaned and raised by childless Khajits in Elsewhyr nor can you play an Altmer who disapproves of the blatantly racists and elitist attitudes of the Aldmeri Dominion and decides to go fight for the personal liberty ideals embodied by the Ebonheart Pact. 

The pre-order bonus allowing players to play any race in any alliance gives players more freedom, more creativity, and the personal choice that has always been present in Elder Scrolls games.  Racism has always been a part of Elder Scrolls games too.  The blatant racism of the Nords and High Elves in Skyrim for example.  I do not believe the pre-order bonus in any way fundamentally alters that racism of the game.  A Breton Dragonknight that sells his sword to the Aldmeri is going to be paid and utilized but not respected.  The Orc Nightblade that matures in Ebonheart territory will always know she is different that those around her.  The Argonian that choose to heal the valiant warriors of the Daggerfall Covenant will be accepted and thanked for her efforts.

Now for my second favorite complaint, the lore destroying money grab.  I think the lore can be easily handled by players.  Zenimax Online did nothing to destroy the lore yesterday.  I am at a loss to understand the concept of the pricing being a money grab.  The box price for the digital and hard copy is the industry standard of $60.  The fact that anyone was surprised by this is funny.  The digital collector’s edition is a mere $20 more and it includes the Imperial race, mudcrab pet, a HORSE, and Rings of Mara.  The physical edition of the Collector’s Edition is underpriced at $100.  No seriously, for that additional $20 bucks you get a statute, a map, and a lore book in addition to the items that come with the digital collector’s addition.

I think the money argument is based on consumers expecting far too many things for free this days.  There is a blatant attitude of entitlement that is rampant and out of control.  Truth be told, if the initial buy-in (which includes 30 days of free game play) and the monthly subscription is too much then perhaps playing a video games isn’t the wisest decision you could be making.  Everyone has different finances and priorities but the sense of entitlement is outrageous.  ZOS spent their investment money on the title, and are entitled to see a return on that investment.

I can’t wait for the game to be released.  I will utilized my Rings of Mara and enjoy my horse while my playing against the race-alliance barrier.

Technorati Tags: The Elder Scrolls Online,TESO,ESO,Aldmeri Dominion,Ebonheart Pact,Daggerfall Covenant,Pre-Order,Imperial,Khajit,Orc,Nightbladle,Sorcerer,mudcrab,Zenimax,ZOS,collector's edition,Skyrim,lore,role playing

Elder Scrolls Online: The Arrival

This morning the new cinematic trailer and pre-order bonuses were released for the Elder Scrolls Online.  Mudcrab pet and early access?  Here take our money, please take it already!  Ritual of Mara and the ability to play any race in any faction?  No seriously, excuse me while we place our orders.

The best part about an amazing cinematic, the female character saves the day.  I want her incredibly awesome whip spell!  Seriously, she kicks serious Molag Bal and daedric minion asses in the video. 

There is no doubt what I will be playing once ESO releases. 

Technorati Tags: Elder Scrolls Online,ESO,Bethesda,Zenimax,cinematic,mudcrab,early access,Mara,Daedric,Molag Bal

Christmas Week Abbreviated Adventures

Pippa managed to run into Krampus finally in The Secret World and blindly followed him into the portal he opened.  He and his buddies immediately kicked my rear and Pippa was dead on the floor faster than wrapping paper on Christmas morning.  She wisely exited the instance upon regaining her sense.

Pippa, the original character of that name, and the bevy of 90’s opened presents and rescued Metzen until one of them was lucky enough to get the Rotten Little Helper companion.  He is decidedly evil and miserable looking.  Can’t say I feel the effort was worth it.  I will admit, I think I’m over WOW for quite a while.  Yes, I still have characters I could level and I haven’t completed the loremaster achievement.  But I’m not enjoying myself.  I enjoy reading the lore in novels much more than I am repeating myself in game. 

I can’t say I won’t ever be returning to WOW, I’ve made that claim too many times before and Pippa always get’s missed.  I wish Blizzard would wise up and give the non-raiding crowd a reason to stick around, like adventure or quest packs.

I stopped into Guild Wars 2 again this year.  Same even as last year it appears, I didn’t stick around that long to find out.  I decided to try out one of the event instances and imagine my delight in learning my level 10 warrior was stuck (until I logged out) in an instance filled with level 80s.  I can’t deny the game is lovely but there is no quest content and thus no interest for me.

I’ve dropped my LOTRO several evenings this week and completed the quests in Frostbluff for cosmetics.  Luckily, LOTRO will run on the Surface Pro well enough to do things like festivals and crafting so I’m not trapped in the office.  I think I’ve gotten almost everything I want from the festival this year.  Trying to decide if I want this year’s horse or not.  I’ve gotten one, not sure how interested I am in the other. 

I stopped by Star Wars: The Old Republic this week.  I activated one character, my Consular.  She’s on Hoth and I want to finish her story line.  I didn’t play her, I browsed the Cartel Market and realized that I need to change her gear out if I’m going to play her without subscribing.  Two years after the game launched and I don’t have a character at max level yet, but I keep wandering by for the story which speaks to how compelling the quest writers at Bioware are.

This time next year, I imagine I will still be happily immersed in Elder Scrolls Online.  I hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas.  Happy New Year and may all your football teams be victorious!

 

Technorati Tags: Free to play. F2P,cash shop,WOW,The Secret World,TSW,World of Warcraft,Guild Wars 2,GW2,Lord of the Rings Online,LOTRO,Elder Scrolls Online,ESO,Star Wars: The Old Republic,SWTOR