Elder Scrolls the MMO

Freezer-TPF- · Post by **Freezer-TPF-** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:14 pm

Paingod wrote:This wrongness makes me kind of sad, like a little piece of my gaming heritage is being abused in an alleyway by men in sharp looking suits.

Sharp looking suits made of future money, with matching future money hats.

But is the emperor really clothed at all?

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:26 pm

TiLT wrote: the presence of orcs will make the setting unappealing to the Asian market by default.

OK, I feel like an idiot here... What's this all about - is that true? and , why?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:39 pm

It depends how much racism people want to attribute to Tolkein and LotR.

The mostly white Free People's of Middle-Earth doing battle with the hordes of beast-like orcs is seen by some as an indication of racism.

Of the orcs, the Uruk-Hai are described as "black" and a smaller orc, a tracker, is described as "black-skinned". All orcs are often described as "slant-eyed" and the Uruk-Hai at least refer to the Rohhirim as 'white skins.' In one of his letters, Tolkien described Orcs as "...squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes; in fact degraded and repulsive versions of the (to Europeans) least lovely Mongol-types."(Letter 210)

While Tolkien's statement comparing Orcs to the "Mongol-types" is undoubtedly insensitive given today's standards, he does put a disclaimer, "(to Europeans,)" before "least lovely", at least recognizing Western cultural bias and also points out that they were "degraded and repulsive versions" of "Mongol-types", not actual "Mongol-types". It is worth noting that some Orcs use crooked or bent swords (Tolkien also uses the term scimitar, which are historically associated with the Middle-East).

Orcs however, are not men. Unlike the wicked men who serve the Enemy, who might have been enslaved or beguiled, orcs are portrayed as irredeemably evil, or at least having a redemption outside the scope of the narrative. The origin of orcs is not clear, but they may be products of Morgoth's sorcery, or the descendants of tortured and ruined elves. Regardless of their origins they are not presented as a natural race, indeed there is no mention of orc women, children, villages, or culture. Perhaps inspired by his Roman Catholicism, Tolkien's orcs may have more in common with demonic armies than foreign ones.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:13 pm

So, a unique abilities system just like every other MMO out there. How unique!

Well, to be fair, I might have misunderstood him or maybe he was just really bad at explaining what it was, but it sounded exactly like a skill system, only renamed as abilities.

Zurai · Post by **Zurai** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:42 pm

Unagi wrote:
TiLT wrote: the presence of orcs will make the setting unappealing to the Asian market by default.
OK, I feel like an idiot here... What's this all about - is that true? and , why?

No, it isn't. The most popular MMOs in Asia (Lineage 2, or at least it was; WoW might have surpassed it) has orcs as one of their 4.5 races. And, of course, WoW is also extremely popular in Asia and also has orcs as a playable race. No idea where TiLT got that notion from.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Jan 22, 2013 5:24 pm

Beta application is now live.

Bethesda Softworks® and ZeniMax® Online Studios today announced that beta signups are now open for The Elder Scrolls® Online at ElderScrollsOnline.com. Interested gamers simply have to go to the website and register for a chance to play. Selected beta registrants will be granted early access to beta test the game. They will be among the first to experience this epic world with others in one of 2013’s most highly-anticipated releases. Timing and details of the start of playtests will be provided at a later date to those who register.

“We’re really excited to get the game into players’ hands,” said Matt Firor, game director of The Elder Scrolls Online. “We receive invaluable feedback through the beta process, and that helps us ensure that the game will be one of the best online gaming experiences ever offered -- one worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise.”

Have at it folks.

Texian · Post by **Texian** » Wed Jan 23, 2013 4:13 pm

I signed up for the Beta. This could be good.

DD* · Post by DD* » Wed Jan 23, 2013 4:52 pm

Texian wrote:I signed up for the Beta. This could be good.

[Wayne]
Yeah, right, and monkeys might fly out of my butt!
[/Wayne]

Bad Demographic · Post by **Bad Demographic** » Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:12 pm

Texian wrote:I signed up for the Beta. This could be good.

Me, too. Thanks for the info and the link, Smoove.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 5:37 pm

Yeah, I've signed up, but I'm not too optimistic about the game. We'll see though.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:23 am

wow theres an amazing amount of hate in here for a game that hasnt even been released. If it doesnt work out and Bethesda falls flat on its face, so be it. But I will at least give them the opportunity to put out a good game and try it out before I write it off. If I buy the game and play it for a month, Ill likely get as much or more gameplay out of it as I would out of most other new games. Then its up to me to decide if I want to spend the extra money for a monthly fee. Its not like they are holding a gun to my head or anything.

Anyway I came in here to let people know that they are running a major server stress test on the beta and a bunch of new invites have been sent out. If youre interested, you may want to check your inbox.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:27 am

Well, I do remember one of the posts lost during the last OOutage -- the fact that they're planning on charging a $15 monthly fee to play after the customary 30 day trial.

As I said when I originally posted that news -- good luck.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:38 am

Smoove_B wrote:Well, I do remember one of the posts lost during the last OOutage -- the fact that they're planning on charging a $15 monthly fee to play after the customary 30 day trial.

As I said when I originally posted that news -- good luck.

As I didn't say back then but others did, some of us are perfectly OK with that. I just hope they don't offer a lifetime sub! If it doesn't work they will go to F2P or turn it off just like everyone else who isn't named Blizzard.

ColdSteel · Post by **ColdSteel** » Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:03 am

I was reading posts about this MMO over on Something Awful and it seems a lot of people stop playing the beta after only a few hours. That's usually not a very good sign. Personally, I've always thought that Bethesda's strength was in creating a really fun sandbox experience for their RPGs. The stuff that goes into making the rest of the game? Not so much. It seems to me that all their strengths are those things that don't transfer very well into MMOs. It will be really interesting to see how this all turns out.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Sep 04, 2013 10:09 am

coopasonic wrote:As I didn't say back then but others did, some of us are perfectly OK with that. I just hope they don't offer a lifetime sub! If it doesn't work they will go to F2P or turn it off just like everyone else who isn't named Blizzard.

While I've never actually worked for a company looking to launch and MMO, my recommendation would have been that they offer something similar to what Blizzard does now with the endless trial system.

You want me to spend $60 on a game, play it for 30 days and then immediately opt-in for a $15 subscription? Historically speaking, I believe most MMOs that went that route failed miserably. If you're confident in your product and it's ready to go, offer that unlimited trial immediately and get more people playing -- which then have a greater chance of converting to paid subscriptions.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:46 am

Been in for a couple months.

Zurai · Post by **Zurai** » Wed Sep 04, 2013 12:10 pm

Not sure why people are saying, "Give Bethesda a chance!"

This isn't a Bethesda game. They're only tangentially involved. That's one of the many, many reasons that people are wary about this.

Redfive · Post by **Redfive** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 8:01 pm

Got an invitation to the stress test tomorrow . Not sure if I have time for it though. It's only scheduled for three hours and the invitation says I'm not in the 'real' beta yet.

They are offering a creepy looking monkey pet for those that play for at least thirty minutes.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 8:38 pm

By playing they keep inviting me to these things. I missed one and they actually sent me a email asking why lol.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:20 pm

Having a little trouble tonight..anyone else? I can log in, create my character, and try to join the game world but upon loading it goes a little past mid way then just stops there and does nothing.

Maybe its just crowded.

Redfive · Post by **Redfive** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 8:39 pm

Eh, not really feeling it right now but I didn't want to lose my chance at the beta so I went ahead and tried to register this morning to play tonight. Couldn't finish the registration process because it was borked :/

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:15 pm

Im starting to get very frustrated with this. I created a new character (you have to each test) and I get in and before I get done with the beginner area(you have to play it over every time) they pop up a msg that the servers are coming down in 1 minutes for a couple minutes. About an hour or more later it comes back up. I create a new character or start to. Before I get done it goes down again. This time I think it went down because the time for the test was over. WTF. I got a total of 5 minutes in. This is just rediculous. Whats the point if we cant even play any.

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:08 pm

So you do realize, it's 1: A Beta... 2: It's stress test night, where they specifically said in the email provided that they will purposely take down the server at various times to simulate a server crash and see how it handles thousands of logins at the same time...? Right, you do know this? Right?

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 1:17 am

Of course but they didn't put it back up. i've been in many dozens of alphas and betas so I know the ins and outs of testing. But this one is frustrating to no end. Not even getting to test as it is.

Haavok1 · Post by **Haavok1** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 1:49 pm

Played last night in the Beta never had to make a new character after any of the times they brought down the servers. Few problems getting out of the starting zone but the informed about that in game and had it fixed in about 10 minutes. So far liking it with the little I have seen.

soulbringer · Post by **soulbringer** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 2:36 pm

Still havent picked me so I will be frustrated by proxy with you.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 4:40 pm

Daehawk wrote: i've been in many dozens of alphas and betas so I know the ins and outs of testing.

I really don't think you do, because you basically say the same thing about every one. I think you view them as demos more than betas. Just my observation from over the years.

Ale

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 4:59 pm

Duplicate post.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 5:23 pm

Knowing about them but being frustrated I cant actually test them is normal Ale.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 5:43 pm

Triplicate post.

Ale

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 8:37 pm

Really? A third post? Is there a hidden message in there????

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 9:27 pm

Daehawk wrote:Really? A third post? Is there a hidden message in there????

Just trying to make my point

That's weird. The times are so far apart. This happened yesterday too, but at least they were all together.

Ale

naednek · Post by **naednek** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 9:40 pm

Alefroth wrote:
Daehawk wrote:Really? A third post? Is there a hidden message in there????
Just trying to make my point

That's weird. The times are so far apart. This happened yesterday too, but at least they were all together.

Ale

do you hit the back button when going back to the subforum? So when you make a post, you hit back, and you are back to the part where you enter in your response, hit the back button it takes you to the forum? That's what I do and I get the same issue.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 11:27 pm

naednek wrote:
Alefroth wrote:
Daehawk wrote:Really? A third post? Is there a hidden message in there????
Just trying to make my point

That's weird. The times are so far apart. This happened yesterday too, but at least they were all together.

Ale
do you hit the back button when going back to the subforum? So when you make a post, you hit back, and you are back to the part where you enter in your response, hit the back button it takes you to the forum? That's what I do and I get the same issue.

I usually hit the board index link, but maybe that's what happened this time. Still odd they are so far apart.

Ale

Bad Demographic · Post by **Bad Demographic** » Sun Sep 08, 2013 2:26 pm

soulbringer wrote:Still havent picked me so I will be frustrated by proxy with you.

Same here.

I've never beta tested (nor alpha, either). I hope that if I ever get to I have the ability to be at the computer when needed (instead of, say, at work).

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sun Sep 08, 2013 2:29 pm

Bad Demographic wrote:I've never beta tested (nor alpha, either). I hope that if I ever get to I have the ability to be at the computer when needed (instead of, say, at work).

I still have the email from Rich that he sent back to me on 9/10/2001 regarding the Dark Age of Camelot beta -- something I wouldn't have found out about unless I was reading his front page news on Gone Gold. That was the first MMO and beta I ever participated in. Good times.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:08 pm

Has it been that long since DAoC? Wow. i beta'd that too...beta'd about everything made. I liked DAoC because you could hop off the taxi horses anytime you wanted.

Bad Demographic · Post by **Bad Demographic** » Sat Nov 23, 2013 1:15 pm

Is anybody playing in the Beta this weekend? I got an invite and was thinking it might be fun to team up with some friends.
Right now I'm in the Kenarthi (sp?) area.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Nov 23, 2013 1:41 pm

I got two invites and deleted them both. I refuse to bother with this any further. All the beta weekends Ive been in before I barely got any play time with it being down so much. Then after those weekend things it would go months before another one. I just deleted the dang client about a week ago so getting a beta invite pissed me off lol.

Honestly this game has ZERO chance at succeeding. They'd need to pay me to play it.

Bad Demographic · Post by **Bad Demographic** » Sat Nov 23, 2013 1:57 pm

Bummer.
The Elder Scroll games are like skooma for me. So far this is okay - some inconveniences (like other people searching containers before I can get to them) - but I'm giving it a try.
I think the servers are down right now - they sent out an in-game message that the servers were going down in 15 minutes (back around the time of my earlier post) - but that gives me time to get some coffee and something to eat.