The Elder Scrolls Online *update* beta signups

[Tnnaas]

Long rumored and much anticipated, The Elder Scrolls Online is finally being unveiled in the June issue of Game Informer. In this month's cover story we journey across the entire land of Tamriel, from Elsweyr to Skyrim and everywhere in between.

Source Article (http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/05/03/june-cover-revealed-the-elder-scrolls-online.aspx)


"It will be extremely rewarding finally to unveil what we have been developing the last several years," said game director and MMO veteran Matt Firor, whose previous work includes Mythic's well-received Dark Age of Camelot. "The entire team is committed to creating the best MMO ever made – and one that is worthy of The Elder Scrolls franchise."

According to the source article, it is to take place 1000 years before the events in Skyrim. There will be more info on this tomorrow, for now check out the announcement trailer at the Elder Scrolls website (http://www.elderscrolls.com/).

The Elder Scrolls Online is scheduled to come out in 2013 for both PC and Macintosh.

[PlasbianX]

The leaked screenshots make me think it looks like Kingdoms of Amalur

[ICEE]

Interesting. not sure if I want to hold my breath on this. But interesting.

[Tnnaas]

Here is a quick update from Game Informer.

Check out this article (http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/05/07/the-challenge-of-elder-scrolls-online-an-interview-with-the-creative-director.aspx).

I've also checked the wiki for some additional info. All may be subject to change; spoiler tags for your protection.

The Elder Scrolls: Online is a multiplayer online role-playing game that was announced in May 2012.
Developed by the team at ZeniMax Online Studios, The Elder Scrolls Online merges the unmatched exploration of rich worlds that the franchise is known for with the scale and social aspects of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Players will discover an entirely new chapter of Elder Scrolls history in this ambitious world, set a millennium before the events of Skyrim as the daedric prince Molag Bal tries to pull all of Tamriel into his demonic realm.[1]

This game will come out in 2013
Already established. Here's some background info.

The game is set in the Second Era, in the Interregnum.
Cyrodiil is ravished by war, and the Imperials aren't doing so well.
The Tharn family has made a pact with the King of Worms, who has agreed to supplement the Imperial's forces by resurrecting their soldiers. Secretly, Mannimarco is conspiring with Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince of Corruption and Slavery, to take over Mundus.
Molag Bal is harvesting souls of mortals, and the player is an adventurer whose soul has been taken, allowing them to constantly return to life.
He's also sent "Dark Anchors" into Tamriel, which drag Mundus into Coldharbour. The Fighters Guild have taken it upon themselves to remove them.
Three major groups have formed:

The Aldmeri Dominion, consisting of Altmer, Bosmer, and Khajiit, control Alinor, Elsweyr, and Valenwood.
The Daggerfall Covenant, consisting of Orcs, Bretons, and Redguards, control High Rock and Hammerfell.
The Ebonheart Pact, consisting of Dunmer, Argonians, and Nords, control Skyrim, Morrowind, and Black Marsh.

Time-travel will be featured in the game. In one example, the player puts on some old armor and is put in the owner's role, participating in a battle of long ago.
Undead werewolves will be featured in the game.
A werewolf named Faolchu has amassed a werewolf army and has taken over Camlorn, High Rock.
The Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Fighters and Mages Guilds are in the game.
There will at some point be a battle for the Imperial City which is overrun by Daedra, deciding who will rule Tamriel.
The landscape of Cyrodiil is similar to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, contradicting established lore somewhat.

And some aforementioned images.

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120505201917/elderscrolls/images/7/78/Elder-scrolls-online-2.jpg

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120507042636/elderscrolls/images/c/ce/The-elder-scrolls-online-screenshots.jpg

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120507042819/elderscrolls/images/f/fc/Elderscrollsonline.jpg

[DarkHalo003]

Don't know if want.

[Hotrod]

Meh, can't say I'm particularily interested at all.

[Higuy]

It defiently dosent look like any Elder Scrolls game I've seen before. Looks like some typcial fantasy game.

[Tnnaas]

Bump. The fan-guys at GameStop aren't entirely bright, but this little Q&A should help clear up things.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugSSwuKsPKI

Damn, no bucket griefing.

Additionally: ESO is a WOW clone? (http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Deyvid_Petteys/ESO_is_a_WOW_clone%3F)

[Higuy]

It sounds pretty good but man those visuals are nothing compared to what Skyrim was, which is quite honestly a bit dissapointing.

[Tnnaas]

I know, and I'm a bit disappointed. They've been working on the game for five years, I believe. Maybe they didn't want to update the visuals because they'd have to fix all of the Tamriel landscape and other models. I couldn't imagine how much a pain in the ass that would be.

[Higuy]

It's also not the fact that its not as good looking as Skyrim, its more or less because it looks a hell of alot more cartoony then anything. It looks alot like WoW is in the graphics department (a bit better none the less), despite the claims they said it wasn't a clone.

[Bobblehob]

Its also probably an issue of scope, I mean as big as the Skyrim world is, for it to appeal to MMO players for more than a few weeks, they would have to multiply that by 5 or 10 times, which would make having skyrim level details rather difficult :P

[Higuy]

Well yes. But Skyrim in and of itself is already a pretty diverse setting as well. Simply said, they could invest time into improving their engine and also utilizing procedural assets more that also look good. I realize its huge but they've also had 5 years.

[Warsaw]

Maybe I'm missing something, but why is graphics such an issue in MMOs? Isn't all of that computed client-side? I can see physics being a major pain in the butt, but plain-old visuals? Does it matter if the other player sees the exact same shadows or flowing robe pattern that I do as long as I'm standing in the correct place with the correct posture and equipment? What gives?

I'm not buying into any MMO until they serious the fuck up and stop with the stylized visuals. If it's a comic-book game (DCUO), that's one thing, but Elder Scrolls has never been about being cartoony.

Yes, I like my games srs. Gaemz r srs bznss.

[neuro]

mostly because MMO's need a large playerbase to function, so they need to aim for a broad audience.

basically it needs to be able to run on your mum's laptop.

[Warsaw]

Well...that explains why I'm never seriously interested in any MMO; uninteresting by design.

[Tnnaas]

Woah, move this thread over to the Games forum. Thanks, mods!

Anyways, it's beta sign-up today. Here's a cinematic they put together just for this occasion.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jNT5cMwxw0

Unfortunately, the game still has that ridiculous cartoony look to it. The environments look outstanding, but the characters are still weird. If only it looked like that cinematic. Damn.

Head over to the Elder Scrolls Online site (http://www.elderscrollsonline.com) to sign up. It would be nice to have some first-hand experiences in this thread.

[Donut]

i didnt see anything destinctively "elder scrolls" in there. if you removed the video title, id have no idea what that was.

[DarkHalo003]

Signed-up. Here's hoping I get in. ^_^

On a side note, I'm probably going to join the Ebonheart Pact: the Aldmeri Dominion just became too assholish as time went by and the Daggerfall Covenant doesn't really interest. Also, Argonians are OP.

At the same time, I'm glad they're finally illustrating how bad of a dude Molag Bal is in the history of the series and how he, like Mahrunes Dagon, is reduced pretty badly by the time of Skyrim.

We're also fighting the Empire/Imperials. Does that mean it/they are being manipulated?

[TVTyrant]

Clearly it's all about Nords and only doing things inside of Skyrim because I'm a racist.

[Tnnaas]

We're also fighting the Empire/Imperials. Does that mean it/they are being manipulated?
The Emperor is dead and everyone wants a shot for the throne. I don't think they want to give up Cyrodiil, or the throne, to anyone.

EDIT: Not that it matters, Tiber Septim takes the throne in the end, but the fun lies in the adventure during the Interregnum.

[TVTyrant]

So what time period is this supposed to take place in? The era of Talos?

[Sanctus]

I think so, because Tiber Septim became emperor in the third era, which is one thousand years before Skyrim.

[Tnnaas]

Around the mid-end of the Second Era, a few hundred years before the Septim bloodline begins.

[Tnnaas]

Bhamp. Update: worldwide release date for PC/Mac is April 4, 2014 (http://elderscrollsonline.com/en/news/post/2013/12/11/eso-release-plans-announced).

Have another trailer.


http://youtu.be/MQFxE4AESn4

It looks a little less like WoW.

[PlasbianX]

I played the beta and I honestly felt like it was a generic MMO with a skyrim UI. Do gotta say though, that trailer reminds me of the castle sieges of Lineage 2. Those were honestly fun as hell so if this has something similar, that would be amazing.