So... How many years will it take?

Gidorick

I absolutely love ESO but I've always found the core experience lacking. If ESO wasn't tied to the Elder Scrolls universe, I would have lost interest long ago. Actually, I wouldn't have ever even tried it. From the lack of immersive nights, to the lack of underwater gameplay, to not being able to sit in chairs, the inability to climb ladders, to not having functional torches, to the fact that everyone is a wizard... there are many things that keep ESO from being that definitive Elder Scrolls experience I was hoping it would be. Add to that, the wonky grouping, the lackluster LFG functions, shallow guild tools, the lack of a leveling down mechanic, and we have an multiplayer game that is cumbersome to play unless you have a dedicated group with which to play. I have little hope of ever being able to actually play Craglorn because I don't have a dedicated group who will be on the same mission that I am on.

Many of the things ESO lacks will possibly be added later, and we are expected to accept that ESO doesn't have these features because it's a new MMO, if 15 months qualifies as "new". Features that are standard in MMOs aren't even yet on the horizon. Barber Shop, housing, and holidays, I'm looking at you guys.

My question is simple... How many years do you think it'll be before ESO realizes it's potential? Will it ever?

DenMoria

I agree with you 100%.

To answer your question, I would say "Never". But then again, it is only their 1st foray in to the MMO arena. Who know, maybe they'll get better at it.

My, I'm waiting for ES6.

kevlarto_ESO

I think with the ebb and flow of players in todays online games ESO, has carved it's niche it will pick up players and will lose players, but I don't see it turning into much more, I really like the game and just wish ZOS would have been or be more proactive in getting certain things in the game fixed and improved, like all the broken and exploitive game mechanics.

I am still looking forward to new content and things added to the game, since DLC's will be one of their main revenue streams I would hope they would settle into a good pace of releases and expanding the game, a game like ESO could really grow a lot of the next 3 to 5 years if it has the player base to support it.

I think some of the things you listed will never be added to the game, I wish ESO would have at least one full blown expansion in those is where you get quality of living, huge world expanse, tons of new content and features. I still have fun with the game and plan on being here for a while or until it goes f2p and they over monetize the game then I will most likely take my ball and play else where.

I think their potential has come and gone at this point it is what it is.

Thymos

I don't think I've ever seen a MMO come out that was close being great within the first couple years.

Pallmor

I think if it matures another 2 years, it could be an entirely different (and much better) game. It's already a much different game today than it was at launch.

Greatsword

kevlarto_ESO wrote: »

I don't see it turning into much more

That is a simple yet quite comprehensive summary of my expectations.

Of course it would be great to have a full TES experience in an MMO.
Of course it would be great if blocking with a sword or a two-handed weapon wouldn't look like a hunchback monkey holding a shovel.
And it would be oh-so-great to have my house with my soulless zombie wife giving me money once per week.

Alas, except for the last point, I know none of this will happen.
Maybe in "ESO 2", 15 years from now, we will have a TES experience on par with the *current* TES single player games (which, at that point will be highly disappointing, since we just finished playing The Elder Scrolls VII: Elsweyr, which was so amazing that everyone expected Elsweyr Online).

Gidorick

I personally hope there is never an Elder Scrolls Online 2... I hope for ESO to continue to build and grow on what it has. Along with the release of new expansions and new lands I truly hope we see more visceral additions to the game like....

well, like establishing a meaningful day/night cycle with the Tamrielic date, more strains of the Lycan and Vampire diseases, the removal of invisible walls to make the zones more "roaming-friendly"... the release of the mobs from their archaic design of "this is my area and I will stand here until a player comes close enough for me to attack them", the creation of contextual fog and more dynamic weather, mounts that don't just disappear, the ability to rest at an inn or a campsite, the ability to create characters of different Khajiit furstocks... the list pretty much goes on.

I just really hope we see additional content that adds depth to the game and not just content releases to add breadth. The justice system (part 1) was this type of addition. I really REALLY hope the transition to a cash-shop dependent revenue model doesn't prevent future releases of this type, but I fear it might.

Artheiron

They need to fix what we have now first. cydoiil lag, exploits, never ending loading screens, crashes, broken skills and many more. And also they have to fix things without breaking another with each patch btw.

They already answered that some of the stuff we want won't be coming but don't worry. This is all about business, once they lose customers they take action. gw2 is a good example. they said "no expansion". we don't care what you think. Oh, but you will.

I'm sure working in a game dev. company must be really hard. (especially if that's an elder scrolls game). After all, gamers are no apple/samsung customers that'd buy same thing with atom size improvements each year, right? They can easily get bored, find something better to play no matter how much they love the IP.

Seriously, the potential that this game has unlike any other. The base of the game is amazing and everybody willing to support it. I'd support it too. I too want to buy the damn frosty horse for 30-40 bucks. But can't. Not until I see the light at the end of the tunnel. When I ask my gamer friends and the officers of the gaming community that I'm in (200+ members) to join their reactions almost the same. Beacuse of this "no promises" policy ESO has, I can't to bring them to play eso with me.


Listing the stuff other tes games have but eso doesn't below.

Radiant AI.
Housing
Underwater
Spellcrafting
Calendar.
Moving collisions (like elevators or water streams)
Prisons - True justice system.
Seamless world
Adaptive legs (google this w/eso)
Moveable objects
Children
DAY/Night affects the game
Active racial skills
...And many more.

Gidorick

You list reminds me of my post The Top Ten Elder Scrolls Tropes Missing From the Elder Scrolls Online @Artheiron, but you're right, there are many things "missing" from ESO that were in other TES games.

Cuyler

SOON ^(R)

Sorry couldn't resist

Bromburak

Many years, as usual for MMOs.

Sure, we could argue about things that should have been in the game from the beginning but that is an opinion only.
The problem with several ideas and opinions from business perspective , its expensive.

Many good games have much more potential but reality is always a reasonable compromise.
For gamers a tough one, but thats how the business works.

Merlin13KAGL

They've got a different agenda, unfortunately, @Gidorick.

The standalones made money because they invested in the game world, versus only investing in the game when it will make money.

I realize that sounds obvious, but there is a monumental difference between the two approaches.

I tend to doubt that this will ever really be a part of the ES universe. I think it's a good idea that road in on the coattails, and now they will pursue the fastest turnaround, not always what is best for the game or the players.

Sadly, in projects like this, it's the passion of the Devs that make it what it becomes. Unfortunately, they are often limited in what they are able to pursue to get it that way, so the choice is ultimately not up to them.

Robbmrp

Gidorick wrote: »

I absolutely love ESO but I've always found the core experience lacking. If ESO wasn't tied to the Elder Scrolls universe, I would have lost interest long ago. Actually, I wouldn't have ever even tried it. From the lack of immersive nights, to the lack of underwater gameplay, to not being able to sit in chairs, the inability to climb ladders, to not having functional torches, to the fact that everyone is a wizard... there are many things that keep ESO from being that definitive Elder Scrolls experience I was hoping it would be. Add to that, the wonky grouping, the lackluster LFG functions, shallow guild tools, the lack of a leveling down mechanic, and we have an multiplayer game that is cumbersome to play unless you have a dedicated group with which to play. I have little hope of ever being able to actually play Craglorn because I don't have a dedicated group who will be on the same mission that I am on.

Many of the things ESO lacks will possibly be added later, and we are expected to accept that ESO doesn't have these features because it's a new MMO, if 15 months qualifies as "new". Features that are standard in MMOs aren't even yet on the horizon. Barber Shop, housing, and holidays, I'm looking at you guys.

My question is simple... How many years do you think it'll be before ESO realizes it's potential? Will it ever?

Realistically, we could have the tides rise from climate change before this game meets it's potential.....

QuebraRegra

most games never do...

Likely it has to do with i the game can find a sustainable revenue stream. This appears to be hard to achieve as most companies have to really understand their user base.

#lostpotential

Pallmor

People forget that WoW was buggy as hell when it came out. And, even as they fixed the bugs, vanilla WoW still wasn't much to write home about. It took Blizzard three years to release their first expansion for the game, and it didn't hit its peak population until about 6 years after release.

Volkodav

Too bad they wont fix it so we could mod the game into what we want it to be.

Robbmrp

Pallmor wrote: »

People forget that WoW was buggy as hell when it came out. And, even as they fixed the bugs, vanilla WoW still wasn't much to write home about. It took Blizzard three years to release their first expansion for the game, and it didn't hit its peak population until about 6 years after release.

The main difference between WoW and ESO is WoW got FIXED...... The things that were broken or didn't work, WERE ACTUALLY FIXED at some point.

ZOS just ignores it by changing everything AROUND the problem. It's like they CAN'T fix it and say, "well, since we can't fix that, lets change everything else! "

Zolron

Robbmrp wrote: »

Pallmor wrote: »

People forget that WoW was buggy as hell when it came out. And, even as they fixed the bugs, vanilla WoW still wasn't much to write home about. It took Blizzard three years to release their first expansion for the game, and it didn't hit its peak population until about 6 years after release.

The main difference between WoW and ESO is WoW got FIXED...... The things that were broken or didn't work, WERE ACTUALLY FIXED at some point.

ZOS just ignores it by changing everything AROUND the problem. It's like they CAN'T fix it and say, "well, since we can't fix that, lets change everything else! "

^^This.....and In my opinion player expectations are quite different in 2015 ( especially with console players). If ESOTU is going to flourish, not just survive, there needs to be much more content released which satisfies all demographics ( solo pve, group pve, and pvp ). They also need to fix long standing bugs and provide Quality of Life improvements ( text chat..yeah I know I said it...., combat numbers, buff timers, etc as OPTIONS !! )

Psychobunni

Gidorick wrote: »

If ESO wasn't tied to the Elder Scrolls universe, I would have lost interest long ago. Actually, I wouldn't have ever even tried it.

That part I agree with 1000%. It's such a shame they put an ES skin on another all but defunct game, that EQ and WoW pretty much destroyed, seems like the lessons were NOT* learned (imo)

Darlgon

OP.. you have an interesting list of dreams.

Sadly, if I ever played a MMO that met even half that list consistently for a long time, we would not be having this chat, as I would never have played this game.

Gidorick

Darlgon wrote: »

OP.. you have an interesting list of dreams.

Sadly, if I ever played a MMO that met even half that list consistently for a long time, we would not be having this chat, as I would never have played this game.

Many of us who are from the TES side of ESO players didn't come expecting "Skyrim with friends" but "Elder Scrolls with other players" and there are two primary things that makes ESO an Elder Scrolls game

• The Setting
• The Lore

The gameplay mechanics just aren't that of an Elder Scrolls title. The justice system was a HUGE step in the direction of TES. I hope it's one of many!

Luckily... the two things above are the MOST important things. That's why I'm still here.

Elsonso

Zolron wrote: »

^^This.....and In my opinion player expectations are quite different in 2015 ( especially with console players). If ESOTU is going to flourish, not just survive, there needs to be much more content released which satisfies all demographics ( solo pve, group pve, and pvp ). They also need to fix long standing bugs and provide Quality of Life improvements ( text chat..yeah I know I said it...., combat numbers, buff timers, etc as OPTIONS !! )

I know people like to toss out "OPTION" like it is the answer to everything. Optional combat information could be ignored by people, yes. They might not turn it on, yes. It would be a facade. These things would be as optional as the Champion System.

Spearshard

The funny thing happened s that attitudes like many of those here is why AAA gami g isn't what it used to be. Gamers have turned into the whiniest, neediest, group with absolutely no patience. If it doesn't happen immediately you rage and immediately declare that you will never touch that developers games again. If gamers weren't so impatient to to have the game that they want, games could stay in development longer and be more polished. Just like the above post, wow wasn't the smooth experience right away, immediately. Also a lot of people's issue is they were expecting the elder scrolls game. It's not, its an mmo done with some elder scrolls style. But first and foremost its an mmo. Underwater content? Even oblivion and smyrim didn't have more than, oh look, a shellfish or random chest. I'll give you, lfg tool is @#$%. But the game is barely over a year old, and seriously, all the negative ppl may want to scream how much the game is broken, but they have improved mechanics alot. And alot of what you all want is not a sinple thing to implement. Seriously, we have two expansion packs slated this year, Orsinium is set to come out either by December or just after. Which also includes dark brotherhood and thieves. It does have its giant flaws, lag in pvp can be horrendous. And cp are quite the fiasco long term. But seriously people chill.

Gidorick

@Spearshard, you're telling us to chill and you've been a member of this forum for a month? When did you start playing ESO? I would like to know if you would still be saying chill if you waited through beta... waited through (and felted duped by) subscription and THEN waited 6 months after buy to play transition for the first DLC... the frustration of "SOON(tm)" is real.

You say this isn't an Elder Scrolls game, that it's an MMO with Elder Scrolls style. Well this isn't how it's been presented to us. It's been presented to us as an elder scrolls game.

"We completed major systems development, and are focusing on making this the Elder Scrolls game you expect"
ESO Release Plans Announced - 2013
http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2013/12/11/eso-release-plans-announced

"this is the first Elder Scrolls game to go online"
Launch and New Trailer - 2014

"The Elder Scrolls with Friends"
Tamriel Unlimited - Exploring Tamriel -2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsxcGDpDXTQ

The message has ALWAYS been that this is an Elder Scrolls game that you can play with friends, not an MMO with Elder Scrolls Style, which I admit... is what ESO actually is.

I get that ESO is growing and that MMOs take time to develop. I said that in my OP. Maybe a better question would be, how long has it taken other MMOs to "get it together"?

Even though I'm not going anywhere, I am wondering if a player decides to leave for a while and let ESO develop a bit so the "kinks" are worked out to a point where excuses don't have to be made for it, how long should they wait before returning?

That's what this thread is asking. It's not me kicking like a petulant toddler screaming for toys to play with. I'm realistic. I know that it's likely that not one of the things I have posted will ever be part of ESO. No matter how much I want to sit in chairs and climb ladders.

Preyfar

There are issues, but I feel ZOS has done a good job in fixing them over Year One. It'll be the re judge to see where ESO and its content lays at the end of Year Two. There are issues, but I'm highly optimistic.

NadiusMaximus

42


Has fleshy symbiont not dropping fixed yet?

Funkopotamus

kevlarto_ESO wrote: »

I think with the ebb and flow of players in todays online games ESO, has carved it's niche it will pick up players and will lose players, but I don't see it turning into much more,
I think their potential has come and gone at this point it is what it is.

^^

You know the worst part is that ZOS was given a golden ticket here and had an opportunity to make MMO history.

ZOS had all of the hype they would have ever needed and with one of if not the best RPG names in history all they had to do was "not @* this up! And yet they did

All of the ground work was there for a mind blowing MMO that would last for years and years. And then add in the fact it was going to be for PC and AND AANNDD for console's this game should have been LEGENDARY!

I do not care how "lite staffed" they are... When a company like Cryptic {Neverwinter} or even Trion {RIFT} can take the time to communicate there is NO excuse for the way ZOS handles its players sometimes.
Most of us that support ESO are not "feeling the love" and it feels like we are being ignored on just about all fronts.

Eriquito3

Gidorick wrote: »

I absolutely love ESO but I've always found the core experience lacking. If ESO wasn't tied to the Elder Scrolls universe, I would have lost interest long ago. Actually, I wouldn't have ever even tried it. From the lack of immersive nights, to the lack of underwater gameplay, to not being able to sit in chairs, the inability to climb ladders, to not having functional torches, to the fact that everyone is a wizard... there are many things that keep ESO from being that definitive Elder Scrolls experience I was hoping it would be. Add to that, the wonky grouping, the lackluster LFG functions, shallow guild tools, the lack of a leveling down mechanic, and we have an multiplayer game that is cumbersome to play unless you have a dedicated group with which to play. I have little hope of ever being able to actually play Craglorn because I don't have a dedicated group who will be on the same mission that I am on.

Many of the things ESO lacks will possibly be added later, and we are expected to accept that ESO doesn't have these features because it's a new MMO, if 15 months qualifies as "new". Features that are standard in MMOs aren't even yet on the horizon. Barber Shop, housing, and holidays, I'm looking at you guys.

My question is simple... How many years do you think it'll be before ESO realizes it's potential? Will it ever?

Crap... at this point I would settle for text chat on console... but I have a feeling that will not come any time soon

Sausage

Never, Themeparks cant be turned into open world game. Just like ESO's zone design, is location after location after location. Theres hope though Defiance was first bigger budget open world game, so devs are definitely exploring that space. The truth is that this genre is way too deep in themepark, after 20+ of history.

eckmancab14_ESO

Too long for me. I have 3 VR14s now - healer, tank, and dps. I've done every dungeon and trial in game, well except SO because I cant play at specific times for a progression group. Frankly, today it finally has hit me that I am bored with this game.

I've been on the PTS, roamed around in the PvP zone - died a lot and did the 2 new dungeons which are cool. I'm not much of a PvP player (yes I suck at it, only played to get Caltrops); so the 2 dungeons are the only new thing to offer PvE players in the DLC? Yawn.

Most likely going to explore other options for a while and save my money, perhaps when there is more PvE content, I'll come back.

Been fun playing with a lot of you; some of you - not so much - you need to chill out. Peace and loot to you all.

Ronecam Axius, Stands-With-Life, Blade-Slicer.

Vampire-Mk2

With games coming out like The Division, Fallout 4. Will you still be playing ESO in years to come? Personally I probably won't. I'm having fun with whats available now. Wanting improvements and extra features fine, but it has made some people feel the game is now incomplete without them.

If I felt that ESO was incomplete or in a poor state and I was just hanging on for fixes and features I thought should already be in?. I'd play something else.

Right now, I'm enjoying this game. A lot!