Could ESO replace the need for ES6?

Paramedicus

Skyrim has superior level design. ESO just isn't immersive for me. I'm always surprised how people are able to do ESO quests for longer than 15 mins... ...So I don't think ESO can replace ES6 for me.

Marto

To a degree, yes.

Bethesda invested a lot of time and money into making an MMO in 2008-2014 because they *knew* TES VI would take a long while. It wasn't a coincidence or an accident.

And they thought that a continuously-updating MMO would keep players satisfied and keep the franchise going for the 10 to 15 year gap between TES V and TES VI.

TES VI will definitely come out. It's been in pre-production for at least a couple years, and it will enter full production in 2023 once Starfield and its DLCs are released and stable. ESO will not replace it or make it irrelevant.

But ESO might mean that TES VII, VIII, IX and X will not be necessary to fully flesh out the world.

Supreme_Atromancer

Saber91 wrote: »

I know the topic was sort of silly but I thought it would be a fun topic to see peoples views and it’s been inherently a nice and open discussion.

Its actually a really interesting topic, imv. It touches on the very differing expectations between two very different types of players, and highlights the schism between them. All very topical considering other recent discussions.

SidraWillowsky wrote: »

Never.

ESO is an MMO first and a TES game second. An MMO with an Elder Scrolls flavor, if you will. The quests are OK and all, but there's nothing of particular consequence to the game at large that comes of them, and that's because it's an MMO. In Morrowind, for example, you can break the main quest-- no characters are essential, so you can walk up to a key NPC and kill them. You'll get a message saying that you've created a doomed world, but there's nothing stopping you from continuing to play in the broken world that you've turned upside-down. That's possible, of course, because you're the only player. In ESO, there are thousands of other players who need to operate within the same space, so those sort of cataclysmic, world-changing events aren't feasible. I also just find that the exploration factor is almost zero and have never found myself running around the world for fun.

ESO also just *feels* like an MMO. I don't really know how to explain it-- it's obvious, by the rapidly-respawning enemies and resources, that the game world was designed around the fact that many players would occupy the same space. There's nothing wrong with that, of course; it's to be expected, but ESO will never, ever replace the need for single-player TES instalments.

Its a very insightful response. A small point of difference I have is that ZOS themselves say that it is an Elder Scrolls game first and foremost. Inasmuch as they intend this to be true, I hope they continue to strive to capture the essence of personality and spirit where they can. As passionate as my responses tend to be, and as cynical as I am about class stuff and the weight that power-gaming has in development direction, I still love the game, and believe there is design space for a better TES experience. It just takes a genuine insight into what makes those single player titles immersive, and I don't think that MMO people- developers included- necessarily have an innate understanding of those things. They know MMO stuff. Power-gaming. Grind. etc.

Some of the stuff *is* limited by the format. A very rapid cadence release and tough deadlines probably limits a huge amount of what they could do. So yes, some things are unlikely to ever change. But I believe that there are still a lot of important things that people tend to talk about in these sorts of discussions that are actually technically possible, should be discussed, and not dismissed out of hand because "iTs A mMo, bRaH!" (not saying you're saying that!).

Sylvermynx

Y'know, I'm concurrently playing both Skyrim and Oblivion, as I also play ESO. There's no "mutual exclusivity" in them for me....

Castagere

Dragonlord573 wrote: »

Gonna be honest, I can't even go back to Skyrim after ESO. I don't think TES6 will replace ESO for me.

Same here and I can't imagine what the PC specs will be for TES6. I have zero interest in TES6 as long as ESO keeps doing right by me.

JKorr

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

To the people who like to refer to ESO as a theme park, I think that comparison is not entirely without merit, but it's certainly a very dark-themed theme park. For example, I just completed the Northwind Mine quest in The Rift, which is about hagravens who enjoy sucking the eyeballs out of people while they're still alive. And that's just one example out of so many others; it just happens to be fresh on my mind because I just did it last night.

So if the comparison to a theme park is meant to suggest that ESO is a "kiddie-friendly" version of the Elder Scrolls universe, I'd have to respond with a hard no. But if the comparison is meant to suggest that a lot of the activities in MMOs are akin to rides in a theme park in the sense that they endlessly recur for the amusement of crowds of players, then I grudgingly concur with that comparison to a degree.

I think the "theme park" is more the "what my character does has little effect on the world". My character ended the attack on Davon's Watch, but there are still DC troops fighting on the beach. My character ended the vampire rebellion in Rivenspire, but there are still roaming vampires and rebel troops everywhere. NPCs recognize my character as the "hero" of this or that, but those areas are basically the same as they were before my "hero" went through. In Crow's Wood I make the wizard keep his bargain with the hagraven; my one guildie killed them both, and another one sided with the wizard. Theme park; everything to everyone at the same time.

Kiralyn2000

Castagere wrote: »

Dragonlord573 wrote: »

Gonna be honest, I can't even go back to Skyrim after ESO. I don't think TES6 will replace ESO for me.

Same here and I can't imagine what the PC specs will be for TES6.

Skyrim didn't have particularly uber requirements when it came out. I know I was able to run it fine, and my system cost me ~$800 in 2011.