Orsinium - Proves ZOS Can Deliver The Goods

Publius_Scipio · November 2015

I decided to take a second out of the Alliance War forums circus, decided to step away from the whining clown show there.

There is no doubt that ZOS delivered with Orsinium. Two biceps flexed way up for Rich Lambert and the entire team at ZOS. And I mean everyone, the art team, the script writers, etc. Orsinium is the first zone that really gives me the sense of an Elder Scrolls game. Not knocking the original zones, they were good enough, but I could feel that they were created during the time when the team had a launch deadline to make. Orsinium is just that much more thought out and honed. Chiseled and sharpened just right.

It has a great feeling of scope and scale. I love the feeling of verticality the zone gives. Looking out into the horizon and seeing massive walls, towers, ancient structures stretching out into the sky. Also great quality of life updates/tweaks throughout. One quick example is now being able to see your stats right next to your gear in the inventory UI. These small tweaks matter and all add up. And what an excellent choice with opening up the zone to everyone right off the bat. No need to grind, everyone welcome.

Excellent work ZOS, I can't wait to see what you cook up next.... Maybe somewhere in your offices, on someone's desk, there is a to do list and one of the items happens to be Vvardenfell.

Volkodav · November 2015

AND,Orsinium was released a bit early,from what I read.Such an amazing job the Devs have done with everything.

Publius_Scipio · November 2015

WhiskeyRiver.AZub17_ESO wrote: »

AND,Orsinium was released a bit early,from what I read.Such an amazing job the Devs have done with everything.

I haven't heard anything about it having released early. I believe it's one DLC a quarter.

UrQuan · November 2015

Publius_Scipio wrote: »

show previous quotes

WhiskeyRiver.AZub17_ESO wrote: »

AND,Orsinium was released a bit early,from what I read.Such an amazing job the Devs have done with everything.

I haven't heard anything about it having released early.

It was released earlier than a lot of people on the forums expected, but from the point of view of ZOS it wasn't early - it was on schedule. That was one of the things that came up last week in the stream where @HeroOfNone and @MissBizz were interviewing @ZOS_RichLambert about Orsinium.

Volkodav · November 2015

Publius_Scipio wrote: »

show previous quotes

WhiskeyRiver.AZub17_ESO wrote: »

AND,Orsinium was released a bit early,from what I read.Such an amazing job the Devs have done with everything.

I haven't heard anything about it having released early. I believe it's one DLC a quarter.

I had read it was supposed to come out like Nov 17th or something like that.And it came out on the 2nd instead. :} I could be wrong,but I am sure I read it here somewhere.

rfennell_ESO · November 2015

Just seeing what can be done in the Havoc engine by ZOS makes Orsinium worth it.

The fine tuning of the animations and voice work actually has made me not rapid click through the dialog (I'm normally not very patient) and the quests are pretty well done.

Johngo0036 · November 2015

I agree,

When i got to Wrothgar it felt like i was back in Skyrim,
But everything was better......

I really am loving the new DLC and i see MANY hours of fun being had here by me..

Thanks Zenni for a truly awesome release..

NOW GET BACK TO WORK AND FIX THE BUGS!!!

Publius_Scipio · November 2015

rfennell_ESO wrote: »

Just seeing what can be done in the Havoc engine by ZOS makes Orsinium worth it.

The fine tuning of the animations and voice work actually has made me not rapid click through the dialog (I'm normally not very patient) and the quests are pretty well done.

Yes I will admit after a while I do just fast click through the dialogue to get moving. But that hasn't been the case in Orsinium.

Marrtha · November 2015

Agreed, they have really done a great job. Wrothgar is amazing.

olsborg · November 2015

rfennell_ESO wrote: »

Just seeing what can be done in the Havoc engine by ZOS makes Orsinium worth it.

The fine tuning of the animations and voice work actually has made me not rapid click through the dialog (I'm normally not very patient) and the quests are pretty well done.

Guess I should try the zone then, PVE and quests in eso kinda got ruined for me since in the beginning there was sooo many bugs and stuff that effed it up. Maybe this will be different.

Stikato · November 2015

Wrothgar is like most of the rest of the game.

Beautiful visuals, crazy good world and quest design.

And stupidly easy gameplay, and absolutely laughable itemization.

altemriel · November 2015

Publius_Scipio wrote: »

I decided to take a second out of the Alliance War forums circus, decided to step away from the whining clown show there.

There is no doubt that ZOS delivered with Orsinium. Two biceps flexed way up for Rich Lambert and the entire team at ZOS. And I mean everyone, the art team, the script writers, etc. Orsinium is the first zone that really gives me the sense of an Elder Scrolls game. Not knocking the original zones, they were good enough, but I could feel that they were created during the time when the team had a launch deadline to make. Orsinium is just that much more thought out and honed. Chiseled and sharpened just right.

It has a great feeling of scope and scale. I love the feeling of verticality the zone gives. Looking out into the horizon and seeing massive walls, towers, ancient structures stretching out into the sky. Also great quality of life updates/tweaks throughout. One quick example is now being able to see your stats right next to your gear in the inventory UI. These small tweaks matter and all add up. And what an excellent choice with opening up the zone to everyone right off the bat. No need to grind, everyone welcome.

Excellent work ZOS, I can't wait to see what you cook up next.... Maybe somewhere in your offices, on someone's desk, there is a to do list and one of the items happens to be Vvardenfell.

exactly!! good job ZOS!!

HeroOfNone · November 2015

UrQuan wrote: »

show previous quotes

Publius_Scipio wrote: »

WhiskeyRiver.AZub17_ESO wrote: »

AND,Orsinium was released a bit early,from what I read.Such an amazing job the Devs have done with everything.

I haven't heard anything about it having released early.

It was released earlier than a lot of people on the forums expected, but from the point of view of ZOS it wasn't early - it was on schedule. That was one of the things that came up last week in the stream where @HeroOfNone and @MissBizz were interviewing @ZOS_RichLambert about Orsinium.

Correct, you can see parts of the review here

Zouni · November 2015

Excellent content! Just running around collecting mats and killing mobs is a great way to enjoy the beautiful landscape!

JD2013 · November 2015

I have to agree completely and utterly with the OP.

The zone is just aesthetically beautiful. The city of Orsinuim seems so huge, and brings to mind the city of Markarth in Skyrim. The city feels alive and populated.

The music ... Oh god the music. So lovely. The writing (I have not done many quests) is so far just super, the books that I have found and read are just so fun to read.

It feels a lot more like a traditional piece of Elder Scrolls work, and I hope this is the way all future DLC's will continue.

Big, big, big thumbs up to everyone at ZOS. I am now excited to see what they do with the Thieves Guild. Terribly excited.

Alucardo · November 2015

HeroOfNone wrote: »

Correct, you can see parts of the review here

Rich must have been really excited about its launch - he couldn't stop smiling in that interview.

moesmaker · November 2015

Wrothgar is awesome. I makes me feel i am actually there!

WarrioroftheWind_ESO · November 2015

my only gripe about it is the introduction. felt a bit halfassed. If you play a drinking game and take a shot every time a NPC mentions 'supplies' or 'the clans won't last the winter' you'd be either arrested for intoxication and disorderly conduct or outright passed out. The VA felt phoned in too with those first couple segments. But from that point on once you got into the city proper things were very smooth and engaging. You get more of a sense that Orsinium is a big *** city, moreso than almost any other city. It reminds me alot of Daggerfall, but everything there felt so level. Orsinium truly does feel dimensional, and I spent more than an hour farting around in Exile's Barrow alone, looting urns, examining fine details, reading everything.

This is what I hope future content feels like. Crag failed for me because everything was so rushed. You couldn't stop and listen to a NPC dialogue because the entire grp just wanted to move on and everything was always in motion, and you HAD to do things in a group because so many mechanics required multiple people

I'm going to bed soon, but when I logged off I had barely discovered more than 1/6th of the map. If people take the time to appreciate it and don't rush through to complete everything on day one, it feels rewarding. And if you do rush and then whine about no new content, then you just fail as a human being.

Publius_Scipio · November 2015

WarrioroftheWind_ESO wrote: »

my only gripe about it is the introduction. felt a bit halfassed. If you play a drinking game and take a shot every time a NPC mentions 'supplies' or 'the clans won't last the winter' you'd be either arrested for intoxication and disorderly conduct or outright passed out. The VA felt phoned in too with those first couple segments. But from that point on once you got into the city proper things were very smooth and engaging. You get more of a sense that Orsinium is a big *** city, moreso than almost any other city. It reminds me alot of Daggerfall, but everything there felt so level. Orsinium truly does feel dimensional, and I spent more than an hour farting around in Exile's Barrow alone, looting urns, examining fine details, reading everything.

This is what I hope future content feels like. Crag failed for me because everything was so rushed. You couldn't stop and listen to a NPC dialogue because the entire grp just wanted to move on and everything was always in motion, and you HAD to do things in a group because so many mechanics required multiple people

I'm going to bed soon, but when I logged off I had barely discovered more than 1/6th of the map. If people take the time to appreciate it and don't rush through to complete everything on day one, it feels rewarding. And if you do rush and then whine about no new content, then you just fail as a human being.

Yes, quite unfortunate about craglorn. From the little I have experienced of it it was fun. But I had to sit around and find a group, and then the group went on to do a dungeon. Fun but completely out of quest sequence for me. I don't see myself ever fully experiencing Craglorn.