The Elder Scrolls Online

[Firewind]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

OH MAN TES GAEMS ARE FULL OF BUGS <insert witty stab at TES MMO here>. Already being condemned for being an MMO before any gameplay is shown. R.I.P TES maybe you'll make a swift return as a trendy 8-bit indy platformer

Wait you're taking some comments on these forums seriously?

[Absentia]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

Wait you're taking some comments on these forums seriously?

I wasn't aware that every post on the forum was a joke.

[Raydeus]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

Well, not 100%. But around 95.73% of the posts here can't be taken seriously.

And that's not even considering the 3.8% that have at least some degree of irony and/or sarcasm in them even if they are serious posts.

[Firewind]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

You forgot the rant posts Ray. They must make up a decent enough chunk.

[Icemage]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

First off, it has to be said that most of these bugs being reported are things that work perfectly fine that some asshole just doesn't like. We also get a lot of reports where somebody installed 500 mods and somehow thinks we're to blame for all the shit those mods did to their save files. Admittedly, there were almost at least one bug in each major quest path that blocked progression. That would be pretty unforgivable if it effected everybody, but it was only a minority of players that ran into these issues. Even so, this minority is a whole lot bigger than our QA department, and that they weren't easily reproducible only made it that much more difficult to pin it down and get it reported.

I'm sure you have to stick to the party line on this but this whole paragraph is just excuses. There are plenty of other games with tons of moving parts within them that are developed in far less time (Batman: Arkham ity, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Kingdoms of Amalur, Xenoblade Chronicles) that do not have anywhere near the same litany of problems. The decision to be persistently open-world in every way is a design decision like any other, and with that decision comes the imperative to take responsibility for problems that are created by that decision..

Besides, nothing ever works out perfectly on the first attempt, and that's all we've got with these games. We're pushing the envelope, adding new tech, and we don't have the time to reiterate on each new feature until it works perfectly. This isn't Call of Duty; we haven't been running on the same, untouched engine since only God knows when. The Gamebryo engine has never been exactly the same from title to title.

Boldfaced for emphasis, since that's what I've been saying all along. The acceptance that "oh, there are bound to be bugs, let's just shrug it off and hand potentially broken code to paying customers." is endemic to every product that Bethesda (and by extension Zenimax) have produced in the past decade. Actually, "potentially broken" isn't even the right term to use there. "Always broken" comes closer to reflecting reality here.


Icemage

[jenova_9]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

TES is still one of the best if not the best RPG series and open world single player experiences, mew!

Batman: Arkham city, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Kingdoms of Amalur, Xenoblade Chronicles

None of those games have the volume, depth, complexity, freedom, immersion and scope of TES series. They are only 2nd class world interaction at best.

Bethesda has wonky code but it's still very playable and TES continues to be successful and still played and appeciated!

Nothing else in the industry offers the profound levels of immersion, size, exploration and freedom that TES provides, even more so than most mmorpgs.

but as for this TES Online, it seems like a watered down version of TES. They could have revolutionized how mmorpgs are played into something more natural like the core TES series, but Zenimax messed up its gameplay/design direction.

[DakAttack]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

I'm sure you have to stick to the party line on this but this whole paragraph is just excuses. There are plenty of other games with tons of moving parts within them that are developed in far less time (Batman: Arkham ity, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Kingdoms of Amalur, Xenoblade Chronicles) that do not have anywhere near the same litany of problems. The decision to be persistently open-world in every way is a design decision like any other, and with that decision comes the imperative to take responsibility for problems that are created by that decision..

Nobody is brushing off their responsibility. My point is you can't listen to one person bitch about how buggy the game is and assume that's the case for every single other player on the planet. There will ALWAYS be the vocal minority who will go above and beyond the call of douchebaggery to make things seem worse than they actually are. The game wasn't buried in an avalanche of awards for absolutely no reason.

Boldfaced for emphasis, since that's what I've been saying all along. The acceptance that "oh, there are bound to be bugs, let's just shrug it off and hand potentially broken code to paying customers." is endemic to every product that Bethesda (and by extension Zenimax) have produced in the past decade. Actually, "potentially broken" isn't even the right term to use there. "Always broken" comes closer to reflecting reality here.

I'm going to skip any emphasis, because I'd have to embolden this entire quote, but you've clearly proven how little you know about the general process of game development and production, much less our own practices. You seem to be advocating eight to ten year development cycles, which is just as absurd as crapping out a new Call of Duty every November. When you purchase any video game, no matter who the developers or publishers are, you're guaranteed three things: 1) There will be bugs. 2) Quality Assurance already found them. 3) The production team made the decision that resulted in them going unfixed. These are universal to game development and production. Whether or not you hear about it depends on what the vocal minority are currently playing. Saying BGS is known for developing buggy games is like saying the Sun is known for revolving around the Earth.

Argumentum ad populum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

---------- Post added at 11:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:17 PM ----------

They could have revolutionized how mmorpgs are played into something more natural like the core TES series, but Zenimax messed up its gameplay/design direction.

Again, somebody trying to pass fiction off as truth.

[DakAttack]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

I want to apologize for any instance where I've been rude or disrespectful. I'm pretty sure I have, and I really don't mean to be. I'm sorry.

I'm just passionate about this company, and I've seen these kinds of hateful accusations way too much on our official forums. We do watch them, and we, under the ZeniMax umbrella, have a lot more integrity than we're given credit for. I think the source of all this malice is that we don't disclose our internal practices with our fans, and they're a bit too willing to fill any gaps with fiction, or believe it when they hear it from others. It builds on itself, unfortunately. A lot of the hatefulness is slung at QA, when they're not outright questioning whether or not we exist. We're warned against replying to them, or even speaking much about it, actually, which is why I'm trying to border on vague. Sometimes I wish "Bethesda didn't test it" would become a meme, and take some of the sting out of it. Car broke down? Bethesda didn't test it. Sometimes it seems like people have nicknamed Todd Howard 'Bethesda', and every post is directed towards him.

All I can really do is assure you that we're not doing anything wrong. Each department has their challenges in the process of perfecting our games and they're new challenges with every game, so we're constantly learning how to get the best out of what little time we have. And, while the forums may mostly be a hive of scum and villainy, it's important that they're there. We do take each post seriously, so long as it's posted with a modicum of decency and resepect. I'm sure a lot of fans would be proud knowing they helped us pin down some elusive issue, if only they didn't report it to us like a spoiled child.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

Well there is the matter of whatever platform being new Bethesda in a generation feels like its treated like the runt of the liter or the lowest priority. Last gen, that was Xbox, this generation it's Sony platforms. Were Fallout 4 to come out on Wii U I'd be rather iffy about it. Xbox seemed to get every priority this gen evenly with PC, but updates for PS3 come either weeks after or when everything for PC and Xbox is sorted first.

The issues with saves are still there and while there is no reason to compulsive horde 20 saves its just something people do and for whatever reason both Fallout 3 and Skyrim have this problem of throttled framerates whenever save files get too big and too many. Bethesda chooses to leave it exposed for players to find when they really could just limit how many save slots you have per character and partially solve that issue. The other part of the issue is excessive data tracking and lack of cleanup. Why is it when one looks a corpse that the sword is dropped yet still in his inventory, yet when the body is removed the sword is still there many hours later?

To get the system to purge that sword, the player must loot the sword and place it back on the body. Then the system sees it and removes it ... usually. I can say by way of updates it cleans up more often, but there's still instances where I kill a guard and his sword and shield are left on cleanup or I'll find a mace stuck in the air I can't loot or the system won't remove.

This isn't really new or vocal minority stuff. It's just after Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Skyrim that these issues are too familiar to go unnoticed. An MMO I expect there will be issue but console gamers, even with this gen, have come to expect a bit more polish. If Dragon's Dogma comes out with none of these kinds of issues, as Amalur and Xenoblade have, it does beg the question of why Bethesda can't get a handle on it.

I appreciate the steady updates and the move to more proper expansions than add-ons of the past, I just wish there was the polish I enjoy elsewhere.

I will say Skyrim was less problematic than my prior experiences with BGS and even my personal GotY for last year just ahead of Skyward Sword, but come Fallout 4 or Elswyer, I'm hoping this stuff isn't so prevalent.

[cidbahamut]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

I'd just like to point out that J9 is defending Bethesda.

[Raydeus]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

New video, nyaa!

I hope they allow for first person and that the world is just as open as TES games, but I'm kinda sort of very doubtful about it. Having so many players in the same place will probably impose way too many limitations. <_<;

[Mezlo]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

I think it will be Epic. And you'll be able to party up with all of your friends Ray! Me included! and your dragon whores.

[Raydeus]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

<_<;

I'm not sure I'm willing to give up my power as Dovahkiin to go "mingle" with other people in the second era. Heck, this happens like 300 years before Tiber Septim so you can be sure living standards will be awful.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

While there is an appeal to seeing Tamriel as one entire continent to explore, the appeal is somewhat tarnished by the idea of it being occupied by other players as well. I even get snippy when people whine about Skyrim's "lack" of co-op. Not everything needs to be multiplayer or even co-op.

[Raydeus]

Re: The Elder Scrolls Online

Tamriel just isn't big enough for 2 Dovahkiin.


PS > Oh and you know what I just thought about? Dovahkiin will probably be TESO's Jedi (pre-NGE) so... yeah...