Hot Topic #2: The cliché multiplayer Elder Scrolls topic

[Gafgar Adolis]

An Elder Scrolls MMO could work, but it'd need a lot of fine tuning and the like. Personally I'd like to see an Elder Scrolls Online game with all of Tamriel explorable... on a 1/1 scale. Which would be next to impossible to code, but it'd still kick ass.

[KittyGirl]

Okay here's my 2 cents. An MMORPG sort of like SWG. Now while SWG does have a lot of flaws, I have reasoning for this.

 

Lets say in the Oblivion MMORPG, you have The Dark Brotherhood Players, and the KOTN Players. Like SWG, it would be PVP. BUT, to add on to it, DB Players can PvE against KOTN NPCs. While KOTN Players can PvE against DB NPCs.

 

anyone who has played SWG will understand this.

 

again that's what _I_ personally would love to see~

[Voices]

I completely think that trying to turn elder scrolls / Oblivion into a mmo would not work very well. It would wreck to much about the way of the game. That being said, I always wished there was like a 2-4 person multilayer capability just so you could LAN with a friend and keep the same exact type of game.

[WarpRider]

Well, I dont want the game to become a mmorpg. Reasons:

1. MMORPGs often have a monthly fee. I would'n want to pay it.

2. That would mean no mods.

3. Gold-selling would appear.

 

If there would be a multiplayer in TES, I think it should be like in Diablo 2.

[SickleYield]

I'd like to see LAN-play wherein two to four people could explore the world of Tamriel in a party, doing different quests, pooling loot, etc. As an MMORPG, an Elder Scrolls game would lose everything that I like about the Elder Scrolls. As a smaller LAN/private multiplayer experience, it would still be possible to enjoy exploring, actually make a difference in the game's world, and have fun with friends without dealing with obnoxious jerks unless you just want to.

 

I loathe the entire MMORPG concept and I would hate to see TES turn into that, but I agree that something more like Diablo II could still be a lot of fun.

[Lodestar]

I agree completely with #13. LAN CO-OP would be awesome. Ummm, and if Bethesda made an MMO, it would have to lose the unique leveling system it has, or put the skills scaled to other users. So, if they made one, (which I think they definitely shouldn't) it would either end up playing a whole lot like EverQuest, or scaling levels on percentage. The idea of a percentile-based system is really cool though, because if you stopped playing for a while, your skills would diminish. Unfortunately, that would lead to the people with the most time (16 YO kids) having ridiculous power while making it difficult to level, because they set the bar so high.

 

The reason it wouldn't work, though, is both the fact that leveling would not be the same, and that modding would be virtually impossible. On the former point, the reason TES has been so popular is because you don't gain levels by delivering scrolls, but by using your skills more. I played EQ until Kunark, when I saw it degrading in quality, and both of their systems have their merits, but TES' has more reality to it. In reality I would love to see a mixture in TES, as it is really difficult to gain levels at first, and as you get going it gets ridiculously easy.

 

Once more, I must reinforce my agreement with comment #13. With LAN play, an entirely new level of gameplay could be achieved. I suppose that it could get a bit out of hand with a huge LAN party, but with some monster mods and a larger world, ALA Morrowind, you must admit it would be crazy fun. Of course the party admins would have to specify a certain set of approved mods, but the idea of TES as a LAN-capable game is nothing short of awesome.

 

Oh, and I hate paying a subscription to waste my time. :rolleyes: Now paying once to waste all the time I want, that's okay. :D

 

So, to sum it up;

 

TES would lose its appeal as a MMORPG, mostly from the loss of modding (unless mods were hosted server-side). Another thing it would lose is civil speech. I enjoy the fact that the computers don't say w00t and stuff, but sound like intelligent, capable human beings. (I don't mind things like LOL and THX, as they're way faster than typing the whole word.) To me, TES is well written literature in a choose-your-own-adventure format. In this regard, I would like it if there were more mutually exclusive paths available like in Fable, giving you an incentive to not just play all of the quests through once, but to have multiple characters. A few in between paths would be nice as well. As I've noticed in Fable, you are either bad or good, but there is no in between (at least no specific in between), which is somewhat unrealistic. What happened to the tree huggers, mercenaries and other people who don't live for the good/evil thing? They exist in real life and fiction, but apparently not in RPG games...

 

The fun factor would take a big hit without a ridiculously high leveling ceiling (a couple hundred levels) or a less TES-y leveling system.

(The best remedy to this would be having each skill increase dynamically instead of the "You get .5 experience in blade for hitting something with a blade." So depending on what you hit, its stats, your weapon, how many enemies you are fighting, your level and other factors, you would get a certain amount of skill increase. This would fix many of the problems I have with the series. With some dedicated thought and work, this could end up being a pivotal development in TES. And it would be very difficult to implement.) :) Anybody want help me make it happen? Modders? Bethesda? M$? (god forbid)

 

/begin rant

Basically, as a MMORPG, TES would suck. It would lose or dumb down all of the factors that make it fun in the first place. A multiplayer option would rock my world though if it came in a LAN flavor. To me personally, TES has a personality, genuineness and human factor hard to place, and it would lose that with a MMO configuration. Another problem with a MMO is that I have yet to find a MMO with as friendly, polite and genuine a clientèle as EQ. It takes great restraint not to use several expletives when describing the general rude, crass, and in general, noob-esque behavior I have found when playing other MMOs, most notably WOW.

I think that as a concept a MMO is cold and impersonal, whereas a LAN party is fun, vibrant, and well, quite frankly, a party. Any given online game, with the same people as a LAN party, will be less fun. With a MMO, you have the chance of playing with people who are, to put it concisely, a$$e$, further decreasing funness.

/end rant

 

You summed up my sentiments quite well, SickleYield. (post #15)

 

PS- Seriously, I don't know how a modder could pull of the leveling system fix, but if you know how and want to enlighten / help me make it happen, send me a PM.

[Ginji]

I agree, a LAN-Based TES game would be amazing, but, Bethsoft would never do it as there is no money in it for them.

 

But we can dream. Imagine it; a group of friends, each with His/Her own Skills.

[Halororor]

They surely wouldn't be able to use the oblivion graphics for a normal multiplayer game,nobodys PC would be able to host a server unless it's the equivalent of a PS3,wich is very unlikely.

Or maybe they might,just look at Dark Messiah :P

[poopgoblin]

I think it would be a huge risk. Either it'd be really awesome or really lame. But one thing I'd like to see is Team Death Match were servers can play maps developed by Bethesda or made in the CS. For example, a map that has the cantons in Vivec, and then each team has it's own canton and they can try and run across the bridges or shoot arrows across. But the lag would kill it because it would only be fun with about 40 other people.

[Gizmodian]

My personal opinion on the multiplayer topic is that if the DO make a MMORPG, they should keep it seperate from the game 'series' (meaning, Don't make it TES V, because it brings to mind the disastrous irritation the Final Fantasy XI caused). But a mini multiplayer to co-op with your friends in the game would be pretty cool. Have your single player but include the option to bring a friend... or ten... along with you...