The Elder Scrolls: Online

[James]

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/ZeniMax-Bet ... 14481.html

More details in May. Powerful brand name.

[Siva]

Mite b cool

More likely to be whack

[Psychotic]

If the gameplay is like World of Warcraft and Co. then I'll be disappointed. If the gameplay is like Skyrim / Oblivion / Morrowind then I'll be goddamn excited about seeing the MMO I've wanted to see for over 5 friggin' years.

The only game that comes even close to emulating a Oblivion-like MMO experience would be Darkfall, and whilst it's not completely bad, it is highly based around the idea of "PvP everywhere", which I'm not a big fan of (creating a new character only to get mobbed by pricks spawn-camping rookies is bloody stupid).

I understand there are risks in trying to create an MMO with a new style of gameplay. The whole "World of Warcraft" model is so tried and true now that most people can't seem to break out of it. But frankly, it's also incredibly ancient. It's been done so many times that developers who make games like WoW, Rift, TOR, etc, are effectively beating a dead horse.

Yes, a niche game is a big risk, but you've probably got the same chance of your game going up in smoke as any new MMO based off the current model anyway. Also of note is that most of these new MMOs with a lot of hype (using the old model) still make a lot of money within the first few months, as everyone wants to try the supposed "next big thing". You're still highly likely to make your money back.

[e] The more I read into this, the more I hear people complain about the combat, but frankly, what better ideas is there?

The common way of dealing with combat in MMOs today is to have a hotbar, have the player assign abilities to the hotbar and then have the player push keybinds associated to each hotbar button. It's not highly interactive and it's pretty damn simple.

The Elder Scroll's alternative would most likely be spamming the left-mouse button constantly during combat, as is seen in the likes of Skyrim and Oblivion. It's also seen in virtually all FPS games and action-RPGs such as Diablo (sometimes you can hold down to constantly attack or rapid-fire, but you're still pressing one button continuously).

Action-RPGs can differ a bit however, in that you still have a hotbar you assign keys to, as well as simple melee attacks with the mouse (unlike an average MMO where basic strikes are just "auto-attacks"). I quite like this system, because other than having some sword peripheral attached to my PC, it feels somewhat more interactive than just spamming the number keys.

I don't mind the Skyrim/Oblivion systems, but a proper hotbar mixed in conjunction with the Favorites menu from Skyrim would be nice (and it's a mod I want on Skyrim). Being able to see what spells and items I have assigned to hotkeys is handy, as is the Favorites menu in Skyrim.

Another issue my more analytical side sees is stats. Will it be the same as we have now, meaning that "if you hit you hit" or will it be the classic "you have an X% chance to hit"? I think I'd prefer it as the former myself, and just have it as a "you get hit, you get hurt" style, which would actually promote heavy movement (like in an FPS).