Elder Scrolls Online, very disappointing

[Swatter]

I really had high hopes for ESO, but recent developer interviews have completely turned me off. Apparently, its going to be another WoW clone. Holy crap, how boring. I can't imagine why they would go down that well-worn path especially when the single player ES games have such a huge following.

I know making a game is a huge undertaking, but the lack of creativity and risk aversion is beyond depressing.

[Nefaro]

Gotta face it.. all the big name MMOs are still using this route.

The ones who've strayed just haven't done that spectacular.  I don't think any of them really make a big killing over the long run anymore since the market is so full of them, and most are the same gameplay.  But the initial income avalanche, for the biggies, must be well worth it.

[Gusington]

Good thing the single player games together still offer 1000s of hours of awesomeosity.

[TheCommandTent]

Good thing the single player games together still offer 1000s of hours of awesomeosity.

Yeah who needs the MMO when you have this.

[Swatter]

I think what a lot of people wanted was more along the lines of a multiplayer Elder Scrolls game, rather than a clone MMO. I still feel the sting of my overall disappointment of The Old Republic and the decision to make it more like WoW than Kotor. My hopes once again have been cruelly dashed.

[jejo68]

Gotta face it.. all the big name MMOs are still using this route.

The ones who've strayed just haven't done that spectacular.  I don't think any of them really make a big killing over the long run anymore since the market is so full of them, and most are the same gameplay.  But the initial income avalanche, for the biggies, must be well worth it.

EVE has like 400k subscribers. ofcourse that may not be enough for some. Besides after 10 years they keep expanding their playerbase which I have been told is a rare thing in this industry

[Nefaro]

Eve is a bit of an anomaly in that it's an almost complete sandbox.  I kinda think of it as an Ultima Online IN SPAAACE!  And it's one of the rare space trader/pirate/etc RPGs in the genre.  The very addicted/loyal player base is the real strength in it's success because without their efforts, it's rather repetitive and grindy (the reason I haven't sub'd for more than a month at a time).

I've also previously pointed to Dungeons & Dragons Online as doing something a bit different than the usual "Theme Park" style MMOs in that it has more tabletop mechanics and feel to the quests.  I thought it was nicely done, but it had issues in other ways such as a lot of instancing, and most notably - many quests requiring a group of players to complete, which crippled it from the start.  While people enjoy MMOs for the large populated worlds, they also don't want to be forced into "Looking For Group" all the time, when their buddies aren't on.  Gotta have solo-able content all the way through, or it's flawed, and that's where DDO didn't get it right at the beginning.

There are some others that are notable exceptions, but they don't generally get much buzz.  Many MMO players just jump from one Theme Park to another, as they prefer the guided tours.

[ArizonaTank]

Too bad, was looking for something different as well.  I am a bit surprised that Bethesda even got into soiling their brand with just another MMO.  Their brand is tied to "going big" and "open".  Treadmill MMO just doesn't fit their brand well.

[Yskonyn]

Off topic, I know, but I would regard The Secret World by Funcom as an anomaly in the MMO world too.
Eventhough the game has a themepark model, the way it handles questing (or missions as they are called) is pretty great; for starters there are a few different types of missions, of which you can only have one active aside from the storyline mission and so-called side-missions.
So you have a fixed slot of 1 story, 1 main, 1 dungeon and 3 side missions that can be active at the same time. This not only forces you to choose what you want to do, but also keeps room for enough storyline and interactions more like SP RPG's.
The missions are highly interactive and especially the story missions are quite cinematic.
The main missions have a few types; action, sabotage and investigation.
Action missions are pretty much standard MMO kill x for y fare, sabotage mission require you to remain undetected and hence avoid combat and investigation missions are puzzles. Very cool ones in fact! You get shreds of information or just a vague pointer and you need to find your way to the next point of the missions. Often having to resort to Google searches with the in-game browser.
Another cool thing they have done is that for many NPC's or organisations in the game Funcom have created actual websites on the internet, trying to get the player immersed into the world. You often need these to solve the investigation missions.

Also there are no quest hubs in the traditional sense. The game wants you to wander around, where a completed mission usually ends in a new section of the map where you can find a new NPC nearby to start a new mission. No running back to NPC's to turn in quests, but rather a natural flow with the happenings around you, travelling from place to place.

It makes it a rather comfortable experience and hardly ever a grind.

Now the fact that ESO seems to be going for a themepark model as well, doesn't have to say it can't be interesting, TSW has proven that.

[Kushan]

Too bad, was looking for something different as well.  I am a bit surprised that Bethesda even got into soiling their brand with just another MMO.  Their brand is tied to "going big" and "open".  Treadmill MMO just doesn't fit their brand well.

Wasn't Bethesda's choice. Zenimax, Bethesdas parent company is the one developing the MMO.

[Nefaro]

Off topic, I know, but I would regard The Secret World by Funcom as an anomaly in the MMO world too.

I've been wanting to check that out, again.  Loved the initial Lovecraftian setting of the first zone.. kinda lost my focus in the second zone, after the amusement park & such.  It also got pretty tough (which is a good thing) but I got a bit disappointed in the skill variety, as it seemed like even though the character customization was very flexible, all the skills seemed to be some combination of the same handful of effects.

Bah.. screw it.  I'm resolving to load it up again soon.  If nothing else, the occult setting is interesting.

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

The New England portion is the only good part of the game.  Egypt is just a bog standard MMO grindfest against uninspired monsters  (Giant beetles, mummies, and djinns, whee...) and Transylvania is just a weird mix of STALKER, vampires, and forest folk.