The Elder Scrolls Online Catch-All

wordsmythe wrote:
Eleima wrote:

Late to the "B" party. I remember that developer question (I post news stories at Spellhold Studios, so I keep up with ElderScrollsOnline news), and I remember thinking "huh, he looks younger than I expected."
Okay, enough with the flattery, we want TESO beta access!!!! :D

I'd say he looks good in that video, but that may be informed by the last time I saw him in person, when he was diseased and shooing me away lest I catch his malady.

Typhoid Zenke was in reasonably good shape at PenCon, though

New beta news today.

Elderscrollsonline.com wrote:

When does testing start?
We held our first small friends-and-family test on February 28th. Invitations to the general public for the first round of beta events will be sent around the end of March. We’ll post notifications on our website and social media channels whenever we send a batch of invitations. When we do, check the e-mail address you used to register for the beta. If you’ve been selected, you’ll receive an invitation with instructions.

What is a beta event?
In the beginning of the beta program, invitations will be for scheduled play sessions. This means that the game will only be available for play during specific times (provided in the invitation). Every beta event will have a clear focus; our developers will be looking for feedback on specific areas, features, or other gameplay elements.

How long are beta events and when are they held?
At first, beta events will generally be held on the weekends, and each test will have limited windows of access to the game. You’ll receive your invitation in advance so you can make time to participate. While there will only be a few events per month early on, they will be held more frequently as we approach launch. As we progress through testing, we’ll also begin scheduling longer tests that allow testers to provide more detailed feedback on topics like progression.

How many testers will be invited?
We’re starting with smaller groups of focused testers during March and April. However, as we approach launch, beta events will get bigger. Our AvA tests will likely require thousands of participants, and stress tests will be even larger!

I wonder if it'll be NDA'ed or free to post anything and everything anywhere.

Can't imagine them not having a NDA

Yeah, me neither, it would make complete and utter sense for them to have a NDA. And it would sign it in a heartbeat.

The most recent episode of the always excellent Elder Lore podcast covers the events in Tamriel that lead up to the invasion by Molag Bal and the formation of the player factions in ESO.

Looks like Polygon has a preview out:
http://www.polygon.com/2013/3/19/411...

I didn't read the Polygon article yet but I read somewhere earlier (RPS maybe?) that they were incorporating first person perspective into the game.

That really piqued my interest in the game as far as immersion/exploration goes.

I found a typo in paragraph two. There are quite a few clumsy sentences too. The article needs an editor.

PaladinTom wrote:

I didn't read the Polygon article yet but I read somewhere earlier (RPS maybe?) that they were incorporating first person perspective into the game.

That really piqued my interest in the game as far as immersion/exploration goes.

I'm more surprised there is third person. Trying to play that way in skyrim was an exercise in futility.

We want to make sure we have strategic, reactive mouse-driven combat.

I'm out. I was hoping for a controller focused, skill-based combat system similar to Dark Souls. I do not think I am the audience they are going for, though. They just want MMO/PC veterans I suppose.

Infyrnos wrote:
PaladinTom wrote:

I didn't read the Polygon article yet but I read somewhere earlier (RPS maybe?) that they were incorporating first person perspective into the game.

That really piqued my interest in the game as far as immersion/exploration goes.

I'm more surprised there is third person. Trying to play that way in skyrim was an exercise in futility.

I only play in third person and I have clocked in over 800 hours across platforms in the game. Go figure.

heavyfeul wrote:
We want to make sure we have strategic, reactive mouse-driven combat.

I'm out. I was hoping for a controller focused, skill-based combat system similar to Dark Souls. I do not think I am the audience they are going for, though. They just want MMO/PC veterans I suppose.

Infyrnos wrote:
PaladinTom wrote:

I didn't read the Polygon article yet but I read somewhere earlier (RPS maybe?) that they were incorporating first person perspective into the game.

That really piqued my interest in the game as far as immersion/exploration goes.

I'm more surprised there is third person. Trying to play that way in skyrim was an exercise in futility.

I only play in third person and I have clocked in over 800 hours across platforms in the game. Go figure.

One of the hooks for me back with Morrowind was first person. It wouldn't feel like Elder Scrolls to me without it.

The article (which I've now read) makes it seem as though first person is a feature that is being built in way late into development which tells me the team is reacting the feedback from fans so far. That could be a good or very bad thing this late in the game.

Edit: RPS has an article up now.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013...

Some quotes that jumped out to me:

"I pointed my Orc in one direction, and off I went.

I gave up in 20 minutes."

and

"TESO’s landscapes still felt decidedly confined. Something didn’t quite gel with me while I was exploring, and I realized it was my inability to see far off into the distance – to sight a mountain and set my heart on it like a child laying eager eyes on a candy/toy/obnoxious loud things store."

Those are huge bummers to me. Granted, I'm not an MMO guy nor am I that into Elder Scrolls lore, so this probably won't be the game for me.

Maybe I am just getting to be an old gamer, but I would be very happy with a highly detailed and interactive world that I can explore for hours, develop a unique character in, participate in small contained stories that hint at a larger theme/conflict, and with a combat system that is thoughtful, deliberate, and skill based.

The game in my head is a pipe dream. I am sure the game I am thinking off would cost a billion dollars and several years to make. What keeps me wanting, though, are all the cool little elements I see in games this generation. These little flashes of creative genius and hard work on the part of developers keeps my eye always pointed at this mythical unicorn of a game. I feel like a horse chasing a carrot on stick.

Escapist Magazine also has a preview.

I've mixed feelings about the perspective myself. When I first played an Elder Scrolls, it was Oblivion, and I liked third person. Then I went back to Morrowind, and simply could not play in third person. It was just impossible, a truly visceral reaction. And now with Skyrim, I'll flit back and forth and go mostly with first person (and will do the same with Oblivion now). I just have a harder time aiming a bow and throwing a fireball in third person than in first.
I just hope they give people both options.

Haven't had time to read the previews, but the screenshots look pretty enough.

Golly, the pre beta release Promo (free advertising) marketing blitz is in full swing!
Rockpapershotgun has 2 more TES articles.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013...

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013...

I've learned over the years to pretty much ignore RPS when it comes to MMOs. Are these any better?

The Penny Arcade Report had an article specifically about ESO's first person camera.

Matt Firor wrote:

“We're not going to be wholly third-person or wholly first-person. You'll do it as you will. Skyrim was designed to play in first-person. Sometimes it was fun to go out to third. But Skyrim is a single-player game, you don't have to worry about stuff spawning behind you, you don't have to worry about players running up behind you and stabbing you in the back,” Firor said. “In our game you do. So in certain cases you're going to want to roll the mouse out and you're gonna want to see yourself, especially in PvP.”

I think 3rd-person default, 1st-person supported is the way to go. In general I prefer third person in melee-heavy games due to the perception issues Firor cites.

It was just announced that the first round of beta invites are being sent out this week.

ruhk wrote:

It was just announced that the first round of beta invites are being sent out this week.

sQUWW!!EEEEe
can't type
too xcitd

i can has?

Elder Scrolls OnlineVerified account ‏@TESOnline 2h
@Gromskull We choose testers based on our devs' needs for each event, make sure to sign-up for #ESO beta events: http://signup.elderscrollsonline.com/ .

I wonder if one of the requirements is that we are in a community with one of the esteemed developers who knows we are all in a guild together and that they need that sort of cohesiveness and collective gaming love in order to test thoughtfully and thoroughly.
A group of people who want so badly to help this game succeed they are willing to sacrifice time ITSELF!!

I WILL GIVE YOU MY TIME! TIME!
Isn't that, like , the ultimate giving of things!?

How sad, I haven't gotten any invite yet.

And yes, these days, time truly is the ultimate gift!!

To ESO:
I've searched my inbox, spam, trash, every folder in existence and nothing. NOTHING!
I've made you promises! Offered some really great things of mine! What do you do? Nothing? How is that fair?!

I'm sooo tweeting this to you.

Aubree (must be the community liason) just sent me my link! So excited! Just need her to confirm my credit card number and SS# and I should be in soon. I'll post impressions ASAP.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/tlYcphN.jpg)

So, I went to the ESO party at PAX East. The line was pretty big to try the game and the line for beer was very short. Anyone have questions about the beer/entertainment/free t-shirt at the ESO party?

Montalban wrote:

Aubree (must be the community liason) just sent me my link! So excited! Just need her to confirm my credit card number and SS# and I should be in soon. I'll post impressions ASAP.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/tlYcphN.jpg)

I stab at thee.

wait, that subject line is a common spam email subject...Hmmm. She's spamming you with TESO keys!

Montalban wrote:

Aubree (must be the community liason) just sent me my link! So excited! Just need her to confirm my credit card number and SS# and I should be in soon. I'll post impressions ASAP.

And don't forget to send in a scan of your fingerprints!

I didn't get an invite either. Oh well. I'm both sad and relieved, sad because I really want to try it, and relieved because the pile is freakin' huge right now. I really need to start taking more stabs at it...

S0LIDARITY wrote:

So, I went to the ESO party at PAX East. The line was pretty big to try the game and the line for beer was very short. Anyone have questions about the beer/entertainment/free t-shirt at the ESO party?

Are the t-shirts pretty? What was the entertainment like? Tell us everything!

The ESO twitter has been reassuring distressed people all day that the pool of invites for this first round of testing was fairly small, and that they will increase the number of participants in subsequent events, so there is no need to turn to daedra worship if you have not received an invite!

I'm trying to turn to pile worship. :p
It figures that they would issue a small first wave of invites, and gradually increase from there. Imagine with they sent out, I don't know, maybe fifty thousand invites, and those people all flocked in droves on the servers... Or even the game itself. I guess it just makes sense that they start small to test the servers, the mechanics, etc, and expand from there.