I mean, think about it. First off, they’re launching a new MMO in the current climate. Established franchise or not, MMO after MMO has failed of late. Titles like Star Trek Online and Final Fantasy XIV have been abject failures, while others like Star Wars: The Old Republic and even the new World of Warcraft expansion have quite simply underperformed.
 |
What of that vast, expansive Elder Scrolls universe? The promise to represent each of Tamriel’s provinces in different areas seems ambitious, but a bigger question looms – can the game do justice to not only the world but also the gameplay established by the vastly successful single player titles?
The folks at Bethesda were kind enough to invite us out to visit the developers of the game at ZeniMax Online Studios so we could see how they were progressing with these concepts. What I saw left me intrigued and with a great deal more confidence in the game than I had previously.
Let’s be clear: The Elder Scrolls Online had a terrible showing at E3, something which earned the game a bit of a critical mauling. The E3 demo offered a basic glimpse at what the game has to offer, but what was shown just looked too simple. Just another MMO. Not so here.
A certain level of confidence and trust is shown when a developer lets folks go hands-on this early, and I was given four hours with which to push as deep as I could into the world built so far.
The main, simplest observation to draw from the game is that it feels like an Elder Scrolls game – specifically the PC version of Skyrim. Unlike most MMOs there’s a reticule on-screen and using the mouse looks around like an average third-person action game.
In a third person view this controls almost identically to Skyrim on PC, and while there is a first-person view you can easily toggle into, it’s one without your hands and weapons superimposed onto it – it’s zoomed, but there’s no animation in first person – this is an MMO, and as such is designed to be played over-the-shoulder.
It’s not just in the control method that there’s a similarity to Skyrim – it’s in the combat itself. The team explained that they wanted to get rid of the feeling of stacking attacks in turns in MMOs, and while under the hood this is still running on more traditional MMO systems The Elder Scrolls Online is built to far more closely resemble a real-time action game.
Special moves and abilities have no cooldown, for instance – how often you can pull them off instead dictated simply by Mana. Playing as a physically-focused Argonian I had one ability that would stun the enemy and another that would sling out a chain – think Scorpion from Mortal Kombat – and drag enemies in close to attack with my broadsword. Both of these could be pulled off one after the other or I could stun one enemy and then another in quick succession without any restriction.
 |
The system is clever – it’s only a matter of not spamming too many moves – but if you want to use one repeatedly, the game doesn’t restrict that. Higher-level moves cost more Mana and as you level it increases alongside health and stamina, the other two major Elder Scrolls progression staples.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly where the action-based gameplay ends and the MMO trappings begin, but whilst fighting this certainly looks like an Elder Scrolls game. There’s certain tells, though – such as how characters telegraph their movements. Enemies will visibly power up for a heavy attack – prompting you to lash out with a stunning attack of your own or block by using the right mouse button, and spells are similarly telegraphed.
This obviousness perhaps makes the game look a little less slick, but the end result is important, as it makes it easy for players to tell what’s going on and use their skills wisely. Some skills are linked to your basic class pick – of which there’s three choices for each of the three alliances, making for nine total – but others are instead gained through equipment.
This idea is again driven by the concept of freedom and lifting restrictions that other MMOs typically put in place. Any class can equip any type of equipment, and equipment often contains inherent abilities – both active and passive – which can then be learned.
Do you fancy kitting yourself out as a healer with the ability to sneak through the battlefield, healing the front lines without getting spotted? You can, with sneak-friendly light armour types. Conversely, you could just as easily build yourself a healer who is also equipped with the heaviest of armour to achieve the same effect but without the sneaking – you’re just a hard-to-kill healer.
Strange character builds are a concept that The Elder Scrolls Online embraces entirely - the game’s staff have put a great focus on what they describe as ‘Deck Building’ – putting together a smaller list of skills you take into battle rather than juggling a ton of different ones skills.
Combat feels good, and though at this low level it was simplistic and a little dry towards the end of the four hours, it’s easy to see how much better it’ll get as more skills are acquired.
 |
Past combat, little touches to the world help to make The Elder Scrolls Online more closely resemble a traditional game in the titular series. Pots, dressers, wardrobes and chests can be ransacked for seemingly basic, pointless items – though these will then play a vital role in crafting, which wasn’t available in this build.
The team explained that they believe being able to take that piece of bread or seemingly inconsequential item from a NPC’s house is a vital part of the series’ immersion. It works, too – this definitely feels like Elder Scrolls.
Concepts like this mean that as with Star Wars: The Old Republic, there’s a delicate balance to strike in where your personal world and story ends and where the multiplayer aspects begin. Things like those items are instanced despite other players being around, and a standard “Greed, Need, Pass” system is in place for enemy loot when grouped – but in public areas even in our small play test there was a feeling of irritation as another player swept in and stole a kill.
The developers boast that the core story can be played from start to its level 50 finish entirely solo, but a suite of extra content awaits for those willing to play with others. Even so, this balance could make or break the game, so this is the area worth watching the closest – there was little incentive to group in the four early hours I played.
By far the most interesting concept of The Elder Scrolls Online comes with its attitude towards the modern, socially networked age. Basic concepts are built in including the ability to import your Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus friends to your in-game friends list – that’s sort of standard – but most interesting of all is the game’s approach to connection – the ‘Mega Server’.
The Elder Scrolls Online plans to have no server lists or servers at all in the traditional sense – when you boot the game you simply connect to one ‘giant’ server and hit play. You’ll instead subtly and seamlessly translate to and from various ‘pocket’ servers of a sort, and players in those will be matched to preferences you set.
If you want to find players who roleplay, flag it. If you want to play solo, or group, or play with older players, all these things can be flagged in your settings – and the world around you will be seamlessly populated with similar people.
The game will also subtly acknowledge your actions in this; if you play with a group of players not on your friends list for hours, the game will subtly place you in similar areas as them so you have an opportunity to meet again and foster a friendship.
 |
If it works as advertised, the concept of the Mega Server could change the MMO genre forever – and mark The Elder Scrolls Online as revolutionary.
One thing is clear: the message is no longer mixed as it was at E3. The Elder Scrolls Online is clearly an MMO with ambition but first and foremost it’s clearly an Elder Scrolls game – and that’ll ease the fears of many fans greatly.
