‘Elder Scrolls Online’ Group Walkthrough Video; Receives M Rating

[Kham-Ryn Kurios]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfpYnehJ5TE" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfpYnehJ5TE</a>

With the release of The Elder Scrolls Online now just two tantalizingly short months away, ZeniMax Online Studios is attempting to ratchet up the hype. Having already detailed everything from character creation, to personal leveling, kill-stealing to subscription fees, the developer is now turning its attentions towards the real meat and potatoes of online combat – group questing.

As the latest in a long line of developer-led commentaries, the studio’s newest video, titled ‘ESO Group Content’ breaks the typical dev diary mold, by offering an extended look at the game in action. Featuring the talents of creative director Paul Sage, gameplay head Nick Konkle and dungeon lead Dan Crenshaw, the 8-minute vid explores the potentialities and core accessibility of the game’s group play system.


Highlights include an early boss encounter – designed to bring new players together, a group instance involving a daedra-worshipping cult, and even an insight into the game’s ‘friend-finding’ fast travel mechanics. For more details, reveals, and battle footage, check out the full video up top.



In other Elder Scrolls Online news, the game’s official age rating was unveiled by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB). This classification body, which maintains little real power – aside from the ability to class a title as ‘AO’ or ‘Adults Only’ – has deemed the MMORPG worthy of an ‘M’ or 17-and-over rating. Having clearly expected to land the more acceptable ‘T’ or Teenaged ranking, ZeniMax Online Studios opted to question the decision via its Facebook page, releasing the following statement:

“The ESRB advised us that it has given The Elder Scrolls Online a Mature rating. While we may disagree with the ESRB’s determination, we do not plan to challenge the rating, and we are unwilling to change the game’s content to achieve a different rating. The game we have created is the one we want our fans to be able to play. As a result of the ESRB rating, we are in the process of promptly updating everything with the required rating and age gates, including game trailers, web sites, and ads.”

The Elder Scrolls Online now becomes the fourth game in the series to receive an ‘M’ rating, following on from 2011′s Skyrim, 2006′s Oblivion and 1996′s Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. The franchise’s third installment, Morrowind remains the only entry to date to receive the coveted Teen rating, despite its similarity to the rest of the series. The Elder Scrolls: Arena, the franchise’s very first outing avoids classification as it predates the formation of the ESRB.



Non-mature fans ought to count themselves lucky they aren’t living in the UK, where a recent change to ratings law upped the legal limit on all Elder Scrolls titles. Unlike the instructive guidelines offered by America’s ERSB, Britain’s BBFC and current PEGI systems display legally binding limits, similar to how cigarette and alcohol sales are handled – though with less overall enforcement.

Interestingly, both Skyrim and Oblivion were upgraded to the new “hard 18″ rating as a direct result of the move, despite having previously been available to fans as young as 15. The change in policy was also reflected in the release of last September’s Elder Scrolls: Anthology, and will likely be repeated again for The Elder Scrolls Online. The shift creates an unusual situation for a small segment of British gamers, who having legally purchased Skyrim at the age 15 cannot now play its online-only spin-off.

Are you excited to get to grips with group play in The Elder Scrolls Online? How does the game’s Mature and/or 18 rating effect you? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to check in with all of the latest Elder Scrolls news, right here on Game Rant.

The Elder Scrolls Online arrives April 4, 2014 for PC and Mac platforms, with

Xbox One and PlayStation 4 ports set to debut in June.

Sauce: http://gamerant.com/elder-scrolls-online-walkthrough-parties/

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[BenPass]

I do wish it wasn't going to be a fee for the game itself, and then a subscription fee. It's definitely something that I think will do well, but something that will keep my from playing as I simply don't find the time to make it worth paying.

[Luna]

That's all I have saved, but there is much more out there.

Additionally, everything I've heard about gameplay from actual people (as opposed to reviewers) who played the beta has been extremely negative.

Nobody wanted a TES MMO.

Everybody wanted a multiplayer TES.

The correct course of action is so obvious, yet they chose to be dumb. They could have at least redeemed themselves by making a decent game, but that seems unlikely at this point. Hopefully they'll pay for their failure, but I doubt it, and even if it's a financial failure, it will remain a stain on TES.

[BenPass]

I find it interesting that there are reports of the beta. Why can't people keep their mouths shut when they're selected for beta playing? The purpose is to test a game; not to spread the word and dissuade people from trying it. Either way, I hold out hope for the game.

[Luna]

I find it interesting that there are reports of the beta. Why can't people keep their mouths shut when they're selected for beta playing? The purpose is to test a game; not to spread the word and dissuade people from trying it. Either way, I hold out hope for the game.

That's the purpose, but word has always spread. The companies don't generally care (they do tend to care about beta gameplay videos, though). Open betas are a bit of a gamble because of this inevitable spread. It can be good for business (see Dark Souls II network stress test beta gameplay) or it can be bad (find beta gameplay of TESO).

On the topic of TESO beta gameplay - there's a two-hour video of it that was (obviously) removed from YT, but there's a magnet link somewhere if you're brave enough to venture to those parts.

At any rate, I'll let the optimists go first before deciding whether or not to buy it. I'm guessing the reviews will be along the lines of "11/10, perfect game" regardless of the actual quality, as usual.

[BenPass]

That's the purpose, but word has always spread. The companies don't generally care (they do tend to care about beta gameplay videos, though). Open betas are a bit of a gamble because of this inevitable spread. It can be good for business (see Dark Souls II network stress test beta gameplay) or it can be bad (find beta gameplay of TESO).

On the topic of TESO beta gameplay - there's a two-hour video of it that was (obviously) removed from YT, but there's a magnet link somewhere if you're brave enough to venture to those parts.

At any rate, I'll let the optimists go first before deciding whether or not to buy it. I'm guessing the reviews will be along the lines of "11/10, perfect game" regardless of the actual quality, as usual.

I do understand, but it saddens me. Bad beta publicity almost seems to kill games before they have a chance to truly live. Just bums me out, is all.

[kewlkev360]

Honestly, they should Beta test in house, not do this public crap.  And I mean all game studios, all games.  I've seen too many "beta tests" come out a month before the game goes gold.  That isn't a beta test, that's a demo.

[Zephon]

Honestly, they should Beta test in house, not do this public crap.  And I mean all game studios, all games.  I've seen too many "beta tests" come out a month before the game goes gold.  That isn't a beta test, that's a demo.

Well that's more so to cut on costs. Instead of paying for game-testers, they can give a very, very limited Beta for free.

Anywho, as someone who made it in the last Beta session (missed the first one because of downed computer and military duties), I will say this, it's not a bad game. It's actually really beautiful. A few things could use some tweaking, but as a Beta I only ran into two major bugs that I reported to them and hopefully they'll have fixed before the live release.

Personally, I would recommend the game. If not to buy, then at least to try it out and make your decision. The story seems capable for the beginning part, and I have some high hopes for later levels/areas.

[kewlkev360]

Well that's more so to cut on costs. Instead of paying for game-testers, they can give a very, very limited Beta for free.

Anywho, as someone who made it in the last Beta session (missed the first one because of downed computer and military duties), I will say this, it's not a bad game. It's actually really beautiful. A few things could use some tweaking, but as a Beta I only ran into two major bugs that I reported to them and hopefully they'll have fixed before the live release.

Personally, I would recommend the game. If not to buy, then at least to try it out and make your decision. The story seems capable for the beginning part, and I have some high hopes for later levels/areas.

But at such a late stage, they really can't change much more than weapon balance and such.  Any major problems that crop up end up needing patched after released, if that happens at all.  Also, opening up a Beta test to the public might save costs, but you aren't guaranteed constructive feedback or any feedback at all.  Most people are like "that camping scrub killed me with XYZ, it needs nerfed."

Do yourself a favor devs, have a beta test sooner than a month before release, and hire people to do the test.  The only time a beta test should be public IMO is to do a network stress test.

[Luna]

Well that's more so to cut on costs. Instead of paying for game-testers, they can give a very, very limited Beta for free.

Anywho, as someone who made it in the last Beta session (missed the first one because of downed computer and military duties), I will say this, it's not a bad game. It's actually really beautiful. A few things could use some tweaking, but as a Beta I only ran into two major bugs that I reported to them and hopefully they'll have fixed before the live release.

Personally, I would recommend the game. If not to buy, then at least to try it out and make your decision. The story seems capable for the beginning part, and I have some high hopes for later levels/areas.

How much experience do you have with previous TES games? The only reason I ask is because I would like to ask the following question: does it feel like a TES game? From promotional stuff and whatnot, it looks a bit cartoony. Mind you, I'm not saying it should be as grey as Skyrim, just not... silly.

I won't even ask about the lore, I doubt there was much time to delve into it and I know enough as it is. Atmosphere is really what I'm interested in at this point.

[TheHobbitofDune]

If I ever go back to playing MMO's (doubtful), WoW would be my go-to. Always. If it ain't broke don't fix it... doesn't apply to all cases, but personally, for me, WoW has it all, and I don't need more *shrugs*

[Zephon]

How much experience do you have with previous TES games? The only reason I ask is because I would like to ask the following question: does it feel like a TES game? From promotional stuff and whatnot, it looks a bit cartoony. Mind you, I'm not saying it should be as grey as Skyrim, just not... silly.

I won't even ask about the lore, I doubt there was much time to delve into it and I know enough as it is. Atmosphere is really what I'm interested in at this point.

Depending where you are, it may seem cartoony. Some locations are a bit more colorful then others, but not all. Without going much into depth, but talking about what has already been released by the DEVs (therefore not breaking the agreement), you start the game off dead in the realm of Molag Bal. And you first primary objective is escaping to the world of the living (Nirn). Now there is some underlying storylines that seem darker, and from Beta, if you get far enough, it gives a hint of what some endgame big bad might be. But I couldn't get more into it, and not really sure if I accurately described the Cartoon-y vs non-cartoon-y aspect (if at all, which I'm sorry for if I didnt).

As for it handling and feeling like previous TES, yes and no. Settings, locations, npcs, and a few events remind me of previous iterations. The races still look like they used to with an upgrade for higher graphics. The three types of elves don't look so ugly (to me) anymore, though I play as a Redguard. You still get skill points and experience based off of the skills you use. Fighting is a mixture of previous TES games and the hotbar-play of MMOs. Still can pick up crafts/professions skills, though you don't need to if that's not your thing.

To me, it feels like a "Busy" TES game. From the limited time I had to play and level, I didn't get into any areas where I really needed to party up, though there were tons of other players in all areas I went. Being a single mega-server, I can understand why that was. Sometimes it detracted from the areas when I had numerous players constantly bantering about different things or asking for tricks and shortcuts versus figuring it out for themselves. I partied on a few occasions, but didn't feel the need to and did it more so out of obligation to test the feature. I may have leveled up to quickly with a lot of "levels" going into my fighting skills, because at some point, I was just rolling over the enemies. And since levels were static to the area (it is a MMO and early level zones), I was overpowered until I moved on past the "tutorial" areas.

The ability to explore is there and rewarded in random loot chests that could be found out. I actually got a relic, a few artifacts, and a singular legendary (which apparently no one else found) by exploring. However, due to being early levels, I couldn't move on without finishing certain missions. This was hampered by the single-server issue of running numerous "instances" between players. A bug I'm sure, but if to many people were standing in a single location area, and were on different instances of that spot, it could affect all players there (ie, waiting for a spawn to happen, but couldn't because someone else was fighting it in a different instance).

~~
TL;DR

It has its ups and downs, but it's still in Beta so the few bugs I ran into weren't a major issue. It feels like a TES game to me at least, and I'm excited for it. A few things could be worked on, and I told the Devs as such. If you like MMOs, you MIGHT like this, but it's a stretch at the moment. If you like TES, then you SHOULD like this despite it being "busy" with other players.