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[Greiger]

Well imperials are kinda redundant appearance wise.  Hell a friend of mine even showed me some screenshots during beta and all an imperial is appearancewise is a shorter nord.  At least for the females.

If they locked out the cats or the lizards I could see people really getting up in arms since they are so unique.  But when you think about it there are 4 different kinds of humans, 3 different kinds of elves (4 counting orcs).  If they wanted to make a race exclusive without pissing off a huge amount of people choosing one of the semi redundant races is a way to do it.

Besides, lorewise Imperials are from Cyrodiil.  Cyrodiil is basically a clusterfuck right now and what imperials that are found there are universally hostile to all the factions.  If any race should be made artificially rare it's them.

[WillowLuman]

That just makes the paywall even less likely to earn money though. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, you can just play a nord and it wouldn't look much different. I suppose there might be exclusive armors or something, but then again those are starting armors. Gameplaywise, they just get to join any faction, which anyone who preordered or just reaches the level cap can do. For the same reasons that locking off imperials won't piss a lot of people off, locking off imperials won't make a lot extra money. It would have made more sense to lock off one of the more interesting races (which would have left 1 faction in an odd place) or just not bother with it all.

[Teneb]

That just makes the paywall even less likely to earn money though. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, you can just play a nord and it wouldn't look much different. I suppose there might be exclusive armors or something, but then again those are starting armors. Gameplaywise, they just get to join any faction, which anyone who preordered or just reaches the level cap can do. For the same reasons that locking off imperials won't piss a lot of people off, locking off imperials won't make a lot extra money. It would have made more sense to lock off one of the more interesting races (which would have left 1 faction in an odd place) or just not bother with it all.

Imperials can change the appearance from any armour into that of imperial armour. But yeah, it's not that much.

[Leyic]

Gameplaywise, they just get to join any faction, which anyone who preordered or just reaches the level cap can do.

(Emphasis mine.) Again, not true. You never get to switch your alliance. You only get to visit a version of their PvE territory.

Imperials can change the appearance from any armour into that of imperial armour. But yeah, it's not that much.

Also not entirely true. Anyone with the Imperial Edition can change any armor to the Imperial motif (binding the armor in the process) regardless of race. During the final beta, everyone was given access to the Imperial Edition, and playing a Breton I was able to transform armor into the Imperial motif.

Furthermore, anyone in game can learn the Imperial motif for crafting purposes regardless of which version of the game they have.

[Sinistar]

-snip-

Yep, it's true, they definitely didn't do their homework regarding the setting of TESO and some other things. At least in this, they were sloppy.

As for Imperials, I think HugoLuman is spot-on:

For the same reasons that locking off imperials won't piss a lot of people off, locking off imperials won't make a lot extra money. It would have made more sense to lock off one of the more interesting races (which would have left 1 faction in an odd place) or just not bother with it all.

(By the way, I hope you are not for whatever reason thinking I am arguing with you directly, Leyic. That was never my intention.)

[Leyic]

What's true? I wasn't commenting on the lore. I was commenting on two factual gameplay mechanics:
1. Switching alliances on a character is not possible.
2. Anyone with the Imperial edition can convert armor into the Imperial motif.
Those are objective truths unless and until ZOS decides to change things.

As for the lore, it was bent to fit the game; the alliances don't make sense otherwise. That said, as others have pointed out, it may not be as screwy as some around here think (i.e. in game lore books were written with an in game character's perspective), and whatever screwyness remains doesn't prevent me from having fun with the game on a mechanical level.

I'm not arguing, really, but I would like the discussion about the game to be more substantive than "It's too expensive!" or "They're relying on common marketing gimmicks!" so that anyone who's still on the fence by this point can make a more informed decision. I'll also try to correct any misunderstandings or mistruths that are stated here.

[Neonivek]

It may end up being like those MMORPGs that aren't too too special at first but then spin into an amazing game overtime.

Like City of Heroes or Ultima Online (Well IMO)

[Sinistar]

As for my "it's true", I was only referring to the guys/gal in the posted video and your comment they did not make research on the TESO setting. Though probably I should point that out more clearly.

[Neonivek]

Nice to know that the story of TESO doesn't matter. :/

"Ohh no that monster is going to take over the world!"
Logic: "Uhhh, when did that happen in Oblivion?"
"Ohh right"

Edit: I guess it depends how long an "era" is.

Though judging by the fact that both "Wood Elves" and "Imperials" are in the game... It cannot be that long.

[Leyic]

TESO takes place 2E 582. TES IV takes place 3E 433. That's a difference of 747 years (Second Era lasted 896 years). Men and Bosmer have existed since the Merethic Era, over 3000 years prior to TESO.

Source: UESP Timeline.

Also, I never said lore doesn't matter, just that I can enjoy the game *mechanically* despite apparent discrepancies. That said, I find TESO's lore more enjoyable than Kirkbride's C0DA.

[Putnam]

Neo, we know exactly how long each era is. Eras are based off of the Empires of Men.

The Dawn Era, sometimes called the Mythic Era, didn't have time, so you can't really give it any length.

The Merethic Era predated any Empire of Men. It lasted 2500 years and ended with the Alessian Revolt and the founding of the Empire of Men.

The First Era lasted 2920 years, of which 1008 were non-linear time caused by the creation of Akatosh by the Marukhati Selectives (which, by the way, Online goes into a lot). It ended with the assassination of Reman Cyrodiil III by the Morag Tong. The Second Empire of Men AKA the Akaviri Potentate declared the beginning of the Second Era.

The Second Era lasted 896 years and ended with Tiber Septim's rise to power and apotheosis, and the founding of the Third Empire of Men. Elder Scrolls Online takes place around 2E582.

The Third Era lasted 433 years and ended with the Seventh or Eighth Fight of the Aldudagga, where the Time Dragon once again put Dagon back in his place for being a "stupid little f*cker". This ended the Third Empire of Men.

The Fourth Era lasts at least 201 years, probably a lot more than that. It could end with the founding of a new empire. At least once, it ended with the return of Numidium and the exodus of the Dark Elves to Masser.

Eras beyond the fourth are hazy. By one account, the Fifth Era ended with the birth of Jubal-Lun-Sul and Vivec's son, Tosh-Raka, the first of the Nu-Men, Amaranth who dreams Akavir. This most certainly happened, as Tosh-Raka does in fact exist, but then again, why exactly should we trust the word of an insane dragon-tiger time god?

Though judging by the fact that both "Wood Elves" and "Imperials" are in the game... It cannot be that long.

Imperials as a unified people had existed for about 3500 years at this point. The Bosmer had existed for over 4000 years. Not sure where you get the idea that either of these are exactly new...

Also, I never said lore doesn't matter, just that I can enjoy the game *mechanically* despite apparent discrepancies. That said, I find TESO's lore more enjoyable than Kirkbride's C0DA.

Too bad. The Towers are a pretty big part of that C0DA, and none of the games have bought into that story more than ESO. 'Course, you could always just ignore the parts you don't like.

[Neonivek]

Imperials as a unified people had existed for about 3500 years at this point. The Bosmer had existed for over 4000 years. Not sure where you get the idea that either of these are exactly new...

So... the race locking makes no sense all over again.

Honestly the medieval stasis in Elder Scrolls is extreme. Did they ever explain it?

[Leyic]

During the Second Era, the races generally do not like each other. Heck, the only time they've been united under a single empire was during Septim rule (Third Era). It all fell apart rather quickly after that (i.e. the Thalmor in TES V). It would make less sense if TESO depicted Tamriel as being as cosmopolitan as it was depicted in TES III-V.

Too bad. The Towers are a pretty big part of that C0DA, and none of the games have bought into that story more than ESO. 'Course, you could always just ignore the parts you don't like.

I mean the actual graphic novel called C0DA, not Kirkbride's lore in general. TV heads, rappers, sex missiles, and Kirkbride-as-Numidium pretty much spit in the face of the lore he had been developing up to that point. It was nice seeing Nirn and Masser after Landfall, but all we got was a depiction of life in a single city from the perspective of a single character, so it doesn't contribute much in that respect.

Honestly the medieval stasis in Elder Scrolls is extreme. Did they ever explain it?

With magic as ubiquitous as it is, why would they develop technology?

[Neonivek]

With magic as ubiquitous as it is, why would they develop technology?

Because this game doesn't take place in the Hero Quest / Quest for Glory universe where magic has many uses...

Magic in Elder Scrolls is pretty much isolated to killing people.

[Leyic]

That would be a game limitation; why bother programming things that have no practical use in game? There is a quest in TES V where someone uses the local magical wildlife as a refrigeration system, but it's only mentioned in dialogue. And while I don't have a source, I recall reading something in TES II about how all Breton housewives know a few cantrips for cleaning purposes. Why bother developing a proper sanitation system if enough people know how to suck waste into a magical black hole? The novels probably depict more non-combat uses for magic, but it's been a while since I've read those.