Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Putnam]

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.

Except you're ignoring the very real internet, spaceships and robots that are really common when you know where to look. Examples: Dreamsleeve all over the place in Battlespire, spaceships mentioned in the PGE3 and appearing somewhat in Redguard and Online, robots all over the damn place in every game but Oblivion (and even Oblivion has everyone's favorite, Pelinal)...

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.

To be fair, all of the Pseudo-Sixth-House stuff is supposed to be pop-culture trash, presented specifically as an in-story story, the kind of thing they see when they go to theaters.

Not to mention that this character is pretty important overall, heh. Also, the whole New Amaranth reveal. And Lorkhan becoming whole again...

[Neonivek]

Except you're ignoring the very real internet, spaceships and robots that are really common when you know where to look

And who has access to them other then secret sects and long dead races?

That would be a game limitation

They depict some places of work. I have yet to see any magical looms, magic caravans, and stuff.

Permanent magic has a restrictive cost.

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?

Black hole? It could just be a air current spell or a "move water around" spell.

[Putnam]

Except you're ignoring the very real internet, spaceships and robots that are really common when you know where to look

And who has access to them other then secret sects and long dead races?

The Thalmor, the Mages' Guild, House Telvanni, at least when it comes to the internet. The Third Empire of Men and the Altmer both have spaceships. Robots... okay, yeah, Dwemer and Sotha Sil are pretty much the only ones, at least until the 5th era or thereabouts.

[Neonivek]

Also to admit the non-combat spells were pretty much obliterated after morrow wind. Though often it felt like you were the only one in the universe with those spells.

Though outside the mages guild, magic seems rather isolated.

[Leyic]

Again, game limitations. If they took time to depict magic being used in non-combat faculties outside of text, it's a safe bet that players would want to interact with those magics in meaningful ways, sucking time and money away from developing the actual gameplay parts of the game. Those would be better off in a true sandbox game that's not limited by combat heavy quest lines, but that doesn't describe any of the games we have so far. Seriously, the games are not good depictions of the daily lives of non-adventurers.

And the Mages' Guild was expressly founded on the principle of bringing magic to everyone. Source: Origin of the Mages Guild.

[WillowLuman]

Though to be fair, a lot of people do have to do without magic.

[Stuebi]

Just to put emphasis on it from my first post in this thread, even ignoring their business-tactics, I consider the Game mediocre at best. My first impression of the Beta was a poorly optimized Skyrim with Multiplayer, and without being a Lore-Expert, the Alliances feel kind of shoehorned in for the sake of "Let's have a faction system yo.".

The main problem the game had for me, was that it has no outstanding feature to offer beyond "It's a TES-game". And considering how many MMORPG's are avaiable on the market, thats pretty freaking lame in my book.

Also, Leyic. While I agree that Dev- and marketing-shaming shouldnt allways be the _only_ influence on buying decicions, it still plays a pretty big role. If you get a bad feeling about this stuff before the game's even out, I wouldnt exactly entrust these people with upwards 50$.

[Greiger]

Bad news for people who decided to buy the game and ride the 30 free days to decide if you'll pay the sub or not.

according to Their official launch FAQ

Q: When do I begin my included 30 days of game time?

A: Once the Early Access period is finished and the game has launched (see server launch times above), please visit https://account.elderscrollsonline.com  and follow the prompts to select your preferred subscription plan. For customers who prefer to purchase Game Time cards from a retailer instead of using a credit card, we offer this as an alternative option for your convenience. Redeeming a Game Time Card or selecting a subscription plan will commence your 30 days of included game time.

So in short if I'm reading that right you won't get your 30 days of game time until you commit to pay for either a subscription, or a time card (which may or may NOT be purchasable in one month increments).  Which seems kinda sleazy.

[da_nang]

30 "free" days.

[LeoLeonardoIII]

in which "you" can "play" a "game".

[LordBucket]

if I'm reading that right you won't get your 30 days of game time until you commit to pay for either a subscription, or a time card

Which seems kinda sleazy.

I'd like to think they simply phrased it badly. They're going to have massive hordes of unhappy customers if it turns out that people can't actually play until they subscribe or get a timecard. Not everyone has a credit card and not everyone lives near a game store. And the stores won't have infinite quantities. That's a PR nightmare waiting to happen.

Given all the misunderstandings about the preorder bonuses, and the fact that their customer service was giving out incorrect information, a mistake in the phrasing of the FAQ seems likely. I suppose we'll find out soon.

[alexandertnt]

Wouldn't all those things stop you from being able to purchase the actual game in the first place?

I suspect that you can cancel your subscription after selecting a plan, and thus not actually pay any subscription costs.

[BurnedToast]

This is also the company trying to sell a $60 MMO with a $15 monthly sub and a cash shop built in on day 1, meanwhile putting what would almost certainly be the most popular race behind a paywall.

If it was any other company, I'd agree it's certainly poor wording. I'd still say it's probably just poor wording... but on the other hand it would not surprise me, not even a little bit, if they realized the game is probably going to fail (or rather, fail as a sub and end up F2P) and they are just trying to squeeze a little bit more out of the true fans in the initial cash grab.

[LordBucket]

Wouldn't all those things stop you from being able to purchase the actual game in the first place?

What if you're a teenager living with parents and you received an eso box as a gift? Launch is on Sunday. What if your local game store closes at 5pm and you don't get around to trying to log on until it's closed, thereby needing to wait until Monday? What if by the time Monday rolls around and you get home from school or work and to the game store, timecards have sold out already? What if timecards are still on order and the store hasn't received them at all?

Lots of ways people could get stuck unable to play for days at least.

[Tilla]

What do you think the over under is before this game is f2p? I'm gonna put my money on slightly after the one year anniversary.