How The Elder Scrolls Online plans to improve MMOs: “I look at the world, not at my hotbar”

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/05/28/how-the-elder-scrolls-online-plans-to-improve-mmos-i-look-at-the-world-not-at-my-hotbar/


I liked all the interviews so far and hope that the game really delivers what they are promising.

Cool read, although it's not really telling us anything we didn't know. They are just hammering home the fact that you will have a low number of accessible abilities at one time, and a very minimal UI. I think this is a great idea, and a good step away from the current generation of MMO's. I would love to see a Skyrim-esque UI in ESO.

Oh yes, that's why I just l???ve modern RPG's, because they're all about worlds looking really immersive.

/sarcasm

/didnotreadfullarticle

/islazy

/don'treallycareformostmodernRPG's

/isstillforsomereasonlookingforwardtoTESO

To be fair, we haven't really SEEN a modern MMO. Everyone so far is just mooching off WoW.

What has been officially described concerning TESO sounds less and less like WoW and more and more like something I actually might consider subscribing to. There will always be MMO design elements that make sense to be included. But when including such elements, the developers should ask, "Are we including it because WoW had it, or will the game benefit from its inclusion.

Too many developers have gone down the "WoW has it so we need it too" road. Those are the MMOs that wind up mediocre at best following the initial 30-day free trial.

When I first read about TESO, my initial reaction was "Meh..."

Having had more material to chew on, my reaction is more like "Hmm..."

With TOR, my initial reaction was "Hmm..." but the more I read about it, it became "Meh..." and after being in a couple of phases of Beta, my reaction became "NO!!!!"

sounds good. well there will be whiners regarding not having many skills (people say that about GW 2 alot too)

generaly making th emonsters tougher is a good thing. I hope they also make them not as frequent as in WoW or even worse in TERA where you just cant go anywhere without encountering some random critter thats annoying you

I'm all for minimalist UIs, but not if it cripples function in the process. Such was the result with the consolified UI in Oblivion and Skyrim. Although I'm looking forward to play TESO with my xbox controller, I hope they don't cut back features to fit it into the UI ...

Very nice article. I'm looking forward more and more to this project.

more good news

thank the emperor

I'm liking this game more and more the more I learn about it!

Cant have real immersion if you arent first person though!

good article

Sounds VERY promising. I hope all show up this way!

Yes you can. Immersion is subjective.

Every MMORPG claims to revolutionize the gaming industry...few last more than a year.

Sounds exactly like the usual hype we hear from every mmo before they are launched.

I have. I'm testing two un-released MMO's as we speak. Not including the Panda closed beta for WoW (Which I gave up on in December..ugh)

GW2?

Look at that concept art. The hist one, in particular, could have been ripped straight from Morrowind. Really impressed with the environment designs.

If you know anything about closed testing you would know I am bound by NDA that mean I cannot disclose which title I am even testing. So no, it's not GW2 or anything remotely close to it. The only project I am testing that doesn't have NDA is the new world of Warcraft expansion. As for the other 2 you'll just have to take my word on it that they are modern MMOs that are doing things differently and are far more interesting than Rift or WoW.

Hopefully I can get onto TESO and Pathfinder Online alpha/closed beta as I believe they are also looking to make a positive change to the
MMO market.

“Things like the interface is very minimalistic and it lets you concentrate on the world, not on the interface,
so we made it feel much more like a console game from the interface side than an MMO, just for that
reason, to make sure that everyone feels comfortable when they play it.”

Hopefully this doesn't mean they're gonna implement QTE in the MMO
or having a big fat "Press X repeatedly" flashing in the middle of the screen lol

Are console game interface more streamlined then PC?
The only reference we can see would be FF11 on the PS2 because its an MMO on a console.
I haven't played FF11 on PS2 before, but is the interface more streamlined then conventional PC MMO?

It would be more accurate to say that console interfaces are minimalistic. You aren't likely to see rows and rows of skill icons filling the screen, More likely than not, you'll have a few hotkeys with the ability to keybind the rest.

The screen will likely simply just not be filled with tons of icons you have to watch while in a fight.

Minimalistic interface on an MMO sounds good in theory but will it actually work?
Who are their target audience?

1) Single player Elder Scrolls fans?
Are they trying to create an illusion that the MMO will feel like a single player Elder Scrolls?
Why would they play an MMO if they can play the Single Player version instead?

2) MMO Fans?
For me, i couldn't live without Deadly Boss when i was raiding in WoW previously.
UI data on screen was essential for me. Now to make it minimalistic in ESO, would that appeal to the MMO crowd?
Take for example, can anyone still play WoW using vanilla interface? lol

Works for DC Universe Online just fine.

I think so. What I think would be most effective is to lock different leveled skills of the same category into one slot. So if I have a Level 10, a Level 7, a Level 5, a Level 3 and a Level 1 Lunge skill, I'd have a single Lunge button. At Level 10, I should have enough stamina to execute all of them before I run out. The Hot key for Lunge might be 1 if I like lunging more than sidestep-attacking. Or in the tradition of Oblivion or Skyrim, a key combo of Forward and Attack. Nothing says that execution of a combat action requires just mashing number keys.

It really all depends on how they categorize different skills and abilities and how they allow us to customize our inputs.

Because the game is PC-only, they can build in a lot of functionality through keybinding.

We may be surprised how complexity can be achieved without complication.

This is a good point. My guess is the minimalistic UI will work because the combat will be dumbed down? lol

Why would the combat be dumbed down?