Some sad news from the recent interview with game director Matt Firor:

How will the first and third-person perspectives differ from mainline Elder Scrolls games to better suit an MMO?

"We are still working on this system, but as it stands right now, we have first and third person support, just like in any other Elder Scrolls game. The only difference is that you don't see your hands and weapons in first-person mode.

"The main difference here is that in an online RPG, enemies can spawn in a 360 degree radius around you, especially in PvP - so third-person view mode, if you use it, will give you a far greater ability to see enemies behind you.

"In many situations, this will be the difference between living and not surviving a combat sequence."




So from what I understand, seeing your hands in First Person is permanently out after all. Also the game directror seems to imply that you better play in Third Person mode... or else!

What part of "We are still working on this system" is confusing? its not out because they are still working on it...

This is the same thing they have been saying all along, They are working on hands and weapons, 3rd will always be better because its an MMO. Nothing has changed.

Well, you do need to play in third person to kill bosses anyway, and understanding a siege while in 1st person might be difficult. By bosses I mean big mobs that you kill with several other players. Of course we don't know how it'll work in TESO, but you often have to escape the blue aura around your feet or things of this kind on some scripted mobs in MMO, and if you are a lot of players, all standing in the same spot, you just can't see your feet well enough in first person to be efficient. It doesn't stop anybody to play in first person, but you might need to learn third person for specific cases... and it's always easier to spot mobs behind your back in third person anyway.

The fact that it seems we'll have to actively swing our weapons to hit might be a problem with third person though.

the only time i was ever in first person in skyrim was to shoot a bow or spell. for me it was just 100000000000x easier to do it in first person. if we are to aim in TESO like we do in TES then i will still use first person. if its much more or a tab target system now then i would be in 3rd person at all time anyway

Actually, they just added it, it was whined alot maybe 8 month ago and now its there. You guys should be happy.

Damn, doom and gloomers...

Doomsayers at work.

but as a sidenote devs said that 1st person graphics will be ingame on launch.

As a professional negotiator, reading between the lines is second nature to me. Sometimes I forget that other people do not have that experience.
It is not what someone says, it is how they say and what they leave out when discussing something.

Here, Mr. Firor avoids mentioning that they are working on putting hands on First Person completely. Considering how much this issue has been contested, you can bet thats not by accident. If they were serious about working on Hands and Weapons you can bet that he would have mentioned that. It is very telling Firor did not metion something as central as making ESO similar to the TES viewpoint when discussing that very issue.

After that, Firor goes into what is essentially an outright rampage on how you SHOULD be using Third Person view and not First Person.
When the game director himself speaks so vocally for a certain feature (and against another) you can bet that the other feature is not going to be very viable.

So this interview was published yesterday...
http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/interviews/a458194/elder-scrolls-online-interview-the-beta-first-person-and-skyrim.html

Quick, someone better tell the game director of ESO that 1st person graphics will be ingame on launch. I dont think he got the memo. Its not like he is in charge of the game of anything.

3rd is more for PvP
1st is for PvE

I am a ranger in every game I play, including elder scrolls games. If I can not go in first person to aim my arrows at enemies then I will have to seriously reconsider buying this game. What separates the combat system from WOW/GW2's point and click system? Yes, it might be better to attack in third person for better awareness of surroundings, but that doesn't mean you have to take away a viable first person option for players. This is an elder scrolls game after all..

Is there any mmo'rpg that did the 1st person right? I mean with hands, weapons, legs and viable combat, like single player TES.

Can spin it all you want. Can say you know better than others all you want. Bottom line is what was said in this interview is exactly what they have already been saying all along. Its worded differently sure but it means the same thing. They are working on adding hands and weapons but 3rd person will obviously be better because its an MMO. Anything beyond that is pure speculation at best and fear mongering doom saying, spreading false info at worst.

Also, who says you'll be able to see stuff behind you in 3rd person mode? In a proper 3rd person mode (in games containing both 1st and 3rd) you'll make it so anything without of your field of view will go invisible, so as to making it compare more fairly with 1st person mode.

On this premise it's still an advantage to be in 3rd person though because you still get terrain info.

I think what game director Firor said is very clear to most people.
I am not going to try to convice you. Believe whatever you want.


The game director of ESO said that.
Lol, did you even read the post?

Both Darkfall and Mortal Online do it, although I can't speak to how good those games are. (I don't think you can see your legs in any TES releases so far.)

In other news, this doesn't seem like new information. Discarding your rear view in a game where things can spawn behind you was never going to be a good idea.

I believe what the Dev says. When he says "We are still working on it" I tend to believe that. I don't go off and go "OMG confirmed its not in!" and go around spreading false info.

If they ever say " Yep hands and weapons are out for launch" then you can make these threads and be truthful. But until then it will remain " We are still working on it". Anything else is simply irresponsible and spreading false info.

If you expect people to grab you by the hand and explicitly state in great detail what they are planning, then something tells me you will live your life constantly suprised by what people do.

In the real world, people say things and expect you to pick up the details yourself.

In this case when the game directors says "The only difference is that you don't see your hands and weapons in first-person mode." and then fails to say anything more, everyone understands what he means. If you dont understand then you are one of the very very few.

Matt also did say, "We are still working on this system, but as it stands right now, we have first and third person support" so saying first person showing hands is definetly out, at the very least until open beta starts and maybe its still not in the game, is silly. Just be patient, I don't think Zenimax will leave it as a "half assed" version of first person view unless it is completely impossible to achieve.