Thread: ESO vs WoW
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03/08/14, 05:27 AM   #2
Myrroddin
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 28
Rambling can be good.

The debate about MMOx vs MMOy will rage until these types of games die off, if ever they do. I look at where WoW is now, with an eye towards Warlords of Draenor. Here are a few things that make WoW so strong, which is also where several other MMOs have failed:

The modding community. You are absolutely correct that being able to change UI elements and present information in new and different ways is essential in MMOs. "Rift probably should have been that game" nicely explains the main issue with Rift. It was, because UI APIs were an afterthought, doomed to fail. I tried writing AddOns for Rift, and where there are some very successful AddOns in Rift, there was enormous gaps in what you could do, or can do today. Want to write a full UI replacement? Can't be done. Can't add resource pins to the map. Customizing the world and mini maps is out. You can add replacement unit frames but you cannot programatically hide the default frames. Creating viewports is not possible. The list continues, on and on and on from those starting points. In fact, it is easier to list what cannot be done rather than list what can be done.

Rift was and is a far superior game to WoW, in almost every facet, but that alone doomed the game. But wait, there's more!

Warcraft has strong single player content along with huge group content. With WoD on the horizon, hardly anyone does scenarios or dungeons except for achievements or minor goals. However, that is a symptom of progression. With raid gear, why do content that earns no upgrades? That is looking at it backwards, or at the least forgetting that that earlier content is what helped people get into raids. People still queue up for earlier raids, scenarios, and dungeons because they are fast and easy, especially now. They might not be doing that content regularly, but there is enough of the player base that does that makes them still valid.

Speaking of single player content, WoW has players aged pre-teen to retirement age. Some people decry about how easy the game is, and with Warlords coming, it will get even easier. No Hit, Expertise, Parry, Dodge, reforging, reduced gem slots, elimination of some enchantments? Where is the challenge? Do I no longer need to fine tune my character? Well, no. Blizzard has learned over the years, and is still learning, that to be successful and keep longevity, the game must appeal to a wide range of people, of all ages and skill. Everquest, Vanguard, Rift, Conan, etc were not designed with a wide player base in mind. These games are designed for advanced players, of which there are far fewer.

As Lore once said about the Soul and Talent trees in Rift: "More choices only means there are more options to get it wrong". Blizzard is trimming out things that don't work, or cause too much micromanaging of your character. That is a good thing.

So where does TESO lie in all this? I haven't played in the beta weekends yet, so I only know what I have read online, or seen in videos, or can see in AddOn lists and APIs. This is what I have learned:

There is an API, which is good. That said, with the game launching next month, the API is woefully incomplete. Players will ask for things that can't be done, and be angry when they can't get what have become defacto standards in other games. Further, the API is not publicly documented. At least Trion got that part correct. Every publisher should have a full, complete, and documented API at or before game launch. At this point, it is a disservice to do otherwise.

TESO is not having a true public open beta. They are having weekend excursions that are limited in what players can do. Beta should have been running non-stop since Christmas, with the only downtimes for patches and maintenance.

TESO is locking things behind a pay wall that should never, ever, under any circumstances be behind a pay wall. That just makes players livid with rage, and it will bite the publisher in a bad way. A race, being able to play on any faction? It is making me mad just typing it.

Based on videos posted after the NDA was lifted, TESO won't be ready next month. There are far, far, far too many glitches and graphic problems. The most alarming was the human rogue whose head and neck animations look like a stretched chicken. His whole body is warped. Yes, some of these will be fixed in a month, but those problems should have been found and fixed months ago.

In summary, the question is whether TESO will make a permanent dent in Warcraft's reign? Laughably, no chance whatsoever. It most likely will score a big chunk initially, but I think TESO's main player base will come from Oblivion and Skyrim, and other places. And when those players realize that TESO needs another six months to a year of development (see Vanguard), the game will lose those players, and rapidly. Worse, it will never regain them.
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