Windows 8 The Elder Scrolls Online goes live Sunday.

MikeHawthorne

Essential Member
Microsoft Community Contributor
Hi

I'm not going to be around as much for the next few weeks.
I will be grinding away on TESO for a while.

For early starters it goes live Sunday morning at 7 am.

Are there any other players here?

Mike
 
Played the beta but the fact that it's a subscription based game (as far as I'm aware) kinda kills it for me..
 
Hi

These days $15 a month looks pretty cheap, that's what I was paying for Ultima Online almost 20 years ago, 1996 I think.
And it's what WOW has always cost, in 1969 I bought my first brand new BMW, a red 2002 tii with black leather for $3,500.

Pretty hard to believe if you look at the prices now, so the fact that I can still pay $15 a month looks pretty good.

I unsubbed from The Secret World, which really doesn't limit a F2P player in any way anyhow (I'm not sure why I kept paying for it) so I'm on my regular one game at a time payplan. LOL

I like the game, it's pretty easy to play and they've gotten rid of a lot of the things that bug me in most MMOs, for instance anyone who participates in combat get the same reward so no one cares if you jump on their target, and when you group you don't have to go through the who gets what routine.

Many other aspects have been streamlined like that, and it's a lot of fun.

Mike
 
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Hey Mike,
whilst it's true that $15 or £8 isn't a huge amount per month it's still a bill I could do without simply for financial reasons but that is just my predicament right now and I guess if I could afford it I'd probably play it as the beta was a lot of fun. ( I also played Skyrim for like a 1000hrs so I do like the genre). Let us know how you find it initially. It would be nice to see a review perhaps? :)
 
Hi Kemical

Yes, I don't want to tell anyone how many hours I spent playing Skyrim, (especially my wife!) and I've played all the other Elder Scrolls games going back to Arena.

If you want to play something that's really fun, and doesn't have a monthly fee, you should look at The Secret World.
It's really a blast, has great graphics, and a unique combat and leveling system.

I've played it since beta and I still have fun.

They don't limit your play at all by not subscribing, all the things that you get for the subscription are free expansions and vanity items.

Clothes are a big part of TSW because they have nothing to do with game play.
So you can wear jeans and a t shirt, dress like Indiana Jones or wear a tux, like James Bond.
You can buy most items at the department store in London for cash you make in the game.

RocketGirl_zpsb1c3a5c1.jpg


TSWBlossomTShirtandJeans2_zpsb6825515.jpg


TSWBlossomSnakeCharmer_zps3a9a2547.jpg


This is my fem character, she's tougher than she looks. LOL

I'll go back to it when the newness of ESO wears off.
My friend from TSW has come along with me to ESO, so we can still talk on Skype and play.

Mike
 
Cool stuff.. I'll check it out Mike thanks for the heads up.
 
What is TSW? Maybe I'm off track but your screenshots kinda made me think back to Fallout. I think that's a reach because I've been dying for a game even remotely close to the Fallout series and unfortunately nothing compares. But anyway, ESO is a lot of fun and it's my favorite game right now. This coming from someone that works full-time and has very little time for games, so I'm very picky about the games I play and ESO has got to be one of the best right now (monthly fee is worth it and pretty standard for MMORPGs as far as i know)
 
Fallout 4 does seem a long way off... Rumours and conjecture is all we have. I hope Bethesda reveal something about it soon.
 
Hi

The Secret World is set in the modern world of today.

It supposes that the occult and mystical things of legend are really real and that there are organizations (kind of like men in black) that are tasked with managing them.

You are an agent of one of these groups.
You can only play as a human, but of pretty mush any race.

You can go from modern day New York and London, or Soul, (basically where your bases are) to a Village in Maine invaded by sea creatures that turn people into zombies, or to the Balkans where you have to deal with Werewolves and Vampires.

It incorporates American Indian lore and haunted houses, one of my favorite locations it a haunted amusement park, very creepy, and the guy who send you there drives a Rolls Royce.

The attention to detail is amazing.

Or modern day Egypt with terrorists and ancient secret societies and tombs.

There are a lot of other features that are much different then most MMOs.
There are really hard puzzles that require you to do research online, translate different languages etc.

There is a browser built into the games, (just hit the B key) so you can get online to look things up.
There are even fake websites on the net that extend the feel that you are talking about real places.

Check out the Kingsmouth web site.

http://www.kingsmouth.com/

As much as I like The Elder Scrolls Online, I'm not giving up on The Secret World, I've played it since it was in beta and I still have fun playing it, there's always something else to do or see.

And the graphics are still the best of any online game in my opinion.

It's an open world you can pretty much go anyplace you are tough enough to survive and hunt to make money to buy stuff, or work your way through a zillion quest stories to solve the mystery involved.

Great combat, with any thing from a katana to a AK 47, and a rocket launcher.
Real time, move and use strategy not like many of the stand still and shoot kind of thing like Wow that wont let you run and fire at the same time.

My favorite MMO of all time, and I've played practically every major MMO since Ultima Online.

http://www.thesecretworld.com/buy/



Mike
 
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Nice synopsis. I really think I'm going to try it out. Especially since I've been waiting for something that really challenges the MMO style we are so used to (that was pioneered by Ultima Online and EverQuest in my opinon). Anyway this seems to be that game. Thanks for the introduction; I'm definitely interested :)
 
Hi

I don't think you will be disappointed, I had a pay account even after it went free to play, but now I'm on a to play setup.
My friend Paul has always been free to play.

You won't really notice the difference until you want the expansions but they only cost $10 so you can just buy them when you want them.

There is so much content that you won't need them for a long time anyway.

One hint, all the content is repeatable, so running through the content in Kingsmouth several times will leave you better prepared for the next level etc.

The stuff is so much fun to do that you won't mind doing it over anyway.

Take time to figure out the leveling system, it's really different, and you don't actually have a level only skills, so you can never tell what level other players are, since even a high level player may be wearing jeans and a t shirt.

Have fun on the roller coaster, you should see it in stereo 3D.

You will also appreciate the humor, like the Kingsmouth deputy sheriffs story about his father. LOL

Mike
 
Any more impressions, guys?

Only that my gaming lag was infuriating but in fairness I do reside on the other side of the world to where their server is… I recommend asking your ip provider about setting up a tunnel if you are outside the US and want to play this game.
 
Hi

Well since this was originally posted I have played a character to max level.
I liked the game a lot, but it had some problems if you wanted to play with friends.

You often ended up in different instances etc. it could be frustrating.
They are saying that those issues have been addressed.

Now the game has undergone some major changes with more to come.
The leveling system has been changed and new content has been added.

I'm playing Dragon Age Inquisition now, but TSO is going free to play on March 17 and both my friend Paul and I plan on starting new characters at that time and giving it another try.

All in all it's a fun game, with really good graphics and no lag problems for me here in the US.

Mike
 
Hi

The Secret World, is a pretty old game now and the requirements were never that high.
It's at least worth trying it out, I suspect that it will run OK.

I'm pretty sure that it ran on my sister in laws laptop which was not even a gaming laptop but I don't know what she was using for settings.

Anyway it's free so try it out.
 
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