Official Multiplayer/Co-op Thread

The issue of multiplayer/co-op has been a hot one on this forum since Skyrim was announced. It tends to draw a lot of frustration, spam and, unfortunately, flaming. In an effort to help keep things civil on the forums, we have decided to restrict the discussion of multiplayer or co-op to this one thread. When this thread hits 200 posts, it will be locked and a new thread opened to continue the discussion. Any new multiplayer/co-op threads created in this forum, or old multiplayer threads brought back to the top, will be locked and directed here - this includes polls!

A few reminders:

• All of the forum rules still apply; flaming will not be tolerated, nor will insults directed toward specific users. This does not mean that you have to agree with everyone's opinion, but you must still respect them and their opinions enough to respond civilly.
  
• This thread is for discussing the possibility of multiplayer or co-op in the upcoming new game. If you want to discuss MMOs then use the topic in http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1119156-official-tes-multiplayer-thread/
  
• If someone does post a multiplayer thread in TES General or elsewhere, simply direct them here and report the thread to the moderators. And please, do this civilly, yelling and insulting people (especially new users) because they do not know about this thread serves no constructive purpose, and will likely result in a warning.
  
• The moderators are not privy to information that hasn't been released to the public.

Finally, multiplayer code requires a ton of effort. For example, it took two people several months to add multiplayer to Soldier of Fortune 2, a game made with an engine specifically designed for multiplayer (Quake 3). Many people seem to feel that a developer can purchase some network code and slap it on with a week's worth of work, but this just isn't the case.

Quote from Todd Howard regarding this -


Earlier thread: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1154646-official-discussion-of-multiplayerco-op-in-skyrim/

Oh, don't mind me, I'll just http://twitter.com/mattLefevre/status/27257526919626753.

"0.0 percent chance. Sorry."

A response from the old thread...

"Well Bethesda must be doing something right with the single player games they have made."

I'm not saying Bethesda is a bad developer, but if you think they've gotten this far without taking a few hints from the fanbase you'd be wrong.




I'm guessing that was Pete Hines' tweet? If so he must have deleted it, thus continuing the discussion...

Look I am not really a fun of the Multiplayer , but a Coop op could have a meaning , sort of like in 2Worlds or Fable but better made ... As I see it it should be like this:


The player can either make a new character or use his own , enter then a Common Game , nothing like yours , so your game isn't spoiled , the common game area will be set after the main game events so the coop will be available after the main story took place .... eventually befoure the two players could cooperate on other subquests or something else but not on the main one ... Then a room or a tavern where to meet with friends and show their new cool stuff equipment or customizations ...

I don't think anyone would deny that co-op multiplayer would be a lot of fun, but the framework that would be necessary and the extra development time make it pretty prohibitive.

I'd be concerned that other aspecs of the game would suffer for the inclusion of multiplay.

Re: MMO, it's pretty obvious it's a Fallout MMO. I doubt Bethesda wants to bring out a TES MMO through Zenimax and try to compete with WoW.

I actually really like this idea. That way they don't have to really deal with any of the main constrictions that people have been bringing up like killing quest characters or reworking quests so they work with 2+ people and it would be much easier and simpler to implement. This way it could also be more of an 'endgame' prize-for-beating-the-game mode.

+1 for this idea.

Not deleted, I copy-pasted this straight from his twitter last night.

I looked for it but can't find it.

Have been with Elderscrolls through Morrowwind and Oblivion (Figure I need to state expirence for personal protection, Seriously you guys are vicious...but in the best of ways I love it!)

Anyway I digress, I am not talking areaa duels or team death matches. All I would like to see is CO-OP. Where two people can play in one of their games and the other retains there level into their game. Thats it nothing dumbed down or added except that. Maybe just make it a tad harder or add a few more oppenents just so it is not like cheating! Obviously, I know nothing of game development so I don't know how hard something like this would be to implement. Obviosly, there would be certaint issues with this but nothing that would be too hard or major to overcome I would assume. I just think It would be an absoulte blast and some of the most fun a person could have gaming. The reason why I say this is my brother and I live very far apart( Me in Boulder, CO and him in CHI-TOWN) and we like to play games together. With that being said TES is both of our favorites seris...simply put ever. We have discussed this and by no means would want a dumbed down single player or a multiplatey that is separate, just the ability to travel, keep your level, and be awesome together( we are awesome.)

I know people are deathly opposed to this because then it is not a TES game or what not, but if it is possible and wouldn't take anything away from the exprience, I ask why not?? It would seriously be the greatest thing to ever happen in VG history IMO. What do you all think?

I would LOVE Co-op but I'm afraid theyre not gonna do it... :sadvaultboy:

I rather the main game world remain obtimised for one player means it can be as rich as possible, a fixed level pvp arena would be fine, I dought very highly weather th new engine is even capable of it, I wouldn't really 'no' but I cannt c y they'd have put time on it when's it always mean 1player. I don't think the worlds built for it either npc are annoying enough to follow through doors ect how would it work for two pc?

"Not now, not later, not ever"

TES is a single player series and it should stay like that. I would like to see Beth invest all their time, effort and resources in making the best possible single player experience. People saying that multiplayer would take nothing from the single player are just deluding themselves. That would only be true in a wolrd where developers would have infinite time and resources, but in reality, taking in consideration the sheer scope and detail of TES games, it would only force them to make unpleasant compromises.

Besides, it would not add anything to a game primarily based on the exploration of a vast, in depth world. This is not an action game.

Absolutely not. No. Never. Please.

Multiplayer and Co-op would not only require a ridiculous amount of changing the game engine, but would also make mods impossible seeing as any PvP would be a joke if you could just make god items. It would also ruin the roleplaying atmosphere. Take World of Warcraft for example, a roleplaying game, yet even on roleplaying servers, no one roleplays.

Including these features would most likely destroy everything I enjoy about the Elder Scrolls series.

To be honest, multiplayer is something that all games should have.

Bethesda might not make any certain multilayer mechanics to Skyrim, but in time, I think they'll eventually understand that Multilayer is a huge thing in the video game industry.

A good example a well-constructed co-op system is Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.
You could bring you character and everything, and it felt good to do so.

What I would love to see in Skyrim is an online gladiatorial game mode.

Nobody wants an MMO.
I can only speak for myself, but all I want is simple co-op with a friend. Not randomly matched or anything like that.

If you feel like roleplaying, play by yourself and roleplay. Nobody would be forcing you to play with any friends you may or may not have. If you're lucky enough, you might even have a friend you can roleplay with!

So explain exactly what that "destroys"

Thank you guys, for looking at the game as it is, and not what the mass wants it to be. I hope the Devs of TES continue to CHART THEIR OWN PATH, and churn out the Quality universe that is this particular series and not bend utterly to people wanting generic options to stifle the game. BGS is a Singleplayer game Ddevelopment company and they do exceptionally fine work, multiplayer adds -nothing- to the series, games like Hotpursuit/Halo series/ Assassins creed series/ Fable series/ have multiplayer options, because after the Main story / unlocking everything there is literally nothing left to do, thus how else to squeeze a little more out the game and do it with your friends, the TES series doesn't need that. I've heard console players playing oblivion for 300-400+ hours the first 3 years since release on one character, If thats not a sign somethings being done right I don't know what is. one can say multiplayer games and more online interactions are the wave of the future or however one wants to put it, but its not the only wave, the TES series will do absolutely fine without it, to say otherwise is disheartening.

Exactly,mah bro!

So from this I gather: TES is already a great game, it doesn't need more features that increase its longevity and awesomeness because it already has more longevity and awesomness than other games.
Yes TES will sell just fine without co-op. So is that a reason to not include something? TES will sell just fine without its in-depth lore, why don't we stop creating more lore so we can add more swords and stuff?

In fact, I think co-op would increase sales by quite a bit. If a person DOESN'T buy the game because it has a feature they aren't going to use, that's just silly isn't it? So no sales lost, but they would gain a lot. For people who don't play every demo, and watch out for new games constantly, the only way they are introduced to a game is through their friends. I don't really show any of my friends TES because then we would just have to watch eachother play, which is no fun, so they don't even know TES exists.

With co-op, I know I would want to play with my friends, they would obviously fall in love with the game and series, and buy the next one. Which gives Bethesda more money to hire more people later, who produce even better games later, which include a better singleplayer experience as well as the already existing co-op.

Again, you are ignoring the fact that games are developed under certain constraints (time, money, technology, etc). Investing in co-op would take huge resources wich would inevitably hurt the single player aspect of the game.

Not to mention it simply does not fit in TES for reasons I explained earlier.

Co-op would be a great addition to TES. I'm not proposing a full-blown MMO, but a solid co-op for up to 4 players would be awesome. A good example of a co-op sandbox game would be Saint's Row 2 or Borderlands. Both of these games were much better due to the addition of co-op and I can say that that's where I spent the majority of my time playing.

Co-op would work best if it was similar to the games I mentioned above, by having one host whose 'world' the other players play in. All XP, weapons, armor, items, etc would be carried over to your game, but quest completion and progress would be only counted for the player whose 'world' your playing in. This would allow so much more replayability as you are playing with real people.

I do not think there should be coop. But there should be a battle mode. Where you can log online with you character and fight others in the arena. Or maybe they can even have different maps like small towns where you can do 8v8 battle matches or something. Elder Scrolls: Battlespire had that option. And that was in the 90s. I think its high time for another multiplayer Elder Scrolls game.

Perhaps you'll get your wish in a couple years.
http://www.zenimaxonline.com/


Bethesda has stated officially at least twice that the will remain a single player game developer.

Still this tread has to constantly be remade. Been so many times it doesn't have a number any more.

It's to be expected though with TES attracting gamers from other genres.

I didn't even know about that division. Now I am interested what they are working on. Will it be a MMO fallout or Elder Scrolls?

Online leaderboards, one step further would be challenge rooms. If they shoe-horned it in though, it would be a waste of time and resources.

Competitive multi-player (team deathmatch) has no place is this game at all.

a couple split screen (2-4) modes would be a nice addition like fighting in arenas and stuff but a full blown mulitplayer just could fit the elder scrolls