[Nathan Hunter]

Official Multiplayer Thread

The issue of multiplayer has been a hot one on the forums since they were created. It tends to draw a lot of frustration and, unfortunately, flaming. In an effort to help keep things civil on the forums, we have decided to restrict the discussion of multiplayer (or topics pertaining to multiplayer) in the Oblivion/TES General forums 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 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.
  
• Multiplayer comes in many shapes and sizes: MMORPGs, arena-style combat, cooperative, etc. and it can be very helpful to be specific if you do not intend to discuss multiplayer simply in abstract terms. This obviously isn't a requirement; it is simply a suggestion to help limit confusion and misunderstanding.
  
• 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.

Also, please realize that adding multiplayer to Oblivion at this time is simply not feasible. Oblivion has been streamlined for single-player and adding multiplayer would require re-writing large portions of the engine. The devs would much rather spend their time and energy expanding on what they already have, a great single-player RPG, rather than re-doing what they've already finished.

So please, no requests to have multiplayer added with an expansion. Or at least if you're going to discuss this realize that it is not an option.

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.



http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1085332-official-tes-multiplayer-thread/

[Gracie Dugdale]

If TES could be played via LAN, it would be the perfect LAN game for me and my other TES-playing friends... but I don't know how that would work out with mods.

[Rach B]

If TES could be played via LAN, it would be the perfect LAN game for me and my other TES-playing friends... but I don't know how that would work out with mods.

It wouldn't be feasibly possible, I would imagine. The difficulty of blending stuff like that for several instances of the game, not to mention taking in latency/hiccups between computers would take years to perfect.

[Emma-Jane Merrin]

multi player would just be a terrible waste of time and resources, in my opinion. TES games are complex enough to make without adding the burden of multi player. The most enjoyable aspect of TES games is the complexity of the world they create, and making multi player would cut into that. In fact, it would likely have to dumb down the game world to facilitate multi player.

plus, i would cry if TES turned into WoW

[Lou]

it would make the game stupid if i was being insulted by a 5 year old,but coop and stuff like 1 v 1 battles with friends would add some more fun to a game like the elder scrolls.

[LADONA]

This is the only way I will ever play a TES MMO. If it is exactly what TES V would have been as a single player RPG, exceeding Oblivion in every way, with added multiplayer. Nothing else will do. NADA.

[Robert DeLarosa]

But honestly, I really think taking the series MMO would completely destroy the experience. Think about it. Instead of one "Champion of Cyrodiil," we have thousands. Arch-Mage? Not anymore. Madgod? Yeah, well join everyone wearing the same gear and using the same items the same way for the same quest.

[carley moss]

I just don't think it would work. But if in any way it COULD work, it should be a separate entity from TES:V, be developed by others specializing in multiplayer (with the source code and a few creative devs from Bethesda), and come much after TES:V.

One guy couldn't sleep; dialogue's would have to be altered; you're no longer the hero; it would be hard for players to explore independently, if at all; it would just be a giant prolonged "raid", if I understand that term correctly..

[jeremey wisor]

There are two ways I could see multiplayer work for TES:

1) Co-operative play.
Have between one and three friends drop into a locally hosted game* in a somewhat seamless way that wouldn't break the immersion of the game. For instance, you could imagine the taverns as a place to find "travel companions", so while you're at taverns your friends can join your game. (May I add, if anyone at Bethesda is actually reading this and it might actually make it into the game, please use Steam for it. GFWL is way too convoluted and rigid.)

*I guess a server could be possible, but for a series relying on great SP, it's not a plausible market and with fibre internet connections on the rise, multi-core systems and most systems having 4-8GB of RAM local hosting is not a poor bet

2) Arena battles.
In the arena, when you've reached the highest title you can get from fighting NPCs, you can challenge what the game will describe as Champions from other provinces. These will be players who you will then fight 1-on-1

I would elaborate more on these ideas, but they're both pretty self-explanatory.

[~Sylvia~]

There are two ways I could see multiplayer work for TES:

1) Co-operative play.
Have between one and three friends drop into a locally hosted game* in a somewhat seamless way that wouldn't break the immersion of the game. For instance, you could imagine the taverns as a place to find "travel companions", so while you're at taverns your friends can join your game. (May I add, if anyone at Bethesda is actually reading this and it might actually make it into the game, please use Steam for it. GFWL is way too convoluted and rigid.)

*I guess a server could be possible, but for a series relying on great SP, it's not a plausible market and with fibre internet connections on the rise, multi-core systems and most systems having 4-8GB of RAM local hosting is not a poor bet

2) Arena battles.
In the arena, when you've reached the highest title you can get from fighting NPCs, you can challenge what the game will describe as Champions from other provinces. These will be players who you will then fight 1-on-1

I would elaborate more on these ideas, but they're both pretty self-explanatory.

These are great ideas.

[Colton Idonthavealastna]

I'm fine with the existence of a SEPARATE MMO or INCLUDED multiplayer only. When Blizzard started making WoW, they stopped making Warcraft. I don't think Warcraft 4 will ever happen now. I want the team making an Elder Scrolls MMO to either not be the same team that was responsible for Morrowind and Oblivion, or for the normal team to only be involved for initial production and some of the creative work, but after the MMO is off its feet to go work on another Elder Scrolls singleplayer game.

[Bloomer]

I would like a co-op campaign version, with an "Alpha" and "Omega" character where one of you is the main character, and the other is like their sidekick or something. Think Batman and Robin, only without the whole creepy a grown man and his teenaged "ward" in tights vibe going on.

[mollypop]

I've always thought that it could be a decent addition to the games, optional Co-op that is. You could pit your player against others in Team deathmach, team theft, free-for all deathmatch, free for all theft, 1v1 theft, 1v1 deathmatch, wizards duel (you just can't move and are stuck far away from the other person), 1v1 theft, Capture the flag, King of the hill, and other possible games. Perhaps you could even bet septims on the matchd, and bet on other people's 1v1 matches.

Theft would be a heavily guarded castle with many locked doors and sentries etc, with a single valuble item somewhere
Deathmatch just means last one standing wins basically, and team deathmatch would be points-based.

[Eric Hayes]

I wouldn't mind an ES MMO, but only if it wasn't "WoW-ified". And also it would have to be separate from the real ESV.

But I do think that the normal release should include some sort of multiplayer, not MMO of course, but online co-op. It would be pretty awesome teaming up on some missions, and have the gameplay fit that. For example, you have to steal something from someone's house. Player 1 could use the speech skill to hold the victim's attention while player 2 does the job. Or a room of enemies that would be too much for one player to handle, would be a good fight for 2 people.

[Phillip Brunyee]

I wouldn't mind an ES MMO, but only if it wasn't "WoW-ified".

What does that even mean?

[Olga Xx]

What does that even mean?

Like World of warcraft. Similarly made with a similar gameplay style.

[Sudah mati ini Keparat]

Like World of warcraft. Similarly made with a similar gameplay style.

It won't be. First-Person is a trademark of TES, it'll be present, and so will loads other stuff.

[Krystina Proietti]

I know I personally hope they never make an MMO.

Look at Final Fantasy. It was regarded as one of the best games getting better and better with each game and then FFXI came along and ruined everything.

Now they are stuck making worse and worse games and now they are saying that XIV will be the last game. This entire series was ruined by one game.

Even worse is that they are making the last one an MMO.

Either they should have a spin off series or carry on making a offline games.

[Symone Velez]

What does that even mean?

WoW = World of Warcraft

When and if they make an Elder Scrolls MMO, it will probably be made to compete with WoW (the current king) so they might dumb it down to attract the majority fanbase of 13 year olds. It would be a travesty, but making games is a business like any other, they want to make money. WoW makes so much money because it's attractive to teenyboppers that make their parents pay subscriptions. Games like Everquest and EVE Online, while they certainly have their fans, aren't as popular.

Keep in mind that it would not be Bethesda making this game, it would be Zenimax, who don't have the same values as a company as BGS does, so they will do whatever will make the most money.

This doesn't make much sense in writing, I know. But I hope you guys get what I mean by "WoW-ified", and why I hope it doesn't happen to the potential Elder Scrolls MMO.

[Kari Depp]

Well.
It is sad when people talk about MMO and everybody screams World of Warcraft instead of Ultima Online.
in the latest years a lot of companies tried to recreate the ultima online formula...
the problem is ... they have little experience and even less budget.

I think TES setting and style would make an excellent MMO.
they just need to do the right adjustments to bring it online.
First of all about the guilds.
We can't be all Archmages... the archmage should be one... and one can only hope to become Archmage by contesting the current title holder in some way.
And possibly, something I feel should be inserted even in the single player experience...
Why I have to start my career asking to some Journeyman mage for a quest and when I'm a journeyman myself I can't send people to do quest for myself?

Another thing is crafting ...
we should be able to mine our daedric metal end craft our weapons.

that being said with the right balancing and the same open world TES Online would be a great game, just imagine having the chance to be hired in the warriors guild to guard someone who is also a target for another player from the Dark Brotherhood.
Or having your little cabal of mages facing against a group of necromancers.

Just grant open PVP, no istances, and some tweaks for some crazy overpowered spells you have the chance to create or instill in equipment and you have an awesome game...
Sure... if the plan is to dumb it down to WoW level I'm totally with you guys, that would destroy the series...
But MMO doesn't mean WoW

[Honey Suckle]

I have heard word that people are saying that The Elder Scrolls V, might become a MMO or Multi-player game. Since there is no official announcement on this I am reluctant to believe it as no past games have been.

But in my opinion on this topic, I would be devastated to see TES Series turn into that. MMO's or MP games make games more "bleh" so to speak as it removes key aspects to the story to accommodate many players, relinquishing that "its up to you to save the world feeling" that you got out of games like Morrowind and Oblivion. The team would have to split from making the game itself to adding Multi-Player, time they could be spending on improving the overall performance of the game, and adding the epic-ness that we all know and love about TES Series!

I pray that they never go through with making on online version of TES, the game would just be lacking so much and I hope Bethesda delivers an amazing single player experience as they always have done!

[Bek Rideout]

Let me spell it for you: N - O - M - M - O. Got it? NO MMO. Or let me put it this way: NO MMO!!!

With that out of my system, let me say that I'm all for a co-op mode. You could invite a friend to come into your "dimension." Like the game you've played is it's own server -- nothing changes to you, except that there's now this other player in there too. He's not allowed to bring anything of his own into the world, though -- that would lead to a series of problems (think multiple legendary items, etc.). He's only got his character in the starting outfit. When he disconnects from your server, his character stays there as an NPC, with all his gear, so when he comes back the next time, he can use that gear.

(Don't they have something in Fable that resembles this? You can invite someone else into your world? Haven't played it though, so can't really say.)

You could have more players in your world, maybe. Up to a maximum of somewhere between 5 and 16... not quite sure about this one. On the one hand, encounters would have to be much harder then.... but I don't want multi-player to change the single-player experience... maybe if they made AI better so companions were better so you'd have an alternative to having friends over. On the other, it's tremendous fun to be part of a raiding party... Maybe best to just leave it at one other player... at a time... could invite another friend another time... god, there's so much to take into account!


When the other player is back in his world, he could perhaps get the XP/char. progress he made in your world. Haven't thought a lot about this either -- could lead to difficulties. Doesn't make sense either -- your world and his are separate, after all.

Anyway, I'm done thinking about this for now. I didn't really care to structure my post -- so good luck making any sense out of it. Cheerio, madams and gents.

[Beat freak]

Let me spell it for you: N - O - M - M - O. Got it? NO MMO. Or let me put it this way: NO MMO!!!

With that out of my system, let me say that I'm all for a co-op mode. You could invite a friend to come into your "dimension." Like the game you've played is it's own server -- nothing changes to you, except that there's now this other player in there too. He's not allowed to bring anything of his own into the world, though -- that would lead to a series of problems (think multiple legendary items, etc.). He's only got his character in the starting outfit. When he disconnects from your server, his character stays there as an NPC, with all his gear, so when he comes back the next time, he can use that gear.

(Don't they have something in Fable that resembles this? You can invite someone else into your world? Haven't played it though, so can't really say.)

You could have more players in your world, maybe. Up to a maximum of somewhere between 5 and 16... not quite sure about this one. On the one hand, encounters would have to be much harder then.... but I don't want multi-player to change the single-player experience... maybe if they made AI better so companions were better so you'd have an alternative to having friends over. On the other, it's tremendous fun to be part of a raiding party... Maybe best to just leave it at one other player... at a time... could invite another friend another time... god, there's so much to take into account!


When the other player is back in his world, he could perhaps get the XP/char. progress he made in your world. Haven't thought a lot about this either -- could lead to difficulties. Doesn't make sense either -- your world and his are separate, after all.

Anyway, I'm done thinking about this for now. I didn't really care to structure my post -- so good luck making any sense out of it. Cheerio, madams and gents.

Yes the fable system is similar except that in fable you can only select preselected weapons and clothes. Your suggestion of keeping things gained the last time you played would be a vast improvement.

[Nikki Morse]

i personally think it would be a great co-op. it would add tons of incentive to the game, it would be great to quest with buddies or kill them in the arena. i don't want a bloody mmo though. just a couple of players on a hosted game session.

[Raymond J. Ramirez]

It's clear a good deal of us want multiplayer in the next TES game, I think all we need is an engine intended for multiplayer and a Co-op mode, anything else like PVP, multiplayer quests, and additional balance issues would be taken care of by the modding community (with incredibly popular mods possibly added into the XBOX and PS3 versions via free DLC). Hosts would set up servers with specific mods enabled, and while other players would obviously need to download them before playing so vanilla servers would probably be the most popular, the insane amounts fun that could be achieved with organized parties would be enough to make everyone's head explode.

Not sure if we would be able to import our characters or not, but I think that there should be an option to create a character specifically for that server that would be the same level as the host anyway, with skill and attribute points being distrubuted manually with an amount set new character's level. If new characters are given start up equipment, it's value would have to be set to zero gold so we wouldn't have a "give items to host, sell, make new character, repeat" exploit.