TES Co-Op: Your thoughts

[Amnestic]

The There's More To Skyrim Than Skyrim [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.325308-Theres-More-to-Skyrim-Than-Skyrim] article provoked some discussion - unsurprisingly - about multiplayer in Skyrim (and the Elder Scrolls series at large as an extension of this).

Some people seemed to indicate that they wanted a world in which people could drop in and out of, not unlike an MMO. Others merely wanted the ability to play co-op with their friends, partners or family. Still more were violently against the idea, seemingly thinking that TES should remain exclusively single player in nature and that adding even co-op would ruin the experience.

Personally? I quite like the idea of co-op. A lot of things are more enjoyable with a buuuuuuuddy and TES series may just be one of them. They may need to rework the way conversations work in co-op mode (How? I don't have that answer), but it should work.

Still I thought it was a question worth raising, and worth pointing out that when people say "TES Multiplayer" they don't always mean "MMO" style TES.

 

[kortin]

No MMO for TES. EVER. TES is not a game that needs to be MMO-ififed. HOWEVER, A co-op version would be great. I would love to play co-op with my friends. It would be awesome. But a full blown mmo? Never.

 

[tenlaven]

Agreed, I've actually discussed this with several people. It would be nice to have a co-op mode a la Fable 2 and 3. I'm also not opposed to an MMO of TES, maybe even spanning all of the areas so far, although it may be too ambitious.

 

[harvz]

an MMO would not suit it as it is, many features would have to be modified/removed. allowing a drop in system however would work provided either the drop in or enemies would need to be scaled so its fair and you cant just have a lvl 50 drop in on a new character.

 

[Thistlehart]

Nah. There are lots of games that supply the demand for co-op, while the pool of games that provide a rich single-player experience is gradually shrinking.

Besides, for me some of the appeal of the TES games has always been the "It's you against the end of the world." While there are many people there to help you and guide you along the way, the hard and dirty beat-down can be handed down by only you. Making TES co-op would ruin that for me.

 

[Supertask]

Certainly no MMO or anything like it, that would destroy it. I don't think it needs co-op, and I find myself basically against the idea. Although it could be fun, but only in a limited, strictly voluntary way. Certainly no explicitly co-op dungeons or co-op missions, or reworking of dialog. I think the only way it could work while keeping TES intact would be for one player to take on the role of one of those mercenaries you can hire. As someone said in another thread, there cannot be two heroes of Kvatch or Dragonborn. So basically the world clearly still belongs to only one player. If the player playing the mercenary dies, nothing happens - unless the main player chooses to reload, the game continues. If the main player dies, the game reloads like it does now. So essentially co-op should remain limited to giving you more useful companions for dungeons and quests, because your friends control them. The mercenary can hang around and perhaps talk to people, but because they are merely a guest, they do not have their own quests, they just temporarily occupy a mercenaries character to help the main player. I think something like this could be fun, but I certainly don't consider it something the game needs to have at all.

 

[infohippie]

No. No no no no no. TES does not need multiplayer, at all, ever.

 

[loc978]

What Supertask said is pretty much how I would want it. LAN co-op where a friend can pop in and take control of your NPC ally/follower/pack mule... that is all. No loot from outside your savegame allowed in, no uber-powerful characters from another save allowed... just control of NPC followers, rendering them useful for something more than extra baggage space.
Because seriously, AI allies in Bethesda games are worse than pathetic in combat, they actually tend to be a liability. That's the only reason I think their games need co-op.

 

[kaidra]

Sounds like great idea the co-op god forbid an MMO

I would love the chance to co-op an TES game or even just share the same world so we wouldnt have to be together all the time and could go and do our own thing but conquences of our actions effect each other like if

I helped the people of a town out if my friend visits that town it would be a better/safer place or vice vesa if one of us ruined a town if the other visited they would find a town in chaos

But it just seems with co-op concept too much could go wrong and ruin it =/

 

[Vampire cat]

YES! It's silly to say it shouldn't have coop just because YOU want to play alone. Having a simple coop mode wouldn't hurt anyone, and the very many eager to get into a game with a friend or two would get that oportunity.

The coop mode would have to be something really simple that did not intrude on the experience one has from playing the game already. All I'd ask for was the posibility for a player or two to tag along for the ride, and have some sort of system for resurrecting the other guy if he died so you wouldn't need to load last save because one person died. Say one person can hold a conversation at a time, the other will just listen to it, and see the options the other guy selects in the conversation. Doing it like this wouldn't change the singleplayer experience at all, but it WOULD add the posibility of a simple coop mode for those wanting it, and I'm quite certain this is ALL most seeking it need too. Just a very rudementary way of connecting to your friends in the greatest RPG of all time and having some good fun slaying beasts and exploring dungeons.

All cash quest rewards would be shared equally, the items you sometimes get would be a case of whoneedswhat. It wouldn't even really need a trading system (though a simple one wouldn't hurt), stuff hte other person wanted could jsut be dropped to the ground X3. Having another player would make the game harder at the same time it makes it easier too, by making loot and potions less abundant (they still would be a bit though, I guess =p. Far too easy to get money and potions right now). Maybe the came closed off the two lowest dificulty levels? IDK, but I'm 100% Bethesda or someone else with experience and the knowhow could implement a simple coop mode without hurting the singleplayer experience one bit. A coop like that would even be a pretty good coop, seeing as it would be an uniquely free coop.

YESYESYES

The game should be made for singleplayer, just like they have always done, and THEN add a coop mode to the end result, maybe even as a moderately expensive DLC. I sure as hell would spring for it, and I'm confident thousands more would without thinking. I wouldn't want them to go MMO with it, cause they wouldn't be able to do that without drastically changing the way the game feels, and that would be BAD. Just a simple coop mode such as I describe... Go for it. I'd sure as hell cough up the cash.

 

[Akihiko]

I wouldn't want it to be a MMO, but I've always wanted co-op in it. The dialogue can just ignore the second player, just like how NWN2 did it.

 

[VincentX3]

If it's online COOP then sure
I would love to bring a friend and explore the world together.


But MMO... HELL NO! D:
That would really REALLY ruin it.

 

[josemlopes]

Yeah, Coop is fine, MMO no.

And conversations would be easy, the host would be the chosen one and the guest would be the sidekick. Conversations would be directed to the host.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

MMO = no way in hell

co op like fable 2 or 3, where that persons stats can carry over with a save of theirs into your world? sure i'd quite like that with a few buddies of mine, it'd be fun taking down a dragon on master mode together.

however, beyond that? nope, don't want anything else to do with it in the slightest.

I wouldn't want it to be a MMO, but I've always wanted co-op in it. The dialogue can just ignore the second player, just like how NWN2 did it.

and this, bethesda has never...prided themselves on immersive dialogue/conversations, i see no problem by just having the second person tagging along not giving a fuck on input.

 

[Supertegwyn]

YES! It's silly to say it shouldn't have coop just because YOU want to play alone. Having a simple coop mode wouldn't hurt anyone, and the very many eager to get into a game with a friend or two would get that oportunity.

The coop mode would have to be something really simple that did not intrude on the experience one has from playing the game already. All I'd ask for was the posibility for a player or two to tag along for the ride, and have some sort of system for resurrecting the other guy if he died so you wouldn't need to load last save because one person died. Say one person can hold a conversation at a time, the other will just listen to it, and see the options the other guy selects in the conversation. Doing it like this wouldn't change the singleplayer experience at all, but it WOULD add the posibility of a simple coop mode for those wanting it, and I'm quite certain this is ALL most seeking it need too. Just a very rudementary way of connecting to your friends in the greatest RPG of all time and having some good fun slaying beasts and exploring dungeons.

All cash quest rewards would be shared equally, the items you sometimes get would be a case of whoneedswhat. It wouldn't even really need a trading system (though a simple one wouldn't hurt), stuff hte other person wanted could jsut be dropped to the ground X3. Having another player would make the game harder at the same time it makes it easier too, by making loot and potions less abundant (they still would be a bit though, I guess =p. Far too easy to get money and potions right now). Maybe the came closed off the two lowest dificulty levels? IDK, but I'm 100% Bethesda or someone else with experience and the knowhow could implement a simple coop mode without hurting the singleplayer experience one bit. A coop like that would even be a pretty good coop, seeing as it would be an uniquely free coop.

YESYESYES

The game should be made for singleplayer, just like they have always done, and THEN add a coop mode to the end result, maybe even as a moderately expensive DLC. I sure as hell would spring for it, and I'm confident thousands more would without thinking. I wouldn't want them to go MMO with it, cause they wouldn't be able to do that without drastically changing the way the game feels, and that would be BAD. Just a simple coop mode such as I describe... Go for it. I'd sure as hell cough up the cash.

This. I would pay a lot of money for something like this.

 

[A Free Man]

No MMO for TES. EVER. TES is not a game that needs to be MMO-ififed. HOWEVER, A co-op version would be great. I would love to play co-op with my friends. It would be awesome. But a full blown mmo? Never.

Agreed. MMO for any TES game would never work and even if it did it would totally reck a great game. Co-op on the other hand I could work with. It has some serious potential.

 

[Kimarous]

I'm not really into the whole MMO / co-op idea, but if Elder Scrolls were to do that, I'd recommend setting it during the Imperial Simulacrum (the ten years of Jagar Tharn's rule; i.e. during "Arena"). Why? Because everybody's fighting everybody at that point in time. Summerset Isle against Valenwood, Valenwood against Elsweyr, Morrowind against Black Marsh, Skyrim against both High Rock and Hammerfell... what better period to have multiple players faff about in?