Daggerfall would have been a far better base for Elder Scrolls Online... you know, once you add a whole overland factor that wasn't really there before. Procedurally generated spawling cities teeming with NPCs (by today's standards it'd look something like taking a walk through a city in Assassin's Creed). So much prime fantasy real-estate that it's actually not too likely you'll trip over 50 other players trying to do the same quest. A lingering potential of virtual-worldly awesome that comes from working for major guilds and buying buildings in the cities. Ect - Daggerfall was a far better start at being a virtual world.
Instead, they went the "Theme Park" route, on the back of an "action MMORPG" mechanic that is really quite floaty, so Elder Scrolls Online is basically Age Of Conan except for two major differences:
- 1. Elder Scrolls Online has a fresh coat of Elder Scrolls-like ambiance slathered over everything.
2. Age of Conan was made by Funcom, a company that had MMORPG-creating experience already, and was actually quite good even though it did have some release-day woes that hung around for a few... years.
So play Age Of Conan, instead. It's better in every way except for the lack of Elder Scrolls-related props to please Elder Scrolls fanboys.
Dammit, again: you could have made Daggerfall Online. The Theme Park approach to MMORPGs is dead, and World of Warcraft is the Cerberus that guards the gate to its underworld.
Sorry, I shouldn't yell at you guys. You probably feel bad enough about that $200M bill you're never going to pay back.