Is this really a seamless world game?

gronbek

I dont think so because, in many places where you go in there is a loading screen.
Between zones, in dungeons, other dimensions, quests and solo story quest.

That would have been OK if the loading was short but in relation to the size of some mini dungeons it seems incredibly long like 20-30 sec for a small dungeon and then when you exit there is loading again.

brisingr90

just like angry joe said, they "pretend" that this game is open world.

zeuseason

The environments are so well done and lush with artistic elements, I could care less about 'seamless world' and I think it's verywell done as it is.

KerinKor

brisingr90 wrote: »

just like angry joe said, they "pretend" that this game is open world.

Yeah, he spouted a hell of a lot of hot air and not much sense, but then those can promote his garbage have an agenda and aren't looking to enter into an intelligent discussion .. Joe's crap doesn't have an intelligence requirement to watch it.

sevcik.miroslaveb17_ESO

It is not open world by any means.

Since there is no world PvP I do not mind it.

KerinKor

I agree with @gronbek that 30-60 second loads from a world into a building or cave is hugely jarring in this day and age.

Clearly open worlds like WOW or Rift or LoTRO 'flow' better but clearly there are server-side architecture issues that come into the decision how to handle them.

FFXIV V1 tried giving the impression of a seamless world .. and one that worked to an extent .. because they hid the server-switching that went on instead of zone loading screens. It's interesting V2 went back to discrete zones.

mutharex

There is no loading screen into building, it's just a split second transition. if you enter a building that has a terrace, you can then jump from it without loading screen. The only loading screens are: entering dungeons, queueing for Cyrodiil (that is on a separate server) and when you port without using a shrine

zeuseason

This thread should be retitled to 'seamless world', not open world. There's a difference IMO.

Nazon_Katts

A themepark with level based zones will always struggle in the open world department. I'd say it's near to impossible to offer a true open world experience with this kind of design. Well, at least when you want to share said world with all other players.

If they can get their phasing system working properly, they could offer an almost open world to VR10+ players by redesigning all zones to better reflect that Molag Bal was actually defeated. You'd still have to cope with loading screens, however. So it would be open, just not seamless.

zeuseason

Nazon_Katts wrote: »

I'd say it's near to impossible to offer a true open world experience with this kind of design. Well, at least when you want to share said world with all other players.

I think there's a finite physical technological limitation to a seamless ESO. CPU's just can't process it.

Nazon_Katts

We've seen much bigger seamless worlds long before. It's limited by design, rather than technology. And I expect it's just easier to code and reach better performance levels, especially on consoles, doing it zone by zone. But we've seen bigger worlds on consoles than ESO's zones, too.

Well, technologic limitations probably still play a large part in ESO's particular case, as zones where much bigger during early development, there still were remnants of earlier iterations, like maps, that showed three to four zones combined in beta clients. The port to consoles and their phasing systems, as well as time pressure to release the game certainly demanded them to cut back on the size of the world.

But all in all, just like most ES titles, I find the loading screens to rather unintrusive and usually loading fast enough, so they do not take away too much. There's other things, like NPCs with no own schedule and no everyday life happening in the game, that lessens the feel of a breathing world and to some extent the 3rd person design. Of course, I'd prefer a seamless and open world, but for a zone design, it's a pretty good one.

Pewpie

mutharex wrote: »

There is no loading screen into building, it's just a split second transition. if you enter a building that has a terrace, you can then jump from it without loading screen. The only loading screens are: entering dungeons, queueing for Cyrodiil (that is on a separate server) and when you port without using a shrine

I think that is because the inside of the building is actually in the world. It is probably down under the ground, and you get teleported there... no idea. Probably because the insides are actually bigger than what the house looks externally...?

But if you go inside a building, look at your quest markers in the compass, sometimes they show wrong, that stuff outside are "above" although they really aren't and you see it right when you exit the building.

mutharex

Pewpie wrote: »

mutharex wrote: »

There is no loading screen into building, it's just a split second transition. if you enter a building that has a terrace, you can then jump from it without loading screen. The only loading screens are: entering dungeons, queueing for Cyrodiil (that is on a separate server) and when you port without using a shrine

I think that is because the inside of the building is actually in the world. It is probably down under the ground, and you get teleported there... no idea. Probably because the insides are actually bigger than what the house looks externally...?

But if you go inside a building, look at your quest markers in the compass, sometimes they show wrong, that stuff outside are "above" although they really aren't and you see it right when you exit the building.

That's probably the map getting confused but you don't get teleported because you can clearly jump out of windows or balconies and be outside.
It's just a transition effect to avoid having the door open and close, probably for performance reasons. And coz it looks bettah

Dungeons, delves are another matter all together.

twnakita

My loading screens take roughly 5-10 seconds, I was unaware those lasted so long for some people :O

Regoras

zeuseason wrote: »

The environments are so well done and lush with artistic elements, I could care less about 'seamless world' and I think it's verywell done as it is.

You could? Good to know...