Patch or Full Download?

elwhy

So the announcement states that we select "Show Public Test Environment" and the PTS will "automatically begin patching." I did this, and now my launcher is downloading 27gb+. So what ZoS really meant was that we download the whole PTS and will now have two full versions of the game running on our computers? I just want to make sure it's supposed to download the whole thing again, because if it's supposed to be just a patch I somehow did something wrong...

Side question, will we be able to easily switch from PTS back to our normal server? I would assume no, because you can't switch between NA and EU servers (actually, maybe you can, I've never needed to so I have no idea). So do we start all over with a new character, or transfer our character once at first login and then they go separate ways, or can we log back and forth between servers? I think I'll figure a lot of this out once I login, but it would be nice if these little, important details were explained before users downloaded a 27gb+ 2nd version of the game. Thanks in advance to anyone who has any insight to this.

nudel

PTS is a separate server and does require a separate install of the entire game. Characters do not transfer. You will have to create a new character either at starting level or a template (if available).

ZOS_TristanK

Hi, @eliasadriancombsub17_ESO. @nudel‌ is correct: the PTS client is different than the Live client, so players will have to download it in its entirety to play. As the Public Test Server is separate from the Live server, your characters will not be able to transfer between the two.

JasonSilverSpring

ZOS_TristanK wrote: »

Hi, @eliasadriancombsub17_ESO. @nudel‌ is correct: the PTS client is different than the Live client, so players will have to download it in its entirety to play. As the Public Test Server is separate from the Live server, your characters will not be able to transfer between the two.

@ZOS_TristanK‌, thanks for the confirmation and thinks to all at ZOS for opening this up! For those of us new to the PTS can you give us a few details on how templates work? What options are there for stating in PTS without starting at the beginning? Are there multiple level choices to allow us to start at different levels and different locations?

Also, I think your download servers are getting hammered right now. When I first started it was downloading at around 10-11 mB/s but it has now dropped to 1.1 mB/s.

Sunrock

ZOS_TristanK wrote: »

Hi, @eliasadriancombsub17_ESO. @nudel‌ is correct: the PTS client is different than the Live client, so players will have to download it in its entirety to play. As the Public Test Server is separate from the Live server, your characters will not be able to transfer between the two.

This might be a bit off topic. However regarding characters on live server to PTS. When I played Age of Conan back in 2008 we where able to copy our main char over to the PTS so we did not have to spend allot of time grinding up a new max level character to test end game content. And if you progressed more on the live server you could just make a new copy of your main char to test things on the PTS. Personally I found this very good feature as you don't have to spend 40 /played days to to get to have gone through all the stuff you have done with your main to test out the new patches. Also you could easier give more accurate feedback on the new changes for your class or in ESO's case all the skill lines.

Would this be something that we could do some time soon™?

Skirmish840

Agreed the servers are very slow, I wish someone would look into it because it's not at my end, all other internet transactions are running smoothly and at full speed.

SirAndy

JasonSilverSpring wrote: »

For those of us new to the PTS can you give us a few details on how templates work?

@JasonSilverSpring At character creation, select the VR9 template, then create your character as usual.

Once in the game, you'll get 150 skill points, 50,000 gold and a bunch of VR9 gear.
Most skills are also already at level 5, so all you have to do is spent skill points in them and morph them as desired.
;-)

JasonSilverSpring

SirAndy wrote: »

JasonSilverSpring wrote: »

For those of us new to the PTS can you give us a few details on how templates work?

@JasonSilverSpring At character creation, select the VR9 template, then create your character as usual.

Once in the game, you'll get 150 skill points, 50,000 gold and a bunch of VR9 gear.
Most skills are also already at level 5, so all you have to do is spent skill points in them and morph them as desired.
;-)

@SirAndy‌ when I created a character there was no template option I could find. Perhaps I have to complete the tutorial for the first time to get the option?

sonix2003b16_ESO

The PTS of EVE Online also mirrors the char database from the regular game (from time to time) - this includes your current skills, equipment etc.
This is very usefull, because you can easily test how you current char works with
changed skills and if a new patch will break "old stuff" (like the broken achievements with Carglorn patch).
So perhaps something similar can be done with TESO in the future.
Of course the feature to create a new template char should stay for people that
don't have a regular char of that level.

Enodoc

Would the trick-fix of copy-paste-repair (the same way you could switch between NA and EU in beta) work? Whereby, you would copy everything in your live folder to the pts folder, then run repair on the launcher, and instead of downloading all 27GB it would only download the differences? I would be tempted to test PTS if this worked, but wouldn't bother otherwise as that's a 37-hour download at my internet speed.

Auric_ESO

Enodoc wrote: »

Would the trick-fix of copy-paste-repair (the same way you could switch between NA and EU in beta) work? Whereby, you would copy everything in your live folder to the pts folder, then run repair on the launcher, and instead of downloading all 27GB it would only download the differences? I would be tempted to test PTS if this worked, but wouldn't bother otherwise as that's a 37-hour download at my internet speed.

In theory it should work as long as you know the pts folder name.

Phodo

The folder name is, unsurprisingly, "The Elder Scrolls Online PTS". I'm currently copying my live install to see if patching works.

Auric_ESO

Remember it will probably try to reinstall. Cancel it them repair

Grim13

Strange, I thought I was already playing on the "public test server".

Phodo

Copying the live install and patching/repairing doesn't work for me. I get an "unable to determine game version" error, so probably there's no patch path from live to PTS.

Auric_ESO

Grim13 wrote: »

Strange, I thought I was already playing on the "public test server".

Snarky comments are not helpful. Either be part of the solution or not

Lunachik

@JasonSilverSpring, there is a small drop down menu, on the upper left of the char creation screen. It has the options there for templates. Choose Craglorn for the VR9 template.

JasonSilverSpring

Lunachik wrote: »

@JasonSilverSpring, there is a small drop down menu, on the upper left of the char creation screen. It has the options there for templates. Choose Craglorn for the VR9 template.

@Lunachik‌ thanks. I totally did not even notice that drop down in the top left.

SirAndy

JasonSilverSpring wrote: »

Lunachik wrote: »

@JasonSilverSpring, there is a small drop down menu, on the upper left of the char creation screen. It has the options there for templates. Choose Craglorn for the VR9 template.

@Lunachik‌ thanks. I totally did not even notice that drop down in the top left.

@JasonSilverSpring

No selection - You start at level 1 in the tutorial
Fungal Grotto - You start at level 12 in front of the grotto
Craglorn - You start at level VR9 in Craglorn

Sakiri

Phodo wrote: »

Copying the live install and patching/repairing doesn't work for me. I get an "unable to determine game version" error, so probably there's no patch path from live to PTS.

This is disappointing.

Most games I've played you can just copy the main install and run the launcher and it patches that copy.

Blech. Not downloading 27 gigs.

Edit: My ISP will pitch a fit if I download 27 gigs is more like it.

I've gotten cease and desist letters downloading game clients that for some reason they think I'm pirating despite having sent copies of purchase receipts because two people in the house just downloaded 20-30 GB game clients...

Grim13

Auric_ESO wrote: »

Grim13 wrote: »

Strange, I thought I was already playing on the "public test server".

Snarky comments are not helpful. Either be part of the solution or not

Hey, maybe if you do enough free work for ZOS you can get on fulltime!

Enodoc

Phodo wrote: »

Copying the live install and patching/repairing doesn't work for me. I get an "unable to determine game version" error, so probably there's no patch path from live to PTS.

Aw shame. Doesn't look like I'll be doing that then

Meirani

Ok, I might be being completely ***, but want to know if I am missing something or if anyone is having the same trouble. When I open my launcher and check my settings I have the following options:

*Auto Update
*Auto Launch
*Create Shortcut

I'm not seeing anywhere to check a box for the PTS and haven't already downloaded it... what am I doing wrong?!

Enodoc

Meirani wrote: »

Ok, I might be being completely ***, but want to know if I am missing something or if anyone is having the same trouble. When I open my launcher and check my settings I have the following options:

*Auto Update
*Auto Launch
*Create Shortcut

I'm not seeing anywhere to check a box for the PTS and haven't already downloaded it... what am I doing wrong?!

You were looking in the Game Options, whereas you need to look in Launcher Settings. This is the cog wheel in the far top right, next to the minimise and close buttons.

Fuzzylumpkins

@ those asking about character copy for the PTS:

This is a feature that should have been mandatory and implemented full stop when the PTS was added. Having to download an entire other client and level up all over again in an environment that threatens constant wipes without a char copy feature pretty much follows the method of eso all around so far, half baked and poorly executed.

But yeah ZOS thanks for the half-azzed try.

Enodoc

Phodo wrote: »

Copying the live install and patching/repairing doesn't work for me. I get an "unable to determine game version" error, so probably there's no patch path from live to PTS.

I think I managed to get it to work:

1. Copy the game, depot and vo_ folders to "The Elder Scrolls Online PTS"
2. In the PTS depot folder, delete depot.version
3. In the PTS game folder, delete game_player.version
4. In each of the PTS vo_ folders, delete vo_*.version
5. Start the launcher, open the Launcher Settings and enable "Show Public Test Environment"
6. Select The Elder Scrolls Online (PTS) and click Install
7. Close the launcher once installation has started
8. Restart the launcher and Cancel the PTS update from Game Options
9. Repair the PTS from Game Options
10. The launcher should verify and check the download, and then download only the new stuff.

If it starts to download the whole thing, try closing and restarting the launcher and letting the PTS update run; the update should then only download the new stuff.

Skirmish840

I'll give that a shot @Enodoc

You know...why can't someone in development just give a sound strategy to us, you know we don't wan't to download the whole game client and currently 13gigs of patch on top, that's a 40gig download. Start making it easier for us.

Could you please just tell us how to copy it correctly ??

Meirani

Enodoc - Thank you!! I was being so dense and I figured it must be something I was missing!

Skirmish840

So I managed to copy the PTS from my pc to my Sons pc without deleting anything , all I did was set the launcher Show Public Test Environment, let it download about 2% then shut the launcher down, next day I copied the 40Gigs worth of files into the PTS folder created by the launcher and then select PTS in the launcher and it said complete (no repair or anything required), with an active play button and all, boy was I super impressed

Zanbarbone

I Did the following and I still have to download 26GB to start on the test server... is there something I'm missing ?

1.Copy the game, depot and vo_ folders to "The Elder Scrolls Online PTS"
2.In the PTS depot folder, delete depot.version
3.In the PTS game folder, delete game_player.version
4.In each of the PTS vo_ folders, delete vo_*.version
5.Start the launcher, open the Launcher Settings and enable "Show Public Test Environment"
6.Select The Elder Scrolls Online (PTS) and click Install
7.Close the launcher once installation has started
8.Restart the launcher and Cancel the PTS update from Game Options
9.Repair the PTS from Game Options
10.The launcher should verify and check the download, and then download only the new stuff.

Sunrock

eliasadriancombsub17_ESO wrote: »

So the announcement states that we select "Show Public Test Environment" and the PTS will "automatically begin patching." I did this, and now my launcher is downloading 27gb+. So what ZoS really meant was that we download the whole PTS and will now have two full versions of the game running on our computers? I just want to make sure it's supposed to download the whole thing again, because if it's supposed to be just a patch I somehow did something wrong...

Side question, will we be able to easily switch from PTS back to our normal server? I would assume no, because you can't switch between NA and EU servers (actually, maybe you can, I've never needed to so I have no idea). So do we start all over with a new character, or transfer our character once at first login and then they go separate ways, or can we log back and forth between servers? I think I'll figure a lot of this out once I login, but it would be nice if these little, important details were explained before users downloaded a 27gb+ 2nd version of the game. Thanks in advance to anyone who has any insight to this.

Yes any PTS client for any MMO is a separate client to your live server client.

Yes you can easily switch between the two all you need is to select the one you want to play on in the launcher.

You start with a new character but you can create a templet character that start with VR14 and trail gear + 5 million gold.