Official Discussion Thread for "Studio Director’s Letter: 2020 Retrospective"

The_Lex

@FrancisCrawford

Thanks for the insight.

UrbanMonk

Well this was expected...a letter with some tears. But honestly, with all the problems and bugs, not once as a company ZOS showed any remorse for their actions towards Players.

[snip]

On the other hand, I personally love the game. for better or worse, I've been here since and before launch. And seeing it going down the path it's heading to, is really really painful.

I don't have high hopes for the next year except one can only assume worse and hope that those assumptions don't become reality. So time to Get off your but* and ...



[Edited to remove Bashing]

idk

Izanagi.Xiiib16_ESO wrote: »

It would be nice to have an addendum for existing bugs and work in progress.
For example:

- The current ongoing crashes
- The state of the performance improvements (last we heard it was just a 'more in 2021' - but this letter makes it sound like no real plans for it in 2021 either with less system changes?)
- News on the CP rework / levelling system (hopefully we will hear more on this in Jan?)

It is kind of worrying to see that less systems will be developed considering some area's of the games already have almost no changes made to them outside of general 'combat changes' (mainly PVP related). Does this mean another year of no additional PVP content?

Overall there's been positives and negatives but we're still here and playing and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I agree that we need an on-going list of known issues and their status. The Dev Tracker is an unorganized mess so it does not serve this function. Using a known issues list that only focuses on one update, putting it away when it is no longer convenient, is not a great example of good communication.

I hate to say it, but Niantic does the Kown Issues list much better.

Communication has always been a very weak area for Zos. Zos has even admitted this multiple times. They have picked up the ball and ran with it on occasion but in the end, they revert to their old ways again.

Ingenon

Thank you for this letter!

You said "in 2021 we will devote more time overall to stability and game performance and less time to new game systems (with our standard content updates continuing unchanged)".

New content to play, and fewer bugs/blue screens/freezes. Looking forward to it, and enjoy the holidays!

Elo106

I for one support less features and content if we can fix or atleast improve performance!
Glad Zos admitted to the bugs and all that.

udaba

i hope this game get big one day!

Hotdog_23

Thanks for the communication.

Less systems will be fine, but the content must go on and be richer than before to make up for the loss of new systems that can present balance challenges and introduce bugs.

Stay safe and Merry Christmas

Faulgor

I want to echo the thanks for transparency, and understand the situation, but also can't hide my disappointment.

New systems are virtually the only thing I keep looking forward to and it's not like we see new systems all the time. This year we had one (anitquities), so less than that would mean zero. What even will be the selling point of the chapter, then, I wonder?

Under the circumstances, I'd rather have fewer content updates if it meant we can get at least one new system.

Obsidian3

Awesome letter, thanks for the update. I can't imagine the year they had trying to do this *** at home, must've been tough! Thank you all at ZoS for the hard work this year and kicking ass in the face of adversity. I wish you all a Happy Holiday.





Im still pissed off you took my damned Rapids away from me and made me grind long f'ing hours to get it back!!!

Foto1

I have resigned myself to the fact that the chapter will not contain any new "systems". I just have one question - why should we call this "chapter"? remember Orsinium, it is rightfully considered "Chapter 0". The only thing that sets it apart from the rest of the chapters is the lack of a new class or skill lines. put the "chapter 2021" in the crown store for 3500. that will be fair

TheImperfect

Thanks Eso really got me through 2020, glad you are working hard on it.

tomofhyrule

As a casual who joined about a year and a half ago who had never played an MMO before, I'm content. Yes, there've been some bugs and crashes, but I've also had plenty to do around them so it didn't affect me personally too much. Don't get me wrong, I know that others who are interested in endgame-level content have had many more issues than me, but speaking as one of those people who likes the simple stuff like basic questing just as much as running vet dungeons, I still found ways to enjoy my time in game.

ESO has given me a lot of possibilities I didn't have before. The pandemic allowed me the time to start playing with others, join a guild, and learn the many different things I can do in game. So thank you for giving us this world. It's not perfect, but I enjoyed it.

There's only one thing I'd really like to see the team look into for next year - Crown Store availability. You make the point about how you had many new players, but so many are barred from buying any cosmetics they'd want to get. I know, I came from Skyrim. For the longest time, I stayed away from ESO since I was afraid of the massively multiplayer part of it, and I know I'm not the only one. There's a lot that I'd love to be able to get, but it's all unavailable.

It would be great if older things could cycle back through the store more. So many players never got the chance to get 90% of those cosmetics, and so many of them would love to buy things if they could. At times, it almost feels like ESO's store team completely ignores the requests from the forums... it almost makes many of us feel that the ESO team doesn't want players to buy anything.

EDIT: I'll specifically highlight one thing:

ESO became a refuge—a place to escape the reality of our not-so-awesome situations for at least a few hours at a time. Engagement in our housing system spiked, as many of you virtually nested—so it wasn't just about the number of you playing, it was how you changed and adapted during the pandemic.

We did get some new toys for housing like the Houseguests and Pathing, but there are so many houses/furnishing packs/etc. that are unavailable. I know I'd have jumped for something like Hunter's Glade, which would also have fit in with the werewolf themes of the year, but we can't spend money if things aren't available.

There are people who would be more engaged if we could get engaged in the first place. So many housing system things like houses or furninshing packs, or my personal favorite the outfit system's hairstyles/costumes/weapon packs, are simply unavailable to anyone who didn't start playing ESO from day one. If something's been out of the store for two, three years now, it might be a good time to rerelease it. After all, how many new players are there now who would jump on that?

silky_soft

Bring on MS take over

Nairinhe

silky_soft wrote: »

Bring on MS take over

Genuine question: were there games that got better when studio ownership changed?

Luke_Flamesword

Genuine question: were there games that got better when studio ownership changed?

Minecraft?

Hurbster

Still like the game. I also live for making ALTs. I don't like PvP but I have to to get Rapids back. So I voted with my wallet. The fact that every single suggestion on the PTS and forums was ignored and the original idea was just forced through with very little explanation that made sense was the last straw. On top of a mediocre expansion in Greymoor, of course.

I'd be happy to start spending money again but only if the game is more alt-friendly. And yes that means getting Rapids back to where it was or taking it out of PvP skill lines altogether.

Nairinhe

Luke_Flamesword wrote: »

Genuine question: were there games that got better when studio ownership changed?

Minecraft?

Thanks. Then, there's hope?

Juhasow

Classic PR talking. Same as in previous years this year letter is not justyfying state of the game. It's nice they're communicating or atleast pretending to do so but it means nothing without seeing actuall results in the game itself. At the end of 2019 and in early 2020 we got promisses about performance and balance improvements and we got almost none of that. Same goes for almost every other year since game release. Empty promises and apologies when years old issues are still in the game.

udaba

Lets hope at least this year they will keep their promises

DemonNinja

I just came back to the game after two and a half years of being away. I originally quit when repairing walls in Cyrodiil would cause load screens, that often required you to force close the game.

Now, upon my return, I find Cyrodiil still unplayable during prime time. The lag is so bad that skills often just will not go off.

It boggles my mind that this kind of performance is ok. I also heard about the live beta testing that was done in PvP - which seemed bonkers.

To top it all off, the new limited group size, and the inability to heal players outside of your group while solo tank builds run around tanking 40 people and killing them now makes me just not want to play again.

Fata1moose

I want to highlight that in 2021 we will devote more time overall to stability and game performance and less time to new game systems (with our standard content updates continuing unchanged).

Reads as if there will be no system or class introduced with the 2021 chapter. Which is fine and I'm completely understanding given the pandemic and the challenges presented by WFH. But are they still going to charge us the same amount for less content? That's where the problem arises for me.

Calm_Fury

Fata1moose wrote: »

I want to highlight that in 2021 we will devote more time overall to stability and game performance and less time to new game systems (with our standard content updates continuing unchanged).

Reads as if there will be no system or class introduced with the 2021 chapter. Which is fine and I'm completely understanding given the pandemic and the challenges presented by WFH. But are they still going to charge us the same amount for less content? That's where the problem arises for me.

Greymoor only had a handful of passives for Antiquities and it was still the same price as the other chapters.

I don't think they will change the pricing model.

WiseSky

I love the Game Keep up the Work

vamp_emily

please know that everything we do on ESO is for you

Really? I don't think Zeni is listen to the community. I've been asking for dynamic population in PvP for 4 years now. Lag, disconnects, can't fire skills off. Did we really ask for this?

HappyElephant

Really appreciate this letter from Matt Firor. Great example of good leadership, good human.
Thank You! for taking time to write this and for communicating with us.

quantumartist

Beg to differ! ZOS hasn't done a thing for me all year! I've repeatedly begged them to migrate my Xbox account for play to Stadia (being a founder) and they have rudely declined or ignored me outright every time. I'm not going to spend a small fortune in loot box lotto to get what I have on my Xbox account for my Stadia account. ZOS promised we could play on Stadia and I'm holding y'all to it! I'm simply not paying twice for the same intellectual property! [snip]

Fix this! Then you'll get my money again. Don't care what anyone else has to say about it. It's the principle of the thing.

[Edited to remove Bashing]

Josira

Also if they dont introduce anything like systems or skill lines with active abilities...then its just a dlc. not a chapter.Here's hoping for once they are lying about that part. Otherwise next year will perhaps be the most boring year in Eso. More so then this year.
A lot of players dont buy the chapters for the story. they buy things for sets and systems. either they would have to knowingly release the most broken of sets in the chapter,more so then ever before,for those people to buy it,or they would have to include a new system.
Here's hoping this is just PR in its entirety. and nothing of substantial. I mean they say every year they are going to be focusing on performance... but using it as an escuse to sell us a 60-80$ AUD 'chapter',with no new mechanical content? seems worse then Greymore. And last year's chapter was baaaad.

ZOS_ConnorG

Greetings all,

After review we have had to edit or remove several posts for rule violations, including Bashing and Non-Constructive posts. Ensure when engaging in a discussion that you keep said discussion civil, constructive, and within the rules. It is okay express dissatisfaction with your experiences however opinions expressed in bad faith, that are hostile, or non-constructive in nature cross the line and are unacceptable. Please keep this mind moving forward.

You are welcome to review the Community Rules here.

Agalloch

Maybe not new systems because the Microsoft ownership will finish in 2021?

Akrasjel

A infographics with different stats from game for 2020 would be nice.