Lack of gloomy atmosphere

HoffmannTheBest · October 16

There is very little dark atmosphere, dark styles, dark and terrifying creatures in ESO. Coldharbour - the stronghold and the plane of one of the most cruel lords of Oblivion looks like a kindergarten for children. Why can't you add more cruelty, hopelessness, gloom? The game already has a high enough age rating, so why not add this?

The Dark Brotherhood has such a gorgeous atmosphere, and I won't even mention the scene with the brutal and bloody murder of the archcanon ... It's just magnificent! In the spirit of the butchers from the Dark Brotherhood.

Necrom also has no dark atmosphere, and it is a solid tomb city! I remember Nekrom from the developers of the mod for Morrowind - Tamriel Rebuilt, and it’s just a snow-white, beautiful, but very gloomy city. One meeting with the Ordinator of Necrom will make the player turn on the light before going to bed.

I think the game needs to add more thrill and darkness in some locations where it is needed.

Syldras · October 16

HoffmannTheBest wrote: »

Necrom also has no dark atmosphere, and it is a solid tomb city!

Death and burials don't neccessarily have to be gloomy. Not every culture has the same attitude towards this. Considering the ancestral veneration of the Dunmer, it would make sense for it to be a rather solemn place, but it's not like the dead are really gone forever or something, so there's no need for it to be creepy or whatever some people might expect. The only thing I dislike about Necrom City is the massed of tourists from all over Tamriel running around, which seems rather unfitting.

colossalvoids · October 16

As my favourite popular fantasy media visually are old Warhammer, Morrowind, Dark Souls & Elden Ring and Diablo 2 I adore the idea of unsafe spaces and grim, grieving atmosphere, but the injection of it in current eso shouldn't be overwhelming or prevalent. I'd even say that bad usage of such imagery can be more off putting than the lack of it overall. And we currently have some of it.

It seems like zos is trying the waters again with it be it motifs or enemy types but it's still not even near that uncanny territory and level of seriousness that evokes any feelings really, at least for me.

I'd be more keen of them to try it from the different angle, like try incorporating more "deep-lore" and "esoteric" sides with their visual style that would obviously well merge into the darkness but in more Elder Scroll-ish way, for example such as Pulch's amazing realisation of Kirkbride's sketches into actual 3D models for Skyrim https://next.nexusmods.com/profile/Pulcharmsolis/mods

barney2525 · October 16

Gee. Just finished Skyrim. Thousands of innocents having their lives destroyed.

Guess that's not dark enough for ya.

The_Meathead · October 16

There's definitely a "family friendly" tone of late creeping into ESO that I could do without.

The Elder Scrolls has always had a tremendously gritty and adult setting with its racial strife, outright slavery, brutal war and (the word that is often used to summarize Molag Bal's portfolio) being at the forefront since inception. Quests in early ESO had sadness and loss in abundance, hard choices with no easy outcomes, and really captured it.

This last Xpac in particular and the one before it felt like a departure from that to me. It's as if we aren't trusted with that sort of thing anymore, or that someone up top has nixed certain aspects of story rather than risk offense.

I don't want the gentler version of the Elder Scrolls, but part of me has noticed and frowned at its arrival all the same.

HoffmannTheBest · October 16

colossalvoids wrote: »

As my favourite popular fantasy media visually are old Warhammer, Morrowind, Dark Souls & Elden Ring and Diablo 2 I adore the idea of unsafe spaces and grim, grieving atmosphere, but the injection of it in current eso shouldn't be overwhelming or prevalent. I'd even say that bad usage of such imagery can be more off putting than the lack of it overall. And we currently have some of it.

It seems like zos is trying the waters again with it be it motifs or enemy types but it's still not even near that uncanny territory and level of seriousness that evokes any feelings really, at least for me.

I'd be more keen of them to try it from the different angle, like try incorporating more "deep-lore" and "esoteric" sides with their visual style that would obviously well merge into the darkness but in more Elder Scroll-ish way, for example such as Pulch's amazing realisation of Kirkbride's sketches into actual 3D models for Skyrim https://next.nexusmods.com/profile/Pulcharmsolis/mods

Oh no, not Kirkbride with his cyborg knights and space-flying Dunmer. The artist and author of all the in-game books may be good, but he was fired as a developer for a reason.

SilverIce58 · October 16

Some base game zones definitely have a more gloomy vibe than other newer ones. Rivenspire for one, while not dark, is pretty gloomy in the beginning. Glenumbra and Stonefalls as well in some areas. Coldharbour is definitely a miserable place. As for DLC areas; the Reach could be considered a harsher looking environment, especially with a Harrowstorm active. Blackwood's eastern swamp area has a gloomy, depressing feeling imo. Amenos, in the High Isle dlc, being a prison island is pretty gloomy too.

Tandor · October 16

The lack of a gloomy atmosphere in the game is usually compensated for here on the forum

!

TaSheen · October 16

I'm not looking for gloomy and depressing in games; I have enough of that in the real world. Which is after all why I play games....

colossalvoids · October 16

HoffmannTheBest wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

As my favourite popular fantasy media visually are old Warhammer, Morrowind, Dark Souls & Elden Ring and Diablo 2 I adore the idea of unsafe spaces and grim, grieving atmosphere, but the injection of it in current eso shouldn't be overwhelming or prevalent. I'd even say that bad usage of such imagery can be more off putting than the lack of it overall. And we currently have some of it.

It seems like zos is trying the waters again with it be it motifs or enemy types but it's still not even near that uncanny territory and level of seriousness that evokes any feelings really, at least for me.

I'd be more keen of them to try it from the different angle, like try incorporating more "deep-lore" and "esoteric" sides with their visual style that would obviously well merge into the darkness but in more Elder Scroll-ish way, for example such as Pulch's amazing realisation of Kirkbride's sketches into actual 3D models for Skyrim https://next.nexusmods.com/profile/Pulcharmsolis/mods

Oh no, not Kirkbride with his cyborg knights and space-flying Dunmer. The artist and author of all the in-game books may be good, but he was fired as a developer for a reason.

Not sure where you got the fired part but that would probably be a surprise he still was asked to contribute to every single tes game since and did some of the writing same as some other writers who left the company. Though you have all the rights in the world to dislike what creators actually thought the world of Tamriel to be.

FabresFour · October 16

Honestly, Coldharbour and the base game in general are terrifying nightmares compared to anything we’ve gotten since.

But I agree, the game could definitely use a much gloomier atmosphere. Now, with the content we’re getting about Hollowjack... It feels like a six-year-old’s childish take on what a Halloween god should be. It’s disappointing, considering Hollowjack should be TRULY frightening.

ellmarie · October 16

As a big fan of Horror and Halloween, I like gloom and doom. Can't wait for witches festival. Why I loved the Deadlands DLC the most. Bring on Lyranth and the Dremora.

karthrag_inak · October 16

Syldras wrote: »

The only thing I dislike about Necrom City is the massed of tourists from all over Tamriel running around, which seems rather unfitting.

Unfitting, perhaps, but certainly profitable, yes? Khajiit very much welcomes the opportunity to ... erm... pay his respects.

AcadianPaladin · October 16

I found Skyrim 'grittier' than ESO and I prefer ESO where at least it seems like folks take baths sometimes.

More important to me though is that, being a fan of classic medieval fantasy, I dislike zones that are not 'natural' in terms of geography, flora, fauna. Classic forest is fine, but so are swamps, jungles and deserts. What I dislike though are zones that are unnatural and/or realms of Oblivion. Deadlands and Apocraphobia (lol) and Clockwork City are good examples of what I don't like.

I have enjoyed some of the more recent, more 'normal' zones like Blackwood and High Isles.

darvaria · October 16

They have dead bodies hanging in trees. Is that not dark enough for you?

Look at what players are riding around on and the glittery things we have in game. This is what most players seem to want.

Syldras · October 16

HoffmannTheBest wrote: »

The Dark Brotherhood has such a gorgeous atmosphere, and I won't even mention the scene with the brutal and bloody murder of the archcanon ... It's just magnificent! In the spirit of the butchers from the Dark Brotherhood.

If you mean the ending cutscene where the player character impales Primate Artorius: That actually gave me a laughing fit because I found the staff/standard used for it to resemble a hat stand (don't ask me...). Nothing more funny than a tiny, skinny elf casually killing a human with furniture. So much for "dark and gloomy".

Nharimlur_Finor · October 16

The Ashlands in TESIII morrowind were pretty gloomy. The guy that made the 'Greener Morrowind' plugin said in the readme, that it was so effective at being gloomy that he never wanted to go back.

JinKC98 · October 17

I don't know mate… I find Blackreach (both Greymoor and Arkthzand) to be very gloomy and depressing. Dark environment with glowing flora makes my eyes tired too while questing down there!

Syldras · October 17

We all seem to have a very different idea of "gloomy" anyway. To me, Blackreach is not gloomy, but very beautiful with its many glowing fungi and crystals. Blood and guts or impaling a character isn't gloomy either, but gory or brutal (if we ignore that I found the animation at the end of the Dark Brotherhood storyline ridiculously funny).

LunaFlora · October 17

i think Blackreach is pretty gloomy with its Gloom(y)spore animals

Syldras · October 17

LunaFlora wrote: »

i think Blackreach is pretty gloony with its Gloom(y)spore animals

The mutant animals are a little strange (and the Falmer rather... unhygienic), but to me, that's not really gloomy either. Too colourful, too bright. Gloomy is the opposite for me: foggy, grey, lightless, with a slightly unsettling atmosphere (I don't find Blackreach unsettling, too many awesome crystals, and the mushroom forests in some parts I actually find it quite cozy, actually it's one of the places I find most appealing in game).

Of course it's okay if you find it gloomy, just pointing out again that views on this wary a lot.

TaSheen · October 17

There's a couple old movies I find very gloomy and unsettling. They're in B&W (when I say old.... heh) - one of them I no longer remember the title: was set in Britain, the oldest son of a lord had been the victim of the "family curse" which changed him into what looked to my 6 year old mind a giant horned toad; the other is the original "Wuthering Heights".

Yeah, my parents didn't see anything wrong with taking small children to drive in movies.... and they had a preference for gloomy, depressing, unsettling, gory, and brutal. Better than actual child abuse I guess.

xylena_lazarow · October 17

When everything is dark and edgy, nothing is. I appreciate that ESO does it sparingly. Makes a place like Coldharbour that much more unsettling, as it should be.

Jaimeh · October 17

If you go to the deadlands you can see a daedroth grabbing a scamp and literally cheweing its head off then throwing it away. ESO has plenty of dark places, events, and moments, and I think it's more effective when it happens in a more subtle way, like the comment above said as well.

katanagirl1 · October 18

Jaimeh wrote: »

If you go to the deadlands you can see a daedroth grabbing a scamp and literally cheweing its head off then throwing it away. ESO has plenty of dark places, events, and moments, and I think it's more effective when it happens in a more subtle way, like the comment above said as well.

Or the Argonian who dares his friend to drink a whole mug of hist sap, that one shocked me.

Syldras · October 18

What's lacking for me is not blood and gore, but seriousness when it comes to things that are supposed to be scary or dreadful in game. Having people run around dressed up like Molag Bal, with a small Molag Bal pet and a dark anchor for teleportation, definitively doesn't help with that.

ESO_player123 · October 18

Jaimeh wrote: »

If you go to the deadlands you can see a daedroth grabbing a scamp and literally cheweing its head off then throwing it away. ESO has plenty of dark places, events, and moments, and I think it's more effective when it happens in a more subtle way, like the comment above said as well.

I agree. All you need to do is just pay attention to what's around you.

For example, currently I'm collecting the lore books from Eidetic memory collection that I missed. I found out that I did not have 3 books from the Imperial City Prison. It turned out that they are in the prisoners' cells, and when you are in a group everyone just run past them. So, today I decided to go on my own and collect them. It's a very different experience being there without any players. I recommend reading the "This is the end" book and then looking around (do not forget to look up). Also, read "Necromancer's Journal" in a cell after the first boss and then examine the cell (do not forget to look at the chair).

So, it's all there. And I'm glad that it's not all in the face.

Syldras · October 19

ESO_player123 wrote: »

I agree. All you need to do is just pay attention to what's around you.
For example, currently I'm collecting the lore books from Eidetic memory collection that I missed. I found out that I did not have 3 books from the Imperial City Prison. It turned out that they are in the prisoners' cells, and when you are in a group everyone just run past them. So, today I decided to go on my own and collect them. It's a very different experience being there without any players. I recommend reading the "This is the end" book and then looking around (do not forget to look up). Also, read "Necromancer's Journal" in a cell after the first boss and then examine the cell (do not forget to look at the chair).
So, it's all there. And I'm glad that it's not all in the face.

I wouldn't describe that as producing a gloomy atmosphere most of the time though. Apart from that bloody/disgusting (there are often some small scenes like that; throwing meat chunks somewhere and implying they were human flesh is also a thing they do several times) isn't exactly what I'd call gloomy (or doesn't the English language differenciate between gloomy, creepy and gruesome - I actually though so?), it doesn't do anything to the overall atmosphere if you actively have to search for small details that many people even miss.

I_killed_Vivec · October 19

Tandor wrote: »

The lack of a gloomy atmosphere in the game is usually compensated for here on the forum !

Came for the gloomy forum comment... wasn't disappointed!

OsUfi · October 19

Alfiqs. Elswyr, North and South, filled with tiny khajit cats. Living through hell. Their homelands invaded by dragons. War a constant threat. They turn to alcohol. They drink like fish. Drowning the misery. Then taken as comic relief by every other race, even larger khajit. When assailed by misery, crying into empty bottles, and everybody laughs at them, I imagine that empowers the alcoholic alfiq lifestyle. How many die of kidney failure? They're only small!

I can't laugh at drunk kittens anymore ZoS! It's too darn dark!

Syldras · October 19

I_killed_Vivec wrote: »

Came for the gloomy forum comment... wasn't disappointed!

There's also more drama in the forum than in game. Not sure what that says about the writing.