ESO's future - The community needs clear answers

AnduinTryggva

colossalvoids wrote: »

joergino wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

It's passable for now but every year it's delaying inevitable and making it harder with more system bloat.

The only thing that is inevitable is switching off the servers and this year's letter has been a sobering experience in the sense that we appear to be closer to this day than I thought. Efforts invested into the game have been minimized for years already and they are going to be reduced even further, so I suspect that any engine improvements are wishful thinking by now since they cannot be monetized.

The same letter gave me the opposite picture, why bother to even mentioning fixing PvP or giving vets new zones instead of producing low quality beginner zone re-skins every year? They already know that announcing and not delivering didn't brought masses back, quite the opposite. People don't even wait for improvements, they simply don't believe those will come anytime, but here we are with a new batch of copium to inhale out of the blue after probably one of the most flaccid years ESO had.

To me it speaks like they're seeing a obvious decline but not going to boost it up temporarily by another bloat release and placeholder writing, they're fine giving some players this break from the "big content" and are going to somewhat future proof the game overall for the possibility of mass appeal later, maybe as a result of successful fixes they're actually believe can happen this time or because BGS have some plans for the audience meanwhile so ZoS can work on a game some more.

But yeah, they either improve or switch off sooner in the end.

From my pov your post appears very optimistic and: good for you!

Like many others I was very very disappointed by the announcement that we will no longer get new zones just new story quests placed inside existing zones.

In the last few years we got a larger zone and a smaller one connected by an overarching story and I really liked this. As a long term subscriber I really had the impression to get a return for my subscription.

This year they limited it to one zone release and from the announcement I believed that it is a sort of intermezzo where they think about a new scheme and nothing was hinting at zero new zones.

As I see it we get less and less content with every new year.

I mean getting no new zones is going well beyond just a lack of a new zone to explore. No new zone means:
- (as said above) no new landscape to explore
- no new achievements with respect to zone-related activities like fishing or explorer achievements
- no new sky shards and hence less skill points
- no side quests
- likely no new inns and rooms
- no new cities and no new guild stores

How this decision to no longer add zones impacts following is completely unknown today and we will have to wait how this rolls out:
- will there be new homes to purchase?
- will there be new furniture plans and how to they integrate into the zone furniture plans? Will it be as terrible farming experience as with the two batch release of dawnwood furniture plans?
- will there be further dungeons and open dungeons (plus the skill point for the group boss) be added to the zone in focus?
- how will new items for scrying be integrated?
- will we get new trials and new 4ppl dungeons (and I mean "new", not "new story and bosses inside existing ones")?

colossalvoids

AnduinTryggva wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

joergino wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

It's passable for now but every year it's delaying inevitable and making it harder with more system bloat.

The only thing that is inevitable is switching off the servers and this year's letter has been a sobering experience in the sense that we appear to be closer to this day than I thought. Efforts invested into the game have been minimized for years already and they are going to be reduced even further, so I suspect that any engine improvements are wishful thinking by now since they cannot be monetized.

The same letter gave me the opposite picture, why bother to even mentioning fixing PvP or giving vets new zones instead of producing low quality beginner zone re-skins every year? They already know that announcing and not delivering didn't brought masses back, quite the opposite. People don't even wait for improvements, they simply don't believe those will come anytime, but here we are with a new batch of copium to inhale out of the blue after probably one of the most flaccid years ESO had.

To me it speaks like they're seeing a obvious decline but not going to boost it up temporarily by another bloat release and placeholder writing, they're fine giving some players this break from the "big content" and are going to somewhat future proof the game overall for the possibility of mass appeal later, maybe as a result of successful fixes they're actually believe can happen this time or because BGS have some plans for the audience meanwhile so ZoS can work on a game some more.

But yeah, they either improve or switch off sooner in the end.

From my pov your post appears very optimistic and: good for you!

That's a forum speak: when you leave out the things that can get you banned and remaining stuff is more or less hopeful overall. But to be overly negative I'd need some substance (like a beginning of the letter with self praises that looks concerning and out of touch). The letter itself sounds good to me personally, but details are unknown completely and we only have their track record of old, which might just be as good of an indicator as it was previously. Or not. Sometimes companies do start take themselves seriously if things don't go as planned.

colossalvoids

Or tldr: words = good, actions = to be seen.

Ugrak

AnduinTryggva wrote: »

Like many others I was very very disappointed by the announcement that we will no longer get new zones just new story quests placed inside existing zones.

The letter didn't say that though, just that larger zones going forward would likely be split across multiple updates instead of launching all at once. Sort of like how Western Skyrim got the Reach as it's Q4 update.

A major point of the seasons instead of chapters thing as I understand it is to alleviate the deadline driven crunch the developers have been under. With an aim to improve the quality and creativity of the content, hopefully so they can just make something cool, and release if and when is ready.

This seems like a healthy change for the game. The old release cycle was becoming extremely stale and predictable, with each new chapter feeling like a reskin of the previous one. The community backlash around the time of High Isle and the infamous update 35 seems to be what largely got this boulder rolling. Necrom and Gold Road broke the pattern a little bit, but was still largely made under the old paradigm. I'm optimistic about this, but of course we'll have to wait and see what comes of it.

There are two other major issues that needs to be handled of course. First, the question why server/network performance seems to have gotten so much worse than in the past. Is the game simply demanding more work than can be delivered by the system? Or is there something wrong with it? The other is developer/community communication, where it seems like there is a wall in between, where both appear to be struggling to effectively understand or communicate across it.

JiubLeRepenti

Warhawke_80 wrote: »

[snip]

Well, we still have some factual evidences that the game isn't in its best shape:



The game has never brought in so few players in almost seven years. I know that Steam isn't the only platform, but there is absolutely no reason why the trend would be different on other platforms (or if there if, please give them).

Another element: the browser researches for ESO have never been that low since 2021:



And COVID isn't the only cause. For instance, if you compare it with another well-known MMO, you see that the curve is quite different:



So yeah, ESO isn't in its best shape. I personally think it's mainly due to a lack of communication and innovation. But I'm sure there are other factors involved in this.

And saying 'People have been calling for the death of ESO since 2014' is not very accurate, in my opinion. It's like if I were saying, 'Scientists have been calling for climate action for decades.' Yeah, so what? Just because I can still breathe outside and see snow in the winter, does that mean it's not relevant?

[edited to remove quote]

DenverRalphy

AnduinTryggva wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

joergino wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

It's passable for now but every year it's delaying inevitable and making it harder with more system bloat.

The only thing that is inevitable is switching off the servers and this year's letter has been a sobering experience in the sense that we appear to be closer to this day than I thought. Efforts invested into the game have been minimized for years already and they are going to be reduced even further, so I suspect that any engine improvements are wishful thinking by now since they cannot be monetized.

The same letter gave me the opposite picture, why bother to even mentioning fixing PvP or giving vets new zones instead of producing low quality beginner zone re-skins every year? They already know that announcing and not delivering didn't brought masses back, quite the opposite. People don't even wait for improvements, they simply don't believe those will come anytime, but here we are with a new batch of copium to inhale out of the blue after probably one of the most flaccid years ESO had.

To me it speaks like they're seeing a obvious decline but not going to boost it up temporarily by another bloat release and placeholder writing, they're fine giving some players this break from the "big content" and are going to somewhat future proof the game overall for the possibility of mass appeal later, maybe as a result of successful fixes they're actually believe can happen this time or because BGS have some plans for the audience meanwhile so ZoS can work on a game some more.

But yeah, they either improve or switch off sooner in the end.

Like many others I was very very disappointed by the announcement that we will no longer get new zones just new story quests placed inside existing zones.

<snip>

Could you please point me to where ZoS made that announcement? Because that is a far cry different from what I've read. And if I missed something, I'd genuinely like to see it.

JiubLeRepenti

DenverRalphy wrote: »

AnduinTryggva wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

joergino wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

It's passable for now but every year it's delaying inevitable and making it harder with more system bloat.

The only thing that is inevitable is switching off the servers and this year's letter has been a sobering experience in the sense that we appear to be closer to this day than I thought. Efforts invested into the game have been minimized for years already and they are going to be reduced even further, so I suspect that any engine improvements are wishful thinking by now since they cannot be monetized.

The same letter gave me the opposite picture, why bother to even mentioning fixing PvP or giving vets new zones instead of producing low quality beginner zone re-skins every year? They already know that announcing and not delivering didn't brought masses back, quite the opposite. People don't even wait for improvements, they simply don't believe those will come anytime, but here we are with a new batch of copium to inhale out of the blue after probably one of the most flaccid years ESO had.

To me it speaks like they're seeing a obvious decline but not going to boost it up temporarily by another bloat release and placeholder writing, they're fine giving some players this break from the "big content" and are going to somewhat future proof the game overall for the possibility of mass appeal later, maybe as a result of successful fixes they're actually believe can happen this time or because BGS have some plans for the audience meanwhile so ZoS can work on a game some more.

But yeah, they either improve or switch off sooner in the end.

Like many others I was very very disappointed by the announcement that we will no longer get new zones just new story quests placed inside existing zones.

<snip>

Could you please point me to where ZoS made that announcement? Because that is a far cry different from what I've read. And if I missed something, I'd genuinely like to see it.

I personally think/bet that we'll have smaller zones like previoux extensions zones. And I would be OK with that if we get more endgame content (more dungeons, more trials, more housing options, etc.)

Also, I hope they will focus on PvP and on Cyro in particular.

edward_frigidhands

tsaescishoeshiner wrote: »

edward_frigidhands wrote: »

ZOS_Lunar wrote: »

JiubLeRepenti wrote: »

Small bump before I go to bed

As others have pointed out, it is the holiday break so communication will be limited.

Also, we do have a Community Rule on bumping, so please refrain from doing so going forward.

Thanks!

I am not in disagreement about the forum rules but that isn't a great response to a customer concern.

While it might not be obvious, the forum mod you're responding to doesn't have the role of answering customer complaints like this.

That is completely irrelevant to my comment.

TaSheen

WoW - I outgrew that game (and RIFT) over a decade ago; never been back, have no interest in them at all any more. The only IP I play is TES (which does of course include ESO); if I decide to dump ESO next year, I'll go back to full on Skyrim and Oblivion.

For me, there is not one game out there outside TES that I would bother to look at, much less pay for - or even try for free (because for me it/they wouldn't be free - my download data comes with a VERY hefty price tag....)

JiubLeRepenti

TaSheen wrote: »

WoW - I outgrew that game (and RIFT) over a decade ago; never been back, have no interest in them at all any more. The only IP I play is TES (which does of course include ESO); if I decide to dump ESO next year, I'll go back to full on Skyrim and Oblivion.

For me, there is not one game out there outside TES that I would bother to look at, much less pay for - or even try for free (because for me it/they wouldn't be free - my download data comes with a VERY hefty price tag....)

Now we just have to cross fingers and hope ZOS and the devs team will offer us a year 2025 full of new interesting content and won't make us dump ESO...

MovieGuru83

Ever since ES6 was first announced, I theorized that it will take place on a new continent opening the way for ESO to expand to that new continent or even ESO 2. At some point last year, they addressed ES6 again, saying something along the lines of "we're excited to finally return to Tamriel", which does kinda squash my theory in a way.

But I do still think that ES6 was, and still is intended to be a platform for ESO to build upon. However, it was first in announced in 2018, and they said then that Starfield would release first, then ES6. At the time the speculation seemed to be that Starfield would be released in 2020, and ES6 in 2022, 2023, or 2024 at the very latest. However Covid happened and Starfield didn't come out until 2023, and naturally ES6 got pushed back as well. We might finally hear something about it this year, but I think it's more likely that we'll be waiting until at least 2026. I believe a consequence of that is that ESO has had to scramble to fill the gap between the original ES6 release date and what ever it will end up being. And if they are planning ESO 2, then it makes sense the ESO 1 content well is running dry, and the promise of better days they keep making and failing to fulfill are actually going to be fulfilled in ESO 2, or just a complete overhaul like with A Realm Reborn with FF14 or Cataclysm with WoW.

I think this is about the best explanation we can hope for as to the reasons why their communication has been so poor and why they haven't been releasing as much content. I think their plans are virtually entirely dependent on ES6's release. If that's not it, then yeah I think the criticism is very valid.

Wolfshade

ZOS_Lunar wrote: »

As others have pointed out, it is the holiday break so communication will be limited.!

Outside from holiday there is and was always an awesome communication.

Elsonso

MovieGuru83 wrote: »

Ever since ES6 was first announced, I theorized that it will take place on a new continent opening the way for ESO to expand to that new continent or even ESO 2. At some point last year, they addressed ES6 again, saying something along the lines of "we're excited to finally return to Tamriel", which does kinda squash my theory in a way.

But I do still think that ES6 was, and still is intended to be a platform for ESO to build upon. However, it was first in announced in 2018, and they said then that Starfield would release first, then ES6. At the time the speculation seemed to be that Starfield would be released in 2020, and ES6 in 2022, 2023, or 2024 at the very latest. However Covid happened and Starfield didn't come out until 2023, and naturally ES6 got pushed back as well. We might finally hear something about it this year, but I think it's more likely that we'll be waiting until at least 2026. I believe a consequence of that is that ESO has had to scramble to fill the gap between the original ES6 release date and what ever it will end up being. And if they are planning ESO 2, then it makes sense the ESO 1 content well is running dry, and the promise of better days they keep making and failing to fulfill are actually going to be fulfilled in ESO 2, or just a complete overhaul like with A Realm Reborn with FF14 or Cataclysm with WoW.

I think this is about the best explanation we can hope for as to the reasons why their communication has been so poor and why they haven't been releasing as much content. I think their plans are virtually entirely dependent on ES6's release. If that's not it, then yeah I think the criticism is very valid.

I view ESO as a "placeholder" between ES5 and ES6. As time passed, it became clear that this was because The Powers That Be already knew that a Fallout and a science fiction game were going to be first for BGS and that it would be a decade and a half before ES6 came out. It was a gap that could be filled by a live service game. It was excellent planning, if you ask me. ESO was the perfect fit for the gap.

To that end, I do think that ESO is the end of the line where it comes to large scale Elder Scrolls MMO games. My uneducated belief is that if anyone does a live service Elder Scrolls game in the future, it will be small scale multiplayer with a limited selection of maps, if not just a single map, set in the 4th Era somewhere. Fallout 76 style, or maybe more like Conan Exiles. I cannot see a reason why anyone would want to try to do all of Tamriel in another single game that lasts decades. Been there. Done that. T-Shirt acquired. But... what do I know... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In any case, I do not think that secrecy benefits ZOS in terms of upcoming plans. The 2024 reflection they posted last year sounded a bit like a swan song and the canceling of the NA meet-and-greet is not helping. Single event hype in April is a long way off. They need to lay out 2025 in a clear, concise manner. This month. For the entire year. Put the cards on the table rather than holding back. I think the time for big reveals and curtained stuff is over. I think they can tell us what 2025 holds, in detail, now, and reaffirm it as the year progresses.

JiubLeRepenti

Elsonso wrote: »

MovieGuru83 wrote: »

Ever since ES6 was first announced, I theorized that it will take place on a new continent opening the way for ESO to expand to that new continent or even ESO 2. At some point last year, they addressed ES6 again, saying something along the lines of "we're excited to finally return to Tamriel", which does kinda squash my theory in a way.

But I do still think that ES6 was, and still is intended to be a platform for ESO to build upon. However, it was first in announced in 2018, and they said then that Starfield would release first, then ES6. At the time the speculation seemed to be that Starfield would be released in 2020, and ES6 in 2022, 2023, or 2024 at the very latest. However Covid happened and Starfield didn't come out until 2023, and naturally ES6 got pushed back as well. We might finally hear something about it this year, but I think it's more likely that we'll be waiting until at least 2026. I believe a consequence of that is that ESO has had to scramble to fill the gap between the original ES6 release date and what ever it will end up being. And if they are planning ESO 2, then it makes sense the ESO 1 content well is running dry, and the promise of better days they keep making and failing to fulfill are actually going to be fulfilled in ESO 2, or just a complete overhaul like with A Realm Reborn with FF14 or Cataclysm with WoW.

I think this is about the best explanation we can hope for as to the reasons why their communication has been so poor and why they haven't been releasing as much content. I think their plans are virtually entirely dependent on ES6's release. If that's not it, then yeah I think the criticism is very valid.

I view ESO as a "placeholder" between ES5 and ES6. As time passed, it became clear that this was because The Powers That Be already knew that a Fallout and a science fiction game were going to be first for BGS and that it would be a decade and a half before ES6 came out. It was a gap that could be filled by a live service game. It was excellent planning, if you ask me. ESO was the perfect fit for the gap.

To that end, I do think that ESO is the end of the line where it comes to large scale Elder Scrolls MMO games. My uneducated belief is that if anyone does a live service Elder Scrolls game in the future, it will be small scale multiplayer with a limited selection of maps, if not just a single map, set in the 4th Era somewhere. Fallout 76 style, or maybe more like Conan Exiles. I cannot see a reason why anyone would want to try to do all of Tamriel in another single game that lasts decades. Been there. Done that. T-Shirt acquired. But... what do I know... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In any case, I do not think that secrecy benefits ZOS in terms of upcoming plans. The 2024 reflection they posted last year sounded a bit like a swan song and the canceling of the NA meet-and-greet is not helping. Single event hype in April is a long way off. They need to lay out 2025 in a clear, concise manner. This month. For the entire year. Put the cards on the table rather than holding back. I think the time for big reveals and curtained stuff is over. I think they can tell us what 2025 holds, in detail, now, and reaffirm it as the year progresses.

I generally agree. But I think they also saw the immeasurable success of Skyrim and thought it would be a good idea to capitalize on the TES name with an MMO and all the things that come with it (store, skins, crown crates, etc.). Don't forget the game made 2 billion in ten years.

And it's not a coincidence that Greymoor was the most popular chapter—in terms of player frequency—among all the chapters that were released (and yes, there was COVID, but if you compare Steam figures with other MMOs, you can see it's not only because of COVID).

I bet that if tomorrow ZOS announces a new chapter based on the missing part of Skyrim (Dawnstar/Whiterun/Falkreath), the number of players would instantly explode.

Thysbe

quote from Studio Letter:

As our focus will not be on adding giant new landmasses – although we will do that from time to time – instead, we will use existing zones and areas to tell new stories. Some of these are:

I don´t read a regular deployment of new Zones (small or big) in a "from time to time", to me this rahter indicates they might happen but you dont have to expect that

I just hope the "updates of existing zones" are done with care for their characteristics and lore and not done bulldozing the immersion in amazing zones like Murkmire or Wrothgar.

Northwold

A slight tangent, but I just finished the High Isle story arc, having avoided it for a really long time because I couldn't bear the writing.

I don't recognise the characterisation of ZOS's work for years as "low effort". Indeed, playing through High Isle etc, with the constant negativity of this forum at the back of my mind, I actually felt rather sorry for them. So much work clearly went into making the engine do new things. Eg persistent changes to the city environment after the player has done X, which the game didn't do before, roaming bosses (introduced with Deadlands), rising lava, more complex fight mechanics brought into zone story quests instead of being confined to dungeons, the idea of a proper length coda story, ship battles.

The work is clearly there to make the game do new and interesting things despite the age of the underlying engine. The work is still visibly there in Necrom, which I'm slowly playing through.

So, on the questing side of things, the problem really does seem to be that, trapped on a conveyor belt where you must release dungeon, chapter, feature (or previously, second story DLC), you face creative exhaustion, not laziness. And it was showing, most obviously, in the writing.

People are going to read what they want into the end of year letter. Indeed, some people on this thread seem not to have read what is actually written at all. But a hell of a lot of work plainly has been going into the game even into recent chapters. It just hasn't been producing a great end result.

That being the case, it feels absolutely right that the devs innovate and free themselves from the shackles of a factory-process release calendar. People are complaining that we're not going to get a new zone to a fixed date. But people were equally complaining when we did that the end product of such a rigid release schedule wasn't good enough. Well: experience shows that, for whatever reason, trying to have it both ways wasn't working.

tinythinker

JiubLeRepenti wrote: »

I generally agree. But I think they also saw the immeasurable success of Skyrim and thought it would be a good idea to capitalize on the TES name with an MMO and all the things that come with it (store, skins, crown crates, etc.). Don't forget the game made 2 billion in ten years.

And it's not a coincidence that Greymoor was the most popular chapter—in terms of player frequency—among all the chapters that were released (and yes, there was COVID, but if you compare Steam figures with other MMOs, you can see it's not only because of COVID).

I bet that if tomorrow ZOS announces a new chapter based on the missing part of Skyrim (Dawnstar/Whiterun/Falkreath), the number of players would instantly explode.

Just a note that the game was in development prior to Skyrim's release because of the desire to give Bethesda and MMO, but Skyrim's success did lead to major changes in the combat system.

I agree many people would jump in for another area of Skyrim, but the bigger issue is retaining those people.

blktauna

Northwold wrote: »

A slight tangent, but I just finished the High Isle story arc, having avoided it for a really long time because I couldn't bear the writing.

I don't recognise the characterisation of ZOS's work for years as "low effort". Indeed, playing through High Isle etc, with the constant negativity of this forum at the back of my mind, I actually felt rather sorry for them. So much work clearly went into making the engine do new things. Eg persistent changes to the city environment after the player has done X, which the game didn't do before, roaming bosses (introduced with Deadlands), rising lava, more complex fight mechanics brought into zone story quests instead of being confined to dungeons, the idea of a proper length coda story, ship battles.

From my point of view it is the writing that has become lazy, not the environmental work. You get spoken to like that fish in the Disney movie. The story is always too short and too obvious, unlike the Elsewyr and previous stories.

Northwold wrote: »

So, on the questing side of things, the problem really does seem to be that, trapped on a conveyor belt where you must release dungeon, chapter, feature (or previously, second story DLC), you face creative exhaustion, not laziness. And it was showing, most obviously, in the writing.

I don't disagree that the cadence they set for themselves affected the output.

Hopefully this change does free up some creativity. The problem is going by previous behaviours, many are sceptical.

Mathius_Mordred

I've been playing since Closed Beta, I love the game, I have no issues with the game, frankly I haven't got a clue what you're going on about. If you don't like it then play something else. I'm looking forward to 2025 with the same level of excitement I've had at the start of each year since 2014.

JiubLeRepenti

Mathius_Mordred wrote: »

I've been playing since Closed Beta, I love the game, I have no issues with the game, frankly I haven't got a clue what you're going on about. If you don't like it then play something else. I'm looking forward to 2025 with the same level of excitement I've had at the start of each year since 2014.

I'm really glad you're happy with the current state of the game.

However, once again, we have concrete data showing that people are continuing to leave. We also have clear evidence highlighting how poor the communication from ZOS might be. So, what do we do about it? Do we just ignore it and pretend it's not a problem?

Elsonso

blktauna wrote: »

Northwold wrote: »

So, on the questing side of things, the problem really does seem to be that, trapped on a conveyor belt where you must release dungeon, chapter, feature (or previously, second story DLC), you face creative exhaustion, not laziness. And it was showing, most obviously, in the writing.

I don't disagree that the cadence they set for themselves affected the output.

Hopefully this change does free up some creativity. The problem is going by previous behaviours, many are sceptical.

This, I see as "staffing issues" as much as "scheduling issues". If you give the team enough time to do quality work, the idea is that you will get quality work out of the team. If an annual release is what is desired, but it takes two years for the team to complete high quality content, then two teams working in parallel, offset by a year. If it takes three years, then three teams, appropriately offset.

In the past, it was mentioned that an annual chapter could take more than a year to make. It was also mentioned that quarterly DLC could take between half a year and a year to complete. I don't recall the number of months, but it was here on the forum, somewhere. If that report was accurate, and I have no reason to believe it was not, it means that, at some level, ZOS had to have been doing this already. Multiple teams working concurrently on projects with offset release dates.

(removed quote to avoid copyright issue)

Northwold

Elsonso wrote: »

blktauna wrote: »

Northwold wrote: »

So, on the questing side of things, the problem really does seem to be that, trapped on a conveyor belt where you must release dungeon, chapter, feature (or previously, second story DLC), you face creative exhaustion, not laziness. And it was showing, most obviously, in the writing.

I don't disagree that the cadence they set for themselves affected the output.

Hopefully this change does free up some creativity. The problem is going by previous behaviours, many are sceptical.

This, I see as "staffing issues" as much as "scheduling issues". If you give the team enough time to do quality work, the idea is that you will get quality work out of the team. If an annual release is what is desired, but it takes two years for the team to complete high quality content, then two teams working in parallel, offset by a year. If it takes three years, then three teams, appropriately offset.

In the past, it was mentioned that an annual chapter could take more than a year to make. It was also mentioned that quarterly DLC could take between half a year and a year to complete. I don't recall the number of months, but it was here on the forum, somewhere. If that report was accurate, and I have no reason to believe it was not, it means that, at some level, ZOS had to have been doing this already. Multiple teams working concurrently on projects with offset release dates.

(removed quote to avoid copyright issue)

I don't think it's really as simple as that with writing, least of all writing for a video game. Quality writing tends to come from having a clear direction and that may only come from a handful of people. You can't necessarily just buy more people in.

Add to that that Elder Scrolls games follow a formula from which it is hard to depart and still be an Elder Scrolls game. Keeping that fresh when you're churning a story and a bit out a year must be incredibly difficult.

Varana

And all the speculation and various interpretations of The Letter are yet another sign of exactly what the OP was about: poor communication.
Announcing a huge shift in content updates like this in very vague and misleading language (remember the multiple clarifications about what "seasons" was actually supposed to mean), and then delaying any substantial information what that change actually entails until April:
A huge part of the negativity and complaining and conspiratorial doom-and-glooming* is really just ZOS' fault. If you communicate in that manner, you don't have to wonder why people react as they do. If ZOS are good at one thing, then it's tempering excitement and dulling good vibes (and landscaping).

But then, it is how it is, and I don't believe that will change this far into the game's life. I really just hope that in the end, they will find a way that ESO's content doesn't vanish into the ether like Legends will do.

* And with that, I don't mean the observation that ESO is declining - that's hardly debatable.

Elvenheart

Mathius_Mordred wrote: »

I've been playing since Closed Beta, I love the game, I have no issues with the game, frankly I haven't got a clue what you're going on about. If you don't like it then play something else. I'm looking forward to 2025 with the same level of excitement I've had at the start of each year since 2014.

Thank you for saying this. I too have played since Beta, and I feel the same way, and have every year since I started playing.

The funny thing is when I started playing, I had merely dabbled in the other Elder Scrolls games and hardly knew anything about Elder Scrolls. I played DAoC, WoW, Neverwinter, STO, DCUO, LotR, Aion, Guild Wars I and Ii, and other games. More recently I’ve tried BDO, New World, and some other one I cant even recall the name of. The only reason I ever decided to give ESO a try is because I was eagerly awaiting Worlds of Darkness, and in ESO one could play a vampire so I thought it would just tide me over until WoD came out. Well, WoD was cancelled, and ESO remained the only good game with playable vampires, such that they are.

Over the years ESO grew on me as I got more and more into ES lore. My interest in the other games I played slowly declined, and some of them closed down. I go back to a few from time to time, and I have participated in WoW’s anniversary every day, but I don’t read any of their forums, just this one. I have no idea what other players are saying about those games, their developers, the company that owns the games, etc. I just play them when I feel like it and enjoy the experience.

Normally, I wouldn’t ascribe to a “head in the sand” type of thinking, but I see posts where people say they don’t play ESO anymore but just come to the forums to see if anything has changed. To me, it seems like the reverse would be better, to just play the game but stop reading these forums.

If I didn’t read the forums I’d have no idea how unhappy some people are with the game right now, I would have never heard of a “stuck in combat” bug (I still don’t really know what that is since it’s never happened to me but has happened to others constantly for a decade), I’d have no idea that players have supposedly left “in droves” over U35 and that ESO has never recovered, I wouldn’t know that in order to play the game more successfully I’m supposed to follow and learn from content creators, or that some of them have moved on, that I’m supposed to feel upset because ZOS isn’t communicating with me, that I’m supposed to be afraid to post on these forums because someone might moderate me…there is too much to mention that I would be completely oblivious to since when I’m in the game none of this is ever discussed in the guilds I’m in or in zone chat. In the game, people are always just playing and seemly having a good time.

For New Life, Breda was always surrounded by players and I don’t think I was ever alone at any Old Life shrines. The area I do my crafting dailies is never empty. I see that horrible red twilight more and more so some players must be supporting the game by buying it.

If I consider every game I mentioned above, I don’t think any of them are as popular as they were when they first came out. To me, it seems that while ESO probably isn’t as popular as it used to be either, it still is much loved and enjoyed by a lot of players and will continue to be for a long time. While there are some things that ZOS has done that I don’t like, such as the Grim Focus permaglow and their mostly failed attempt at a 10th anniversary with all the grinding, there is a whole lot of things ZOS has done wonderfully, and as always I’m looking forward to finding out more about what's ahead for the game in the coming months and can’t wait to experience it for myself!

TaSheen

@Mathius_Mordred , @Elvenheart - thanks for saying my mouthful for me! May you live long and prosper!

karthrag_inak

Hey OP. [snip] Please replace all instances of "the comunity" with the appropriate first-person article. If others agree with you, thats on them to share, but obviously many do not.

[edited for baiting]

licenturion

I still login daily but after that letter I have stopped all spending on the game until there is more information available.

The only DLC stuff I love paying money for in games is when there are new worlds to explore with new assets, new stories, new music and new gameplay additions within them. If such content comes out I will probably purchase it and play it. If not, I will probably keep playing until the remaining PvE content I still have to finish has dried up and will come back 'from time to time' when they actually release creative things. I will not pay for new stories in worlds I have been in for years on end but with a few new rocks and tree models.

But I will give them the benefit of the doubt but so far this focus on existing things that costs us the Q4 zone hasn't paid off. Two new rooms in Infinite Archive, a public housing list, some minor reworks of battlegrounds with existing assets and a HDR beta.

BetweenMidgets

I'm not sure why ZoS would do anything you've listed.

The only thing it could do would be to drive people away.

If you don't like the content area (ie. redguards or something) - maybe some players will quit.
Doesn't seem like it's "enough" - maybe some players will quit.
Too much X or too little y - maybe some players will quit.

Their best option is to be vague and keep people hoping yet unaware. I'm sure you're shocked by the fact it is what they ARE doing.

I suggest you really assess how you feel they have treated the game and the community, and move forward from there. You get to decide if you want to be at their mercy, or if you want to spend your money elsewhere.

The gaming industry seems to be self correcting. Whether ZoS will be righting the ship remains to be seen.

Charon_on_Vacation

MovieGuru83 wrote: »

Ever since ES6 was first announced, I theorized that it will take place on a new continent opening the way for ESO to expand to that new continent or even ESO 2. At some point last year, they addressed ES6 again, saying something along the lines of "we're excited to finally return to Tamriel", which does kinda squash my theory in a way.

But I do still think that ES6 was, and still is intended to be a platform for ESO to build upon. However, it was first in announced in 2018, and they said then that Starfield would release first, then ES6. At the time the speculation seemed to be that Starfield would be released in 2020, and ES6 in 2022, 2023, or 2024 at the very latest. However Covid happened and Starfield didn't come out until 2023, and naturally ES6 got pushed back as well. We might finally hear something about it this year, but I think it's more likely that we'll be waiting until at least 2026. I believe a consequence of that is that ESO has had to scramble to fill the gap between the original ES6 release date and what ever it will end up being. And if they are planning ESO 2, then it makes sense the ESO 1 content well is running dry, and the promise of better days they keep making and failing to fulfill are actually going to be fulfilled in ESO 2, or just a complete overhaul like with A Realm Reborn with FF14 or Cataclysm with WoW.

I think this is about the best explanation we can hope for as to the reasons why their communication has been so poor and why they haven't been releasing as much content. I think their plans are virtually entirely dependent on ES6's release. If that's not it, then yeah I think the criticism is very valid.

there is no reason for you to believe me, but nonetheless, let me say it very clearly.
that is not whats happening.

DeadlySerious

We have to judge ZOS on what they do, not what they say. We don't need clear answers, we need clear and conclusive results when it comes to resolving the big problems with ESO, like fixing lag and disconnects. As the PvP community well knows, the "we're working on it" statements aren't getting the job done. They need to fix things so they don't have to work on them anymore.