How? It is WILD in 2025, for a 10 year old game to have such POOR PERFORMANCE

  • Islyn
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    ApoAlaia wrote: »
    I have been experiencing performance issues across multiple different platforms for a while, although they are somehow worse after U46.

    The issues seem to be CPU agnostic because I can replicate them both in Intel and AMD hardware.

    Once the client is running (on windowed borderless), even before logging into the account, the PCs/VMs become impacted.

    If I have a video playing on one of the other screens it becomes choppy, often dropping quality and stuttering, and it stutters switching between tasks/windows too. Audio can also become desynced and sometimes SCP (Snap, Crackle and Pop not Secure, Contain, Protect) is introduced (although at this point maybe is an SCP?).

    All throughout the CPU load hardly ever exceeds 40% and same for the GPU load (which is expected given the relatively new hardware platforms and their capabilities vs the age of the game).

    No shortage of memory or storage bandwidth either (all platforms are running Gen4 SSDs and there are not storage intensive background processes running).

    Furthermore even though I used to launch the game directly from the .exe I have gotten into the habit of using the launcher instead as it acts as a 'canary in the coal mine' of sorts.

    Once I exit the game often the 'play' button displays 'running' for an extended period of time (there have been instances of staying as such for up to a minute); if I steal focus while 'running' is being displayed (for instance to type something on discord) I risk crashing my nVidia GPU drivers. This is a hard crash with black screen which forces me to do a 'dirty' restart of the PC/VM.

    I know it crashes the GPU drivers because it is noted in the system logs.

    I have run a lot more intensive games (BG3, Indiana Jones, Expedition 33, Oblivion Remaster...) with none of these 'side effects'.

    Now the 'stuttering' is not new, it has been 'coming and going' since that update that introduced new instruction handling in the executable however since update 44 it has been very much 'here to stay' and deteriorating.

    Same exact - and I know not everyone IS so I appreciate the time people take to type out all the PC issues it *could* be but the fact is: It is not on my side. There's nothing I can do to change/fix it that I haven't already checked/done.
    Member of the Old Guard - Closed Betas 2013
  • TheDutchChef
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    Islyn wrote: »
    also, 4x today on char select:
    t85ze2zf67zt.png

    i have that sometimes 10/15 times in a row for a character select....
    And then when you contact support about it you get basic answer that it is either your internet connection or the add-ons.
    Even sometimes with add-ons disabled i get this stuff so i just let it be cause support is not much of a help with it.
    Cause it is always a thing on your end, and not on their :wink:
  • Islyn
    Islyn
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    Islyn wrote: »
    also, 4x today on char select:
    t85ze2zf67zt.png

    i have that sometimes 10/15 times in a row for a character select....
    And then when you contact support about it you get basic answer that it is either your internet connection or the add-ons.
    Even sometimes with add-ons disabled i get this stuff so i just let it be cause support is not much of a help with it.
    Cause it is always a thing on your end, and not on their :wink:

    *well of course it is* lol ;)
    Member of the Old Guard - Closed Betas 2013
  • Neugeniko
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    Code reuse basically means we get all the old bugs for 2005 too.
  • SalamanNZ
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    I thought I was going crazy. I was getting rushed on my stealth NB with lethal arrow, meaning I'm casting it from stealth and a critical rush gets me before the shot goes off. And dying to 3 spec bows within a second or instantly dying to 5 surprise attacks from the same player. Then I realized that nothing has changed but the patch which was to update systems at ZOS's end. They have caused this issue. Every class I play that was competitive before the 20 hour maintenance and now they are virtually useless. Unless there is some serious cheating going on. Something is broken in PVP, I mean more broken. I have noticed increased input delays (bar swapping is pointless and even one bar builds have delays) and now I have sound delays which have never occurred before the long maintenance, But on top of all of this my FPS and latency counters have not changed. Still the same numbers as a year ago.
    Edited by SalamanNZ on 21 July 2025 10:17
  • HumbleThaumaturge
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    ESO game performance is great for me. I have not had any problems in recent years. Well, maybe 3 seconds of momentary lag for every 8 hours of game play.

    I play with PC, so most of my comments are made thinking about my PC gameplay.

    Maybe your problems are "client side" issues, and not "server side" issues or external network issues. Maybe your gaming performance could be improved by: (1) changing Settings; (2) disabling Add-Ons; and (3) closing all programs/aps except ESO during gameplay. Folks who post about ESO performance problems should also list all of the Add-Ons they are running. Might help to identify which Add-Ons are causing performance issues.

    Game performance problems may be due to your system (computer, modem, router, internet service to your location, number of devices on your personal network, etc.). Try a PING of ESO.

    I doubt if computer inadequacy is causing the performance problems, unless your Setting are too high for your hardware. For us, ESO runs at over 200 fps (frames per second) on a 7-year-old computer (with NVMe M.2) and about 60 fps on a 13-year-old computer (with SSD). Both computers have 32 GB of RAM. Maybe your game is running with Settings that are above and beyond the capabilities of your hardware.

    Your local network may be causing the problems. Probably not your internet speed. I noticed no difference in gameplay after my network speed increased from 80 Mbps to 500 Mbps. But a few years ago, I got angry for ZoS about poor game performance. Then all the problems vanished after I replaced the modem and router. If you have the option, you could set your router to give your gaming computer top priority at all times. Also, monitor your router and see how many devices are using it while you are playing.

    You might try monitoring applications on a side monitor while playing ESO. Stop or disable any applications that do not need to be running. Of course, also get rid of any unauthorized applications that might have been loaded on your computer by Bad Actors.

    If you are having performance problems, you might try:
    -- Turn off all your Add-Ons. Play the game and evaluate performance. Now turn on Add-Ons one at a time and reevaluate. Most of the time, I play with only 4 Add-Ons, and only use 2 Add-Ons in Cyrodiil.
    -- Keep your video card's driver updated.
    -- Try a web search for something like: ESO fps hacks. You can go into Settings and make adjustments that will improve performance without a meaningful change in your gaming experience. Things like: Turn off "Grass"; reduce particle count; reduce view distance; etc. Maybe your Video settings are too high for your hardware.
    -- If possible, set your Router to give your gaming computer top priority.
    -- Close other applications while playing ESO.
    -- You could try monitoring CPUs on a side monitor. See if any of your cores is hitting 100 percent. Or maybe the CPU is throttling due to temperature. Same for GPU. Monitor during gameplay to see if it is hitting 100 percent. If it is, go to Settings and lower video quality until GPU stays under 100 percent.
    -- Make sure you have at least 20 percent free space on your computer's SSD.
    Edited by HumbleThaumaturge on 21 July 2025 17:02
  • moderatelyfatman
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    LadyGP wrote: »
    Hear me out....

    "2025 for a 10 year old game to have such poor performance".

    This game is 10 years old - the engine/dev work is even older (8 I think?).

    So with the engine being roughly 18 years old... think about ALL the crazy modern things that have been added.

    This is how I view it. The engine is a rusty 2007 Honda Civic where the devs are trying to mod it into a cutting-edge Corvette Stingray. They bolt on modern bells like subclassing, seasonal content drops, ray-traced graphics, etc, making it shine on the surface. But the ancient frame buckles under the load: patching takes forever, lag spikes and rubberbanding plague combat, and it overheats during busy hours, leading to crashes and frustration. It's a got tones of patchwork and is impressive in many many spots, but the outdated core just can't handle 2025's demands without constant breakdowns.

    So yeah... performance has been pretty bad the last few years - BUT they keep adding new things and it's improving. Is it like a modern game that launched in 2025 - not even close. Is it still pretty good for an engine thats 18 years old - I'd say so.

    So how do you explain that WoW, GW2 and FF14 all have far fewer performance issues than ESO despite being singificantly older?
    Performance issues should decrease over time as the coders fix bugs and optimise the engine. Not the reverse.
    Edited by moderatelyfatman on 21 July 2025 12:44
  • kindred
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    The game doesn't just boot me to desktop. It shuts down my whole computer. It has happened to three other friends of mine that play ESO so I know it's not just me. The temps get so high while playing that your computer just shuts itself down.
  • Desiato
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    Yudo wrote: »
    I have noticed crazy shuttering in towns

    Yeah, this is what I call asset management stutter.

    The game can't keep all of its art assets in memory, so it has to constantly and aggressively swap them in and out. So in a busy area, this creates stutter.

    Consider how different each player is in terms of outfit combinations, other cosmetics, mounts, vanity pets, etc... and then added to that are skill styles now.

    Not only do the art assets have to be managed by the client, that information has to be delivered to the client by the server -- and being aware of all this increases the memory footprint of each player on the server and also requires more memory bandwidth -- creating the potential for situational bottlenecks.

    I've noticed more asset management stutter lately, but that should be expected as more art assets are added to the game.

    Edited by Desiato on 21 July 2025 16:01
    spending a year dead for tax reasons
  • Desiato
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    Islyn wrote: »
    also, 4x today on char select:
    t85ze2zf67zt.png

    Here are the possible causes for something like this:

    - problem with your client (local data corruption, addons)
    - problem with your pc/os
    - problem with your connection to your isp (ethernet, wifi)
    - problem with your internet connection (isp)
    - problem between your isp and the eso data center (routing)
    - problem with the link your route to the eso server connects through (NA has at least 3 links I believe)
    - problem with the data center
    - problem with the server

    When an issue such as this is widespread, we instantly see an incredible amount of forum activity, so that's probably not the case now. I haven't had any connection issues on PC/NA for months. If the server was having frequent problems, I would have.

    So if I was in your position, I would be toubleshooting things on your end because I seem to recall you said you are on NA, which is unaffected by the recent EU issues. That's not to say it's a problem on your end, but if I were you, I would want to rule that out. It's also possible there is an issue between your ISP and the ESO servers that neither party is responsible for.

    Edited by Desiato on 21 July 2025 16:03
    spending a year dead for tax reasons
  • LadyGP
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    Islyn wrote: »
    Islyn wrote: »
    also, 4x today on char select:
    t85ze2zf67zt.png

    i have that sometimes 10/15 times in a row for a character select....
    And then when you contact support about it you get basic answer that it is either your internet connection or the add-ons.
    Even sometimes with add-ons disabled i get this stuff so i just let it be cause support is not much of a help with it.
    Cause it is always a thing on your end, and not on their :wink:

    *well of course it is* lol ;)

    FWIW - ZoS has been pretty good and fixing things and saying issues are on their end. I don't really see ZoS saying the issue is on our end. It's people on the forums who say it's on our end.

    I'm in no way saying it's all our fault, or all ZoS fault, etc. I'm saying.. from my IT experience back in the day... almost every issue I had to "fix" where the customer said something like "this program sucks you need to fix it your stuff is beep beep beep beep beep)"... it was almost always an issue with their device or a legit end user issue.

    Theres clearly some issues going on with recent updates, performance, etc, thats 100% a ZoS issue (or an issue with how the client is working on a very specific configuration of machines).

    Game dev is hard... especially when companies like MS force you to work on so many outdated consoles and what not. One of the worst things IMO about game dev at the moment is studios are trying so hard to work on super old systems instead of phasing them out and making it easier for the devs as a whole.

    I'm sorry but as time goes on I don't think it's realistic for games to work on 10+ year old systems (unless 100% of development has stopped then... whatever that generation was is the last one it works on). I wish studios had the.... stones... to say.. sorry your Xbox is 10 years old... we aren't supporting it anymore.
    LadyGP/xCatGuy
    PC/NA

    Having network issues? Discconects? DM me and I will help you troubleshoot with PingPlotter to figure out what is going on.
  • ToddIngram
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    LadyGP wrote: »
    reazea wrote: »
    Djennku wrote: »
    9 times out of 10 when someone has issues running ESO on pc, it's on the user's side, not the server. Often the problem is anything from a bad internet connection, overloading the pc's hardware, or even addons, which ZoS is not responsible for.

    If it is a server-side issue, it is usually announced here on the forums or even the official ESO discord or other places, and seeing as how not everyone on your server is noticing issues, it's safe to say it's on your end this time.

    No. This is not factual or even remotely close to factual.

    Virtually all performance issues in ESO are server side. It's uncommon for connection and performance issues to be client side with ESO.

    We can throw numbers out the wazoo... but it is true to say a lot of people who have issues it is their ISP (even if they don't realize it... I was one of those!!!!!!!.....) or their machine. It's also true to say ALOT of the issues we face are zos server side.

    No point in saying majority, 9/10... we literally have no idea. It's both and... thats kind of all that matters.

    For me WoW and GWII both load and run totally smoothly for me. But not ESO. With ESO I get massive lag (high ms ping to server) and massive FPS drops when anything happens around me.

    Doesn't this point to it being more likely an ESO issue than my side?
  • ToddIngram
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    kindred wrote: »
    The game doesn't just boot me to desktop. It shuts down my whole computer. It has happened to three other friends of mine that play ESO so I know it's not just me. The temps get so high while playing that your computer just shuts itself down.

    ESO also makes my CPU run very hot for some reason.
  • Desiato
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    ToddIngram wrote: »
    For me WoW and GWII both load and run totally smoothly for me. But not ESO. With ESO I get massive lag (high ms ping to server) and massive FPS drops when anything happens around me.

    Doesn't this point to it being more likely an ESO issue than my side?

    For one thing, WoW and GW2 are both simpler games in terms of rendering tech, beyond the fact they are different games that do different things. A big focus in ESO is high fidelity cosmetics and there is a very large performance impact that comes with that.

    It's also possible there is something on your PC that does not play nice with ESO. It could be another piece of software or a particular driver.

    Or maybe your eso installation is corrupt. It's possible this can happen to any installed software, including operating systems.

    Those games don't all use the same data center. Your route to each of them is different.

    Each game likely uses a different data rate. ESO is highly sensitive to even one dropped packet at the wrong time. The rate in EQ was so low, even 5% packet loss was tolerable if it was spread out. But in an FPS that is rage inducing. This is particularly relevant with wifi, which most people use, because it is not reliable for high rate real-time activities.

    The thing about server issues is they should affect a large number of players. We're not seeing reports of that on PC/NA right now. We know because when it happens, there is instantly a huge number of complaints. What we should expect in any popular game with thousands of players playing at any given time is for at least some of them to have issues outside of the game. If those players do not have technical knowledge, it might be easy for them to conclude they are all experiencing the same issue when they are not.

    Even if one of the links was having problems, we would see greater activity in the forums about it.

    With all that said, there have been EU issues lately. If you play on the EU servers, that may be why.

    No one here is white knighting for ZOS. They are trying to be helpful, not blaming and shaming the players with issues.
    ToddIngram wrote: »
    ESO also makes my CPU run very hot for some reason.

    Because it is far more cpu intensive than those games. They are not the same.

    Edited by Desiato on 21 July 2025 17:15
    spending a year dead for tax reasons
  • LootAllTheStuff
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    ToddIngram wrote: »
    LadyGP wrote: »
    reazea wrote: »
    Djennku wrote: »
    9 times out of 10 when someone has issues running ESO on pc, it's on the user's side, not the server. Often the problem is anything from a bad internet connection, overloading the pc's hardware, or even addons, which ZoS is not responsible for.

    If it is a server-side issue, it is usually announced here on the forums or even the official ESO discord or other places, and seeing as how not everyone on your server is noticing issues, it's safe to say it's on your end this time.

    No. This is not factual or even remotely close to factual.

    Virtually all performance issues in ESO are server side. It's uncommon for connection and performance issues to be client side with ESO.

    We can throw numbers out the wazoo... but it is true to say a lot of people who have issues it is their ISP (even if they don't realize it... I was one of those!!!!!!!.....) or their machine. It's also true to say ALOT of the issues we face are zos server side.

    No point in saying majority, 9/10... we literally have no idea. It's both and... thats kind of all that matters.

    For me WoW and GWII both load and run totally smoothly for me. But not ESO. With ESO I get massive lag (high ms ping to server) and massive FPS drops when anything happens around me.

    Doesn't this point to it being more likely an ESO issue than my side?

    Not necessarily - it depends on where all those servers are physically located, and the route data needs to travel between your computer and them. If the WoW and ESO servers (as an example) were co-located in the same data centre, then yes it would look more like an ESO issue. If they're in completely different parts of the continent, though, it's not that relevant.

    As pointed out numerous times up-thread, if you happen to be connecting to the EU rather than NA ESO server, you have the added complication that account sign-in for both is handled by the same NA server, which is an added level of complication and potential interruption.
  • ToddIngram
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    Desiato wrote: »
    ToddIngram wrote: »
    For me WoW and GWII both load and run totally smoothly for me. But not ESO. With ESO I get massive lag (high ms ping to server) and massive FPS drops when anything happens around me.

    Doesn't this point to it being more likely an ESO issue than my side?

    For one thing, WoW and GW2 are both simpler games in terms of rendering tech, beyond the fact they are different games that do different things. A big focus in ESO is high fidelity cosmetics and there is a very large performance impact that comes with that.

    It's also possible there is something on your PC that does not play nice with ESO. It could be another piece of software or a particular driver.

    Or maybe your eso installation is corrupt. It's possible this can happen to any installed software, including operating systems.

    Those games don't all use the same data center. Your route to each of them is different.

    Each game likely uses a different data rate. ESO is highly sensitive to even one dropped packet at the wrong time. The rate in EQ was so low, even 5% packet loss was tolerable if it was spread out. But in an FPS that is rage inducing. This is particularly relevant with wifi, which most people use, because it is not reliable for high rate real-time activities.

    The thing about server issues is they should affect a large number of players. We're not seeing reports of that on PC/NA right now. We know because when it happens, there is instantly a huge number of complaints. What we should expect in any popular game with thousands of players playing at any given time is for at least some of them to have issues outside of the game. If those players do not have technical knowledge, it might be easy for them to conclude they are all experiencing the same issue when they are not.

    Even if one of the links was having problems, we would see greater activity in the forums about it.

    With all that said, there have been EU issues lately. If you play on the EU servers, that may be why.

    Or maybe ESO has some inherent performance issues coming from server side. That seems to be the more popular assessment from most posters.
  • KapiteinBoterham
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    I don't know what's goin on in this thread but I have been suffering from insane stuttering in Elden Root and Wayrest UNTIL I turned on "Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling" in the Windows graphics settings.

    The game runs smooth as butter now!
  • Desiato
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    ToddIngram wrote: »

    Or maybe ESO has some inherent performance issues coming from server side. That seems to be the more popular assessment from most posters.

    And how do you quantify this?

    When an actual server issue occurs, there are like 20-50 pages of posts within an hour -- if they last that long. The forums melt down.

    What we're seeing here is what should be expected. A persistent baseline of players experiencing misc situational issues that don't affect everyone and therefore are unlikely to be server related.

    Edited by Desiato on 21 July 2025 17:26
    spending a year dead for tax reasons
  • LadyGP
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    ToddIngram wrote: »
    LadyGP wrote: »
    reazea wrote: »
    Djennku wrote: »
    9 times out of 10 when someone has issues running ESO on pc, it's on the user's side, not the server. Often the problem is anything from a bad internet connection, overloading the pc's hardware, or even addons, which ZoS is not responsible for.

    If it is a server-side issue, it is usually announced here on the forums or even the official ESO discord or other places, and seeing as how not everyone on your server is noticing issues, it's safe to say it's on your end this time.

    No. This is not factual or even remotely close to factual.

    Virtually all performance issues in ESO are server side. It's uncommon for connection and performance issues to be client side with ESO.

    We can throw numbers out the wazoo... but it is true to say a lot of people who have issues it is their ISP (even if they don't realize it... I was one of those!!!!!!!.....) or their machine. It's also true to say ALOT of the issues we face are zos server side.

    No point in saying majority, 9/10... we literally have no idea. It's both and... thats kind of all that matters.

    For me WoW and GWII both load and run totally smoothly for me. But not ESO. With ESO I get massive lag (high ms ping to server) and massive FPS drops when anything happens around me.

    Doesn't this point to it being more likely an ESO issue than my side?

    Yes... but also no. (I know I know I know...)

    Example.

    If you never looked at the ZoS Lag Thread that is a year old and hundreds of pages... I was one of the top posted in there. I had issues (like some people have posted in here) where I would constantly rubber band across the map, things would stutter like crazy, I was constantly disconnecting, the experience just flat out sucked if I'm being honest. So much so that after years and years of being a sub I ended it and stopped playing.

    ZoS made some improvements to the back-end that made things slightly better but the underlying issues remained for me. I was still crashing/disconnecting, still rubber banding, still stuttering, just not as much.

    Things got so bad for me I actually had someone at ZoS reach out to me and we worked together on the issue. I sent them videos of the issues, tons of logs, PingPlotter (network tracker), etc. They were able to identify an "issue or two" on their side based on those.

    However, I still had the same problems. Fast forward to months of me doing internal diagnostic with my machines, my network setup (I use enterprise level routing/switching hardware.. I'm a nerd don't judge me... lol) so I'm fairly knowledgable in the whole.. is it a me or them issue.

    I was 10000% convinced it's a "them" issue.

    I made my ISP come out and do a check for the 3rd time to make sure nothing with their hardware was the problem. While one of their engineers were at my place they noticed that the connection was fine and then it would go bat poop crazy for a split second - they couldn't figure out why... until they saw a spool of fiber that was ziptied by the main entry to the house.

    Come to find out... the person who installed it ziptied the fiber line so tight (and bent/curved it feeding into the box) that they literally broke the tiny fiber strand inside the insulated/protected cable. This hairline fracture was causing my network to "blip" for miliseconds randomly (I'm assuming wind barely touching the spool causing it to move thus making the light inside the fiber change directions as it passed through the cracked area). I could never identify "where" the problem with ym network was.. it looked like it was downstream from my isp on the way to the data center.. but it was always different. I even had my ISP reroute my traffic and put me on the fallback ISP (yes I exhausted literally everything I could... even talking directly with ZoS - side note this is all documented in the lag thread so this isn't like private info or anything).

    Once they replaced the fiber my network has been flawless... eso has been flawless. Cyro (non veng) has been flawless.

    So.. that is an extremely long and detailed way to say.. it's not a binary thing. It can totally be a "you problem" when you're 1000000% convinced it is not (like I was).

    I've even heard certain network chipsets on mobos can cause "blips" in ESO.

    It can also be an ESO problem.

    Now to the "how come xyz game doesn't have the same problem they are super old".

    Well it all comes down to how they handle wildcard events. They all handle things differently. Some always on games can allow for much more buffer when there is a "blip" in the network. Some games, like ESO, don't have the ability to add a ton of grace simply due to the nature of the I/O flow of data to server/client so it's much more difficult.

    The "grace' they have added in for this is when the client/server stop talking they "pause" you (over simplifying) and then once that connection is established the data rushes in like a fire hose which leads to the rubberbanding where everything speeds up like crazy until you're back to "real life".

    Of course - this all is isolated to just network traffic... I'm not even including different hardware related issues. But, you can take what I said here and multiply it based on all the different hardware configs out there this game has to support (and don't even get me started on Windows 11 updates breaking things...).

    So... yeah.. it can totally be an us problem and a them problem at the same time.

    TLDR: Read it.. because you'll just keep saying it's not a you problem. As one of those people.. who it ended up being a me problem.. I have a lot more grace for ZoS after going through that experience.

    LadyGP/xCatGuy
    PC/NA

    Having network issues? Discconects? DM me and I will help you troubleshoot with PingPlotter to figure out what is going on.
  • LadyGP
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    Desiato wrote: »
    ToddIngram wrote: »

    Or maybe ESO has some inherent performance issues coming from server side. That seems to be the more popular assessment from most posters.

    And how do you quantify this?

    When an actual server issue occurs, there are like 20-50 pages of posts within an hour -- if they last that long. The forums melt down.

    What we're seeing here is what should be expected. A persistent baseline of players experiencing misc situational issues that don't affect everyone and therefore are unlikely to be server related.

    "Server issues" can mean a lot of things. It's possible to have an issue with the server that only affects an isolated amount of people. It's also true to have a server issues that impacts literally every player.

    I think the biggest issue is how people do/don't know exactly how tech works, how coding works, how networking works.

    Everyone is so stuck in their echo chambers of "everyone would be complaining if it was a server issue". That isn't a dig at you, and I mean this in the most respectful way possible, it's just the nature of people who don't deal with IT related stuff.

    It's totally possible to have a very isolated issue on the server hitting a small group of people. It's also possible a bad route from the data center to some random city in the country by an ISP that had a fiber line cut or a power outage. Theres just soooooo many different situations that make it really hard for people both devs and players.
    LadyGP/xCatGuy
    PC/NA

    Having network issues? Discconects? DM me and I will help you troubleshoot with PingPlotter to figure out what is going on.
  • SeaGtGruff
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    I wonder if this suggestion made last month in a different thread might help someone?

    https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8329469/#Comment_8329469
    I've fought mudcrabs more fearsome than me!
  • Tandor
    Tandor
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    ToddIngram wrote: »
    LadyGP wrote: »
    reazea wrote: »
    Djennku wrote: »
    9 times out of 10 when someone has issues running ESO on pc, it's on the user's side, not the server. Often the problem is anything from a bad internet connection, overloading the pc's hardware, or even addons, which ZoS is not responsible for.

    If it is a server-side issue, it is usually announced here on the forums or even the official ESO discord or other places, and seeing as how not everyone on your server is noticing issues, it's safe to say it's on your end this time.

    No. This is not factual or even remotely close to factual.

    Virtually all performance issues in ESO are server side. It's uncommon for connection and performance issues to be client side with ESO.

    We can throw numbers out the wazoo... but it is true to say a lot of people who have issues it is their ISP (even if they don't realize it... I was one of those!!!!!!!.....) or their machine. It's also true to say ALOT of the issues we face are zos server side.

    No point in saying majority, 9/10... we literally have no idea. It's both and... thats kind of all that matters.

    For me WoW and GWII both load and run totally smoothly for me. But not ESO. With ESO I get massive lag (high ms ping to server) and massive FPS drops when anything happens around me.

    Doesn't this point to it being more likely an ESO issue than my side?

    Those are both what I would call "shallow" or "thin" games in comparison to ESO, GW2 in particular is an "MMO-lite" game. We know ESO has massive database issues by comparison and therefore very different spec requirements for a smooth performance.

    However, they also won't require your machine to follow the same network routing as ESO, and that may be a critical factor in any performance issue.

    All games run differently for a whole host of reasons, and because of that the "other games X, Y and Z run well on my machine so it's not at my end" argument has never had any relevance or validity here or on any other other game forum.
  • LadyGP
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    SeaGtGruff wrote: »
    I wonder if this suggestion made last month in a different thread might help someone?

    https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8329469/#Comment_8329469

    I've sent this to soooo many people and each time I do I am hit with the "this is a zos issue this isn't an issue with my machine it only happens with ESO".

    Each engine/client can impact windows (and the hardware) differently but people just assume everything is a 1:1. Just because Destiny 2 works on your pc and ESO doesn't... doesn't mean it's not a pc issue.

    Edit - just so I don't get flamed... ESO has problems.. we know that... I just don't think ALL the problems people come on here and ocmplain about are 100% ZoS problems and a bunch of them are their own machines/ISP blips.
    Edited by LadyGP on 21 July 2025 20:40
    LadyGP/xCatGuy
    PC/NA

    Having network issues? Discconects? DM me and I will help you troubleshoot with PingPlotter to figure out what is going on.
  • LadyGP
    LadyGP
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    Tandor wrote: »
    ToddIngram wrote: »
    LadyGP wrote: »
    reazea wrote: »
    Djennku wrote: »
    9 times out of 10 when someone has issues running ESO on pc, it's on the user's side, not the server. Often the problem is anything from a bad internet connection, overloading the pc's hardware, or even addons, which ZoS is not responsible for.

    If it is a server-side issue, it is usually announced here on the forums or even the official ESO discord or other places, and seeing as how not everyone on your server is noticing issues, it's safe to say it's on your end this time.

    No. This is not factual or even remotely close to factual.

    Virtually all performance issues in ESO are server side. It's uncommon for connection and performance issues to be client side with ESO.

    We can throw numbers out the wazoo... but it is true to say a lot of people who have issues it is their ISP (even if they don't realize it... I was one of those!!!!!!!.....) or their machine. It's also true to say ALOT of the issues we face are zos server side.

    No point in saying majority, 9/10... we literally have no idea. It's both and... thats kind of all that matters.

    For me WoW and GWII both load and run totally smoothly for me. But not ESO. With ESO I get massive lag (high ms ping to server) and massive FPS drops when anything happens around me.

    Doesn't this point to it being more likely an ESO issue than my side?

    Those are both what I would call "shallow" or "thin" games in comparison to ESO, GW2 in particular is an "MMO-lite" game. We know ESO has massive database issues by comparison and therefore very different spec requirements for a smooth performance.

    However, they also won't require your machine to follow the same network routing as ESO, and that may be a critical factor in any performance issue.

    All games run differently for a whole host of reasons, and because of that the "other games X, Y and Z run well on my machine so it's not at my end" argument has never had any relevance or validity here or on any other other game forum.

    maowtayd2ath.png
    LadyGP/xCatGuy
    PC/NA

    Having network issues? Discconects? DM me and I will help you troubleshoot with PingPlotter to figure out what is going on.
  • Displaced_Salad
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    ArchMikem wrote: »
    You're kinda answering yourself. It is the current year, but its also an old game thats continuously having things added to it. Poor thing is probably stretching that code to its max.

    Yep, building a foundation on a bed of sand isn't ideal. I know the same community that has members who clamor for constant infusions of new content will pitch a fit if the game is taken offline for any type of actual work. Hells, it happens for regular maintenance of any length (and is sometimes justified, I fully admit.) Putting it off will only make it worse. The catastrophic failure that IS coming will be much worse for everyone in the long run. But you can't convince those motivated solely by greed (share-holders and certain execs) to give a fraction of a penny away. They are the literal iteration of the Ant and the Grasshopper.

    Postscript: Two things can be true. YOU can have issues, and they can be server side. I can have issues, and they can be client side. This can be different each time you experience an issue. One experience doesn't invalidate another.
    Maythor: honestly we're getting the supermarket treatment here ... shrinkflation with the addition of simply moving things about so they seem fresher .. all the while being told a corporation is our friend :P

    "PLAY YOUR WAY" my Aunt Suzy's ashcan.

    If it comes with strings, it ain't free. It isn't a gift with purchase; you were overcharged. Companies don't love you; they love money.

    I_CraftwithPntButter: 2023 is the year your supposed to be doing better , remember ? (Still waiting for that in 2025)

    Advice for the future : com·mu·ni·ca·tion (noun)the imparting or exchanging of information or news.

    KlauthWarthog: Well, they can definitely measure fun on their spreadsheets, otherwise they would not be able to nerf it so consistently.
  • Versalium
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    Desiato wrote: »
    Yudo wrote: »
    I have noticed crazy shuttering in towns

    Yeah, this is what I call asset management stutter.

    The game can't keep all of its art assets in memory, so it has to constantly and aggressively swap them in and out. So in a busy area, this creates stutter.

    Consider how different each player is in terms of outfit combinations, other cosmetics, mounts, vanity pets, etc... and then added to that are skill styles now.

    Not only do the art assets have to be managed by the client, that information has to be delivered to the client by the server -- and being aware of all this increases the memory footprint of each player on the server and also requires more memory bandwidth -- creating the potential for situational bottlenecks.

    I've noticed more asset management stutter lately, but that should be expected as more art assets are added to the game.

    I agree in general, but let's not forget that ESO is a pretty old game, it's at least a couple generations behind in fidelity. The issues we have today would've been understandable for a modern game with high-end fidelity...but ESO? Come on. This game should run butter smooth.

    But I guess, their engine might also be a problem.
    Edited by Versalium on 21 July 2025 21:52
    PC EU
  • TheMajority
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    look, before that update, my computer could even run CYRODIIL with barely any performance issues, and now I'm getting this stutter and FPS drops others speak of and NOTHING fixes it. I'm stuttering doing crafting, it's not normal, and it's not me.
    Time flies like an arrow- but fruit flies like a banana.

    Sorry for my English, I do not always have a translation tool available. Thank you for your patience with our conversation and working towards our mutual understanding of the topic.
  • Marto
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    So how do you explain that WoW, GW2 and FF14 all have far fewer performance issues than ESO despite being singificantly older?
    Performance issues should decrease over time as the coders fix bugs and optimise the engine. Not the reverse.

    1. WoW has been considerably more profitable over a longer timeframe, so it's had more money and time to iron out a lot of technical issues. It's the original modern MMO, and has gotten a lot of technical improvements on the client and server.

    2. GW2 has considerably worse performance than ESO. Frametimes will regularly drop in large and detailed areas with no players and no combat going on. Larger group combat running at above 60 is virtually unheard off.

    3. FF14 has a very, very low server "framerate", and actions only register in those frames. That means servers are considerably cheaper and easier to run. And that the client will never struggle to catch up.

    4. All three of these games have lower graphical fidelity than ESO, and have made less attempts to improve the technical aspects. They make different compromises. FF14 may have more objects on screen, but the quality of the items is worse than in ESO, which works since you're expected to play in Third Person with the camera really zoomed out.

    Edited by Marto on 22 July 2025 05:07
    "According to the calculations of the sages of the Cult of the Ancestor Moth, the batam guar is the cutest creature in all Tamriel"
  • Islyn
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    Marto wrote: »
    2. GW2 has considerably worse performance than ESO. Frametimes will regularly drop in large and detailed areas with no players and no combat going on. Larger group combat running at above 60 is virtually unheard off.

    That is not my experience w gw2 at all. No stutter, no lag, no frame drops - I am a pve raider there.

    Member of the Old Guard - Closed Betas 2013
  • StihlReign
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    Desiato wrote: »
    ToddIngram wrote: »

    Or maybe ESO has some inherent performance issues coming from server side. That seems to be the more popular assessment from most posters.

    And how do you quantify this?

    When an actual server issue occurs, there are like 20-50 pages of posts within an hour -- if they last that long. The forums melt down.

    What we're seeing here is what should be expected. A persistent baseline of players experiencing misc situational issues that don't affect everyone and therefore are unlikely to be server related.

    lol Just wow.
    "O divine art of subtlety and secrecy!

    Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy’s fate in our hands.” – Ch. VI, v. 8-9. — Master Sun Tzu

    "You haven't beaten me you've sacrificed sure footing for a killing stroke." — Ra's al Ghul

    He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious — Master Sun Tzu

    LoS
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