How many would want to see more of the continent opened up in future expansions?

miahq

.

Not just dungeon crawl expansions based on locations in the unused map spaces, but actually opening it up until it is one vast and giant, connected continent where you can explore to your hearts content?

To clarify, I mean like a continent you could walk from one end of to the other in if you wanted, not just fast travel here and there. Unbroken (as much as technically possible), continuous landscape.

Iago

Yes, opening it up would be great

The whole continent needs to be opened up a region at a time, ie, the rest of the Summerset Isles, The rest of Elsweyr, the Island of Varrdenfalll etc

Cody

Yes, opening it up would be great

First: fix some of the problems the game has now, THEN open up more of the continent.

Once all of tamriel is opened up, ZOS could look into the other continents. Maybe Akavir or that place with the sea elves? many possibilities.

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

Cody wrote: »

First: fix some of the problems the game has now, THEN open up more of the continent.

Once all of tamriel is opened up, ZOS could look into the other continents. Maybe Akavir or that place with the sea elves? many possibilities.

Absolutely, the bugs need to come first. What brought future content to my mind was thinking about what they've release and to what they say is coming next. It seems the bigger motivation for leaving so much of the map unexplorable was because it gives them a huge well to set content for expansions, though not necessarily filling in those regions on the map.

Bigger zones would also be nice, but I'd just settle for the continent at its current scale. But, it's less a question of what they should prioritize right now and more a question of what direction they should go in the future.

Darkrogue671

Yes, opening it up would be great

Why do we have to limit this to Tamriel? There's the continents of Akivir and Atmora at their disposals, not to mention the limitless planes of Oblivion... there is literally endless potential here!

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

Darkrogue671 wrote: »

Why do we have to limit this to Tamriel? There's the continents of Akivir and Atmora at their disposals, not to mention the limitless planes of Oblivion... there is literally endless potential here!

Oh, certainly don't want to limit it. In fact I think those places would make great settings for the kind of expansions they're doing now, different planes and different surrounding nations/continents. Filling out the map though so people can explore the whole of the continent-- as uninterrupted as possible (ie larger zones) is just something I'd really like to see.

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

Iago wrote: »

The whole continent needs to be opened up a region at a time, ie, the rest of the Summerset Isles, The rest of Elsweyr, the Island of Varrdenfalll etc

It would be nice to see them do that. When it comes to sandbox, the bigger and more interesting the map the better really.

Cody

Yes, opening it up would be great

I have always wanted to go to Akavir:)

Ourorboros

Yes, opening it up would be great

LOL, who's gonna vote no on this,

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

Ourorboros wrote: »

LOL, who's gonna vote no on this,

Lol I doubt anyone will but that's kind of why I wanted to do it. It doesn't hurt to remind devs what fans and players are really looking for every once in a while, and I think this is probably one place you're not going to get any argument.

And there is a difference really, they could just release new expansions that took us into a slither of those now unexplorable places and they honestly have enough empty space to do that for a long time.

The next big one is orisinium for instance, but it doesn't seem like it and the surrounding province are actually going to be added as an unbroken part of the landscape, it will likely be first an NPC quest prompt followed by always fast traveling there.

Both ways you've still got Orisinium wand wrothgar, but there's a huge difference between a continuous filled in map and just fast traveling everywhere.

WhiskyBob

No, more expansions like we've gotten would be fine

Cody wrote: »

I have always wanted to go to Akavir:)

Akavir got swallowed by the ocean. So unless they add scuba diving no Akavir for ya.

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

WhiskyBob wrote: »

Cody wrote: »

I have always wanted to go to Akavir:)

Akavir got swallowed by the ocean. So unless they add scuba diving no Akavir for ya.

As much time travel as they've thrown around in this series I think there's still some hope, lol.

alainjbrennanb16_ESO

Yes, opening it up would be great

yes it needs opening up, plus the other lands masses brought in and the other worlds need to be brought in to the game as well

Mordria

Yes, opening it up would be great

Yes! New zones and more content! I would like to see some neutral zones also where all three factions could quest together. Like zones in Oblivion realms.

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

Mordria wrote: »

Yes! New zones and more content! I would like to see some neutral zones also where all three factions could quest together. Like zones in Oblivion realms.

Yeah, although I like the alliance part I kind of wish there were exceptions. I mean there are plenty of places left, they just need to make it big enough.

Vikestart

Yes, opening it up would be great

Absolutely!

There are always going to be loading screens though! But I hope that they'll add more direct passages between zones and eventually we'll have all of Tamriel to explore

After that... well... there's more of Nirn left to explore other than Tamriel, and even places that is not on Nirn. The sky is the limit here.. or not

Leeric

No, more expansions like we've gotten would be fine

I don't want it because I wouldn't trust ZOS to make it. It would be a lag, bug fest. Otherwise, I think it would be good.

TheShadowScout

Yes, opening it up would be great

It -would- be great to have it all as one big open region. Sadly, that won't happen due to technical limitations. So we'll just have to make do with more regions like we already have getting added, and that's fine by me too. Someday... someday we might have all the continent covered in game-able regions... looking forward to that ;-)

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

TheShadowScout wrote: »

It -would- be great to have it all as one big open region. Sadly, that won't happen due to technical limitations. So we'll just have to make do with more regions like we already have getting added, and that's fine by me too. Someday... someday we might have all the continent covered in game-able regions... looking forward to that ;-)

I know we're never going to get completely open continent, though I'd be happy with just larger zones set next to each other so you could walk between them, even if there was a loading screen.

Rezzy64

So, this thread got me thinking about something that was bothering me the other day.

If we're going to talk about expansion through more explorable land... what about expanding and developing the land that we already have? Some of the maps we have are kind of incomplete despite their appearance.

For instance... I can't be the only person that is frustrated by the fact that I can't explore the two northern Islands of "Khenarthi's Roost", let alone the more northern side of the island containing "Mistral". I mean they're two gigantic islands that could probably hold small cities (obviously they don't but that's still a lot of explorable land that we're cut off from wandering into), so why can't I just swim over there and hang out to fish, find treasure chests, or just fight some monsters?

I obviously want to see more land that we don't have yet but what about what we do have? Can we work on that first? The southern peninsula of Glenumbra needs some serious attention and love.

Gidorick

Yes, opening it up would be great

This is kind of a pointless poll. It's like saying "Hey! Who would like to see ZOS make improvements to ESO?"

Gidorick

Yes, opening it up would be great

Rezzy64 wrote: »

So, this thread got me thinking about something that was bothering me the other day.

If we're going to talk about expansion through more explorable land... what about expanding and developing the land that we already have? Some of the maps we have are kind of incomplete despite their appearance.

For instance... I can't be the only person that is frustrated by the fact that I can't explore the two northern Islands of "Khenarthi's Roost", let alone the more northern side of the island containing "Mistral". I mean they're two gigantic islands that could probably hold small cities (obviously they don't but that's still a lot of explorable land that we're cut off from wandering into), so why can't I just swim over there and hang out to fish, find treasure chests, or just fight some monsters?

I obviously want to see more land that we don't have yet but what about what we do have? Can we work on that first? The southern peninsula of Glenumbra needs some serious attention and love.

You know, I completely agree with you... BUT... there's got to be a reason for us to go back to those spaces. Right now, the way ESO is designed, once you completely clear out a Zone there is never any reason to return to that zone... ever.

If they decide to bring player created content to ESO they could place cave entrances and whatnot in these "new" areas, then players would have a reason to go into those newly opened areas of old zones. (thread about that topic: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/144735/player-created-content-suggestion-for-the-future-of-eso )

I would also like them to flesh out the cities we currently have. There are some REALLY empty locations around Tamriel. (Thread about THAT topic: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/144171/so-empty )

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

Gidorick wrote: »

This is kind of a pointless poll. It's like saying "Hey! Who would like to see ZOS make improvements to ESO?"

Not quite, there a difference between what they're doing up until now and what they might do in the future. I mean the next expansion brings players to the Orc capital and surrounding area, but because it's all the alliances it's likely not part of the map as a whole that you could walk to. You'd probably teleport there.

What I mean is being able to walk from the southern tip of black marsh all the way to the west of skyrim if you wanted to, no teleporting required. Of course with the way they break it up now you'd end up having to walk through 12-15 zones to do it. So I'm also saying it would be nice if down the road they combined some of them so that was at least cut in half. Given how big cyrodiil is compared to even doubling up the zones, and the number of players spamming abilities across it, that shouldn't be too hard. The biggest obstacle is really the rigid leveled zones, which I wish at least partially would be deemphasized to give people reasons to go back to older zones.

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

Gidorick wrote: »

Rezzy64 wrote: »

So, this thread got me thinking about something that was bothering me the other day.

If we're going to talk about expansion through more explorable land... what about expanding and developing the land that we already have? Some of the maps we have are kind of incomplete despite their appearance.

For instance... I can't be the only person that is frustrated by the fact that I can't explore the two northern Islands of "Khenarthi's Roost", let alone the more northern side of the island containing "Mistral". I mean they're two gigantic islands that could probably hold small cities (obviously they don't but that's still a lot of explorable land that we're cut off from wandering into), so why can't I just swim over there and hang out to fish, find treasure chests, or just fight some monsters?

I obviously want to see more land that we don't have yet but what about what we do have? Can we work on that first? The southern peninsula of Glenumbra needs some serious attention and love.

You know, I completely agree with you... BUT... there's got to be a reason for us to go back to those spaces. Right now, the way ESO is designed, once you completely clear out a Zone there is never any reason to return to that zone... ever.

If they decide to bring player created content to ESO they could place cave entrances and whatnot in these "new" areas, then players would have a reason to go into those newly opened areas of old zones. (thread about that topic: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/144735/player-created-content-suggestion-for-the-future-of-eso )

I would also like them to flesh out the cities we currently have. There are some REALLY empty locations around Tamriel. (Thread about THAT topic: http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/144171/so-empty )

The reason is it's just an MMO staple, there's a very linear progression and new content always comes in added zones, taylor end to end level characters. Problem is at some point like 90% of your map ends up completely frisking empty. So there really isn't much of a reason, especially with a mega server where you could phase different leveled characters into different phases if completely necessary. Though just making the zones more varied would be just as effective.

It just takes better mapping and a little thought, but there are tons of ways you could do it. I just hate that basically the only reason it's like that is, well that's what MMOs do... Well, that's dumb then.

Part of that though is just trying to make each zone bigger so you don't explore it all before leaving. Or just adding new content set in old zones. Mix it up a bit.

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

Rezzy64 wrote: »

So, this thread got me thinking about something that was bothering me the other day.

If we're going to talk about expansion through more explorable land... what about expanding and developing the land that we already have? Some of the maps we have are kind of incomplete despite their appearance.

For instance... I can't be the only person that is frustrated by the fact that I can't explore the two northern Islands of "Khenarthi's Roost", let alone the more northern side of the island containing "Mistral". I mean they're two gigantic islands that could probably hold small cities (obviously they don't but that's still a lot of explorable land that we're cut off from wandering into), so why can't I just swim over there and hang out to fish, find treasure chests, or just fight some monsters?

I obviously want to see more land that we don't have yet but what about what we do have? Can we work on that first? The southern peninsula of Glenumbra needs some serious attention and love.

Oh, a ton of it could be improved. Frankly even some of the places I can visit feel a little underwhelming. Bigger, more varied cities with unique shops/items and games, fewer static spawn points so mobs don't just stand there the whole time (someone pointed out people killed them too quickly in another game that tried this, but the solution is 1) more land and 2) somewhat random spawn points), and cyrodiil is entirely underwhelming. I wish they'd do more with the keeps and the town, stick in at least the occasional rabbit, and make the landscape not feel/look so artificial and forced.

AshySamurai

No, more expansions like we've gotten would be fine

Current map have it's own advantages. Low-level players know where next area starts. Also, why you need to return back? RP? So, you ask to complicate the system only for small purposes. I'm fine with RP, but it's really not game breaking. One more - you want to travel from AD to EP and nor AD not EP will attack you. CS and CG are like alternative reality. I don't think it was supposed to travel from one alliance to another on foot because it is a war here. In Craglorn you can find outpost, but they don't letting you in.
So, if ZOS someday tweak map - ok. If not - I couldn't care less.

Gidorick

Yes, opening it up would be great

miahq wrote: »

Gidorick wrote: »

This is kind of a pointless poll. It's like saying "Hey! Who would like to see ZOS make improvements to ESO?"

Not quite, there a difference between what they're doing up until now and what they might do in the future. I mean the next expansion brings players to the Orc capital and surrounding area, but because it's all the alliances it's likely not part of the map as a whole that you could walk to. You'd probably teleport there.

What I mean is being able to walk from the southern tip of black marsh all the way to the west of skyrim if you wanted to, no teleporting required. Of course with the way they break it up now you'd end up having to walk through 12-15 zones to do it. So I'm also saying it would be nice if down the road they combined some of them so that was at least cut in half. Given how big cyrodiil is compared to even doubling up the zones, and the number of players spamming abilities across it, that shouldn't be too hard. The biggest obstacle is really the rigid leveled zones, which I wish at least partially would be deemphasized to give people reasons to go back to older zones.

Thanks for clarifying! I must admit I suffered from assumption there... I read your first paragraph and was like "uh.. yea..." lol. Sorry about that.

I think that if they COULD make the map one huge map, they would... but I don't think it's possible. Too much data for an MMO. to simultaneously track EVERYTHING on the entire continent at once.... you think Cyrodiil lags now? whew!

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

Gidorick wrote: »

miahq wrote: »

Gidorick wrote: »

This is kind of a pointless poll. It's like saying "Hey! Who would like to see ZOS make improvements to ESO?"

Not quite, there a difference between what they're doing up until now and what they might do in the future. I mean the next expansion brings players to the Orc capital and surrounding area, but because it's all the alliances it's likely not part of the map as a whole that you could walk to. You'd probably teleport there.

What I mean is being able to walk from the southern tip of black marsh all the way to the west of skyrim if you wanted to, no teleporting required. Of course with the way they break it up now you'd end up having to walk through 12-15 zones to do it. So I'm also saying it would be nice if down the road they combined some of them so that was at least cut in half. Given how big cyrodiil is compared to even doubling up the zones, and the number of players spamming abilities across it, that shouldn't be too hard. The biggest obstacle is really the rigid leveled zones, which I wish at least partially would be deemphasized to give people reasons to go back to older zones.

Thanks for clarifying! I must admit I suffered from assumption there... I read your first paragraph and was like "uh.. yea..." lol. Sorry about that.

I think that if they COULD make the map one huge map, they would... but I don't think it's possible. Too much data for an MMO. to simultaneously track EVERYTHING on the entire continent at once.... you think Cyrodiil lags now? whew!

Lol, yeah, and I added that bit in the intro, I don't expect them to be able to completely get rid of loading screens, but minimizing them is certainly a desirable option.

Gidorick

Yes, opening it up would be great

miahq wrote: »

The reason is it's just an MMO staple, there's a very linear progression and new content always comes in added zones, taylor end to end level characters.

I think this is one of the biggest mistakes ZOS made and is still making. Do not tailor to END GAME... tailor to the entire experience. They need to stop throwing more stuff on top of the pile to let that end-game group climb higher and they need to make the stuff in the pile compelling enough to revisit.

They need to work to make ESO sustainable even without releases from ZOS.

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

AshySamurai wrote: »

Current map have it's own advantages. Low-level players know where next area starts. Also, why you need to return back? RP? So, you ask to complicate the system only for small purposes. I'm fine with RP, but it's really not game breaking. One more - you want to travel from AD to EP and nor AD not EP will attack you. CS and CG are like alternative reality. I don't think it was supposed to travel from one alliance to another on foot because it is a war here. In Craglorn you can find outpost, but they don't letting you in.
So, if ZOS someday tweak map - ok. If not - I couldn't care less.

It's wanted because that's literally what defines an elder scrolls game, more than even the characters and the lore. Open world exploration. That is literally the substance of the franchise. It's like making an online star wars game without Jedi. If it's just a complete linear progression from one zone to the next, it's not an elder scrolls game.

Besides with all the maps, compasses, and quest markers available in game and through add-ons, I don't see too many people getting lost.

miahq

Yes, opening it up would be great

Gidorick wrote: »

miahq wrote: »

The reason is it's just an MMO staple, there's a very linear progression and new content always comes in added zones, taylor end to end level characters.

I think this is one of the biggest mistakes ZOS made and is still making. Do not tailor to END GAME... tailor to the entire experience. They need to stop throwing more stuff on top of the pile to let that end-game group climb higher and they need to make the stuff in the pile compelling enough to revisit.

They need to work to make ESO sustainable even without releases from ZOS.

The champion system, although it's not exactly original, is certainly in that direction. I just think they really need to push it to the point where it's obvious you're not going to grind your way to the very top so people will just stop and play the game. Add more skills to the different classes, and make them much deeper. Not necessarily doing more damage with new morphs, but just maybe wider areas or different effects. Add morphs to make them more unique. If you stack it up to the point where it would take two years of constant grinding to completely max out everything, you greatly slow it down. And like the champion system, it doesn't make you completely and utterly dominant over newer players.

And the end of game content... right now they're using a pretty standard MMO formula, which is basically more dungeon runs and new armors and mats to farm for. That's fine if you want to attract MMO fans, but it seems to me you wouldn't base your MMO on a massively popular franchise if you didn't hope to attract that audience. That's more the audience they're losing, frankly, and if they really want to attract them then they need to better understand what makes elder scrolls games so engrossing and try to do more of that, not just what every other MMO has done before them.