ESO Confirms Content Development will slow down in 2015 after Tamriel Unlimited is Launched

Leeric

I don't know why anyone believes anything ZOS has to say at this point.....

Faulgor

Leeric wrote: »

I don't know why anyone believes anything ZOS has to say at this point.....

Given their track record, I have no reason to question the bad news they tell us.

Leeric

Faulgor wrote: »

Leeric wrote: »

I don't know why anyone believes anything ZOS has to say at this point.....

Given their track record, I have no reason to question the bad news they tell us.

Im not sure I understand you comment lol
Are you saying they have a good track record of following what they say?
Or are you saying the only have a good track record when it comes to bad news?

Faulgor

Leeric wrote: »

Faulgor wrote: »

Leeric wrote: »

I don't know why anyone believes anything ZOS has to say at this point.....

Given their track record, I have no reason to question the bad news they tell us.

Im not sure I understand you comment lol
Are you saying they have a good track record of following what they say?
Or are you saying the only have a good track record when it comes to bad news?

The latter.

daswahnsinn

What is considered new content? In my opinion new content has quest, gears,skills,etc all in one. Craglorn to me was the only real new content. I don't see how they consider the new undaunted pledges and the dye system new content. The pledges are a joke, "Hey guys lets do the same dungeons over and over and get the smallest chance of getting loot that we want, but if you get something you won't use it's bind on pickup." Not really new. So when they say they're slowing down the development I guess we'll see one DLC a year. Now I know I sound bitter, but I play on average 4.5 hours a day if not more. I have been here since the beta and truly love the game. However, I'm slightly disappointed.

I can't wait to see if anything really changes in the updates to come, I know no new content will be out for some time, but I still haven't done everything so I'll stay busy.

/rant

Alcast

Maybe I overwatched that but my question is still >

So if there will be no new content updates between 1.6 and Console launch/3months after console launch. Why Should I keep my subscription up after they change the model on March 17th. Or do they want us to pay for nothing from March 17th till new content comes out, or do they want us to pay for patches that actually fix their game? Any reason? Or what did I miss?

kevlarto_ESO

I am ok with that if the dlc's are larger have more content, maybe a little more polished, people that do not have the eso pass will be purchasing these after 1.6, but on the other hand don't stretch them out to far.

Rott

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

Bouvin wrote: »

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

Bouvin wrote: »

I'd like to reiterate. Updates =/= Content.

Content is when you get new playable areas.

New Game Mechanics =/= Content.

Content is new playable areas.

New Items in the Cash Shop =/= Content

Content = Playable Areas

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

You may not like some of that other content, but all those things are content. Your personal tastes don't affect what is actually considered game content.

Okay. Well you have fun "playing" the cash shop.

Or "playing" the new skill morphs.

I will have oodles of fun playing the new Justice System. I will also have bucketloads of fun playing in the new Champion System. If I get really wild, I may even have fun playing with the new provisioning recipes.

It's insane how much fun you can have if you stop treating the game as your job.

Wait... so are you saying that as long as the devs just change the way the end game grind works, then new areas, dungeons or raids are not required?

You just keep treading the same old placest to increase the stats a few percent? And you also call this content? lol.

Damn, I knew some of the EoS fanboys were easily please but you take the biscuit.

pmn100b16_ESO

Alcast wrote: »

Maybe I overwatched that but my question is still >

So if there will be no new content updates between 1.6 and Console launch/3months after console launch. Why Should I keep my subscription up after they change the model on March 17th. Or do they want us to pay for nothing from March 17th till new content comes out, or do they want us to pay for patches that actually fix their game? Any reason? Or what did I miss?

Because 1500 crowns and wedding dresses

Slurg

Alcast wrote: »

Maybe I overwatched that but my question is still >

So if there will be no new content updates between 1.6 and Console launch/3months after console launch. Why Should I keep my subscription up after they change the model on March 17th. Or do they want us to pay for nothing from March 17th till new content comes out, or do they want us to pay for patches that actually fix their game? Any reason? Or what did I miss?

Maybe this is actually the bonus for long term subscribers - a few months off from needing to pay to play the game.

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

They just pulled he plug on the subscription option, I think. Playing for free once or twice a week and possibly buying a DLC in late 2015, if they ever release one, sounds fine to me.

Marthenil

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO wrote: »

They just pulled he plug on the subscription option, I think. Playing for free once or twice a week and possibly buying a DLC in late 2015, if they ever release one, sounds fine to me.

Yup, I don't think this is turning out as an MMO with commitment. More like a play once or twice a week and finish everything.

Which is bad. But whatever.

OtarTheMad

I don't see this being a huge problem at all. If ZOS spent a little more time on Updates 1-5, keeping them in PTS or internal testing for another 2-3 weeks they wouldn't have had the 1-2 major bugs they had and ESO would be in an amazing spot. But, they pushed the content out because of that 4-6 week promise and for those reasons alone the Updates had major bugs.

All this means to me is that the Updates (or DLC) will be polished and most likely major bug free, which would be awesome.

Razzak

OtarTheMad wrote: »

I don't see this being a huge problem at all. If ZOS spent a little more time on Updates 1-5, keeping them in PTS or internal testing for another 2-3 weeks they wouldn't have had the 1-2 major bugs they had and ESO would be in an amazing spot. But, they pushed the content out because of that 4-6 week promise and for those reasons alone the Updates had major bugs.

All this means to me is that the Updates (or DLC) will be polished and most likely major bug free, which would be awesome.

I envy you. I can only wish I could be so trusting in someone who has managed to not fix a lot of bugs that have been here since conception and those that were introduced later. Or add some "simple" solutions to fight annoyances to players.

Like I was reminded in another thread, guild bank and management of your own items still isn't working. Grouping tool still behaves like a teenager on a run. A simple UI toggle to turn notification off, is supposed to be only thought about after 1.6.

To name the few.

And that was managed to not get done while they had their entire team working on a sub based game. Now, their team is getting split into several groups and logic dictates that those that remain to fight bugs and like will be even lees numerous and thus do even less work in certain time period.

Grao

TheBull wrote: »

If cloak is not fixed by 1.6, it never will be...

PvP portion of the justice system lol maybe December if we are lucky
Imperial City, August maybe?
Spellcrafting lol

It is so sad that I have to agree with you. Oh, by the way, @ZOS_MattFiror also said that the PvP part of the Justice system may never come. Apparently it is too complicated to balance in game >.> your statement should have read as:

Imperial City, August maybe?
Spellcrafting lol maybe December if we are lucky
PvP portion of the justice system lol

That seems more likely at the moment.

The_Drexill

So, the pace in 2014 (snails pace, still haven't fixed beta problems) will slow down a bit for 2015 to let the game "breathe"?

This game is not going to be breathing much longer.

Kilandros

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

Bouvin wrote: »

I'd like to reiterate. Updates =/= Content.

Content is when you get new playable areas.

New Game Mechanics =/= Content.

Content is new playable areas.

New Items in the Cash Shop =/= Content

Content = Playable Areas

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

You may not like some of that other content, but all those things are content. Your personal tastes don't affect what is actually considered game content.

Wrong. It's not content.

BoloBoffin

starlizard70ub17_ESO wrote: »

It's begining to look more and more like those of us who have had subs since the begining, should keep our subs until right after Mar 19th. Get our bonus and time served crowns, then unsub until actual added content is released. When it's released then decide if it's worth subbing (ie renting) for the new content or just buying to own it permenatly. The +10% bonus to xp, gold, etc, means nothing to those of us who already have a crafter and a VR14 charactor.

NOTE, this comes from someone who actually supports ESO, so I'll wait and see how this is going to work. But if new content, (new land, quests, dungeons), is slowed down to once or twice a year, I can't see it worth paying a $180 sub per year for it.

I don't think once or twice a year is in the cards. The slowest I expect is once a quarter. But I got to admit, the best I expect is once every two months. That makes the next DLC in August in the best case scenario. And that's saying the March 17 debut and the console release go relatively smoothly. Hands, everyone that thinks that!

My subscription runs out May 4. I'm expecting 4500 crowns. That's got to be enough to buy the next DLC, maybe two. If it's two, then that would get me through a second DLC offering around October. Again, that's best case scenario on release of DLC. If it's a three month window, then June goes to September for the first DLC and December for the second. And those would be mine to play for good if I used my crowns. That's me playing ALL major content through the end of the year, probably into 2016.

Why would I buy another six-month sub for $75 in May? Why would I pay even $15?

Zenimax must not expect subscriptions to be a significant part of their revenue from here on out. How could they? This is all but saying subscriptions are over, we know it, thanks for being there, we all tried, here's the rest of the year for free on the PC/Mac servers, maybe see your credit card again in 2016. Sure, we'll port your characters to the console of your choice for $20 cash. But your free crowns stay on the PC server.

Oop, getting bitter... Time to go to bed.

OtarTheMad

Razzak wrote: »

OtarTheMad wrote: »

I don't see this being a huge problem at all. If ZOS spent a little more time on Updates 1-5, keeping them in PTS or internal testing for another 2-3 weeks they wouldn't have had the 1-2 major bugs they had and ESO would be in an amazing spot. But, they pushed the content out because of that 4-6 week promise and for those reasons alone the Updates had major bugs.

All this means to me is that the Updates (or DLC) will be polished and most likely major bug free, which would be awesome.

I envy you. I can only wish I could be so trusting in someone who has managed to not fix a lot of bugs that have been here since conception and those that were introduced later. Or add some "simple" solutions to fight annoyances to players.

Like I was reminded in another thread, guild bank and management of your own items still isn't working. Grouping tool still behaves like a teenager on a run. A simple UI toggle to turn notification off, is supposed to be only thought about after 1.6.

To name the few.

And that was managed to not get done while they had their entire team working on a sub based game. Now, their team is getting split into several groups and logic dictates that those that remain to fight bugs and like will be even lees numerous and thus do even less work in certain time period.

I guess that is one way to look at it but I just look at it a different way. To me if they spent more time internally testing and PTS testing then updates 1-5 would have released smoother. More time testing= more bugs found which would mean that they could have found other bugs sooner as well. Right now they are playing catch up with all of this imo because they pushed out content too quickly.

As for the team being split up because of console, I am going to guess that it will be the same team that was working on getting consoles released in the first place so the team working on PC won't be impacted much imo. Maybe the leads of each sections (or whatever they call it) will have more responsibilities but that might be it.

Does it suck that new content won't be coming out until sometime until June when consoles get released? yeah... it does...a lot. But if that means DLC's come out smoother than the updates did then so be it.

Elsonso

B2P or not, we were always headed into a dry spell here after Update 6 and Champion System was finished. The gap would be filled with Console prep and the team would be mostly focused on Console. The ESO team is not that large and, like they said, they have 4 platforms that have to be tested.

Following Console, we will Wrothgar, in much the same way we go Craglorn after PC/Mac launch.

They will then resume some sort of "regular" pace of development because that is simply how they have their development set up.

There are only three new areas that have been mentioned up until now, and we will eventually get all of them, but they will have to pace them in order to keep revenue flowing. By spacing them out, they replace the steady subscription revenue with a bumpy but similar DLC purchase trend. They don't want people buying all of the DLC in 3 months and then not have anything else for a year.

Between these pay days, we will get additional Store items, probably dropped on us several times per year every few weeks. We will also get base game features, not so much for the current player population but for the players who are on the fence looking for reasons to buy the game in the first place.

As I have said before, they will possibly have a few deals with Microsoft, and even Sony, for DLC material that favors consoles. Microsoft has less incentive to block PCs from getting this stuff, so I expect Skyrim style DLC where XBOX gets it first and, when they get around to it, others get it. Sony has no reason to care about the PC crowd and every reason to not like the XBOX crowd, so there could be PS4 DLC stuff there that no one else ever gets to see.

This sort of messing around will take up opportunities to release DLC, so there could be times where the PC/Mac crowd does not get anything while one or both Consoles get updates. Of course, this makes the consoles beta testers for the PC/Mac crowd, where these updates make it to the PC/Mac.

EDIT: I don't want anyone thinking this last part is a certainty. It depends on a lot of factors and any little thing could make it not happen like that.

andrantos

At this point, all we can do is speculate. I haven't read all the direct details - but I've already seen plenty of posters and media across a variety of websites misconstrue some of the info Zenimax has stated.

For example, it appears it was stated that 1.6 will be the last big update to go out before the console launch. Many have taken this as meaning that 1.6 will be the last big update... period (which is obviously not the case).

It does seem content or DLC drops will be further apart - which isn't such a bad thing depending on the quality and pricing of content in each DLC. FF14 has an almost quarterly schedule and releases some very substantial updates.

It is also not such a bad thing that their future focus will be on new content as opposed to re-worked/re-vamped systems. This will result in new things to do - ESO has some very solid things going for it.

The way I look at it, one of two things will happen. The console launch and transition to B2P will result in better numbers for Zenimax which will result a better long-term gaming prospect for all. Or, the transition to B2P is just a milestone hit for a game that isn't living up to financial expectations and will progressively reach some sort of uninspired maintenance mode.

With all that said, I would like to hear what this means for things like...

• spellcrafting
• thieves guild
• dark brotherhood

Snowstrider

That sucks,Guess i am one of the lucky ones becouse i havent played any end game content yet and so are all the new players but for all old hardcore players.. This sucks

frosth.darkomenb16_ESO

Morshire wrote: »

Well, I have to say I am glad that he at least admitted that the 4-6 week roll out was "unrealistic" for long term.

As someone else posted in this thread, they actually managed to stay mostly on target with updates. They had a lot to fix and they did a pretty good job.
1.6 is just the kind of update you have to do in one go and you can't split up. I'm fine with the time it took to develop.

Also, we know that they held back content to become DLCs. They've shown 6 DLC zones that are all well advanced. Wrothgar and Murkwood were well advanced at quakecon, same for the Imperial City. That's 7 important zones worked on in parrallel. Had they focused on releasing them sequentialy, we'd have at least a couple out already.

Honestly, their subscription based velocity was fine, and would have been even better had they not planned this silly b2p switch.
The estimate was realistic, they just changed plans and now they'll have less resources to produce content, so obviously they'll slow down.

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

Bouvin wrote: »

I'd like to reiterate. Updates =/= Content.

Content is when you get new playable areas.

New Game Mechanics =/= Content.

Content is new playable areas.

New Items in the Cash Shop =/= Content

Content = Playable Areas

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

You may not like some of that other content, but all those things are content. Your personal tastes don't affect what is actually considered game content.

Unfortunately, you're the one being wrong here.
While game mechanics are the most important part of the game, content is the ammunition we use to experience them.
Those are quests, dungeons, PvP arenas and open world objectives.
The game systems are there to tie them all together in one cohesive whole.

And that's the issue many have with the notion that the team will be focused on content. Yes, we need content, it's been too long, but great content is useless if you don't have great game mechanics.

Spellcrafting, the thieves guild, the dark brotherhood, the PvP aspect of the Justice system are all ways to experience the content differently.
Having a new zone sprinkled with objectives for those systems(hiden spell components, house to rob, marks to hunt down) will make a larger impact than a good story with voice acting.

The PvP in the Justice system really is the most important one. Open world emergent gameplay and the unpredictability it provides will distract from the rails the player is on due to being in a themepark.

And what other systems could be added? And especially which ones still need much improvement? The answer that comes first to mind is PvP.

From an answer of Brian Wheeler on the forums, PvP won't get touched until at the very least 1.7. The imperial city probably later, and perhaps even as a DLC.
This means that aside from the rebalancing and the raise of the aoe target cap in 1.6, PvP will remain broken for months. He even explained that the "buff server" issue won't get touched until then.

AvA was supposed to be the game's end game, yet is only game mechanics and systems. If updates of mechanics variety are delayed for at least 6 more months, it means that the one truly repeatable activity in the game is not functional.
And console players are more PvP oriented than the PC players. DCUO, the most successful f2p mmo on the consoles has 26% of its player base doing exclusively PvP. What's the percentage on ESO? Probably less than 5% seeing how that aspect of the game got ignored since release.
The game won't retain a playerbase because of this change of strategy.

eventide03b14a_ESO

Rosveen wrote: »

So we have at least 7 months (November-June) without a content update? Huh. But more importantly, is there any reason at all to keep subbing between March and June?

I don't think so. Basically our subscription has turned into a crown store subscription. They can dress it up and call it whatever they like but this is now F2P. I would be surprised if they had anything substantial added after 6 and even more surprised if it wasn't behind a paywall.

Zyrakk

As many others have said, he's saying that they will be focusing on more adventures and dungeons while putting less time into system overhauls. For the players wanting more content to play, this is actually a really good thing. I don't want to come off as rude but it's worth reading the whole thing rather than just the title. Here's what he said:

"We are not going to keep up our 2014 pace of updates in 2015 - and our future update pace will focus more on new adventures and game experiences than system changes"

I have high hopes for 2015, and since they will have fixed most of things people didn't like about the core game I'm sure playable content will be released more often.

Elsonso

Zyrakk wrote: »

As many others have said, he's saying that they will be focusing on more adventures and dungeons while putting less time into system overhauls. For the players wanting more content to play, this is actually a really good thing. I don't want to come off as rude but it's worth reading the whole thing rather than just the title. Here's what he said:

"We are not going to keep up our 2014 pace of updates in 2015 - and our future update pace will focus more on new adventures and game experiences than system changes"

I have high hopes for 2015, and since they will have fixed most of things people didn't like about the core game I'm sure playable content will be released more often.

But, it also means that we will be, for the most part, stuck with the same PC/Mac UI, the same beta chat bubbles, never ending loading screens (which I hit almost every time I am in the bank in stormhold), broken facial animation, weather that is local to you only, no more changes to LFG or grouping, etc

fromtesonlineb16_ESO

Rosveen wrote: »

So we have at least 7 months (November-June) without a content update? Huh. But more importantly, is there any reason at all to keep subbing between March and June?

Actually, for the majority (I suspect) who haven't gone above VR10 there hasn't been ANY new content since launch .. only the minority of hardcores who enjoy grinding dungeons endlessly got three new zones, lots in instances and oodles of phat lewt, everyone else was promised Orsinium and that won't come in the foreseeable future and will be DLC (confirmed by a comment in the AUA) unlike the hardcore's added content which remains free.

AngryNord

fromtesonlineb16_ESO wrote: »

Rosveen wrote: »

So we have at least 7 months (November-June) without a content update? Huh. But more importantly, is there any reason at all to keep subbing between March and June?

Actually, for the majority (I suspect) who haven't gone above VR10 there hasn't been ANY new content since launch .. only the minority of hardcores who enjoy grinding dungeons endlessly got three new zones, lots in instances and oodles of phat lewt, everyone else was promised Orsinium and that won't come in the foreseeable future and will be DLC (confirmed by a comment in the AUA) unlike the hardcore's added content which remains free.

What's this stuff about 'hardcore'? I'm as far from hardcore as you can get, and I've immensely enjoyed Craglorn, fulfilled the last achievment there a few days ago (Gray Passage. Solo. With lots of soul gems... And an insane repair bill... :P)

nimander99

I am reading that they are pretty happy with where the game will be at 1.6 and they will focus on console release while other teams develop content for DLC packages.

Fine with me, honestly id pay 40 bucks a month plus sub fee if that gives me new zones and dungeons and quests to do but then again I have no life so bring it on ZOS dump all the DLC possible on me and ill eat it up.

[snip]
[edited for trolling]

frosth.darkomenb16_ESO

nimander99 wrote: »

I am reading that they are pretty happy with where the game will be at 1.6 and they will focus on console release while other teams develop content for DLC packages.

Fine with me, honestly id pay 40 bucks a month plus sub fee if that gives me new zones and dungeons and quests to do but then again I have no life so bring it on ZOS dump all the DLC possible on me and ill eat it up.

[snip]

On a completely side note, I would be willing to pay a subscription price of $40 if a game studio managed to release a "craglorn" once a month and a "1.6" every 2 months alongside.

I'm a casual, so I'll never see all that content, but knowing the world is soooo much larger than what I can experience helps my immersion and my drive to play.

[edited to remove quote]