Poor ZOS. Very poor!

Micallef

So I finally came face to face with Molag Bal today, for the first time. Evaded his major attacks and kept hitting him, hitting him until .... he was at 0% health.

And ... he stayed that way for about 15 minutes, getting spanked over and over again. Until I managed to submit a bug report while he was down (took 3 tries).
Until I decided I'd had enough and logged off.

Logging back on, I fully expected to discover my corpse. Instead, I was in a weird place and spoke to Meridia. Once she was done yacking and I was meant to go back to the Harborage, guess what! Stuck again! No portal, no exit, nothing.

Log off and log in again, only to re-appear in the Harborage.

I can't seriously believe that this was the intended way for the quest to unfold and be continued.

Was it? I'm beginning to wonder ...

So, after nearly one year since launch the final quest of the main story line is still bugged???

[Moderator Note: Edited per our rules on Flaming]

nerevarine1138

I've never heard of anyone encountering that particular issue, but since it resolved itself, what's the problem again?

sadownik

The problem is wasted time, and frustration because of faulty game desing and/or code.

Elsonso

Server?

EinionYrth

The fact that I've not seen the issues reported before in these hallowed halls suggests that it's really pretty rare and thus very hard to debug. Bad luck and a PITA for you, obviously, but not easy to fix.

Micallef

lordrichter wrote: »

Server?

NA

Micallef

EinionYrth wrote: »

The fact that I've not seen the issues reported before in these hallowed halls suggests that it's really pretty rare and thus very hard to debug. Bad luck and a PITA for you, obviously, but not easy to fix.

Perhaps, but I don't get the feeling they are trying very hard.

Anyway, I've submitted a bug report so hopefully some good will come of it.

Ommamar

That is a bummer Micallef. I have done that quest 3 times with no problems, I hope you included as much information in the bug report as possible to help them figure out what the problem was.

Aerieth

I've completed the main story two times now. Once in 1.0 and once in 2.0.2, no bugs in that part of the quest on either version. None of my friends or guild mates have had any problems either.

Might be a problem with your connection and/or system.

Elsonso

I would have expected EU server. I think that one is being slammed harder than NA.

What you experienced is what I call inattention. For whatever reason, server load, poor internet connection, etc., you are not getting updates for what is happening.

The fact that logging back in advances you makes me think that the server is fully aware of your current state, but the client is not, or is not displaying it.

Anyway, good luck. If it is a problem that ZOS can fix, hopefully they will be able to.

Aeladiir

[...]

Joke aside, I've never encountered this. Finished the main story 3 times now. Never had any bugs.

[Moderator Note: Removed moderated quote]

Micallef

Ommamar wrote: »

That is a bummer Micallef. I have done that quest 3 times with no problems, I hope you included as much information in the bug report as possible to help them figure out what the problem was.

Thanks. I've added as much info as I could without getting killed by Mr. MB while typing, which wasn't much I admit, thanks the bug report tool not being very responsive.
Still, I'm sure the powers that be know where to find me, should they need more details.

Micallef

lordrichter wrote: »

I would have expected EU server. I think that one is being slammed harder than NA.

What you experienced is what I call inattention. For whatever reason, server load, poor internet connection, etc., you are not getting updates for what is happening.

The fact that logging back in advances you makes me think that the server is fully aware of your current state, but the client is not, or is not displaying it.

Anyway, good luck. If it is a problem that ZOS can fix, hopefully they will be able to.

Thank you @lordrichter
From my client side I'm quite certain that there isn't a problem. Despite the fact that I'm accessing NA from S.E. Asia, I have no lag (PR: 240) and my machine is up to the task (constant 99FPS - no matter where, except Cyrodiil, which I haven't tried yet since I've been back) so I concur with your assessment about the server being a bit behind current affairs. Together with the recent reports of PVE lag (which I also have not personally observed so far) I'd say the problem being server side is more than likely.
Compared to launch day, it just seems like the game performance is getting worse, not better. It's always sad to see such potential wasted.

Obscure

To be fair this bug isn't exactly the same as the original one. Back at launch if you died fighting Molag Bal once, he was invincible ever after. There was also a progress blocking bug where even if you did kill old Mo on the first go, Merida wouldn't zone you anywhere and you'd stay stuck in her little pocket realm unless you wayshrined, and if you did, you couldn't get back to finish the quest step to move on to VR with Caldwell's silver.

At least it's not a brick wall that blocks progress...

...seems like a glass door you have to painfully throw yourself through to progress.

At any rate I'm certain they'll have it fixed for the launch of ESO on console, which is a clear priority for ZOS. These kinds of bugs are console game killers, since pushing patches requires third party approval, meaning fixing this sort of bug could take 30 minuets, but the approval process might take 30 days, an effin' eternity when we're talking about games. Someone runs into something like that they expect it hot fixed in 24 hours, not 24 weeks.

Robbmrp

Welcome to ESO. With your free monthly subscription you as much LAG as you want.....

dawnhawk

I would agree with lordrichter - it sounds like your client isn't communicating properly with the server and/or isn't updating properly based on the data it's getting back from the server. Which may not be "quest" related at all - hence why not many have seen or even heard of this happening. You may find other instances in which the same symptoms result though at this point you should be done most of the "solo - lets pull your character into another pocket dimension" style quests. I'd suggest keep a look out and update as necessary.

As for Mongoose - I do kind of agree with him/her/ze. If you entered the ticket, great - that's the proper course of action.

But as far as the forum post goes - what outcome were you hoping for?

If you were asking if anyone else had seen the issue or for any additional information that may prove useful for debugging on your end - that would be fine (though it doesn't read that way).

The original post reads a bit more like "I just want to rag on Zenimax for a bit due to frustration", which gets...old and makes people on the forums who would normally be inclined to answer the other types of posts actually seeking assistance less inclined to visit the forums, let alone try and be helpful.

And then the glib comment about the crown store (hint: programming TEAMS work on the same project. The team that handles the crown store dev isn't the same team that handles the bug queue) - makes anyone who works in the industry even less inclined to be useful in any way shape or form because it looks inconsiderate to the amount of work and project management actually required for an undertaking of any magnitude in the programming world - because we get frankly sick and tired of it in our day-to-day.

Not a complaint against complaining - just illustrating how it can sound from the other side of things and how it's not always in the users best interest to push away the people who may assist them in the future, and it potentially decreases the usefulness others may receive from the forums. Granted - if no intention of requiring potential assistance/feedback in the future is presumed, and no socialist motivations are applied - then go to town as it were.

teladoy

This is something new, before quests were bug for all of us, but now is aleatory.

What I mean is that there quests that are bugged and the only solutions is log out and login. This is not happening to all of us, sometimes happens in one quest to one person and then another quest to someone else.

I leveled up 4 char, in the begining were bugs, then was like is getting better, they fix many stuffs, but now the last 3 months since the game change to B2P, seems that the politic it is:

Ok guys, the situation is ****, we will invest in crown store, do some fixes and that's it. We will use this game to do all the money we can with this *** product we have right now and wait till happen what happened to WAR.

Great potencial, but for some iralorius reason... I don't know if monetary, the game is not getting better after 1 year.

Micallef

dawnhawk wrote: »

But as far as the forum post goes - what outcome were you hoping for?

If you were asking if anyone else had seen the issue or for any additional information that may prove useful for debugging on your end - that would be fine (though it doesn't read that way).

The original post reads a bit more like "I just want to rag on Zenimax for a bit due to frustration", which gets...old and makes people on the forums who would normally be inclined to answer the other types of posts actually seeking assistance less inclined to visit the forums, let alone try and be helpful.

And then the glib comment about the crown store (hint: programming TEAMS work on the same project. The team that handles the crown store dev isn't the same team that handles the bug queue) - makes anyone who works in the industry even less inclined to be useful in any way shape or form because it looks inconsiderate to the amount of work and project management actually required for an undertaking of any magnitude in the programming world - because we get frankly sick and tired of it in our day-to-day.

Not a complaint against complaining - just illustrating how it can sound from the other side of things and how it's not always in the users best interest to push away the people who may assist them in the future, and it potentially decreases the usefulness others may receive from the forums. Granted - if no intention of requiring potential assistance/feedback in the future is presumed, and no socialist motivations are applied - then go to town as it were.

You're right. Probably not the best way to get "attention" if that were my goal but it sure as hell felt good to vent some.

As for the frustration of hearing nothing but complaints all day, well that frustration goes both ways; while some may enjoy complaining, for my part I'd prefer to have nothing to complain about (I work in IT support - one rarely hears any positive news). What to do about the complaints though, that's entirely in their hands but they don't seem to be very pro-active (or reactive, for that matter) about it.
As an example, we've heard about the slow response of the /bug "tool" since nearly the beginning of this adventure and yet, it's still the same after one year. Takes almost a minute for it to open (no, that's not my system). *That* is where I have a problem. Bugs happen but bugs remaining un-addressed, even if only by customer's perception, it creates ill-will.

Peace out.

MissBizz

I wouldn't say it is still bugged.

I have done this quest now 3 times. The very first time, the titans didn't disappear (but they did quit shooting) so I just had to work around them.

The other 2 times? Not a single bug.

Make sure you put in a /bug so they actually know about it.

dawnhawk

Micallef wrote: »

You're right. Probably not the best way to get "attention" if that were my goal but it sure as hell felt good to vent some.

As for the frustration of hearing nothing but complaints all day, well that frustration goes both ways; while some may enjoy complaining, for my part I'd prefer to have nothing to complain about (I work in IT support - one rarely hears any positive news). What to do about the complaints though, that's entirely in their hands but they don't seem to be very pro-active (or reactive, for that matter) about it.
As an example, we've heard about the slow response of the /bug "tool" since nearly the beginning of this adventure and yet, it's still the same after one year. Takes almost a minute for it to open (no, that's not my system). *That* is where I have a problem. Bugs happen but bugs remaining un-addressed, even if only by customer's perception, it creates ill-will.

Peace out.

Oh well that's good - sincerely glad the venting helped (so often people just vent and storm off and no one ever knows if there was any positive outcome of a thread...so I agree with you there. As a sidenote this should make you smile...I had a client email me one day specifically to tell me that NOTHING was wrong with his system and it was all working fantastically, he just missed having contact with me and my team and since he didn't have a bug he emailed to tell me he didn't have a bug - it DOES and CAN happen!).

Heaven knows I use video games as highly cathartic. It's far less messy and requires far less paperwork to kill pixels.

I haven't used /bug much lately (maybe once or twice since 1.4 - used it a lot more at launch) - so I actually have no idea how long it takes to load. Don't remember ever noticing an abnormal time when using it though. That could be directly proportional to how good my tea was when I had the bug however, or whether my cats distracted me by crashing something in another room at the same time as me trying to log said bug.

I agree it would be nice if turn around on the queue was faster. I also have serious nightmares anytime I try and fathom the backlog column of their kanban board though. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

ZOS_MichelleA

Hey there, everyone. We've edited or removed several posts from this thread for flaming and off topic comments. While we encourage all our posters to share their thoughts (whether positive or negative), we do expect them to follow our Code of Conduct. Please be respectful when posting, even if you are frustrated about a bug.

Thank you for your understanding.

Elsonso

Micallef wrote: »

Compared to launch day, it just seems like the game performance is getting worse, not better. It's always sad to see such potential wasted.

I would be inclined to disagree with that assessment. I was here for launch in April 2014 and, outside of Cyrodiil, game performance is mostly a non-issue today on NA. EU seems to be struggling, which is probably a load vs infrastructure issue. There are isolated issues reported on NA, but almost everyone I talk to has little, if any, significant problems. Maybe I am just lucky, or maybe my pious lifestyle is helping , but I am all over the game and I have little to complain about in terms of performance. Maybe I am not as picky about instant response so I tolerate the occasional extra long chest open, but it is nothing at all like the initial launch. Not even close.

The last time I had significant performance problems was around the first of the year when the server had not been rebooted in a while. Long loading screens, combat lag, and lag and no response opening doors, chests, and resources were common, if not continuous.

Just a couple of asides...

The /bug panel delays are probably not a small amount of local. There is a noticeable delay when opening it, and always has been. I suspect it is an HTML page related to Awesomium. It takes around 5 seconds to open for me.

Crown Store priority. I realize that this is mostly sarcastic venting, but it is beginning to get irritating. Yeah, ZOS is assigning resources to making new Crown Store material. They are not doing this to the exclusion of everything else. They are not even prioritizing it to be the primary activity. I know a lot of people think ZOS is going to try to live off donations from the store, but they are a lot better at business than to depend on donations. Donations can supplement primary revenue, but will not replace it. I cannot say more without invoking the restriction against conspiracy theories (even if it is true ).

Micallef

lordrichter wrote: »

I would be inclined to disagree with that assessment. I was here for launch in April 2014 and, outside of Cyrodiil, game performance is mostly a non-issue today on NA.

Then we must agree to disagree. I was there too. I was there during beta when certain quests' progression was halted by the sheer number of players trying to complete a certain step at the same time. The majority of that was fixed during live (5-day pre-access). I remember being impressed by the smoothness on launch day, even in Cyrodiil keep siege (I also played DAoC btw - lag central for siege situations, except BGs).

Yet here I am, stuck again, on something as simple as entering Hozzin's Folly mine. I've done this quest on alts before, got the disguise, wep swapping and stealth are responsive and yet, I can't enter (I have the option <Enter the mine> but it does nothing when activated - re-logging this time does not solve this issue).

I dunno, maybe it *is* my PC, despite apparently having good performance both in connection to the server and local performance. I don't see though what I could add to the current spec to make it any better.

Asus Maximus VII Ranger with Intel i7 4991
32GB RAM @1800mhz / Win 7 Ult (all patches all driver up-to-date)
Asus STRIX 970 4GB game display / Asus GTX 660ti secondary display
Asus D2X sound card / 8TB JBOD (system and games separate)

Playing on Ultra settings except grass (resources are easier to detect that way) with zero hitches. Yet entering a new location is not possible when everything else is smooth as silk. Blaming that on the customer setup is just an easy cop-out, imo.

Yes, I was sniping at the crown store; with good reason. It appears that's all that matters atm, but I understand next week's patch should include some performance fixes. Let's wait and see.

Attorneyatlawl

I encountered this bug repeatedly during closed beta in 2013 as the first player to fight and defeat him (as well as reach him when the fight was still unfinished and didn't progress beyond the initial lifting you into the air ), and reported the cause as a bug + forum thread back then. There were three primary actions that could trigger it, but only two are coming to mind unfortunately off the top of my head and I am not finding my notes as to the other one readily, at least.

The first of the three was using an ability that debuffs an enemy's max health such as Pulsar in the destruction staff skill line which would bug his percentage trigger code, which is meant to happen at 15% of his maximum health for the ending sequence. The second one I recall was continuously fighting to damage him or use abilities after he crosses that 15% threshold.

The third was another specific skill, but I can't remember what exactly, and will post back if/when I remember or find it. One thing I do remember that made it always work though was to not use Pulsar, and to be within melee range of him as he falls, then stand still and do nothing for around 10 seconds or the animation triggers, whichever comes sooner . Otherwise you know it's bugged .

If he bugs on you, the solution for a proper reset is to zone out of the area fully to a main town or similar, and log off that character for 10 full minutes (you can play another one in the meantime if desired, without affecting this). Then, go back into the Harborage and repeat the entire thing with a now-fully-reset zone and hope for the best.