Reinstall ESO Fresh or Incremental Game Update - 64 Bit Client

Publius_Scipio

With the 64 Bit client coming with the next update/DLC in March is it worth it to reinstall the entire game? I don't have specific science or proof but with games in general, sometimes people find that issues are resolved when a game is installed fresh. I guess sometimes with incremental updates the old code and updated code "trip over" themselves?

Anyway, I am no computer expert (specifically Mac and OS X) and a 64 Bit client update incrementally updated from older 32 Bit code seems like a big deal. Would it be smart or a waste of time to (when the update is released) to install ESO from scratch?

Thanks.

Elsonso

I would suggest that reinstalling the entire game will be a bad idea.

I have no idea how well they update the base version of the game stored on the download server with the current patch and update. It is very possible that there is a base version of the game that is installed, and all updates and patches since then need to be added to that. I am pretty sure that I do not want to be the one that tests that to see what they do.

What drives me to say this is that anyone who does this could be still downloading the game long after everyone else has downloaded and started playing.

You could reinstall the game in late February and avoid the long delay when the Update is released. You could also do a Repair to fix any issues that could be resolved by a download. If it is add-ons and local data that is causing your problem, getting those off your system can also be done. The game will regenerate any user files it needs, but you may need to go in an reset some settings.

KhajitFurTrader

The client going from 32 to 64-bit means adding one binary file (the ESO.app itself), and any 3rd party libraries that it relies on (plus a launcher option about which binary to start). The bulk of the game's data, e.g. textures, meshes, sounds, etc. can stay the same.

But, since there will also be new content coming with the Thieves Guild DLC patch, this would have to be downloaded as well (the client always contains all that there is in the world of Tamriel, whether the corresponding DLCs have been bought or not). This might be a few GB, but nowhere near the client's current size.

There is a master copy of the client on a CDN, which is always the most current live version; the launcher ensures that it and the local copy are always in sync, either by downloading entire files (on a fresh install, or during a repair to correct detected mismatches), or differential files ("patches") to update local files to their new versions. Safety mechanisms like checksums normally ensure that the process of patching doesn't corrupt data -- in the event of it happening, a subsequent repair should fix it.

So, unless you see the usual signs of data corruption, like pink textures, save yourself the bandwidth of installing from scratch; the upcoming DLC patch will be big enough, again.

Publius_Scipio

KhajitFurTrader wrote: »

The client going from 32 to 64-bit means adding one binary file (the ESO.app itself), and any 3rd party libraries that it relies on (plus a launcher option about which binary to start). The bulk of the game's data, e.g. textures, meshes, sounds, etc. can stay the same.

But, since there will also be new content coming with the Thieves Guild DLC patch, this would have to be downloaded as well (the client always contains all that there is in the world of Tamriel, whether the corresponding DLCs have been bought or not). This might be a few GB, but nowhere near the client's current size.

There is a master copy of the client on a CDN, which is always the most current live version; the launcher ensures that it and the local copy are always in sync, either by downloading entire files (on a fresh install, or during a repair to correct detected mismatches), or differential files ("patches") to update local files to their new versions. Safety mechanisms like checksums normally ensure that the process of patching doesn't corrupt data -- in the event of it happening, a subsequent repair should fix it.

So, unless you see the usual signs of data corruption, like pink textures, save yourself the bandwidth of installing from scratch; the upcoming DLC patch will be big enough, again.

So basically there are failsafes that make sure the chance of some corruption or something else going wrong are slim to none? Well that is good news.

Even if ESO is working fine, is it a good idea to run a quick repair from time to time anyways?

Edit: What do you make of stories gamers tell that sometimes their games start acting up, maybe become sluggish, some change in performance, etc. And they do a full uninstall and reinstall and the game performs much better afterwards?

KhajitFurTrader

I have never had the need to run a repair or even re-install the client as far as I can remember, and my first and only download of it was at its initial release during the stress test beta. On my main machine, that is. Maybe I'm just lucky, but there are a few factors that play into it, I think (see below). Anyway, regarding the running of regular repairs, I'm inclined to follow the old programmer's credo: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

MMOs are games that constantly need to load data from disk into memory, not just during loading screens, as they simply can't hold everything at once. By their very nature, they are undetermined regarding what has to be displayed from one second to the next, as player movement and gear are random. Magnetic HDDs have the slowest random access times in the system by a full order of magnitude, i.e. they are slower by a factor of 1000 when compared to RAM. Files that get changed or added to a lot might even fragment, i.e. get strewn across non-consecutive file system blocks, to the further detriment of seek times. This can be mitigated by a full re-install, or preferably, by the use of SSDs.

But this isn't the only factor, I guess. I suppose that a bit of performance loss over time comes from factors like addons and their saved data, the shader cache growing, etc. My first approach to this would be deleting/renaming the live or liveeu folders in Documents/The Elder Scrolls Online, and let the game build a fresh one from scratch, to see if this changes anything.

I also made it a routine to reset the graphics system to its defaults, by pressing [X] in the video settings, after each major patch. Not only get initial settings set to different defaults from time to time, but I've seen frame rates go up, or at least go back to their values before the patch.

ZOS_MollyH

Thanks @KhajitFurTrader !

Just want to add the following- If you ever receive Fatal Error 11, or Fatal Error 6 - this is generally the error that pops up when there is corrupt data somewhere in the game installation.

As it is now, it should be the same process in the future with the addition of 64bit data. If any of that corrupts while downloading or installing a patch, repairing the client should get the files properly arranged and defragged into your game installation.

Publius_Scipio

Awesome stuff. Thanks a lot.