Request for Dev discussion on DLC size

dpencil

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom
I would like to request that the appropriate dev/devs engage with the ESO community in a discussion about future DLC sizes. Both Hew's Bane and The Gold Cost were significantly smaller than Orsinium, and the recent IGN interview with Matt Firor seemed to indicate that we should not expect DLCs at the scale of Orsinuim again, at least not in the near future. Don't get me wrong, getting more dungeons (especially if they have vet versions with cool new monster sets) is great, but dungeons have always been tied to zones before. Saying "Argonian Dungeon Pack" sounds like these new dungeons would not be attached to a new zone, which seems odd. I'm also excited about the barbershop and housing features coming, and understand that dev resources being dedicated to quality of life improvements usually means less devoted to new quest content. That's all well and good. Mainly, I think it's just worth remembering how successful Orsinuim was and why. It was large and rich with stuff to do. Sure, you can't produce something like that every 3 months, but it's still worth doing, even if it has to be a longer term project being worked on in tandem with shorter term smaller DLCs.

My primary questions are these:
1. Can we expect to see another DLC as large as Orsinium by at least Q2 or Q3 of next year? (if not, can we get an explanation why?)

2. Can we expect to see a more significant continuation of the main world story within the same time frame as above (i.e. Daedric princes, etc.)?

3. For PVP, I assume the coming "town capture" system will be a base game addition to Cyrodil. Does the "Dungeon pack" DLC hint that the Arena feature will be released in a DLC pack, or do you simply plan to make future PVP additions all base-game updates?

If we could get some more clarification and further ability to dialogue about these questions, that would be great.

Volkodav

We can dream,but ya never know.There are rumors and info to back it up that we will be getting smaller DLCs called "episodes" in future.They will be dropped much closer than the larger ones.
This is what I have read here in the forums in other threads.

Mojmir

The devs were probably watching him say that and are wondering the same thing.lol

dpencil

@Volkodav Yeah that info was in the IGN article I mentioned. I don't mind the idea of developing a new world story with "episodes" though I didn't get from the article that there would be a faster pace. I think they will still continue their quarterly cycle. My point was just trying to make the case that Orsinuim is more represenative of a fully fleshed out DLC and that future DLC zones should be of a size and depth of that as often as possible.

Volkodav

dpencil wrote: »

@Volkodav Yeah that info was in the IGN article I mentioned. I don't mind the idea of developing a new world story with "episodes" though I didn't get from the article that there would be a faster pace. I think they will still continue their quarterly cycle. My point was just trying to make the case that Orsinuim is more represenative of a fully fleshed out DLC and that future DLC zones should be of a size and depth of that as often as possible.

I am with you in this.I do love the Thieve's Guild and the Dark Brotherhood DLCs,but found them a bit too small,land wise,and quest wise both.
Orsinium has a whole lot more things to do that keep me coming back often.Hew's Bane does have some repeatables,as does DB,but there are only about three of them in Hew's Bane,and they cycle.

Epona222

I think I can offer a bit of a translation of the announcement - this is just conjecture, obviously, but it kind of makes sense...

This is because of people who play for 2-3 weeks when a new DLC is released = "people who don't spend crowns on the DLC, instead subbing for 1 month, play the DLC, then unsub until the next DLC"

Catering to this playstyle = "make sure there's some smaller amount of new content every minimum sub period so that people either stay subbed every month, or buy crowns to buy it".

Thoughts?

Silverado

If the whole "episode" thing means smaller maps and less content than db or tg, I won't be very pleased at all. I loved orsinium and thought it was the perfect size.

daemonios

Gonna quote myself from another thread:

daemonios wrote: »

So ESO finally turned into a full-fledged, episodic, freemium mobile game. Just on a computer/console. Bravo, ZOS. You had me fooled when you stated initially that the subscription model was the only one you were considering, and that you were sticking with it.

Volkodav

Epona222 wrote: »

I think I can offer a bit of a translation of the announcement - this is just conjecture, obviously, but it kind of makes sense...

This is because of people who play for 2-3 weeks when a new DLC is released = "people who don't spend crowns on the DLC, instead subbing for 1 month, play the DLC, then unsub until the next DLC"

Catering to this playstyle = "make sure there's some smaller amount of new content every minimum sub period so that people either stay subbed every month, or buy crowns to buy it".

Thoughts?

Yeah,but it is the rest of us who do sub,or do play a lot that will suffer along with those you have mentioned here.
I dont want to pay monthly,and get a smaller and smaller DLC every time,just to deter those 2=3 wk players.
Why would creating tinier and tinier DLCs make people stay subbed?
It would more likely cause people to not sub anymore.