ZOS talk to us please [Suggestion Thread]

Zakor

Well, how to start this... I think one of the biggest problems ESO has currently is the bad communication between devs and community. People get mad when they report bugs and they don't get acknowledged or fixed for ages. People get mad when they run into serious problems or exploits and nothing is said about that. People get mad about anything that ZOS does atm but thats another topic.

The point I try to make is that this could be easily solved by a bit more communication. And that doesn't mean that ZOS should hire people for 24/7 forum duty or something. I had a few other points in mind:

1. Community bug tracker. Give us insight into your work. Let us see which bugs are known and if/that they are worked on. This could be done with a new webpage or (less effort I assume) a weekly forum post that states which bugs were worked on during the week and which/if progress was made.
2. Bring back the "/lurk". It was great to know that you guys read our threads. It gives us the feeling that you care about the stuff we write in here. Alternatively bring us a "Dev was here" Icon or something. It is important for us to know that you read this stuff here.
3. Answer more frequently. Even if your answers are short or a "I have to check that" or whatever, talk to us. If you don't people feel ignored really fast and get mad.
4. Player design council. Take a few of the top players and put them into a council. Show them new content first and ask for their feedback early in design progress. That's a big step but would GREATLY help the entire playerbase. Players sometimes see problems that devs don't see since players think a bit different. It's not like you have to provide a beta build to them but show them your intentions and concepts.
5. Talk more about upcomming content. This helps to maintain motivation within the playerbase. It also helps the playerbase to provide early and appropriate feedback.
6. The "Weekly ZOS Report". Easy one: x Players banned, y bugs fixed, z threads read by devs,... I think you get my idea.
7. More consistent ESO-Live. Yeah, it's a bit early to say this since there will be a new episode today but this has to be said anyway. Bring the show back, biweekly, and make it that your devs are a inherent part of the show. People like Eric Wrobel or Rich Lambert may have much work to do but for the community they are the first persons to talk to for specific problems. There also should be someone from the team of current content (new Trial, new System, new Area, whatever) to help with questions and problems related to that one. Then go ahead and tease us a bit of future content and stuff. We don't mind if it's unfinished, buggy or ugly at the moment, but we want to see your vision for the game and where we are heading to. If you need some inspiration go and check the warframe devstream. I just watched it yesterday for the first time after around 2 years and was impressed how good that show was compared to ESO-Live. Seriously guys, those streams have a great potential, use it please!

Communication is the key to "make ESO great again" (and I can't believe I just used that quote). So, in an attempt to improve the communication I try to summon @ZOS_GinaBruno for a bit feedback. Is something like this planed? Would you consider a few of these points at least and implement them as soon as possible please? I really think this is the way to improve the relation between community and devs which will directly benefit the game! At the end, we all just want to improve the game

Pwnyridah

I love the ideas, more communication would be great, lot of constructive suggestions here

Thelon

They used to communicate a lot when this was a sub-based game. Top players, Guild Masters and others were invited to provide feedback on a regular basis.

Now that they just have to get you to buy the box and the occasional crown crate, not so much

Thealteregoroman

Zakor

Thelon wrote: »

They used to communicate a lot when this was a sub-based game. Top players, Guild Masters and others were invited to provide feedback on a regular basis.

Now that they just have to get you to buy the box and the occasional crown crate, not so much

That is just the kind of "being mad" that results from the lack of communication provided.

Thealteregoroman wrote: »

Maybe, but it's important IMO and so I want to try it at least. Also very constructive.

Niko1987

Thealteregoroman wrote: »

Oh dear... I laughed at this a lot harder than I should...

But yes, I do think more communication would be great. There's quite a few posts asking something similar.

Liofa

These are the things they should be doing anyway . They don't speak at all . When they released the patch notes with ''Developer Comments'' under them , I was so happy , I started to have big hopes about ZOS starting to communicate with players .

I really don't care about how many they banned or what their plan is . What I want most is to see a developer commenting on each and every thread in ''Bug Reports'' section . Really . THAT is the most important thing . We should be informed that our feedback on broken stuff is heard and being worked on or will be looked at . Multiple Mundus exploit for example . We still didn't get any information from ZOS about it . Are they working on it ? Did they even read ? We don't know and that is the bad part . I just want a Community Manager to comment this : ''We are looking into it'' or ''This will be fixed in 2045'' . I am seriously ok with both . As long as they say that they are aware of it and will fix in whatever time , I am happy .

NewBlacksmurf

Maybe the year ahead article will say.....

Bethesda is taking over 100%......f2p is set
Thanks for your support we've lost too many team members and have had to be absorbed by Bethesda devs

See the ever growing jobs listing for the overall company. It's worth paying attn to each quarter. The lists has grown quite a bit from 2015

https://jobs.zenimax.com/locations/view/7

WhiteCoatSyndrome

Zakor wrote: »

Alternatively bring us a "Dev was here" Icon or something. It is important for us to know that you read this stuff here.

This. We do have the Dev Tracker link on the top bar, but it's not obvious. Also Devs share the 'Z' icon with the mods which causes a number of problems:

--Mods get mistaken for devs, and subsequently get screamed at for not answering questions they have no way of answering when they post, which is not fair to the mods.
--Players who don't realize the mods AREN'T devs get angry over the perceived lack of answers, and thus become angry and resentful of the devs.
--Large numbers of people get excited seeing the 'Z' next to a thread only to find out it's something mundane like 'this thread has been moved' or 'we cleaned up some posts don't make us do it again' and get irritated with both groups.

Having separate icons would help with the above a lot.

Zakor

Liofa wrote: »

These are the things they should be doing anyway . They don't speak at all . When they released the patch notes with ''Developer Comments'' under them , I was so happy , I started to have big hopes about ZOS starting to communicate with players .

I really don't care about how many they banned or what their plan is . What I want most is to see a developer commenting on each and every thread in ''Bug Reports'' section . Really . THAT is the most important thing . We should be informed that our feedback on broken stuff is heard and being worked on or will be looked at . Multiple Mundus exploit for example . We still didn't get any information from ZOS about it . Are they working on it ? Did they even read ? We don't know and that is the bad part . I just want a Community Manager to comment this : ''We are looking into it'' or ''This will be fixed in 2045'' . I am seriously ok with both . As long as they say that they are aware of it and will fix in whatever time , I am happy .

I understand you. Since beta I report certain bugs and since beta some of them aren't fixed. That outright sucks. At some point I thought they got it since they started talking about it but then it just vanished and the bugs stayed. That's the reason I want that bug tracker (#1 in the list) badly. It would help to improve things. That would also make the comments on the bug reports irrelevant since you can look it up in the system and what they've done about it (nothing, started working on it, fix scheduled for xyz,...).

Zakor

WhiteCoatSyndrome wrote: »

Zakor wrote: »

Alternatively bring us a "Dev was here" Icon or something. It is important for us to know that you read this stuff here.

This. We do have the Dev Tracker link on the top bar, but it's not obvious. Also Devs share the 'Z' icon with the mods which causes a number of problems:

--Mods get mistaken for devs, and subsequently get screamed at for not answering questions they have no way of answering when they post, which is not fair to the mods.
--Players who don't realize the mods AREN'T devs get angry over the perceived lack of answers, and thus become angry and resentful of the devs.
--Large numbers of people get excited seeing the 'Z' next to a thread only to find out it's something mundane like 'this thread has been moved' or 'we cleaned up some posts don't make us do it again' and get irritated with both groups.

Having separate icons would help with the above a lot.

Just to clarify, I don't talk about the Z, I talk about a NEW Icon that shows that the devs have read a thread and not posted anything. Just so you know they were there. But yes, your point is actually important. How many times have I clicked on the Z just to find some moderation notice *sigh*

OrphanHelgen

Don't even think they will /lurk this one, but lets hope.

Wrecking_Blow_Spam

Not gunna happen...

They do read every thread, because they're busy snipping comments, closing threads etc.

So they are here but they likely have orders not to communicate with us peasants how we might like.

DannyLV702

Thealteregoroman wrote: »

radientenshu_ESO would REALLY love this. Don't get him excited.

Rohamad_Ali

The citizens of Tamriel would like to thank you for making this suggestion . If we don't hear back from you within 48 hours ,we will assume your problem with communication is solved .

Warm Regards ,

Chet

BlazingDynamo

I think that's what they're aiming for with this ESO Live every second Friday. And with it being streamed on Bethesda's channel makes me believe they are the ones responsible.

Makes me feel good knowing we may get a voice in this game now and possibly Bethesda getting actively involved with the development of the game? Maybe I'm reaching idk here's to wishful thinking though..

Cpt_Teemo

Thelon wrote: »

They used to communicate a lot when this was a sub-based game. Top players, Guild Masters and others were invited to provide feedback on a regular basis.

Now that they just have to get you to buy the box and the occasional crown crate, not so much

Reminds me a whole lot of Swtor, going in the wrong direction and fast.

Zakor

Wrecking_Blow_Spam wrote: »

Not gunna happen...

They do read every thread, because they're busy snipping comments, closing threads etc.

So they are here but they likely have orders not to communicate with us peasants how we might like.

Again somebody who isn't able to differentiate between mod and dev. *sigh*


Guys please, this thread is supposed to be constructive but you guys fill it with your frustration. I understand that but please do that elsewhere. I really try to achieve something here. Would help a lot if you would be constructive instead of frustrated or trolling. Thanks

Stovahkiin

Rohamad_Ali wrote: »

The citizens of Tamriel would like to thank you for making this suggestion . If we don't hear back from you within 48 hours ,we will assume your problem with communication is solved .

Warm Regards ,

Chet

NO! Not the infamous robot-Chet!

andreasranasen

Love this OP! Communication is key to success!

RealLifeRedguard

Zakor wrote: »

Well, how to start this... I think one of the biggest problems ESO has currently is the bad communication between devs and community. People get mad when they report bugs and they don't get acknowledged or fixed for ages. People get mad when they run into serious problems or exploits and nothing is said about that. People get mad about anything that ZOS does atm but thats another topic.

The point I try to make is that this could be easily solved by a bit more communication. And that doesn't mean that ZOS should hire people for 24/7 forum duty or something. I had a few other points in mind:

1. Community bug tracker. Give us insight into your work. Let us see which bugs are known and if/that they are worked on. This could be done with a new webpage or (less effort I assume) a weekly forum post that states which bugs were worked on during the week and which/if progress was made.
2. Bring back the "/lurk". It was great to know that you guys read our threads. It gives us the feeling that you care about the stuff we write in here. Alternatively bring us a "Dev was here" Icon or something. It is important for us to know that you read this stuff here.
3. Answer more frequently. Even if your answers are short or a "I have to check that" or whatever, talk to us. If you don't people feel ignored really fast and get mad.
4. Player design council. Take a few of the top players and put them into a council. Show them new content first and ask for their feedback early in design progress. That's a big step but would GREATLY help the entire playerbase. Players sometimes see problems that devs don't see since players think a bit different. It's not like you have to provide a beta build to them but show them your intentions and concepts.
5. Talk more about upcomming content. This helps to maintain motivation within the playerbase. It also helps the playerbase to provide early and appropriate feedback.
6. The "Weekly ZOS Report". Easy one: x Players banned, y bugs fixed, z threads read by devs,... I think you get my idea.
7. More consistent ESO-Live. Yeah, it's a bit early to say this since there will be a new episode today but this has to be said anyway. Bring the show back, biweekly, and make it that your devs are a inherent part of the show. People like Eric Wrobel or Rich Lambert may have much work to do but for the community they are the first persons to talk to for specific problems. There also should be someone from the team of current content (new Trial, new System, new Area, whatever) to help with questions and problems related to that one. Then go ahead and tease us a bit of future content and stuff. We don't mind if it's unfinished, buggy or ugly at the moment, but we want to see your vision for the game and where we are heading to. If you need some inspiration go and check the warframe devstream. I just watched it yesterday for the first time after around 2 years and was impressed how good that show was compared to ESO-Live. Seriously guys, those streams have a great potential, use it please!

Communication is the key to "make ESO great again" (and I can't believe I just used that quote). So, in an attempt to improve the communication I try to summon @ZOS_GinaBruno for a bit feedback. Is something like this planed? Would you consider a few of these points at least and implement them as soon as possible please? I really think this is the way to improve the relation between community and devs which will directly benefit the game! At the end, we all just want to improve the game

Any indication that devs are at least LOOKING at anything is re-assuring.

IronCrystal

Thelon wrote: »

They used to communicate a lot when this was a sub-based game. Top players, Guild Masters and others were invited to provide feedback on a regular basis.

Now that they just have to get you to buy the box and the occasional crown crate, not so much

The devs do still communicate with the Top players...ever heard of the Council of Nirn or the Council of Raiders?

negbert

I would rather they spent time doing their job rather than reading forum posts. Do you have any idea what it's like? I find it a nightmare at work dealing with my constant load of programming work as well as having to manage customer support threads. Their pool of engineering resource will have a limit. Replying to people on forums that will never be happy no matter what they do shouldn't be a priority for a professional software engineer.

Zakor

negbert wrote: »

I would rather they spent time doing their job rather than reading forum posts. Do you have any idea what it's like? I find it a nightmare at work dealing with my constant load of programming work as well as having to manage customer support threads. Their pool of engineering resource will have a limit. Replying to people on forums that will never be happy no matter what they do shouldn't be a priority for a professional software engineer.

I in fact have an idea what it's like. And I also know damn well that the most important thing you can do as company is openly and often communicate with your customers. And I don't say every programmer at ZOS should be of to forum duty. But some people, especially leading people like Rich Lambert or Eric Wrobel, have some kind of responsibility to answer our (the customers) questions and concerns. At the moment they fail doing so which leads to frustration on both sides. The proposed suggestions wouldn't actually take a lot of their time but would improve communication a lot.

DigitalShibby

ZOS doesn't communicate with the player base, and when they do its often just to give excuses for their poor decision making.. which they call ESO Live.

Jemcrystal

Well they kinda just did this c o m m u n i c a t i o n you know. But that doesn't fix my borked quest. I really don't care if they want to communicate with me or not. I just want my broke quest chain fixed. I mean it is only the MAGE QUEST LINE THAT OPENS A ENTIRE ZONE but hey it's only me that is suffering the glitch so I guess it doesn't matter when you have gadzillions of mouths to feed. Cause I"m just one person who does not scream at ZOS in countless immature rage posts with one tiny little problem that means jack *** to no one but me. Just the mage quest line after all. Just submitted a ticked. Just sent video proof. Just showed that my quest is borked beyond shadow of doubt. NO ONE CARES

NO ONE

NO ONE

NO ONE

Zakor

You guys are the worst. You could actually work with me on changing all that but all you do is rant and let out your frustration in my thread. Damn go to QQ somewhere else. If this is everything this community is capable of it's actually no wonder why they stopped communicating! It's not only on their side, it's also on our side. So get your *** together and work CONSTRUCTIVE with me on this one so we can actually ACHIEVE something.

But if you prefer to rant, please, feel free, but do it somewhere else!

AlexDresden87

Zakor wrote: »

Well, how to start this... I think one of the biggest problems ESO has currently is the bad communication between devs and community. People get mad when they report bugs and they don't get acknowledged or fixed for ages. People get mad when they run into serious problems or exploits and nothing is said about that. People get mad about anything that ZOS does atm but thats another topic.

The point I try to make is that this could be easily solved by a bit more communication. And that doesn't mean that ZOS should hire people for 24/7 forum duty or something. I had a few other points in mind:

1. Community bug tracker. Give us insight into your work. Let us see which bugs are known and if/that they are worked on. This could be done with a new webpage or (less effort I assume) a weekly forum post that states which bugs were worked on during the week and which/if progress was made.
2. Bring back the "/lurk". It was great to know that you guys read our threads. It gives us the feeling that you care about the stuff we write in here. Alternatively bring us a "Dev was here" Icon or something. It is important for us to know that you read this stuff here.
3. Answer more frequently. Even if your answers are short or a "I have to check that" or whatever, talk to us. If you don't people feel ignored really fast and get mad.
4. Player design council. Take a few of the top players and put them into a council. Show them new content first and ask for their feedback early in design progress. That's a big step but would GREATLY help the entire playerbase. Players sometimes see problems that devs don't see since players think a bit different. It's not like you have to provide a beta build to them but show them your intentions and concepts.
5. Talk more about upcomming content. This helps to maintain motivation within the playerbase. It also helps the playerbase to provide early and appropriate feedback.
6. The "Weekly ZOS Report". Easy one: x Players banned, y bugs fixed, z threads read by devs,... I think you get my idea.
7. More consistent ESO-Live. Yeah, it's a bit early to say this since there will be a new episode today but this has to be said anyway. Bring the show back, biweekly, and make it that your devs are a inherent part of the show. People like Eric Wrobel or Rich Lambert may have much work to do but for the community they are the first persons to talk to for specific problems. There also should be someone from the team of current content (new Trial, new System, new Area, whatever) to help with questions and problems related to that one. Then go ahead and tease us a bit of future content and stuff. We don't mind if it's unfinished, buggy or ugly at the moment, but we want to see your vision for the game and where we are heading to. If you need some inspiration go and check the warframe devstream. I just watched it yesterday for the first time after around 2 years and was impressed how good that show was compared to ESO-Live. Seriously guys, those streams have a great potential, use it please!

Communication is the key to "make ESO great again" (and I can't believe I just used that quote). So, in an attempt to improve the communication I try to summon @ZOS_GinaBruno for a bit feedback. Is something like this planed? Would you consider a few of these points at least and implement them as soon as possible please? I really think this is the way to improve the relation between community and devs which will directly benefit the game! At the end, we all just want to improve the game

I agree with you on all these points. These are clear focuses when Gamers Weekly and the other game inspectors, do their review of games for customer support and services. These focuses are the Customer Interaction that is expected for all games. And the ones that do well have something just like this or similar. Why else is Blizzard still running its games and have such a large player base that is continuously paying for services? (monthly I'd like to point out) Additionally whenever there is an issue with the server, those of us who know networking and computers are wary of continued play because we are concerned that our information may have been taken from your servers from the DDos attacks and other infiltration methods. So there is a legitimate concern all around regarding our concerns we post here and in the support tickets.

Yolokin_Swagonborn

IronCrystal wrote: »

Thelon wrote: »

They used to communicate a lot when this was a sub-based game. Top players, Guild Masters and others were invited to provide feedback on a regular basis.

Now that they just have to get you to buy the box and the occasional crown crate, not so much

The devs do still communicate with the Top players...ever heard of the Council of Nirn or the Council of Raiders?

Do either of those group speak for all of us or do they just consist of the top trade guilds with the highest number of guild members because everyone needs a trade guild and they have 500 members?

tinythinker

Rohamad_Ali wrote: »

The citizens of Tamriel would like to thank you for making this suggestion . If we don't hear back from you within 48 hours ,we will assume your problem with communication is solved .

Warm Regards ,

Chet

I had forgotten about Chet!

But yeah, same story. Yes, devs were super-involved with the players at launch and the first few months after. Yes, that dropped off during the big content delay periods for the latter half of the sub days as some well-known devs left. No, there isn't much reason to think this situation will really change with in the Crown Crate Era.

Now, more memes!

GeneralPardon

Yolokin_Swagonborn wrote: »

IronCrystal wrote: »

Thelon wrote: »

They used to communicate a lot when this was a sub-based game. Top players, Guild Masters and others were invited to provide feedback on a regular basis.

Now that they just have to get you to buy the box and the occasional crown crate, not so much

The devs do still communicate with the Top players...ever heard of the Council of Nirn or the Council of Raiders?

Do either of those group speak for all of us or do they just consist of the top trade guilds with the highest number of guild members because everyone needs a trade guild and they have 500 members?

I havent seen a council of Cyrodiil yet, maybe time to set one up? Don't cry because the traders and raiders actually teamed up (even though they are competitors) to get proper feedback to the developers.