Studio Director’s Letter: ESO’s 2022 Retrospective & the Future

ZOS_Kevin

Hi All, here is a link to Studio Director, Matt Firor, end of the year letter. Studio Director’s Letter: ESO’s 2022 Retrospective & the Future

"Read a letter to you, our community, from Studio Director Matt Firor, discussing another big year for The Elder Scrolls Online and its future."

React

I have to say, this letter feels like more of the same. More "trust us!" and "we can do better". A brief acknowledgement of U36 without going into any specifics, no acknowledgement of U35's poorly received changes, no acknowledgement of the unfinished hybridization that consists of very few remaining factors and is far overdue, no mention of compensation for the 8 weeks we have had a core combat feature broken, no mention of the lack of communication that the community has been complaining about non-stop.

It is very concerning that you acknowledge the PC NA server performance increase, but not the fact that it has degraded back to how bad it was before the server was replaced. Every single night since U36 when the campaigns start to fill, PC NA's cyrodiil campaigns become so laggy that they are unplayable. The performance was nearly flawless after the replacement, so this has been crushing for those of us that thought we could finally enjoy a playable cyrodiil.

Is there going to be any GENUINE PVP content in 2023? I do not mean a feature like destructible bridges or a "daedric artifact" that just causes lag in cyrodiil. Will there be new maps, new formats, new systems, or a rework to old content (IC, Cyro) in 2023? February marks four years since the last PVP content was added to the game, in the form of one single BG map. We are starving for content. @ZOS_MattFiror

I'm very glad to see that the code rewrite was mentioned, and that we can expect to see the first portion rolled out in Q2. I hope that this results in the performance improvement that we were told it would.

It's good to hear that the current expected ETA for every server to have it's server hardware replaced is march. This is much sooner than what we expected based on the previous communications we had.

I think it is good that you're breaking away from the more structured patch cadence. I hope this allows for more timely bugfixing and balance changing, and for older content to receive the reworks that much of it needs (especially in regards to PVP).

I wish I could say that this letter gives me confidence, but at this point words alone will no longer do it. I love ESO and I want nothing more than to see this game flourish, and I truly hope that ZOS is capable of facilitating that in 2023.

fizl101

Nice to see the change to the year long story structure, and interested in the new feature!

jaws343

" will contain one of the most requested new features."

Interesting, only a handful of things to choose from I think.

DragonRacer

I am intrigued, admittedly.

RevJJ

jaws343 wrote: »

" will contain one of the most requested new features."

Interesting, only a handful of things to choose from I think.

Not being stuck in combat in Cyrodiil?

Katheriah

I was fully prepared for snarky remarks, but...

2023 will see us moving away from the "Year Long Adventure” 12-month storylines

You guys actually listened... Okay, okay. I'm impressed.

Q3: Focus on Quality-of-Life improvements and bug fixes.

Great!

FluffyReachWitch

I have to say, I am excited to see the changes in the yearly road map, and looking forward to the reveal.

LukosCreyden

Hmmm.
Looks very promising. This could potentially be the shake up we have been waiting for!

GreatGildersleeve

It looks like the hardware refresh will happen the same time the U35 Q&A drops. SMH.

Nyxenwhite

Overland difficulty scaling would make sense with “reutilizing existing zones” and a new system.
Battle pass? Trial finder? Earnable mounts?

I doubt cross platform would be a thing, sounds like it would resume in a giant mess.

No matter what it is, it sounds like big things. I hope ZOS does not over-promise and under-deliver.

Overall, i’m happy that ZOS seems to be scaling down on overland quest content and that there seems to be a strong push on bug fixes and playability improvements planned.

Edit: alot of us are still in the Q&A waiting room.

Maitsukas

Only possible new feature that comes to my mind is spellcrafting. Keeping my fingers crossed for the reveal and hoping for an awesome storyline utilizing the Daedric War formula

Destai

Solid letter, and honestly, a little better than I expected. Like @React I'm more in the "show, don't tell" category. We get these yearly, and while some of the changes are exciting to hear about - like the release cadence - there's still massive issues with communication and engagement.

My thoughts are:

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the issues with Update 36, which launched just this last November. It introduced far too many bugs and issues, and even as I write this, we are still chasing down issues with blocking in combat. Trust me, I am just as concerned about this as you all are, and we will be making some process changes within the Dev Team to ensure that things like this happen far more rarely. With an ageing code base (which is 26 million lines of code… really!) it is difficult to be 100% efficient, but we can be far, far better and we know it.

I hope with a slower release cycle, these things happen less often. The scrapping of the class rep program and quiet treatment of the PTS forums doesn't help the situation. How U35 and U36 unfolded are the biggest reason some players are adamant about getting that Q&A. You need to be on the offensive in repairing our perceptions after these two updates, rather than whatever the current approach is. In-game communities are really suffering right now, and because things take time to get fixed, the best you can do is sit down and talk to us. Close the loop on conversations and questions. Do more than give us pets.

Now that we have hundreds and hundreds (and hundreds!) of hours of questing content, enough for four or five regular RPGs, we are hearing from our new players that the sheer number of zones and stories and characters is intimidating. And, on the other hand, our veteran players consistently tell us that they would like more content that isn't played through just once—they would like more content they can enjoy for years; content that utilizes our already existing zones to add new things to do, and most importantly, introduces some new gameplay.  

Thank goodness. I can't tell you how hard it is to get people into this game without them getting completely tangled up in the content. There's TOO MUCH in the starter zones, the whole idea "pick content in any order" is fine, but needs to be completely revisited. New iconography for different quest types, getting prologues under control. The immersion will be better off if this gets adjusted.

Speaking from personal experience, the players I've recruited have been off-put by the amount of NPCs barking at them, following them, and popping up in multiple locations - on top of not knowing what story line any given NPC is a part of. I gave some suggestions earlier where I believe it'd be better if prologues and DLC content were retrievable only from the store and Stories menus. There's solid framework for this, and I think it'd help with the whirlwind of content.

As a vet player hitting a lull, I can tell you that there are enough systems in the game, but the rewards structure is what needs tuning. Too much is in the store, left to RNG, and takes too long to get. Case in point - transmute stones. One of the strengths of this game is the skill and gear systems. So much room for experimentation hampered by the grinding required to construct one set. I get that it keeps people in the game, but it's overtuned IMO.

I know it's symptomatic of the yearly cycle you guys have been in, but the constant combat changes also contribute to this fatigue. It's bad enough that I have to grind for something, it's worse that by the time I get it, it's changed. Why bother at that point? It sounds like that's been taken to heart, just based off this once-a-year message, but I truly hope it has and is being adjusted.

Lastly, I do appreciate systems like the stickerbook and antiquities, so I'm happy to hear they're targeting similar embedded systems like that.

So, below is the 2023 content cadence. Please note that the first half of the year remains essentially unchanged, but the second half of the year now has an update devoted to addressing issues/quality of life improvements and an update devoted to a large new tentpole system.

Q1: Dungeon DLC.
Q2: Full-featured Chapter in June. The 2023 ESO Chapter will be a complete story: you will be able to play all the way through it without a storyline that is broken out and reserved for later in the year. We will return to larger/better and more detailed Chapters by doing this. We are REALLY excited about next year's Chapter—for details, you'll have to wait for our Global Reveal Event in January. But one hint: this will be part one of a multi-year story arc and will contain one of the most requested new features.
Q3: Focus on Quality-of-Life improvements and bug fixes.
Q4: Rather than the usual zone DLC, we'll be featuring a new system. We are working on the concept and design for this now; we’ll give more details during our Global Reveal Event early next year.
Looking back at ESO's evolution since 2014, you can see that we often shake things up, try new things, and make changes as needed. So, we will assess how this new cadence is received—both by the development team and in the community. If we have to make more adjustments, we will.

I'm beyond happy to see the cadence is changing. The game so sorely needs it. I do truly hope this is a return to form for you guys. I've been a stalwart TES fan for nearly 20 years, an ESO fan for 7, and this year really made me question if I want to stay a part of it. I hope that the zones and features are truly robust, not just pretty sets with locked doors. You guys really do deliver some awesome ideas, and some mature better over time than others. This year, and arguably last year too, were thinner feeling. They weren't bad, but it was all too apparent the release cycle left us with less for the same price. Here's to hoping next year is as promising as this post implies.

Almost all the hardware should be delivered and in place by December and then we'll need a month or two to install and test everything before we shift over to the new hardware. Please note that we will be prioritizing all three Realms in the EU datacenter first, and then will return to the NA datacenter to finish moving Xbox and PlayStation Realms there. We are as frustrated as you that this has taken so long—but it is happening and will be done and ready for all players, probably in late February or March of 2023.

Our multi-threading work continues, as we announced a month or so back. Just to remind everyone, this is the initiative that will result in better overall server performance. As we already announced, we will be phasing these changes in over the course of 2023, starting with the Chapter in Q2. We’ll keep everyone updated in patch notes going forward.

These are the items we need quarterly updates on. I'm glad that your letter acknowledges the frustration, but the CMs need to be on top of making sure communication around this is organized and updated. Hopefully we can get a roadmap of the multi-threading and get communication along those milestones. I'm not confident that we will, but I for one want that.

Lastly, I'm very disappointed there's no mention of the promised Q&A. We get our one-off letter for the year, full of promises, but I'm not seeing any framework for communicating milestones, addressing concerns, and alleviating tensions. I'm happy ZOS is adjusting the release cycle finally, and hopefully we can get better communication along with it.

dcam86b14_ESO

Let's see new feature is either character changes without crowns, housing limit increase with separate loading screens or spellcrafting.

My guess for zones is making dungeons having different difficulty or repeating some type of systems that have you run around like that psijic love line.

I am by far ready for the more detailed story arcs and taking it back to the days of SS. This will really flesh out the characters and putting attention into the small details.
Excited!

CoolBlast3

This sounds like an incredibly smart idea for the health and lifespan of the game.

Making it so content is no longer made in a rush to fit year quarters, and instead taking your time to refine something that'll be playable for the majority of the year is incredibly intelligent of you all. Not to mention, returning to "Daedric War" styled multi-year stories will be INCREDIBLE if done right.
My only hope is that you guys take this remodel as a chance to put a proper TIMELINE in place. A big gripe a lot of us lore-fiends have with your storytelling is that there's zero stakes, zero character development and zero progress between adventures, simply because of the "play in any order".
Don't lock quest content behind an order, but please take into account that we want to see character development. Write content around a proper timeline, but continue giving the option to not play in said timeline nonetheless.

Besides that, I really really hope this goes well and that you continue listening to feedback!

Bo0137

I see this is an absolute win!

LalMirchi

Looking forward, this sounds very promising.

gariondavey

React wrote: »

I have to say, this letter feels like more of the same. More "trust us!" and "we can do better". A brief acknowledgement of U36 without going into any specifics, no acknowledgement of U35's poorly received changes, no acknowledgement of the unfinished hybridization that consists of very few remaining factors and is far overdue, no mention of compensation for the 8 weeks we have had a core combat feature broken, no mention of the lack of communication that the community has been complaining about non-stop.

It is very concerning that you acknowledge the PC NA server performance increase, but not the fact that it has degraded back to how bad it was before the server was replaced. Every single night since U36 when the campaigns start to fill, PC NA's cyrodiil campaigns become so laggy that they are unplayable. The performance was nearly flawless after the replacement, so this has been crushing for those of us that thought we could finally enjoy a playable cyrodiil.

Is there going to be any GENUINE PVP content in 2023? I do not mean a feature like destructible bridges or a "daedric artifact" that just causes lag in cyrodiil. Will there be new maps, new formats, new systems, or a rework to old content (IC, Cyro) in 2023? February marks four years since the last PVP content was added to the game, in the form of one single BG map. We are starving for content. @ZOS_MattFiror

I'm very glad to see that the code rewrite was mentioned, and that we can expect to see the first portion rolled out in Q2. I hope that this results in the performance improvement that we were told it would.

It's good to hear that the current expected ETA for every server to have it's server hardware replaced is march. This is much sooner than what we expected based on the previous communications we had.

I think it is good that you're breaking away from the more structured patch cadence. I hope this allows for more timely bugfixing and balance changing, and for older content to receive the reworks that much of it needs (especially in regards to PVP).

I wish I could say that this letter gives me confidence, but at this point words alone will no longer do it. I love ESO and I want nothing more than to see this game flourish, and I truly hope that ZOS is capable of facilitating that in 2023.

Great post, and I echo these sentiments.
I was a big surprised with this letter. While not addressing everything that needs to be addressed, it certainly was better than I anticipated.
Thanks for the thread, Kevin.

Xandreia_

all i can say is,SIGH

Vylaera

In the article, it mentions that the new gameplay systems will give replayablity to old zones too. If the team is revisiting old zones, I would hope they might be able to take the opportunity to fix a lot of the base game zones that are incorrect, such as Eastmarch and the RIft being in Morrowind, eating Blacklight and the Velothis, and Stormhold being too far north and Morrowind ending at Dehsaan incorrectly, High Rock jutting out northwest incorrectly, Cyrodiil being messed up, among other things.

I'd love to have an accurate map and an accurate world alongside it. ESO's mistakes being fixed would contribute greatly to fixing its soured reputation among direhard lore fans. And I wouldn't have to maintain an addon to do this if the vanilla game fixes its mistakes. Everyone wins lol

Accurate World Map Version 2 current progress

Icyfire369

Thanks @ZOS_Kevin !

I truly hope there will be more focus put on those repeatable activities - more specifically, PvP in BGs. The objective game modes really need to be redesigned to encourage more actual fighting.

colossalvoids

Thanks for no more year long stories, it was a sorrowful time and I dearly miss genuinely fun releases and arches we had previously. Hope it would upp the quality of writing and storytelling that's needed so badly nowadays after years of draught.

The most requested feature was spellcrafting, so hopes are that it's actually something mechanical at least and not a mini-game like we're having since Greymoor. Feature that's utilisable in already existing content is what a lot of us craving for and not "more things to do" which are more of a distraction sorts.

Second part of the year might be the time we're most excited about as it seems a lot of time would go into development WHILE other teams would focus on next year zone content leaving a lot of time to flesh it out.

As a person mostly waiting for dungeon releases nowadays I'd welcome absence of a second pack a year in favour of fixes and systems, even if those won't be affecting me personally at the time. Dev team need this time for sure and it would eventually lead to a more polished product overall that we might return to.

Hardware stuff sounds promising alongside bug fixing but time line seems too unrealistic, hopefully it would see a start at the very least, no hopes as always but looking close.


P.s.: Q&a btw, you forgot q&a again.

CameraBeardThePirate

React wrote: »

I have to say, this letter feels like more of the same. More "trust us!" and "we can do better". A brief acknowledgement of U36 without going into any specifics, no acknowledgement of U35's poorly received changes, no acknowledgement of the unfinished hybridization that consists of very few remaining factors and is far overdue, no mention of compensation for the 8 weeks we have had a core combat feature broken, no mention of the lack of communication that the community has been complaining about non-stop.

It is very concerning that you acknowledge the PC NA server performance increase, but not the fact that it has degraded back to how bad it was before the server was replaced. Every single night since U36 when the campaigns start to fill, PC NA's cyrodiil campaigns become so laggy that they are unplayable. The performance was nearly flawless after the replacement, so this has been crushing for those of us that thought we could finally enjoy a playable cyrodiil.

Is there going to be any GENUINE PVP content in 2023? I do not mean a feature like destructible bridges or a "daedric artifact" that just causes lag in cyrodiil. Will there be new maps, new formats, new systems, or a rework to old content (IC, Cyro) in 2023? February marks four years since the last PVP content was added to the game, in the form of one single BG map. We are starving for content. @ZOS_MattFiror

I'm very glad to see that the code rewrite was mentioned, and that we can expect to see the first portion rolled out in Q2. I hope that this results in the performance improvement that we were told it would.

It's good to hear that the current expected ETA for every server to have it's server hardware replaced is march. This is much sooner than what we expected based on the previous communications we had.

I think it is good that you're breaking away from the more structured patch cadence. I hope this allows for more timely bugfixing and balance changing, and for older content to receive the reworks that much of it needs (especially in regards to PVP).

I wish I could say that this letter gives me confidence, but at this point words alone will no longer do it. I love ESO and I want nothing more than to see this game flourish, and I truly hope that ZOS is capable of facilitating that in 2023.

Agree with this from top to bottom. From another Vet player: Prove it. Show us that you mean business this year Zos, don't just tell us with non-specific promises. There are genuinely great things in this letter, but there's also genuinely concerning things. Performance in PC NA has degraded again. Certain concerns/criticisms at times feel like they get shrugged off (the BG queue system is still a hot mess, objective modes are still super unbalanced, the things done to "make up" for the mess of U36 felt like a bad consolation prize at best). But there's also good things in this post. Going away from the year long stuff will be (I think) unanimously lauded as a good decision. New systems sound great, and a few things in the post made it seem like old content balance will be looked into (harder questing please!).

But again, I'll believe it when I see it. The last 2 updates have not only pushed away a lot of vet players but have also destroyed a lot of trust the community had in you ZOS. I love this game a lot - I also haven't played in 2 months at least. Don't tell us you'll do better, just do better. Thanks as always for the communication @ZOS_MattFiror . Communication is probably the best way to earn back the trust of players so please keep communication consistent and informative throughout 2023.

RaddlemanNumber7

What is a "tentpole system"?

TaSheen

Nice letter Matt. Personally I LOVE the year long chapter - but apparently I'm a minority of one with that. Ah well. We'll see if the "most requested" feature is anything I've had any interest in. Regardless, I'll still be here playing, along with playing Oblivion and Skyrim.

Jaimeh

I'm fully in favour of the decision to devote a quarter to QoL and fixes, as long as they actually come through (because we've seen many promises in the Director's letter that never came to fruition). I'm not a big fan of year-long stories, so I think the contained chapter, and the multi-year approach will be a pleasant break from the mold. As for the new system, my mind went inevitably to spellcrafting, but one of my guildmates more reasonably suggested overland difficulty, which would make more sense, and would be welcomde by a lot of players.

Arthtur

I have to agree, this letter sounds like another "Trust us" with additional "We listen to your feedback" without anything important.
Like yes, the words used are nice. They say what community wants but...we still need to wait for more info in january. And if this will be dissapointing... oh well, i dont want to think about it.
I mean now it sounds nice but when this "requested feature' will become something only for casual players? It would be another year without anything new for veteran players. Nothing against casual players but... it would be nothing "new" for me for 3rd year.

We have a lot of content but most of it isnt rewarding enough. Like u do vet dungeons and what? U get memento for it? U do challenger and u get title or nothing? And its not only dungeons/trials.
This year didnt had a new house for gold, the amount of furnishings was lower as well.
Overland this year was better but... those leads in treasure maps.... if the maps would be easier to get it wouldnt be that bad.
Events were mostly boring for long time players.
PvP... oh well...
And thats only "One time and done" type of rewards. I could tell more about long time rewards like upgrade materials or alchemy stuff, transmute stones and other items we need everyday and are locked behind 1 or 2 types of activites. But im too lazy for that.

Others already pointed out lack of info about U35 and Q&A, U36 or other issues so i will skip that.

Overall thats a lot of nice words with "Trust Us" but lack of reason to actually trust after all that happend this year. I "hope" that january global review will give us reason to actually trust those words. But for now, im not rly "hyped" about next year.

Carylas

The removal of "Year-Long Adventures" and returning back to stories span over multiple chapters is great news to me. I loved how Morrowind tied with Sumerset, and can't wait to see more stories like that, not rushed/condensed down but well-written with memorable characters.

Utilizing existing zones for new content is also a welcome change. There are so many abandoned zones which could use a refresh bth visually and content-wise.

A new system? I'd like more customization options for skills, and even spellcrafting but I don't know how that would affect the balance so we'll wait and see.

Overall, thank you for acknowledging the issues. I hope your plans can come to fruition and we can see these changes.

Here's to more years of Elder Scrolls Online!

TechMaybeHic

I think it's long overdue to slow down the new content cadence and work on cleaning existing stuff up. Hopefully it means less new ridiculous set pushes as well.

I am a bit concerned as it seems the wording for the code rewrite is being referred to as multi-thread work. Sounds different than what I understood it to be. Maybe I'm misreading

Parasaurolophus

I'm afraid we're just going to see some serious savings on content. That is... If the content in the chapters does not become at least a little more, then this is definitely saving resources.

AllegedParadigm

This leaves me cautiously optimistic. Really glad they're breaking away from the year long story structure and going to focus more on bugs and quality of life. I mean realistically I'll always be on eso anyways, but the content itself and state of the game at any time will dictate how much. I've put too much time and money to perma quit, but I do take breaks ALOT. Here's to hoping 2023 is better!