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

blktauna

So the engine, as it is built now, doesn't support it. check.

tim77

RaddlemanNumber7 wrote: »

Looks to me like a fancy way of saying that they're going to be delivering less of everything.

my first impression as well. nobody said that something would change and that a fresh wind would be brought in.
just less of everything

Elsonso

blktauna wrote: »

So the engine, as it is built now, doesn't support it. check.

The point I am trying to stress is that this phrase does not have an absolute meaning. Whether the engine supports something only matters until they decide to do that thing.

The thing about "the engine" is that I don't think ZOS thinks about it the same way the players do. As near as I can tell, the engine used by ESO is simply "ESO" and the "engine" is simply what the game does. Each new system adds to it, and before they added it, the "engine" didn't "support" it because it didn't need to.

This multithreading work they are doing server side is an example of this. The "engine" does not "support" the scope/size/direction the game is going, so they stopped to rewrite that part of the "engine" so that it does. Hopefully, with great success.

So, if Sony suddenly caved, or Microsoft decided that XBox and PC should have cross platform play, it would not be the "engine support" that is the issue. That is a "simple matter of programming" and the cost to add it could be calculated. The issue would be whether that cost is worth spending. Same business decision that is used for every new feature and system they add to the game.

Right now, I the lack of cross play is more on Sony than anything technical with ESO.

FlopsyPrince

Jammy420 wrote: »

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Nyxenwhite wrote: »

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.

Cross platform won't happen. Partly because pc add-ons put console at such a major disadvantage when I comes to things like farming for example. They can load pins for nodes and chests among others and they can upgrade PCs as they go where as console is limited by the system we are on.

I play ESO with 3 add ons and walk all over Keyboard and mouse users in pvp. Cross platform would be fine. Console players are not as helpless as you think. Cross platform is important for a modern gaming company, only stubborn old hands fight against cross platform.

No number of addons would make me competitive in PvP! So your claim is not surprising nor super impressive.

The lack of addons is clearer in normal tedious play, at least in my experience.

blktauna

Elsonso wrote: »

blktauna wrote: »

So the engine, as it is built now, doesn't support it. check.

The point I am trying to stress is that this phrase does not have an absolute meaning. Whether the engine supports something only matters until they decide to do that thing.

The thing about "the engine" is that I don't think ZOS thinks about it the same way the players do. As near as I can tell, the engine used by ESO is simply "ESO" and the "engine" is simply what the game does. Each new system adds to it, and before they added it, the "engine" didn't "support" it because it didn't need to.

This multithreading work they are doing server side is an example of this. The "engine" does not "support" the scope/size/direction the game is going, so they stopped to rewrite that part of the "engine" so that it does. Hopefully, with great success.

So, if Sony suddenly caved, or Microsoft decided that XBox and PC should have cross platform play, it would not be the "engine support" that is the issue. That is a "simple matter of programming" and the cost to add it could be calculated. The issue would be whether that cost is worth spending. Same business decision that is used for every new feature and system they add to the game.

Right now, I the lack of cross play is more on Sony than anything technical with ESO.

The aged core system this game is on would require an extensive redo to make it in any way fir for cross play. I can't even begin to imagine the bugs that shoehorning in crossplay would engender. At that point it would be more cost effective to port to a new engine and do it all from scratch. I would be Stunned if this were even being thought about in any capacity.

And yes we all know Sony will never allow it.

boi_anachronism_

Fontecc wrote: »

Is the ESO+ monthly fee decreasing?

Don't get me wrong, this may be what the game needs, but only Q1 dungeons will provide new content to the subscription. The rest is the expansion which we pay for separately and new base game updates. The new system for Q4 is a dillema: it may be free or not, but it would be weird to pay for just a skill line like Spellcrafting or the Antiquity system... Even then, the year-long cost of ESO+ would vastly surpass the usual cost of a class (system/skill-line in this case) upgrade and a dungeon pack.

The ideal solution would be adding the Q2 expansion to ESO+, it would be fair from a consumer standpoint. You could still have your Collector's Edition upgrade or preorder bonuses separately and yeah, everyone would have their cake.

I will happily take one fantastic bugless, chapter and one great dlc to twice that much

Jammy420 wrote: »

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Nyxenwhite wrote: »

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.

Cross platform won't happen. Partly because pc add-ons put console at such a major disadvantage when I comes to things like farming for example. They can load pins for nodes and chests among others and they can upgrade PCs as they go where as console is limited by the system we are on.

I play ESO with 3 add ons and walk all over Keyboard and mouse users in pvp. Cross platform would be fine. Console players are not as helpless as you think. Cross platform is important for a modern gaming company, only stubborn old hands fight against cross platform.

Nope. I am console, a decent player at that and have also played on PC at one point. we aren't just talking about combat, if you are good in combat you are good in combat regardless. It's more related to overland. You using 3 add-ons is irrelevant to the people that use 15. Fact is it would objectively create an advantage in some situations. I've done both and I am fully aware of the differences.

Cundu_Ertur

But one hint: this will be part one of a multi-year story arc and will contain one of the most requested new features.

Return of stealthy Bosmer to the game CONFIRMED! Sweet!

Jaraal

Cundu_Ertur wrote: »

But one hint: this will be part one of a multi-year story arc and will contain one of the most requested new features.

Return of stealthy Bosmer to the game CONFIRMED! Sweet!

But that might harm sales of the Imperial race in the Crown Store, considering that Imperials are literally more stealthy than any other race besides Khajit.

Jammy420

Flameweaver1951 wrote: »

Jammy420 wrote: »

TheRimOfTheSky wrote: »

If they're planning to make old zones have more replay value I hope they update the outfits of all NPCs. When I see them wearing blurry clothes from 2014 it instantly feels dated to me, knowing there's so many cool options they now have




Putting Duke Sebastien in the Soiree in Camlorn Evening Suit for example, instead of the generic clothes he has been wearing for 10 years, would make it look a lot nicer. A small change goes a long way

A graphic overhaul for the vanilla areas is long overdue, this includes cyrodiil tbh.

My current version of Duke Sebastion is wearing a wolfskin and is locked in a jail in some hidden facility.

My wife started playing last year and she always laughs when she goes between auridon and Summerset lol.

FlopsyPrince wrote: »

Jammy420 wrote: »

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Nyxenwhite wrote: »

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.

Cross platform won't happen. Partly because pc add-ons put console at such a major disadvantage when I comes to things like farming for example. They can load pins for nodes and chests among others and they can upgrade PCs as they go where as console is limited by the system we are on.

I play ESO with 3 add ons and walk all over Keyboard and mouse users in pvp. Cross platform would be fine. Console players are not as helpless as you think. Cross platform is important for a modern gaming company, only stubborn old hands fight against cross platform.

No number of addons would make me competitive in PvP! So your claim is not surprising nor super impressive.

The lack of addons is clearer in normal tedious play, at least in my experience.

Was simply replying to the person who said addons would put console users at a disadvantage, which is nonsense.

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Fontecc wrote: »

Is the ESO+ monthly fee decreasing?

Don't get me wrong, this may be what the game needs, but only Q1 dungeons will provide new content to the subscription. The rest is the expansion which we pay for separately and new base game updates. The new system for Q4 is a dillema: it may be free or not, but it would be weird to pay for just a skill line like Spellcrafting or the Antiquity system... Even then, the year-long cost of ESO+ would vastly surpass the usual cost of a class (system/skill-line in this case) upgrade and a dungeon pack.

The ideal solution would be adding the Q2 expansion to ESO+, it would be fair from a consumer standpoint. You could still have your Collector's Edition upgrade or preorder bonuses separately and yeah, everyone would have their cake.

I will happily take one fantastic bugless, chapter and one great dlc to twice that much

Jammy420 wrote: »

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Nyxenwhite wrote: »

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.

Cross platform won't happen. Partly because pc add-ons put console at such a major disadvantage when I comes to things like farming for example. They can load pins for nodes and chests among others and they can upgrade PCs as they go where as console is limited by the system we are on.

I play ESO with 3 add ons and walk all over Keyboard and mouse users in pvp. Cross platform would be fine. Console players are not as helpless as you think. Cross platform is important for a modern gaming company, only stubborn old hands fight against cross platform.

Nope. I am console, a decent player at that and have also played on PC at one point. we aren't just talking about combat, if you are good in combat you are good in combat regardless. It's more related to overland. You using 3 add-ons is irrelevant to the people that use 15. Fact is it would objectively create an advantage in some situations. I've done both and I am fully aware of the differences.

You do not need addons for anything competitive, what so ever. This is an issue of pc players getting over their elitism, thats it. Also, there are mods on console for bethesda games and other games now, so add ons on console are technically possible.

Pendrillion

Thanks for the view ahead @ZOS_MattFiror

In my humble opinion part of your expansion into the known would be bringing the base game zones up to DLC standards. There are way too many areas that started to look dated as soon as Vvardenfell hit the servers. I also think that parts of Stonefalls could use a bit of a Morrowind touch in the art area. Deshaan too.

But that goes for all the zones. More polies. Some touching up of the assets. Some better Textures. Ah it would make things fresh again.

Other than that I am not as regularly playing as I used to in the first 6 years. Due to parental responsibilities and of course also because I have probably experienced everything I wanted in the game. I still love ES and its lores. But for long time players, rigid grindy special events just don't cut it. Also I was basically surprised how long the Mainstory arcs are usually. For me with a limited time to play games and being invested in other projects as well, kinda have made it difficult, to play through story quest content in recent years. I mean I LOVE ESO for being thorough. But sometimes it could just be a mob less to hit to wrap the mission up.

Yeah those are my two cents. Keep doing the good work.

TheRimOfTheSky

Jammy420 wrote: »

Flameweaver1951 wrote: »

Jammy420 wrote: »

TheRimOfTheSky wrote: »

If they're planning to make old zones have more replay value I hope they update the outfits of all NPCs. When I see them wearing blurry clothes from 2014 it instantly feels dated to me, knowing there's so many cool options they now have




Putting Duke Sebastien in the Soiree in Camlorn Evening Suit for example, instead of the generic clothes he has been wearing for 10 years, would make it look a lot nicer. A small change goes a long way

A graphic overhaul for the vanilla areas is long overdue, this includes cyrodiil tbh.

My current version of Duke Sebastion is wearing a wolfskin and is locked in a jail in some hidden facility.

My wife started playing last year and she always laughs when she goes between auridon and Summerset lol.

It is kind of nuts how jarring the outfit quality difference is between these two zones haha

SilverBride

I don't understand why old zones looking old is a bad thing. It gives them a sense of history and nostalgia. If I take a trip to Ireland I want to see old weathered castles, not pristine skyscrapers.

Elsonso

Jaraal wrote: »

Same outfit, eh? Probably good that we can't smell Tamriel...

SilverBride wrote: »

I don't understand why old zones looking old is a bad thing. It gives them a sense of history and nostalgia. If I take a trip to Ireland I want to see old weathered castles, not pristine skyscrapers.

That would be OK if the newer zones had that same sense of history and nostalgia. Starting with Orsinium, the creation of cities and zones has became more and more extravagant, until they had to move the cities to separate instances, like Skyrim, because they were too much for older hardware to handle as part of overland.

Imagine what Mournhold would look like if they made it today and how it would look like a real city worthy of Almalexia. Poor lady got shortchanged. Vivec and Sotha Sil probably don't hesitate to remind her at the Tribunal conference every year.

Billium813

The ceiling on the house is literally caving in, the inspector says there is a Radon leak in the basement, and dad is out in the backyard digging a swimming pool with a hand shovel... this isn't really the time to worry that the downstairs bathroom is painted in a different shade of blue compared to the upstairs bathrooms.

Having ESO designers "redesign" old zone graphics and change costumes on NPCs is very much near the bottom of the list of things ESO needs right now. Priorities people, priorities.

TheRimOfTheSky

Billium813 wrote: »

The ceiling on the house is literally caving in, the inspector says there is a Radon leak in the basement, and dad is out in the backyard digging a swimming pool with a hand shovel... this isn't really the time to worry that the downstairs bathroom is painted in a different shade of blue compared to the upstairs bathrooms.

Having ESO designers "redesign" old zone graphics and change costumes on NPCs is very much near the bottom of the list of things ESO needs right now. Priorities people, priorities.

Hopefully they can do both. ESO has a world record for dialogue in a game so you spend a LOT of time talking to npcs with their blurry clothes in full view. While its not immediately needed, if these NPCs still look the same 5 years from now, the base game is for sure a total joke that is forgotten about by that point.

BlueRaven

Jaraal wrote: »

Cundu_Ertur wrote: »

But one hint: this will be part one of a multi-year story arc and will contain one of the most requested new features.

Return of stealthy Bosmer to the game CONFIRMED! Sweet!

But that might harm sales of the Imperial race in the Crown Store, considering that Imperials are literally more stealthy than any other race besides Khajit.

Elsonso

Billium813 wrote: »

Having ESO designers "redesign" old zone graphics and change costumes on NPCs is very much near the bottom of the list of things ESO needs right now. Priorities people, priorities.

What do you think the artists should be working on that is more important?

Edit... I mean, there might actually be less new stuff for them to work on in 2023.

heaven13

Elsonso wrote: »

Billium813 wrote: »

Having ESO designers "redesign" old zone graphics and change costumes on NPCs is very much near the bottom of the list of things ESO needs right now. Priorities people, priorities.

What do you think the artists should be working on that is more important?

Edit... I mean, there might actually be less new stuff for them to work on in 2023.

I think the one thing to consider is the old adage: be careful what you wish for. Remember old Redguard armor? Templar jabs? There’s some really lovely stuff in the game but there’s a reason why they have a policy of not changing existing assets (and for some reason ignored that in U35).

Billium813

Elsonso wrote: »

Billium813 wrote: »

Having ESO designers "redesign" old zone graphics and change costumes on NPCs is very much near the bottom of the list of things ESO needs right now. Priorities people, priorities.

What do you think the artists should be working on that is more important?

Edit... I mean, there might actually be less new stuff for them to work on in 2023.

I assume you are referring to the quarterly plan laid out by Matt Firor and how Q3 will be a focus on QoL and bug fixes?

• 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.
• Q3: Focus on Quality-of-Life improvements and bug fixes.
• Q4: Rather than the usual zone DLC, we'll be featuring a new system.

This is the CUSTOMER release side. This doesn't reflect how the development team will be working. You think artists and designers will be sitting on their hands for Q3? Development work spans several quarters, this is just an outline of when WE will expect to see the finished product. Not to mention the numerous Crown Store items that will continue to be designed and released. It would be great if the quality on Customized Actions could be vastly improved there.

As far as what do "Artists" specifically need to be doing to fix the the ESO house (as far as my analogy goes)? Personally, I think the quality of the graphics itself is just low on the list of ESO's issues. I don't take the same issue players seem to be taking when commenting on graphical design and art in the game. I think the game looks beautiful and reasonably varied.

For me, ESO's issues are more structural and system based. Nothing that's been released recently has any depth (High Isle), or mass appeal (ToT). I am cautiously optimistic that they seem to be returning to repeatable content and systems. I think that is EXACTLY what ESO needs right now, but I'm curious what they are looking at. I want to see them bring back Arenas and design more instanced games. I think Southern Hammerfell would make a perfect location to bring back Arenas (pun intended) and introduce repeatable content, as well as introduce interesting zone design for once.

Elsonso

Billium813 wrote: »

As far as what do "Artists" specifically need to be doing to fix the the ESO house (as far as my analogy goes)? Personally, I think the quality of the graphics itself is just low on the list of ESO's issues. I don't take the same issue players seem to be taking when commenting on graphical design and art in the game. I think the game looks beautiful and reasonably varied.

For me, ESO's issues are more structural and system based. Nothing that's been released recently has any depth (High Isle), or mass appeal (ToT). I am cautiously optimistic that they seem to be returning to repeatable content and systems. I think that is EXACTLY what ESO needs right now, but I'm curious what they are looking at. I want to see them bring back Arenas and design more instanced games. I think Southern Hammerfell would make a perfect location to bring back Arenas (pun intended) and introduce repeatable content, as well as introduce interesting zone design for once.

I was asking because a lot of people want performance fixed, or combat fixed, or some system fixed, and the artists really don't have anything to do with that.

Less zone and dungeon content means less art, animation, and zone design. Yes, some of that will be applied to the story arc that they are beginning, and they can slow down the pace and potentially increase the fidelity at the same time. I think all of this is designed to slow down the pace more than increase fidelity, though.

They are doing crown store stuff all year round, and I would be much happier if they did a pass over older content to update the zone and zone artwork than if they decided to make more crown store stuff. They can completely turn off the crown store spigot for 2023, if that means a better game.

heaven13 wrote: »

I think the one thing to consider is the old adage: be careful what you wish for. Remember old Redguard armor? Templar jabs? There’s some really lovely stuff in the game but there’s a reason why they have a policy of not changing existing assets (and for some reason ignored that in U35).

Point taken.

Billium813

Elsonso wrote: »

I was asking because a lot of people want performance fixed, or combat fixed, or some system fixed, and the artists really don't have anything to do with that.

That is a great point and I agree that Artists in particular can't help with a vast majority of fixes players want.

Elsonso wrote: »

Less zone and dungeon content means less art, animation, and zone design. Yes, some of that will be applied to the story arc that they are beginning, and they can slow down the pace and potentially increase the fidelity at the same time. I think all of this is designed to slow down the pace more than increase fidelity, though.

I'm not sure I agree. I don't see Art design slowing down at all. It depends on how much they will reuse existing models and if they will be designing new zones, how large those zones will be, ect. But they will most certainly still be using Artists to design new models for releases and I don't think "less story, more systems" implies less art design.

Elsonso wrote: »

They can completely turn off the crown store spigot for 2023, if that means a better game.

Ya, it'd be great if ZOS just donated their time for 2023 and stopped asking for money... In all honesty though, the Crown Store is not as much of an issue as players want it to be. IMO, the biggest issue in Crown Store atm is: pricing and quality. Much of what they have been releasing is starting to become treadmill design, same-old same-old, and/or lazy. On the pricing front, personally, I think the Seals of Endeavor System was a much needed pressure release valve and a good design.

Caribou77

Thank you for the thoughtful and detailed letter, Matt. I appreciate the communication. Any hopes of the nightblade putz leaving soon?

duagloth

still not buying it

Elsonso

Billium813 wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

They can completely turn off the crown store spigot for 2023, if that means a better game.

Ya, it'd be great if ZOS just donated their time for 2023 and stopped asking for money... In all honesty though, the Crown Store is not as much of an issue as players want it to be. IMO, the biggest issue in Crown Store atm is: pricing and quality. Much of what they have been releasing is starting to become treadmill design, same-old same-old, and/or lazy. On the pricing front, personally, I think the Seals of Endeavor System was a much needed pressure release valve and a good design.

The largest issue with the Crown Store is that it pulls development resources from the game, and replaces what could be in-game rewards with purchased rewards. Those are a big issue. After that, we can talk pricing and quality of the materials they make for the Crown Store.

Granted, the Crown Store is probably helping to keep the ship afloat, and without that revenue, there might not be anything new being added to the game. If they even kept the game online. Is it an evil that can be endured? Yes. Can that evil taint the game too much? Yes. The trick is getting the balance right, and I am not convinced that ZOS has done as well as they could have in keeping the evil at bay.

TheRimOfTheSky

\

Billium813 wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

They can completely turn off the crown store spigot for 2023, if that means a better game.

Ya, it'd be great if ZOS just donated their time for 2023 and stopped asking for money... In all honesty though, the Crown Store is not as much of an issue as players want it to be. IMO, the biggest issue in Crown Store atm is: pricing and quality. Much of what they have been releasing is starting to become treadmill design, same-old same-old, and/or lazy. On the pricing front, personally, I think the Seals of Endeavor System was a much needed pressure release valve and a good design.

.

This precisely. Zenimax makes what, 30 new costumes each year? And there are currently 250 total costumes in the game. But how many are in the crown store right now? The answer is... 25. so the game has a ton of great costumes available, but Zenimax opts not to sell them due to "supply and demand" or whatever and keeps pumping them out like Shein does disposable clothes, making the good ones available for a week or two at most.

Really, all they need to do is stop making more costumes and whatnot and increase how many they sell to say like, 90 available in the shop instead of 25. No one is gonna complain and people will be happy

FlopsyPrince

Elsonso wrote: »

Billium813 wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

They can completely turn off the crown store spigot for 2023, if that means a better game.

Ya, it'd be great if ZOS just donated their time for 2023 and stopped asking for money... In all honesty though, the Crown Store is not as much of an issue as players want it to be. IMO, the biggest issue in Crown Store atm is: pricing and quality. Much of what they have been releasing is starting to become treadmill design, same-old same-old, and/or lazy. On the pricing front, personally, I think the Seals of Endeavor System was a much needed pressure release valve and a good design.

The largest issue with the Crown Store is that it pulls development resources from the game, and replaces what could be in-game rewards with purchased rewards. Those are a big issue. After that, we can talk pricing and quality of the materials they make for the Crown Store.

Granted, the Crown Store is probably helping to keep the ship afloat, and without that revenue, there might not be anything new being added to the game. If they even kept the game online. Is it an evil that can be endured? Yes. Can that evil taint the game too much? Yes. The trick is getting the balance right, and I am not convinced that ZOS has done as well as they could have in keeping the evil at bay.

That could be true, but other things point to them making plenty here and using the money to fund their new project.

That would work (if true) for a while, but can be nasty when the consequences roll in.

martinhpb16_ESO

SilverBride wrote: »

I don't understand why old zones looking old is a bad thing. It gives them a sense of history and nostalgia. If I take a trip to Ireland I want to see old weathered castles, not pristine skyscrapers.

Ireland has pristine skyscrapers. It is a modern European country not a Hollywood land that time forgot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Ireland

SilverBride

martinhpb16_ESO wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

I don't understand why old zones looking old is a bad thing. It gives them a sense of history and nostalgia. If I take a trip to Ireland I want to see old weathered castles, not pristine skyscrapers.

Ireland has pristine skyscrapers. It is a modern European country not a Hollywood land that time forgot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Ireland

But I wouldn't be going for the skyscrapers. I'd be going for the old castles and the history.

BretonMage

I don't think old, weathered castles, with their centuries of historical flavour and intricacies, are comparable to low-res or simplistic graphics. Imo the problem with low-res graphics is quality, not age.

Aardappelboom

SilverBride wrote: »

I don't understand why old zones looking old is a bad thing. It gives them a sense of history and nostalgia. If I take a trip to Ireland I want to see old weathered castles, not pristine skyscrapers.

This is kind of a weird comparison, the zones should look more or less the same which gives you a nostalgic feeling. It's more about the Technica side of things. Upgrading the textures, getting rid of the fog, increasing view distance, maybe upgrading the cities a bit is always welcome in my opinion.

I'd even go as far ad adding new content, there's a lot that can be done with the guilds in those zones, which are now pretty dormant.