It's time for a graphics update

Fata1moose · January 15

I agree the old zones are showing their age and not only due to the textures but detail density. There are a lot of assets they could use from the chapters in vanilla zones. Granted you don’t want Stonefalls looking like Vvardenfell so there’s some unique foliage/architecture, etc they would have to remake but like you could use the volcanic rock textures from Morrowind/Necrom for example.

I also want them to fix continuity in zones like The Rift and Eastmarch. The layout is roughly the same from a map perspective but way off if you actually look at it. Would like Windhelm architecture to be more like TES V same goes for Riften. And the topography changed to be more accurate too. Finally I’d love the Capital cities to be more functional especially in terms of crafting. Grahtwood is OK but provisioning is separate for no reason, Stormhold is the worst with writ boards separate and having to backtrack. Deshaan has too many doors and provisioning out of the way.

In terms of engine level graphics, we could use longer land cast shadows, tree shadows, push out the fog, LODs being pushed out (I see egregious texture pop in on stairs, water mills and stuff like the inn bridge in Elsweyr).

Dragonnord · January 15

ESO graphics are already fantastic, amazing and beautiful.

Now, if you want colorful graphics to make it look like an asian mmo, no please, leave ESO as it is now.

Castagere · January 15

LOL, the game is aging like a fine wine to me.

Tyrant_Tim · January 15

Maybe a graphics update isn’t the right request…

I would say that most base game regions need to be redesigned style-wise, ie; Grahtwood.

I have never liked the weird pod-tree houses the Bosmer have, and as an enjoyer of high-fantasy, when I think of tree-houses, I imagine homes up in trees, not a foot or two above the ground…

vsrs_au · January 15

Grahtwood is fine as it is. The pod houses look exactly how a house grown from a tree should look, by the bosmer who live in harmony with the forest.

Tyrant_Tim · January 15

In the picture of my ideal Grahtwood, everything is made from the trees, even the ladder rungs are misshapen to represent imperfect branches that fall off of trees naturally.

Bosmer homes as we see them now look extremely unnatural, it’s as though the trees were elastic and someone drilled a hole to the core of the trunk and planted a bomb, just for it to blow up and make the shape we see those homes in.

Not to mention, Bosmer have an innate endurance for falling, built from generations of Mer that have adapted to live up in the trees, not a few feet off the ground, but hundreds of feet up.

Elvenheart · January 15

TaSheen wrote: »

I've already been through 2 graphics updates in other MMOs - which made my characters look nothing like I wanted them to look, and made the worlds even more cartoonish than they were to begin with, and which ultimately led to me cancelling numerous subs in both games, quitting them completely, and I've never been back to either one.

And considering the state of the "re-do" on templar jabs and DW flurry.... Please, no. Just leave the game alone.

This same thing happened to me in Dark Age of Camelot. Their character model graphic update ruined my characters there.

ESO_player123 · January 15

Tyrant_Tim wrote: »

Maybe a graphics update isn’t the right request…

I would say that most base game regions need to be redesigned style-wise, ie; Grahtwood.

I have never liked the weird pod-tree houses the Bosmer have, and as an enjoyer of high-fantasy, when I think of tree-houses, I imagine homes up in trees, not a foot or two above the ground…

Your picture looks pretty, but imagine navigating such a structure. Reminds me of the bridges in the Scar in Elsweyr. I hate that place and would never want to see another place again when you never know which level leads to where.

Tandor · January 15

They have told us before that they learnt an important lesson with a previous graphics update, I think it was the lighting one a long time ago, namely that with half the players loving the changes and half the players hating them, they really shouldn't repeat such an exercise as all it does is swap round the two halves of the playerbase.

Sarousse42 · January 15

Give us animated cloaks, hair and boobs and we're set for the next 10 years !

Pixiepumpkin · January 15

Tandor wrote: »

They have told us before that they learnt an important lesson with a previous graphics update, I think it was the lighting one a long time ago, namely that with half the players loving the changes and half the players hating them, they really shouldn't repeat such an exercise as all it does is swap round the two halves of the playerbase.

Seems illogical to me.

1. A graphics update does not really need to be more than a texture update for some of the old base textures. A higher poly count would be nice on some assets, but overall not necessary.
2. Why appease the 50% of the player base who likes the old graphics, vs appealing to the 50% of the player base who likes the new graphics? Newer graphics have a greater chance of attracting potential customers (fresh blood, never spent money, the crown store is their oyster). Lots of players dismiss a game based on graphics alone.

Kendaric · January 15

ESO_player123 wrote: »

Tyrant_Tim wrote: »

Maybe a graphics update isn’t the right request…

I would say that most base game regions need to be redesigned style-wise, ie; Grahtwood.

I have never liked the weird pod-tree houses the Bosmer have, and as an enjoyer of high-fantasy, when I think of tree-houses, I imagine homes up in trees, not a foot or two above the ground…

Your picture looks pretty, but imagine navigating such a structure. Reminds me of the bridges in the Scar in Elsweyr. I hate that place and would never want to see another place again when you never know which level leads to where.

It reminds me of Kelethin (wood elf tree city in EverQuest) ... I owe so many dead characters to that place. Especially at night it was very easy to accidently fall off a bridge or platform to your death, I wouldn't want to have that experience again.

Tandor · January 15

Pixiepumpkin wrote: »

Tandor wrote: »

They have told us before that they learnt an important lesson with a previous graphics update, I think it was the lighting one a long time ago, namely that with half the players loving the changes and half the players hating them, they really shouldn't repeat such an exercise as all it does is swap round the two halves of the playerbase.

Seems illogical to me.

1. A graphics update does not really need to be more than a texture update for some of the old base textures. A higher poly count would be nice on some assets, but overall not necessary.
2. Why appease the 50% of the player base who likes the old graphics, vs appealing to the 50% of the player base who likes the new graphics? Newer graphics have a greater chance of attracting potential customers (fresh blood, never spent money, the crown store is their oyster). Lots of players dismiss a game based on graphics alone.

Recruiting new players has never been a problem for ZOS.

Besides, so far as those with reasonable hardware are concerned, there's nothing in the graphics that would turn new players away other than the fact that it doesn't look like their previous game, whether that's the cartoony look of WoW or the Asian MMO look of FFXIV, and any attempt to "update" the graphics in those directions would drive a lot of long-term players away. The reaction to the flashy upgrades to Jabs, that NB skill (I forget the name) and the Arcanist skill effects demonstrates the risks if ZOS stick with that approach.

cmetzger93 · January 15

Pixiepumpkin wrote: »

Tandor wrote: »

They have told us before that they learnt an important lesson with a previous graphics update, I think it was the lighting one a long time ago, namely that with half the players loving the changes and half the players hating them, they really shouldn't repeat such an exercise as all it does is swap round the two halves of the playerbase.

Seems illogical to me.

1. A graphics update does not really need to be more than a texture update for some of the old base textures. A higher poly count would be nice on some assets, but overall not necessary.
2. Why appease the 50% of the player base who likes the old graphics, vs appealing to the 50% of the player base who likes the new graphics? Newer graphics have a greater chance of attracting potential customers (fresh blood, never spent money, the crown store is their oyster). Lots of players dismiss a game based on graphics alone.

@ZOS_Kevin Another example of the "Balding but Distinguished" hairstyle having visible polygons. Wasn't sure if you were able to escalate to the team or not.

Pixiepumpkin · January 15

Tandor wrote: »

Pixiepumpkin wrote: »

Tandor wrote: »

They have told us before that they learnt an important lesson with a previous graphics update, I think it was the lighting one a long time ago, namely that with half the players loving the changes and half the players hating them, they really shouldn't repeat such an exercise as all it does is swap round the two halves of the playerbase.

Seems illogical to me.

1. A graphics update does not really need to be more than a texture update for some of the old base textures. A higher poly count would be nice on some assets, but overall not necessary.
2. Why appease the 50% of the player base who likes the old graphics, vs appealing to the 50% of the player base who likes the new graphics? Newer graphics have a greater chance of attracting potential customers (fresh blood, never spent money, the crown store is their oyster). Lots of players dismiss a game based on graphics alone.

Recruiting new players has never been a problem for ZOS.

But retention has.

Tandor wrote: »

Besides, so far as those with reasonable hardware are concerned, there's nothing in the graphics that would turn new players away other than the fact that it doesn't look like their previous game, whether that's the cartoony look of WoW or the Asian MMO look of FFXIV,

Sure there is, the graphics from the base game look extremely dated by modern standards, both in the textures and as in the example I linked in poly count. Other studios updated their games to reflect the more modern graphic aesthetic without suffering massive loss and in fact have grown their client base.
The "Cartoony" look in wow and the "asian" look of FFXIV are actually pros because their art is stylistic. The issue with ESO is that they run into the uncanny valley regarding the characters. They need to do a lot more to break past it, we see the same issue in Starfield.

Tandor wrote: »

and any attempt to "update" the graphics in those directions would drive a lot of long-term players away. The reaction to the flashy upgrades to Jabs, that NB skill (I forget the name) and the Arcanist skill effects demonstrates the risks if ZOS stick with that approach.

There is no proof of that, its just heresay. Jabs gets a lot of flack because of how it feels more than how it looks, night blade is a bug more than a feature and arcanist is too flashy for some folks....but none of these have anything to do with updating textures and or polygons of base game content. They are both fruit, but its apples and oranges.

Fata1moose · January 16

Tyrant_Tim wrote: »

Maybe a graphics update isn’t the right request…

I would say that most base game regions need to be redesigned style-wise, ie; Grahtwood.

I have never liked the weird pod-tree houses the Bosmer have, and as an enjoyer of high-fantasy, when I think of tree-houses, I imagine homes up in trees, not a foot or two above the ground…

I think the Snugpods and Grahtwood are so bland looking, for something that's supposed to be organic everything is straight lines or perfectly symmetrical. Design could be a lot more interesting.

Foxtrot39 · January 16

Having a higher poly count on characters and optional higher res texture would be enough tbh

If something needs a graphical rework it would be old armor styles that looks like bodypaint

Maitsukas · January 16

Sarousse42 wrote: »

Give us animated cloaks, hair and X and we're set for the next 10 years !

ESO doesn't need to have something to fulfill THAT part of your imagination.

Pixiepumpkin · January 16

Foxtrot39 wrote: »

Having a higher poly count on characters and optional higher res texture would be enough tbh

If something needs a graphical rework it would be old armor styles that looks like bodypaint

I feel ya.
New World ruined me for armor layering.

Vaqual · January 16

I think what hurts the look in base game zones the most is the lack of assets. Re-using the same few house types combined with relatively low building-density is what makes Daggerfall so much less good, unique and memorable than the newer cities. A few unique assets per city or just a couple more assets in the basic racial styles could already be a significant upgrade.
Like those Skyrim mods that fleshed the city out more, that did wonders.
Also some assets are really dumb, like the Daggerfall Millworks building, where there are windows on the outside, but inside you can see that there is no apartment area. That kind of nonsensical architecture also hurts immersion a lot. That, and the lack of realistic residential area. If there are only enough homes for 5 NPC families it wont feel like a city.