Studio Director’s Letter: ESO’s 2023 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 2023 Retrospective & the Future"

"Matt Firor, ZeniMax Online Studio’s Studio Director, breaks down a special year for The Elder Scrolls Online and discusses its future."

React

Starting off by stating "we are all reaping the benefits of the new server infrastructure" is misleading. The game performs terribly during prime time in cyrodiil, as it always has. The brief respite we saw in mid 2022 dwindled off completely by the beginning of 2023, and there has not been a single developer acknowledgement of that yet.

Implying that patches are now releasing with fewer issues than in the past is also misleading. There are numerous combat bugs introduced every patch, and U40 might be one of the worst yet. This has only gotten worse over time, going back years now. Core combat bugs being introduced and then not being fixed for 3-6 months is commonplace still, and totally unacceptable.

With not a single mention of the future of performance in ESO apart from "some non-customer facing hardware swaps", and zero mention of PVP, the future looks grim for those of us who care about these things.

Q1 2024 marks 5 years without PVP content, for the record.

[edited for bashing]

LunaFlora

awesome!
i'm excited for those new systems coming in 2024

Elsonso

ESO is in a great place—enjoyed by millions. In fact, almost two million of you joined ESO last year, not counting the players enjoying the game for free from the Epic Games Store. We have been massively successful for many years now, and we are very thankful for all of you who have helped make this happen.

Definitely good to see, considering re-threads out there about how the game is flagging and needs emergency propping up.

Although, I was hoping for an update on the server multi-threading work.

Cruxanero

As a "story first" player I'm especially pleased to read the confirmation that the storyline will continue next year. I can't really explain why I feel this way, but in my view the storytelling peaked in summerset, and was a bit lacking ever since (still awesome though, don't get me wrong). And the "year-long" approach was certainly a factor here.

Special thanks for seemingly making dungeon stories self contained again. I like to solo them on my own pace, and in my own schedule, and this mostly doesn't align with their placing in the storyline.

bachpain

Could we have real fixes to what we have before new systems are added to further degredate the player experience?

It is in no way a different experience than what was before. I am a returning player from a year ago and it is exactly as it was and not just in Cyrodiil. Animations don't show, HAs don't fire, group finder doesn't work, fast travel is bugged, combat stops completely for whatever reason with high framerates and low ping for no reason, and the list continues...

Talking points without substance are meaningless. [snip]

[edited for inappropriate content]

VixxVexx

• Hybridization changes still not finished after almost two years
• Phasing out VR system for 9 years now (stats are still based on us being lvl 66=50+vr16)
• No PvP changes for 5+ years
• Class sets need a complete overhaul
• Every patch breaks a core combat feature

But yes please tell me more about your commitment to amazing storytelling.

Elsonso

VixxVexx wrote: »

• Phasing out VR system for 9 years now (stats are still based on us being lvl 66=50+vr16)

I don't think that is part of the VR system. It is just where the game was when they did phase it out. Are you expecting that this will creep up over time? I ask because One Tamriel sort of took the opposite approach.

YetAnotherLinuxUser

I haven't played it but i have played along side many who have played it and i can say unequivacally, i hate arcanist and all it's green swirlie triggering 1st person vieew hating nonsense. I am glad i have never bought it. If i get arcanist in some future upgrade that i do purchase i will certainly send a support ticket to have it removed from my account.

I hope for something better for their 10th anniversary year and look forward to what that may be.

NOw i wil have a gander at that letter...

Araneae6537

YetAnotherLinuxUser wrote: »

I haven't played it but i have played along side many who have played it and i can say unequivacally, i hate arcanist and all it's green swirlie triggering 1st person vieew hating nonsense. I am glad i have never bought it. If i get arcanist in some future upgrade that i do purchase i will certainly send a support ticket to have it removed from my account.

I hope for something better for their 10th anniversary year and look forward to what that may be.

NOw i wil have a gander at that letter...

Not every class will be for everyone. I usually like a lot less visual effects and played Nightblade a lot (until DPS on that class was ruined for me with grim focus permaglow) but I do enjoy Arcanist as something different.

FluffyBird

"Commitment to amazing storytelling", pfff. We haven't had good storytelling since Elsweyr.

Unless you count these letters, of course. Mr. Firor's back must be sore from all that patting.

Photosniper89

I think they want you to know how "great shape" the game is - maybe one more sentence saying about how great shape the game is would have hammered it home.

Anyone who played PvP during this most recent test can tell you in fact how terrible shape the game is in.

PvP hasn't had any content in over 5 years. Let me say it differently... there has been no PvP content update in over HALF A DECADE!

The games in "great shape".

Photosniper89

React wrote: »

Starting off by stating "we are all reaping the benefits of the new server infrastructure" is misleading. The game performs terribly during prime time in cyrodiil, as it always has. The brief respite we saw in mid 2022 dwindled off completely by the beginning of 2023, and there has not been a single developer acknowledgement of that yet.

[snip] There are numerous combat bugs introduced every patch, and U40 might be one of the worst yet. This has only gotten worse over time, going back years now. Core combat bugs being introduced and then not being fixed for 3-6 months is commonplace still, and totally unacceptable.

With not a single mention of the future of performance in ESO apart from "some non-customer facing hardware swaps", and zero mention of PVP, the future looks grim for those of us who care about these things.

Q1 2024 marks 5 years without PVP content, for the record.

Literally the most underappreciated forum post of 2023. The lack of developer acknowledgment of any of these issues is what drives the majority of frustration.

[snip]
[edited for bashing & to remove quote]

Tyrant_Tim

Elsonso wrote: »

ESO is in a great place—enjoyed by millions. In fact, almost two million of you joined ESO last year, not counting the players enjoying the game for free from the Epic Games Store. We have been massively successful for many years now, and we are very thankful for all of you who have helped make this happen.

Definitely good to see, considering re-threads out there about how the game is flagging and needs emergency propping up.

Although, I was hoping for an update on the server multi-threading work.

Never believe a word someone says who won’t back it with hard data or evidence.

Every year it’s “ESO’s best year.”

Tyrant_Tim

“ESO is always about great storytelling, so we won’t abandon story quests and content,”

Pardon my confusion, but does Matt even visit the office? Q3 was a complete abandonment of content as a “performance update” that didn’t fix any of the major issues we face, and then Q4 completely abandoned storytelling for yet another PvE arena, except instead of entirely new bosses and environment, we got more Apocrypha and the same bosses we have been fighting for years in other content.

“…but we will balance it out with more systems like dungeons, trials, and special new content like Infinite Archive.”

Someone must have passed him a sticky note saying, ‘PvP updates aren’t ready for 2024’ because the quoted sentence tells me that they are more than happy to continue ignoring it.

AzuraFan

I'm glad they'll be continuing the storyline from Necrom. Not surprising given how it ended, but it's great to have it confirmed.

I'm a bit worried about “…but we will balance it out with more systems like dungeons, trials, and special new content like Infinite Archive.” I'd hate to think that they took away a story DLC to replace it with stuff that casual gamers like myself won't be interested in or won't be able to do. Hopefully some of these new systems won't require perfect reflexes, the best gear, and the latest meta build. I'm hoping for systems that will be similar to antiquities, which I feel is one of the better systems introduced by ZOS. Everyone can participate, and it takes us all over the existing zones.

I don't have a horse in the PvP race so no comment about that.

Anyway, I'll look forward to the reveals in January and hope that there's something there for players like me beyond the Q2 chapter.

Elsonso

AzuraFan wrote: »

I'm a bit worried about “…but we will balance it out with more systems like dungeons, trials, and special new content like Infinite Archive.” I'd hate to think that they took away a story DLC to replace it with stuff that casual gamers like myself won't be interested in or won't be able to do. Hopefully some of these new systems won't require perfect reflexes, the best gear, and the latest meta build. I'm hoping for systems that will be similar to antiquities, which I feel is one of the better systems introduced by ZOS. Everyone can participate, and it takes us all over the existing zones.

I definitely don't want to lose out on story content next year, like we did this year. Stories inside dungeons, trials, and arenas does not count, in my book. They have already decided and the plan is in motion, so not much point going on about it.

It will be interesting to see what 2024 holds in this area.

jad11mumbler

React wrote: »

Q1 2024 marks 5 years without PVP content, for the record.

[edited for bashing]

2019 we saw the hammer artifact added to Cyro.
2018 BGs saw a few maps added.

If you discount those as minor changes, then it'll be 7 years since we got major PvP content added, when we got Battlegrounds and Duelling with Morrowind.

CameraBeardThePirate

There are some major things that I think the vast majority of players wish to see in the new year:

Fewer bugs introduced with new patches:
I understand you're never going to squash every bug before a release, but this year saw multiple major bugs pushed to live despite the vast majority of them being present and reported in PTS. The negate bug should have never happened. The Necro set from IA is still bugged over a month out from release despite the last hotfix citing a patch for it.

PvP content:
The server refresh happened. There was a massive spike in performance, followed by a drop off to a point that, while still better than the past, is pretty rough regardless. If you're still waiting on performance to improve before adding new content, I think I speak on behalf of all PvPers when I say forget trying to improve performance further. 5 years with no content is inexcusable.

A pass on abilities and consumables to round out the hybridization changes:
Hybridization was controversial, but I'm of the opinion that it was great in theory yet poorly executed. The main issue is that, despite a balance pass being promised, many unused/underused morphs were simply never addressed. Since the vast majority of abilities now have an obviously superior morph, many builds have been pushed into running the exact same abilities. Go through and buff underused morphs. Same goes for potions - now that things are hybridized, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to make a crit potion that gives both stamina and magicka, for example. Keeping the potion buffs attached to the mag/stam split hinders a lot of otherwise viable builds.

Editing to add some positivity:
Arcanist is a ton of fun. Seriously ZOS, good job. It's a unique class, fun to play, and strong without being overbearing in every environment. Best class release to date with some of the most fun and engaging abilities to date, imo.

Braffin

This is a type of content that we want to do more of in the future: really fun, challenging experiences with great rewards that players can enjoy for a long time. ESO is always about great storytelling, so we won’t abandon story quests and content, but we will balance it out with more systems like dungeons, trials, and special new content like Infinite Archive.

Really delighted to hear that.

While new story content is nice once for most of us, there has been a lack of enjoyable repeatable content, especially more challenging one, for several years now. That was driving a lot of players away from the game.

Glad to hear, that zos is considering to adress this issue.

On a sidenote: I don't PvP much myself nowadays, but I think it's time for this part of the community to recieve major improvements and additional content. PvP veterans are steadily supporting this game (some of them for almost 10 years now, besides treated unfairly most of the time imo), the anniversary would therefore be the perfect opportunity to restore some of the former glory of Cyrodiil.

2023 was a rather good year for PvE veterans due to the addition of IA. Let 2024 be a year for PvPers.

Seyer530

Could we get some new toys in Cyrodiil like other Daedric Artifacts, perhaps a resto staff to counter Volendrung, or even the ability to smash down towers again...I dunno, maybe give something to PVP again? Please? We're begging you.

React

jad11mumbler wrote: »

React wrote: »

Q1 2024 marks 5 years without PVP content, for the record.

[edited for bashing]

2019 we saw the hammer artifact added to Cyro.
2018 BGs saw a few maps added.

If you discount those as minor changes, then it'll be 7 years since we got major PvP content added, when we got Battlegrounds and Duelling with Morrowind.

Yeah, when I say PVP content, I mean things like a new zone, new BG maps, a massive overhaul to IC/dueling/BGs/cyro, a meaningful reward system, or something to that effect. Q1 2024 will mark the 5 year point since the last BG map was added, which is what I personally would qualify as "PVP content".

During these 5 years we've only seen destructible gates & bridges + the hammer, both of which served only to further deteriorate the cyro experience through lag and unnecessary impassable terrain points.

Photosniper89

React wrote: »

jad11mumbler wrote: »

React wrote: »

Q1 2024 marks 5 years without PVP content, for the record.

[edited for bashing]

2019 we saw the hammer artifact added to Cyro.
2018 BGs saw a few maps added.

If you discount those as minor changes, then it'll be 7 years since we got major PvP content added, when we got Battlegrounds and Duelling with Morrowind.

Yeah, when I say PVP content, I mean things like a new zone, new BG maps, a massive overhaul to IC/dueling/BGs/cyro, a meaningful reward system, or something to that effect. Q1 2024 will mark the 5 year point since the last BG map was added, which is what I personally would qualify as "PVP content".

During these 5 years we've only seen destructible gates & bridges + the hammer, both of which served only to further deteriorate the cyro experience through lag and unnecessary impassable terrain points.

React speaks the truth. Most people, when they say PvP, they are talking about Cyro.

The state of Cyro is unimaginable and the fact they continue to ignore (and just ban people who speak out about it) is astonishing for a company in this size. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the board room meetings and see where their heads are at when it comes to communicating what is happening with PvP. If 2024 isn't the year of PvP then all hope is lost.

Half a decade with out any content worth a (bleep) is unacceptable. Period.

Stamicka

In terms of raiding and PvP, 2023 hasn't been a good year for ESO. During most of the day, PvP is too dead to go into and there's WAY less activity in terms of trials, dungeons, and score pushing teams. There's just a general lack of enthusiasm around ESO and also a major lack of reward and incentive to do anything.

Most of the time if I log on I quickly find myself logging off cause there's nothing rewarding to do and almost no one I know plays anymore. There doesn't seem to be an influx of new PvPers/ endgame PvErs replacing them either. It's sad to see the current state of the game for players like me, it's even more sad that this is never acknowledged by the devs. According to this letter everything is great and ESO is thriving. That definitely hasn't been my experience this year.

I'd really like to see long standing pain points addressed in 2024, my hopes aren't high though.

Photosniper89

Stamicka wrote: »

In terms of raiding and PvP, 2023 hasn't been a good year for ESO. During most of the day, PvP is too dead to go into and there's WAY less activity in terms of trials, dungeons, and score pushing teams. There's just a general lack of enthusiasm around ESO and also a major lack of reward and incentive to do anything.

Most of the time if I log on I quickly find myself logging off cause there's nothing rewarding to do and almost no one I know plays anymore. There doesn't seem to be an influx of new PvPers/ endgame PvErs replacing them either. It's sad to see the current state of the game for players like me, it's even more sad that this is never acknowledged by the devs. According to this letter everything is great and ESO is thriving. That definitely hasn't been my experience this year.

I'd really like to see long standing pain points addressed in 2024, my hopes aren't high though.

Shut up and get in line - "ESO is in a great place".

Aerenthir

The letter isn't for people who actually play the game, but mostly for those googling about it and looking at headlines. This is just PR trick meant to target new/returning players.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Necrotech_Master

seems like any standard retrospective to me

i think this year has been pretty good, necrom was a huge increase in better storytelling compared to the last few years (blackwood in my opinion was the worst storytelling this game has ever seen, and while high isle was far better than blackwood, it still wasnt really great)

i also really enjoy the archive, though i think there are definitely a few pain points that could be ironed out (useless collectible items that are still dropping even after completed and cant do anything with, "missing" functionality of other rogue likes such as banish and reroll, and the still occasional bugs that are affecting some of the bosses)

i never really enjoyed the year long story format, because the chapter release felt only half-done, and the Q4 dlc was not a satisfying wrap up to the story in most cases and was pretty glad for them going back and refreshing up other low hanging fruit in the game (while they didnt touch all of it, i know theres only so much coding time the devs have)

im still looking forward to the next years of content

peacenote

"ESO is always about great storytelling, so we won’t abandon story quests and content, but we will balance it out with more systems like dungeons, trials, and special new content like Infinite Archive."

No question that this sentence stands out the most in this letter. As someone who enjoys all content, and knows we need a full diverse community for a healthy MMO, it concerns me that PvP content isn't mentioned, and something about the phrasing of this makes it seem like we might get even less story content than we received this year, which would be a shame as it's a big part of what makes ESO unique.

SeaGtGruff

"Also, I remind you that April 4, 2024, is the 10-year anniversary of the PC/Mac launch, but many of you didn’t join the community until June 2015, at ESO's massive console launch. As such, we are considering the entirety of April 2024 through July 2025 as our 10-year anniversary period, and we will fill it as much as we can with special events, retrospectives, and lots of other fun stuff to celebrate you, our community, and the ESO dev team. We can’t wait to share all of this with you when we are ready."

This sounds tantalizing-- 15 or 16 months packed with events, retrospectives, and fun stuff! I'm looking forward to that.

spartaxoxo

I am glad to hear we got 2 million more added this year. I have definitely felt it in terms of sales and running into new people now and them, but it's nice to have those suspicions confirmed. I had a feeling that Endless Archive and a new class would be appealing to a lot of people.

I'm excited to see what 10-year anniversary things they plan to do.

The new content isn't being teased this year, which is a bit disappointing. We already don't get a lot of information that gets you pumped about what's coming up in the future, so wish they had given us a little bit of a tease.

Overall, I think this has been the best year in ESO since Summerset. We got a fun new trial. We got noticeable performance improvements. We got a new class. And the Infinite Archive has been a sorely needed breath of fresh air in terms of new vet content. I was actually skeptical I would like it, but I really enjoy it.

Twohothardware

If the plan is to grow the player base back to what it once was then the two major updates to ESO in 2024 should include Crossplay and moving the base game to free to play on all platforms. The Elder Scrolls Online should be one large player base instead of three small fractured bases across three platforms and multiple regions.