Gold Road patch notes: New Environmental Sustainability Features... Can we turn these off?

WildRaptorX · June 3

This is a ridiculous change. I feel like I’m being punished for playing on Xbox.

Dropping the FPS will have 0 impact on the environment.

The only thing it does is annoy and let down the people gripping on to this dying game.

Syldras · June 3

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

But instead, they chose to treat us as though we are incapable of making choices on our own, and must have them made for us.

[snip]

Wolf_Eye wrote: »

Hello everyone. I'm....not doing so well lately. I have been very ill, off and on, and still waiting on specialist doctors to go see. So...I have not been able to participate in the forums as much as I would have liked.
I am so sorry for that. Special shout out apology to @Syldras , as I know you sent me private messages to try and cheer me up and I have just not been able to respond. I am so sorry.

@Wolf_Eye Don't worry, it's fine! Just take your time. There's no need to hurry at all.

Wolf_Eye wrote: »

I love sitting in my houses, the houses I worked so hard to build up, and the houses I had spent real money to get. I put so much effort and work into them...and I want to be able to enjoy the scenery I put my soul into making. Having only a 5 minute limit to do this feels annoying at best, and undermining at worst. I want to be able to sit in my homes and enjoy them for more than 5 minutes at a time. It's part of why I spent so much money in the first place; I should get my money's worth.

That's another good point! I sometimes just love to sit in that small building I built behind that Argonian mud pile in Bal Foyen. It might be tiny, but it's really atmospheric, and strangely relaxing to just watch the ash rain from the skies.

[edited for off-topic post]

Lord_Graas · June 3

I Never Asked for This ©

davidtk · June 3

I hope that they will add some option in the settings for that annoying thing.
I am annoyed to browse usersetting what they changed and fixing things.
Second I didn't saw any info about capping FPS in the Window mode. Before patch I had unlimited fps in window mode. And now I am forced to use Fullscreen mode (We play in Window (Fullscreen)) to play with uncapped fps.
@ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_Kevin and it is not some settings in the Windows 11 because wife playing in Window mode too on Windows 10 and before patch there wasn tjat damn fps cap.
I hate this forced things.

Desiato · June 3

Syldras wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

I'm going to give it a shot. The climate crisis is real. One way or another, society will be forced to adapt to it. Proactive adaptation would be the least painful. Our individual contributions to the problem may seem small, but it all adds up to a crisis.

[snip]

[snip]

The devs have provided an easy tool to help us reduce our consumption if we choose to use it. It seems reasonable to me, so I'm going to try it because I like to reduce my consumption, especially when it's easy.

[edited for inappropriate content & to remove quote]

Syldras · June 3

Desiato wrote: »

The devs have provided an easy tool to help us reduce our consumption if we choose to use it.

This is exactly not the case, as it is always on by default and you can only deactivate it by manually editing a file (if you're playing on PC, that is; otherwise - well, bad luck).

davidtk · June 3

Desiato wrote: »

The devs have provided an easy tool to help us reduce our consumption if we choose to use it. It seems reasonable to me, so I'm going to try it because I like to reduce my consumption, especially when it's easy.

Nope.
There is no option in the setting to turn this off.
You must manualy edit the usersettings for turn this greta mode off.
You'd be right if that were an option, but it's not.

sPark101 · June 3

When our screens go dark do we get a refund/compensation?

If we stay logged out continually over several days, weeks, months, do we get credit?

CrashTest · June 3

Vynera wrote: »

Documents\Elder Scrolls Online\live\UserSettings.txt

Find and edit following lines:

SET EnergySustainabilityMeasuresEnabled "1"
SET BACKGROUND_FPS_LIMIT "30"
SET USE_BACKGROUND_FPS_LIMIT "1"

1=Enabled
0=Disabled

Edit & Save while the game is fully closed, the settings are applied on the next start.

Thank you.

CrashTest · June 3

This should be OFF by default.

Tommy_The_Gun · June 3

Wait... So that one time when screen got "darker" when I was checking on my phone where to find Daedra Enemies in Vardenfell was actually an new feature ? It looked more like a HDR bug or worse - I was thinking my LCD screen is dying lol.

Desiato · June 3

davidtk wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

The devs have provided an easy tool to help us reduce our consumption if we choose to use it. It seems reasonable to me, so I'm going to try it because I like to reduce my consumption, especially when it's easy.

Nope.
There is no option in the setting to turn this off.
You must manualy edit the usersettings for turn this greta mode off.
You'd be right if that were an option, but it's not.

It is an option because it can be changed. Editing a text file is not difficult.

sPark101 · June 3

pc on/off doesn't equate to planet on/off

tincanman · June 3

Vynera wrote: »

Documents\Elder Scrolls Online\live\UserSettings.txt

Find and edit following lines:

SET EnergySustainabilityMeasuresEnabled "1"
.....

1=Enabled
0=Disabled

Edit & Save while the game is fully closed, the settings are applied on the next start.

Thanks for this. I actually checked the usersettings first but never saw the entry above; even a search on 'energy' returned nil....must've checked my backup in haste or, probably, before it had added the new setting...

Still fuming about this imposition, though; maybe outwith eu/uk, which have some ridiculously strong environmental and energy consumption laws and regulations, this sort of rubbishy gimmick would be arguably welcome but I expect mostly not, unless zos/ms intend to pay or refund us for energy consumed by playing eso?

grrrrrrrrrrrrr *crappy implementation* grrrrr *should be ui configurable* grrrrrrr *patch NOW* grrrrrrrrr *#~###f~~##* grrrrr

davidtk · June 3

Desiato wrote: »

davidtk wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

The devs have provided an easy tool to help us reduce our consumption if we choose to use it. It seems reasonable to me, so I'm going to try it because I like to reduce my consumption, especially when it's easy.

Nope.
There is no option in the setting to turn this off.
You must manualy edit the usersettings for turn this greta mode off.
You'd be right if that were an option, but it's not.

It is an option because it can be changed. Editing a text file is not difficult. Take a deep breathe, it's not the end of the world.

I don't have any problem to edit one file. But some people even don't know that something like usersetting file exist and even exist people that think editing is against some ToS.
Don't force your judgement that something is easy on someone else, thank you.

ArchangelIsraphel · June 3

Desiato wrote: »

davidtk wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

The devs have provided an easy tool to help us reduce our consumption if we choose to use it. It seems reasonable to me, so I'm going to try it because I like to reduce my consumption, especially when it's easy.

Nope.
There is no option in the setting to turn this off.
You must manualy edit the usersettings for turn this greta mode off.
You'd be right if that were an option, but it's not.

It is an option because it can be changed. Editing a text file is not difficult. Take a deep breathe, it's not the end of the world.

It ceases to be optional when the studio themselves does not make it plain and inform the user directly that these settings can be turned off via an edit. Other players had to go look for that information. It was unpublished by ZOS.

TaSheen · June 3

@Wolf_Eye - I'm SO sorry to hear you're having health issues, and I do hope you can get to see the specialists very very soon! I have certainly wondered where you've been, but of course, people do have things going on (some of them fun, some of them very much NOT fun).

Good luck in all you do in future, and may life treat you more kindly!

tincanman · June 3

davidtk wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

davidtk wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

The devs have provided an easy tool to help us reduce our consumption if we choose to use it. It seems reasonable to me, so I'm going to try it because I like to reduce my consumption, especially when it's easy.

Nope.
There is no option in the setting to turn this off.
You must manualy edit the usersettings for turn this greta mode off.
You'd be right if that were an option, but it's not.

It is an option because it can be changed. Editing a text file is not difficult. Take a deep breathe, it's not the end of the world.

I don't have any problem to edit one file. But some people even don't know that something like usersetting file exist and even exist people that think editing is against some ToS.
Don't force your judgement that something is easy on someone else, thank you.

Quite agree - this unwanted feature should be off by default and should also be built into the gui by default for simplest access in-game for those who might CHOOSE to enable it. For ALL platforms.

Desiato · June 3

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

davidtk wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

The devs have provided an easy tool to help us reduce our consumption if we choose to use it. It seems reasonable to me, so I'm going to try it because I like to reduce my consumption, especially when it's easy.

Nope.
There is no option in the setting to turn this off.
You must manualy edit the usersettings for turn this greta mode off.
You'd be right if that were an option, but it's not.

It is an option because it can be changed. Editing a text file is not difficult. Take a deep breathe, it's not the end of the world.

It ceases to be optional when the studio themselves does not make it plain and inform the user directly that these settings can be turned off via an edit. Other players had to go look for that information. It was unpublished by ZOS.

If it can be changed, it's an option. It takes longer to post a message about it than it does to change it. For those unable to edit a text file, I'm sure there will be an addon to do it within a week.

ArchangelIsraphel · June 3

Desiato wrote: »

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

davidtk wrote: »

Desiato wrote: »

The devs have provided an easy tool to help us reduce our consumption if we choose to use it. It seems reasonable to me, so I'm going to try it because I like to reduce my consumption, especially when it's easy.

Nope.
There is no option in the setting to turn this off.
You must manualy edit the usersettings for turn this greta mode off.
You'd be right if that were an option, but it's not.

It is an option because it can be changed. Editing a text file is not difficult. Take a deep breathe, it's not the end of the world.

It ceases to be optional when the studio themselves does not make it plain and inform the user directly that these settings can be turned off via an edit. Other players had to go look for that information. It was unpublished by ZOS.

If it can be changed, it's an option. It takes longer to post a message about it than it does to change it. For those unable to edit a text file, I'm sure there will be an addon to do it within a week.

I don't consider the absence of informed consent to a feature optional.

Desiato · June 3

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

I don't consider the absence of informed consent to a feature optional.

That doesn't change the fact that it is optional.

logan68 · June 3

I generally have multiple systems running at a time so its not going to do much on my end.

Syldras · June 3

ArchangelIsraphel wrote: »

[snip]

[snip]

tincanman wrote: »

Still fuming about this imposition, though; maybe outwith eu/uk, which have some ridiculously strong environmental and energy consumption laws and regulations, this sort of rubbishy gimmick would be arguably welcome

Not even here.

[edited for off-topic post & to remove quote]

Wolf_Eye · June 3

Syldras wrote: »

Wolf_Eye wrote: »

Hello everyone. I'm....not doing so well lately. I have been very ill, off and on, and still waiting on specialist doctors to go see. So...I have not been able to participate in the forums as much as I would have liked.
I am so sorry for that. Special shout out apology to @Syldras , as I know you sent me private messages to try and cheer me up and I have just not been able to respond. I am so sorry.

@Wolf_Eye Don't worry, it's fine! Just take your time. There's no need to hurry at all.

Wolf_Eye wrote: »

I love sitting in my houses, the houses I worked so hard to build up, and the houses I had spent real money to get. I put so much effort and work into them...and I want to be able to enjoy the scenery I put my soul into making. Having only a 5 minute limit to do this feels annoying at best, and undermining at worst. I want to be able to sit in my homes and enjoy them for more than 5 minutes at a time. It's part of why I spent so much money in the first place; I should get my money's worth.

That's another good point! I sometimes just love to sit in that small building I built behind that Argonian mud pile in Bal Foyen. It might be tiny, but it's really atmospheric, and strangely relaxing to just watch the ash rain from the skies.

Thank you, Syldras!

I always appreciate your thoughtful posts.

ArchMikem · June 3

The psychology behind all this is interesting. Companies know there's an audience out there that care about environmental sustainability, fully supporting policies and measures that are supposed to reduce waste and pollution...right up until those measures conflict with "muh freedoms".

Syldras · June 3

ArchMikem wrote: »

The psychology behind all this is interesting. Companies know there's an audience out there that care about environmental sustainability, fully supporting policies and measures that are supposed to reduce waste and pollution...right up until those measures conflict with "muh freedoms".

Why do you think that caring for the environment and valuing individual freedom of choice are two opposing things? It's very much possible to do both. Actually it's even neccessary to consider both, because lush and healthy landscapes will not help you if you can't live freely anymore. And with freely I don't mean mindlessly causing destruction, but having your own thoughts and making your own decisions without anyone interfering. I do care for sustainability, and I also firmly believe that you can achieve it by education and reasoning.

MidniteOwl1913 · June 3

What about making a new character? You are not logged in while doing so. I know because I often get kicked out for inactivity while fiddling with the various sliders. Having the screen go dim wouldn't help.

I BTW have a 100% solar-powered house off the grid. Limiting me serves no purpose. Unless the purpose is to annoy me.

Jaraal · June 3

sPark101 wrote: »

When our screens go dark do we get a refund/compensation?

If we stay logged out continually over several days, weeks, months, do we get credit?

Maybe they can turn it into a weekly endeavor:

"Use Dark Screen Mode™ for one hour while still staying logged in -- 260 Seals of Endeavor."

edward_frigidhands · June 3

I am pretty surprised this change went through without more backlash on PTS.

I didn't even know about it until today.

g0thiCiCecReaM · June 3

It's causing random CTDs