Feedback On Console Environmental Sustainability Features

Grega · June 19

Hi.

Well, you have succeeded. I now, for the first time in 10 years, cannot actually play the game at all. Within 20min, I get motion sickness from the stuttering and choppiness thanks to this absolutely ridiculous feature implemented.

Revert this feature. This is the worst thing you have EVER done, and you have done some pretty bad things in 10 years.

VouxeTheMinotaur · June 19

i'm personally not a fan of this change, though i understand why it was done and that's awesome, but, it feels like the game is running poorly, laggy and the frame drop feels like i'm running the game on a playstation 4.

I wear glasses and i still have to squint to see what in the world i'm looking at sometimes.

opening a menu to go through the massive list of achievements to see what's needed to earn it, navigating where it even is since there's no search option, then closing the menu only to see the frame rate persist is quite bothersome.

opening inventory during a dungeon or trial to see what gear was collected, or to check for another player to trade, then closing menu to continue the dungeon or trial at a 30 fps that persists is... ugh.

I agree that this should be a toggled option.

There's already a persisting problem on console with rubber banding and frame drop outside the menu Ui, it seems to be getting stronger since the maintenance for gold road. i understand it's been acknowledged by the dev's, but the menu is also apart of the frame drop problem when some players use their menu's in the midst of content.

Still, it is great you guys have found a way to reduce power consumption for console, i image that would help out in the lifespan on consoles, but having a PS5, where the major key to a 5, is performance better than its previous generation (4) only to be met with lower performance like this, similar to its previous generation, is just very upsetting.

Please make this an option rather than a permanent feature. I'd like to enjoy the new content and usual content, but not like this... this is not a PS5 performance game anymore

Quackery · June 19

This should have been hotfixed yesterday! It baffles the mind how completely clueless you at ZOS are as to how this would affect the physical health of people by implementing the FPS cap. It needs fixing NOW!!

OneBadHuskerFan · June 19

This ABSOLUTELY needs to be optional. I don't know what specifically causes it but I personally suffer physically from some 30fps modes/games. I get dizzy, nauseous, etc. I know that sounds weird and if I could explain it better I would. But going from playing in 60fps to 30fps in the menus is a big issue for me and actually caused me to turn the game off last night. I cannot continue playing this game if the 30fps menu is kept in. It's just simply not an option.

PLEASE revert this back to how it's always been or at the VERY LEAST give me the option to turn this off.

kiheikat · June 19

This change is awful.

I broke my hand, so have been playing one-handed. The low-frame rate jitter is making it extremely difficult to target the right place on the map for fast travel. This is not a beneficial change for anyone with limitations on fine motor control.

the1andonlyskwex · June 19

I'm pretty sure the frame rate could drop into the high teens or low twenties before I would even notice it, especially in menus.

Tiath · June 19

So I think I might have a handle on what's triggering me.

I think that, in performance mode, the game uses Dynamic Resolution Scaling to target 60fps at all times.

Now, as you enter the menu and the game slows to 30fps the DRS is going "Yikes, the FPS is terrible we need to scale" and everything gets fuzzy... then as you come out of the menu you get this nasty out of focus fuzzy bounce effect where the DRS is returning the rendering resolution to normal (as the reason you were at 30fps was the menu, not that where you are standing needs a lot of GPU power) at the same time the menu UI is zooming you back to your play point-of-view.

Put that on a big TV and it's like half your forward field of vision is suddenly wrong: It's severely triggering my visual sensitivity - making my brain think I am off balance, or falling over, or something like that.

It also seems that, if you go in and out of the menu too often the DRS gets confused and you're staying a lower resolution longer than it needs to (kind of like it's thinking "I saw a lot of 30fps in the last minute or two, better keep things low rez"): The "keep everything at 60fps" and the "make it 30fps" systems are apparently having a fight.

After just 10 mins of doing daily writs, selling some things to vendors and visiting the guild store I've got a thumping headache and have had to step away or I'm going to be sick.

(Getting triggered on performance mode has never been a problem for me before U42)

...oh and the low resolution after a couple of mins of AFK is almost as bad... playing on PS5 I'm often looking at wikis, maps, or spreadsheets (as we don't have any addons) on another screen (laptop/ipad) and now I need to remember to move before I look back at the screen else I get the same lurching feeling as the resolution pops back up when I move.

There needs to be an option to turn this off: Have it on as default and let us configure it on/off for menus and idle in the accessibility menu, please.

Helfyre666 · June 19

I don't mind it for being idle, but going through the menus and map having the framerate drop really bothers my eyes. Over a short period can give me a headache or at least my eyes very tired. I wish it could at least be toggled off.

noxdave · June 19

Another vote for this is absolutely terrible. Please fix!

VouxeTheMinotaur · June 19

dk_dunkirk wrote: »

This is a pandering change for the sake of investors, not players. I'm guessing no one would willingly make this tradeoff to save a couple of bucks a month on their electrical bill, and that's why there's no toggle for it in the options.

If this is true, then wow...

happy 10 years console players....

LaintalAy · June 19

I'm on Win11PC and I never get above 24fps and average around 10. So no loss for me there.

When not used for a short period, the screen dims. Moving the mouse wakes it and the screen returns to bright.

TheValkyn · June 19

I’ve thought about this change some more to reflect if I was just being petty. That made me just more frustrated. Please don’t sacrifice the quality of your product at the altar of your corporate narratives especially for an unheard of change like this.

Kinda makes ya wanna go burn some trash in protest. (Mentioned in jest. Please just fix my game.)

CedoNemini · June 19

I'm playing on Series X. This 30 fps menu/map feature is awful! I play on performance mode for a reason, and I want the entire game to be at 60 fps, including the menus. When scrolling the maps, I'm getting motion sickness from the judder, in addition to stuttering. I've also noticed more stuttering/frame rate drops in-game since the patch. You should remove this "feature" asap, or, at the very least, give players the option to toggle it on or off. Overall, you have worsened my gaming experience and enjoyment by doing this! I had considered subscribing to ESO plus since giving the free trial a shot, but certainly won't while this issue persists.

Bammlschwamml · June 20

Consoles need a public test server. A real one. If something doesn't work right, then it shouldn't be sold. I am sick of buying new beta versions of this game all the time... When did it become ok to sell broken products?

Ishtarknows · June 20

the1andonlyskwex wrote: »

I'm pretty sure the frame rate could drop into the high teens or low twenties before I would even notice it, especially in menus.

I don't find the frame rate too bad within the menu, but the transition between normal gameplay and menu is awful and headache inducing. I was reading some master writs earlier getting ready for the event and the in-out was so jarring I had to stop.

Maybe the Devs tested it on a small desktop monitor, but it definitely doesn't work well on a 50" tv.

Edit: I've played more and no, I'm not happy with the juddery menu scrolling, map zooming etc. The whole process of going from 60fps to using the map or menu is horrible and makes me want to play less.

the1andonlyskwex · June 20

Ishtarknows wrote: »

the1andonlyskwex wrote: »

I'm pretty sure the frame rate could drop into the high teens or low twenties before I would even notice it, especially in menus.

I don't find the frame rate too bad within the menu, but the transition between normal gameplay and menu is awful and headache inducing. I was reading some master writs earlier getting ready for the event and the in-out was so jarring I had to stop.

Maybe the Devs tested it on a small desktop monitor, but it definitely doesn't work well on a 50" tv.

I'm on a 50" OLED. I think some people are just more sensitive to frame rates than others

fizl101 · June 20

the1andonlyskwex wrote: »

Ishtarknows wrote: »

the1andonlyskwex wrote: »

I'm pretty sure the frame rate could drop into the high teens or low twenties before I would even notice it, especially in menus.

I don't find the frame rate too bad within the menu, but the transition between normal gameplay and menu is awful and headache inducing. I was reading some master writs earlier getting ready for the event and the in-out was so jarring I had to stop.

Maybe the Devs tested it on a small desktop monitor, but it definitely doesn't work well on a 50" tv.

I'm on a 50" OLED. I think some people are just more sensitive to frame rates than others

I think for me its the changing of the framerate. When I was on the old console version and a static 30fps I was used to it, then moved to the updated version and moved to performance mode. Its the speed up and slow down during a gaming session that makes my eyes feel wonky rather than being static throughout

Karivaa · June 20

fizl101 wrote: »

the1andonlyskwex wrote: »

Ishtarknows wrote: »

the1andonlyskwex wrote: »

I'm pretty sure the frame rate could drop into the high teens or low twenties before I would even notice it, especially in menus.

I don't find the frame rate too bad within the menu, but the transition between normal gameplay and menu is awful and headache inducing. I was reading some master writs earlier getting ready for the event and the in-out was so jarring I had to stop.

Maybe the Devs tested it on a small desktop monitor, but it definitely doesn't work well on a 50" tv.

I'm on a 50" OLED. I think some people are just more sensitive to frame rates than others

I think for me its the changing of the framerate. When I was on the old console version and a static 30fps I was used to it, then moved to the updated version and moved to performance mode. Its the speed up and slow down during a gaming session that makes my eyes feel wonky rather than being static throughout

That’s how it is for me too. I tried to do writs on multiple characters this morning and because I go into the menu so often, it made me dizzy. When I am just running around questing, I am fine.

B4NeRj3e · June 20

Since I play with the menus at 30 FPS, I'm a better person and much smarter. In addition, deforestation of the Amazon has stopped and celebrities have stopped using their private jets to go buy bread. The planet has been saved! Thank you Zenimax!

RedJohn_COF · June 20

How about maybe making the menus dynamic FPS? As soon as you swap to a different setting it get ups to the normal FPS so that the animations are smooth but as long as you stay on a certain page, it will go down to 30 FPS? This way it should feel much more responsive and smooth, while the power consumption overall will still go down?

Hrolthar · June 20

Same here on XBox Series X. The menu and the map are awful to use, stuttering, flickering and nausea inducing. Especially after playing at 60fps for a couple of years now!

Vance.Frost · June 20

Please make it a option in settings. The laggy menus kills my eye and gives me headaches. Thanks for fixing the zoom but we need it to be smoother.

Grec1a · June 20

Please make this optional on all platforms.

I'm on PC and turned off the "sustainability settings" without trying them, because the premise behind them does not apply to me. I live in one of the most eco-friendly homes on the planet and any energy I do use is 100% renewable. Inconveniencing myself when playing this game is not going to make any difference to climate change.

iPomasHD · June 20

It's terrible. I hope you will add toggle with this feature

Ani · June 20

The low FPS menus are extremely jarring and disruptive. Although the patch notes say "capped at 30 fps" in practice the frame rate drops much lower, especially upon initially opening the menu - estimate between 15 and 20 fps.

Given how many people have reported that this causes causes migraines and/or nausea, it is essential that you make these settings toggleable for the sake of health, safety, and accessibility. As you have always said, let people play their own way.

Quackery · June 21

It's been 3 days now and still no hotfix...

oldbobdude · June 21

Going green isn’t a horrible idea. How about coding database merging for cross play and shut down some server farms. Might make a real difference.

La_Croft · June 21

Besides it feeling horrible to navigate, it has made the game unplayable for me, as within 10-20 minutes I start getting motion sickness from the framerate transition.

ogtorresjr · June 21

Please make it optional, thank you. I don’t like it.

alazar14 · June 21

As a console player, I don't spend much time on the community forums. That said, I was willing to figure out how to sign back into this forum (haven't posted in a long time) just to express my complete and total dissatisfaction with this change.

The transition from 60 FPS gameplay to 30 FPS menu navigation every time feels extremely jarring, to the point where it honestly takes away from my enjoyment of the game. I feel like something is broken, or not working right. Like I should "wait until its fixed" before playing, because its so irritating.

If you want people to support sustainability efforts, I'm all for it, but make it something players can opt-in to do, do not make it mandatory. Encourage players to do it by providing incentives! How about some exp scrolls or crown crates if players leave it toggled on for the duration of a week, or a month? This would not only promote the feature, but encourage players to actually happily opt into the feature. It costs you Zenimax, very little, and even that cost, is going to something you believe in, right? Reward players (positive reinforcement) for doing something that you value and think its important, but don't force people into it.

I and others bought a Series X thinking that this next gen console was going to have a smooth game experience. Now the game's menus feel like they are right out of my Xbox one S.

Also its not just the menu issue. I also noticed that you basically added a "feature" where the resolution drops if the player goes a few minutes without any activity. While I don't absolutely hate this feature (at least not nearly as much as the constant 30 FPS menu and maps), its still an eye sore and should be an optional feature that players can enable.

PLEASE CHANGE IT BACK!!!