Official Discussion Thread for "The Road Ahead - May 1"

Delith

This is all really interesting, but I'm very sad to see that your implementation of the justice system will not allow for any negative interaction between players at all.

Why can we not steal from and kill each other? Why do we not have an option to flag for PvP and participate in this game the way we want?

It doesn't have to be forced on anyone. Just give us a check box to opt in and be phased with like minded players, like you said you were going to do for role players.

Ummaguma

he had me convinced... up until he said he is playing a nightblade. now I dont know what to believe!

fiftypercentgrey

Ambitious indeed. I do not dare to hope but I can't help myself. XD

Tawn

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

snip

This is an awesome game. It's a huge refreshing change to leave tab-target behind. For me at least it makes everything more relaxed.

My 2 characters are only babies, but for the first time in my decade long MMO career I am not rushing to level cap. Crafting means something, there is skill required, the story is WONDERFUL (I think Razum-Dar is the best NPC I've seen for ages)

I know this game will be a gem once you move past the always rocky release.

Keep plugging at technologies to stop the spammers. To me, this is number one above everything else, but I do know others want other priorities, so I know you will triage this all.

Thanks to your GM team, actually out there in dungeons now to kill the gold-farmer scourge. If I may please make one small suggestion, when a farmer is detected, can the GM please make them kill-flagged for a few minutes and announce it in-dungeon so that we can actually cause their demise.

I would pay money to kill these unwanted players then see your wonderful GMs ban hammer their dead corpses.

And well done. Kudos on a engrossing game.

Sparkleav

Although I don't complain often, the downtime and bugged quests that blocked progression gave me reason to. I feel these complaints had to be made, as if we hadn't progress and improvements wouldn't have been made by the development team. I for one am very grateful that they are giving us the extra days'. As for the list of things to come, they look great but there's no mention of player housing as of yet.

Aortick

Awesome News!! Can't wait.

Basil_oz

[Beams brightly from all the things that are to come]

Makes me glad to be an Imperial... and a Nord... and a Wood Elf!

I've really enjoyed this game and have enjoyed taking my time to do some questing and then simply exploring. I think what is evident is that the Devs feel the same and we will all benefit from that.

Great work guys/gals! Keep up the good and hard work and thanks for the extra days.

Actually, one of the things that wasn't mentioned, that I would love to see, is character appearance changing via barber, plastic (or clay) surgeon... whatever!! Something to give the toon a makeover if desired.

Digiman

Gotta admit, this is one of the worst MMO game launches I have experienced. It's nice that they are now fixing things, but that isn't going to get people who were upset to keep paying to play, most will ditch this for the MMO they invested their most time in once the free month is up.

In anycase the first impressions were wasted and really don't expect many players to keep playing till the majority of these issues are fixed.

Still like the plans they have made for their road map of the following months and unlike my family and friends I enjoy playing this game.

le_marteau

I am not one to leave comments, so you won't hear from me again. But I want the folks working on the game to know I am amazed by your accomplishments with this game. Several of the story lines are very well written and play out like a good book. The art work is great, the scale of the game mind-boggling. Of course there's some issues to fix the first couple weeks given what you are attempting to do - minimal compared to the 100+ hours of entertainment I've enjoyed already for my investment. Keep up the great efforts, and don't let the "Debbie Downers" spoil your day. Thank you.

Fairydragon3

Sparkleav wrote: »

As for the list of things to come, they look great but there's no mention of player housing as of yet.

Honestly i dont want to se this unless we got a big space. In SWG Housing was so awesome, Guilds had towns and claimed a part of a Planet. Nirn is one Planet, and right now there is not much space in the game. And I especially dont want a copy of these Stronghold that TOR is coming out wiht. I'm sure it just instanced areas. where is the sense of exploration in that. I would like to get lost, and find myself in someones town where that have a store and stuff.

Tawn

flameweaver wrote: »

...this could have been sorted prior to launch if ZOS had been less precious about the beta and NDA restrictions. In my view they should have:

• Had a Beta available 24 x 7 for at least the 2 months prior to launch and perhaps longer.
• Lifted the NDA much earlier
• Kept the BETA forums open, rather than closing them after each beta weekend

...

I make note here just how successful SOE have been with not enforcing an NDA on Landmark game.

I think that Smedbucks - as much as he is despised by people who he has burnt over the decade - made a good point here.

NDA is not really needed if the game is good.

The game playing public, the competitors can't/don't/won't cause damage during the beta.

I hope more companies drop then entire NDA requirement, mind you, I also hope they don't pimp the game by selling alpha at $

R0M2K

ZOS listens & ZOS delivers

Nice, really nice.

spliffmaster2b16_ESO

Please, please, please before you get anymore major features started work on the damned combat responsiveness. You have chosen an active, action-based combat system for this game, yet there is so much input-delay, unresponsiveness, inaccurate telegraphing, horrible combat cues, no stun animation and many more issues.

Medicius

Four things.

First and foremost, I'm glad to see the issues that players are currently experiencing with Botters, Gold Spam, Broken Quests, and the Bank Slot issue being called out and not just swept under the rug. I think it shows a level of affirmation and ownership that players want to see from ZOS right now.


Secondly, and to quote the original article, I'd like to point out that it just slapped all Beta Testers in the face - and for a damn good reason. You guys failed. Perhaps you're just too used to "beta testing" games on Steam where you get to play what the developer is calling an alpha/beta game and where you rail on about things that are broken, yet never try to help resolve it by re-testing and submitting bugs. The ignorance as to what beta testing is shows clearly in the amount of bugs that we still continue to see now. Yes, Beta Testers, you failed. And here's the quote that proves it:

...We’re also continuing to fix bugs as we find them and as players report them to us. In a world as large as ESO’s, with endless variations of gameplay by players, it is impossible for QA to identify all bugs before launch

As a third point, I have to say I'm extremely nervous about referenced Class and Ability "modifications". Yes, pretty much every MMO goes through this phase. But I'm hopeful that ZOS isn't doing it in reaction to the players who are too used to other MMO's very vanilla flavors that their classes have. Instead, I would have hoped that ZOS kept on with the very distinct flavors of their classes and skills and perhaps even made them more disparate - a 3D version of Rock/Paper/Scissors instead of the one dimensional Rock/Rock/Rock with different skins we very well could see.


Lastly, looking at the planned updates for the future beyond Craglorn, I'm very excited to see that they're bringing in more of the single player aspect that made TES such a winning and immersive success. The combination of updates and upgrades that played a part in letting other MMOs succeed for years seems like it could be a very smart move. I think that by learning from previous attempts and using the past to help shape the future they're showing us they know what came before and are looking to help keep us engaged (and paying) as their long-term goal.

Thanks again.

Udaku

A lot of words, but your actions prove the opposite...

Phyrdrin

I feel that with this write-up ZOS has addressed some important issues. This is commendable at best and a little late at worst. As paying players, we appreciate the extra 5 days. That gesture was practically necessary to appease the masses who believed they were losing out on what they paid for.

The patch notes, which I read a long while ago, are a ray of hope. As is this write-up with its sweet promises of features to come. Yet, the doubt is still there. Although numerous quests were labeled as "fixed" in these patch notes, I didn't feel relieved. I know many have experienced these bugs and were frustrated by them. For their sake, I'm glad. But on a personal level, my Nightblade and combat are what have been suffering the most.

Bots I can deal with. Gold farmers and hackers have been a routine part of my MMO experience. Just go play AoC for a while and you'll see what I mean. Even polished games like WoW still have them after years of being around. Go ahead, ZOS, try to squash them and run them out of town. These guys are like roaches. You cannot ever be sure they are gone nor will they ever completely disappear. Speech bubbles? Ok. If it floats your boat. As an RP'er, I can firmly state that I don't need such things. They stand on the same level as "name plates" and padded toilet paper. I won't be upset if they aren't there. Pickpocketing PC's and open world PVP? That's where we might have issues. Maybe if my character stopped bugging out during combat...

I believe your resources could be better spent on fixing combat bugs than trying to perform pest control. There are many high-profile threads listing a plethora of broken Nightblade abilities that don't function as they are supposed to. These abilities were not addressed at all in the coming "big patch". I don't know what it's like for other classes, but what about vampires and werewolves and their own bugged abilities?

I could go on, but I'm sure that this wall of text will already put people off from reading this post. Maybe ZOS will read it, seeing as the article's author claims that they read their player's reviews and take them seriously. For now, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt seeing as - despite its numerous flaws - the game is still very enjoyable.

Fairydragon3

spliffmaster2b16_ESO wrote: »

Please, please, please before you get anymore major features started work on the damned combat responsiveness. You have chosen an active, action-based combat system for this game, yet there is so much input-delay, unresponsiveness, inaccurate telegraphing, horrible combat cues, no stun animation and many more issues.

Its in the PTS patch notes. That is a big goal for Craglorn's launch

nbradetteb16_ESO

SQUEEING SO HARD RIGHT NOW AT THE UPCOMING PLANS!!!!

Spellcrafting?!! Pleaaaaaase let this mean what I think it means! I also really love the Justice system idea you've got coming up!!! And the Thieves Guild & Dark Brotherhood making a return!!

So damned happy!

Viverim

Don't have time to read all four pages right now, so I will post my own feelings;

A very interesting update. Thanks very much for the bonus time, it is highly appreciated. Also I am very glad to see you letting others know about your efforts to combat Bots in game. Too many people don't realize how massive this problem truly is, and that it takes time to counter it effectively. I think y'all have done a very good job on that so far.

On the positive; Looking forward to the armor tinting and very excited about new adjustments to crafting. Not sure what Spellcraft is, but it will certainly be worth a look. Fixing the store interface, something very much needed! And both having dungeons adjust to level and letting groups phase together.... Excellent work y'all!

On the Negative; even more add-ons for group level dungeons. I'm really not going to do anything with Craglorn due to forced grouping, and adding more 4-mans in other zones doesn't interest me either, so that's wasted effort for me. I'm sure it's great for those who like forced grouping systems, and I hope they enjoy it. Seems like a lot of effort going into the 4-man and trial parts of the game, which I find a bit troubling, but we'll see how it all works out.

Request! - as one of the fringe players (werewolf), I am hoping that the various bugs making Werewolf almost unplayable will get addressed soon. Also, while none of the wolves I have seen want to be as insanely super-human as Vampires seem to be, some adjusts and boosts would be nice. Pretty Please?

Phyrdrin

Double post...

grombrindal

Thank you Thank you for the free 5 days!! That just made my whole day ^^.
Thank you guys for your hard work, thank you for banning bots,personally banning them. Thank you for this tidbit. I am glad to be here since headstart and will continue to be here for the long run!!

stojekarcub18_ESO

Motivational and uplifting...to say the least.

Fairydragon3

Medicius wrote: »

Four things.

Secondly, and to quote the original article, I'd like to point out that it just slapped all Beta Testers in the face - and for a damn good reason. You guys failed. Perhaps you're just too used to "beta testing" games on Steam where you get to play what the developer is calling an alpha/beta game and where you rail on about things that are broken, yet never try to help resolve it by re-testing and submitting bugs. The ignorance as to what beta testing is shows clearly in the amount of bugs that we still continue to see now. Yes, Beta Testers, you failed. And here's the quote that proves it:

...We’re also continuing to fix bugs as we find them and as players report them to us. In a world as large as ESO’s, with endless variations of gameplay by players, it is impossible for QA to identify all bugs before launch

As a PTS player, People did spend WAAAAAYY too much time in Cyrodil. I only had a month of it before launch, and Ebonheart was empty levels 1-34. But Honestly... these bugs that came up after launch.....They Were all new to me. The only trouble I had questing was just being by myself. But all these progression block, I sincerely believe we were unable to find them because the amount of people playing the game now is much greater than on the PTS. Mega server seems to be a new kind of beast in the world of MMO's

f.chainlessnrb19_ESO

Some awesome stuff, being able to play with friends even when not on the same phase of a quest, so finally able to go back and help friends / guildmates!

The ability to dye armor, oh yes!!! plz do this sooner rather than later hehe.

And even extra days for the downtime, even though its normal for a new game to have some extra downtime now and then.


Exciting, its a good game and I'm actually feeling it will only get better, thats a nice change after more than 10 mmos.
Keep this up and you can have my 14 euros any month!

tylarthb16_ESO

Really so much of that should have been in game prior to release, identified in betas and based off the years of MMO industry game releases and standards have set.

Inzababa

VAMPIRES

really, plz, fix that stuff ASAP and stop ignoring the millions of posts and threads about this topic.

Medicius

Viverim wrote: »

Request! - as one of the fringe players (werewolf), I am hoping that the various bugs making Werewolf almost unplayable will get addressed soon. Also, while none of the wolves I have seen want to be as insanely super-human as Vampires seem to be, some adjusts and boosts would be nice. Pretty Please?

I hope ZOS fixes the primary game bugs before they work on the tertiary aspects of the game - i.e. that they work on primary classes rather than the Vamp or WW broken abilities.

That said, as both a fighter's guild, vamp, and werewolf character player - I take umbrage at your final request. So I'm going to ask a question many would like to see you answer: Are you also going to ask that poison be as widely used and available to both NPC and PC characters alike - as fire currently is?

Maybe ask that destro staves get a fourth skill line focused on Poison? Or are you going to ignore the fact that while Vampires have it a lot easier in many respects, their weakness is also more prevalent in the game world?

Thanks.

Raventiger_sb

Matt,

Thank you for this frank and open communication. It's great to know that you are aware to the problems with the game and are working diligently to resolve them. I for one, am very appreciative for the work you and your team put into the game. Personally I would like it to stick around for a long, long, time.

Try not to let the negative reviews get you down. Take from them what you need to improve the game, and then move on. Easier said then done - I know, but I, along with a lot of others that I have seen post on this forums, love this game and are committed to it for the long haul.

Can't wait for the thieves guild/ dark brotherhood guild to be introduced in to the game. Now, like you, I'm off to play my nightblade

kwisatz

About armor dying... please be very carefull : only realistic colors, for the Eight sake!

Eris

Delith wrote: »

Why can we not steal from and kill each other? Why do we not have an option to flag for PvP and participate in this game the way we want?

My experience with flagging, at least in SWTOR, is that people find a way to force flag you and then kill you. I'd rather not have a flagging option in the game. There are places for PVP and open world PVP is really a turn off to me at least. I'm not playing this game to be constantly visited by the gank squad.

I'm generally happiest when PVP and PVE environments are separate.