Would you like language barriers to be introduced?

Rodario · October 2014

Usually I try to make poll texts as unbiased as possible. In this particular case I would like to share my personal views on the issue first.

I have become used to MMORPG servers being language specific and this not being the case with ESO has been slightly irritating to me from the start. Here's why:

- I have often found myself grouped with people who speak another language. I do think being able to communicate with group members is at least useful, if not necessary in most cases.

- There are so many chat messages in so many different languages that I tune out the chat window, as I don't understand most of what's going on there anyway. There are language specific channels, but they are rarely used.

- Even if both you and your conversation partner speak the same language, if the install language is different, you will know locales by different names. I perceive this as exhausting.

How I envision language separation to work:

People with the same install language are phased together. If you so choose, you can still group up with people who play in a different language, much as you can group up with people in other phases now.

There would be a dropdown menu attached to the map that lets you select the language zone you wish to belong to, in case you are not content with the choice the system made. This selection could be changed at any time, except in combat. It does not have to be attached to the map, just seems logical to me.

Once the LFG tool receives its overhaul and is commonly used, the same principle shall apply here. You are only automatically grouped with people of the same language. The reason I mention the overhaul is that, at the moment, the tool finds precious little players already.

Let me just clear up a few anticipated responses/issues first:

- No, this is not me being xenophobic. This is me being used to servers being separated by language, liking it that way and not seeing the reason to break with that custom.

- Yes, I know we have megaservers. Yes, it would work anyway. I have played other MMORPGs that employed megaservers and they always phased people by language.

I deliberately did not say "MMOs", as I fear the association with MOBAs.

Note: I did not state that ESO is unique in not separating people by language, just that I haven't come across it before.

I realize the comment section may get heated when discussing an issue like this. Please be extra careful to be civil with each other and stay on topic I would not want this to turn into a political discussion. The very real threat of this happening is the reason I have waited so long to make this post.

OK, I believe that's enough disclaimers, now to the question:

BBSooner · October 2014

I would prefer to simply have an auto translate function similar to FFXI / FFXIV. Being able to instantly translate words and phrases allowed for multicultural parties and was in depth enough to piece together actual conversations about approaching the game.

Nightfall33 · October 2014

BBSooner wrote: »

I would prefer to simply have an auto translate function similar to FFXI / FFXIV. Being able to instantly translate words and phrases allowed for multicultural parties and was in depth enough to piece together actual conversations about approaching the game.

I prefer ZOS to work on more important stuff then working on a auto translator...

Just saying :P

Soloeus · October 2014

I would also like an auto-translator but look at the ones already used, they aren't really that helpful. I like what BBSooner posted.

MikeBob · October 2014

I believe the resources that would be necessary to make the change you're proposing are far more valuable than any real gain that may be achieved.

You're basically talking about segregating people by language. Too much would likely go wrong and not enough could possibly go right to make something like that fly.

No thanks.

GoatKnuckle · October 2014

Fine. The Goat will be civil. This is a very stupid poll and OP should go back to the drawing board and them come back to us with the next great idea. At this point you should be happy to play with anyone with a pulse. Besides ... The Brazilian players are comedy gold.

Feel free to rag on one of my dumb polls anytime.

BBSooner · October 2014

Nightfall33 wrote: »

BBSooner wrote: »

I would prefer to simply have an auto translate function similar to FFXI / FFXIV. Being able to instantly translate words and phrases allowed for multicultural parties and was in depth enough to piece together actual conversations about approaching the game.

I prefer ZOS to work on more important stuff then working on a auto translator...

Just saying :P

Was that not obvious? Clearly the topic isn't a pressing matter

Xeres14 · October 2014

Maybe for the Khajiit. This one wants to smash them in the snout when they talk.

WraithAzraiel · October 2014

BBSooner wrote: »

I would prefer to simply have an auto translate function similar to FFXI / FFXIV. Being able to instantly translate words and phrases allowed for multicultural parties and was in depth enough to piece together actual conversations about approaching the game.

Sure then the next thing we'll hear is the auto-translate is causing crashing and lag.

Can o' worms.

Nightfall33 · October 2014

BBSooner wrote: »

Nightfall33 wrote: »

BBSooner wrote: »

I would prefer to simply have an auto translate function similar to FFXI / FFXIV. Being able to instantly translate words and phrases allowed for multicultural parties and was in depth enough to piece together actual conversations about approaching the game.

I prefer ZOS to work on more important stuff then working on a auto translator...

Just saying :P

Was that not obvious? Clearly the topic isn't a pressing matter

I know but I was just saying :P

k9mouse · October 2014

I can see this happen on the EU server. If I was "forced" to play on the server likely that I will feel the same way. I play on the US server so everyone talk in English. In EU, that is not the case. I am NOT against the people who use a different tongue, but it will become hard to trade and group or RP if we do use the same language. One reason I am staying off the EU server (besides starting over with new chars and some lag may be).

AlnilamE · October 2014

I don't know. I assume it's a bigger issue on the EU server. If languages were separated, then I would not have found one of the two guilds I'm active in (depending on which language I'd have chosen), so I can't say I would like that feature.

How are you getting into these groups? The LFG tool?

Rodario · October 2014

AlnilamE wrote: »

I don't know. I assume it's a bigger issue on the EU server. If languages were separated, then I would not have found one of the two guilds I'm active in (depending on which language I'd have chosen), so I can't say I would like that feature.

How are you getting into these groups? The LFG tool?

I'm on the EU server, yes. Knowing what I know now, I would have chosen the US server (Also because of the EU lag).

LFG tool in most cases, but it has also happened with "Role x LFG dungeon y" in chat.

Sharee · October 2014

In my experience, seeing another language than english in chat is pretty rare, even on the EU server. Even more rare is a situation where the language barrier has some gameplay implication (like a french player calling out enemy at a keep i don't recognize by name). So the benefit of the language barrier seems pretty minimal.

On the other hand, the potential gameplay issues coming from separating playerbase are pretty bad. For example, looking for that healer you need, you not only have to find a competent player, but also a player that is from your side of the barrier(this just an example, i'm sure you can think of more).

Audigy · October 2014

I see tons of Germans every time I log on and I have no clue why. Its either that only Germans play on EU, that they refuse to talk English or that there already is some type of phase in place as I log on from a German IP.

Personally I find it rude and disrespectful to not speak English on the EU server but I believe that these common rules don't matter anymore for especially younger people who play games.

Rodario · October 2014

Sharee wrote: »

In my experience, seeing another language than english in chat is pretty rare, even on the EU server. Even more rare is a situation where the language barrier has some gameplay implication (like a french player calling out enemy at a keep i don't recognize by name). So the benefit of the language barrier seems pretty minimal.

On the other hand, the potential gameplay issues coming from separating playerbase are pretty bad. For example, looking for that healer you need, you not only have to find a competent player, but also a player that is from your side of the barrier(this just an example, i'm sure you can think of more).

I guess individual experiences differ. I, for one, would like my healer to speak the same language I do. I don't remember language separation ever causing issues in any other MMORPG I've ever played.

KhajitFurTrader · October 2014

Audigy wrote: »

I see tons of Germans every time I log on and I have no clue why. Its either that only Germans play on EU, that they refuse to talk English or that there already is some type of phase in place as I log on from a German IP.

Personally I find it rude and disrespectful to not speak English on the EU server but I believe that these common rules don't matter anymore for especially younger people who play games.

Oooh, how rude of someone to speak in their native language... wo kämen wir denn hin, wenn das jeder machen würde?

The /zone channel is designated as being multilingual by ZOS. Everyone can gabble away in their favorite lingo there, comprende?. It's just that the language-specific sub-channels aren't very well advertised (they have to be manually selected), and that starting the client in a specific language doesn't put the user directly in the appropriate sub-channel as well (yes, there even is a /zone-en sub-channel, for what it's worth).

Anyway, as an upstanding citizen of the United States of Europe European Union you already know by heart that German is one of the 24 official languages (and has been since 1958). So please get off your high horse, no-one is refusing to speak English, they're just exercising their citizen's rights, just like everyone else.

Edit: I see that this isn't the first time you've put your foot in your mouth, to wit:

Audigy wrote: »

Its a matter of respect to speak English in public, no matter if its in the game or in RL.

[...]

Germans and also the French are a bit "strange" there. They simply refuse to learn other languages, due their strong national will. While I understand that patriotism is something a few cultures value a lot, its making life difficult for others.

Nothing beats a good prejudice, especially a wrong one.

Nerouyn · October 2014

KhajitFurTrader wrote: »

Nothing beats a good prejudice, especially a wrong one.

Wasn't just one there either. The foreign and the young both copped a beating.

I'm genuinely curious as to whether this is unfiltered bigotry or a convincing caricature thereof.

I have seen worse though. I saw someone in GW2 zone chat proclaim that all Chinese people should be strapped down and forced to learn English because it's the more common language. When informed that Mandarin speakers outnumber English about 2 : 1 he curiously declined the multitude of offers to strap him down.

Leeric · October 2014

I honestly don't care, I just ignore those who don't speak a language I understand.

Oolou · October 2014

No thanks. I quite enjoy the atmosphere of being in the midst of different conversations in different languages. It doesn't affect my gaming.

Regarding the reasons stated:

1) Often if I'm in a pick up group on the EU server, I'll end up with players who don't speak English and ... well, it works out fine. I've found that you don't need extensive communication to complete stuff in groups. I know some players like to talk things out tactically (which usually turns out to be a spoiler of what's to come, or is just them yakking on for ages to another in the group to arrive at conclusions that are kinda obvious) but in the end if something isn't working, some common sense will usually point to what may work instead, without needing to spell it out.

2) I don't read Zone chat much, prefer guild chat really if I'm feeling sociable (not that often). And the few times I see conversation in zone chat that is beyond players looking for more, or trading, or advertising their guilds, it's usually just some people farting around and no great shakes. I don't see the necessity for separating out players by their language for that ...

3) I haven't felt particularly exhausted by having to work out where a person means if they know it by a different name because they have used a different install. I've found it ... interesting

So no thanks, I do not agree with your reasons for this suggestion.

And I do not want to have the pool of available players to group with made smaller.

Soulshine · October 2014

I speak several languages and English is not my native tongue so I am very happy that other languages are not filtered out.

Yusuf · October 2014

I don't mind an lfg-system specifically for english or whatever language someone prefers.
The only thing that's pissing me off though are people claiming the international zonechat is supposed to be english only "since english is the international language" or something.

Thus my vote, i don't want to encourage this kind of behaviour.

Yusuf · October 2014

Audigy wrote: »

I see tons of Germans every time I log on and I have no clue why. Its either that only Germans play on EU, that they refuse to talk English or that there already is some type of phase in place as I log on from a German IP.

Personally I find it rude and disrespectful to not speak English on the EU server but I believe that these common rules don't matter anymore for especially younger people who play games.

Exactly those people are the ones i was talking about. I had to defend a german player in cyrodiil WHO DOESN'T KNOW ENGLISH but wanted to help out the alliance in zonechat for almost 20 minutes until that idiot finally gave in and ignored half the zonechat of his own alliance.

"I find it extremely rude that people haven't learned the language i speak in school and thus don't know it. How dare they breathe the same air i breathe?" is what i read here.

Nox_Aeterna · October 2014

Dont really care , i assume this is an issue to the EU server , not the american one.

Even then mostly when i do join a group i just expect people to have an idea of how to perform already , rarely i will have the patience to teach someone how to win a fight , that is what youtube videos are for. If they dont know how to kill something , they are better watching those, hey there is even a small chance i will wait them to finish.

DaniAngione · October 2014

I find it rather interesting that you say you're not being xenophobic, just "used to servers separated by languages".

That's funny, it's like saying "I'm not misogynistic, I'm just used to women serving me, so they should serve me" or "I'm not racist, I'm just used to servers that separate players by their races"
Anyway, not blaming you, just pointing out that the basis for your speech is quite dangerous.

I mean, what bothers me is how you use yourself and your own experience with the world to propose a server-wide change as if it was a server-wide problem. Though your poll results are probably not what you'd expect, so, I don't think I have to say anything else here

Pseudolo · October 2014

Language barriers are useless. I play on the EU server, and despite a few shortcomings (players who speak little to no English) it's good as it is. It's better to spend 10 minutes trying to plan a strategy with someone you barely understand than to be separated and spend the same time looking for group in a less populated server...

Rodario · October 2014

DaniAngione wrote: »

I find it rather interesting that you say you're not being xenophobic, just "used to servers separated by languages".

That's funny, it's like saying "I'm not misogynistic, I'm just used to women serving me, so they should serve me" or "I'm not racist, I'm just used to servers that separate players by their races"
Anyway, not blaming you, just pointing out that the basis for your speech is quite dangerous.

I mean, what bothers me is how you use yourself and your own experience with the world to propose a server-wide change as if it was a server-wide problem. Though your poll results are probably not what you'd expect, so, I don't think I have to say anything else here

@DaniAngione‌ I'm not really surprised by the results, I expected something along the lines of 25% approval rate. On the off chance this was actually the popular opinion, I made the poll to find out.

What surprised me were the reasons given. It appears a lot of people are worried about finding enough players for a group, so they'd rather play without being able to communicate than having to wait longer to find enough people.

Being a tank, I may have an easier time finding groups and therefore perceive this differently.

IMO this problem is probably more related to group content incentive than to the size of the player base.

I'm aware of the danger this topic poses, as one can tell by the nature and number of disclaimers. The discussion has already started to slip in the wrong direction, so before the thread gets closed, let me ask you this:

If you played WoW, Guild Wars, Age of Conan, etc., Did you feel like a xenophobe for playing on an English server (Or whatever language you prefer)? Did you perceive Blizzard, Arena Net or Funcom as xenophobic companies for separating the player base by language? Did you think "Gee, it sure would be nice to have all languages share the same server..."? And finally, what makes this system preferrable to how things are/were usually done?

If this is the last comment I get to make in this thread, let me close by saying I know now that mine is a minority opinion, so I'll make my peace with how things are and won't have to wonder anymore if there's a chance the system will be changed.

aesircorpb16_ESO · October 2014

KhajitFurTrader wrote: »

Audigy wrote: »

I see tons of Germans every time I log on and I have no clue why. Its either that only Germans play on EU, that they refuse to talk English or that there already is some type of phase in place as I log on from a German IP.

Personally I find it rude and disrespectful to not speak English on the EU server but I believe that these common rules don't matter anymore for especially younger people who play games.

Anyway, as an upstanding citizen of the United States of Europe European Union you already know by heart that German is one of the 24 official languages (and has been since 1958). So please get off your high horse, no-one is refusing to speak English, they're just exercising their citizen's rights, just like everyone else.

This is a typical german answer. "Paragraph 284f of the [Insert random name] Act clearly states, its my right to speak german and i will do so and i dont care what everybody else thinks."
Yes buddy, you are right, it is your right to do so, but its still disrespectful and rude. Its just arrogant.
This is a national problem you will see all over europe. Especially in countries like germany, france, britain.
As a german, all i can do is apologize for my fellow germans. They are actually quite nice, if you give them a chance.

Im sorry your poll didnt turn out in your favor mate, but im happy it didnt. I think we should get rid of barriers not hold on to them, especially in Europe.

drkeys143 · October 2014

I have never found any real issues on the EU server, and indeed have the greatest respect for the players from other parts of the EU who speak English in group chat, because I would have no chance attempting to converse in their language. i don't really have a problem, and am happy with the way things are, all adds to the multi cultural dimension of an MMO.

Starwhite · October 2014

It is polite to use a common language at the region channel. Common language in europe is ...... english. There are seperate language channels for germans and french.(it should be more, russian, spanish etc.)

Many players shouting for help, again and again.... get no help, cause they don't use english. Region channel is english the common and better way.

Most of us understand english and not spanish, italiano or ruska !

My english is bad too, but I try it !

Elloa · October 2014

Interesting discussion. First of all, I'm frenchspeaker but always joining up Eu servers, forums and communities, because I enjoy the international side of MMORPG.

I know that some frenchspeaking players can be rather annoying, by refusing to speak english and proudly claim themselves frenchspeaking. In addition they can be very vocal, chatty, invasive and disrespectful. Good things that they are not all that way! We all have known those language wars in various games general chat.

BUT, I find very sad to segrate players with their language. I believe that we should always encourage bonding between various communities (may it be language , gameplay style, or anything else really), rather than encouraging segregation.
We should encourage friendship, not hostility. We should encourage one single community rather than a shattered community.

Following your proposition would reinforce those hostile behaviour, this unability to adapt, the split of the community, national pride etc... Instead of favourising international friendship, adapation, tolerence, openmindness, etc.

I'm TOTALY AGAINST IT.

If you played WoW, Guild Wars, Age of Conan, etc., Did you feel like a xenophobe for playing on an English server (Or whatever language you prefer)? Did you perceive Blizzard, Arena Net or Funcom as xenophobic companies for separating the player base by language? Did you think "Gee, it sure would be nice to have all languages share the same server..."? And finally, what makes this system preferrable to how things are/were usually done?

YES excactly. The first time I discovered Blizzard had created server for french and german, I was shocked and disapointed. Yes I think "Gee, it sure would be nice to have all languages share the same server..."

The Elder Scrolls Online

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