Suggestion: Expanding the Help area within the menu ui

Teiji · April 2015

Hello fellow community members and advocates of my favourite MMORPG; The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited.

Today I open a forum thread with the objective of facilitating constructive discussion regarding additions and suggestions on making the Help area within the menu - or possibly creating a new area somewhere in-game which provides various help information. I'll post text regarding the specifics within this thread.

Specifically, I'm talking about an "encyclopaedia" of sorts which provides in-game knowledge on various places and areas in-game, with applicable flavour text, GUI banners and so on. I imagine this either existing within the Help area of the menu or possibly existing as a separate menu entity in and of itself for "in-game knowledge" "knowledge database" "game world encyclopaedia" or something or another, whatever Zenimax would decide to call it respectively.

So, this post shall contain text on the following;

Current Help area of UI
More engaging UI through banners
Examples of expanding on areas of in-game knowledge

Current Help area

P4fni1Z.png?1

This is the current Help section in-game currently; this is accessed from the menu and provides various useful and helpful information on game mechanics and so on, but little in the way of general game information - not information on the actual mechanics, control schemes such as interacting with objects and so on.

So, specifically I'm wanting to have an area which can Help players at all times which shall be useful forever and always, conveniently located in-game.

To achieve this, in my mind I see a knowledge database, section whatever separated into various categories such as the following with a more engaging UI through banners:

More engaging UI
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Now, if you'll excuse my Imgur editing skills we'll move on with constructive text;

For example, you click on the Glenumbra area, underneath it appropriate flavour text such as the following taken from UESP: "Glenumbra is a region in High Rock covering the entire peninsula that separates Iliac Bay from the Abecean Sea. The peninsula's geography is a mix of rugged woodland and fetid swamps. Local creatures include the snag-weevil, of which there has recently been a plague, and werewolves, which are particularly prevalent."

Examples of expanding on areas of in-game knowledge

Upon clicking on a banner it expands showing several sections.

Glenumbra:

Delves
Overworld [shows points of interest, possible flavour text on point(s) of interest "here is an ancient Ayelid ruin, possibly once used for stuff'n'things" etc
Public Dungeon
Group Dungeon
Group Veteran Dungeon
Group Bosses
Dolmens [provides information such as where they are on map, they have a chance at spawning a 'Rare General' describes what this is, regular loot table + specific loot table for each rare general.]
Other applicable option(s) goes here

Naturally, they'll expand when applicable, so upon navigating to Delves you'll see the following, you could click these for brief flavour text on the delves, most of the delves in this game has a story behind their existence or whatever, so that information could go there - or not if it's too much work, I don't work for Zeni so they know better than any of us:

Cryptwatch Fort — A fort just north of the Crosswych Wayshrine in Glenumbra. [Upon clicking on any of these areas, it shows the location on the map, applicable flavour text and displays items which may drop from this areas such as Ring of Unassailable, Lord's Sword, Pendant of Soulshine etc]
Ebon Crypt — A tomb west of Cath Bedraud in Glenumbra.
Enduum — An Ayleid ruin on the shore west of Camlorn in Glenumbra.
Ilessan Tower — A ruin just west of the Baelborne Wayshrine and east of Daggerfall in Glenumbra.
Mines of Khuras — Mines on the shore east of Aldcroft, in Glenumbra.
Silumm — An Ayleid ruin just north of Daggerfall in Glenumbra.

Veteran Dungeon:

Veteran Spindleclutch - applicable flavour text goes here

Click to expand Veteran Spindleclutch - provides the map, map shows where the bosses are located etc

Says some stuff, but most importantly displays the items which may or may not drop here.

Items which may drop from Veteran Spindclutch:

Ebon Cuirass - +armor, +itemlevel X +Enchantment health, +Divines, +set bonus X - drops only from the three main bosses
Saviour's Jack - + bonuses etc go here - drops only from the three main bosses
Robe of the Worm Cult - bonuses etc go here - drops only from the three main bosses
Generic item with set bonus - drops from any hostile NPC excluding all bosses within the dungeon

So yeah, that's pretty much the gist of what I'm suggesting - an area of information, accessed in-game which provides information on the areas within The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited such as but not limited to;

Information on the various overworld locales of the game and the points of interest that inhabit them
Information on Delves, Dark Anchors, Trials, Group Delves, Group Dungeons, Veteran Group Dungeons - this includes loot tables of all aforementioned areas
Most if not all of this flavour text is already provided on the loading screens when entering Delves, Veteran Dungeons, Dungeons and so on! These minor details already exist in-game.
The information on group dungeons, veteran dungeons and so on could provide as little or as much information on the characters that populate places such as Delve bosses, VR Dungeon bosses, Trial Bosses - this could be really vague information, hints even on various mechanics with the goal of giving users a place to begin brain-storming ideas from if they find overcoming content to difficult and can't simply go to google or Dulfy.net, making the game more casual friendly or whatever by instead of nerfing content, providing basic information / hints that may motivate users, make them feel less intimidated into figuring stuff out for themselves [yes content is difficult for many players and always will be for some].

So my beloved readers, I beseech thee; how art thou feel'eth on thy suggestions? On thy idea presented in thou thread on l'forums? Let us engage in constructive discussion subjects presented herein, yay, nay?

Teiji · May 2015