Last night during BE3 as soon as Matt Firor spoke threads popped up here on the One Tamriel announcement. There is a lot of interesting feedback going on in those general reaction threads. This is about the base game (what comes with purchase without DLC), its current state, and its possible future given the premise of One Tamriel. I've been on hiatus from the forums but I wanted to pop in to contribute something to this because there are some really interesting possibilities with the new system.
To those for whom reading something that takes longer than 20 to 30 seconds is a chore, the issues include: how the storyline will change, cleaning up and spicing up the base games quests, removing prohibitive phasing when questing in a group, and adding new repeatable content.
For everyone else, let's get into it.
If you weren't around for the PC launch in 2014 you might have missed the many negative reviews, typified by those that came from
Angry Joe and
Tom's Hardware. These and similar reviews pointed out issues that persist to this day. Whether you personally are bothered by these issues doesn't change the fact that fixing them won't hurt you but might make the game more appealing to newer/returning players, especially given the emphasis of One Tamriel on being able to group up in the base game and play with your friends. Making the base game better and adding replay value is smart business (the last section is all about that point), so let's look start by looking at some of the big issues people have complained about.
Cleaning/Spicing Up & Filling Out Base Game Zones & Delves
Many early reviewers noted that parts of the base game seemed rushed or bare boned. Many quests are anti-climatic, some areas of zones/delves seem empty, and the delves all have the same exact run in a square pattern (some even use the same exact template as others). ZOS hasn't done nothing about these complaints, but they haven't done a whole lot either. The typical assumption is that this is because of the switch to a Buy-to-Play (B2P) model, and at the end of this post I will explain why it is still a savvy business move to spend resources on issues like this for the base game, but for now let's focus on this particular concern. An example of trying to spice up a quest comes from Stonefalls when you help defend a farm from spiders. A new area was added for a big final fight and there is appropriate dialogue to fit this and everything, even some cool new (well at the time new) animations. No spoilers. Could work like this be done throughout the base game? Of course.
Concerning the delves, there was a project announced to go back and make them less generic and repetitive, and it did see some changes added to the game, then it seemed to be forgotten. It could be restarted. Then there is the awkwardness of key NPCs who exist in many places at once as if stuck in a weird time loop. You move forward to the next quest, or even the next zone, but if you go back to an old zone these major NPCs who make repeat appearances are still there waiting for you to do something you did weeks, months, or years ago. A clever use of phasing tech? Once you get to a certain point in the questline, make them disappear. You can still leave these NPCs (or add them with quest-stage phasing) in areas where you might expect to see them anyway, with generic dialogue reflecting the fact that you've completed that Alliance's stories. Generic NPCs don't need this treatment so they can be left alone.
As for empty/dull areas of zones, a new and simple twist on an idea kicked around for a long time can help with that --
a special treasure chest placed randomly and hard to find. This could be paired with something like a special mob that spawns somewhere in the game but only in the offbeat areas. Beyond that, the last thing I posted about before my hiatus from the forums was
level-synching and adding repeatable content. Some of these could have quest objectives out in the nowhere. No need to go read up on my prior suggestion by clicking on that link, unless you just want to, as I am updating it here.
My version of level-synching wasn't the same as what ZOS is doing but the goals are the same: to let players with higher level characters play with those with lower level characters without being stupidly overpowered and ruin their experience. The same in reverse with other players being stupidly underpowered when grouping up. It can also help breath life into the old zones. I was pushing for these things and it looks like we will get them. And with the One Tamriel idea, there is also the greater freedom to go where you want when you want. The one downside is that you won't have the same sense of danger going into some areas or the same sense of getting more powerful in serious way, but maybe ZOS is working on things to help with that (cue for a ZOS employee to give us a tease...).
And other than making it easier to group with friends of all levels and not having low level dolmens ruined by General farmers, what else did I propose we could get from level-synching? Why, new repeatable quests, of course!
Here is a model of what ZOS could do with such a project for expanding content in the base game zones:
- you have things such as the TG and DB repeatables and fishing already to get people back into these zones so leave those as they are
- turn dark fissures into events on par with dark anchors to add more "we don't need to group but can still come together" style moments
- add -- some to start and more over time -- new repeatable quests for the base alliance zones for 15 zones worth of "new" content for any individual player:
- one at first and then another Wrothgar-like quest for each delve which you get from innkeepers (TES nostalgia!)
- one at first and then up to three repeatable quests for the public dungeons
- two or three at first and then up to ??? new quests for overworld where you either have to kill so many existing mobs and grab an item placed there by the quest, or do something with new mobs placed there by the quest, etc; can do standard MMO quests or hopefully get really creative or at least add some fun elements like in-jokes for TES fans
- you can get an XP/gold bonus each day for doing one of each type of repeatable quest in each Alliance (so three bonuses per day times three Alliances)
- loot table would include some fun sets that don't ever get scaled up but now will be available at your true level when scaling
- loot table would include other items that even experienced players would like such as stacks of mats
- redo portions of Craglorn based on the model from DLC successes
Doing these things will open up so much for ESO and really move the game closer than ever toward that TES feel people always talk about. This content can either include or be in addition to adding repeatable quests to the Fighters and Mages Guilds. For Fighters, the contract against the daedra is still in place, so either these are all still related to that (daedra have appeared outside of some town, a portal to Oblivion has spawned in some little old lady's basement, etc) or maybe there is room for a little something different. Some would be available right away when you join the Fighters Guild, and new ones would open up when you reach maximum rank in it. The Mages Guild would work the same way but without the restrictions the current setting/lore has on the targets of the Fighters Guild. Of course, the Psijic Order would--oh, wait. Sorry. Not supposed to talk about that yet. I said nothing, I wrote nothing.
Grouping and Group Content
Another criticism from launch that is still relevant is that it can be very frustrating to group with others to do quests. If we are working on the same quest while grouped and I solve a puzzle it isn't solved for you. If that puzzle opens a door and a boss appears, you can't see it or help. Yes, the difficulty in the game has been nerfed into the ground to make it solo friendly, but, some people do actually like to quest together and chat and joke around. Really. And if you've done a quest you can't help or accompany them at all. This can be solved by setting your quest phasing to whoever has the least progress on a quest in your group. Even if you've finished the quest you could still see what that player sees and interact with objects and mobs from that phase. You couldn't retake the quest or get credit for it again, but it would be much more pro-social and group friendly.
Making such group quest phasing changes allows for the addition of more group-oriented (yet still group *optional*) content. This could be among the things added to the repeatable quests outlined above. Want to go solo and show off or maybe you just don't like or are uncomfortable around other people, even online? Sure, take one of those quests and work on it solo for 20-25 minutes. Or group up and get it done in 5-10 while chatting away with others, perhaps goofing around or even role-playing your way through it. And while some may cringe at any sign of group-oriented content or say that is has no real place in ESO because data shows blah blah blah, again, I'm talking about group-oriented not group-required. But speaking of group-required content, if you build it well, they (MMORPGers who love that kind of thing) will come (to ESO).
So since we are on the topic of group content, fixing group finder and never ever breaking it again is important. So is adding Trials to the group finder. Yet so is enhancing group dungeons and adding new ones that have more diverse setting, color pallets, music, and so on. There are some MMORPGs where I like to run group content over and over because the setting is so beautiful and there is unique music for each instanced location created just for that piece of group content. Yes the fights are important, too, but the atmosphere also matters. This gives instances their own feel and adds to their replayability. Even ESO's harshest critics nonetheless credited it with amazing music. Building on that strength is a no-brainer and can be done for all existing instanced group content. Creating new types of settings unlike what the game already has is also an obvious choice.
As for giving the community sequels (i.e. veteran versions) to four player dungeons that haven't yet received them, this will also be very welcome. As an example of that combined with the call for enhanced atmosphere, take Tempest Island. The normal version happens during a fierce storm, so the music could reflect that dark, gloomy, threatening atmosphere. But even islands prone to storms have bright, sunny days. So imagine the veteran version of that locale but with blue skies bringing out brilliant hues in blooming flowers and swarms of colorful insects. Give it some music to match. Who knows what the new threat or challenge would be for the added quest, but I already want to go! (And I can picture something similar for Selene's Web but maybe in reverse, becoming more gloomy.)
Storyline Changes
Whether you love or hate the idea of opening up all of Tamriel at level 3 (except for Coldharbour and the PvP areas of Cyrodiil), a big issue is the storyline. The current story has Meridia disguise you when you start questing in other Alliances since you would be considered a hero of an enemy faction. My hope is that ZOS really puts thought into a great way to maintain this excuse or to come up with a better one rather than just let the continuity error hang there. I'm not saying the plot device originally used was the best, but it worked well enough. This of all possible changes related to One Tamriel will be the one that received the least feedback from players at a time when such feedback would be most helpful. I hope ZOS considers asking some players to sign an NDA and give feedback on this very soon. I doubt it will happen -- hopefully it already has -- but there are many players who regularly give thoughtful feedback on storylines, lore/plot consistency, and so on who could help with this.
Investing More in the Base Game is a Good Business Move
Any time someone posts a thread about improving the base game the same kinds of objections arise:
- "I don't have a problem with it as it is now so it's a waste of time."
- "ZOS will never make anything it can't sell as DLC now that ESO is B2P."
- "ZOS can't do anything without screwing up so leave the base game alone."
On the surface these seem reasonable but they have some problems and shouldn't be used as an excuse not to lobby ZOS for making their basic product better.
The first objection overlooks that there are other players (and more importantly potential/new players) who do get turned off, disappointed, or bored because of the issues raised. It won't hurt people who find the current game perfectly fine to have more for those who want it. The second objection is a very good one but improving the base game will help attract and retain players who can then sub or buy the DLC. The third objection also has some merit, but let's face it: ZOS had years of private and alpha/beta development, then two years live, to get the right people hired and trained, to create and improve protocols for design, testing, feedback processing, and bug fixes, and so on. They are running what everyone describes as a AAA-level MMORPG. If, at this point, you really think that they can't make a reasonable go at incrementally improving what they've already created on a steady schedule, then why do you still play? ESO is doomed to perpetual mediocrity and any issues introduced by base game improvement will be just like the ones you already put up with for each new DLC. Why be satisfied with that? Push them to move forward and to get better and to make the game better. Don't settle.
The thing I want to focus on here, though, is the business aspect. Having a good base product that gets significantly better over time gives ESO and ZOS a better reputation. ZOS gets to talk about how they've dealt with issues people have complained about and how they then moved forward even further to make all new improvements. That's great for marketing --> sales --> player retention --> subs/DLC sales --> profits. Profits and increased player satisfaction go hand-in-hand and you better believe ZOS wants that extra money with long-term profitability. And keep in mind they don't have to do this all in one big expansion (though they could), but it would help to have noticeable progress each fiscal quarter.
This could be accomplished with a new team added to the dev squad whose job is to go back and refine, update, and add to the base game and already-released DLC (but base game fist!). To beef it up, loosen it up, and polish it until it shines. Given how ZOS keeps crowing about its sales and popularity, reinvesting back into something that will lay a foundation for increased success and financial viability is a win-win. Having that base-game team working with other departments and helping to create a superior experience for new and long term players would allow ZOS to realize the full potential of the move to One Tamriel. I sincerely hope they take a serious look into giving TES/ESO fans a chance to fully experience and enjoy that potential. Thanks for reading.
i]EDITED to correct several vexing typos. They have been sent to the Void.[/i
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