Thealteregoroman wrote: »

They are silent because the mobs on here are bi-polar. If I was ZOS all I would see coming on this forum is mobs full of pitchforks and fire.

I do understand the annoyance with the game most are experiencing but I feel its hard to have that open communication like some other MMO's do............that are on PS4......cause they are like/loved.

A majority of people on here are extremely snobbish.......how can you talk to a snobbish person? Ignore them.

I feel as a community to be taken seriously we should be adults about things......especially when we don't get our way.

You do realize that ZoS is a business not a friend or relative that should just turn and walk away because they don't like what we say.
People are angry and ranting because of what ZoS did/does. Perhaps if they did what was right in the first place there wouldn't be such toxicity? Food for thought maybe..

Like Totalbiscuit once said: "If you plant seeds in poisoned soil, don't be surprised that everything dies."

Good business makes customers happy not angry. Happy customers = better revenue, better reviews, less toxicity, less "snobbishness". But when the game is turned into a cluster**** and silence added on top of it, does not promote anything but backlash, which personally i find totally justified, but hey... Guess white knights are gonna defend..

The problem could be that the Dev team and the PR team have NEVER been in sync. As a result, the PR team put out information that the Dev team either was just spitballing or couldn't make work, or hyped because it's their nature, followed by major backlash from community when what PR promised didn't pan out.


Maybe that's not the scenario, but even Customer Support is better than zos PR. Beginning with pre-release hype up to current, PR has either made missteps or been suspiciously quiet. For example, in an article, zos promised more transparency followed shortly by utter silence when community hotly debated whether the sub only system was about to end.

I'd also like my curiosity satisfied about what's coming next, but at this point it's safe to say we get what we get and nothing on the forum is going to change that. Maybe because this is my first MMO, but I'm less critical about what zos has given us as a game. It's been good enough to keep me logging in daily. I trust whatever comes next will keep me coming back. Just maybe, limiting information, while not a good thing, is not the worst thing. After all, there is no way any company can satisfy everyone with a player base this large.

Ourorboros wrote: »

The problem could be that the Dev team and the PR team have NEVER been in sync. As a result, the PR team put out information that the Dev team either was just spitballing or couldn't make work, or hyped because it's their nature, followed by major backlash from community when what PR promised didn't pan out.


Maybe that's not the scenario, but even Customer Support is better than zos PR. Beginning with pre-release hype up to current, PR has either made missteps or been suspiciously quiet. For example, in an article, zos promised more transparency followed shortly by utter silence when community hotly debated whether the sub only system was about to end.

I'd also like my curiosity satisfied about what's coming next, but at this point it's safe to say we get what we get and nothing on the forum is going to change that. Maybe because this is my first MMO, but I'm less critical about what zos has given us as a game. It's been good enough to keep me logging in daily. I trust whatever comes next will keep me coming back. Just maybe, limiting information, while not a good thing, is not the worst thing. After all, there is no way any company can satisfy everyone with a player base this large.

I do like the customer support via tickets; they've always been able to resolve issues and desires I've had.

It's just the general lack of communication to the ESO community that's in disparity

I'm not sure I would focus on transparency so much as communication. Transparency is good and all, but before we can even talk about that, ZOS needs to work on communication. One thing that I felt very strongly when dealing with the situation around the Cyrodiil grouping bug that 1T had introduced to the game was that members of the staff like @ZOS_GinaBruno (sorry to call you out specifically as I think this applies to the majority of the staff and not just you, you are just the relevant one to this example) don't seem to understand that "No Update" is still an update. Even if they are unable to provide new information, it is helpful for ZOS to stay communicative with the player base. As it is, pretty much the only thing we hear from them is that they are deleting comments and closing threads.

I really miss The Road Ahead it was good way to see what was going on and also i feel ZoS have become as blizzard you just see a blizzard employee post something on forum then band people or remove post other then the are just like ZoS silent.

ZoS was alot better to interact/talk to us when ESO went live on PC but slow then remove themself from the forum which is shame really it feel sometime we just talk to wall and get no feedback from ZoS but then want feedback from us honest it goes both way.

One company that was good to interact with there playerbase on forum was funcom with Age of Conan even there Creative Director was where active in there forum he talk alot with people on there forum.

Vanthras79 wrote: »

tinythinker wrote: »

Yeah and the yearly thing isn't the The Road Ahead, it's more like The Road Behind. Previous discussions on this issue focused on fallout from their first QuakeCon a few months after the game launched. But saying little is also a safeguard in case something they might talk about us delayed or cancelled. Plus they seem to try to generate hype by mystery followed by unexpected announcement so. So don't look for this pattern to change any time soon.

Though this may be the trend, a little transparency for the players would be ideal. I wonder if they leave their investors in such a shroud of mystery? Wait... are most of us players who subscribe to ESO plus kind of like investors? A little transparency ZOS would go leaps and bounds above your hype-building shrouds of mystery.

I mean most of us care about this game, do not leave us out of the loop!

That being said, I wonder if the collective bargaining issue surrounding the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) is what is delaying new content? If that is the case that may explain why they are hesitant to release any information.

I doubt very much its because of the sag issue. I love this game and play it more than any. I'll go days or weeks without playing anything else. The fact is this is how zos handles the game. They ask for feedback and rarely use it. Than drop a bunch of what some would call content on us thats far away from what we want or is even what is needed too push the game forward. The next thing is supposedly the new life festival and after housing early next year. A good and healthy mmo has plenty of feedback and communication between players and devs. This is a one sided relationship thats not likely too change anytime soon. Zos only steps in too shut down player discussions that dont click with what they want. Post something bad about the game, devs or mods....constructive or not they're likely gonna step in and shut it down. Nothing more.

Vaoh wrote: »

I don't think ZOS has ever been this silent. One Tamriel came out and its as if they've gone into hiding to avoid the avalanche of criticism brought on by Crown Crates

The six month time period before this game came out on console or time period before buy 2 play change are by far the quietest Zos have ever been. People just going have to learn to wait. Matt Firor have already stated that we are getting a road ahead in January. He also show us a little bit of what they working on, which is housing back in October. They have also stated that a new holiday event which have been already tested on the pts is coming up this month. Zos never gives away too info before it is ready anymore. Ever since Quakecon 2014 and the uproar from that. Now they only give us details when the new patch is ready for the pts. Which is probably in February, they never release anything Janurary.

Vorcil wrote: »

In my ESO launcher, there are still updates from 58 days ago...

I feel there needs to be more official open discourse from ZOS on the incoming changes to the game.

More often than not I am just surprised to the changes made to this game.

And even more so, I actually feel really unsure about the future and what is coming.

For Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood DLCs we had developer posts on the main website many months before hand, threads in the forums and dropping content on the PTS.

I feel like I speak for a large majority of the player base when I can say that ESO is more than just a game for us.

Yet I feel very very left in the dark about what is going to happen and what is currently being worked on.

What is the issue with telling us what is being worked on at this very moment?


Why can't the developers and artists actually post and be like:
'ZOS_emily: Hey, just to let you guys know, in 6 months we plan on introducing this XXXXX system; here is where we are on that so far...'

'ZOS_andrew: Hey players, during the One Tamriel update we released a bunch of new sets; and though we tested and tested all the various combinations for many weeks, we still didn't find all the exploitive proc set combinations. We will be making XXXXX adjustments, hoping to resolve the issue we brought to the game by XXXXX date. Thank you for your patience'

'ZOS_bob: Hey I've been tasked with overhauling the RNG system to better reward players for the effort they are putting into this game; here is what I'm going to do, how would you as the community feel if I implemented these changes?'

'ZOS_john: Hey I'm tasked with helping improve one of the biggest parts of our game, PVP; here are some ideas I have for giving you a good experience; please post your thoughts and ideas about this and I will investigate and consider the highest rated posts and incorporate that into our game'

'ZOS_sarah: Hey players, during our thieves guild expansion we had released a different version of the game in comparison to the PTS version. We would like to officially apologize for this and ensure players that this is not going to happen again (this was an oversight and bad software development practice on our part).'



This is not a complaint, a hate thread, a compliment thread or anything like that; just your average concerned player

tl;dr
I'm just trying to say we need to hear more from ZOS about the development of this game on a day to day basis.

zos learned transparency from obama.

Vorcil wrote: »

I feel there needs to be more official open discourse from ZOS on the incoming changes to the game.

Why is this exactly?

I feel like I speak for a large majority of the player base when I can say that ESO is more than just a game for us.

Yet I feel very very left in the dark about what is going to happen and what is currently being worked on.

I've seen this argument in every MMORPG and MMOFPS I have played. It seems odd, weird, and sometimes a bit creepy. To me this this is akin to going to Wal-Mart and asking a stocker... "How soon after Halloween are you going to be putting up X-mas stuff?"

You could do it. But he's likely not going to know, and depending on how many do this.. a little creeped out by it.

"More than a game for us."

See that's getting into the odd territory. I get that MMOs play a big part in community building. But the devs do not have a hand in that. We do as players. Its a bit wrong IMO to put so much celebrity status on a developer. This may have to do with a generational thing.

When I played Everquest, it wasn't uncommon to see GMs in the world, interacting with players beyond answering tickets. It wasn't terribly rare to see developers in game during off times playing their normal non-dev'd 'cheater' accounts. We didn't flood them with messages like you all would.

EQ/EQ2 were the only two games I've ever seen a staff member in a character form. Not WoW (outside testing servers) and never in ESO. Could you imagine if a ZOS guy with his Z in his name appearing in a zone? The servers would come to a crawl as people try to message them.

And then there's the whole celebrity status. I've always found that a bit weird about younger people playing these games. They treat game devs like their actors and singers. You all really do. To me they're just coders, IT guys, and PR peeps on the forums. They work a normal job like many of us do. They're not special.

But you all treat them like they are. You take it personally when they 'ignore' you. Look at this thread (and others). There are people honestly distressed that some coder isn't talking to them. Personally offended and in some cases depressed.

I'm wondering why you all don't do this with your grocery store clerks, bank tellers, electricians, ect.

What is the issue with telling us what is being worked on at this very moment?

As a game developer myself (albeit on a small indie project). This isn't always an option. You don't know when a feature will be ready. You don't know if a feature will even be feasible. Usually its not until you have a working proof of concept that you know IF it will work. And even IF it will work, if the writers and producers have a place for it. Or if the director will let it in for other reasons. And sometimes things get scrapped, even if they work, even if they are ready, if they don't fit the overall vision.

And lets be honest. The current generation.. or I should say the current CULTURE of gamers (as GenX and Millennials both do this), is not mature or patient enough to handle delays or deviations. If for example the devs came out and said, "Hey.. we're going to put in a token based system to replace the RNG system." Then 3 months later, "Oh we're still working out the kinks." Then 6 months later, "we're still have an issue with it awarding the tokens upon completion," and then a year later, "we're adding in all the items, existing and new to the list and assigning values."

This community wouldn't tolerate that. You say you want them to do this and that you'd be fine with updates. But sorry I've seen MMO devs and other game devs, and even Indie devs (where the communities are a little more tolerant). But frequently players will use those delays to talk crap about the devs and their 'incompetence'.

Devs and CMs can't win. They just can't. Its easiest for them to not even bother engaging the community until something is ready, and the financial department is convinced by the producers that its time to generate hype. That's it.

You don't have to look far to see other development teams who have tried this in other MMOs. And then get mired in and withdraw like every other development team before them. Many don't make it past alpha anymore before they withdraw when it used to be some time during beta or shortly after release.

tl;dr
I'm just trying to say we need to hear more from ZOS about the development of this game on a day to day basis.

This is unrealistic. The game was released. Its a finished product. The updates are gravy on top and are finished products in their own right (as DLC).

Here's my advice. Play the game. Enjoy it. Or move on if you don't. Before you take that personally, I'm not giving any advice I haven't taken myself. Offer your feedback, and see if its taken. If its not, make a choice. But don't beat yourselves up over some dude sitting behind a computer crunching code or numbers not acknowledging you. There's no way that's healthy.

I agree, there definitely should be an increase in communication. As someone above said, I am hesitant to spend time and money into a game without a clue as to where it's heading. They could do well to engage in discussions, considering how their reputation is now within the community. I'm not saying it's our right, but it would serve ZOS well.

And even if they announce upcoming changes/DLC, and are delayed, it wouldn't be a huge problem. If they were to communicate with us, I doubt it would be hard for them to garner some sympathy, thus reducing the backlash for delayed launches/fixes/etc.. granted they have a valid reason. Even a "hey guys, just an update, the blah blah DLC will be a couple of weeks late, we are still ironing out some kinks and it is taking a little longer than we expected. Don't worry, we'll be keeping you updated on the release." Open communication goes a long way.

Ourorboros wrote: »

The problem could be that the Dev team and the PR team have NEVER been in sync. As a result, the PR team put out information that the Dev team either was just spitballing or couldn't make work, or hyped because it's their nature, followed by major backlash from community when what PR promised didn't pan out.


Maybe that's not the scenario...

Departments in business aren't independent. They answer to higher ups whose responsibility it is to make sure *** like you describe doesn't happen.

If it did happen as you describe then the higher ups are ridiculously incompetent. What's more likely though is that they rolled the dice (as businesses sometimes do) and lost. They promised big, hoping that it would draw a crowd. The crowd didn't materialise and then they couldn't afford to deliver those promises. Naturally this made players unhappy and ZO are stuck with that.

Thealteregoroman wrote: »

They are silent because the mobs on here are bi-polar. If I was ZOS all I would see coming on this forum is mobs full of pitchforks and fire.

I do understand the annoyance with the game most are experiencing but I feel its hard to have that open communication like some other MMO's do............that are on PS4......cause they are like/loved.

A majority of people on here are extremely snobbish.......how can you talk to a snobbish person? Ignore them.

I feel as a community to be taken seriously we should be adults about things......especially when we don't get our way.

Snobbish or not, they are the company and we are the consumer. They make their money from us. The big problem here is lack of anything useful. Sure they can close threads, some that deserve it, some that dont. What we aa a consumer base want are answers. Even if we may not like the answer given.

Crown crates have caused a lot of tension in the forums, no word from ZOS on drop rates, chances, just locked threads. A simple "hey we have passed on the opinions of needing a better conversion rate for gems", anything other than heavy handed moderation.

Too many threads contain real issues, ones that have nothing from Zos, only speculation. I used to think they were super busy, not enough members to bread all that. But after the crown crates, they have plenty of staff. Funny how many mods were working furiously to keep some order in here. Which to me says they knew the crown crates were going to be bad.

Simple little notes that at the very least that acknowledge they are listening, would go a long way into helping player frustration.