ESO without borders?

Sneaky-Snurr · April 2017

No, I'm not demanding ZoS to implement this but rather ask if it's possible and/or feasible so as to not implicate playability.

Currently, we would have to enter and exit zones with a load screen. Imagine if ESO zones are seamless with no load screens just like in previous ES single-player titles. I'm of the view that doing this would eradicate the blatant 'cutoff' of distant objects, landscape and structures. Disable the ingame fog to see what I mean.
I would really, REALLY love it if this is possible.

I do know there would be consequences from this like increased lag and potentially overall FPS drops. But all I want to know is to what extent? And if there's any, how can ZoS minimise the side effects of a seamless zone-to-zone travel?

zaria · April 2017

Problem is that the zones run on different servers. Popular zones probably runs on multiple servers.
This let them have all players on one virtual server rater than 10 individual servers where you would be stuck on one like wow does and this is why wow has no loading screens outside of group dungeons

raj72616a · April 2017

i think going from Glenumbra to Stormhaven is kinda seamless? depends on the assets used in the map, probably. if the two maps use the same pool of assets, it's probably ok to pass thru them without a loading screen.

Surgee · April 2017

World of Warcraft have no loading screens and it's a super old game. I remember running all the way from Stormwind to Iron Forge numerous times. It makes the world feel much more real.

LMar · April 2017

raj72616a wrote: »

i think going from Glenumbra to Stormhaven is kinda seamless? depends on the assets used in the map, probably. if the two maps use the same pool of assets, it's probably ok to pass thru them without a loading screen.

No there is one between all zones. Perhaps you mean you can walk through a door to the other zpne?

stewhead2ub17_ESO · April 2017

Surgee wrote: »

World of Warcraft have no loading screens and it's a super old game. I remember running all the way from Stormwind to Iron Forge numerous times. It makes the world feel much more real.

WoW isn't nearly as graphically intense or visually demanding, because as you said, it is a "super old game".

zaria · April 2017

stewhead2ub17_ESO wrote: »

Surgee wrote: »

World of Warcraft have no loading screens and it's a super old game. I remember running all the way from Stormwind to Iron Forge numerous times. It makes the world feel much more real.

WoW isn't nearly as graphically intense or visually demanding, because as you said, it is a "super old game".

It also has a lot of servers and you are stuck on one unless you pay for an transfer.
This has the downside that the leveling areas are pretty empty as most are max level and all who levels are spread over lots of servers.

Enodoc · April 2017

This is probably not feasible due to zone sharding, as said. Server resources are allocated dynamically depending on how many players are in each zone, so sometimes there may be an extra shard of Glenumbra that needs to be spun up, while other times, those resources may be used to spin up another shard of Stormhaven. If it were seamless, the whole world would have to be spun up at once, and a whole new copy spun up when the population cap is exceeded, potentially wasting resources that could otherwise be used elsewhere.

Beyond that, single player TES games are not actually seamless. The game only loads certain chunks of the world at a time, and when you move into another chunk, the game pauses for a second and you see the "loading exterior" notification, and the furthest away chunk that you were in previously is flushed. This works for single player as the world loads depending on where you are, but it wouldn't work in ESO as everything needs to be loaded in the server at once.

Daemons_Bane · April 2017

zaria wrote: »

stewhead2ub17_ESO wrote: »

Surgee wrote: »

World of Warcraft have no loading screens and it's a super old game. I remember running all the way from Stormwind to Iron Forge numerous times. It makes the world feel much more real.

WoW isn't nearly as graphically intense or visually demanding, because as you said, it is a "super old game".

It also has a lot of servers and you are stuck on one unless you pay for an transfer.
This has the downside that the leveling areas are pretty empty as most are max level and all who levels are spread over lots of servers.

You can technically change server as much as you like by server hopping

it's just not permanent

Surgee · April 2017

stewhead2ub17_ESO wrote: »

Surgee wrote: »

World of Warcraft have no loading screens and it's a super old game. I remember running all the way from Stormwind to Iron Forge numerous times. It makes the world feel much more real.

WoW isn't nearly as graphically intense or visually demanding, because as you said, it is a "super old game".

It has nothing to do with graphics, really. It's just that the engine was built in a different way. While I do believe that ESO is a much better game than wow (Even though devs suck balls for not caring about console version bugs) having a loading screen when traveling between zones is just a bit old-school. It would be nice to have it seamless, but it's not really affecting my gameplay.

I'm 100% sure it's impossible for devs to change the way it is now without rebuilding the engine. So yea, we're stuck with it.

idk · April 2017

zaria wrote: »

Problem is that the zones run on different servers. Popular zones probably runs on multiple servers.
This let them have all players on one virtual server rater than 10 individual servers where you would be stuck on one like wow does and this is why wow has no loading screens outside of group dungeons

You are correct, though even without the megaserver design different zones would still be on different physical servers.

One cannot compare how a single player game operates vs a large MMO. So the OP's idea is not really feasible. I have not seen an MMO without a load screen for changing zones though I have seen faster load screens.

Surgee · April 2017

Giles.floydub17_ESO wrote: »

zaria wrote: »

Problem is that the zones run on different servers. Popular zones probably runs on multiple servers.
This let them have all players on one virtual server rater than 10 individual servers where you would be stuck on one like wow does and this is why wow has no loading screens outside of group dungeons

You are correct, though even without the megaserver design different zones would still be on different physical servers.

One cannot compare how a single player game operates vs a large MMO. So the OP's idea is not really feasible. I have not seen an MMO without a load screen for changing zones though I have seen faster load screens.

Very much possible and done numerous times even in old MMOs. I recommend watching the video below in 2x speed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZoXQMhzlQ0
BDO - completely seamless.

Kiralyn2000 · April 2017

I'm reasonably sure that the "10 million interactable objects in the zone" thing (containers, stuff on shelves, etc) is also a factor that makes the way they handle zones different than some other MMOs. Just a guess, though.

RapidUrsa · April 2017

Its a cool idea but what would happen over areas that have not been done yet? also cyrodill?

Enodoc · April 2017

Tylos001 wrote: »

Its a cool idea but what would happen over areas that have not been done yet? also cyrodill?

No loading screen borders doesn't mean the impassable mountain ranges will suddenly be open. The world could be open in terms of loading screens while still having undeveloped areas blocked off.

Rickter · April 2017

Staying completely objective to the statements made in the OP, I agree - i would like to see a seamless world.

whether its possible or not in ESO is irrelevant. The OP simply would prefer a seamless open world.

I remember WoW. I remember getting my friend who was a level 3 from the night elf starting zone all the way to the human starting zone with the help of a random max level good samaritan player - it was a truly inspiring magical experience.

Being able to pass through wildly different climate zones without load screen was pretty amazing. I would have loved to see this in ESO but Im sure if it were possible, they would have gone that route.

Im content with what we do have. ESO Zones are massive. each the size of Dragon Age: Origins' entire world or larger. millions of interactable objects and npcs that can be pick pocketed multiple times as well as assassinated. however much i wish ESO could do more, I marvel and appreciate what it has already done.

idk · April 2017

Surgee wrote: »

Giles.floydub17_ESO wrote: »

zaria wrote: »

Problem is that the zones run on different servers. Popular zones probably runs on multiple servers.
This let them have all players on one virtual server rater than 10 individual servers where you would be stuck on one like wow does and this is why wow has no loading screens outside of group dungeons

You are correct, though even without the megaserver design different zones would still be on different physical servers.

One cannot compare how a single player game operates vs a large MMO. So the OP's idea is not really feasible. I have not seen an MMO without a load screen for changing zones though I have seen faster load screens.

Very much possible and done numerous times even in old MMOs. I recommend watching the video below in 2x speed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZoXQMhzlQ0
BDO - completely seamless.

Unless your going to add information about how bdo has designed their servers I don't see how the video would help.

damiandjay24 · April 2017

One cannot compare how a single player game operates vs a large MMO. So the OP's idea is not really feasible. I have not seen an MMO without a load screen for changing zones though I have seen faster load screens.[/quote]

EverQuest Online Adventures for PS2 had no load screens between zones. Unless you were using a coach to travel (wayshrine).

Bring EQOA back!

damiandjay24 · April 2017

Giles.floydub17_ESO wrote: »

zaria wrote: »

Problem is that the zones run on different servers. Popular zones probably runs on multiple servers.
This let them have all players on one virtual server rater than 10 individual servers where you would be stuck on one like wow does and this is why wow has no loading screens outside of group dungeons

You are correct, though even without the megaserver design different zones would still be on different physical servers.

One cannot compare how a single player game operates vs a large MMO. So the OP's idea is not really feasible. I have not seen an MMO without a load screen for changing zones though I have seen faster load screens.

EverQuest Online Adventures for PS2 had no load screens between zones. Unless you were using a coach to travel (wayshrine).

Bring EQOA back!

KingYogi415 · April 2017

I want faster load screens.

10 secs max!

IronCrystal · April 2017

I agree as several have mentioned. It would be nice to have no load screens, but I don't think the engine can handle it right now, and its not very high on my personal wish list for ZOS.