Maintenance for the week of September 8:
• [COMPLETE] PC/Mac: EU megaserver for maintenance – September 9, 22:00 UTC (6:00PM EDT) - September 10, 16:00 UTC (12:00PM EDT)

ESO best MMORPG to date? Cross-Platform Accounts / Play Coming?

celner4_ESO
celner4_ESO
✭✭✭✭
Yes, yes I know... TLDR. BUT please humor me in reading this post. If you're a fan of ESO (or a game developer reading this) I would really appreciate your thoughts on the topics I'm going to touch on. (In my own case something I believe to be VERY anti-consumer though believe it to not be intended by the developers, at least this is what I hope). I've also made some threads in the past while I was playing the game that I'm not proud of and would like to apologize to ZOS for the behavior on my part at the time... I was vindictive in certain aspects where it was not warranted and took my own issues in life and took it out on the forums because petty grievances I had with the game.

First off I'm going to go through what I most like about ESO, and what it is doing right comparatively to other popular MMO's, and then I will get to the bad of ESO (which is quite a short list in my own opinion). These thoughts and opinions of mine are exactly that, just opinions. I would also like to say The Elder Scrolls Online is by far my most favorite MMO of all those I've thoroughly played through, and for numerous reasons.The MMO's I've played World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Black Desert, Star Trek Online, Guild Wars 2, Lord of the Rings Online, and Neverwinter. All these I've played... And by huge margin in my own case, The Elder Scrolls Online is the best MMORPG experience I've had in all my 20 years of MMORPG gaming.

The Elder Scrolls Online had a rocky start when it first launched and we all know this. One Tamriel was one of the best changes (among numerous other good changes for the game itself though this one is the best by far in my own opinion) brought to ESO, allowing the full world to always remain relevant to the player. Not only that, this change has allowed the gearing system to be FAR more vast and customizable not having new content (patch or expansion) releases replace old gear sets and game play progression related items, essentially making them irrelevant. This, In my opinion, is one of the largest mistakes Blizzard Entertainment has made with the World of Warcraft (second on my list of favorite mmorpg's), Turning "World" of Warcraft into "The latest patch" of Warcraft, since that's all that is relevant in WoW's endgame progression. I cannot express enough how good this change was for ESO and for the longevity, community, and overall game-play experience of ESO.

There are SO many things ESO does right. And I can go through a list of those if I'm asked. For now, One Tamriel is the best example I can give of a HUGELY positive change to ESO, and I believe it's one of the most alluring parts of the game itself when looking at what ESO has to offer.

Now with that said, and clearly having made a fanboy of myself, I want to go over one thing I think is hurting the game currently and will only get worse over time. What I'm about to go into is actually a huge reason as to why I've not played ESO in almost 3 Years from what I can remember. CROSS-PLATFORM ACCOUNTS and PLAY. Now don't misunderstand me here. I WAY rather see Cross-platform Saving/Accounts more then anything, I'm not as concerned with Cross-platform play since I've never seen a shortage of players at least while I was playing.

Here is quote from 'Forbes (May 31, 2019 by
David Jagneaux)'
which the writer did a wonderful job putting to words my own thoughts and worries on ESO's lack of cross-platform play;

"...Point being: cross-platform multiplayer, or cross-play, is the future of the games industry and Bethesda is letting Elder Scrolls Online fall way behind without it. Gone are the days that platforms exist in closed atmospheres without making contact with the rest of the industry. While platform makers will continue to publish exclusive titles when possible, the reality of the market is that the vast majority of video games are multi-platform and there are no defensible reasons why cross-play shouldn't be the standard.

I'm not a game developer and I fully expect that the logistics of cross-play are very complex, but the ends more than justify the means in this case. MMOs require a vibrant and active community to keep on surviving and running a game on three entirely separate platforms without any overlap not only segregates the community, potentially preventing friends from playing together, but it fractures guilds and populations.

Elder Scrolls Online is presumably doing very well. According to its Steam page there are over 10 million players in the game and that number is likely rising with the release of Elsweyr on PC and Mac plus consoles coming soon on June 4. But if you play Elder Scrolls Online, regardless of your platform of choice, you can only engage with up to a third of the community.This is extremely bad for an MMO. The cross-play between PS4 and PC is a big reason for Final Fantasy XIV's growing success despite its required subscription fee. The One Tamriel update did a lot of good for Elder Scrolls Online overall, but it's a misnomer since Tamriel is still split in three. This is severely holding the game back from continued growth as the rest of the industry moves towards a more connected digital landscape..."


So... David does a great job expressing the concerns and downsides of not having cross-platform play. Now one thing David did not mention is, what happens if I want to move to another platform with my current existing account? In my own case this is exactly why I'm not currently playing the game. As much as I'd love to be playing it still... I'm still extremely frustrated over everything I put into the game and what I earned only to later learn cross platform was never coming (as far as "No Plans for cross-platform play in the future" said by ZOS in there Q/A page) and I could not keep what I earned without starting over and repurchasing through the Crownstore and in some cases not every getting limited items back.

This is some of what I earned in-game;

I put over 1,100 hours all 5 classes, some far more then that then others. They were all geared BiS at the time at the max CP at the time with BiS pve and pvp gold sets as well as almost all the craft-able armor sets for the appearances. I'd over 42 full gold tier sets for the builds across my characters (these all include for both pve and pvp). I'd completed all Trials in Vet Mode including the Challenge/Hard Modes for the skins and title achievements. I'd also completed every dungeon in vet mode as well as achieved all the challenge modes for the skins and titles from those as well. Now all that is what I earned in game, now to what I'd bought over time through the Crownstore. 2800$ in total worth of purchases through subscription and Crown Store purchases which I was more then able to afford and willing to pay because of ZOS seeming devoted to making the game the best possible experience for us players (and because of my insanely stupid luck I managed to have every costume and mount a person could want at the time I'd stopped playing, towards the end of Morrowind).

My Ps4 ended up having a overheating issue that was not detected by the heat sensors and eventually it sabotaged my Ps4 (what i was told by tech support). Because of that I ended up looking into buying a nice new PC since that is my preferred platform (and I was not aware of the lack of cross-platform play at that time since the games account creation at launch had put me under the assumption the game WAS cross-platform which i was mistaken and found that out later on), and I never asked or read into cross-platform play in ESO since I'd never intended on the consoles shortcomings and eventual pooping out. I eventually bought my new PC (built from scratch and a beautiful Rig still killing it in game-play to this day ^_^) and THEN found out there was no option for cross platform play. Finding out cross-platform transfer's were a one time thing because of the misunderstanding I had carried with me when I had no intentions of changing platforms at the time so had never bothered in ever reading into it. I only went off the fact my brother transferred from console to PC, had told me about it. then 2 years later my play station pooped and I decided I wanted to play ESO on a PC instead, with still having that experience with my brother in mind and not having thought anything of it. But eventually realizing I couldn't get my account on my PC I called ZOS and asked if there was any way to transfer, and eventually asked even at the very least my Characters and/or just the Crown Store items and I was told no. I would have to start over completely on another platform AND lose all the Crownstore related unlocks I'd bought in support of the game. THIS is extremely Anti-Consumer. At the very least you would think they'd allow you to keep the Crown Store purchased items and unlocks but even that is not available to the player which is infuriating if you had paid as much as you had. Now I am extremely fortunate in being able to afford that. But no player should be denied what they've earned and is theirs. No customer should be denied their purchase due to negligible development, or just simply an especially poor development/business move to not make their MMORPG cross-platform play (Other then one time near launch when they offered account transfers to your preferred platform).

In closing I am so disheartened that a game I came to love SO much, a game that did SO MUCH right, has made such an anti-consumer and overall remiss decision not having cross-platform play.
Now earlier I had said I didn't believe this decision for no cross-platform play was intended, at least in nefarious terms where they are wanting multiple purchases across platforms for more revenue. This I do not know for sure but I remain hopeful that ZOS, having showed themselves to be doing their best to make a game worth playing, had the player's experience be the priority which is why i believe its become so successful. So many games where content comes MAYBE once a year yet in game stores are updated monthly (this an example of company only interested in revenue and not in making a great game), ESO has managed to this healthy balance and consumer friendly game with an in-game store / optional subscription. But the lack of cross-platform play, in the words of the article by David, "...is severely holding back the game from continued growth as the rest of the industry moves forward", manages to go from an amazing MMORPG with a healthy balance of game content vs. in-game store, to an extremely anti-consumer game when it comes to wanting to play on another platform. The choice of switching platforms is ultimately the players decision, but not allowing that player to take their purchase and time investment with them remains the fault of ZOS. I can only hope they find a way to change this or at least make available for paid transfers of accounts at the very least. A game that is playable on all platforms but is itself not supportive of cross-platform play/data (without additional purchases ) is a damn shame and waste of potential both in community and accessibility to existing players.

I hope I can come back to the friends I made on ESO and continue playing the game I love, and I hope ZOS finds a way to make cross-platform play/data available with new gen consoles looming in the near future.

Anyone who read this all the way through I hugely appreciate your time, and if you're still playing the game and are on your preferred platform with no intentions of changing platform, I hope you have as much fun as I did, and make memories and friends that will stay with you for life!
Edited by celner4_ESO on July 19, 2019 7:36PM
Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    @ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_KaiSchober @ZOS_BillE @ZOS_JessicaFolsom @ZOS_GaryA

    Thank you for all you do I hope you can comment!
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • TelvanniWizard
    TelvanniWizard
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭
    "A game developer reading this". LOL
    Edited by TelvanniWizard on July 19, 2019 5:34PM
  • Donny_Vito
    Donny_Vito
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Good article. Nice snippet about the cross-platform play as well. The only defense ZoS has is that they started developing this game at a time when cross-platform play was not that popular. And at this point in the life of ESO, trying to add the ability to have cross-platform functionality would be like adding a turbo charger into a car with 200,000 miles on it. There would need to be so many other changes, specifically data, which will make this never happen.
  • Square252
    Square252
    ✭✭✭
    This is so true...

    If it would be cross-play i'd had doubled my playtime by now, including spend $ in the crown shop. But it's ZOS call, and they seem to think that theres no $ to get (which many new games proofed, is a wrong view on things).

    I'm a ZoS Supporter in many ways, but the lack of cross-playing my chars is a big mistake imho. I'd be one of the first players to buy the ps4 version to play my toons (luckily i started on PC).
  • VaranisArano
    VaranisArano
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    My reaction to the Forbes article at the time was "They want ESO to have cross play so they can have more players online at once, but if there's one thing we know, its that ESO cannot handle lots of players online at once."

    With Midyear Mayhem cancelled, repeated guild history issues, and continuous Cyrodiil issues, I'm going to say that nothing's changed.

    ESO is not built for a higher demand from more players.
  • magictucktuck
    magictucktuck
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    It sounds like a well done fake story from a salesman almost.. I mean cross platform would be great but to have had the experience you had in game and not know its was not cross platform.... you lost me there... what are you getting out of this?
    PC-NA

    Necromancer

    Flawless Conqueror

    https://www.magictucktuck.com for my builds and guides!
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    "A game developer reading this". LOL

    Meaning one of the ZoS people I tagged, though condescend as you will... Any other thoughts of yours to add to the conversation?
    Donny_Vito wrote: »
    Good article. Nice snippet about the cross-platform play as well. The only defense ZoS has is that they started developing this game at a time when cross-platform play was not that popular. And at this point in the life of ESO, trying to add the ability to have cross-platform functionality would be like adding a turbo charger into a car with 200,000 miles on it. There would need to be so many other changes, specifically data, which will make this never happen.
    My reaction to the Forbes article at the time was "They want ESO to have cross play so they can have more players online at once, but if there's one thing we know, its that ESO cannot handle lots of players online at once."

    With Midyear Mayhem cancelled, repeated guild history issues, and continuous Cyrodiil issues, I'm going to say that nothing's changed.

    ESO is not built for a higher demand from more players.

    With all due respect to the both of you, people also said a transmogrifying like system in the game would never work either in the past. And that was not the case, in terms of what is possible and not possible on the coding side I can't take those kinds of comments too seriously when they aren't coming from a place of personal experience on this game. Even in my own experience in coding not just software but servers and graphical engineering, anything is possible. It's more weighed against cost vs. worth. In terms of the engine and what its capable of is completely in the coders hands and ability... Even there though my own knowledge is limited as i've never directly worked as a video game developer/programmer, but as far as I'm aware that would be my current stance though we can agree to disagree unless you know any other information regarding the impossible nature of adding this feature, but stated by ZoS who directly say what you've both mentioned? If you could link that information (ZOS themselves going through what you've both talked about in why its not possible etc) I'd love to read it Thanks to both of you for the reply!!
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • thermatico
    thermatico
    ✭✭✭✭
    Game performance is currently struggling across ALL platforms.

    In my opinion, the possibility of implementing cross-platform is approximately 0%.
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    It sounds like a well done fake story from a salesman almost.. I mean cross platform would be great but to have had the experience you had in game and not know its was not cross platform.... you lost me there... what are you getting out of this?

    Uhm, how so? Did you read the full post? Nothing for me to gain lying about all of this. Why assume I'm lying instead of asking for clarification if you'd become confused at any point reading the OP, assuming you read it all.

    But to clarify for you, I had misunderstood from my brother at the time when the game launched that accounts were transferable, not knowing it was a one time only thing. Since my brother decided to transfer from console to PC he told me about it as an option and that's where I'd had a misunderstanding until far later on when my Ps4 pooped out and I was still thinking oh I can just transfer to PC anyway this is a perfect excuse to build a new rig....

    None of that is ZOS responsibility either and I'm not saying my misunderstanding is their fault. I'm only giving my case as to what I think of no cross-platform play / transfers and why I don't believe it's good for the game especially the long term.

    Never worked in sales but thanks for the compliment and insult all at once. >.<
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    thermatico wrote: »
    Game performance is currently struggling across ALL platforms.

    In my opinion, the possibility of implementing cross-platform is approximately 0%.

    Thank you for the reply I hope you're wrong though haha ;) Sorry to hear there's issues with the game right now though! Whats some bugs or performance issues that are hurting the game right now that are prevalent on all the platforms?
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • BigBragg
    BigBragg
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭
    Cross platform would leave PC in a huge advantage over console players, unless the intentionally gimp the combat like FFXIV. Neither one of those sounds like a smart move to me.
  • VaranisArano
    VaranisArano
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    "A game developer reading this". LOL

    Meaning one of the ZoS people I tagged, though condescend as you will... Any other thoughts of yours to add to the conversation?
    Donny_Vito wrote: »
    Good article. Nice snippet about the cross-platform play as well. The only defense ZoS has is that they started developing this game at a time when cross-platform play was not that popular. And at this point in the life of ESO, trying to add the ability to have cross-platform functionality would be like adding a turbo charger into a car with 200,000 miles on it. There would need to be so many other changes, specifically data, which will make this never happen.
    My reaction to the Forbes article at the time was "They want ESO to have cross play so they can have more players online at once, but if there's one thing we know, its that ESO cannot handle lots of players online at once."

    With Midyear Mayhem cancelled, repeated guild history issues, and continuous Cyrodiil issues, I'm going to say that nothing's changed.

    ESO is not built for a higher demand from more players.

    With all due respect to the both of you, people also said a transmogrifying like system in the game would never work either in the past. And that was not the case, in terms of what is possible and not possible on the coding side I can't take those kinds of comments too seriously when they aren't coming from a place of personal experience on this game. Even in my own experience in coding not just software but servers and graphical engineering, anything is possible. It's more weighed against cost vs. worth. In terms of the engine and what its capable of is completely in the coders hands and ability... Even there though my own knowledge is limited as i've never directly worked as a video game developer/programmer, but as far as I'm aware that would be my current stance though we can agree to disagree unless you know any other information regarding the impossible nature of adding this feature, but stated by ZoS who directly say what you've both mentioned? If you could link that information (ZOS themselves going through what you've both talked about in why its not possible etc) I'd love to read it Thanks to both of you for the reply!!

    I mean, here's the obvious link to the Support page where they say they don't have the capability to transfer accounts: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/25807/~/can-i-transfer-my-eso-account-and-characters-between-different-platforms?

    And yes, you can play the "well, if its worth the $$$ and effort, anything can happen" card. That's certainly true.

    But my point was more that, realistically...
    Since before the start of the year, ZOS has been plagued with multiple issues that each time ZOS admitted were caused by an increased demand on the servers because of increased population. (PC EU server queue, Groupfinder, Guild History, etc.) So having more players on the server, as Forbes suggests, is going to require a lot of work from ZOS before they can even consider having Cross Play go well.

    Forbes made their argument from a very general stance of "More Players = Good", which ignores the obvious reality of ESO in 2019 which is that "More Players = a broken game".

    If Cross Play is ever going to be a thing, ZOS must fix their game to be able to handle the additional players on the servers.
  • Idinuse
    Idinuse
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭
    3 things you'll, imo, never see in ESO that other huge online games manage:

    1. Proper Cheat Protection -> 2.
    2. 30ms pings
    3. Cross platform play
    Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium dolorem que laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?
  • Jeremy
    Jeremy
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Yes, yes I know... TLDR. BUT please humor me in reading this post. If you're a fan of ESO (or a game developer reading this) I would really appreciate your thoughts on the topics I'm going to touch on. (In my own case something I believe to be VERY anti-consumer though believe it to not be intended by the developers, at least this is what I hope). I've also made some threads in the past while I was playing the game that I'm not proud of and would like to apologize to ZOS for the behavior on my part at the time... I was vindictive in certain aspects where it was not warranted and took my own issues in life and took it out on the forums because petty grievances I had with the game.

    First off I'm going to go through what I most like about ESO, and what it is doing right comparatively to other popular MMO's, and then I will get to the bad of ESO (which is quite a short list in my own opinion). These thoughts and opinions of mine are exactly that, just opinions. I would also like to say The Elder Scrolls Online is by far my most favorite MMO of all those I've thoroughly played through, and for numerous reasons.The MMO's I've played World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Black Desert, Star Trek Online, Guild Wars 2, Lord of the Rings Online, and Neverwinter. All these I've played... And by huge margin in my own case, The Elder Scrolls Online is the best MMORPG experience I've had in all my 20 years of MMORPG gaming.

    The Elder Scrolls Online had a rocky start when it first launched and we all know this. One Tamriel was one of the best changes (among numerous other good changes for the game itself though this one is the best by far in my own opinion) brought to ESO, allowing the full world to always remain relevant to the player. Not only that, this change has allowed the gearing system to be FAR more vast and customizable not having new content (patch or expansion) releases replace old gear sets and game play progression related items, essentially making them irrelevant. This, In my opinion, is one of the largest mistakes Blizzard Entertainment has made with the World of Warcraft (second on my list of favorite mmorpg's), Turning "World" of Warcraft into "The latest patch" of Warcraft, since that's all that is relevant in WoW's endgame progression. I cannot express enough how good this change was for ESO and for the longevity, community, and overall game-play experience of ESO.

    There are SO many things ESO does right. And I can go through a list of those if I'm asked. For now, One Tamriel is the best example I can give of a HUGELY positive change to ESO, and I believe it's one of the most alluring parts of the game itself when looking at what ESO has to offer.

    Now with that said, and clearly having made a fanboy of myself, I want to go over one thing I think is hurting the game currently and will only get worse over time. What I'm about to go into is actually a huge reason as to why I've not played ESO in almost 3 Years from what I can remember. CROSS-PLATFORM ACCOUNTS and PLAY.

    Here is quote from 'Forbes (May 31, 2019 by
    David Jagneaux)'
    which the write did a wonderful job putting to words my own thoughts and worries on ESO's lack of cross-platform play;

    "...Point being: cross-platform multiplayer, or cross-play, is the future of the games industry and Bethesda is letting Elder Scrolls Online fall way behind without it. Gone are the days that platforms exist in closed atmospheres without making contact with the rest of the industry. While platform makers will continue to publish exclusive titles when possible, the reality of the market is that the vast majority of video games are multi-platform and there are no defensible reasons why cross-play shouldn't be the standard.

    I'm not a game developer and I fully expect that the logistics of cross-play are very complex, but the ends more than justify the means in this case. MMOs require a vibrant and active community to keep on surviving and running a game on three entirely separate platforms without any overlap not only segregates the community, potentially preventing friends from playing together, but it fractures guilds and populations.

    Elder Scrolls Online is presumably doing very well. According to its Steam page there are over 10 million players in the game and that number is likely rising with the release of Elsweyr on PC and Mac plus consoles coming soon on June 4. But if you play Elder Scrolls Online, regardless of your platform of choice, you can only engage with up to a third of the community.This is extremely bad for an MMO. The cross-play between PS4 and PC is a big reason for Final Fantasy XIV's growing success despite its required subscription fee. The One Tamriel update did a lot of good for Elder Scrolls Online overall, but it's a misnomer since Tamriel is still split in three. This is severely holding the game back from continued growth as the rest of the industry moves towards a more connected digital landscape..."


    So... David does a great job expressing the concerns and downsides of not having cross-platform play. Now one thing David did not mention is, what happens if I want to move to another platform with my current existing account? In my own case this is exactly why I'm not currently playing the game as much as I'd love to be... And I'm still extremely frustrated over everything I put into the game and what I earned only to later learn cross platform was never coming (as far as "No Plans for cross-platform play in the future" said by ZOS in there Q/A page) and I could not keep what I earned without starting over and repurchasing through the Crownstore and in some cases not every getting limited items back.

    This is some of what I earned in-game;

    I put over 1,100 hours all 5 classes, some far more then that then others. They were all geared BiS at the time at the max CP at the time with BiS pve and pvp gold sets as well as almost all the craft-able armor sets for the appearances. I'd over 42 full gold tier sets for the builds across my characters (these all include for both pve and pvp). I'd completed all Trials in Vet Mode including the Challenge/Hard Modes for the skins and title achievements. I'd also completed every dungeon in vet mode as well as achieved all the challenge modes for the skins and titles from those as well. Now all that is what I earned in game, now to what I'd bought over time through the Crownstore. 2800$ in total worth of purchases through subscription and Crown Store purchases which I was more then able to afford and willing to pay because of ZOS seeming devoted to making the game the best possible experience for us players (and because of my insanely stupid luck I managed to have every costume and mount a person could want at the time I'd stopped playing, towards the end of Morrowind).

    My Ps4 ended up having a overheating issue that was not detected by sensors and eventually it sabotaged my Ps4. Because of that I ended up looking into buying a nice new PC since that is my preferred platform (and I was not aware of the lack of cross-platform play at that time since the games account creation at launch had put me under the assumption the game WAS cross-platform which i was mistaken and found that out later on), and I never asked or read into cross-platform play in ESO since I'd never intended on the consoles shortcomings and eventual pooping out. I eventually bought my new PC (built from scratch and a beautiful Rig still killing it in game-play to this day ^_^) and THEN found out there was no option for cross platform play. I called ZOS and asked if there was any way to transfer even at the very least my Characters and/or just the Crown Store items and I was told no. I would have to start over completely on another platform AND lose all the Crownstore related unlocks I'd bought in support of the game. THIS is extremely Anti-Consumer. At the very least you would think they'd allow you to keep the Crown Store purchased items and unlocks but even that is not available to the player which is infuriating if you had paid as much as you had. Now I am extremely fortunate in being able to afford that. But no player should be denied what they've earned and is theirs. No customer should be denied their purchase due to negligible development, or just simply an especially poor development/business move to not make their MMORPG cross-platform play (Other then one time near launch when they offered account transfers to your preferred platform).

    In closing I am so disheartened that a game I came to love SO much, a game that did SO MUCH right, has made such an anti-consumer and overall remiss decision not having cross-platform play.
    Now earlier I had said I didn't believe this decision for no cross-platform play was intended, at least in nefarious terms where they are wanting multiple purchases across platforms for more revenue. This I do not know for sure but I remain hopeful that ZOS, having showed themselves to be doing their best to make a game worth playing, had the player's experience be the priority which is why i believe its become so successful. So many games where content comes MAYBE once a year yet in game stores are updated monthly (this an example of company only interested in revenue and not in making a great game), ESO has managed to this healthy balance and consumer friendly game with an in-game store / optional subscription. But the lack of cross-platform play, in the words of the article by David, "...is severely holding back the game from continued growth as the rest of the industry moves forward", manages to go from an amazing MMORPG with a healthy balance of game content vs. in-game store, to an extremely anti-consumer game when it comes to wanting to play on another platform. The choice of switching platforms is ultimately the players decision, but not allowing that player to take their purchase and time investment with them remains the fault of ZOS. I can only hope they find a way to change this or at least make available for paid transfers of accounts at the very least. A game that is playable on all platforms but is itself not supportive of cross-platform play/data (without additional purchases ) is a damn shame and waste of potential both in community and accessibility to existing players.

    I hope I can come back to the friends I made on ESO and continue playing the game I love, and I hope ZOS finds a way to make cross-platform play/data available with new gen consoles looming in the near future.

    Anyone who read this all the way through I hugely appreciate your time, and if you're still playing the game and are on your preferred platform with no intentions of changing platform, I hope you have as much fun as I did, and make memories and friends that will stay with you for life!

    Nice post and it mirrors pretty accurately why I believe Elder Scrolls Online is the best MMO on the market also. I've played most of those games you listed too (all but Never Winter).

    I would like to see cross platform accounts as well. I have friends who play on consoles who don't play this game for that very reason. Addons might would complicate matters. But seeing as I have nothing but contempt for addons anyway, that isn't a concern for me personally.

    Edited by Jeremy on July 19, 2019 6:33PM
  • InvictusApollo
    InvictusApollo
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    YES! Give us cross platform pvp! Let tiny zerglings from PC feel like real Hunter Killers (Starcraft 1 fan would know what I mean - others need to use their intellect to deduct the meaning from context) while killing console peasants (no disrespect intended) en masse.

  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    "A game developer reading this". LOL

    Meaning one of the ZoS people I tagged, though condescend as you will... Any other thoughts of yours to add to the conversation?
    Donny_Vito wrote: »
    Good article. Nice snippet about the cross-platform play as well. The only defense ZoS has is that they started developing this game at a time when cross-platform play was not that popular. And at this point in the life of ESO, trying to add the ability to have cross-platform functionality would be like adding a turbo charger into a car with 200,000 miles on it. There would need to be so many other changes, specifically data, which will make this never happen.
    My reaction to the Forbes article at the time was "They want ESO to have cross play so they can have more players online at once, but if there's one thing we know, its that ESO cannot handle lots of players online at once."

    With Midyear Mayhem cancelled, repeated guild history issues, and continuous Cyrodiil issues, I'm going to say that nothing's changed.

    ESO is not built for a higher demand from more players.

    With all due respect to the both of you, people also said a transmogrifying like system in the game would never work either in the past. And that was not the case, in terms of what is possible and not possible on the coding side I can't take those kinds of comments too seriously when they aren't coming from a place of personal experience on this game. Even in my own experience in coding not just software but servers and graphical engineering, anything is possible. It's more weighed against cost vs. worth. In terms of the engine and what its capable of is completely in the coders hands and ability... Even there though my own knowledge is limited as i've never directly worked as a video game developer/programmer, but as far as I'm aware that would be my current stance though we can agree to disagree unless you know any other information regarding the impossible nature of adding this feature, but stated by ZoS who directly say what you've both mentioned? If you could link that information (ZOS themselves going through what you've both talked about in why its not possible etc) I'd love to read it Thanks to both of you for the reply!!

    I mean, here's the obvious link to the Support page where they say they don't have the capability to transfer accounts: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/25807/~/can-i-transfer-my-eso-account-and-characters-between-different-platforms?

    And yes, you can play the "well, if its worth the $$$ and effort, anything can happen" card. That's certainly true.

    But my point was more that, realistically...
    Since before the start of the year, ZOS has been plagued with multiple issues that each time ZOS admitted were caused by an increased demand on the servers because of increased population. (PC EU server queue, Groupfinder, Guild History, etc.) So having more players on the server, as Forbes suggests, is going to require a lot of work from ZOS before they can even consider having Cross Play go well.

    Forbes made their argument from a very general stance of "More Players = Good", which ignores the obvious reality of ESO in 2019 which is that "More Players = a broken game".

    If Cross Play is ever going to be a thing, ZOS must fix their game to be able to handle the additional players on the servers.

    No they did not say they do not have the capability or to transfer accounts. "We have not built, and do not plan to build, the capability to move individual characters from platform to platform.".

    They said they don't plan to build the capability to move individual characters in that specific link you put in your comment. which doesn't at all mean they simply aren't capable of doing it or they'd have directly said along the lines of 'We are not capable of doing this AT ALL ever'...

    And I disagree with your opinion that "More Players = a broken game", for one broken means it is no longer usable as intended. Secondly it's not a reality. Sure every time a new patch or expansion releases with new content or functionality there will be bugs. That is far from being broken much less a reality of that. Broken is a term used far too often by upset gamers these days who don't like things in a game they really enjoy. I respect where its coming from a place of passion but its overall dishonest because if the game did become broken because of more players it'd no longer be playable. Now if its bugged to where its no longer suitable to your enjoyment and you deem that unplayable/broken then that's still not a broken game itself.
    If I'm misunderstanding you in any of what you said please let me know thank you for responding!
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    BigBragg wrote: »
    Cross platform would leave PC in a huge advantage over console players, unless the intentionally gimp the combat like FFXIV. Neither one of those sounds like a smart move to me.

    I do agree with you when it comes to pvp, though they could have pvp be phased so when you are pvping you are only pvping with people on the same platform as you.

    How do you believe they gimp combat in FFXIV because of cross platform play? Honest question I started playing the game when it was already cross platform unless it was always cross platform I don't know the details there as I never read into it specifically. Thanks for your comment too!
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    YES! Give us cross platform pvp! Let tiny zerglings from PC feel like real Hunter Killers (Starcraft 1 fan would know what I mean - others need to use their intellect to deduct the meaning from context) while killing console peasants (no disrespect intended) en masse.

    haha I just commented about cross platform and pvp actually above you should read it just incase you're writing off the suggestion because of that :) and I agree PC = master race, consoles hold no weight in that competition when it comes to efficiency in PvP lol

    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • JKorr
    JKorr
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭
    "A game developer reading this". LOL

    Meaning one of the ZoS people I tagged, though condescend as you will... Any other thoughts of yours to add to the conversation?
    Donny_Vito wrote: »
    Good article. Nice snippet about the cross-platform play as well. The only defense ZoS has is that they started developing this game at a time when cross-platform play was not that popular. And at this point in the life of ESO, trying to add the ability to have cross-platform functionality would be like adding a turbo charger into a car with 200,000 miles on it. There would need to be so many other changes, specifically data, which will make this never happen.
    My reaction to the Forbes article at the time was "They want ESO to have cross play so they can have more players online at once, but if there's one thing we know, its that ESO cannot handle lots of players online at once."

    With Midyear Mayhem cancelled, repeated guild history issues, and continuous Cyrodiil issues, I'm going to say that nothing's changed.

    ESO is not built for a higher demand from more players.

    With all due respect to the both of you, people also said a transmogrifying like system in the game would never work either in the past. And that was not the case, in terms of what is possible and not possible on the coding side I can't take those kinds of comments too seriously when they aren't coming from a place of personal experience on this game. Even in my own experience in coding not just software but servers and graphical engineering, anything is possible. It's more weighed against cost vs. worth. In terms of the engine and what its capable of is completely in the coders hands and ability... Even there though my own knowledge is limited as i've never directly worked as a video game developer/programmer, but as far as I'm aware that would be my current stance though we can agree to disagree unless you know any other information regarding the impossible nature of adding this feature, but stated by ZoS who directly say what you've both mentioned? If you could link that information (ZOS themselves going through what you've both talked about in why its not possible etc) I'd love to read it Thanks to both of you for the reply!!

    From my post in an earlier thread about how no cross platform play is the end of the universe or something...

    This game wasn't even originally intended for consoles at all. It was supposed to be a pc exclusive. Then Sony got pushy, and ZOS caved.

    New link: Perhaps it isn't Bethesda or ZOS who don't want to allow cross platform- note the date: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/08/bethesda-tries-to-force-sony-to-stop-blocking-cross-console-gameplay/

    From the article he made it sound like there are hundreds of cross platform games out. There apparently are not.
    https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/all-cross-platform-games/

    And Sony seems to have issues with allowing cross platform play.
    https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/13/17459340/sony-ps4-fortnite-cross-play-switch

    https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/14/17463114/sony-ps4-fortnite-response-nintendo-switch-account

    So it might be better to go to Sony and Microsoft before Bethesda and ZOS?
  • Blinkin8r
    Blinkin8r
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Cross SAVE might be a good think but this game can and will never handle Cross Play. PC servers can barely handle the PC playerbase, same with xbox and ps4. I miss the days where I could pvp and not get desynced every time I got hit by an ability. I miss the days where It was more beneficial to actually fight other players than have your 24 man zerg meatbag tf out anything that moves.
    Funny thing is, this game used to perform much better. I'm not someone who's played since beta, but I've played for 3 years and Elsweyr has been without a doubt the worst patch I've ever seen in this game performance wise. My take: ZOS was chosen to run a game that Bethesda designed and absolutely "killed it." One patch at a time.
    II Blinkin II
    Xbox 1 NA
    "A man without the sauce is lost, but the same man can become lost in the sauce."
  • todokete
    todokete
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    This is the best MMO I ever played. hands down
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    JKorr wrote: »
    "A game developer reading this". LOL

    Meaning one of the ZoS people I tagged, though condescend as you will... Any other thoughts of yours to add to the conversation?
    Donny_Vito wrote: »
    Good article. Nice snippet about the cross-platform play as well. The only defense ZoS has is that they started developing this game at a time when cross-platform play was not that popular. And at this point in the life of ESO, trying to add the ability to have cross-platform functionality would be like adding a turbo charger into a car with 200,000 miles on it. There would need to be so many other changes, specifically data, which will make this never happen.
    My reaction to the Forbes article at the time was "They want ESO to have cross play so they can have more players online at once, but if there's one thing we know, its that ESO cannot handle lots of players online at once."

    With Midyear Mayhem cancelled, repeated guild history issues, and continuous Cyrodiil issues, I'm going to say that nothing's changed.

    ESO is not built for a higher demand from more players.

    With all due respect to the both of you, people also said a transmogrifying like system in the game would never work either in the past. And that was not the case, in terms of what is possible and not possible on the coding side I can't take those kinds of comments too seriously when they aren't coming from a place of personal experience on this game. Even in my own experience in coding not just software but servers and graphical engineering, anything is possible. It's more weighed against cost vs. worth. In terms of the engine and what its capable of is completely in the coders hands and ability... Even there though my own knowledge is limited as i've never directly worked as a video game developer/programmer, but as far as I'm aware that would be my current stance though we can agree to disagree unless you know any other information regarding the impossible nature of adding this feature, but stated by ZoS who directly say what you've both mentioned? If you could link that information (ZOS themselves going through what you've both talked about in why its not possible etc) I'd love to read it Thanks to both of you for the reply!!

    From my post in an earlier thread about how no cross platform play is the end of the universe or something...

    This game wasn't even originally intended for consoles at all. It was supposed to be a pc exclusive. Then Sony got pushy, and ZOS caved.

    New link: Perhaps it isn't Bethesda or ZOS who don't want to allow cross platform- note the date: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/08/bethesda-tries-to-force-sony-to-stop-blocking-cross-console-gameplay/

    From the article he made it sound like there are hundreds of cross platform games out. There apparently are not.
    https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/all-cross-platform-games/

    And Sony seems to have issues with allowing cross platform play.
    https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/13/17459340/sony-ps4-fortnite-cross-play-switch

    https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/14/17463114/sony-ps4-fortnite-response-nintendo-switch-account

    So it might be better to go to Sony and Microsoft before Bethesda and ZOS?

    Oh most certainly I agree with the fact that Sony / Microsoft want exclusivity as much as possible which does affect the cross-platform play or lack thereof... I'm posting here because I can have a discussion with a far larger amount of ESO players to hear their thoughts and opinions as well as if any of the ZOS forum people read and can pipe in the conversation as well. As much as I hate exclusivity I do know that it is a reality when talking about why is there no cross platform play. This thread and the OP isn't about the "Why don't we have Cross-Platform Play" though.

    Not only that my largest gripe is that Cross-Platform Saving isn't a thing. I could careless about the Play though that would mean saving would be automatically apart of it. But if Cross Platform Accounts / Saving were a thing I'd still be playing the game with only recent bug complaints. I did clarify this in the OP.
    Edited by celner4_ESO on July 19, 2019 7:25PM
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    Blinkin8r wrote: »
    Cross SAVE might be a good think but this game can and will never handle Cross Play. PC servers can barely handle the PC playerbase, same with xbox and ps4. I miss the days where I could pvp and not get desynced every time I got hit by an ability. I miss the days where It was more beneficial to actually fight other players than have your 24 man zerg meatbag tf out anything that moves.
    Funny thing is, this game used to perform much better. I'm not someone who's played since beta, but I've played for 3 years and Elsweyr has been without a doubt the worst patch I've ever seen in this game performance wise. My take: ZOS was chosen to run a game that Bethesda designed and absolutely "killed it." One patch at a time.

    Oh yes, I most certainly would want Cross Save more then anything, I had no issues in terms of community or lack of players, I just don't want to restart and lose all i earned and paid for. I completely agree with you though and will clarify that in the OP!
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • idk
    idk
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    TBH I skimmed through since it there is a lot of irrelevant fluff before OP gets to the point. So I might have missed something.

    Cross platform play may be the future but there is clearly some road blocks for that with ESO. Namely that consoles cannot have addons which pots them at a disadvantage. This is clearly not a Zos issue as they permit addons, but a console issue.

    Further, if Zos is not willing to offer account transfers which can be momotized there is likely something in the agreement to protect the console companies which would could also be part of a roadblock to sharing anything between Zos and the consoles.

    Most importantly, cross platform may be the future, but ESO is now. There is nothing in the OP that I noticed that shjows how Zos would reap a great financial return for building out everything required to make cross platform work. It requires more than connecting a couple wires.

    In other words, doubt it happens anytime soon.
  • Tandor
    Tandor
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    While I can understand someone who is committed to playing the game on one platform not being concerned with the question of cross-platform account transfers, I would have thought that in the event of one platform machine dying and the decision being taken to replace it with a different platform machine there would be a point at which it would occur to most players to research whether cross-platform account transfers were permitted - before committing to the different platform machine replacement. There's never been the slightest hint that such account transfers would ever be permitted in the case of ESO, beyond the initial console launch when PC account transfers were permitted to an empty console database for a strictly limited time only. Forum opinion seems fairly clear that this is both as a result of technical and contractual limitations, and that it is unlikely to change.
    Edited by Tandor on July 19, 2019 7:26PM
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    Tandor wrote: »
    While I can understand someone who is committed to playing the game on one platform not being concerned with the question of cross-platform account transfers, I would have thought that in the event of one platform machine dying and the decision being taken to replace it with a different platform machine there would be a point at which it would occur to most players to research whether cross-platform account transfers were permitted - before committing to the different platform machine replacement. There's never been the slightest hint that such account transfers would ever be permitted in the case of ESO, beyond the initial console launch when PC account transfers were permitted to an empty console database for a strictly limited time only. Forum opinion seems fairly clear that this is both as a result of technical and contractual limitations, and that it is unlikely to change.

    Listen I elaborated on this already, but good on you if you had no circumstances in which you misunderstood the cross-platform not being a thing.

    Also I never say that it's ZOS's fault for my not finding out the exact reasons for cross platform transfers and that they were a one time thing because of the misunderstanding I had carried with me when I had no intentions of changing platforms at the time so had no bother in ever reading into it. I only went off the fact my brother transferred from console to PC, had told me about it. then 2 years later my play station pooped and I decided I wanted to play ESO on a PC instead, with still having that experience with my brother in mind and not having thought anything of it.
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • mook-eb16_ESO
    mook-eb16_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    worst performing mmo, bug ridden high latencey, loot box selling, rng rubbish.
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    idk wrote: »
    TBH I skimmed through since it there is a lot of irrelevant fluff before OP gets to the point. So I might have missed something.

    Cross platform play may be the future but there is clearly some road blocks for that with ESO. Namely that consoles cannot have addons which pots them at a disadvantage. This is clearly not a Zos issue as they permit addons, but a console issue.

    Further, if Zos is not willing to offer account transfers which can be momotized there is likely something in the agreement to protect the console companies which would could also be part of a roadblock to sharing anything between Zos and the consoles.

    Most importantly, cross platform may be the future, but ESO is now. There is nothing in the OP that I noticed that shjows how Zos would reap a great financial return for building out everything required to make cross platform work. It requires more than connecting a couple wires.

    In other words, doubt it happens anytime soon.

    Respectfully, sure the first two paragraphs can be seen as irrelevant to you and that's fine. And maybe the last 2 statements of the post. I mean if you don't want to read a long AF post too then there you go you can say that as well >.<!

    Did you miss me saying cross platform saving is far more important to me then cross platform play? Because of the skipping irrelevant fluff. Patronizing saying making Cross-platform saving/play work requires more then connecting wires, unless you have another point?

    What was your point exactly with "ESO is now"? Do you want to read into all the exact benefits ZOS will recieve in making Cross Platform Saving/Play? Again preferring Saving far more then play myself. I mean I can research it and give you all of the pro's and con's of making this available versus not if you would really like that. I do agree with not seeing it happen any time soon I'm not expecting that. If you read the full post you can see its a discussion of Why I'd like to see it available, not why don't we have this yet. The only gripe I did make that could be confused is "Why create a circumstance that is so anti-consumer" when talking about no Cross-platform Saving.
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    worst performing mmo, bug ridden high latencey, loot box selling, rng rubbish.

    Loot box selling?!?! is this a thing now in the current game? Loot boxes that give an increase in power of your character? Or are they just cosmetic related?
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
  • celner4_ESO
    celner4_ESO
    ✭✭✭✭
    My reaction to the Forbes article at the time was "They want ESO to have cross play so they can have more players online at once, but if there's one thing we know, its that ESO cannot handle lots of players online at once."

    With Midyear Mayhem cancelled, repeated guild history issues, and continuous Cyrodiil issues, I'm going to say that nothing's changed.

    ESO is not built for a higher demand from more players.

    My main concern is wanting Cross-Platforming saving and I've said that... If it's full cross play for pve then awesome, but my main gripe is my account not carrying over. Not in wanting more players in the game I've not had any issues with shortage of players while i was playing.
    Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, n' hide ya husband too cuz he be gankin' erybody up en heeyuh..
Sign In or Register to comment.