Is ZOS aware of the state of their game currently?

HairyFairy · May 2020

Does anyone know if they've posted about it, had any open communications at all about the state of the game?

furiouslog · May 2020

There are a couple of vague statements about addressing the desyncs and lag in the recent update posts on the news page, but beyond that, it's hard to know if they really understand the extent of the problem or how profoundly it affects our experience in the game.

Because we keep playing and their numbers are higher than ever, it's probably telegraphing that the issues are acceptable to enough people that no matter what ZOS does it's unlikely to affect their bottom line.

daemonios · May 2020

There’s been strain on the servers, but they are holding up well

- Rich Lambert, 4/29/2020

MartiniDaniels · May 2020

daemonios wrote: »

There’s been strain on the servers, but they are holding up well

- Rich Lambert, 4/29/2020

Well, that's probably what is defined in ZOS KPI targets - if average ping is lower then 500 and server is restarted only once per day during peak hour - server is holding up well.

[Snip]

[Edited for spam]

Jakx · May 2020

HairyFairy wrote: »

Does anyone know if they've posted about it, had any open communications at all about the state of the game?

Other than the front page of their website, multiple times?

MusCanus · May 2020

MartiniDaniels wrote: »

daemonios wrote: »

There’s been strain on the servers, but they are holding up well

- Rich Lambert, 4/29/2020

Well, that's probably what is defined in ZOS KPI targets - if average ping is lower then 500 and server is restarted only once per day during peak hour - server is holding up well.
[Snip]
[Edited for spam]

Crowns Store works = servers are fine.

Lysette · May 2020

These extremely long loading screens are now there since 2.5 weeks - Gina said they are looking into it - maybe just "looking"isn't enough, how about starting to change it - it was ok before the patch 2.5 weeks ago. The problem with ZOS is that they never fix anything in a timely manner, but delay .... i mean 2.5 weeks - and it will be 3 or more because they just dont seem to care that it is tedious to play a game, when I have to wait minutes to be zoned in just to be pushed back to login screen a minute later, because the next teleport is failing - like this my urge to even login is pretty low.

Actually I have modded my skyrim and am now playing the requiem mod - because ESO is just making me tired having to wait on loading screens, where the problem is not even loading, but be zoned in in a timely manner. If this continues I might just continue with Skyrim - but not in ESO.

worrallj · May 2020

I think this is their latest statement on the matter.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/56681

They understand but the main priority for them is obviously going to be to release more paid content. I doubt pvpers spend much in the crown store, cyrodiil wouldn't generate income whether it works or not, so trying to fix it is kind of wasted resources from their perspective.

Lysette · May 2020

worrallj wrote: »

I think this is their latest statement on the matter.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/56681

They understand but the main priority for them is obviously going to be to release more paid content. I doubt pvpers spend much in the crown store, cyrodiil wouldn't generate income whether it works or not, so trying to fix it is kind of wasted resources from their perspective.

But the problem is now not only in Cyro - it is effecting all of the game world - these loading screens are driving me nuts - i do not even want to play anymore due to them.

I see it like this ZOS is wasting my ESO+ time by doing nothing ... if this continues I will just do something else once my ESO+ has run out and come back in a year or so to check if it got any better.

Elsonso · May 2020

Lysette wrote: »

worrallj wrote: »

I think this is their latest statement on the matter.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/56681

They understand but the main priority for them is obviously going to be to release more paid content. I doubt pvpers spend much in the crown store, cyrodiil wouldn't generate income whether it works or not, so trying to fix it is kind of wasted resources from their perspective.

But the problem is now not only in Cyro - it is effecting all of the game world - these loading screens are driving me nuts - i do not even want to play anymore due to them.

I see it like this ZOS is wasting my ESO+ time by doing nothing ... if this continues I will just do something else once my ESO+ has run out and come back in a year or so to check if it got any better.

The thing is that performance is never going to be "fixed" for everyone. It is like the "perfect cup of coffee" at a restaurant.

worrallj · May 2020

Lysette wrote: »

worrallj wrote: »

I think this is their latest statement on the matter.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/56681

They understand but the main priority for them is obviously going to be to release more paid content. I doubt pvpers spend much in the crown store, cyrodiil wouldn't generate income whether it works or not, so trying to fix it is kind of wasted resources from their perspective.

But the problem is now not only in Cyro - it is effecting all of the game world - these loading screens are driving me nuts - i do not even want to play anymore due to them.

I see it like this ZOS is wasting my ESO+ time by doing nothing ... if this continues I will just do something else once my ESO+ has run out and come back in a year or so to check if it got any better.

Compared to the grey host, the rest of the game works like a dream, lol. But yeah it's a tough choice. I canceled my sub the other day too. I still freeload though so I can hang with the guild and stuff. I wanted to support the game but felt like the money was just going into the quantity over quality mentality of relentlessly pushing paid content out the door. If that's how they want to make money then they're not supporting the subs and don't need them.

And i know I made the right choice because literally hours later in the midst of all this apparently they're sending polls out to users asking if they'd buy new races and classes and stuff. I now get notifications in game telling me to go purchase skill lines for cash. If this is how it's going to be I don't see the point of a subscription.

valeriiya · May 2020

They're very aware but either don't care or don't know how to fix it.

Lysette · May 2020

worrallj wrote: »

Lysette wrote: »

worrallj wrote: »

I think this is their latest statement on the matter.

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/56681

They understand but the main priority for them is obviously going to be to release more paid content. I doubt pvpers spend much in the crown store, cyrodiil wouldn't generate income whether it works or not, so trying to fix it is kind of wasted resources from their perspective.

But the problem is now not only in Cyro - it is effecting all of the game world - these loading screens are driving me nuts - i do not even want to play anymore due to them.

I see it like this ZOS is wasting my ESO+ time by doing nothing ... if this continues I will just do something else once my ESO+ has run out and come back in a year or so to check if it got any better.

Compared to the grey host, the rest of the game works like a dream, lol. But yeah it's a tough choice. I canceled my sub the other day too. I still freeload though so I can hang with the guild and stuff. I wanted to support the game but felt like the money was just going into the quantity over quality mentality of relentlessly pushing paid content out the door. If that's how they want to make money then they're not supporting the subs and don't need them.

And i know I made the right choice because literally hours later in the midst of all this apparently they're sending polls out to users asking if they'd buy new races and classes and stuff. I now get notifications in game telling me to go purchase skill lines for cash. If this is how it's going to be I don't see the point of a subscription.

To me the game is too tedious with these long loading screens - instead of 2 or 2.5 hours to do my crafting writs with 14 characters it takes me now between 5-7 hours - which means I am waiting to be zoned in as long as i am actually playing. I don't have time to waste 2-5 hours on waiting on loading screens and putting up with failing teleports and having to login quite often again this is crap and it could be fixed, because it was fine 2.5 weeks ago. ZOS just doesn't care enough. well, if this continues I will have a break of about a year - not playing ESO to not have to see this mess all the time - and just get back to it in a year to see if it has changed to the better.

Malmai · May 2020

Everbody saying loading screens when game runs like toilet with 20fps and 999 ping...

Lysette · May 2020

Malmai wrote: »

Everbody saying loading screens when game runs like toilet with 20fps and 999 ping...

To me it is mostly loading screens - if those wouldn't be so long i could play and enjoy the game - but I'm not doing pvp or group content - occasionally group with a friend - as in one -, but otherwise i tend to stay clear of people.

JamuThatsWho · May 2020

Eh, it's AV weekend on WoW Classic, I'm all set.

worrallj · May 2020

Lysette wrote: »

Malmai wrote: »

Everbody saying loading screens when game runs like toilet with 20fps and 999 ping...

To me it is mostly loading screens - if those wouldn't be so long i could play and enjoy the game - but I'm not doing pvp or group content - occasionally group with a friend - as in one -, but otherwise i tend to stay clear of people.

I occasionally get a load screen of death and have to reboot, but this actually hasn't been too bad for me. You probably already know this but an SSD really does reduce the load screen times, if that's an option.

For me the really big issue was the glitch where your skill bar gets locked out. That was a glaring game breaking problem that proved to me conclusively that they were pushing out content that had no business being in production. Then when the servers crashed the other night (and for me the crash was sandwiched between a bugged quest before the crash, and another bugged quest after the crash) I was just like that's it last straw they're abusing my subscription.

Elsonso · May 2020

Lysette wrote: »

To me the game is too tedious with these long loading screens - instead of 2 or 2.5 hours to do my crafting writs with 14 characters it takes me now between 5-7 hours - which means I am waiting to be zoned in as long as i am actually playing. I don't have time to waste 2-5 hours on waiting on loading screens and putting up with failing teleports and having to login quite often again this is crap and it could be fixed, because it was fine 2.5 weeks ago. ZOS just doesn't care enough. well, if this continues I will have a break of about a year - not playing ESO to not have to see this mess all the time - and just get back to it in a year to see if it has changed to the better.

You may have mentioned this in the past, and forgive me for not remembering, but what server are you playing on? I play on PC NA and EU and my experience is nothing like that. I am asking because whatever server you are on, I want to stay away from it!

Lysette · May 2020

worrallj wrote: »

Lysette wrote: »

Malmai wrote: »

Everbody saying loading screens when game runs like toilet with 20fps and 999 ping...

To me it is mostly loading screens - if those wouldn't be so long i could play and enjoy the game - but I'm not doing pvp or group content - occasionally group with a friend - as in one -, but otherwise i tend to stay clear of people.

I occasionally get a load screen of death and have to reboot, but this actually hasn't been too bad for me. You probably already know this but an SSD really does reduce the load screen times, if that's an option.

For me the really big issue was the glitch where your skill bar gets locked out. That was a glaring game breaking problem that proved to me conclusively that they were pushing out content that had no business being in production. Then when the servers crashed the other night (and for me the crash was sandwiched between a bugged quest before the crash, and another bugged quest after the crash) I was just like that's it last straw they're abusing my subscription.

I am running the game from an SSD - like i said it is not about the loading, but about unresponsive zoning into a region. And this is there since 2.5 weeks - Gina said they are looking into it - but I guess that is what they are doing literally - looking and not changing anything.

Tandor · May 2020

furiouslog wrote: »

There are a couple of vague statements about addressing the desyncs and lag in the recent update posts on the news page, but beyond that, it's hard to know if they really understand the extent of the problem or how profoundly it affects our experience in the game.

Because we keep playing and their numbers are higher than ever, it's probably telegraphing that the issues are acceptable to enough people that no matter what ZOS does it's unlikely to affect their bottom line.

It isn't that issues of the magnitude complained about here aren't acceptable to people - how could they be? - rather, it's that not all players experience them, not even on PC EU.

I'm sure that ZOS are concerned about performance, and that's reflected in the survey this week, but whether you get asked about performance depends on how you answer the trigger questions.

Lysette · May 2020

Elsonso wrote: »

Lysette wrote: »

To me the game is too tedious with these long loading screens - instead of 2 or 2.5 hours to do my crafting writs with 14 characters it takes me now between 5-7 hours - which means I am waiting to be zoned in as long as i am actually playing. I don't have time to waste 2-5 hours on waiting on loading screens and putting up with failing teleports and having to login quite often again this is crap and it could be fixed, because it was fine 2.5 weeks ago. ZOS just doesn't care enough. well, if this continues I will have a break of about a year - not playing ESO to not have to see this mess all the time - and just get back to it in a year to see if it has changed to the better.

You may have mentioned this in the past, and forgive me for not remembering, but what server are you playing on? I play on PC NA and EU and my experience is nothing like that. I am asking because whatever server you are on, I want to stay away from it!

PC EU -- i want to play with german and russian friends playing on this server, so I have no choice. And because i want to play with them, i have to play at european prime time. it is especially bad in hew's bane, there it can take up to 4 minutes to get zoned in if it doesn't run into an endless loading screen - well, after 10 minutes i just killed the task, because it was unlikely to ever zone me in afterwards.

Elsonso · May 2020

Lysette wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

Lysette wrote: »

To me the game is too tedious with these long loading screens - instead of 2 or 2.5 hours to do my crafting writs with 14 characters it takes me now between 5-7 hours - which means I am waiting to be zoned in as long as i am actually playing. I don't have time to waste 2-5 hours on waiting on loading screens and putting up with failing teleports and having to login quite often again this is crap and it could be fixed, because it was fine 2.5 weeks ago. ZOS just doesn't care enough. well, if this continues I will have a break of about a year - not playing ESO to not have to see this mess all the time - and just get back to it in a year to see if it has changed to the better.

You may have mentioned this in the past, and forgive me for not remembering, but what server are you playing on? I play on PC NA and EU and my experience is nothing like that. I am asking because whatever server you are on, I want to stay away from it!

PC EU -- i want to play with german and russian friends playing on this server, so I have no choice. And because i want to play with them, i have to play at european prime time.

Hmmm... By the time I get to EU, most of them are in bed. This means that I experience a tenth of the problems that the normal EU players have, I guess. I actually have more problems on NA, which I play during prime time, but nothing like what you talk about. I am still in and out of characters several times during my play and zone loading screens, while a little longer, are not that long. At least, not on a regular basis. I have seen a zone load take a minute, on occasion, but that is rare. Within the zone is usually 1.5 seconds, up to 4 seconds, depending on the zone. Logging into a character takes long enough that I forget my name, not to mention the character's name, but that is normal for ESO going back months and months. I don't know how long they are, but it seems like 30-60 seconds is normal.

Mancombe_Nosehair · May 2020

Pc eu has suffered for some time now. Apparently it is because there is only two peak periods (n.a. has three), so more players pile in at the same time. It must be even worse now with player numbers so high.

I gave up on pc eu a year ago, and don't regret it.

Lysette · May 2020

Mancombe_Nosehair wrote: »

Pc eu has suffered for some time now. Apparently it is because there is only two peak periods (n.a. has three), so more players pile in at the same time. It must be even worse now with player numbers so high.

I gave up on pc eu a year ago, and don't regret it.

It is a wrong notion that EU would just have 2 time zones - GMT, GMT+1, GMT+2, GMT+3 are all european time zones including the european part of russia. Then a lot of asian players are on EU servers as well - which extents this range of time zones even more. in fact the EU server might have more time zones than the NA server.

daemonios · May 2020

Lysette wrote: »

Mancombe_Nosehair wrote: »

Pc eu has suffered for some time now. Apparently it is because there is only two peak periods (n.a. has three), so more players pile in at the same time. It must be even worse now with player numbers so high.

I gave up on pc eu a year ago, and don't regret it.

It is a wrong notion that EU would just have 2 time zones - GMT, GMT+1, GMT+2, GMT+3 are all european time zones including the european part of russia. Then a lot of asian players are on EU servers as well - which extents this range of time zones even more. in fact the EU server might have more time zones than the NA server.

I think so too. If anything, I'd say it's likely there are more people in EU playing on PC than on console, whereas in NA consoles probably have a bigger weight so populations are more spread out.

furiouslog · May 2020

Tandor wrote: »

furiouslog wrote: »

There are a couple of vague statements about addressing the desyncs and lag in the recent update posts on the news page, but beyond that, it's hard to know if they really understand the extent of the problem or how profoundly it affects our experience in the game.

Because we keep playing and their numbers are higher than ever, it's probably telegraphing that the issues are acceptable to enough people that no matter what ZOS does it's unlikely to affect their bottom line.

It isn't that issues of the magnitude complained about here aren't acceptable to people - how could they be? - rather, it's that not all players experience them, not even on PC EU.

I'm sure that ZOS are concerned about performance, and that's reflected in the survey this week, but whether you get asked about performance depends on how you answer the trigger questions.

I see the point, but I was including the players that experience the same issues of lag, desyncs, skill misfires, and quest bugs, but it's not bad enough to affect their enjoyment of the game because of the way they play. I'd be the majority of players that fall in the casual bucket don't know about LA weaving, or even properly avoid AOEs (I often see pug "vets" stand firmly in bad who remain wonderfully ignorant of its effects). The overland content is easy enough to not have to deal with those complexities, so they could be experiencing these issues but not even be aware because the game's skill level is forgiving enough that these issues don't interfere with their experience.

Mancombe_Nosehair · May 2020

Lysette wrote: »

Mancombe_Nosehair wrote: »

Pc eu has suffered for some time now. Apparently it is because there is only two peak periods (n.a. has three), so more players pile in at the same time. It must be even worse now with player numbers so high.

I gave up on pc eu a year ago, and don't regret it.

It is a wrong notion that EU would just have 2 time zones - GMT, GMT+1, GMT+2, GMT+3 are all european time zones including the european part of russia. Then a lot of asian players are on EU servers as well - which extents this range of time zones even more. in fact the EU server might have more time zones than the NA server.

I think that we are talking at cross purposes a little bit, but in reality are agreeing with another. You may notice that I used the word period, not timezone. A period would cover a group of timezones, so a peak period might be several hours.

I don't know what the peak periods are for eu and n.a., but I believe that Zos has brought the number of periods up before.

@daemonios is quite right that pc is more popular than Xbox etc on eu than n.a., hence the spread of players on n.a. is thinner than eu. I understand that the combined factors we have discussed are the crux of the problem.

Hopefully, the cold storage of accounts will reduce character load screens, but we will see. It might ruin some people using a dead guild bank as a additional resource!

Atherakhia · May 2020

Lets face it... they know. There's no way they couldn't know. Every streamer is bashing their game non-stop from the hours of about 4pm to midnight every...single...day...

The problem is the longer this goes on the more I'm convinced it's not a hardware issue and is instead the fault of poor coding. No company with such enormous public exposure would let these types of issues continue unfixed and ignored for so long.

Best hope for ESO is ESO2 at this point. This lag is here to stay.

Elsonso · May 2020

Atherakhia wrote: »

The problem is the longer this goes on the more I'm convinced it's not a hardware issue and is instead the fault of poor coding. No company with such enormous public exposure would let these types of issues continue unfixed and ignored for so long.

Coding (aka the "server software") has been the odds-on favorite for the culprit for a long time now. Hardware is an easy fix, and a lot cheaper than a software fix, if you ask me.

danthemann5 · May 2020

daemonios wrote: »

There’s been strain on the servers, but they are holding up well

- Rich Lambert, 4/29/2020

"You know you don't have to be here right?"

- also Rich Lambert

That should tell you all you need to know.

Alucardo · May 2020

JamuThatsWho wrote: »

Eh, it's AV weekend on WoW Classic, I'm all set.

FOR THE HORDE!

But seriously, the hell is wrong with the game. This afternoon people were getting randomly dismounted while travelling across Cyrodiil, and when I got into battle all my abilities were greyed out (not the sprint bug) and I couldn't chug any pots. To say it's unplayable is an understatement, but for some reason I keep trying.