THE CLUSTERING ~ solving the item slot issue - top player requests

bluebird · April 2021

Furnishing slots are an issue. We know it, you know it, everyone knows it.
Ideally, the item cap in houses should be increased, but this may not be possible right now.
Alternatively, interior and exterior cells could be split into separate instances, but that may be impossible too.

So in the meantime, why not add CLUSTER furniture? The game already has several of them, so the devs can clearly make it happen.
Cluster type furnishings are incredibly common amongst Plant, Pebble, and other types of Conservatory furniture.
Case in point:

Players can choose to buy individual Ivy shrubs or an Ivy Cluster of TEN for the same one slot.

And also we can choose to buy 1 Palm Tree, or 1 Palm Cluster with THREE trees and SEVEN ferns.

We have the option to place books individually, or place book STACKS.

We can use individual produce boxes, or a whole row of them all, FOR THE SAME ONE SLOT.

Clearly, Cluster type furniture are amazingly slot-efficient. (And clearly the devs know this, because often the more desirable more efficient Cluster item is Crowns only...) And yet, they are still probably less technically taxing than a Candelabra with 3 animated candleflames. (I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, I'm no game developer, I'd just assume that Cluster items still aren't a technical challenge compared to other individual items we have like flowing magical stuff or fountains or lights)

So why not make Cluster furniture for other furnishing types too?

It would help alleviate the furnishing slot issue for the time being (while being far from ideal of course, but still better than what we have now - like still having to place an INKWELL and a QUILL separately every time, when literally nobody would place an Inkwell without a Quill nearby!!! )
Many of these Clusters could combine existing assets, that would only need to be combined together in your model maker thing without needing new art
You can make them Crowns only if you want to be reimbursed for your dev time (like many other Clusters are already Crowns only)
Individual items would still remain used since they give more versatility and creativity, while the Cluster option would exist for a more restrictive but slot-efficient purpose.

List of ideas that would make popular Cluster furnishings:

Kitchen Counter Cluster: Chopping board with various vegetables (Sure it's great that you added a flat little lettuce leaf in this patch, but it's ridiculous that we can place a whole underbush of ferns in one slot, but still need to place potatoes individually >_>)

Tea Set Cluster: You added a teacup, great! But you do realize that almost without exception, a Teapot will be accompanied by at least 2 but possibly more cups, maybe a tray, maybe spoons, and often incense (to make it seem like the beverage is hot)? Why not cater to this obvious pairing by making an actual slot-saving tea-set?

Pottery Cluster: Whether it's a group of Redguard amphoras or a corner of Solitude pots, this would help bring life to storerooms, kitchen corners and flower arrangements alike.

Cargo Cluster: Again, a blessing for Storerooms, Merchants, and Smuggling operations, to place crates/baskets/sacks in one slot.

Writing Desk Cluster: Almost all library desks in almost all houses have the same furnishings on them - light, reading material, writing supplies. Why not make an item that fulfills this common need, with a candle, papers, a finished scroll or two, and some books and an Inkwell with a Quill in one slot for a change?

Bathing Goods Cluster: Where there is a Bath/Basin, there are also Towels, soap/oil vials, and possibly a pitcher or jug. Why not add a nice Bathroom counter cluster? Alternatively, maybe a vanity cluster with a Fan, perfume bottle, jewelry box and a light or a mirror?

Gaming Cluster: How often do players place a single Die somewhere? Surely, Dies are often paired up, or accompanied by piles of coins, a candle, maybe a cup, etc?

Banquet table cluster: Dining tables are notorious furnishing-slot-hogs, and having a central dining table cluster would help with that. It could include a tablecloth base, a large tray or platter with meat, surrounded by vegetables, and a few drink bottles. That would already save 10+ slots.

Fruitbowl cluster: Yes, fruitbowl. It is that simple. It still doesn't exist and it boggles the mind.

Also note that everything I listed in this thread already has an ingame model that could be coupled up with other already existing items, and I think all of the mentioned clusters are items that are used together frequently (or literally always *cough* inkwell *cough*

) so there would likely be a demand for such slot-efficient versions. I also think it's fair to give credit where credit is due, and you already made some moves that show that you're aware of the item slot issue and how clustering items helps with that - such as introducing Windowboxes (which are essentially going to replace all the troughs and individual flowers we had to use before), or many Blackwood dishes which include utensils and will help with the slot-nightmare of making a set dining table. So why not double down on the clusters, since they seem like a workable solution? @ZOS_CullenLee

So, what does everyone think? What are your most frequently paired up items that you would love to see as a cluster?

Edit: See the replies from other players for more great ideas! I won't update the main post, but please devs if you read this check out the kind of things players frequently do (and would therefore have a reasonable demand for)!

faeeichenlaub · April 2021

Cheese has to have a knife, maybe some wursts and bread. A stein or goblet, a bottle of cheer. I typically combine these as a vignette. And would certainly save slots with a such a "cluster"

NotaDaedraWorshipper · April 2021

I'd love some scattered papers/scrolls clutters. Placing several private letters and stacks of paper one by one uses a lot of slots and doesn't look that great when they all have the same look and size.

Some "trash" clutters would be nice too. Bottles and mugs, clothes, random items, broken crates and boxes etc.

bluebird · May 2021

faeeichenlaub wrote: »

Cheese has to have a knife, maybe some wursts and bread. A stein or goblet, a bottle of cheer. I typically combine these as a vignette. And would certainly save slots with a such a "cluster"

Ooh yeah, nice! I only put fruits and veggies on the list, but yeah there could be a charcuterie board too, with savoury sausages, cheese, carving knives, some grapes or something. Thanks for pointing this out!

NotaDaedraWorshipper wrote: »

I'd love some scattered papers/scrolls clutters. Placing several private letters and stacks of paper one by one uses a lot of slots and doesn't look that great when they all have the same look and size.

Some "trash" clutters would be nice too. Bottles and mugs, clothes, random items, broken crates and boxes etc.

Yeah, great idea! It's so hard to make things look ~naturally lived in~ when we have to clinically count item slots in our head and can only place the bare minimum.

colossalvoids · May 2021

Funny enough I've had my first even eso related dream in years. Was placing furniture and realised there was a pine mini forest and a medieval-like table full of dishes. Was surprised zos finally realised we need this, eh. Only a dream for now.

Alurria · May 2021

I love this idea.

TeruKisuke · May 2021

I love clustering and cluttering, we desperately need more stuff like this! Here is my personal list:

-Bottles. There could be a few variants such as wine bottles, liquor bottles, the pretty Redquard bottles, or just nondescript bottles of various shapes and sizes to place on a counter, desk, in a cupboard, etc etc. Bottles are a very multipurpose item that could be used for many things.

-Filled counters/cupboards. We have counters with shelves on the inside portion, but very rarely does anyone actually fill them. So they could be replaced with drawers or actual stored items like bottles, food containers, stacked food crates, stacked plates and cups, etc etc. Library stuff has options to pack their shelves, so why not for our kitchens?

-Cluttered Wall Shelves. We have filled bookcases, but we don’t have a single shelf that has clutter on them. I would presume this is why single shelves aren’t used as often because they take an extra few slots.

-Scroll Rack and/or a cluster of scrolls. Scrolls are a hard commodity to come by, and it would be hard to fill up an entire scroll rack with scrolls. Much like the wine racks, I would really like it if we could use stuff like these to further clutter our libraries.

-Tables With Table Cloth. I don’t just mean the kind with a single long runner down the center. I’m talking the round tables where the tablecloth covers the whole surface and nearly touches the floor, or the very long buffet table with similar length table cloth. These tables are rarely seen without food on them, so we could see these Tablecloth Tables without food on them and a variant with food piled on them. Maybe a tea set attached. (Speaking of which, it is hard to come by round tables with a single table leg in this game.)

-Tea Set: See above. I hope they make an accompanying tea set with a matching teapot and tray.

-Fruit Bowl: See above, but to also comment on it, it would simply be nice to have something to match the food paintings we have, kind of like how a painter would paint a bowl of fruit stereotype. It could be a cluttered fruit bowl with some of its content spilling out, like grapes draped over the side or an apple or two tumbled out onto the table. I hope it won’t be the size of a tiny bowl or as large as a gigantic brazier either (our common substitutes). Just something nice and medium sized, and please something that is noticeable and would make a nice centerpiece!

-Cornucopia. We don’t have a real one and the thought baffles me that someone had to go through the trouble of making one and it won the Nord official contest, but the housing team might not think to actually include a real one. It would make a fantastic centerpiece for a rustic dinner table.

-Alchemy Herb Pot. I want some potted plants that are somewhat on the small side, like the size you could put on a windowsill or a shelf. It would be very multipurpose and could be used in many ways. Alchemy lab shelf, a kitchen windowsill, a garden pot, a porch piece, etc etc. Something small and cute that I could put anywhere. Currently we have big potted plants and no small ones, so it takes an extra slot. (Optional: a cluster of said potted plants.)

These are my ideas for now. I’ll post more if I think of more things later.

TeruKisuke · May 2021

I came back after thinking of a few more things. I’m so used to having to pile on slots for them at this point lol.

-China Cabinet. I mean obviously it wouldn’t be called China because this is Tamriel, but you know what I mean lol. A fancy cupboard to display our fancy kitchenware. Redguard Filled Bookcases are my usual go-to for a replacement if I reaaally need something in its place (I like to pretend they’re filled with cookbooks) but I would really love the actual thing. Something wider than the Vampiric Cabinets with the see-through knotwork doors. Kind of like the Breton corner cabinets with the open panels, but with taller shelves and filled with all kinds of plates, cups, etc etc. There could be a filled and unfilled version. They’d be god tier if they had clean glass doors and even be able to open, though I understand if the former is too “modern.”

-Pile of Paper/Stacks of Paper/Bulletin Board of Notes. I’ve made quite a few bounty boards or quest boards so it’d be nice to have it as one item instead of 5-10 Letter Personal stuck to the wall. We have a small pile of blank paper, but they’re very flat and nowhere near as tall as a book. Would be a nice piece for an office or study. It’d also be cool if there was maybe a loose pile strewn about the floor for more messy builds, such as ruins or just for casual library clutter.

-Crafting Clutter. Kind of reminiscent to crafting tables, but without the tables attached so that we could place them on any surface. So for Alchemy it could be a Test Tube Rack + Mixing Pot + Chemical Pots + A Burner + Mortar and Pestle + A few herbs strewn about, all as one item. That’s just an example but it would be condensed enough to be able to fit on a single tabletop.

Blacksmithing could have a pile of “finished products.” Like weapon crates with one or two of them open to show off a sword or axe etc. (Yes I know, another armory request lol.) So a pile of crates with attached strewn about long open crates and a standing mannequin next to them with a set of armor on it.

Clothing could be something along the lines of having slatted shelves with spools, yarn, and sewing kits piled in them. Maybe a work-in-progress fabric draped across a surface with an accompanied sewing needle and spool.

Enchanting could have a small pile of actual runestones (bonus points if one of them glow) with chisel gear nearby to extract the runes. Maybe a few round glyphs strewn about on the surface. It takes soul stones to charge them, so there could also be a pile of them too.

Jewelrycrafting would have a rack of finished jewelry up for display, maybe hanging necklaces and rings. If we get stuff for a tabletop, then it could be an open jewelry box with some jewelry strewn about around it.

Provisioning would be similar to other ideas in this thread, but perhaps we could get clusters of cooking implements and materials. Like a kitchen knife block, or a rolling pin with the board and dough attached, or we could even get assortments of several different food like piled glazed desserts, several baskets together overflowing with food, or hanging vegetables. Maybe we could even get an oven crafting station. Piled pans and pots would be nice too.

Woodworking could go a few different ways. Maybe a rack lined up with a bunch of finished staves and bows. Since the woodworking station is the one that has the most furniture in the game attached to it, we could get a pile of some in-progress furniture, like a chairs and tables that has yet to attach some legs. Kind of like an IKEA kit lol.

-A “hill” of soil, grass, flowers... Hear me out. To currently make anything terrain-like, it takes several slots and a whole lot of cobbling. Alinor hedges, mossy rocks, maybe some attached flowers, etc etc. And hedges don’t actually look like grass, but it’s the closest thing we’ve got. To put my creativity to the fullest I currently have to dedicate a lot of my slots if I am to fill out, flesh out, or transform and shape a garden. If we had something like this then it’d make my life soooo much easier. If they had attached assortments or fields of flowers then that would cut down on slots immensely too. Not all of our current flowers look good when surface-glued to the rampy hilly terrain that most houses have.

-Garden Supplies/Gardening Shed. I’m sure that Tamriel has its fair share of gardeners, I mean we also have farmers and stable hands. So we could have a tool shed, or a small assortment of gardening tools. Like a small flower pot attached to a trough and shears, for instance. The shed could be open and have filled shelves of pots and hanging tools or assortments of supplies. A stablehand might have some tools for moving hay and managing horses, etc etc etc.

-Water Features. A constant request, but never unnecessary. We need more water features, especially something a bit bigger. Something like an enclosed pond or pool—NOT THE SIZE OF A TINY FOUNTAIN OR KIDDY POOL, but an actual pool that I could put fish in or attach one of those Everlasting Waterfalls to. Please, for the love of all that’s holy, SOME KIND OF WATER ENCLOSURE. There’s no substitute. I don’t care if it’s crown only. There could be natural variants surrounded by rocks and with fish in it and those pretty lily pad flowers on the surface that we for some reason don’t have, or brick-enclosed pools for house yards. Stop keeping water hostage!

-Long Roofs. We have those shed overhangs, but to make a proper roof for a house, we have to use a good number of them. It would be great if this could be cut down to one furnishing.

-Art Easel and Supplies. Can’t be said enough. You were soooo close with the Memento, but we still don’t have a version to leave in our houses. Give us an easel and canvas, and a cluster for paint buckets, brushes, and other art tools! (Maybe some statue chisel tools too?)

It was really fun to think of crafting stuff. Mastercraft builds and crafting houses are popular so it’d be great to get something along those lines. And of course, all of these things I’ve used a lot of slots on at this point. Could really mitigate the need for more slots.

TeruKisuke · May 2021

Come to think of it, kitchens really are just the most egregious parts of any common house when it comes to slots. A lot of kitchens have too many individual things, so it would be great to have more items that really cut down on the slots.

Filled cabinets, piled food, buffet tables, stacks food crates, pot and pan piles, hanging pots and pans, hanging veggies and food, vegetable gardens, fruit bowls, rows of standing bottles, condiment sets, table arrangements, table and chairs, buffets, kitchen supplies like knives and butcher knives, picnic baskets with food in them... Just throw a bunch of food stuff at us, I’m sure we’d love it lol.

SilverBride · May 2021

I really like this idea, even though I have no issue with the current item slots. But there are so many possibilities that would greatly enhance my decorating, that I'd love to see this implemented.

TeruKisuke · May 2021

I can’t believe I forgot about the orchards. It’s been commonly requested for things like apple trees and grapevines. We actually have an asset for all these orchard things right outside Alinor. I myself have tried to make some, but it pales in comparison to the actual assets, and it takes slots to fill a whole field. We have grapestomp tubs and other winery things, but not the actual crops themselves.

Blackwood introduced corn-on-the-cob but we still don’t have cornfield clusters. This iconic farm piece would bring life to farm builds.

A patch of tilled soil? I’ve seen people try to make rows of growing patches before, but it takes a lot to make. Could be its own fenced in vegetable garden asset.

More baskets of harvested fruit and vegetables, like grapes, bananas, or even weird things like coconuts and pineapples lol.

Something more autumn, I’d love an assortment of things like a group of pumpkins, squash, and other autumn things, something you’d see in an orchard.

A barn structure? Like something decently sized, but it doesn’t have to be incredibly massive. There are Alinor sheds that look like the greenhouses but are notably different. Something like that. I count it as clustering because then we wouldn’t have to use a bunch of slots to make it ourselves. I’ve also seen Elsweyr sheds or structures in the southern portion of the map. Food for thought.

FantasticFreddie · May 2021

Oh yes!

Stacks of dishes

Baskets with fruits or vegetables

Filled cabinets!

Wardrobes with actual clothes in them!

Not directly related, but the option to hide grass in our houses

Imperial1995 · May 2021

These ideas are wonderful, and as stated previously, a long asked feature. I’d love for thematic item sets. Like vampire torture equipment found in Blackreach, various religious iconography and items, as well as Mages/Fighters Guild items, along with other Guild/Roleplaying suggestions. I’m aware these are specific, perhaps too much, but one could argue the market is available for them.

Alurria · May 2021

Also, it would be great if we could remove objects that come with some of the bigger places such as rubble piles. Xanmire has so many rubble piles I have to cover up. I get that it's a ancient pyrimid but I want it to look like it's being rebuilt and lived in. So with that maybe we could gain slots by being able to remove rubble, grasses, rocks and any trees we don't like up to a point so we can reclaim some slots? Not sure if that would help or not with the more slot issues.

Inaya · May 2021

YES to all of the above and

A lake surrounded by brush and maybe cat tails, with water lilies and vegatation in it

Section of "river" or "brooks" that FLOW that you can fit together and include brush and water running over stones, slabs and a rock border

A raised garden with dirt you can place over the uneven ground and some garden stakes we can use to plant

Rows/clusters of veggies to put in above raised garden

Hay bales with pumpkins, squash and some multi colored corn stalks

The ability to RESIZE furnshings!!!

Alurria · May 2021

I want to expand on your resizable furnishings idea I love that! Bridges especially. Walkways etc.

SickleCider · May 2021

I love all these ideas!

I also want scattered papers. I want to imagine my toon as a very disorganized man with papers all over the floor, but right now that effect requires each piece of parchment be a unique item.

faeeichenlaub · May 2021

And everyones favorite missing cluster... armor and weapon racks of implements of battle.

xaraan · May 2021

Agreed.

Asked for this for a long time and they've done better, offering more filled book cases and more clusters of plants (though locking stuff behind crown store only is annoying). But I still see a lot of clusters in game that would be nice to use in housing: I was just looking at a work table the other day while doing the Reach questline where they had a bunch of spell books, some open, some not, scrolls, some open, some not all spread out across a table and how nice it would be to have a one piece item like that to use in a house.

They definitely could make use of clusters for all sorts of crafting clutter as well, not just kitchens and libraries. We need more workworking and metalworking and jewelry clutter anyway IMO to create more fleshed out crafting nooks (we already have a lot of alchemy, enchanting and clothing clutter). But having some in clusters would be helpful.

maximusrex45 · May 2021

I recently was working on a crafting area/market in one of my houses, and I had some issues getting items together that represented all of the different crafts well. It would be nice fi there were some clustered display of goods that were designed to work with the slot in the tilted Elsweyr display counters, and more crafted options for groups of items designed to fit on the various shelfs, cabinets, and bookcases in the game. And groupings of bottles, hopefully with some design variety, that can be placed into a wine rack.

Bethgael · May 2021

Also:

To add to the above Farming clusters, aka: OMG why don't we have fruit trees already? Being able to plop down 1 grape vine/apple tree (etc) instead of doing build-your-own. There are so many assets already in game that we can't use that would go a long way to solving this problem.

Also: 1-step animal buildings for our domestic pets: coop, stable pigpen, doghouse. Again: the option of having 1 piece instead of build-with-many-bits.

ClevaTreva · May 2021

You should, to a certain limit, be able to 'meld' several items together to count as one slot. A one time, irreversible deal.

This is 2021. Not impossible. Not 'difficult'.

swankery · May 2021

I like making my own "clusters". Just me I guess.

RedMuse · May 2021

swankery wrote: »

I like making my own "clusters". Just me I guess.

Me too, but it takes up a lot of items slots. Sometimes I would like to not spend 6-15 item slots on just one thing. And this wouldn't stop you from being able to make your own.

katanagirl1 · May 2021

RedMuse wrote: »

swankery wrote: »

I like making my own "clusters". Just me I guess.

Me too, but it takes up a lot of items slots. Sometimes I would like to not spend 6-15 item slots on just one thing. And this wouldn't stop you from being able to make your own.

In some cases I can see either way.

With predetermined clusters, you lose the ability to customize and personalize. They are always the same. That might be fine for some things.

It would depend on your preference and whether saving slots is worth it.

CherryJai · May 2021

YES! I love how they have introduced more wine racks that include bottles of wine already in them, and would love to see heaps more cluster items!

Sirvaleen · July 2021

Yes please. The stacks of plates and clothes from blackwood are nice but we need *way* more...

JJOtterBear · July 2021

We know that interior and exterior cells being separate instances is not impossible as that is already used in many locations in game now. they just don't want to do it for housing for some reason.

but i do agree that clustered furniture would be a great addition.

MornaBaine · July 2021

I would love a tea set for every single race/style that exists!

I'd love "bar sets" of various booze bottles and tankards and goblets, from the plain to the fancy. These would look great on top of wine racks!

everseeing_njpreub18_ESO · July 2021

I'll add my vote, its been requested of multiple types of furnishings. Since it doesn't remove older furnishings, it still leaves all the versatility while adding a few items to save space, "filled" bookcases of course having been added to great acclaim.