Do you also feel like ZOS main focus has shifted to another project ?

Gray_howling_parrot · April 2022

Cuddlypuff wrote: »

I feel like the card game is just a symptom of their ongoing server failures and shortages. The simple turn and rule based nature of the card game means that their server load can be kept to a minimum, compared to other parts of the game that need to handle real time message broking of millions of states per tick.

Could be! For sure. I just feel like there could've been many other "better" uses for their resources. Revitalizing parts of the game that new players and veteran players engage with could've been great. Pumping up companions could've been great too. I'd be more than okay with rather than them introducing half-effort features that nobody asked for, if they would just focus energy into improving what we already have and i'm not talking about server issues.

- Fix companions --> allow helmets on companions and muting of them. Take away companion gear and allow player gear to be placed on them. Give them 50-60 slots of inventory for anything. Could be nice for players without ESO plus to have another space for crafting materials.
- Create an instanced veteran mode option for quests with more XP and gold rewards as well as a zone token where it can be turned into a featured zone vendor for mounts, cosmetics, pets, etc.
- Add a "story mode" difficulty for dungeons and trials where players can take friends or companions and complete content without drops from those areas to allow them to slowly go through and experience story rather than complaining about a CP 2000 person steam rolling through it
- Create mythic weapons
- Add in-game earnable mounts --> rare drops from WBs, veteran dungeon final bosses, trial bosses, etc. Having the only real in-game earnable mounts outside of events be in veteran trifecta achievements is ridiculous if 99.5% of the player base won't be able to achieve it. Keep those mounts, but add more for accessibility. Also, create a mount and pet collection system.
- Update textures in old zones

Gray_howling_parrot · April 2022

ADarklore wrote: »

In all honesty, I wouldn't be surprised if this Chapter turns out to be dismal in sales, that you'd see some high profile management departing. With Microsoft now in charge, they might not be as lenient as Zenimax was. I think some of those in charge have been here too long and it may be time for some fresher ideas.

At the same time, this is also the first chapter release since Microsoft purchased ZOS isn't it? So it's a bad first showing with Microsoft in charge . . . idk. I also think that they won't be hurting financially any time soon solely from gambling addicts/crown crates and the housing community in this game lol. Those people easily make up for new and veteran players only paying for eso plus here and there

Gray_howling_parrot · April 2022

Sylvermynx wrote: »

However, they are still hiring for many positions for ESO as well, according to this tweet:

Lol. Hope this is for a new IP and not for ESO . . . even though it would explain how crappy this release is

ADarklore · April 2022

Jaustink wrote: »

Sylvermynx wrote: »

However, they are still hiring for many positions for ESO as well, according to this tweet:

Lol. Hope this is for a new IP and not for ESO . . . even though it would explain how crappy this release is

There's a lot of 'senior' positions open, which should be concerning. If ESO is truly short on all these positions, it would explain a LOT. Considering they specifically said "work on ESO", I would assume that it's is for ESO.

Cuddlypuff · April 2022

You can click on the link and peruse the job descriptions too. Although I think they could definitely do with some more product managers for the game itself given the poor handling of feedback and the lack of coherent product roadmaps lately.

SeaGtGruff · April 2022

Jaustink wrote: »

I think what people are annoyed by and surprised by is that ZOS isn’t necessarily not putting energy into this expansion, but they are putting energy into a complex system that nobody asked for.

People keep saying this, but it is simply not true. There absolutely were people asking for a card game. (I wasn't one of them, but that's irrelevant.) I think a lot of them actually wanted Legends to somehow be added into ESO-- which I personally think would have been utterly crazy-- but in the threads where some people were asking for Legends to be added into ESO and other people were arguing against it, there were people saying that some kind of card game might be nice.

xaraan · April 2022

I think they still want to make the most of this game while it keeps going. BUT I do think that most of the testing and work they are doing for stuff like improving performance in cyrodiil is more about getting their next game working better than this one. Especially considering some of the best fixes could be fundamental changes in how the game works and that would be easier to just introduce in a new system.

I also agree with cuddlypuff, stuff like the card game is more like what we can expect in the future. The people asking for more classes, weapon styles, races, skill lines, etc. are probably wasting their breath. That requires much more work to constantly balance than an independent from the rest of the game mini-game and will be less intensive on the servers.

SilverBride · April 2022

ADarklore wrote: »

There's a lot of 'senior' positions open, which should be concerning.

Senior could mean someone with a lot of experience, rather than an entry level applicant.

Gaeliannas · April 2022

ADarklore wrote: »

Jaustink wrote: »

Sylvermynx wrote: »

However, they are still hiring for many positions for ESO as well, according to this tweet:

Lol. Hope this is for a new IP and not for ESO . . . even though it would explain how crappy this release is

There's a lot of 'senior' positions open, which should be concerning. If ESO is truly short on all these positions, it would explain a LOT. Considering they specifically said "work on ESO", I would assume that it's is for ESO.

There is probably a few things happening...
1. They moved their best people to the new project.
2. Other companies may be paying better and allow remote work, so it really doesn't matter where you live anymore.
3. Some devs who take pride in their work, may be as sad with the state of the game as we are, and simply bailed.

Marto · April 2022

A lot of ZOS devs started with QA. It could be that they only post listings for senior positions because they get more than enough junior devs from their QA department already.

LesserCircle · April 2022

Yes, it does feel like it. None of the new chapters since elsweyr is good. If you're not winning, you're losing and greymoor, blackwood and high isle are not winning, that's for sure.

ADarklore · April 2022

Gaeliannas wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

Jaustink wrote: »

Sylvermynx wrote: »

However, they are still hiring for many positions for ESO as well, according to this tweet:

Lol. Hope this is for a new IP and not for ESO . . . even though it would explain how crappy this release is

There's a lot of 'senior' positions open, which should be concerning. If ESO is truly short on all these positions, it would explain a LOT. Considering they specifically said "work on ESO", I would assume that it's is for ESO.

There is probably a few things happening...
1. They moved their best people to the new project.
2. Other companies may be paying better and allow remote work, so it really doesn't matter where you live anymore.
3. Some devs who take pride in their work, may be as sad with the state of the game as we are, and simply bailed.

First, you have to HAVE people to move, and I believe ZOS was already hurting before the new IP was announced. Interesting we haven't heard a single word about it since it was mentioned, and that was BEFORE Microsoft took over.

Nomadic_Atmoran · April 2022

Cuddlypuff wrote: »

They're clearly still focused on the game and making content for the game. It is just that the corporate metrics are skewed towards new player acquisition rather than player retention. There seems to be a mentality in the MMO industry that players will always come back eventually. I'm not so sure.

Its the age old issue of veteran players often having everything they want or need and having no real major need to open their wallets vs new players that feel compelled to open their wallets to catch up to veterans/make their experience easier. One is routinely adding to the period and quarterly earnings and the other is intermittently adding to those earnings. Since new players are consistently flowing into the game there is always a fresh batch of players paying to catch up and so they become the focus since they are the more consistent demographic. This isnt to say that veterans arent spending money. But when you have played the game everyday or near everyday for years. Even if you took periods of time off. You are so far beyond a brand new player that its not even funny. The need to turn to the Crown Store/Crown Crates is much more intermittent than you might realize.

Shagreth · April 2022

New project? Damn.

Just started ESO again and having a blast and now I learn this, I feel somewhat gutted. Even the loremaster moved to said project. I know I'm being all "the sky is falling" but I can't help but feel like the game is slowly moving to maintenance mode. I hope I'm wrong, please someone say I'm wrong. This damn game is what keeps me sane lol. Hyperbole, but still.

Malthorne · April 2022

https://twitter.com/tuttle_power/status/1519325288987041795?s=21&t=gDa6pl4dLe2zewiIVqlI8Q

shadyjane62 · April 2022

Hopefully Starfield will be good.

ZOS_Kevin · April 2022

RupzSkooma wrote: »

It feels like manpower in ZOS has spread thin and they don't want to of course abandoned ESO which is generating quite a bit of revenue. But their primary focus is on an upcoming project.
When the main system feature of the expansion is a card-game, it makes me think of other dying MMORPG's DLC.
Which is weird as by the data available to public , ESO is nowhere close to dead or even dying. Also it could mean they have high hopes for whatever else they are working on or they don't see growth in the future of ESO.

Wanted to touch on this to clarify any misconceptions here. While there are always challenges with any development cycle, the studio is committed to ESO and will continue to be committed. That priority has not changed. We have done hiring for both ESO and another project, which is no secret. Postings have been posted on our social media and website, which some of you have shared already. And the studio has expanded overall. (As some of you will remember, I was hired within the last year specifically to help with ESO and I'm not alone).

Lastly, we want to make sure every keeps in mind that while speculation can be fun, please be carful about starting rumors about the studio. If you don't work here, you do not have full context for how operations work. Everyone here is passionate about the work we do and gives their all to make quality experiences for players to enjoy.

ADarklore · April 2022

Thank you @ZOS_Kevin for posting!! It always helps to calm nerves and speculation when we actually hear something directly from ZOS. As many players have noted, this year's Chapter seems very light compared to others in the past and some feel the card game was such a small inclusion that it showed resources are thin or being spent elsewhere (as in not on ESO). Also many players are stating that the main island of High Isle has so few assets that it seems barren and empty, also possibly noting further lack of attention.

While I haven't been on PTS personally, I have been keeping up with the PTS notes and personal viewpoints of those who are. With each of those posts, it can begin to generate a lot of angst and fears with players who cannot see for ourselves at this point.

With that being said, again, we all appreciate you jumping in and addressing some of these posts. I, personally, was concerned with the number of upper level jobs being posted- I know where I work, if you see a lot of upper level jobs vacant, it's not a good sign. Yet, I also know we are currently in an environment that's not easy to find and retain employees. Hence the reason for me posting this to thank you directly for your time and input to allay these concerns.

wenchmore420b14_ESO · April 2022

ADarklore wrote: »

Thank you @ZOS_Kevin for posting!! It always helps to calm nerves and speculation when we actually hear something directly from ZOS. As many players have noted, this year's Chapter seems very light compared to others in the past and some feel the card game was such a small inclusion that it showed resources are thin or being spent elsewhere (as in not on ESO). Also many players are stating that the main island of High Isle has so few assets that it seems barren and empty, also possibly noting further lack of attention.

While I haven't been on PTS personally, I have been keeping up with the PTS notes and personal viewpoints of those who are. With each of those posts, it can begin to generate a lot of angst and fears with players who cannot see for ourselves at this point.

With that being said, again, we all appreciate you jumping in and addressing some of these posts. I, personally, was concerned with the number of upper level jobs being posted- I know where I work, if you see a lot of upper level jobs vacant, it's not a good sign. Yet, I also know we are currently in an environment that's not easy to find and retain employees. Hence the reason for me posting this to thank you directly for your time and input to allay these concerns.

@ZOS_Kevin I also wish to thank you for posting and addressing this thread.
@ADarklore hit it on the nose about the concerns, not just about this, but several areas that have not been addressed.
I have been on PTS and as you see in feedback threads, there is much to discuss about it.
Perhaps the ESO Live on Friday, @ZOS_GinaBruno could take a few minutes to address our concerns here and maybe communicate other community issues, like AwA, etc. Please? Pretty please with moon sugar on top?

As far as a new Loremaster, "We Summon You Phrastus of Elinhir!".
Huzzah!

Gaeliannas · April 2022

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

RupzSkooma wrote: »

It feels like manpower in ZOS has spread thin and they don't want to of course abandoned ESO which is generating quite a bit of revenue. But their primary focus is on an upcoming project.
When the main system feature of the expansion is a card-game, it makes me think of other dying MMORPG's DLC.
Which is weird as by the data available to public , ESO is nowhere close to dead or even dying. Also it could mean they have high hopes for whatever else they are working on or they don't see growth in the future of ESO.

Wanted to touch on this to clarify any misconceptions here. While there are always challenges with any development cycle, the studio is committed to ESO and will continue to be committed. That priority has not changed. We have done hiring for both ESO and another project, which is no secret. Postings have been posted on our social media and website, which some of you have shared already. And the studio has expanded overall. (As some of you will remember, I was hired within the last year specifically to help with ESO and I'm not alone).

Lastly, we want to make sure every keeps in mind that while speculation can be fun, please be carful about starting rumors about the studio. If you don't work here, you do not have full context for how operations work. Everyone here is passionate about the work we do and gives their all to make quality experiences for players to enjoy.

I believe I can speak for everyone here when I say; We would be much happier not having to speculate, have misconceptions, or risk starting rumors. Facts would be much preferred.

Dracane · April 2022

There is always the dark cloud which is TES 6 looming on the horizone. Only Auri-El knows what becomes of ESO once that one is out and it is no longer required to keep the franchise alive.

At least I was always under the impression that ESO was perceived as a bridge to gap the Elder Scrolls void between Skyrim and the next one. I had hoped ESO would experience a certain renaissaince once Microsoft takes over and gets the studio moving again. This, however, appears to have been girlish fantasies. I still look forward though. One never knows.

Sylvermynx · April 2022

Eh, should I live long enough to see TES VI release AND I'm still able to play games at that point, I'll be playing ESO alongside Oblivion, Skyrim, AND TES VI.

Love 'em all....

Wolfpaw · April 2022

https://massivelyop.com/2022/04/27/rumor-leakers-claim-elder-scrolls-onlines-zos-is-working-on-a-star-wars-mandalorian-mmo/

?

Finedaible · April 2022

Malthorne wrote: »

https://twitter.com/tuttle_power/status/1519325288987041795?s=21&t=gDa6pl4dLe2zewiIVqlI8Q

Yeah the timing of this is weird.

StevieKingslayer · April 2022

I want to know who this new lore master is, and why the dev's from this game are being shifted to a new title before the jobs are being filled. Kinda concerning the amount of job postings there are at the moment.

Amottica · April 2022

VaranisArano wrote: »

If by "other project", you mean they are rearchitecting the ESO's code on the backend, yes.

I'm not expecting much until that's done, and even then, recent interviews from Matt Firor and Rich Lambert suggest they have to be very careful with what they add thanks to supporting older consoles.

Interviews for anyone who hasn't seen them:
Matt Firor: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jqU7KjfGNsw&feature=youtu.be
Rich Lambert: https://wccftech.com/the-elder-scrolls-online-high-isle-preview-qa-fsr-1-0-support-card-game-and-much-more/

Exactly. They have said they will be careful about adding new systems until they have the performance under control. It makes sense.

Also, they are still putting out content, more than I have seen games add in a long time. That is the bread and butter of an MMORPG's life.

Vhale · April 2022

I used to play Wow and Hearthstone in tandem quite a bit. Having the card game inside WoW would have been a dream come true. And for anyone looking at WoW's announcment and thinking woo! erm, Wow has a history have announcing a lot, the coming through with much less. And its broken. It takes 2 years to fix. Then they wipe it and start over. It looks better than the reality, which is pretty frustrating. You also dont get the entire story in game or on one faction, you have to read novels outside the game to get all of it so it can be hard to know whats going on. They took a huge dive in subscribers to FF so no doubt they'll try to turn it around but, well good luck to them.

Kesstryl · April 2022

Jaustink wrote: »

Tyrvarion wrote: »

I disagree. the card game while it is not something most players wanted does appear to be quite complex system in game. Possibly more resource-heavy than adding new class/skilline that already (they have plenty of alredy existing animations and effects that players cant use in comabt alredy in npcs/mobs and even emotes/mementos ) as well as they already did that twice with class and once with guild combative skillline. Defintielly more resource-heavy than antiquities. Direction is different from what some players want but tales of tribute is much more complex undertaking than people give it credit simply because they don't like it.

I think what people are annoyed by and surprised by is that ZOS isn’t necessarily not putting energy into this expansion, but they are putting energy into a complex system that nobody asked for. It’s not to say that the card game won’t be fun - it could be great, but for it to be the main feature of an expansion is ridiculous when it could be a side feature added in one of the other 3 DLC packs throughout the year. The last few years have been almost “RP-like” additions and most people thought after a stale release last year that they’d go all out this year. Seems to not be that way and they aren’t even really improving Companions either. So just another annoyingly stale year for ESO and the veteran player base

The RP part is also stale and dialogue choices are terrible. It would be nice to have more dialogue flavor (good alts vs chaotic alts) and while they don't necessarily need to actually effect the quest outcomes, it would be good simply to have the illusion of RP. For instance, Greymoor could have had Fennorian acknowledge if a character is a vampire, that was a big oversight. There could have been dialogue and options for alts who are DB members when interacting with Elas Dram in Blackwood. Little things like this make a difference and make how players play their alts feel like meaningful choices. While I generally enjoy the quests, especially if the NPCs are engaging, I often have to imagine my alts saying things differently than what the options are, or saying them sarcastically when the options make my alts seem brain dead. I would say these "RP-like" additions are more like casual gaming additions. Yes I can use them for RP, but true RP itself is as wanting as the other systems.

Darkstorne · April 2022

Finedaible wrote: »

Malthorne wrote: »

https://twitter.com/tuttle_power/status/1519325288987041795?s=21&t=gDa6pl4dLe2zewiIVqlI8Q

Yeah the timing of this is weird.

Is it? High Isle is pretty much done, and their new project will likely be transitioning beyond pre-production soon where writers and level designers will really benefit from having a loremaster to run ideas by. It seems like the best time to make a transition to a new ESO loremaster, and I'm sure this will have been a planned transition for the team and not a sudden change.

EDIT: Let's not forget Leamon wasn't ESO's first loremaster, and his transition into the role went really smoothly. I'm sure Friday's stream will put a lot of people at ease.

Succuby · April 2022

RupzSkooma wrote: »

For me ESO got so stale that I stopped playing. I stopped at summerset and returned again for Blackwood but played for 2 weeks and quitted.
The game was once an ideal MMO for me and it has now gotten to the point of Pokemon Main-Series level of stale. As an MMORPG it should be evolving as the time goes on and be fresh.
But it is weird when an MMO I never cared about much like WoW's expansion is looking a lot more ambitious and objectively content rich than ESO's.

It feels like manpower in ZOS has spread thin and they don't want to of course abandoned ESO which is generating quite a bit of revenue. But their primary focus is on an upcoming project.
When the main system feature of the expansion is a card-game, it makes me think of other dying MMORPG's DLC.
Which is weird as by the data available to public , ESO is nowhere close to dead or even dying. Also it could mean they have high hopes for whatever else they are working on or they don't see growth in the future of ESO.

I am more into world lore and stories as well but it feels like they are adding those to an outdated game when the fundamental systems of the game is not improving at all and no new core systems are coming.

Not that I mind it that much as EK:II (My most anticipated upcoming TES RPG) is coming relatively soon. At the middle lifespan of EK:II TES VI will come. So overall I think it is a good time to be a TES fan. I am still grateful that ESO came when it did and very much ended content drought for TES fans at that time

It really was perfect.

After summerset all power was shift on really doing nothing for game.

Lets see:

CP1.0 broken to CP2.0
Tests in Cyrodill.
Dots power up 2 times/dots power down 3 times ... .
And etc.

Combat changes was really bad.

Companions, some visual parts, new shop items, new models, companions - all was cool.

But GAME BALANCE and COMBAT SYSTEM - was hardly damaged this 2 years !!! Even 2016- years sets Undaunted Infiltrator and the same was remade and destroyed !!!

All was good with it for 6 years, but in 2021 even this was broken !!!

Such a lot of really good thingth was possible to make !!! But this was !!!!