New Patcher Rollout

ZOS_Kevin · August 2023

Hello everyone! After plenty of testing during the last PTS period, we are pleased to announce the rollout of our new patcher on the live servers for PC/Mac. The rollout of the new patcher will happen in four phases, with new countries being added during each phase. As we give countries access to the new patcher, we will make note of it in the list below by noting next to the country name (has the new patcher.) We will also note what phase we are currently in by specifying whether it has not started, in progress, or complete, next to the phase number. The countries getting the patcher are listed in order below.

Thanks for your patience as we roll this out to all countries listed below. A special thanks to everyone who helped test out the launcher during the last PTS and provided feedback.

Edit for 3/4/2024: All phases have now been complete.

Phase 1 (Complete)

Netherlands (Has the new patcher)
Sweden (Has the new patcher)
Czech Republic/ Finland (Has the new patcher)
Norway/ Denmark (Has the new patcher)
Hungary/ Switzerland/ Romania (Has the new patcher)

Phase 2 (Complete)

Poland (Has the new patcher)
Spain/ Turkey (Has the new patcher)
Italy/ Austria/ Belgium/ Portugal/ Greece/ Ireland (Has the new patcher)

Phase 3 (Complete)

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland/ France (Has the new patcher)
Germany (Has the new patcher)
United States of America (Has the new patcher)

Phase 4 (Complete)
This phase will encompass all other countries where ESO is available, that are not listed above. (All countries where ESO is available now have access to the launcher.)

Known Issues

Some Czech Republic players may not have their country recognized, thus making them unable to upgrade the patch at this time. We are aware of the issue and working toward a solution.
Audio issues with sound volume and sound effects. We have a bug in for this and are working on a fix for the future.

Sarannah · August 2023

Quick question: How are the countries for the new launcher selected, and why in that order? Is this based on player numbers in that country? Hours played in that country? Available hardware in that country? That country's physical distance to the ESO server? That country's kindness? How?

Will this new launcher also have to stay open while running ESO?

vsrs_au · August 2023

@ZOS_Kevin , why do you specifically mention a patcher? Is the new patcher an integrated part of the new ESO launcher mentioned months ago, or will the new patcher be a separate delivery to the new launcher?

Baertram · August 2023

Launcher = Patcher
It always was the same with the old launcher, it also patched the game files ;-)

>Will this new launcher also have to stay open while running ESO?
The old launcher did not need to be opened while playing the game? You could have even started the game directly by eso64.exe without using the launcher, it was only needed to update the game files (patcher), and beside that it handled some settings like the language of the videos, live or PTS launch, downloads.

vsrs_au · August 2023

Baertram wrote: »

Launcher = Patcher
It always was the same with the old launcher, it also patched the game files ;-)

>Will this new launcher also have to stay open while running ESO?
The old launcher did not need to be opened while playing the game? You could have even started the game directly by eso64.exe without using the launcher, it was only needed to update the game files (patcher), and beside that it handled some settings like the language of the videos, live or PTS launch, downloads.

So, basically launcher ⊃ patcher

(sorry, it's my mathematics training kicking in)

wilykcat · August 2023

Will new laucher have the option to be closed out when game is running?

jommerryrth · August 2023

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland/ France

france was conquered by the irish? see what i miss by not watching the news?

or maybe it's the other way around?

snowsong · September 2023

Thank you for the news and instructions that include how to try out the new launcher when it's ready for our various countries to try the BETA version! Accessibility seems like a nice option to add too. The changes sound interesting.

Techwolf_Lupindo · September 2023

This is so silly. Steam has a great system for patching and yet spend $$$$$ on re-inventing the wheel and still not meeting the performance of the Steam system.

msetten · September 2023

I live in The Netherlands and upgraded to the new launcher/patcher. But I am having a problem with it. When selecting the live version of the game, the play button says "Loading" and is greyed out. After about a minute, I get an error message: "Network Error [4.6]". The Launcher has detected a network error. [1:1:404:0].

I can then start the game, so it isn't the most serious bug. But it is still annoying having to wait a minute.

Sheridan · September 2023

Can you finally make an option for an auto-closing on game launch, please?

Maitsukas · September 2023

wilykcat wrote: »

Will new laucher have the option to be closed out when game is running?

The game can already run without the need of the launcher, I only use it to update the game.

Just go to your ESO Installation\game\eso64.exe.

Baertram · September 2023

With the current launcher I click on the play button and then close the launcher via the X manually, works fine.

From my understanding that "close launcher" was only relevant because sometimes the game made the launcher get stuck and you could only close it via the task manager then.
I've created myself a bat file to close the launcher.

But maybe the new launcher won't get stuck like old one any longer, and there is no need to close it anymore.
Beside that, yes, we can always run eso64.exe directly without the launcher. But using the launcher to check for updates and then directly click on play is much more comfortable.

Baertram · September 2023

Techwolf_Lupindo wrote: »

This is so silly. Steam has a great system for patching and yet spend $$$$$ on re-inventing the wheel and still not meeting the performance of the Steam system.

Okay and what about all the non steam ESO installations and people disliking Steam?
Should they be forced to create a steama ccount and install that client just for the 1 game then?

I personally dislike software like steam and prefer standalone launchers for games.
As long as updating works fine, and it does for ESO, you only got benefits imo:
-No downtimes if the steam servers are down
-No distraction by an integrated shoppig platform
-Better variation of "install to" folders and thus used drive's space
-No cryptical folder system
-Updates only run for the 1 thing I want to play, and not for a list of many games where I need to change the update order manually in oder to play the 1 game I just wanted to start
-No included spyware/gaming behavior tracking
-For me steam downloads often are slooooow. They all of sudden drop from 40 MB/s to kb speed and will not increase anymore until I close steam, clear caches etc. Never had that happen with any other software so far.

wilykcat · September 2023

I agree with your comment 👍.

I prefer downloading games from their original source (the official website) instead of 3rd party platforms. By doing so, the games install better and have much better performance. Also it's less risky.

Things I never use: Steam, add-ons, social media (including discord), and twitch tv.

Tandor · September 2023

Thy_Game_Is_Over wrote: »

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland/ France

france was conquered by the irish? see what i miss by not watching the news?

or maybe it's the other way around?

It's the latest way of getting round the Windsor Framework...

Elsonso · September 2023

Thy_Game_Is_Over wrote: »

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland/ France

Yes. Interesting word salad there.

Xandreia_ · September 2023

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

[*] United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

As a Brit this is hilarious! absolutely no one ever gives the full name of the UK, its just UK and Northern Ireland this is honestly the first time I've seen it written, ever

Tandor · September 2023

Xandreia_ wrote: »

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

[*] United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

As a Brit this is hilarious! absolutely no one ever gives the full name of the UK, its just UK and Northern Ireland this is honestly the first time I've seen it written, ever

I imagine this is where they got it from:--

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom

As far as I've always been concerned, as an Englishman, Great Britain consists of England, Wales, and Scotland, with the addition of Northern Ireland making it into the United Kingdom. So yes, strictly speaking it is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but commonly known as the UK.

Xandreia_ · September 2023

Tandor wrote: »

Xandreia_ wrote: »

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

[*] United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

As a Brit this is hilarious! absolutely no one ever gives the full name of the UK, its just UK and Northern Ireland this is honestly the first time I've seen it written, ever

I imagine this is where they got it from:--

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom

As far as I've always been concerned, as an Englishman, Great Britain consists of England, Wales, and Scotland, with the addition of Northern Ireland making it into the United Kingdom. So yes, strictly speaking it is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but commonly known as the UK.

Even letters from government offices just say UK and Northern Ireland 😂 when I saw this I sprinted into my kitchen to check a tax credit letter to make sure I wasn't tripping 😂

Tommy_The_Gun · September 2023

Is this "new launcher" thing the reason why right now it works like um.... a snail ? Something must be off server side.

I mean it takes 2 - 3 minutes for the launcher to show clickable "Play" button, even thought there is no update. It is actually faster to launch the game manually via eso64.exe...

Elvenheart · September 2023

A big thank you to all the players in all the countries that will help test the new patcher so all the bugs can be fixed before it makes it to my country! 😃

vsrs_au · September 2023

Elvenheart wrote: »

A big thank you to all the players in all the countries that will help test the new patcher so all the bugs can be fixed before it makes it to my country! 😃

Yes, us "Phase 4" players will definitely benefit from that.

jbrianj · September 2023

The new patcher does not work for me. I get a connection timeout.

I live in The Netherlands.

jbrianj · September 2023

@ZOS_Kevin

Do you have any idea why I get a connection timeout? it gets stuck on Loading... and then about 30 seconds later gives a connection timeout.

The PTS immediately works.

AcadianPaladin · September 2023

I want the launcher to automatically close after it does its job and launches the game. Seems simple enough.

I start the game via the exe file, but I'd rather use the launcher but I play in full screen and closing the launcher is cumbersome.

jbrianj · September 2023

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

I want the launcher to automatically close after it does its job and launches the game. Seems simple enough.

I start the game via the exe file, but I'd rather use the launcher but I play in full screen and closing the launcher is cumbersome.

You could probably make a simple .bat script that kills the process of the launcher once the ESO.exe is running, but I agree, it should just be an option in the launcher.

ZOS_Kevin · September 2023

Hi all. We have updated the tracker to reflect that Sweden now has access to the new patcher.

ZOS_Kevin · September 2023

Also, if you are running into issues, please make sure to place a ticket for the issue and we will work with our teams to help resolve anything you are experiencing.

jbrianj · September 2023

@ZOS_Kevin

Hey Kevin,

Where are we supposed to report issues? There's no category on the support page under "Feedback / Bug" for the new Launcher/Patcher.

The issue I have is that Disk Usage shows negative values (probably due to some integer overflow) during Repair.

I was just testing the (much faster) Repair function, and noticed this behavior.

woe · September 2023

Canada feels bad man