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Future of ESO's Graphics (DX11/OpenGL/Vulkan?)

doabhi
doabhi
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I guess this is more a question for the Devs; (@ZOS_Bill ?)

As it stands, ESO currently to my knowledge still uses DirectX 11 for the windows build, though i have read in the past (years ago) the option to choose that or OpenGL existed? I haven't been playing that long.

Either way, currently we're stuck with FSR1.0 which i guess 'works' but it is showing its age and makes the game look like an old 'High color 16bit' game from the 90s or early 00's due to a degeneration in fidelity and color definition when compared to more recent iterations.

Could we see the game move away from DirectX 11 and perhaps in time replaced by something more up to date? Vulkan preferably due to the platform-agnostic nature of it and the existing conversion path from DirectX that make it a solid choice, and maybe a return of the option to switch to other APIs in the client? though not as important.

I appreciate that this is a big ask but long term sticking to DX11 is going to hold the game and its development back i feel.
Edited by ZOS_Icy on December 14, 2024 5:25PM
  • Living_Tribunal
    Living_Tribunal
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    Though new graphics would be nice, they have said because of the older gen consoles you won't be seeing an update. Now eso2 though....
  • Danikat
    Danikat
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    Does it matter if it's showing it's age? New graphics can sometimes be nice if they're done well, but I don't think there's any problem with a game not looking like it came out this year.

    Admittedly I frequently skip between games from different decades (and formats) and I've recently been playing 2 from the early 90's so my perspective on it might be a bit different to some people (and no, ESO doesn't look like either of those, or any other game from that decade). I suppose if you almost exclusively play recent games it might be a bit jarring.

    But even so ESO is 'only' 8 years old and I think it looks fine.
    Edited by Danikat on September 28, 2022 2:34PM
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  • tohopka_eso
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    Danikat wrote: »
    Does it matter if it's showing it's age? New graphics can sometimes be nice if they're done well, but I don't think there's any problem with a game not looking like it came out this year.

    Admittedly I frequently skip between games from different decades (and formats) and I've recently been playing 2 from the early 90's so my perspective on it might be a bit different to some people (and no, ESO doesn't look like either of those, or any other game from that decade). I suppose if you almost exclusively play recent games it might be a bit jarring.

    But even so ESO is 'only' 8 years old and I think it looks fine.

    Same here, I think the graphics still look great and I hop around different MMO games. From EQ to Lotro, sw:tor to Rift and I still find ESO the best visually.
  • doabhi
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    My point was more about performance and improving enchantment options rather than overhauling the entire game. Hence the mention of FSR2 and Vulkan. Visually it would look the same, but could see a boost in performance under a newer API (Like vulkan for instance) and having the support of FSR2 and higher would mean that feature doesn't make it look objectively worse than it is without it.

    We're stuck with FSR1 because it's using DX11, that is what is showing it's age, i wasn't commenting on the content within. It's also only been added in the last year or so, which is even worse lol.
  • doabhi
    doabhi
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    Actually want to bump this a bit, It's my Understanding that Stadia required the use of Vulkan Tool chains, so it's safe to assume there is at least a build of ESO that's running with Vulkan? even if it's now rotting in the google graveyard. this work wouldn't be entirely wasted, if it were used to help enhance the Steam Deck Playability that was teased not long ago on a ZOS Stream.

    Though I think honestly the overall build for PC would benefit from Vulkan as an API option regardless, as it used to offer such a choice between DX11 and OpenGL many a passing jode ago.
  • ZOS_Icy
    ZOS_Icy
    mod
    Greetings,

    We have closed this topic as it was originally created in September 2022. In many cases, it's better to create a new thread on a topic that you want to discuss as opposed to bumping one that is rather old.

    Thank you for your understanding.
    Staff Post
This discussion has been closed.