allochthons:

Both you and H3rBie have brought up a great idea. I don’t think a list is out of the question, but it could start heading in the same direction I mentioned earlier — like when console addon reviews say “use this version, not that one.”

I’m going to mention in Baertram’s ESOUI thread that authors could simply include a link to the corresponding console version and let players decide what works best for them. The community already does something similar — for example, CraftStore offers an all-in-one crafting suite, while TraitBuddy focuses purely on research tracking. Both serve different needs, and players naturally choose what fits their playstyle.

That same principle can apply here too — give people clear options, and let them decide what best supports how they enjoy the game.

Sharlikran wrote: »

Gabriel_H:

Thank you for sharing your perspective — and for standing by it with such equanimity. I genuinely respect that.

Even if we don’t fully see eye to eye, I’ll stand by my view that telling long-time addon authors they “don’t own the license” minimizes years of work and dedication. It’s hard to imagine anyone who’s invested that kind of time feeling otherwise.

Just to be clear, I am one of those people who has spent years writing addons. I rarely make them publically available, and typically keep them to myself, or to friends if they are in a pinch with something. Mainly because they are written for me personally because what is out there isn't to my liking or I struggle with them due to my vision problems.

My tanking addon for example:

That's quite a small one. I have my own re-spec addon that's about 10x the size and includes a customs stats page that shows the change in stats that would occur by swapping a piece out - including changes in set bonuses (It re-calculates from scratch the affected stats and doesn't rely on the change stat function. Took me an age to get the calculation speed down to under 50ms on a mouseover wihout causing a noticeable fps drop/lag spike and involved nesting tables with functions and other shenanigans), as well as some interface addons and numerous "patch" addons for others work (Simply adding a few lines of code here and there to give it the functionality I need). I also have numerous databases that I am constantly collecting data to incorporate into my work.

Through all of that, I was constantly aware the addons I was writing were not mine, because of the disclaimers in the ToU.

Gabriel_H:

That’s fantastic — it’s great to hear how you’ve adapted your addons to work around your vision challenges. That kind of dedication and creative problem-solving really shows how personal addon development can be.

Baertram has shared stories about another player who is blind or nearly blind and plays using ESO’s accessibility options to have Compass Pin icons read aloud. If you ever decide to share more of what you’ve built, your work could really complement the game and help improve accessibility in ways that ZOS —and authors like myself, who don’t face those challenges —might not have considered.

Thank you for sharing that background; it’s inspiring to hear how you’ve made the game more playable for yourself.

This seems like a really complex issue so it's hard to have a fully informed opinion. Forgive me if I'm not expressing myself well or missing the point.

I get that porting addons is complicated and time consuming. At the end of the day, consoles aren't a priority for most PC users so they aren't going to rush at the expense of their own gameplay. That's fine, nobody thinks anyone should be made to get a port out ASAP but at the same time there's people for whom consoles are a priority.

I don't think for a minute that anyone should steal code or straight-up copy another addon, but from the sound of it that's not exactly what we're talking about. Maybe what's coming out builds of what's already been done or maybe it's just an obvious idea that nobody else was doing. But doesn't everything build on what's come before? Nothing happens in isolation.

You say we need to be patient and wait for original versions but isn't 10 years patient enough? 10 year of being told on here that we won't get x and y features because there's addons that do that. 10 years of our problems being dismissed because it's not an issue on PC.

At the end of the day the existing developers have a huge amount more experience. Their addons are successful for a reason. Once they get around to porting them to console I have no doubt that that quality will shine through and they'll quickly become the go-to ones for those functions. In the meantime, can we just be happy that consoles have something that does the job and makes our lives easier?

Sorry if this doesn't make much sense but I hope you get my drift!

I had been getting into the Skyrim Modding scene (as a user) so I have sympathy for Mod Authors and the work they do. Consumers can fall into ungrateful impatience very easily. They don't care where or how a Mod/Addon gets added, so long as they get it. I myself as soon as Console Addons went live, found and installed Cinematic Dialogue and the Minimap. Two very appreciated works.

What I'm not really understanding about the OP though is the frustration over "copycat" Addons. If porting your Addons to Console takes a lot of time and effort, then how are other people writing the same Addons that do the same thing as yours and uploading them faster? Unless they're rush jobs that are half broken out of the box?

lillybit wrote: »

You say we need to be patient and wait for original versions but isn't 10 years patient enough? 10 year of being told on here that we won't get x and y features because there's addons that do that. 10 years of our problems being dismissed because it's not an issue on PC.

We and Addon Authors both had to wait 10 years for Addon support for Console from ZOS themselves. Once ZOS finally came around to that, THEN the Addon Authors could get to work making their ports (if they so chose to). They had to wait for the Framework ZOS needed to put into place. So it's not appropriate placing the impatience of waiting 10 years on the Addon Authors.

katanagirl1 wrote: »

As a console user, I look at the addons that show up when I log into the game. If there are addons that are copied from legitimate addon authors there for me to use, I cannot tell. It is on ESO to vet those in the list and remove the offending addons. I recognize some PC names but I am not familiar with many here. I want to support the work of the original authors but we don’t not have the tools to do so on console.

It would have been a great opportunity for ESO to take ownership of the addons and integrate them into the base game to avoid problems like this. Think of how much easier the bug reporting would be without external code that gets broken every update and how many bug reports get generated because of them, and the man-hours associated with responding to those reports. It would have required work up front but would have paid off down the road.

P.S. - please don’t be offended by the man-hours word it is in the dictionary and used to be a common term regardless of some people’s feelings about it, let’s not go there please

If ZOS taken the ownership of the addons and importing them into the client then why would they allow modding in the first place? Sure, I dont mind having the QoL been baked in but then we would be in a place when anything cool couldnt be created and added ever again.

Please note though, I dont think the intention of this thread is to bash console players. The authors are happy that people use their creations. They just want to be regocnized of their hard work.

Think of the situation when you crate some great content into youtube and some *** downloads and reuploads your stuff and claims ownership and views.

At the heart of this conversation, the issue isn’t about players using what’s available or even about new authors creating their own addons. When long-standing projects that took years to build are simply mirrored or re-created — often while the original authors are still working on official ports — it can feel disheartening for those developers who’ve already laid the groundwork. It blurs the line between inspiration and imitation.

Even when the code itself is newly written, that doesn’t erase the years of effort and collaboration that went into the original projects. Releasing new versions so quickly after console support began can unintentionally dismiss the foundation those authors built — the testing, data gathering, and refinement that made those addons possible in the first place.

All the people using those recreated addons feel they work well — and they do, because they’re built on ideas and frameworks that have been shaped over years of community development.

ZOS’s messaging around console addon support also gave the impression that addons could easily function across both environments, but the reality is far more complex. When something doesn’t work on console, PC authors are left without the tools, visibility, or resources to confirm and address those issues so the ports function as intended.

As an example, I’m currently dealing with unresolved issues in the mod I ported, PointsofColor. What’s happening doesn’t make sense — the map icons are changed using RedirectTexture(), which is ZOS functionality. For whatever reason, the icons display intermittently on both Xbox and PS5.

It leaves me feeling stuck.

I know the ZOS team and the developers behind the scenes are doing what they can. A ZOS developer has offered to pass along the Wayshrine file so the proper team can see if there’s anything wrong with the icon itself, which I appreciate. But if the icon turns out to be fine, I’m left in a difficult spot because I can’t explain why the textures appear intermittently.

I just wish there were clearer escalation paths for addon-related issues. Right now, a lot of reports are being routed through a developer that normally only deals with the addon API, even when the problem might belong to another team. That puts him in a tough position, and it limits how quickly we can get answers or guidance.

At the moment, it feels like the support channels exist in a very narrow way — only certain types of issues make it to the right developers, while others don’t.

PC authors need more direct communication between the relevant ZOS teams and clearer channels for different kinds of issues. Without the proper channels — it limits the support we can provide to players who are trying to use these addons on console.