Addressing Visual/Auditory Clutter

ines2015 · March 21

For some time, the overall "noise" in the game—both visual and auditory—has been increasing. While some players may enjoy it, for others, it has become a major barrier. I understand the intent behind refreshing class skills, but the new effects for the Dragonknight turned out to be very destabilizing to the gameplay experience. In group content like Dungeons, Trials, and especially Battlegrounds, the prominence of certain sound effects (especially the whip, which I can't stand to hear anymore) and the scale of the visual animations often block essential combat cues and cause genuine discomfort.

Currently, this is impacting my ability to enjoy the game. I find myself forced to leave groups or avoid certain activities (like PvP) simply because the sensory overload makes it impossible to focus or enjoy the game.

Suggestion: I would like to suggest the implementation of an accessibility/UI option to toggle or reduce visual and sound effects, such as the ability to simplify or turn off the skill animations of other players by class, while also allowing us to mute or lower the volume of their skill sound effects without losing environmental audio cues.

This change would be a "win-win" for everyone:
- Players who enjoy the new, high-impact effects can keep them on.
- Players who prefer a cleaner, more classic, or less sensory-intensive experience can adjust their settings accordingly.
- It would improve group cohesion, as players wouldn't feel the need to avoid certain team compositions due to visual/auditory clutter.

ESO has always been about "playing your way." Adding these customization options would ensure that the game remains accessible and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of their sensory preferences.

tomofhyrule · March 21

Do we really need so many threads on the same thing?

THERE IS AN OPTION TO REDUCE EFFECTS COMING

ZOS_Jose wrote: »

LunaFlora wrote: »

New VFX Brightness & Intensity [Feedback]: We have seen feedback related to the overall brightness, size, and intensity of the updated skills VFX. We are working on some sliders so you can better customize your experience and adjust the brightness and intensity of how your abilities and/or other players’ abilities appear on your screen. This will not make it into Update 49, but we did want to let you know we’re working on it and will share more info when we have it.

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom
This sounds good, but i see you specify new vfx and updated skills, is this only for the skills part of Visual Refresh or also items i mentioned in my thread?
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/681702/accessibility-request-a-list-of-strobing-flashing-effects-occurrences/p1

edited to tag Jessica

Heya Luna, nice to meet you! This is Jose Camacho, Gameplay Engineer, first post actually!

I am responding as I'm currently investigating the in-game slider setting implementation. As it is now, the in-game slider setting reduces the transparency of any VFX sourced from either yourself, remote players, NPCs, with settings for each sourcing category individually. That means you can reduce the visibility of everyone, just other players, just NPCs, or any combination!

As for which VFX this applies to, the slider applies to all VFX we can catch belonging in the sourcing category. For example, if the slider for your own VFX intensity is lower, then all VFX caused by you from your own abilities, mounts, etc will be lowered. We hope to include item sets in that category but more testing is needed as we investigate. The hope is to include the options for environment as well but more investigation work needs to be done.

Really excited to bring this to you as we've seen this request over the years like with your recent post and want to make ESO a more accessible game for all!

ZOS_Jose wrote: »

Radiate77 wrote: »

SirIronclad wrote: »

evLRise wrote: »

They actually look way more in line with actual sword moves from manuscripts. Definitely not close to realistic, but way closer by comparison.

I get that in reality two-handed swords are way lighter than you'd assume from how they're displayed in the majority of fiction. But I'd still like my 2H animations in ESO to have more oomph than the current PTS versions have.

Since they want to modernize the game, I think it's time they think about diversifying the different weapon types in each skill line more. At the very least, get them closer to destruction staves. That should be the case for animations as well. The new animations look way too much like sword fighting, considering they will be used for maces and axes as well.

At the same time, the devs ought to take new art in a direction that still suits the Elder Scrolls IP. And there's been so much feedback pointing out the new 2H style being at odds with that. I think the issue is that it just doesn't look grounded enough.

We are getting an animation toggle from @ZOS_Jose and his team that will tone down effects, with a setting including multiple options.

For those who don’t like the 2H animations, or DK ones, toning down the flashiness of the skills will leave the abilities looking more grounded and realistic. Very excited to see how it plays out.

Hey yall, just to clarify, we are working on toning down the intensity and transparency of Visual Effects, not animations. The difference being Visual Effects are usually like the Flames or Electricity that are part of player abilities. Animation is the set choreography players will do when they activate an ability like a swipe or punch (as examples). To clarify this investigation won't be touching animations but will looking into reducing the intensity of Visual Effects in order to help players with sensitivities to bright lights, amongst other reasons. We are looking at all possible sources of those visual effects (item sets, abilities, etc) but ultimately we will have to wait and see for what the investigation brings out so we can deliver things in the hopefully best manner. Thanks for the interest everyone and we will keep yall updated!

ZOS_Erin wrote: »

As a follow up, the team has been looking into the best way to present the option for players to adjust FX intensity. We have settled on the idea that preset FX intensity options are the easiest to use from an accessibility standpoint and are also easier for the team to triage whenever issues arise in the future for individuals who choose to use these settings. Therefore, this feature will not be a slider. We are still in development on this feature and thus what FX will specifically be affected by these presets is still being discussed, so we will provide more details later on.

Malyore · March 21

It's funny how many people who use the forums don't use the forums

ines2015 · March 21

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Do we really need so many threads on the same thing?

I didn't know that. But I've also been distancing myself more from the game since Update 49 and it's really rare for me to come to the forum. I've only come more now because of the disappointment I've been experiencing. Anyway, from what I've read, I'm not sure if it's the same thing. I want to be able to completely disable the effects of other players by class, including sound, that's what I'm suggesting. Maybe I didn't explain it well (I used Google Translate for help). But I'm curious to know more... What are they doing about disabling the sound of other players? It would be extraordinary to be able to mute specific skills: I could already permanently turn off the new unbearable whip sound and return to play in group and PVP.

AcadianPaladin · March 21

@ines2015 I believe you are right in that the ability to selectively adjust volumes lacks flexibility and I've heard of no changes in the works for sound. Hopefully, the incoming changes you may be able to make to visuals may help.

I find the excess 'noise' (both audio and visual) drives me more and more to playing solo and to areas featuring less players.

I also admire your gracious reply to comments that were, well, perhaps less than gracious.

Emeratis · March 21

I have asked multiple times and have yet to get a response about adjusting sound. You are correct that we have multiple threads and statements on visual clutter but we've yet to have a definitive answer to auditory clutter and sound jumpscares.

LunaFlora · March 21

More options for audio would be good too

YandereGirlfriend · March 21

"MY STARLIGHT BRIDE OF ALINOR!"

I would pay Crowns to silence that guy forever.

Sluggy · March 21

YandereGirlfriend wrote: »

"MY STARLIGHT BRIDE OF ALINOR!"

I would pay Crowns to silence that guy forever.

I silenced him long ago, along with the announcer from DSA, the guy who's wife was kidnapped by Midnight Union, the lady telling me about Couglin Village, and of course the Cyrodiil guards screamming, "i NeEd HeAliNnNnNgGg!", along with many more. Makes the game so much more enjoyable

EDIT: I suppose it would be great if there were separate sliders for quest voices and ambiance voices. I didn't think of that at first because its been so long since I've done any quests.

LadyLethalla · March 22

I wish it was possible to silence the Warden bear spawning at Wayshrines. So unnecessarily loud.

LadyLethalla · March 22

LadyLethalla wrote: »

I wish it was possible to silence the Warden bear spawning at Wayshrines. So unnecessarily loud.

Edit: a recently released game included a slider for one particularly annoying NPC voice... which was very much appreciated.