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Elder Scrolls Online says there's still 'work to do' on its console version, no launch date yet
The self-imposed six-month delay of Elder Scrolls Online's console release has come and gone, and it looks as though fans will be waiting a while yet to see the title come to Xbox One and PlayStation 4. In a new Road Ahead post, the team admits that the adaptation has been tricky but that progress is being made. "We have been (and will continue to be) steadily working on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of ESO. They are playable and fun right now, but there's still some work to do before we can set an official launch date," Game Director Matt Firor said. He mentioned that, among other tasks, the team is designing a new UI from the ground-up and adding voice chat for the consoles. Firor also discussed Update 6, which is scheduled for January. The update will contain the new champion and justice systems, the latter of which will allow players to pickpocket NPCs and steal from vendors. However, this will be but the first pass for the justice system, as PvP will be integrated at a later date.
Elder Scrolls game director talks Update 5, performance upgrades
Elder Scrolls Online game director Matt Firor has just released a new Road Ahead update post. Much of what he has to say relates to the forthcoming Update 5, which includes a new vet dungeon, new facial animations, repeatable pledges and writs, dungeon level-scaling, and additional stuff like the Dwemer crafting style and chat bubbles. Firor also mentions "a series of stability and performance improvements for Cyrodiil in the works right now." Additionally, ESO players will be getting new performance options to "cull visual effects" and improve client framerates.
The Mog Log: The calcification of Final Fantasy XI
Over the last couple of months, I've been trying something different. As I mentioned back in my anniversary column, I spent a year trying out a strictly alternating format for Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV, but it wasn't working out to my satisfaction for a number of reasons. Backing off and focusing on the game with more activity seems to be working quite well (from my perspective, anyway), but it also means that I haven't really been discussing Final Fantasy XI much. This isn't entirely by coincidence, as the game itself hasn't changed much over the past several months. In an earlier column, I had mentioned that the roadmap made it pretty clear that if change was on the horizon, we wouldn't be seeing it until the new roadmap finally came out. And here we are, one new roadmap later. So what do I think? Is this the promised vision of the future, the prophecy to lead us all into a new era of joy and light across the game's continents?
