Uhm, what?

exactly what I say when I see people use the term "sandbox."

Oh, OK...

When has TES ever been about being a sand-box game? Go play minecraft; for me, I want an open-world game, and that's what the devs created.

What many sandbox players might have not considered as an alternative so far: Minecraft servers with MCMMO or similar plugins.

There is nothing more sandbox....

I spend a good time on a server that simulated an mmo and i could do anything I want.

Also, these Servers have among them several thousand players.

I would be interested in a good concept of a true sandbox experience that can keep its players hooked. But sadly, there are not enough people who would stay to make it profitable.

So, try mine craft?

Sandbox like Day -Z, Rust, Minecraft? Those are sandboxes, TES never was a sandbox game, is more like any rpg minus the extreme linear questing, even so it lacks multiple options to problems resolutions, something ESO is trying to make a difference. I guess even GTA, Red dead redemption and many other can't be really called sandboxes, you still need to follow a path to proceed with the game and advance gear wise.

I think you mean open world, not sandbox...?

Even if he meant open world TES is open, not a single quest in the game is restricted by level. You can explore and get a level 15 quest and try to do that at the level 10, kinda hard but with a friend or two things get more easy. Off course there are quest lines, but even so you can start the quest a couple of levels lower than the recommended, that made quite funny on the chat people [censored]ing about that super hard boss they could not kill alone and wanted to invite people to do it but the game didn't allowed, mostly because the boss was level 14 and he was 10 and also did't pay any attention to the fight mechanics.

If the game allowed you to quest by just hunting mobs vs pretty much having to quest, you'd have more of a sandbox. I don't understand the necessity in paying tons of money for voice work and linear single player quests with "story" for an MMO..That is one time use "content" that people will fly through. Terrible bang for the buck.

I believe that ESO is open world enough. What's the problem? You don't want loading screens between zones? I don't think that it's a problem, not at all.

This

There are other 'pure sandboxes'. On a sidenote about the doom that you are saying EvE will face. EvE is the only game (other than Second Life) that has more subscribed members now than it ever has and has maintained positive growth through it's existence.
http://users.telenet.be/mmodata/Charts/Subs-2.png
http://users.telenet.be/mmodata/Charts/Subs-1.png




Sandbox systems provide a way for players to create content for each other. They inject life into the server. Why are you going to be playing ESO in the long term? To continue fighting a meaningless war in Cyrodiil(for a global buff)? Doing other factions quests?

Altho they have plenty of stuff to digest at the moment, it would be cool if they had future plans to further expand upon the keep. Make it have more perpous by letting you invest in more options. Make resource gathering by players possible and add buildings that can aid in war. Should make things more intresting and 2000 players should be enough to pull it off. Expland your keep walls to make some farms inside for population to hire some new resource gatherers or other npcs. For wich you need for example a barrack, to train foot soldiers to help defending the keep. Send garrison to other keeps, but they can be intercepted underway.

Some people who hate to pvp can stay in the keeps and manage things, especialy if you have a big merchant guild, you wil want to have a good keep to ensure your goods to be sold.

Maby even go as far as alowing gold from pve to be used in war, but that could be a formula for disaster but a perfect gold sink. A system should be added that somehow rewards the winners of a campaign in a way that still makes it worth spending large amounts of gold in pvp and you wil only spend large amounts of gold if you are lvl 50 with all legendary gear or are a rich merchant so what could someone like that possibly gain to want to send gold on a campaign, titles/vanity items/character customisation(fat belly feature) out of the top of my head.

Something along those lines would enhance my game expirience at lease.

And i bet you people can think off a lot more options.

And you should play some more, when you figure this game out there is a good possibility you wil love it.