No it was ZOS that got us into this mess. There are alternatives to what they did that are far superior.

No, but perhaps It will be rage-quit worthy (well, to someone, at least) if they ask, "Wow, how did I get to this city?" and the answer is "Don't know, but I do know that you washed up on an island awhile back and can go check with them. Maybe they brought you here." That's what I was trying to wrap my head around in the last beta. If they can fix that aspect of it (that I was actually found in the city?), then perhaps I'll feel better about it. But what to make of the starter islands then? Well, perhaps they can just set up an "Island Tour Bureau" in the city: "Come visit our beautiful islands!" or some-such ("Oh, and sorry, but in each one you'll have to earn your way out! -- you know, to earn the right to be free!").

This exactly after making psychs cry and going through new one after new one, I finally quit fighting it and accepted the help, went to the VA PTSD Program 8 weeks of help, it helped out and I am thankful for it, cuz in all honesty after recent events in January I would have ended it all right then and there.

This ^, there was nothing wrong with the beginning to begin with.

I'm just saying. If nobody mentioned the damn starter islands, they'd have been fine just the way they were. The developers were instead backed into a corner with little time to act; they made a rash decision and it happened to be bad one. Do I prefer this new approach? No, not really. Am I bothered? No, not really. It's trivial at best.

Some people really hate change. This isn't even vanilla yet. Buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

No one other than beta testers are going to even know these were once starter islands. To 99% of the people who will play this game over its lifespan, they won't see anything odd about it.

It seems to me majority of the complaints were because of people labeling the islands as "Starter" and the MMO crowd didn't like that one bit. The thought of a "starter" island felt beneath them, which they didn't take into account that the story does basically point you right there to the islands not the city. I still believe the Devs will make the story work before release, changing some lines, and bringing the voice actor back shouldn't be a problem if they are willing to randomly change things like that this late to launch. Also has me curious when they first changed this now, as if I am not mistaken Open Beta Weekend was still a older version of the game from what the PTS Beta gets, so they could have had this planned to begin with, which means the story should make sense starting there come release.

+1

They weren't "backed into a corner" these are meant to be game developers, they knew their options (we know this because they used a better option for cold harbour) and they purposely chose the worst possible one. ZOS is solely to blame here.

Also you might not be bothered but I am, I also don't consider it trivial. It utterly destroyed my enthusiasm for this game. If they're willing to do this then who knows what's next?

i made a great suggestion for fixing it in another post, when you start in that prison, the argonian that comes to open your cell could hand you a guards pack or bag and in that bag could be the choice of any 1 weapon set or the choice for random as well as a selection for normal start or sandbox start and when you open the pack what you choose is up to you the player in turn making the experience feel even more sandbox in itself. The bag would open like a quest reward and you select what you want and either your whisked away to where you would get off the starter island normally @ with what ever weapon you choose or you play through the game the way in which it was intended.

Well I'm sorry to say that I don't think they shouldn't attempt to try and keep people like you happy, because it's impossible. If you're bothered about something like this, they're pretty much walking on eggshells when it comes to customers like you. That being said, I agree that it's their fault, but I'm not out to point fingers; they're human and they make mistakes; I don't demand perfection.

I agree with the OP on this one.

The starter islands should be default with an option to leave when you arrive, and not the opposite way it is currently set up. The starter islands provided new players to ESO more storyline and continuity. The current build new players aren't even going to know what starter islands are and miss them accidently. I talked to several people who hated ESO after playing this most recent BETA and it wasn't because of all the broken quests (well actually that was part of it).

The new players I knew just felt out of sorts.... felt like there meh and didn't get into the story ESO has to offer. Were the starter islands too "on the rails"? Yes, but Zenimax went overboard trying to give a minority of players the "open feel" world. They instead made a minor problem worse!

Just return the starter islands by default and allow for a way for people to escape from there.

You see, this is the problem. That's not a fix; it's your fix. What you want might not be what someone else wants. Some people don't want to be hand fed items at the start of the game; some people like a challenge. There's nothing wrong with your opinion, but it's just that; yours, and everbody has one. If the developers listened to anyone and everyone we'd have a patchwork of miss matched ideas and suggestions; and whatever that game turned out to be, it certainly wouldn't be an Elder Scrolls game.

Let's leave the development to the professionals.

"To aid players who want to visit the former starter islands, we've made changes that more explicitly direct you to them, and the tutorial is getting a few final tweaks as well. These changes aren't in today's patch, but they'll be on the PTS early next week."

This is the biggest non-issue there ever was in the history of things. The story will play out fine. And you have a choice. You can choose to do them right away. I can choose to do them when I want crafting mats. And when I do, I'll have my horse, and all of my mage's guild, fighter's guild and undaunted skill lines. Everybody wins. People who play for the first time (nearly everyone) won't know what the hell you're crying about.

People are STILL complaining that ESO is linear. Why is it alright for ZOS to appease them and walk on eggshells for them but not me?

That sounds better than what they had, the whole armory near the prison cells always felt to me like some idiot deadra god constructed this elaborate dungeon for prisoners and they decided this was the best place to put a armory? I wouldn't mind even getting that started sword but, the area with the skeletons should have more weapons available for pick up to insinuate the other escaping prisoners managed to defeat some skeletons there to get past them rather than just running past and those standard skeletons not caring about them as they run past them but you. The way I did last beta was I spent time in the area with the fire atronarchs and fought them until I got the weapon I wanted.

i don't see how this solution does not please all crowds, it allows people who want to choose a weapon set and starter islands do so and it also allows those who wish to have a more sandbox experience have one. You say being fed items well your fed a sword at the start in fact they force you to take it to continue so whats the difference between a random weapon and a sword? you could just choose sword? i dont get your logic.

People will always complain, this is precisely why they shouldn't have pandered to the fickle player base in the first place. I hope they're learning that lesson. I wonder how all of the previous Elder Scrolls games might have looked, had they opened them up to public opinion during the creation process?

I'm of this camp, too... I'd prefer that the default be the starter islands, with option to skip to city. It's more true to the story.

However, I recognize that this puts the devs in an awkward position where they have two different groups of players who want diametrically opposite beginnings. The newest patch notes reveal a compromise I can work with... as long as new players who are interested in story will know that the starter island is where they should begin (as opposed to exploring the immersion-breaking starter city) that may be the best we're likely to get.

It's encouraging, at least, that the devs responded directly to the backlash. They have a hard task trying to please everyone, and the fact that they're still making the effort deserves credit.

They're making changes based on feedback provided by people playing the game. They've been doing it for 2 years with great success.

The very fact that you'd be given a choice of many different weapons would rub some people up the wrong way. On one end of the spectrum you have people who want plethora of choice to begin with; where to start, what weapons to have, what armour to wear and so on. At the other end of the spectrum you have players who want to be stripped of as much choice as possible; they want their prison experience to feel just like that; prison, so that when they finally do break free of their bonds and come out into the world, anything they gather from that point onward will have far more value to them, and feel so much more satisfying.

You see, they can't appease one crowd without upsetting the other. They can only strike a balance, so while what you're suggesting might suit you; you can guarantee someone else is going to make a topic like this about it, saying how much it svcks.

I understand some people want to start right away in the main city (although i think they will all just go to starter island right away)

But i liked the starter island. The DC was very well done and the island itself had great freedom and was NOT linear at all. I could do quests in the order i wanted and i could explore everywhere.

Better to have the option when you arrive at the starterisland to.... do the quests at kaleen, or ask kaleen not to get involved and go to daggerfall right away. (or something like that)

But to cancel your pre-order over this... sheesh. you can still go back to the island

Is this really an issue? If you want to go back to the starter islands click the npc on the docks and take the boat back. It's your choice where you want to go.

I suppose i could see this from your point of view I could even live with it just being a random weapon with no selection and the choice between normal or sandbox start, im not completely closed-minded i just feel the way in which it is currently svcks.

Just to clarify; that's not my personal opinion. I'm rather nonchalant about the whole matter. I'm just throwing it out there; someone will always be upset after something new is implemented.

Yea i got ya and i can see the issue it would cause but i do feel some sort of system like i mentioned would be the best alternative to please both crowds and keep the story intact.