Why can't they just add floating combat text lol that's all I want

It's nice to see that Zenimax is sticking to their guns. Even if you oppose this idea, it was stated in the OP's post they also say that they will revisit the topic in the future. That is, I would hope, a good sign to those out there that want more access to add-ons. It seems to be a fair compromise.

Zenimax is launching a New MMO, there are bound to be a few issues that need to worked out, it seems they have put the topic on the to do list; just not the to do now list.

I'm sorry, but 'play the way you want to play' does not mean 'succeed the way you want to play' (unless you make no distinction between them).

Err, staying on topic: I understand ZeniMax's intentions for the game, and agree with them. They're of course free to sabotage any addon that goes against their design philosophies, but as a two-way street, they shouldn't (be asked to) do the same for addons that don't.

Glad they are sticking to their gun. ZOS!

I am not trying to negate your point here, but are you then saying that if I play in the same room as my friend and we talk to each other across the room we are cheating? I see that there is a massive grey area here as what some people call cheating or cheats and what others call useful information.

if zenimax is going to stick to this, they need to make it more obvious when you have a debuff. visual acuity is one thing, but having such a small representation of something that has happened to you is inept. 'OH YOU HAVE A HORRID DEBUFF ON YOU, HOW ABOUT YOU TAKE YOUR EYES OFF YOUR OPPONENT MID COMBAT AND LOOK AROUND YOUR SCREEN TO SEE WHAT THE [censored] IS GOING ON LOL' - Zenimax

Yeah..that's better than letting us code an addon that flashes "YOU HAVE ____, 4 seconds remaining"? Uhh...................................

The UI out of the box is just frustrating, the add ons to get better information about what is going on with PVE is my "play how you want" choice. The Devs being stubborn and forcing this "minimal UI" upon players is only going to drive people away. There is so much "choice" in the game on so many things, and only the pure fangois will be left.

You mean, the same way you have to do to see a small Icon from an addon?

No what you said is the dumbest thing ever, it's like saying i can use cheats because they are there for all to download. The reasons have been made clear for why this change has happened, and i personally hope they stick to them.

Thanks for posting.

Hopefully people will actually read and appreciate ZOS's vision for THEIR game and actually give it a fair go.

As opposed to what the devs have invested?

Not even close. You can quickly glance somewhere on your screen, or have the text flash in the center, so you instantly know what exactly you have. icons would all be different, therefore any intelligent player could glance at an icon and know exactly what it is. that is not even remotely the same thing as trying to figure out what the hell is on you because there isn't even a name attached to it, it could be from any class, any ability, and all you know that it's "bad".

Horrid design from any competitive standpoint, I'm sorry. Simply horrid. Don't get me wrong - I love ESO, I played 3 beta weekends with 0 addons and had a blast. But that's not my point. They're limiting the choice I have say i wanted to become more competitive. Knowing nothing svcks. "IT HURTS LOL" is not a very clear indication of what is affecting you in pvp. You cannot react at all to that. Do you..get distance? Close a gap? Clear a DoT? cast a heal? which heal? who knows? it just hurts. All you know.

There are addons that show DPS meters now and mini-maps. I do not like them, but they are there and still work.

Silly comparison. If i want to join a guild for raids etc, i am likely going to be the sort of person that wants to download these addons in the first place. Yet if i want to play some PvP on my own, if i encounter some 1on1 action i want to know that he hasn't got anything that i haven't outside the game which is giving him an advantage. I don't mind if he can see information about his own abilities, but if he gaining info about me that i cannot see about him without having to download 3rd party addons then i don't want them in this game. Thankfully Zenimax agree.

That's my opinion.

You mean, the big white moving arrows on the big red HP bar doesn't tell you you have a DoT or HoT?

And does it matter what DoT/ HoT is on you? There are no specific cleanses for specific DoTs.....so.... you know you have one, you deal with it if you can. If you can't, run away & hope for the best. All the info you need is there.?

On fire?...The flames don;t help?

The Ice doesn;t tell you you are freezing?

The big yellow/green splodge hitting you doesn;t tell you you took poison damage?

The only thing wrong with the UI is that its hard for a healer to tell if a group member has a DoT....other than that, all the info is in front of your eyes.

The info is NOT in front of your eyes. The info is somewhere on your UI, but you have no idea what to even look for yet, that has to be determined first. That's awful.

I like it man, they are good about explaining and reaching back out to us as gamers. Good stuff

The info is on your character (in the middle of the screen) and on the health bars, and you know exactly where those are. Also determining what to look for is good, it means you actually have to play and learn instead of just being told.

You have some good points, but I would like to add that you seem to be bringing a lot of conditions of play with you from other games. ESO seems to be trying to take MMO combat in a new direction, or at least, trying a different way to get things done. If you could talk directly to a developer what would you say to them about add-on support ?

I don't think this is a game blind people can play...sorry.

Good read, he did leave it open ended for looking into things later on, at this point in time it is what it is, most important thing on thier plate is getting the core game launched and smoothed out, I am sure this subject will return, or never really go away, for some..

http://en.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/21cgkf/zos_paulsage_followup_recent_changes_to_api/

and yea,fully support the way they handle it

Great post

I would probably ask them their reasoning for pidgeonholding us into a minimalist UI. That's their vision, I get that, but this is the Elder Scrolls, a game franchise based solely on the idea of choice, and this is also an MMO, and MMO's are competitive. You're eliminating competition. Why? There's nothing wrong with some people taking an extra step and upping their game by DL'ing some addons. EVERYONE CAN DO IT. They don't cost money. It's not a private club. It's a freely open and freely given resource. You don't wanna use it? Great. I do, and if I can, I will.

As long as the addons stay legal ill run all 30 that i know of so far....