Everquest Next announcement coming 2 August in Vegas

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Grimbones

Senior member
Jun 12, 2004
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Anyone else looking forward to hearing some information about the next EQ? I know i am. MMO's have become a really banal (if i can break out my dictionary word for the day) over the years, and i am looking for something that goes back to some of the more fundamental attributes of MMO playing.

So tired of theme park games that try to be WoW. I know they have said--since the reboot--that they are going to go in a separate direction. Here is hoping. Supposedly an announcement will come Aug 2nd during SOE live.


A duplicate thread was merged into this thread - Admin DrPizza
 
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Ventanni

Golden Member
Jul 25, 2011
1,432
142
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Having played EQ for 4 years, I'm actually very, very excited about EQ-Next.
 
Feb 4, 2009
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I'm excited but prepared to be disappointed. I was super excited for Planet Side 2 but after 20 minutes of playing I decided its not for me.
All I really want is something reasonably challenging, no giant ! or ? or $, a functional map that still allows you to get lost and fun adventures with friends.
 

maniacalpha1-1

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2010
3,562
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PlanetSide 2 has a lot of somewhat incorrect design decisions but on the whole it's the only viable multiplayer shooter for anyone looking for a deeper game than you get in CoD or BF, unless you want something a lot more complex like ArmA though that isn't massively multiplayer yet.

That said, the real worry here is that PlanetSide 2, while for IT not staying true to PS1 was the right decision, it makes you realize they won't stay true to EQ1, which means I'm prepared to weep for the future of EQ.
 

JeffMD

Platinum Member
Feb 15, 2002
2,026
19
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I think planetside 2 evolved quite nicely. I have been playing it every night now with my outfit and you know you always feel you get those cheap deaths, but I have never thought there was something that couldn't be countered in its design. PS1 was more the same way. Also the current pay structure works really well considering it would be hard to get everyone to cough up a monthly sub, although I think the station cash cost of weapons is kinda silly. Everyone I know waits for something to go on %50 off daily sale to pick it up.

Anyways, I played eq for something like 7 years, I left for WoW about a year after WoW went gold. I really didn't miss a thing about it. My free trials with eq2 didn't impress me what so ever, and after playing and loving guild wars 2, eq3 would need to do something drastic (ie, spell casting while running and no monthly fee) to get me to play it. That said, planetside and everquest are 2 totally different dev teams.
 

imaheadcase

Diamond Member
May 9, 2005
3,850
7
76
Free to play is the ruin of many games. Planetside 2 numbers just plummeted after the first 3 months. Guild Wars 2 was the same.

Subscriptions are great for one great reason, great content and great community. Never have seen that with a F2p game.

If this game is F2P and has wow like graphics. I'm out.
 

Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,464
1,005
126
EQN will be P2P at launch.

Its a full fledged MMO. Not a browser base game as someone suggested.

Its been in development for ~5 years, with a retooling(seems they are using the same assets, but the game design changed) of the game happening ~2 years ago. They said it would launch this year, which it could, because I've heard their E3 showing was extremely polished. I doubt they need a year plus long beta like ESO. I bet the game goes quickly into beta in August, with a December launch. It could actually already be in Beta with select EQ/EQ2 players being the testers. Also, allegedly parts of its systems have already been tested in EQ/EQ2.
 
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Mandres

Senior member
Jun 8, 2011
944
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Two of the big gaming sites (I think MMORPG.com and maybe tentonhammer.com?) picked this as their best in show at E3 so that's a pretty good sign.

Unfortunately they were both hamstrung by an NDA and couldn't talk at all about why they liked it ...
 

Grimbones

Senior member
Jun 12, 2004
551
0
0
I really do not understand how the action combat phenomenon has come into being? To me, being able to run around while you are casting does very little to increase the enjoyment of the gameplay.

I do not expect someone who actually enjoys GW2 to understand where i am coming from. There is definitely a group of people who is sick and tired of the WoW forumla (do not get me started on the similarities between GW2 and WoW they are extremely similar), and they are tired of everything being spoon fed to them.

Playing a current gen MMO is like playing a tutorial for the entirity of the game, because they show you exactly where to go and what to do at all times. Is there room for quests like that? Of course, but when they guide you from point a to point b, without random quests or things to do in between, it gets tiresome.

Even vanilla WoW had some quests that were off the beaten path that you could run into on your way to other quest hubs.

That being said...people worrying that EQ 3 will be like WoW are probably wrong. Because they already changed EQ2 to be exactly like WoW, and it did not work out in their favor. So I really strongly doubt (esp considering some interviews i have heard) that it is going to be similar to WoW in how it plays.

I've said it a million times, but i'll say it again. 15 dollars a month for entertainment is damned cheap, and if a game is good enough, i would pay that fee with no problem at all 10 times out of 10. Honestly--and i am not alone in feeling this--if the game released as a F2P game, i would be a little disappointed, and i would really pay the monthly fee if it was on a separate server to get away from the kiddies who would probably go for the f2p model.

I understand there are people out there that just cannot spin 15 dollars a month, but i doubt a game like EQ would even be their cup of tea. I spent over 15 bucks taking my gf and i to a matinee showing of The Wolverine.

Paying 15 bucks a month or not has no bearing on my level of interest in a game. If it's good, it's good, and if its not, it's not.
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
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Free to play is the ruin of many games. Planetside 2 numbers just plummeted after the first 3 months. Guild Wars 2 was the same.

Subscriptions are great for one great reason, great content and great community. Never have seen that with a F2p game.

If this game is F2P and has wow like graphics. I'm out.

Exactly my complaints with F2P, it just attracts kids, idiots, and encourages publishers to nickel and dime the player with micro transactions.

EQN will be P2P at launch.

Its a full fledged MMO. Not a browser base game as someone suggested.

Its been in development for ~5 years, with a retooling(seems they are using the same assets, but the game design changed) of the game happening ~2 years ago. They said it would launch this year, which it could, because I've heard their E3 showing was extremely polished. I doubt they need a year plus long beta like ESO. I bet the game goes quickly into beta in August, with a December launch. It could actually already be in Beta with select EQ/EQ2 players being the testers. Also, allegedly parts of its systems have already been tested in EQ/EQ2.

Source?
 

Grimbones

Senior member
Jun 12, 2004
551
0
0
Two of the big gaming sites (I think MMORPG.com and maybe tentonhammer.com?) picked this as their best in show at E3 so that's a pretty good sign.

Unfortunately they were both hamstrung by an NDA and couldn't talk at all about why they liked it ...

Was it even at E3? I did not hear that it was?
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
For those waiting on the announcement, here is a decent piece to read while you wait.

Thats a good read, but I disagree with him on a couple bullet points.

2. Grouping Must be Encouraged and Soloing Must be Discouraged.

There needs to be a balance. If I log in and can't get a group right away, I need something meaningful to occupy my time other than shouting 'LFG!' in global chat over and over. If players routinely log in, are unable to get in a group, they will quickly lose interesting and stop playing the game all together. Sometimes I don't want to run through a dungeon with a group of people, sometimes I just I want to kill things on my own for a while.


5. Quests Should Be Rare and Special

Bull. Quests should be fairly common to provide a framework for players to work with. Remove the majority of the quests and you've just guaranteed the game to be nothing but tedium and grinding. Yay, I just killed 10 wolves and have 10 pelts! Now what? Sell them for a few coppers and repeat until I get a group? Boring.


8. No Easy Travel

If the MMO world is large, and Norrath certainly is a large world, it needs a way for players to efficiently get around in the world with sufficient content density too. Exploration is one thing, and its great. But if I'm an hour walk away from a group, odds are that they don't want to sit around and pick their noses for the time it'll take me to walk there. Does every player need a teleport spell? No, but there should be ships, carriages, mounts, etc that can rapidly get me around the game world without reducing the game to a tedious jogging simulator.
 

JeffMD

Platinum Member
Feb 15, 2002
2,026
19
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do not get me started on the similarities between GW2 and WoW they are extremely similar

Aaand I stopped right there. You have no clue do you, they almost went out of their way to do everything different. Fighting is different (heck, no one has mana), tradeskill resources and tradeskills are different. Player, mob, and item levels are totally dynamic. No mounts, anyone can port anywhere. Your killing me.

Exactly my complaints with F2P, it just attracts kids, idiots, and encourages publishers to nickel and dime the player with micro transactions.

You clearly have little experience with f2p, or in some cases IAP based funding. Planetside 2, I didn't realise but I guess they did have to merge one half of the servers into the other. Kind of sad, but still, currently there are a lot of players on the servers now (although one or two servers seem to have horrible population balances) and I don't think it will fall off to much. Being f2p, anyone can pick it up. The people playing now enjoy the gameplay and will keep playing. Planetside 2 does feature a rather sluggish unlocking system that is made easier using real money, although it is not as nice as tribes ascend. Still, f2p means only your hardware is the entree fee. Also there is no pay to win strategy, FPS still need skill to kill people.

GW2 requires a purchase up front, but like GW1 the store is primarily additional visual looks, fun items, end game transmutation, and character services. You can purchase gold, and so if you wanted to drop a ton of money and buy yourself a legendary weapon you could, but legendary weapons are for looks only, they have the same stats of exotic weapons. Ditto with armors, you can buy some styles of exotic armors, or you can purchase alternative styles with dungeon tokens and such. Same stats, different looks. It all works, no one knows or cares if someone's purchased items or gold with real money. All that matters is your skillz.

Oh yea and lastly, NO GAME is immune to kids! Every game will have them. Get used to it. It is a fact of online life.
 

GaiaHunter

Diamond Member
Jul 13, 2008
3,650
218
106
I really do not understand how the action combat phenomenon has come into being? To me, being able to run around while you are casting does very little to increase the enjoyment of the gameplay.

I do not expect someone who actually enjoys GW2 to understand where i am coming from. There is definitely a group of people who is sick and tired of the WoW forumla (do not get me started on the similarities between GW2 and WoW they are extremely similar), and they are tired of everything being spoon fed to them.

The action combat is simply a way of departing from gear and stats ruling the combat.
There is nothing wrong with turn based actions - god knows I like board games and just last night I spent some 4 hours playing Pandemic - but most MMORPGs (and even turn RPGs) become too formulaic and rotation based.

And sure GW2 and WoW share similarities but having no Holy Trinity based combat, actual projectiles physics, NO QUEST LOG, no RAIDS, down leveling, no gated content via gear scores, strictly cooperative PvE where no other player is stealing from you, amongst other things, make it one of the MMORPGs least similar to WoW.
 
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Wreckem

Diamond Member
Sep 23, 2006
9,464
1,005
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Exactly my complaints with F2P, it just attracts kids, idiots, and encourages publishers to nickel and dime the player with micro transactions.



Source?

Smedly has said more or less said EQN would be P2P as long as economically feasilble/they are going to keep it P2P for as long as possible. Things could have changed but I still expect it to be P2P at launch.
 

brandonb

Diamond Member
Oct 17, 2006
3,731
2
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Bull. Quests should be fairly common to provide a framework for players to work with. Remove the majority of the quests and you've just guaranteed the game to be nothing but tedium and grinding. Yay, I just killed 10 wolves and have 10 pelts! Now what? Sell them for a few coppers and repeat until I get a group? Boring.

I disagree. If you haven't played Asheron's Call, you probably won't understand. That is a great example of how to balance quests correctly. There are dungeons where you get a quest, and it could take 4 hours of running through the dungeon (most dungeons are puzzles, having levers on walls, which only open certain doors, trap doors which put you in some area of the dungeon that has nothing to do with your quest, etc) the first time you run through it its very challenging but not a grind at all because you are moving and trying to figure out the puzzle of the dungeon. It's fun trying to figure it out, because you know there is a solution. And if you get stuck, its not instanced, and you will likely run into someone else and you group up and figure it out together. Some dungeons actually require multiple people in your group pulling levers on different sides of the dungeon simultaneously, which means it's impossible to complete solo.

Once you figure it out, you get a crap ton of experience. Like an entire level. Of course it has a lockout timer or you can't repeat the quest. So I'd say that encourages grouping, has no grinding, it has depth, and makes a difference when you complete it.

If its just a bunch of mindless "Kill 10 rats, oh btw, they are 10 feet away over there, and I put them all on your mini map. Even though I con higher than you, I'm going to make this a required quest in order to proceed to the next quest hub, because I'm too lazy to kill the 10 rats myself." that will kill the game quicker than anything. That might as well be the quest description in the window. Nobody reads the quests anyways because they are all lame just like that.

You mention that not having a quests means its a snoozefest, but the odd thing here is, they are both equally as mind numbing. So why is it that it's a quest it's somehow more fun? Requiring players to do that quest is a poor game design decision. Its actually more boring to me running back to the quest giver to unlock the next set of quests. I call it quest grinding vs monster grinding. If I had a choice between the two, I'd rather monster grind. At least I'm not running back and forth between quest givers and just running around blowing things up in whatever direction I see fit.
 
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TheUnk

Golden Member
Jun 24, 2005
1,810
0
71
God I hope I can look forward to this game..

Been craving a good MMO. The last one I really enjoyed since EQ1 was FFXI.

If you can level to max solo then it's not for me. My favorite part of an MMO is having to group with others to progress, not just do instances with. I probably have more fun leveling than doing end game content for loot.

It's the best way to get to know other players and build community.

My fondest memories of EQ1 and FFXI are just as much of the players as the game. Far too much solo play in MMOs these days. I have enough single player games thank you.
 

jaedaliu

Platinum Member
Feb 25, 2005
2,670
1
81
the group required part is also an Achilles heel. What if your class isn't in high demand, or your in game friends slowly get bored. You might end up sitting around waiting for hours instead of actually playing.