Everquest Next announcement coming 2 August in Vegas

[Dumac]

Wow, they are really mixing it up. I honestly think that is a good thing. Sure, this is Everquest is name only and really has nothing to do with the old series, but what the MMO genre desperately needs is more variety.

For those who wanted a really 'hardcore' MMO, a sort of return to EQ1, you have to know that there is no one that pitch would ever go through. Nobody would play that game. EQ1 was great at the time, but the times have changed.

 

[Grimbones]

Wow, they are really mixing it up. I honestly think that is a good thing. Sure, this is Everquest is name only and really has nothing to do with the old series, but what the MMO genre desperately needs is more variety.

For those who wanted a really 'hardcore' MMO, a sort of return to EQ1, you have to know that there is no one that pitch would ever go through. Nobody would play that game. EQ1 was great at the time, but the times have changed.

I am sorry, but you are wrong. There were plenty of people clamoring for a hardcore MMO. There are hardcore singleplayer games out there, but there is literally no hardcore MMO--do you really think that nobody would play these?

Times have not changed that much. You are reaching. Also, since EQ Next is basically a combination of Minecraft and GW2, i could make the argument that there is not much about it that makes it special.

Now, i am sure it will set itself apart somehow, but it has a lot of the same gameplay elements that are becoming popular in MMO's these days. I have seen action combat, multiclass system, stylized graphics. So this game will have to do something phenomenal to set itself apart.

I really think they missed the mark with this MMO. The reason EQ2 did not really catch fire, was first of all it went against the 800 pound gorilla known as WoW, but when it saw that it could not compete with WoW, it was the first MMO that started to assimilate WoW's features, and it lost its uniqueness.

I really think you are crazy if you think nobody would be willing to play an EQ with better graphics (and i think it is a cop-out to say that the game would be that, without anything else they could think to throw in there), there are still people playing the original EQ, and i know a friend who went back to play EQ since it went free to play because every other MMO is the same.

I am hoping this game turns out well, unfortunately i just started looking at ESO in a better light because of this information. I hope they can release some information to change my perspective.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

I am sorry, but you are wrong. There were plenty of people clamoring for a hardcore MMO. There are hardcore singleplayer games out there, but there is literally no hardcore MMO--do you really think that nobody would play these?

This, and EQ wasnt even that hardcore. So you need a tank healer and puller sometimes...not the end of the world and didnt require you to be elite. And so you had to spend a few hours camping each piece of gear, that just made it an accomplishment.

And that said, yea, EQ had a lot of players in its day, there are any number of reasons WoW could have started off better - newer graphics, better advertising, a known franchise (Warcraft).

 

[Grimbones]

I would have been OK with limited multi-classing just to allow someone to spice things up and also to bring a little more utility to raids. I'm withholding final judgement on the classless aspect of EQ Next until I actually see more info or get to play it.

It seems like a lot of the utility and skill sets of the different classes must be earned. So while there might not be set levels, there is definitely going to be a progression in gaining new skills. And this is Everquest, there's probably going to be tons of Alternate Advancement points we need to earn.

As for Rift, it's problem wasn't the multi-classing. The problem was that it was too much of a themepark that you can solo (and I mean easily solo) from level 1 to 50. You obtained a mount and weapons way too easily. Rift had some nice ideas but it was basically trying to outdo WoW at WoW's own game.



Again, I'm withholding final judgement, but you don't need levels to get a hardcore experience. Mind you, I'm hoping for a challenging game. Ultima Online didn't have levels and some of the deeper dungeons can get challenging, at least back when I played which was over a decade ago.



Agreed. I hope the environmental destruction in the demo was only for the purpose of demoing what the game engine can do. I don't think I'd enjoy it if every battle the group goes through I'm digging a 10 foot whole in the ground.



No, you're not just "that guy" or at least not the only one. A large part of me would have liked it to be EQ 1.5. A return to classic EQ where a mob would tear you a new one if you tried to solo it. A game where there was a lot of player interdependence. A game where a train of 5 mobs meant you better be good and on your toes because that can and will wipe your group.



I was also hoping for a more realistic style...but I can live with the art direction.

Incidentally, anyone who still has the original Scars of Velious box, if you look at the halfling (gnome?) you'll find the name GLIP on the cloak. That is none other than Nicholas Parkinson. Went on a Plane of Hate raid with Glip one time and he told us to look at the cloak. 🙂



The AI elements are what is most intriguing about this game. Enemies that will pick up camp and move it to suit their needs. Large interactive events/quests which will change depending on your actions and that can change the world. From that alone this makes me wonder if this is indeed the Mass Multi Online Role Playing Game we were looking for.

Thank you for assessing my questions analytically. I swear, these days all i ever get is attacked for voicing my opinion. I agree with a lot of what you say--and i found a video on the official EverquestNext.com site that made the graphics look a bit more impressive. Though, i do not really understand what is with the Lion race? Strange decision.

I was worried before the reveal when i heard the producer wanted to be different. Because that can be different in a very bad way. I am not saying that is what they achieved, but i am having a hard time recognizing the game as the EQ i grew up on.

I just hope they do not rob the game of the character of the original. Having no levels means it may not be likely to have experiences like what happened in Kithicor Forest (i think it was Kithicor anyway) at night time when you were just a low level trying to get through, and suddenly at night a bunch of high levels mobs spawned and chased you down and killed you.

I am sure that kind of thing is still achievable. I hope it is.

I did not like the idea behind that GW2 combat system at all, and i doubt that i will ever enjoy it. For a fully blown MMO, i do not understand how you can limit the character to 4 abilities--i hope i am missing a lot here.

I realize it is very easy in the game to be condemning the game. I really am not, i am just very worried. I also wanted to post on their forums about it, but the only part their forums are open about are some very boring and trivial questions about dwarven women and beards and such...

 

[blackened23]

Times have not changed that much. You are reaching. Also, since EQ Next is basically a combination of Minecraft and GW2, i could make the argument that there is not much about it that makes it special.

"Basically a combination of minecraft and GW 2" 🙄🙄🙄

Oh good GRIEF give me a break. This is the MOST ridiculous statement i've read in some time, there is no way of knowing what the final product is because we've only seen concepts. Which I personally think sound really cool.

Go play EVE online if you want something hardcore.

 

[badb0y]

OK, now I am excited.

 

[imaheadcase]

Boring as hell.
Free to play = pass.
Player Market = nope!
Nothing innovative by this at all. Seems many are disappointed.
No mention of PvP, so probably going to be typical mmo cookie cutter. Meaning none. This is the typical "We made a game that is easy, so you don't have to worry about anything at all".

Don't be fooled by the "we are doing next gen" stuff, they said that with Planetside 2..that did not turn out well.

Those who want a hardcore MMO, wait for Camelot Unchained.

 

[Grimbones]

"Basically a combination of minecraft and GW 2" 🙄🙄🙄

Oh good GRIEF give me a break. This is the MOST ridiculous statement i've read in some time, there is no way of knowing what the final product is because we've only seen concepts. Which I personally think sound really cool.

Go play EVE online if you want something hardcore.

I hate space MMO's. There is nothing fun about flying for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours for no real reason.

I will say, after watching the entire thing on Twitch, it made me feel better about the game.

However, there were definitely parts (when they were mentioning the new art direction, and when they were talking about changing the core mechanics) that left the audience a little disappointed--you could hear it with their lackluster applause and half hearted cheering.

Everything else they are doing sounds awesome, but they are definitely making some wholesale changes, and hardcore EQ fans (you know, the people who were clamoring for the game) will not be happy about it.

Concepts always sound cool. I just do not like what they have done to the core game, and i do not think i am alone in that respect. Running through subterranean areas all the time will get old if it happens constantly...especially if it is something you are forced into.

The story elements sound incredible, and if they can pull that off, i do not see why i would not play it. Even EQnext Landmark sounded interesting, but for some reason they felt the need to make the game a little cartoony (maybe that is the fault of having a lion as your main character during the demo) and to strip it of its class system, and its difficulty.

Honestly, people who play EQ are not used to their characters munching groups of mobs like it is City of Heroes. Both games were fun, and i am sure it will be...but i doubt people are happy about the GW2 weapon system (i mean even people who like GW2 are not sure about it).

They changed so much about it, i do not know why they felt the need to change the core mechanics--especially when so many MMO's these days are changing to those exact same mechanics, so it is not novel, it is simply ordinary and no longer familiar to the EQ faithful.

I hope this more eloquently states why i am mildly disturbed.

Edit: You are also being inherently ignorant when it comes to EQ and how it is preceived. Is it as hardcore as EVE? Perhaps not, but from a fantasy MMO standpoint it stands up there pretty high on the list. Am i so far out of place to ask for a hardcore MMO when it comes to an EVERQUEST game? I do not think so.

 

[Zor Prime]

Been addicted to EverQuest since the 2nd expansion. #1 Enchanter on my server, bot a mostly current-tier raid geared Warrior. Over a real year of my life has been taken away by EverQuest which is something I'm not proud of. Still having a blast with some good friends.

My worthless thoughts:

Been amped by the prospect of EQNext for probably a year now. Didn't like the look of EQ2, didn't want to get involved with WoW because the last thing I needed was another addiction.

The Good) Voxels, GFX in general, apparently music will be above average, AI, world events.

The (potentially) bad) Combat system looks like CRAP, however, I am willing to wait and see. If you can do more than mindless melee flurries like they showed in the videos and apply actual skill that would be acceptable.

Not really diggin some of the character models but hey they beat Luclin models in EQ.

I would have been perfectly happy if they released a high-def EQ1 like a lot of people have been saying but things change.

The LARGEST thing I am totally stoked about is the new AI of the NPC's. It should prove for some fun. Need to go farm some mobs for something? Well, crap, have to go 'hunt' for them since they may have relocated.

I see EQNext as being an even more social game than EQ1 was. I think it will be a commercial success. I think somewhere a Blizzard exec peed down their pant leg, particularly with their dropping numbers as of late.

 

[Zor Prime]

Wanted to touch on "free to play."

There's no reason why it's a bad thing. Hell, it's a good thing. It gets people to try the game out.

If you actually want to hit the high-end, you're gonna have to pay to play. That is all.

The only downside to free to play is letting a subscription expiring, getting reverted to free status, having to re-activate your paid account, and sort through crap your character was stripped of (tucked safely away) and putting everything back in its place. That is the ONLY downside to free to play, and it's a stupid user-error that makes that occur.

 

[Rerednaw]

EQ Next Landmark beta signup is up
https://account.station.sony.com/authenticated/beta/betaRegistrationLandingPage!input.action

Yep..the site's up...but it doesn't work. Really brings me back to the days of EQ. 🙂

 

[KaOTiK]

Wanted to touch on "free to play."

There's no reason why it's a bad thing. Hell, it's a good thing. It gets people to try the game out.

If you actually want to hit the high-end, you're gonna have to pay to play. That is all.

The only downside to free to play is letting a subscription expiring, getting reverted to free status, having to re-activate your paid account, and sort through crap your character was stripped of (tucked safely away) and putting everything back in its place. That is the ONLY downside to free to play, and it's a stupid user-error that makes that occur.

And to be fair, SOE F2P model is pretty decent as well.

 

[GaiaHunter]

Honestly, people who play EQ are not used to their characters munching groups of mobs like it is City of Heroes. Both games were fun, and i am sure it will be...but i doubt people are happy about the GW2 weapon system (i mean even people who like GW2 are not sure about it).

What is wrong with it?

One has something like 15+ abilities and 25+ abilities if you an elementalist plus dodge.

What is people obsession with being able to pick the dozen best skills out of a 100 and then everyone using those?

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Here's my 2 cents:
Not too crazy about the character art, everyone has done the cartoon look. I'd prefer more of an Age of Conan look
Not crazy about fighting hoards with whirlwind attacks, this may just be the video though
More action fighting could be good but so many have failed with this idea
EQ Next appears to be an easy mode game, again this may just be the video but it appears to be tough to die in game
The background and would itself look kind of cool water color look
I hope its s huge world where its possible to get lost in, unlike so many modern MMO's where you follow a short path to the next stop

 

[Phobic9]

I was a bit disappointed by the reveal for some reason but then I realized this game won't be out for quite a while. I've played a lot of MMOs and it's always the same between announcement and release. Bunch of hype, lots of "We'll do this, and this! It'll be awesome" and then by the time the game actually comes out there's a lot of backpedaling or stuff that just gets cut completely.

I'm definitely taking a "wait and see" approach to this game and will probably just go on a self-imposed media blackout. I did the same for FFXIV, which I had zero interest in playing, and left quite surprised.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

I was a bit disappointed by the reveal for some reason but then I realized this game won't be out for quite a while. I've played a lot of MMOs and it's always the same between announcement and release. Bunch of hype, lots of "We'll do this, and this! It'll be awesome" and then by the time the game actually comes out there's a lot of backpedaling or stuff that just gets cut completely.

I'm definitely taking a "wait and see" approach to this game and will probably just go on a self-imposed media blackout. I did the same for FFXIV, which I had zero interest in playing, and left quite surprised.

Well, if anything SOE proved in Planetside 2 that they will listen to the community, so I'd say it's better to hit their forums and twitter to try and convince them from doing anything too crazy. I mean, I'm excited about the building and graphics I don't discriminate about, but the game should be level based progress, for example, have good raiding, not copy WoW's user interface, not have a "each class can do everything" mentality, those are the things they need to be pressured on.

 

[Phobic9]

Well, if anything SOE proved in Planetside 2 that they will listen to the community, so I'd say it's better to hit their forums and twitter to try and convince them from doing anything too crazy. I mean, I'm excited about the building and graphics I don't discriminate about, but the game should be level based progress, for example, have good raiding, not copy WoW's user interface, not have a "each class can do everything" mentality, those are the things they need to be pressured on.

Ah I forgot about Planetside 2. I haven't played in a while but they have really been doing an awesome job with listening to the community so I can't fault SOE for that at all.

 

[Craig234]

Class restrictions did seem a big part of EQ in a way that was kind of a good thing. It increased the immersion and role-playing feel. It made characters more distinct.

So I think there are some dangers to eliminating that for every character to be 'whatever skills you want'.

 

[Acanthus]

Just logged in to EQ2 to see what the F2P system was like (i played back when it was full subscription + paid expansions)

All of my items are locked. Not a single piece of gear i have is equippable.

Edit: multiple expansions of content are also disabled, i am also prompted to upgrade to a sub every 15 minutes or so, and 3 of my chars are locked

Looks like Pay2Win to me. This is pretty much equivalent to a free trial to me.

 

[Craig234]

I'm wondering why Jeremy Soule's music has gone from some of the best ever as in his early game Total Annihilation, to what seem to me poor orchestral mush lately.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Just logged in to EQ2 to see what the F2P system was like (i played back when it was full subscription + paid expansions)

All of my items are locked. Not a single piece of gear i have is equippable.

Edit: multiple expansions of content are also disabled, i am also prompted to upgrade to a sub every 15 minutes or so, and 3 of my chars are locked

Looks like Pay2Win to me. This is pretty much equivalent to a free trial to me.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but in a game that isn't focused on PvP, how is it pay2win? I suppose if you are on a PvP-server, this could be a complex argument, but if on a PvE server, I'm not sure that progressing faster and getting gear faster can actually be defined as winning. I would agree that it's more of a free trial than pay2win.

 

[Acanthus]

I'm not saying you're wrong, but in a game that isn't focused on PvP, how is it pay2win? I suppose if you are on a PvP-server, this could be a complex argument, but if on a PvE server, I'm not sure that progressing faster and getting gear faster can actually be defined as winning. I would agree that it's more of a free trial than pay2win.

Capping the gear you are allowed to equip based on rarity is most certainly pay2win. You have to pay to have the good gear. There is no "I can do these extra things and still access the content" or "it just takes longer". The game does have PvP as well, including quests the require PvP and exclusive PvP rewards (which i'm pretty sure you also can't use without paying).

 

[Phobic9]

Interesting thread here on Reddit about some info gained at the EQNext panel. Here's a few tidbits:

• Holy trinity is dead. No dedicated healers or focused tanks based on combat mechanics.
  
• Combat model: visceral, active movement orientated gameplay.
  
• Everyone is responsible for their own safety, and part of the action.
  
• There is no threat meter/agro/taunting.
  
• Utility classes will be rewarded for their efforts
  
• NPC's will figure out your tactics and react. You're gonna want some friends to play with you.
  
• There is no artificial limitation to the number of classes/abilities you can collect.
  
• 8 combined abilities. Kind of like choosing your 8 spells in EQ1
  
• The ownage we saw in the gameplay footage isn't going to be the norm. Those were highly advanced characters.

More info here

Color me more disappointed. Too soon to tell still but sounds like GW2 to me.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

Interesting thread here on Reddit about some info gained at the EQNext panel. Here's a few tidbits:
Holy trinity is dead. No dedicated healers or focused tanks based on combat mechanics. There is no threat meter/agro/taunting. Color me more disappointed. Too soon to tell still but sounds like GW2 to me.

Most news is good. These two are not. Need a rallying cry against the devs.

 

[Cuda1447]

agh, I don't think we will ever see a great MMO again.

Keys to a great MMO, IMO:

1. No levels. Skill based system.
2. You can't be a jack of all trades, you have to specialize your skills.
3. Becoming 'max' in skills is hard, but doesn't take years. It's not the point of the game. It's really just a byproduct, or a choice.
4. The game is about you and your stuff. You need to be able to build houses. You need to be able to collect rare things, you have to replace armor/weapons or whatever you use for magic.
5. PVP. Anywhere. Anytime. This is the key. You have to be able to be killed by anyone at anytime. There need to be harsh consequences for killing people randomly, but it is a choice that should be allowed. Why is Call of Duty so popular? Multiplayer. How about playing Madden online vs the computer. Multiplayer. MMO's are not multiplayer unless you are playing AGAINST other players. No dragon can compare to the cunning of another player.
6. To go along with this. You die, you lose what you are carrying. The game isn't about having the best items. Items can make a difference, but they are also replaceable. Whoever kills you, or anyone in the area can get your items that you drop.


After that, there is a lot you can do with the game, but I consider those to be core elements that an MMO needs for me to consider it. Without that, it's just not fun.