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Games Entertainment

"EverQuest II" to debut in 2003 238

Posted by Hemos from the but-what-about-the-doom-graphics dept.
Parsa writes "This story at Cnet says; A new version of the popular computer game "EverQuest" will make its debut late next year, Sony Online Entertainment said Thursday. Sony Online Entertainment says the next version of the popular computer game will feature a new 3D engine and a tradesman class for "nonconfrontational" character advancement. "
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"EverQuest II" to debut in 2003 More

"EverQuest II" to debut in 2003

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  • Dammit...I just got over my Everquest addiction!

  • More MUD copying (Score:2, Insightful)

    by zyklone ( 8959 )
    And how many actually think there will be new ideas, ideas not used in various MUDs around the net for atleast 10 years.

    So far there has been little innovative in these "new" environments except for the graphics.
    • True true.

      Making it skill based so you don't have to do the 'hack-n-slash' thing was introduced in muds a long time ago. Actually, this would probably be "considered" copying from UO's skill system (although UO was the first MUD with graphics).
    • following this, the metaverse from snowcrash really describes very little innovations from your favorite local mud.

      having an immersive 3d world makes a huge difference, both in term of user experience, and in term of software complexity. MUDs never had to worry too much about avatars, collision detection and a million other little things like that.

      Now, I wonder how boring those "non-confrontational ways of building a character" are going to be.
    • I'd like to be able to play a MMORPG without paying a dime for monthly service. Sure, Diablo II on Blizzard.net allows you to play against other players, but the character development is not the same. I mean, doesn't it seem stupid to buy a $50 game and be expected to pay another 10-15 bucks a month to continue to use it? I know servers cost money, but I figure that the original price for the game would cover this. Am I the only one that doesn't like the pay service?
      • And what happens in 2 years, when no one is buying the game anymore but you still have 2 million players? What about 5 years? I guess you could make the money by releasing expansion packs, but I don't think that could cover the whole cost...
      • _somebody_ has to pay for the bandwidth/servers required to host thousands of gamers at once with as little lag as possible... it's not cheap

      • Re:Something I'd find innovative (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Oliver Wendell Jones ( 158103 ) on Thursday May 02, 2002 @06:00PM (#3453953)
        Your $10-15 per month covers not only the fees for the servers and bandwidth, but for monthly additions in the form of new items, new areas to explore, new monsters, etc. At least that's how Anarchy Online and Asheron's Call justify their monthly subscription. That means that the companies have to pay artists, 3D modelers, programmers, story writers, etc. each month to keep your interest in the game. EverQuest, OTOH, charges you the same for a monthly fee and makes you pay extra for upgrade packs. $10-15 sounds like a lot, but considering before I got into MMORPGs, I used to spend a lot more than $170 ($10 x 12 months + $50 game) per year on game software because I would get bored with it so quickly, the $10 charge now seems pretty cheap.

        • Re:Something I'd find innovative (Score:4, Informative)

          by Silverhammer ( 13644 ) on Thursday May 02, 2002 @06:25PM (#3454106)
          Your $10-15 per month covers not only the fees for the servers and bandwidth, but for monthly additions in the form of new items, new areas to explore, new monsters, etc.

          MU*s still do all this for free. Servers and bandwidth are dirt cheap when the game is text-only, so the game's "owner" often pays for it out of his pocket, and all the additions are gladly contributed by the players themselves out of simple love for the game world.

          Like the guy said, all Everquest and its ilk bring to the party is pretty graphics.

          • What's wrong with that? I've never found MUDs interesting, most of them are inhabited by role-playing purist pricks who say things like, "What ees thees strange theeng you call a 'level'?"

            Graphical MUDs didn't just bring graphics, they also brought good GUIs and ease of installation and use to something that had once been horribly Byzantine. And that's why they took off like a rocket, while MUDs languish in obscurity.
            • What's wrong with that?

              There's nothing wrong with paying for pretty graphics - if that's what you want. I was simply disputing the claim that what you're paying for is new content. Any creative and dedicated player can contribute new content if they're allowed to do so. MU*s allow them. MMOFPSs don't.

              I've never found MUDs interesting, most of them are inhabited by role-playing purist pricks who say things like, "What ees thees strange theeng you call a 'level'?"

              *gasp* Role-playing!? How dare they! You're right, you'd better stick to your nice safe MMOFPSs.

              Graphical MUDs didn't just bring graphics, they also brought good GUIs

              Read "pretty graphics."

              and ease of installation and use

              Most MU*s require nothing more than a telnet client.

              to something that had once been horribly Byzantine.

              If you just want to sit back and be entertained, fine, keep paying Verant $10 a month for what is basically Quake with spells.

              And that's why they took off like a rocket, while MUDs languish in obscurity.

              MMOFPSs attract a lot of people because they appeal to the lowest common denominator of twitch gamerz. MU*s are obscure because they appeal to very selective and meticulous role-players who are perfectly satisfied with a text interface and a little imagination.

              Even better, since MU*s are as easy to set up and run as any Linux app, anyone can create their own game world. Let's see you do that with a MMOFPS.



      • I'd like to be able to play a MMORPG without paying a dime for monthly service.

        ...

        I mean, doesn't it seem stupid to buy a $50 game and be expected to pay another 10-15 bucks a month to continue to use it?

        I would prefer to not pay for the client and foot the monthly bill to support continued development of the client, content, and server upkeep.


        Free servers would fall back to an environment familiar MUD and Quake players - fan-supported infrastructure. Individuals either pay for, or find donated space and bandwidth to run their servers. Its worked well for Quake. You can STILL find QWTF servers (although the game has fewer and fewer players... which is still amazing considering its age).


        Of course, there is a difference between Quake and a MUD. First, Quake does not involve developing characters so one server is pretty much as good as another. Secondly, Quake does not involve developing content - there are no campaigns in Quake. Although, there ARE a number of excellent free MUDs available and chock-full of origional code and content.


        It is possible we'll see this happen soon. As Quake launched a series of very popular and successful mods, Neverwinter Nights may provide a platform for a new breed of fan-ran graphical MUDs.

      • THere's significant differences between a game like Diablo II and a MMORPG. MMORPGs are much. much more complex worlds. The character classes, skills, and economies are much more complex. The servers need to be much more powerful to handle the load. Also, because the worlds are much more complex, much more work needs to be done on a routine basis to rebalance the game and patch bugs. In some games significant new content is also added on a regular basis without a sepreate expansion pack that you have to purchase.

        You also have to realize that the game manufacturer doesn't see all that $50 for that game. If they're luck they might see half. If they can attract 100,000 players then they might bring in 2.5 million dollars. They have to pay a team of deveolpers to work for years on the game. They need to pay for the servers. They need to maintain the servers. They need to pay a customre support staff which not only supports the game, but has to deal with issues like cheating, hacking the game, grief play, harrasment between players. This doesn't even include ongoing developemnt costs. How much do you want to pay for this game up front? Hundreds of dollars?

        I personally like the monthly fee way of paying. I pay a lower amount for the game up front, and it includes the first month payment. If I don't like the game, I'm not out a lot of money. If I enjoy the game I continue to pay for it. If the developers don't manage to keep the game interesting, I quit playing and quit paying. You get what you pay for, if you don't think it's worth the money, you stop.

    • How is MUD copying BAD? (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      That is what made it so popular. All the other games have tried to be innovative and SUCKED. I wish more 3D games would copy MUDs... MUDs rock.

  • Let me get this right... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Telastyn ( 206146 ) on Thursday May 02, 2002 @05:09PM (#3453535)
    There will be a tradesman class, so after work people can go home and exist in a fantasy world where they... work...

    • I wonder if this will eventually cause virtual economic depressions and virtual layoffs.

      EFGearman
    • when i played EQ there was actually a fairly large demand by some people that they be allowed to advance in level with tradeskills, and that they be made more usefull. A fairly decent amount of people seemed to really want this.

      Same with the property ownership type stuff they mention as well.

      Just looks like they are adding features that the players want, pretty sound decision i'd say
    • Yeah, how are they going to gain experience? Like, let's say you were a journalist, would you just go around posting on fliers to gain experience?

      Then slowly, as you built up a rapport with the community, your fliers would start to look better, and be in more visible positions...Hey wait a second...

      • On the old MUD I used to play on EOTL [eotl.org], We had a Pacifists guild. They had their "kill" command revoked. They could duplicate flyers and pass them out for experience... if they were in a room with combat, they could also hold protest "sit-in"s to gain experience. The more pacifists sitting in, the more experience everyone got. They eventually got powers such as halting combat and various other interesting things. Their guild base was a coffee shop.

        You can get creative with these things. It shouldn't all be hack and slash! Think of it: Prostitute class. Some people are having net sex anyway, might as well get experience for it! You'd have to deal with VD and stuff. It would be great.

        -DG
    • Maybe because online they can actually be *good* at it? Y'know, I can shoot a bow in the real world, but only on a RPG can I actually hit what I'm aiming for... ;-)

      By the way, Asheron's Call 2 also has trade skills and NO character classes: anybody can specialize in anything they want, at any time. Sounds much more interesting to me. Check it out. [msn.com] And it's due out late this year...

      • Re:Let me get this right... (Score:4, Funny)

        by MasterKayne ( 234060 ) on Thursday May 02, 2002 @05:48PM (#3453867)
        Maybe because online they can actually be *good* at it?

        This is a great point. I play most games because for a few hours I can feel more skilled than I really am.

        In Unreal, I can jump down the stairs, turning in mid-air, switch weapons, and giblet the guy chasing me. If I tried a move like that in real life I'd be in the hospital for months :)
      • Indeed. I play Roller Hockey in real life, but I've only been playing for a year and I'm not very good.

        but, I can create a player in NHL 2002, take my pic from a digital camera, and watch myself take the feed on a breakaway from Derian Hatcher, deke out Chris Chelios and flip a wrister over Hashek's shoulder to win the cup. Then, I watch my digital alter ego get piled on by my teamates (note: This actually happened in my virtual season about two nights ago).
      • >Maybe because online they can actually be *good*
        >at it?

        I'm the opposite... I'm a pretty fair shot with a pistol or rifle in the real world (yes, that includes against a moving target), but can't hit the broadside of a barn in an FPS.

        It probably has to do with the interface - in arcade shooters where you get an actual gun-type control (Time Crisis II, House of the Dead, that sorta thing), I'm a relative badass. In Medal of Honor, if I'm not sniping, I'm the handicap factor for my team...

        Maybe that's cause my targets in real life or in the arcade games aren't bouncing around like Quake addicts on a double dose of ampethamines or calling each other "L4M3R CAMp3R f4GzZz" though...

        -l
    • I actually enjoy doing things along those lines. I'm not a big RPGer, but the whole "Search forest for things to kill" gets old and irritating. However, finding new ways to get people to buy things from you for more than you paid is always fun. Especially finding strange items to sell in the first place. It really helps if you have a few high level character friends who get stuff they don't want need who will let you sell it on consignment. It's the same reason why I love trade wars and why I think the new sequel is going to suck.
    • Yeah and since it is non-confrontational, there will be nothing but politics and group factions. All the managers will suck and everyone will hate each other. Then you get some characters that are "borderline" and they just make everyone pissed at each other.

      Then, while walking through the forest to find stuff to sell/keep/etc, you come upon a monster. Instead of whacking it, you just scream "Please die!" over and over until it either runs away or complies and drops dead.

      This also begs the question: if it is non-confrontational, do you get to do all those things that people do behind the boss's back to get even? Things that come to mind: pissing in the boss's coffee, having sex on the boss's desk, etc. Then there would have to be hidden cameras and microphones and....oh my god, its Everquest 1984!!!!

    • There will be a tradesman class, so after work people can go home and exist in a fantasy world where they... work...

       If this pays [nytimes.com], why not? :)
  • Hmmm, might be interesting if they allowed both platforms to access it -- cross platform, worldwide play... nice.
    • Um... no... It's not the same at all. This is a true sequel who's planning was started almost 2 years ago and it has it's own dev team of about 40 people. It's based on the same world, but takes place years later and is supposed to have some interesting takes on character creation/advancement and death. It's supposed to have a killer graphics engine, too, and they are just kinda hoping that by late 2003 (when they expect to ship) that everyone will have systems capable of running it (which are right around the highest-end systems out right now).
      • A synopsis of the backstory to EQ 2 : after millions of adventures descended upon the lands and reached level 60 they wiped clean from norrath all signs of monsters, to gain more experience they turned upon the eldest races of the dragons, and the cutest races of the fluffy bunnies,
        Then, without any way to level up and gain treasure, they turned upon the very land, chopping down trees for 5 exp, tilling under the grass for 10 xp an acre, and salting it for an additional 15,
        whereupon they turned upon themselves in search of food and gameplay, until norrath was nothing but a wasteland, with two humans left, and a flower. (And empowered by the state of their fallen masters, rabbits descended upon the world)
    • FYI, the PS2 version of EQ will be called 'Everquest Adventures' and is set 500 years before the timeline EQ 1 uses. EQ2 is set 200-300 years after the EQ1 timeline. None of the three games will have cross play.

  • An analogy question (Score:3, Funny)

    by rnd() ( 118781 ) on Thursday May 02, 2002 @05:10PM (#3453545) Homepage
    Everquest : Everquest II

    A) Beer : Malt Liquor
    B) Pentium : Athlon
    C) Cigarettes : Graham Crackers
    D) Capitalism : Marxism
    E) All of the above

    • Re:An analogy question (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      A)I always drink Laser(tm) Malt Liquor.
      B)My machine runs on a Motorola G4.
      C)I love graham crackers and hate smoking.
      D)I think the Marx brothers are hilarious.
  • Ultima Online was thinking about having a sequel, but then they decided to focus on their current project instead of developing a whole new system to troubleshoot and work through. That makes sense. I wonder what Everquest's rationale for drawing development away for another project is? Why not focus on the current project instead?
    • Maybe the last expansion pack sold poorly. It's all about hype and keeping it "new" just like any other modern industry
    • I am a firm believer that Origin/EA's decision to cancel UO2 was one of the poorest business/gaming decisions made, on par with Daikatana. Instead of supporting a game that parallels the graphical technology of other game, has a more robust combat system, and a far more modular engine, they decided to do updates to an outdated piece of junk.

      And there was actually support for UO2! The fansite forums were crazy with thousands of rabid fans salivating over playing the game. In the newly emerging world of MMORPG's, this is the type of attitude a game company *wants* its customers to have. Compare this with the hype about a 3d graphics upgrade to UO. Hear that huge scream of enthusiasm from fans of a five year old game? No? I don't either. While I agree that there will be a set of die hard gamers that will stick to UO, like they do in other games (Hell, Meridian 59 is still running:)), in two or three years, the ramifications of Origin's poor decision will set in, and guess who is going to have the most market share... EQ, UO, or EQ2?

      They could have had a majority of the market.. I could go on for hours about the awesome features they were going to put in, bla bla bla... Now what will they have.
    • UO2 was axed as part of larger clean up at EA... It was a top-level decision. It was less "lets focus our resources on UO" and more "Lets just get rid of UO2".. most of the developers on UO2 are now at other companies (a good deal of them are working with Richard Garriots new company.)
    • UO is a 2D game with 2D play mechanics.
      Everquest is a 3D game with 3D play mechanics.

      The UO Sequel was going to be a 3D game with 3D play mechanics.
      Everquest II will be a 3D game with 3D play mechanics.

      The difference is this, when you have UO and upgraded from it, you were essentially upgrading from a car to a truck. With Everquest, you're going from a truck to a nicer truck.

      Chances are, if you want a car you're driving a car and if you want a truck you're driving a truck... Same seems to go for video games :)

      Bryan
  • What the heck is this supposed to mean? You sit on your ass and drink ale? I can do that without paying $15 a month.
    • What the heck is this supposed to mean? You sit on your ass and drink ale? I can do that without paying $15 a month.

      yes, but you would miss out on cyber sexx0ring with a cute little elf that is probably played by a 15 year old pimple faced boy!
    • "What the heck is this supposed to mean? You sit on your ass and drink ale? I can do that without paying $15 a month."

      you'll probably be spending more than that...but at least you'll have something to show for it...

      ...beer may not last long...but at least its tangible.

      dude.

    • Re:"nonconfrontational" character advancement? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Geckoman ( 44653 ) on Thursday May 02, 2002 @05:36PM (#3453779)
      One example that comes to mind is healing classes. I started a cleric last week, and from a role-playing perspective, I wanted him to be a pacifist. No can-do, there. You've gotta kill countless small animals to get your first heal spell.

      Wouldn't it make sense for classes like clerics to get some kind of experience for what they really do, like healing people?

  • Typo (Score:2, Funny)

    by billnapier ( 33763 )
    Shouldn't this read: A new version of the popular computer drug "EverQuest" will make its debut late next...

  • Oh, yay. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by rlangis ( 534366 )
    Yeah, well if it's the same game with new graphic models and classes - sorry, they already tried that with SOL. And again, they're SOL if they think I'm going to buy it.

    At the very least, I hope they make a different world. Traipsing about Norrath for 2 years was enough for me. Back on good old post-Arthurian Earth for me, thankyouverymuch.

    Has anyone else noticed that the recent changes in EQ1 basically make it DAoC v0.75? If all Verant/Sony has to go on is another game's success, why are they even bothering?
    • Because it nets them grillions of dollars?
      That's my guess at least.
      Verant / Sony is a company. They do it all to make money. If people want to sit around and practice virtual jewelcrafting for hours and hours and be charged for it, bring it on!
  • So for those who are losers in real life and can't role play well enough to be liked online they have a trademan class.

    So people will pay $20/month (or whatever it'll be) to work in a virtual McDonalds serving orc burgers, shoveling dragon dung at the Everquest zoo, or picking up half eaten turkey legs off the streets near the fountain.

    Fascinating!

    • Re:Tradesman Class?! (Score:2, Insightful)

      by bbh ( 210459 )
      So people will pay $20/month (or whatever it'll be) to work in a virtual McDonalds serving orc burgers, shoveling dragon dung at the Everquest zoo, or picking up half eaten turkey legs off the streets near the fountain.

      Just look at all the Anonymous Cowards who spend there time posting "First Posts", trolling slashdot, etc... and you think they won't find someone to do all of those things? Just posting it to Slashdot has already picked them up several new subscribers :P

      bbh
    • So for those who are losers in real life and can't role play well enough to be liked online ...

      That sounds like two mutually exclusive classes of people.
  • "nonconfrontational" to that I say HAH!

    I smell really annoying "I'm a better merchant than you!" arguments fizzing to life on forums 'round the world ;-)
  • Anyone who thinks that a "tradesman" is "non-confrontational" hasn't been paying attention to the news. Between the antitrust allegations, the attempted enforcement of ridiculous patents, and the corporate coverups, I'd say that "tradesman" is one of the most confrontational types. At least, in the Real World...

  • morrowind... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by geekoid ( 135745 )
    ...debute today, where's the headline?
    BTW everquest is not a game, in a game there is a winner and a loser, the only winner in EQ is the people who get your money.

    • Uhm... no (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Cu ( 75342 )
      Non-zero sum games [slashdot.org] don't have a winner or loser.
    • BTW everquest is not a game, in a game there is a winner and a loser

      That's a pretty narrow description of "game".

      Some of the best games out there do not have a "winner" or "loser".

      Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most popular games in the last couple of decades, and you don't necessarily "win" or "lose" (This always confused
      the hell out of my high school classmates, because as one guy said "Football is a real game. In football, there is no second place!").

      I spent many hours and days playing D&D. If I wasn't playing a "game", what was I doing (besides wasting my time :)?
      • DnD is not a game.
        Its a roleplying challenge. More akin to live acting then a game.
        Just because you put the word 'game' on it does not make it so.
        You think my definition of game is narrow, you should see my definition of sport!

    • BTW everquest is not a game, in a game there is a winner and a loser, the only winner in EQ is the people who get your money.

      I see you read PVP [pvponline.com], and aren't afraid to quote for your posts.


      However, despite the fact that your opinion surfaced in a major web comic, the view is not at all true. Game theory defines a game as a set of rules specifying:

      1. Players
      2. Alternative choices/actions players choose from
      3. Order of play
      4. Outcomes and payoffs

      Everquest, and other MMORPGs, generally cover each of these in order to work. It's an open system, meaning that players can make their own goals in addition to those imposed by the game, rather than having a closed, or finite, resolution.


      You can find a lot more about Game Theory, including information various types of games from Zero Sum to Nonconstant sum games and the like here [drexel.edu].



      =Brian



    • BTW everquest is not a game, in a game there is a winner and a loser, the only winner in EQ is the people who get your money.

      Yea. I've seen that joke [pvponline.com] before.
    • in a game there is a winner and a loser

      So I guess virtually every early 80's arcade/console game isn't actually a game? Keep in mind, most of them didn't have any sort of ending at all (short of wrapping the score or hitting level 255 in Pac-Man, at which point the game crashes), you just played them until you died. The only "winning" one could do would be to get a higher score than others, which you could quite rightly say is the whole point of EQ (with "score" being a lot more complex of course).

      • the winner was the guy in the number 1 slot.
        Then they weren't games.
        entertainment? sure.
        actually a lot of of those game could have 2 players, so the winner would be the person with the highest score.

  • I still say... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by SkyLeach ( 188871 ) on Thursday May 02, 2002 @05:13PM (#3453584) Homepage
    screw the mideval crap.

    I want to fly around in my own ship and blast at bad guys with the latest tech.

    Eve-online [eve-online.com] here I come baby.

    They expect to go closed beta this month too!!

    There is also an article over at Game Spy [gamespy.com].

    I think the next year is shaping up to turn out some great new MMORPG games.
    • I meant to add that when I played Everquest I was disgruntled because there was just too much mundane, no-fun stuff to do.

      Learning to be a fletcher: no skill. Just do it over, and over, and over, and...

      Learning to be a fisherman: no skill. Just do it over, and over, and over, and...

      Learning to fight: no skill. Just do it over, and over, and over.

      Lerning the right combination of spells: tricky, then do it over, and over, and over...

  • Isn't EQ already too "nonconfrontational"? (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Personally the reason why I haven't taken an interest (well besides the fact that I'd prefer a OS X version) is because it's already so nonconfrontational. You don't kill other players, you can't even take dead people's stuff. It's like the extra-padded, no sharp edges preschool version of a fantasy game. Now
    "nonconfrontational development" - if I wanted that I'd read a book or go get some exercise.
    Pretty soon they'll get rid of NPC bad guys and replace them with loveable teletubby-like creatures. Fuckin' A.
  • switch over to crack. More addictive than ever.

    The only way to get them of this version will be to put them on something less stimulating like Flight Simulator. God help us all.
  • You guys asking about people wanting to simulate non-combat stuff:

    A VERY popular game right now is one where you simulate, you know, what your doing now. . . living. . .

    The Sims.

    • the sims is not to realistic in real life their is way more partys
    • The Sims is less a "life simulator" and more a computerized doll house.

      Instead of Ken and Barbie and their bright pink dreamhouse, it's naked representations of your co-workers walled up in the outhouse while the popular and beloved sim-you parties in an extravagent mansion.
  • I played EQ for 3 years but Verant have just fouled stuff up so much recently that I decided to cancel. The Luclin rollout was a disaster (EQ doesn't even run on my laptop anymore), downtime has been unacceptably high and to cap it all they've hiked the prices. To hell with them.


    When I look back it wasn't that much fun anyway. It certainly had its moments and an addictive quality but it was a game more based on repetition and sitting around for long periods of time than actual fun.


    My pet peeve was the total lack of attention Verant paid to the UI. For 3 years it has been a piece of shit and it doesn't look like improving anytime soon. Even in fullscreen it's just terrible and Verant seem more interested in keeping the 50+ players happy than actually improving things like the UI that affect everyone.


    I've tried DAoC too which has a gorgeous and well designed UI but suffers from it's own problems with regards to repetition. My ideal game would be a cross-between the two - DAoC's UI and ruleset combined with EQ's zone variety.

  • I can't beleive people actually pay so they can perform these tedious tasks. Children in sweatshops have less tedious jobs, and get payed more to boot.

  • tradesman class (Score:4, Funny)

    by wrinkledshirt ( 228541 ) on Thursday May 02, 2002 @05:26PM (#3453702) Homepage
    I swear to god someday somebody's going to go too far with this. Just wait until they do a 'cyberpunk' version of Everquest with the character class 'office clerk' who needs to 'update databases and spreadsheets' for a 'software institute'.

    Next thing you know people will be paying for the privilege of being the office administrator for real-life companies and not knowing it. The upside being that there'll be lots of skrlp7 kldd33 t4Lk on the memos...

    • Re:tradesman class (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Kingfox ( 149377 )
      Actually, I help run a cyberpunk game [vv.com], where we've had people do that. We've had cab drivers, secretaries, lawyers, and various other mundane professions.

      It amazed me how some guy living in Hawaii would really get into playing a janitor, walking around cleaning up people's apartment for piddly amounts of cash.
  • I bet the announced date is right about when the churn is predicted to lead to a flattening off of revenue.

    Having played other MMORPG's I can honestly say that the depth of the environment in EQ is outstanding in it's field. Many lessons no doubt have been learned and it's difficult to back port new ideas. EQ2 has the danger of becoming like TeamFortress2 and Duke Nukem with a lot of expectation on it's shoulders as the next generation. I wish them well and you can expect my subscription to be there day 1 regardless of reviews and opinion might say.
  • Everquest is same old crap over and over. Hack and slash, get exp, ohh crap, i died, i lose a week's worth of exp.

    Seriously, how much fun is that? Evercrap just continues and continues to be a money whoring peice of crap. How many additions did they add onto the game? How much better did it make it?.. 0%. More time than not most of these addicts who play constantly have absolutly no life at all. That's why they play the goddamn game so much.

    And who the hell thinks it's newsworthy that they're making evercrap2?.. new and improved with merchants. Who cares, so many other mmporgs have player classes that aren't based on hacking and slashing already, this is absolutly nothing new! It's called trade skills!

  • EQ2 = DAoC + AO (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 02, 2002 @05:32PM (#3453752)
    Reasons I don't like EQ2.
    No more global banks.
    You need a carrier vehicle (mule, wagon, etc) to carry goods from one town to the next.
    You don't start out with a class. Or stats.
    You become a basic class at a low level, then 'graduate' to a specialized class at a higher level. (level 6 and 30, respectively, if I recall the article i read correctly.
    100% level restricted weapons/armor/items.
    Item decay.
    Among other 'borrowed' conventions.
    Granted, this may help the online economy, but I feel it'll help segregate the levels even more...
    As it is now, there's Uber guilds in EQ, and I guess I should be thankful and jealous that I'm not a member of them. I like my family-oriented guild more, but I'm also relegated to mid-level quality items.
    With the new item setup in EQ2, it'll be harder to 'twink' (that is, pass old items on to a lower level character when you've outgrown their use), thereby removing a large part of the existing EQ economy.
    However, there's the argument that with the new item setup, similar to AO, there'll be more weapon options at every available weapon level.
    Also, folks that have spent the last 3 years in EQ will not want to move over to the new servers/game for several reasons. (IMHO)
    #1 - Need to upgrade computers /again/
    #2 - losing friends/guildmates because not everyone can plunk down $2grand to buy a new UberPC(TM)
    #3 - People won't want to abandon their characters that they've worked on for many many hours, no matter the level.

    Just some thoughts...

    Personally, I will most likely NOT move over to EQ2. Granted, both of the machines I run now (Yes, I dual-box, or play two accounts from time to time) are EQ2 capable, but probably around 75% of my guildmates' computers are not. I also do not want to move away from my Bard (level 51), or any of my other alternate toons (characters) because of relationships and 'reputations' I've built via Roleplaying (*gasp OMG, yes, people actually still roleplay in EverQuake*).

  • This reminds me ... (Score:3, Funny)

    by TheViffer ( 128272 ) on Thursday May 02, 2002 @05:34PM (#3453765)
    I need to refresh my house :-P
  • Does anyone notice that whenever anything game-related comes up on Slashdot, the grammatical accuracy of the response posts declines ~30% from average and the number of posts lacking any capitalization skyrockets? I'm also tracking a 73% increase in the use of the words 'me', 'mine', and 'my' and a marked upward trend in the use of the letter 'z'.

    It's really a fascinating sociological phenomenon, wouldn't you say?

    --
    "dudez my computer rox cuz it gedz me 200 framez perr zecond! w00t!"


  • Everquest III?

    "Just hook it to my veins..."
    -- Barney
  • So it's just "EverQuest II", huh? I see they dropped the "Suicide Is Painless" tag-line.
  • I think gabe and tycho said it best:

    http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2002- 04 -08

    --
    voidref

  • Information deleted from the press release (Score:4, Funny)

    by Bonker ( 243350 ) on Thursday May 02, 2002 @05:46PM (#3453849)
    The following is an excerpt from the first draft of the official press release from Sony Online Entertainment about Everquest II. As far as I can, the only differences between this excerpt and the original is that some 'fine print' information was deleted.

    Key features and improvements include:

    * A brand new 3D engine which takes full advantage of a wide variety of recent technological advances in 3D hardware/software such as per pixel lighting, dynamic environment mapping, and a fully programmable surface shader system

    (Note: This new engine will not significantly improve load times, frame-rate induced lag, or this sense of 'immersion' that some players seem to think they're entitled to. 'Uber' players are encouraged to purchase dual-processor computer systems with professional grade GeForce 5, 6, or 7 graphics adapters. Support requests from players who do not meet 'reccommended system requirements' will not be addressed.

    * More intuitive gameplay features appeal to both new and seasoned players

    (Note: Our answer to all player problems will still be 'Get a group'.)

    * New branching class structure that players define as they advance through the game

    (Note: DOAC was kicking our asses.)

    * Vast world of Norrath revisits familiar locations and introduces a variety of newly discovered areas in the Age of Destiny, a time period in the future of the original EverQuest.

    (Note: The new graphics engine would not support older zones, so we're ditching the zones we don't like, and releasing later zones in 'expansions' that you already bought in order to play Everquest I)

    * Increased character customization capabilities allow players to customize characters' faces, hair, and body types to create truly unique avatars

    (Note: All female characters will come complete with 38DD sized breasts, just like you've grown to expect from SOE and Verant.)

    * Deeper character development offering pacing options that cater to game players new to the role-playing genre as well as experienced role-players

    (Note: Prepare to be ganked and r0xxor3d by l33t players who don't have time for role-playing. Role-playing will be strictly verboten in the 'high-end' game, just like in Everquest I)

    * Non-confrontational means of character advancement that including a completely new tradesman character class

    (Note: Just because you can craft decent trade items doesn't mean that the best items won't be available to anyone but the largest, most uber guilds.)

    * Rideable mounts and vehicles to own and control, including horses and boats, make traversing the massive world of Norrath faster than before.

    (Note: Horses will still suck. Boats will still be dangerous. They'll just suck more and be more dangerous than ever before to give you an authentic role-playing experience. Carts will carry a bonus of +5 suck and +5 danger for all players.)

    * Norrathian real estate for players to call their own

    (Note: We want to make sure that the uber guilds can monopolize all the best zones in the game because they're the players we really care about. Therefore, we're going to go ahead and make it possible for them to 'wall off' the best zones and dungeons from non-l33t players, just like in other games that allow houses.)

    * All-new tradeskill/crafting system

    (Note: See note about tradesmen class...)

    * Completely new and tactically rich combat, spell and skill systems

    (Note: Of course more of the combat will be centered around 'Holy Trinity' or 'Main-Tank' strategy which we like so much, so don't bother rolling anything but a Warrior, Cleric, or Wizard.)

    * A completely revised and enhanced quest system

    (Note: More broken quests, more ultra-rare spawns, and longer spawn times for even the lowest-level quest!)

    * Dynamic world environment shaped by player events

    (Note: Players will cast shadows on the world. They may also train mobs to new locations. Professional-grade Geforce 5, 6, or 7 graphics adapters are required for players to experience the full benefits of the 'player shaped world'.)
    • Not to say anything about how funny it was, I had to chuckle at a few parts... but since when was the 'Holy Trinity' Warrior/Cleric/Wizard? I've always (for the past 3 years) heard Warrior/Cleric/Enchanter.

      Chanters get the short end of the stick on uber-mob raids since, even if you have 50 people killing a dragon or a planar boss, you really only need one enchanter per force. Extra enchanters may be needed to mez ads, but once the enchanter tashes the dragon, that's pretty much it. Warriors/secondary tanks in front to taunt and maintain agro, clerics in the back to rotate complete heals on the main tank, and Wizzies in the middle to nuke. Rogues or other melee classes may get behind the mob, or on the side if they've got chaotic backstab, to dish out extra melee damage, but if you look at most uber-guilds application pages they want clerics, warriors, and wizards.

      This is mostly the fault of Verant trying to keep casters from being independant and able to solo-kill mobs. They give every new monster incredible magical resists and tends of thousands of hitpoints which can only be worn down by either direct combat, or Wizard-only spells.

      This has had some negative effects on the EQ community. Enchanters are often in short number in any given raid simply because they stack so poorly. Shamans are welcome, but as buffers and not as magical combat. Necros and Mages are only welcome sans-pet... what most consider their core abilities. Even then, Necros are considered mana batteries and are usually forced to work as backup mana resivoirs for Clerics who cheal the main tank. Druids and Beastmasters are all but unwelcome.

      Now for 1-group hunting parties, you're right. Cleric, Warrior, Enchanter. Any group that doesn't have those three is considered 'substandard', even when they really aren't. As a matter of fact, Verant goes out of its way to try to keep all-caster groups from being viable. Recently, The Grey was changed so that caster-only 'Area Effect' groups couldn't be more effective than Holy Trinity groups. All the AE caster groups left, but there are better zones for MT groups, so all you see in The Grey now is Necros and Druids kiting mobs.

      This is ultimately the reason that Verant is going to release a new game rather than continue adding expansions for EQ 1. There are just too many problems that 'break the game' for uber-guilds if fixed.

  • OK, lets rant (Score:5, Interesting)

    by EvilBastard ( 77954 ) on Thursday May 02, 2002 @05:48PM (#3453866) Homepage
    Like Blizzard and Diablo, pretty much the entire original design team of the game has already left, and this version will be designed and balanced by the people that did such an excellent job on the last two expansions.

    Background : The newest expansion was released in December last year. The two big selling points, the special Trade Zone, and the new user interface *still* haven't been added to the game after 5 months, yet they have already announced the next expansion due this December, along with EQ2, EQ for Playstation and the special $40/month "Legends" servers.

    The entire live development team was layed off, leaving zones from the expansion before that one still screwed up - the "Plane of Mischief" and "Sleepers Tomb" which have been written off by Verant and won't have any further resources devoted to them, despite long and detailed archives of what is wrong with then [planeofmischief.com]

    Apart from the Interface and the Bazaar zone, high [fohguild.org] end [legacyofsteel.net] guilds [tritonguild.com] are finding that the content in this game is designed for you to spend 2 months equipping 80+ members of your guild with special weapons so you can attack one mob to get one item, which you then use to spend 2 months getting 10 more components to get a key so you can enter the *NEXT* zone, where the cycle will begin again.

    Meanwhile, the people who wrote EQ1 have formed their own company [sigilgames.com] and are busy hiring all the talent from Verant, who never signed non-compete clauses.

    So Verant is left with under-talented artists who (due to contracts sorted out at the peak of their success) are on $80,000 - $120,000 /year to produce third rate high-poly models that bog down the highest end system any time you get more then 5 of them on the screen.

    Meanwhile, their design team is designing encounters that need *70 to 90* people to work in precise co-ordination for 30 minutes, and then act suprised when people start complaining.

    To top all this off, they announced that any existing customer from EQ1 who wants to join EQ2 will have to start all over from scratch, and the end result of this is a widespread "Well, when EQ2 comes out, I guess I can finally quit and get this damn monkey off my back"

    The sad thing is, they'll probably still sell about 200,000 copies.
  • In the news today: "A young man was tragically found dead yesterday while sitting at his computer. The young man recently received orders e-mailed directly from Sony in the form of a press release. While seemingly benign, both a local attorney and the young man's mother feel that the press release forces children and young adults to wait in front of their computer for days on end for more news of an allegedly upcoming game titled "EverQuest II".

    The young man, who remains unidentified at this point, was found starved and dehydrated in front of his computer. He appears to not have moved from his chair for several weeks. The young man's mother asserts that this is because press releases of this sort prey upon the weaknesses that many young, nerdy kids have. These children, she feels, wait abominally long periods of time for the first peice of new on this new "EverCrack", as she calls it.

    Psychologists feel that this is a desperate effort on the part of these children to be seen as "cool" by having the newest bit of information on this elusive video game. Once these children are seen by their demanding peers as sources of information, this "hobby" of theirs begins to become addictive. They are, in effect, on a "high" as they delight in sharing the newest bit of news with their friends.
  • EverQuestII huh?

    So does this mean there will be even more suicides [slashdot.org] now?

    Sorry, I couldn't resist.

  • Tradesman: Aha! Finally, I have crafted this fine sword, able to slay dragons with a single hit!
    Warrior: I'll have that, ta very much! *schlick* <FX type=decapitated head rolling off>
  • The most recent release of Everquest recommended that you had 512 MB of RAM, will EQ2 require 1 GB or more? ;)

    I have an accuse to buy a GB of RAM if so. :D
  • I'm anticipating Neverwinter Nights will provide us the tools to create a far superior online roleplaying environment. Why not build our own "portal-connected world" instead of EQing?
    • "Destroy your marriage 47% faster!"
    • "Who cares if you forget how to walk on dirt?"
    • "Success in real life: Hard work, sacrifice, hours of awkward F2F interaction.
      Success in Everquest II: Sore wrists, insomnia, and $12.95 / month.
      Feeling of triumph upon your virtual marriage to Yoh-Krah, Princess of the Wolf Clan: Priceless."
    Stefan "Addicted to massive multiplayer games when they were played by snail mail" Jones
  • If at first you don't addict, try, try again!

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