A message to PurplePaw. We aren't all in California.

I come on here and say this every year. Because right now I am thinking about EQ and I want too play. So bad. But I don't want to catch up on a 7 month old server. That's the point of TLPs (so if you are a live player, or are in love with your current TLP server, be quiet and go away).

I am Canadian. But you don't even have to be Canadian to have cold months / winter.
I relish in summer activities. Camping, bonfires, boating, doing outdoor stuff.

Maybe its the fact that DarkPaw is located in California, that they don't understand the 4 seasons? I am not sure.

But here go's again : Releasing a TLP in MAY - right as the weather is starting to turn warm, and ANYBODY north of Texas is brimming with spring time happiness - is the WORST MONTH OF THE YEAR.

Why am I not starting a TLP in the fall or at least the winter when I want to sit inside the warmth of my own home and stare at a screen instead of be outside with nothing on but my maple leaf speed-o? You tell me Dark Paw. I am not the only one who thinks this way. I have many friends who aren't playing and quit playing because the release of a new TLP is always in MAY. Its the stupidest month ever to give us a fresh start.

Lets see - for all you people who say "Well the good expansions don't come until 6 months later anyway" - you are mostly right. But I am not even going to play at that point. I already missed the creation of the community - if you will. It doesn't feel the same. And, by the time POP rolls around "next summer" if a TLP started in the fall - I would keep playing anyway if I still had my crutch, because that's my favorite time as well. Better to have best part of the game when you want to play the least, then the other way around!!!

There IS MAGIC starting on day one. Its kind of the whole point of the never-ending TLP's. So.. yeah.

Can we please get a winter TLP this year? Start in September or something ... That would be amazing. Thank you.

Also :

Revolving hot zone server. Change the hot zones weekly to get casual players moving around Norrath and experiencing it. Get people the F*** out of unrest and make Runneye 2x XP that week.

Nit wits - "Oh but the zone mechanics are horrible, we die too much in Runneye" - lol - Ok go sit in unrest for the 20th time noob. Revolving hot zones would get people moving around and be SO MUCH FUN. Dagnors anyone!! Hell yeah.

I WOULD MAKE MORE ALTS JUST FOR HOT ZONES!!

Thank you - mic drop.

It has nothing to do with climate. Or where you live - players are in Europe or Australia or many other countries.

It would do no good to change what month TLP or Expansions are released, or change which days patches are done or change which month anything is released etc in the game. It will never please everyone.

Hot zones used to rotate daily but had a longer lock out. Then they changed it to once every 3 months. But it can still change when ever the servers reset. You can still go hunt in the hot zones and get extra exp and the special aug. (at least on live)

Outside is bad. Sun causes cancer.

I know you just really couldn't help yourself and you had to reply - but yes playing MORE video games has everything to do with climate for a lot of us? I am making a simple fact here. Its not rocket science. There are always people who comment like you that just say "no it wouldn't matter" and give no viable reasons or rebuttal to what they just said. Every year this happens

Like what did you just say that had any effect on what I said?

Time of year absolutely has everything to do with whether I spend 6+ hours playing an MMO or not... 100% no questions asked... me and a bunch of other people I have already talked too <-- proof

That's great hot zones used to change every day. Revolving hot zone server would be amazing for non krono-farming individuals who just like the adventure and the same. Which would be the whole point.

Can you maybe offer me some reasons why it doesn't matter with your statements or something?

Man...........[/quote]

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Because the gazillion posts on this same subject didn't change anything so it must not matter.

In a serious answer, if you factor weather, there are people going to be excluded no matter what. Maybe you should accept that you prefer outdoors to playing EQ and if you would like to play a TLP, you play less during summer and more during winters and stop caring about "7 months behind".

Also, hot zones are not great because the xp modifier isnt really enough. For me to want to go to Runnyeye over SolA or Permafrost over LGuk would require a lot more than 50%. If would need to be like 300%.

I just don't believe you are from Canada. No Canadian I know would write/talk like that. Way too impolite.

And no Canadian would ever, ever "mic drop".

This weird, condescending, and at times insulting post is sure to win over Darkpaw staff.

Could it be all the pre beta expansion work that is happening in September for the beta launch on October keeps them with little time for anything else? With a limited staff they are not able to do all major projects for a given year at the same time.

The OP's main point is valid. Cold weather is an ideal time for MMO players and could well be an ideal time for a new server start.

So, what I'm reading is that you want them to change the way things are done because you and your "many friends" (LOL) say so? That's fricking hilarious man! Either you choose to play when they choose to open their servers or you don't and miss out. That's solely 100% on you, not them. Get over yourself.

It is probably just a business decision that stuck. "Normal" EQ had/has an unmistakable lull in summer months, revenue down. TLP launch is a cash infusion due to the the sub requirement, all the extras bolster it further, revenue up. That bust quarter is now a boom quarter. TLP resells existing content so limited development needed to launch a server.

Of course they could get creative and work on variations of this.

Because if they change it to fall/winter for you it will be a different person in Australia complaining why cant you start TLPs in the fall/winter!!?!?!? You do know its spring in Australia right now right, did you pay attention in school?

Also the funniest part is that when its fall/winter in Canada or wherever you're from....its fall/winter in California - sure maybe its not as extremely cold but its the cold months.

Pick your mic back up and apologize lol

It is entirely possible to have multiple forms of recreation in your life, it is, in fact, encouraged. Something about being well rounded and having balance in your life. You can flash that speedo during the day and put in a few hours of EQ in the evening. Moderation is key. Nothing about classic or Kunark requires you to spend every waking moment on the computer to keep up. Even a couple of hours 3-4 times a week and you'll be max level and raid logging in no time. Unless you are horribly inefficient at leveling.

In 2022 I literally sold 75% of what I owned and spent the year driving around the country in an RV. I saw 22 National Parks, including some in your lovely country, went to Disney on both coasts, hung out with friends and family, worked a full time job and somehow still managed to find time to play video games. You can do it!

Also, they don't launch them in the winter because they launch the live expansions in the fall/winter and they only have so many resources at their disposal. Can't be patching bugs in a TLP launch and a Live expansion launch at the same time. They too, would like to have a little work/life balance and spreading the big releases out through the year helps to accomplish that.

Right on time. Our insult laden post by our annual poster.

When are you going to learn it has nothing to do with climate? It's like a broken record. They have a set schedule. They release expansions in the winter which are preceded by months of Beta. They aren't going to launch a TLP during that time. Not now, not in the future. As you say, it's not rocket science. Have some situational awareness

They don't care. March is the 25th anniversary for Everquest. It makes perfect sense to release a new TLP then. They don't use data or do market surveys, they just wing it. There is no pressure put on them to meet deadlines or meet performance requirements. The staff know that it would take an act of Rallos Zek to get them fired. So while winter and March make the most sense, especially with the big Anny, and would of made them the most profit, it is the year of the Darkpaw and the player base just doesn't fit that criteria.

Uh, have you thought of the poor Australian and South American players that would be inconvenienced by a TLP launch in the Fall, hmm?????

You forget this is a business. When it is warm, people leave the comfort of their desks for outdoor activities. This leads to less activity and a decline in subscriptions for a game you play sitting at a desk inside.

This makes the May launches of a TLP cash cow that drives subs up an anti cyclical business decision as a way to bump up cash flow during a low point in their business cycle. It’s not ideal for the player base, but it beats the alternative for a business to dig into debt solutions that have interest expenses attached to them to fund development or operating expenses.

March they are beginning to release new content and T3 raids arrive. There's absolutely a reason why they won't release it in March. You're the one whose clueless.

I wouldn't object to 18 months rotation for TLPs and Expansions. They just need to put out a decent sized expansion before hand.