is Everquest 3 news coming soon.....

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by chrisapete, Jul 19, 2020.

  1. MasterMagnus The Oracle of AllHigh


    Yes, they are going too far now. Adding features like overseer on top of a 22 year old game is just asking for trouble (although something to catch-up was needed). What happens when they just break it (the code) and can't get back to a workable build?

    I've been saying for over a year now, this game should become a curated game.

    Don't sunset it, don't do massive overhaul work. Feature freeze it, make one more expansion to level 120. And then build Everquest:Celestials® (exactly what people like now, ie raids) from level 120+ in a modern engine.

    Not EQ 3, not EQ remastered. Just, Everquest keeps on going like you like it. Keep all the lore, the locations, all the good.

    If it made money, use it to fix the original game's server infrastructure.

    Quit messing with the code and freeze it at a planned and logical moving on point. I say.

    **edit**
    Oh, and do the same thing with EQ2. They can bring their characters into 'Celestials' too. Reunifying the two communities.
  2. Skuz I am become Wrath, the Destroyer of Worlds.

    Totally disagree with everything in this post.
  3. Jumbur Improved Familiar

    Someone "added features" to the original doom(from 93), to make it handle levels that looks like this:[IMG]

    Age is just a number :cool: ...updating an old 3d-engine, is not impossible...
    It is still compatible with the original doom...
    MasterMagnus likes this.
  4. MasterMagnus The Oracle of AllHigh


    Someone being the operative word there.

    With this team, and the code they're working with, the amount of errors and new bugs you see with each expansion, I maintain my position.

    they don't have a good track record for even the minor things. The more features the more bugs, it's a truism in programming.

    At this point in the life cycle, with this team, they should be attempting nothing of the sort you just gave as an example.

    In my opinion.
  5. Xianzu_Monk_Tunare Augur

    In today's world this is not a realistic outcome. Unlike 2 decades ago, the code is saved regularly and the development is not made such that you change the existing code without having a copy of the previous working code. There are backups of everything these days, and commenting on the code to explain what everything does or is at least supposed to do.

    What breaks the code is not likely to be anything that the Devs do but what those who are making the OS and other support features do. At some point 32-bit support is going to end, and you will not be able to use anything that is 32-bit. It likely isn't soon, but it will happen. Similarly, at some point DX9c is going to stop working with a newer OS version. Upgrading EQ is necessary.

    Things like Overseer and the like are not complex enough to really break anything or really tie up that much server resources to be harmful.
    Skuz likes this.
  6. MasterMagnus The Oracle of AllHigh


    I'm sorry but that's not true.

    They used Visual Source Safe back in the day (as did I).

    And I would say they are already in a state where they can't get back to a build with reliable performance. It's not completely broken but it's in a bad state.

    But they can't go back because of so many changes over so many years. No source control can unravel that many changes and all the inter-related systems.

    This is just programming 101.

    *edit*
    and os support changes, end of support cycles for various tech rarely break things. Almost all software development involves supporting legacy code. Windows won't break EQ just because the support cycle for dx9 is over.
  7. Xianzu_Monk_Tunare Augur

    Windows changes can however break DX9, and at some point they will stop fixing the break. Windows changes have quite regularly broken EQ to varying degrees for various people.
    Also, there are past statements where the Devs and coders themselves have said they simply did not have any back ups of the previous code. This was especially true for the early years of EQ. Today, many if not most developers keep copies of the code for all builds, especially stable ones.
    Skuz likes this.
  8. MasterMagnus The Oracle of AllHigh


    They used source safe, and while that was not 100%, you could if you were really trying overwrite something, but the main point of source control is to 'maintain copies' of original work.

    Source control also offers tools to analyze code changes and backtrack things you've done. Even several iterations down the path.

    The farther you go, the more you change, the harder it is to unravel, and the more it propagates into other systems.

    This is something we learn as programmers.

    You are conflating some statements about lost work, to mean they used to not be able to keep track of things they are able to keep track of today.

    That is not the case.

    They may have lost work in the past and said so. That changes none of what I said.
  9. Vumad Cape Wearer

    The lore, items, calculation, gameplay is all done already. We don't need a new EQ. We need an efficient EQ. We need a remastered EQ.

    EQ1 in progression server format with a new game engine. Progression server format would be a way to draw a new generation of gamers with the plan to eventually merge in the old generation of gamers.

    And if they did it properly, they would allow the engine to display a low polygon count so it looks old for people who want it to look old, but look modern enough to draw a new crowd. The biggest features being cross platform play, mobile play and app support for messenger and stuff like overseer.

    We don't need EQ3. We need EQ remastered.
    Skuz likes this.
  10. Act of Valor The Newest Member

    While it'd be nice, it is a pipe dream with the current amount of staff Darkpaw has.
    MasterMagnus likes this.
  11. Svann2 The Magnificent

    Doesnt have to be Norrath. Doesnt have to be EQ. Doesnt even have to be DPG.
    But a new mmorpg with solo, group, and raid content, no twitch combat, not focused on pvp, many classes (including bards), and many races would be something to try.
  12. Sobmre Augur

    maybe, or perhaps this new company will try and milk every last drop out of the member berrys they can
  13. Angahran Augur

    That has been the problem for, oh I don't know, the last two DECADES!
    Skuz likes this.
  14. Jimmy2times Elder

    Not a chance. Sure is a waste though that it is not in development. They are too busy squabbling over table scraps and $17 Kronos to actually make a new game.
  15. Jimmy2times Elder

    By the way did you guys remember the Vah shir on the EQnext announcement video. He looked like Tony the Tiger.
  16. Sakuraba Augur

    Technically EQ2 was EQ3 (EQOA occurred between both games and was actually quite good despite being barely a graphical upgrade from EQ).

    That said a new Everquest game would be nice. Granted, it would probably end up in development hell for a good while like Pantheon has.

    EQ and EQ2 both have their share of problems right now. EQ specifically doesn't seem to be able to handle all the procs, the minute pathing updates during combat, and the extremely low incremental health/endurance/mana updates that are less than a full % per update. EQ2 cannot sustain its own population (Half as many active accounts, half as many active subs as EQ and I doubt ALL of that is boxers).

    TLPs are great but they are not really the same experience as a fresh world exploration.
  17. Bobokin Augur

    Why are most people here? We put two decades into this game, and have long relationships with friends and family. That doesn't mean the game is great anymore.

    Why do you think you have to ask personal questions of anyone who is critical of the game?
  18. Bobokin Augur

    Yeah, EQnext looked like a cartoon ... exactly what I didn't want to see.
    Xianzu_Monk_Tunare and Svann2 like this.
  19. Qelil Augur


    Hmm, sounds like you are confusing facts with alternative facts. You know, the kind you make up because they work for you.
    Xianzu_Monk_Tunare likes this.
  20. Qelil Augur

    I read some of the commentary above and in response I disagree with the notion of freezing development other than adding raids. What about character progression for those raids? What about gear? The carrot on the stick to do those things is what drives people to take them on. Remove that and what is the point? Just to enjoy the experience of raiding? One could actually argue that but I doubt enough would see it that way for the game to survive such a freeze on content and progression. Frankly, the idea strikes me as ridiculous but I don't mean that as an insult. I just don't think that works at all or helps anything. It would kill the game. Plenty of people do not raid anymore and thus would be the first to go in such a scenario.

    I also don't buy any crap about the game being beyond fixable or approaching that point or whatever. The issue is money. The major problems with EverQuest can all be fixed by spending money on fixing them. It is just that simple. I am not buying that qualified software engineers cannot maintain any code they set their minds and talents to maintaining. I also heard no mention of the all important Quality Assurance engineer(s) that ought to be employed in testing every change to this game. Had more money been spent there historically, problems would be found mostly per iteration of the code, not multiple iterations later. I mean found and fixed btw. But all this stuff costs money and plenty of it.

    I don't know the details of what resources are available for EQ. That said, it is easy to see that they are not sufficient and hopefully the new management will address that if for no other reason than to keep this cow producing the milk we all buy. I think of this as the bare minimum because why buy this game only to let it die faster than it should. It would be a waste of money.

    What EverQuest needs most now is maintenance work and I hope the new management will spend for that and take care of their investment. I like to think that they will but we shall see.

    Meantime, credit where it is due I think that the small team keeping EQ going for many years has a lot to be proud of despite the inevitable issues that have developed for lack of resources to both address and in some cases prevent them. There are simply limits that come with a limited budget and that is what we've been seeing as I think most here know and understand already.

    As for pipe dreams like EQ3 or EQ Remastered or EQ New Graphics Engine, I have serious doubts about any of that happening myself. When there hasn't been enough money to fix the major problems with lag, how can anybody even entertain such ideas for the foreseeable future of a game that is now more than two decades old. This is not a hell of a lot different than folks playing UO wishing for a new UO. That's not happening and this stuff probably is not either.

    All is not doom and gloom though. For an investment with a reasonable expectation for return on it, the major issues affecting EQ as is right now can be addressed and I think there is where we might have some reason to have hope because the game can make a decent profit over time if a choice is made to invest in its continued longevity. I myself would be quite happy to see them just fix the bugs and start making substantial annual expansions. That would go a very long way towards everyone who loves EverQuest enjoying the experience more than they have been able to for some time now.
    nitrocutter and MasterMagnus like this.