EQ1 Numbers Revealed

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by KrakenReality, Dec 2, 2020.

  1. Xerzist Augur


    Well gee what a genius this guy must be. No kiddin' … revenue increases with content releases... lol
  2. Tuho Always a Druid at heart

    I think what's really interesting about EQ is the boxing culture. People box in many games, but I've never played another MMO in which I actively subscribe 6-9 accounts per month, year on year.

    The thing is, we probably don't need to have all those accounts gold-subscribed, but this game has so many layers and so much depth that a lot of people are happy to support it with pretty unprecedented/extravagant ongoing fees.

    IE: Like most of us, I've played WoW on an off over the years. It costs about $20 AUD p/m and I've never boxed/would never want to on WoW. I've probably spent $600 - $800 over the life of the game since launch on sub fees, various in game items and expansions.

    In comparison, I spend about $90 - $135 dollars in sub fees alone on EQ every MONTH. This is just the gold sub fee for 6-9 accounts (depending on how many I'm using at the time, sometimes they lapse temporarily).
    - Add in the cost of every expansion on every account, which is a yearly dump of hundreds of dollars (this year was 9 x $45.63 (AUD) = $410.67
    - Often buy krono and in game items also which probably add an extra $50 p/m

    Looking at the above, the yearly cost is something around $2200 AUD.

    I believe I started playing EQ in early 2000 and started boxing in 2004 (approx)... It's hard to get exact figures, but I've spent some people's yearly salary on the game over it's lifetime! And many people spend a lot more than I do as a reasonably casual player.

    They must be doing something right!!
  3. Zynt Augur

    People give boxers so much grief but w/o them I firmly believe the game would have been done years ago. I have had 2 paid accounts for the better part of 15 years, I don't box I just like having the storage and buffing available as well as tinker/alchemy on the 2nd account. For years the only person I played with had 3 accounts that he did box and we were happy to go about doing group content expansion after expansion. Boxing has been around since the game began, Sam Deathwalker was infamous on the old forums and the old Caster's Realm forums.
    Stymie, code-zero and Skuz like this.
  4. yepmetoo Abazzagorath

    I look at it as time spent vs money spent. I usually keep 4 accounts subbed these days. I sometimes buy some store currency for something, but not much. So I spend maybe $750 a year since I do sometimes sub 2 other accounts or pay for someone else's sub if they need help.

    But I log in probably 20 hours a week, so over 1000 hours of play time minimum a year. $0.75 an hour is pretty cheap. I'd spend way more on other games or hobbies. And I view eq as a hobby, not a game.
  5. Evye Augur

  6. I_Love_My_Bandwidth Mercslayer

    SO MUCH THIS.

    EQ is my hobby. Pretty much the only one. I support 6-9 accounts based on my needs. Plus Expansions. Plus krono. Plus DBC (gotta have the latest fashions).

    Figure around $1600/yr minimum. But I play 20-30 hours a week. That's $1.50/hr. Considering I have spent $1000 for a 4-day vacation, EQ is a bargain in comparison.
  7. Skuz I am become Wrath, the Destroyer of Worlds.

    EG7 looks to still be growing through Mergers & Acquisitions

    https://www.enadglobal7.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/EG7_Investor_Presentation_2021_February.pdf

    Interesting to note that in this presentation they stated that Daybreak has 5+ titles that will either be remastered or have "new versions".

    Lord of the Rings Online & DCUniverse were the only 2 slated for "upgrades" in the EQ Investor presentation so looks like a few more Daybreak titles could be getting some improvements on the graphics/technical side.
  8. Jumbur Improved Familiar

    And their portflio consists of EQ1, EQ2, DCUniverse, Planetside2 and H1Z1...that's 5 titles...

    Unless my gradeschool math is wrong, that means ALL their titles will be "remastered or be released in "new versions"...

    ...Including EQ1!!!!!!!!!
    :D


    Im calling it now: April 1st we will get an announcement about...
    /GEMS HD

    :p
  9. Skuz I am become Wrath, the Destroyer of Worlds.

    Lol:D
    Zynt and I_Love_My_Bandwidth like this.
  10. I_Love_My_Bandwidth Mercslayer


    Holly and Jen have spoken to plans for upgrading the EQ1 client to 64 bit and finally dropping DX9. I wonder if this simply validates those claims or if it means those plans are going to be accelerated.
    Gyurika Godofwar likes this.
  11. Febb Augur


    As much as I would like for this to be true, I think those info boxes span all of the games that are under the umbrella of enadglobal7. Daybreak only has 5 games currently live. Remastering or making new versions of all of them? That doesn't make sense to me.
    MasterMagnus likes this.
  12. MasterMagnus The Oracle of AllHigh


    Cold Iron’s Alien game is finally happening: It’s a co-op shooter called Aliens Fireteam, under the Daybreak banner

    Daybreak’s $300M sale to EG7 is all wrapped up just in time for Christmas
    These details included confirmation of the ownership of Standing Stone Games (and both Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online), DC Universe Online’s huge popularity, the holding of a Marvel license, and EverQuest’s dominance over its sequel.

    Daybreak has acquired Cold Iron Studios and its Alien MMOFPS [Updated]

    Daybreak has apparently registered another substudio: Wandering Monster Games


    That 'Grade School' math is probably wrong. Do any of us think we know everything that Daybreak and now EG7 have their hands in?
  13. Jumbur Improved Familiar

    There are a lot of more or less "expected functionality" that is missing from the current client. Can it even run fullscreen on a "modern" monitor without bugs(and with readable text) with the current render?

    I don't expect them to remake every zone and model, But if the client can be installed and look/feel "presentable" out of the box, on a modern machine, then they deserve the privilege of calling it a "remaster". :D

    And yes, I think their update plan needs to be accelerated too, I think the current client will give a bad "first impression" to newbies. When that is done, they can get away with some advertising.

    I reserve the right to replace my "math" with wishful thinking...:p
    And that alien game is not a "new version" or a remaster, so that doesn't count...
    Stymie and MasterMagnus like this.
  14. Skuz I am become Wrath, the Destroyer of Worlds.

    I disagree -

    [IMG]


    The "Daybreak" Banner would be 9 Games currently, 7 of which are live & 2 in development:

    "H1Z1" (doesn't show as being under one of the split-off studios)

    include the stuff which is looked after by:

    Standing Stone Games
    "Lord of the Rings Online" - *Update Announced (Visuals & Tech)
    "Dungeons & Dragons Online"

    Darkpaw
    "EverQuest"
    "EverQuest 2"

    Dimensional Ink
    "DC Universe Online" - *Update Announced (Visuals & Tech)
    "Unannounced Project" (Likely to be a game using the Marvel Universe License the company holds)

    Rogue Planet Games
    "Planetside 2"

    Cold Iron Studios
    "Aliens: Fireteam" EDIT: This apparently was not bought with the DBG purchase but may be looked at for purchase by EG7 later.


    So of the 7 live games 2 were already slated for upgrades, leaves at minimum 4 titles from Daybreak they will be looking at either remastering or creating new versions of.

    So that leaves us taking our pick of 3+ from the following 5 titles and possibly all 5 are going to see remasters or a new version.

    DDO
    EQ
    EQ2
    PS2
    H1Z1

    H1Z1 as the most recent title and the one currently not assigned to one of the studios it could be the least likely to see updates, however I think this could see a "New Version" with some trend-chasing &/or innovative updates maybe.

    It could actually be EQ that gets left out of the remastering efforts, as the oldest title in the portfolio and likely the most expensive to remaster this might be another game expected to see a "new version" - AKA EQ3 might be getting put into development instead of remastering the original.

    Time will tell, personally-speaking I really hope a 64-Bit DX12 + visual remastered EQ is on the cards, but disappointment is expected, EQ 3 I think would be a bad idea until after both the current EQ & EQ2 get an overhaul and we see them get some post-remaster marketing - that has massive potential given just how many people have actually played EQ who aren't playing any more.
  15. Jumbur Improved Familiar

    Well, EQ1 is their "flagship" title with the most subscribers(if I understand their earlier numbers correctly), And their experience with EQ2 taught them that customers doesn't automatically "carry over" to a sequel.
    Futhermore, EQ1 looks a bit "too ancient"(my guess, just look at youtube comments for EQ1-trailers) for marketing aimed towards new players, so a visuel update do make sense, even if it is the most difficult game to update. Sooner or later EQ1 will get serious compatibility issues with windows/drivers, if they don't update the it...

    I would guess that EQ2 gets skipped this time around, as it is A) a smaller title(subscriber wise) and B) technically advanced enough to look "delightfully retro" rather than just "buggy", on a modern machine...
    Stymie and Skuz like this.
  16. MasterMagnus The Oracle of AllHigh

    Didn't even have the heart to Ding Ding Ding you Skuz. It ain't lookin' pretty to me.

    Sadly their history shows me they have been treating EQ1 like the cash cow for many years. That is to say: 'Feed it as little as possible and keep milking it hard'.

    History shows they will not put special attention into EQ1, because it makes money even when they put the bare minimum effort in.

    Looking at it from the outside (EG7's view) putting a bunch of money into a 22 year old game brings it closer but still not up to modern standards. Whereas all the other games have a better chance at being 'remastered' into something bright and shiny.

    Besides, as I mentioned a while ago, they have coded themselves into a corner with EQ1. It isn't completely broken, but they are in a place with "no good path forward". Taking mechanics out of the game is not a good path forward, IMO.

    Stat squish and refactoring numbers would be a better indication from them.

    Gutting code for performance looks like the cow is on life support, and we're painting over it's black spots one at a time, to try and make an all white cow.

    Any bean counter, I'm guessing would say, "Just keep milking it, don't worry about what it looks like."
  17. Jumbur Improved Familiar

    Looks like they are investing heavily in EQ1.
    I think an engine update/remaster is looking more than likely... ;)
    Gyurika Godofwar and Niskin like this.
  18. Skuz I am become Wrath, the Destroyer of Worlds.

    Not entirely sure I would call that investing heavily, but it is definitely good to see that they have increased staffing levels of designers & engineers, this should at least see the next expansion turn out to be a little grander in scale than what we have been served up in the past few years.

    I am also hopeful that this investment in more staff leads to a little better development of the TLP servers, I know from the way the team works they wont be putting 1 dev on that full time but I am hopeful that this does at least allow them to allocate more time to work on TLP issues.

    Remaster - well the more engineers might be the start of investment to achieve that but I would expect to see quite a bit more unless they are going to draft in / leverage the services of people from other EG7 studios to help on that. I think the first thing the ops/engineering team need to crack down on is the raid lag issues even if that means additional design changes.
    Gyurika Godofwar likes this.
  19. Niskin Clockwork Arguer

    Yeah, lag first, client second. I just think if they are hiring more people then they must be thinking about the future, and the future won't be long if they don't at least move to DX 11 or 12, and a 64-bit client. Like I don't expect it to be completely re-imagined or anything. Just get it to compile and then tweak it once the big stuff is done.
  20. KrakenReality Augur

    Or it’s probably for a new game. They don’t have anything in the mobile market and mobile game revenue puts PC and Console to shame.
    Mongol311 likes this.