EverQuest through the "Ages"

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Fading Illusion, May 22, 2020.

  1. Fading Illusion Augur

    For those that know, I'm a bit of an EQ fan, and I love the history of the game.

    This didn't make the cut for The EQ Show, but I still made a feature article out of it for the accompanying website.

    If we were to break the EverQuest timeline (development of the game) into "Ages," what would they be?

    Check out my take on it and tell me what you think:
    https://everquestshow.com/2020/05/22/everquest-through-the-ages/

    [IMG]
    Tarvas, Celephane, ZenMaster and 4 others like this.
  2. Szilent Augur

    mmm, I think the Discord-Lost split is questionable. Very notably, the max level stayed 70 across all five expansions, a commonality with your groupings of "Classical" & "Golden". Golden also may not be a separate category, if one doesn't count LoY & LDoN as actual expansions…

    There was a clear leap forward going into Gates. The promise of all the tech developed in LDoN & LoY…releases was realized in Gates content, vis a vis instanced content and scripted events. Also, it represents a forking in the players as many took off for the shiny new game at that time. Discord age or "Age of War" :p

    There was a clear leap forward going into The Serpent's Spine. Whole new player experience built into the game. Eventually became the tentpole of the /achievement system guiding advancement. Still the default home town for all new characters.

    HoT is a real good call for the next leap, as it introduced & solidified the majority of what's considered a modern ability linup for all classes. It's where Heroic Characters are injected into modern EQ.

    The splits on Renaissance / Heroic / Nostalgia I don't disagree with at all, but I wish there were a better name for the most recent. The "grand cycle" age? the "progress" age, as we're progressing the story of EverQuest's lands?
    Celephane likes this.
  3. Fading Illusion Augur

    Thanks for the feedback Szilent.

    When I was putting it together, I had the same arguments with myself in my head.

    That early time frame I struggled with exactly how to chop it up. Clearly there was a peak somewhere around PoP, but then dividing that up from start to Gates+Level70 was trickier...

    The splits around TSS, HOT and EOK seemed to be obvious and it's really what got me thinking about this idea.

    Anyone else have input?
  4. enclee Augur

    Great post, if I had to define the the eras it would break down like this:

    Golden Age - Original, Kunark, Velious
    Everquest is brand new, revolutionary, and unrivaled in the marketplace. Fulfilling, the dreams of every DnD nerd that existed at the time.

    Age of Turmoil - Luclin, PoP, LoY, LDoN
    Luclin and PoP spawned pretty significant discontent among the base, if you look at old rants Tiggole and Furor most notably. There was a lot of broken content for both the high end and lower end crowd. There were broken key quests and progression. Also, other significant controversies were the updated character models, fast travel options, LoY itself, and instanced content.

    The Rapture - GoD, OoW
    Then, we hit the eras where guilds just vanish and server populations crater.

    Everything after that I would agree with.
  5. Fading Illusion Augur

    LOL @ The Rapture
  6. Tucoh Augur

    You probably know about this website:
    https://loreofnorrath.wordpress.com/history-of-norrath-timeline/


    Do you know of a website that pieces together the lore of an expansion to provide a narrative for what the hell is going on in a given expansion? I read the quest text and get the "gist" of each quest and encounter but still have difficulty really piecing it all together.

    Like, I know that in EoK / RoS the combine is doing something to conquer something, the green sarnaks are from some kind of shenanigans involving Atrebe or KorSha or something and the dragons in Kunark are probably up to no good, but beyond that I have no idea what's going on or why I'm killing all these sarnaks.

    Plus as a non-raider I have no idea how all these storylines that are built up through group content culminate in raid content. I help homeboy convert his buddies into women or something in Remodeling, but I have no clue if that storyline continues in the raid or what. I don't even know what I'm doing to help grieving soul scent and don't even know what happens to him after the plane of smoke trials.
  7. Benito EQ player since 2001.

    I will say there were "Dark Ages" during EQ's history with the development of EQN and Landmark. The funny thing is, some sites refer to EQN and Landmark as EQ's peak which I vehemently disagree. You also had the SOE hack which shut their games down for months?

    I always felt like the period between Scars of Velious and Planes of Power as the Golden Age.
  8. Szilent Augur

    Oooo, here's a thing - anyone want to lay bets on whether we can anticipate a brand new break, a new transition since EQ's Producer has transitioned? I'm not at all upsetti spaghetti over the current direction, but things could change. What might the next leap be? :)
  9. KermittheFroglok Augur


    Hi Fading, I think this is great but I might change the break down as follows.

    Aradune's Classical Age
    Classic "Everquest
    Ruins of Kunark
    Scars of Velious

    These three all conform to a clear "larger than you" world design philosophy. It was clear that Brad McQuaid and the design team were clearly going for an immersive fantasy experience. Norrath felt huge and faster travel via the Nexus or PoK just wasn't an option. Traveling in itself could be an adventure.

    Raiding's Golden Age
    Shadows of Luclin
    Planes of Power
    Legacy of Ykesha*
    Lost Dungeon

    To me, Shadows of Luclin & Planes of Power were a new era of game design with a heightened emphasis on raid design and complexity . Players had access to AA's expanding themselves beyond Verant's original 255 stat cap. At times players no longer felt as mortal as the prior age and even began amassing armies against the gods. Ykesha while not a good raid expansion felt like a needed Developer compromise to the group game for Planes being so heavily raid oriented. Lost Dungeons rounded out the experience by making content more accessible through instances.

    Lost Visionary's Age
    Gates of Discord
    Omens of War
    Dragons of Norrath
    Depths of Darkhollow
    Prophecy of Ro

    I think Gates kicks off our "rough patch" where the developers clearly were not in agreement or sure what actually made Everquest special or what direction to take the game or even the lore. Amidst the fog there were some interesting lore moments like raiding Mayong in Depths of Darkhollow, and a closer look at Takish Hiz. The latter part of the era wasn't entirely bad, however, in my mind this period opened with SOE's failed Gates expansion & it closed with misguided revamp of Freeport.

    Afterwards I pretty much agree with your breakout. The Serpent's Spine definitely was when things started to rebound, feel more cohesive, and even become more accessible to new & returning players.
    Skuz and Fading Illusion like this.
  10. Fading Illusion Augur

    I certainly could get behind that breakdown, Kermit. And I think most of us agree that's the overall order (Classical, Golden, then something went awry)....

    It's just a matter of how you chop it up. I actually debated internally with an almost identical breakdown.

    Somehow I felt DON, DOD, and POR were just different than the GOD/OOW time....

    As for SOL/POP division of ages, I could see that. In my explanation I even concurred that the Golden Age is merely an extension of the Classical Age. In hindsight, I'd probably agree the SOL probably goes more with PoP than Original+ROK+SOV.

    It seems what everyone agrees on is the big dividers : the shifts. GoD. TSS. HOT. EOK.

    I like Szilent's interesting question above. What's the next "shift?" It's an interesting thought exercise. I think we'll ride the nostalgia era for at least 1, if not 3 more expansions. But that's going to get old (no pun intended) after 5+ expansions. I expect 27 to be Velious. And 28 to be Luclin. 29 could be Luclin Part II making 30 a nice round expansions number...something big or new perhaps?

    In an upcoming episode of The EverQuest Show I actually am going to talk about this a little bit....

    I think the next "Age" will have to be something BOLD. It has to be. We've done it all. Are there still new ideas? I think you have to try something bold. I don't know what that is though. A new game that somehow shifts the industry and thus playstyles/development again?

    Or a new game that somehow incorporates or links the old game? I don't have the answer.

    I don't think the Nostalgia Age is the final age for sure.
  11. Szilent Augur

    The story Shadows of Luclin was part of has been progressing all along via Buried Sea, Darkened Sea, EoK & RoS. They're all The Combine Story. It crossed with the Ascension story (i.e. Mayong's) in Buried Sea, and with the Scions story (Firiona & Lanys) in Darkened Sea, and Kunark's Dragons' story in EoK-RoS.

    There is some follow-up to do eventually, what with over-aggressive Lcea getting herself shanked by Kar`Zok assassins, and the reborn empire encountering the Iksar & Lanys' outpost to the East, but I wouldn't count on seeing that soon.

    If I had to bet platimums, the only relatively high% guess is winter after next being the Earth & Water half of Burning Lands.
    Skuz likes this.
  12. Tsolaes Elder

    Very interesting analysis of the Ages of EQ!
  13. Gynek Lorekeeper

    I'd just love to see a very adventure oriented expansion that fills in unfinished stories.

    Particularly Edril and Elizerain Lake. I've been dreaming of this location being accessible since 2003.