I'd recommend devs stay off forums and lean on community reps to deal with the noise here. The high priority problems like "expansions are light on content and features" and "lag" arent subtle problems requiring crowdsourcing to suss out. What's important is what makes it to the game, not placating words.
Other game companies have shown that to just not be the case. EQ is extremally limited in dev communication compared to other titles. Riot Games has daily communications from their devs. Not something i think is needed or reasonable for EQ but shows what exactly is possible. When was the last time the EQ devs streamed anything?
Riot Games is a huge company that can afford to pull devs off what they are doing. You are comparing apples to oranges.
This is true. ......................... If we had "enough" developers we wouldn't be getting one expansion or less split in two & released over 2 years. And we wouldn't be getting told that to have another round of Epic Weapon quests we would have to forgo an entire expansion because it would be as much work as one. Kunark - epic 1.0 PLUS 26 zones Terror of Luclin - 7 zones that's less than 1/3 of the zones of an expansion made during EverQuest's 1st year. Okay so the quests are structured very differently & the raids are also vastly more complex, but it just shows how little we really get now & that's mostly due to lack of a larger team. We used to get full Banquet expansions with jesters, jugglers, wrestlers, acrobats & some light jazz with a Coffee & Crunchy mint treat at the end, now we get the 99cent meal deal & while the buns are very fresh I'm 100% convinced I've seen that very same patty & melted cheese before!!
Throwing a positive spin on it, we're talking about a 20+ year old game that they/we have managed to keep afloat all these years. At least we're still getting new content after all this time, even if some of it is rehashed.
Good point! What is the social media strategy of the EverQuest franchise? Where is the outreach to streamers and influencers that could help promote EQ to newer audiences? Where are the web ads for EQ? Devs that are ready, willing, able, and available to stream the games they are playing and interact with the community is expected by modern studios in today's world. It's an all hands on deck mindset. This is especially true of senior developers who in theory are more invested in the game. To whom much is given, much is expected. If you think you can show up for work and hide in a cubicle for 8 hours a day in 2022 and never bother to make an effort occasionally interact with the community where community is one of the unique selling points of your game, perhaps a career in gamedev is not for you. As I mentioned before, the EQ franchise needs a full-time product evangelist. The lack of franchise self-actualization is directly related to management. DarkPaw can't even retain their employees as Blizzard has poached most of them. New positions are still unfilled too. This is very telling. All roads lead to the owners, Enad Global 7. The buck stops with them.
I have seen targeted ads for EQ on social media (Facebook, Instagram, possibly Google). I think most EQ players (adults) are not interested in seeing Daybreak spend game revenue on streamers and self-appointed "social influencers." Who wants to see $25,000+ of player contributions sent to Asmongold? Nothing is stopping you from starting your own stream. If you have a great personality, you can promote the game and earn income at the same time. Please share your Twitch or YouTube handle. EQ is an older game with a cult following. Juveniles and teens are more interested adrenaline-packed games with shiny, new graphics. Have you checked the forums lately? I'd rather have devs working on the game than trying to sell me a $300 crowdfunding pledge bundle based on a 3-year away feature in some fancy video edit. Last I checked (recent history), only 2 Darkpaw employees left for Blizzard. Blizzard has been embroiled in controversy. Massively has also reported a decline in players and revenue at that studio. The effects of Microsoft's acquisition is still to be determined. There's a bit of inaccuracy and hyperbole in your statements.
The only way the EverQuest franchise starts attracting a new audience is with a new entry that is designed with modern players in mind. In its current form, EQ1 is one of the least approachable games imaginable. I don't even care about the graphics, even though it is objectively fairly ugly to look at. The game just isn't designed to appeal to modern audiences. Everything about it feels like an antique, which works for current players that appreciate/remember it for what it was, but is hard for a new player to pick up when there are much more engaging options on the table. Modern audiences aren't looking for experiences that require 10% of their attention. Boxing being an effective (and predominant) playstyle is a design flaw. Mudflation in gear, levels, and AA presents a nearly insurmountable game of catch up. New players expect at least some ability to accomplish some things independently (in a single client). APM is way too low, there is basically no skill gap between someone watching Netflix, and someone paying 100% attention. People don't want time sinks any more, they want to be able to log in to a game and do what they want to do without waiting for hours for groups or whatever. People want a challenge, and EQ is not a challenging game, it has always been a game that primarily rewards /played time. What is it about EQ1 that would actually entice a new player to keep playing, assuming they were even willing to download it and give it a shot in the first place?
I agree with most of what you say. I disagree that EQ is not a challenging game, once it used to be with corpse runs and all. Very few classes can solo all the way to the level cap in EQ unlike MMOs like World of Warcraft. There are 2 issues here: 1. the state of EQ and how devs communicate 2. the state of the EQ franchise While EQ is an antiquated MMO there are still things the devs could be doing (QOL improvements) to make it better. If I knew that EG7 had a EQ3 in the works, I could easily forgive them their lack of attention to the state of EQ with chronic understaffing and their failure to reinvest their profits back into EQ. If they are not working on a new EQ, then what they are doing is unforgivable. If EG7 is unwilling or unable to realize the full potential of the EverQuest franchise, then they should have the decency to sell it to a studio that will realize it's potential. I'm a retiree, I don't have many years left on this planet. I would like to play EQ3 before I die.
It's a conversation for a different thread, but I have a feeling a lot of EQ1 players won't like EQ3. Most don't even like EQ2. For EQ3 to be "widely" successful, it will need to be a game that caters to today's younger generation which want a game they can pick up and put down in 30 minute intervals, inherently requiring more instant gratification rather than the long haul, also generally focusing on pay-to-win mechanics and a visual mod store over deep gameplay. There's a reason most of the remaining EQ population has stuck with this game over any offerings (or came back). MMOs in general have been on the decline for years due to what the newer gaming generation expects from gaming. Don't let Final Fantasy's current booming success fool you that the MMO sector as a whole is in a rising healthy state. The major MMOs that are left on the market are just pulling the remaining MMO fans between one another and with the mass exodus of WoW it was Final Fantasy's turn to shine. I'm not sure now is a good time to dump a ton of money into releasing another MMO into the market because the current MMOs don't leave any gaps to pull many MMO fans away from one of the current offerings. To pull interest of the EQ1 players, it would have to basically mimic current EQ1 with some tweaks, maybe some updated graphics but not going too far. At that point, just spend way less money enhancing the current game we already have. You also don't want to poach the small remaining EQ community. Like I said, this should really be taken to another thread but I'd be willing to contribute to it. I've had this same discussion in previous years to about the same consensus.
Most new 3D MMORPGs do fail by just a few reasons: Development does take 5-10 years and the companies run out of money after a few years because they have no clue about financial stuff. Bad ideas and concepts like making content to big, complicated and detailed. Focusing to much on kids as customers like 95% of all other games. The players today do not have the money to buy the hard- and software that is required to run a modern 3D MMORPG. Players here do frequently wtb new computers for the unrealistic price of $200 which is their budget. Regarding EQ there are rumors that Daybreak and other gaming companies including former EQ devs do work on Amazon projects as they have the knowhow and Amazon the big money. Currently only mega corporations like Amazon do have the ressources to develop successfull AAA MMORPGs. Such "nice" stuff like New World. Amazon is doing everything to get a foot into the gaming market.
The best hope of a spiritual successor to EQ is not even being made by Darkpaw imho. But I still have some hope left that once EQ has modernised** it can start attracting new blood again. **UI Update, new gfx engine, combat overhaul, and a catch up system that actually stays relevant instead of becoming more obsolete with each passing year**
i think Absor should visist me once a week in game and give me a hug and tell me how much he appreciate me playing the game . clearly this is a good idea
Great points! If a new EverQuest is every develped you can be sure they would use an existing engine. Amazon's Lumberyard engine is being used by Amazon Games New World MMO. Also, it would be good if Blizzard could licesne out the WoW engine and all the proprietary in-house development tools for so that indie studious could leverage all that tech to make new MMOs.
This is what they are doing with sister MMO Lord of the Rings Online right now. If they could do this for EverQuest and do a player character overhaul, that would be most welcome.
Does Absor actually give hugs? I mostly think of him as mostly a hammer kind of guy. Clearly, more research is needed.
There is a lot of truth to what you say however as someone who has played many MMOs (EvE Online, Runescape, Albion Online, Lost Ark). I always come back to EQ for the biggest reason why EQ is addicting. The social environment. No other MMO makes you connect with other players as well as EQ and despite how archaic the actual gameplay is there is enough complexity to keep you interested. EQ really needs to play to this strength. EQ doesn't need to require the APM of an RTS to be fun what it needs is to not alienate new players from the community by the unrealistic amount of catchup required. Even with the clunky UI and brutal learning curve new players would stick around if they could easily connect with the veteran player base.
Recently devs here have certainly stepped up their follow through and communication. Bug threads are being systematically reviewed and commented on, devs even do DM conversations here. I have even posted thank yous to them for this. The 2022 roadmap is refreshing for instance. Yelinak Q&A Discussion threads about body types etc. etc.
