Who Wants My Stuff?

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Lurikeen, Feb 2, 2023.

  1. Lurikeen Journeyman

    I have been playing EQ since 2001. I have, for the most part, enjoyed EQ but have recently ventured out into new MORPGs and my experiences with updated graphics engines, more streamlined UIs, faster frame rates, higher pings, and fresh content is pulling me away from EQ. At the moment, I am not sure I can return to regular game play on EQ. The following are some reasons for my reluctance to return to EQ which I hope might be considered by the powers that be.

    EQ was great back in the day. I had really started getting into it when Velious was released. The whole feel of Velious was amazing. I enjoyed discovering the new content with groups and solo. For me, every expac thereafter was pretty interesting until GoD was released. Gates of Discord was good, but the game just seem to get clunkier from GoD forward. For example, there were no real improvements to travel. Exploration seemed repetitive, travel around the map was broken up by the growing number of zones which I was not a great fan of zones. Today travel is not seamless. It is just a mess. How many portals, portal attendants, and the like do we need? Why cannot players collect travel shards, point and click on travel portals on the map, and transport to where they want to be? The answer is that travel in EQ cannot be fixed, the game code is too old. So it will just become more cumbersome to get around as the game continues to show its age.

    The game UI is, to be blunt, a PITA. To call it clunky would be a compliment. It is that bad. It reminds me of vintage Windows shells. How many spell button tabs do we need? My necro has like five spell button tabs all filled up with AA buttons, spell buttons, and more. It would be great to revamp the spell book so it was searchable, could be organized at the click of a button (e.g. spells could be sorted by level number at the click of a button, or maybe organized by spell line and level), but really spell lines, AAs, and DISCs are so repetitive why not just have newer spells, AAs, and DISCs automatically replace older ones? You would not need a spell book or AA window in that case. In fact, you would not need to run around the world to buy spells from vendors. Just buy spells and discs right out of the spell book like you buy AAs right now. Right. Old game, so likely cannot be changed at this stage.

    World content. I do not know... EQ has become boring because the game is stuck in a "Ground Hog's Day" type of content reincarnation. What happened to creativity? What happened to new classes? What about new races? What about new worlds? Seriously, EQ has been recycling old zone content and story lines for years now and is just boring. I tried to like NOS, but the more I play it the more I am dreading the next expac which will offer nothing truly new and refreshing.

    Trading, selling, bartering is too cumbersome in EQ. I am not even sure why the bazaar has not been eliminated by now. I cannot think of a single modern MMORPG that requires a PC to stick around in a zone to conduct trading. Who ever thought of that silliness did not have the foresight enough to predict that people would create mules on second accounts to trade from. When offline trading was introduced that just helped to keep logged off players in the chat que (which is always breaking) and takes up server resources to interact with the PC. Serious consideration should be given to eliminating the bazaar and just keeping the small bazaar interface. It is not hard to inventory what a PC wants to sell and list it.

    NPC encounters. This is the part of the game I really dislike. EQ should be all about the questing, but interacting with quest NPCs is still too much like the old MUDs. Why not interact with an NPC with a "continue" button and a "repeat" button to toggle through a conversation? There are some older quests hanging around that do not have a highlighted word to click on to move the quest forward. And why maintain older factions for quest lines when, for the most part, faction does not really matter anymore? After all, there are no advantages to building faction when it does not reflect in granting better loot, or wearing gear which reflects the faction that has been worked. EQ flirted with racial armor but did not continue to evolve it. Personally, I think that would have been a good way to keep people dialed into role playing which has disappeared from EQ almost entirely.

    Finally, for years I have been hearing from EQ developers that game lag would be fixed, but it has not been. Going to 64bit has not lessened lag in my experience, even though it was touted as a fix. And, how many years does it take to move to a new graphics engine and get rid of rectangular arms and legs on characters? Why cannot a bazaar allow for prices above two million? Why cannot the bazaar allow for sales of items in krono, or even varying raid currencies?

    I could go on, but this is already too long.

    EQ is that old clunker in the garage which was fun to tinker on after its prime, but now is just taking up space and resources I see no reason to give it. Who wants my stuff?
    Buds, Fenthen, Metanis and 2 others like this.
  2. Alnitak Augur

    And what MMORPG would that be?
    Tatanka likes this.
  3. Aiona Augur

    While I have been frustrated at times with how dated EQ is, it still draws me back in no matter where I go.

    I would say, 'take me with you,' but I know I would change my mind and end up right back here before long.

    I haven't given up on EQ because of 2 reasons:
    1. The community (ignoring the bad apples/toxicity)
    2. The real updates being made to the game, past, present and future.

    I just played Anarchy Online for a month.
    You want to see clunky and 'not being updated'? Go play that and tell me how you feel afterwards. It launched in 2001 and is on it's last legs. Fun nostalgia trip for me but it's sad to think it won't be around much longer (or never really updated again at least).

    Anywho, good luck wherever your journey takes you! :)
    Xangeon66 and Paladin like this.
  4. Eaedyilye More stonehive bixies.

    First of all, I'm happy new expansions get released yearly. Could they be better? Sure, but we get semi new content.

    The only upgrade I've wanted for years is graphic upgrades. With that said, don't change my pet illusion bixie drone. Don't make it the weird bug like creature in EQ2.
  5. Name2 Augur

    I think that there are several valid criticisms raised here. Fixing many of them probably isn't super realistic though. I hope that if they do add things like a bazaar overhaul the results are available on all server types and not gated by expansion. Enjoy your freedom OP.
  6. CatsPaws No response to your post cause your on ignore

    Well, none of us are what we were 20 years ago and you could easily apply most of that to us as we age:

    Takes longer to get where we go when we travel
    Our graphic engine is pretty worn looking
    Have to move a lot slower
    That new vitamin pill didn't do what the doctor said it would
    etc

    EQ is like a comfortable old shoe/blanket/coat etc, while its pretty worn ya just can't get rid of it.

    Its ok to leave. :)
    Graag Baash likes this.
  7. Andarriel Everquest player since 2000

    I dont need your stuff im rich and you will be back everybody comes back. What ive learned over the years is Gameplay > Graphics.
  8. Deux Corpse Connoisseur

    I'll take your stuff my brother in death and I'm on FV as well...PM me if you want a good home for your stuffz :D
    Viler likes this.
  9. Brontus EQ Player Activist

    Every Darkpaw developer should stop what they are doing and read the this beauftiful, articulate, heartfelt post. I completely agree with you and I suspect many others agree with you as well. Most will just stop playing and not bother to write a farewell missive. I'm very close to leaving EQ myself, so what you said really resonated with me.

    When Daybreak created Darkpaw, many of us thought that it would be the start of some big things for the EverQuest franchise. After a few years, it's become quite clear, that it's business as usual. EverQuest and the people that have continued to support this franchise deserves far better than what we are getting.
  10. Shanarias Augur

    I am in need of EVERYTHING on Firiona Vie, because I have never been "twinked". Parcel some stuff to Mongenn, please. :)
    Metanis likes this.
  11. Fian Augur

    From my experience, no other MMORPG is like EQ. Other MMORPG are fun too, but at times you will find yourself missing the EQ method of picking a camp site and killing for a few hours. Not to mention the class diversity that just doesn't exist in other MMORPG. Don't sell your stuff, you may find yourself wanting to come back. I left for 10 years and then came back.
  12. Metanis Bad Company

    Strongly suggest you keep your stuff, because when you come back a few years from now you're going to kick your tooty you gave it away!
    Xianzu_Monk_Tunare likes this.
  13. Name2 Augur

    I agree with your sentiment that these messages need to reach the powers that be. Typically that's going to be a higher level than the developers or even designers in most cases. Developers aren't deciding what they're working on or game direction. Designers are going to be operating within budgetary and time constraints. The team actually working on EQ may want to address every one of these concerns but it's just not on the roadmap, and it's not fair to expect them to do this stuff on their own time. JChan needs to internalize these messages, really understand the current player base, and take these concerns to the corporate level meetings and hopefully get some of it on the roadmap. It's going to require more investment than EQ currently receives to address this stuff, if that's what they aim to do. I'm honestly more hopeful for a modern sequel than realistically seeing sweeping changes, it feels more realistic to me somehow.

    Also remember, a lot of players are happy or at least fine with the current state of the game. That's a factor in the decision making too
    Brontus likes this.
  14. Brontus EQ Player Activist

    You are right.

    There's a lot to unpack in your post. Perhaps the developers are being hamstrung by EG7 as to what they are allowed to work on. But that's just speculation. Still, that doesn't prevent them from reciprocating the loyalty and love for the franchise that players have. What else is a reasonable person to think, since they rarely post on the forums or even share their vision for EQ?

    You can't buy love and you can't buy a caring attitude. Either you love and care about something or you don't. Developers who have love and passion for the video games they create are far better than those who don't. Over the years, I've read many interviews with former EQ and WoW devs who talked about all the things they fixed in their respective MMOs in their lunch breaks and after hours. Ask the people at the top of their fields and you soon understand that what motivates poeple is not always about financial compensation.

    One of the most tragic things about the EQ franchise is that continuned support of loyal fans doesn't seem to be appreciated or acknowledged. I don't see enough engagement, gratitude, outreach, and appreciation from EG7 and Darkpaw for the on-going financial support that community has given them over the years.

    Like you, I would like to see a new version of EverQuest where all the modern conventions and conveniences of state of the art MMO design are implemented. EverQuest is rife with inexplicable arbitrary design descisions that were ill-conceived and foisted upon the players and remain in the MMO to this day. While some attempts have been made to modernize EQ over the years, not enough has been done.

    To make an analogy, at one point all automobiles had manual transmissions with no power brakes, no power steering and no air conditioning. Today every car comes with automatic tranmission, power brakes, power steering, and AC because car companies realized they had to be competitive and fufill the needs of consumers.

    I loved the original Apple IIe personal computer. It was a game changer. Thankfully, Apple was not content to rest on its laurels and continued to make new computers. Some failed and some succeeded.

    EG7 needs to follow suit and modernize the EQ experience for the present and future generations.

    That sounds plausible. Strangely enough, the unreciprocated loyalty and chronic apathy of some current EQ players may be a factor in EG7's hesitancy to innovate and move foward with a new version of EQ. That said, I'm sure lots of people were happy with horse and buggy transportation over a hundred years ago. Thankfully, Henry Ford didn't pander to them and instead created automobiles that made fast, reliable transportation available to the common man. I guarantee you, not one Darkpaw dev came to work today using horse and buggy transportation.

    It is regretable that the only way that we as players can make an impact in EQ is to vote with our feet. Other games have small exit interviews and ask players why are are unsubsribing. I'm not sure if Darkpaw has this. I've cancelled accounts before and I don't recall ever being asked why I cancelled on their web page.

    It would be nice if a Darkpaw dev could either publicly or personally PM a person leaving and say:

    "Hello, I'm EQ developer John Doe, I read what you posted. I'm very sorry that you are leaving EQ. We all appreciate your continued patronage and support. How can we make things better so you will stay?"

    That would go down in EQ history as a legendary event. Like the awakening of the Sleeper. ;)
  15. tsiawdroi TittyGOAT

    I'm pretty sure all the devs care about their work and the game. If they went and sent PM to every person leaving/complaining they wouldn't have time to actually do work; which would then start a new chain of different kind of complaints.

    I think when you consider how small a team of devs and that some work on other games, you are not giving enough credit. Especially when trying to fix something usually involves something else breaking.

    FWIW, I would love to see class balance and raid lag fixed as soon as possible. But, I am not going to bemoan a lack of gratitude or appreciation from a company I voluntarily pay to play their game. I guess though some have this attitude of entitlement.
  16. Cicelee Augur

  17. Cicelee Augur

    I would much rather have devs spend their time working on new content and class balance and lag than have them responding to one person who may or may not be relevant because they left. Forums are not an airport- you don't need to announce arrivals or departures. But people do, looking for likes or gratification or acknowledgment that their thoughts are shared by 1-20 other ForumQuest participants.

    If someone wants to join and play the game, then join and play the game. If someone wants to leave and go to another game, then leave. No need to make a public outcry about it. 99% of EQ players could care less if you, I, the OP, John Doe, Sally Q, etc leaves. Tell the 1% that cares and go on with life.
  18. Tatanka Joe Schmo

    Agree. Sounds more like a job for, I don't know, maybe a community manager ;)
    Graag Baash and Metanis like this.
  19. eqgamer Augur

    nothing wrong w openly sharing that he's moving on. The "we're not an airport" line is a bologna type comment so ignore it (I just added that dude to
    Ignore as his posts are always salty). Don't get rid of your stuff. Take a break. Rethink things later. If ever.
    KushallaFV likes this.
  20. Corwyhn Lionheart Guild Leader, Lions of the Heart

    Hmmm... don't think so. Their job is to manage the community not one person who has a hair up his hiney.

    And what would they say?

    - We have no need of new classes. That gets silly at some point continually adding classes.

    - The Groundhog day thing? We are still getting new expansions... And we still get new features. Anyone who expects the game experience to feel like anything other then a treadmill with new scenery each turn of the week is expecting too much from a game this old in my opinion.

    - Buy and sell and the bazaar and such? Thats fine too in my opinion.

    - Questing? Fine too.... sure they got crazy with the NPC interactions one expansion but thats not bad either.

    He is burnt out on EQ pure and simple nothing a Community Manager could say would make one bit of difference.