-Pantheon - stuck in dev -Monsters and Memories - still too early to call -Project XXXX - not interested Is there any actual game that scratches the itch for old school EQ? (that isnt project)
I played Dark Ages of Camelot for a while back when it was released, I liked it - they had a good crafting system from the off, no idea if it even exists now. I also played Eve, which is so pretty and chill and I loved the vastness of the economy (something EQ severely lacks these days with everyone funneled into the same gear / content at the top end), but neither grabbed me the same way that I wanted to part with cash every month for 'em like I still do with EQ.
I've seen one called Erenshor. It bills itself as like Everquest, but every other 'player' is AI-driven. So it's a single player game that plays like an MMO. I think you can be invited to guilds, make friends with 'players' and they level with you and even by themselves when you're not with them. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2382520/Erenshor/ Edit: Just downloaded the demo - grouped up with a few 'players' and found a haunted dungeon. Killed a bunch of ghosties but ultimately fell at a named; Mourning. Good fun.
Monster's and Memories looks kinda ok, but Pantheon you can basically forget about. Other than that EQ is just that unique, nothing else out there like it.
Monsters and Memories gives me hope but seems years away from anything playable for the public. Sigh.
Ive no hope for pantheon. Early release usually means thats it. The amount of games that leave early release to full release is vanishingly small. They now lose a huge chunk of dev time keeping players happy, and are very limited in making any big changes out of fear they will drive the players away. Early release is a terrible idea, and just a way to cash in on unfinished games. Eve was fun, but its jusr gank town once you leave the starting areas, and has been for years. Its no fun when you can lose several days of play because some troll is camping the zone points.
There are easy ways around "gank town" if you put some time into learning the game. And when I say "learning the game", it's like EQ, there is a LOT to learn, and third party websites to get familiar with, etc. My issue with Eve was lack of PvE content. I have shorter play sessions. If I want to do something like escalations, it can take most of a play session just to find one. EvE is definitely geared towards those who have LOTS of time to play.
Pantheon just announced they're opening testing to all backers with a "season" system. The first test season will last 6 weeks and backers will be able to play during that season for 1 week (beta backers), 2 weeks (alpha backers) or 6 weeks (VIP backers). It might evolve later to allow more testing time for beta/alpha backers, at least some people will be able to actually play it and make their own opinion.
There is a game I found on iOS/Android called Celtic Heroes. I haven't really played it, but it's a mobile game that plays like a real MMO.
With all the layoffs currently in game development, I have heard, that some of the laid off will be working on Pantheon. (Not that I believe it's ever going to come out.) IF it ever does get to a full release, it might be similar to the original EQ but with their own "QoL". Like EQ has become, will be a niche game. That's neither good nor bad, unless they want to try to get investors with pockets deep enough to sustain them.
I don't know whether you want multiplayer only. On the single player side, I've been looking into the old game Morrowind with some mods to make it look pretty, crush bugs, and add some QoL improvements. Modding Morrowind seems to be a deep rabbit hole. For now, I have enough old single player games that I need to finish first.
i did read about it, and the advice boiled down to: Never spend to much, and expect to lose a significant amount, because this can make it less likely that you get screwed. however you will get screwed. Often by people whose goal is to make you angry and hurt you. Eve could have been an AMAZING game. However forcing pvp on everyone ruined it. I've known several people who played, and every single one quit because of the pvp environment. Other people who were interested in playing, but didn't want to spend 30% of their time trying to account for ganking. Forcing pvp on poeple is a terrible game design outside of a moba. Eve was billed as a pve game and worked hard to create that environment. All it was really doing was trying to create more targets for gankers.
