The amount of content being released makes me feel if we pay old subscription we should NOT pay for the latest expansion. Its just not worth the money anymore and in my opinion that's the only way they will keep an active player base. Obviously if you disabled gold subscription you stop being able to play in the top tier zones and that's fine, it works.
I hope this is the last $40 expansion, but not the last new content. Well, I wish they could go back to being able to deliver on $40 expansions, but I don't see that happening. Since they can't deliver on $40 expansions, I think they'll kill the game if they keep trying and failing to pump them out. From a business perspective, they need to switch to an a la carte DLC model.
shrug, stop playing now then if this is your wish, pretty simple to me. Regardless of whats going on, plenty of people who do enjoy playing it still, and like myself, have no desire to move on to another game if it dies. I have plenty of friends in the game I still enjoy playing with, regardless of a wow factor going on. Some people bowl or golf for 30 years.....you see much content change in those games other then equipment changes?
I know some pretty hardcore players that have found plenty to do under staggered release and huge quantities of group content achievements. While they would like more raid content, they want to play EQ and anything resembling an excuse to play works for them. Not much content? I did PoHate so many times it's ridiculous, ditto PoTime and ToV. And... Farming has always been a big part of EQ. And we should remember the original game didn't have Fabled, Hardcore Heritage, Anniversary (Stone of Power anyone?), Epic Ornaments, the shroud quest to break up the boredom. It was Vox, Naggy, Hate, Fear, camp FBSS or Yak and that was pretty much 100% of it. I'll pay $40 a year, gimmie what you can gladly. The what they can stuff has been awesome. (Pure Crazy Speculation) Part of the what they can give us looks like it's going to be Heroic Characters (see Producer's letter). An effort like that if it's not to be riddled with bugs and gross inequities takes effort. Yeah MAYBE they pandered less to omgomgomg 25 new raid events NOW!!! /tap /tap /tap peeps to pander to newer and casual players and put them within a stone's throw of the rest of us. I may not like the idea. But I can't argue having made that decision the resource hours were misplaced. Things ARE happening. This isn't a devs haven't done anything or even talked with us in a year situation as has happened on games SOE subsequently dropped. We are in no way, shape, or form neglected.
To quote Piestro from another thread. “Actually EQ would probably stay up even if it wasn't profitable, unless it was becoming a significant financial liability that greatly harmed the company (not in any way or shape likely to happen any time in the forseeable future). EQ is a huge benefit to SOE beyond just its financials, it also is freakin EQ. We were an answer on jeopardy the other day. From a PR and Brand standpoint we'd probably just keep the game going regardless. I definitely expect EQ to celebrate it's 20th anniversary and think that its 25th is very highly likely.”So im guessing there will be lots of expansions to come for us who arent "looking for the next phase of our gaming lives". <3
The value of a "$40 expansion" is directly related to the "standard" content. Folks have become conditioned to expect "4 tiers" of content...with a minimum of zones, quests, named, raids, etc. What was the deal with the portals in SL? Weren't they supposedly getting completed at a pace that the servers completed progression? Thus, the server(s) progression(s) had to be at a specific point before the new portals would be finished? Of course, it was just a graphical game not a real progression...right? Would folks be pleased with a new annual DLC plan ("expansion" for those living in the past) if all the DLC is released in one shot? Nope...there would be complaints that there wasn't enough content to last a year. Would folks be pleased with a new annual DLC plan ("expansion" for those living in the past) if the DLC is released in stages? Nope...there would be complaints that there wasn't enough content to last until the next DLC stage. Why do we need "tiers" of zones and gear and raids? Because people think that is how it has to be done... Would folks be pleased with a new annual DLC plan ("expansion" for those living in the past) if the DLC is released in a mixed manner? First content release (not an "expansion" or a "patch" just stage of DLC) has a couple "tier 1" raids through a story line that folks can reach...but there is also a story line that brings folks to a "tier 3" raid in the first content release. And a story line that starts in the first content release but doesn't end in a raid...but instead stops at a mission or two. The next content release (next DLC) the story line continues with some more quests (but you have to have completed the missions to participate in these new quests) and leads to a "tier 2" raid after another mission and some quests. Also, there is a "tier 1" raid in the second content release and a couple more "tier 2" raids. Maybe there is a "tier 4" raid tossed in that folks can get access to by completing some story line. Having multiple story lines that may or may not all combine into the 'main' story arc would give the devs the ability to toss in different "tier" content on each content release. Folks would scream about how it is impossible to beat a "tier 4" raid when only the "tier 1" gear has been released...well...folks other than that famous 0.01% of 5% of the top end raiders. If EQ is going to last "another five years" then lets hope the dev team can come up with multiple story lines and perhaps plan content that is completed in an annual "expansion" manner like folks are expecting but also can have a multiple year story arc that is worked on as well. This means that the dev team actually has to have content that sort of makes sense in a story arc....maybe one for the Neriak 'arc', one for the bixie 'arc', one for the Dead Hills 'arc', and one for the WK 'arc'...because honestly, can anyone explain how Dead Hills and Bixies are related to an overall story arc in CoTF? Did the EQ2 dragon step on some honey pots on the way to WK?
Yea, that was an interesting post for sure...and where will all the EQ Casual players go when that game fails when all the players move to high school? Have to go somewhere once the player base is tired of Beauty and the Beast play hour. Still, it can be read into Piestro's comments that "unless it was becoming a significant financial liability that greatly harmed the company (not in any way or shape likely to happen any time in the forseeable future)" could be viewed as "SOE will not pull the plug on the game but we may stop making new content and still claim the game is running" since an anniversary isn't a promise of content release....simply that the game is accessible.
Games fun, always will be regardless of how outdated the graphics are and the engine is. If you don't want to see another expansion, simply log off. Maybe one day the expansions will become amazing again, instead of just AA caps, regurgitated gear with higher stats, and the same old boring spells with more damage. I'd like to think eventually they'll do something new, just gotta wait and maybe it'll happen.
This game is completely Paid for.... they paid off investors, staff, designers etc long ago. All sales have been pure profit.. minus the costs to keep servers up.... and the cost of small staff they have..... Updates and expansions are easily paid for as well..... Like I have said before.. it will be a long time before this game drops below what profit it brings in that causes SOE to loose money. By that time .. there would be just 1 server and 1 guy working in an office to make sure the 50 year old servers dont catch fire again.
This game would be doing better if over the years they didn't take money that Everquest has earned and put it into games that have flopped.
I can agree there..... same goes with taking some of the best designers/and staff and moving them as well
Don't see or want this to be the last expansion sure they have been shrinking but the game is still fun more times than not. If you like round numbers and want to make an expansion the last the retire at the end of it with good memories and the knowledge you can come back when you change your mind.
It's a tough business. If companies were great at detecting non-hits and were militant about shutting them down before they were committed to seeing them through there'd be a lot fewer flops....and a lot less product. Not so great product on the shelves is perceived as better than nothing on the shelves. Which is what caused the video game crash of 1983 and paradoxically $10B in App Store sales in 2013.
This was my hopes too instead they are trying to push us into a game that most of us would not even enjoy. Eq next should be scrapped just like eq 2 should of been scrapped and they should give the original everquest a complete revamp but with all the same type of things that already exist. With as much money as they have wasted on both of them games eq could of been way better then any other mmo out there with the best graphics and the best content . Part of that money they are wasting if not most of it came from this game over the years anyway.
I like the game engine of EQ. I do not like EQ2.. WOW or FF14. Wish they would just take EQ game.. lay down modern graphics and let it continue.
Exactly. No other game I've played matches the simply basic gameplay of EQ for me. I won't worry about the game being shut down until they reduce the number of servers to a couple.
I think you're not seeing the forest for the trees in this comment. What people really want is the need and means to progress their characters in a meaningful way. And by meaningful way, I mean legitimate gains acquired through appropriate challenge and time invested so they feel as if they've accomplished something. Tiers just so happen to be the most common (and arguably logical?) way of providing that experience. The problem with the game lately is this part: "legitimate gains acquired through appropriate challenge and time invested" We're able to blow through the new content so easily that most of us feel we've not really been challenged or achieved anything meaningful... and the "gains" are very marginal these days between tiers. I can't tell you the last time I truly got excited about getting an upgrade... and to me, that is what's missing from the current game.
Vanguard has been down to 1 or 2 servers for many years and they still keep it going and patch it. They just added a new raid zone recently too. Obviously it gets much, much less content and attention than even Everquest, but it really does not take a lot of cash to keep a MMORPG going.
I would love to see a game where my current EQ character steps through a portal and materializes in EQNext. I would have a full set of gear/toys to start in a new adventure.
