For the last several expansions, EverQuest has suffered from the 'copy+paste' method of development in far too many areas. For example, anyone who pays attention could predict with about 90% accuracy what content of the next expansion is going to look like in terms of: AA Gear Spells Quests Achievements Please break the team away from this. Your first hurdle is focus degradation.
Holly, from one old player (and the hundreds or thousand of others who have been lobbying for this awhile) to another, I am eager at the possibility that we may see attention given to a classic server. This would take far less effort than a new expansion with more potential for long-term income with 6-12 month locks between expansions, and stopping perhaps forever at PoP or LDoN/GoD--maybe starting a new one once that happens. Progression is wildly popular, and the population dwindles not because it was a novelty, but because it moves too fast for the casual player. With the spotlight on EQ through such a weary lens due to this uneasy merger--at least from our I think we have the potential to see an great influx of players not only come back to check it out, but to resubscribe for a chance to maintain a character or two on a server that we are confident won't progress so fast that only those in the top few guilds have any fun after the first 6 months. Bring back the good times and stop allowing an to rake in all of the thousands (and there are thousands) of interested old and new players alike, since they are the only ones that offer anything close to that old experience. We want it, you have the opportunity to give it back to us, and turn a profit doing so.
It's great to see that we FINALLY have an actual player who was a raider & a boxer as the head of the EQ franchise (at least EQ & EQ 2) & I've heard that you've done a lot of good with EQ 2 so I am cautiously optimistic that you can turn the tides with EQ & get us back to where we were as far as fun content that is also beneficial, either undo most of the xp nerfs & some of the others in the last 2+ years or find alternatives that suit everyone as best as possible & ADVERTISE! There is so much untapped potential with EverQuest not only on PC but yes make a mobile variant of some sort that we can all use that works for iOS & Android, port it to XBOX 360/XBOX One in some form & market it! There is a lot of money that has gone to waste in the past & a lot of missed opportunities out there to co brand & market this game & remind the world how awesome it truly is! Regardless of all the naysayers & "haters" for lack of a better term, they are so passionate about the game that they still comment here even though they are retired. That should say something for the over all quality of the game & the impact on all the players who've played it's lives in the last 16 years. I would love to see it go another 10+ years & become a multimedia hit like it always should have been. Movies, a tv/web based episodic show in animated or live action form, books, etc etc etc. Also consider going over all the suspended & banned accounts & see what was legit, what was either a mistake or very minor & possibly unsuspend/unban those & see if that brings back some more paying players. It very well might & would be a sign of good will to the player base. Sorry if I seem overzealous, I'm both excited & nervous about the future of my favorite MMO & one of the greatest games of all time. Thank you for the update & I am looking forward to Wednesday.
A return to the old would be nice! There is certainly untapped potential in terms of what you can add to the hundreds of existing zones which are nearly empty all day. Bring content back to that, and you don't need to redesign a thing. Make the option to visit each zone as a level-appropriate non-respawning instance with some guaranteed named, and let them drop unique things (not the copy/paste 10% better upgrade stuff everyone is growing tired of, but look to Kunark/Velious originality in those drops. We will never see an VT raid again, but you could allow us to if you made it relevant. If nothing else, let us earn a currency to purchase all of our new upgrades. You can create infinite playability by applying what LDoN gave us to all of Norrath. And the current player base can act as the beta testers to give you your data to make sure it works. I've been saying for years I would pay extra to play on an original to Velious server, or buy each character slot. Project 99 won't do it for me, and even though it seemingly boasts the same population as any live server, the player base is not inclusive of low levels like it would be on a real server. All your greatness is there--unleash it!
One of the quickest and simplest things you can do to immediately create more content for boxers and small parties is to allow mercenaries into expansions that are either older than current, or perhaps two expansions back from current. Hardcore raiders shouldn't stress, as with the way the current game operates, even gear one expansion old is not considered at all competitive. This will also increase Daybreak revenue through more Bayle Mark and plat spending on the mercs. Let me stress this though - if reusing old content is in the thought process to save money moving forward, don't destroy the current content. A lot of people still play this game (or come back) for nostalgia reasons, so no longer being able to play the oldschool content could drive them away. Instead, offer alternate higher level versions of the oldschool content.
My only request is bring back the silver and gold memberships. Some of us are on a very limited income and can not afford to have even $1 dollars a month taken out of our back accounts. I will agree that $15 is not much but it may make a difference between a family meal or the game. As for anything else it is good to have a player in the development stage and someone who has experience as such can/should have thoughts on what is needed
Wish List: Combine all live servers into 1 except Firiona Vie & Zek Move players from TLP Vulak to Fippy & delete Vulak ( maybe start another TLP fresh like SOOO many want?) -- This will leave 4 total servers which should save $$ & make things very interesting amongst the community. ** Remove the NERF from the Feb 19,2014 PATCH that RUINED EQ & caused SOOO many to QUIT!! ( - Ranger - Headshot - Changed all levels of this ability to function on enemies at the purchase level minus 1. Reduced the proc rate to approximately 2 per minute for a raid geared player. - Ranger - Headshot - Created 3 new ranks of this ability to bring its maximum effective level up to 99. - Rogue - Anatomy (Assassinate) - Changed all levels of this ability to function on enemies at the purchase level minus 1. Reduced the proc rate to approximately 2 per minute for a raid geared player. - Rogue - Anatomy - Created 3 new ranks of this ability to bring its maximum effective level up to 99.)
No, that ship has long sailed. But I still have a lot of friends, both players and employees, so the news of the last week has been... difficult. I still want EQ to do well. And while EQNext isn't going to be my type of game (feels more like an ARPG than an MMO to me), I want it to succeed. But my faith that it will happen has been sadly shaken.
+1 to this and more. On another note, even though I'm not an EQ2 player (haven't been for a few years), I've always enjoyed Holly's presentation at SOE Live. You could tell she knew what she was talking about, this is very important to the players because they need to feel you're "one of us". She also knew how to talk to the crowd to get them excited. So for that, I'm happy to hear she'll be heading up the EQ1/EQ2 exec producer position. By the way Holly, there's a sizable crowd that have been asking for a new EQ progression server. Please consider giving that to the fans. Even the devs agree they would like to do it, so there must've been someone above them that have been saying no. If you have the power to give this an OK, please really consider it. It's one of the most requested things these past few years. These are easy subscriptions you are all missing out by holding onto a nearly empty Vulak and a bleeding Fippy that majority of the progression server fans are in no way interested in playing on. A new timelocked progression server will not only draw a good sizable crowd, but it'll get people talking about Everquest again. These are people that are not playing EQ currently, have no interest in the current endgame on live servers, but would just love to re-live the classic days for sake of nostalgia (a feeling that I think you know very well).
/agree Mardy, /agree Elkay, /agree Arkk. I would agree with Lilrod if there was also the implementation of a level 1-85 server that people who wanted to have fun playing their low level characters could so with a slight chance they might actually meet another lower level character. Let those with alts under 85 move them, and make all new characters start there, and have the option to move to the new server when they are ready (regardless of level). I'm sure there are plenty if you pile all servers combined, and the new server would draw a lot of interest and maybe new/old-returning blood.
Skeeter, instead of trying to convince everyone else to rage quit thereby bringing on the end of EQ which you are already blaming on others do us a favor. Close your accounts including your forum access and let the rest of us look forward to the future. Please.
Im just going to make a very brief recommendation given the new leadership and all. Please overhaul the Free to play stuff. Ease the AA and Gear restrictions to allow the free players to actually play near current content.
The reason I think the game is suffering a lot from what I've seen is content is being made to be for a very ideal group that IMO a lot of the playerbase can't just execute to what a full group could do and having a trio (with mercenaries) or a duo being the best at what they do is not even as logical for the current state of the game is. A lot of the people don't have that of a circle of friends to begin with, so my hopeful suggestion to look for a fix *immediate or prolonged* could be maybe making instances that maybe a small group or single player(s) could execute in a way that it would be challenging of course.. but difficulty in the instance to adjust to how big the group is...and still be able to get rewards (with currency or w/e) but maybe get it in equal, lesser or greater time and still being able to get what that player could consider having their character where they want it to be and be able to enjoy the game they love. And maybe build things from there and who knows maybe this game could change for the better for everyone in general. But..that's just an idea I had always had in my head, so I thought I would give this thread some ideas hopefully you can work with them. And btw thanks Windstalker for having the time to inform us about hat's coming in the near future of our beloved EQ!
guys they would of already started work on the next expansion long before these layoffs. I don't see them abandoning all the work already done.
As a longtime player of EverQuest, I was shocked to hear about the sale of the company. The first thing that was done after the announcement of the sale was an announcement that the yearly convention is canceled. This put great fear in my heart that EverQuest is not going to continue into the future. No matter what you say, canceling that event is significant. What a great opportunity will be lost for the introduction of the new owners of EverQuest had the convention been held. Another thing that bothers me, is the loss of veteran rewards showing loyalty to the product for many years of service. It is as if old players are being forgotten and new players are offered many items through the marketplace in order to make a quick buck. I would hope a reconsideration of veteran rewards is discussed under the new management. Forcing players into the new expansion by limiting the experience they receive from old expansion tasks and experience points is another area I think the management of EverQuest has faltered on. The lore of EverQuest is rich in the many areas of the world of Norrrath. Even a well seasoned player maximum level can get enjoyment from low-level content by exploring the lore that those expansions offered. I would hope that under the new management a reconsideration of how experience is gained from past expansions be explored. I have been playing this game for more than 15 years, and some of my friends feel it's an obsession, but once introduced to the vast and complex world of Norrath my friends and family understand why I continue to play. However, if the game becomes a tool in which to siphon money from its players, the magic of EverQuest will be lost. I hope the new management listens to my comments here and considers them in their decision-making for the future of the game. Thank you for your time and consideration -- Tobin Itharel 103rd level ranger on Povar in the Firestormers guild.
Next expansion would still be in early phases, maybe the art team is working on it. The actual content they'd be working on right now is anniversary, TDS-2, and hardcore heritage. Fall expansion content work shouldn't really start till summer.
