I liked a lot of the aspects covered in the presentation but I have to say I'm one of the people that doesn't like the graphics. Guess I'll need to wait and see if it grows on me as we get to see newer builds but as it stands I don't find it looks unique enough. What I mean is that when you look at games like TERA, FFXIV:ARR or even GW2 they have a really distinctive, unique look but I don't think EQNext has this.
Interview with PC Gamer gave some details. No levels. http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/08/03/everquest-next-interview/
Just to add to my earlier thoughts. I have always liked the idea of no levels and no classes and an open world MMO. It appears that Everquest Next is attempting something very close.
Well even without cynicism you still have to factor in the station cash factor - how big an impact will it have? EQ Next will be designed with this in mind from day one and given whats happened in EQ2 it could well be if not completely pay to win, at least partially like Planetside 2.
From what I am reading in previews and articles, it looks like EQN will be free to play.. so, I'm betting the cash shop will have a big role in the game (although I hope not.. but I can understand why it will) I just hope it still uses the same station cash we use now. That way.. we can stock up in the time between now and game release. I'll also feel better about it, if that's the case, because that will be one less thing I'll be leaving behind as I switch games.
I was very disappointed. I was hoping for a wonderful new world that I could become immersed in. I can't get past the graphics, all I could think about was disney as soon as I saw the human and kerra. The combat looked silly and over done to me as well, not something I could get into. While I watched it, I just kept thinking of other games that already did the same thing. Weapon skills change when weapons are changed - GW2 Running kerra - Charr GW2. Minecraft, secondlife WoW etc. I feel as if they just took a bit of all the games out there and mashed them all together hoping to make a game that would sell because it had a lot of the elements from other games that did well. These are just my opinions and I respect those that like it I just personally feel very disheartened by what I've seen. p.s Not really a new member, I have two accounts, one almost 6 years and the other, just over. I just never post , but felt strongly enough about this that I wanted to
What I don't understand is actually the "Heroic Movement". I haven't seen the presentation, but from the looks of it, it is something that doesn't really fit in an MMO in my opinion. In the small video with the Human Wizard, she double-jumps over a gap. Actually in that moment I was missing the salto forward, because then it would have been WoW... I don't know, why put in something like that in an MMO? To have more action? To appeal more people that have a console (Since I am pretty sure it will be released on Next Gen consoles as well).
This is the sort of thing that will make me try the game, it really is unrealistic to have the specialisations we have in EQ2, and several hot bars having to be available to fight with. The ability to destroy the world will be very compelling, I remember how much fun the raw power of the Diablo 3 wizard was. But I would have to say that I agree with many if not all of the negative comments in this string. I don't want to play, or see, Alex the Lion in any game I play.
It looks okay so far other then the cartoonish models. What I want to see is a miner skill that allows a player to make permanent mines (tunnels) in the ground while looking for ore and then have mobs migrate to it depending on the size of the mine system. Also I hope the female models get back that sexy walk/run they used to have when eq2 first came out. Used to love running behind a group with female models watching them shake their back sides. lol.
Ah, funny, been posting since like 2004 dec and I am a new member. Maybe the counter rolled over, hahaha.
I like the models (and i'm not a child) and think the combat LOOKS fun, but remains to be seen if it's actually as engaging as it looks. People are complaining about "8 keys" but we don't know how those 8 keys interact. We don't know what's involved in making that vortex. It might just be a single click, but it might also involve other things. We'll have to wait and see. My big complaint is the choices on races. I read the lore story that was released, and it only mentioned Elves, Humans, Ogres, dwarves, gnomes and kerrans. That's a DRASTIC reduction in races, and people are not gonna be happy having to abandon beloved races. What happened to my halflings? What about the other elves? Ratonga? Frogloks? I hope they will be introduced later in the lore and be available at launch.
I'm disappointed that they are copying Guild Wars 2 combat system; for one reason. This dodging based combat system does not allow for mounts, ever.
I am hoping its not a console style fighting system with stupid jumps and combo button presses. Nothing is dumber than that. That is why console games use that method. Young people are usually not smart enough to think about tactics and strategies. They just want to push the same buttons over and over to get that instant win.
Ok, I've read all the angst from the people who can't get past the graphics on various articles and forums, here included, until I'm blue in the face. And I can certainly understand where people may be disappointed in the graphical style if they were hoping or, however misguided, actually *expecting* something more hyper-realistic for some reason. I'll even say myself I'd personally prefer a more traditional look for the Kerrans as has been commented about here already. All that being said, I suppose I'm shocked that there's so many for whom graphics apparently mean more than the sum total of all else, to the point that they seem to completely miss the underlying excitement that should still be there. When you actually read up on everything that's been revealed both in the initial reveal video and the interviews and panels that have followed after the initial reveal last night into today, whether or not the end product is what you thought you want, much less implemented to perfection as it relates to the goals being communicated, this is, and should be, the bottom line about this game for anyone who even remotely cares about playing an MMO of any kind: SOE has, for the first time in YEARS in the MMO genre, actually introduced a complete package of innovation and a new/fresh approach to the mix. Even if you've seen pieces of some of the same things/ideas in other games, you can't point to a game that has tried them all from the ground up. That alone is an exciting prospect for the future of the genre. The genre, mind you, that has been stagnant for the last decade, and primarily thanks to WoW and the endless attempts to recapture that supposed magic-in-a-bottle with other IP's. And before those who still love/play WoW take offense at that comment, bear with me and read on. Whether you like(d) WoW or not, you're lying to yourself if you don't point to that game as the most fundamental part of the problem the last 10 years. Every game that comes out is either pointedly attempting to be a clone with another IP, or accused of being a clone in knee-jerk fashion many times when it wasn't even realistically warranted, and regardless, almost always compared to it in some form or fashion, and its because of the near-worship status and popularity of that game that this was the case. So even if you still love that game to this day, be mature enough to admit that WoW, for all its popularity, has been a polarizing figure in the MMO genre ever since. So, regardless of any reservations someone might have about certain aspects of what EQ Next contains that they don't like otherwise, I don't see how anyone can't help but be excited by the new things this game will attempt to bring to the table that, regardless of the outcome here or your personal opinion on the 'presentation/style' of the mix involved, others can take and build and perfect upon from there with other IP's, particularly as technology gets even better going forward. This as much as anything is what has me excited. Whether or not EQ Next is an unmitigated success, or otherwise a failure due to other things certain people, 'graphics snobs' or otherwise, can't get past....EQ Next is still absolutely the catalyst that the MMO genre has desperately needed for a very long time in my opinion. A great comparative analogy is the reception Nintendo's Wii received from more traditional/hardcore console gamers before it became so popular outside the traditional gaming core. This game, while being built by many hardcore and veteran MMO developing talent that have been in the business some 10-20 years in many cases, isn't being built with traditional MMO hardcore style players primarily in mind, nor even existing EQ lore aficionados. While it also will have all of those elements within it, this game is a love song to what has long been a lost art in the majority of the MMO world: the full sense of exploration, imagination and wonder. SWG was the first MMO I ever played, and even though that left alot to be desired over the long haul in many ways when content wasn't properly developed before they launched it, there hasn't yet been an MMO I've played (I never played original EQ back in its heyday mind you) since then that came close to matching the sense of wonder and curiosity in simply exploring the game world early on to see what you might run across. SOE has used the phrase 'virtual world' several times during and since the reveal, and that underscores what they at least intend this to be. Like the Wii, EQ Next may or may not resonate with many of more traditional 'hardcore'/veteran MMO'ers, or even (obviously) several of the more traditional fans of the realm of Norrath, but I have to think that its mark and influence will be felt either way regardless going forward. Best way to sum up this game, from everything I've read, is that its a hybrid mix between the EQ2 universe/lore, at least some of SWG's crafting depth, some of Elder Scrolls games' style/sense of exploration, and a more robust Minecraft-esque experience all rolled into one. That's one amazing multiplayer gaming recipe. So, whether or not you like or agree with certain aspects of SOE's overall presentation/implementation of that mix, I think you still have to respect and be excited by the bold step forward that they're making to finally attempt to advance the genre out of the stagnant doldrums we've all been stuck in for so long....and the potential for the future of MMO's going forward as others eventually start attempting to implement these ideas across other IP's, perhaps even in better 'packages' that better suit your personal tastes graphically or otherwise.
While there are some bits that have my interest I have to enjoy looking at the world I'm playing in. And between Alex the Kerran and the thought that Ratongas are going to look like Timon from Lion King EQ:N is starting to give me a sinking feeling. It was basically a toss up between EQ:N and Archeage NA/EU for my next mmo move, but with the over the top cartoon model(s) and tuperware armor Archeage is starting to once again edge ahead to me. I don't expect them to make enough major changes to the character models to correct what I see as flaws in the them and the direction they've gone with the WoW-esque armor style. I'm not looking for hyper-realism but was looking for something less blocky and cartoony unfortunately. Jorm
It's Guild Wars 2 with Disney animation and destructible environments. Not what I expected, and certainly not what I wanted.
@Tyndelon - graphics are the key to world immersion. As a cartoon the world is immediately underlined as being unreal and an immediate impediment to immersion right there. I had that with Aion - the manga style planted it squarely into "game" and not "immersive world". I play it but don't care about the world its set in. Graphics to me are your interface into the world straight from the screen to your eyes. Your brain/game interface if you like. With a world like Skyrim it was a world you could live and breathe in - an immersive world with astounding attention to even the smallest detail. Even before I started playing it (and finding its shortcomings) I was brought straight into the world intimately. So yes, to me, graphics are a massive part of the world. Unfortunately from what I have seen of EQ:Next there is no world to travel to - just an environment for your cartoons to live in - like watching an interactive version of Battle of the Planets. With your avatar looking so poorly detailed as well there is no intimacy there either - dressing your guy in over the top cartoon finery that seems to take 5 minutes to make is not very rewarding. I like to see work that's gone into the armour and weapons. I want to see the full plate look heavy. The shield to look as if it would stop a two handed axe and a weapon that's as finely crafted as Glamdring - not a toy weapon. I'm afraid to me graphics make the game. EQ:N at the current development stage looks cheap, cheerful and like any other of the hundreds of South Korean MMO's on the market. I cant see anything that would make me say "Oh yes - that IS Everquest". You could put one of those screenshots up with no caption and people would glide over it as just another of those random Asian releases. I'm hoping I end up eating my hat. I truly am but right now this is already dead to me.
