If players are given a tiny zone, they turn over every pebble. If they are given a huge zone, then they don't have time to deal with that piddly stuff. What if they were given a huge Everquest on the scale of No Mans Sky. Would people get into it, or drop it because it would literally take more than a lifetime to play it all.
You definitely have to get into the motivations of why people play this game in order to answer that question. For me, Everquest2 is a game where I enjoy continuing to make my character stronger so he can achieve continuously more difficult goals and better tackle those challenges while helping fellow gamers achieve their goals along the way. It works best if those goals are somewhat in line. For example loot with similar stats, ascension achieving, tithe, and plat earning. EQ2 has set up a nice system where working together towards those types of goals is fairly simple. If you open up the game to something as grand as no man's sky, then all of a sudden, working towards those goals becomes potentially more difficult. It is more in line with why I play OTHER games like Skyrim or Dark Souls or The Witcher. In those games, it is about the exploration for me. I enjoy finding a new cave or area to explore and battle new creatures, but actually progressing my character, while fun, is not the MAIN draw. Games like dark souls, I never want them to end. I want to see what is beyond the next gate. A no man's sky dark souls would be a dream come true, as long as each area was actually different from the last at least in somewhat interesting ways. So, eq2 and a no man's sky situation are very different, in my eyes. One is a team sport, and the other is more of a solo exploration outlet. I enjoy that there is sort of a solo exploration outlet aspect of eq2, but the thing that keeps me here is the team sport aspect.
I love questing and I love adventuring so I would love another group of H U G E zones. alas those days are well behind us.
There is still so much within this game I've not explored but sure, I would welcome a new huge area - not going to happen but I would be up for it - of course I would expect them to remove the xp nerf first. I remember in Vanguard there were lots of areas within areas unless you knew they were there (like caves and such) no one went there - lots of fun to explore
This game has many hidden areas to explore, but you level so fast, that exploring isn't encouraged. Only by mentoring/chrono/level locking are you going to be able to experience those niches this game offers. What makes playing alts so fun is discovering those places you missed. It's amazing to discover those places out there.
I wouldn't like a huge zone/group of zones unless there was something worthwhile wherever I went. Having large areas just for the sake of making it 'feel' expansive just jean you gave to run/fly/take transport to get from one useful place to another. For me, the original Kunark zones had it about right in terms of distances/population between 'quest hubs'.
Kunark is my favorite expansion. So lets say your quest, instead of running to the end of the zone and back, was to complete all the solo zones in Kunark to give you passage on a ship to another world, that has different races and totally new stuff. And your epic would be to obtain fragments from various worlds, through their signature quests, and eventually combine them together.
Well...they kinda did that back in the day with the access quests needed to leave TS for was it zek and or enchanted lands? And the notion of obtaining 'planar power' for Ep2 is more or less what you are asking for. The game is or at least should be about changing the experience for the gamer from expac to expac. Personally I would welcome a return to the huge scale of the original kunark or even, something like the scale of the Commonlands (an unhindered open landscape). Of recent expacs, AoM had great potential but what could've been a sea of a hundred 'little' archipeligos to be explored, became what was more or less 6 islands. AoM was an opportunity missed but still, enjoyable. Don't think going to "a new world" really works altho I think ToT in some respects, was close to the idea.
As far as I'm concerned, MMORPGs are supposed to be huge, immersive, open-world experiences. However, developers are also supposed to supply you with incentive to explore said open worlds. I don't mind small instances and dungeons, but I strongly dislike a lot of loading screens when traversing something that's meant to feel like a fluid world. But, big or small, I'll explore just about anything so long as I actually have reason to do so -- and that reason being more than because it "looks nice." The more I find myself blazing through the same, uninteresting areas over and over again, the more I might as well be playing another mediocre console RPG.
Not choosing this post to criticise, but to comment on several parts "something worthwhile" - means different things to different players - I agree that there needs to be something worthwhile - but to me than might simply be a quest starter unlinked to anything else under a rock someplace that I find by exploring. Doesn't even have to have a reward - the satisfaction of doing it is enough. One of the reasons I still like the Commonlands - after more than 10 years can still find new stuff. Quest hubs - is a pet hate if they are the only things available - quest hubs detract from exploring - go to point "A" and get told to go to point "B" then "C" etc. If you don't complete hub A hub B doesn't offer quests. I don't go on guided tour holidays, and I don't want it in my games either.
there is a lot I miss about eq1. I would love to see a HUGE open zone here- camp checks, trains, rushing to nameds etc..all that fun stuff we remember from eq1. With random named spawns that have long respawn timers 1 day-14 day some being group some raid. I miss 2am calls hey x mob is up get on now- rushing to beat other guilds to that named spawn. It could be safer by entrance so less geared can enjoy and camp there than the deeper you go in the more dangerous it gets. Rewards based on difficulty. Have some faction related to it with random quest givers and safe spots through the zone. They could throw in some new abilities or aa for this special new area. Maybe add on aa or something that empowers class abilities that grow in power the more you experience in this new zone. Abilities to encourage grouping outside your normal comfort zones. I do not like instanced dungeons I feel it has taken away that community feel eq1 had. Now we group with friends & guildmates rarely grouping with new people getting to know the community. Could be an achievement and an aa group with 100 new people in this new area and you get 10% to x ability or something.... As a hardcore raider in eq1 there were things that were difficult. Eq2 not so much. Yes, there is challenge but everything is predictable. You go into x dungeon or raid you know y mob is pathing here or there are 3 in that encounter in that cornerand z named is going to do this... in eq1 zones there were mobs that came out of nowhere and named weren't as predictable. It was more challenge more on your toes...I would love to see that here in eq2...
42... Seriously! This would vary so much that the responses could go on forever... For me I would play and love it! So long as there was lore and quests and true content included.
