EQII Extended - Feedback and Discussion Thread

SmokeJumper wrote:

You really can't see why this is a bad idea? Really?

I also hope that it brings in new players, I am fairly new myself been playing EQ2 for only 9 months, but
loving it. The only thing it lacks is a bigger player base. I agree with others that we should get some extra slots
we are the ones after all funding the free play...

Anduri wrote:

Which is EXACTLY what they want.
Twofold:
First they can say its our fault. Smokejumper has already done so in this thread:
"Unfortunately you guys wanted it to be seperate, I didn't lie its A NEW SERVICE."
Second, they'll convert everyone left playing EQ2 to EQ2x, making them a lot more money and forcing RMT on the players who didn't want it because the alternative will be playing on Live servers full of lag with less developmental focus and about 8 other players.
Win/Win for SOE, lose for its veteran players.

ohh or a potion to decrease leather drop rate...

Aenoruk@Mistmoore wrote:

EQ2X servers have completely separate Battlegrounds. EQII and EQ2X do not play on the same Battlegrounds servers, nor do they share leaderboards or discovery boards.

SmokeJumper wrote:

Do you have any more info on what us playing on the subscription servers will get?

So when you carefully chose your words back then, you knew this was coming? Is that the idea? You figured it was ok to mislead, so long as, strictly speaking, you didn't say anything false? Really? That's not good.
Now I suppose we have to very, very careful when we interpret what you say, huh?
SmokeJumper wrote:

SmokeJumper wrote:

So essentially you deceived everyone by carefully wording your response in a way that made us all feel warm and snuggly and think of sugar cookies. All the while your in the kitchen pouring poison in those cookies.. Where you ever in politics?

"But the free-to-play concept is a strong way to expose the world of Norrath to hordes of new players." - SmokeJumper

Looks like you are now seeing the alliance of old players who don't see the benefits of this new scheme.

But hey, at least there aren't any BFRs on the horizon for EQ2. yet

Gaige wrote:

QFE... QFE!!!!

Breaks my heart, Smokejumper. *shakes head*
Can't fix a damn thing in game, but you'll take the time to talk out the side of your mouth to us. That's not right, sir. That's not right at all. Its disrespectful and its wrong.

Frametree wrote:

When I was first quoted this way, I had been asked a point-blank question at E3 during a live, on-camera interview. "Will EQ2 be going Free-to-Play?"
Yes, at that time, we were discussing the concept. No, we were not ready to commit to it, nor did we have any details of what we might be doing.
I could not answer "no comment" because that would have spun the rumor mill out of control. So I answered with the most truthful thing I could commit to which was that "the current subscription model would remain unchanged".
It was the best answer I could give at the time.
I repeated that answer one time here on these forums because I had already said the same thing publicly, and it was still a truthful statement.
I'm sorry if you feel misled. That was absolutely not my intention. If anything, I wanted to reassure people that the current model would be unchanged because I knew that would be the case. And it is.

Yes Smokejumper you didn't technically lie. You did however destroy your credibility. Now we have to look at every single thing you post and try to imagine the 17 different things that it DOESN'T say and what the implications are. We can't take anything you say at face value.

This is the worst possible way to impliment F2P if you would have done this on normal servers yet not let people buy gear it would have been great. All this is going to do is bleed the population of live servers even further until there is only 1 live server left with the last of the holdouts why everyone else is on F2P.

There is absolutely no incentive to move from a F2P to live, especially after you've leveled a character. I'm not even angry, I just feel totally defeated.

I'd like to say this sounds like a GREAT idea.
I'd REALLY like to.
Unfortunately, however I tend to think that this sounds the death knell of the game.
Why?
Because EQ2 already has Station Cash on the live servers it lays the groundwork for SOE being able to introduce "moneyspinning items" developed on the new servers to the rest of the player base. Why else would it make any sort of sense that even if you pay the same via a GOLD membership, you still get restrictions over what the rest of us play with? Unless it is SOE's intention to expand F2P (pay-to-play) into the game as a whole.
Oh well, at least I will be able to turn my back on the game with a clear conscience.

Serpicos@Unrest wrote:

This is an experiment. We are currently at the Alpha stage of the new service. I fully expect the model to morph as we get feedback.
It's a bit early to be fatalistic.

SmokeJumper wrote:

/shrug
No use talking about it tbh. You alienated a ton of your veteran playerbase and developers never get that trust back. Just ask any of a number of them who are still hated to this day, even after leaving SOE.
The only thing I can ask is for you guys to merge all existing live servers into one server so that we have a playable population until the next big batch of MMOs come out and we can go somewhere where they will appreciate paying players.
Can you do that?

In the FAQ it says that

"SOE will be providing a new subscription rewards package for active users who purchase multi-month subscriptions. The rewards, based on the user's subscription, may include Station Cash and items such as the new Cloak of the Storm, Nizaran Assassin Armor Crate and Steed of the Blazing Sun. All exclusive to EQ II live! SOEwill unveil the full details of the program when we launch Extended" (Source: http://everquest2.com/free_to_play/extended_faq)

People with Station Access do not seem to be able to have a multi month subscription. Won't we see any of those loyalty rewards if we have "Station Access"?

I would love to read the marketing study that directed management towards this move. I'm sure it was the powerpoint presentation to end all powerpoint presentations.
That said, I don't see this as a bad thing necessarily, but with a single caveat that I am concerned about the existing population and the ability attract new players and thus do I have a suggestion:
Please give F2P players the option to become sub members and a free server transfer when they make the switch (with no items, like old EQ1 server transfers)
I am also curious how your marketing department intends to continue marketing this game? Will the focus change? I am concerned that EQ2 will lose dedicated and older gamers to other games. In short, gamers might not take the game as serious. Thoughts?

So, for those of us who would like to earn everything in game, are you going to make us a server that is LoN and SC free? Or take out LoN and SC on live servers, and have us earn everything in game?
I get the impression that your quote was a back-handed slap in the face to the ones who don't want P2P.
Also you could have gone the WarHammer route, and have F2P to level 10, with no mail service or guilds. Then if you wanted to play more you subscribed. That way you could have supported your live servers.
But I guess I digress because what you really want is total P2P with subcriptions. Even with the Platimun level you will have people buying items. Well I could see this day coming when LoN was first introduced and predicted it way back then. So it goes, and my game slowly rots. I guess evently I really will have to find more real life interests.

Gaige wrote:

QFMFE.