List of 30 Principles EverQuest Next Should Abide by - Final Edition - LOTPENSAB

>> Edited & Added to Section XVII "SOME items degrade ONLY when not attuned (repaired from ITEMS NORMALLY OBTAINED in the course of adventure)" in "Piquing Non-essentials"
a. Common require public quest trash items to repair
b. Uncommon require instanced trash items to repair
c. Rare items require advanced contested trash items to repair
d. Ultra-Rare items require RAID trash items to repair

>> Added #37a Consider brokers ONLY listing items, PHYSICAL MEET-UP REQUIRED to sell (somewhat un-intuitive, limiting of audience, might needlessly burden noobz) ;|

>> Added #14 Terrain Section IIIa-c -> a. Thin bar at top of 1st hotbar toggles "action mode" -- vital for manipulating certain wall segments for biometrics -OR- dynamic access puzzles
b. Some SPECIFIC climb areas/regions REQUIRE climb tools found from ONLY certain factions
c. Fasten anchor points to rappel quickly!

#14 Terrain Section III = Climbing textures that aren't flat (rocky, gangly, angular, jagged, mossy, slippery, etc.)

>> Added #4 Hyper-interactive environments Section XXII Parachuting from flying mounts or high altitudes
a. Thin bar at top of 1st hotbar toggles "action mode" -- deploy, turn, cut, unbuckle
b. Requires specific tools

>> Added IVa to #4 Hyper-interactive environments Section IV Deep sea diving w/ chaotic, underwater expeditions
a. Requires specific tools (some waters/muds require faction-specific tools)

>> Added #4 Hyper-interactive environments Section XXIII Climbing -- see: #14 Terrain Section IIIa-b

>> Added #5 Alternate Advancements Section VII LET LOWBIES still get named AA XP credit when grouped with someone out of LVL range
a. Supports "named AA XP runs" as a commodity to sell & experience the community with

>> Added #25 Artificial Intelligence Section IXf Non-fatal honor duels (affects faction standings)

Hmm. 19 edits. will actually edit them in later...have to go to the gym.

>> Added #1 DO NOT reduce classes Section Va-b -> a. PvP-divided Good/Evil/Exiled factions >SHOULD NOT< be imbalanced due to neutered options.
b. Players shouldn't have to waste time sinks on rudimentary unlocks when they should be able to progress their class/itemization/world access portfolio at the rate everyone else would be.
c. While restricting some races from class choices at the onset seems like it'd promote uniquity/exclusivity, it's a needless entry barrier, >ESPECIALLY< for PvP servers.

#1 DO NOT reduce classes Section V = Complete racial/faction class freedom

>> Added #22 Vanity, lore/fantasy immersion Section XXIII Safe fall for Scouts & specific races returns!
a. 100 meter limit! >|

>> Added #25 Artificial Intelligence Section IIh1 Act surprised/angry/afraid if something unexpected occurs ([6] fleeing, bewildered comment & expression/gesture, investigation, pet investigation, violence, reinforcements, etc.)

>> Added #13 Cities Section IVp General OVERLAPPING professions/roles (33): artists ([5] sculpters/painters/drawers/mosaic makers/wax & candle makers), astronomers, physicists, mathematicians, neurologists, archaeologists, biologists, cartographers, geologists, meteorologists, optometrists, dentists, lawyers, firefighters, hunters, gardeners, garbage collectors, insect collectors (plastazone foam board pinning), crazy cat ladies, crazy bird ladies, crazy rodent ladies, gladiators, librarians, zookeepers, taxi drivers (sled/chariot/carriage/caravan), (5) swindlers/thieves/burglars/robbers/heisters

>> Added Section XVIII* "CUSTOM SERVERS/OPEN SOURCE MODIFICATION: I hate low spell/combat art selection, and I >KNOW< (>KNOW<) many do, too. Who knows what kind of budget EQ3 is dealing with. To me, the team looks small -- but that's because I'm crazy, & prefer 38 playable races, 60 racial NPC cities, 24 class mounts as well as 19 race mounts, & 13 itemization routes for MULTIPLE tiers (no LEVELLESS systems -- all content difficulty scaling EQUALS a massive content surplus, plus low/medium/high entry barrier niches). Considering Smedley's statement that "devs will lose the fight against content churn", surely there are MANY things in the LOFPENSAB that will wrongly be omitted from EQ3. =|" to "Piquing Non-essentials"
a. Do it.
a1. Star Citizen is doing it.
a2. That means you should do it, too! n_n''...
b. I might make this #44 after August 2nd. Lol. ;p

>> Added Section XIX "Veteran rewards - Do whatever" to "Piquing Non-essentials"
>> Added Section XX "Recruit-a-friend Bonuses - Do whatever" to "Piquing Non-essentials"

>> Added Section XXI* "Itemize with best in slot SPANNING A RANGE OF 16 content types (Mastercrafted, solo quested, public quest, group quested, warfields, instanced, contested farming, battlegrounds, advanced instance, raiding [X2, X4, doable by pick-up raids, instanced, contested, etc.], contested PvP, advanced contested farming, advanced raiding -AND- politics, navy, siege)" to "Piquing Non-essentials"

>> Added "contagious/cascading/jump/link/bounce spells/CAs" to #32a Basic spell/combat art selection

>> Added #4 Hyper-interactive environments Section Xc In-combat runspeed DIFFERING FROM out-of-combat runspeed returns!

>> Added #4 Hyper-interactive environments Section XXIV Chants -- text entry phrases (order, timing, repetition, etc) for region access (see: #9 Overland PvP XIIIa-n, #14 Terrain v-XVIII, #21 User Interface VII, #27 Quests XIII)

>> Added #4 Hyper-interactive environments Section XXV Glyphs -- line/shape drawn symbols (order, timing, repetition, etc) for region access (see: #9 Overland PvP XIIIa-n, #14 Terrain v-XVIII, #21 User Interface VIII, #27 Quests XIV)

>> Added #4 Hyper-interactive environments Section XXVI Action Mode Categories expand various keymapped lists (nullifying all other keymaps until list exited)
a. Thin bar at top of 1st hotbar toggles Action Mode -- also keybindable
b. See: #4 Hyper-interactive environments XXII-XXIII, #14 Terrain III, #25 Artificial Intelligence VI-VII-VIII

>> Added #4 Hyper-interactive environments Section XXVII Player aging (optional) -- Talk to an age sage to adjust to (7) child/teen/young adult/adult/middle aged adult/senior/wrinkle bucket
a. ENDLESS -- >ENDLESS< -- quest options abound

>> Added #9 Overland PvP Section XXIII NO auto-engagement when hit -- this wrongly favors classes with runspeed & range
a. Less of a willingness to remain contested would be >WRONGLY< promoted, due to greater precaution

>> Added "boil" & "crush via weight (specific body areas, or entire body)" to #9 Overland PvP Section XIIIc6 torture [15] = [17]*

>> Added #12 Character creation customization Section II Muscular/fat/skinny & moderate/ample/small lady chests

>> Added #12 Character creation customization Section III African/Indian/Asian/Hispanic/Nordic themed human face styles

>> Added #14 Terrain Section IIId Think rapelling would be useless? Focus on a variable. Make jumping off a wall without rapelling instigate angry vines that strangle or pulverize <|1|> You're rapelling near a mystical/enchanted, flowing, sub-zero river waterfall -- jump away from the cliff & get frozen to an ice cube <|2|> You're rapelling into a noxious cave, with viral fumes that >VAPORIZE< you if you touch them <|3|>

All current edits wrapped into the LOFPENSAB documents. n_n

>> Added #4 Hyper-interactive environments Section XXIIc Think parachuting would be useless? Focus on a variable. Make free diving off a cliff result in a pterodactyl or griffon that swoops in, chomps you, & T-Rex head-shakes you into a ragdoll <|1|> You're on a 10 story bank building. Fall at too high a speed & motion-detecting ballistas impale you INSTANTLY. <|2|> You're on a mountain. The wind is HARSH AS #@&#. Jump off with no wind-ready parachute & you get SLAMMED into the cliff face. <|3|>

>> Added/Edited #13 Cities Section IVp&p1 - p. General OVERLAPPING professions/roles (51): artists ([5] sculpters/painters/drawers/mosaic makers/wax & candle makers), mimes, musicians, circus actors, theater actors, priests, linguists, historians, astronomers, physicists, mathematicians, neurologists, archaeologists, biologists, cartographers, geologists, meteorologists, optometrists, dentists, lawyers, bankers, firefighters, hunters, lumberjacks, farmers, fishers, gardeners, garbage collectors, insect collectors (plastazone foam board pinning), crazy cat ladies, crazy bird ladies, crazy rodent ladies, gladiators, weight lifters, swimmers, runners, mountain climbers, librarians, zookeepers, museum curators, barbers, news editors, taxi drivers (sled/chariot/carriage/caravan), (5) swindlers/thieves/burglars/robbers/heisters
p1. ON TOP OF normal 16 professions (shipwrights, guild siege, town siege, carpenter [house siege, maybe consolidate guild & town siege], woodworker, mount breeder, tailor, armorer, weaponsmith, alchemist, sage, jeweler, provisioner, transmuter, adorner, tinkerer)

Seems like a good place to put this - EQ Next I want to believe again!

No Instancing
If I were to blame one single feature for the devastation of the MMO genre it would be instancing. Instancing has been a cancer for MMOs. It’s a design cop out. Nothing has destroyed community and the sense of immersion more than the scourge of instancing. Instancing is an abomination to the notion of status. Instancing is a form of virtual world socialism where everyone is entitled to the same content. Instancing creates a sense of entitlement within players.

You can’t have Lord Nagafen — the famous Norrathian dragon — being simultaneously killed hundreds of times each night and thousands of times each week and expect that to not erode the sense of accomplishment for killing a dragon. Instancing is really a virtual world within a virtual world. Instancing is responsible for a host of evils in MMORPGs: it separates players from each other, it creates barriers, it impedes freedom, it devalues achievements and status, it encourages farming and creates a glut of loot. Community dungeons MUST be brought back into EQ Next!

No Easy Travel
Nothing makes a world smaller than providing fast means of travel. This is true for the real world as it is true for virtual worlds. Easy travel trivializes all of the hard work that environment artists and world builders and designers put into all of the zones.
Fast travel should only be made available to players via special classes such as wizard and druids. This has the wonderful side-effect of promoting class worth and class interdependence. Another benefit was that players would congregate around druid rings and wizard portals areas in hopes of getting ports. Travel buffs such as the Spirit of Wolf should only be available from select classes as well. Again this encourages class interdependence.

A Dynamic World with Dynamic NPCs

But a bigger question is WHY NOT? For example, why don’t we have a virtual world where there is true dynamic content instead of the scripted content we have today?

Why can’t we have dynamic content that responds to the actions or inactions of players? Content such as NPCs, structures found in towns and cities and even nature itself should all be dynamic — buildable and destructible. EQ Next should have landscapes that reflect the seasons as well. We have the technology today to pull this off.

Resources should play a big part in a dynamic world. Food and water should be leveraged as a basic commodity subject to supply and demand– you can build an entire fantasy virtual world around that alone! For example, players could engage in hunting and gathering to keep villagers fed and clothed. If players can help the villagers achieve a certain level of prosperity then the villagers can send more recruits to the feudal lord. If the feudal lord has more soldiers, mages resources, they can protect the villagers actually expand the boundaries of the kingdom. Bring in the importance of other resources such as ore and wood and crafted goods. Of course all of this should fluctuate depending on the level of involvement by the players.

If players choose not to help, the town dies and the feudal lord’s kingdom goes into decline. Seeing weakness orcs and bandits rise from the shadows and dungeons and oppress the villagers and chaos runs through the countryside and to the very gates of the kingdom. Who would not want to be involved in a dynamic world where the contribution of every player was not valued and needed?

One final thought on a dynamic virtual world is that the players alone should control the destiny of their worlds. Stop with the fixed plot lines dictated from on high that every player must conform to. The best example of this is in MMOs like WoW where the story of each expansion is predetermined as the big bad boss of the expansion is destined to die about 2 years into the expansion. This is what happened in Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm. What if the players can’t or choose not to kill the uber boss? Why does every server have to have the same outcome?

It’s time to stop the on-rails mentality of current MMO design and allow emergent player behavior in a completely dynamic world.

In the LOFPENSAB, I mention instances (well, 36 times with Ctrl+F, but, most notably) in #9 Section I, #9 Section IIIf, & #4 Section Va:

#9 Overland PvP I. NO BATTLEGROUNDS
III. Immunity
f. 30 sec countdown timers to entering instances

#4 Hyper-interactive environments V. Constructible, world-embedded, contested homes, guild halls, towns, & cities (4 player city types [Quiet, Functional, Bustling, Great], 3 constant indigenous NPC city types [Super, Mighty, Monolithic]) -- accessed by overland portals/spells/scrolls for convenience (1-3-6-12 hour reuse)
a. Instanced versions OF HOMES >ONLY< (NO INSTANCED GUILD HALLS)



I definitely think it's a false rally cry to attempt absolutely vilifying instances.

We saw active contested worlds & renown reputations on EQ2 PvP servers throughout EoF, KoS, RoK, TSO, & SF.

The problem is...where does the best gear come from?

And what are the rulesets, for PvP at least, that promote contested presence?

For PvPers at least, there are going to be some moderate and casual PvPers who prefer some time off from PvPing, but still add to the PvP combustion when open world PvP gets frisky.

Even with 40K kills, & likewise with all other top PvPers in the tens of thousands of kills, PvE content was something we perused, even if instanced or not (& most of it WAS).


How often does a PvPer want to put their reputation on the line & ensure they're performing with their A game, & their A team?

Maybe not an issue, as essentially all of my PvP groups had always been PuGs with moderate regulars, or just somewhat geared noobz! O_O


PvEers are a bit different in that, if all of their content is contested, you may detract from their resolve & faith in a lot of their capacity to realistically compete.

But, it depends on the scope of each contested dungeon, as well as the amount of named, placeholders, & their spawn rates.

You definitely shouldn't encounter a time where 30+ people are waiting on the respawn of one NPC...& maybe that'll never happen, considering players would realize the futility of such lengthy lines & pursue advancement elsewhere.

That's where the value of compelling quests from highly variable NPC AI & dynamic zone access event requirements can come in, which would serve to delay others gating into that content.



I still strongly think that both PvE & PvP populations can THRIVE, even with instanced dungeons.

And yes, many may be turned off, or forced to bottom of the barrel incompetence, if progression routes aren't of immediate, in-your-face simplicity.

I include instances in the LOFPENSAB, as I feel the moderates may be lost if the pressure is always on & the routes of progression unclear, or even remotely mysterious.

But, it'd probably be better if there were none, as players WILL find something to do to progress themselves if available routes are clogged...there just has to be enough contested content!

Siege warfare, navies, & constructible guild halls, towns, & cities HIGHLY diversify player replay value & focus.

I fully agree here bruvva Slant! >|

In the LOFPENSAB, I mention "runspeed" 8 times & most notably in #3 Section VIIIa-b, #4 Section Xa-c, #9 Section II.

#3 Mounts VIII. Runspeed gradients
a. Slow, Moderate, Exertion, Full Sprintb. No training or stamina limit, too great an entry barrier for newbies/casuals

#4 Hyper-interactive environments X. Runspeed -- keep below 101% of normal
a. Limited contested travel options cultivate contested presence & community.
b. THIS IS A FIERCE DEALBREAKER FOR MANY
c. In-combat runspeed DIFFERING FROM out-of-combat runspeed returns!

#9 Overland PvP II. No EXCESSIVE mount runspeed, LEAPERS, OR GLIDERS on PvP servers (fliers auto-slow fall after hit -- LIMITED ALTITUDE)

#9 Overland PvP XXIII. NO auto-engagement when hit -- this wrongly favors classes with runspeed & range
a. Less of a willingness to remain contested would be >WRONGLY< promoted, due to greater precaution




The LOFPENSAB mentions "port" 26 times (not all Re: portals), but, most notably in #4 Section V, #9 Section VI, #29 Section XIIf-f1, & #39.

#4 Hyper-interactive environments V. Constructible, world-embedded, contested homes, guild halls, towns, & cities (4 player city types [Quiet, Functional, Bustling, Great], 3 constant indigenous NPC city types [Super, Mighty, Monolithic]) -- accessed by overland portals/spells/scrolls for convenience (1-3-6-12 hour reuse)

#9 Overland PvP VI.REDUCED AMOUNT of porting items/world travel options (NO guild strategist for PvP servers), timers on CONTESTED world travel options
a. 30 sec casting/loading
b. 12-48+ hr reuse/cooldown

#29 Factions XII. Guilds still require 6 players + coin for creation!
a. Guild cloaks & heraldry returns!
b. Guild banks return!
c. Guild uniform appearance armor type, textures, & colors
d. Guild mount uniform textures & colors
e. ONLY MINOR CONVENIENCE amenities (tradeskill stations, harvested raw depots, collectible depots, bestiary lore & legends depots, etc.)
f. NO PORTING amenities
f1. OR, IF ANY porting amenities, 12-24-48+ hour reuse
g. Guild halls >MUST NOT< replace towns or cities, but stand as an organizational hub & >minor< leisure area...for guilds...
h. Leader/member scalable status/coin/rent tax & contribution
i. Leader/member permission system returns!

39.) REDUCED instant porting options (12-48 hr reuse/timers)



Why do I suggest 1-3-6-12 hour port spells for homes/guild halls/towns/cities?

Because players NEED a realistic way to DEFEND their territories & properties, or they'll feel irredeemably helpless & apathetic toward the whole concept of region control.

But, I do think that even DRUID PORTALS & SORCEROR SPIRE PORTS should have 12-48 hour reuse -- they should be >SPECIAL< spells.

Priest port-to-city/bind location spells need not return.


Re: Emergent Gameplay...(14) #3 Mounts, #4 Hyper-interactive environments, #9 Overland PvP, #10 PvP Warfields, #13 Cities, #15 Politics, #17 Ladder System, #25 Artificial Intelligence, #26 Tradeskills, #27 Quests, #29 Faction, #41 Stocks, Piquing Non-essentials Section XII & XIV

Lol well it looks like you have all the bases covered.

I took a quick glance at this list and saw:
V. Class mounts:Necromancer - snail
Conjuror - rainbow carebear

VI. Racial mounts:
Half Elf - baboon

Why would Sony even bother considering this ridiculous list, there is no point in even reading further.

And you obviously don't understand programming and understand the amount of time it would take to create all this artwork. Not to mention how much more hard drive space this would take, and the lag it would create to have to load 50,000 models. I'm not even going to bother going into all the other parts. This is the dumbest wishlist I have ever seen in any MMO.

Forgot #14 in Re: Emergent Gameplay...

Re: Emergent Gameplay...(15) #3 Mounts, #4 Hyper-interactive environments, #9 Overland PvP, #10 PvP Warfields, #13 Cities, #14 Terrain, #15 Politics, #17 Ladder System, #25 Artificial Intelligence, #26 Tradeskills, #27 Quests, #29 Faction, #41 Stocks, Piquing Non-essentials Section XII & XIV

Your understanding of niche novelty is terrible if you think Baboon, Snail & Rainbow Carebear mounts wouldn't be >HIGHLY< prized & regarded.

Tons of unique things you could do with such mounts, as well.

Also, as is said in the document, this is mostly a foray of procrastination & amusement on the ideal & flawless parallel universe image of Norrath.


Have liiike 10 edits, 4-7 screenboard/song concepts (@_@), & a brand rant I be workin' on atm...hm hm hmm...