Howdy Norrathians! The team is chomping at the bit to get to SOE Live in Las Vegas in October! We have a pretty big EQII Dev group going who want to take a couple of days out of their busy, expansion-making lives to meet and spend quality time with players IRL. This is my first time as the producer of EQII at a fan event, but I have attended three fun-filled fan faires as an EQ designer (that I remember...) and one as a player way back in 2002. I’ve always had a great time and can’t wait for you to join us! There’s certainly a lot of stuff going on this year! First, during the event, the EQII devs will be available in and around the event to chat with players. Bring your questions, suggestions, issues, baked goods, and happy-happy, joy-joy comments to any of us. We are going to do our best to be easily identified (scandalous/hilarious EQII t-shirt ideas welcome). Ready, Set, Win! On Friday, Oct. 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the Aether Races are on! Race for the best time (as many times as you can) and if you make the top five race times you get into the finals to race against Dave “SmokeJumper†Georgeson and the other finalists. As if beating SmokeJumper isn’t its own reward, there are cash prizes! First place gets $1,500! Inside Chains of Eternity We are preparing now for a panel that will give an inside, and behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming expansion: EverQuest II: Chains of Eternity. Not only will we feature a look at the overlands and dungeons, we will also take a closer look at the features and story. With new subclass and tradeskill prestige abilities, and a new adornment type, there is plenty to chat about. Also, I have to say, with the new additions, we have redone how the Alternate Abilities window functions. It’s magical. And loverly. Expansion & Dev Panels Our dev panels will include a catch-all Q&A session, the art of EQII that shows off overlands and dungeons, as well as some pretty awesome monster art and animations. Lastly, our Mechanics panel will cover spells, abilities, balance, and PvP. Player Panels! Ya, that’s right! New this year – Player Panels! As lively and committed as our community is, it’s hard not to imagine the wealth and breadth of ideas for this new feature (which gets you an All Access pass to SOE Live!). Believe me – the dev team is more-than-interested in what panels will come up and where and when we can line up for front-row seats. Check out the submission details at: http://www.soe.com/soelive/. Come one, come all!
I just got a look at the schedule for SOE Live. Some good things, some not, and a few confusing. No Tradeskill panel, but I guess after Skyshrine I should've expected that. Nonetheless, it's another sign that crafters are being left behind. Yes, I know the new expansion is supposed to have new Tradeskill content - but we were told that about Skyshrine too. No Lore panel. Was a bit more prepared for this one. Still, this is at least partially a story-driven game, and with the ever-increasing thresholds required to participate in new content, a place and time to share and discuss the story arc would be appreciated. 2 panels for the expansion - Friday 11-12 and 4-5. If the idea here is there is enough content in the new xpac for two panels, wouldn't it make more sense to have them cover a 2-hour slot, rather than split it by several hours? Or if the idea is to allow more people to hear it, shouldn't they be on two different days, so the folks who can't make it on Friday can hear what's going on? Personally, I prefer the back-to-back panels, since when panels are on two different days, the second one ends up being a lot of people asking the same questions as were in the first one. Anything Goes panel - if any panel could use 2 hours, it's this one. Always a popular panel. I notice that EQ's open panel has two slots (on two different days), you can't possibly tell me that EQ2's population and attendance is smaller than EQ's! I also notice there is no EQ2 panel from 4-5, which immediately follows the Anything Goes panel... Quest Like a Guide - which games? There's two of these scheduled and neither says which games will have guide quests available for us to participate in. I don't want to show up to help in an EQ2 guide quest to find out they're only running them in Vanguard and DCUO. The Business of the EverQuest Franchise panel - any chance that'll have something about EQNext, as well as EQ/EQ2? I know the schedule's not final and all, but I figured the best time to raise questions and concerns would be before it's final. Thanks for your time!
We won't be attending due primarily to work schedules and a day pass doesn't seem worth it. Too bad it doesn't carry to a Sunday. But FYI, for those visiting LV for the event, the Age of Chivalry Renissance Faire will take place the weekend before from the 12-14. It's a pretty large faire and has a large attendance. Also be aware that we are currently experiencing unusually warm weather for October at this time. So keep an eye on the forecast. That can change shortly.
