The Tattered Notebook What I Need To See In EverQuest Subsequent

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I used to be going to update you superb folks on my adventures in rolling my 17,000th EverQuest II alt for this week's Tattered Notebook, however SOE determined to drop a Fan Faire Stay date on us, which type of mucked up my nefarious plans.



Why do we care about SOE Live? Properly, there are multiple causes, however crucial one is that as a substitute of getting to attend till October, we now get to see (and contact!) EverQuest Next in early August!



This news threw me for a little bit of a loop, I do not thoughts telling you. I mean, I knew that SOE's John Smedley flat-out guaranteed a playable EQNext demo at SOE Stay 2013. And i knew that it's actually 2013 already, so palms-on time with what is perhaps the next nice sandbox will happen inside of a calendar year. It nonetheless appeared really far off for some purpose, although, I guess because it was just three months in the past that we have been finishing up SOE Stay 2012. August 1st goes to be right here earlier than we comprehend it, so it's excessive time we begin prognosticating about EQNext, wouldn't you agree?



Hopefully it goes without saying that I might wish to see this stuff in addition to the same old high-high quality PvE questing, dungeon, raid, and development content material.



Heritage quests



Though I played the original EverQuest for less than a few month, I like love love EverQuest II's heritage strains. In a franchise that already sets the standard for MMO lore, it was a genius idea to tie the two video games collectively and throw EQ vets a nostalgia-drenched bone by offering up extended epic quests with EQ-centric merchandise rewards.



More like that in EQNext, please.



Housing



You recognize SOE goes to place housing in EQNext, as the corporate does the feature better than another MMO developer (sorry Trion -- great effort, although). The query is how can it ever be pretty much as good as EQII's implementation. Realistically I do not suppose it may possibly, at least not at release. It's actually a game-within-the-recreation that has extra in frequent with Minecraft than typical MMO afterthought design, so if it takes SOE a while to fit it into EQNext's framework, I am Okay with that. While we're dreaming, I would also be greater than Okay with SOE finding a technique to do EQII's housing in an open-world atmosphere.



And sure, I do know, Mr. Hardcore Gamer, housing and non-combat choices are for Barbie lovers and casuals and no one uses them. Apart from the tens of millions of gamers who have made the Sims franchise the most popular within the history of the private pc.



A crafter-driven economy



This goes to be troublesome for SOE to tug off, significantly given the loot-drop legacy of themeparks like EQ and EQII. My definition of sandbox is constructed on an precise participant economy, although, and one in all my frustrations with EQII is the vast, intricate, and enjoyable crafting system that is sort of completely wasted on a recreation the place a lot of the gear is mob-dropped and bind-on-equip.



I do not envy the designers here as a result of along with the balancing challenges inherent in making and maintaining a sandbox financial system, they've also acquired to deal with the psyche of the new-school MMO player who doesn't wish to be bothered with crafters and who needs to distant public sale his gear with a minimal of effort and participant interplay. At the identical time, the agency has minced no phrases about the fact that EQNext is a participant-driven sandbox, so the way it navigates this potential minefield can be interesting to watch.



Good guild instruments



Copy EQII's guild instruments. Something much less makes Jef cry. The tip.



Things I don't wish to see



Before I knock off for the day, let me spend a few paragraphs on issues I don't wish to see. Firstly, in-sport VOIP. Look, I know it makes for a very good again-of-the-box (can we nonetheless have game containers?) bullet point, however the truth is that it is a waste of development assets even if it is shoe-horned in there by a third occasion.



I mean, actually, what guild with a clue does not use Ventrilo, TeamSpeak, or Mumble these days? These are all free apps -- except you are the guild chief paying for the server, and even then it's often a lot cheaper than a conventional MMO sub -- and they dwarf the performance present in present in-sport options. In-sport VOIP goes to be laggy, it will sound like crap, and the only individuals who might use it for more than 5 minutes are the poor saps in pickup dungeon groups.



Secondly, let's not have any of that dev-generated personal story foolishness or the related voice-acting. This is a massively multiplayer sandbox, in spite of everything, and i can think of at the very least two latest AAA titles that have done more than sufficient to justify tossing these ideas onto the proverbial pile of MMO fail. I'm in all probability preaching to the choir right here, as Smedley has given multiple interviews over the previous few months that illustrate the corporate's "the gamers are the content material" motto. However, nonetheless. MMORPG. Sandbox. Please do not with the only-player savior-of-the-cosmos nonsense. Thank you.



What's in a reputation?



Whew. This isn't an exhaustive checklist of course, and I am fairly curious to see what a few of you wish to see in EQNext. Relaxation assured that we'll be revisiting this subject often as SOE ramps as much as its August reveal and past.



And with that, let's carry this week's situation of The Tattered Notebook to a detailed. Oh, that jogs my memory! With EQNext in our close to future, MJ and that i are probably going to rename the column sooner or later, each as a option to freshen issues up and to higher capture the spirit of the franchise going ahead. And we would love your assist! Atlwood Be at liberty to submit your recommendations within the feedback or contact us immediately via [email protected] or [email protected].



EverQuest II is so massive that it takes two authors to make sense of it all! Join Jef Reahard and MJ Guthrie as they discover Norrathian nooks and crannies from the Overrealm to Timorous Deep. Running every Saturday, The Tattered Notebook is your useful resource for all issues EQII and EQNext -- and catch MJ every 'EverQuest Two-sday' on Massively Tv!