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SoE strategy...which every competitor lack...
Anofalye
Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 7,433
Basically...
EQ is for 50+ person per raid...they have the market.
EQ2 is for small raids...
EQ3 will prolly be for groups(LDoN but more then that, way more)...
See the pattern?
They get TRFoHAfterlife and those folks to stick to EQ, they put new expensions forward and they will eventually upgrade the graphics and everything...(dont tell me it is hard to copy EQ on a new engine system, it is not)...they may even leave old servers with old graphics, but same content...They get player pool 001.
They fight with WoW and Vanguard and many others to get player pool 002(small raids) and they hope nobody sway the groupers and the soloers(PvE) in the meanwhile, and so far, nobody is trying to seriously, so player pool 003 and 004 can play in a game designed for player pool 001 or 002 until they are ready to get a real game released for them.
EQ2, WoW and Vanguard will not compete with EQ on the awesome raids stuff(see Omens of War?), they will be busy fighting with each other over the small raids market.
*shrug* Why this strategy? They assume the raiders to be more loyals and long term player pool then the other, this is why they start with them!
Anyway...Vanguard have my attention...
- "Coercing? No no, I assure you, they are willing to bring my bags and pay public transportation just to help me, it is true!''
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
Comments
Well, Vanguard looks ok and all but the release is so far off(late 2005-2006?) and the hype is so low that it will not be able to compete with WoW and EQ2. WoW and EQ2 will have been patched and expansions will be out, making both games far more polished. Mabye the hype will go up when the release comes near but right now, too many eq type games are coming out.
EQ2 Qeynos Guild- http://eq2imperium.proboards15.com
Yes, there are lots of EQ copycats coming out. There have been ever since EQ was released. The difference between those and Vanguard is that Vanguard is headed up by the same person who brought us EQ. And he isn't the only experienced person on the team. It is an all star cast, and in case you don't think it has the backing, it is the first game to use Microsoft's XNA platform. So Microsoft will be funding the game heavily to ensure the success of the new platform. Many people believe Vanguard is part of the reason MS dumped two of their MMORPGS which were further along in development.
This team has the experience, it has the backing, it has the vision (tm), and instead of being an EQ clone, it will be the first third generation MMORPG, and likely the next big thing in online gaming.
Or it could suck, who knows these days. But if I had to bet, I would be on massive success.
Both AL and FoH have moved to WoW.
Was that part of SoE strategy?
High End raid content designer for SoE plays a level 30ish character and makes raids for level 65 characters. Thats like a stockboy running the whole grocery store.
Unfinished and untesteed expansions which they have admitted to.
The most horrid customer assistance to the point that it would shame most companies. Imagine if your bank ran their customer assistance like they did?
EQ will lose alot of their base players once the next set of games comes out.
Quote from vanguard site-
Will there be a product to buy in stores? Most likely yes(most likely?)
Then the forums say late 2005 or 2006 release date. It will be rlease after xbox2. Either way, I try to support MS the least I can, and Sigil and MS seem to be in bed together.
EQ2 Qeynos Guild- http://eq2imperium.proboards15.com
[quote]Originally posted by DerfelCadarn
[b]Quote from vanguard site-
Will there be a product to buy in stores? Most likely yes(most likely?)
Then the forums say late 2005 or 2006 release date. It will be rlease after xbox2. Either way, I try to support MS the least I can, and Sigil and MS seem to be in bed together.
EQ2 Qeynos Guild- [url=http://eq2imperium.proboards15.com][/b][/quote]
they seem to be in bed together? lol...
Sigil is supported by Microsoft
Maxxxi - Frostfell - Asherons Call 2
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The True Oracle of all that is EverQuest!! Down with WoW, down with all other MMORPGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WoW, it rocks (and I don't mean the game)!
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"You sir, are a moron"
Well...
Those guilds are spoiled childrens IMO.
SoE give those guilds everything they can. They are the best soloers, the best groupers, the best PvPers, the best tradeskillers...and they still complain.
If you want to wage, I am not afraid to wage that they will move back to old plain EQ a few months after they try WoW and EQ2 and realize how ''lames'' those games are.
EQ is fine tuned to the uber guilds. They do everything they can to please them, yet maintain some challenge to keep them motivated. Saddly, they are far from perfect and because they TRY harder, those guilds see the mistakes first handed.
SoE assume those players where mature enought to deal with bugs. SoE just need to not release anything until it is ready, those players as not mature enought to play with bugs.
When I read FoH and AL reason to leave EQ, I find them EXTREMELY silly, they are leaving the only boat sailing to their destination.
Yet, folks say, that it is me, someone that despite raiding, tradeskilling and PvP that is silly...yet, name me 1 game that dont focus on any of those 3 and that have stuff for me to chew for months?
Unless...FoH and AL are not real raiders? Maybe they dislike raiding? I dont even think about that option seriously, althought it could explain why they left...I rather believe that they are spoiled childs then raid haters, that way I can flame them at will...if they would be raid haters after all they endure, it would really be a pity beyond any explanation.
- "Coercing? No no, I assure you, they are willing to bring my bags and pay public transportation just to help me, it is true!''
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
Well, A number of people from Legacy of Steel are devs at Blizzard, and are working on WoW, most notably Tigole, the ex-leader of LoS. Furor of FoH is also working as a quest writer on WoW. I don't know if anyone from Afterlife is part of the team. But they seemed to listen to what the high end guild people had to say as far as what did, and didn't work in EQ.
Given these peoples knowledge of EQ, and what did and didn't work, I'd say that WoW will be much better for their being there, regardless of any e-peen envy one may have about the uber guilds.
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I was never what you wanted, I could never never please.
I swallowed all our sorrow in the midst of my disease.
All my fortunes, all my gains, all the battles I have won...
Now collapsing like the rain, I stand alone, your only son...
Take some solace in these words, take notice of this place.
Hollow whispers that they are, like the wind upon my face.
Sing softly in my ear and look at me with wonder.
I will try to ease your fear as the darkness pulls you under.
What I see happening is WoW content being consumed by those guilds in a matter of months and then WoW falling into the trap that was the downfall of EQ of trying to feed the voracious appetite of the content devouring uber guilds. Almost makes me feel sorry for the WoW devs.
Yeah, but I'm sure the same thing will happen in EQ2 as well. It was different back when EQ came out, as people didn't really know what they were doing, but now you have games coming out where there are already emulator servers up before the games been released(WoW, thought they are far from complete overall). And the players are more savvy as well, so any content you have at launch, you can expect the players to burn through it all in a month or three
-------
I was never what you wanted, I could never never please.
I swallowed all our sorrow in the midst of my disease.
All my fortunes, all my gains, all the battles I have won...
Now collapsing like the rain, I stand alone, your only son...
Take some solace in these words, take notice of this place.
Hollow whispers that they are, like the wind upon my face.
Sing softly in my ear and look at me with wonder.
I will try to ease your fear as the darkness pulls you under.
The biggest of the uber guilds aren't going to EQ2, they are going to WoW. Besides, EQ2 isn't geared toward uber guilds. It is geared toward single groups and small raids. It actually has components in it that will make larger guilds undesirable. Uber guilds won't be driving the content in EQ2 as most of them won't be playing the game.
It is not envy...
It is playstyle.
I can raid.
I can be the main chanter of the best guild and do a pretty decent job. I will not enjoy it, I will HATE it.
Why would I play a game I dislike? I will not.
If you think WoW is heading for big guilds, you are wrong, they are heading for small guilds, exactly like EQ2. It is not heading for single group either, best gear to small raids, then it is heading for small raids, period. The average Blizzard fanboy is a soloer. I am looking forward to read their reactions a few months after the release of the game.
- "Coercing? No no, I assure you, they are willing to bring my bags and pay public transportation just to help me, it is true!''
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
Best time I had with EQ was when Brad and Co. where designing the content. After that expansion packs SOE flopped over could have been downloaded for free IMO. LOY, LDON, GoD pure junk.
As someone pointed out earlier, the guys in Vanguard created Everquest. Everquest was brilliant til SOE took it over from Verant.
Since SOE took over EQ, all they have tried to do is dumb it down so that kids can play it.
This wont be another EQ clone, it will be the proper sequel to Everquest.
Now playing: VG (after a long break from MMORPGS)
Played for more than a month: Darkfall online, Vanguard SOH, Everquest, Horizons, WoW, SWG, Everquest II, Eve
LoY I agree could have been given for free but LDON was well worth the price but really I saw it just SOE testing their instance systems that they are going to use in EQ2. Still it was a very good test. I haven't played GoD though but I still think that GoD should have been pushed back and added to Omens as a huge expansion. To late for thatt though.
While Vanguard has part of the original team that made Everquest and "the vision", ugh, that doesn't mean that that they will recreate the same game they did before. If they are smart they won't since the player base is changing. People have played enough of these MMORPG to finally know what they enjoy and what they don't enjoy. What they want to stay and what they don't want. I think the market is going to focus on smaller raids and smaller guilds now. I believe people will want the game to be more flexible to their play style, meaning no more hardcore grinding. Which is why I think you see both EQ2 and WoW, and even games such as Tabula Rasa, and even Ultima X: Odyessy (when it was still being made) being aimed at the casual player more, allowing for a lot more solo play and moving away from the forced grouping that Everquest made famous. With Anarchy Online and Dark Age of Camelot, you could see them trying to move away from it a little but it seems EQ2 and WoW have finally made the jump. Making you WANT to group instead of having you feeling FORCED to group.
So Vanguard having "the vision" doesn't really mean that is good thing. Then again it coudl but we just don't know. Or that having the original developers doing the game is a good thing as well. It might be we don't know. Both WoW and EQ2 being the way they are isn't by accident. Or why SWG or why Asheron's Call 2 are the way they are. SWG and AC2 seemed to go to far with things but I think WoW and EQ2 will have found that balance, with WoW more on the solo side but with EQ2 still on the group side but both a lot closer to the middle, right next to the line in the middle while other games have just move to one extreme to the other extreme of the line(EQ1, FFXI on the extreme of grouping and SWG and AC2 on the extreme of soloing.
Solo extreme------------------------------The balance----------------------------Grouping extreme
AC2, SWG-------------------------------WoW----|----EQ2---------------AO---DAoC--------EQ1, FFXI
Hmm not the best examples but I think you can see what I"m trying to get at here. I hope anyway.
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EQ2 Qeynos Guild- http://www.imperium-arcanum.com
Static gameplay is still the greatest downfall of the MMORPG. Being able to create dynamic content for an evolving world is an aspect that has not truly come to form yet. The "instanced" zones were a fantastic leap towards this, but once you see the 16 or so variations and have the maps for them, it's just a hack and slash get to the end.....
When you look at a single player game that really grabs your seat and keeps you in it for hours, it's because it is constantly different until the end...."The Grind" of killing the same "Camp" over and over needs the greatest attention to keep every player pool around.
As I understand it EQ is now ONLY about raiding.
Instead of the "r" in MMORPG meaing role it now means raid.
Roleplaying games were never about raiding. That's just 1 type of end game for hardcore players with far too much time on there hands.
I am not interested in any game that is, or will become, a "raid 6 hours per night" affair.
I have played many casual gamer friendly games and spoken to a lot of people, and read a lot of posts on the their forums, that are not interested in "forced grouping" or the "24/7 raid scene". From what I have seen EQ 1 and 2 suck for soloing, and many existing and new games have EQ refugees in their fold. Several games are deliberatley trying NOT to be like anything EQ, because they know they will attract a lot of players.
I really hope the future of the mmorpg scene will not be decided by raid content.