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General: EverQuest Next Reworked, Playable Next Year
MikeB
Community ManagerAdministrator RarePosts: 6,555
Fans expecting new information on 'EverQuest Next' during this year's SOELive came away tonight with a bittersweet announcement from SOE president John Smedley.
During tonight's SOELive keynote address, Smedley explained that everything we've seen on EverQuest Next thus far has been scrapped and the game is in the process of being reworked. Given the turn of events, SOE will not be showing off EverQuest Next during this year's SOELive. However, Mr. Smedley did promise attendees that not only would EverQuest Next make an appearance at SOELive next year, it will also be playable.
Why'd SOE scrap the work done up to this point? Smedley noted that the team ultimately wasn't happy with the game. EQ Next felt too 'evolutionary', more like an EverQuest 3 than what SOE was going for. According to Smed, SOE 'changed the world' with the launch of the original EverQuest, and they want the launch of EverQuest Next to be an equally monumental moment in the MMO genre.
To that end, Smedley promised that EverQuest Next would be the "world's largest sandbox", with content delivered to players in an entirely new way. The team is being lead by EverQuest staples such as Terry Michaels and Dave Georgeson and fans were assured that they are intending on remaking Norrath into something unlike anything players have seen before.
Comments
Yeah, Smedley, Mmmm-hmmm.
We'll see what SOE's definition of "sandbox" is. Should be entertaining.
As I've said elsewhere, though, if it includes a crafting system like SWG's(pre nge) and has non-instance (which itself CAN be in an instance, though if it's the largest sandbox MMO ever it SHOULD NOT be) housing...I may end the embargo of all SOE/Sony goods on this house.
maybe.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
Is that one of the ruls of a true sandbox now? So many rules :P
If in 1982 we played with the current mentality, we would have burned down all the pac man games since the red ghost was clearly OP. Instead we just got better at the game.
It's one of the rules of a good MMO, generally. Very few MMOs know how to properly limit instances or how to design good gameplay, so they use instancing as a band aid for all their gameplay shortcomings.
A well made MMO has no real need of instances. The only arguable benefit of instancing is when telling a scripted story, and if a sandbox game is doing that, then it's not a very good sandbox, is it?
Smedley explained that everything we've seen on EverQuest Next thus far has been scrapped and the game is in the process of being reworked
Smokejumper had also earlier announced that, 4 months ago, in June
http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=519092&post_id=5765513#5765513
06/18/2012 15:39:26
Subject: Re:Eq2 and Eqnext
SmokeJumper
DoD
Joined: Aug 8, 2005
Messages: 1069
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Answering the original questions.
EQ Next is still being built within a black box. The *earliest* we are currently considering that we *might* reveal info is late this year. We're being very particular about what needs to be in the game before revealing it to folks, so until that stuff is ready, we won't be showing anything. (Screens you saw from a couple years ago are completely obsolete now and are not pertinent to the current game at all.)
There is no reason for EQ or EQII to ever fade away. EQN is not being designed to replace those games. The only way it could "kill" EQ or EQII is by being such a phenomenally better game that everyone flocks to it. Many miles to go before we sleep.
EQ2 fan sites
A smart developer would be hopping on the sandbox wagon. Or rather, they would have started a few years ago. Almost no themeparks have done well, and there have been no big budget sandboxes or hardcore oldschool MMOs. So, we have a HUGE (2 million) market of oldschool MMO veterans and sandbox MMO gamers who have NO AAA title to try.
It's common sense. Why shoot for the unattainable "WoW market" when the AAA sandbox market has only one big game, Eve.
I think it's much more likely they were going to remake EQ1, make a socially oriented hardcore MMORPG, and decided that not only would that directly compete with their own product, EQ1, which they still make lots of money off of, and that it was just not new enough of an idea. So, they went sandbox because that is
a) what most core MMO fans have been crying for
b) wouldn't compete with their own products
c) is a totally untapped market
And how have they decided to copy GW2? GW2 isn't remotely a sandbox. Besides, the only thing really worth copying for GW2 is the event system.
well, the way i see it.
Smed was looking at the current crop of mmo's the latest big one called SWTOR, and saw how it turned out.
and then looked over and saw how Guild Wars 2 turned out.
somewhere along the line he must have went into his office and lit the drawing board on fire telling his team to start over.
the EQ ip is their baby, their is no denying that. and what does SOE have under their tool belt to potentially (god i hate that word now) take their game to the next level?
just to speculate:
Playerstudio - customers making content/items for their games
soe emote - lip sync avatars when speaking
forgelight - in house engine which is now being used for planetside2 - and almost certainly a testbed to improve the engine for the next EQ
SWG non instance net code - /shrug
From now to next year, these tools would be improved upon due to other games already using them via player feed back.
You actually think EQ breaks even or makes a profit ? News flash it doesn't in fact EQ and EQ2 haven't made a profit in years that f2p game free realms is what keeps eq alive.
Also if you read leaked stuff from years ago EQ next was gonna be EQ 3 Free realms style themed. It sounds to me like they're going more open world sandbox the question is are there millions of people who want a PVE sandbox because EQN will not be a PVP sand box that is out of the question.
Smed said theyve been working on their new design for 18 months
- that was before SWTOR weak success or GW2 released
http://eq2wire.com/2012/10/18/soe-live-2012-welcome-reception-live-refresh-for-updates/
“I have to be honest with you. We have completely blown up the design of EverQuest Next. For the last year and a half we have been working on something we are not ready to show. Why did we blow up the design? The design was evolutionary. It was EverQuest III. It was something that was slightly better that what had come before it. IT was slightly better. What we are building is something that we will be very proud to call EverQuest. It will be the largest sandbox style MMO ever designed. The same exciting content delivered in a new way. Something you’ve never seen before. The MMO world has never seen before. We didn’t want more Kill 10 Rats quests. We didn’t want more of the same. If you look at the MMOs out there, they’r delivering the same content over and over again. So are we. We need to change that. When we released EverQuest, we changed the world. We want to do that again with a different type of game.
What I will commit to is, at the next Fan Faire, not only will you get to see it but you will get to touch it. Most of the EQNext devs are in this room. If you get them drunk enough they might tell you. They’re led by Dave Georgeson. Terry Michaels. Vets from EQ and EQ2. We are remaking Norrath unlike anything you’ve ever seen, but you’ll recognize it. I’m sorry we don’t have anything to show for it, but I wanted to be honest with you and tell you a little bit about it. Keep the faith.”
EQ2 fan sites
Two problems with this theory. Well three actually.
First: SWTOR was hardly the first themepark to fail. It was more like the 5th.
Second: They said that they scrapped everything long before GW2 or SWTOR released, so how could it have anything to do with GW2?
Third: They announced a SANDBOX GAME so how does that have anything to do with GW2?
Then please explain to me how they keep finding the funding to release expansions? Each expansion sells well, and for 30 bucks a pop. That aint nothing.