Whats next?

Caliran

I'm an ex-Everquest Addict. And oh did I love the game.  I played religiously for four years.  I remember the first day I played.  What I did and how much I loved it.  One of my favorite moments was in kelethin when I looked over the edge of the bridge for the first time and almost fell of my chair.  I used to three box my mage, cleric, and a friends enchanter.  And on occation four box with my friends ranger included all on the same machine.  That game had some of the best content and the widest variety of content available in any release of a base version of a game.   I quit that game however after realizing how much sony did not care and what they did.  After the release of everquest two the flow of newbies died to that game and some went to Dark Age of Camelot some went to other games like the new everquest two.  I finally after they had to keep combining the servers just to keep the high end zones populated quit because the low end game was ruined.  I've tried world of warcraft since.  I've tried Dark age of camelot.  I've done the free trial of Everquest two i've even played eve-online.   But none seem to compair to everquest.  I love the grind, i love doing quests not for experience but for the reward and enjoying the storyline knowing i'm going to accomplish something i'm going to enjoy and feel proud of.  World of warcraft turned quests into a joke.  Quests are done for accomplishment anymore.  Their done just for experience and done over and over all day by everyone.  Eve-online only has quests for faction only.  You can basically get any reward on the market or by going to any agent.  I don't mind pvp but not forced pvp, there are times I just want to grind and be my own.  Eve online there is no working towards anything.  You can get everything in the game for the most part by staying in the newbie hangar and just training skills and buying from the market you can be fully ready to pvp without leaving the hangar at all.   I want a game thats going to grab me and hold on and never let go just like everquest used to.   The original everquest is larger in just its classic version then world of warcraft is in its base and expantion togather.  And a thousand times more fun to this day.  I don't need an expansion released every few months like sony is doing to everquest especially knowing they killed the game their still taking advantage of the gamers.  Anyone feeling the same way?  And anyone have any suggestions?  I thought about trying everquest two outside of the tutorial but I just don't know.  I like the old quest system where you actually had to take notes and figure out what npc got what quest items.   Anyway again, whats next?

 

Very Sincerely;

Caliran Elimatious formerly of The Nameless Server

KnivesOnly

I don't play EVE but your comments are wrong tbh..... why would you pay a monthly sub to stay in the hanger? Where are you going to get money from? How are you going to make friends or do anything?

Tbh EVE is about making business and not grinding xp.

Caliran

Well, the thing is.  In Eve-online.  You train skills.  and the skills take a static amount of time to train per level.  Each level takes longer to train and only through certain skills and implants you can lower the time a little.   To just use a battleship you have to do somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 months of training at the least just to be able to use it not including using any other devices like tractor beams or webbifiers or warp jamming devices that are commonly used.   and the skills train while your offline.. So many people have alt accounts.  No effort at all has to be made to raise an alt account to a good level.  I was saying you could stay in the hangar.  I didn't say all do though some do.  Some its worth it. Especially with people selling ore and making isk to sell in real life off of it.  Its just as profitable to have it only in the hangar till all the skills they need are trained.  It just makes the game boring and easier for game money sellers.

osc8r

I would suggest you seriously look into Vanguard.

AutemOx

Originally posted by osc8r

I would suggest you seriously look into Vanguard.

Yup I hear vanguard plays a good bit like EQ1 too, so it might be the best bet.

But really, if nothing has pulled you from EQ1 by now, I think you have to come to terms with the fact that maybe nothing will.  Sometimes you cant replace the things youve had, you know?  I'd hold onto EQ1 if it is for you, it doesnt matter if it feels a bit outdated or whatever.  Just keep your eyes on this site too until you find something that really catches your eye. 

Majestico

Caliran, I wish I'd been online when Everquest first came out, as I think I would have loved that game.  Howvever, by the time I had gotten hooked up to the net, my first MMO's experience was EQ2, and I was, quite simply, blown away by it.  I love being immersed in a world, and the idea of having a vast, epic challenge.  The storyline had gotten my interest, and was coupled by sublime graphics which brought the world to life.  There are a million little touches which the devs throw in, and which you sometimes miss.  Just small, incidental things, but they all add to the feeling that you are in a living, breathing environment (like when you see a hawk,  as it watches its prey, and then swoops down to grab it.  You can stand back and watch this little mob v mob battle, or you could dive in and rescue the prey).  That's a slight example, but when you realise that it is completely incidental to the game, but must have taken quite a few hours of programming, you know that the devs have a love for their game.

Also the voice acting is something that I have not come across on any other MMO.  Most of the NPC's, when you speak to them, are actually voice acted.  There's thousands of hours of voice acting, and they have recruited some famous people to do the names of some of the more well known NPC's.  The deep, bass-toned voice of Christopher Lee as Lucan, adds great gravitas, and Heather Graham's dulcet tones give a regal note to Lady Bayle.  I remember (and this shows you another of those examples I spoke of earlier) when I was walking past her statue in Qeynos.  I had done so quite a few times, but suddenly, this time, it actually came to life!  I got quite a shock.  The Heather's voice as Lady Bayle came forth as she proclaimed the need for us to rally forth under her banner, against the evil, undead Lord Lucan, and the vile city of Freeport.

I've had a subscription to this game for well over a year, and I still have tons and tons of stuff to see and do.  That is not even including all the content from the Expansion and Adventure packs.

I don't know what the expansion packs were like for EQ1.  I know that you did not like them.  I have only two of the three for EQ2, but I can say that the latest one, EoF, is excellent so far.  It incorpaorated a new race, two new crafts, and an entire, new continent, which is so big that you could take your character from 1 to 70, just in that place alone!

It's a gorgeous game, and with your knowledge of the original, I think you would find it interesting how things have changed in the 500 years time difference between the two.  What is good about the expansions is how they continue the story of what happened when the world was torn asunder, and the story is ongoing.  The Gods departed the world of Norrath, but the third expansion shows indications that they may be returning, and perhaps this will become evident in the next one.

You may never rekindle your halcyion days of the original.  However, this game may have enough references that it will at least become a happy new home for you.  There is also enough content in it to keep you busy for a long time.  The only thing I didn't like was when SOE began to incorporate some changes, to make it more like WoW (as in the signs above the heads of quest givers, etc) but the game is glorious enough, for me to ignore that.

I'd recommend for you to give it a try.  If you do, and you stop by on the EU server called Splitpaw, remember and gave my characters a shout.  My Freeport character is a Dark Elf Defiler, called Satrax, and my neutral character is a Fae called Irithel.  Both are members of the guild, Dark Torment, in which we have quite a few long-time players of EQ1 (who changed over for the same reasons you don't like it anymore).

Out of the MMORPG's I've played so far, this has been the best.

Caliran

I'll seriouly consider it majestico.  I've also considered vanguard also seeing as what was said a few posts up.  Its not that I didn't like the expantions.. I loved the REAL expantions.  The real expantions meaning.  Kunark, velious, luclin and the planes of power.  The original 4.  Luclin focused primarily on the mid and lower levels, as velious focused on medium to high at that time.  Now planes of power increased the level cap and also was awsome in content. And I agree with you on alot of things.  EQ2 might be more like EQ1 then i'm thinking it would be.  After the planes of power however the expantions came much much quicker.. up to two in one year and always atleast one a year.  And were just basically high end content to keep the max level's happy.  They gave up on the real fun of MMORPG's which was the journey.  Not what comes at the end.  I think most games nowadays forget that.  The fun of the game is loving playing all aspects of it equeally not hurrying to max level and then sitting there untill the next expantion comes out and doing that.  I have a friend that has had atleast 30 combinations of race/class in everquest all to level 30.  He would grind one up having fun talking to newbs and killing fun stuff.  Then he would delete it and start over from scratch.  Aaaah the good old days

KnivesOnly

Vanguard isn't a good game and tbh it wont give you that EQ magic Vanguard was a result of alot of great ideas done badly/rushed and released unfinished, for some reason it feels dated compared to EQ which holds sooo much more content than it and better graphics in the new expansions lol.

 

Tbh i'm waiting for a fun mmorpg to come out.........

 

 

Lets hope WAR is good hey.

Caliran

I think that makes it just like eq lol.. Eq when it first came out was the laggiest, worst drawn unfinished game ever but it turned into the best game ever.  The key, player feedback.  If their determined to keep that EQ 1 feel.. That might be a good game.. Give it a few patches and some time to work out the bugs.   And whats tbh anyway?

Majestico

Caliran - I agree with you a hundred percent about the expansions.  Although I cannot speak about EQ1 (I've only just started it), I did not even bother with EQ2's second expansion which was Kingdoms of the Sky.  It increased the level cap again to 70 (the expansion before it had increased it to 60), and basically the entire pack was just to keep the top-enders happy.  There was nothing at all for anyone who didn't have a nearly level 60 character, apart from introducing the achievement point system.  This was great if you had one of those characters, as it was an entire new place, full of dragons and islands in the sky, and there was plenty to keep the raiders busy.  However, as I hadn't even gotten high enough to experience Deserts expansion, I was left feeling that SOE had neglected us.

They certainly sorted that out with EoF though. and it meant that everyone was happy again.  If all the new expansions for EQ1 are for top-enders, then I can certainly see why you are a bit pissed off. 

If you are playing the free trial, please bear in mind (as I'm sure you'll know) that it is just the starting isle.  It's a fun little jaunt, but merely a tiny part of the entire game, which is huge, and constantly growing. 

Another thing I love, is that as well as doing the seasonal events which most MMO's do, they also have a lot of free updates, and live content, so you'll always have something to do.

One of the neat things they did with the advent of Kingdoms of the Sky, is that they held a world event, whereby you could help build the spires required to teleport you to the plane in the sky (I think this place was in the original EQ, but I cannot remember what it is called).  It was cool, as every week, as the launch of the expansion drew closer, you'd see the spires being built and taken shape.  Everyone was able to take part on that world quest, and as a reward you were given an award in the shape of an ornamant.  Satrax has his placed proudly on his mantle piece in his house.

As for Vanguard?  Well, I was delighted some months ago when I got into beta.  I spent two days downloading the massive 12 gig client.  Finally, when it was ready to play, and the button shone brightly. I pressed it....only to be sent back to the windows screen!!!

I don't know why it hadn't worked, but I think it was because maybe my pc wasn't powerful enough.  So Vanguard must need some monster specs to run.  I thought my pc was quite good.  It can run games like Oblivion, no problem.  I'm really keen to see what Vanguard looks like, it must be awesome!  If you how gorgeous EQ2 is on full graphics, and Oblivion, and then my machine cannot even run Van?!!  Must be something to look at! 

Maybe it wasn't that, and there was something else at fault, but I'd check your pc could run Vanguard before you buy it.  I'm now looking for a new motherboard so that I can run two graphic cards.