Cross posting EQ2 Desert of Flames movie

[Lyion]

http://everquest2.station.sony.com/expa ... tofflames/

Pretty to check out, even if you aren't interested in EQ2.

[Rotj]

Wow that looked pretty cool..the same coolness I got from the promo EQ2 video. Yet playing it was another experience..

[mofish]

Yeah Im stickin with the game for now Rot. Lots of revisions and improvements already made, and on the way. Huge combat revision and archetype rebalancing coming soon /cringe. We'll see how that works out.

[mofish]

Quote from Gallenite (Scott Hartsman) from a thread on FOH boards :

"At the risk of re-railing this thread, glad you think it sounds interesting.

As strange as it might sound, I completely agree with you on the features. There were definitely a lot of things that everyone wanted in for launch that didn't make it for one reason or another.

We've made up some pretty good ground since then, although anyone who tells you their game doesn't have issues they're aware of is either lying, or trying to sell you something. Ours has some, and we're pretty consistently trying to address them as quickly as possible.

I'd definitely be interested in hearing the opinions of anyone who came around and gave it a shot in the much improved state it's in now. Especially if there are still things implemented in "the most horrific manner possible."


That's one other noticable thing that's changed as the team has evolved over time. Compared to what a lot of people (rightfully) point out happened in beta ("Hm, that's gonna be a problem when they launch." "Hey, look. They launched. It's a problem."), we're now a lot more likely to act on beta tester feedback.


Honest, blunt opinions are the ones that're the most valuable. I've been reading these boards since the noows days, and there's never any shortage. Glad to have an account that can finally post here.

With that in mind, for anyone who's looking for something to check out over the next few weeks and wants to offer an opinion on either the game itself or on how we run betas, EQ2's test server will be hosting the beta for the second adventure pack. (L20-50, scalable content. Getting to 20 with the Test xp bonus on isn't hard at all. Can also be disabled if people want to play the "real" way.)

Like the last Adv Pack beta, it'll be available on test to anyone with an account who wants to play on that server.


Good hunting,

- Scott"

That is exactly the sort of thing I want to hear from a dev. Refreshing. No Abashi in sight!

[Lyion]

Yeah, I agree, Mo. They have done a lot of good things with EQ2.

I'm enjoying the game, and it's nothing like it was at release, although there are some irritating things still that need to be fixed.

[mofish]

Yeah agree. But my thing is, they have huge chunks of the game they have gotten right. Its needed, and still needs, some serious tuning and balancing (what else is new with EQ), but thats all patchable. I have faith this time around, seriously. They seem to be dedicated and working their asses off.

[Lyion]

Its funny but EQ2 gets more fun each time I play it. This is the inverse of WOW, which before it expired last month was getting more boring for me.

The 60 cap, added high end content, duelling, combat revamp, and the newer zones should keep me happy for a while.

[mofish]

Yeah duelling should be fun, and adding climbing is kinda neat. Should make for some nice clifftop views of content and stuff, good screenshot

Also this new city in the expansion is supposed to have multiple warring factions you have to align with, and will affect how you interact in the city.

Here is one more snippet from Scott :

"What some long time EQ players saw on the surface when EverQuest II materialized was: "All the things the devs must have disliked about EQ, only fixed."

Which is a shame, because there's a lot of great gameplay in EQ2, but the former EQ hardcore can't get past some core decisions that were made very early in its development and held as sacred cows all the way through launch.


Expectation: Factions and faction hopping made for some great emergent gameplay.
Perception: Underuse of dynamic factions lock people into specific roles.
Solution: Use of factions the right way, beginning in our AP's and in Desert of Flames.

Expectation: Non-restricted combat led to some of the best social interactions (groups, guilds) and fun emergent combat tactics.
Perception: Lock encounters to ensure appropriate risk vs reward, because kiting is bad, and so is powerlevelling.
solution: Open it up as much as we can using things like mentoring, and look into additional possibilities for opening it up that won't harm the existing fan base.

Expectation: Emergent activities in general are the best ones. East Freeport actually made a really fun dungeon for a while.
Perception: No. Too harsh on newbies.
Solution: New cities (starting with Maj`Dul in Exp1) where combat is expected, but retribution will be exacted if people are caught. People like it, so plan for it, and turn it into fun gameplay.

Expectation: I love how my class is distinct from the get go. When I say I want "balance" I actually mean "I don't want anyone else to be insanely more powerful than me. Other than that, I could actually give a damn about 'balance.'"
Perception: It's easier to balance a game when people have distinct archetypes/roles/jobs/etc. Put them in a mold.
Solution: Spell/Ability/Combat revamp. Make people more distinct and fun.

Expectation: The hand-crafted items in EQ were full of flavor, implied lore, and are memorable in and of themselves.
Perception: Making 15000 items is really hard. Use machine-assisted item generation to help.
Solution: Stopped generating items after launch. Period. All new items are handmade and look less like they've had stats shotgunned onto them.

Expectation: Quests are kind of fun when they give me stuff I like or are worth the time in XP.
Perception: What's with all these quests?
Solution: Quest XP reward increase (done), Quest audit to ensure appropriate rewards (50% complete), develop new directed quest paths from levels 10-50 that have better stories and more useful rewards (done). Ensure future quests are less like errands.



We're not dumb -- We get it. The smartest way for us to address core issues like these is pretty simple:

1) Bring on people who understood what made EQ fun from the player's point of view. Empower the EQ fans already on the EQ2 team to have a stronger voice in its direction.
2) Improve game using these guidelines.

That's what we've been doing for the past five months, and as people who are just checking it out are seeing, it's showing through.

Besides. Sacred cows make the best steak.

- Scott"

[Lyion]

Yeah, I read that thread on foh a few days ago. There were also some good posts by Aradune <Brad Mcquad>

[Captain Insano]

http://everquest2.station.sony.com/expansions/desertofflames/

Pretty to check out, even if you aren't interested in EQ2.

WoW... looks pretty sweet.