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[MrCheez]

Okay, I'll admit, I'm biased and an MMO-whore. But seriously, hear me out.

I'm not sure how many of you experienced EverQuest back when it was still relatively "new" and before it became... well... "bloated". Maybe it was because EQ was many people's first MMO, but there was something about it that I've never experienced in a game before. The world was huge and appealing... it made you want to explore it's every nook and cranny much more than many other games I've played. (In fact, many recent MMOs are very weak in this area). Not only that, but there was a story behind almost everything you could discover in the game.

I'm tempted to go on about the glory days of EQ1 for a few paragraphs, but I'll just sum it up as this: you really got to feel like an adventurer... and you got to experience it with your friends! And of course, upgrading and 'growing' your character with these friends was addicting as all hell.

Okay, so that brings us to EQ2. Some of the features for this game have me so freaking excited... it's starting to look like this game might end up offering an experience just like the good ol' days of EQ1. =)

The developers have said that every NPC in the game will have full voice before launch. It's not yet implemented in every video below... but wait till you see the ones that have it. In one scene two NPCs have a conversation out loud, which you would be able to eavesdrop on if you walked by. In another, a guy is walking around being trailed by about 10 ducks... he talks to them as he passes, and also occasionally grumbles about noisey people scaring his feathered friends. And of course, enemy mobs and bosses will taunt you outloud or tell you their sinister plans as you fight them.

These little touches are exactly what I'm all about... talk about immersion! Not only that, many of the final encounters in dungeons are all instanced (accessible only by your party), so you are your party can witness extended scenes important to the storyline, or experience more dynamic content without having to worry about another group reaching and completeing it first. (One example was a dragon flying in from the distance and landing right in front of your group for a fight). Apparently the dev team is putting a huge focus on allowing the small, normal 6-man party to experience the meat of the game. This is great news, because I know many people (including myself) who were discouraged that all of the most interesting and climactic content of the first game was only ever seen by huge guilds on raids and such. And not only that, dynamic "storyline" content was rarely even seen anywhere other than the late high-end game. From what I've read EQ2 will have this content right from the first levels. 8D

As I mentioned above, the lore in EverQuest 1 has always been special. (I say 'special' because not all of it is necessarily great writing or clever, but there is so much of it availible and in such depth that it makes the world seem very alive) There seems to already be tons of backstory to both of the two major starting cities. From anywhere in the evil city of Freeport, for example, you can see the giant floating castle of Lucan, an evil tyrant important to the storyline.

Back to exploration... discovering a new area gains you experience as well as giving you a notice at the top of the screen, "You've discovered [area]!". Apparently sometime after launch they are going to introduce player-owned boats, and you'd be able to go out and discover new islands (I want the King of Red Lions as my boat ). And to us EQ1 players, there is the extra treat of nostalgia in discovery, as this game takes place 500 years after the first. 8)

Okay, sorry for making this so long >< To close, I'll say that the chracter graphics are looking much improved, and the environments are spectacular. The only thing that seems a little sloppy at this point is the animation, but maybe that will be touched up before release. It also looks like gameplay will be more of the same (save for the addition of a "combat wheel" system which seems to be similar to "renkei" from FFXI), which is a shame... but I'll wait and see till I've experienced it myself before I become disapointed. Crafting looks to be much more involved, and it seems like there are going to be tons of housing features. You can read more about this stuff in Gamespy's new features below.

Check out the new movies here http://www.fileplanet.com/filelist.aspx?st=1&sf=3&s=78876&v=0 and then some of the other stuff GameSpy has put up here http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/everquest-ii/536998p1.html

I better get into beta, dammit. =)

 

[Buggy Loop]

I kinda agree, old EQ veteran that left with a bad taste in his mouth because verant just wouldnt listen and the expansions kinda killed the world of norrath, but EQ2, from all the movies and interviews i've seen about it, is in the right direction.

Graphicly, it simply took the scene on the sea boat with the dragon flying down and burning up barrels on the bridge to convince me. Screenshots dont do this game justice. Full voice over aswell, wow.

I've been reading the WoW beta impressions for a while on their forums now, it seems that the more they play it the more the flaws are apparent, so far the main problem with WoW from what i've read is the lack of diversity, in everything from weapons and armor, to dungeons and quests, etc.

If EQ2 can give me the same feeling i had when exploring the original one, exploring freeport, being sooo lost, going in the commons, mistakingly going in to neija or whatever the dark elf city was called, going into the crypt in west commons, high keep with the goblin genocide, the bird city in some region i dont remember. My first trip on the boat, how scary that was.. and going to unrest, even more freaky, mad trains that still haunt my dreams. The elf city in the trees, accidently falling down and die an horrible death. Cazic thule and its damn maze, its rubicite armor. Upper and lower guk, since i was a paladin it was a play field, at one point i could clean up all of the lowest level of lower guk and camp the lord by myself with extensive use of manastone and deepwater helm (convert hp to mana until full, then heal up with helm, muhahaha), it was hard and i only knew another paladin on my server who could pull it off, it required lots of timing. Nagafen, vox, etc.

So many memorable moments. The expansion kinda screwed up what made norrath what it is imo, it just didnt feel coherrent with the original world.

 

[Malakhov]

Nothing will ever be like Everquest, not even Everquest 2. Nothing can even come close to the special feeling of logging into EQ for the first few months after its release. I think the big part of it was that it was the first MMORPG like that, the only thing people had experienced prior to EQ was UO and it was nothing alike.

I'll give EQ2 a try but I doubt it'll even touch EQ. I've never felt that special moment ever again and I've tried pretty much all MMORPGs after EQ's release.

 

[MrCheez]

Buggy: EQ1 is so nostalgic. I can't even begin to count all the memories I have of it. And I agree about the expansions. =/

Malakhov: I've played almost every major MMO that's been released, always hoping for the old "EQ feel". I've gotten close to experiencing it again... but never completely. =( However, I'm trying to stay as optimistic as possible. =)

EQ2... you're my only hope!

 

[nubbe]

I’m sceptical… The Dark Elves aren’t nearly as sexy in EQ2

 

[firex]

All the things you mention as impressive or immersive like discovering areas for exp, and instanced dungeons? WOW's been doing them since the alpha. So far I'm sold on WOW's gameplay even though it doesn't have the combat wheel/renkei thing. EQ2 will have to promise a lot more, including making up for all the massive failings of the original game (i.e. endless classes that are all one dimensional, lack of a solo option, and no crazy-ass complete game overhauls just to suit a vocal whining group to make their favorite class godlike) for me to even consider trying it after playing WOW, and that's just in beta where half the cool content isn't fully implemented yet.

I have to say though that the voice stuff kicks complete ass and adds a lot to the immersion, but I'm just not sold at all on the gameplay, and they're doing a good job of selling the game with the preview videos. I'm just highly, highly cynical of the actual game being any fun, because it was an amazingly refreshing change of pace to play WOW and realize "hey, my class's abilities actually WORK! And I'm not pigeonholed into one little niche that makes it impossible for me to solo!" after years of classes with broken abilities and high level equipment that finally makes those broken abilities do what they were intended to do all along.

Blizzard would have to royally fuck up a royal fuck-up of an even more royal fuck-up to make WOW anything but the most fun MMORPG I've ever played right now, and I really doubt it's going to happen.

 

[MrCheez]

I’m sceptical… The Dark Elves aren’t nearly as sexy in EQ2

The character art direction in EQ2 is kind of "mediocre" at best, I agree. =/ I will say they look much better in motion, though (check out those videos). And character creation might let you tweak designs enough to end up with something you like, too.

Besides, EQ1 was fugly and still incredibly enjoyable. =)

 

[madara]

Its great to be excited about a game! It feels very rare for me lately. That said I hope you truely do enjoy it but I am going to pass for alot of same reasons you seem to mention as assets.

You cant use EQ1 to sell or get excited about EQ2, be careful using that because its actually a huge reason to not try EQ2. None of development team of original EQ creators are on this team, most are working on vanguard which is nearly as opposite of eq2 as you can get.

Now if you were one of the rare people that liked the changes that happened to EQ after kunark and velious for example(that being you loved Luclin, POP,future expansions the best) then I say you likely enjoy EQ2 alot.
Also if you loved SOE efforts, Star Wars Galaxies, planetside, its good sign as well.

Those are huge deterrents to me as is locked combat, shard collecting instead of crs and instanced gameplay. SOE has show nothing but utter incompetence with rushing unfinished and lacking mmorpgs since they took over EQlive. I find them wasting millions of dollars on voice acting just outrageous when they could actually used that money to get more developers, add content, etc. I have no doubt they will release EQ2 this november, in 3 month time, when not even a real beta has started yet.


I cant possible say it as well as these articulated guys but I suggest you stop by official vanguard forums, they explain it alot better. Maybe for nothing else then sharing your great eqlive memories, there are ton of those. I really dont think eq2 will be any different then a 3 month play before you quite type of mmorpg at best. I think Vanguard is truely the last hope in forseeable future given their beliefs in faq.

 

[MrCheez]

firex: You're right, the stuff I described in detail isn't "new, groundbreaking stuff"... it's just stuff I'm looking forward to experiencing. =) Stupid Blizzard hates me and wouldn't let me into their beta. ;_;

Although I never had much of a problem with soloing in EQ1, from what I'm reading it should be much more doable in EQ2. Honestly, I'll be really disapointed if it's not... soloing is important. There are many debates about it of course (such as, 'why play an online game if you want to solo?') but it comes down to a freedom issue IMO. If I feel like playing alone one day (or if none of my friends are around and the community is being retarded as usual) I should still be able to play the game.

 

[MrAngryFace]

You can stop the audio for npcs right? Cause 2 months of hearing the same shit every time I try to sell a mushroom or some other common item ill go nuts.

 

[MrCheez]

madara: Damn you, you've got me worried! =) Ah well, I'm still trying to remain optimistic, and I've liked what I've seen so far anyway.

Isn't Vanguard really far from release, too? =( I'm so impatient, I want to play something nownownow!

 

[Buggy Loop]

All the things you mention as impressive or immersive like discovering areas for exp, and instanced dungeons? WOW's been doing them since the alpha.[/b]

Well im not against SOE taking hints from other MMORPGs in the work to make EQ2 better, its not because WoW is doing it that it somehow discredit EQ2

EQ2 will have to promise a lot more, including making up for all the massive failings of the original game (i.e. endless classes that are all one dimensional, lack of a solo option, and no crazy-ass complete game overhauls just to suit a vocal whining group to make their favorite class godlike) for me to even consider trying it after playing WOW, and that's just in beta where half the cool content isn't fully implemented yet.

While, i havent actually played EQ2 to know if the promises they've made are actually true, they claim to have solved all of these problems.

I kinda like EQ2's class system, 4 archetypes, fighter, mage, priest, scout. Each archetypes then split in many professions. It will probably help balance them a whole lot.

You can kill anything in the game with a group of 6 (unless it has changed since the claim), there was a video of a group of 6 killing a dragon in cazic thule. You can also solo in the game, at a slower pace which is understandable but its doable throughout the game, unlike EQ where only some classes could do it, melees and clerics were left in the dust.

 

[EmSeta]

ADD REALTIME, MANUAL COMBAT BITCHES!

 

[Buggy Loop]

Are there any mmorpgs that offer that?

You can always set attacks to be manual, click click click

 

[ced]

EQ , Kunark and Velious expansions were an amazing game, it was simply awesome what you could do as a well balanced team of 6 or 12.

You have to realize the team who killed EQ with the Lucin to latest expansions are making EQ2. The original teams have moved on to another company, and I just have no hope for this. It even seems like they went the way of SWG and simplified everything.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Well EQ started to go down the shitter after Kunark for me, i bought velious and explored maybe 5% of that place, then quit.

I've just watched the 20 movies from fileplanet's first batch and first thing that hit me, shocked me actually, is how the music is leagues beyond the original EQ, heck, i dont think i've heard such a good soundtrack for an MMORPG before. Oh and the voice acting is better than i thought, the elvaan females are a bit stale but the humans have great voice actors!

Thumbs up so far, still waiting in line for batch #2.

 

[MrCheez]

Oh and the voice acting is better than i thought, the elvaan females are a bit stale but the humans have great voice actors!
.

You've been playing too much FFXI it sounds like!

I'm really curious to hear the voices for more non-human characters like Iksar and Frogloks. Hopefully they won't sound too cheesy.

 

[clipunderground]

I'm buying EQ2 on Nostalgia alone. To this day nothing has ever been as fun for me as the glory days of EQ1. I hope you're right and it truely is one of the best games ever. I haven't played an mmorpg in like 2 years and have been holding out on purpose for EQ2 to hit.

anticipation is definately building.

 

[Willco]

I won't try EverQuest. Why? Because I like MMORPGs simple and fun.

Thank you, City of Heroes. You're all I need.

 

[MrCheez]

CoH was a blast... for 3 weeks. =/ "Simple and fun" is good for only so long before you need more depth to keep having the "fun" part.

And how do you know EQ2 won't be fun?

 

[Willco]

It maybe fun, but definitely not as simple as CoH. I've been playing CoH since beta and my co-workers and friends still play together almost every other day.

I really don't want to stress about shit and stats and money and stuff. I just want to kill stuff with friends and get cool rewards.

 

[MrCheez]

I guess for me it just got too repetitive, and to the point where the cool rewards were too similar or way too few and far in between (due to the simplistic nature of the game). However, it's cool that you can still enjoy it. I can't say I didn't love it while it lasted.

It's all really personal prefernece though, of course. I love dealing with armor/stats/etc. The trick is to not try to compete or keep up with l33t powergamers. =P

 

[Willco]

I think the main reason why it's still fun is that I actually play with close friends and co-workers. My best friend plays it and several of my co-workers who I'm friends with play it as well. We'll log on and kill some stuff, a funny incident will occur and those antics will spill into the work day or vice versa.

 

[MrCheez]

Yeah, I can understand that perfectly. It's my favorite aspect of MMOs really. =) My friends and I bring up MMO memories all the time as if they were things we experienced in real life.

 

[Buck]

As a jaded ex EQ player , i thought i'd add my thoughts. There's an NDA for a reason. all the bump mapping in the world wont save this game. A very close friend of mine who still plays EQ for 4+ years got to try this at the sony guild fair a while back and it's a definite stinker at this point. They're absolutely hell bent on getting the game out this year, the producers swear up and down it's coming this year, all the while the impression i get is that the game is incredibly unfinished and unpolished (3 months from release and no beta yet? yeah, right.) PVP is an afterthought. i'm betting that they'll try to get this out as fast as they can just to beat the competition to market and try to sell the game on the graphics alone. If somehow they pull it off and release a polished product i may try it out, but i've been burned by evercrack badly enough already on top of the SWG disaster.

I'd like to believe, i really do. But as the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

 

[firex]

Nah, I'm not saying that EQ2 taking hints from WOW discredits it, just that I've got those parts of it and solid gameplay already in WOW. I'm really, really not so sure about EQ2 and for my monthly money, I'd rather go with something I already like. Plus, some of the stuff I've heard rumored for the game (and confirmed things like Hero classes) sound like they can add a huge amount of content and open-endedness to the game without suffering from what I thought was EQ's biggest flaw: tons of classes, several with exactly the same abilities.

So far WOW has really impressed me with its story (usually self contained in each zone, but there are also epic, world-travelling quest chains that are really cool, and I'd say there will be more as the content opens) and also some actually pretty good bits of absurd humor too.

 

[Willco]

Is WoW easy to get into like CoH is?

 

[golem]

ahh the memories..

EWS/DDC!

 

[Ferrio]

haha, I love how that bear is like 5 polys. hahaha j/k

 

[Phoenix]

Now I don't want to tear into you or your opinion, but I'll just say that nothing you've mentioned sounds like a compelling reason to want EverQuest2. The problem with EQ1 was that question was horribly horribly broken, you spent most of your time just watching your character perform actions, and most importantly there was never any purpose in anything you were doing.

I played MMORPG for a long long time and they are all pretty much the same for me now. I don't feel like an adventurer - I feel like a messenger and a generic fighter walking around the land and hunting everything on that land to get experience.

I want to walk up to an NPC who will give me a quest that will span game sessions.

I want to have to interact with other PCs to accomplish those quests.

I want the world to respond to my quests as if they were my own - not '#17, your chest is ready'

I want to be able to influence the world if I become a very power/aged character

I want the world to be full of events that change the world and the people in it.

I want it to feel as though there were some reason for being there - and have a world where I could devote countless hours exploring it enjoying it and relearning it as the world changes.

I want craft makers to actually be able to make reasonably unique items, spells, etc.

I want towns to be something for more than healing up, selling my shiznit, and trying to find my friends.

No more static worlds. No more bullshit take the flour to the baker quests. No more killing or hiding from every creature in the world. No more lining up with every other player in the world to camp a chest or pot.

No more playing a game that amounts to not much more than a chat room with graphics!

If you want to be the best game ever - DO THAT!

 

[Willco]

I've always wanted a game where you created a character in some sort of community where you could formulate plans on how to deal with neighboring communities, either through peaceful communications and trade or plan all-out war. Imagine getting an e-mail or some kind of alert saying there'd be a town meeting to discuss if everyone is going to raid another community at so and so time. That'd be frickin' awesome.

 

[ManaByte]

I've always wanted a game where you created a character in some sort of community where you could formulate plans on how to deal with neighboring communities, either through peaceful communications and trade or plan all-out war. Imagine getting an e-mail or some kind of alert saying there'd be a town meeting to discuss if everyone is going to raid another community at so and so time. That'd be frickin' awesome.

That's basically EVE Online. Basically the guilds are giant companies and they go to all-out war with each other to control sectors of space. Not many people play it, and there's only one server, but it's the first MMORPG to ever break 10,000 players online at the same time on one server (eat that WISH!).

 

[MrCheez]

Now I don't want to tear into you or your opinion, but I'll just say that nothing you've mentioned sounds like a compelling reason to want EverQuest2. The problem with EQ1 was that question was horribly horribly broken, you spent most of your time just watching your character perform actions, and most importantly there was never any purpose in anything you were doing.

Some of what I mentioned is pretty much what you described in your wish list. You mention completing quests with friends and feeling like what you're doing is mattering... as I wrote above, the devs have promsied to have tons of story content and important boss fights geared to the normal 6-person party through instancing, even at low levels.

You say you want the game to feel like it has a purpose, but what purpose is there in video games? To have fun, be inspired or immersed, and maybe experience a good story. To me, at least, EQ2 will have that. (...hopefully) =)

 

[Takuan]

Is WoW easy to get into like CoH is?

WoW is extremely easy to get into. I've never played CoH before, but an eight year old could figure WoW out in ten minutes.

Edit: I just watched an EQ2 video. The music is really good. I wish I could say the same for the art direction.

Edit #2: Is anyone still playing EQ? I remember reading about a supposed complete engine re-haul, but all I've seen so far are new bat and rat models. I'd like to see shots of how the game looks now if anyone can take some.

 

[gofreak]

I've never played EQ1, or any MMORPG for that matter (excluding a short trial of UO), so I'm looking out for a game to start with. It may very well be EQ2..hopefully I'll get the same feelings you guys did with the original (minus any insane obsession/addiction).

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

Sony fucked EQ since buying out Verant. At least with EQ2 SOE gets to fuck it up from the start.

 

[Neutron Night]

EQ2 = Yawn. EQ2 is EQ with some shitty extra stuff no one asked for. Every NPC has voice? Great, now the difference between them and PC's will seem even more bizzare and annoying.

NOTHING in the MMORPG can compete with Dark and Light's feature set, so really, this debate is moot. EQ2 is a name. DnL is a GAME.

Not only that, many of the final encounters in dungeons are all instanced (accessible only by your party),

So much for that. Who is the punk who invented the concept of "instancing", and why has he been allowed to live this long? Shittiest idea EVER. Someone needs to inform these people of the definition of "persistant world".

Back to exploration... discovering a new area gains you experience as well as giving you a notice at the top of the screen, "You've discovered [area]!".

Yahoo! Instead of naturally exploring the world, we get a funky message at the top of the screen saying, "You've discovered Area 7B, HIT, you've sunk my battleship!" Nice to know the game is still neatly divided into arbitrary zones. You'd think they could come up with something more impressive and advanced, like a certain other game (coughdarkcoughandcoughlightcough). Oh well, they...tried?

 

[MrCheez]

Man, you sound bitter. =P

So much for that. Who is the punk who invented the concept of "instancing", and why has he been allowed to live this long? Shittiest idea EVER. Someone needs to inform these people of the definition of "persistant world".

They have heard of a 'persistant world' because the entire freaking game besides specific story-heavy areas is a persistant world. EQ2 will clearly suck because a random person or two will not be able to run by in the background while you are facing a boss encounter. =P

Yahoo! Instead of naturally exploring the world, we get a funky message at the top of the screen saying, "You've discovered Area 7B, HIT, you've sunk my battleship!" Nice to know the game is still neatly divided into arbitrary zones. You'd think they could come up with something more impressive and advanced, like a certain other game (coughdarkcoughandcoughlightcough). Oh well, they...tried?

Damn you're right, now the entire feel of natural exploration will be lost because of a text message. =P I thought it was a neat little tidbit, in that it goes further to clue you in on the lore or background information of a realtively hidden place. Seriously though, are you just looking for something to complain about? And how much are the DnL people paying you? =P

 

[Buggy Loop]

NOTHING in the MMORPG can compete with Dark and Light's feature set, so really, this debate is moot. EQ2 is a name. DnL is a GAME.

Ugh, there he goes again


Watched the 2nd batch of movies, much better than the first, some very beautifull environments aswell.

 

[Neutron Night]

They have heard of a 'persistant world' because the entire freaking game besides specific story-heavy areas is a persistant world. EQ2 will clearly suck because a random person or two will not be able to run by in the background while you are facing a boss encounter. =P

"Specific story-heavy areas", hoo boy. I thought online games were supposed to focus on dynamic player interaction rather than static storylines. I thought MASSIVELY multiplayer games should focus on huge populations, not small groups of people that are isolated from the rest of the world. This isn't PSO.....or is it?

Imagine this scenerio. 200 soldiers of Alignment A invading a captial city controlled by Alignment B, and then a massive battle for political control of the area. Imagine there's some guy above you shooting at you from 200 feet up. Paratroopers are dropping in. Some people are using catapaults. Mages group together to create an AOE spell that cuts a swath through the opposing army. It's sort of like the opening FMV from FFXI.

Needless to say, EQ2's engine would shrivel and die just thinking about this, even assuming that it had real PvP, which apparently it doesn't. Now replace "Alignment A" with "Light" and "Alignment B" with "Dark", and you're getting somewhere.

Damn you're right, now the entire feel of natural exploration will be lost because of a text message. =P I thought it was a neat little tidbit, in that it goes further to clue you in on the lore or background information of a realtively hidden place. Seriously though, are you just looking for something to complain about? And how much are the DnL people paying you? =P

A message saying "You're reaching super-ultra-hidden area!" kind of diminishes the mystique, wouldn't you say? It says that the game, like most, is simply a collection of areas, not a huge organic world. No, a hidden area is an area that NO ONE has been to before.

BTW, is EQ2 a totally seamless world, or is it still divided into "zones"? Just curious.

 

[MrCheez]

Oh, come on. I'm starting to think you're a joke character. You know just as well as I do that even though there are some story-driven areas meant for one group of six, the other 95% of the game is a focus on an entire community and population. If you DON'T know this you need to do some more research before you continue your bashing.

I guess, yes, a message diminishes the mystique of an area... quite in the same way that the User Interface on the screen does, or the fact that you have to read text to know what your friends are saying. =P The fact that there is a message about the area does not mean someone has been there before. It means the game developers programme the area before you got there.

 

[Ar_]

EQ1 was great.
Little of what was mentioned of EQ2 sounds interesting.

The timesinks will still be there, won't they?
Won't the gameplay degenerate again in an endless grind for levels and items for the sake of feeling better about yourself?

Is still the same game we got tired of, in a new shiny box (not that WoW or Vanguard look different).

Where are the innovative gameplay features I'd like?
Gameplay heavily based on player skill?
Player ability to affect the world in a deeper way that killing some soon respawning NPCs?
Balanced PvP?
Focus on creation (of cities, gardens, dungeons for other players to raid, creatures, deformable terrain, whatever) as much as destruction (and not only of NPCs)?
More interesting ways to gain experience (as example a warrior may better hone his skills by experiencing combat with different kinds of creatures)?
Ability to play as any creature in the game, mosters included, each with their own skill sets and factions and quests and peculiar features (for example, a wolf may be able to communicate only with other wolves, and only to a limites extent)?

AFAIK, not there.
So much could be done, but all we get with MMORPGs is rehashes of the same old moneymaking formula.

Voice acting? Matters little.

Instncing? Positively SUCKS.
Way to destroy immersions, the already little feeling of having an effect on the world that EQ1 had, the fun and unpredictability of meeting new people at any time, included even the competition for common goals and griefing adding depth and realism to the experience.

Best part is, camping might be prevented just as easily by increasing drop rates, drop locations, and eventually lore items.
The real purpose of istancing looks to me to be allowing everyone a chance to content, WHILE ARTIFICIALLY LIMITING THE PLAYER PROGRESS RATE.
Increasing drop rates allows more active players to progress faster, while with istancing you can limit the ability of each individual player to repeatedly fight a creature.

 

[MrCheez]

I can completely understand where y'all are coming from... MMOs really HAVE been the same old same old, and it would be great to finally see some big change. But really, my reasoning behind what I wrote for this thread... is I'm excited because I think EQ2 is going to allow me to have a similar (though hopefully even better) experience to the one I loved back during my EQ1 days, not because I feel it's going to revolutionize the way we play MMOs. Of course I want it to be new and offer more to the table (otherwise why not just play EQ1?) but I'm anticipating a sequel, and I'm fine with a certain format being maintained.

One more thing about the instancing, because it keeps getting brought up: it is in limited use to provide more dynamic content. Every dungeon is NOT instanced. It is the exception, not the rule, from everything I've read. The purpose is to allow casual gamers and small groups of friends to experience the sort of content only high-end raiding-guild members used to see. And really, I feel this is going to incredibly INCREASE immersion and a feeling of having an effect on the world, not destroy it. The instancing is going to be used (again, this is all from what I've read) to show you and your party important stuff, like interacting and combating important storyline NPCs and such. How often in most MMOs do you ever even see a "scripted story scene or event"? It seems like an exciting thing to me. *shrug*

 

[gofreak]

With event instancing, can BIG events occur with large numbers of people? Like a big battle? If that happens, and it shapes things in the world going forward, how to other people who weren't partaking in the original battle experience it themselves? If enough people are involved, would another instance of the battle be created, but just called something else, so that it can fit in as just another battle in the EQ2 story..?

All this talk makes me wish for a LOTR MMORPG with gargantuan battles..I know middle earth online is in development, but I doubt it allows for epic battles.

 

[MrCheez]

Instancing is really for allowing small groups of people to experience something important (and of course more additional groups later on to reach the same area and experience the same thing). I suppose there could be instances for a large amount of people, but I haven't read anything about that.

Not all of the "events" will be instances, though. You can pretty much bet there will be GM events in which tons of players will be involved at once. The thing is though, unlike instances these sorts of things are rare and you have to be in the right place at the right time.

Right when the game starts, there is actually already a "server-wide" quest in which players have to work together to unlock the Froglok race. This would be of course a one-time event. (Which I am pretty pissed about actually, since I wanted to be Froglok and it just feels unfair to have my race locked T_T ... but it at least shows they plan to have large-scale quests and events and players can affect the way the world changes in some way)

 

[JackFrost2012]

Why look, it's Neutron Night, pimping Dark and Light! What a surprise. I don't know if you've noticed, but your relentless, aggressive pushing of this game - and personal attacks on anyone who might dare to play or even express interest in another MMO - have done a great job of making sure no one here ever wants to check the game out. I mean, we'd be playing with people like you.

Besides, if Dark and Light ever actually gets published, I'll eat my shoe.

 

[MrCheez]

Btw, I'd love a new MMO with gargantuan battles. =) I loved the feeling you got in Realm Versus Realm battles in Dark Age of Camelot, for example. Wish we'd see more of that sort of thing soon.

Edit: IAWTP @ JackFrost

 

[Ar_]

Would the 10th ring war of EQ1 be better if istanced? No? Exactly.

Would the first PoF breaks have been more epic if they were istanced? With no more laughting to the corpses of other raids? No more asking for help / going to help a failed raid? No more ability to join at any time? No more competition and consequentially politics? No more showing off your skill / marveling at others skill? Don't think so.

There is no need of istancing to have epic scripted events, actually the opposite is true, you can have a more epic event when it is open to everyone to partecipate (even in form of attempts of disruption) and affects everyone.

I guess istancing isnt that distruptive for keyed zones, or high level areas that most people can't reach anyway, but still don't like it.

 

[MrCheez]

Again, it's only in certain parts of the game geared towards the small party. ;_;

I'm sure there will still be plenty of large-scaled events that are non-instanced.

Think of it this way: Imagine all the stuff you just mentioned still in EQ1... but now add the ability to see smaller scale events in normal dungeon settings, even with a small group of people. What's not to like?

 

[Ar_]

Same issue for small party hunts. They are much more fun when not istanced.

Playing an enchanter, I enjoied a lot of time simply wandering in dungeons, taking the challenge of soloing my way up to different camps, meeting and buffing and helping and chatting with random people, or attempting to scare them with charmed pets, answering a call for help from some area, afecting the experience of a larger group of players, etc.

Even for scripted single group events there is no need for istancing.

Remember the fungusbeasts hunt in Fungus Groove (or whatever that zone was called)? You had room for 3 events at a time, which was usually more than enough, with the added coolness of being in the same world with everyone else.

What about all the non istanced scripted quests and hunts? Like the one in Wakening Lands, where you escorted and helped the giants in a fight against a camp of creatures spawned for the occasion?

There is no need for istancing for skill trials capped at few players, either.
Would be so much cooler, in that case, to have the players teleported in a trial area behind invisible walls, while others can watch what happens.

EDIT: If you like istancing, you may just try Guild Wars instead.
Cool game, from Ex-Blizzard devs, TBR this year.
That one is fully istanced, like a Diablo clone with uber graphics, scripted missions (solo, group, and difefrent PvP modes).
On the other hand, IIRC it takes advantage of istancing to offer a cool feature: an unique server for everyone.
Plus, you dont have to pay a monthly fee, making it harder to complain about the lack of a non-istanced world.