What is EverQuest II Extended? Good fucking question.

Everquest II is going free 2 play.  No, I'm not kidding.  Go read the FAQ.

Extended provides access to premium subscription-quality content through free and optional paid membership levels. Powered by an all-new web-based download application, new and veteran players alike can experience all the excitement and depth of EQII's content without a daunting installation or a massive download. Players can register within minutes, download the client to join other people in an epic journey, and launch into adventure in a fantastical online 3D world. Extended is the ultimate MMORPG experience. Excitement with every breath and adventure around every turn is now available for free!

Basically, its a new game that is free 2 play, but will offer premium payment options. It somehow ties into the subscription based Everquest 2.

This takes me to my pet peeve with free 2 play games: they are too fucking hard to understand. A chief example is Dungeons and Dragons Online. I spent more time trying to figure out what I could or could not achieve without paying instead of just playing the game. Everquest II is sounding about the same and players are likely to be confused, especially when they try to wrap their head around how it ties into the subscription game (now known as Everquest II Live).

I like the idea and the direction SOE is taking this whole free 2 play thing, but I'm not sure tacking it onto all of their current franchises and games is the way to go. As always, SOE will be interesting to watch.

Scratch that, this is going to be a fucking riot.  Just read their proposed plans for providing support to players:

The self help knowledge base will be accessible to all players regardless of their Extended membership status. As clearly outlined in the membership benefits matrix, customer service is only provided to players who have made a real money transaction in EQII Extended or at least have a Gold membership.

Guild Wars 2 Will Fail

There are plenty of examples that sequels do not work in the MMO market.  Ultima Online 2 was the original victim of what I like to call the terrible 2s.  Asheron's Call 2 shutdown on December 30, 2005 while the original Asheron's Call still thrives to this day.  AC2 never matched the original and in my opinion was actually a pretty good game.  The list continues with Everquest 2 which never matched the original Everquest and was thoroughly trumped by the monster that is World of Warcraft.

Everquest 2, out of all the 2s, should have been a right to print money.  Everquest was the undisupted champion of the early graphical MMOGs and Everquest 2 was the expected front runner of the "next generation".  How terribly wrong that general consensus was.  World of Warcraft taught everyone that the Everquest "idea" was wrong and that Everquest never was "right".

This all sets a stage where upon the new 2 in the neighberhood, Guild Wars 2 (GW2), is set to fail.

If being a 2 wasn't bad enough for GW2, it is also "a high fantasy world with multiple races" (like my new tagline?).  GW2 will have to compete with the Everquest 2 slaying World of Warcraft and it's record-breaking expansions.  Star Wars: The Old Republic will also be major competition for GW2 as they are the top two upcoming AAA titles in the MMO market (Star Wars being more fantasy than SciFi by miles).  Not to mention the plethora of free 2 play fantasy offerings that are quickly eating into the AAA marketplace. Fantasy is saturated!

There are other concerns as well.  GW2 is doing away with the holy trinity by removing the dedicated healer from group play, softening the blow of death by allowing second chances after a characters health is depleted, and moving towards a more action inspired combat system.  All of these may be equally positive things, but they are all "different" enough to cause concern in a genre that is averse to change.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not here to doom and gloom all of the upcoming MMOGs.  Specific to Guild Wars 2, come back tomorrow for the reasons why Guild Wars 2 will succeed.  Honestly, Guild Wars 2 is looking to be the only AAA competition coming any time soon.

Update: 23 July, 2010 - The Guild Wars 2 success post has been posted.

MMOs On Steam 20% - 75% Off, WAR Not Included

Steam is hosting a sale on MMOGs.

Most of Steam's Massively Multiplayer games are on sale through the 19th, starting today.

Curiously enough Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, one MMOG that could use a little boost in sales before its next big patch, isn't included in the list. Between this and Mark Jacobs semi-absence as of late, it has to make WAR fans wonder what is up in Mythic-town.

However, SOE isn't missing the boat, with almost all of their MMO games on Steam for sale. From Everquest II to Pirates of the Burning Seas, they've got it covered.

I would be very interested to see how this sale helps out each of these games. Unreal Tournament III saw a fairly healthy revival when its price tag was slashed on Steam:

According to Valve, that strong spike was a 2,000% increase in simultaneous players in the game (UT3). Additionally, the game held the top spot on Steam's bestseller list.

Of course, UT3 didn't carry the baggage of a monthly subscription, so it may be a little apples to oranges, but it does show that older games can have new life breathed into them via the greatest PC gaming platform on earth.

I Could, but I'm Tired

It simply isn't worth the effort. SOE caught red-handed.

Yes, I'm letting this one pass by.

A Card Game?

John Smedley's big announcement: a virtual collectible card game for Everquest players.

It’s called Legends of Norrath. It’s an MMO Card/Strategy game built directly into both EverQuest and EverQuest 2. It will allow EQ and EQ 2 players to challenge each other, or allow people to play from outside of either game and challenge people who are playing inside. The game itself is literally a part of both clients, and it’s incredibly fun to play. The first set (called Oathbound) has 375 cards. In addition, we have loot cards for each game that have some awesome in-game items, some of which are extremely rare (new mounts for example).

That's it. Nothing more. Just a little side project tacked onto SOE's main franchise.

Grimwell Interview

Allakhazam has an interview with Grimwell, the Everquest 2 Community Manager. I just wanted to quote a couple answers he gave:

Allakhazam: You worked at and ran fan sites for some years before signing on with SOE. What's it like to be on the other end of the journalistic "mic?"

Grimwell: It's a lot easier to get into tradeshows and conferences, that's for sure! I love being on the 'other side of the mic' mostly because I have not forgotten what it is like to work so hard on a fansite. Everyone who has a fansite and works on it is doing so out of passion. Yes, there are those who are lucky enough to also draw a paycheck from it, but there is also a lot of passion.

I find that my position allows me not to just remember what it was like, but also to try to provide things that I always wished the game companies would do for and with fansites. That's an advantage because it makes it very easy to know exactly why a particular site is asking for specific information on a Game Update, or an interview, or a screen shot, or any other resource for their site. They just want to do a good job covering the game.

Allakhazam: Do you feel like your background working on fansites gives you a unique perspective as the Community Manager in contrast to your predecessors?

Grimwell: It definitely works in terms of my relationship with the fansites, but it's not something I can rest my hat on and then relax. The fansites are constantly evolving and needing new and different things to meet their goals. Plus, there is a lot to being a Community Manager that working on fansites does not prepare you for. There is a huge difference between being able to say "Wouldn't it be cool if?" or "If I was ever working on a game I'd…" and being on the other side of the coin and realizing just how wide of an impact even a small design change can have.

Go ahead and read the rest.

What I played in the new Everquest 2 : Trial of the Isle

My previous Everquest 2 : Trial of the Isle post details some of the changes in the new Trial of the Isle. Now I will share some of the fun I had with the various classes I tried.

Name: Ipad
Race: Kerra
Class: Inquisitor
Plays most like: A smiting cleric in Dark Ages of Camelot.
Comments: Basically this character starts out with a "smite" spell that you basically makes up your entire offense. You start with a basic heal and a few levels in get your second. Standard point and click heals. You also recieve a basic buff to increase attack power, but it really does nothing to help your pitiful melee. I was able to last through any fight by chain nuking and chain healing. Viable solo early on, but I would guess this is more the grouping hybrid healer.

Name: Idea
Race: Ogre
Class: Shadowknight
Plays most like: Any newb fighter class in most MMORPGs.
Comments: This was a pretty cut and dry experience. The Shadowknight starts with a minor direct damage spell that only can be cast in melee. You run around an whack things otherwise executing your simple basic melee attack. I found this character to be weak even after recieving the class specific "Dark Blades" stance. The character only picked up after recieving my quest reward two hand sword. With that big piece of metal in my hands it was a much better experience. Was able to hold aggro perfectly for the final dungeon fight on the Isle.

Name: Swash
Race: Dwarf
Class: Swashbuckler
Plays most like: A rogue from World of Warcraft.
Comments: By far the funnest class to play that I tried. Not only is the idea of being a swashbuckler cool it lead to an excellent nickname for my Dwarf. I became known as Swashy. Adding to the fun as the fact I played this character on the new RP PvP server. I actually role played for a good bit. I even started to create a small backstory (NOTE: I don't know much about Everquest lore).

/rp begin

Swashy came from a long line of dwarven pirates, but the sea had grown quiet and a pirates life became hard. Moving onto land Swashy was dishing his swashbuckling skills to the highest bidder, Freeport. He had arrived for an introduction and quickly got to work.

/rp end

The class plays very fluid and really made me feel like I was back playing World of Warcraft with my rogue. The basics of combat are almost mirrored between the games. You stealth in to get the jump, stun the target, and then move behind the target to execute a backstab style move. On top of this the swashbuckler can take a good bit of a beating. With the help of just a Defiler named Gallow I took out the final dungeon in no time.

The new Everquest 2 : Trial of the Isle

So as I stated a while back I was going to play the Everquest 2 : Trial of the Isle after the new changes were made to it. The boat ride is gone, the old isle is gone, and the class system has been rebuilt.

What I immediately noticed was the change to the classes. Instead of picking a base class you get to select your final class upon creation. This opens 16 different unique classes for you to try instead of the old four base classes. This means you actually get to use every last drop of EQ2's Trial of the Isle instead of running out of classes to try in a few hours!

The next big change that I noticed was the removal of the "introduction". Instead of learning how to move and interact via a voice guided tour on the boat you are just dropped into the world in front of an NPC. This is a change for the worse. The boat was a great introduction to the game and the voice acting really got you into the mood to adventure! This wasn't a big problem for me, but a new player could be turned off if they can't figure out to click on the NPC in front of them.

To learn about various features in the new TotI question boxes appear in the upper right. You are never directed to click them, but if you do you get a quick blurb of information about something that may have just happened. It is a poor system to introduce the player to the interface.

Another detracting point; the Isle is void of all voice overs on quests. This is a huge negative change. EQ2 prided itself on the voice overs! The voice overs added a lot to the game in the original TotI. This is EQ2's big show to win over new players and the removal of such a key feature is a huge mistake. Maybe the voice overs are being reworked?

Aside from the removal of voice overs and the tutorial introduction the changes to TotI are all positive. There are actually two Isles now; one for the good side and one for the bad side. Both isles offer different quest lines doubling the content of the trial. The map however is the same as the old TotI, but that is nothing major as its the content within that map that counts!

The new quests offer a better variety of quest types. There are kill quests, collection quests, escort quests, and even some good item interaction quests available. This familiarizes the new player with various NPC quest interactions that will be vital later in the game.

The quests also seem to make more sense to the world at large. You come into the world understanding there is a war between the good side and bad side. The new quest lines will have you learning a little bit more about the world events that have occurred. While there is events that strictly limited to the isles you still get the feeling that you are preparing for something bigger by the time you leave the isle.

Stay tuned for my commentary on a few of the classes I’ve tried and even hear about the little bit of role-playing I just may have done.

Everquest 2 : Trial of the Isle - Fighter and Scout

Everquest 2 is a beautiful game graphically if your computer can handle it. I am fortunate enough to have recently upgraded to a top end rig that can handle the highest settings possible in EQ2. Yes you heard that right; I run EQ2 at Extreme Quality. The game runs perfectly for me and the initial tutorial on the ship at sea is quite impressive.

Still some animations seem to stutter and monsters seem to skip (especially the first set of goblins you are tasked to kill) across the land if they are moving fast. This is something I experienced the last time I played the game and it doesn't detract from the game overall. I've eliminated it being a graphics related slow down because it happens even on lower graphics settings.

I had previously claimed that EQ2 avatars are equivalent to barbie dolls. This still holds true and is highlighted by most of the elf and human related races. I don't know what they were thinking on some of the more human races, but there is so many hair sets that look like shiny plastic!

However, I will admit that some of the more exoctic races look surprisngly good. Also the Erudite with their darker skin tones and Glpyhs look very good. The plastic feel doesn't really come off on these exotic races I guess because of the darker skin tones and more colorful skin patterns.

Fighter - My first character to play was an Erudite fighter. I wanted to start out with a strong and straight forward class. Fighters are exactly that. The first noticeable improvement I found was the run speed was significantly increased on all classes. So much so that I actually think it is too fast, but that is easily forgiven when you are getting from point A to point B in reasonable time periods.

The fighter is definitely dominant on the starter island. There was literally nothing that challenged me that much. I could swath through pairs of equally challenging opponents with little fear of death. My only death came from an unfortunate invisible goblin patrol that hid underneath a bridge.

The basic fighter Heroic Opportunity doesn't look like a fighter attack you would find in most MMORPGs, but it was still very pleasing to the eye. After a bit of trial and error I mastered the actions required to perform it which made me feel good. The only downside I found though was that the HO wasn't much better than just performing my base attacks and often times the monsters died before I had the chance to complete the HO. I assume this is because of the fact these are newbie monsters.

Scout - I chose Wood Elf for my scout because I wanted to see if the plastic hairstyles could be lost in game against the background graphics. Unfortunately they look like plastic in game just like at the character creation screen.

Knowing the layout of the isle better I was able to smoke through the quest lines and to my surprise they were different than the fighter quests. A definite plus. Aiding me in the travel is the pathfinding skill for scouts. It is only an increase of 16%, but it made me feel like I was flying through the isle. I didn't time it, but it didn't seem to take more than a minute to run from end to end of the island.

Scouts also get stealth which really doesn't slow you down that much. I felt like a stealthed bomb waiting to go off as most of my ambush attacks took out most lower level opponents and some equal level enemies in a single shot. Unfortunately this means that completing my scout HO was almost impossible.

I quit after discovering the main cave on the island because no one was around to group for the final encounter. Sad, but I understand that there isn't many newbies around to play with during the daytime hours.

Next up is the priest and mage if I feel like it. While not wow'd off my feet I was amused with the game. I doubt I could get over the seemingly "off" flow of combat and the skippy movement to play further. Yet, I would still highly recommend playing at least the Trial of the Isle as it is free!

I'm installing Everquest 2 : Trial of the Isle

I am going to go against my better judgment and install Everquest 2 : Trial of the Isle. Actually, I am almost done installing it. Now, some may ask, how could I go do such a thing being the SOE hater that I am? For starters, I'm bored and need an MMORPG fix. Plus, EQ2 seems to be a better option currently than resubscribing to World of Warcraft. Also I would like to see EQ2, settings pumped up, on my new system. This should show the game off; compared to slideshow when I played it on my older PC.

I doubt EQ2 will turn into a subscription for me, but I figured its worth it to try the game as it is now before it goes through its major class changes. Then, I can return after the changes with a bit of perspective, and see if its something that has enhanced the newbie experience.

Update: 30 April, 2009 - Edited post and applied labels.

The SOE effect: The other side of the coin!

SOE Effect Part I
SOE Effect Part II

Those are both my articles on how I feel SOE is leading their games (Everquest1&2, Planetside, Star Wars Galaxies) astray and that any SOE game should NEVER be played. SOE is a shifty and underhanded developer pushed a) by money grubbing business suits and b) by unrealistic development schedules and practices set forth by John Smedley.

However I have found someone who differs in opinion. Someone who can argue a lot better than I can, but Darniaq will not sway my opinion. SOE is dirt. Go over and read the article and browse around.... Darniaq has quite a few insightful posts.

What To Play: WoW, EVE, or EQ2

I've been thinking recently of what MMORPG I should head back into for a bit. I have not had an active subscription for two months strong now. I've really felt no pull towards any of them to start playing them again. Battlefield 2, Call of Duty 2, and various Half Life 2 mods (Goldeneye Source, Dystopia, Counter Strike : Source) have kept me busy. But like Ogier steddings in the Wheel of Time series, by Robert Jordan, there is a longing to return.

World of Warcraft

I have an account and a level 60 Troll Shaman on Azgalor. There is a lot of new content from the 1.9 patch that may interest me. However, I doubt I would continue playing my Shaman. Most likely I would start a new character elsewhere to level up for the expansion (which I'm not sure I will be buying).

EVE Online

I love the trading and corporation aspects of EVE Online. I've tried to learn the game, but I've fallen flat on my face. I can't stand playing games that are painfully slow and confusing to learn. I know if I put the time in, I could be rewarded, but there are no guarantees in EVE Online.

Everquest 2 : Trial of the Isle

Ethic at the Kill Ten Rats blog has been trying out EQ2 and the Trial of the Isle. He has somewhat peaked my interest in picking it up again for a spin. It is doubtful I would play past the free 14 days, but giving it a try would satisfy my curiousity. I like the idea of play and forget without paying.

Update: 8 Jul, 2007 - Edited post and applied labels.

MO5 - The SOE effect... part II... MMORPG madness

Mouthing Off 5

If you play Everquest 2 currently, I would quit. Why? Because the SOE effect is going full tilt and the ole’ captain over at SOE, John Smedley, has lost the lock to his spigot: err, mouth. Read the clown’s: err John Smedley’s new interview over at Gamespot.

To quote the clown:

"One thing that I love about our company is that there is no 'quit' in this company. It's about making sure that we have pride in what we do. People within the company feel so much pride in this game that they want it to beat the crap out of World of Warcraft. That's something we feel very passionate about. We know we are capable of making the best stuff out there, and I'm proud to say that with the changes we're making in Galaxies, I think we're headed in the right direction."

They love your company so much that the Star Wars Galaxies team has lost numerous leads, developers, and technicians?

They are so dedicated that they somehow are going to rebuild a 2.5 year old game into a World of Warcraft killer? You can “want to beat the crap out of World of Warcraft”, but I would think it a bit silly to actually believe you can. It is said though, confidence is a key to success.

Enough about Star Wars Galaxies, let us get back to Everquest 2. As I have previously defined the SOE effect I will connect some dots. In April ’05 Star Wars Galaxies underwent the Combat Upgrade to mixed reviews and a slight murmur in the crowd. Players stayed and lived with the changes because it was not GAME ALTERING or DRAMATIC. Fast forward to November and the BOMBSHELL known as the NGE was dropped inside a two week period.

The numbers are not in or they are very closely guarded, but the word around the Internet is that the NGE has killed Star Wars Galaxies. Actually, effectively killed would be a better statement. No amount of marketing or positive PR spin will sway a large group of new players to pick up Star Wars Galaxies sans a complete re-launch under a new name.

Now, back to Everquest 2. EQ2 already had a major revision to it's combat system and class balance. Once again, there are some murmurs in the player base about the changes. People are still playing though. However, what will happen when SOE decides that the game isn’t Everquesty enough?

Smedley claimed that their sandbox approach didn’t work with Star Wars because it wasn’t Star Warsy enough. Everquest 2 isn’t a sandbox game, but it’s no Everquest either. SOE so far has swayed from making a better Everquest all the way to making change after change to open the game up towards what I like to call “the World of Warcraft player”. Not just casual gamers, but gamers that like to solo MORE than group. Obviously World of Warcraft has found A LOT of gamers that fit this mold.

If SOE is so CONFIDENT that they can turn Star Wars Galaxies into a World of Warcraft killer then what do you think they will believe they can do with Everquest 2, which is still rumored to be short of pulling a profit due to high development costs. Is Everquest 2 in for a major shake up because it somehow doesn’t fit the mold that SOE believes it should?

If 300,000+ accounts at SWG’s peak wasn't good enough then what is the threshold for Everquest 2 before SOE mandates it be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up? Did SOE learn with Everquest 2 that sequels don’t work in the MMO market and did that scare away the idea of a Star Wars Galaxies 2 implementing their new features? I don’t know about everyone else, but it seems like the SOE effect is getting worse.

With SOE’s parent company, Sony, already hurting in the public relations department with the DRM fiasco, will they be willing to take any more negative press as the story of the Star Wars Galaxies NGE debacle starts crossing into the New York Times?

Everquest 2 players: get while the getting is good. Don't say "It will never happen", because it already has. As much as you may hate the idea, you can't deny the obvious trend that SOE has set. How many more games do they need to kill to prove it?

Update: 3 May, 2009 - Edited post and applied labels.

Smedley spins the Star Wars Galaxies NGE

Next Gen has an article/interview up with SOE head honcho, John Smedley. (bad link, removed)

" 'We got a lot of feedback about what was wrong and what wasn't. We saw early on that people weren't satisfied with the combat, so we decided to try something pretty radical.' "

Hold on here... the MULTIPLE complaints from BETA TESTERS didn't give you a clue before you launched the game? Chalk one up for not caring about the feedback from beta testers. Another reason professional beta testers should be used to initially test an MMO. If you are paying them I would sure as hell hope you were listening to them.

"The original design of the game was very much influenced by the Richard Garriot (Ultima Online) and Brad McQuaid (early EverQuest) schools of MMOG design. That is to say that the very best experiences in the game would come from massive time investment, trial and error and endurance of hardship. The rewards that come from that are significant but highly exclusive."

I was around on day one and early on they were staying as far away from the EQ model as possible and stealing only the skill idea from UO. Massive time investment, trial and error and endurance of hardship... three keys to avoiding making EQ2 (oops).

"Along those lines, it was incredibly difficult to become a Jedi. In fact, the mechanism for which it is accomplished (which was secret for a long time) is that a character has to master five specific professions (out of more than 20), and those professions were selected for that character secretly by the game at the moment of creation. The player never knew which specific five would unlock the Jedi path. It was an incredible time sink, to say the least."

Bad decision to have Jedi in the game as playable in the first place. You don't decide to place the game in the "old" movie timeline and then destroy the immersion with a thousand Jedi running around. Jedi should of always been NPC only... or even better... special event characters. The new "force sensitive" class is going to be overplayed... welcome to Star Wars Jedi Online!

" 'It's mixed. It's very positive [feedback] from the people who are actually playing it. And we also have the expected push back from the people who haven't actually logged in to try it," says Smedley. "Once people get in there, it's overwhelmingly positive. It's the "the sky is falling" crowd on the forums that's still going to take some converting. I understand that. These are big changes.' "

Maybe... just maybe... people are sick of you redesigning the game they've invested so much time into. Not to say these changes aren't needed, but not understanding why that vocal minority is RIGHTFULLY pissed is a sure shot to alienate even more players.

"There's a quote about the original design of Galaxies that says it was too much like living the life of Uncle Owen (the moisture farmer) and not enough like the life of Luke or Han Solo. We want to deliver more of the heroic Star Wars experience."

Actually early on Star Wars Galaxies was all about being Stormtrooper #245 or a moisture farmer. Not everyone wanted to be a hero... they wanted to live among heros. Sadly most players want to "change the world" when they are playing an MMO. Unfortunately this is not possible and making classes that stand out in the movies detracts from the immersion factor. Not everyone in Star Wars is a bounty hunter or Jedi, but in Star Wars Galaxies NGE it will be quite the opposite.