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"EverQuest II" to debut in 2003
Parsa writes "This story
at Cnet says; A new version of the popular computer game "EverQuest"
will make its debut late next year, Sony Online Entertainment said Thursday.
Sony Online Entertainment says the next version of the popular computer
game will feature a new 3D engine and a tradesman class for "nonconfrontational"
character advancement.
"
And how many actually think there will be new ideas, ideas not used in various MUDs around the net for atleast 10 years.
So far there has been little innovative in these "new" environments except for the graphics.
...debute today, where's the headline?
BTW everquest is not a game, in a game there is a winner and a loser, the only winner in EQ is the people who get your money.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
screw the mideval crap.
I want to fly around in my own ship and blast at bad guys with the latest tech.
Eve-online here I come baby.
They expect to go closed beta this month too!!
There is also an article over at Game Spy.
I think the next year is shaping up to turn out some great new MMORPG games.
My $0.02 will always be worth more than your â0.02, so
I am a firm believer that Origin/EA's decision to cancel UO2 was one of the poorest business/gaming decisions made, on par with Daikatana. Instead of supporting a game that parallels the graphical technology of other game, has a more robust combat system, and a far more modular engine, they decided to do updates to an outdated piece of junk.
And there was actually support for UO2! The fansite forums were crazy with thousands of rabid fans salivating over playing the game. In the newly emerging world of MMORPG's, this is the type of attitude a game company *wants* its customers to have. Compare this with the hype about a 3d graphics upgrade to UO. Hear that huge scream of enthusiasm from fans of a five year old game? No? I don't either. While I agree that there will be a set of die hard gamers that will stick to UO, like they do in other games (Hell, Meridian 59 is still running:)), in two or three years, the ramifications of Origin's poor decision will set in, and guess who is going to have the most market share... EQ, UO, or EQ2?
They could have had a majority of the market.. I could go on for hours about the awesome features they were going to put in, bla bla bla... Now what will they have.
So people will pay $20/month (or whatever it'll be) to work in a virtual McDonalds serving orc burgers, shoveling dragon dung at the Everquest zoo, or picking up half eaten turkey legs off the streets near the fountain.
:P
Just look at all the Anonymous Cowards who spend there time posting "First Posts", trolling slashdot, etc... and you think they won't find someone to do all of those things? Just posting it to Slashdot has already picked them up several new subscribers
bbh
Maybe because online they can actually be *good* at it? Y'know, I can shoot a bow in the real world, but only on a RPG can I actually hit what I'm aiming for... ;-)
By the way, Asheron's Call 2 also has trade skills and NO character classes: anybody can specialize in anything they want, at any time. Sounds much more interesting to me. Check it out. And it's due out late this year...
One example that comes to mind is healing classes. I started a cleric last week, and from a role-playing perspective, I wanted him to be a pacifist. No can-do, there. You've gotta kill countless small animals to get your first heal spell.
Wouldn't it make sense for classes like clerics to get some kind of experience for what they really do, like healing people?
Non-zero sum games don't have a winner or loser.
I'm Abram Bender. You're not.
That is what made it so popular. All the other games have tried to be innovative and SUCKED. I wish more 3D games would copy MUDs... MUDs rock.
Your $10-15 per month covers not only the fees for the servers and bandwidth, but for monthly additions in the form of new items, new areas to explore, new monsters, etc. At least that's how Anarchy Online and Asheron's Call justify their monthly subscription. That means that the companies have to pay artists, 3D modelers, programmers, story writers, etc. each month to keep your interest in the game. EverQuest, OTOH, charges you the same for a monthly fee and makes you pay extra for upgrade packs. $10-15 sounds like a lot, but considering before I got into MMORPGs, I used to spend a lot more than $170 ($10 x 12 months + $50 game) per year on game software because I would get bored with it so quickly, the $10 charge now seems pretty cheap.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
I'm anticipating Neverwinter Nights will provide us the tools to create a far superior online roleplaying environment. Why not build our own "portal-connected world" instead of EQing?
Actually, I help run a cyberpunk game, where we've had people do that. We've had cab drivers, secretaries, lawyers, and various other mundane professions.
It amazed me how some guy living in Hawaii would really get into playing a janitor, walking around cleaning up people's apartment for piddly amounts of cash.