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Sony Online Giving Away Everquest Trilogy Trials
mattwarden writes "With the release of EverQuest 2 slowly approaching, Sony Online has decided to provide a free PC download of EverQuest Trilogy that comes with 30 days of free gameplay. [EverQuest Trilogy is EverQuest Classic, plus two expansion packs, The Ruins of Kunark and The Scars of Velious.] However, you are restricted to one server, which seems to be designated as the freebie server (which somewhat brings up memories of eating at the kids' table). Cautionary note: EverQuest can be highly addictive. Consume in moderate dosages."
I think the title says it all...sometimes it can be really frustrating owning a mac...oh well, maybe it's for the best...
Lots of MMORPGs are trying to save their subscription base and get an influx of new people, DAoC did this same thing but I don't think it worked all that well. I really think this should be the release model in general, anyway, ie. make the game free and then charge the monthly cost OR - and this is my personal favorite - make the game cost more and charge no monthly fee.
Still, not going to get me to play Everquest. I'm waiting for WoW, and if it doesn't rock my world, I'm giving up on MMORPGs for a while.
I've been really addicted to City Of Heroes, and trying to convice other friends to get it is tough. "So... I have to shell out 50 bucks for the game, then pay a monthly fee?"
Now.. if there were a single player aspect, and it was still possible to enjoy the game once you had enough of online play.. then maybe..
While watching the WoW gameplay videos, I cannot help but consider the game to be "EQ1 Done Right." The graphics aren't any better than EQ1s last 3 expansions, and the encounters are strikingly similar to EQ1 raids. It may just be the game for EQ1 addicts who don't care about the poor graphics.
EQ2 however is an alltogether different animal. The graphics are truly next generation, and the engine will scale down for people with shitty hardware. They are the ones who created the original crack addiction, which I played for the first 4 years before burning out....
WoW cannot keep my interest with its blocky graphics, it just looks cartoonish and I would get bored with it all too quickly.
Waiting for EQ2, and buying an ATI X800 XT to support the bitch too.
I think that what the grandparent poster is trying to say is that WoW and CoH don't have stupendously powerful graphics engines, unlike EQ2, but it looks like they're going to make up for it by giving us worlds that are genuinely interesting and stylish. We're talking technical prowess vs. artistic prowess.
The EQ2 screenshots that have been released so far look nice I guess but they're really, really generic looking. Compared to the kind of bland looking underdressed chicks in front of realistic looking castles and stuff of EQ2, the Word of Warcraft screen shots look really interesting and different. City of Heroes, on the other hand, gets a free "looks original" pass because it's not set in a fantasy world.
I have a lot of opinions about Cyborgs and Architects
However, you are restricted to one server, which seems to be designated as the freebie server (which somewhat brings up memories of eating at the kids' table)
Imagine if you are a total newbie and log into a non-noob server and see a warrior in shiney armor. You might ask "Where did you get that great stuff," the reply "Grind it out for 1000 more hours and then you'll be able to camp this stuff." You also have issues with low and mid-level zones empty(since alot of people powerlevel past them). This creates a barrier to newbie advancement since there is nobody to group with and EQ is all about group play.
D6 63 0D 70 89 81 BB 8E 7B 7C 5F 5D 54 EA AB 73
Long live Socialist Realism! All other art styles must be repressed!
The problem is not having to group sometimes, the problem is having to group all the time. You should be able to advance from newb-god without ever touching a group, albeit at a reduced pace; but it should not be impossible.
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
Why not play a single player game? I'm not being flip here - single player RPGs are a much better experience than MMOs-played-solo: the stories are more coherent, they tend to be better tuned so that you encounter monsters at a pleasingly challenging difficulty level, and they contain puzzles that open new areas to explore.
All of these things are hard for a designer to include in an MMO. When you play one solo you're accepting all the design difficulties that go with MMOs, but eschewing the one thing that they excel at!
As a person that used spend a fair bit of time on EQ a few years ago, I can identify with this. Toward the end, I headed toward the 'RP' servers, and tended to go 'adventuring' more often than heading into combat, often going into zones that I really had no business touching, esp. at a single-figure levels. It has its faults, but I recommend Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, esp. if you like to explore. The Game of the Year edition for either PC or XBOX isn't too expensive, and there's a wealth of community-created mods for the PC version. No idea how well it goes (if it does) under Linux/Mac/etc. It's hard to recreate that feeling of dread you first have in an MMORPG when you first die to a lowly rat, or when you run for your life from what looks like some terrible beast, hoping the local guards will save you in time. Very open-ended, (though at times, too much so), and you don't have to pay anything if you decide to fish it out again in the future.