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New EQ Expansion, Free Tutorial

Posted by Zonk on from the free-as-in-ale dept.

Mobhunter.com has details from the annual Everquest Fan Faire, where SOE regularly unveils new information about upcoming additions to the game. The next expansion is apparently "Depths of Darkhollow", an underdark-like expansion that will allow for new kinds of gameplay. The other major announcement was the revelation that the new 10 level tutorial will be available as a sort of EQ trial period. From the article: "New players can sign up for a station account and play the tutorial on a special server known as 'escape'. New players can play up to level 10 without having to put in a credit card. The tutorial has all new artwork, mostly from DON but some unique models such as the Kobolds. This lets player get a good taste of EQ without having to commit anything more than download time. This whole package will be known as 'Escape to Norrath'."

25 comments

  1. Now I know... by MyLongNickName · · Score: 3, Funny

    .. it really is "EverCrack". Just like a good drug dealer, they hook you with "free samples", then reel you in when you are hooked.

    Brilliant!

    --
    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
    1. Re:Now I know... by MyLongNickName · · Score: 1

      Hey, moron. You forgot to yell "frist post". How do you expect to ever make it into the GNAA?

      --
      See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
    2. Re:Now I know... by jwilloug · · Score: 1

      They've given away free trials at various points in the past as well, but those accounts turned out to be really popular with griefers and cheaters of various kinds. Walling them off in a tutorial zone is a good fix for that.

      I have mixed emotions otherwise though, EQ's many and varied starting cities and newbie zones are one of its best and worst features. They make you really feel the differences between the various races, but it also thins out the newbie characters to the point where those zones never have more than a small number of people in them.

      There has to be a better solution than common tutorial zones.

    3. Re:Now I know... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I remember the days when there used to be 25 people in North Qeynos and another 10 in the south section. Now it's totally empty (on Vazaelle), so much so that to find 1 single newbie killing bats outside the city is a very novel rarity.

      It's sad to see the passing of a world, but I suppose it's also good, as EQ is such a hateful game --- 6 years of suffering allows me to say that with authority. May SoE rot in hell ...

  2. How will they know? by turtled · · Score: 1

    How will they know there are expansions!? There better be in-game ads! You know they don't leave the PC, shut the game down to read / watch news, they just don't get up, even to go to the bathroom or order a pizza.

    =)

    --
    "I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." -- Sigmund Freud
    1. Re:How will they know? by cazbar · · Score: 1

      In EQ2, you don't have to get up to order a pizza. Just typing /pizza will hook you up with a Pizza Hut order form.

    2. Re:How will they know? by turtled · · Score: 1

      That's why I said they just don't get up, even to go to the bathroom or order a pizza.

      I know about the /Pizza command. That was the whole joke. Now you went and ruined it!

      --
      "I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." -- Sigmund Freud
  3. To compete with Guild Wars? by tktk · · Score: 1
    I had two friends who help beta test EQ long long ago. They stopped playing once they actually had to pay for a subscription.

    And now what are they playing? Guild Wars. They both ran out to buy it when it was released. Maybe a free trial period would help EQ bring in some more gamers. The type that are willing to buy a game but not willing to pay a subscription. Well, they won't pay until the EverCrack syndrome hits them.

    I bought it too so we could group but soon proved to myself that I have no time to play any MMORPG.

  4. in eq-rehab by mabu · · Score: 1

    I stopped playing EQ before the last expansion came out. Our uber guild fell apart when EQ2 launched and things got so bad many servers merged to deal with the large losses of players. It was hard enough playing the high-end game before, I don't see any reason to pick EQ back up again. I still have friends who are playing EQ2 but it's just the same hamster wheel with a little more shiny chrome on it.

  5. Free works by alvinrod · · Score: 3, Interesting
    If you look here you will notice a game called RuneScape, an mmo, can be played for free. Notice how it's beating the pants off EQ2, and looks like it will overtake EQ. Granted that the graphics aren't all that great and it's not the most in depth, but when you don't have to pay anything for it and it can be played nearly anywhere, it doesn't seem so bad.

    Further proof that you don't need photorealistic graphics to make a good game that people will use.

    1. Re:Free works by -kertrats- · · Score: 1

      If there's an internet user out there that hasnt heard of Runescape, I havent met him and I certainly envy him. I just don't get it-it's a boring game with a horrible interface, yet it has all this buzz. Someone explain it to me.

      --
      The Braying and Neighing of Barnyard Animals Follows.
    2. Re:Free works by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Runescape is not free, there is a limited free portion of the game.

      But it costs $5 a month to play this rudimentary java game. Granted its not expensive, its still far from free.

      And it looks like crap :P

    3. Re:Free works by 0racle · · Score: 1

      First I've heard of it. I only have time for one MMORPG, this won't be it.

      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
    4. Re:Free works by Zeussy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      a lot of my friends work for Jagex (under customer service, gm'ing and so on), was talking to them about Runescape, they get something like a 80k-100k of accounts created a day.

      They have 3.5million accounts that have logged in within the last 2 weeks and 370k subscribers.

      --
      Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game
    5. Re:Free works by Sparr0 · · Score: 1

      MMORPGs are, for most people, a chat room with something to do in between sentences. That's it. The only thing that keeps most people playing past-their-prime games like EQ and UO is that their friends still play and its how they spend the majority of their time with them.

    6. Re:Free works by dreamquick · · Score: 1

      Ah yes, "free" Runescape. Want to know the problem with free online games?

      May I introduce the "little kid factor" - the cheaper the game is the more they attract little kids. There are ultimately two problems with little kids online:

      1. They want to be everyone's friend without realising that a) telling random adults "be my friend" is damned creepy and b) they like the idea of power-gaming but don't want to read how to do it so bug you too much if you try to help them out.

      2. Lots of kids doesn't understand how to either a) play well with others or b) since they're not playing the latest offline PS2 game they wont just be handed the best sword in the game without doing much work.

      In paid MMO's these types of players are limited by the need for mommy or daddy to pay for them with their CC, which implies a parental link and may improve their behavior for fear of parental wraith.

      As the cost of the MMO decreases the percentage of annoying little kids, beggars and generic-asshats increases.

    7. Re:Free works by FuckTheModerators · · Score: 1

      There's got to be another name for this behavior driven by a low barrier to entry, because it's not just specific to videogames. Two examples:

      1. Working phone tech support for software that was being given away free, or selling for $7 or so, we had an inordinately large number of "generic asshats" wanting support. For more expensive products, significantly less asshattery.

      2. I worked in a bar, and on the nights that there was no cover or cheapo drinks, general asshattery increased exponentially. And no, this wasn't simply booze-related. Sober asshats did abound.

      The barrier to entry doesn't have to be monetary. Linux's barrier to entry is time and knowledge. Not trolling here, but it would be hard to find an example of Joe Clueless User running a Linux box.

  6. Kobold Mask by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is cool, and I really hope they put a Kobold illusion mask in the game. kobolds rock!

  7. Should turn some folks right off to the concept by cpu_fusion · · Score: 0

    Awesome, now folks don't have to spend any money to realize what a boring timesink EQ is. See that "You hit foo for 3 hps?" In only 65 levels, it can be "You hit foo for 300 hps!" Holy crap! That's worth hundreds of hours of your time!

  8. *sigh* by TheBot · · Score: 1

    I hope that EQ3 will be like EQ1, because EQ2 is just crap after awhile. EQ1 was MUCHO better than EQ2. All the expanion packs in the world won't help this game. They should've had this content in the game from day 1, not months later.

    --
    Flat Screen TV for F
    1. Re:*sigh* by Bluetick · · Score: 1

      This is an EQ expansion, not an EQ2 expansion.

    2. Re:*sigh* by TheBot · · Score: 1

      Doh! haha, my mistake, carry on!

      --
      Flat Screen TV for F
  9. Another free game by flonker · · Score: 1

    And this one actually is free! It's open source under the GPL: Crossfire

    Admittedly, the graphics are a bit dated looking, but you're more interested in gameplay anyway, right? And this game is bulging with gameplay.