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The Tattered Notebook: EverQuest II's year in review
EverQuest II may be the ripe old age of six, but it certainly isn't showing signs of slowing down. With 2010 coming to a close, it's time to look back on the past year, which was marked with several major changes to the game. Read on for The Tattered Notebook's year in review, and then share your memories of the past year in EverQuest II.
The Tattered Notebook: A moment with Dave Georgeson
Foolish and pathetic mortals! It's another week of adventuring and mystery here in Norrath, as I, Seccia Ravenloft, have once again braved the depths of Sony Online Entertainment's inner sanctum. And by "I," I mean I sent Seraphina Brennan to do my work for me. Now who is the master and who is the slave?! Ahahahahahahaha! For this week's column, Seraphina was able to speak with Dave "Avatar" Georgeson, the brand new EverQuest II producer. Dave is stepping in for Alan "Brenlo" Crosby, as he has moved onwards, away from my might. (Little does he know that I pursue him still with powerful Tier'dal magic, but that's a story for another time.) Some of you may know of Dave Georgenson's works, as he has been producer of SOE's PlanetSide as well as Gaia Online's ZOMG! So come along, listen to Sera as I force her to ask questions of Dave, and listen to Dave as he answers to the avatar of my will! No producer is safe from the Tier'dal might!
Alan "Brenlo" Crosby steps down from EverQuest 2 and Sony Online Entertainment
Yes, you read that correctly. Alan "Brenlo" Crosby is no longer with Sony Online Entertainment. This is the latest in a string of significant staff changes in the gaming industry for April, so what happened this time? Well, the official word from Sony Online Entertainment is "After many years of service with SOE, Alan "Brenlo" Crosby has moved on to other opportunities. And while it is sad to see him leave, we wish him the best of luck in his new endeavors. At this time, we'd like to take a moment to announce EverQuest II's new producer, Dave "Avatar" Georgenson. Dave is excited to join the EQII Team and will be posting an introduction in the near future." We spoke to Alan as well, and he told us "Yeah after working together for 10 years, it was my time to move on. Was a great ride and I am going to miss my SOE family." We at Massively wish Alan the best of luck!
SOE releases podcast #83, talks Halas Reborn
Sony Online Entertainment has released the 83rd edition of the Official SOE Podcast (which also happens to be MiniCast #14). Hosted by the one and only Brenlo, with color commentary by the lovely Robin and Amy, the twenty-six minute romp through the Sony MMORPG landscape includes a bevy of news updates regarding current in-game happenings, details on registering for Fan Faire 2010, and a conversation with the server hamsters (don't ask). Additionally, the team drops a bit of info about the EverQuest II expansion, as well as Game Update 56: Halas Reborn, travel revamps, plus information on a gaggle of exclusive items available to Fan Faire attendees. Check out Podcast #83 at the official site for all the details.
Catch up for Sentinel's Fate with a bonus exp weekend
Behind on your leveling? Stuck in a mire of experience? Looking for a quick boost to get you set for the latest expansion to EverQuest II, Sentinel's Fate? Well, starting at 3 PM PT today (6 PM for those of us on the east coast) you'll be able to get bonus experience to everything you do in EverQuest II! Leveling experience, alternate advancement experience, tradeskill experience, country experience, and western experience will all benefit from the bonus event. (Editor's Note: We don't remember country or western experience being in EQII, but hey, he is the executive producer, after all. He should know what he's talking about.) Your new experience buff will be running out on Monday at Noon PT (3 PM ET) so be sure to take advantage of it while you can! Get some more experience under your belt before Sentinel's Fate launches on Tuesday!
Cross-server PvP battlegrounds confirmed for EverQuest II
Next year is going to be a brand new year full of fighting, queuing, and PvP for players of EverQuest II as Senior Producer Alan "Brenlo" Crosby has confirmed to the forum community that cross-server PvP battlegrounds are on their way. According to the latest newsletter, the new battlegrounds system is set to launch on February 16th of next year, giving PvP fanatics some time to prepare. While details are very sketchy right now, there's a reason for that -- Brenlo has also said that the team is still working out the final details of the system. Maps, rewards, and gameplay styles are still being worked on and tested by the team. But, needless to say, this system will be integrated across all servers and will give EQ II PvPers a quick selection of scenarios to jump into. As more information on the system appears, we'll be sure to keep you updated. [Thanks for the tip, Biggin!]
EverQuest II producer's letter looks at "Shards of Destiny"
EverQuest II's senior producer Alan "Brenlo" Crosby has penned his latest letter to the community, mainly to talk about the next big Game Update Shards of Destiny and its arrival on the Test Server. While the patch isn't slated to go live until late September, players on Test can try out some of the new features already. One new system that is being introduced is Chronomagic, which allows players to reduce their level by speaking to an NPC in town, meaning they can play with lower level friends or simply revisit earlier content. Another Shards of Destiny addition is housing renovations, providing more space and room for items.If you're just after new content, the patch will have some of that too. There will be a new x4 dungeon called Miragul's Planar Shard, and Erollisi Marr's Shard of Love ought to bring some romance to Norrath. EverQuest II will also be jumping on the achievement bandwagon, adding their own Achievement System. All of the above isn't coming for another few weeks, but Brenlo did mention a small patch that just went in a few days ago too. It added a field to the "Welcome" screen that lists the current Daily Mission, as well as the current "Hot Zone". In the past, EQII's Hot Zones were temporary experience bonuses, but the term's meaning has been changed to indicate zones with an increased fabled item drop-rate. Not too shabby.
Fan Faire extras on the latest official SOE podcast
If you're reading this post, we will assume that you are probably interested in getting all the goods on this year's SOE Fan Faire. And why wouldn't you with all the announcements? SOE announced expansions for both EverQuest and EverQuest 2, plus lots of incoming goodies for Free Realms and even Star Wars Galaxies -- although your mileage may vary when it comes to zombies in your Star Wars.Anyhow, the podcast was recorded live at the event, which means you'll be hearing plenty of immediate reactions and thoughts on news and then-current happenings. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be any information regarding The Agency or DC Universe Online, much like at the actual event itself. Nevertheless, anyone interested in the previously mentioned games or live podcasts with jump-on guests will find something to enjoy here.
Highlights from the SOE Fan Faire 2009 community address
Sony Online Entertainment Fan Faire 2009 is happening in Las Vegas, and of course they've had a number of things to unveil so far. SOE president John Smedley gave his community address last evening, and other speakers made an appearance as well. We've got a few highlights from SOE Fan Faire 2009 for you: Station Cash Smedley jumped right in by talking about the state of the SOE game lineup and some of the new directions they've explored with them in this past year. One of those new directions has been the introduction of Station Cash, and he talked about the growing adoption of Station Cash among SOE game subscribers in EverQuest and EverQuest II, as well as how it will soon be tied into new services and customization options. He announced a partnership with Hewlett-Packard which will allow players to purchase matte print images of art from the games using Station Cash. You'll be able to have your own character rendered in a high-quality art print, or even have your entire guild depicted and sent to you as a hardcopy art book. EverQuest: Underfoot and EverQuest II: Sentinel's Fate On the topic of EverQuest, remember that mention we had of SOE trademarking new EQ properties? It turns out these are the new expansions: EverQuest: Underfoot and EverQuest II: Sentinel's Fate. Smedley kicked off the EQ announcements by reflecting back on 10 years of EverQuest and looking to where the IP is headed in the future. EverQuest II producer Alan "Brenlo" Crosby discussed the game's sixth expansion, Sentinel's Fate, where players will travel to the land of Odus and see what's happened there since The Shattering. He dropped a few details about this next expansion, slated for a February 2010 launch, and the updates they plan to release between now and Sentinel's Fate. These updates will include the ability to downtier characters, allowing you to go back and replay older content, plus achievements are coming to EverQuest II. In addition, the EQ II level cap will increase by ten levels. SOE hasn't forgotten about their long-term fans either, those who have stuck with the original EverQuest through the years. EverQuest producer Thomas Terrazas announced the sixteenth EQ expansion, Underfoot, which will launch in November 2009. Underfoot will feature 12-15 zones at launch, with bonus zones and additional content to release in April of 2010. Underfoot will have twice as many weapons as any of the previous 15 expansions, a new focus targeting window (allowing you to add specific targets to your list, monitor health of friends and foes), and achievement tracking that will help players remain aware of the objectives to be completed in their progression path. "In other words," Terrazas said, "you won't have to go looking online on somebody else's website so see what you need. It'll be in-game." Fan Faire 2009 attendees will get both expansions for free.
Alan "Brenlo" Crosby moves into EQII's Senior Producer role
It looks like it's not just EverQuest that is getting a new producer -- Alan "Brenlo" Crosby, formerly in charge of the Community Relations team, will be assuming the role of Senior Producer for EverQuest II. He made this fact known himself on the official forums, which is fitting considering his previous title. His introductory post explained that, although his current and former jobs technically differ quite a lot, the underlying skills required for both fall under the area of management, so the move wasn't as strange as it might seem to some. He's chuffed about what's coming up in Game Update 52, and he mentioned that Game Update 53 is just as exciting -- but we probably won't see anything about that one for a while yet.Brenlo will be taking over for Bruce "Froech" Ferguson, who was in the senior producer role for about a year and a half. The forum post does mention that Froech will still be with SOE, but it doesn't reveal where. As for the Community Relations team, Richard "Greeblen" Schmelter will be filling Brenlo's old position.
SOE podcasters speak freely about Free Realms
Always an interesting listen, the most recent Sony Online Entertainment podcast, #59 offers a bunch of new information on their hot upcoming title, Free Realms. A large part of it is a great interview with the Free Realms Community Manager, Jason "Pex" Ryan, who talks a lot about the different systems at work, and ways that their game sets itself apart from other games. There are tons of great tidbits, including a "Top 10 list on Why you should Play Free Realms", talking about the closed beta, and more background on the game. Aside from that, you'll hear about who shouldn't be drinking coffee, what class Alan "Brenlo" Crosby normally doesn't like playing, Fan Faire talk, more about EverQuest II, Twitter and email silliness - and even more. Be sure to download it and check it out! It will certainly make your daily commute fly by.
The many faces of Community Management
Have you ever submitted a bug report, petitioned a GM or posted a message on an official forum? If so, then you've interacted with a game's community team in one way or another. This is probably not news to you, but were you aware of the distinct departments that make up a community team and how they differ?Believe it or not, being a part of an MMO's community team is more than just reading forums or bug reports all day. In a recent post at SOE's official company blog, Senior Community Relations Manager EM Stock breaks down the four main categories of the community team. There's Quality Assurance, Customer Support, Tech Support/Accounts Billing and Community Relations. Read how SOE handles these main components of online gaming, and how they can effectively serve as the "face" of the company.
Losing influence with SOE: EQ2 Flames admin "LFG" tells all
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/SOE_and_EQ2_players_fallout'; He is an EverQuest 2 player that rose to power leading one of the largest fansite communities. He earned the esteemed "Community Influencer" rank that opened the gates to game designers and allowed him to forge ties with prominent SOE staff. With his connections it wasn't long before the site he administrates, EQ2 Flames, served as a clandestine outlet for EQ2 developers to post on. Behind the scenes "LFG" played a role working with inside sources to leak information that resulted in the EQ2 Test Server scandal. The forum also resulted in leak of the news (almost a month before it actually happened) that former Senior Producer, Scott Hartsman, was to part ways with Sony Online Entertainment. His actions wouldn't come without serious ramifications. Last week SOE terminated his "Influencer" membership, citing a lack of participation and misconduct as the reasoning behind their decision. In the destructive wake that followed an ugly entanglement by both SOE developers and EQ2 players has surfaced. Allegations of cheating, developer corruption, and other scuttlebutt permeate forum posts. This is a drama that pits community against community, developers against players, and more than likely developers against developers. It is a story that has shaken up a very large community and that has once placed SOE in a questionable spotlight. I contacted "LFG", the EQ2 Flames administrator, to help bring some clarity to it all.In the interview below several allegations involving SOE employees are levied. These along with other accusations on EQ2 Flames also raise other questions regarding SOE's internal policies. At the time of this posting SOE's community team had not yet responded with an official comment. When SOE does respond we will post it in full.
SOE caught red-handed: EQ2 Player / Dev relationship breached ethical boundaries
Several days ago Massively reported that EQ2 Flames administrator broke the story on a scandal that regards numerous members from Unhallowed Triad, a guild on EQ2's Test server that was transferred to Unrest, a Live server through an inside connection at SOE. Character transfers from the Test server to a Live one is not allowed and against current SOE transfer policy; albeit, the EULA has a clause that SOE may change this policy at any time. However, the case is made that a Player / Dev affiliation has led to corruption, leaving many infuriated players with lots of unanswered questions as seen in these two threadnaughts. To recap for those not following this closely or wanting to sift through 100+ pages on the forums: SOE employee(s) abused their power breaking various codes of ethics (confirmed & guilty) Numerous Test players accuse Unhallowed Triad with a history of exploitation and getting away with it in due part to their SOE connection (rumors) Someone at SOE made the call to transfer Test characters to a Live server breaking policy (confirmed & guilty) Not only were characters transferred to Unrest, but items as well. Unhallowed Triad's Guild level was also inflated to 60. (confirmed & guilty) Many Unhallowed Triad guild members admitted to transferring off test in Assassin's chat (confirmed) Several Unhallowed Triad guild members were transferred unknowingly (more than likely) Legitimately leveled characters belonging to several Unhallowed Triad members were transferred over from other servers or already leveled on the Unrest server (confirmed) Unhallowed Triad guild tag no longer exists but there other guild tag Unholy Trinity exists and their Guild level stands at 30 (confirmed) All players on the Test server have not been given the same opportunity to transfer to a Live server The evidence found via EQ2 Players alone is overwhelming. So much so that it's impossible to sweep all the allegations under-the-rug. Initially, SOE was quick to react as both Alan "Brenlo" Crosby, Director of Global Community Relations and Bruce "Froech" Ferguson, EQ2's new Senior Producer admitted to SOE's involvement. Well, rather that someone at SOE made the call to override the policy, but in a good natured manner to reward certain players for their hard work on the Test server. Not a smart choice of words or tone given EQ2 players warranted concerns. In any case, Ferguson claims the transferred characters will be removed. Since their initial statements and response there has been no further word from a SOE representative on this matter.
