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New video preview of EQII's Storm Break update
EQ2Players is featuring a new video of the next EverQuest II update, GU47, a.k.a. Storm Break. In GU47, the Void Storms event seen in GU46 continues with the appearance of vicious nasties that we only know as "beasts". The beasts are the main focus of the preview video, and you'll see them doing their thing in various locations around Norrath -- when the update goes live, you can expect them to crash your party almost anywhere in the world. Watch the embedded movie to get an idea of what you're in for in The Void storms part 2: The Battle.
Preview EQII's Game Update 47, Storm Break: Part 2
The second part of the EverQuest II GU47: Storm Break preview has been unveiled at EQ2Players, teasing us with a few more features of the upcoming patch.Continuing in the vein of the first preview, there is more good news for lower level characters, as Adept I and Master I drops in the 1-20 range will now always be a spell that someone in the party can use. Moving up in the levels somewhat, Chardok, Sebilis and Karnor's Castle named mobs will be "less shy and more generous with the quality of their phat lewtz" -- though it's not 100% clear whether this means some brand new items, or just less of the crappy stuff. Sebilis and Chardok will also get extra spawn points to make life easier.As well as these changes, the preview introduces us to the star of Storm Break's Live Event, pictured above. So far they are labeled in their images as "beast", and they can show up anywhere in the world to take a bite out of you when GU47 is released. We've put together a Storm Break gallery for you to flip through, and if you decide that you just can't wait to be set upon by these new monsters, this update is available right now on the test server.%Gallery-28090%
Preview EQII's Game Update 47, Storm Break
The EQ2Players community site has a short preview of EverQuest II's next major patch, Game Update 47, the "Storm Break". As we already knew, GU47 is the patch that will finally bring Vivox voice integration to EQII. Here's the list of features that will be available straight away: Create your own password-protected custom channels Automatic channels for Guilds, Raids and Groups Group and Raid windows have speaking indicators Leaders can invite any other players into Guild, Group and Raid channels Moderator controls (kick, ban, mute, etc.) Logitech G15 keyboard integration Ability to individually mute and set volume per user that you can hear Troubleshooting tools to get you chatting instantly Other new feature coming in this update: a revamp of items for levels 1-59, a change that is sure to make alts and newcomers awfully pleased. A large amount of old-world items will automatically be improved, to be more in line with newer rewards. This includes items that you already own -- there's no need to go around collecting your gear for a second time. It also looks like Guild Housing will soon be in the game, judging by construction near Freeport and Qeynos. Storm Break still holds more surprises, and we're promised a second part to this preview later in the week.
EverQuest 2 developer previews upcoming content changes in GU 47
The much-anticipated addition of Vivox voice chat isn't the only thing being added to EverQuest II in the upcoming Game Update 47. Developer Ilucide dropped into the forums for a chat with the players, to lay out changes being made to a few Rise of Kunark content areas and a source of much frustration: writs. Judging by player response in the fourm thread, the change to writs will be most welcome. The previous number of writs required to go from 0 to ally faction was 267. The new number is 80. As Kunark faction was already relatively easy to climb through, this is primarily intended to make city faction more palateable. Additional changes may be in the works for these items, as the developers mull ways to make this particular part of the game more meaningful for players.The content changes center around two dungeons. Karnor's Castle has been tuned to be more receptive to small group play in the 72-76 bracket. Difficulty has been generally lowered, and the mob spawns thinned out, to allow for players to have a better time in that playing mode. Meanwhile Sebilis and Chardok have been made less generally annoying. Lower level magical treasure has been removed from the loot tables, ensuring only loot commensurate with the areas will drop. Placeholders for some named critters have also been removed, meaning that a named monster is either 'up' or not - spawn camping will not be a requirement in these zone any longer.Sound off EQ2 players! How do these changes sound to you?
Testing begins on EverQuest II's new voice service
As we noted just a few days ago, Vivox integration will be coming to EverQuest 2 in the upcoming Game Update 47. Greg Spence, a designer on the EQ2 team, states on his personal blog that voice chat is already rolling out to the test servers. They don't expect GU 47 to hit the live side for almost a month, but they want to make sure this particular patch is tested as heavily as possible.Greg goes into some interesting commentary about what people are experiencing as they use voice in EverQuest 2. For example, SOE's engineers assumed people would know that the 'push button to talk' feature was remappable. Instead, users would continue to click with their mouse - a problem a simple tooltip hopefully fixes. The designer concludes with a Q&A between himself and a fictitious player, attempting to clarify any questions you might have about the patch. It's well worth looking into.
Vivox voice integration coming in EQ2 Game Update 47
EverQuest 2's Technical Director Joshua "Autenil" Kriegshauser has released some very interesting news via the official forums. The GDC announcement of Vivox and SOE's partnership appears to be reaching fruition, as in-game voice chat will be added to EQ2 with Game Update 47. The system's implementation appears to offer effortless discussion with groupmates, guildmates via private voice channels. Settings can be tweaked to allow non-guildies into guild voice chats for convenience, and will even allow for communication across EQ2 servers.There's an official thread for player feedback and questions already up and running. Kriegshauser has been in there since yesterday, clarifying elements of the UI, system, and integration. Some tidbits from that discussion include: Initially cross-game chat will not be possible, though that's likely to change as other SOE titles integrate the technology. At the moment there are not assignable permissions for guild ranks, though that may change. Players are restricted to only speaking in one channel at a time, though again that may change in the future. Private channels (requiring just a password to access) are still in the works, with hopes it will be available when the service launches. Logging a character out disconnects you from a chat, but you will still be in the voice channel while zoning. Voice masks (which Vivox calls 'fonts') are planned for future updates. Likewise, proximity-based free-for-all chat is a hoped-for addition down the road.
