Terry-Michaels
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EverQuest Next's producer letter asks for more community feedback
The development of EverQuest Next isn't meant to be sterile. Just as the game is meant to draw in players with a hankering for creative play patterns and original ideas, the development team wants to draw upon community involvement to help shape the path of both Landmark and the core game. So the first video producer's letter from senior producer Terry Michaels is as much about asking for more community interaction as it is talking up plans for development. Michaels states that the team will be discussing two major parts of Landmark in the near future: globetrotting and item creation (which he refers to as "break it, take it, make it"). The core game will also be expanded with the addition of a new lore story homing in on one of the new areas found in EverQuest Next. On both points, the need for community input and feedback is stressed. But you don't need to take our word for it -- view the full video just past the break. [Thanks to Tony for the tip!]
The Tattered Notebook: EverQuest Next Round Table roundup
Back when EverQuest Next and EverQuest Landmark were announced, SOE President John Smedley made it clear that the two games were henceforth in "open development." That meant that the company would be soliciting feedback and opinions from players about myriad design decisions for the two games. Since then, EQ Next devs have thrown out new questions each week for players to vote on and discuss. Utilizing polls and forum discussions in a special section of the main site labeled Round Table, important topics like bearded female dwarves and armor appearance customization are delved into and player desires and feedback are gathered. After collecting the data, the devs respond, sometimes in video form. Today, The Tattered Notebook is going to round up all those roundtables, giving you a summary of which way the community is leaning on these different topics as well as the dev input. I'll even throw in snippets of their opinions as well! Of course, if you haven't added your thoughts to the mix and you'd like to, you still have time to do so as all the polls are still active.
EverQuest Next groups will function without 'the stereotypical tank'
The holy trinity has been a hot topic ever since SOE introduced EverQuest Next at last week's SOE Live convention in Las Vegas. The firm is clearly trying to move away from traditional MMO combat, and more evidence of this comes courtesy of a USGamer interview with producer Terry Michaels. "The dedicated roles of the holy trinity are not going to be present in Everquest Next. There will be different classes and different builds that are angled towards some of the roles," Michaels explains, "so there might be a class or a build that is more tankish but you don't need that person to accomplish that goal and content. You can go in there without having somebody who is the stereotypical tank." Not only that, but EQN is attempting a new spin on aggro in general. "The combat's very different. There's not the common threat mechanic that people see in MMOs where there is somebody who can generate enough aggro that the NPC will never ever turn away from them," Michaels says. [Thanks bardamu1999!]
SOE Live 2013: EverQuest Next's mechanics and more
Anyone who attended SOE Live this year heard quite a bit about EverQuest Next. Even if the upcoming sandbox was not the reason you came, you couldn't help but learn a thing or two. And for those who braved the crowds to attend multiple panels focused on the game, chances are you are still trying to sort through all the information and remember everything that was said! That's where we come in. After attending all the panels and sitting down with multiple devs, we've complied and summarized as much information as we can for you. Today's focus is on various mechanics (such as armor, combat, and classes) as well as a few other odds and ends we tossed in. So why are you still here? All that good stuff is after the break!
SOE Live 2012: Smedley says EQNext is the 'largest sandbox-style MMO ever designed'
As we reported last night, Sony Online Entertainment dropped a few hints regarding the future of the EverQuest franchise at its annual SOE Live convention in Las Vegas. Though CEO John Smedley's keynote address focused mainly on the firm's non-EQ portfolio, the EQNext tidbit was a doozy. I have to be honest with you. We have completely blown up the design of EverQuest Next. For the last year and a half we have been working on something we are not ready to show. Why did we blow up the design? The design was evolutionary. It was EverQuest III. It was something that was slightly better than what had come before it. It was slightly better. What we are building is something that we will be very proud to call EverQuest. It will be the largest sandbox-style MMO ever designed. The same exciting content delivered in a new way. Something you've never seen before. The MMO world has never seen before. We didn't want more kill 10 rats quests. We didn't want more of the same. If you look at the MMOs out there, they're delivering the same content over and over again. So are we. We need to change that. When we released EverQuest, we changed the world. We want to do that again with a different type of game. Smedley went on to mention that veteran EQ devs Dave Georgeson and Terry Michaels are spearheading the project, and he promised that it would be playable at next year's SOE Live event.
