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EQII's Georgeson talks GU60, low-level flying mounts
It's a pretty safe assumption that Sony Online Entertainment's MMO developers and its IT security staff are separate groups of people, and that begs the question of what EverQuest II's coders were doing during the recent 12-day downtime. Perhaps an impromptu vacation or some quality time with other games (or hobbies) was in the cards? Not so, according to producer Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson, who says that the team was hard at work on Game Update 60 (and 61). EQ2Wire's Feldon has a breakdown of various and sundry Smokejumper quotes gleaned from the official EQII forums, and there's a lot of ground to cover. Topics range from GU60 testing to update notes and updated abilities to potential flying mounts for lower-level players. "Also, the mysterious flying mount thing I promised to explain... well... I don't want to build it up too big, but it's aimed at lower-level characters also," Georgeson says. Hit up EQ2Wire for more details.
The Tattered Notebook: SmokeJumper talks GU60
The past week has certainly been difficult, both for Sony Online Entertainment and EverQuest II fans. The attack and the downtime has certainly been on players' minds as they wonder when the game will go live again and how much of their personal information was compromised. But while these seem like dark days for EQII, there will be lots to look forward to in-game once things are back to normal. A few weeks ago, Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson took time to answer some questions for Massively about Game Update 60, The Children of War. And he met again for a roundtable interview just before news of the attack on SOE broke. Read on for highlights of the interview and a look at what's on the horizon once services are restored.
The Tattered Notebook: Free level 90? Heck yeah!
I'm a bit late to the party, but I want to throw my two coppers into the discussion on the level 90 winback suggestion that Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson made recently. In a recent forum thread, he tossed out the idea of EverQuest II's offering level-capped characters to new players who purchased Destiny of Velious. After a fairly robust discussion, he pulled it off the table, but I actually think it should still be an option. Before you make fists of fury at the screen, hear me out! In this week's Tattered Notebook, I'm going to look at why this promotion is needed and suggest a way that it actually could work for everyone's benefit.
The Tattered Notebook: Dave Georgeson on EQII's Children of War
Even though Destiny of Velious has only been out for a couple of months, EverQuest II is about to see some big improvements and new content in the upcoming Game Update 60, Children of War. Despite the recent cuts to Sony Online Entertainment's staff, the team working on EQII seems more focused than ever, and over the past couple of weeks, fans have received a constant stream of information on both near- and long-term plans for the game. In this week's Tattered Notebook, Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson was kind enough to take some time to talk about the future of EverQuest II. In a bit of a surprise, he discusses how the team will continue to release Velious content in the form of regular updates rather than a larger part II as originally planned. He also gives some detail on highlights from the next update as well as future plans. Multiple housing, deity changes, the Freeport revamp -- Georgeson sheds some light on all that and more. Read on for the interview!
The Daily Grind: Do you care if players get free max-level characters?
Poor Dave Georgeson. All he wanted was a bit of discussion regarding the possible (not definite, nor even probable) implementation of free level-90 characters as an enticement for returning to EverQuest II. What he got was a 16-page (and counting) thread full of whining about how it's grossly unfair to those who've "worked" for their levels. Never you mind the fact that Guild Wars has had a similar system in place for the last six years, or that Age of Conan started giving away free levels (and, essentially, free max-level characters if you subscribe long enough) in 2010. Georgeson ran afoul of that segment of the MMORPG-playing population that loves to grind, and the only thing that certain grind fans seem to enjoy more than the treadmill is forcing other players to partake of it with them. What about you, Massively folk? Are you outraged that some folks consider the grind an unfortunate (and disposable) fact of MMO life, or are you content to live and let live? Do you care about free max-level characters? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
EverQuest II's Georgeson mentions free max-level toons, community foams at the mouth
EverQuest II producer Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson recently touched off a firestorm of controversy by asking the fantasy game's community how it would feel about a win-back promotion featuring free max-level characters. Predictably, the howls of protest are still reverberating around the internet, and EQ2Wire has a bit of analysis regarding both the discussion and the high-level flying mount portion of the game's latest expansion that led to it. Despite the fact that Georgeson was clearly engaging in a bit of speculative thinking with the community (i.e., there are no plans for EQII insta-90s), and despite the fact that Guild Wars has been offering max-level PvP toons since 2005, the EQII discussion quickly turned hostile and demonstrated the minefields that developers must occasionally navigate when engaging their playerbase.
The Tattered Notebook: If we all look cool, how do we know who's really cool?
Last week, we looked at the amazing job that EverQuest II does with providing ways to make your character look unique. EQII is one of the best when it comes to making your character look special, cool, and fitting of who you are. But there's another side of this coin, and as one forum poster has rightfully pointed out, the best-looking items aren't always the best items in the game. As Rayven2 noted recently on the official forums: A good example is the Elemental War Sword. Sure it drops from an easy-mode mob, but it's a 4x raid and takes time and effort to beat (at least the first time you do it). The sword should look somewhat cool, but the graphic is just the same reused sword graphic painted gold. The chillborne sword is the one that has the particle effects for 200SC. So you bust your hump beating a mob that took 24 people to take down only to get a reward that looks worse than an appearance weapon anyone can acquire for little or no effort. None of the scout weapons look anywhere as cool as the SC daggers out there. Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson replied, saying, "It's a fair point, although if we're not paying attention to that now, it's by oversight, not by intent. Everyone wants something cool looking (not just cool stats) when they overcome big challenges. That's natural." In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll take a closer look at "looking cool" and how the rise of cash shops has changed the way we view each other.
New EQII producer's letter outlines roadmap for 2011
Recent layoffs at SOE may have caused a certain amount of trepidation in terms of future development on some of the company's most popular titles. Thankfully, the most recent Producer's Letter from Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson should put many EverQuest II players' minds at ease. He took some time to sit down and give us an outline of plans the EverQuest II developers have for 2011, indicating that things are very good for the game's future. Those who purchased the most recent expansion, Destiny of Velious, will be glad to hear that en route is even more content that will further expand on the Age's End Prophecy storyline. That content will only be available to those who picked up the expansion, however, so if you've been thinking about getting it, now would be a good time. Next up, it appears that Freeport is going to be getting a pretty heavy makeover both in terms of layout and what it will offer to players -- along with becoming a single zone open to flying mounts! We don't want to spoil you for all the interesting information mentioned, so if you're curious, head over to the EverQuest II site and check out the newest Producer's Letter.
The Tattered Notebook: Velious itemization and flying Gnomes
With the launch of Destiny of Velious rapidly approaching, EverQuest II fans are starting to hear a lot more about what this expansion will bring. This past week was filled with new lore, new screenshots, and another live Webcast with Senior Producer Dave Georgeson, Lead Designer Rich Waters, and Itemization Developer Salim Grant. As in previous webcasts, the hosts talked about flying mounts, launch day events, and othmir, but the main topic they discussed was itemization and gear progression. There is no level cap increase with Destiny of Velious, and because of that, many players wondered what items would look like, especially since a lot of Sentinel's Fate gear was already loaded with procs, wards, and effects. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at how the developers tackled this difficult area and what changes players should expect to see with the arrival of Destiny of Velious.
The Tattered Notebook: More on flying mounts, public quests, and prestige homes
SOE has been slowly getting new information out about Destiny of Velious. As part of an ongoing promotion to showcase the upcoming expansion, Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson and Greg "Rothgar" Spence took part in the second installment of the Destiny of Velious webcast. They took the opportunity to elaborate on topics from the first show and also revealed some exciting new features. In this week's Tattered Notebook, we'll look at the highlights of last Friday's webcast. Read on to hear more about flying mounts, prestige housing, and public quests.
The Tattered Notebook: Highlights from the Destiny of Velious webcast
With Destiny of Velious just around the corner, the team at SOE has announced a webcast schedule to provide details about the upcoming expansion and answer player questions. The first one was this past Friday and was attended by Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson and Siliam "Silius" Grant, whom Vanguard fans might recognize. While the show was brief, the duo did touch on many different areas -- from itemization to raids and even to the addition of new public quests. Read on for highlights from the first Velious question-and-answer session.
EverQuest II Destiny of Velious webcast schedule released
The EverQuest II development team is gearing up for the long-awaited Destiny of Velious expansion, and part of said gearing up involves disseminating information to the masses. Starting today at 4:00 p.m. PST, SOE will be hosting a series of live webcasts designed to spread the word about Velious as well as give anxious players a chance to have their questions heard. The webcasts will be taking place every Friday for the next month, with various guests and topics scheduled for each. Tonight's segment features Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson and Salim "Silius" Grant, and the duo is scheduled to talk a bit about new Velious zones, raids, and more. Player-submitted questions are also on the docket, so visit the official EQII forums to submit yours. If you're looking for a bit of a preview, head to EQ2Wire, where Feldon shares his experiences with past SOE webcasts as well as the full schedule.
Step right up, step right up and get your EverQuest II: Destiny of Velious pre-order!
Every EverQuest II players' eyes are firmly fixed on February 22nd and the launch of the newest expansion pack, Destiny of Velious. Beta testers have already been exploring the Great Wastes of Velious for long-forgotten treasure, but soon these lands will be open to one and all. SOE has announced that the pre-orders for Destiny of Velious are scheduled to go on sale on Tuesday, January 18th. Not only will you get the peace of mind knowing that your copy will be ready for you on launch day, but you'll be entitled to a number of sweet rewards that SOE is bestowing on the faithful. You can check out the pre-order details over at EverQuest II's site, and don't forget to read our interview with Senior Producer Dave Georgeson about this exciting expansion!
EQII Destiny of Velious beta in full swing
News of SOE's EverQuest II has been fairly sparse as of late. Aside from the recent server merges and a somewhat controversial vampire race, it's been pretty quiet relative to the deluge of information that followed last summer's free-to-play conversion. Presumably, the SOE gnomes have been too busy bustling about with the creation of EQII's next expansion to provide any headline fodder, and exhibit A is the fact that the Destiny of Velious beta is rolling right along. EQ2Wire's Feldon mentions community reports of the ongoing beta (which is under a strict NDA at this point), and he also provides a helpful sign-up link (viewing it requires SOE account credentials), as well as a link to producer Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson's thoughts on the early closed beta process. "Depending on how many folks pile into the beta, and how many testers we need, we may authorize extra groups of people later this month. Stay tuned for more details," Georgeson writes.
Trading platinum for Station Cash items OK with EQII's Georgeson
EQ2Wire has an interesting tidbit regarding the exchange of platinum (EverQuest II's in-game currency) and items purchased with SOE's Station Cash. With players now able to gift Station Cash items, EQII vets wondered aloud on the game's official boards if trading some of their surplus plat for SC paraphernalia would lead to a ban. Surprisingly, EQII producer Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson took a laissez faire approach to the discussion, in effect saying that players are welcome to the trades provided they're not facilitated by any third parties. "We really don't want to put a hard value on platinum to SC conversion rates, so we would probably only step in on this if we thought it was going to cause us legal headaches in the future. So...if kept on the low-down, it'll never cause problems. But if someone put up a website selling items officially with posted conversion rates, I have a feeling that legal might want to step in and stop it to avoid issues. Make sense? Keep it person-to-person and I don't think this will ever be an issue," he wrote. In addition to the exchange discussion, EQ2Wire's Feldon chimes in with a brief analysis of the game's economy and inflation troubles that's worth a read if you're thinking of heading back to the world of Norrath.
The Tattered Notebook: An Interview with Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson
This past autumn has been a busy one for EverQuest II, with the unveiling of EverQuest II Extended and upcoming server mergers. In contrast, players haven't heard much about Destiny of Velious, the upcoming expansion due to release on February 8th, 2011. But even though news of the expansion has been quiet of late, the team has been hard at work getting things ready for beta and launch. This week, I had a chance to talk to Senior Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson about EverQuest II's upcoming expansion, Destiny of Velious, as well as a progress report on EverQuest II Extended. Curious about what role factions will play in Velious or what Georgeson's favorite instance might be? Read on to find out!
The Tattered Notebook: Station cash, server merges, and musings from the community
Welcome to another chapter of The Tattered Notebook. There's a ton to talk about this week, as our favorite game has been making news left and right, in both its traditional and free-to-play flavors. Pull up a chair and grab a cup of your favorite beverage as we delve into our semi-monthly look at what's turning heads and generating discussion in the EverQuest II community. As it turns out, nothing stirs the pot more than server merges (and maybe Station Cash), and in this week's edition we'll highlight a few noteworthy conversations you may have missed. Turn the page for more.
EQII Live server merges begin this November
In a move that should surprise no one, Sony Online Entertainment has announced it will be officially merging EQII Live servers beginning this fall. Sixteen shards will be affected, though notably populated servers such as Antonia Bayle, Lucan D'Lere, Nagafen, and Crushbone are not among them (nor are the Live Gamer shards Vox and The Bazaar). EQII producer Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson cautions that the merges won't happen quickly, as there is a lot of work to be done. The trade-off is that "bigger population density on a server is just simply more fun for everyone involved, so it's time to get it done," he writes. For the complete listing, check out the announcement on the official website, and also hit up this thread for more discussion and details.
Unlimited EQII character slots coming October 5th
If you're anything like us, you're a raging altoholic with an EQII character select screen crammed full of ratonga wizards, barbarian monks, froglok swashbucklers, and any number of other funky race/class permutations. One of the great joys of SOE's long-running EverQuest sequel is the huge number of races and classes available for play and now, courtesy of an update coming your way October 5th, Norrathians will no longer be limited to a select number of character slots. EQII producer Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson announced the good news in a post on the official forums. "We've solved some technical issues recently and we can now offer character slots for sale," he writes. Each additional slot will be permanently tied to your account after a one-time purchasing fee of 1000 Station Cash ($10.00), and there is no limit to the number of additional slots you can buy. The service will also be available on both the Live and F2P servers.
EQII's Georgeson on LotRO comparisons, class manifestos, and more
With all the folks popping into the newly free-to-play world of Norrath lately, it's easy to forget that EQ2X has been a beta product up to this point. Now, with the testing tag gone away for good, Massively has taken the opportunity to sit down with SOE producer Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson to get his take on how the grand experiment is going. Join us after the cut for a revealing discussion about Everquest II's new F2P flavor, the state of the Live servers, comparisons with Lord of the Rings Online's recent business model conversion, class manifestos, and a possible dungeon finder.
