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SOE to run EQNext Landmark for all regions, offers beta sign-ups
European fans hesitant about working with Prosiebensat.1 will not have to worry about going through the company for EverQuest Next Landmark. SOE has just announced that due to the unique nature of the game, it will directly manage Landmark for Europe, North America, and all other regions. The official statement says, Since we are delivering an entirely new and unique approach to MMO game design and development with EverQuest Next Landmark, and given that SOE's Player Studio program is one of the cornerstones of EverQuest Next Landmark, SOE will directly manage EQNL and Player Studio for all regions. Players in all regions wanting to get in on Landmark's beta will use the same the same sign-up form. Beta for EverQuest Next, however, is still split into regions; EU players can sign up at either the EU site, the UK site, or the German site, while those in North America and all other regions head to one page.
New EverQuest Next Landmark screens show off possibilities
If you have been hungry for more images showing off the possibilities in EverQuest Next Landmark, Franchise Director Dave Georgeson might very well be your favorite person today! He just released via Twitter a number of screenshots depicting a small outpost keep he assembled yesterday in about four-hours time. With the images, players can get a look at architectural elements like arches as well as a variety of props, including a couch made out of totem pole pieces! See them all for yourself in the gallery below. For those of you eager to get in and show off your own creations, Georgeson noted that the alpha phase will be the only phase with an NDA. If you just want to see more of Landmark and EverQuest Next, keep your eyes peeled for the new livestream series; Senior Producer Terry Michaels announced in last night's Round Table livestream that players can expect to start seeing the game in future streams.
EverQuest Next debates which small race will make the cut for launch
The EverQuest Next team is tackling the issue of smaller races and is using a round table poll as a way to assist the devs in deciding which iconic shorties should make it to launch. While Dwarves are a given for a launch race, several other short races are up in the air as to whether they'll make it in the initial cut of the game or be held back until later. Fae and Gnomes ended up at the top of the poll, while Ratongas and Froglocks tied for last place. The devs were surprised by how popular the Fae ended up being in the poll, which in turn caused them to take a closer look at their potential as a launch race. One of the issues that the team is grappling with is the difficulty in giving shorter races the new "heroic movement" that will take place in EQN. Watch the debate after the cut!
EverQuest Next video producer's letter previews upcoming updates
SOE senior producer Terry Michaels has released a brief video producer's letter that talks about what fans can expect from EQN Landmark over the next few weeks. Michaels says that the devs will be talking about some as-yet-unannounced building tools as well as soliciting player feedback on said tools. He also mentions SOE's upcoming roundtable livestreams, the first of which is scheduled for this Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, there's more lore on the way including a new novella. Hear what Michaels has to say via the video after the break.
EverQuest Next dev diary talks exploration
Today's EverQuest Next Landmark dev diary is all about globe-trotting, and no, we don't mean the kind that involves basketball trick-shots. In the latest dev diary video from the folks at Sony Online Entertainment, Creative Director Jeff Butler and Senior Art Director Rosie Rappaport sit down to give players a brief overview of why exploration matters in the upcoming reincarnation of Norrath. As you may already be aware, the world of EverQuest Next is made up of a number of procedurally generated continents, each with a number of diverse biomes to explore. While the motivation to explore in many MMOs is something to the tune of "kill things for XP and loot," the permeable nature of EQN's world adds a new layer of incentive. Each biome, as Butler and Rappaport explain, will contain a variety of different resources and materials that players can use to build their own structures within the world. The duo also addresses the existence of leylines, which, in addition to allowing players to travel around the world, give players the ability to travel between servers. And since players on each server will alter their world's landscape in different ways, there are plenty of opportunities for players to explore each server's unique version of the world. For more tasty exploration details, check out the full video past the cut.
EQN's Steve Klug talks voxels and making editing fun
Would you like to know more about EverQuest Next's voxel-powered sandbox? SOE technical director Steve Klug recently gave an interview at EQNexus that focuses on the technology used to power the fully destructible fantasy world. "There are many different approaches to rendering voxels, but they all boil down to what amounts to a three dimensional pixel," Klug explains. "Using voxels allows for a very editable world. They allow for meaningful destruction during combat situations. They also allow you to build the castle or dungeon of your dreams." Klug also says that players will have access to the same building tools that SOE's developers use. The company is attempting "to make all aspects of editing really fun," Klug says. "So we like to think of them more as games unto themselves than just plain tools."
EQ Next devs weigh in on friends lists in 8th Round Table Response
The seventh Round table question posed to EverQuest Next fans was whether friends lists should be account-based or character-based. And in the eighth dev response video, Senior Producer Terry Michaels and Senior Brand Manager Omeed Dariani discuss the direction the devs are taking based on player feedback. The most popular player answer, raking in more than half the votes, was to offer the option of adding friends by account but allowing a denial to show only that specific character on a friends list. Micheals noted that this was the direction the devs are going, pointing out that account-wide lists offers convenience for players who don't want to manage multiple friends lists, but also providing player privacy with the opt-out feature. At the end of the video seen below, Michaels slipped in a new question for players to answer: What other stereotypically character-based features would you like to see implemented account-wide? Offer your suggestions here and on the official site. And to watch all the other dev responses, check out our Round Table roundup.
EQ Next Landmark's first dev highlights harvesting, inventory
With EverQuest Next Landmark's focus on building, it's not surprising that the first dev diary would focus on gathering those materials needed for building up the world. In the video diary, Senior Producer Terry Michaels and Creative Director Jeff Butler reveal that over 50 different resources have already been defined in the game, such as gems, wood, and metals. Each resource type has five tiers; the higher the tier, the deeper in the world it will be found. Players will harvest these metals, gems, and wood to make better tools that will in turn harvest better resources. But resources are not the only thing players can find while exploring -- crafting recipes and objects that players can keep or break down into materials will also be discovered throughout Landmark. And of course, with players gathering so much, there needs to be a place to put it all. Butler and Michaels also talked about the three types of inventory space in game (personal, claim, and a vault) and noted that players can access anything put in a vault from any other vault, whereas items stored in chests at their claim are only accessible at the claim. All three inventories, however, can be expanded through play. You can check the full video clip after the cut.
EQ Next, Landmark to share combat systems
Although we knew that combat was going to be present in EverQuest Next Landmark in some capacity (Franchise Director Dave Georgeson mentioned getting leather for crafting way back at SOE Live), no actual details were known. Now, thanks to a Forbes interview with Georgeson we know that the combat system will have the same mechanics as EverQuest Next. The two games will also share the same emergent AI system, although Georgeson said that Landmark may not use it in the exact same way. So if the two games are sharing so many things, what is the point of having two separate full-fledged MMORPGs? Georgeson answered by stating, "EverQuest Next is more of a focused narrative with story arcs and rallying calls, [and] emergent AI pushing things around. Landmark is very much an exploration in creativity and making things that are cool to show off to other players." While combat won't be in Landmark right at launch, it will be implemented very soon afterwards. We guess the big question now is will you be playing EQ Next, Landmark, or both?
EverQuest Next devs punt the question of guns and ninjas
Should "modern" concepts like guns and ninjas be included in EverQuest Next? At the risk of editorializing, we think guns and ninjas should be in every MMO, even the pacifistic ones. SOE took the question to the community, which was divided on the answer, and the studio tackled the topic internally as well... ending up with the team divided in a similar fashion. In a new roundtable video, the devs talk about the pros and cons of including a fantasy twist of these familiar concepts in Norrath. The main concern the team had for anything being put into EQN was that it pass through a lore filter to make sure that it wasn't going to be out of place. The devs aren't committing to a "yes" or "no" on these concepts wholesale but will be examining them on a case-by-case basis to see if there's a precedent -- and to keep their options open for now. You can check out the full discussion after the break. Don't forget to check out our EQN roundtable wrap-up while you're at it!
EverQuest Next devs decide against class/race restrictions
Should EverQuest Next have class/race combo restrictions? This controversial question was at the forefront of the latest developer roundtable discussion following a player poll that showed 40% of fans were in favor of the game limiting combinations based on lore. Interestingly enough, the developers have decided against the plurality of the playerbase on this issue. The devs said that they never wanted to put players in the position where they'd make decisions they'd later regret. With over 40 classes, multi-classing, and all of the items in the world, the team felt that players would not be able to be informed enough to pick a race in the beginning if it would be restricted, class-wise, down the road. Another issue is if the team added new races and classes in the future, they'd be forced to arbitrarily restrict some people from playing them due to information the players didn't have up front. You can watch the full explanation from the team after the jump!
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 Daily Grind: What future MMO trends would you like to see?
MMO design trends are curious things. For a while there, it seemed like every new title was hyping its story angle. Recent years have also seen a rash of action combat games as well as plenty of, ahem, "dynamic" events. Today though, we'd like to hear your thoughts on possible future trends. Will EverQuest Next start a voxel revolution? Will WildStar show everyone how housing's done and spawn a bunch of imitators? Let us know! 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!
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.
EQ Next's third round table response focuses on Landmark tools
Each week, EverQuest Next devs throw out a new question for players to weigh in on through voting and forum discussion. Then after gathering all the comments, devs put out a video to respond to the conversation. This past week's question focused on the desired complexity of EverQuest Landmark's design tools. Lead Building and UI designer Jake Sones and Senior Brand Manager Omeed Dariani got behind the camera to respond to player feedback. In a nutshell, players like powerful tools, but want them to be user-friendly. Complexity will come in the form of unlocking more advanced tools as a user becomes more skilled in using current ones. You can catch all the details in the clip after the cut.
