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Some Assembly Required: A virtual world roundup
If you are perusing this column, chances are you are a fan of virtual worlds and the sandbox genre. Join the club! (Dues will be due on the third Tuesday.) The aspect that compels many aficionados to delve into a game is the ability to make an impact on the world in some small respect instead of making them into Hive Member 1593072 running a static, predetermined gauntlet. How that impact is accomplished, however, varies; there are multiple features that can facilitate it, and which ones are considered most important depends on the player. With the loss of one of the best sandbox games just last month, some players may be feeling a void. Others still are looking/hoping for the "ultimate" sandbox that contains nearly every virtual world feature. Certainly, there are some upcoming games that make some drool-worthy promises, but what about playing something now? There are actually games out on the market that have at least one aspect of the genre, if not more. To start off the new year, Some Assembly Required looks at some of the top features of virtual worlds and lists games that incorporate these features. While this list isn't exhaustive (considering the sheer number of games when you include all of the smaller free-to-play titles, I'd run out of column space!), it is a comprehensive enough overview to point you toward some games worth playing that perhaps you hadn't considered before.
Preview EverQuest's upcoming City of Bronze
The development of EverQuest has been a steady constant amidst seas of change, with the development team hard at work on the Veil of Alaris expansion. This 18th update for the venerable game will usher in a variety of updates and improvements -- and, of course, new zones. Erillion, the City of Bronze, is one such region and quite fittingly is the latest zone to have a video overview for players to inspect before the expansion's launch. Narrated by Alan VanCouvering and Bob Painter, the video describes both the original concept of Erillion and the challenges faced in designing such an orderly environment. It had to look as mechanical and orderly as possible, after all, but it also had to look organic rather than just being the same building pasted in dozens of times. Click on past the break to watch the video if you'd like to see the city before you can venture there in person. [Source: Official press release]
Massively tours EverQuest's House of Thule expansion
The House of Thule. Not to be confused with the Summer Cottage of Thule, or the Awkwardly-Small-Yet-Expensive Inner City Apartment of Thule. Thule's house is a scary place, and it's a place that all denizens of Norrath shall soon be intimately familiar with. Sony Online Entertainment recently gave us a deep tour of its 17th EverQuest expansion, and it's the first time I've set foot in pre-EQII Norrath in years. Luckily I can report that Sony isn't letting EverQuest lie on its laurels. While this next expansion may not sound like much (it's just a house... or is it?), it's packed with enough content to send me through a two-and-a-half hour long developer tour. Plus, I should mention that I only got to see about half of the new zones, and none of the new raids. But why should we stand outside of this lovely home when there's so much madness hidden within? Come, journey with me, and lose all sense of what is reality.
It's the end of EverQuest's 51/50 server, but players feel fine
Generally, MMO players don't like giving up even the smallest advantage -- but sometimes having a special server isn't as important as having people to play with. That's certainly the case for EverQuest, and it's resulted in a scenario where the game's special Mayong server is being merged with the Tunare server on September 6th. Mayong is generally known as the 51/50 server, as a character starts at level 51 with 50 AA points already earned. The intent when the server was created was to allow players who wanted to skip the level grind a chance at getting straight into the meat of the game. As it stands now, however, the server is dramatically underpopulated. After several community discussions, the development team made the decision to merge the server, preemptively shutting down the special creation rules on Mayong. Player response has been almost universally positive -- few players are upset by the potential slowdown this implies. While the server merge itself isn't due for another month, the days of creating 51/50 characters have already ended, and players are able to get slightly discounted transfers off of Mayong if they want to move early. [ Thanks to Jason Davenport for the tip! ]
Registration opens for SOE's Fan Faire
Fans of EverQuest, EverQuest II, Star Wars Galaxies, and Free Realms have a big reason to get excited -- the seventh annual SOE Fan Faire opened up registration Tuesday. Just as a reminder to everyone who missed our previous announcement, the event will run on the weekend of August 5-8 at Bally's Las Vegas. Fan Faire will take place right in the center of the Vegas Strip, in the same venue as last year. That means even if you find a spare moment away from the events, there will be plenty of nearby attractions to go see. The events already announced at Fan Faire include: Developer panels Contests Live gaming tournaments Tons of prize giveaways A vendors area for all your memorabilia needs In addition, SOE is giving away a whole mess of bonus items to people who register for the whole weekend, including free digital copies of the upcoming EverQuest and EverQuest II expansions. Enough to get you excited? The hopes of breaking news for DC Universe Online is enough to get us hyped up. If you're a big fan of SOE's various titles and have a little vacation time, now might be a good time to start planning!
