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EverQuest Next's vampires will not sparkle
In the latest EverQuest Next roundtable video, SOE Senior Brand Manager Omeed Dariani and Lead Content Designer Steve Danuser team up to offer a counterpart to the villain vote from earlier in June, when players voted Ambassador D'Vinn into the game. This week, the studio focuses on other iconic franchise characters. While Danuser and Dariani note that all the characters mentioned will be present in the game or at least its lore, some will find themselves in new roles since EverQuest Next is a reboot of the franchise, not a chronological continuation of past storytelling. Lucan D'Lere, for example, will still be associated with Freeport, but he might make different life choices this time around. But it was the Dark Elf vampire Leone who won the poll because, well, EverQuest players. Danuser promises that the rebooted version of Leone and his friends will not sparkle. Finally, this is apparently the last edition of these roundtable videos. Future episodes, SOE says, will be rolled into the team's Workshop Show livestreams.
The Daily Grind: Who's your favorite MMO voice actor?
A gaggle of great actors have brought their vocal stylings to video game projects over the years, and one of my favorites when it comes to MMOs is Christopher Lee as evil overlord Lucan D'Lere in EverQuest II. The voice of Saruman (and Count Dooku, and countless Hammer Horror villains) didn't have much of an impact on EQII's gameplay, but it was kind of a cool deal to have an actor of Lee's stature lend his talents to what was, in 2004, still a very under-the-radar segment of the gaming industry. What about you, Massively readers? Who's your favorite MMO voice actor? 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: 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.
The Daily Grind: Best player housing?
Maybe it's because I've been playing too long, or I'm getting too old, or I'm just too cynical. Whatever the reason, I'm rarely taken aback by MMORPGs nowadays. Many of them are quite enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but it has been quite some time since I've had a "holy insert-expletive-of-your-choice-here" moment. Last night, however, brought just such a moment (actually an hour's worth of moments) courtesy of the guild housing in EverQuest II. I've played nearly every game in the genre that features housing, and while Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies remain favorites for sentimental reasons, I have to say that EQII's guild halls make them look rather silly and ineffectual by way of comparison. It's not just the sheer scale (immense), but also the myriad ways that players are allowed to place items and build virtual spaces. The screenshot above, an interior of the publicly-viewable Destiny guild hall on the Lucan D'Lere server, captures a small slice of the creativity on display in homes throughout Norrath. What about you Massively readers? Which game do you feel has the most impressive implementation of player or guild housing?
