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Rise of Kunark interview with Scott Hartsman
We almost missed this one, but Massively's own Michael Zenke put together a terrific interview with Everquest II Senior Producer Scott Hartsman about Rise of Kunark, the upcoming expansion, which features lizard-men called Sarnaks. You know any game that features lizardmen already has a lot going for it, and from what we saw in Dan's walkthrough, lizardmen are just the beginning..Zenke and Harsman talk about developing the game (this is the first expansion that's had almost a full year for development), and the ambitious schedule for all of EQ2's development-- Hartsman says that the advent of WoW was a kick in the pants for all MMO developers, and that it set the bar not just for competition, but for survival. They also cover what there is to find in Kunark-- Hartsman especially loves the storyline on the war between the Sarnak and the Spirroc (parrotmen, apparently-- what will they think of next?!), and the updated tradeskills, which should offer lots of interesting items for crafters and consumers alike.Definitely a must-read if you're interested in the new expansion (or if you have fond memories of Kunark in the original Everquest).
Is this guide the answer to the leveling problem?
Lately, we've had some good discussion about the possible drop in WoW players lately, as well as one important reason for some players' frustration with the game: 1 - 60 leveling boredom.Michael over at MMOG Nation struggled a lot with the same issues many of us have been having, including the leveling bottleneck in "Stranglethorn Hole," but he seems to have found the answer that works for him -- and it isn't new content, new features, or "new" anything from Blizzard! He just follows Jame's Alliance Leveling Guide. (There's a Horde one too)In his post, Michael writes: With my laptop open and my game running on my main machine, I don't even have to alt-tab. I just turn my head, reference the guide, and then do what it says to do. By chaining myself to this experience as written down by Jame ... I've found it to be incredibly freeing. Don't get me wrong; I completely [think] the first time through a Massive game [like WoW] should be a period of exploration. But ... I've quested in STV with three different characters now. I've braved the deserts of Tanaris before; having someone tell me where i should be and what I should be doing is actually exactly what I need right now.I feel stupid saying this, but it's the most fun I've had playing WoW in a long time. I only pick up groups when they're running the same quests I am, and I just generally plow ahead with the well-laid-out instructions. It's like having a tour guide to Azeroth in some ways, and I'm really enjoying playing Tourist.Is such a guide the answer to all our alt-leveling woes? Have any of you had a similar experience?
