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The Daily Grind: Would you play on a WoW progression server?
Recently I resubscribed to World of Warcraft, spent about two hours back in the game, and then uninstalled it once again. Call it $15 spent on a nostalgia trip of curiosity. The overwhelming feeling that I got coming back after being mostly gone for four years is that everything had moved on and I wasn't there to move on with it. Sure, I could catch up in time, but I lacked the will to do so. But you know what would get me back and in a big way? If WoW took a page from EverQuest and instituted a progression server. Maybe the devs can't recreate the game as it once was, but I'd play a WoW that started out only with the core content and then slowly unlocked the expansions over a series of months so that the server's playerbase could go through it together. It's a pipe dream, I know. But would you play on a WoW progression server? 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 Soapbox: Old content should stay relevant
The archetypal themepark MMO model, as popularised by World of Warcraft, is a race to the level cap in order to unlock the best content on offer. New content is tacked onto the endgame regularly, accompanied by improved gear and perhaps a higher level cap. It's a system that's designed to keep people playing by keeping them on a progression climb that's constantly getting steeper. As a consequence, endgame activities render older content obsolete since these outdated activities carry little real benefit for fully leveled characters. Exploring old content for the sake of experiencing it is not enough of a motivator for many players since this content simply cannot present the same challenge as it once did. Although you can technically go back and play through old dungeons, they will never be as fulfilling when tactics become optional and you can solo once-formidable opponents. In this week's Soapbox, I will mourn the loss of fantastic older content that was rendered obsolete through vertical progression, using WoW as a key example. I'll go on to suggest a solution that I think might allow for both old and new content to exist together in relevancy without significantly compromising the themepark MMO's existing progression mechanics.
The Game Archaeologist: Classic servers and you
Sometimes players don't want progress into the future; they want to regress into nostalgia. I've always seen this undercurrent of desire for classic servers run through the MMO community, manifesting in lengthy discussions about how cool it'd be to play a game the way it was "way back when." I also imagine developers reading those discussions with a combination of shared nostalgia and anxiety over the work required for such a project. I can understand this desire. We form attachments to MMOs based on several factors, not the least of which are when we started playing the game and what we remember most from it. While we generally applaud the change brought about by content updates, bug fixes, expansions, and the like, there's always a part of us that won't let go of the past. That's where classic servers come into play. Here and there, studios have recognized and responded to this desire for gaming the way it used to be by creating servers that deliberately call back to the past. It might seem to fly in the face of common sense, but I don't think it's that strange when you look at the larger video game community and how strong nostalgia gaming has taken root there as well. So what do classic servers have to offer you and where can you find them?
EverQuest launches second progression server due to popular demand
Everyone's talking about the new progression server that launched yesterday in EverQuest -- and it seems that so many people are trying to play on it that they've outstripped its capacity. Players have reported that Fippy Darkpaw, a special server that's rolling out EQ's expansions at a measured pace, has been crushed by the crowds trying to log in. As a result, Sony Online Entertainment decided to create a second time-locked progression server named after the game's infamous dragon Vulak'Aerr. According to the company, the server went online today. This should help relieve the stress on poor ol' Fippy. If you're curious about what a progression server entails, SOE's set up a helpful FAQ to clarify the details. Players on EverQuest's other servers shouldn't feel left out of the celebrations, as they'll be enjoying a double XP weekend from February 18th through the 21st. It is important to note that this XP bonus will not apply to the new progression servers. During the same weekend, SOE is marking down a number of items in the Marketplace for a President's Day sale. You can read more on this special weekend over at EverQuest Players.
EverQuest devs talk progression server on new Live Cast
Ladies and gentleman, start your time machines! Today marks the launch of EverQuest's Fippy Darkpaw progression server, and SOE has a trio of new Live Cast videos with the dev team available for viewing on its YouTube channel. The discussion is hosted by Eric "Piestro" Cleaver and features lead designer Adam Bell, designer Ed Hardin, and lead programmer Steve Klug. Topics covered include the hows and whys of a progression server, the world and zone revamps, and the XP curve (which the team says will be slowed down quite a bit relative to the live game). "There are no 'hell levels,' but it will still be slower than it is on a normal server," Hardin says. The team also talks about how certain races and classes, and even the game's tutorial, won't be available from launch, as they're locked to certain expansions and will only become available as the progression server ages. Speaking of progressing, the devs have implemented a brand new voting system with a dedicated in-game UI in order to afford players the opportunity to choose when the server should move to the next expansion. As far as who gets to vote, Bell says that "you'll need to be on the progression server and at least level 30 in order to vote to unlock the next expansion, and we may raise that level as the expansion unlocks continue." Head past the cut to view the entire Live Cast in three parts.
The voice of the people: New EverQuest progression server named
Many current and soon-to-be-returning EverQuest fans are diligently keeping tabs on the new progression server. This unique server will allow players to travel back in time (in a way) to experience EQ from its humble beginnings through all of its expansion packs as they are rolled out at a measured pace. Now these fans have a name to put with the server: Fippy Darkpaw. This server name was the result of a one-week poll in which SOE offered six potential names for the new shard. According to EverQuest's website, "In the end, nothing could stop the raging juggernaut that was Fippy Darkpaw." Fippy is a well-known NPC with the suicidal tendency to attack Qeynos all by his lonesome. This new progression server is scheduled to open its doors in March. In the meantime, why not check out our recent interview with EQ Producer Thom Terrazas for more Norrathian news.
The Daily Grind: Would you play on a progression server?
EverQuest fans have been abuzz ever since SOE announced that a new progression server will come to the game this March. A progression server is kind of like a "way back" machine, resetting an MMO to the core game with expansions rolled out at a steady pace thereafter. It basically allows one to experience a sped-up version of how the MMO initially developed while forcing the players to stay together within certain boundaries. Even if your memory is long and clear enough to know that the good old days weren't always good, nostalgia has a way of sucking you in, prompting cries for a "classic shard" to try to duplicate that original experience. And that doesn't always necessitate some shadowy underground emulator (which we can't talk about on Massively anyway, so don't do it!). Sometimes the companies themselves try to cash in on the nostalgia. Gamers coming to a long-established MMO years after launch often feel behind the curve as the bulk of the playerbase is already at max level, yet progression servers put everyone on equal footing -- at least initially. So would you play on a progression server if your MMO offered one? What would it be like to go back to old vanilla World of Warcraft or Ultima Online's era of a free-for-all frontier? Or would it be an unnecessary nostalgia trip that would fail to recapture that unique initial experience? 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!
New EverQuest progression server coming this March
Yearning for the good ol' days of corpse runs, mob trains, and grinding your eyeballs out on the EverQuest leveling curve? You're in luck, as SOE is gearing up for a brand-new progression server for its long-running fantasy opus. Beginning in March, EQ fans will have their own personal time machine, and the dial will be set circa 1999. The new server will be time-locked, meaning that EQ's laundry list of expansion content will make its way onto the shard on pre-determined dates (as opposed to being linked to player content completion). While details are somewhat sketchy at the moment, SOE has thrown up a forum thread and invited fans to join in christening the new shard. Head over to the official EQ website for more details and the official name list.
