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The Tattered Notebook: Player-generated content please
Ahhh. You hear that? That is the sound of relief, as the obligatory free-to-play reaction column is safely in the rearview mirror. It feels great to be talking about EverQuest II again as opposed to its payment model. MMORPGs are of course big business, and I don't begrudge developers and executives from trying to take their products to the next level, but damn am I ever tired of reading (and thinking) about subs versus RMT and yada yada blah blah. It sometimes seems as if the industry is putting all of its considerable talent and brainpower behind payment model innovations rather than gameplay innovations, and I for one would love to see stakeholders actually improving and expanding their products rather than devising new ways for people to pay for their products. Speaking of improving products, let's move forward. As my ratonga wizard makes his way slowly but surely towards level 40, I'm starting to feel more comfortable in the world of Norrath. So comfortable, in fact, that I can safely start talking about what the game lacks and what would potentially make it even more awesome (because, the following mini-rant notwithstanding, EverQuest II is a pretty awesome MMO). Turn the page for more.
EQ2 Storyteller system detailed
Sony Online Entertainment has revealed another feature of their Halas Reborn content update for EverQuest II. Coming later this month, the patch will include a new mechanic called the Storyteller system. The unfortunately named system is not a robust set of roleplay tools like the one in Star Wars Galaxies, but rather a modification to the game's existing quest journal. The system adds a tab to the quest journal user interface that consolidates the story of each major quest. Additionally, the Storylines tab will chronicle your position in EverQuest II's lengthy quest chains, provide clues to completion, and add a bit of narrative flavor to the long-running fantasy MMORPG. The Storyteller system is a work in progress, as SOE will not have all of the game's quest loaded into the system when the patch launches. "What you see when Halas Reborn reaches the live servers will only be a starting point, and other quests will be connected and looped as we progress the feature. If you don't see your favorite quest right now, don't worry! It will be there soon," says the official press release. Check out the release and the associated discussion thread on the official boards for more information.
The Tattered Notebook: The importance of storytelling
Hey Norrathian travelers! Seccia is off for the week, undoubtedly soaking up the rays on the shores of the Sinking Sands to welcome the warmer months. I, on the other hand, am stuck inside writing her column. Sheesh, I wish I had accumulated as much vacation time as she did... Anywho, I want to tell you a story about telling stories this week. As many of you may have heard, one of the newest features coming to EverQuest II in the near future is the storyteller system -- a simple window that will visualize your travels from one zone to the next. It's a UI element that will help link quests together, aiding the game in telling a continuous story as you travel around Norrath. Plus, if you wish, you can follow the Storyteller window as it takes you down the game's "Golden Path," a series of quests that will become a "main storyline" of sorts for the game. Out of all of the new things coming with the next set of updates (New Halas included), it's the storyteller system that I've been looking forward to the most. So why do I choose a simple UI addition over a brand new city? Simply put, I want to be engaged with my gameplay experience.
Brenlo talks EverQuest II's future
Alan 'Brenlo' Crosby, Sony Online Entertainment's Senior Producer for EverQuest II, has dropped an epic forum post on the official boards detailing the future of the long-running MMORPG. For starters, he talks about the game's technical issues, specifically the recent server performance concerns. "Some servers are struggling a bit with the new load created by returning players, Battlegrounds, more items in the database, etc and are not reacting well. This is our engineering team's number one priority<," he said. He also touches on the much anticipated New Halas zone, indicating that it will finally see the light of day in the next patch and will be well worth the wait in terms of extended content, housing, and art design. Tweaks to the traveling system and itemization will also be made, and, though no specifics were given, feedback was solicited on both accounts. Battleground updates and tweaking are also in the pipeline, as is a new Storyteller UI system that promises to tie together Norrath's many quests in service of a larger, more meaningful story. Finally, Brenlo hinted at alternate rule set servers, mentioning PvP, permadeath, and progression as possibilities. He also dropped a few hints at the upcoming development cycle for this fiscal year. <"You should see at least one raid each update, of which there are four major updates planned for the next fiscal year. Details of those to follow but I can say they will be a mix of reworked content e.g. Lavastorm revamp, and all new content. Through the next year, we plan to bolster our events as well, eventually having one event each calendar month, providing more entertainment for you,"he said.
