2) dev corruptions.. aside from certain devs making cash off of the game by selling gold.. they also were members of the "elite" raid guilds.. i use elite lightly as the devs gave out the secrets to the raids in order to profit from #1. not to mention told those guilds the bugs etc.. so they could farm raid zones easily..sell items for plat.. and yeah sell that plat for cash.
That's a pretty serious charge. I don't recall hearing anything about corruption within EQ2 (unlike the corruptions at CCP within EVE).
i just tried to be honest, its all IMHO of course, well most of it other bits are what did occur to us.
i still have a soft spot for EQ2 but wont return, its gone down a path I didnt want to follow - and I think you should vote with your wallet rather than sit in a game and whine about what isnt to your liking.
for the record I always felt the EQ2 dev team were dedicated people who were let down by a jerk at the top. OMHO
THAT WAS BY DESIGN!
"There is only one thing of which I am certain, and that's nothing is certain."
also, graphics rant: the graphics are total garbage. people that think it looks good have low standards and bad taste
older games look better than it. strong art direction > technology
gabe of penny arcade put it nicely, he said the graphics looked like it was done by mathematicians rather than artists. (followed by john smedley of SOE throwing a tantrum over the comment)
and it's funny that the tech is also what helped turn away so many players. people still have trouble running the game 5 years later lol
Why does EQ2 not get better press? Granted, with my Station access I have been playing for only about a month...
Play it for a few months, you will be able to answer that question yourself pretty much. EQ2 is a decent game, but there are games that do what it tries to do better.
SOE is a big factor to a lot of gamers, they lost a lot of their fanbase when they pushed heavy-RMT in their games. SOE also has had a bad reputation ever since SWG days. Just look at the population in the games they run, compare that to the golden days of EQ1 when it was their flagship, there's no comparison. But hey, they make more money pushing RMT in 5+ games they run, rather than go for quality and maybe support only 1-2 games. So to them, the suits, they're doing a good job because the cash rolls in.
Let's see. There is no one playing, and there is tons of group content. It really tickles my taters when games come out with tons of group content when clearly its a solo game. That means you are missing most of the content in this game.
Once you hit max level, assuming you can stand soloing the meager content that is provided post 50, the game is a carbon copy of WoW. No thanks.
Let's see. There is no one playing, and there is tons of group content. It really tickles my taters when games come out with tons of group content when clearly its a solo game. That means you are missing most of the content in this game. Once you hit max level, assuming you can stand soloing the meager content that is provided post 50, the game is a carbon copy of WoW. No thanks.
Hmmm not really sure where you get that from? I play on Naggy and it is heavy populated ALL the time. There is no problems finding groups to pve with and after you get your feet wet you will have no problems getting groups for pvp either.
As for content I have to laugh at you Sir! I doubt there is a game with more content to get you from 1-80 with no lacking in the middle as EQ2 has.
I just wish people would stop calling EQ2 a WOW clone, they are nothing alike and remember; EQ2 launched first so that would make WOW the clone.
Like someone else said, try the game and do not read the BS you see on most forums by people that hate the game for other reasons than the game its self!
Let's see. There is no one playing, and there is tons of group content. It really tickles my taters when games come out with tons of group content when clearly its a solo game. That means you are missing most of the content in this game. Once you hit max level, assuming you can stand soloing the meager content that is provided post 50, the game is a carbon copy of WoW. No thanks.
Hmmm not really sure where you get that from? I play on Naggy and it is heavy populated ALL the time. There is no problems finding groups to pve with and after you get your feet wet you will have no problems getting groups for pvp either.
As for content I have to laugh at you Sir! I doubt there is a game with more content to get you from 1-80 with no lacking in the middle as EQ2 has.
I just wish people would stop calling EQ2 a WOW clone, they are nothing alike and remember; EQ2 launched first so that would make WOW the clone.
Like someone else said, try the game and do not read the BS you see on most forums by people that hate the game for other reasons than the game its self!
Have a nice day
Antonia Bayle is well populated as well. The WOW clone remarks are just a reminder of how many came into MMO's with WOW and just do not know any better. But as for the OP's question. The majority of the bad press is propagated by people who after nearly 5 yrs still cannot let go of SWG. As strange as it sounds there are still those that consider a change in a video game a catastrophe in their lives.
Why does EQ2 not get better press? Granted, with my Station access I have been playing for only about a month...
Play it for a few months, you will be able to answer that question yourself pretty much. EQ2 is a decent game, but there are games that do what it tries to do better.
SOE is a big factor to a lot of gamers, they lost a lot of their fanbase when they pushed heavy-RMT in their games. SOE also has had a bad reputation ever since SWG days. Just look at the population in the games they run, compare that to the golden days of EQ1 when it was their flagship, there's no comparison. But hey, they make more money pushing RMT in 5+ games they run, rather than go for quality and maybe support only 1-2 games. So to them, the suits, they're doing a good job because the cash rolls in.
The majority of the bad press is propagated by people who after nearly 5 yrs still cannot let go of SWG. As strange as it sounds there are still those that consider a change in a video game a catastrophe in their lives.
Oh, let's be clear about the SWG matter. There is continuing bad blood between SOE and the players because of both injury and insult. Besides the bait-and-switch and deletion of player progress/ranks/professions, there was SOE and LA saying that the players didn't know what they wanted, that they needed "iconic" content over something that the players made themselves, that the players were expendable and easily replaced, that the players were stupid and ungrateful of the dev's "great ideas", etc.
We cover the game fairly extensively, actually, though I can't speak for anyone else. With that said, if you have any EQ2 news you'd like to see hit the newsroom, I would highly recommend you use the Tip Box on the right hand side of the newsroom.
I just wish people would stop calling EQ2 a WOW clone, they are nothing alike and remember; EQ2 launched first so that would make WOW the clone.
lmao, you're kidding right? seriously?
EQ2 is so much more detailed and complex than WoW, play it for 15 levels (doing all the things you can do) and you will agree. Plus how can EQ2 be a clone when WoW clearly owes it's success to eq1? Hmmm, MMO, elves, magic, levels, etc etc
I played Eq 2 for quite some time and left the game. Went back a year later. played awhile then left again. The two things that I did not like about the game were the fighting system and the armor looks.
1) It seemed like I would be fighting and only spamming whatever keys it took to trigger my group special and then the attacks to make it go off. No matter how I fought or on what character I made, my group specials always did more damage , even when soloing. I could pretty much have tossed most of my hot bar away since I really only needed a couple of buttons to use my group specials over and over.
Now if they switched the fight system over to the fight system that is on Vanguard, I would be back in a heart beat. I mean, come on, if you give me all of these attacks, why make something that nullifies them so that they are never used. Just up group experience like the old EQ and get rid of the group combos. Even when in groups it seemed like you only really won on boss mobs if you were lucky enough to get those specials off. I would rather it be by player skill.
2) The armor looks like crap. My wife was playing a tank at the beginning and started out with the crappiest rusted armor look I have ever seen. As she leveled up, the armor pretty much remained the same. Nothing like hitting the cap and still wearing that crappy rusted armor that just had better stats.
So that pretty much sums up why I do not play anymore. If they would change the fight system and make armor that was decent looking and changed throughout the levels I would consider going back. Keep in mind that is has been over a year since I last played the game though.
I played Eq 2 for quite some time and left the game. Went back a year later. played awhile then left again. The two things that I did not like about the game were the fighting system and the armor looks. 1) It seemed like I would be fighting and only spamming whatever keys it took to trigger my group special and then the attacks to make it go off. No matter how I fought or on what character I made, my group specials always did more damage , even when soloing. I could pretty much have tossed most of my hot bar away since I really only needed a couple of buttons to use my group specials over and over. Now if they switched the fight system over to the fight system that is on Vanguard, I would be back in a heart beat. I mean, come on, if you give me all of these attacks, why make something that nullifies them so that they are never used. Just up group experience like the old EQ and get rid of the group combos. Even when in groups it seemed like you only really won on boss mobs if you were lucky enough to get those specials off. I would rather it be by player skill. 2) The armor looks like crap. My wife was playing a tank at the beginning and started out with the crappiest rusted armor look I have ever seen. As she leveled up, the armor pretty much remained the same. Nothing like hitting the cap and still wearing that crappy rusted armor that just had better stats. So that pretty much sums up why I do not play anymore. If they would change the fight system and make armor that was decent looking and changed throughout the levels I would consider going back. Keep in mind that is has been over a year since I last played the game though.
EQ2 doesn't get better press, because it doesn't deserve it.
At a glance the game has some nice features, but as a whole the game is lacking and delivers a very muddled experience. The company running the game has a long history of making changes that alienate their playerbase and there is a serious lack of consistency with the game, especially from expansion to expansion.
In the end, there really isn't much to spread good press about the game. Of the 9 positive points you made in the original post I think only 2-3 have any real bearing on the state of the game and some of them are actually negative when looked at closely.
SOE doesnt feel the need to advertise and hire shills to hit the websites. EQ2 has a solid player base and add content on a regular basis. Its a very good game and as has been said there are many things to do ingame besides grind gear. Its always fun to watch the anti SOE folks post their thoughts. Just be sure to rely on your own opinion and not those of others because after all, there is a good sized percentage that will tell you WOW is a good game.
SOE doesnt feel the need to advertise and hire shills to hit the websites. EQ2 has a solid player base and add content on a regular basis. Its a very good game and as has been said there are many things to do ingame besides grind gear. Its always fun to watch the anti SOE folks post their thoughts. Just be sure to rely on your own opinion and not those of others because after all, there is a good sized percentage that will tell you WOW is a good game.
I'd honestly like for you to point out an SoE game that hasn't been butchered or left to wither into the dust. You may enjoy their games, which is fine, but saying SoE is a good or reputable company is where you're wrong.
SOE doesnt feel the need to advertise and hire shills to hit the websites. EQ2 has a solid player base and add content on a regular basis. Its a very good game and as has been said there are many things to do ingame besides grind gear. Its always fun to watch the anti SOE folks post their thoughts. Just be sure to rely on your own opinion and not those of others because after all, there is a good sized percentage that will tell you WOW is a good game.
I'd honestly like for you to point out an SoE game that hasn't been butchered or left to wither into the dust. You may enjoy their games, which is fine, but saying SoE is a good or reputable company is where you're wrong.
I find EQ2 to be a wonderful game. I do not consider the release of an xpac on a yearly basis to be allowing the game to wither and die. The same holds true with the original EQ. With your logic EQ has been withering and dieing through the release of sixteen expansions. I realize that many are still butt hurt over the changes made to SWG, what was it, five years ago now? And how this translates into infantile hatred for all things SOE but the fact remains EQ and EQ2 are still going strong even with all the "withering and butchering" that has been inflicted upon these games.
I played beta on EQ2, stuck with it for a bout 6months after launch. Since then I have come back a dozen times. I really like the game, but I could never convince my friends to play. Without a active community on the server I was on, it was just too difficult to accomplish anything significant, not much on the LFG front and the world is quite large. The WoW clone comments are stupid. Even if WoW is the new standard, that arguement doesn't even make sense. If a game came out before another game, its not a clone. Might as well say EQ1 was a WoW clone, or DAOC.
The SOE hate I think is the main reason the game is so disliked. A lot of it is justified, but its become like religion to some. SOE is a game company, no more evil than any other large company. To ascribe to it some nefarious agenda or evil vision just make people come off looking like loonies. And asking on MMORPG.com forums will give you a larger dose of SOE hate than almost any site as this site also hosts a lot of SWG vets.
Here are some reasons just off the top of my head:
The game depends entirely on "kill 10 monsters" and "fetch 20 toe nails". This is a general MMO failing, but it's incredibly boring nonetheless.
I quickly became tired with every piece of armor having the same appearance as every other suit of armor
Note: This refers to the physical properties of the armor. The "cover art" changes, but the actual shape is identical (eg, all robes look the same though they may have different colors)
The world looks very stiff (lacks life). It looks like a plastic mold more than a living world.
The Fay area looked the best IMO, but it still looked molded rather than alive.
The characters look kind of like plastic toys
The animations, especially the monk combat animations as I recall, looked like the game was in fact animating plastic toys.
Tons of loading
Animal heads slapped sloppily onto human bodies.
Their combat system looks good on paper, but it is boring and monotonous in execution (both in a group and solo).
...and finally, RMT in addition to a required subscription ensures that I will not even begin to consider it. If your response is to say that RMT is optional then I won't bother trying to explain why this is a bad thing. You go right on ahead living with it.
I purchased in EQ2 several months after it launched (late '04 or '05 at somepoint). At that time, the graphics were top notch, if you had a rig which could support high settings. Fortunately, I did. This game was an incredible experience for me. I played it for about 3 years and I must say that my best experiences in all my years of MMOing were found with this game.
As with all games in this genre, it had it's problems but they were easily overlooked with the amount of things this game did right. The amount of quests were unpresidented and the community was unparalleled. All in all, this MMO was the most enjoyable and engrossing one I've ever played. I thinks it was the strong community and the variety of interesting quests that did it for me. As with just about anything, it's all subjective. i suppose at that time, this game was just my "cup of tea".
This game has seen it's years though, which will account for it's lack of exposure. I'd love to see EQ3 someday, but I won't hold my breath. If it ever sees the light of day, it won't be for quite some time.
Yeah, personally I think EQ2 has awful art direction, and the graphics engine in general is simply terrible. It sucks up a ludicrous amount of system resources to deliver rather bland and muddy graphics, or it did when I tried the game a year or so ago. My PC's no slouch, either: It can handle new first-person shooters on high settings with smooth frame rates, not to mention newer, much better-looking MMORPGs.
Regarding EQ2's art direction, I'd swear many of the character models look better in EQ1 (especially Froglocks), and the EQ2 armor sets just look mediocre, awkward and even silly in many cases. Here's a juxtaposition of an EQ2 "legendary" armor set and a FFXI "legendary" armor set (Lineage 2 would shame EQ2 even more): Can you even look at that silly outfit and keep a straight face?
Of course, the art direction/graphics factors don't mean people shouldn't play EQ2, but they're definitely going to be off-putting to new players. Personally, I don't care about HIGH-TECH graphics, but I do care that the graphics used, no matter what year the game was made, don't look like crap by their very design.
/sigh
You notice how people always manage to dredge up the worst possible pictures when complaining about a games art.
This is appearance gear from the current Frostfell event.
Comments
That's a pretty serious charge. I don't recall hearing anything about corruption within EQ2 (unlike the corruptions at CCP within EVE).
Do you have a news article or link?
www.massively.com/2007/12/16/soe-caught-red-handed-eq2-player-dev-relationship-breached-et/
www.massively.com/2008/03/23/the-daily-grind-eq2flames-admin-uncovers-more-dev-goodness/
THAT WAS BY DESIGN!
"There is only one thing of which I am certain, and that's nothing is certain."
3 letters: S O E
that pretty much sums it up.
also, graphics rant: the graphics are total garbage. people that think it looks good have low standards and bad taste
older games look better than it. strong art direction > technology
gabe of penny arcade put it nicely, he said the graphics looked like it was done by mathematicians rather than artists. (followed by john smedley of SOE throwing a tantrum over the comment)
and it's funny that the tech is also what helped turn away so many players. people still have trouble running the game 5 years later lol
Play it for a few months, you will be able to answer that question yourself pretty much. EQ2 is a decent game, but there are games that do what it tries to do better.
SOE is a big factor to a lot of gamers, they lost a lot of their fanbase when they pushed heavy-RMT in their games. SOE also has had a bad reputation ever since SWG days. Just look at the population in the games they run, compare that to the golden days of EQ1 when it was their flagship, there's no comparison. But hey, they make more money pushing RMT in 5+ games they run, rather than go for quality and maybe support only 1-2 games. So to them, the suits, they're doing a good job because the cash rolls in.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
Let's see. There is no one playing, and there is tons of group content. It really tickles my taters when games come out with tons of group content when clearly its a solo game. That means you are missing most of the content in this game.
Once you hit max level, assuming you can stand soloing the meager content that is provided post 50, the game is a carbon copy of WoW. No thanks.
Hmmm not really sure where you get that from? I play on Naggy and it is heavy populated ALL the time. There is no problems finding groups to pve with and after you get your feet wet you will have no problems getting groups for pvp either.
As for content I have to laugh at you Sir! I doubt there is a game with more content to get you from 1-80 with no lacking in the middle as EQ2 has.
I just wish people would stop calling EQ2 a WOW clone, they are nothing alike and remember; EQ2 launched first so that would make WOW the clone.
Like someone else said, try the game and do not read the BS you see on most forums by people that hate the game for other reasons than the game its self!
Have a nice day
lmao, you're kidding right? seriously?
Hmmm not really sure where you get that from? I play on Naggy and it is heavy populated ALL the time. There is no problems finding groups to pve with and after you get your feet wet you will have no problems getting groups for pvp either.
As for content I have to laugh at you Sir! I doubt there is a game with more content to get you from 1-80 with no lacking in the middle as EQ2 has.
I just wish people would stop calling EQ2 a WOW clone, they are nothing alike and remember; EQ2 launched first so that would make WOW the clone.
Like someone else said, try the game and do not read the BS you see on most forums by people that hate the game for other reasons than the game its self!
Have a nice day
Antonia Bayle is well populated as well. The WOW clone remarks are just a reminder of how many came into MMO's with WOW and just do not know any better. But as for the OP's question. The majority of the bad press is propagated by people who after nearly 5 yrs still cannot let go of SWG. As strange as it sounds there are still those that consider a change in a video game a catastrophe in their lives.
the WoW clone comments are fine since WoW is the new standard in the MMO world (whether you like it or not)
before that generic mmos were EQ clones
lucky's comment was so absurd that i couldn't help but laugh (i still really hope he was joking)
Play it for a few months, you will be able to answer that question yourself pretty much. EQ2 is a decent game, but there are games that do what it tries to do better.
SOE is a big factor to a lot of gamers, they lost a lot of their fanbase when they pushed heavy-RMT in their games. SOE also has had a bad reputation ever since SWG days. Just look at the population in the games they run, compare that to the golden days of EQ1 when it was their flagship, there's no comparison. But hey, they make more money pushing RMT in 5+ games they run, rather than go for quality and maybe support only 1-2 games. So to them, the suits, they're doing a good job because the cash rolls in.
QFT on this entire post. well done.
Oh, let's be clear about the SWG matter. There is continuing bad blood between SOE and the players because of both injury and insult. Besides the bait-and-switch and deletion of player progress/ranks/professions, there was SOE and LA saying that the players didn't know what they wanted, that they needed "iconic" content over something that the players made themselves, that the players were expendable and easily replaced, that the players were stupid and ungrateful of the dev's "great ideas", etc.
Keep it on topic please.
We cover the game fairly extensively, actually, though I can't speak for anyone else. With that said, if you have any EQ2 news you'd like to see hit the newsroom, I would highly recommend you use the Tip Box on the right hand side of the newsroom.
lmao, you're kidding right? seriously?
EQ2 is so much more detailed and complex than WoW, play it for 15 levels (doing all the things you can do) and you will agree. Plus how can EQ2 be a clone when WoW clearly owes it's success to eq1? Hmmm, MMO, elves, magic, levels, etc etc
I played Eq 2 for quite some time and left the game. Went back a year later. played awhile then left again. The two things that I did not like about the game were the fighting system and the armor looks.
1) It seemed like I would be fighting and only spamming whatever keys it took to trigger my group special and then the attacks to make it go off. No matter how I fought or on what character I made, my group specials always did more damage , even when soloing. I could pretty much have tossed most of my hot bar away since I really only needed a couple of buttons to use my group specials over and over.
Now if they switched the fight system over to the fight system that is on Vanguard, I would be back in a heart beat. I mean, come on, if you give me all of these attacks, why make something that nullifies them so that they are never used. Just up group experience like the old EQ and get rid of the group combos. Even when in groups it seemed like you only really won on boss mobs if you were lucky enough to get those specials off. I would rather it be by player skill.
2) The armor looks like crap. My wife was playing a tank at the beginning and started out with the crappiest rusted armor look I have ever seen. As she leveled up, the armor pretty much remained the same. Nothing like hitting the cap and still wearing that crappy rusted armor that just had better stats.
So that pretty much sums up why I do not play anymore. If they would change the fight system and make armor that was decent looking and changed throughout the levels I would consider going back. Keep in mind that is has been over a year since I last played the game though.
They have appearance armor in the game.
EQ2 doesn't get better press, because it doesn't deserve it.
At a glance the game has some nice features, but as a whole the game is lacking and delivers a very muddled experience. The company running the game has a long history of making changes that alienate their playerbase and there is a serious lack of consistency with the game, especially from expansion to expansion.
In the end, there really isn't much to spread good press about the game. Of the 9 positive points you made in the original post I think only 2-3 have any real bearing on the state of the game and some of them are actually negative when looked at closely.
SOE doesnt feel the need to advertise and hire shills to hit the websites. EQ2 has a solid player base and add content on a regular basis. Its a very good game and as has been said there are many things to do ingame besides grind gear. Its always fun to watch the anti SOE folks post their thoughts. Just be sure to rely on your own opinion and not those of others because after all, there is a good sized percentage that will tell you WOW is a good game.
I'd honestly like for you to point out an SoE game that hasn't been butchered or left to wither into the dust. You may enjoy their games, which is fine, but saying SoE is a good or reputable company is where you're wrong.
I'd honestly like for you to point out an SoE game that hasn't been butchered or left to wither into the dust. You may enjoy their games, which is fine, but saying SoE is a good or reputable company is where you're wrong.
I find EQ2 to be a wonderful game. I do not consider the release of an xpac on a yearly basis to be allowing the game to wither and die. The same holds true with the original EQ. With your logic EQ has been withering and dieing through the release of sixteen expansions. I realize that many are still butt hurt over the changes made to SWG, what was it, five years ago now? And how this translates into infantile hatred for all things SOE but the fact remains EQ and EQ2 are still going strong even with all the "withering and butchering" that has been inflicted upon these games.
I played beta on EQ2, stuck with it for a bout 6months after launch. Since then I have come back a dozen times. I really like the game, but I could never convince my friends to play. Without a active community on the server I was on, it was just too difficult to accomplish anything significant, not much on the LFG front and the world is quite large. The WoW clone comments are stupid. Even if WoW is the new standard, that arguement doesn't even make sense. If a game came out before another game, its not a clone. Might as well say EQ1 was a WoW clone, or DAOC.
The SOE hate I think is the main reason the game is so disliked. A lot of it is justified, but its become like religion to some. SOE is a game company, no more evil than any other large company. To ascribe to it some nefarious agenda or evil vision just make people come off looking like loonies. And asking on MMORPG.com forums will give you a larger dose of SOE hate than almost any site as this site also hosts a lot of SWG vets.
Here are some reasons just off the top of my head:
...and finally, RMT in addition to a required subscription ensures that I will not even begin to consider it. If your response is to say that RMT is optional then I won't bother trying to explain why this is a bad thing. You go right on ahead living with it.
When I played EQ2 a few years ago point 9 was true, but nowadays it is not.
--
Delanor
I purchased in EQ2 several months after it launched (late '04 or '05 at somepoint). At that time, the graphics were top notch, if you had a rig which could support high settings. Fortunately, I did. This game was an incredible experience for me. I played it for about 3 years and I must say that my best experiences in all my years of MMOing were found with this game.
As with all games in this genre, it had it's problems but they were easily overlooked with the amount of things this game did right. The amount of quests were unpresidented and the community was unparalleled. All in all, this MMO was the most enjoyable and engrossing one I've ever played. I thinks it was the strong community and the variety of interesting quests that did it for me. As with just about anything, it's all subjective. i suppose at that time, this game was just my "cup of tea".
This game has seen it's years though, which will account for it's lack of exposure. I'd love to see EQ3 someday, but I won't hold my breath. If it ever sees the light of day, it won't be for quite some time.
/sigh
You notice how people always manage to dredge up the worst possible pictures when complaining about a games art.
This is appearance gear from the current Frostfell event.
www.mmorpg.com/photo/d6d2426e-7c16-4ef5-8fec-f9c9e02043ad
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin