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An Everquest 3 Wishlist
jonrd463
Member UncommonPosts: 607
Oh no, not another one of these!
Well... I've been playing EQ2 again recently, and I've been thinking about what I'd like to see in a 3rd installment based on what I don't like about EQ2, plus some other ideas. A caveat to this is that I've never played the first Everquest. I didn't enter the MMO scene until a friend had me try out the Lineage 2 open beta with her, and then I went to WoW. I do, however, have a sense of what the "good old days" in MMOs were, so don't assume I use WoW as a standard. 
1. Open world.
This is a must. Whatever the technological tricks they use, be it the WoW style occlusion, Vanguard style chunks, or some other streaming content load, I don't care. It's 2010 and mainstream bandwidth connections have never been faster. Someone with a brain bigger than me can come up with the technology to marry open worlds with graphical details in a pleasing package.
2. Organic terrain.
This is in direct response to some of the terrain features of EQ2, and I realize it has to do with the programming technology of the time. Nevertheless, a game like WoW (yeah, I know what I said, but in this case, it's relevant) could display smoothly flowing hilly terrain when it was released, there's really no excuse. Mountains, hills, and other terrain features of EQ2 are blocky and resemble something you'd find in a free-roaming PS1 game, like GEX. Sure, the textures are higher res, but the mountains completely suck. Good use of heightmapping as a foundation, with higher polygon counts on features like boulders, cliffs, and ledges are a must.
3. Dump Norrath.
Quite possibly the most controversial of my suggestions, but it would free SOE up to come up with a different world and set of lore. I'm suggesting they take a Final Fantasy approach by making it part of the Everquest franchise, keeping elements of the gameplay, but giving it an entirely new setting. I'd like to see some steampunk elements introduced, similar to but perhaps not as advanced as what's seen in Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura. Having aircraft, for example, would probably be too much.
These are just some ideas I've been kicking around. Do you have any? Also, please note that my wish for this thread is to be an exposition of ideas for things to see in Everquest 3 and not a debate on why this or that would or would not suck. Just post your ideas and respect those of other posters. Thanks!
"You'll never win an argument with an idiot because he is too stupid to recognize his own defeat." ~Anonymous
Comments
The attempt to dump Norrath in EQ2, or at least create a different direction for EQ2 was the main cause of allot of trouble, mostly a game that was flapping around in the wind in the begining...You cant call a game EQ(insert whatever) and not maintain a lore continuation....Otherwise whole point of naming it EQ is lost .....
As much as Smedley would like to rename the brand, "EQWoW-Browsercashshop3"
What I would like to see for EQ3 is Smedley wakes up and realises he has been visited by 3 ghosts in the night, EQ,SWG,EQ2 and changes his ways and is nice to disabled one legged kids....Oh wait Christmas carol flashback, world dont work that way..EQ3 is looking rather ginger,freckle like and lacking in the parent department.
Seriously though I would like them make EQ2, what we got wasnt EQ2 and if EQ3 is any good, it will be branded by players as EQ2.1 anyways...Well ok mostly by me....Right after Ive eated my hat and got over the shock that EQ3 was good.
meh its not everquest with the lore.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
And immediately it turns into a debate... or at least a bitch fest, which is just as bad if not worse.
EDIT: WSIMike, thanks for your additions. I started the thread hoping to see what others would like to see in a new Everquest, and also hoping that it wouldn't devolve into another "Smedley is EBIL! SOE is TEH SUCK!!!!11" thread. I don't care who is in charge. Well, I DO care, but I also know that Smedley's status among MMO players is generally understood and didn't need reiteration.
That said, I'm just curious about what people would like to see in a new generation of Everquest game. Yes, people want EQ1 in new, shiny wrapping. I see that mentioned in every thread like this. The fact is, the proverbial toothpaste is out of the tube. You can't "unchange" the past and as the old saying goes, "you can never go home".
So, in looking ahead what, besides the same old "return to the old ways of doing things" would make EQ3 a great game?
"You'll never win an argument with an idiot because he is too stupid to recognize his own defeat." ~Anonymous
Vanguard was EQ3
It was a flop.
Well shave my back and call me an elf! -- Oghren
I say stick to Norrath but dont make this island rubbish. Maybe some sort of "catacylsm" to mold the lands to a new continent, so you can keep some lore.
Make more story telling and meaningful quests, not so many mindless one like EQ2 has, but more like LOTRO with nice stories and a portion soloable fun. EQ2 solo quests were all trashy.
Vast open world.
Less instancing. Better none at all, as in Vanguard.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
I would like to see a company that is interested in making games given the opportunity to make another everquest game.
Put a team of developers into a room and leave them alone for a few months and see what they can come up with. Keep all the parasites money grubbers away from them until they have their final design in hand AND THEN figure out how it will make money without changing the gameplay.
Barring a change like that I have little doubt that the next everquest will just be another attempt to bolt a game on top of a revenue idea and fail just as hard as other games have been doing.
OP lost me on the "Steampunk" aspect. Nothing blows immersion, IMO, than seeing gnomes riding motocycles or dwarves driving tanks. I can suspend belief to imagine swords, knights, and dragons, but I cannot see swords, motorcycles, and tanks; that's just stretching things too much.
I agree, dump norrath. One of the problems with eq2 was that it tried to copy norrath in a new way. That was nice for a while. When you start you feel a lot of nostalgia. But in the long run it just didnt work. It didnt feel right. It seemed like a cheap copy. Anyway to me the original eq was more about the playability than the lore. Make a new eq with the same ideals of freedom of movement, solid playability, multiple classes and races, and a brand new world to explore.
Vanguard could have been that world. The underlying design was there. But bad coding and lack of development funding doomed it. So start over and get it right this time.
Count me among those who want EQ1 with updated graphics and a few other modernizations. It's a great game.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
honestly i got to agree eq1 upped to todays tech is a grab for me maybe diff era diff story or in the past the futur etc but
eq1 world i dont mind!
2 thing tho
boot the first person view idea in eq1 it was a nice idea but unless you lock it there for everybody (could be a nice dungeon idea
pvp etc lock those dungeon to first person view but outside of that none of that we are fpv but now we go tirsd person view
second :eq1 was ahead of its time with the use of graphic card power to enhance game it was a gamble and honestly it was and still is the way player do it .true relying on graphic card is a hassle but way simpler then eq2 cpu idea since we all know where that went!
eq3 as to be 64 bit!why?yes large adress aware released some big pressure on eq2 but if next gen game from soe
goes balistic graphicly like they went for eq2 ,nothing short of 64 bit will do
(my computer can get 16 gitg of ram right now,and microsoft says to up that number for them is just a small patch away to whatever player feel they ll need!
and lastly never release a game again without AA SUPPORT !i dont say bad ass but to ati max recommended setting is fair(4x aa,with a 8 or 12 xz thing under it if i recall is resonnable )
no aa make game look bad no matter the amount of texturing!
and lastly keep a brainiac style like eq1 .make people think it can and probably will be different but if you dont know what we mean ask for suggestion.eq2 was a good start.i m not at the end yet but so far eq2 3 d factor is heavy
if you play it in first person view you might have surprise .like i said earlier you should use the first person view in some dungeon map area .why?hell some map you have in eq2 if seen in fpv are downright scare in term of hight and sheer scale
that it for now .but with these suggestion i included you can be sure you would get player.
ps:and please in the option say what the thing does if i leave the setting of gamma ,contrast,brightness to default because it will use my computer setting write it for crying out loud!dont assume we read your mind and intent we dont and a patch in 2008 is 2 years old lot of digging for nothing if you had mentionned that feature in the option same for large adress aware it should be mentionned in the option .hell i probably miss some feature that are inside eq2 that isnt mentionned but is there lol!
1) Someone besides SoE takeover the project. If SOE does EQ3 it will be crap. Just like all SOE games are crap. I'm not saying I won't buy it, because I will. I just know I won't stay subscribed. They either need to sell the EQ license, or get the old gang back together. The people that were in charge of EQ PoP and beyond need to disappear.
I want SOE to burn in hell... blah blah, they ruined my SWG blah blah (few tears) ....
There you go, now we have got that out of the way, MAYBE we won't see it in the next 50 posts on this thread but probably not...
making the game 64 bit only is a bit of a nogo, lets face it, 64 bit applications never really caught on, and most OS are 32 bit anyway. Game developers will always aim for the majority, to do otherwise would be financial suicide. EQ 1 was imo, far superior to EQ 2, i played the game for several years, and it earned the title 'evercrack' for a very good reason, of course there wasnt as much competition then, and online gaming was really in its infancy, but, i would cheat, i'd use the AoC graphical engine, and just use it to rebuild the original EQ1, warts and all, as for whether to have the game 1st or 3rd person perspective, Everquest isnt a FPS so 3rd person perspective is just right. It would be interesting to see if a rebuild of the original game with a 'fresh look' would be able to compete with WoW
Norrath I think is the key part of any appeal of an Everquest 3. Anyway wishlist:
1) Distinct starting areas.
2) Back to the basics and against the core fantasy creatures like goblins, kobalds, giants, dragons..
3) No overwhelming of quests, but viable to play solo as well as group.
4) Good art style- similar to EQ had- a sort of contrast of surreality or warmth to it's zones.
5) Don't throw out the baby- ie stuff like being encumbered, having a fire beetle eye, or collecting components for spells wasn't a bad thing.
6) Adventure The feeling wheres its not another instance but a part of the world you want to explore, experience etc.
7) Desirable items- everyone knew what a Wurmslayer was, a Venomous axe, or a SSoy, or a Lammy etc etc..
as a big EQ and EQ2 pllayer I agree with most of your suggestions. ... except dropping Norrath. IMO if you don't have the norrath lore then its not EQ.
I want a more open class system
a good housing system (thats non instanced)
an intergrated PVP system (something along the lines of SWG where you would declare you loyalty to one faction or the other)
Open world (get rid of zoning as much as possible)
less focus on raidng and more focus on LIVING in Norrath. (if you want raids you can play the other two games)
a true economy with weapons and gear that degrade and have to be replaced.
true QUESTs ... not kill 10 rats and bring them back. bring back the old style EQ1 Epic quests. with no feathers over peoples heads, where you actually had to listen to the NPCs in order to get a quest from them.
but give soloers task NPCs so they can satisfy their "kill 10 mobs and return to me" urges.
the Evil Raider that outgears you and makes you cry for welfare epics on the forums.
I would LOVE an eq3 but knowing SOE they would probably mess it up.
Eq2 was okay in its own right, but it was NOTHING next to the original. Eq1 was amazing up until Luclin. Once Plane of power came out it slowly went downhill.
Things important (for me) in Everquest
- High end, realistic high fantasy graphics, not with a cartooney or lame artstyle. Think Oblivion kind of art.
- Open ended world, with very little or rare quick travel options.
Part of what Made eq1 so dang immersive, was the huge game world. There were no griffin masters or any quick travel until planes of power. Before that, if you wanted to get in the gameworld, you walked, often through dangerous territory. I remember making a troll and having to run him through innuthule swamp, through the desert of Ro, then the commandlands, then into nek forest to reach Neriak.
- Bring back the good/evil/neutral and religious zeal/hatred aspects that Everquest 1 had, and incorporate them into a PVP system that exists on ALL servers... no pvp / pve server seperation. Have each server capable of supporting both types of gameplay!
The diety of eq1 played a HUGE role in things. You could be a human, for instance, which is a neutral race, but follow bertoxxolous the plague bringer and live a very difficult life as a necromancer. The feeling of going to other towns / cities in everquest 1 and being hated because of racial or religious tension was AWESOME.
- Diverse Class system, level based but with skill builds rather than talent builds. Give the player to make their own class with skills points gained from leveling.
Instead of having a simple class restricted system, let players develop their own class within a broad archtype that you start the game with. So if you wanted to be a ranger, you would start off in say, Outdoorsman archtype, and train stuff that would be ranger like. Camping, cooking, archery, druidic magic... give the players the ability to decide if they will focus more in archery, meele, magic, ect. Think of Dark age of camelot spec system but alot more indepth and complex. Of course, for those who don't want to have such freedom over their toons, devs could put recommended templates in for players, aka cookie cutter.
- Lore of the eq1 was one of the greatest of any mmorpg ever. Incorporate the lore into the gameworld, there is so much conflict /history in the eq universe, alot could be done to intertwine it with the pvp system / PVE content of endgame.
Thats all I got for now, ill post more later.
Because 50 posts asking for features that soe will never listen to or create is any different?
Everyone is essentially saying the same thing to one degree or another which is "we hope soe doesn't screw up again"
Better get your wish list in soon because EQ:Next is already in development.
I basically want 1999 EQ with better graphics, no raiding, and a little revamping of the classes so that they all have a usefull role in groups and they all can solo at least well enough to get by. But like the old days soloing should be much slower than grouping (at least for most classes).
Instead of raiding they should just continue on with puplic grouping areas, which was the heart and soul of old EQ.
EQ2 was an abort.
I would rather start from EQ and bring it to the 21st century.
The lore of EQ2 is essential, I would not play it without Norrath and all its inhabitants.
But the essential feature I require from EQ3 is that it needs to feel like a real RPG, and lots of group content, possibly with no level so people won't skip the beatiful dungeons SoE creates.
I'd go for that if they could make it work.
I think that EQ2 is better in quality, but EQ1 had the fun aspect because it was harder than EQ2. I think that most people want (sub-consciously) a hard game, they want to be scared, not some run of the mill quick leveling session. However the one thing that turned me off on EQ1 was the waiting part of the game, waiting 10 hours for a damn mob to pop was just stupid.
So EQ3 should be stable first, no disconnections or lag (of course).
Content should be story driven and hard to complete. Death should be harsh, old EQ1 naked runs and loss of exp, makes people think twice about the mobs they are going to tackle (or people).
PVE areas should be instanced. I know this does not sit well with some people. But if we had three cities (good, neutral, evil) that were not instanced, people could get in groups like Guild Wars, then leave for a mission. Cities should be a happening spot, not a ghost town. ALSO no new cities- don’t split your player base, there could be additions to the current cites, but that is it.
In PVP missions could be open warfare areas aka DAOC areas (not instanced). There should be something in these zones to attack and defend, that give bonuses.
Races should not be able to be all classes; I think that EQ1 was better in this area. The amount of classes should be either removed or made very different from each other. Races should have a ton of custom features to choose from, nothing absurd however (a ten foot Gnome).
Don’t make major changes once the game has started. You can make minor changes like nerf a spell, but no NGE.
No tradeskills, most underused areas of the game. All base equipment should be sold at vendors in the city.
Loot-All loot should be random, depending on level/class of the creature. Quest loot is usually specified when you get the quest.
No spell/skill upgrades. Meaning a Fireball is a Fireball, not apprentice thru master. Individual stats should determine the damage or success.
Equipment death. Take care of it, it could last the whole game. But if you break it and get it repaired, it loses stats. Break it enough, and then the item is gone for good.
Collection Quest, get rid of them. This is just used to power level an alt.
Lore and Legend quest, we need more of them.
Language quest should be the only way to learn a language.
Yep, I have big hopes for this puppy. I do hope it is farther along in development than people realize. Would be sweet to see a new EQ in late 2010 or early 2011.
I don't think there should be an EQ3. But it would be good to have SOE do an EQ like game which is bascily an improved version of EQ. With VGs graphics and combat, a new improved tradeskill system which is the same but better. A world not too big and improved pk system. Not really much point though unless it has things different in it etc.
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