Originally posted by Aelious I find it interesting that so far no one has voted for more content of the game they think EQN turned it's back on, indicating that those voting no longer play the game they think EQN should have emulated...
Probably because you only have one vote and so you cannot vote 'no' and pick more content for the EQ 1 or 2.
Originally posted by Nanfoodle Poll shows DGC is getting what they are shooting for. They said they were making a game to net new people to EQ. That EQ1 and EQ2 would be the game for that type of fan and they didnt want to pull people away from their other games.
Well it is pretty obvious that the target audience for EQN is not the people using this site. Smokejumper was very clear that the target group was not EQ1 or EQ2 players, they wanted to do something fresh and new. I think EQ N has a very big potential of being the next big thing and I am exited, but it will not be like the old EQ games that most people do not play anymore.
Originally posted by Nanfoodle Poll shows DGC is getting what they are shooting for. They said they were making a game to net new people to EQ. That EQ1 and EQ2 would be the game for that type of fan and they didnt want to pull people away from their other games.
Well it is pretty obvious that the target audience for EQN is not the people using this site. Smokejumper was very clear that the target group was not EQ1 or EQ2 players, they wanted to do something fresh and new. I think EQ N has a very big potential of being the next big thing and I am exited, but it will not be like the old EQ games that most people do not play anymore.
Thats why the people voted to give EQN the most anticipated MMO award in 2014 on this very site. I think you think you speak for more people then you do =-)
Originally posted by Aelious I find it interesting that so far no one has voted for more content of the game they think EQN turned it's back on, indicating that those voting no longer play the game they think EQN should have emulated...
If you look at what SOE has done to both EQ1 and EQ2 it should not be much of a surprise. Neither of those games are anywhere close the what they used to be and only get worse wit each new release. I doubt many are left who want more of what is currently being offered by either game.
Why do you think progression guilds/servers are so popular?
SOE doesn't offer a version of EQ that I would enjoy anymore, even as a fan of the franchise, so I play other versions of EQ that offer better gameplay.
Originally posted by Nanfoodle Poll shows DGC is getting what they are shooting for. They said they were making a game to net new people to EQ. That EQ1 and EQ2 would be the game for that type of fan and they didnt want to pull people away from their other games.
Well it is pretty obvious that the target audience for EQN is not the people using this site. Smokejumper was very clear that the target group was not EQ1 or EQ2 players, they wanted to do something fresh and new. I think EQ N has a very big potential of being the next big thing and I am exited, but it will not be like the old EQ games that most people do not play anymore.
Thats why the people voted to give EQN the most anticipated MMO award in 2014 on this very site. I think you think you speak for more people then you do =-)
Vanguard, Tabular Rasa, Warhammer, Final Fantasy, etc were also most anticipated mmo prior to their releases too. I think the members here are desperate for anything good that each game about to release carries the Burdon of salvation so many are seeking.
Some are suggesting EQN isn't being designed for fans of the franchise, then I have to ask why use the EQ franchise for a new game then? Non-fans are going to associate EQN with all the things they did not like about the previous two games.
Honestly I think EQN was originally designed towards EQ fans, but SOE changed course mid-stream and changed the design and target market. That is just speculation on my part, but the developers admitted they have scrapped the EQN design three times and SOE has a history of massive changes to their games to target different playerbases.
To answer the original question, there was a time when I was excited for EQN. It has some great ideas that sound like they would make an amazing game. However, like other I started losing interest as some things were revealed or things changed. It just doesn't sound like the final game is going to be good. Post-EQ release, that seems to be the standard formula for SOE games. Awesome list of ideas and features that sounds great, but the resulting game misses the target by a wide margin and the game itself is an unmanageable mess that suffers from post release revamps and redesigns.
EQN looks like it is just another repeat of that process.
It is hard to be excited for a game that even the developers have stopped hyping for over a year.
Some are suggesting EQN isn't being designed for fans of the franchise, then I have to ask why use the EQ franchise for a new game then? Non-fans are going to associate EQN with all the things they did not like about the previous two games.
Honestly I think EQN was originally designed towards EQ fans, but SOE changed course mid-stream and changed the design and target market. That is just speculation on my part, but the developers admitted they have scrapped the EQN design three times and SOE has a history of massive changes to their games to target different playerbases.
To answer the original question, there was a time when I was excited for EQN. It has some great ideas that sound like they would make an amazing game. However, like other I started losing interest as some things were revealed or things changed. It just doesn't sound like the final game is going to be good. Post-EQ release, that seems to be the standard formula for SOE games. Awesome list of ideas and features that sounds great, but the resulting game misses the target by a wide margin and the game itself is an unmanageable mess that suffers from post release revamps and redesigns.
EQN looks like it is just another repeat of that process.
It is hard to be excited for a game that even the developers have stopped hyping for over a year.
As always your off the mark but al least you admit itsspeculation for a change. They announced very early on it was a game targeted to new fans. This was their plan from the start. As David G put it. EQ1 and EQ2 do what they do for their fans very well and we dont want to take away from them. He also said it would be a different type of game play to net a whole new generation of EQ fans. Why use EQ name? Many reasons.
1. People know it. Fans like me who have played EQ1 and EQ2 to death and ready for something new but still hits our heart strings. New generation of gamers that have heard the epic telling of one of the grandfathers of MMOing but have no desire to play a retro game.
2. Its what they know. Spining a new lore of a parallel universe of a lore they know works easy over starting from scratch. This helps give the game a rich back ground of two games that came before it, going back more then 16 years (not sure how long EQ1 was in development)
3. Fact is, EQ has one of the best lores in MMOing. Most are so shallow you can get the full picture in a few hours. Who would not want that depth to pool from for stories? And the writers have done some really fun twists take a path that has set forums ablaze. Like Killing off one of the major Gods.
I wish they had just started a new title and not pinned with the EQ franchise. They went well out of there way on all the information to not give any nostalgic nods to the previous franchise. Its basically going to be a NEverwinter and guild wars challenger. Aimed solely at younger kids and a big middle finger to all the older players that got therm to this point.
Originally posted by Vasel I wish they had just started a new title and not pinned with the EQ franchise. They went well out of there way on all the information to not give any nostalgic nods to the previous franchise. Its basically going to be a NEverwinter and guild wars challenger. Aimed solely at younger kids and a big middle finger to all the older players that got therm to this point.
Easy to tell you have not been reading the free ebooks or watching the development videos. Lots of nods =-P
not since SOE got bought out. their games are rapidly losing quality. I can see evidence of this in 2 of their games I play and 1 that my son does. Very quickly quality and creativity are losing ground to profit margin and ease-of-use and accessibility. Dont tell me that "creative" and ambitious and expansive games cant be profitable. Its just HOW MUCH profit theyre aiming at. Incoming >>> EQNext: the Mobile Game Experience.
Originally posted by Clywd Nope, no interest in I-don't-deserve-the-name:next. Still playing eq1. Waiting for pantheon...
You mean that game where devs are working for free because the guy at the top uses development money for his drug habit? Ya I got excited for that game till I spent 5 min reading up on who is making it =-
And yet the game has more to show right now than EQNext does.
I don't think any eq1/2 players regardless of era see eqn as having any connection to eq1/2 except the name.
Anyways they started saying all the right things, and told us what they would do to evolve the genre. If they can deliver what they said, eqn will be truely next gen.. No other mmorpg has tried what they say they will.
So the hype took a hit with the infamous lion king cartoonish style.
Then it took another massive hit with the less than impressing combat teaser, showing flashy action combat of the worst kind.
After having tried Landmark and seeing the voxel style supposedly being copied to eqn, I lost alot of confidence yet again - the way voxels influence the graphics style makes it very ugly in my opinion. To base eqn on what serious limitations (in style choise) their voxel engine can do, is a huge huge mistake.
And last being sold to big investment cooperation with no interest in games or entertainment can very easyly be the death of eqn or atleast their grand ambitions.
All in all, much promise, nothing delivered, sketchy future as a game dev company, and laying off key members of the core idea.... Hype is now zero.. Show me proof, untill then I consider eqn as promised as a dead project.
Originally posted by Clywd Nope, no interest in I-don't-deserve-the-name:next. Still playing eq1. Waiting for pantheon...
You mean that game where devs are working for free because the guy at the top uses development money for his drug habit? Ya I got excited for that game till I spent 5 min reading up on who is making it =-
And yet the game has more to show right now than EQNext does.
And is aiming for alpha testing by year's end.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do. Benjamin Franklin
Originally posted by Clywd Nope, no interest in I-don't-deserve-the-name:next. Still playing eq1. Waiting for pantheon...
You mean that game where devs are working for free because the guy at the top uses development money for his drug habit? Ya I got excited for that game till I spent 5 min reading up on who is making it =-
And yet the game has more to show right now than EQNext does.
And is aiming for alpha testing by year's end.
I was gona drop 200 bucks to get my wife and I into the Alpha till I read up on who was making it but with his rep I am 100% in the wait and see if it even releases before I drop a dime. SoE had to save his last project from his habit, that track record IMO is the worst in the game industry. I would sooner trust EA with an MMO then him. That being said, if the game releases and really does what it claims, I will drop my money on it in a second. Till then, IMO there is no spiritual successor of EQ in the works anywhere.
Originally posted by Clywd Nope, no interest in I-don't-deserve-the-name:next. Still playing eq1. Waiting for pantheon...
You mean that game where devs are working for free because the guy at the top uses development money for his drug habit? Ya I got excited for that game till I spent 5 min reading up on who is making it =-
And yet the game has more to show right now than EQNext does.
And is aiming for alpha testing by year's end.
I was gona drop 200 bucks to get my wife and I into the Alpha till I read up on who was making it but with his rep I am 100% in the wait and see if it even releases before I drop a dime. SoE had to save his last project from his habit, that track record IMO is the worst in the game industry. I would sooner trust EA with an MMO then him. That being said, if the game releases and really does what it claims, I will drop my money on it in a second. Till then, IMO there is no spiritual successor of EQ in the works anywhere.
Yet you ignore SOE's history and buy theory unfinished games.
remember, it is SOE's fault that vanguard was even released, let alone left to die the slowest painful neglected death in mmo history.
Brad may struggle with running a company, but at least he understands what is fun in a game. SOE doesn't seem to be able do either.
Some are suggesting EQN isn't being designed for fans of the franchise, then I have to ask why use the EQ franchise for a new game then? Non-fans are going to associate EQN with all the things they did not like about the previous two games.
Honestly I think EQN was originally designed towards EQ fans, but SOE changed course mid-stream and changed the design and target market. That is just speculation on my part, but the developers admitted they have scrapped the EQN design three times and SOE has a history of massive changes to their games to target different playerbases.
To answer the original question, there was a time when I was excited for EQN. It has some great ideas that sound like they would make an amazing game. However, like other I started losing interest as some things were revealed or things changed. It just doesn't sound like the final game is going to be good. Post-EQ release, that seems to be the standard formula for SOE games. Awesome list of ideas and features that sounds great, but the resulting game misses the target by a wide margin and the game itself is an unmanageable mess that suffers from post release revamps and redesigns.
EQN looks like it is just another repeat of that process.
It is hard to be excited for a game that even the developers have stopped hyping for over a year.
As always your off the mark but al least you admit itsspeculation for a change. They announced very early on it was a game targeted to new fans. This was their plan from the start. As David G put it. EQ1 and EQ2 do what they do for their fans very well and we dont want to take away from them. He also said it would be a different type of game play to net a whole new generation of EQ fans. Why use EQ name? Many reasons.
1. People know it. Fans like me who have played EQ1 and EQ2 to death and ready for something new but still hits our heart strings. New generation of gamers that have heard the epic telling of one of the grandfathers of MMOing but have no desire to play a retro game.
2. Its what they know. Spining a new lore of a parallel universe of a lore they know works easy over starting from scratch. This helps give the game a rich back ground of two games that came before it, going back more then 16 years (not sure how long EQ1 was in development)
3. Fact is, EQ has one of the best lores in MMOing. Most are so shallow you can get the full picture in a few hours. Who would not want that depth to pool from for stories? And the writers have done some really fun twists take a path that has set forums ablaze. Like Killing off one of the major Gods.
Cite a reference dating back to 2009 that says it was always their plan to target a new generation of players wit EQN. not something Dave G said in 2012 well after the game had already gone through multiple redesigns. Again the history of the company supports my views.
1. EQN was already in development well before Dave G was hired at SOE and Dave was hired to convert their existing games to free 2 play. EQ2 at its very best was about half of what EQ was, playerwise and that was a very short time. I'm just not sure you realize how few people actually "played the death out of EQ/EQ2" and want more, let alone believe SOE won't just repeat all the same mistakes they always make.
2. You just described what SOE did with EQ2 and that game was merging servers a year after release. EQ2 used EQ lore and direct from Smedlys mouth, was aimed at different players (casuals). Millions of new players were joining the memo genre and EQ/EQ2 were both closing servers.
3. again you confuse your subjective opinion with being a fact. I think EQs lore was great back when Brad was running things, but it is almost universally accepted that EQ went downhill after Velious. So much so that SOE has done nothing but recycle his work in EQ2 for over ten years. I just don't think the EQ lore has anywhere even remotely close to the value you seem to think it does.
I was hyped about it before they showed us the graphic and gameplay. So I don't really care any more as the game I am really hyped about is Pantheon Rise of the Fallen (Brad McQuaids next EQ like game), as EQN should have been but isn't at all only by the name.
I could care less about the game, but I'm sure it will appeal to someone. I'm done with action combat MMOs. A revamped EQ or re-released Vanguard or Pantheon are more my cup of tea. Till then, I'll stick with Rift, FFXIV and my turn based strategy games.
Cite a reference dating back to 2009 that says it was always their plan to target a new generation of players wit EQN. not something Dave G said in 2012 well after the game had already gone through multiple redesigns. Again the history of the company supports my views.
This isn't all directed at you, but for anyone interested about what they actually planned from the start and how it has resulted in what is going on today.
While these are from 2010, it doesn't appear that DG had his hand in things yet and this is what they originally planned for the next EQ game. Much of what they said has followed through the redesigns, while some of it has changed, and other things have totally been redone. Voxels, Storybricks, and the current market seem to have made huge impacts on EQN's development in both time and what they want to do.
The market from 2010 is much different then today (look at the top hyped games on this site). Old and new tech has begun to see new uses as well which again, look at the upcoming games and what companies are planning.
While I don't know about them going after "a new generation" they certainly didn't want to kill off EQ/EQ2 by only going after fans of them. These vids are basically suggestion forums to get feedback from CURRENT (as of 2010) players. Not those that played it in 99-early 00s aka people no longer supporting SOE at the time. Nostalgia doesn't pay the bills.
If you actually watch all the videos, you'll see die hards wanting EQ99 + new graphics, to folks wanting WoW conveniences (Dungeon Finder) and other "modern" systems. Along with everything in between.
There is no one way to do it right that will please everyone. They are a business and have to make decisions that will help them. Pleasing a small pool of former or even current customers isn't going to keep the company going forever, at least not competitively in the market.
It is very easy for us to give our list of demands and think a company should make what we want, but when they are dealing with potentially millions of customers and investing millions of dollars in a product, they take the risk.
There were two EQN panels at the 2010 SOE Fanfaire/Live event. They took fan feedback on what they'd like to see in the future EQ game.
Original memories will always be the strongest. Want EQN to be just as memorable with new experiences that 10 years from now will be looked back on just the same.
At the 1:00 mark they say that the #1 good memory people have is corpse runs and it along with "waiting" are the #1-2 reasons people quit EQ.
They don't want to cater to the masses, but they want EQN to be accessible and fun to as many as they can. Not simple to do this while keeping the spirit of EQ as well.
Smed points out that they didn't even know WoW was coming when they were making EQ2. With the similarities between the two, at least compared to EQ, to me it shows that the market as a whole was shifting towards what it has become today. It was unavoidable, customers wanted something or at last ended up wanting it over time.
Now with 10-15 years of history, companies are looking back and what has worked or not and how they can bring that into the next 10 years without simply carbon copying + new graphics.
Questions I have:
When did they say they were only catering to the older generation of gamers?
How would it make sense to ignore new gamers or those with different styles/preferences when the tech and what not allows them to incorporate a lot more than what was possible 10-15+ years ago?
They don't need to please everyone, but they can branch out and not have specific mechanics that instantly turn people away. Such as progression requires playing a game as a full/part time job. There is no way I could play vanilla EQ today and make acceptable progress without cutting out a decent chunk of my life outside of work. Was okay when I was 17-20 and was in high school/college, not so much today as an actual adult. Glad some folks have that time, but I'd wager there aren't enough of you to fund a big name game forever.
I don't think any eq1/2 players regardless of era see eqn as having any connection to eq1/2 except the name.
As a former EQ1 player for several years and a brief EQ2 player (didn't enjoy it) along with a decent chunk of watching a roommate play EQOA, I can easily say that I see the connection between all 4 products.
Each product is different in many ways. What makes something "EQ"?
Is it the lore, classes, races, mobs, famous figures, lands, items, spells, mindless grinding, combat system, art style, death mechanics, stats, progression system, ways to travel, open world feel, yadda yadda?
This is where the subjective aspect comes in and EQ is different to everyone. No different then a decent chunk of other franchises out there.
Is every Final Fantasy game the same?
EQ2 was very different then EQ1, despite having a lot more in common than EQOA or EQN. Each is a stand alone product.
They have several novellas that are building up the lore, one released this week goes into the origin of the "Dark Elves" with nasty old Innoruuk and Akhevans tied it. For me, it was more entertaining then what was available for EQ's Dark Elves.
From my POV, I see many unable to look past the art style chosen (even though to me it looks like a progression from EQ2) and no matter what the game play might be like, the visuals are too much. Once the game is actually a reality and all the races, mobs, items, etc are put together, I'm betting people will change their tunes a bit.
Then again some of the die hard fans won't except anything beyond a carbon copy with what they will allow as updates to a game/memory they hold dear.
As they've said from the start, EQN is not meant to be a replacement for EQ/EQ2. Simple as that. It isn't Madden 2013 being replaced by Madden 2015. Could they incorporate more of the EQ mechanics? Sure, but why would they? To please the small percent of folks that tried EQ and stayed with EQ? Seems like a pretty poor business model.
While obviously the WoW clone model hasn't helped too many games, at least from a business stand point it makes sense. Someone going to investors going "We want to make a game like EQ that capped at a fraction of what other games pull in and that took a nose dive when said games started popping up."
As seen by Pantheon's failure at KS. Perfect time for people to speak with their wallets and all I saw was excuses as to why not to support the concept and mind behind the game that so many apparently want to see again.
What are all these posts about EQ:Next ? Is it not clear to anyone that is even barely informed that the game is dead ?
I would say that EQ:N is exciting the same as Half Life 3 or first alien contact
The only way someone can believe EQN is "dead" is lacking the ability to read, hear, see and string a few brain cells together. Beyond trolling, there is no reason to believe EQN is anything but in development as it has been for so many years. Unless "dead" means being worked on currently by a team that continue to show progress, despite it not being exactly what some want to see as "progress."
Nothing to get hyped about.. I have seen next to NOTHING in real intel to form an opinion or to get excited about.. Right now all we've seen and been fed is "WORDS".. Ford could talk about making a car that goes from 0-60 in 3 seconds, getting 80mpg, and sits 5 adults for under $20,000, and I would simply laugh with a big "yeah, right".. lol Until I see actual performance data, and spy pictures of a demo on the tracking doing what they claim, and maybe a prototype concept at the Auto Show, I'm not getting hyped at anything.. I'm too damn old and wise to believe salesmen..
Comments
Probably because you only have one vote and so you cannot vote 'no' and pick more content for the EQ 1 or 2.
Well it is pretty obvious that the target audience for EQN is not the people using this site. Smokejumper was very clear that the target group was not EQ1 or EQ2 players, they wanted to do something fresh and new. I think EQ N has a very big potential of being the next big thing and I am exited, but it will not be like the old EQ games that most people do not play anymore.
Chi puo dir com'egli arde é in picciol fuoco.
He who can describe the flame does not burn.
Petrarch
Thats why the people voted to give EQN the most anticipated MMO award in 2014 on this very site. I think you think you speak for more people then you do =-)
If you look at what SOE has done to both EQ1 and EQ2 it should not be much of a surprise. Neither of those games are anywhere close the what they used to be and only get worse wit each new release. I doubt many are left who want more of what is currently being offered by either game.
Why do you think progression guilds/servers are so popular?
SOE doesn't offer a version of EQ that I would enjoy anymore, even as a fan of the franchise, so I play other versions of EQ that offer better gameplay.
Vanguard, Tabular Rasa, Warhammer, Final Fantasy, etc were also most anticipated mmo prior to their releases too. I think the members here are desperate for anything good that each game about to release carries the Burdon of salvation so many are seeking.
I'm interested. But since I know next to nothing about EQ:N, I cannot say I am hyped.
Edit: And yes, I am an EQ 1/2 fan.
Some are suggesting EQN isn't being designed for fans of the franchise, then I have to ask why use the EQ franchise for a new game then? Non-fans are going to associate EQN with all the things they did not like about the previous two games.
Honestly I think EQN was originally designed towards EQ fans, but SOE changed course mid-stream and changed the design and target market. That is just speculation on my part, but the developers admitted they have scrapped the EQN design three times and SOE has a history of massive changes to their games to target different playerbases.
To answer the original question, there was a time when I was excited for EQN. It has some great ideas that sound like they would make an amazing game. However, like other I started losing interest as some things were revealed or things changed. It just doesn't sound like the final game is going to be good. Post-EQ release, that seems to be the standard formula for SOE games. Awesome list of ideas and features that sounds great, but the resulting game misses the target by a wide margin and the game itself is an unmanageable mess that suffers from post release revamps and redesigns.
EQN looks like it is just another repeat of that process.
It is hard to be excited for a game that even the developers have stopped hyping for over a year.
As always your off the mark but al least you admit its speculation for a change. They announced very early on it was a game targeted to new fans. This was their plan from the start. As David G put it. EQ1 and EQ2 do what they do for their fans very well and we dont want to take away from them. He also said it would be a different type of game play to net a whole new generation of EQ fans. Why use EQ name? Many reasons.
1. People know it. Fans like me who have played EQ1 and EQ2 to death and ready for something new but still hits our heart strings. New generation of gamers that have heard the epic telling of one of the grandfathers of MMOing but have no desire to play a retro game.
2. Its what they know. Spining a new lore of a parallel universe of a lore they know works easy over starting from scratch. This helps give the game a rich back ground of two games that came before it, going back more then 16 years (not sure how long EQ1 was in development)
3. Fact is, EQ has one of the best lores in MMOing. Most are so shallow you can get the full picture in a few hours. Who would not want that depth to pool from for stories? And the writers have done some really fun twists take a path that has set forums ablaze. Like Killing off one of the major Gods.
Easy to tell you have not been reading the free ebooks or watching the development videos. Lots of nods =-P
And yet the game has more to show right now than EQNext does.
You stay sassy!
I don't think any eq1/2 players regardless of era see eqn as having any connection to eq1/2 except the name.
Anyways they started saying all the right things, and told us what they would do to evolve the genre. If they can deliver what they said, eqn will be truely next gen.. No other mmorpg has tried what they say they will.
So the hype took a hit with the infamous lion king cartoonish style.
Then it took another massive hit with the less than impressing combat teaser, showing flashy action combat of the worst kind.
After having tried Landmark and seeing the voxel style supposedly being copied to eqn, I lost alot of confidence yet again - the way voxels influence the graphics style makes it very ugly in my opinion. To base eqn on what serious limitations (in style choise) their voxel engine can do, is a huge huge mistake.
And last being sold to big investment cooperation with no interest in games or entertainment can very easyly be the death of eqn or atleast their grand ambitions.
All in all, much promise, nothing delivered, sketchy future as a game dev company, and laying off key members of the core idea.... Hype is now zero.. Show me proof, untill then I consider eqn as promised as a dead project.
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
And is aiming for alpha testing by year's end.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
I was gona drop 200 bucks to get my wife and I into the Alpha till I read up on who was making it but with his rep I am 100% in the wait and see if it even releases before I drop a dime. SoE had to save his last project from his habit, that track record IMO is the worst in the game industry. I would sooner trust EA with an MMO then him. That being said, if the game releases and really does what it claims, I will drop my money on it in a second. Till then, IMO there is no spiritual successor of EQ in the works anywhere.
Yet you ignore SOE's history and buy theory unfinished games.
remember, it is SOE's fault that vanguard was even released, let alone left to die the slowest painful neglected death in mmo history.
Brad may struggle with running a company, but at least he understands what is fun in a game. SOE doesn't seem to be able do either.
Cite a reference dating back to 2009 that says it was always their plan to target a new generation of players wit EQN. not something Dave G said in 2012 well after the game had already gone through multiple redesigns. Again the history of the company supports my views.
1. EQN was already in development well before Dave G was hired at SOE and Dave was hired to convert their existing games to free 2 play. EQ2 at its very best was about half of what EQ was, playerwise and that was a very short time. I'm just not sure you realize how few people actually "played the death out of EQ/EQ2" and want more, let alone believe SOE won't just repeat all the same mistakes they always make.
2. You just described what SOE did with EQ2 and that game was merging servers a year after release. EQ2 used EQ lore and direct from Smedlys mouth, was aimed at different players (casuals). Millions of new players were joining the memo genre and EQ/EQ2 were both closing servers.
3. again you confuse your subjective opinion with being a fact. I think EQs lore was great back when Brad was running things, but it is almost universally accepted that EQ went downhill after Velious. So much so that SOE has done nothing but recycle his work in EQ2 for over ten years. I just don't think the EQ lore has anywhere even remotely close to the value you seem to think it does.
What are all these posts about EQ:Next ? Is it not clear to anyone that is even barely informed that the game is dead ?
I would say that EQ:N is exciting the same as Half Life 3 or first alien contact
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
This isn't all directed at you, but for anyone interested about what they actually planned from the start and how it has resulted in what is going on today.
While these are from 2010, it doesn't appear that DG had his hand in things yet and this is what they originally planned for the next EQ game. Much of what they said has followed through the redesigns, while some of it has changed, and other things have totally been redone. Voxels, Storybricks, and the current market seem to have made huge impacts on EQN's development in both time and what they want to do.
The market from 2010 is much different then today (look at the top hyped games on this site). Old and new tech has begun to see new uses as well which again, look at the upcoming games and what companies are planning.
While I don't know about them going after "a new generation" they certainly didn't want to kill off EQ/EQ2 by only going after fans of them. These vids are basically suggestion forums to get feedback from CURRENT (as of 2010) players. Not those that played it in 99-early 00s aka people no longer supporting SOE at the time. Nostalgia doesn't pay the bills.
If you actually watch all the videos, you'll see die hards wanting EQ99 + new graphics, to folks wanting WoW conveniences (Dungeon Finder) and other "modern" systems. Along with everything in between.
There is no one way to do it right that will please everyone. They are a business and have to make decisions that will help them. Pleasing a small pool of former or even current customers isn't going to keep the company going forever, at least not competitively in the market.
It is very easy for us to give our list of demands and think a company should make what we want, but when they are dealing with potentially millions of customers and investing millions of dollars in a product, they take the risk.
There were two EQN panels at the 2010 SOE Fanfaire/Live event. They took fan feedback on what they'd like to see in the future EQ game.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzSqBYg-xOE&t=8m25s
EQN is a re-imagining, want to be faithful to the EQ universe (lore, npcs, locations), focus on grouping, make combat more engaging.
Despite all those claiming no connection, it is clearly there. Some seem blinded by the art style, which Rosie talks about during both panels as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzSqBYg-xOE&t=10m56s
Looking towards EQ1 for the "feeling" and sense of discovery. Assuming this means the open world experience. Which EQN should have and then some.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxEkl-dANkA
PVP on day 1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyHMejR3pJM&t=17m10s
Plan to support EQ 1/2 as long as fans let them.
Want all 3 to live side by side.
Lots of EQ1 fans didn't/don't like EQ2. Same would be true of a new experience. Want players to choose what is the right game for them.
Not old/new version of the same thing. If you like EQ, pleay EQ. Unfortunately what some consider "EQ" no longer exists even within the game itself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GC1rRXx7mc&t=9m50s
Original memories will always be the strongest. Want EQN to be just as memorable with new experiences that 10 years from now will be looked back on just the same.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GC1rRXx7mc&t=17m40s
How do they please everyone?
They ask how many EQ2 fans want corpse runs?
Continues into next video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBUiRa3GS28
At the 1:00 mark they say that the #1 good memory people have is corpse runs and it along with "waiting" are the #1-2 reasons people quit EQ.
They don't want to cater to the masses, but they want EQN to be accessible and fun to as many as they can. Not simple to do this while keeping the spirit of EQ as well.
Smed points out that they didn't even know WoW was coming when they were making EQ2. With the similarities between the two, at least compared to EQ, to me it shows that the market as a whole was shifting towards what it has become today. It was unavoidable, customers wanted something or at last ended up wanting it over time.
Now with 10-15 years of history, companies are looking back and what has worked or not and how they can bring that into the next 10 years without simply carbon copying + new graphics.
Questions I have:
When did they say they were only catering to the older generation of gamers?
How would it make sense to ignore new gamers or those with different styles/preferences when the tech and what not allows them to incorporate a lot more than what was possible 10-15+ years ago?
They don't need to please everyone, but they can branch out and not have specific mechanics that instantly turn people away. Such as progression requires playing a game as a full/part time job. There is no way I could play vanilla EQ today and make acceptable progress without cutting out a decent chunk of my life outside of work. Was okay when I was 17-20 and was in high school/college, not so much today as an actual adult. Glad some folks have that time, but I'd wager there aren't enough of you to fund a big name game forever.
As a former EQ1 player for several years and a brief EQ2 player (didn't enjoy it) along with a decent chunk of watching a roommate play EQOA, I can easily say that I see the connection between all 4 products.
Each product is different in many ways. What makes something "EQ"?
Is it the lore, classes, races, mobs, famous figures, lands, items, spells, mindless grinding, combat system, art style, death mechanics, stats, progression system, ways to travel, open world feel, yadda yadda?
This is where the subjective aspect comes in and EQ is different to everyone. No different then a decent chunk of other franchises out there.
Is every Final Fantasy game the same?
EQ2 was very different then EQ1, despite having a lot more in common than EQOA or EQN. Each is a stand alone product.
They have several novellas that are building up the lore, one released this week goes into the origin of the "Dark Elves" with nasty old Innoruuk and Akhevans tied it. For me, it was more entertaining then what was available for EQ's Dark Elves.
From my POV, I see many unable to look past the art style chosen (even though to me it looks like a progression from EQ2) and no matter what the game play might be like, the visuals are too much. Once the game is actually a reality and all the races, mobs, items, etc are put together, I'm betting people will change their tunes a bit.
Then again some of the die hard fans won't except anything beyond a carbon copy with what they will allow as updates to a game/memory they hold dear.
As they've said from the start, EQN is not meant to be a replacement for EQ/EQ2. Simple as that. It isn't Madden 2013 being replaced by Madden 2015. Could they incorporate more of the EQ mechanics? Sure, but why would they? To please the small percent of folks that tried EQ and stayed with EQ? Seems like a pretty poor business model.
While obviously the WoW clone model hasn't helped too many games, at least from a business stand point it makes sense. Someone going to investors going "We want to make a game like EQ that capped at a fraction of what other games pull in and that took a nose dive when said games started popping up."
As seen by Pantheon's failure at KS. Perfect time for people to speak with their wallets and all I saw was excuses as to why not to support the concept and mind behind the game that so many apparently want to see again.
The only way someone can believe EQN is "dead" is lacking the ability to read, hear, see and string a few brain cells together. Beyond trolling, there is no reason to believe EQN is anything but in development as it has been for so many years. Unless "dead" means being worked on currently by a team that continue to show progress, despite it not being exactly what some want to see as "progress."