To those desiring the next EQ, forget it. Unless they bring back Dave and, dare I say, smedley (FUAH), it just wont be up to par. Having said that, after the way treats its employees that have value, like firing them, and the lowballing of the rest of the employees, if you really do want to work for them be prepared to get treated like garbage as well as underpaid.
Not sure where you're getting your data from because their salaries appear to be above industry averages. As far as work goes, from what I've read, more recent reviews seem to be trending towards the positive.
Dint they lay off bunch to peoples not while ago ? I wouldn’t want to work some where that well known to lay off
This could be anywhere in the industry. In the games industry alone there are layoffs when a project releases and they ramp down, nevermind when a company is bought out. I think you'd be waiting a while if you were looking for a place with ultimate job security.
Sure could.
My answer to @itsover however would be "No" albeit with a caveat.
When CN took over SoE there were significant reductions almost right away. No official numbers but given but the suggestions were that staff numbers went - and the exact numbers were in the threads back then - from maybe 450 to maybe 220.
Technically these reductions were on CN's watch. The fact that they happened as soon as the ink was dry however - and that the severance packages were (reportedly) good all points to things having been sorted out prior to the takeover. Since then there has been nothing "dramatic".
Contrast that with life before CN took over. After taking over Vanguard and hiring some ex-Sigil staff SoE had 5 "retructurings" in 6 years. Studios were axed, multiple games closed and staff reduced from over 1050 - at first Sony gave out exact numbers - to about 450 at the time CN took over. More than one of these was promoted as "essential to get the company back on to a sound financial footing" etc.
So .....
From a near annual re-organisation to a near 2 year period of calm.
I'm sure staff will have come and gone. I am sure that the staff are under no illusions that if they are working on title X and title X starts to loose money it will probably be closed. You can "cope" with that though. Its when the next-gen project that is sucking up all the money announces yet another delay and your team, which is turning a profit, gets cut again.
BR though with EQ avatars ..... or H1Z1 with EQ avatars ....... I could see that.
One of them will almost CERTAINLY be a new EverQuest.
In seriousness, does DBG even have the resources to make an MMO at all, much less a proper EverQuest sequel?
That's probably why they're hiring?
I just hope they don't use that shitty EQ2 engine for anything in the future.
Also with the current gaming industry standards I have no hope left for anything good coming out of the EQ franchise.
I meant monetarily. Hiring is one thing. Hiring for a long term project like an MMO is another.
I suspect that they only have the funds to hire for something with a quick turnover. An MMO might be possible, but I think it goes without saying that another failed MMO (or possibly even failed game in general) could sink them.
One of them will almost CERTAINLY be a new EverQuest.
In seriousness, does DBG even have the resources to make an MMO at all, much less a proper EverQuest sequel?
That's probably why they're hiring?
I just hope they don't use that shitty EQ2 engine for anything in the future.
Also with the current gaming industry standards I have no hope left for anything good coming out of the EQ franchise.
I meant monetarily. Hiring is one thing. Hiring for a long term project like an MMO is another.
I suspect that they only have the funds to hire for something with a quick turnover. An MMO might be possible, but I think it goes without saying that another failed MMO (or possibly even failed game in general) could sink them.
Pretty sure they got enough capital to stay afloat. Their parent company is an investment firm are they not?
One of them will almost CERTAINLY be a new EverQuest.
In seriousness, does DBG even have the resources to make an MMO at all, much less a proper EverQuest sequel?
That's probably why they're hiring?
I just hope they don't use that shitty EQ2 engine for anything in the future.
Also with the current gaming industry standards I have no hope left for anything good coming out of the EQ franchise.
I meant monetarily. Hiring is one thing. Hiring for a long term project like an MMO is another.
I suspect that they only have the funds to hire for something with a quick turnover. An MMO might be possible, but I think it goes without saying that another failed MMO (or possibly even failed game in general) could sink them.
Pretty sure they got enough capital to stay afloat. Their parent company is an investment firm are they not?
Yes, Columbus Nova is an investment company. They are not much of an investment company if they can't figure out how much money they will need.
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I had high hopes for EverQuest Next until I read about it relying on storyblocks. I hope it is more in line with the traditional MMORPGs. I realize I am in the minority with that, but I enjoy old style MMO with new graphics (and the graphics don't really matter that much to me). It would have been my first foray into the EverQuest world, but I always heard real good things about it.
I just do not think they have a good enough team that is capable of releasing a quality game. Most of their recent stuff has been an incomplete mess and adding a few bodies to the mix is not going to change bad management.
A more cynically minded person might think that DBG are taking on new hires with a view to having them replace the older, perhaps more expensive employees in a cost cutting exercise.
One of them will almost CERTAINLY be a new EverQuest.
Been saying it since Landmark closed. A whole library full of assets created in the contests that was never monetized but would have been worth selling. Going dark to continue development on the next EQ is a possible outcome.
They lost with how they handled the split and then canned the projects they were working on. F. Daybreak Games.
I know people hate to hear it, but they actually handled things really well. SOE was hemorrhaging money and were trying to hurry titles out the door as quickly as possible in hopes of hitting a jackpot somewhere along the way.
Unfortunately the the sunk cost fallacy came into play at the end of SOE, and it does with a lot of game companies. This is further complicated because it's more difficult to abandon a project that is very transparent, because you've already engaged the community.
In the end, CN came in and made BUSINESS decisions, not emotional ones. The fact that they're hiring now probably indicates that the chaos is now back to a manageable level, meaning they can start to think about new products again. I really hope that they'll revisit EQN now. I think that it could be the path of least resistence. Even if they had to tear down the entire engine and rebuild from scratch, they would at least have the art assets, which are becoming a much more expensive part to a game these days.
With how P2W EQ2 is now I wouldn't play anything they make. The game is also utterly bug ridden and broken. I used to defend Eq2 when Sony had it but it is a shambles under Theybreakgames.
Perhaps making a new battle arena like PUBG but better.
Doubtful, more than likely the only thing they might be able to achieve is to make an expansion pack/dlc for an existing game, which will be either EQ2 or H1Z1.
One of them will almost CERTAINLY be a new EverQuest.
Been saying it since Landmark closed. A whole library full of assets created in the contests that was never monetized but would have been worth selling. Going dark to continue development on the next EQ is a possible outcome.
Possible outcome??
Reality called and wanted to ask when you will be back...
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Comments
I just hope they don't use that shitty EQ2 engine for anything in the future.
Also with the current gaming industry standards I have no hope left for anything good coming out of the EQ franchise.
Not sure where you're getting your data from because their salaries appear to be above industry averages. As far as work goes, from what I've read, more recent reviews seem to be trending towards the positive.
Crazkanuk
----------------
Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
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Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
----------------
My answer to @itsover however would be "No" albeit with a caveat.
When CN took over SoE there were significant reductions almost right away. No official numbers but given but the suggestions were that staff numbers went - and the exact numbers were in the threads back then - from maybe 450 to maybe 220.
Technically these reductions were on CN's watch. The fact that they happened as soon as the ink was dry however - and that the severance packages were (reportedly) good all points to things having been sorted out prior to the takeover. Since then there has been nothing "dramatic".
Contrast that with life before CN took over. After taking over Vanguard and hiring some ex-Sigil staff SoE had 5 "retructurings" in 6 years. Studios were axed, multiple games closed and staff reduced from over 1050 - at first Sony gave out exact numbers - to about 450 at the time CN took over. More than one of these was promoted as "essential to get the company back on to a sound financial footing" etc.
So .....
From a near annual re-organisation to a near 2 year period of calm.
I'm sure staff will have come and gone. I am sure that the staff are under no illusions that if they are working on title X and title X starts to loose money it will probably be closed. You can "cope" with that though. Its when the next-gen project that is sucking up all the money announces yet another delay and your team, which is turning a profit, gets cut again.
BR though with EQ avatars ..... or H1Z1 with EQ avatars ....... I could see that.
I suspect that they only have the funds to hire for something with a quick turnover. An MMO might be possible, but I think it goes without saying that another failed MMO (or possibly even failed game in general) could sink them.
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I just do not think they have a good enough team that is capable of releasing a quality game. Most of their recent stuff has been an incomplete mess and adding a few bodies to the mix is not going to change bad management.
yes it was awesome!
I know people hate to hear it, but they actually handled things really well. SOE was hemorrhaging money and were trying to hurry titles out the door as quickly as possible in hopes of hitting a jackpot somewhere along the way.
Crazkanuk
----------------
Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
----------------
Perhaps making a new battle arena like PUBG but better.
Reality called and wanted to ask when you will be back...
"classification of games into MMOs is not by rational reasoning" - nariusseldon
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