Official EQ2 Q&A Thread

[MrHat]

I can't confirm it because I don't know. I do know that I just logged in for the first time after 3 weeks and holy crap, I may have to give it another pass. The game got about 5 times better in terms of visual response to various assorted flare effects. Yay for SOE and the smokescreen.

I'm really looking forward to playing this.  I have no doubt that as PvE game it will be better than WoW.  But as I've said before.....


On a side note:  I'm on season 3 of Alias, and fucking blockbuster only has volumes 2 and 3 (each volume has 2 discs).  Whatever will I do?

[Riggswolfe]

I'm really looking forward to playing this.  I have no doubt that as PvE game it will be better than WoW.  But as I've said before.....

I am glad they aren't trying to mix PvE and PvP like WoW. I've heard some things that make me a little leery of EQ2 but at heart I'm an MMO groupie so I'll try it anyway.

[MrHat]

I'm really looking forward to playing this.  I have no doubt that as PvE game it will be better than WoW.  But as I've said before.....

I am glad they aren't trying to mix PvE and PvP like WoW. I've heard some things that make me a little leery of EQ2 but at heart I'm an MMO groupie so I'll try it anyway.

Ya, who knows, come Feb. I may be playing two games exclusively.

[Murgos]

Heather Graham is doing the voice for Antonia Bale of the good city of Qeynos

/. also says that

Christopher Lee is doing the voice for the Evil Lord Sir Lucan D'Lere, leader of the city of Freeport.

I guess I'll be hanging out around Freeport.

[MrHat]

Christopher Lee is doing the voice for the Evil Lord Sir Lucan D'Lere, leader of the city of Freeport.

I guess I'll be hanging out around Freeport.

Damn, forgot to mention that.

Mad props for Saruman.  That kind of seals the deal don't you think?

[Ardent]

Rollergirl and Saruman.

It's like one of my naughty dreams come true.

[Liquidator]

Rollergirl and Saruman.

It's like one of my naughty dreams come true.

That's disgusting!

[Trippy]

As for FD, I think that what the EQ1 team didn't like about it was its use in pulling singles.  That more than anything changed EQ from a game where you dealt with a bunch of mobs at once to a game where they were processed individually.  Later expansions took it for granted that players would use FD pulling techniques, of course, and it became a bit of an art form.

The big problem with FD wasn't that it allowed you to fight mobs one at a time (there were a ton of other spells/abilities that allowed you to do the same thing so FD was effectively just a form of CC in those situations) it was that with FD you could pull mobs through other mobs around them, bypassing much of the challenge in certain maps. With a skilled team of monks you could even pull uber mobs through his/her/its bodyguards making for a much faster, much easier boss fight.

[Kageru]

There's no gameplay value in voice overs, no matter how skilled. It's certainly a nice freebie, but reason to play a game? Not to mention that I'd bet most people will be skipping them after about 5 minutes.

[schild]

There's no gameplay value in voice overs, no matter how skilled. It's certainly a nice freebie, but reason to play a game? Not to mention that I'd bet most people will be skipping them after about 5 minutes.

That's BS. There is gameplay value. THe first week or two I was in Freeport I ran around talking to everyone and hearing their stories because of how damn good the voiceovers were!

[Riggswolfe]

That's BS. There is gameplay value. THe first week or two I was in Freeport I ran around talking to everyone and hearing their stories because of how damn good the voiceovers were!

I don't know if there is gameplay value but there is definite..."ooooo" value

[schild]

That's BS. There is gameplay value. THe first week or two I was in Freeport I ran around talking to everyone and hearing their stories because of how damn good the voiceovers were!

I don't know if there is gameplay value but there is definite..."ooooo" value

Are you playing the game when it happens? Does it add to the immersion and the fun factor you have? Yes. That's gameplay value. Not necessarily GAMEPLAY, but gameplay value yes - it increases the value of your gameplay. A lot.

[Riggswolfe]

Are you playing the game when it happens? Does it add to the immersion and the fun factor you have? Yes. That's gameplay value. Not necessarily GAMEPLAY, but gameplay value yes - it increases the value of your gameplay. A lot.

That depends on if I'm on the list so to speak. j/k. Ok. point conceeded though we basically said the same thing. Just out of curiousity, can you skip the voices? If so I suspect most people will after the first time or two.

[schild]

you can just read what it says and then walk away and they'll talk for a second, notice you left and stop. They may have added a "turn off voiceover" or "Play voiceover once and delete" option. That second one would be cool. Though there are some voiceovers I really really like that unfortunately only get played once. Like the landlord in freeport when you arrive.

[Riggswolfe]

I should stop talking about this now. I'm getting a case of the anxious MMO whore going...

still...sounds cool. Any other famous people doing voiceovers that you know about?

[schild]

"No."

[Riggswolfe]

"No."

well, after Christopher Lee not many that could top that anyway. Still....damn...Christopher Lee that alone makes me reconsider my usual bias against playing evil

[MrHat]

"No."

well, after Christopher Lee not many that could top that anyway. Still....damn...Christopher Lee that alone makes me reconsider my usual bias against playing evil

I would never play another game again if Christopher Walken did a voice over.

Even a small part.

Like a talking frog or something telling a story about lions or mermaids or something.

Fuck, that would be awesome.

[Riggswolfe]

MrHat,

damn straight.

[Murgos]

An interview with Saruman is here:

http://movies.station.sony.com:7000/patch/web/eq2/lucan_interview.wmv

[schild]

MrHat,

damn straight.

Stop trying to get your postcount up for an EQ2 beta or I'll have to disqualify you. Don't think I don't see through your glass windows. :)

Edit: Forgot the smiley. But seriously, no more postcount++

[Riggswolfe]

MrHat,

damn straight.

Stop trying to get your postcount up for an EQ2 beta or I'll have to disqualify you. Don't think I don't see through your glass windows. :)

Edit: Forgot the smiley. But seriously, no more postcount++

Tell you what. Last post tonight. In all seriousness I figured you'd already made your decision. If you watch how I post I tend to go through these big bursts then go quiet for a day or two. this just happened to be a burst day cause work is slow and boring.

Edit: No fair with the WoW crack when I said I wouldm't post anymore.Though I don't think edit counts. Ok, hitting the X now and going to watch the debates and play some Gladius on the XBox.

[schild]

this just happened to be a burst day cause WoW is slow and boring.

Gotcha.

[Venkman]

There are two types of mob groups. Because they appear even in the earliest levels, it's safe to talk about them, and how FD would make only a slight difference.

[*]Collection of solo mobs standing near each other. Subclassification: aggressive or not. Smart pulling is the rule here as it was in EQlive.
[*]Group-tagged mobs. You will pull this whole group. It becomes a CC exercise thereafter[/list:u]
Importantly, you know this stuff the moment you click a mob. The game gives that much information about it.

There's no gameplay value in voice overs, no matter how skilled. It's certainly a nice freebie, but reason to play a game? Not to mention that I'd bet most people will be skipping them after about 5 minutes.

I'm with schild on this. There's no real tangible measurable value to it, but it really does add to the experience when every single other MMORPG is a world full of mutes.

Doing 130 hours of voiceovers is extremely expensive, even using skilled no-name talent. This is probably why it's always the absolute last thing considered for most games. EQ2 has the huge ass budget to pull it off though ($25mil or thereabouts) , so I appreciate that they decided to try.

Yea yea, I expect some will ask where that money coulda gone otherwise. I still wonder about the time spent to develop SWG Image Designers, so I'm certainly not immune to questions of that sort :)

[Signe]

I have over 700 posts on the vnboards... shouldn't I get a prize for that?

Oh wait... that would be the rash and projectile vomiting.

:(

[Kageru]

There is no gameplay because listening is passive. Where there is no choice, other than listen or click the shut up button, there is no game. The information contained in the speech can lead to gameplay, but the quality of the voice over person will not directly effect that element.

Sure, it is a nice addition, and bad voice overs can screw up your immersion in the game, but I find it hard to imagine anyone choosing a game on that basis. Heck, it could be 2 hours of him bitching about how he got stiffed in LoTR-3, does that still count as gameplay?  In addition I'd be less worried about the top of the talent they've got and more worried about the average or low end. You'll spend more time talking to vendors,  bankers and miscellaneous quest NPC's than you do Lord Lucan.

Incidentally the NDA is not commutative, but I imagine re-posting leaks still counts as unacceptable?

[schild]

If you want to believe that voiceovers aren't part of gameplay value, fine. Good luck arguing with the legions of people who loved Sam and Max or Grim Fandango.

[Kageru]

Actually my mental image was "dragons lair".

[Raven]

I hated FD splitting, though it was my job so I did it. I see FD more as a method of escape, surviving bad groups, getting lost in dungeons, wandering mobs, and other assorted oh crap moments, that can happen when you least expect them.

[schild]

I survive bad groups...and good groups with the de-aggro skill.

[Samwise]

If you want to believe that voiceovers aren't part of gameplay value, fine. Good luck arguing with the legions of people who loved Sam and Max or Grim Fandango.

Not to mention the last couple of GTA games.  The game would have felt half-done without them.

[schild]

Fable without the voices would have been total crap. I enjoyed the important characters voices. For example, that cajun chick's voice made me want to kill her. Repeatedly. With a crossbow.

I couldn't imagine Leisure Suit Larry without voices with the great job they did with the last one (even though the game was lackluster).

For what it had, Planescape Torment had some great voiceovers. And how can you forget Boo & Minsc from Baldur's Gate.

Jesus, I don't even know why I'm entertaining such a comment.

[Raven]

This deaggro ability sounds interestings. Can you go into detail on exactly how the deaggro ability works?

[schild]

This deaggro ability sounds interestings. Can you go into detail on exactly how the deaggro ability works?

Uhm, if you're fighting with another grouped player and you hit the skill button, the monster stops hitting you and starts beating on your friend. With how often I use it (it's hard to get good armor without crafters around), it should be called Grief-Grouping.

[Polysorbate80]

For what it had, Planescape Torment had some great voiceovers. And how can you forget Boo & Minsc from Baldur's Gate.

Black Isle had some good VO work in their stuff.  I'm always just slightly disappointed they didn't have Steve Buscemi voice the sarcastic beholder though; it just seems to me like that should have been done :)

"Oh captain my captain..."