EQ2 Goes Free to Play too

[Mrbloodworth]

I think it comes down to the choices made by each designer or team in each area. Nektulos is great, but I totally see the so called "ray traced" look in some of the other area, namely the expansion part.

[Cadaverine]

I could live with the plastic-y graphics in EQ2 if not for two things.  The original hair/beard styles, and the thoroughly ass-ugly gear.  Those are the two primary things in EQ2 that bothered me.  The alternate models somewhat alleviate the hair/beard thing, but only a bit. 

Other than those two, it was shiny plate armor, or the rocks.  The paladin npc in Antonica with the bright, shiny, plate armor.  Looked horrible back when. 
The large, dark rocks looked wrong for whatever reason, but I'm used to that because I see it a lot in other games as well.  For some reason some things look muddy, and pixilated, when they shouldn't.  I remember Baldurs Gate being bad about that.

[DLRiley]

When did you learn to Shut the Fuck Up?

when you found a broom to fuck yourself with.

[Azazel]

F2P should revitalize your game, not remind your existing playerbase of the soul-crushing grinds that your game contains.  SOE missed a HUGE opportunity here by being greedy bastards.  If they had made f2p more user friendly, they may have upped their revenue incrementally.  Instead, they went for it all at once in a manner that demonstrated their disdain for the entire f2p premise.

Funny, whenever I express that in the LOTRO forum, I get jumped on. 

[Stabs]

The payment models have stepped backwards from DDO. In DDO you only really needed to buy content and you were given about a third of the content free. Both EQ2 and Lotro have hideous game-breaking punishments for freeloading that hamper their chances. Lotro, by all accounts, is unplayably horrible with swift travel hidden behind the paywall. And EQ2 hides gear behind the paywall.

Both of these games are likely to be utterly utterly screwed if and when WoW goes free to play. Or if GW2 matches them for quality.

Personally I don't mind too much that gaining decent gear in EQ2 is basically pointless, even as Gold, since next month when my sub lapses it will all fall off. But the server already is starting to feel a little quiet. I'm level 41 and I do get groups without too much effort but as the newness wears off and the population levels up even the free to play server seems likely to turn into the standard grind solo to max level formula that is so off-putting to most new players. mentoring is good for playing with lowbie friends but it's not something people do just to pug with random strangers - it kills your exp.

I also find it significant that although they announced a few weeks ago they had a second server ready to go they haven't launched it yet. I think they just don't have the numbers yet. Which is bad because the numbers have probably already peaked.

[Azazel]

WoW won't be F2P until sometime when I'm in my flying antigrav wheelchair, so best to stop even worrying about that. The Lotro licence only goes until 2015 or 2017 AFAIK so I wouldn't place a great deal of money on Lotro even existing when/if WoW goes F2P in the future. - After all, EQ1 still makes enough money to charge a sub fee. A higher one than WoW, in fact, due to the diehards.

[Rishathra]

F2P should revitalize your game, not remind your existing playerbase of the soul-crushing grinds that your game contains.  SOE missed a HUGE opportunity here by being greedy bastards.  If they had made f2p more user friendly, they may have upped their revenue incrementally.  Instead, they went for it all at once in a manner that demonstrated their disdain for the entire f2p premise.

Funny, whenever I express that in the LOTRO forum, I get jumped on. 

That's because Nebu is good at giving reasoned arguments, and he's also expressed on several occasions the reasons he enjoys playing  LOTRO, so it makes sense that he would still be playing it, despite its flaws.  You, however, are a constant drone of "I hate everything about this game and I only play it because my friends like it."

[Mrbloodworth]

Holy shit the new installer is fast and easy. You guys have been talking about it so much i decided to give it a look again. I spent 2 years in this title... wonder whats left.

EDIT: :( I can't play my necro! Much sadness!

[Falconeer]

I am underwhelmed by new Halas. I love snow, but everything is so blandly white here I keep wondering if my monitor brightness is somehow fucked up.

Leveling up is ridiculously fast.

Yes, new installer is a bomb.

[HaemishM]

The new installer/patcher was absolute shit the first month or so - it's still a bit hinky. But it seems to be working better now.

If you don't like New Halas, you probably won't like the rest of the world. New Halas is the latest starting area added, the rest will be a step back although they won't all be blindingly white.  And your leveling will slow down after New Halas. That area was well-done in regards to proper leveling pace. Make sure you do the quest chain that gives you a free mount before you leave.

[Falconeer]

Don't get me wrong. I am an EQ2 lover, and one of the few sickos who even loved it at launch. I don't know what's not working for me so far in New Halas. Usually, in any game, snowy areas are my favourite. I really don't know.

I think I liked the original starting zones, the island and Freeport/Qeynos, much more than this. 

[HaemishM]

Ugh. I hated the Island and Qeynos and Freeport both had areas that made me scream. Like the sewers. New Halas had a very clear path - yes, it was linear but it moved new players along pretty swiftly with a good series of rewards.

[Azazel]

That's because Nebu is good at giving reasoned arguments, and he's also expressed on several occasions the reasons he enjoys playing  LOTRO, so it makes sense that he would still be playing it, despite its flaws.  You, however, are a constant drone of "I hate everything about this game and I only play it because my friends like it."

Incorrect.
The main difference is that my formerly-positive experience has turned negative over time with a further sharp decline when the game went F2P, while others in the forum are either enjoying the game for the first time or had no issue and love Lotro regardless.

On EQ2 - A friend bought it and gave me a trial key when it first came out, but I only lasted about 6 days of the trial. I've heard Hartsman and co worked wonders on it, but the combination of SOE and WoW (even Lotro) kept me away. The announcement of F2P here made me raise a curious eyebrow until I saw the implementation...
 

[palmer_eldritch]

The game has a new expansion coming out in November called Age of Discovery, with a new class and some zone revamps.

What I thought was interesting though was the "design your own dungeon" feature.

From an interview at mmorpg.com:

It will give you a map layout where you can create a dungeon in a “start at A, make it to B, kill the boss” and that's it.  You look at the lay out, pick your starting point, and your end point. The software looks for the possible routes.  Challenge rating is calculated based on the spawners, the frequency of spawners, and the easiest route vs. the hardest route.  Overlapping spawners, for example, will drive the Challenge Rating up and the CR is calculated based on the easiest route.  From there, rewards are based on the CR.  Upon completion of your dungeon, you can publish to friends only, or publish to the public

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/2/feature/5448/EverQuest-II-Age-of-Discovery-Bringing-BIG-Changes.html

Games such as City of Heroes and Star Trek Online already allow players to create their own instances and it's being pushed as a major feature of Neverwinter. Is allowing players to create content going to become a standard feature of future MMOs? In some ways, as the interview I linked to points out, it's actually a return to the days when experienced MUD players were allowed to create rooms.

[Sky]

Welcome to my penis dungeon.

[Mrbloodworth]

Saga of Ryzom, still ahead of its time.

[Rasix]

How'd that work out for them? 

[Mrbloodworth]

No, just saying, seems innovation always comes from the indi side. Lots of games are adopting it now.

[Stabs]

No, just saying, seems innovation always comes from the indi side. Lots of games are adopting it now.

City of Heroes - introduced this, had players design "miaow" dungeons which gave out silly amounts of exp, started a player riot by banning regular Joes for trying out a player designed dungeon that gave super exp.

SWG - confounded people who thought the game was empty by publishing some astronomically high stat for the number of dungeons designed. Rewarded for its innovation and success with a knife in the back from Lucas Arts.


Anyone else?

[HaemishM]

I'd be more excited about the addition of mercenaries in EQ2 than about building my own dungeon.

[Nyght]

None of this is aimed at us, the MMO vets. It is aimed at the countless 14 year olds that now infect Bree town in Lotro. Most common race and class will hardly seem like any restriction at all to them and after SOE has peeled away $5 or $10 of allowance money that they would not otherwise get, these folks will hit the road for the next ftp they haven't played. Its all about the churn and this will provide additional revenue.

[Sky]

Wait, what?

Dammit, EQ2. Sounds great, but I think between a year of Rift and TOR coming up, it's a bit too late.

[Rendakor]

I'd be more excited about the addition of mercenaries in EQ2 than about building my own dungeon.

This. I'll probably re-up my sub for a month or so just to play with the new mercs and maybe roll a beastlord; my only complaint about the class as-advertised is that it seems to recall the bad old days of WoW hunters where you have to level each pet up individually.

[luckton]

Wait, what?

Dammit, EQ2. Sounds great, but I think between a year of Rift and TOR coming up, it's a bit too late.

Same boat.  Seems like with all the stuff they're doing, they'd be better off just making EQ3 

[Mrbloodworth]

I do believe they are making EQ3.

[Nebu]

Dammit, EQ2. Sounds great, but I think between a year of Rift and TOR coming up, it's a bit too late.

This.

I'm bored with Rift (done everything a group of 5 can do and hit rank 6 on my mage in pvp) and just want to kill time until TOR releases.  I'd love to have this in EQ2 NOW, but it's going to release the same time as TOR... and I know which I'd rather play. 

[Mrbloodworth]

I dunno, I played at launch. For a few years. Recently tried the F2P version, was completely put off by the new start areas. YMMV. They made me finally understand why people kept saying "Scan line render from the 90's". Old areas did not have that "look".

[palmer_eldritch]

Wait, what?

Dammit, EQ2. Sounds great, but I think between a year of Rift and TOR coming up, it's a bit too late.

EQ2 is a great game actually. A massive amount of content after all those expansions, loads of options for your character (all those different mounts and appearance items), housing and some nice features for guild and groups and it's free. I don't actually play any more but I had a lot of fun with it for six months or so. Here's a short film saying how great EQ2 is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he46vWHxWLk

[Sky]

I didn't say EQ2 wasn't a great game. I had a lot of fun with it for six years. It's my favorite mmo to date and the one I've played longest by an order of magnitude.

The free version is not great, the game was kinda stale after six years, then they decide to implement some cool-sounding features just as the biggest mmo in recent history launches. As it is, if they pushed that all out (and it wasn't too buggy/grindy), I'd drop Rift in a second and jump back in. But the reality is, this is a great idea with horrid timing.

[Draegan]

Dammit, EQ2. Sounds great, but I think between a year of Rift and TOR coming up, it's a bit too late.

This.

I'm bored with Rift (done everything a group of 5 can do and hit rank 6 on my mage in pvp) and just want to kill time until TOR releases.  I'd love to have this in EQ2 NOW, but it's going to release the same time as TOR... and I know which I'd rather play. 

Damn you did the R6 grind?  Not even I could stomach that.

[Nebu]

Damn you did the R6 grind?  Not even I could stomach that.

I like PvP and don't have a guild to raid with.  After getting completely T2 geared and having 1000 extra plaques, PvP was the only other thing to do after leveling 4 toons to 50. 

I tried, I really did, to enjoy the raiding game but just couldn't stomach it.  I played with a progression guild and spending 4 hours a night watching the same idiots cause a wipe while simultaneously blaming it on someone else got old really fast.  I'll stick to single group and solo stuff.

[Merusk]

I tried, I really did, to enjoy the raiding game but just couldn't stomach it.  I played with a progression guild and spending 4 hours a night watching the same idiots cause a wipe while simultaneously blaming it on someone else got old really fast.  I'll stick to single group and solo stuff.

Coincidentally that was my breaking point after killing the Lich King.  The same idiots had been standing in the "kill us all" stuff time and time again.   We killed him when they weren't there and I was done after that.

[Lantyssa]

Yeesh.  At least most of our incapable ones recognize we are.

[Lucas]

I've been messing around with EQ2 in the last three days (Trial, live edition); last time I played was back at the end of 2004/beginning of '05 :P.

Whoa, game surely improved, I'm really really liking it so far, more than Rift for sure, but maybe that's partially unfair (at least content-wise) cpmsidering how long Everquest 2 has been out.

[Sjofn]

Yeesh.  At least most of our incapable ones recognize we are.

Yeah, that is one thing Slap has/had going for it, our noobs usually know they're noobs. Although some of them don't quite get how bad they are, sometimes.


Anyway, EQ2 ... I tried it again a couple of months ago, and while I find being a fairy monk hilarious, I just ... can't get into the game. I think it's because it has TOO much and it's overwhelming to me now? I have the same issue with LotRO these days, really, there's all this NEW shit and I don't GET it and fuckit I'll just play WoW and wait for SWTOR to come out. Does this mean I'm dumb? I think it might mean I'm dumb. :(