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Author Topic: Everquest going f2p  (Read 36879 times)
HaemishM
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Reply #35 on: February 06, 2012, 01:19:37 PM

Just when I thought it might be kind of cool to go back to EQ, I remember that in order to get quests, I had to go talk to every idiotic NPC on the fucking planet and hope I could type the exact right phrase in brackets that triggered the next bit of quest text. And the idea of going back to EQ1 promptly went right the fuck out the window.

Ruvaldt
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Reply #36 on: February 06, 2012, 01:21:29 PM

There were quite a lot of quests in classic EQ, Kunark and Velious, they just weren't given out by npcs with exclamation marks over their heads and they didn't give much exp.  Stein of Moggok, Burning Rapier Quest, the Temple of Sol Ro quests, the epic weapon quests, key quests all over the place, the shawl and ring quests in Velious, etc; those are all examples.

Also, there were storylines before PoP.  Kunark and Velious both had pretty big storylines that led to either a final raid zone (Veeshan's Peak) or several raid zones (Kael/Sleeper's Tomb/Temple of Veeshan).  Kunark's required a lot of camping, but there was a story and it resulted in an ending, of a sort.  PoP did a lot to add story to the game, but it was there all along if you wanted to explore it.  PoP just made it more obvious, and restricted a lot of your access to zones until you completed a part of the story, which was both good and bad, because average players never really got into the elemental planes at the time.

"For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can." - Ernest Hemingway
Kitsune
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Reply #37 on: February 06, 2012, 01:24:32 PM

Just when I thought it might be kind of cool to go back to EQ, I remember that in order to get quests, I had to go talk to every idiotic NPC on the fucking planet and hope I could type the exact right phrase in brackets that triggered the next bit of quest text. And the idea of going back to EQ1 promptly went right the fuck out the window.

I actually liked having to have a conversation with the people, and not a pre-scripted bullshit one.  From a gameplay perspective it was clunky as hell so I can see why it was quickly replaced, but I still liked it.
Azazel
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Reply #38 on: February 06, 2012, 05:30:08 PM

Most "conversations" consieted of "What [keyword]?"

Over and over.

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Kageru
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Reply #39 on: February 06, 2012, 08:07:19 PM


Yes.

If I wanted to play EQ1 I'd buy the client and try the emulator of original EQ I've seen around. The main interest in the title is it's historical position in the "age of innocence" where just being a citizen in an online world was pretty much enough. Something that was lost when the novelty wore off, the gameplay became structured and the end-game all about providing challenge and progression. A sequence which can be pretty much seen as evolving in EQ and perfected in WoW.

Watching SOE try to infinitely extend the lifetime of the title has probably removed that original environment and created something not terribly interesting in its place.

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- Simond
Sky
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Reply #40 on: February 07, 2012, 06:38:25 AM

Seriously, just go here for your nostalgia fix: http://www.project1999.org/
raydeen
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Reply #41 on: February 07, 2012, 08:24:06 AM

I'm just gonna go camp Ice Giants and then when I get bored of that I'm gonna decimate the Warrens and steal all the kobolds booze. Then I'm gonna get drunk and go out into Stonebrunt and see if that cave with the spinning boulders goes anywhere now.

I was drinking when I wrote this, so sue me if it goes astray.
Azazel
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Reply #42 on: February 07, 2012, 05:28:48 PM

You'd be better off just going out and getting drunk IRL, surely?  awesome, for real

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raydeen
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Reply #43 on: February 09, 2012, 04:28:45 AM

You'd be better off just going out and getting drunk IRL, surely?  awesome, for real

In my younger days.  Ohhhhh, I see. Now I prefer to sit in my basement and drive drunk on the information superhighway.

I was drinking when I wrote this, so sue me if it goes astray.
Sutro
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Reply #44 on: February 09, 2012, 09:55:33 AM

I played last year's progression and actually liked it a lot. It got four paying months out of me before I got bored of grinding Plane of Hate.

I honestly think that there's more to EQ than just nostalgia. I really enjoyed being constantly challenged, and to give an example, I can recall with perfect clarity certain epic moments and groups that I had in EQ - five glorious hours for four levels in Splitpaw with an amazing, synergistic group - and that was on Progression! - ; breaking Fear for the first time, others - whereas the years+ that I've spent playing WoW? I can't remember, really, anything that sticks out as a great memory.

I think the fact that Project1999 and other EMUs do so well is proof in the pudding that EQ's recipe, a strong challenge requiring a holy trinity of role balance, skill and coordination, is not so irrelevant as a lot of people think.


Scold
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Reply #45 on: February 09, 2012, 10:26:15 AM

If my goal is only to see Vanilla/Kunark/Velious and I don't care about the rest, what would be the advantage/disadvantage of P1999 vs newly-F2P EverQuest?  (I know they haven't added Velious yet, but apparently that's coming soon?)

To the extent I'm going to have to grind at all, I want that grind as to be as accelerated as possible. My goal is to explore the classic areas, and I don't care if the 'achievement' value is cheapened.  Or are there other, more easy-mode EQ private servers I should be looking into? (I'm also wondering if the lack of sturdy solo classes will hinder exploration as well if I play on Live.)
Kageru
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Reply #46 on: February 09, 2012, 04:54:20 PM

I think the fact that Project1999 and other EMUs do so well is proof in the pudding that EQ's recipe, a strong challenge requiring a holy trinity of role balance, skill and coordination, is not so irrelevant as a lot of people think.

I have fond memories of EQ, but it's hard to separate out how much of that is the fact it was a more innocent age and my first MMO. If a game came out these days that said "camp a room for hours!" I'm not sure I would leap at it. The amount of time I'm willing to devote to the game simply isn't the same. I mean I spent 16-20+ hours camping one spawn in a dungeon (drop for monk epic quest) and it was an awesome feeling when I finally got it, with an intensity I still treasure, but whether that time investment justified that pay off, or it would have been better to have 20 hours of fun gameplay, is a good one.

I'd love to see someone try an uncompromising "you are a citizen of this world" approach, and the slow/boring gameplay that gave you time to chat, in order to find out what pull it still has but I don't think I have to worry too much about it. They'd never get the funding to make the game. A current game needs to have gameplay big budget and flashy enough to attract the console generation, probably a licensed IP and aimed at the gaming mainstream to try and make enough money to pay for the first two (see SWTOR).


Is a man not entitled to the hurf of his durf?
- Simond
Sky
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Reply #47 on: February 10, 2012, 06:32:40 AM

Camping lower guk with my necro, my buddy's wizard and our druid friend was one of the better gaming memories. But that was when we'd LAN over at his apartment, order a pizza, crack a twelve pack and smoke a ton of ganja; play for the whole day.

I don't do that kid shit anymore. Nostalgia is easily torpedoed when your lifestyle changes.

Even something like TOR is way too much of a timesink for me, really. I can't imagine going back to something like EQ1 or UO.
Polysorbate80
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Reply #48 on: February 10, 2012, 08:36:02 AM

To the extent I'm going to have to grind at all, I want that grind as to be as accelerated as possible. My goal is to explore the classic areas, and I don't care if the 'achievement' value is cheapened.  Or are there other, more easy-mode EQ private servers I should be looking into? (I'm also wondering if the lack of sturdy solo classes will hinder exploration as well if I play on Live.)

Tank merc.  They're deliberately overpowered up to around level 60 to help accelerate people through the low-level content.  Just get a feel for how many blue/white/yellow/red mobs you can pull before the merc chickens out and runs.

“Why the fuck would you ... ?” is like 80% of the conversation with Poly — Chimpy
Scold
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Reply #49 on: February 13, 2012, 08:43:55 AM

To the extent I'm going to have to grind at all, I want that grind as to be as accelerated as possible. My goal is to explore the classic areas, and I don't care if the 'achievement' value is cheapened.  Or are there other, more easy-mode EQ private servers I should be looking into? (I'm also wondering if the lack of sturdy solo classes will hinder exploration as well if I play on Live.)

Tank merc.  They're deliberately overpowered up to around level 60 to help accelerate people through the low-level content.  Just get a feel for how many blue/white/yellow/red mobs you can pull before the merc chickens out and runs.

I take it P1999 wouldn't have this option, so Vanilla EQ is probably the way to go for me?

For an explorer who wants to see Vanilla/Kunark/Velious, is there a specific class I should be paying to unlock? Something with a run buff, perhaps?
shiznitz
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Reply #50 on: February 13, 2012, 09:11:44 AM

Druid best overall explorer class, by far.  Decent soloing potential, heals, run buff, levitate (closest thing to flying) and teleports.  I also recommend a halfling since their racial ability Hide (a ghetto invis) can save your butt.

I have never played WoW.
MuffinMan
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Reply #51 on: February 13, 2012, 10:54:52 AM

sow plz

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Scold
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Reply #52 on: February 13, 2012, 10:59:09 AM

Druid best overall explorer class, by far.  Decent soloing potential, heals, run buff, levitate (closest thing to flying) and teleports.  I also recommend a halfling since their racial ability Hide (a ghetto invis) can save your butt.

So, Halfling Druid?  Or do they not synergize well?
shiznitz
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Reply #53 on: February 13, 2012, 11:37:57 AM

Halfling and wood elf are the two best druid races.  All you care about is Wisdom stat.

I have never played WoW.
Chimpy
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Reply #54 on: February 13, 2012, 01:03:53 PM

Aren't assling  and wood elf the only two Druid races?

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Kageru
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Reply #55 on: February 13, 2012, 02:45:19 PM

Druid best overall explorer class, by far.  Decent soloing potential, heals, run buff, levitate (closest thing to flying) and teleports.  I also recommend a halfling since their racial ability Hide (a ghetto invis) can save your butt.

So, Halfling Druid?  Or do they not synergize well?

Halfling druid used to be the munch-kin / power-gamer choice to the point they were stupidly common. There was even a lot of Jealousy over the ability to solo (via quad kiting), though I used to enjoy watching it.

Is a man not entitled to the hurf of his durf?
- Simond
Scold
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Reply #56 on: February 13, 2012, 04:21:17 PM

Sounds like a plan. Now they just have to offer me race and class unlocks for under $5 a piece for me not to feel like I'm getting screwed, which shouldn't be a problem since it's a game that was shit a decade ago and is in a coma today. Let the good times roll!
Simond
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Reply #57 on: February 13, 2012, 04:26:22 PM

Aren't assling  and wood elf the only two Druid races?
Um, humans? And half-elves?

And probably those silly dragon-blooded whatsits they added not long after I quit, as well.

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Kageru
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Reply #58 on: February 13, 2012, 11:13:02 PM


Iksar? No.. races were split into druidic, shamanic or priestly races pretty much (apart from a couple of races that could do two). It did add something to the sense of racial identity and didn't screw up balance too much since there were no factions.

Is a man not entitled to the hurf of his durf?
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Merusk
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Reply #59 on: February 14, 2012, 04:16:21 AM

Druid best overall explorer class, by far.  Decent soloing potential, heals, run buff, levitate (closest thing to flying) and teleports.  I also recommend a halfling since their racial ability Hide (a ghetto invis) can save your butt.

So, Halfling Druid?  Or do they not synergize well?

Halfling druid used to be the munch-kin / power-gamer choice to the point they were stupidly common. There was even a lot of Jealousy over the ability to solo (via quad kiting), though I used to enjoy watching it.


They were stupidly common because druids were the only class that could solo to the initial cap* without dying and halflings had an EXP bonus and druids had no class exp penalty.  

How quickly we forget.  Yes, races & classes both had penalties to exp that stacked. Ogre Shadowknight was one of the longest grinds you'd find.  I think only Trolls had it worse.  

Halflings were the only race to get a bonus.

Fakeed: Yes, trolls SKs had the longest grind in the game.   40% hybrid penalty on top of 10% 20% race penalty.  So a halfling druid would be level 50 in the same number of kills a troll sk would take to hit ~35.

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/editorial/011401_EQ_Producers_letter.html

Ed: Math Fail - This is why I do shit in spreadsheets and not in my head.  The SK would be ~2.5 levels behind at all times.  So the druid would hit 50 when the Sk was about halfway through level 47.

« Last Edit: February 14, 2012, 04:39:36 AM by Merusk »

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Kageru
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Reply #60 on: February 14, 2012, 05:03:12 AM


I had forgotten that piece of designer retardation. My favorite was wanting the spell that made my class first class godly (Torpor) but it being insanely rare and expensive... to the point I never got it. There were quite a lot of dumb decisions in EQ1.

Of course I believe EQ1 now has NPC mercenaries that will basically speed your solo leveling up to something like 65.

Is a man not entitled to the hurf of his durf?
- Simond
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Reply #61 on: February 14, 2012, 10:22:01 AM


Iksar? No.. races were split into druidic, shamanic or priestly races pretty much (apart from a couple of races that could do two). It did add something to the sense of racial identity and didn't screw up balance too much since there were no factions.
No, these chaps: http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki/eq:Drakkin

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Reply #62 on: February 14, 2012, 12:18:23 PM

They were stupidly common because druids were the only class that could solo to the initial cap* without dying and halflings had an EXP bonus and druids had no class exp penalty.
On our server most of the folks first to 30/Cazic were from our two beta groups, who spent a ton of time camping Unrest competitively and got to know each other pretty well....by release we actually cross-pollinated a little.

This necro shows up and just starts going nuts soloing stuff. I'm not sure if he hit CT before us, but it was basically our two groups and him soloing.

I quit at 32, because lolwizsoloing, even though back then I mostly grouped. I almost lost two levels (add another bullet point to bad design decisions) from death penalties and sold my account.
shiznitz
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Reply #63 on: February 14, 2012, 01:07:02 PM

Ahh, selling accounts. I cannot believe some ass paid over $500 for my mid-40s ranger.

I have never played WoW.
Rasix
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Reply #64 on: February 14, 2012, 01:09:59 PM

Yantis bought my lvl 27 druid when I quit for the first time.  That druid probably made a lot more than the $300+ I sold him for.   Pretty sure it was the actual guy, since I remember leveling with him some (had an Erudite wizard named Yantis). 

I may have helped kick start one of the biggest plat/account sellers.   ACK!

-Rasix
Sky
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Reply #65 on: February 14, 2012, 01:37:51 PM

I not only sold my EQ account, I sold it for trade+$ to the kid who had bought my UO account and went back to UO.

I made a lot of money from EQ and UO.
shiznitz
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Reply #66 on: February 14, 2012, 01:45:41 PM

I bought a UO account in 2000 after I left EQ, played for a few months and then re-sold it.  It was a convenient way to get a character up to playable level, but UO accounts were much more economical and there was no other way to have a house in those days.

I have never played WoW.
Scold
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Reply #67 on: February 14, 2012, 03:01:32 PM

I just installed it today, because why wait for F2P if they have a 14 day free trial?  I just received my very first quest in the tutorial (kill 8 rats and 4 beetles or something), and I'm already about to quit.  Jesus christ this is terrible.
raydeen
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Reply #68 on: February 14, 2012, 04:32:04 PM

I just installed it today, because why wait for F2P if they have a 14 day free trial?  I just received my very first quest in the tutorial (kill 8 rats and 4 beetles or something), and I'm already about to quit.  Jesus christ this is terrible.

Compared to today's MMOs, yeah, it's pretty bad. But a decade ago it was  DRILLING AND MANLINESS because it was the only game in town. Looking back I think I enjoyed it more for the social aspect than the actual gameplay. There were also a lot less fucktards back in the day so gaming with others didn't make you want to stab yourself. The guild I played in were basically the Boy Scouts of the server (Lords of Drakova on Cazic Thule). Pretty much our whole goal was just generally to to be there to help anyone and everyone else out in the game and have fun doing it. Just sitting around talking before, during and after a dungeon romp was as much fun as doing the dungeon. There was a real sense of camaraderie. I don't get that from today's MMOs. It's all anonymous/insignificant/every man for himself. I love playing WoW but I don't really have the desire to be part of something bigger in it because I really don't have to to have fun. You had to form some bonds in EQ if you wanted to get anything worthwhile done.

It was the closest I've ever felt to being part of an epic grand adventure. Even if it only was killing 10 rats.

I was drinking when I wrote this, so sue me if it goes astray.
Brolan
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Reply #69 on: February 14, 2012, 05:30:35 PM

I downloaded it again but was shocked they still had the same butt-ugly user-hostile interface. 

They must have been spending their dev time on new encounters because it sure wasn't the interface.
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