EQ Next Landmark - It's Like Minecraft But Not™

[Hawkbit]

The only thing I can see as a negative vs minecraft (assuming intended features like creepers mobs make it in) is the limitation of the claim system. But no idea how you'd work around that. I always liked the grand project like putting in a big rail system to break up small building. No massive dwarven hall in this one.

This is my #1 concern at this point.  I want my own island to /claim and share with friends.  I was thinking of some grand bridge-like structure to meet two mountains together.  It's just not possible right now.  

I know multiple claims will be a thing in the game; I wonder if they'll experiment with claim sizes.

[kaid]

Same.  I like the randomness aspect.  However I seem to be at the losing end of that feature.

I do like that crafting a good tool really is very noticable on its impact but it makes the sucky ones a bit painful. The plus side at the higher level you can make jewlery that can offset deficiencies in any current harvesting tool. So if you have a sucky pick you can mitigate it pretty well to better let you get to the next crafting level.

One thing to note it seems like every other level of crafting tool is kinda crappy. The iron/tungesten/cobalt pics all tend to be a bit slower and worse quality on average than the other tiers. Due to this I tend to run two picks one for the previous tier that is usually a lot faster/better and then just switch to the highest level pick for the rare bits its needed for.

[Sky]

Too bad there's not a way to qualify to move to restricted islands. Building tiers, so if you're building giant cubes you're going to be stuck on the newbie islands. Build a cool castle and you'll move up to the more restricted claims. For every cool tower on the horizon, there are three giant mountaintop cubes of (what's the opposite of creativity). Mind you, I understand I'm no creative genius, but I wouldn't mind being stuck with the mediocre folks who at least build something decent. Of course, if it were upvote based, you end up with a ton of people doing gimmick pixel art nonsense.  

Kaid, the speed boosts are nice when you're ready to head back to craft, or heading over to the forest from the desert, or even just checking out people's stuff. I'm also getting ready to hit the old lands for an iron run to build some more lamps and whatnot, so the speed will be nice for there and back again. I'd also like to see slot exclusion, so you can only use a single boost of any stat to help mix things up, I tend to just double up on whatever is best at the moment.

Two mining tips:

Ruby is under rubicite, which is pretty easy to spot (though rare). Look for rubicite nodes with no cobalt, there will be ruby under it.

Sapphire is a bitch, you need cobalt nodes with no rubicite. Since you need sapphire to craft the cobalt pick, just dig till you see red then move on. If the cobalt node widens as it goes down, or it's overly horizontal, you'll find rubicite. A thinner cobalt node heading straight down is worth investigating more than surface reach, those are the only ones that bear sapphire.

Both Sapphire and Ruby are almost indistinguishable from stone I imagine things will ease up a bit when higher tier islands go in.

[Falconeer]

Let me ask you all something: if you were SOE, and you happened to have in your hands an amazing Minecraft-inspired MMO that literally everyone seems to be excited about and has a ton of positive buzz, and it is going to be free to play but you have to find ways to monetize it because if you do it right this is the one that is going to print money money for you, wouldn't you... say... offer the option to buy private islands/servers -with no claim size/space limitations and with your own ruleset- for real Station® cash? C'mon, even War Z got that part right.

This one will stay massively multiplayer for all those who love the feeling of a virtual world. But it would be crazy if they didn't try to suck the money out of Minecraft by offering, to those interested, the HD version of it.

This is not just a game. This is a powerful tool. They would be crazy if they didn't make such tool available for small groups that would be willing to pay to host their own private worlds/instances with different rules, and sizes.

[tazelbain]

Don't be so foolish. EVERYONE HER KNOWSTHAT EQNL is CONSPIRACY TO GET FREE ART ASSETS.  So clearly they are going to though away the dump trucks moneyhats from monetizing minecraft 3.0

[palmer_eldritch]

Let me ask you all something: if you were SOE, and you happened to have in your hands an amazing Minecraft-inspired MMO that literally everyone seems to be excited about and has a ton of positive buzz, and it is going to be free to play but you have to find ways to monetize it because if you do it right this is the one that is going to print money money for you, wouldn't you... say... offer the option to buy private islands/servers -with no claim size/space limitations and with your own ruleset- for real Station® cash? C'mon, even War Z got that part right.

This one will stay massively multiplayer for all those who love the feeling of a virtual world. But it would be crazy if they didn't try to suck the money out of Minecraft by offering, to those interested, the HD version of it.

This is not just a game. This is a powerful tool. They would be crazy if they didn't make such tool available for small groups that would be willing to pay to host their own private worlds/instances with different rules, and sizes.

I know there are different views about this but I still believe this is largely about getting content for EQ Next. Remember the aim for EQ Next is that it will have a larger world than games we have seen before, and that world will be procedurally generated. The only way that can work is if they have a massive library of interesting stuff to plonk down all over their huge landmasses.

Turning gamers into an army of builders creating free stuff for you to use is genius. Allowing those players also to sell things directly to each other - while you get a cut every time - is more genius.

So if I was SOE I might consider giving Landmark players as many cool features as I could, to keep the worker bees active, but I might think twice about asking players to pay. Landmark is already monetised, even when players pay nothing, because you're getting their labour and creativity. The question would be, would I gain more from asking them to hand over cash, or from giving them all the features for nothing and letting them go at it?

Edit: It's not a conspiracy if you say openly that it's what you're doing!

[Falconeer]

Not to mention that, yes, in order to steal art for EQ Next they certainly need for people to be able to work and build in sizes larger than the limited boxes available now. So even the conspiracy theory pushes for bigger plots.

EDIT: I think the game will stay absolutely free to play. I only suggest they would allow people to rent private servers and islands with less to no building restrictions for real money, and I also think that would be a very popular feature among the Minecraft people, but it wouldn't interest me in the slightest for example since I am in it for the worldly part. It's a win/win situation, for them and the players, isn't it?

[Numtini]

We'll see what develops when more tools are in, but as snazzy as these castles are given that they're player made with primitive tools, they're not exactly epic creations that you'd get out of an art department.

[Sky]

The smooth and line tools in particular need some serious love. Actually, smooth ("melt") tool is cool, but I'd like to see it cut into two tools. The melt tool (as is) and an actual smoothing tool that fixes geometry and seam stuff. Line too needs to just fill the bounds of the tool without the voxels getting wonky (which...a proper smooth tool might mitigate).

I've seen one pretty epic building, but I forget where. Near the spawn of Serenity/Watershed maybe?

[Falconeer]

Here's an article that talks about "Admin Mode" and unsurprisngly mentions private servers at the end.

On the other hand, Admin Mode removes the question of "Can I do this?" There are no artificial hurdles to progress through, no bounds on your creativity. Want to do something? Do it. See what happens.

[...]

I talked to Director of Development Dave Georgeson about the potential for a "Creative Mode," wherein you'd at least have an infinite complement of resources to choose from without needing to explore and harvest anything. He said the team was looking into potentially allowing such a mode on private servers, though that would come in a far distant future—if ever. And only if players actually wanted it.

Seriously, there are zero chances they are gonna restrain the incredible potential of EQ Landmark with people knocking at their door with moneyhats.

[Kitsune]

The nefarious plot to steal player construction would go much better if the players could actually build something that didn't look like crap.  For every one person who builds a delightful cottage, literally hundreds will be plonking down a box with holes in it for doors and maybe if you're lucky half a roof.

[palmer_eldritch]

Indeed, only a tiny minority of players will ever produce anything that could be considered for exporting.

Consider The Sims. The average Sims player might have fun designing a house for their characters to live in, but you wouldn't want to download their creations to play in your own game. Nonetheless, there's loads of really good stuff to find on the Sims Exchange.

[Senses]

So how much longer is the alpha?  If I want to try this out am I better off waiting for the beta at this point?  Will alpha building carry on to beta?

[Sky]

So how much longer is the alpha?  If I want to try this out am I better off waiting for the beta at this point?  Will alpha building carry on to beta?

They've been pretty adamant about March 31st (ish) for closed beta. No word on when open beta will follow. All alpha and closed beta building will wipe, but one of the founder packs gives a couple day headstart to open beta. My guess is open beta will wipe before launch.

Now word on whether templates will survive each stage's wipe, but they have persisted across the alpha wipe already and the devs are encouraging templating stuff.

[Tmon]

Here's what the FAQ has for wipes

End of Alpha Wipe

Timing: Occurs at the end of Alpha testing, which begins on or before 2-28-14
Character: Your character will be retained, however all progression will be wiped.
Claims: Your claim(s) will be wiped. All claims will be templated so that you have blueprints of what you built.
Resources and Collected Objects: All resources and collected objects will be wiped.
End of Closed Beta Wipe

Timing: Occurs at the end of Closed Beta testing, which begins on or before 3-31-14
Character: Your character and all progression will be retained.
Claims: Your claim(s) will be wiped. All claims will be templated so that you have blueprints of what you built.
Resources and Collected Objects: All resources and collected objects will be retained.

https://www.eqnlandmark.com/landmark-faq

[Signe]

I got hit with loads of bugs on Courage.  When we got power back, I ended up having to delete my character... AGAIN!  It still seems to think I have claims on three different worlds, but I was able to make a nice claim on Understanding, an EU server which has given me no bugs or problems at all.  Everything is really fast and I can finally see the minerals on the ground.  Phew!  I'm not a deathly shade of blue with silver trimmings anymore, either.  A server named Understanding suits me because I'm delicate and have fragile feelings and take everything personally, even bugs.  I'm like a fat wilted flower shunned by bees and and butterflies.  Even ants scurry a wide berth.  I look like a REAL girl though!  Mostly.  I had all sorts of stuff with my other character but everything is gone.  I have an empty plot of land but I'm homeless.  I have wood, though.  And some copper.  I'll go make something now.  Again.

Also, thanks for the link to that guide.  I really do love this crafting stuff, although I seem to suck at it so far.  I also need some monsters to kill soon or I'll lose my edge.  I'd be dead without my edge. 

[Nonentity]

I got hit with loads of bugs on Courage.  When we got power back, I ended up having to delete my character... AGAIN!  It still seems to think I have claims on three different worlds, but I was able to make a nice claim on Understanding, an EU server which has given me no bugs or problems at all.  Everything is really fast and I can finally see the minerals on the ground.  Phew!  I'm not a deathly shade of blue with silver trimmings anymore, either.  A server named Understanding suits me because I'm delicate and have fragile feelings and take everything personally, even bugs.  I'm like a fat wilted flower shunned by bees and and butterflies.  Even ants scurry a wide berth.  I look like a REAL girl though!  Mostly.  I had all sorts of stuff with my other character but everything is gone.  I have an empty plot of land but I'm homeless.  I have wood, though.  And some copper.  I'll go make something now.  Again.

Also, thanks for the link to that guide.  I really do love this crafting stuff, although I seem to suck at it so far.  I also need some monsters to kill soon or I'll lose my edge.  I'd be dead without my edge. 

what

[Signe]

You know.

[Sky]

Definitely starting to bump up against the tier 3 island ceiling pretty hard. Things are already getting really picked over as people are scrabbling for those highest tier materials. Played for a couple hours on and off tonight looking for rubies and elemental silver mostly. After a couple nights of slim pickings, though, finally enough rubies for the next forge.

But I found a nice crafting area with two benches higher than mine...and the jewelry costs 200 rubies per attempt! Yeeeah...I'll wait for tier 4 islands for that nonsense.

Made enough silver for 3 more assessor's bands...all three worse than the two greens I already have. Blah. But then silver (heh) lining: a blue viridian grappling hook! Just Cause 2 all up in here. Word of caution: even with green tier 2 speed bands...you'll get a lot of rubberbanding in travel. Almost not worth it. Almost.

[Falconeer]

Amazing.

http://www.rerolled.org/showthread.php?4150-EQN-Landmark-Alpha-Beta-Participants&p=574835&viewfull=1#post574835

[kaid]

Not to mention that, yes, in order to steal art for EQ Next they certainly need for people to be able to work and build in sizes larger than the limited boxes available now. So even the conspiracy theory pushes for bigger plots.

EDIT: I think the game will stay absolutely free to play. I only suggest they would allow people to rent private servers and islands with less to no building restrictions for real money, and I also think that would be a very popular feature among the Minecraft people, but it wouldn't interest me in the slightest for example since I am in it for the worldly part. It's a win/win situation, for them and the players, isn't it?

Well the goal all along is for people TO have mutliple plots. The whole exclusion zone around your plot is to guarantee you some areas to plant extra claims around your primary claim. It is just due to some of the bugs and some issues with people finding any spot to claim at all they locked things down for the moment to 1 claim per person but that is unlikely to last for to long as multiple claims is the goal so people can build sprawling designs. That said even with the existing claims I have seen some pretty impressivly huge structures.

[kaid]

One other thing is it will be interesting to see if they do tier 4/tier 5 islands or if they hold off and switch to the intended design which is caverns and layers with the high tier stuff being deep underground.

[Falconeer]

Well the goal all along is for people TO have mutliple plots.

True, but...

The whole exclusion zone around your plot is to guarantee you some areas to plant extra claims around your primary claim.

Where did you read that? I don't think that's true at all. The buffer area is to prevent the overcrowding that made UO and SWG's landscapes ugly as hell. It is known that they want to make adjacent plots able to collaborate, but -as far as I know- they never ever mentioned the buffer area being for anything else other than to prevent ugly overcrowded landscapes. Can you point me to where they said that? I am genuinely interested.

[Signe]

Having a plot that's on a desert-y world with the woods just above me is working out better than any of the other plots I had previously.  I seem to be able to harvest anywhere except right within the barriers of someone's claim.  This is a really empty world on a server that seems to be always "low" so it's nice and fast and there's hardly anyone about most of the time. 

[Sky]

I might be running over to the EU server as we can server hop (and it drops you right where you were on your island, just another server). My area has been really plundered the last couple nights, it looked like France in 1917.

Also, you should listen to me Siggie, I told you to build in a spot like that! I'm wicked smart.

[palmer_eldritch]

Here's one of my neighbours.

A tower with a bridge leading into a mountain:


Here's the view from the bridge itself:


Inside the mountain is a three-story complex:


Screenshots don't really do the inside bit justice.

[Simond]

Welp, I'm going to have to play beta now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaKs6f_wY78

(I swear SOE put subliminal conditioning into that tune)

[Falconeer]

Yeah I love that theme too, it's just under my skin forever. And this is Jeremy Soule's version. Nothing short of epic.

[schild]

ugh fine where do I get into the beta

[Kitsune]

By swiping your credit card.

[schild]

i don't wanna

[Falconeer]

Do it.

[Venkman]

But it would be crazy if they didn't try to suck the money out of Minecraft by offering, to those interested, the HD version of it.

I agree EQN Landmark stays box purchase with MTX (not technically f2p), and for the same reason. MTX will be tough to balance, but the promise of player trade and rev share is compelling, as is all their intended additions to EQNL.

I'm actually a bit worried about that. If they spend much time making the MC Adventure mode equivalent to EQN Landmark, what's that take away from?

There's also things about MC that I don't see working well here. Mechanisms for example, given the compartmentalized plots and relatively small sizes. Not piston trains or endless minecart rollercoast computers playing four channel midi songs 

This is why I don't see this in the same genre as MC. MC is more a lego robotics system with adventuring and a highly extensible platform around which a whole community has formed. EQNL meanwhile is a world-building and adventure-scripting system funneling transactions between players and content into a curation pipeline managed by a single corporation culminating in representation of those assets in a self-consistent theme.

EQNL also targets a tighter spec (and therefore narrower base) than MC. Do we know what SOE's console plans are for Landmark?

Had to take last night off, but tonight I continue my push to the Smooth Tool Happy to chase it now knowing it'll likely be different come the March reset. I love exploring anyway.

[Hawkbit]

Sure to draw some comments from this group.  It will be an interesting next 5-10 years for SOE; lots of experimentation.

http://smedsblog.com/

From his twitter. 

[Signe]

I might be running over to the EU server as we can server hop (and it drops you right where you were on your island, just another server). My area has been really plundered the last couple nights, it looked like France in 1917.

Also, you should listen to me Siggie, I told you to build in a spot like that! I'm wicked smart.

I know you're wicked smart and if I don't believe it all I have to do is ask you!