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Looking for the EQ buzz
thegeez
Member Posts: 28
hi all..
I was just wondering how many of yu out there are like myself and still hopping bak and forth from 1 mmorg to another looking for that original everquest 1 experience..
what i mean by this is hard to explain...when i used to enter the everquest world i felt like i was really emmersed in the game like i was almost really there if yer see what i mean....
I sit bak and remember times like >
* Group LFM at Orc 1 in East Commonlands
* Peeps auctioning items at torch 1 in East Commonlands tunnel
* Gettin jumped by Kizdean Gix and hanging around the toll booth in West Commonlands
* Looking for a port in West Commonlands
* Camping treeants and killing outside of Splitpaw in South Karana
* Killing birds in Lake Rathetear
I could mention many many more encounters ranging from >
*camping the SMR in Lower Guk to camping the spirit tomb in Kaesora.....
* breakin into Howling stones to LFG in Sebilis
*Killing spiders in Cyrstal Caverns to Velketors Lab
i wont go on i will let yu all out there remember the many other good times .
Since Everquest i fell straight in love wiv SWG ( pre-NGE ) and played for a total of 6 months...i will have to say i personally think SWG was the closest i have come to the emmersion of EQ and wished i had stayed longer but i returned to EQ before setting out on my adventures in everquest 2
Everquest 2 is a great game that i have played on and off to the present day but it was missing something..
I then took the plunge into WoW of which i reached max lvl the same as my previous games...
i returned to my usual haunt back in EQ2 before hittin Vanguard........say no more about that plunder on release so i headed over to Lord of the Rings online...
LOTRO >> i think personally this is a nice looking game but by now i think the play syle and playerbase for sure was on the downside . This was my first real experience of players LFG to complete signature quests...doing the quests sometimes in a dungeon and disbanding the minute they were done...leaving everyone disbanded in a real awkward spot...trying doin that down the bottom of Sebilis in EQ and see how yer get on...how bazzar (of which as i have recently found out since Book 13 has come out the playerbase is still doin the same thing at lvl 50
After returning to EQ2 for kunark exp and lift my chars to 80 i headed over to vanguard a year after release for what was goin to be the EQ experience....not
What i think is missing thats has been lost from the EQ1 experience :
1 ) Was my first experience in playing a mmorg so makes sense that it was the best possibly ?
2 ) The endless quest grinding in most mmorgs now whish seems to be for the most part the only way to lvl
3 ) For me for sure a real lack of named mobs which drop really nice gear to sell on ( not BoP like vanguard now is )
4 ) Playerbase > the lack of respect in gameing and etiquette..if someone is fighting towards a named mob or quest encounter and then another player or grp barge past and kill the target is soo wrong but largely accepted now
5 ) games are too easy to max lvl there has to be an element of risk and punishment for failure i.e corpse retreival and xp loss or the player is just NOT scared in the game
6 ) Dungeons and dungeon crawling...i have yet to see a game that touches EQ1 in this area...having undead and live mobs that see invis and invis to undead mixed in a dungeon for example
I just hope wiv AoC close to release that i may rekindle my EQ1 experience : )
flames and feedbak appreciated
Comments
I would recommend giving Vanguard another go, I'm planning to go back in a months time when things get a little less hectic in RL but I have heard nothing but good things about it. Supposedly it has come along leaps and bounds since its abysmal release.
As you have already bought it, it may be worth a go. A fair few have said it is the closest you can get to EQ1 at the moment.
tb
You might like to try CIty of Heroes/ City of Villiains. The community was good, customised characters, usually easy to get a group, you can solo but you level much quicker in a group. For a few months this game gave me a lot of the excitement of EQ1 even though it does many things in a completely different way.
I loved EQ1 when I played it for over 3 years. It was also my first MMO.
I have since played about a dozen MMO's.
I resubscribed to EQ1 at one stage and hated it. My main toon's play style had been changed in a fundamental way and the community was different.
You are going to get much hate for this thread.
But none by me.
I have also been looking for that EQ feeling for the last 3-4 years and have yet to find anything close. Actually DAOC was close but that was still in the good times of EQ so i ended up going back to eq pretty quickly. I have since gone through Horizons, EQ2, Lineage 2, COH, LoTRs and WoW. I also have done a quick try at TR and FFXI but instantly didnt like them for different reasons so i really didnt give them a try.
They dont make games like EQ anymore, and many will tell you that is because the game style of EQ is archaic. Games have progressed way to far to ever go back to that. Heck, now we have quests that you can follow like a road map all the way to max level so why would you ever want to look for a spot o grind or camp again.
What people fail to get is all those "Timesinks" (i hate that word) of EQ are what made EQ such a great game. You had to interact with other players do to grouping being better and equipment trading being personnal (until the damn bizaar came about) made for a great community. Yes there was long travel, and yes there was grind but these things gave the game longevity, which new games dont seem to have. You could not max out your toon in two months in EQ. I could go on but it makes my homesick and unfortunetly that home is not he same anymore.
A EQ game could work quite well in todays market, but no where near WoW numbers, and probably not more then 400K players tops. There were things that should be fixed about EQ if it was going to be remade though, crafting could easily be upgraded, PVP could be implemented better, etc.
But if a game was to launch that was based off Original EQ gameplay i would buy it. If they remade EQ but just changed up Norrath a bit so it wasnt he exact same as it was in 1999 i would play it. But i cant bring myself to play EQ in its current state, it has turned into a raid and raid only game, and since i never cared for that much i see no purpose. Plus they have tried to WoW it up a bit and im not a fan of that.
sow pls thnx bye
You can never replace that "first" experience, in anything you do in life. What makes "first" experiences magical is that they usher in new experiences, and you cannot have a new experience again of the same kind.
I suggest stop looking for it. You'll be missing out on a lot of exciting things trying to recreate what can never be recreated.
Google Shards of Dalaya
Blessings,
MMO migrant.
I am
...but then I remember the intensly long grind
...and the run to the boats only to miss it leaving me to wait 10 min
..and beggings for ports
..and begging for SoW
..Camp Check!!!
...The fierce competitoon of finding the cyclops for the jBoots
...ahh memories
Torrential: DAOC (Pendragon)
Awned: World of Warcraft (Lothar)
Torren: Warhammer Online (Praag)
What you say is true to a point, you never can recreate that *first* experience; that first time when you were like "oh my God this virtual world is so amazing I just creamed my pants" The OP said it was a buzz, a buzzing, and I know what that feels like, you can get toys for that kind of thing. My point is that you can enhance any current MMORPG experience with a little trick I discovered. A trick I am willing to share with you, because I love you.
You see, your first time for anything is always the best, the first time is amazing. Except for things like masturbation - then it's just kind of wierd and scary but leads to a lot of fun later on in life (well not my life, but I read about it) - so the trick is to take the current MMORPG that you're finding boring, and while you're playing it - simultaneously - do something you've never done before... to trick your brain into experiencing that buzz while you're playing your MMORPG.
The most obvious thing to do is play in the nude, your skin is the largest organ in the body and while clothed, you're filtering out the buzz. When you're playing in the nude, you have easy access to your nether-region for when chain-mail bikinis appear on screen, and there are no barriers between the MMORPG and the body, so you absorb all of the buzz from the game that was previously blocked by clothes.
Obviously, this only works once, like anything else, so the trick is to find new experiences. Another way that works is to turn your monitor upside down, and also your keyboard. This way you'll have to re-learn how to move, fight, type again and it will be just like that first time, you'll play like a retard and you'll have to type liek dis jus 2 get ur msg accross, and you'll suck for a while - perfect. Though this only works for so long and after your brain has adapted you'll be incapable of functioning IRL but that's a small price to pay for the buzz.
Lobster, I've never eaten lobster before, or crab, or any kind of crustacean (I don't have a spell checker). Why the fuck would I want to eat something with armor-plating? TO GET BUZZ IN MY MMORPG. While I'm ripping the inside of my mouth to pieces of shell, I've got a giant Wood-Elf (if you know what I'm saying) because there's a hot sexy barbarian princess hanging upside down in front of me telling me to use proper english just like my old english teacher who I had a massive crush on but it was never meant to be. She looked a bit like a middle aged Firiona Vie now that I think about it.
Still waiting for your Holy Grail MMORPG? Interesting...
Nobody here is looking for a new pong, so your point is pretty much moot.
Oh really now???? Do you remember the first time you had sex or maybe that is a bad example? First time you got buzz from drinking? How about the first time you got a rush from doing something kinda crazy, like pulling some stunt on a skateboard? For some of us it was like that, for others I guess they had done it all...................................
Of course you remember your first thing like first girlfriend, kiss, sex etc, but, do you remember the first TV programme you watched, the first film you watched. More importantly have you matched those experiences? have you found a film just as good or better? This 'first mmo experience stuff ' is an over-used and convenient argument by people willing to dismiss all the first gen mmos as simply fads that were just waiting for WoW to come along- not acknowledging any sort of qualities they may or may not have had.
I think you miss the point. For many who use this, as you say, "convenient argument", it was the first to experience what MMO really was. That was the ability to meet, greet, and develop friendships in an awe inspired computer world that was huge. It was the ability to explore, defend, and fight as a group even further developing friendships. So it was a first of sorts for us, just because it may or may not have had a real effect on you does not count out the others that remember the "good ole" days.
There somewhere along the line a whole bunch of "asshats" entered the MMO's and turned friendships, group compatibility, and unity into a disaster. These boards are proof of that.
so, you liked raiding? did your wife and kids like you raiding for 12-16 hours straight? did your family REALLY enjoy that? oh wait, maybe you were but a child; perhaps your parents were happy that the computer would babysit you? (for the record, that also is a bad thing.)
did you like the fact that you'd have to get what would become known as "the holy trinity", i.e. tank/dps/healer, together to actually go do something? as opposed to just grabbing a group of random friends in UO and doing whatever together? was it those game-enforced restrictions that made it such a wonderful experience?
perhaps it was the limitations placed upon your character, where you would have to pick one specific "class" to play and then grind endless levels?
i find myself nostalgic for grinds that actually had purpose. changing skills in uo or swg, for example. heck, just deciding on which skills to pursue and getting that initial build into play.
i tried eq several times during it's life; smed has certainly met his station pass goal on that game -- a completely average mmo.
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
well okay I maybe did go on an unrelated rant relating to when people seem very eager to dismiss all the qualities of previous mmos as simply being because "it was your first mmo" -as my point showed what you played first of a genre does not necessarily make it the best in anyone's mind -sure you will have memories of that, but you can still derive certain appeals from future iterations of a genre.
The guy won't replicate his Everquest memories but he can find another mmo which can have the same kind of appeals which he has mentioned in the latter part of his post. Interdependence is an example. Yes, that may have been a complete timesink in Everquest but that doesn't mean to say every iteration of every kind of interdependence mechanic is going to be an antisocial timesink.
I was only able to enjoy playing EQ because I played over 60 hours a week... I can't do that anymore. A game like EQ would be impossible for me
I play WoW off and on now because it is more suited to my available time and I am sort of anti-WoW really, but my friends play and that makes it fun.
A couple months ago I was between jobs and had nothing else to do except sit at home and play WoW all day every day. And I actually started liking it more. I started getting more attached to the characters. So I wonder if at least MY draw to EQ was more my ability to live a second life rather than the actual game itself.
"They essentially want to say 'Correlation proves Causation' when it's just not true." - Sovrath
I find it interesting that more people tend to associate EQ with fond memories than any other MMO, myself included. They really did hit upon a magical formula and did back before anyone else (save perhaps UO). I wonder, will people be longing for the good old days of WoW when its well past it's prime?
so, you liked raiding? did your wife and kids like you raiding for 12-16 hours straight? did your family REALLY enjoy that? oh wait, maybe you were but a child; perhaps your parents were happy that the computer would babysit you? (for the record, that also is a bad thing.)
did you like the fact that you'd have to get what would become known as "the holy trinity", i.e. tank/dps/healer, together to actually go do something? as opposed to just grabbing a group of random friends in UO and doing whatever together? was it those game-enforced restrictions that made it such a wonderful experience?
perhaps it was the limitations placed upon your character, where you would have to pick one specific "class" to play and then grind endless levels?
i find myself nostalgic for grinds that actually had purpose. changing skills in uo or swg, for example. heck, just deciding on which skills to pursue and getting that initial build into play.
i tried eq several times during it's life; smed has certainly met his station pass goal on that game -- a completely average mmo.
LoL, my wife is in my raiding guild with me, has been for years. My teenage daughter has her own account, we don't let her stay up till midnight raiding though. My younger daughter? She like the character generator on CoH
Point is, for me, I made Playing EQ a family affair. Beats the heck out of sitting on the sofa watching reality TV shows and reruns every evening.
edit: No one raids for 12 hours a day anymore. My guild is fairly hardcore and we raid about 32 hours a week (6 hours, 4 days a week, 8 hours on Sunday) members are expected to maintain 50% attendance, which is about 16 hours a week)
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
Yea there is no way I can play a game like I did with EverQuest. That game was really time consuming. At the time I never really noticed it though. We didnt call it EverCrack for nothing.
You can debate why the game was the greatest ,or you can debate why it wasnt. But to me, the greatest thing about the game was the friends that I made while playing. I dont know if it was the hours we spent playing and talking together. To me that was the best thing about EverQuest. In way, DAoC was the same for me. It is a shame that a lot of the older gamers that were playing back then are no longer playing. I looked up my old guild awhile back, and almost all the core members are gone now. It has turned into a huge mult game guild now. Anyway Having good online friends and having fun is what makes any game great in my book. It just so happens that EQ and DAoC are the only two games that I have experienced that.
On a side note, LoTR was simply horrible in that aspect. Going into that game not knowing anyone was simply horrible. The players were ok, but they simply dont stay long enough in a group to get to know each other at all. That right there is the main reason I no longer play that game.
And my single biggest reason for staying with EQ. I've know my guildmates for years now. I count many of them as very good friends.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
There is some truth to the "first MMO" theory, however, I don't think it explains everything. A big problem, is that MMOs haven't evolved with the veteran player base, they've evolved to attract new players. So, if you were already playing MMOs before WOW, almost any MMO you try now will feel like the same old stuff, minus some depth, and adjusted for the ultra casual crowd.
The more digging you do though, the more you'll realize that there are some interesting projects on the horizon. This really is just a slump for the genre...
so, you liked raiding? did your wife and kids like you raiding for 12-16 hours straight? did your family REALLY enjoy that? oh wait, maybe you were but a child; perhaps your parents were happy that the computer would babysit you? (for the record, that also is a bad thing.)
did you like the fact that you'd have to get what would become known as "the holy trinity", i.e. tank/dps/healer, together to actually go do something? as opposed to just grabbing a group of random friends in UO and doing whatever together? was it those game-enforced restrictions that made it such a wonderful experience?
perhaps it was the limitations placed upon your character, where you would have to pick one specific "class" to play and then grind endless levels?
i find myself nostalgic for grinds that actually had purpose. changing skills in uo or swg, for example. heck, just deciding on which skills to pursue and getting that initial build into play.
i tried eq several times during it's life; smed has certainly met his station pass goal on that game -- a completely average mmo.
So you really could have just said, "I like skill based games and not class based games" and wrote much less huh.But some of us like class based games. For some of us who played D&D loading into EQ the first time was like stepping into D&D and it was amazing.
But since you didnt just say "I like skill based games" i will answer the questions you wrote.
1. I never once in 4+ years of playing EQ did a 12 hour raid, or even a 6 hour raid. I never had a problem finding things to do without doing huge raids. Nor did i miss them.
2. You never needed the Holy Trinity do group in EQ, that was a player created idea that stuck with far too many people. And if you are going to say it in reference to EQ at least get it right, the Holy Trinity was Warrior, Cleric and Enchanter, the other three spots you could fill with whatever.
But again, that was not actually required. I have been in may groups that worked out fine and even great without any of those classes. Sure its nice to have a Cleric as main healer instead of Druid or Shaman but they both worked fine in most group settings. Paladin and SK worked out fine as main tank vis a Warrior in most cases, and if you wanted DPS there were plenty to chose from. The holy trinity never was a requirement, but when enough people say that it is people start to believe it.
3. Yes, actually i do enjoy picking a class.
You say EQ was average and apparently you think UO was well above but i can find plenty of people who think the oposite. Its all about taste, and it seems more people have a taste for class/level based games then skill based.
And for the age old "First Kiss" theory again.
First kiss does have some merit, im sure people do look foundly on their first MMO, unless that MMO was The Realms, or Horizons, or Dark and Light, or some other MMO that was not very good. But that certainly isnt all of it.
Do i remember the first time i had sex? Of course, but i have had much better sex since then.
Do i remember my first kiss? Of course, but i have had much better kisses since then.
The difference is, i remember my first MMO (which was EQ) but i have not had a better MMO since then.
My view is not jaded because it was my first or my view would also be jaded about my first kiss.
I hope that the First Kiss theory is not true because if that is the whole reason that i have not really liked a game since EQ then i guess i am done with MMOs.