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[Column] EverQuest Next: On Removing Pillars of the Everquest Community
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
I’m trying my best right now to be eloquent about the recent news of layoffs in Daybreak Game Company. Sadly, it’s 4:00 am as I write this, a reactionary submission to MMORPG.com in light of my tenure as the Everquest Next and Landmark columnist.
Read more of Victor Barreiro Jr.'s EverQuest Next: On Removing Pillars of the Everquest Community.
Comments
I had little hope in the game as it was, now that a investment corp is in charge.. There is zero chance of EQN, being an actual game world. Yet another themepark with tacked on sandbox features with a cash shop.
Good start to 2015.
You assume there is enough of a development team left to work on EQN
Far more than just two people were let go.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
Microsoft has already stated today that despite the buyout, they will not allow former SOE titles to be ported over to Xbox.
Sony hasn't released a contract with Columbia Nova, either.
Bad investment.
This does not instill confidence in me for the future of Everquest.
Dave I have no doubt you will land well somewhere new.
From a fellow OSU Alumnus
Good luck and Godspeed.
All die, so die well.
Former SOE titles, not employees.
What is likely going to happen is that Daybreak is going to be pushing out EQN in whatever form is shippable and cut the losses, while management focuses on more 'manageable' (i.e. smaller scope) games. Definitely unlikely that EQN will be shipping on xbox or wiiu, but i dont think the new suits particularly care about that.
What seems obvious is that the focus of this studio is going to be very different from what it once was. I'm sure they're keeping just as many people as is necessary to finish the game, and focusing on newer projects.
Definitely bad for EQN, and yet another nail in the MMO market. Sad day indeed, and my hat goes off to everyone laid off. Maybe some beers as well.
Wouldn't be surprised, I imagine CN is wondering why they would want to have people working on EQN when they could be making mobile games.
The sky is falling, EQN is closing (even though it hasn't even been shown to anyone outside of the tools and engine being used in Landmark), run for the hills!
/sarcasm
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@ITPalg
YouTube: ITPalGame
SOE was going to do the exact same thing,that is what they have been doing with all their games.SOE does not have the Blizzard instant cash flow but they get enough early sales to make a decent buck.EQN will guaranteed to be another early access game.
They also realize that after early access,not a ton fo money will come in after that,so in essence what you get in early access is THE GAME,they will not invest much into their games after the initial cash grab.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Sadly I think you might be right and even though I haven't played an MMO for more then a month for going on 3 1/2 years now I will still hold out hope as I strongly feel EQN was and is the only game that caters to my style to a TEE.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
I think its strong evidence that they will not be focusing on EQN. I was never sold on it to begin with, but I would have, at least, tried it.
I never like when somoene loses their job, but I was not a SOE fan, in the least.
All die, so die well.
In all my time playing SOE games like EQ2 and SWG and Vanguard no Alias/Synonym would have described better what SOE stands for than "They Break Games".
PS; Played PotBS also a while but that was not a SOE game but a supplemental offer to their Station Pass and i had some fun with it and imho it had less success than it deserved.
"Torquemada... do not implore him for compassion. Torquemada... do not beg him for forgiveness. Torquemada... do not ask him for mercy. Let's face it, you can't Torquemada anything!"
MWO Music Video - What does the Mech say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF6HYNqCDLI
Johnny Cash - The Man Comes Around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0x2iwK0BKM
I think you live in a bubble if you believe either of these 2 people had much, if anything, to do with the development and production of EQn. If you think they motivated the community for EQn other than some bloggers like yourself then you're sadly mistaken.
My favorite game of all time is still EverQuest (I was there March 16, 1999 at 11am) and even I had no interest in EQn. That's not the community reps fault.
That said... with how SoE has been recently anyone that expected anything LESS than a flat game with lots of micro transactions was setting themselves up for a major disappointment.
http://www.greycouncil.org/
good luck to everyone affected by that staff reduction.
As for the Everquest franchise, the saddest part is that Columbus Nova now owns the EQ ip and we will most likely never going to see a proper Everquest 3. You know, the same universe and lore from EQ1 and 2 but with a decent engine and top notch gameplay and graphics, and a decent business model? nope, never.
More people stayed than were let go from everything I could find. Even on the EQ1/EQ2 teams, the two most likely to be cut.
The layoff seems to have mostly touched the CM team and upper management...in other word, the people who didn't work on the games directly.
That is what is suppose to happen. Well before losing their division and getting fired.
The reality is, they will be replaced by cheap H-1B Visas and once those people are trained, the rest will be let go.
Well no longer realy looking forward to EQN anymore after this, i dont realy see it going in a new direction much anymore but i spose time will tell who know it might still happen
but i spose i want realy be paying as much attention to it as i use to. Dave always loved the enthusiasm for the game made me truely think u were trying to make the genre move forward again with new and exciting ideas, sad to see you go with any luck the team can carry on and keep on track of what it appeared u were going for with EQN.
But atm i look towards crowfall now to move this stale genre forward once again.
Good luck to you all
Does this not seem to fit in with all that went down with SOE over the past year?It sure looks like this process began about a year ago.
Remember when SOE announced a new direction for EQN,then all a sudden dropped Landmark on the community,almost out of nowhere,so extremely rushed.Then we saw SOE eliminate several games from it's portfolio right after selling their all in one package idea?
That made no sense at all,try to sell an all in one package ,then shut down half your games lol,not a very good selling point.Shut down a kids game,a fps game, a card game,so they shut down a game in each genre,again not a brilliant marketing strategy.
I think was all influenced by Day Break and a deal they were working on back then.
We all know SOE was already all in on cash shop but what i never expected was this sudden urge to release games for cash flow that are not even close to being ready.
SOE was not exactly known for delivering finished products in the past,now it only gets worse.I was reading comments on other sites and Twitter related to this new ordeal and they really hit it on the nose.They were talking about the new era of so called BETA,ALPHA and early access.These have become extremely GRAY areas of exploiting terminology.
In reality SOE or now Daybreak imo is not going to release high quality products,more like barely half finished and try to make a fast buck on them.If works great if not ,no big loss move on to the next gimmick.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Crowfall?
How do you get so interested so soon?