Hopefully they're using the time to learn the mistakes of most of the 2014 releases.
I hope they learned from the mistakes they made in their own games,let alone what other developers are doing.I don't even have to call them mistakes,just improve on your old game design theories.
A topic came up today about Everquest and a game that looks dead.This is because of GREED,developers don't like to put added content in old areas,they can't sell xpacs that way.However their greed to sell xpacs loses out on long term populations,i am already seeing the decline in the new TLE servers and it's only like 3 months old.
I also would love,beg,die to see them put some depth in their systems,lose the Altaholic design completely,it is archaic and just not good.
Also quests should have their own SYSTEMS,they should not be a tool for linear leveling and xp.The only way you should become a better Warriror is by doing Warrior things,like swinging a sword or blocking with a shield,you not all of a sudden be able to wear better gear or wield a better weapon just because you did some errand getting 10 bear pelts.
Another thing is their reluctant TIER design,don't like it at all,that si just a CHEAP lazy way to repeat the same ideas over and over.
And sadly what i have seen from the little information they have given us is that combat is yet streamlined even more,with fewer choices.I doubt we see them add any kind of aggro either ,other than proximity aggro and the same aggro distance for every single mob.They also need delays on mob attacks because it just looks silly when you zoom past a mob on your mount and it auto stuns you.
Beleive me,there is a LOT more than that where they need to improve their game development skills and i personally do not expect any improvement at all,just another EQ with Voxels and a heavy cash shop.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I think they probably switched directions, dropped everything they had previously done, and started fresh.
I don't get that impression. I expect the art style and stuff like that will stay. But gameplay systems may be getting a pretty big overhaul. Who knows though? We'll have to wait and see.
Me neither but I do think they have reconsider some things. What we heard so far from EQN do have some interesting and fresh ideas but also some things that might not be so popular with players.
And some things sounds great on paper but once you tested them out you might have to make small or large changes or even scratch the idea altogether, no all ideas can actually be turned into working fun mechanics.
The important thing as I see it as they they get back the pioneer spirit that made EQ great instead of just copying what everyone else is making. EQ2 wasn't a bad game or anything but it was nowhere near the first gamebecause it mostly did what others already done. EQ gave us a completelly new experience from M59 and the other games before it and that is at least part of what made is a so amazing game.
A lot of EQ fans seems to think that EQN should just be something very similar to the first game with better graphics but that game is already called "EQ2", I think they need to take Norrath to a new level instead and a lot of what I heardis trying that. It in itself ain't good enough, it needs to be fun as well and only time can tell us if they pull off that part.
The problem isn't that we want them to make EQ with better graphics, its that we want them to make an EQ game PERIOD. EQN was EQ in name only. The art style was a massive turnaround, the gameplay and core tenets of the game were massive turnarounds. There was quite literally NOTHING about EQN as presented that in any way, shape, or form, resembled EQ. Hell, they even changed some of the game's most well known characters, like Firiona Vie, completely... Changed their class, look, etc.
I'm sorry, but i don't care what other people say, EQN is, was, and will always be a spit in the face to the franchise.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Even before EQNext went AWOL it wasn't overly popular. Hopefully they ARE redesigning the whole game cuz disney EQ with Neverwinter Online combat will flop harder then the MiniDisc.
the subtle sub text in this comment "until then keep wasting your money in our landmark!! we do love those big $$".
Oh, please. Landmark is hardly a cash cow. If Daybreak want big $$ they need to release a good game, living on H1Z1, PS2 and some really ancient games might be enough to keep the games up but not much more.
They basically have 2 choices: Release EQN or make a mobile EQ game. Or they can do both which honestly is their best chanse. I doubt their owner just bought them to keep their games running, they do want big $$ and the way to get that is to release at least one highly successful game.
And EQN needs to attract players in numbers close to TOR at least to do that. The name and gameworld is an advantage to get people to try it, but it needs to be fun as well to get people to stay. They might or might not pull that off but they would be stupid indeed if they didn't try.
Probably cut a lot of staff, cut a lot of content meant for the game, and redoing the game, releasing a shell of the how it originally was meant to be.
"going into arguments with idiots is a lost cause, it requires you to stoop down to their level and you can't win"
My original thought when Landmark came out what that Landmark was gonna be the building platform for EQN, anything built by players in Landmark, pending approval and design criteria, could or would be used in EQN.
There is a ton of player made stuff that has been flag and IS going into EQN, and thats still not enough to fill the needs for EQN. Im still waiting on dungeon/instanced creation tools to go into Landmark.
And people wonder why they're being quiet until they're sure they have something good to show...
I knew this would bring out the trolls. Some games become popular to bash and people follow whats popular blindly. The internet mob mentality is real. Rarely is it pointed in the right direction.
And people wonder why they're being quiet until they're sure they have something good to show...
I knew this would bring out the trolls. Some games become popular to bash and people follow whats popular blindly. The internet mob mentality is real. Rarely is it pointed in the right direction.
I knew this would bring out the die hard's. Some games become popular to hype and people follow whats hyped blindly. The internet mob mentality is real. Rarely is it pointed in the right direction.
And people wonder why they're being quiet until they're sure they have something good to show...
Contrast how this company started hyping, demoing and basically unable to stop talking about the game a few years ago to the deafening silence they are engaging now.
People are wondering why they have gone from crazy hype machine to full stop silent on the project without any explanation.
I think it is unfair to insinuate that players somehow expect to much in this case.
The problem isn't that we want them to make EQ with better graphics, its that we want them to make an EQ game PERIOD. EQN was EQ in name only. The art style was a massive turnaround, the gameplay and core tenets of the game were massive turnarounds. There was quite literally NOTHING about EQN as presented that in any way, shape, or form, resembled EQ. Hell, they even changed some of the game's most well known characters, like Firiona Vie, completely... Changed their class, look, etc.
I'm sorry, but i don't care what other people say, EQN is, was, and will always be a spit in the face to the franchise.
Yes game-play and world design are complete departures. But art style? this is the one that boggles me. EQ's art was by no means a realistic art style, EQ2 is far from realistic in terms of dimensions, it's more or less a combination of cartoon and realism which looks weird as hell in this day and age. EQ-OA was very cartoonish in proportion.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
The execs of the hedge fund probably saw the shitty ARPG that was kind of TorchLight, kind of Minecraft with no meaningful progression laid into it and then decided to fire a shit ton of people and tell the remaining employees to get their shit together and make a game that would be worth the electrons that comprised it.
And people wonder why they're being quiet until they're sure they have something good to show...
Shuttering the transparency and doing an About Face with the community is not the way to manage the PR either. It doesn't stop the habitual nay-saying world burners. They're going to post garbage either way. What matters most is they have seemed to distance themselves from their long term supporters.
They haven't updated their EQ2 Steam page in years. The few comments they do make to the community are about TLE balance and voting.
I really wish Smedley and Georgeson were back driving the ship. I'm not happy with the game direction under Longdale and Daybreak.
Actually, I see their move as essential. I'm a big advocate for transparency, but if you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground then you're better off keeping quiet until you figure out at LEAST what you don't know. Transparency is all about being confident in your subject matter. You know what you know, you know what you don't know, and you're confident talking on the subject of either. If you don't know what you don't know, or worse your community knows more about what you don't know than you do, then you're up shit creek. I definitely would like to see them return to being transparent with their processes, but not until they have an idea of what's going on and what their direction needs to be.
And people wonder why they're being quiet until they're sure they have something good to show...
Shuttering the transparency and doing an About Face with the community is not the way to manage the PR either. It doesn't stop the habitual nay-saying world burners. They're going to post garbage either way. What matters most is they have seemed to distance themselves from their long term supporters.
They haven't updated their EQ2 Steam page in years. The few comments they do make to the community are about TLE balance and voting.
I really wish Smedley and Georgeson were back driving the ship. I'm not happy with the game direction under Longdale and Daybreak.
Actually, I see their move as essential. I'm a big advocate for transparency, but if you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground then you're better off keeping quiet until you figure out at LEAST what you don't know. Transparency is all about being confident in your subject matter. You know what you know, you know what you don't know, and you're confident talking on the subject of either. If you don't know what you don't know, or worse your community knows more about what you don't know than you do, then you're up shit creek. I definitely would like to see them return to being transparent with their processes, but not until they have an idea of what's going on and what their direction needs to be.
Personally I think the goal of making EQN the biggest Sandbox game ever made with this new AI system is turning out to be harder to make then they thought. Not saying they cant pull it off. It just comes down to time and cost. As I have said in this thread, we will get an EQ MMO from this. 1. What they planed 2. Failed at what was planed and they take what they have and make a new plan and direction for the game. I hope they do pull it off but this was to be the year of EQN. We were to get more info then ever before and that has just not happened. Either way I think we will find out soon whats going on.
They basically have 2 choices: Release EQN or make a mobile EQ game. Or they can do both which honestly is their best chanse. I doubt their owner just bought them to keep their games running, they do want big $$ and the way to get that is to release at least one highly successful game.
And EQN needs to attract players in numbers close to TOR at least to do that. The name and gameworld is an advantage to get people to try it, but it needs to be fun as well to get people to stay. They might or might not pull that off but they would be stupid indeed if they didn't try.
I don't think anyone truly knows what the end game financial goals are for Columbus Nova purchasing SOE and how they plan to get there. There are many more possibilities than I think we could discuss, but there is one that I would like to address.
I know you didn't say this directly, but there is this notion that Columbus Nova saw EQN as some sort of jewel in the SOE purchase and that is how they will cash in.
Would any company really see what Landmark(EQN) looked like a few years ago and concluded it was going to be a large success. An incomplete voxel editor and a handful of extremely ambitious concepts on a game that was 3-5 years away from completion by a team that was into its 6th year of development and facing massive downsizing doesn't sound like a recipe for success.
Perhaps Columbus Nova looked at the project just like they did the overall company of SOE. That after some serious cuts and downsizing they could produce some fashion of game that might make a return on investment without the large risk associated with most MMO projects.
They basically have 2 choices: Release EQN or make a mobile EQ game. Or they can do both which honestly is their best chanse. I doubt their owner just bought them to keep their games running, they do want big $$ and the way to get that is to release at least one highly successful game.
And EQN needs to attract players in numbers close to TOR at least to do that. The name and gameworld is an advantage to get people to try it, but it needs to be fun as well to get people to stay. They might or might not pull that off but they would be stupid indeed if they didn't try.
I don't think anyone truly knows what the end game financial goals are for Columbus Nova purchasing SOE and how they plan to get there. There are many more possibilities than I think we could discuss, but there is one that I would like to address.
I know you didn't say this directly, but there is this notion that Columbus Nova saw EQN as some sort of jewel in the SOE purchase and that is how they will cash in.
Would any company really see what Landmark(EQN) looked like a few years ago and concluded it was going to be a large success. An incomplete voxel editor and a handful of extremely ambitious concepts on a game that was 3-5 years away from completion by a team that was into its 6th year of development and facing massive downsizing doesn't sound like a recipe for success.
Perhaps Columbus Nova looked at the project just like they did the overall company of SOE. That after some serious cuts and downsizing they could produce some fashion of game that might make a return on investment without the large risk associated with most MMO projects.
Of corse you always look at it from the negative side, It just has to be true because its negative lol. If they looked at EQN as such a risk, CN would have shut it down from the moment they bought SoE or shortly after that. We can see clearly they are still dumping money into the project. DGC for many many months were hiring people to work on EQN. We get the live stream 2-4 times a month. Taking staff to run this, for what? Hold up a lie?
So what did they buy SoE for? By your words every game thats come out of the company after EQ is a fail. CN has their hands in tech all over the place. They would have gotten a full look under the hood before they bought SoE. Thats what investment firms do lol.
And people wonder why they're being quiet until they're sure they have something good to show...
What?!?!
Contrast how this company started hyping, demoing and basically unable to stop talking about the game a few years ago to the deafening silence they are engaging now.
People are wondering why they have gone from crazy hype machine to full stop silent on the project without any explanation.
I think it is unfair to insinuate that players somehow expect to much in this case.
Because it was SOE that started the hype train, they where spending time and resource on hyping the shit out of a game that didn't exist yet. They where sold off and Daybreak stopped the hype, which they rightfully should have done.
Seems everyone already forgotten the company was sold off only THIS YEAR and had major cuts, so not sure how you expecting the company to churn out major news when the game has only been in their hands for about 8 - 9 months. On top of this, they're probably having to rethink what direction the companies gonna go since whats his name left. Think the funniest comments are people trying to blame them for the last two years, really?
Just wait and see what happens, not sure why that's so hard
And people wonder why they're being quiet until they're sure they have something good to show...
I knew this would bring out the trolls. Some games become popular to bash and people follow whats popular blindly. The internet mob mentality is real. Rarely is it pointed in the right direction.
Yeah and EQ fans are wondering what the hell is going on as this game was announced way back in 2010 and since that time the game studio was sold off, tons of long time employees were canned, and the long time head of said studio left his position. And now after all that fans are still in the dark about what the Samuel Langhorn Hell is going on with the game. Now I completely agree with the idea that actions speak far louder than words, but I can't blame a lot of people being very anxious for information about the game after all the chaos surrounding it. I think you'd agree that this has not been a normal game development cycle in the slightest.
Some people got fired and others got hired. The game industry is one of the most transient when it comes to employment. As for normal? This is not the first time that SoE went through this. They were not always SoE. As for length of time? SoE switched what the project is 2-3 years ago. From a standard MMO to something new. A project thats mostly R&D. We as gamers keep asking for something new but when a company tries to deliver that, we flame them on the forums lol. I can wait a few more years if what they are bring us really is something new. I personally dont see what the big deal is, not like we dont have dozens and dozens of MMOs on the market right now that all play much the same. If you want EQN to come out right away and get a cookie cutter game I can see you getting upset but if you really want something different. Sit back, this could take some time.
And people wonder why they're being quiet until they're sure they have something good to show...
I knew this would bring out the trolls. Some games become popular to bash and people follow whats popular blindly. The internet mob mentality is real. Rarely is it pointed in the right direction.
Yeah and EQ fans are wondering what the hell is going on as this game was announced way back in 2010 and since that time the game studio was sold off, tons of long time employees were canned, and the long time head of said studio left his position. And now after all that fans are still in the dark about what the Samuel Langhorn Hell is going on with the game. Now I completely agree with the idea that actions speak far louder than words, but I can't blame a lot of people being very anxious for information about the game after all the chaos surrounding it. I think you'd agree that this has not been a normal game development cycle in the slightest.
Some people got fired and others got hired. The game industry is one of the most transient when it comes to employment. As for normal? This is not the first time that SoE went through this. They were not always SoE. As for length of time? SoE switched what the project is 2-3 years ago. From a standard MMO to something new. A project thats mostly R&D. We as gamers keep asking for something new but when a company tries to deliver that, we flame them on the forums lol. I can wait a few more years if what they are bring us really is something new. I personally dont see what the big deal is, not like we dont have dozens and dozens of MMOs on the market right now that all play much the same. If you want EQN to come out right away and get a cookie cutter game I can see you getting upset but if you really want something different. Sit back, this could take some time.
They lost a high number of core staff though, losing leads is not normal run of the mill 'churn' not by a long shot, and i would be very surprised if others really did get hired too, from the outside looking in, it looks more like they were stripping their personnel assets down to an absolute minimum, or perhaps even less than that, with people wearing multiple 'hats' because of it, when Smedley also left, and once the company had been sold, that was probably only a matter of time anyway, i think any pretence that things were 'normal' left via the nearest exit. I think its time some people faced facts, the game is no nearer completion than it was in 2010, nor do i think that will change in the next 5 years, assuming of course, that further assets have not been stripped/sold off and Daybreak still even exists as a thing.
They lost a high number of core staff though, losing leads is not normal run of the mill 'churn' not by a long shot, and i would be very surprised if others really did get hired too, from the outside looking in, it looks more like they were stripping their personnel assets down to an absolute minimum, or perhaps even less than that, with people wearing multiple 'hats' because of it, when Smedley also left, and once the company had been sold, that was probably only a matter of time anyway, i think any pretence that things were 'normal' left via the nearest exit. I think its time some people faced facts, the game is no nearer completion than it was in 2010, nor do i think that will change in the next 5 years, assuming of course, that further assets have not been stripped/sold off and Daybreak still even exists as a thing.
Yups lots left. With all internet rumors anyone who would buy SoE was going to trim staff because of bloating staff problems. Its rare you see a game company that keeps people for 10-20 years. Thats where SoE was. As for hiring. They have not stopped hiring since the lay offs. Always a list of 10-15 job postings right off DGC main web page every month and of many many months they were hiring directly for EQN. Things are not as bad as the gloom sayers go on about. Not saying what they went through was not crazy. Working there over the past year would have been unsettling but as I posted above this is not the first time SoE has gone though this process.
Comments
A topic came up today about Everquest and a game that looks dead.This is because of GREED,developers don't like to put added content in old areas,they can't sell xpacs that way.However their greed to sell xpacs loses out on long term populations,i am already seeing the decline in the new TLE servers and it's only like 3 months old.
I also would love,beg,die to see them put some depth in their systems,lose the Altaholic design completely,it is archaic and just not good.
Also quests should have their own SYSTEMS,they should not be a tool for linear leveling and xp.The only way you should become a better Warriror is by doing Warrior things,like swinging a sword or blocking with a shield,you not all of a sudden be able to wear better gear or wield a better weapon just because you did some errand getting 10 bear pelts.
Another thing is their reluctant TIER design,don't like it at all,that si just a CHEAP lazy way to repeat the same ideas over and over.
And sadly what i have seen from the little information they have given us is that combat is yet streamlined even more,with fewer choices.I doubt we see them add any kind of aggro either ,other than proximity aggro and the same aggro distance for every single mob.They also need delays on mob attacks because it just looks silly when you zoom past a mob on your mount and it auto stuns you.
Beleive me,there is a LOT more than that where they need to improve their game development skills and i personally do not expect any improvement at all,just another EQ with Voxels and a heavy cash shop.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I'm sorry, but i don't care what other people say, EQN is, was, and will always be a spit in the face to the franchise.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
so say we all
They basically have 2 choices: Release EQN or make a mobile EQ game. Or they can do both which honestly is their best chanse. I doubt their owner just bought them to keep their games running, they do want big $$ and the way to get that is to release at least one highly successful game.
And EQN needs to attract players in numbers close to TOR at least to do that. The name and gameworld is an advantage to get people to try it, but it needs to be fun as well to get people to stay. They might or might not pull that off but they would be stupid indeed if they didn't try.
"going into arguments with idiots is a lost cause, it requires you to stoop down to their level and you can't win"
Contrast how this company started hyping, demoing and basically unable to stop talking about the game a few years ago to the deafening silence they are engaging now.
People are wondering why they have gone from crazy hype machine to full stop silent on the project without any explanation.
I think it is unfair to insinuate that players somehow expect to much in this case.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Actually, I see their move as essential. I'm a big advocate for transparency, but if you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground then you're better off keeping quiet until you figure out at LEAST what you don't know. Transparency is all about being confident in your subject matter. You know what you know, you know what you don't know, and you're confident talking on the subject of either. If you don't know what you don't know, or worse your community knows more about what you don't know than you do, then you're up shit creek. I definitely would like to see them return to being transparent with their processes, but not until they have an idea of what's going on and what their direction needs to be.
Crazkanuk
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Azarelos - 90 Hunter - Emerald
Durnzig - 90 Paladin - Emerald
Demonicron - 90 Death Knight - Emerald Dream - US
Tankinpain - 90 Monk - Azjol-Nerub - US
Brindell - 90 Warrior - Emerald Dream - US
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I don't think anyone truly knows what the end game financial goals are for Columbus Nova purchasing SOE and how they plan to get there. There are many more possibilities than I think we could discuss, but there is one that I would like to address.
I know you didn't say this directly, but there is this notion that Columbus Nova saw EQN as some sort of jewel in the SOE purchase and that is how they will cash in.
Would any company really see what Landmark(EQN) looked like a few years ago and concluded it was going to be a large success. An incomplete voxel editor and a handful of extremely ambitious concepts on a game that was 3-5 years away from completion by a team that was into its 6th year of development and facing massive downsizing doesn't sound like a recipe for success.
Perhaps Columbus Nova looked at the project just like they did the overall company of SOE. That after some serious cuts and downsizing they could produce some fashion of game that might make a return on investment without the large risk associated with most MMO projects.
So what did they buy SoE for? By your words every game thats come out of the company after EQ is a fail. CN has their hands in tech all over the place. They would have gotten a full look under the hood before they bought SoE. Thats what investment firms do lol.
Seems everyone already forgotten the company was sold off only THIS YEAR and had major cuts, so not sure how you expecting the company to churn out major news when the game has only been in their hands for about 8 - 9 months. On top of this, they're probably having to rethink what direction the companies gonna go since whats his name left. Think the funniest comments are people trying to blame them for the last two years, really?
Just wait and see what happens, not sure why that's so hard