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EverQuest Next is Like My Ex-Girlfriend, Message from BazgrimTV

NanfoodleNanfoodle Member LegendaryPosts: 10,901
"EverQuest Next broke my heart. And I know for a fact that there are many other people out there that had a similar experience. If you’ve been paying attention to the slow and painful deterioration of the MMORPG genre over the past several years, you’ve probably seen some people things like they’ll "never be able to trust another unreleased MMO" because they’ve “been burned too many times.” And I totally get where they’re coming from, but I also think that approach of #cynicism is a real threat to the games we actually want to play. So then how, at the same time, am I still willing to risk my time and money on crowdfunded games like Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen? You could say that I treat EQNext the same way I treat my ex-girlfriend. Let me explain..." 

Tune in Aug 26, 2020, live show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COuk26wI5zo
EQBallzz

Comments

  • svannsvann Member RarePosts: 2,230
    EQ next sounded good on paper but when I tried it in beta it just didnt grab me.  I really tried to like it.
    Amathe
  • TillerTiller Member LegendaryPosts: 11,485
    svann said:
    EQ next sounded good on paper but when I tried it in beta it just didnt grab me.  I really tried to like it.

    Landmark, and yeah it was boring.
    SWG Bloodfin vet
    Elder Jedi/Elder Bounty Hunter
     
  • AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
    edited August 2020
    The cancellation of EQ Next broke my heart like an ex-girlfriend.

    The problem with this analogy, however, is that my ex-girlfriend hasn't locked up all the other girls that are in any way like her. Which is what Daybreak is doing by sitting on the EQ franchise and wasting it.


    Post edited by Amathe on
    EQBallzz[Deleted User]Scot

    EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

  • NanfoodleNanfoodle Member LegendaryPosts: 10,901
    Regardless of Baz's topic, he has some good insights into Pantheon, sometimes overly positive. But he has the ears of the dev team, often having lead developers on his show and they have a number of times revealed new info first on his show. Maybe worth tuning in.   
    Amatheachesoma
  • IselinIselin Member LegendaryPosts: 18,719
    edited August 2020
    Tiller said:
    svann said:
    EQ next sounded good on paper but when I tried it in beta it just didnt grab me.  I really tried to like it.

    Landmark, and yeah it was boring.
    The voxel-based destroy and build part of EQN that was Landmark (and the cartoony graphics that stemmed from that) was the part of the whole thing that least appealed to me.

    It was the promise of next gen mob AI with objectives for them and roaming rather than static spawns and leashes, NPCs with active lives and different relationships with each player (and what quests were available from them because of that,) long term community goals similar to what Ashes of Creation is now doing with nodes, that I was excited about.

    Voxel schmoxel :)
    Mendel
    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”

    ― Umberto Eco

    “Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” 
    ― CD PROJEKT RED

  • NanfoodleNanfoodle Member LegendaryPosts: 10,901
    I enjoyed Landmark. Had fun building, had fun exploring, had fun just messing around looking at peoples builds. There was some incredible things done with boxes. Didnt like the performance. Thats the biggest reason EQN didnt make it and the AI didnt work large scale. GAme was doomed before it started. Makes me wonder what we would have gotten if they had not tried to push the tech past what was possible on the first or 2nd iteration?
  • IselinIselin Member LegendaryPosts: 18,719
    remsleep said:
    Iselin said:
    Tiller said:
    svann said:
    EQ next sounded good on paper but when I tried it in beta it just didnt grab me.  I really tried to like it.

    Landmark, and yeah it was boring.
    The voxel-based destroy and build part of EQN that was Landmark (and the cartoony graphics that stemmed from that) was the part of the whole thing that least appealed to me.

    It was the promise of next gen mob AI with objectives for them and roaming rather than static spawns and leashes, NPCs with active lives and different relationships with each player (and what quests were available from them because of that,) long term community goals similar to what Ashes of Creation is now doing with nodes, that I was excited about.

    Voxel schmoxel :)


    The next gen AI was never going to happen:

    1. Story Bricks (the company that pitched this next gen AI to EQNext team) turns out was all smoke and mirrors - they were in concept stages and didn't have a fully baked product at all, yet Smedley and crew fell for it hard 

    2. Once EQNext team realized that story bricks couldn't scale and didn't even have a fully baked finished product - it was game over

    We all know what happened - the whole thing fell down like a house of cards - the fallout was pretty huge - lots of EQ top heads gone, and Story Bricks went the way of the dodo too

    Epic Fail - classic example of a lose-lose situation
    Yeah I know how that all went.

    Still... it's what MMORPGs need to do if they want to move the genre forward. Otherwise it's just some variation of you (and all 10 million others) are the chosen hero who wil save the world and BTW, go kill 10 rats.

    It's the node system in Ashes that interests me about that game. It's the only reason I sort of follow its development.
    Mendel
    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”

    ― Umberto Eco

    “Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” 
    ― CD PROJEKT RED

  • WellspringWellspring Member EpicPosts: 1,464
    edited August 2020
    Hmm, this sounds one-sided. Can we hear your ex-girlfriend's side of the story??
    Post edited by Wellspring on
    svannfyerwallMrMelGibson
    --------------------------------------------
  • MendelMendel Member LegendaryPosts: 5,609
    Iselin said:
    remsleep said:
    Iselin said:
    Tiller said:
    svann said:
    EQ next sounded good on paper but when I tried it in beta it just didnt grab me.  I really tried to like it.

    Landmark, and yeah it was boring.
    The voxel-based destroy and build part of EQN that was Landmark (and the cartoony graphics that stemmed from that) was the part of the whole thing that least appealed to me.

    It was the promise of next gen mob AI with objectives for them and roaming rather than static spawns and leashes, NPCs with active lives and different relationships with each player (and what quests were available from them because of that,) long term community goals similar to what Ashes of Creation is now doing with nodes, that I was excited about.

    Voxel schmoxel :)


    The next gen AI was never going to happen:

    1. Story Bricks (the company that pitched this next gen AI to EQNext team) turns out was all smoke and mirrors - they were in concept stages and didn't have a fully baked product at all, yet Smedley and crew fell for it hard 

    2. Once EQNext team realized that story bricks couldn't scale and didn't even have a fully baked finished product - it was game over

    We all know what happened - the whole thing fell down like a house of cards - the fallout was pretty huge - lots of EQ top heads gone, and Story Bricks went the way of the dodo too

    Epic Fail - classic example of a lose-lose situation
    Yeah I know how that all went.

    Still... it's what MMORPGs need to do if they want to move the genre forward. Otherwise it's just some variation of you (and all 10 million others) are the chosen hero who wil save the world and BTW, go kill 10 rats.

    It's the node system in Ashes that interests me about that game. It's the only reason I sort of follow its development.

    Certainly, improved AI would move the genre forward.  But a simpler method would be to expand the game play beyond combat and crafting.  I want religion and some major revamps to magic (some spells, like resurrection, *should* be beyond the capabilities of a single player).  You could also tackle other ideas, like politics, communal magic, event planning (and publicizing), natural healing, a full legal system, and public works (anything that's built in the game-world).  Other systems and tools to help the RP actions available in-game could also help move the genre off of its one note stance of combat we see in almost every game.

    New.  Different.  Expensive.  Risky.  That's going to take a very special company to take on that challenge.  I just don't see anything like that coming along soon.



    [Deleted User]

    Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.

  • EQBallzzEQBallzz Member UncommonPosts: 229
    Nanfoodle said:
    "EverQuest Next broke my heart. And I know for a fact that there are many other people out there that had a similar experience. If you’ve been paying attention to the slow and painful deterioration of the MMORPG genre over the past several years, you’ve probably seen some people things like they’ll "never be able to trust another unreleased MMO" because they’ve “been burned too many times.” And I totally get where they’re coming from, but I also think that approach of #cynicism is a real threat to the games we actually want to play. So then how, at the same time, am I still willing to risk my time and money on crowdfunded games like Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen? You could say that I treat EQNext the same way I treat my ex-girlfriend. Let me explain..." 

    Tune in Aug 26, 2020, live show

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COuk26wI5zo
    A couple things on your video...first off I want to say nice video. It was a bit long but worth watching. You make a very compelling argument against cynicism in general. I say this as a self described cynic so I think that says something positive about the points you made. How about that? A cynic saying something positive about negative points about cynicism!

    I think your argument works well in the case of relationships but maybe not so much with crowdfunding. I mean I can see your point for the analogy in this one case as it applies to you but I'm not really convinced that it applies to people or even crowdfunding in general.

    IMO crowdfunded games have not really panned out well for gamers to date. There have been a few but there have been many more that have failed or released in a way that was different than advertised or been a scam or in the case of games like SC have at best become highly divisive or at worst set terrible precedents for future crowdfunded games. 

    If you get a new girlfriend there is an assumption that your starting point is from a positive or at least neutral place. I don't feel that is the case anymore with crowdfunded games. They have shown gamers that they need to be viewed with extreme skepticism. Some might call that cynicism.

    The equivalent would be if every new relationship was starting with a girlfriend that just got out of prison, had a drug problem and was very likely to steal your money and disappear in the night without a word. It would be hard not to be cynical about relationships if that was your starting point.

    As a side note about EQ Next...I never had my heart broken over that project. As a hardcore EQ fan I was excited about the possibility of a new iteration in the EQ franchise. However, even when it was announced there were already glaring red flags (IMO) that kept me from being excited and also from investing in Landmark. 

    First was the art style. This might be debatable as I know some may have liked it. I didn't dislike it per se (on it's own merits) but it was such a drastic departure from everything that EQ was it just felt wrong. It's hard for me to put into words but it didn't look like EQ to me at all and I couldn't help but feel they were blatantly and maybe even desperately trying to appeal to WoW players. Not a positive feeling and not getting off to a good start IMO.

    Secondly, and more importantly the huge red flag (at least for me) was Dave Georgeson. Sorry to anyone that likes him but this guy sucks ass. I literally quit EQ2 and never went back because of this guy and what he did to the game. Everywhere he goes he brings his F2P garbage with him. He took the lead on EQ2 and it turned into everything that I hate in modern MMOs so the fact that he was heading up EQ Next was an immediate HELL NO from me.
  • BazgrimTVBazgrimTV Member UncommonPosts: 39
    edited September 2020
    @EQBallzz thanks for watching and giving your feedback. I think we can agree on a lot. I acknowledge it's not a perfect analogy, but there are a lot of similarities. For example, when you get a new girlfriend, there should be an assumption that your starting point is from a positive or at least neutral place, but unfortunately, that is not always the case for some people. I've seen many people go into relationships prepared to lose before it's even begun. And that's my point about crowdfunded games - we certainly can and should learn some things from our experiences with past projects from other companies. But at the end of the day, we have to judge each one on its own merits. So an indie studio working on its first project isn't really "a girlfriend that just got out of prison, had a drug problem and was very likely to steal your money and disappear in the night without a word." Because there's no track record for that particular studio. They're essentially a blank slate and should be treated as such. Compare this to, if/when Daybreak announces a new MMO... then yes, in that case, that should be met with an intense amount of skepticism due to the history that the company has. I should have noticed more of the red flags from the EQNext reveal. And of course, hindsight is 20/20 so when I go back and watch it now, the tells are quite obvious. But I was just too young and dumb to pick up on it back then. Now I know and I keep it in the back of my mind. But I don't expect every company to behave the exact same way.
    NanfoodleEQBallzz
  • AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
    Abraham Lincoln once said to General George McClellan, "if you are not going to use the Army of the Potomac, may I borrow it?" 

    That is what I want to say to Daybreak about the Everquest franchise. There needs to be an EQ3. Stop dawdling. 
    MendelcheyaneEQBallzz

    EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

  • MendelMendel Member LegendaryPosts: 5,609
    Amathe said:
    Abraham Lincoln once said to General George McClellan, "if you are not going to use the Army of the Potomac, may I borrow it?" 

    That is what I want to say to Daybreak about the Everquest franchise. There needs to be an EQ3. Stop dawdling. 

    I can accept an EQ3, built off the same lore and game concepts.  I'm not sure if Daybreak could actually do anything to build a new game, though.  Maybe they could endorse another good company to make it for them.  No matter what they choose to do, just use that IP before it enters public domain status.  :)

    Other companies should not try so hard to emulate what another game did 20 years ago.  Do your own thing, and the players will love you for it.  Or at least shower you with riches.



    Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.

  • NanfoodleNanfoodle Member LegendaryPosts: 10,901
    Mendel said:
    Amathe said:
    Abraham Lincoln once said to General George McClellan, "if you are not going to use the Army of the Potomac, may I borrow it?" 

    That is what I want to say to Daybreak about the Everquest franchise. There needs to be an EQ3. Stop dawdling. 

    I can accept an EQ3, built off the same lore and game concepts.  I'm not sure if Daybreak could actually do anything to build a new game, though.  Maybe they could endorse another good company to make it for them.  No matter what they choose to do, just use that IP before it enters public domain status.  :)

    Other companies should not try so hard to emulate what another game did 20 years ago.  Do your own thing, and the players will love you for it.  Or at least shower you with riches.



    Rumors are that Daybreak is making a new EQ game. That's as far as the info goes. 
    cheyaneAmathe
  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332
    "Cynicism" is not the same as doing doing your homework,reading and just paying very close attention to what is going on in the industry.This would be called an "educated viewpoint" and not just some random rant about "being burned too often".

    For a long time,i was simply a buyer,looked forward to each and every game,i didn't know enough about what is going on to fully understand what i was looking at.

    I would say my knowledge level jumped big time when i took it upon my self to learn game engines and the various software used to help make the games.So now when i look at any game,i know what they are doing and how much effort or lack of went into it.

    I saw games like FFXIV,EQNext,COE well before release or proposed release for what they really were.So yes i became very disappointed because the hype was lost for me,i knew i wouldn't be playing these games.

    Bottom line is that the industry is cutting a LOT of corners and is NOT delivering a very good effort.Sure there is some hit n miss in all games but the overall effort is actually sub par.WHY that is likely has a lot to do with these studios are jumping in quick to make a buck and NOT because they want to deliver a great game.

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332
    To further into the EQ storyline which btw i was playing EQ2 at the time EQ Next was being bantered around.

    I saw the painting on the wall when Smedley first decided to what he called "TEST"the cash shop idea.He was looking for an EASY WAY OUT,a cop out ,how to make more money with less effort,a way to grind more money from those he already had hooked in.

    Then over time i saw other changes that again pointed to LAZY,less effort,like the stat changes.What i saw already idk what is was ,like 3-4 years BEFORE EQNext hype told me that Smedley/Soe were not capable of delivering the game we all thought or hoped it would be.

    Oh and i was also playing SOE's TCG as well following that kids game Smedley was BRAGGING about with it's early numbers that folded up shop only one year after bragging.I saw a VERY clear and concise picture of where SOE was headed.

    Then i followed the"story bricks"idea and again because of my many years of knowing how the games are built i had a very good idea what this story bricks was all about before i looked deeper.Soon again it was clear it was nothing more than a "gimmick"term to incite interest.Oh and i was also playing H1Z1 another cheap half assed cash grab.

    So my long winded point is that i had already seen plenty to understand EqNext was NOT going to be a AAA game,so i lost interest.Sure if you just blindly fall in love with the idea of a game just because you had great memories from the past like EQ1,then yeah you might be fooled or let down.However if you actually follow what is going on ,you will EASILY see the bigger picture and understand the WHY behind "pessimism".

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

  • EQBallzzEQBallzz Member UncommonPosts: 229
    Wizardry said:
    However if you actually follow what is going on ,you will EASILY see the bigger picture and understand the WHY behind "pessimism".
    Sort of a necro on this older topic but to continue adding to this topic I think we are now clearly at a point that you can't even rely on what you see or believe to be true. Even game studios that have good track records and that you may feel inclined to trust are worth heavy skepticism if not outright cynicism. 

    As some examples I give you RDR2. I was waiting for it to release on PC and even though Rockstar generally has a good reputation I waited. Glad I did because it was a mess. I didn't end up buying that until almost a year after release. 

    I had the reverse experience with Borderlands 3. I made the false assumption that I could trust Gearbox based on the previous games. I pre-ordered the "Deluxe" 100 dollar version (included the season pass) and I still regret it. The game was a mess. It performed poorly. It had lots of bugs (much worse for console). It was poorly balanced and the "end game" difficulty was also a mess. The game went through numerous major changes and nerfs and it was just not a pleasant experience despite the game play and visuals being great. I saw the same Deluxe version of the game 3 months later on steep discount. I wish I had waited for that instead. Not because I need the money but because I'm tired of giving these people money for shoddy work.

    As a final and most painful example I'm sure everyone is well aware of CP2077. If there is any game studio that you could blindly trust to release a solid product it would be CDPR. However, based on my recent experiences over the years I decided not to pre-order or even buy at release despite the temptation. I'm glad I didn't because..wow what a mess. I think CP2077 was the final nail in the coffin of confidence that games have much of a chance to release in a good state. I still haven't purchased CP2077 and don't expect it will be worth buying for months. Will likely get it down the road for steep discount.

    And back to the OP topic of crowdfunding I leave you with Wolcen. Another game I was very interested in and still haven't purchased because the release was so bad and it's still not really fixed by most accounts. I honestly don't even see myself ever getting that game as it seems they are incapable of making it right. 

    Games are at an all time low IMO. Hard to not be a huge pessimist about anything on the horizon.
    GdemamiILLISET
  • ScorchienScorchien Member LegendaryPosts: 8,914
    edited January 2021
    Wizardry said:
    To further into the EQ storyline which btw i was playing EQ2 at the time EQ Next was being bantered around.

    I saw the painting on the wall when Smedley first decided to what he called "TEST"the cash shop idea.He was looking for an EASY WAY OUT,a cop out ,how to make more money with less effort,a way to grind more money from those he already had hooked in.

    Then over time i saw other changes that again pointed to LAZY,less effort,like the stat changes.What i saw already idk what is was ,like 3-4 years BEFORE EQNext hype told me that Smedley/Soe were not capable of delivering the game we all thought or hoped it would be.

    Oh and i was also playing SOE's TCG as well following that kids game Smedley was BRAGGING about with it's early numbers that folded up shop only one year after bragging.I saw a VERY clear and concise picture of where SOE was headed.

    Then i followed the"story bricks"idea and again because of my many years of knowing how the games are built i had a very good idea what this story bricks was all about before i looked deeper.Soon again it was clear it was nothing more than a "gimmick"term to incite interest.Oh and i was also playing H1Z1 another cheap half assed cash grab.

    So my long winded point is that i had already seen plenty to understand EqNext was NOT going to be a AAA game,so i lost interest.Sure if you just blindly fall in love with the idea of a game just because you had great memories from the past like EQ1,then yeah you might be fooled or let down.However if you actually follow what is going on ,you will EASILY see the bigger picture and understand the WHY behind "pessimism".

    yea and ill have to correct something here .. EQ2 Cash Shop started LooooNg beforee EQ next was ever even a thought .. Scot Hartsman and his Puppet PR girl forgetting her name .. Set up that cash server that sold everything for cash .. was 2005 -2006 , Thats when i left EQ2 for a couple years ..

      Thats what started the entire Cash SHop in AAA MMO that i can  recall ..
    Gdemami
  • delete5230delete5230 Member EpicPosts: 7,081
    Sounded good on paper,
    When you see a hype that's far fetched or "sounds good on paper", you can blame MANAGMENT (see topic, management sucks).

    Millions were probably spent before developers, then developers were given crazy permeators to work with like a destructible world.



    20 million was spent just by building an office space and management structure.


    The game didn't fail...... It was a bad idea to begin with.
    The game didn't fail.... Management got their 20 million, that was the goal.



    All of you people have bad judgment because you THINK it's being built for you !
    Gdemami
  • TheocritusTheocritus Member LegendaryPosts: 10,014
    edited February 2021
    remsleep said:
    svann said:
    EQ next sounded good on paper but when I tried it in beta it just didnt grab me.  I really tried to like it.

    Eq next landmark was quite different than EQ Next mmorpg 

    If I remember correctly EQ next mmorpg never had even an alpha test let alone beta 

    I always wondered if EQNext ever even existed and was just floated out there to get people to buy Landmark. It just struck me as another ploy by SOE to get money.
  • ILLISETILLISET Member UncommonPosts: 123
    It's hard to not agree with the skepticism with game developers promises, crowd funding, etc (even ots coming from a promising company) but I must say, Pantheon is looking pretty promising.  With that being said, I'll not be pre ordering or crowd funding it. 
    MrMelGibson
  • achesomaachesoma Member RarePosts: 1,768
    "Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist." George Carlin
    cheyaneXarkoILLISET
    Preaching Pantheon to People at PAX  PAX East 2018 Day 4 - YouTube
  • delete5230delete5230 Member EpicPosts: 7,081
    edited February 2021
    achesoma said:
    "Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist." George Carlin
    True,
    The same people that sent Visionary realms $1,000 and paid tones of money playing BDO...... disappointment and empty pockets.

    You all know what the smart bull would say to to the young bull "lets walk down there instead of run".




    Doing the same thing over and over, expecting different result's. 
    Albert Einstein
    Post edited by delete5230 on
  • Castekin1999Castekin1999 Newbie CommonPosts: 3
    achesoma said:
    Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist." George Carlin

    "A fool and his money are soon parted." Thomas Tusser



    delete5230
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