I wouldn't laugh.... we're not talking logic. One just has to say "The emu servers are potential customers that are playing our product for free. Those people could potentially play EQNext"... then they log onto these forums.... check out that we are indeed interested in EQNext...

You can argue that we're not modifying the executable.... but SOE can just *try* to bring it to court and the staff here would shut down.

im going to call to register with my r99 char as well.

All customers get to play Eq for free. from levels 1-80 a paid sub on EQ is not needed.

This is my feeling exactly.

I think the future of gaming involves paying RL money for advantages in the game, ala Second Life, Entropia, etc. Hell even Farmville and those Facebook games follow that model. Do things like make it take 1 minute to respawn after death, but you can speed it up for $1. In game money and items bought with RL money. Etc. It can work if there are plenty of ways to spend in game money on, i.e. the old Shadowhaven casino, exp bonus potions, special items. Use the players greed against them. Subscription stuff is outdated. It might feel "dirty" to us old timers, but the next generation of players won't know they are being scammed.

If it were Real EQ they would call it Real EQ. It would be a horrible mistake for them to create a 15 year old game. Things like WOW is what sells, and that's what they should be aiming at... but better.

WOW is on the heavy decline and people don't want more games like it. We have seen plenty of clones over the years that start with a high sub count then disappear.

I think the subscription option isn't entirely dead, but it does appear that some sort of micro transactions are going into every game. In many ways it is not surprising as people like to have an advantage both in games and in life and spending money is a principal way of attaining such advantages. It can also be nice, depending on how it is designed, if you only spend money on what you deem valuable--whatever that may be--as opposed to simply paying for everything via a subscription.

Regarding EQnext/EQ classic comparisons, there are clearly many people that would pay for and play a more classic style MMO, but I can see why developers would rather pursue the greater population that wants something less time intensive, in order to get more revenue. A niche game has less revenue potential and development costs for MMOs can be huge.

Sad FACT of the matter is, SOE can't do what emulators do. They're too far gone, like some old man that can't keep up with the younger guy. They just don't get it. They don't understand why we like p1999. Their idea of "classic" progression is some defiant gear and some experience potions and some bandaid quests and some corpse summoners and .... oops .... you're level 70. But you saw some "classic" content!

They just plain don't get it. They don't get it. It has been hopeless for years.

Look at what they're doing on EQ live. They're making the game into one super linear GRIND fest. Why the f*** would anyone grind 10,000 aa's and 100 levels in what amounts to just a couple zones????? The latest expansions aren't THAT compelling. S***, who do they think players are?? Stupid? Blind, like them? The game has many hundreds of zones and yet players are smashed up into a couple. They're all blind. They think EQ classic was grind and that's all they think, yet, they spend their time grinding in modern EQ. They don't see the other things. In other words, they don't understand why classic EQ worked. The developers remove SOME of the grind, but they don't get the other things right. They're like somebody who just can't make a GOOD pie.

I don't get why anybody plays the modern game. I DO understand why some people play on Fippy or make alts or just play in the older content. But beyond that, all I see is a super linear game. Everything is so goddamn shafted. It might not be so bad if they had a bigger development team, but right now, it's just too small. A lot of companies that make linear games succeed because they make good stories and make high quality productions. But EQ is just not going to get there without a much larger budget. They need to stop making the game linear, if they can't afford to back up their plans with actions.

What am I saying? I'm saying look at defiant gear. It's LINEAR. It drops everywhere and has broad-encompassing stats and linearly increases with level. It symbolizes everything that's wrong. EQ has taken this philosophy of linear things that're all-encompassing and have applied it now to their latest content.

They took classic EQ and trashed almost all of it, without keeping the good things.

Through the years I've had huge patience for them. I'm even downloading their game. Nostalgia has driven me back to their servers, but probably not for long. I've been reading, you see. And add that to everything I've experienced and it paints a very bleak and pitiful picture of their plans for EQ. I last played on live in 2010. Even back then, I was not much different. I had posted about my concerns with the game. I posted about mudflation and classic things. I had some fun, but eventually left. I wasn't angry, just tired. I've learned new things since then, but not directly pertaining to EQ. At this moment, seeing the formulaic degeneration of EQ, even though ti's not surprising and is years in the making, is still distressing to me. I guess since I've been away for a while I've kind of forgotten just how bad things are on EQ live. It's painful being reminded again.

I'm hoping I'm wrong. I'm hoping it's just an overreaction to a few things I've read. I know I get touchy with some of these subjects and I've done it in the past. Maybe once I login and goof around a bit, I'll get over it. Hell, I can pretend it's 2005 and play in POP and act like nothing else exists. Maybe I'll get sick of POP and be reminded of some of the flaws classic EQ had (it was not a perfect game).

If there was just a way to delete defiant armor and similar all-encompassing linear s*** and be able to find groups or at least see other players, it'd resolve some issues. I can decide not to wear defiant. Maybe I can find a progression guild. Either way, the higher levels don't interest me right now. I've played EQ live in the past even when I didn't like it. I complained in the forums a lot and yet I still played. I can still do that. It's just a matter of controlling how you play so that you "like" it, but it's like swimming against the tide. You get tired and worn. This is mostly because you have to work to "like" it. You don't naturally like it.

Why do this? Why play on live if you don't like the direction ti's going? Because it's free, first and foremost. And secondly, nothing else can stand in for EQ live except EQ live. I can play any manner of game and it's better, but it's not EQ live. I have to play EQ live to scratch this itch I have. It's like visiting your uncle. He's older now and different somewhat. But no one else is your uncle. Nobody else can replace him.

SOE might be blind, but I'm blind enough to still login. I'm not really any better. If was a better man, I'd just walk away from it. But I'm not that kind of man. I hold onto things longer than I should.

Well I play live off and on myself. I just pretty much make new alts. I never bought the latest Expansion. They have made the high end of the game so damn hard it is crazy. But I guess they really had no other way to go. If they didn't keep raising how high levels wise you could go, making new zones with the new expansions, and coming up with new gear how were they suppose to keep harldly anyone staying the same?

The same will happen here. After Velious is out for 2 years or so what then? You can only make so many alts, and draw in so many new people. P1999 will be like Red at some point in time. On life support. But something new always comes along to replace pretty much everything and everybody. Such is life.