I'll take your word for it August. I have a friend at Blizzard too, but he's an art guy who I don't think would have a clue even if I asked him. The point is really moot anyway, as I think the reasons Blizzard implemented instancing probably had less to do with server load and more to do with the design choices they made, now that I think about it - at least once they'd upgraded their tech past launch and Vanilla WoW. I can tell you that in other MMOs instancing is used as a tech solution to solve a perceived problem of potential load - witness EQ 2 and Neverwinter etc. It was the "solution" adopted by the server guys on the MMO I worked on as well.
I understand why people liked Heroics and personal/guild instances, but as I said, they make it a different type of game. And one I'm just no longer interested in playing, personally.
Re. that picture, that Warhammer/Asian art style just confirms the vibe I picked up from the Smedley interview. I can pretty confidently say I won't be giving EQ Next any time whatsoever.
However, this has all given me a great idea. Now to find someone who knows someone at Sony...
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