EQNext Discussion

[HippoNipple]

Originally Posted by p-niner [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Friend 1 "im in freeport buddy"
Friend 2 "me too I dont c u"
Friend 1 "da fuc man try to zone back and forth till I c u in my freeport22 instance"
Friend 2 "this is gay"

Hopefully the world will be big enough so this doesn't occur. Games that have a linear path, where levels 22-26 fight in this zone, have to accommodate by having shards. Shards are a cheap way to cram more people onto one server and making the world as small as possible while still allowing people to level up characters from 1-cap.

There aren't many games I can think of that match the leveling areas available for players in Everquest.

I understand what everyone here wants and I know there are people at Sony that know what Everquest fans want but actually implementing it all and still making money is tough.

no cash shops = less money made

no shards = more development of world and/or more servers per player base = more cost, less money made

hardcore features like penalty for death, pvp item loot, exp loss = smaller player base = less money

no instances = same as no shards

As a business owner you have to do some give and take in all these categories. The guys in the trenches making the game know what makes a good game.

The ones that make the big money if the game is successful and make the final decisions won't cut too far into profits. I can't blame, money is awesome. They aren't going to play the game.

Everyone knows that the majority of the mmo player base is attracted to easy games with instances, etc. The only thing we can hope is that there are so many mmos out there competing with each other that being different and catering to a certain crowd convinces a company they will make more money by being a niche game. So far all the niche games are created by underfunded companies that can't pull it off. A big company hasn't made the leap of faith yet.