EverQuest Next: Landmark

[a_gnoll_pup]

I gave Landmark a second try now that i'm getting over the whole initial shock of it not being EverQuest.

I have to say what *is* there is slowly starting to impress me. The crafting progression and randomly generated items from crafting is kind of cool. Each item has a color, and those colors have stat ranges. So, you can craft a legendary pickaxe that has randomized stats. Not every pick is created equally. You have a min/max range on these crafted items. And then you have the minecraft minigame on top of pick progression.

I don't think I gave this game a fair enough shot. I think i'll keep playing into it to see where it goes. I never doubted it had potential, it's just kind of slow to impress me like a new Nine Inch Nails album. At first, you're like, 'wtf is reznor doing?' then you're like 'oh this is kind of cool' and then you listen to it on repeat for the rest of the day.

Kind of like that.

[Grimfan]

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

I gave Landmark a second try now that i'm getting over the whole initial shock of it not being EverQuest.

I have to say what *is* there is slowly starting to impress me. The crafting progression and randomly generated items from crafting is kind of cool. Each item has a color, and those colors have stat ranges. So, you can craft a legendary pickaxe that has randomized stats. Not every pick is created equally. You have a min/max range on these crafted items. And then you have the minecraft minigame on top of pick progression.

I don't think I gave this game a fair enough shot. I think i'll keep playing into it to see where it goes. I never doubted it had potential, it's just kind of slow to impress me like a new Nine Inch Nails album. At first, you're like, 'wtf is reznor doing?' then you're like 'oh this is kind of cool' and then you listen to it on repeat for the rest of the day.

Kind of like that.

Yeah this game is definitely the shell for something a lot bigger too. I am pretty excited to see where Next takes us.

[HeallunRumblebelly]

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

I gave Landmark a second try now that i'm getting over the whole initial shock of it not being EverQuest.

I have to say what *is* there is slowly starting to impress me. The crafting progression and randomly generated items from crafting is kind of cool. Each item has a color, and those colors have stat ranges. So, you can craft a legendary pickaxe that has randomized stats. Not every pick is created equally. You have a min/max range on these crafted items. And then you have the minecraft minigame on top of pick progression.

I don't think I gave this game a fair enough shot. I think i'll keep playing into it to see where it goes. I never doubted it had potential, it's just kind of slow to impress me like a new Nine Inch Nails album. At first, you're like, 'wtf is reznor doing?' then you're like 'oh this is kind of cool' and then you listen to it on repeat for the rest of the day.

Kind of like that.

What's Reznor doing? Oh, just being a pretentious dick as usual. Some NIN is alright, but sonofabitch he is insufferable.

[HappyTr33z]

Some motherfuckers up in here needa learn what an Alpha is, and that EQNL =/= EQN.


EQNL is a game that is basically a "make-your-own MMO", Dave Georgeson has said himself that we will pretty much have the same tools in Landmark as the dev team for EQN will be using. Since EQNL is more based on the "creating stuff" aspect than EQN, you can build in sci fi/fantasy/steampunk/whatever style you can think up, your building tools are pretty powerful and you can create stuff very quickly, fly around, kinda like Minecraft on the free create mode. Eventually we'll even be using somethin called Storybricks to make scripts for the yet to be added NPCs, they haven't gone into much detail with that yet however. Think of it as a much more advanced Minecraft, with some EQ races thrown in.

EQN is a roleplaying game, buit entirely with EQNL's tools by the devs, where we'll have an experience "similar to EQ"(supposedly), there will be no sci fi styles and whatnot, just high fantasy style, and building supposedly won't be quite as easy or quick as Landmark, you'll have to work more for it. There will be events often where players will work together to do things like building/destroying a city, fighting off orcs, yeah, you've all probably seen the videos. :P

Anyway, don't go judgin EQNL in it's alpha state, and definitely don't go into it looking for an MMORPG, if that's what you're after then wait on EQN to release sometime next year

[Uteunayr]

Originally Posted by HappyTr33z [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

where we'll have an experience "similar to EQ"(supposedly), there will be no sci fi styles and whatnot,

Well, I wanted to add two things.

First is to the similar to EQ. You're not wrong, that is something they have said, but I want to clarify this for anyone who comes through: they do not mean similar to EQ in terms of game play. You will not be getting into the type of rigid class structure, leveling through creature grind style of play. What they mean when they say they want to give an experience similar to EverQuest, is to try and grab at the first feeling of wonder every one of us had with EverQuest when we first started. When you drop into Freeport, and then head out and see the East Commonlands. When you see the spectres in the Desert of Ro. That is a powerful experience, and it is one that is inherent in exploration.

So their goal is to create a game that replicates that feeling and makes it a central point of the game. So you have a destructible world that can be built upon so that no two times you go the same path will everything be the same. You have NPCs that adjust and readjust to the changing environment so no one place has the same challenges from one time to another. You may notice the top of a mountain is blown down. What the hell? How did that happen? Lets go explore. Look at that, someone build a giant golden cock and balls. Fascinating. The gameplay revolves around trying to encourage you to explore, because exploration is the central means through which you progress.

In other words, don't get your hopes high, or expect "similar to EverQuest" as many of us understand it who have been playing this game for 15 years. They want to get at the feeling of wonder that EverQuest brought to people when they first played it. That's the goal.

Whether they will achieve it or not is another thing. I just want to get ahead of anyone getting pissed that it doesn't play like EQ.

Second point I wanted to make was no sci-fi styles. I am not sure how true or untrue that is. Certainly, they won't have insane sci-fi like Star Wars Galaxies or some shit, but even EQ, which we play now, has Sci-Fi. Look at Rodcet Nife. The Qeynos guild for Clerics and Paladins? That dude's a fucking Roswell Alien. So there may still be the presence of that type of science fiction leaning content, but yes, primarily it will be fantasy EQ that we all know.

[Grimfan]

It makes me wonder if they will allow you the ability to stake a claim somewhere in the EverQuest Next world as well, or if that might be too far fetched. We'll see I guess.

[Uteunayr]

I believe they have said you get a claim, and it is in that that you can build your house. I am unsure if you will be able to build outside of your claim, like you can in EQNL. For certain, you'll be able to use blueprints for houses you make in Landmark to put on the main game world in EverQuest Next.

That's part of the cool stuff with the game. It's sort of like taming an untamed wild.

[Grimfan]

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

I believe they have said you get a claim, and it is in that that you can build your house. I am unsure if you will be able to build outside of your claim, like you can in EQNL. For certain, you'll be able to use blueprints for houses you make in Landmark to put on the main game world in EverQuest Next.

That's part of the cool stuff with the game. It's sort of like taming an untamed wild.

Yeah. There's a lot I am wondering about EQNext now that I've had a lot of time with Landmark. One of the most interesting features if Landmark is the grappling hook, and I wonder if they will keep that movement system in when Next comes around. Just a lot of questions like that. There are worries too, like I know I can run fast enough in Landmark where I am loading a new chunk every 20 seconds, not an exaggeration I decided to count it, and it is pretty disruptive to gameplay. Hopefully they can extend what we download in an area.

[Uteunayr]

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

Yeah. There's a lot I am wondering about EQNext now that I've had a lot of time with Landmark. One of the most interesting features if Landmark is the grappling hook, and I wonder if they will keep that movement system in when Next comes around. Just a lot of questions like that. There are worries too, like I know I can run fast enough in Landmark where I am loading a new chunk every 20 seconds, not an exaggeration I decided to count it, and it is pretty disruptive to gameplay. Hopefully they can extend what we download in an area.

Yeah, there's a lot of stuff for them to work out for a base game, and that's the type of stuff Landmark lets them solve now, before the game comes out.

I would be interested to see the grappling hook in form of some class abilities. I do not think it would be general use, but who knows?

I just think they have done a great job building the starting tools, and even with the bugs, I am excited for what SoE's team can do. Im interested to see just how far they can take their goals. Even if they fail, at least they are trying. I start to feel like most game studios that make MMOs say "Lets just do a quest themepark, do F2P, get a shit ton of cash out of the player base, and then leave a couple workers maintaining the project."

[Lune]

David and others were up so late last night trying to get Serenity and the new fixes out, that his tweets started getting a little unintelligible. Which reminds me, constant tweets, updates, engagement, etc, it's really pretty impressive. My first day playing I even managed to find one of the Dev's castles (or its ruins, anyway, apparently it was struck by voxel poofing)

Smedley and the other SoE higher-ups worry me a little though.