EQ1 and 2 inspired buildings - Landmark

[Ahldagor]

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

And when the AI built camp is destroyed, you get a chest, and you get abilities, and so on. You progress through adventure, rather than questing.

now that don't sound half bad there

[Uteunayr]

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

now that don't sound half bad there

Mhm. It's the biggest reason why I am giving a shit about it. They are recommending a game's progression not based on shitting out and expending quests, but by adventuring, to try and get people to engage in the changing world, than consuming scripted content.

[Lune]

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

So .... Landmark = EverCraft/MineQuest? Anybody actually excited about that?

Marginally. Will presumably need to be playable with a controller, so unless they are abnormally conscientious, expect that to soak into the PC version in some form like it did with ESO. It's looking like it might be spammy, arcade-style combat. (Combat will appear in Landmark supposedly) They implemented a cash shop into Landmark before they implemented water. Smedbucks (station cash) model which will likely ride as closely as possible to paywalls while still being technically pay2notgrind.

Even so, digging is fun so far and I think it has a lot of potential as an autism playpen.

[LulzSect]

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

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[Leeyuuduu]

If SOE wants to change its image it needs to stop completely shitting over its most loyal players (EQOA, EQMac, Vanguard, etc.) and treating them as expendable. And no, shutting down servers is not inevitable, Turbine is stopping support for AC but letting the servers live on indefinitely with no monthly fee for current subscribers. It also needs to tone down its extreme RMT whoreishness (is that a word?) as seen in EQ Live & EQ 2 in particular. They basically destroyed EQ2 and the game is now one huge walking advertisement for RMT items, it doesn't matter if you have the $15/month subscription or not, you will be inundated with that shit. PS2 though was a decent attempt at a F2P game without overbearing RMT.

I will wait and see how SOE chooses to monetize this next monster of theirs before diving in. I'm happy to pay $15-20 a month for a decent game on top of the box price or even a subtler system like PS2's but I absolutely won't tolerate another SOE in-game advertising shitfest, where every Producer's Letter or Update is solely focused on trying to peddle us old crap in new clothes.

[nilbog]

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

I'm happy to pay $15-20 a month for a decent game on top of the box price

This is what I've been saying for years. I'd pay a high retail price, and probably up to $40 a month for something worth playing.

[Weekapaug]

The only single major design decision SoE ever made that I hated was the RMT cash store.

Was back playing live in the fall and, while its cool to be able to buy basic services that used to require wait times and GMs directly from the server, the other stuff sucks. They have these armor skin items dropping off of mobs now that you can only use if you pay like 12 bucks. And that's per character not account. Then there are the massive bags that can pretty much only be gotten from the cash store. If you've played recently you will have noticed that mercs are pretty important. Having more than one merc slot makes a huge difference... only way to get them is on the cash store. It's pretty obnoxious.

And that's the only thing that worries me in EQN. What we've seen of the game looks great, imo. And if they pull off even half of what they are saying it should be really cool. But SOE seems bound to this cash store heavy business model and it, to me, really cheapens the mmo experience and I'm concerned about that in EQN.

Im with the guys above....charge us 40 or 50 bucks for the game and charge a monthly subscrption fee and give us a good game. I really hate how every game has gone to this "free to play but nickel and dime you to death" business model yet the games get weaker.

[Glenzig]

"Landmark is the world builder. It will serve the purpose to EQ Next what the Starcraft Campaign Editor served to Starcraft, or a SDK serves to Team Fortress 2. It is a world building tool, that they are making to feel like and play similar to Minecraft, but with much greater detail. Once Landmark, as a tool, is complete, they will release it Free To Play for all people to play Landmark, and build stuff.

Then, they will use Landmark to sculpt a world map, and build Norrath. Once Norrath is built, they will work on the MMO design, classes, and the like. This will be released as a second game, EQ Next. This is a non-quest themepark based horizontal progression MMORPG that emphasizes emergent experiences, rather than scripted ones. Using the voxel based world that they build with EQN Landmark, they will have a destructible world, with AI programmed with sets of likes and dislikes that will guide their behavior around a world that is being constantly changed.

During development of Norrath, on their end, with the fully functional Landmark out, they will put up the ability for people to create themed structures for EverQuest Next. For example, they may say "We need an Unrest. So we need an underground ruined dungeon.", and so players can struggle and build. Whoever gets the most votes, for example, will get their content put into the main game, getting credited, so that their creation was a part of the game."

So they are getting people to design the game for them. And here I thought SOE had no vision! Why are people falling for this?

[Uteunayr]

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

"Landmark is the world builder. It will serve the purpose to EQ Next what the Starcraft Campaign Editor served to Starcraft, or a SDK serves to Team Fortress 2. It is a world building tool, that they are making to feel like and play similar to Minecraft, but with much greater detail. Once Landmark, as a tool, is complete, they will release it Free To Play for all people to play Landmark, and build stuff.

Then, they will use Landmark to sculpt a world map, and build Norrath. Once Norrath is built, they will work on the MMO design, classes, and the like. This will be released as a second game, EQ Next. This is a non-quest themepark based horizontal progression MMORPG that emphasizes emergent experiences, rather than scripted ones. Using the voxel based world that they build with EQN Landmark, they will have a destructible world, with AI programmed with sets of likes and dislikes that will guide their behavior around a world that is being constantly changed.

During development of Norrath, on their end, with the fully functional Landmark out, they will put up the ability for people to create themed structures for EverQuest Next. For example, they may say "We need an Unrest. So we need an underground ruined dungeon.", and so players can struggle and build. Whoever gets the most votes, for example, will get their content put into the main game, getting credited, so that their creation was a part of the game."

So they are getting people to design the game for them. And here I thought SOE had no vision! Why are people falling for this?

By this same logic, Valve has been getting people to design Team Fortress 2 for them. Blizzard has been getting people to design StarCraft for them. Bethesda has been getting people to design The Elder Scrolls series for them. Letting your player base be involved in the development and growth of the game is not immediately the same as getting other people to design the game for them, in the connotations you're implying.

Player interaction with a game players find interesting is not exploiting, nor is it shrugging off the responsibility of development. It is a way to build hype, and it is a way of including your fan base in your game in much the same way that many games now evolve based on player interaction. SoE has to do this to build a sense of good will with their player base after the shit they have done to us in the past.

If SoE is going to turn around their image, they need to start by trying to include their player base. Players are not going to create the mechanics, they are not going to create the factions, the classes, the gameplay, none of that. They are being let into helping to shape small, isolated aspects of the game world, so they can feel more involved and attached to the game in a way only a small indie developer could provide in the past.

It is incredibly smart, and SoE would be damn near idiotic to not do this given their reputation.

[Arclyte]

too bad EQN is going to be pure shit, landmark seems kind of neat