Fundamantal Problems

Whether it was the character archetypes, the graphics engine or the engaging and challenging AI (artifical intelligence) it was all so well done.

But then, after two or three weeks I am forced to take a break from the game I love.

Truth be told, I really couldn't figure it out. The game was done so well, it was quite enjoyable, but I just couldn't bring myself to log on.

There is also another factor which I contemplate as well: World of Warcraft and EverQuest II were the two titans of 2004 and 2005 and yet EverQuest II falls behind, considerably, in terms of subscriptions.

Yes, I know, World of Warcraft has an immense following - far more than EverQuest II - so that has to account for some of the discrepancies but far from all of them.

So, during one of the breaks I needed from EverQuest II - which I extended - I sunk my teeth into World of Warcraft and the answer hit me almost instantaneously and it lasted well into the end game.

No, it was not player versus player. It was not the community. It wasn't even the class balance. It was the world, plain and simple.

I wish to ask my readers, as EverQuest II players, one simple question: how significant is Antonica and the Commonlands at level 50 (and soon to be 60)? What about the Freeport Sewers or the Oakmyst Forest?

I suspect all of you would respond simply that these zones are not significant at all.

This my friends is the fundamental problem that EverQuest II suffers from and may continue to.

I am not suggesting, either, that we go about it the way that World of Warcraft did (which was open player versus player). For the community, for the game, this is just not a viable solution and no one is going to doubt that. But there are other ways.

I like to reference a game which I had played for a very, very long time: Asheron's Call. In its glory days, in the first few years, the game was an incredible experience for anyone who played it for a multitude of reasons. One of the big reasons was you cared about the world.

I can remember countless times when there would be invasions (albeit mainly Olthoi) where they would attack starter towns. Or even when the live events moved through - the Shadow Wars for instance - seldom populated towns and areas needed to be defended. You simply did not know what was going to happen next, or where.

This kind of solution - and it worked really well - could be described as a small scale player versus environment solution, one that perhaps EverQuest II could use.

But it's simply not viable.

Asheron's Call, for all its greatness and glory, had relatively low population numbers: nine servers all counted. So generating these events (and it took a live team) was quite plausible. EverQuest II is a different story altogether. There are many, many servers making this quite improbable.

So what simply can be done to fix this fundamental problem that the world of Norrath itself suffers from?

One of these solutions the Desert of Flames will present and we can hope it is successful. As I have commented in previous articles, one of the reasons the world seems so static, lifeless, and no one really cares about some places (namely the cities of Qeynos and Freeport) is that there is no overwhelming reason to go to these bastions of civilization.

We're going to have a reason to go to Maj'Dul.

The reasons, as I have listed before, are quite significant: player versus player action, a gathering of players and a viable marketplace. All of these things will help immensely, when it comes to Maj'Dul.

What about everywhere else?

Zones like Antonica, Commonlands - even the Thundering Steppes and Nekultols Forest - needs some life breathed into them and there is no better way to do this but to enhance the bastions of civilization (though they are few) that dwell within those zones.

When considering Antonica or the Commonlands, perhaps some ruins become rebuilt and more larger scale towns are prevalent, but we take one more step then that. As I'm sure you all know, villages and towns are great but unless they are alive they become next to useless.

So how can these villages and towns be brought alive?

Well there are a number of things that can be done and one of them is to take out the guards and have quest NPCs dwell therein (even raid quest NPCs).

This idea, in and of itself, solves the reason for being into town (no defense, no quests) and brings players of all levels back into the villages and towns.

It could work.

There is also a far more radical idea that has foundations in the ever successful Splitpaw Saga: have all zones, every single one of them, level down (or up) in unique situations.

What are these unique situations? Quests, heritage quests and raids.

How about that eh? Let's get out of Everfrost, Lavastorm and the other popular raid zones and have viable raids (high end) in Antonica, the Commonlands and the Thundering Steppes. With the constant activity the zones would really feel alive.

But there is one more aspect as well that I would like to add: when raids are completed, one faction of enemies are increased and more prone to attack. For instance, if your raid groups completes an attack on Thexians, for instance, in Nekultos Forest, there is a chance that afterwards they would plot an attack on civilization that dwells within Nekultos!

Oh, and this would be apart of the raid completion (which is a little tricky but doable) which forces the raid group to part-take in the events that keep Nekultos Forest feeling alive.

These things may seem small and insigificant at times but it can really add to the overall experience of the game. A world that is absolutely static is no good at all, but one that feels alive - and EverQuest II certainly does not - is that much better.

Here's hoping that after the expansion and combat revamp, that these things get some attention.

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Posted by Ktok at 2005-09-07 09:39:38

I think mostly the problem with the EQ2 world is the way you zone. The bells make it feel very cut off and isolated where as in EQ1 the zone lines made it feel more connected... more like a unified world made up of zones rather than individual sandboxes that were not related to each other. The other problem is starter cities. No race has their *own* city. In EQ1 community existed around all the starter cities. Vah Shir buddied up with other Vah Shir in Shar Vahl Iksar elders helped Iksar newbies in the Field of Bone and so on. Here we get these *beep*my little sections of a human made city to live in. Theres no racial flavor... no racial *themes* to the buildings and decor. It really robs the game of a feeling of belonging.

Posted by Tuluvar at 2005-09-07 10:54:27

The biggest issue i have with EQ2 is that there are too few players in the lower level ranges. This not only hurts game experience but also the market. I have great trouble getting quests done that require a group to complete since most ppl are in higher lvl zones and really dont feel to mentor down as it is a hassle with the spells and armor that doesnt work anymore. This is also a reason why so many ppl solo since there is no option to group due to the lack of ppl to group with espsecially if you are working on a quest. I remember when EQ2 was first released and almost rushed thru every quest since ooc channel was full of ppl asking to group for this or that quest. At this time im pretty much dependant on having a few friends online that want to mentor down and help me out. The Heritage quests for example are a pain to complete pre 50 the lvl20 armor quests are just as bad. This gives me a feeling of not belonging but merely a feeling of must strive to 50 fast.And with DoF coming i fear we will even see less ppl in the lowlvl and mid ranges since all those alts will play their main char again to get to lvl60. Good fix would be to merge servers.

Posted by Oakmiser @ Neriak at 2005-09-07 12:45:41

I have to say I agree. I would love to see progression I feel its the only thing missing. I feel a deep connection with the NPCs I help. Because I listen to what they say and do the quest the right way they ask me to and being qeynosian I pick justiceExcept...those evil heritages I want to do them because statuspatron. See I like to feel with games I play love my characters and stick to there role at most times. Like with Oakmiser he is much like me spirited loving etc. I feel when I cant help people. To this day I wish that poor NPC in willow wood good find his brother. I feel for the world I play in. Now dont get my wrong its not like im crying at night when I think about these things. But if you want a game with addiction more so then this one has theny you want the players to feel a need to return to home for more then just repair check house stock dump bank craft and zoom out. Also to comment on Tuluvar I think that SOME servers should be merged. All low po*beep*tions merged and 2 mids merged would be good. Keep the RPing ones the way they are. - Jared Oak Thomas

Posted by Chimpnoodle at 2005-09-08 06:53:17

I personally feel the world is beautiful and engaging..but there is always room for improvements. I often zoom in as I run around just to watch the fauna parting and I still take screenshots often as I zoom around on the griffens. I havnt noticed any po*beep*tion issues really but merging lower po*beep*tion servers doesnt sound unreasonable. Adding some more civvilization zones...well adding anything is good. Most people love to see new stuff. To make the world seem even more alive...some simple animations could be used....such as when the bursts of snow hit you on as you move through the first alley leading to permafrost....its beautiful...Ive brought people there just to see it....and first time viewers are stunned at times. Things like that add to the vibrancy of the world as well I find.

Posted by Haradgrim of Blackbu at 2005-09-08 09:34:31

I am 100 inclined to agree with this editorial. the best example of this was SoV probably the best expansion for any MMO ever. why because it introduced the idea of Competing factions with their own very interactive yet raidable cities and it had ToV. I remember Kael Drakkal never had less then 30 people in it until mid-pop era. Also instanced zones are nice but the lack of raid spam and random ooc really takes away from the sense of community. I remember hating listening to a guild raid a target we had been assembling for but at the same time that was what gave the game a competitive feeling.

Posted by haradgrim at 2005-09-08 09:36:18

why doesnt punctuatuion show up