Everquest Next - Preview @ PC Gamer

Couchpotato

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PC Gamer takes a look at EverQuest Next Landmark in this new hands-on preview.

EverQuest Next Landmark is the creative building counterpart to EverQuest Next. Initially, players will adventure through untouched continents on massively multiplayer servers, stake land claims, and build whatever they want (unless it's copyrighted or a giant penis) with a powerful set of voxel tools. Later on, Landmark will include AI, combat, and DM tools, but its early 2014 launch starts with the basics. Last month, I visited Sony Online Entertainment's San Diego studio to try out a pre-alpha version of the toolset and see what I could build in a few hours.

Landmark gives us the power of scaleable blocks, copy and paste, undo, spheres, smoothing, selections, fill and delete functions, and more, but the blocks still need to be placed deliberately. The smoothing tool, for instance, won’t efficiently mold large, hard edges into nicely beveled joints, or turn a giant floating block into a flying saucer. So it's a mix between Minecraft and 3D modeling, but with more of the former than the latter—simplicity and intuitiveness is prioritized over efficiency.

Landmark will be free to play early next year. And once the first wave of players has populated the servers with sci-fi slums, ancient ruins, elvish villages, or whatever it is they're inclined to build, SOE will be expanding the toolset with the same systems it's using to build EverQuest Next. My giant little tavern, then, might actually be populated with NPCs serving booze, my caves might be crawling with creatures from the netherworld, and great castles may actually be useful strongholds—especially in PvP areas.
More information.
 
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No giant penis castles?! Count me out.
May I suggest acting your age and writing a proper comment. I'd hate if I have to start giving out warnings to juvenile posters. If your just being funny though carry on.;)
 
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Likely a reference to the game's obvious Minecraft inspiration. Penis towers were a staple in early Minecraft Let's Plays.
 
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If your just being funny though carry on.;)

Being funny, as opposed to what? A near suicidal state, for lack of genitalia sculpting opportunities? I'm afraid that comments like that baffle me.
 
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Likely a reference to the game's obvious Minecraft inspiration. Penis towers were a staple in early Minecraft Let's Plays.
I figured it might be a joke but you can't tell with some posters. I never played Minecraft so thanks for the clarification.
Being funny, as opposed to what? A near suicidal state, for lack of genitalia sculpting opportunities? I'm afraid that comments like that baffle me.
Good because comments like yours baffle me. So were even.;)
 
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I've no idea who would even play this.....I've played EQ since 1998, but as far as I can tell the next EQ won't have raids......so what's the point? At this point I'll just have to hope that they'll continue to keep new content coming for the older versions. Fortunately, we do get a new expansion tomorrow in EQ 2, which will be something to sustain us for a bit longer. I'm sure there are some people that play EQ and don't raid, but I imagine it's a very small percentage of the players.
 
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I would be stunned if there won't be raids. Guild Wars 2 even caved and added endgame PvE stuff. Considering players spend most of their time at max level, and most aren't altoholics, it doesn't make sense to ignore.
 
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I don't do raids or even party in any mmorpg which includes both Everquests.
 
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I've no idea who would even play this…..I've played EQ since 1998, but as far as I can tell the next EQ won't have raids……so what's the point? At this point I'll just have to hope that they'll continue to keep new content coming for the older versions. Fortunately, we do get a new expansion tomorrow in EQ 2, which will be something to sustain us for a bit longer. I'm sure there are some people that play EQ and don't raid, but I imagine it's a very small percentage of the players.

If you've played EQ since 1998 you are not exactly party of the majority of gamers. I am willing to hazard a guess that most MMO-gamers do not raid that much, though the ones that do raid, probably stick with the game longer and are more profitable per person.

I am looking forward to trying this game. Building stuff can be fun and it would be awesome building and GM-ing dungeons and quests. If only I was rich and didn't have to work... :p
 
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I've no idea who would even play this…..I've played EQ since 1998, but as far as I can tell the next EQ won't have raids……so what's the point? At this point I'll just have to hope that they'll continue to keep new content coming for the older versions. Fortunately, we do get a new expansion tomorrow in EQ 2, which will be something to sustain us for a bit longer. I'm sure there are some people that play EQ and don't raid, but I imagine it's a very small percentage of the players.

I'm not really why you are stuck on the point of MMORPGs being raiding. All my most memorable MMORPG times didn't involve any raiding. Raiding was just another form of grinding for me, once you learnt the appropriate tactic.

That said, I'm still scratching my head at Everquest Next Landmarks. It appears to be nothing more than an advanced minecraft clone. Good for those that like to build stuff?

As for Everquest Next, there is so little concrete information out at the moment, it is hard to get a grasp of what it is attempting to do. Procedural content generally isn't all that rivetting, so I don't really know what to think.
 
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I don't do raids or even party in any mmorpg which includes both Everquests.

I didn't do raids but I did party almost exclusively in Everquest. I left it when I started feeling like everything was a raid (sometime during Vellious). I liked raiding something one or two times, specially in the beginning, but stopped enjoying them when they turned into militaristic operations where it felt more like someone was playing my character (wizards stand here and start casting fireball exactly when I say so. Clerics stand here and heal the designated tank in cycle... etc etc etc).
 
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I would be stunned if there won't be raids. Guild Wars 2 even caved and added endgame PvE stuff. Considering players spend most of their time at max level, and most aren't altoholics, it doesn't make sense to ignore.

huh? GW2 didn't cave to anyone. They added new dungeons for exactly the same group size as the ones that already existed and they made the world boss fight harder/improved the mechanics. While Tequalt now requires about 50+ players to complete successfully, I wouldn't call it a raid.

Although, that's totally irrelevant, SOE already said that EQNext should have something like raids. But the PC Gamer preview is about Landmark, not EQNext. Not the same game anyway.

That said, I'm still scratching my head at Everquest Next Landmarks. It appears to be nothing more than an advanced minecraft clone. Good for those that like to build stuff?

It's going to start like a Minecraft clone, but it's going to move beyond that at some point. SOE said that Landmark will allow players to add and scripts encounters and monsters. They are calling it a "Build your own MMO(s)". Could end up one of the best sandbox around...but with a totally lack of direction.
 
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huh? GW2 didn't cave to anyone. They added new dungeons for exactly the same group size as the ones that already existed and they made the world boss fight harder/improved the mechanics. While Tequalt now requires about 50+ players to complete successfully, I wouldn't call it a raid.

He didn't say raid - he said endgame PvE stuff - which is pretty much what it is.

Not that it helps the game much, though.
 
He didn't say raid - he said endgame PvE stuff - which is pretty much what it is.

And my comment was they added to or improved the already existing endgame PvE stuff...
 
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And my comment was they added to or improved the already existing endgame PvE stuff…

No, you claimed they didn't cave.

ArenaNet has been firm on their position about the entire game being "endgame" and yet they've added endgame gear and they've been steadily adding harder and harder content for the endgame.

Essentially, they caved.
 
Everquest Next and Everquest Next Landmark are two different (although related) games. You may want to fix that headline, Couchpotato :) Not that I don't find their choice of names confusing.

And now you can buy packs that give you access to beta (20$) and alpha (60$ and 100$). Seems quite steep for beta access to a advanced minecraft clone. Especially considering that (IIRC) the game will be either f2p or some freemium model.
 
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No, you claimed they didn't cave.

ArenaNet has been firm on their position about the entire game being "endgame" and yet they've added endgame gear and they've been steadily adding harder and harder content for the endgame.

Essentially, they caved.

They didn't cave. Ascended were planned for launch. As for the content, they reduced the difficulty of some content as much as they increased the difficulty of others. It's called balancing. They also added content at different levels through the Living Story, some raise you to level 80, but others stayed at the zone where they happened (current one is in a level 15-25 zone for example).
 
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Yeah, the headline might be better labeled EverQuest Next: Landmark. I found the massively article to be much more revealing as to what Landmark is really slated to do in the future. Everquest Next will just be a SoE professionally developed world within Landmark. Your EQ:Next characters will be able to visit the SoE world and all the others crafted by players. See the key quotes from Massively and RPS below:

RPS: Due to all of this, your version of EQN is just one of potentially thousands of worlds players can go inhabit under these systems.

Georgeson: Yep. Ours is just a professionally developed alternative.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/11/11/soe-on-why-eqn-landmark-is-its-real-next-big-thing/

Before Georgeson let me have at the game (he knew he'd lose my attention at that point), we talked a bit about what players can expect in Landmark. And one thing that he emphasized is that the game will ultimately be quite literally a "build your own MMO" experience. Pointing out that developers said from the start that Landmark will have all the tools that were used to make EQ Next, Georgeson reiterated that the game will be about more than just construction, and players will have more than just those building tools at their disposal. He explained,

"When we do the AI editor, when we do the scenario builder, and the NPC editor, and all that other stuff, we're going to be putting it in Landmark. So as we develop for EQN, we're putting stuff in Landmark… You'll be able to do everything we can do. All of it.

That's right, folks: Not only will players be able to terraform their claims and build to their hearts' content, but they'll actually be able to introduce mobs and story arcs to their creations. Anyone who wants to ride the player-generated-content train non-stop will definitely want to hop into Landmark.

http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/11/11/hands-on-with-eq-next-landmark-building-my-castle-of-dreams/
 
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They didn't cave. Ascended were planned for launch. As for the content, they reduced the difficulty of some content as much as they increased the difficulty of others. It's called balancing. They also added content at different levels through the Living Story, some raise you to level 80, but others stayed at the zone where they happened (current one is in a level 15-25 zone for example).

I call it caving - you call it balancing. The result is a marginally better game, so it's all good ;)

Unfortunately, it's still one of the most shallow toy boxes of a game I've ever played - but that's another story.

Back to EQN :)
 
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