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EQ Population decreaseFollow

#1 Nov 16 2004 at 11:30 AM Rating: Decent
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Has anyone seen anything from SOE lately regarding what will happen in the near future to EQ?

I have been noticing a steady decrease in population on my Server (Vazaelle) as I m sure others have. I was wondering if SOE will get to a point where they will combine servers if the population gets to low? Or are we EQ'ers to be cast adrift in the sea of Obselecence? (Wonder if I spelled that right?)

I havent seen or heard anything yet myself.
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#2 Nov 16 2004 at 11:39 AM Rating: Decent
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Hopefully I am wrong, but if EQ follows the path of similar games in this genre, we may see that EQ1 gets less and less maintenance (as programmers focus on their shiny new baby) and eventually succumbs to a slow and painful death via unresolved bugs. (Have you noticed less patches for EQ1 since the push to get EQ2 out? Hopefully just a coincidence)

SOE could be different (I hope), but that is what has happened to other online games. One thing that may help: if SOE dedicates income from EQ1 accounts specifically to EQ1 maintenance. If the income is pooled, I would expect the majority of it to go towards their new baby.

On the other hand, the rumor is that EQ1 still has 2 more expansions planned. Additionally, many of the EQ1 players wont make the migration for another year or longer, so as long as their is sufficient market to sustain it, I would suspect the game will live on. In other words: If enough people continue to pay to play it, I imagine it will still live.

#3 Nov 16 2004 at 11:42 AM Rating: Decent
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I have noticed little decrease in population on Ab, we have lost a total of 5 people to EQII from my guild, i see little difference between the people leaving for EQII and the miriad of other games that have come along over the last 4 years.

Each time there is the latest MMORPG people say it's the end of EQ, and it never has been.

Alot of people will not move from EQ because of the timesink that has made them put so much effort into the game.

I personally will not be moving untill Vanguard comes out in 12-18 months, mainly because i do not have the PC to enable me to play EQII or WoW.
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#4 Nov 16 2004 at 11:43 AM Rating: Decent
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Hmmm..interesting thought there.

That the monthly service fee we pay to play EQ1 may actually be used for EQ2 all the while the Bug list for EQ1 continues to grow.

But, as shown in the past, SOE rarely concerns itself with what it's customers want. (Wish I could run my business like that!)
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#5 Nov 16 2004 at 11:59 AM Rating: Decent
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On the other hand, after my original reply, I was a little more optimistic after reading this article. Hope it helps!

http://eq.crgaming.com/viewarticle.asp?Article=7031
#6 Nov 16 2004 at 12:12 PM Rating: Decent
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Ive been stating here for awhile now that Sony was making 2 divisions to compete with one another. If you didnt listen to me then Smiley: tongue

Those who play EQ dont have to worry about it going away and being left in the corner. In fact, I have a feeling we will be seeing more CS and potentially better graphics, in order to catch up and stay competitive with EQ2.
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#7 Nov 16 2004 at 12:18 PM Rating: Decent
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I remember reading a question answer thread by the head programmer for EQ2 as it was getting ready to start.

He was asked if EQ2 was going to be a replacement and he said he highly doubted it and it was not planned. His team was created from a few of the EQ1 development team while those that were moved over to EQ2 were replaced within the origonal team.

If both EQ1 and EQ2 have their own team all will continue as it always has. Be it bad or good it will remain the same.
#8 Nov 16 2004 at 12:28 PM Rating: Good
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With WoW in open beta, it is normal to see EQ population decrease. I expect to see even further decrease when WoW goes live.

Also, another hot game is out, Half-Life 2. I am sure this will draw some players away for a while at least. But the difference is, players taking a break to play HL2 may come back after a few month, but players trying out WoW definatively won't come back.

Edited, Tue Nov 16 12:29:43 2004 by Assailant
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#9 Nov 16 2004 at 12:49 PM Rating: Decent
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Just some observations on Bristlebane.

1) I know of at least 4 guilds that are of the smaller, casual, style that are shutting down or have done so already. In each case the people in those guilds left for either WoW (beta) or EQ2. These are guilds that had a number of folks who beta tested EQ or have been around forever. Some have even sold their accounts. I have never seen this kind of exodus.

2) I have been surprised at the number of times I have zoned into PoK and seen less that 100 people (/who) in the zone. During my playing time, it was closer to 200 before EQ2.

3) I usually play between 10pm and midnight CST. Up to a few weeks ago, I could log on my lvl 30ish toons and find enough folks using the LFG window to do an LDoN or do some exp'ing. The past week, there have been between 0 and 2 lfg.

4) When playing my lvl 66 wizzy I usually end up going LFG using the LFG window. Up to the release of EQ2 there were usually about 40 toons LFG. Now, its usually less than 20, and very few who are willing to do LDoNs.

5) Most of my EQ friends who are casual players have left the game (many did so when CoH released, and moved to EQ2 when it released).

6) Most of my friends who are in mid to high end, raiding guilds are still playing EQ and having fun and don't plan to leave.

I am just guessing that a lot of the more casual players have found a new home in EQ2 or WoW. I think the EQ devs understood this would happen. It would appear to me that the dev's intend to support EQ for quite sometime, but that the game will gear itself towards the more hard core players.

Something else to think about.. If you were new to MMORPG'S what game would you play? Since EQ released, its been the one every gamer has heard about and, most likely, had friends who have tried out. It would be logical to at least try EQ out (if its so popular, it must be fun, right?). However, now Everquest comes in two flavors EQ and EQ2. Which would you choose? The newer, better graphics EQ or the old EQ. Toss in the fact that most on-line gamers have probably played Warcraft/Starcraft/Diablo, World of Warcraft has solid name recognition.

Whats my point? In the past, EQ lost a few when the "EQ killer" was released. However, many came back and the relatively few who permanentally left were quickly replaced by new players. Now, I am guessing that some folks who leave will come back, but many more will stay away than in the past. Not only that, but, fewer new MMORPG gamers, who in the past would have replaced those that have left, will choose EQ1.

IMHO, this EQ population decrease is real.

But hey, I am still having fun!

Edited, Tue Nov 16 12:52:43 2004 by Imake

Edited, Tue Nov 16 12:56:05 2004 by Imake
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#10 Nov 16 2004 at 1:01 PM Rating: Default
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Yet ANOTHER post about the same thing, how many of them are there goign to be ?
#11 Nov 16 2004 at 3:41 PM Rating: Decent
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Assailant wrote:
but players trying out WoW definatively won't come back.
Speculation. I'm sure some will come back some won't. I've seen a drop in people logged but it will start to even back out a little bit. It's been harder to get an LDoN or XP group going lately, but it'll probably fluctuate a bit for a while.
#12 Nov 16 2004 at 4:29 PM Rating: Decent
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I've been levelling up some new characters over the last couple of weeks and the population in PC last night was about 40% less than it was a couple weeks ago.

#13 Nov 16 2004 at 4:33 PM Rating: Excellent
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That is entirely as I would expect. Go back in a month and see if it's back up.

Lots of players will take a break from EQ to try EQ2 and WoW. Some will stay there. Some will come back. Some will make time to play both, or all three (though I can't imagine how).
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#14 Nov 16 2004 at 5:05 PM Rating: Decent
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They'll be back. They always come back. muhahahahah!
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#15 Nov 16 2004 at 5:57 PM Rating: Good
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I've never felt another game could make a big difference to EQ population, but WoW made me felt different.

I've tried AC, AC2, AO, none of them drawed me away from EQ. I've only been playing WoW beta for couple days and I've already started to consider switching (after I play enough of Half Life 2).

The biggest impression when I first log in to WoW is, wow, where is the graphical lag?! Everytime EQ comes out with a new zone, new graphics, new expension, they are always laggy even on a fast computer. I've been upgrading my computer parts over the years and I can never seem to catch up with EQ. With a 2.8 GHz, 512MB, overclocked GF 3 (I know, it's old), I could run doom3 at 1024x768 medium-low details with ok frame rate; but I have to turn clipping planes to near zero to be able to play in OoW zones. WoW has better graphics than EQ and it doesn't lag.

Edited, Tue Nov 16 17:57:58 2004 by Assailant
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#16 Nov 16 2004 at 6:06 PM Rating: Good
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Samirax is right, some will come back, some won't. It happens every time a new game comes out, the difference here is several are coming out in a short span of time.

In the end there will probably be fewer people playing EQ1, but as long as SOE is still makin money the servers will stay on.
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#17 Nov 16 2004 at 6:12 PM Rating: Decent
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Another not on population decrease.
Its the last few weeks of college for those of us who are students. This can really cut into play time as well.
Stack it with the other stuff and it can look worse than it is.
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#18 Nov 16 2004 at 6:54 PM Rating: Decent
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I hadn't played much this last week due to RL (only on once in 7 days instead of a couple hours each nite) and I was real curious when I logged on.

Results were:

Guild still had same numbers and most of the regulars had been on in the last 24 hours.

Bank in POK was crowded with MGBers and near constant calls for Kei/HOV etc seemed about the same.

Had my 61 chanter head over to my 2 main solo spots (kar castle, giant fort in BW) and both were camped as is usually the case.

Decided to recreate my 10 bst with the new tutuorial to get the charm and other stuff - 8 other newbies were on including 2 who were brand new and creating their first character (I asked). 3 more poped in while I was leveling to 5 in record time.

Sent a tell to a couple of longtime players who I knew had done EQ2 beta - surprised to find one was online (playing both and enjoying EQ2 but still comng back to EQ as well).

Bottom line appears that there is still a lot of EQ people playing and it will be interesting to see how many are on during the holidays which may give us a better indication of population.

#19 Nov 16 2004 at 7:11 PM Rating: Decent
I think everyone will be surprised.

Most of my local EQ friends left for awhile & played CoH. But in our weekly live action game the 4 of us hardcore players all agreed that we were staying with EQ. Time-money sink & looking at having to make minor but semi-costly upgrades to play EQII make staying attractive.

And a reminder I still have friends that play Ultima 1 person paying for multiple accounts. So some form of EQ will survive.
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#20 Nov 16 2004 at 7:41 PM Rating: Good
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Bristlebane is very down in population as Imake said. My guild is almost gone, I log on and there are between 0-6 other people, instead of lots like we used to have.

Maybe they will start to combine servers.
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#21 Nov 16 2004 at 8:07 PM Rating: Excellent
On FV I notice a decline, but it is hitting specific guilds and people.

Tapiolan Sankarit and Resolution are still continuing. We have lost one person I know of in TS to WoW, but we have a few apps, one of whom tried WoW beta and now BACK to EQ Smiley: smile
In Resolution we raid as normal, we still have to turn some people away from 54 only raids.

My 2 guilds are both different (one roleplay, one raiding) but they both have the same common factor .. family. We all work together, people are still helping each other in groups, in quests, on epics. People still login as we know there will be something to do and fun to be had. We are friends as well as guildies.
In general, members of my 2 guilds are happy. People login and play Smiley: smile

The guilds I see dying are those that do not provide the family aspect, the members who do not help each other. The guilds that do not provide anything more than a chat channel. Those with major problems in leadership or direction now find members leave in droves for other games as they were not happy in EQ in the first place. EQ2 and WoW are fun and new and an escape from EQ, where they have no fun.
#22 Nov 16 2004 at 9:00 PM Rating: Good
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It's kind of amusing really. I'd bet that most of the people most alarmed by the reduced numbers in zones like PoK and PC are players who have been playing for less then a year or 2.

This is pretty normal. You're seeing two factors going on at once. First off, EQ just had a new release. Older zones tend to empty out, especially lower level exp zones like PC since all the players who were tapped out on upper end content are playing their mains again instead of leveling alts. Same with PoK. More folks exploring the new zones, and less folks sitting in PoK goofing off.

Additionally, you've got the beta of WoW, and EQ2 going on. Of course that's going to impact total players online at any given time. That does not necessarily mean that subscriptions are down, or even that there will be a noticable long term drop. If 30% of the EQ players buy a copy of a new game and play it half of the time they'd otherwise play EQ, that's going to be a total 15% reduction in characters online at any given time server wide. That's going to be *very* noticable in the otherwise crowded zones.

I also tend to think that alot of this is assumption leading perception. While I have noticed a reduction of people online during off peak hours, it hasn't been that major IMO. I certainly don't think that the rate of patching has been reduced at all recently. If anything, they've been patching more agressively for the last several months then normal. They did the melee changes. Then did some more adjustments to that. Then added the graphical stuff like stars in the sky, and the reflections. They made some AA changes. Then added a new expansion. And a bunch of other minor stuff along the way. All in the last 4 months or so.

If anything, they've done more changes in the last 4-6 months then I can remember during any other similar period of time. Hardly a game that's being ignored.

The number of people in my guild playing around with EQ2 and WoW is about similar to the number that usually spends time playing around with a new game release. Some will leave (usually not more then a handul, and that's "normal"), most will stay. Some will leave and then come back. I haven't seen anything in the patterns of discussion to make me think that the stuff going on right now is significantly different then any of the other half dozen "big" games that have come out while I've been playing EQ.


I wouldn't stress about it.
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#23 Nov 17 2004 at 6:46 AM Rating: Decent
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I've seen the population decrease ever since I came back to EQ this spring... maybe EQ2 will have a great effect on EQ1, but I doubt it. I think most people invested too much time and too much effort in their characters to completely get rid of them.

But: I'm not sure about Sony's actions... (anyone noticed, that on www.everquest.com, they deleted the point "Future Plans" from the menu "Game Updates"?)

I've already been playing from 2000 to 2001, and I am a little afraid that now that I came back, there's not enough time left...

:(((
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#24 Nov 17 2004 at 4:40 PM Rating: Decent
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gbaji couldn't have said it better Smiley: clap
#25 Nov 17 2004 at 5:36 PM Rating: Excellent
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I know there's a patch in the works for early December to fix some issues with epic 1.5 for various classes. I don't know the day.

They've also conceded that some of the GoD AAs were overpriced, and some points will be refunded (yay!), presumably in the same patch.
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#26 Nov 17 2004 at 5:50 PM Rating: Excellent
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A quote from one of the officers in the top guild on BB, which is one of the top guilds serverwide (second only to Cestus Dei, Calimyr and Tehom's guild):

Quote:
Arch Overseers (my guild) are looking at reducing raid days from 7 days a week to 4 or so, or doing raids by singup (like we had to do for that wonderfull LDON expansion)
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