Producer's Letter - August 8, 2006 :: ZAM

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Producer's Letter - August 8, 2006Aug 8th, 2006 at 5:35 PM by Railus

Here is a letter from EverQuest producer Chris Lena, as seen on EQLive:

The beta for the upcoming expansion, The Serpent's Spine, has now begun. There is a lot of testing to be done considering we are including a whole new newbie experience with the Drakkin as well as content for every level in the game. This is not to say that we have ignored those folks on the bleeding edge of content. Along with the increase of the level cap will be dual track end zones that will be the most challenging content this game has seen. I would go as far as to say the most challenging content any MMO has seen.

Also, at the time of the expansion launch we are going to be rolling out a bunch of changes to the live game. These are all currently being tested in beta so all are subject to change. These changes will be available to all players whether or not they choose to purchase The Serpent's Spine. Here are just a few of the big ones:

Graphical revamps of Highpass Hold, East Commons, West Commons, and possibly one or two others.

We have redone the character creation screen to streamline it and update its look. If you wanted to it will now be possible to create a character and enter the game on a single screen.

Altering death so that you will "hover" over your body for a while. This will allow you the time to get resurrected without having to zone 2 or 3 times.

Introducing the concepts of being in and out of combat so we can use that mechanism to lower downtime in between fights.

Boats! They are coming back.

Both progression servers are still going great and both are still sporting very healthy populations. The numbers are showing that these servers have also brought a lot of people back to the game. I know the servers haven't been perfect and they don't fulfill everyone's desires but the bottom line is it has been great for the overall health of EverQuest. July was the best month we have had in a long time thanks to the folks coming back to check out those servers.

All in all things are really going great leading up to the launch of The Serpent's Spine in September. One thing we are doing to keep the momentum going is web advertising. So, keep your eye out for some snazzy web ads in the coming weeks.

Chris "Raghnell" Lena
EQ Producer

Tags: EverQuest, News

Comments

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more slots

# Sep 08 2006 at 2:48 AM Rating: Decent

Scholar

49 posts

would love to see more slots for toons. Not enough as we have it now. I find that being able play different classes helps me play better when I am with a group. I have a better understanding of what the other players abilities are as well as how my toon can enhance the situation. I dont want to have to kill of a beloved toon to make room for a new one that i am not sure i will like.

Tried a bard once. It lasted for two hours before i killed it..bard is not the class for me.

wheee!

# Sep 03 2006 at 11:18 AM Rating: Default

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Anonymous

cool really digged the boats back in the day...

ever since the boats have been gone i swam there alot my swimming is nearly 200 just from swiming in oot.

lots of people like the boats for lots of reasons, the main is adventure, there is not much adventure left anymore.

yay to all who enjoyed riding on the boats.

vfbeqrtpo qwbnltia

# Aug 25 2006 at 5:53 PM Rating: Default

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Anonymous

yxeju lhwzuqdpt sgcvx vdzbkthe cjpavht hrscmzad sjfh

oh well

# Aug 17 2006 at 1:43 AM Rating: Decent

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65 posts

Well there it is and of course edit gets the same error 404 file not found.

/sigh

# Aug 17 2006 at 1:40 AM Rating: Decent

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65 posts

Yay boats, fire the Gnomes! Hover? are we attempting to become WoW now? In and out of combat? whaaaaaaa? Maybe I missed something but is there something wrong with not imitating WoW with half every new feature? Maybe just merge with Blizzard and get it over with. EQ is the innovator WoW was just a cheap copy and now EQ seems to be following WoW so I guess they are the innovator now, how sad. Last but not least please leave the zones alone. It will not draw more people to them unless you replace all the mobs with higher level ones. It's just more lag and more zones people loved not looking right. Same with new model mobs, not needed, not necessary and just doesn't look right. I think when they start doing this to Kunark that will be my end in EQ I love it too much as it is to see it screwed up like FP and that lag-infested piece of crap called Ro Desert which killed a zone that was very much loved by many The Oasis of Marr. Yes I know it's still there in South Ro but it's just not the same. BTW posting here is getting to be a real pain first I get file not found when I hit sumit then it tells me I have a duplicate post. How many friggin times is it going to tell me this is a duplicate post when my first one IS NOT THERE?

/sigh

# Sep 13 2006 at 2:03 PM Rating: Decent

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Scholar

47 posts

I think the trees and swaying grass displayed in the new Nektulos would make zones like Emerald Jungle or Trakanon's Teeth look fantastic. Even the terrain in Nektulos looks much better than the pixelated pseudo-grass-colored stuff in EJ or TT. I love the zone/model updates and feel they keep this old game looking much more fresh and current. If it still looked the same as it did that first year it came out (remember that hideous light blue low-resolution interface?), I would have quit playing long ago out of sheer embarassment to be seen playing it.

For those playing on antique (or low-end) computers and constantly complaining about updated zones lagging them, one word folks: upgrade. I have zero lag in Ro or Nek and they look far better than they ever have. Your error is thinking of this as a 7+ year old game. It is an ever-evolving current game that will always be changing to reflect current technology. Those who remember what it looked like when it first came out recognize how completely different it looks now.

You can't avoid the future. Period. Complaining doesn't keep it from coming.

Frankly the rest of us with more current equipment don't want you holding all of us back. Believe me, Sony gathered the statistics on how many people are still running junk equipment versus the rest of us, and carefully made their decisions to upgrade the graphics based on those numbers. They even include a mechanism for you to turn down (or disable) all graphics options to stretch a little more time out of moderately old equipment. Personally, I don't know anyone who is playing currently popular 3D games that still expects them to play well on their old (or low-end) junk. It just doesn't work that way. This game is no different. If you want to play what's out today, you gotta have the power to push the polys. Otherwise, stop whining, get over it, and let the big boyz with the big toyz play the real games.

Thanks Sony for not letting this game slide slowly into the abyss of embarassingly old-looking graphics compared to other things currently out.

/sigh

# Aug 17 2006 at 1:38 AM Rating: Decent

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65 posts

Yay boats, fire the Gnomes! Hover? are we attempting to become WoW now? In and out of combat? whaaaaaaa? Maybe I missed something but is there something wrong with not imitating WoW with half every new feature? Maybe just merge with Blizzard and get it over with. EQ is the innovator WoW was just a cheap copy and now EQ seems to be following WoW so I guess they are the innovator now, how sad. Last but not least please leave the zones alone. It will not draw more people to them unless you replace all the mobs with higher level ones. It's just more lag and more zones people loved not looking right. Same with new model mobs, not needed, not necessary and just doesn't look right. I think when they start doing this to Kunark that will be my end in EQ I love it too much as it is to see it screwed up like FP and that lag-infested piece of crap called Ro Desert which killed a zone that was very much loved by many The Oasis of Marr. Yes I know it's still there in South Ro but it's just not the same. BTW posting here is getting to be a real pain how many friggin times is it going to tell me this is a duplicate post when my first one IS NOT THERE?

Another great idea!

# Aug 16 2006 at 2:06 AM Rating: Decent

__DEL__1593968078849

14 posts

Oh, I know, revamp Nektulos! wait...

Boats, why not just add stones to every zone and just get over with it all ready (first spires then PoP stones/books, then guild hall portal), I am sure druids and wizzys aren't mad enough...

Hovering apon deaths, nice idea, but not if your soloing...

and my fav one "concepts of being in and out of combat so we can use that mechanism to lower downtime in between fights" lemme guess, so its more like EQ2? Well.. congradulations, you officaly made beastlords a useless class, I hope with that patch I get all the AAs I wasted on paraon and improved versions of it. Whats next? remove mage pets? Make monks fight with their hands behind their backs? Remove necros ability to regen mana all together? I beg you Sony keep EverQuest EverQuest, WE DO NOT WANT ANOTHER EQ2 OR WoW!!!

On a side note, after how many years and we only have 8 character slots for your server...dosen't leave much room to explore other class / race combos at all, and don't tell me to just roll on another server, I was born on Drinal and I will die on it! I think they should at least give those on FV the ability to make 1-2 alts, seriously you force them to stick with 1 char for that long then throw several new races and a new class at them, then force them to make a desision of keeping what they have or re rolling something they most likely worked years on!

wow.. oops
/rant off I guess. will never even bother posting on their forums, they wouldn't reply, just needed to get that off my chest I guess. and yea Drakkin look to womanly, they make high elf men look buff, and thats sad on so many levels :P

Another great idea!

# Aug 17 2006 at 1:35 AM Rating: Decent

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65 posts

Yay boats, fire the Gnomes! Hover? are we attempting to become WoW now? In and out of combat? whaaaaaaa? Maybe I missed something but is there something wrong with not imitating WoW with half every new feature? Maybe just merge with Blizzard and get it over with. EQ is the innovator WoW was just a cheap copy and now EQ seems to be following WoW so I guess they are the innovator now, how sad. Last but not least please leave the zones alone. It will not draw more people to them unless you replace all the mobs with higher level ones. It's just more lag and more zones people loved not looking right. Same with new model mobs, not needed, not necessary and just doesn't look right. I think when they start doing this to Kunark that will be my end in EQ I love it too much as it is to see it screwed up like FP and that lag-infested piece of crap called Ro Desert which killed a zone that was very much loved by many The Oasis of Marr. Yes I know it's still there in South Ro but it's just not the same.

M'kay

# Aug 14 2006 at 4:15 PM Rating: Default

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Anonymous

BOATS ARE BACK!!! !!11!!111Eleven!!!!!1!!!
thank you SoE.....

Boats!

# Aug 11 2006 at 10:26 AM Rating: Decent

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6 posts

Bring them back, I never got to ride.

boats boats boats!

# Aug 10 2006 at 11:42 AM Rating: Decent

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148 posts

YYYAAAAAAYYYYY!!!! BOATS R BACK HOORAAAAYYYY!!!! I LOVE BOATS! They so much fun!! im gonna ride one to OoT as soon as they r back! or ill take that HUGE boat to FV! The one where u gotta take a small shuttle to get to your huge boat!

By the way, forget u people who want the stupid gnomes... get over it! When i started playing there was no PoK or Nexus or Transporters or magus' we had to walk from Kunark to odus and when we got to water we swam or took the boat! It was fun as hell and these porters kinda ruin it. And You haven't played EQ until you ride the Shuttle in BB to get to the HUGE boat that brings you to FV!

Edited, Aug 10th 2006 at 12:49pm EDT by Krouk

agree

# Aug 10 2006 at 8:16 AM Rating: Decent

__DEL__1594571471300

67 posts

Quote:

Hmm, more races, should give us an extra character slot or two.

just what i was thinking!!

hmmmm.....

# Aug 09 2006 at 10:11 PM Rating: Decent

__DEL__1591891749850

7 posts

i really hope they dont get rid of regen during combat that would kill beastlord class all togther which would tick me off pretty good since its my main.would make a whole line of spells worthless

combat modes

# Aug 09 2006 at 7:08 PM Rating: Good

__DEL__1592344491328

Sage

150 posts

Yuk, comabat modes! That was such a pain in the *** in EQ2, people would get "stuck" in combat therefore no mana or hp regen. You would have to log out and back in to fix it most times. There is no medding thru fights as when your group engages you go into combat. Its good for solo players because downtime is practically non existant. If they go thru with this I hope it won't be as drastic of a change to be like EQ2, maybe just an accelerated regen rate or something. But hell, all the regen and FT items we worked for may become obsolete. Bah, just don't fix it if it ain't broke.

boats

# Aug 09 2006 at 3:48 PM Rating: Default

__DEL__1685319470809

208 posts

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! BOATS!!!!!!!!!> MAN I LOVE IT> i hope they hang the litle green gnomes in POK. so we can all see their deaths. i mean sure it might take 30 mins to gte to a loacation. but who wants to go all around teh world in 40 mins. its a WORLD. adventure see the zones walk through thrm. say where do i go? and when you do edventually getv there you feel as if you acully travled. i SURE HOPE THEY DO NOT! REVAMP halas. OR EVERFROST! charcter choosing thing tahst pretty cool. although hovering above your corpse i dont fully understand. o well

classes?

# Aug 09 2006 at 3:36 PM Rating: Default

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Anonymous

What classes are the drakkin going to have? personally i think a dragon beastlord would be awsome. And is halas giong to be revamped? it's all old graphic NPC's and square looking huts =P

Drakkin

# Aug 09 2006 at 2:12 PM Rating: Decent

__DEL__1591791307508

11 posts

I hope the drakkin class looks cool but how it sounds the way they have on bete server they lok like humans but there Half dragons half humans... opens a lot of ways to graphic em into the game but could also make em look stupid PLEASE SOE dont make em look stupid =-P

boats!

# Aug 09 2006 at 1:06 PM Rating: Default

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Anonymous

noooooooooooooooooooooooooononononononoooooooooooooooooooo don't bring the boats back!

New Expansion maybe fix Dire Charm?

# Aug 09 2006 at 10:40 AM Rating: Decent

__DEL__1592251282172

16 posts

I play an Enchanter, Druid, Necro all with the AA to have a Dire Charmed pet level 46 and lower. if level cap raising will this raise?

My main gripe is why spend the AA's to make your pet targetable for group buffs and pet hold etc if none of those work with a Dire charmed pet. you can not go invis with a DC pet you will loose it, unlike normal pets, you can not get Call of The Hero with a DC pet as it will agro every thing in the zone trying to get to you.

They need to fix the DC pet's

As for the boats keep both if your bringing them back, keep the gnomes for those of us that dont care to wait for the damn ship to get somewhere hello we have these Gnome wizards who love to use their magic dont upset the gnomes let them have their fun :)

New Expansion maybe fix Dire Charm?

# Aug 10 2006 at 12:55 AM Rating: Default

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Anonymous

Have to disagree with you with the Gnomes. When EQ was first put together, getting place to place was suppose to be difficult. Actually, scratch that, it was suppose to be an experience. Players now are just being spoiled with the usage of the PoK to get to point A to point B. It has gotten so bad, that you can ask most players that have level 70s about a zone and they will look at you in amazement. (Not the good kind, the look of 'Holy crap! A new zone!') I mean... The return of the old days is something that should be cherished, not seen as an extra feature. If the game was suppose to be all for the player, it would be no challenge. There are different trials you need to face and if you decide that keeping an easy button out for game fast forward, then I do believe it is time for you to find another game.

By the way, about the DC... You might be right about the DC pets, but you also got to realize you have an actually lvl 1 to 46 pet following you. That will not turn around and try to gank you when you need them the most. Not like a real summoned pet, plus I believe it goes along the lines of a charmed mob, not a summon. Now, in my opinion, they need to raise the level you can DC mobs. For enchanters that is, I mean they get the biggest shaft out of all the classes.

Better with Age,
Choderi

New Expansion maybe fix Dire Charm?

# Sep 13 2006 at 2:35 PM Rating: Decent

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Scholar

47 posts

Quote:

it was suppose to be an experience

I was there at the beginning of this game. The boats were never much more than a bug-fest and multi-hour hinderance to travel and a complete waste of time. That's why they were replaced by gnomes at one point.

If they actually made the boat rides a true experience, it would justify their existence in this game. By experience, I mean perhaps one would get to combat things while riding it, or trade with nomadic NPCs who carry unique items on board, or maybe practice spell casting or archery skills, or do just about ANYTHING useful other than standing in one place hoping the boat doesn't decide to crash on zoning or simply slide out from under you and leave you stranded in the middle of the ocean. The fact that you were considered to be "moving" when sitting on the boat made most of the most valuable time-passing activities impossible. Many simply left the room for an hour only to find they had drowned because it dumped their character in the ocean while they were gone.

If they are bringing the boats back, I certainly hope there is a real reason to bring them back OTHER than just killing 1 hour of time so the world feels bigger. One hour of play time is too valuable to waste on creating the illusion of size.

New Expansion maybe fix Dire Charm?

# Aug 10 2006 at 5:24 PM Rating: Decent

__DEL__1592257837565

Scholar

56 posts

Dire charm does not need to be "fixed"... it's not broken. it is exactly what it says in that it's a CHARM not a summon. yes if you invis with a DC pet you lose it, just like you lose a regular charmed pet if you invis. same goes for zoning, etc... you CAN call of the hero if you have your full spellbook, you just guard your pet, and then summon companion it after you get coth'd, it's amazing how well that utility works and how little people actually use it.

As far as raising the level cap for DC, they kind of did. it's not really so much raising the cap as giving a new ability (Edict of Command = unresistable, fixed duration charm for up to 6 minutes).... If you go to the right zones (no i'm not talking about PoP zones at all in this, i'm talking about other content), your DC pet is a very good utility as a chanter and will increase your DPS over your summoned pet drastically. It would be nice if they gave an upgrade to dire charm eventually, but they have to balance the pet DPS with the HP/AC of the content (all in all a pretty difficult situation to make everyone happy in). I think they should focus more on giving us an ability to make our pets better, since they nerf'd charm back in the day.
--Faedarr Diesquick 70 ENC / 170AA

hovering

# Aug 09 2006 at 10:11 AM Rating: Decent

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do we get the choice of whether we hover over our corpses or not.....being a person that doesn't get to play as much as i used to and doing alot of soloing at times why would i wanna hover over my corpse when it's easier to pop back in PoK summon to GL get rebuffed and head back out?especially since alot of the times when i play i am only one in the zone with a cleric no where in sight,lol

not fussing i think it's an awesome idea not to have to zone a cpl times but i think we should be given a choice....to hover or return to bind point...like a TL

New race, more character slots?

# Aug 09 2006 at 8:30 AM Rating: Default

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337 posts

Hmm, more races, should give us an extra character slot or two.

Just my 2cp.

well

# Aug 09 2006 at 6:16 AM Rating: Decent

Scholar

4,445 posts

ID just assume not have the boats. I know alot of people look at them for sentimental value, but honestly they was a bigger pain then they was worth. And really do you want to spend half a hour trying to get to OCean of Tears, Timerous Deep, Iceclad (actually ICeclad is even longer since u need 2 boats). I personally have gotten used to the Translocators and would just assume use them. If they wanted to fix the boats they should have done YEARS ago instead of getting us used to the TRanslocators.

I also have my doubts about the in/out of combat system. Like right now you can still gain mana/hp during battle if you sit there medding while the mob is under attack. Is this goign to be like Everquest 2 where you gain NO hp or NO mana during combat? IF so that is a terrible change, I don't want eq1 turned into eq2. How many times have you ran out of mana fighting somethign and then ran off sat down a half a minute while it slowly (snared) walks towards you? By that time you gain enough mana for finish the battle and win. How about casters while we are in combat trying to med? Are they going to take that away? I think they should have given more details. Lets face it SOE is bad about telling you all the positive stuff they are going to give you, but they seldomly tell you what they are taking away.

However If they will simply give you the same hp/mana regen you are getting now during combat, and more out of combat it might be a good thing. But if they are going to take away something ID just asusme not have it. In fact if they went that far it would probably push me to leave the game.

The Hover over your corpse thing sounds neat, be nice to not zone every time you die I guess.

Far as the GRaphics updates just hopefully they don't make us relearn the zones. IF they keep them similar to how Southro/North Ro was made NP.

Could care less about the charactor select screen.

____________________________

Hi

well

# Aug 16 2006 at 12:47 AM Rating: Default

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Anonymous

You idiot. It's "as soon" not "assume."

well

# Aug 09 2006 at 5:24 PM Rating: Default

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Anonymous

"assume"

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." -- Inigo Montoya

WOOT

# Aug 09 2006 at 3:11 AM Rating: Decent

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56 posts

BOATS BOATS BOATS!! WOOOT!!

***** those damn gnomes in green armor, i hope they remove those.

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