Windows Everquest Next/Landmark

[Huntn]

Everquest Next and Everquest Next:Landmark

Updates
29Jan- Added Crafting Video.
11Jan14- Added Advanced Building Tools Video.

Two different stand alone but related MMOs. Landmark will feed EQN.
Everquest Next (EQN)= Potentially innovative MMORPG in development unknown retail date.
Everquest Next Landmark (EQNL)= Sandbox, social, building gathering MMO in beta early 2014, due to hit retail early/mid 2014.

This is an edited excerpt from a Giant Bomb article:

EverQuest Next is a complete reimagining of the world of Norrath both physically and in terms of lore. Many characters, locations, items, and lore will feel familiar to players of previous games in the franchise, but there will also be many changes and brand new discoveries.

Key Features
Changing the Core Game
Rather than rehashing the standard D&D method of picking a class at the start and progressing through a tech tree specific to that class, EQ Next features a Multiclass System. In EQ Next, players are not limited to their original class choice. They can switch between their available classes at any time except while in combat.

Destructibility
Blow up anything, anytime, anywhere. The world of Norrath from the mountains to the smallest plants in EQN are constructed entirely of tiny voxels, which allows for anything to be both destructible and constructible. Players are able to strategically destroy bridges, crash through walls, knock down trees, and dig through the earth virtually anywhere in the game. The playable world in EQN is hundreds of feet deep in any given location, so players can dig down and discover hidden caverns, temples, and all sorts of secrets. The depths of Norrath can be procedurally generated, and while player-created tunnels can be permanent, world events such as earthquakes can collapse them and new content will be left waiting to be discovered.

A Life of Consequence (Emergent AI)
All NPCs have their own built-in wants, needs, and fears. For example, rather than having an orc camp that spawns four orcs every fifteen minutes in the same exact same spot for all eternity, when those orcs spawn, they seek out their own desires as a group and are affected by the actions of players both directly and indirectly.

Permanent Change (Rallying Calls)
Concept art featuring potential scenarios during the building of a city. Server-wide Public Quests that can take months of real time to complete and have a permanent impact on that server's version of Norrath.

The land of Norrath changes every day, based on the actions of all players… including you. Cities rise and fall, kings live and die, even the gods may change. You won't want to miss a moment of it![/quote]

Links
*Everquest Landmark
*Everquest Next Fans

Videos:
EQN=Everquest Next
EQNL= Everquest Next Landmark

As of Jan2014, all of these video primarily are concerned with Landmark!

Crafting- 23Jan14, 5 min- Crafting table, Alters (special tables that appear in the world), they make special items, and last a limited time.

 

[Aameiel]

I am very excited about this game !! I was very hooked on the first EQ for years. Can not wait to see what this game has to offer.

 

[Renzatic]

If there's any one game that could get me playing MMOs again, it'd be an Everquest sequel. This one looks cool enough to maybe, maybe make me consider taking the plunge. But...

...I gotta resist. I don't think I could afford another addiction spree. My two months with the original EQ back during the Kunark days, and my month with WoW almost ended me.

 

[Huntn]

If there's any one game that could get me playing MMOs again, it'd be an Everquest sequel. This one looks cool enough to maybe, maybe make me consider taking the plunge. But...

...I gotta resist. I don't think I could afford another addiction spree. My two months with the original EQ back during the Kunark days, and my month with WoW almost ended me.

Maybe your older now and can self moderate better?

Clarification on destructibility from PCGamer article:

Georgeson showed how melee strikes and magic attacks can blow up walls and leave craters.
This is impressive simply as a visual effect, and adds a level of responsiveness to the world that isn't present in other games. Over time, this damage will repair itself to make way for fresh adventurers, and certain key areas won't be destructible at all.

(This quote is from the PCGamer Issue 245, Nov2013 Print article: Breaking Ground, Everquest Next is shaking the foundations of the MMO.)

EverQuest Next Landmark, a free-to-play voxel building game, coming this winter- features two brief building clips.

 

[Solomani]

I was an EQ1 veteran (did betas of the expansions like Ruins of Kunark). Oh, and I have a t-shirt that proves I was DORK enough to have attended at least one EQ FanFaire. Yes, they are the official annual EQ fan conventions.

Totally skipped EQ2 when it began, because at the time (mid-2000s) I could not be pried away from SWG and WoW (which was at the time were the #1 and #2 reigning MMORPGs by subscription).

EQNext certainly looks like it will suck me back in to Norrath!

Firiona Vie server represent!

 

[Dirtyharry50]

I spent eight years and thousands of hours playing the original EverQuest.

I spent more years and more thousands of hours playing EverQuest II but found the game lacking compared to the original and they ultimately killed it for me entirely by gating leveling with an AA requirement that was a pain in the rear to make playing solo questing before you could proceed to the then new level cap. I quit the game over that which was a shame but I am not grinding out tons of AA just to level to cap because the designers were lazy in their approach to end game balancing issues which is why they took that shortcut for them and time sink for us.

I hope some people enjoy this and it turns out well but I am not impressed personally and I do not trust SOE to not screw me again the way they did in EQ2. I am also especially put off more than any other reason by their failure to support OS X. Personally, I am gradually moving towards less and ultimately no reboots, not more. Thankfully with OS X support for WoW, GW2, DDO, LoTRO and the upcoming ESO, I do not need to care about any title or any MMO company that cannot be bothered supporting my preferred platform.

 

[Solomani]

I hope some people enjoy this and it turns out well but I am not impressed personally and I do not trust SOE to not screw me again the way they did in EQ2. I am also especially put off more than any other reason by their failure to support OS X. Personally, I am gradually moving towards less and ultimately no reboots, not more. Thankfully with OS X support for WoW, GW2, DDO, LoTRO and the upcoming ESO....

Yup. EQ2's failure to support OSX was one of the factors that made me stay away from that game... even tho I clearly still owned a separate PC (at the time of EQ2's initial debut) that was still capable of playing the game, it was the time when I was starting to enjoy Mac usage again.

Also, don't forget to mention the upcoming Shadowrun Online MMORPG, which is a simultaneous Mac/PC development. (albeit slightly delayed into early 2014)

 

[Huntn]

It could be an early 2014 release. They are currently taking beta apps, but I have sworn off beta participation because (except for WoW) it tends to burn me out on a game, things like character wipes and repeating content over and over.

 

[Acorn]

This new game might have pulled me in if it had dynamic events like guild wars 2. doesnt look like it though so I cant go back to a game without it.

 

[Huntn]

Looks like the 2014 beta is Everquest Next Landmark, a building game which if I understand it correctly is going to be associated with the MMO Everquest Next in some shape or form. I got a beta key for Landmark in the Jan 2014 PCGamer and entered it just to get a peak, but it only gives 1 week of access, sometime in March 2014- Huh? Honestly I wonder if that is worth messing with the beta at all? ...
Anyone else jumping into it?

 

[Huntn]

Everquest Next and Everquest Next:Landmark

Updates
22Jan- Added Introducing Claims video.
11Jan13- Added Advanced Building Tools Video.

Two different stand alone but related MMOs. Landmark will feed EQN.
Everquest Next (EQN)= Potentially innovative MMORPG in development unknown retail date.
Everquest Next Landmark (EQNL)= Sandbox, social, building gathering MMO in beta early 2014, due to hit retail early/mid 2014.

This is an edited excerpt from a Giant Bomb article:

EverQuest Next is a complete reimagining of the world of Norrath both physically and in terms of lore. Many characters, locations, items, and lore will feel familiar to players of previous games in the franchise, but there will also be many changes and brand new discoveries.

Key Features
Changing the Core Game
Rather than rehashing the standard D&D method of picking a class at the start and progressing through a tech tree specific to that class, EQ Next features a Multiclass System. In EQ Next, players are not limited to their original class choice. They can switch between their available classes at any time except while in combat.

Destructibility
Blow up anything, anytime, anywhere. The world of Norrath from the mountains to the smallest plants in EQN are constructed entirely of tiny voxels, which allows for anything to be both destructible and constructible. Players are able to strategically destroy bridges, crash through walls, knock down trees, and dig through the earth virtually anywhere in the game. The playable world in EQN is hundreds of feet deep in any given location, so players can dig down and discover hidden caverns, temples, and all sorts of secrets. The depths of Norrath can be procedurally generated, and while player-created tunnels can be permanent, world events such as earthquakes can collapse them and new content will be left waiting to be discovered.

A Life of Consequence (Emergent AI)
All NPCs have their own built-in wants, needs, and fears. For example, rather than having an orc camp that spawns four orcs every fifteen minutes in the same exact same spot for all eternity, when those orcs spawn, they seek out their own desires as a group and are affected by the actions of players both directly and indirectly.

Permanent Change (Rallying Calls)
Concept art featuring potential scenarios during the building of a city. Server-wide Public Quests that can take months of real time to complete and have a permanent impact on that server's version of Norrath.

The land of Norrath changes every day, based on the actions of all players… including you. Cities rise and fall, kings live and die, even the gods may change. You won't want to miss a moment of it![/quote]

Links
*Everquest Landmark
*Everquest Next Fans

Videos:
EQN=Everquest Next
EQNL= Everquest Next Landmark

As of Jan2014, all of these video primarily are concerned with Landmark!

Intoducing Claims (Jan 2014) 2 min- Earn a flag by gathering XP, approx 1 hour of play required. Unknown progression required to gain additional flags. Changes to public land heal over time. Landmark link.

 

[luffytubby]

It looks really cool and ambitious in tech demos, but I think they got more than their hands full. I hope it will succeed. It would be really cool if it became a great MMO, and not just a cool minecraft-like tool.

They are effectively making two MMORPGs that they will run side by side. It's been said that a lot of people might stick with Landmark and never move over to Next. That seems dangerous to me. As tech has advanced it's become harder and harder to make good online games. And in this one in particularly, they are going to need a great A.I system for all the monsters that governs the infinite variabls to terrain and destruction. Of course it also have to make sense within the context of all the games classes and all their individual skills within this as well.

I'm all for giving up on a narrow path in favor of a more open world, but I think (am convinced / based on every other MMO I have played) that all this effort towards these new gameplay systems will take a significant hit on some other gameplay systems. A developer, even with a good team can only do so much. It will have negative consequences, I am absolutely convinced of that. That doesn't say much though. What is interesting to me is just finding out what areas that will take a hit - story?, dungeon quality? raids? pvp? crafting? economy? performance? bug fixing?

It well be worth it to get all these technological goodies in favor of saying goodbye to something that might not be so important in the end. We'll see. The prices of the pre-order kits left me worried. Particularly the 100 dollar bundle seemed a bit greedy. We'll see. We'll always see. mhhhmm.

 

[Huntn]

I realize this is a risk, but I purchased the Explorer Pack. Fingers crossed. It seems different, why not? But it could be a wet dream.

 

[luffytubby]

I realize this is a risk, but I purchased the Explorer Pack. Fingers crossed. It seems different, why not? But it could be a wet dream.

With all the disappointing MMOs over the years, one of these days, one is bound to live up to it's potential.


Warhammer and Age of Conan left a vacumm that the MMO industry never recovered from.

 

[Huntn]

With all the disappointing MMOs over the years, one of these days, one is bound to live up to it's potential.


Warhammer and Age of Conan left a vacumm that the MMO industry never recovered from.

Ultimately these MMOs failed for a reason. I assume because it's just too expensive to keep up with player expectations, and/or burnout.

 

[Huntn]

Everquest Landmark seems like it has great potential, but who knows it could flop. Unfortunately once the Alpha starts (Feb 2014) communication in this thread will be limited to speculation by other than those participating in the Alpha. What it has going for it is sophisticated Minecraft style building with sophisticated modeling available on an MMO server.

There is also Trove but that looks like another Minecraft (blocky) game.

 

[Huntn]

Released 20 Dec 2013: Tropical environment building tools, 42 sec teaser:

 

[VI™]

With all the disappointing MMOs over the years, one of these days, one is bound to live up to it's potential.


Warhammer and Age of Conan left a vacumm that the MMO industry never recovered from.

There needs to be some innovation. Each new MMO touts innovative new concepts, but never fully delivers. The only reason I played Rift for so long was because you're not locked in to one character class.

But games like TSW, SWO, Rift, etc... really don't add anything new to the genre. They mostly still use the EQ formula of clicking action buttons to fight and navigating scripted events. Doing something like a real adventure game fighting system, say Assassin's Creed would be a major advantage. Having content that doesn't have the player killing x amount of mobs or scavenging for x amounts of some item or other would be one of the biggest things to help freshen up a game. Questing and grinding are repetitive and kill a lot of the fun in an MMO. In end game content, if you hit the level cap and don't have to time to devote to a guild and raiding, you essentially finish the game and even then, once you've completed all the raids and got all the gear, you're stuck.

I think probably one of the most innovative MMOs thus far has been EVE, but that still takes a huge amount of time to learn and play.

 

[Huntn]

There needs to be some innovation. Each new MMO touts innovative new concepts, but never fully delivers. The only reason I played Rift for so long was because you're not locked in to one character class.

But games like TSW, SWO, Rift, etc... really don't add anything new to the genre. They mostly still use the EQ formula of clicking action buttons to fight and navigating scripted events. Doing something like a real adventure game fighting system, say Assassin's Creed would be a major advantage. Having content that doesn't have the player killing x amount of mobs or scavenging for x amounts of some item or other would be one of the biggest things to help freshen up a game. Questing and grinding are repetitive and kill a lot of the fun in an MMO. In end game content, if you hit the level cap and don't have to time to devote to a guild and raiding, you essentially finish the game and even then, once you've completed all the raids and got all the gear, you're stuck.

I think probably one of the most innovative MMOs thus far has been EVE, but that still takes a huge amount of time to learn and play.

Of the last couple of MMORPGs I've played, SWTOR had nothing innovative (I recall).

GW2 got rid to the trinity of tank, healer, dps, but I never got to any substantial group content before quitting.

Rift claim to fame was spontaneous group events (I think they were first with this?)

FFXIV:ARR also has spontaneous events and is a beautiful game. I like all classes on one character if you prefer, and should do, due to cross class abilities, but they did not build enough quests to support multiple classes on one toon. So alt classes require lots of grind. However it's nice when you can jump into a previous played dungeon from anywhere in the world, very cool.

EQNL (Landmark vs Next) has the potential to be a very different game, a hit? Maybe... I thought I had gotten out of the testing business, but this is the reason I paid them to let me test it, hah! Fingers crossed it is worth it. The recent video they posted on Procedural Continents (automated creation), and discoverable dungeons, has the potential to assist in keeping the Devs in front of the masses. We'll see!

 

[VI™]

Of the last couple of MMORPGs I've played, SWTOR had nothing innovative (I recall).

GW2 got rid to the trinity of tank, healer, dps, but I never got to any substantial group content before quitting.

But the premises is still the same. Kill and collect quest.

Rift claim to fame was spontaneous group events (I think they were first with this?)

Same as above. The events are just scripted "psuedo dungeons" and you can find them anywhere and all the time. Plus, once you've done one, you've done them all.

 

[Huntn]

But the premises is still the same. Kill and collect quest.

Same as above. The events are just scripted "psuedo dungeons" and you can find them anywhere and all the time. Plus, once you've done one, you've done them all.

FFXIV:ARR version are FATES. There are exceptions depending on the number of participants, but generally speaking, no real danger, and just 10 min exercises of killing things without any challenge to collect XP.

 

[VI™]

FFXIV:ARR version are FATES. There are exceptions depending on the number of participants, but generally speaking, no real danger, and just 10 min exercises of killing things without any challenge to collect XP.

I’m sure you understand what I mean though when I talk about how each is basically Everquest X.0? With the exception of Tera, which I’ve only read about and never played, and maybe DDO, the combat systems all are the same of “engage auto attack, click ability buttons”. They all contain the quest grinding system, even games like SW:O which was promising a real story arc to move the game along. It was just cut scenes tied to having to finish kill & gather quests.
EQ
EQ2
FFXI
WOW
Asheron’s Call 2
Warhammer
LOTRO
EVE
GW
GW2
Rift

That’s a list of most of the MMOs I’ve played off the top of my head and with the exception of EVE, they’re all very similar with different levels of interfaces, gimmicks, etc…

 

[Huntn]

I’m sure you understand what I mean though when I talk about how each is basically Everquest X.0?

I never played the original Everquest, but I agree that most of these games are the same, using the original mechanics, but with different wrappers and stories.

 

[Huntn]

Updated first post in this thread, with clarification between Everquest Next and Everquest Next Landmark and added a bunch of Landmark related videos.

 

[Huntn]

Added Advanced Building Tools video to OP.