[Megathread] Everquest Next (what we know thus far)

[Axehandle]

More information from October 2012.


“I have to be honest with you. We have completely blown up the design of EverQuest Next. For the last year and a half we have been working on something we are not ready to show. Why did we blow up the design? The design was evolutionary. It was EverQuest III. It was something that was slightly better that what had come before it. IT was slightly better. What we are building is something that we will be very proud to call EverQuest. It will be the largest sandbox style MMO ever designed. The same exciting content delivered in a new way. Something you’ve never seen before. The MMO world has never seen before. We didn’t want more Kill 10 Rats quests. We didn’t want more of the same. If you look at the MMOs out there, they’re delivering the same content over and over again. So are we. We need to change that. When we released EverQuest, we changed the world. We want to do that again with a different type of game.

What I will commit to is, at the next Fan Faire, not only will you get to see it but you will get to touch it. Most of the EQNext devs are in this room. If you get them drunk enough they might tell you. They’re led by Dave Georgeson. Terry Michaels. Vets from EQ and EQ2. We are remaking Norrath unlike anything you’ve ever seen, but you’ll recognize it. I’m sorry we don’t have anything to show for it, but I wanted to be honest with you and tell you a little bit about it. Keep the faith.”

http://eq2wire.com/2012/10/18/soe-li...h-for-updates/

---------- Post added 2012-12-23 at 05:21 PM ----------

Interview with Smedley, the CEO of Sony Online Entertainment the team behind Everquest.

“Everybody has been making the same game since Everquest, really,” says Smedley. “If you look back, Ultima Online was out before us and really, all the current crop of MMOs are a lot like Everquest – they’re in that style. They’re great because the quality level has really improved, but nobody has really changed the game. the previous designs we had for the next Everquest were cookie-cutter, they were ‘me too’. We had some great, innovative things in there and they’d have been great games in themselves, but they wouldn’t have been enough to keep an audience. We’ve had people playing Everquest for 13 years and we kept that in our mind as the main goal when making Everquest Next.”
Bold words! But, in any case, the game seems to have gone down well with SOE staff at its internal unveiling.
“I was really nervous about [showing SOE staff the game],” says Smedley. “We showed it to them on Monday, and I couldn’t sleep on Sunday night because I was scared. We’ve thrown out two previous designs of the game to go with something pretty crazy and… well, it’s awesome. When the team saw it I could barely breathe when they were watching it. But when I’d finished they were clapping and cheering – and these guys are gamers, so they’re not afraid to call bullshit when they see us make a mistake. It’s happened before. We’ve made mistakes, and the guys internally will call us on it every time. But they loved this, and we really felt vindicated that the way we’re going with Everquest Next is the right way. I feel good about it. We’re not trying to make WOW2 or Everquest 2.5 – we’re making something that we think will define the next generation of MMOs.”

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/12/14/ev...-to-make-wow2/



If you have any information on Everquest Next please post it in this thread. Thanks.

[Tabbycat]

I'm not entirely sure why, but neither of the links work for me. I just get a search page.

[Axehandle]

I'm not entirely sure why, but neither of the links work for me. I just get a search page.

No problem I'll repost them.

[Scoots]

Hmm, Intriguing. I heard about this from an old guild mate ages ago, but I didn't pay attention to it. They are blowing this up a lot. I can't wait to see if this is an MMO messiah, or another flop. But the way they talk, it sounds like it will be pretty nice.

[Axehandle]

Hmm, Intriguing. I heard about this from an old guild mate ages ago, but I didn't pay attention to it. They are blowing this up a lot. I can't wait to see if this is an MMO messiah, or another flop. But the way they talk, it sounds like it will be pretty nice.

It depends on what you're looking for. This game is expected to be the largest MMORPG sandbox ever. Now if you prefer the WoW, swtor, etc style themepark games which are very linear you may not like what SOE is creating. If you like minecraft, eve, UO, or EQ1 to name a few if the devs deliver you will be very very happy with the product.

[Tabbycat]

No problem I'll repost them.

Thanks! The links work now. This could be interesting. I heard the original EverQuest was good but I never played it.

[Lovestar]

When we released EverQuest, we changed the world.

That gave me a good laugh. :p

[Zechs-cenarius]

aaahhh everquest. How it started essentially the mainstream MMORPGs we have today. Hope they kick it up another step like they did with EQ when it launched.

[Fencers]

Kinda expect that EQN is going to have a Diablo 3 effect. In that people that have no business talking or playing EQN are going to be picking up the game. No doubt I will be infuriated by these bandwagoners.

I am quite excited as a longtime EQ player for a series reboot. Though I kinda just want EQ1: The sequel that is not Everquest 2. And it seem like Smed is not really going to give me that-- sorta annoying.

[Dababa]

So when will this next Fan Faire be?

[Ighox]

Really excited for Everquest Next, the first big sandbox MMORPG to come from a big company since like 8 years ago.
The only sad part is that as an EU player we'll probably get stuck with ProSiebenSat1 and that alone kills most of the hype I have for the game, I want to be with SoE too.

[Dezerte]

It being a sandbox is more than enough to raise my attention, I'll keep an eye on this.

[Totori]

That gave me a good laugh. :p

Well to be honest, it did.

EQ1 was what defined and made the current MMO trend that we see with the 'holy trinity' and raid progression.

Hope they're able to pull sandbox through. Though it's harder to do sandbox than it is to do a linear progression.
EQ2 has a few sandbox materials, so it wouldn't be that terrible of a leap. Dungeon maker, housing, chronomancy, stuff like that. Obviously there are raids and dungeons for those who wants, but it is a lot easier to mess around with how you want to play as opposed to other games.

[slime]

I like EQ2.. I know I'm the only one. But he talks the talk - and i like what I'm hearing.

[Speedlance]

I never played EQ, however atm I'm desperate for a quality MMO that grabs my attention. So far I've only leveled up and gotten bored, swtor, GW2 etc.

[Goatfish]

If it feels like the first everquest with better graphics, cleaned up systems, and slightly less harsh penalties I will enjoy it for sure. Definitely keeping my eye on this regardless.

[Axehandle]

Everquest Next will run on the Forge Light engine used for Planetside 2


"What does all this mean?" Smedley asked. "Think about this, EverQuest players, think about a physics engine that is built into every single aspect of your gameplay. We've partnered with Nvidia and their amazing PhysX platform. It means that we can bring you the most amazing characters and environments ever seen before in an MMO, or a single player game."

For the creative director of the entire EverQuest line, Dave Georgeson, the real benefit of Forge Light will be in roleplaying your EQ toon. "For the people that love to roleplay, to stand around and talk to each other, the facial expressiveness [that Forge Light will provide] is huge," he said. "It gives them almost everything that they want."

I asked if the emote system for EQ Next will be revised to give tighter control over your toon's face and expressions. "Oh yeah, there's so much that I wish I could tell you right now [about that]," Georgeson said. He hinted at using some of the technology that was shown at E3 this year that could take images from a webcam and transfer them to a digital character. "Even if someone doesn't want to sit there with a webcam watching your face, which people won't want to do all the time, they can still set up these elaborate macros," Georgeson said.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news...e-Light-Engine

[Pacer]

Kinda expect that EQN is going to have a Diablo 3 effect. In that people that have no business talking or playing EQN are going to be picking up the game. No doubt I will be infuriated by these bandwagoners.

I guess I will be one of those players, I am interested in this game because it is sandbox and everquest in one. I have heard a lot of people praise the old everquest game, I never played it but I have been dying for a good sandbox fantasy mmo for years and I hope this game could be the one.

[edgecrusher]

That gave me a good laugh. :p

They kinda did. EQ1 is the foundation for pretty much every modern theme park MMO out there right now. It caused the first MMO boom, with WoW building from that and causing the second.

[Erenax]

SOE is slowly earning my trust back. I played the original Everquest for 5-6 years, played a ton of Planetside, but I was really disappointed by Everquest 2 compared to World of Warcraft and they lost me to Blizzard. I'm actually excited for Everquest Next though now that my WoW days are finally over (Mists was the nail in the coffin).