[Megathread] Everquest Next

[Cyclone Jack]

Apparently, as part of the storybricks AI, NPCs know when holidays are and will react differently during different holidays. Sounds interesting.

I'd love to see a game that used its own holidays that didn't reflect, or coincide with, the holidays people regularly celebrate.

[draykorinee]

I'd love to see a game that used its own holidays that didn't reflect, or coincide with, the holidays people regularly celebrate.

Yes please, this.

[Ighox]

I really hope they continue with Frostfell and Nights of the Dead, I think SOE is better than most at making those holiday events.

[Fencers]

The fact that it seems like you'll have to farm materials to build stuff in Landmark is incredibly lame. Amazingly lame. "I don't even want to install this game anymore" levels of lame.

I just don't get developers. It's like they have zero faith in their own game ideas.

Why is it lame?

Landmark's gameplay process involves mechanical persistence. SOE never claimed Landmark was devoid of game mechanics.

[Shurkuris]

The fact that it seems like you'll have to farm materials to build stuff in Landmark is incredibly lame. Amazingly lame. "I don't even want to install this game anymore" levels of lame.

I just don't get developers. It's like they have zero faith in their own game ideas.

I'm guessing you hate any form of crafting mechanic in any game? That is literally all it is, pick up crafting materials as your leveling and something to do while your at max level .

[Iseeyou]

Lol EQL without farming mats. Would be boring as fuck.

[RoninaThorstone]

Yeahhhhh...

The half the "fun" of building is gather the rare materials to build it.

[zito]

We need more interactive crafting in games, not the generic "forge X" and wait 10 minutes to finish bull crap.

[Fencers]

Because it's just another, "Here's a neat idea, but we're going to ruin it by hiding it behind a timesink since we're not really confident that the idea will be fun enough." offering from the MMO world.

Your reply doesn't explain anything.

What neat idea?

How is gathering/crafting materials counter to this undefined "neat" idea?

What statement(s) did SOE make which suggest(ed) Landmark would have no gameplay mechanics?

True, but I thought the mechanics would be...you know...movement, jumping, the "combat lite" that was mentioned. Not gating the creative process behind farming. The hell is that?

As far as we know, those mechanics are additional.

[Shurkuris]

We need more interactive crafting in games, not the generic "forge X" and wait 10 minutes to finish bull crap.

Like what, QTEs? Those get really boring really fast.

Even if they made a somewhat unique cutting (Think Metal Gear Solid Vengeance cutting) system for materials, grinding, polishing, etc... How much fun would you have before you started to say "Screw it, just automatically create everything for me in X amount of time" because you need to make 20 tons of stone for a huge castle and you had to do each damn piece individually (Think 1 stone = 20 pounds).

[Fencers]

Oh come on, you know exactly what. The whole minecraftian-element. Being able to construct, play through and share any sort of environment that you could conceive and create.

One can do that. I am still not sure what outline you have for the gameplay mechanics being in contra to building and exploration.

This is sort of like that. Landmark is separate from EQ:N and I thought it was that way for a reason.

EQN:L is standalone.

In EQN one would not be building, staking claims or emphasize gameplay mechanisms which promote construction & exploration in a limited segment of the game space.

I dont grasp where the source of confusion in the conflux of two desperate ideas.

It doesn't even make sense in a product where they explicitly said that you'd pretty much be using "the same tools the developers used".

Using tools similar to those of the developers for virtual shaping of the game space is not an express mechanism. Nor would it be necessarily inhibited by a gameplay mechanic. Per se.

There is no correlation between the two.

That just doesn't sound like fun at all. I can't envision myself having a creative idea or spark and saying, "I can't wait to log in and farm stone for X amount of time before I can start creating!!"

As yet, we are unclear on what the modus for Landmark will be. Though it was not a reasonable assumption to believe Landmark was a free building game sans rules.

To the contrary, SOE were quite frank in stating that Landmark would be a game and have gameplay. Which by logic and practicality, must have rules and limitations. Which is to say that while one can have software which allows free construction within a virtual space that it would not necessity be a game were it not given limitation defined by a set of circumstantial rules.

[zito]

Like what, QTEs? Those get really boring really fast.

Even if they made a somewhat unique cutting (Think Metal Gear Solid Vengeance cutting) system for materials, grinding, polishing, etc... How much fun would you have before you started to say "Screw it, just automatically create everything for me in X amount of time" because you need to make 20 tons of stone for a huge castle and you had to do each damn piece individually (Think 1 stone = 20 pounds).

More like FF14, where you are rewarded for not going "make X" and crafting has interactiveness via skills.

[igniter]

I think a lot will come down to the scope of farming. Like in their recent stream the guy built a basic castle thingy, that shouldn't take all too long to farm stone wise with a max level mining pick. For myself, it's just a diversion while I wait for EQN. I hope they add a maya like hot box!

[Fencers]

[FONT=Verdana]
You seem to be operating off the assumption that I'm disappointed because I'm somehow confused about the separation between Landmark and Next. I'm clear on the separation, in fact it's the separation that had my hopes up about Landmark. I thought that being separate from the "main" MMO would free it from the standard time economy system that MMOs tend to work off of.

Yes, and I asked you why it was lame. As in, why is it feeble &/or uninspired. Which you answered by saying something about timesinks and a vague term of "neat idea".

Now, I do agree falling back on timesink play mechanics is lame in the sense of lacking or being in a state of relative dullness. However I wanted to outline rather specifically what aspects of [proposed] play mechanics are counter or incongruous to Landmark.

As of what we know presently, crafting and gathering mechanics are right in line with the tempo of Landmark. Which is looking to be more "game-y" the more SOE show of it.

I snipped your post for brevity.

[Cyclone Jack]

Oh come on, you know exactly what. The whole minecraftian-element. Being able to construct, play through and share any sort of environment that you could conceive and create.

You mean, the same Minecraft where you go out and farm materials to be used in crafting and construction?

[Ighox]

Just move on then since you obviously hate the idea so much.

Of course a building game is going to have resource gathering/crafting/exploration.

[ro9ue]

Fuck I want to play this game and get the $100 pack but no Mac support...

[Pachycrocuta]

Just move on then since you obviously hate the idea so much.

Of course a building game is going to have resource gathering/crafting/exploration.

I typically just ignore his posts. All I ever see is complaining about whatever game the topic is about. But I agree. If you hate the idea, don't play it and just move on.

[stellvia]

I don't think there was any point with Landmark that they didn't say you would be collecting materials to craft with. If you missed that, you weren't paying attention then. And collecting materials and building is exactly how Minecraft is set up. Sure, they eventually added a free build mode or whatever, but the original design of the game was about collecting what you used to craft. Hence Mine. Craft.

And unless you want very specific looks, I highly doubt collecting resources will be all that onerous.

[stellvia]

*scratches head* Well I guess I never assumed that myself. It's a pre-alpha build being shown off by a developer -- I automatically assume they're going to be set for god-mode with unlimited resources to show off the engine.