Next expansion good opportunity for facelift/upgrade....

[Lendrcik]

<p>I think SOE should be looking at the next expansion as a great way to update the visual engine, and UI/Icon interface to something that isnt so "drab". I know they are making Everquest Next - but EQ2 wont be shelved, so they should bring it up to todays standards (as cartoony as WOWs graphics are, they are polished and clean and the icons/art are very well done - WOW is EQ2 competition - they are the same vintage old)</p><p>Some suggestions</p><p>Implement DirectX 10/11 option and (like SOGA) have an option to run a different looking for people with the HW</p><p> - Replace the ingame UI/Icons (the last mod to it was a step in the right direction)</p><p>- Open up a new player expeirnce that is vibrant and colourful and starts a clear epic questline that takes the CHAR from level 1 -90 (similar to SWG destiny questline).</p><p>Perhaps they should just convert Everquest II to the Everquest Next engine and be done with it! <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>Any other suggestins? Is Detiny of Velious Part I going to be EQ2's Deathly Hallows? I sure hope so!</p>

[Kitsi]

<p>While I think your intentions are good, I would suggest you don't hold your breath.</p>

[Hekynn]

<p>I agree with all the new video cards thats been coming out lately they need to upgrade the engine to DX11 and work on the shader 3.0 bugs etc</p>

[Gungo]

<p>They just upgraded the UI and visuals of eq2... LOL</p><p>Jumping from shader DX9.0c to DX10 or DX11 is a massive engine rewrite as the files are handled completely different.</p><p>Personally I rather see a different approach to making the game look better. Such as adding in improved hair/fur textures (any new textures will work really though) and adding in new PC hairstyles. These require significantly less work and will make the game look better.</p><p>There is a whole SLEW of enhancements they can do under the CURRENT system without rewriting the engine. New Sky boxes, new ocean/mirror textures/reflections, improved floral including underwater corral flora. More dynamic lighting including godrays etc. All of this is obtainable through the CURRENT system and will make the game look better.  </p>

[syntexrider]

<p>Everquest Next is supposed to bring back the feel of the original game. It was the first mmorpg I played and I still been trying to find a game that had the feel of the original Everquest. I just started play EQ2 again but already I am bored of it, it's barren. I miss the days of Karnors Castle and all the groups trying to pull mobs, the excitement of trains, losing experience, and finding your corpse. Also, running from Qeynos to freeport if you didn't have a port-- that would take 20 mins. It felt real-I hate the bell travel in EQ2--It's dumbed down. Also, Bards should be the fastest runners with epic drums--I remember seeing them blow past me and be like Damm!! Classes have to be unique and not so many of them, like regular eq-- Bard-Cleric-Druid-Wiz-War-SK-Mnk-SHa-.. We shall see. </p>

[Blakkmantis]

<p><cite>syntexrider wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Everquest Next is supposed to bring back the feel of the original game. It was the first mmorpg I played and I still been trying to find a game that had the feel of the original Everquest. I just started play EQ2 again but already I am bored of it, it's barren. I miss the days of Karnors Castle and all the groups trying to pull mobs, the excitement of trains, losing experience, and finding your corpse. Also, running from Qeynos to freeport if you didn't have a port-- that would take 20 mins. It felt real-I hate the bell travel in EQ2--It's dumbed down. Also, Bards should be the fastest runners with epic drums--I remember seeing them blow past me and be like Damm!! Classes have to be unique and not so many of them, like regular eq-- Bard-Cleric-Druid-Wiz-War-SK-Mnk-SHa-.. We shall see. </p></blockquote><p>Best post on these forums maybe ever!  I couldn't agree more.  EQ2 is too dumbed down, and the best memories I have in this game are back when EQ2 first came out, and all the hardships we faced then compared to now created great long term memories.</p>

[Wigfeet]

<p>or maybe stop with the RMT crap so maybe some of my friends would come back. Pull all the RMT crap out of the live servers and leave it on exchange servers, freerealms, and whatever that new server is. stop force feeding us crap we dont want and then raiseing the subscription prices.</p>

[Terron]

<p><cite>Lendrcik wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>- Open up a new player expeirnce that is vibrant and colourful and starts a clear epic questline that takes the CHAR from level 1 -90 (similar to SWG destiny questline).</blockquote><p>Sounds horrible,</p><p>You shouldn't be doing 1 questline to get to cap, you should be doing hundreds of separate ones with plenty of choice so that there is a lot of replay value to the best part of the game.</p>

[Avadale]

<p><cite>Blakkmantis@Everfrost wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>syntexrider wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Everquest Next is supposed to bring back the feel of the original game. It was the first mmorpg I played and I still been trying to find a game that had the feel of the original Everquest. I just started play EQ2 again but already I am bored of it, it's barren. I miss the days of Karnors Castle and all the groups trying to pull mobs, the excitement of trains, losing experience, and finding your corpse. Also, running from Qeynos to freeport if you didn't have a port-- that would take 20 mins. It felt real-I hate the bell travel in EQ2--It's dumbed down. Also, Bards should be the fastest runners with epic drums--I remember seeing them blow past me and be like Damm!! Classes have to be unique and not so many of them, like regular eq-- Bard-Cleric-Druid-Wiz-War-SK-Mnk-SHa-.. We shall see. </p></blockquote><p>Best post on these forums maybe ever!  I couldn't agree more.  EQ2 is too dumbed down, and the best memories I have in this game are back when EQ2 first came out, and all the hardships we faced then compared to now created great long term memories.</p></blockquote><p>I'm with yall on this totally. But it's not going to happen.</p><p>Just look at the trend in all of SOE's games over the past 6 years or so - including EQ1 itself. Alot of players (NOT including myself) view original EQ as tedious. Ever since WOW (yes I said it) catered to the instant gratification crowd - and pulled in millions of subs in the process - everyone is going down that path and sadly EQ Next will be riddled with wow-isms and RMT.</p><p>No one is going to develop a game like EQ1 was originally - sadly.</p>

[MurFalad]

<p><cite>Gungo wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>They just upgraded the UI and visuals of eq2... LOL</p><p>Jumping from shader DX9.0c to DX10 or DX11 is a massive engine rewrite as the files are handled completely different.</p><p>Personally I rather see a different approach to making the game look better. Such as adding in improved hair/fur textures (any new textures will work really though) and adding in new PC hairstyles. These require significantly less work and will make the game look better.</p><p>There is a whole SLEW of enhancements they can do under the CURRENT system without rewriting the engine. New Sky boxes, new ocean/mirror textures/reflections, improved floral including underwater corral flora. More dynamic lighting including godrays etc. All of this is obtainable through the CURRENT system and will make the game look better.  </p></blockquote><p>Those changes would all be good, hair/fur shaders would be a massive change for the game, better ground textures/skyboxes would make things look new everywhere.</p><p>Despite that I'm still keen on seeing core parts of the game re-written, it would be a big undertaking, but there is nothing in the pipeline that will look as good as EQ2 (EQNext is more cartoony) so why not keep it upgraded and at the cutting edge of graphics.</p>

[Gungo]

<p><cite>MurFalad wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Gungo wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>They just upgraded the UI and visuals of eq2... LOL</p><p>Jumping from shader DX9.0c to DX10 or DX11 is a massive engine rewrite as the files are handled completely different.</p><p>Personally I rather see a different approach to making the game look better. Such as adding in improved hair/fur textures (any new textures will work really though) and adding in new PC hairstyles. These require significantly less work and will make the game look better.</p><p>There is a whole SLEW of enhancements they can do under the CURRENT system without rewriting the engine. New Sky boxes, new ocean/mirror textures/reflections, improved floral including underwater corral flora. More dynamic lighting including godrays etc. All of this is obtainable through the CURRENT system and will make the game look better.  </p></blockquote><p>Those changes would all be good, hair/fur shaders would be a massive change for the game, better ground textures/skyboxes would make things look new everywhere.</p><p>Despite that I'm still keen on seeing core parts of the game re-written, it would be a big undertaking, but there is nothing in the pipeline that will look as good as EQ2 (EQNext is more cartoony) so why not keep it upgraded and at the cutting edge of graphics.</p></blockquote><p>To rewrite an engine and all the exsisting files for it would be easier to just start from scratch and design content to fit the new engine instead of trying to shove square pegs in round holes.</p><p>They are redesigning eq series in eq2next pooling all the knowledge they have gleamed from all thier games to create eq2next. It will not be eq1 it will not be eq2, it will be a newer MMO based on experiences they learned with developers who have been working at SOE for some time now.</p><p>The graphics engine will not be an outdated custom made engine. It is based heavily on the freerelams engine which runs well. The graphics will not be freerealms. It is hard to see what they are designing since NO ONE HAS SEEN A PLAYER CHARACTER MODEL.</p><p>The game will not be eq2 or eq1 but they want to make take more from eq1 then they did in eq2. What does that mean i dont know. Probably make travel harder initially without the instant bell travel feel. Prolly make death a bit more drastic with less involved corpse retrievals. If you can find a happy medium beween eq1 and eq2 i think that is what they are striving for in eqnext.</p>

[Darkor]

<p><cite>syntexrider wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Everquest Next is supposed to bring back the feel of the original game. It was the first mmorpg I played and I still been trying to find a game that had the feel of the original Everquest. I just started play EQ2 again but already I am bored of it, it's barren. I miss the days of Karnors Castle and all the groups trying to pull mobs, the excitement of trains, losing experience, and finding your corpse. Also, running from Qeynos to freeport if you didn't have a port-- that would take 20 mins. It felt real-I hate the bell travel in EQ2--It's dumbed down. Also, Bards should be the fastest runners with epic drums--I remember seeing them blow past me and be like Damm!! Classes have to be unique and not so many of them, like regular eq-- Bard-Cleric-Druid-Wiz-War-SK-Mnk-SHa-.. We shall see. </p></blockquote><p>A lot of the original feel came with open and contested instances. A Karnors in EQ1 would have never been so much fun if it was instanced. EQ2 has way too many instances, instead of big contested dungeons that are actually worth it. I dont talk about the hole, i talk about dungeons like Sebilis in EQ1 where i would spend weeks over weeks in all kind of different groups.</p><p>Also taking the boat the first times was so frigging uber, i loved it even tho it was a simple boat ride. Having to run 20 minutes from one city to another was nice too. You actually had to make choices if the run was worth it.</p><p>You had corps run which forced you to be carefull with your actions.</p><p>Eq2 is way too dumbed down, all hope lies on EQ Next i guess.</p>

[Gungo]

<p><cite>Ajjantis@Nagafen wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>syntexrider wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Everquest Next is supposed to bring back the feel of the original game. It was the first mmorpg I played and I still been trying to find a game that had the feel of the original Everquest. I just started play EQ2 again but already I am bored of it, it's barren. I miss the days of Karnors Castle and all the groups trying to pull mobs, the excitement of trains, losing experience, and finding your corpse. Also, running from Qeynos to freeport if you didn't have a port-- that would take 20 mins. It felt real-I hate the bell travel in EQ2--It's dumbed down. Also, Bards should be the fastest runners with epic drums--I remember seeing them blow past me and be like Damm!! Classes have to be unique and not so many of them, like regular eq-- Bard-Cleric-Druid-Wiz-War-SK-Mnk-SHa-.. We shall see. </p></blockquote><p>A lot of the original feel came with open and contested instances. A Karnors in EQ1 would have never been so much fun if it was instanced. EQ2 has way too many instances, instead of big contested dungeons that are actually worth it. I dont talk about the hole, i talk about dungeons like Sebilis in EQ1 where i would spend weeks over weeks in all kind of different groups.</p><p>Also taking the boat the first times was so frigging uber, i loved it even tho it was a simple boat ride. Having to run 20 minutes from one city to another was nice too. You actually had to make choices if the run was worth it.</p><p>You had corps run which forced you to be carefull with your actions.</p><p>Eq2 is way too dumbed down, all hope lies on EQ Next i guess.</p></blockquote><p>Times have changed. I wouldnt expect eq1 nor as instanced as eq2. I expect death penalties like shard retrievals or corpse retrievals but MUCH easier then eq1. I expect travel to be faster but not instant such as running to a druid/wizard portal in the commonlands but not a bell on dock system.</p><p>You will not see eq1 type time sinks.</p>