SOE Community Webcast: EverQuest II Freeport Revamp

[Naylie-DelANews]

<p><strong>SOE Community Webcast: EverQuest II Freeport Revamp</strong></p><p><img src="http://www.station.sony.com/images/community/features/webcast.jpg" /></p><p>Come check out the Freeport Revamp in this EverQuest II Webcast! Host Linda "Brasse" Carlson (Director, Global Community Relations) will interview Jonathan "Prathun" Caraker (EQ2 Game Designer) and Akil "Lyndro" Hooper (EQ2 Lead Designer) and learn all about the upcoming changes to Freeport. Are you wondering what this historic city will look like, what new quests are on the way, or how our designers come up with it all? You won't want to miss this exciting webcast!</p><p>Also, don't forget to check out this recent article on the <a href="http://www.everquest2.com/news/read/current/5011">Freeport Revamp</a>, which interviews Timothy "Haohmaru" Heydelaar (EQ2 Art Director) about the aesthetic changes to Freeport.</p><p>Join us on <strong>Thursday, November 3, 2011, at 4:30 p.m.</strong> US Pacific Time*, as we live stream this webcast on the <strong><a title="http://www.stickam.com/sonyonline" href="http://www.stickam.com/sonyonline" target="_blank">SOE channel on Stickam</a>!</strong> You can also tune in through the Stickam tab on our <strong><a title="http://www.facebook.com/SOE?v=app_4298760509" href="http://www.facebook.com/SOE?v=app_4298760509">Facebook</a></strong> page. The webcast is expected to last about 20 minutes.</p><p><strong>Come join us for the fun!</strong></p><p><strong>See you on <a href="http://www.stickam.com/sonyonline" target="_blank">Stickam</a>!</strong></p><p><img src="http://www.soe.com/images/socialmedia/stickam.png" width="200" height="33" />(<a href="http://www.stickam.com/sonyonline">http://www.stickam.com/sonyonline</a>)</p><p>*<a href="http://www.timezoneconverter.com/">Convert to your local time</a></p><p><img src="http://everquest2.com/_themes/global/images/en/footer/ESRB-EQ2.gif" /></p>

[Nrgy]

<p>I love the new Freeport ... for those that haven't gotten a sneak peek yet ... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbuFAODiHhc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbuFAODiHhc</a></p>

[SisterTheresa]

<p>Bwahahaahahaha!</p>

[Cyliena]

<p><cite>Nrgy wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I love the new Freeport ... for those that haven't gotten a sneak peek yet ... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbuFAODiHhc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbuFAODiHhc</a></p></blockquote><p>Nice, that was pretty darn accurate too. <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Rainmare]

<p>I missed it :/ was there anything there that wasn't covered in the Q & A?</p>

[feldon30]

<p>Yes. Nearly full transcript at my website, and also an abbreviated "6 things you must know" article.</p>

[Sands]

<p>Eyez demands that all ratongas go on strike.</p><p>Temple Street is mes home.</p><p>Why are yewz takings mes home aways!?</p><p>Seriously though...  what the heck is up with the removing content that is going on with this game.  Since launch I have been able to enjoy my ratongas' houses in Temple Street and now all inn housing is being moved?  I can no longer enjoy watching the crazy chef chase down dinner as I stroll about my hovel!?  Or admire the gnomish graffiti as I slay kittens for the greater good!?</p><p>Let me guess, my halflings are going to lose the Baubbleshire as housing when you <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">ruin</span> revamp Qeynos?</p><p>No thanks.</p>

[SisterTheresa]

<p>Watched the video, and putting my RP thoughts aside of devs just romving things they don't think necessary .... I am not sure what to think.  Mostly will have to see as Freeport pictures look to WoWish and cartoony.</p>

[Katz]

<p>Yeah, I agree.  Why keep removing things.  It only breaks content.  They removed the starter isles.  So no one goes to Freeport and Qeynos much anymore.  Well, duh.  They removed 2 stats off of everyone.  That broke armor all over the place.  </p><p>I bet a lot of quests will be broken that use Freeport now.  Oh, well.</p><p>Hopefully I'm being overly pessimistic.</p>

[Lera]

<p><cite>Katz wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Yeah, I agree.  Why keep removing things.  It only breaks content.  They removed the starter isles.  So no one goes to Freeport and Qeynos much anymore.  Well, duh.  They removed 2 stats off of everyone.  That broke armor all over the place.  </p><p>I bet a lot of quests will be broken that use Freeport now.  Oh, well.</p><p>Hopefully I'm being overly pessimistic.</p></blockquote><p>Other way around, actually. Nobody went to the cities anymore (because of,  as was predicted on the forums, guildhalls), so new players showed up, saw empty cities, and quit.</p><p>The villages won't be going away, though - they'll become instances. We'll just have to see what happens to quests that require going to Freeport. Hopefully they'll fix them.</p>

[feldon30]

<p>Unfortuantely, I feel that the Freeport Revamp has missed a huge opportunity to get people back into the cities. As it stands, Freeport seems to be an optional quest hub from 20-80 with a smattering of solo quests happening inside instances, it's not going to bring players together or provide a cohesive experience. I think most players will continue with Gorowyn -> Butcherblock Mts -> Steamfont -> LFay -> Kingdom of Sky -> Kunark -> SF -> Velious as the best possible leveling path.</p><p>During the livecast they said the reason why they didn't make Freeport a starting area is because "once people leave the island, they end up in the neighborhoods, are segregrated from the other players, and it's confusing". However with the neighborhoods being instances, isn't it the exact same thing with players all segregated into separate instances?</p><p>I would have brought back the islands, had you quest from 1-8 there, then you land in your neighborhood, quest from 8-12 there, getting your racial/class-specific quests knocked out kinda like in the old days when you picked your class at level 9. Then at level 12, everyone gets pushed into Freeport proper and is on a unified quest track that tells the overarching story of Freeport. They could have put in some cool flavor stuff where different races and classes work against each other but you'd all still be participating in a single awesome zone.</p><p>Or as a wisend player who was here at the beginning told me: <strong>This is how Freeport was at launch -- an awesome starting experience that brought players together while still giving them some race/class backstory.</strong></p><p>Instead, Freeport is now going to be pretty-looking, optional content that only quest completists will play.</p>

[Kamimura]

<p><cite>feldon30 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I would have brought back the islands, had you quest from 1-8 there, then you land in your neighborhood, quest from 8-12 there, getting your racial/class-specific quests knocked out kinda like in the old days when you picked your class at level 9. Then at level 12, everyone gets pushed into Freeport proper and is on a unified quest track that tells the overarching story of Freeport. They could have put in some cool flavor stuff where different races and classes work against each other but you'd all still be participating in a single awesome zone.</p><p>Or as a wisend player who was here at the beginning told me: <strong>This is how Freeport was at launch -- an awesome starting experience that brought players together while still giving them some race/class backstory.</strong></p></blockquote><p>This is honestly what I was expecting when they talked about doing a major revamp of Freeport, something more like what we saw at launch. A major city, a city that gave you a bit of back story for your character, something that would guide you from level 1 to level 90, give you reasons and story to keep going back. I'm really dissapointed in what I've seen so far. I'm trying to wait and see, but from what's been said...? Eh...</p>

[Elskidor]

<p>Some things never change. They did this to eq1 freeport a couple years back and it was hated by most. They'll never learn.</p>