June Update Plans

[Piestro]

<p align="center"><img src="http://www.everquest2.com/images/en/features/2012/06/soemote/soemote_th.jpg" /></p> <p>Another month has zipped by already!</p> <p>We wanted to wait until after E3 to share a few more details about what we're up to and what's coming up this month.</p> <p>By now you may have heard about the SOE corporate initiative called SOEmote(tm) that will launch in EQII later this month. SOEmote uses a webcam and microphone to project your facial expressions, including talking and voice, onto your character in real time! It's used in groups and also allows you to broadcast to your guild, almost like a webcast. We're all excited to see this launch and how you use it. If you want to share your shananigans, the YouTube recording option is now in the EQII Share window.</p> <p>Also the next week or so, the ability to play as a character in Dungeon Maker will be opened for Testing! We want your input before we push this addition to Live servers. You will be able to group with friends of any level and be competitive in the dungeon content. Take the time now to design a dungeon in the decorating contest and get ready to play your dungeon -- as your character!</p> <p>Also this month, you will see polish and improvement to Darklight Woods and Halas. In Darklight Woods we did a fairly quick art pass -- because it wasn't up to the team's standards -- which in just a week has given it a lot more ambiance and character. This came about through a quick conversation where an artist and designer volunteered to take a week to see how we could bring a bit more sparkle to the newbie experiences. Itemization is improved and a new armor set was created for each area. When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</p> <p>Whenever we can, we want to improve the playability of the game. On the test server you may have seen that NPC names now include an icon if it updates a quest, as well as an icon that indicates what type of quest it updates. The NPC's details window also shows the title of the quest the NPC updates. One of our programmers, Andy Roecks (Terrogaunt), gave this idea a shot as a quick task and nailed it. He's been chasing some oddball quests that have unique types of interactions so send us /feedback or /bugs if you find NPCs that should have icons.</p> <p>At the same time, Andy added the ability to use quest items directly from the quest journal HUD by clicking on an item icon. No more will you have to fish around in your inventory to find quest items!</p> <p>Behind the scenes we have been updating our core technology as well. The updates are well worth it and will improve development and performance for us. Part of the update that will be apparent to players is a new in-game browser that is more stable and flexible. We plan to use it going forward for tutorial videos and communications.</p> <p>The bulk of the team is putting their hearts into the new Qeynos. Like Freeport, new characters, quests, and stories have been added that bring new life and context to being a citizen depending on your race and class. Qeynos will be two zones given the sheer size and detail of the city. North and South Qeynos will become the Capitol District and Qeynos Harbor and Elddar Forrest will be the Provincial District. The neighborhoods, like Willow Wood and Baubbleshire, will be used in the quest content.</p> <p>Last, and certainly not least, we are very excited to bring some much-needed fixes and improvements to PvP and Battlegrounds that will be fun and easy to access for everyone. We will be posting details very soon as well as opening up the changes on Test Copy. Battlegrounds, like Dungeon Maker, will allow different levels of characters to play together and be competitive. Also, PvE armor will be effective in PvP again so everyone can easily jump into Battlegrounds without becoming squishy, and PvP players won't need an extra set of armor or be vulnerable while adventuring on the Nagafen server.</p> <p>Thanks for taking the time to read all this. And while this message is long, it certainly doesn't include everything we are doing, like the expansion development. We look forward to sharing more about upcoming developments in the future. We can’t wait to see what you think!</p> <p><em>Holly “Windstalker” Longdale</em></p>

[Ulrichvon]

<p>When will we see enough T10 content to actually have enough to content to keep us busy in the current tier?</p><p>Currently there is 90 mins of heroic instances, and 2 hours of raid content.  This isn't enough to keep people playing the game.</p>

[SisterTheresa]

<p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p align="center"> </p><p>Another month has zipped by already!</p><p>We wanted to wait until after E3 to share a few more details about what we're up to and what's coming up this month.</p><p>By now you may have heard about the SOE corporate initiative called SOEmote(tm) that will launch in EQII later this month. SOEmote uses a webcam and microphone to project your facial expressions, including talking and voice, onto your character in real time! It's used in groups and also allows you to broadcast to your guild, almost like a webcast. We're all excited to see this launch and how you use it. If you want to share your shananigans, the YouTube recording option is now in the EQII Share window.  <span style="color: #ff0000;">No comments on this ...</span></p><p>Also the next week or so, the ability to play as a character in Dungeon Maker will be opened for Testing! We want your input before we push this addition to Live servers. You will be able to group with friends of any level and be competitive in the dungeon content. Take the time now to design a dungeon in the decorating contest and get ready to play your dungeon -- as your character!  <span style="color: #ff0000;">Hm wasn't this promised a few months ago?  Well better late than never I suppose.</span></p><p>Also this month, you will see polish and improvement to Darklight Woods and Halas. In Darklight Woods we did a fairly quick art pass -- because it wasn't up to the team's standards -- which in just a week has given it a lot more ambiance and character. This came about through a quick conversation where an artist and designer volunteered to take a week to see how we could bring a bit more sparkle to the newbie experiences. Itemization is improved and a new armor set was created for each area. When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.  <span style="color: #ff0000;">Oh great, hopefully NOT new ways to crash my pc in zones.  *laughs*  Interesting to see your focus shifted to these zones.  Might pop by and check them out.</span></p><p>Whenever we can, we want to improve the playability of the game. On the test server you may have seen that NPC names now include an icon if it updates a quest, as well as an icon that indicates what type of quest it updates. The NPC's details window also shows the title of the quest the NPC updates. One of our programmers, Andy Roecks (Terrogaunt), gave this idea a shot as a quick task and nailed it. He's been chasing some oddball quests that have unique types of interactions so send us /feedback or /bugs if you find NPCs that should have icons.  <span style="color: #ff0000;">Hm ... interesting to see this went through.  Would help a questaholic like me.</span></p><p>At the same time, Andy added the ability to use quest items directly from the quest journal HUD by clicking on an item icon. No more will you have to fish around in your inventory to find quest items!  <span style="color: #ff0000;">Everybody seems to be doing this now.  Just wish quest items would be REMOVED from our inventory when done the quest ....</span></p><p>Behind the scenes we have been updating our core technology as well. The updates are well worth it and will improve development and performance for us. Part of the update that will be apparent to players is a new in-game browser that is more stable and flexible. We plan to use it going forward for tutorial videos and communications.  <span style="color: #ff0000;">Ugh in game browser is horrible ... I never used it except once so no comment here.</span></p><p>The bulk of the team is putting their hearts into the new Qeynos. Like Freeport, new characters, quests, and stories have been added that bring new life and context to being a citizen depending on your race and class. Qeynos will be two zones given the sheer size and detail of the city. North and South Qeynos will become the Capitol District and Qeynos Harbor and Elddar Forrest will be the Provincial District. The neighborhoods, like Willow Wood and Baubbleshire, will be used in the quest content.  <span style="color: #ff0000;">Knew this was happening before th eend of the year.  Glad I got done all I could ... hopefully ... and I'm sure a ton of quests and content will be ripped out like it was in Freeport.</span></p><p>Last, and certainly not least, we are very excited to bring some much-needed fixes and improvements to PvP and Battlegrounds that will be fun and easy to access for everyone. We will be posting details very soon as well as opening up the changes on Test Copy. Battlegrounds, like Dungeon Maker, will allow different levels of characters to play together and be competitive. Also, PvE armor will be effective in PvP again so everyone can easily jump into Battlegrounds without becoming squishy, and PvP players won't need an extra set of armor or be vulnerable while adventuring on the Nagafen server.  <span style="color: #ff0000;">Hm be interesting to see how this comes together.</span></p><p>Thanks for taking the time to read all this. And while this message is long, it certainly doesn't include everything we are doing, like the expansion development. We look forward to sharing more about upcoming developments in the future. We can’t wait to see what you think!</p><p><em>Holly “Windstalker” Longdale</em></p></blockquote><p>Now just fix the itemization bugs from eons ago and I'll be happy.</p>

[Sands]

<p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</blockquote><p>Incoming dead horse beating...</p><p>So, how come this wasn't done for the Queen's Colony and the Outpost of the Overlord?  i.e  A brand new player would have only seen Halas/GFay/Darklight/Timorous.  Then on their alts they could have started on the islands if they so chose.</p><p>(At least that is how I am interpreting what was written.)</p>

[inspire1444568]

<p>Rename to July/August Update Plans? =</p>

[Ashlie]

<p><cite>Sands@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</blockquote><p>Incoming dead horse beating...</p><p>So, how come this wasn't done for the Queen's Colony and the Outpost of the Overlord?  i.e  A brand new player would have only seen Halas/GFay/Darklight/Timorous.  Then on their alts they could have started on the islands if they so chose.</p><p>(At least that is how I am interpreting what was written.)</p></blockquote><p>This^^</p>

[NrthnStar5]

<p><cite>Sands@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</blockquote><p>Incoming dead horse beating...</p><p>So, how come this wasn't done for the Queen's Colony and the Outpost of the Overlord?  i.e  A brand new player would have only seen Halas/GFay/Darklight/Timorous.  Then on their alts they could have started on the islands if they so chose.</p><p>(At least that is how I am interpreting what was written.)</p></blockquote><p>Agreed. but of course, we will hear nothing of it. Besides, it's not like 4 starting areas is excessive. More is better imo.</p>

[thepriz]

<p><cite>NrthnStar5 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Sands@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</blockquote><p>Incoming dead horse beating...</p><p>So, how come this wasn't done for the Queen's Colony and the Outpost of the Overlord?  i.e  A brand new player would have only seen Halas/GFay/Darklight/Timorous.  Then on their alts they could have started on the islands if they so chose.</p><p>(At least that is how I am interpreting what was written.)</p></blockquote><p>Agreed. but of course, we will hear nothing of it. Besides, it's not like 4 starting areas is excessive. More is better imo.</p></blockquote><p>The main problem I have is that it has completely ruined storyline progression. Why do humans start in New Halas but can't start in Qeynos. It just doesn't make sense.....</p>

[Katz]

<p><cite>Ashlie@Mistmoore wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Sands@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</blockquote><p>Incoming dead horse beating...</p><p>So, how come this wasn't done for the Queen's Colony and the Outpost of the Overlord?  i.e  A brand new player would have only seen Halas/GFay/Darklight/Timorous.  Then on their alts they could have started on the islands if they so chose.</p><p>(At least that is how I am interpreting what was written.)</p></blockquote><p>This^^</p></blockquote><p>Perhaps this is in preparation for adding the islands back in.   One can hope.</p>

[Finora]

<p><cite>Ashlie@Mistmoore wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Sands@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</blockquote><p>Incoming dead horse beating...</p><p>So, how come this wasn't done for the Queen's Colony and the Outpost of the Overlord?  i.e  A brand new player would have only seen Halas/GFay/Darklight/Timorous.  Then on their alts they could have started on the islands if they so chose.</p><p>(At least that is how I am interpreting what was written.)</p></blockquote><p>This^^</p></blockquote><p>Yup, I wish they'd done this for the starter islands as well. =( Maybe they'll find it in their hearts to do it now since they are still there & they can obviously split up what people see based on how many characters they've made.</p>

[TylerBarnes]

<p><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">Also the next week <span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: small;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">or so</span></strong></span>, the ability to play as a character in Dungeon Maker will be opened for Testing! We want your input before we push this addition to Live servers. You will be able to group with friends of any level and be competitive in the dungeon content. Take the time now to design a dungeon in the decorating contest and get ready to play your dungeon -- as your character!</p></blockquote><span style="font-size: 11px;">"Or so" doesn't make me feel very hopeful especially since this was promised to us last month.Please, <em>please</em> fix the dungeon finder. At level 90 finding a group is exceptionally difficult and when I use the dungeon finder it finds one other person and drops us in a dungeon where we can't even get past the first monster. Also, since it works on a timer some dungeons I finish way before the timer is up and I have to wait, or even if the one other person leaves and I cannot do the dungeon by myself I get the reward just for queuing and leaving.Implementing maps into all dungeons would also be great.I really don't care if my character reflects my own expressions, I'd just like the current problems fixed before releasing new content.I hope the developers know how frusterated the community is. It doesn't appear that way since the developer's priorities are contrary to what the community is asking for.</span><img src="/eq2/images/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" /></p>

[feldon30]

<p><cite>TylerBarnes wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><span style="font-size: 11px;">Please, <em>please</em> fix the dungeon finder. At level 90 finding a group is exceptionally difficult and when I use the dungeon finder it finds one other person and drops us in a dungeon where we can't even get past the first monster.</span></blockquote><p>Chicken-and-egg situation.</p><p>Dungeon Finder is broken, so nobody uses it, which makes it even more broken.</p><p>Until Dungeon Finder puts together groups that can actually do the content (ie. it does a gear/AA check, class check, etc.), it will never be successful.</p>

[retro_guy]

<p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p align="center"><img src="http://www.everquest2.com/images/en/features/2012/06/soemote/soemote_th.jpg" /></p> <p>Another month has zipped by already!</p> <p>We wanted to wait until after E3 to share a few more details about what we're up to and what's coming up this month.</p> <p>By now you may have heard about the SOE corporate initiative called SOEmote(tm) that will launch in EQII later this month. SOEmote uses a webcam and microphone to project your facial expressions, including talking and voice, onto your character in real time! It's used in groups and also allows you to broadcast to your guild, almost like a webcast. We're all excited to see this launch and how you use it. If you want to share your shananigans, the YouTube recording option is now in the EQII Share window.</p> <p>Also the next week or so, the ability to play as a character in Dungeon Maker will be opened for Testing! We want your input before we push this addition to Live servers. You will be able to group with friends of any level and be competitive in the dungeon content. Take the time now to design a dungeon in the decorating contest and get ready to play your dungeon -- as your character!</p> <p>Also this month, you will see polish and improvement to Darklight Woods and Halas. In Darklight Woods we did a fairly quick art pass -- because it wasn't up to the team's standards -- which in just a week has given it a lot more ambiance and character. This came about through a quick conversation where an artist and designer volunteered to take a week to see how we could bring a bit more sparkle to the newbie experiences. Itemization is improved and a new armor set was created for each area. When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</p> <p>Whenever we can, we want to improve the playability of the game. On the test server you may have seen that NPC names now include an icon if it updates a quest, as well as an icon that indicates what type of quest it updates. The NPC's details window also shows the title of the quest the NPC updates. One of our programmers, Andy Roecks (Terrogaunt), gave this idea a shot as a quick task and nailed it. He's been chasing some oddball quests that have unique types of interactions so send us /feedback or /bugs if you find NPCs that should have icons.</p> <p>At the same time, Andy added the ability to use quest items directly from the quest journal HUD by clicking on an item icon. No more will you have to fish around in your inventory to find quest items!</p> <p>Behind the scenes we have been updating our core technology as well. The updates are well worth it and will improve development and performance for us. Part of the update that will be apparent to players is a new in-game browser that is more stable and flexible. We plan to use it going forward for tutorial videos and communications.</p> <p>The bulk of the team is putting their hearts into the new Qeynos. Like Freeport, new characters, quests, and stories have been added that bring new life and context to being a citizen depending on your race and class. Qeynos will be two zones given the sheer size and detail of the city. North and South Qeynos will become the Capitol District and Qeynos Harbor and Elddar Forrest will be the Provincial District. <span style="color: #ff0000;">The neighborhoods, like Willow Wood and Baubbleshire, will be used in the quest content.</span></p> <p>Last, and certainly not least, we are very excited to bring some much-needed fixes and improvements to PvP and Battlegrounds that will be fun and easy to access for everyone. We will be posting details very soon as well as opening up the changes on Test Copy. Battlegrounds, like Dungeon Maker, will allow different levels of characters to play together and be competitive. Also, PvE armor will be effective in PvP again so everyone can easily jump into Battlegrounds without becoming squishy, and PvP players won't need an extra set of armor or be vulnerable while adventuring on the Nagafen server.</p> <p>Thanks for taking the time to read all this. And while this message is long, it certainly doesn't include everything we are doing, like the expansion development. We look forward to sharing more about upcoming developments in the future. We can’t wait to see what you think!</p> <p><em>Holly “Windstalker” Longdale</em></p></blockquote><p>Please, please, please don't rip the heart out of the city like you did in Freeport!</p><p>It's fine to have instanced versons of the neighbouthoods that we zone inot for quests but please leave them as they are for those who love those zones.</p><p>If I'm forever barred from ever going back into Castleview I will never forgive you. It's my started zone and the game loses a lot when you remove those zones they way you ripped them from Freeport.</p>

[Whilhelmina]

<p>What they said.</p><p>Please, open up the Isles once more and move the old suburbs to a tour operator that can move you/your group/raid into the old version of the zone for RP/nostalgia purposes.</p>

[General_Info]

<p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Also this month, you will see polish and improvement to Darklight Woods and Halas. In Darklight Woods we did a fairly quick art pass -- because it wasn't up to the team's standards -- which in just a week has given it a lot more ambiance and character. This came about through a quick conversation where an artist and designer volunteered to take a week to see how we could bring a bit more sparkle to the newbie experiences. Itemization is improved and a new armor set was created for each area.</span> When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.<p><em>Holly “Windstalker” Longdale</em></p></blockquote><p>Does this mean there is going to be a full rework of the areas (i.e quests removed + new quests added?) i ask because i'm a quester of sorts, not super serious mind you but i'd rather know about it and do all the quests i can in those areas then clear the main quests in my present area and loose out on those older quests.</p>

[Raknid]

<p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p align="center"> </p><p>The <strong>bulk of the team</strong> is putting their hearts into the new Qeynos.</p></blockquote><p>My feedback is, for future endeavors, I would like to see the "bulk of the team" utilized more on following up on EXISTING problems within the game rather than on something that has really limited value. Please fix things like Itemization, DUNGEON FINDER, etc..., which are existing incomplete features, before you move on to the next big thing, especially since there is not even a concensus that the city revamps are a good thing.</p><p>Please check <a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=518954">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=518954</a> for some items that your customers believe are impediments to their enjoyment of the game as it sits currently.</p>

[Cyliena]

<p><cite>General_Info wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Also this month, you will see polish and improvement to Darklight Woods and Halas. In Darklight Woods we did a fairly quick art pass -- because it wasn't up to the team's standards -- which in just a week has given it a lot more ambiance and character. This came about through a quick conversation where an artist and designer volunteered to take a week to see how we could bring a bit more sparkle to the newbie experiences. Itemization is improved and a new armor set was created for each area.</span> When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.<p><em>Holly “Windstalker” Longdale</em></p></blockquote><p>Does this mean there is going to be a full rework of the areas (i.e quests removed + new quests added?) i ask because i'm a quester of sorts, not super serious mind you but i'd rather know about it and do all the quests i can in those areas then clear the main quests in my present area and loose out on those older quests.</p></blockquote><p>I hope it's not another quest revamp. Frostfang Sea really isn't that old and DLW was revamped not way too long ago already.</p>

[Ecklin]

<blockquote><p>The bulk of the team is putting their hearts into the new Qeynos. Like Freeport, new characters, quests, and stories have been added that bring new life and context to being a citizen depending on your race and class. Qeynos will be two zones given the sheer size and detail of the city. North and South Qeynos will become the Capitol District and Qeynos Harbor and Elddar Forrest will be the Provincial District. The neighborhoods, like Willow Wood and Baubbleshire, will be used in the quest content.</p></blockquote><p>I also have to wonder why you would waste the "bulk" of the team on a Qeynos update.  Why not put the "bulk" of the team on fixing bugs and developing new content people would actually use. </p><p>Unless a horde of dragons starts attacking Qeynos every day at dusk and a battle must occur to save the city and drops rare level 92 armor it seems like a waste of time.  All you're doing is taking away the communities that people like and putting a shine on a city that will never be used that much.  Who wants to stand around a city when there are bigger better adventures to be had.</p>

[Lempo]

<p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote> This came about through a quick conversation where an artist and designer volunteered to take a week to see how we could bring a bit more sparkle to the newbie experiences. Itemization is improved and a new armor set was created for each area.</blockquote><p>What would really be nice is if someone would '<em>volunteer</em>' 2 people to take a week and focus SOLELY on itemization, in the current content which is very broken.</p><p>We have had a few strides recently that has not gone unnoticed.</p><p>Please do this before this content is over a year old like Drunder, it would be a very beneficial thing to a large portion of the playerbase.</p>

[wwd2]

<p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p align="center"> </p> <p>The bulk of the team is putting their hearts into the new Qeynos. Like Freeport, new characters, quests, and stories have been added that bring new life and context to being a citizen depending on your race and class. Qeynos will be two zones given the sheer size and detail of the city. North and South Qeynos will become the Capitol District and Qeynos Harbor and Elddar Forrest will be the Provincial District. The neighborhoods, like Willow Wood and Baubbleshire, will be used in the quest content.</p> <p><em>Holly “Windstalker” Longdale</em></p></blockquote><p>While it is nice that Freeport got a new coat of paint and the zones were consolidated, I hated losing the neighborhoods.  I hate having to remember my inn-room number.  I miss Moog, the Ogre merchant.</p><p>I would like to see MORE neighborhoods.  Give each race their own.  Add more and higher-level quests to each one.  Maybe even give each one their reputation systems.</p><p>I see this game slowly simplifying itself: consolidating attributes, neighborhoods, gear...  How long until it's only appearnce that differentiates the races and classes?  In many ways, we're already there.</p>

[Firecracker]

<p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I not sure why the outer subs cities were not considered too become (seamless) with some of the outer adventuring areas. It would of definitely make Qeynos and Freeport possibly be able to be starting zones if it had been done this way when they revamped these Cities to begin with…(and it could still be done if they wanted too)</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For example by looking at a Map of <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Qeynos</span></strong></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Greystone Yard, Castleveiw Hamlet, Willowwood, and Bubbleshire could actually be seamless with Forest Ruins and Oakmyst Forest </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Nettleville and Starcrest could be joined up with ‘The Peat Bog” and Possibly “The Caves”</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As for Freeport…</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Big Bend, Scale Yard, and Temple Street could become seamless with “The Sprawl” and “The Ruins”</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Longshadow Ally, Stonestair Byway, and Begger’s Court become seamless with “The Graveyard” & “The Sunken City”.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Making some of these zones into just quest hub you might see once in a while wasn’t how I would have wanted the these cities to become when they were such a main part of what made EQII different and the differences in each sub sure made you feel like you was really in Narrath. I know we have to accept it but if they wanted they could still take my suggestion and make these starting areas so we can start from Qeynos and Freeport again.</span></span></p>

[ReddyKY]

<p><cite><cite><p><cite>Raknid wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p align="center"> </p><p>The <strong>bulk of the team</strong> is putting their hearts into the new Qeynos.</p></blockquote><p>My feedback is, for future endeavors, I would like to see the "bulk of the team" utilized more on following up on EXISTING problems within the game rather than on something that has really limited value. Please fix things like Itemization, DUNGEON FINDER, etc..., which are existing incomplete features, before you move on to the next big thing, especially since there is not even a concensus that the city revamps are a good thing.</p><p>Please check <a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=518954">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=518954</a> for some items that your customers believe are impediments to their enjoyment of the game as it sits currently.</p></blockquote></cite><p><cite>Ecklin wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><blockquote><p>The bulk of the team is putting their hearts into the new Qeynos. Like Freeport, new characters, quests, and stories have been added that bring new life and context to being a citizen depending on your race and class. Qeynos will be two zones given the sheer size and detail of the city. North and South Qeynos will become the Capitol District and Qeynos Harbor and Elddar Forrest will be the Provincial District. The neighborhoods, like Willow Wood and Baubbleshire, will be used in the quest content.</p></blockquote><p>I also have to wonder why you would waste the "bulk" of the team on a Qeynos update.  Why not put the "bulk" of the team on fixing bugs and developing new content people would actually use. </p><p>Unless a horde of dragons starts attacking Qeynos every day at dusk and a battle must occur to save the city and drops rare level 92 armor it seems like a waste of time.  All you're doing is taking away the communities that people like and putting a shine on a city that will never be used that much.  Who wants to stand around a city when there are bigger better adventures to be had.</p></blockquote><p>These.</p><p>The "bulk of the team" needs to be working on something other than providing a venue for a one time quest experieince.</p><p>Might have been a great thing to do before you introduced guild halls, but now the bulk of your playerbase is anywere BUT the cities.</p></cite></p>

[Ciara52]

<p>Well I'm sure not going to be cheering for the loss of Willow Wood and the rest.  I know that it matters not at all what I think or feel (remembers about Alaplaya etc)  but my fondest memories are about the islands and coming to Qeynos and finding out where I fit in to it.</p><p>At least the memories are still there. </p>

[Halo of G4]

<p><cite>Ashlie@Mistmoore wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Sands@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</blockquote><p>Incoming dead horse beating...</p><p>So, how come this wasn't done for the Queen's Colony and the Outpost of the Overlord?  i.e  A brand new player would have only seen Halas/GFay/Darklight/Timorous.  Then on their alts they could have started on the islands if they so chose.</p><p>(At least that is how I am interpreting what was written.)</p></blockquote><p>This^^</p></blockquote><p>I think you guys are not interpretating that correctly. They're not redoing the art, they're adding 'polish' and only two people are going to be involved in it on their spare time during one week course. As a person who's done map making for various games such as Never Winter Nights, TF2, CS, Crysis ect ect, one week of polishing during your free time is a very small amount of time in terms of development. So just expect a couple of trees/rocks added or some various lighting changing to make it look better. This isn't a complete revamp of the zone/quests ect (which isle of refuge would require).</p><p>Also no, Isle of Refuge is not coming back. It will never come back due to contradiction of lore, as Feldon on EQ2Wire best stated:</p><p>"The ‘lore’ direction of the EQ2 team is clear on this. The idea of people washing up on an island, or being fished out of the ocean post-Shattering is done. There are no more ’survivors’."</p><p>EQ2 is lore heavy, all expansions are fellowups of the previous one. Both cities have been settled, the various threats of the shattered lands have been comprimised, and almost all of the lost land has been rediscovered. Now both cities are joining together to make a New Combine army to fight the main threat of Kerathym. The Isles are something of the long distant pass, they served their purpose lore wise.</p>

[Ashlie]

<p><cite>Halo of G4 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Ashlie@Mistmoore wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Sands@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</blockquote><p>Incoming dead horse beating...</p><p>So, how come this wasn't done for the Queen's Colony and the Outpost of the Overlord?  i.e  A brand new player would have only seen Halas/GFay/Darklight/Timorous.  Then on their alts they could have started on the islands if they so chose.</p><p>(At least that is how I am interpreting what was written.)</p></blockquote><p>This^^</p></blockquote><p>I think you guys are not interpretating that correctly. They're not redoing the art, they're adding 'polish' and only two people are going to be involved in it on their spare time during one week course. As a person who's done map making for various games such as Never Winter Nights, TF2, CS, Crysis ect ect, one week of polishing during your free time is a very small amount of time in terms of development. So just expect a couple of trees/rocks added or some various lighting changing to make it look better. This isn't a complete revamp of the zone/quests ect (which isle of refuge would require).</p><p>Also no, Isle of Refuge is not coming back. It will never come back due to contradiction of lore, as Feldon on EQ2Wire best stated:</p><p>"The ‘lore’ direction of the EQ2 team is clear on this. The idea of people washing up on an island, or being fished out of the ocean post-Shattering is done. There are no more ’survivors’."</p><p>EQ2 is lore heavy, all expansions are fellowups of the previous one. Both cities have been settled, the various threats of the shattered lands have been comprimised, and almost all of the lost land has been rediscovered. Now both cities are joining together to make a New Combine army to fight the main threat of Kerathym. The Isles are something of the long distant pass, they served their purpose lore wise.</p></blockquote><p>I'm not wanting a full revamp of the zones, I just want the ability to choose to start there as a vet if I so choose, and that is what it sounds like they're doing here. They are only offering 2 cities to start in for new players, and then after that they can choose from the 4 current cities. Why not allow us to also choose from the islands as well?</p>

[thepriz]

<p><cite>Halo of G4 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Ashlie@Mistmoore wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Sands@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</blockquote><p>Incoming dead horse beating...</p><p>So, how come this wasn't done for the Queen's Colony and the Outpost of the Overlord?  i.e  A brand new player would have only seen Halas/GFay/Darklight/Timorous.  Then on their alts they could have started on the islands if they so chose.</p><p>(At least that is how I am interpreting what was written.)</p></blockquote><p>This^^</p></blockquote><p>I think you guys are not interpretating that correctly. They're not redoing the art, they're adding 'polish' and only two people are going to be involved in it on their spare time during one week course. As a person who's done map making for various games such as Never Winter Nights, TF2, CS, Crysis ect ect, one week of polishing during your free time is a very small amount of time in terms of development. So just expect a couple of trees/rocks added or some various lighting changing to make it look better. This isn't a complete revamp of the zone/quests ect (which isle of refuge would require).</p><p>Also no, Isle of Refuge is not coming back. It will never come back due to contradiction of lore, as Feldon on EQ2Wire best stated:</p><p>"The ‘lore’ direction of the EQ2 team is clear on this. The idea of people washing up on an island, or being fished out of the ocean post-Shattering is done. There are no more ’survivors’."</p><p>EQ2 is lore heavy, all expansions are fellowups of the previous one. Both cities have been settled, the various threats of the shattered lands have been comprimised, and almost all of the lost land has been rediscovered. Now both cities are joining together to make a New Combine army to fight the main threat of Kerathym. The Isles are something of the long distant pass, they served their purpose lore wise.</p></blockquote><p>That is fine. I don't care if the islands come back though a revamp of the islands to something else would be cool. You know move the lore along. Don't Qeynos and Freeport have an island still or maybe they abanodoned it?</p><p>What I would like to see is the ability to start in Qeynos or Freeport.</p>

[SisterTheresa]

<p><cite>retro_guy wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><blockquote><p>The bulk of the team is putting their hearts into the new Qeynos. Like Freeport, new characters, quests, and stories have been added that bring new life and context to being a citizen depending on your race and class. Qeynos will be two zones given the sheer size and detail of the city. North and South Qeynos will become the Capitol District and Qeynos Harbor and Elddar Forrest will be the Provincial District. <span style="color: #ff0000;">The neighborhoods, like Willow Wood and Baubbleshire, will be used in the quest content.</span></p></blockquote><p>Please, please, please don't rip the heart out of the city like you did in Freeport!</p><p>It's fine to have instanced versons of the neighbouthoods that we zone inot for quests but please leave them as they are for those who love those zones.</p><p>If I'm forever barred from ever going back into Castleview I will never forgive you. It's my started zone and the game loses a lot when you remove those zones they way you ripped them from Freeport.</p></blockquote><p>Oh they will.  Trust me.  Begging for them to keep the zones won't work.  People did it for Freeport and they were all changed.  So best to get used to it now.</p>

[Vmp]

<p>I will greatly miss Greystone Yard since that is where I first took root in this world.</p><p>But thanks EQ2 team for keeping the flame burning in this great game!</p><p>[especially considering the state of the mmorpg genre, gaming industry and global economies]</p>

[Mohee]

<p><cite>Halo of G4 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><strong><em></em></strong></p><p>Also no, Isle of Refuge is not coming back. It will never come back due to contradiction of lore, as Feldon on EQ2Wire best stated:</p><p>"The ‘lore’ direction of the EQ2 team is clear on this. The idea of people washing up on an island, or being fished out of the ocean post-Shattering is done. There are no more ’survivors’."</p><p>EQ2 is lore heavy, all expansions are fellowups of the previous one. Both cities have been settled, the various threats of the shattered lands have been comprimised, and almost all of the lost land has been rediscovered. Now both cities are joining together to make a New Combine army to fight the main threat of Kerathym. The Isles are something of the long distant pass, they served their purpose lore wise.</p></blockquote><p>Ever start in New Halas? Pretty sure you just washed up on shore..... and its way past the shattering. So yes, people are still washing up on shore.</p><p>And I think it would make sense to bring back the island now. Qeynos and Freeport need citizens now more than ever.</p>

[Katz]

<p>They are going to do what they do to Qeynos no matter the input.  It stinks but the suburbs will be gone for routine use.   There is nothing we can do about it other than if it annoys you enough, don't play anymore.   Right now I'm in an evaluate the annoyance versus what I enjoy stage.   Freeport..sure it annoyed me but the better look of the zones that they kept balanced out the loss of the burbs enough because old Freeport was a bit ugly with dead vegetation and such.  So in the end it became neutral to me.  </p><p>Qeynos is already beautiful.   So I don't see that the balancing out will happen here.  Plus Castleview, Baubleshire, and the other burbs are also beautiful.   I'm afraid that my annoyance is going to drive me away.  </p><p>There are still many things I enjoy about this game.   The vast array of quests, the variety of things to do, the look of the game, so many things I like.  I'm hoping I can use those to balance out the sadness of losing something that lured me into playing the game in the first place.  </p><p>One thing that they need to realize, you can't logically explain your decision to make feelings go away.  Sure intellectually you can say...I see your reasoning.  That does not affect your feelings though.  </p>

[Mermut]

<p><cite>Halo of G4 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Ashlie@Mistmoore wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Sands@Antonia Bayle wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</blockquote><p>Incoming dead horse beating...</p><p>So, how come this wasn't done for the Queen's Colony and the Outpost of the Overlord?  i.e  A brand new player would have only seen Halas/GFay/Darklight/Timorous.  Then on their alts they could have started on the islands if they so chose.</p><p>(At least that is how I am interpreting what was written.)</p></blockquote><p>This^^</p></blockquote><p>I think you guys are not interpretating that correctly. They're not redoing the art, they're adding 'polish' and only two people are going to be involved in it on their spare time during one week course. As a person who's done map making for various games such as Never Winter Nights, TF2, CS, Crysis ect ect, one week of polishing during your free time is a very small amount of time in terms of development. So just expect a couple of trees/rocks added or some various lighting changing to make it look better. This isn't a complete revamp of the zone/quests ect (which isle of refuge would require).</p><p>Also no, Isle of Refuge is not coming back. It will never come back due to contradiction of lore, as Feldon on EQ2Wire best stated:</p><p>"The ‘lore’ direction of the EQ2 team is clear on this. The idea of people washing up on an island, or being fished out of the ocean post-Shattering is done. There are no more ’survivors’."</p><p>EQ2 is lore heavy, all expansions are fellowups of the previous one. Both cities have been settled, the various threats of the shattered lands have been comprimised, and almost all of the lost land has been rediscovered. Now both cities are joining together to make a New Combine army to fight the main threat of Kerathym. The Isles are something of the long distant pass, they served their purpose lore wise.</p></blockquote><p>The bit about 'no more people washing up' is rather ironic.. because that is EXACTLY the mechanic they use for starting in New Halas.</p>

[Lodrelhai]

<p>"Washing up on shore" in New Halas is not the same as it was in the starting isles.  It's explained rather clearly that you were on a ship coming to New Halas which was attacked by the orcs there.  You were destitute and in the water only as long as it took to grab a few other pilgrims on the sinking ship and swim with them to the nearest shoreline.</p><p>Isle of Refuge/Isle of the Overlord/Queen's Colony starting, you were rescued by a Far Seas Trading Company ship - the original, optional opening on board the ship suggested that the ship you were on previously was a victim of pirates (as several of the other refugees on board were), but didn't specifically say - you could just as easily have been picked up on a small island, or found on a raft or another boat.  Mostly, though, they were built around the idea that people coming there were *refugees*.  The seas were only barely passable after the chaos of the Rending and the Shattering, and people willing to dare them were trying to get to the last known bastions of civilization.  Quite obviously Freeport and Qeynos are no longer those last bastions, the seas are now easily traveled, and there's plenty of other ways to get around besides boat.  The basic story premise of the Isles no longer fits the current state of the game's reality.</p><p>All that said, I do still think they can be revised to fit it; the separate Queen's Colony and Isle of the Overlord in particular are much easier to rework than the original Isle of Refuge would have been.  And I dearly miss that original, optional start on the boat.  It was a quick and simple tutorial; more importantly, it is founding lore to the Prismatic series and referenced when starting in Mara - a hole in plot lines that lore fans can no longer fill from in-game information.</p>

[Katz]

<p>And they could change the washing up on shore at the starter isles to.........you were on a ship that was attacked by ...whatever .....maybe dragons..........and you washed up on this shore.  </p><p>It isn't rocket science.</p>

[Lortet]

<p>Dismal news basically - If I had started all those years ago in New Halas or (to a slightly lesser extent) Darklight Woods I doubt I would have stayed on. Darklight might have lasted a short time longer until I reached Neriak - which also would have ended my EQ2 experience. Yet these are to be the selected recommended newbie areas?</p><p>Add to that the impending end of Qeynos - as just like Freeport, the burbs are/were the city. I live irl in a capital city - and I don't go into the cbd and that's the same way I feel about FP and Q.</p><p>As to the lore of starting zones - doesn't concern me one bit. I go by gut feel - I enjoyed the Isles, which has not been matched by TD or GF, while DW and NH (running a distant last) are merely something to get out of.</p><p>All opinion, I know, but so will be counter arguments.</p>

[Katz]

<p>The problem with using statistics to make decisions, is that statistics don't tell you WHY they just tell you WHAT.</p><p>If they are using statistics that show them ....wow people are starting more in Halas and Darklight Woods!!!!   These are the bestest ever zones!!!!  Then they should do a poll of people asking where do you start new toons and why.   I start in one of those two areas because I can start in them, run quickly to the city, then go to either Freeport or Qeynos, where I really want to start. </p><p>Previously, I started on the starter isles. </p><p>I like to go through all of the starter areas, but I go to them from somewhere else to get more exp.  Not because I WANT to start there.</p>

[Knives]

<p>Lodrelhai stated it best, and I for one am excited about the Qeynos revamp (as I was for the Freeport revamp). In my opinion, Norrath feels much too stagnant to be a believable interactive world. I brought it up when the starter isles were first removed and I was met with a (surprisingly) large amount of criticism, but I'll say it again. Times change, even in a fictional world. One of the things that annoyed me the most, even days before the Freeport revamp, was that NPC on the docks that shouted out about the new and exciting lands of... Feerrott! At that point, we should have heard tales of Velious, not things from the game's launch.</p><p>I believe the example I used back then was a modern day history buff upset that he couldn't experience World War II. There are no more active World War II soldiers, just like there are no more Norrath refugees, the times have changed. Players are upset that some quests no longer exist, but I actually am upset that it is still possible to do many quests from the game's beginning. Why should we still be working on those storylines? I understand that the EverQuest II team is stretched thin and replacing old quests with new storylines is a massive undertaking, which is why I appreciate it so much when it DOES happen (e.g., Freeport and Qeynos).</p>

[Katz]

<p>Adding new quests or even revamping questlines is great.   However, for a game this many years old it would be a daunting task to revamp the entire thing to be in line with the current storyline.   But I don't have a problem with that.   I too think that NPC's should be looked at and adjusted when they become outdated ...such as "head to the new lands of feerrot".</p><p>Removal of zones so that they are either not useable at all or useable once is what is annoying.   If you look at the Freeport map and what will be changed in Qeynos, a huge amount of the cities was/will be rendered unaccessible.   Some types of players will be unaffected by this and will just be happy that a few quests that take a short time to complete were added to the game.   Others that it does matter to will be annoyed permanently because the inability to go back to the zone their character had a home in is permanently removed.  </p><p>I just wish that they had kept BOTH types of players in mind, because I really think they could have come up with something that made both types happy.</p>

[Morgania434]

Back from a vacation and I have to say JOB WELL DONE to the dev team on the June Updates! Please, please please listen to the feedback the dedicated testers give you and fix items BEFORE it goes live! That would make this a super month for eq2!

[Tyrus Dracofire]

<p>just maybe hoping for isle of refugee as one of new "elite" prestige house zone.</p><p>sorry, i was away for several weeks, had bad sinus and i couldnt finish or polishing my Poet Palace contest, so i had to give up to recover my health first. as i saw others, look very good, congrats are on the away after final day. i feel so outclassed.</p><p>looking forward to those "Grotto" moonlight events.</p><p>so, i am asking the devs to please keep original Freeport and Qeynos (very soon), for other newer "chronicle" saga, or part of "Invasion" zones similar to small scaled "Starcrest" with alternative future invasion by clockworks into something large scale version old battles from long gone bygone days as gnolls and undeads ran amok in Qeynos and Freeport with orcs on major street battles? to give a real meaning behind those scenes and lore.</p><p>that reason why both cities are rebuilding would make lot more sense.</p><p>how soon is that "Court of Djinn" aka Shimmering Citadel get on market?</p><p>i got few things to ask and i know it wont be on june update because it got less than 12 days until july.</p><p>1. when do we get new tab for illusions/guises?</p><p>2. SC marketplace are flooding with new mounts and some are "no-trade", when will that get cap raised/expanded?</p><p>3. how soon do we get "Deed Transfer" ticket to one of alts of your choice? one character i have 19 houses and i had to drop and move, i have theme ideas for some specific prestige zones connected expectaully most of "Maj'Dul" settings.</p><p>4. newer armor stands/storage ability.</p><p>and 5. "Warehouse", special type of bank vault zone.</p>

[Halo of G4]

<p><cite>Lodrelhai wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>"Washing up on shore" in New Halas is not the same as it was in the starting isles.  It's explained rather clearly that you were on a ship coming to New Halas which was attacked by the orcs there.  You were destitute and in the water only as long as it took to grab a few other pilgrims on the sinking ship and swim with them to the nearest shoreline.</p><p>Isle of Refuge/Isle of the Overlord/Queen's Colony starting, you were rescued by a Far Seas Trading Company ship - the original, optional opening on board the ship suggested that the ship you were on previously was a victim of pirates (as several of the other refugees on board were), but didn't specifically say - you could just as easily have been picked up on a small island, or found on a raft or another boat.  Mostly, though, they were built around the idea that people coming there were *refugees*.  The seas were only barely passable after the chaos of the Rending and the Shattering, and people willing to dare them were trying to get to the last known bastions of civilization.  Quite obviously Freeport and Qeynos are no longer those last bastions, the seas are now easily traveled, and there's plenty of other ways to get around besides boat.  The basic story premise of the Isles no longer fits the current state of the game's reality.</p><p>All that said, I do still think they can be revised to fit it; the separate Queen's Colony and Isle of the Overlord in particular are much easier to rework than the original Isle of Refuge would have been.  And I dearly miss that original, optional start on the boat.  It was a quick and simple tutorial; more importantly, it is founding lore to the Prismatic series and referenced when starting in Mara - a hole in plot lines that lore fans can no longer fill from in-game information.</p></blockquote><p>You pretty much summed it up.</p><p>I wouldn't mind the Isle of Refuge being readded to the game, but it just won't happen. You have to look at this in a developers standpoint. The Isles aren't consistent with the other 4 starting zones. They go against the art, lore, and quest standards of the protocol EQ2's been following since late 2007. Nostalgic fans will say "So what if they don't, then why is Feerott, TS, Nek Forest still in the game?". Well the starting zones are gateways to new players, and Isle of Refuge has never been what you would call a good showcase to awe new players in terms of eye candy. Having them up for old players would also mean a 2/6th of a chance of new players to pick them instead of NH/DW/GF/TD. And SoE has been blasted by critics during 04-06 of the lack of art in these type of zones. Remember Penny Arcades response to Isle of Refuge in early 06, it wasn't what you would call kind, and with PA's massive following, it's not good for drawing in new players.</p><p>Now they could easily revamp Isle Of Refuge along with the 4 yards of Qeynos and Freeport to have a consistency for starter zones, but that would require assets that EQ2's development just doesn't have anymore. Their development team is smaller then use to be, most have been transferred over to the development of EQNext. Creating a revamped level 1-20 experience for Freeport and Qeynos would require a lot of work, and the development team just doesn't have that capability anymore.</p><p>Now in my perfect world, I would have revamped all the districts, yards, and city sections to be part of the same zone. Make the Isle a level 1-10 zone to accommodate  the faster leveling in eq2, have the districts to be quest hubs, and divide each yard in being a 10-20 zone. Probably starting from Oakmyst (10-13), Ruins (12-15), Peat Bog (16-18 ), and last one being (18-20). A gnoll invasion, one that's being orcrastrated by a drake in the disguise of a gnoll in order to strifle Qeynos effort in the march of the New Compine. Sewers could also play a role in the levels as well. Isle could act as a training ground and give a lore background of what has happened to it since Qeynos has abadoned it.</p><p>Sign me up for the team Coach! I'm ready!</p>

[Raknid]

<p><cite>Halo of G4 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Creating a revamped level 1-20 experience for Freeport and Qeynos would require a lot of work, and the development team just doesn't have that capability anymore.</p></blockquote><p>Ummm....they added about 100 quests with the new Freeport if I remember correctly...and redid the zone. So I am not sure how you can say that with a straight face.</p><p>That compares very favorably with the amount of quests added for the newer starting areas.</p><p>It isn't that they don't have the capability; it is that they don't have the desire.</p>

[Halo of G4]

<p><cite>Raknid wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Halo of G4 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Creating a revamped level 1-20 experience for Freeport and Qeynos would require a lot of work, and the development team just doesn't have that capability anymore.</p></blockquote><p>Ummm....they added about 100 quests with the new Freeport if I remember correctly...and redid the zone. So I am not sure how you can say that with a straight face.</p><p>That compares very favorably with the amount of quests added for the newer starting areas.</p><p>It isn't that they don't have the capability; it is that they don't have the desire.</p></blockquote><p>Yes but that's for level 20-80, not 1-20...</p>

[Raknid]

<p><cite>Halo of G4 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Raknid wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Halo of G4 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Creating a revamped level 1-20 experience for Freeport and Qeynos would require a lot of work, and the development team just doesn't have that capability anymore.</p></blockquote><p>Ummm....they added about 100 quests with the new Freeport if I remember correctly...and redid the zone. So I am not sure how you can say that with a straight face.</p><p>That compares very favorably with the amount of quests added for the newer starting areas.</p><p>It isn't that they don't have the capability; it is that they don't have the desire.</p></blockquote><p>Yes but that's for level 20-80, not 1-20...</p></blockquote><p>I was unaware there was something intrinsically more difficult about writing and designing quests as the levels progressed.</p>

[Katz]

<p><cite>Halo of G4 wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Lodrelhai wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>"Washing up on shore" in New Halas is not the same as it was in the starting isles.  It's explained rather clearly that you were on a ship coming to New Halas which was attacked by the orcs there.  You were destitute and in the water only as long as it took to grab a few other pilgrims on the sinking ship and swim with them to the nearest shoreline.</p><p>Isle of Refuge/Isle of the Overlord/Queen's Colony starting, you were rescued by a Far Seas Trading Company ship - the original, optional opening on board the ship suggested that the ship you were on previously was a victim of pirates (as several of the other refugees on board were), but didn't specifically say - you could just as easily have been picked up on a small island, or found on a raft or another boat.  Mostly, though, they were built around the idea that people coming there were *refugees*.  The seas were only barely passable after the chaos of the Rending and the Shattering, and people willing to dare them were trying to get to the last known bastions of civilization.  Quite obviously Freeport and Qeynos are no longer those last bastions, the seas are now easily traveled, and there's plenty of other ways to get around besides boat.  The basic story premise of the Isles no longer fits the current state of the game's reality.</p><p>All that said, I do still think they can be revised to fit it; the separate Queen's Colony and Isle of the Overlord in particular are much easier to rework than the original Isle of Refuge would have been.  And I dearly miss that original, optional start on the boat.  It was a quick and simple tutorial; more importantly, it is founding lore to the Prismatic series and referenced when starting in Mara - a hole in plot lines that lore fans can no longer fill from in-game information.</p></blockquote><p>You pretty much summed it up.</p><p>I wouldn't mind the Isle of Refuge being readded to the game, but it just won't happen. You have to look at this in a developers standpoint. The Isles aren't consistent with the other 4 starting zones. They go against the art, lore, and quest standards of the protocol EQ2's been following since late 2007. Nostalgic fans will say "So what if they don't, then why is Feerott, TS, Nek Forest still in the game?". Well the starting zones are gateways to new players, and Isle of Refuge has never been what you would call a good showcase to awe new players in terms of eye candy. Having them up for old players would also mean a 2/6th of a chance of new players to pick them instead of NH/DW/GF/TD. And SoE has been blasted by critics during 04-06 of the lack of art in these type of zones. Remember Penny Arcades response to Isle of Refuge in early 06, it wasn't what you would call kind, and with PA's massive following, it's not good for drawing in new players.</p><p>Now they could easily revamp Isle Of Refuge along with the 4 yards of Qeynos and Freeport to have a consistency for starter zones, but that would require assets that EQ2's development just doesn't have anymore. Their development team is smaller then use to be, most have been transferred over to the development of EQNext. Creating a revamped level 1-20 experience for Freeport and Qeynos would require a lot of work, and the development team just doesn't have that capability anymore.</p><p>Now in my perfect world, I would have revamped all the districts, yards, and city sections to be part of the same zone. Make the Isle a level 1-10 zone to accommodate  the faster leveling in eq2, have the districts to be quest hubs, and divide each yard in being a 10-20 zone. Probably starting from Oakmyst (10-13), Ruins (12-15), Peat Bog (16-18 ), and last one being (18-20). A gnoll invasion, one that's being orcrastrated by a drake in the disguise of a gnoll in order to strifle Qeynos effort in the march of the New Compine. Sewers could also play a role in the levels as well. Isle could act as a training ground and give a lore background of what has happened to it since Qeynos has abadoned it.</p><p>Sign me up for the team Coach! I'm ready!</p></blockquote><p><cite>Piestro wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p align="center"> </p>...snip....<p>Also this month, you will see polish and improvement to Darklight Woods and Halas. In Darklight Woods we did a fairly quick art pass -- because it wasn't up to the team's standards -- which in just a week has given it a lot more ambiance and character. This came about through a quick conversation where an artist and designer volunteered to take a week to see how we could bring a bit more sparkle to the newbie experiences. Itemization is improved and a new armor set was created for each area. When we update these two zones this month, first-time players will see Halas and Darklight highlighted as newbie zones. Subsequent characters will see all newbie zones as they are displayed now. This was an obvious way for us to bring all new players together to build community from the get-go.</p><p>...snip....</p><p><em>Holly “Windstalker” Longdale</em></p></blockquote><p>Well, obviously they could have the starter isles available later for "subsequent characters*.</p>

[Rendoir]

<p>Forgot to mention you are offloading, selling, abandoning the UK and Euro players this month.</p>

[ShinGoku]

<p>/rant incomming</p><p>I don't like the new starting zones and I will be perfectly honest here, I hated (and still hate) the FP revamp.  All the revamp did for me was make me move my evil toons to TD.</p><p>All the FP revamp did (and which the subsequent Q revamp will no doubt do) is rip the guts out of the area and make it overly complicated to navigate!</p><p>If I roll a new toon (which doesn't happen so much these days) I STILL miss the starting isles, the new ones (with the exception of perhaps TD) are simply boring to me.</p>

[Guyver24]

<p>Can't belive, that "the bulk of the team" works on that?</p><p>Holy moly tbh... you don't read your own forums at all, or you just don't care? People that writes in here are customers, who actually took some time, to write on your forums...</p><p>You have so much stuff to work on, BEFORE you start to work on that... Good thing that Drunder HM will get new items, for level 92 though <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /></p>

[ratbast]

FIGHTER CHANGES as a healer...i love this direction, cuz it de-trivializes healing. but for health of the game, and for my dps alts, i hate it. I'd like to see brawlers become utility fighters, little squishy rugrats who give buffs and can only tank for short turn or with hard heals. the bards and chanters of fighter archtype. currently tanks have very little utility. if they need to be augmented, it should be away from dps period. make others happy (give them group buffs) instead of making the tank happy with personal dps. the time of tanks having great dps should be over and done with. reckless just perpetuates that false thinking. instead of reckless, there should be a massive group dps buff for "offtanks". tanks need a huge dps nerf, hate buff, and utility buff. this direction of reckless and heals is bad. why would you roll a dps class ever, when you could just roll a tank and go to raid in reckless stance? dps is not a valid repurpose for tanks. it needs to be utility.

[thepriz]

<p>I am kind of intrigued by the Fighter changes. I like the fact that I can now choose to give up my defense and deal some real damage if I need to.</p>

[ratbast]

<p><cite>Deran@Everfrost wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I am kind of intrigued by the Fighter changes. I like the fact that I can now choose to give up my defense and deal some real damage if I need to.</p></blockquote><p>yes, you are a fighter and you are intrigued.</p><p>this says it all.</p><p>eq2 communities (groups/raids/raid alliances) dont need more dps classes (tanks rolling in dps slot in reckless), communities need utility.</p><p>either should have utility fixed so its fun, or make utility the only repurposing option. tanks should roll as utility if they arent needed for tanking.</p><p>this reminds me of the illegal immigrant debate, with tanks as illegals, and dps being 'skilled jobs'. make illegals doing the menial work (utility) if they wanna jump the fence. having them jump the fence and do they jobs we want makes no sense.</p>

[NrthnStar5]

<p>"<span style="background-color: #221f1c; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #ffffff;">polish and improvement to Darklight Woods and Halas"</span></span></p><p>Did this already go to live? If not, will we still see these improvements this month?</p>

[Ceebia]

<p>Makes me wonder if SOEmote is still slated for this month like originally noted in there webcast and at E3, the month is almost over.</p>

[Cyliena]

<p><cite>Ceebia wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Makes me wonder if SOEmote is still slated for this month like originally noted in there webcast and at E3, the month is almost over.</p></blockquote><p>Been wondering that as well.. looking like it's been pushed off at this point.</p>

[Hirofortis]

<p>With everything they have screwed up on test right now, I sure as heck hope they put it off.  Fix the real issues before they mess with more fluff.  </p>