SOEmote - Live facial expressions

[Avirodar]

Mizlek wrote:

I don't know why you guys are blaming roleplayers for this wreck. It's not our fault. I don't use VC because it breaks immersion. I don't want to hear Xena the Fairy Queen voiced by Tim from the South Bronx. No voice filter gimmick is going to fix that. It's not going to make anyone sound like a dwarf, an ogre, or a kerra, or anything else other than a human speaking through a digital filter. My immersion comes from my own imagination and that of the person emoting and speaking through text.

This is SOE's doing. Not mine. Not Raiders. Not RP'ers. It's SOE.

-Miz

Who is "you guys"?While I admit I skimmed over a few posts, I was not left with the impression that people are blaming RPers for this.

[Tigerlord001]

From a business standpoint, it's much better to experiment on an 8 year old game with a fading population than to risk damage to the new gem in the company's crown when it's released. Some players might not like it, but it's common sense.

Edited for spelling.

[pentaur]

They're likely using EQ2 as a testing ground for creative tech that they'll have in EQNext at launch, and that can only be a good thing.

Sorry but I refuse to pay them to be a test subject...It gets old and it gets old FAST...There are reasons why people are leaving...Someday the devs will figure out why...Until then we get this rubbish.

[Onorem]

Tigerlord001 wrote:

From a business standpoint, it's much better to experiment on an 8 year old game with a fading population than to risk damage to the new gem in the company's crown when it's released. Some players might not like it, but it's common sense.

Edited for spelling.

So it's good for SOE. How is it good for EQ2 players?

[Tigerlord001]

Whether it's good for the player or not is up to the player to decide. If they like a feature, then it's worth it. If they don't, they don't. Again, not everything is going to appeal to everyone. I think this is a cool new additon that no one else has done in an mmo, so I don't care if it's a test or not. If someone hates it, then I guess they will view the matter differently. 

[Onorem]

Tigerlord001 wrote:

Whether it's good for the player or not is up to the player to decide. If they like a feature, then it's worth it. If they don't, they don't. Again, not everything is going to appeal to everyone. I think this is a cool new additon that no one else has done in an mmo, so I don't care if it's a test or not. If someone hates it, then I guess they will view the matter differently. 

That's a reasonable statement, but what you said earlier was: "They're likely using EQ2 as a testing ground for creative tech that they'll have in EQNext at launch, and that can only be a good thing."

I'm still curious how it can 'only be a good thing'

[Avirodar]

Onorem wrote:

Tigerlord001 wrote:

Whether it's good for the player or not is up to the player to decide. If they like a feature, then it's worth it. If they don't, they don't. Again, not everything is going to appeal to everyone. I think this is a cool new additon that no one else has done in an mmo, so I don't care if it's a test or not. If someone hates it, then I guess they will view the matter differently. 

That's a reasonable statement, but what you said earlier was: "They're likely using EQ2 as a testing ground for creative tech that they'll have in EQNext at launch, and that can only be a good thing."

I'm still curious how it can 'only be a good thing'

In addition, I fail to see how using EQ2 as a testing guinnea pig, equates to being big news, let alone being worthy of an E3 presentation.If someone else thinks this is the pinnacle of gaming awesomeness, all power to them, they can think such. In my opinion, this barely warrants an article on www.eq2players.com, not a presentation at E3.

[SpineDoc]

Tigerlord001 wrote:

Onorem wrote:

Tigerlord001 wrote:

Very awesome feature! Can't wait to see it in action in-game. The more SOE takes this game away from a focus on raiding, the better it will be, imo. If the hardcore raiders don't like it, well I suppose it's time to move on or go back to EQ1 where they still cater to that outdated, archaic playstyle. MMORPG's should be more about experiencing a living, breathing world than chasing after another pointless .5% boost to a pointless stat anyway. 

Thank you SOE!

Why does it have to be an Us vs. Them situation all the time. You're happy because this makes raiders unhappy? That's a useful attitude.

When I solo, I don't see my face or anyone else's. When I group, I don't see my face or anyone else's. When I raid, I don't see my face or anyone else's. For me, there is nothing 'awesome' about this "feature."

I do hope you enjoy this. I won't insult your style of play to bolster my comment.

Actually, I do raid to an extent, but not because I enjoy it. I do it because of places like Drunder where if you don't raid at least a little, you can forget ever getting a worthwhile group that can accomplish anything. Hardcore raiders are always quick to dismiss and trash anything added to the game that doesn't boost their incessant grind to the top of Mount Vanity where their egos can shine for the masses. The squeaky wheel has been oiled for far too long in Norrath, and it's time the other wheels got some attention.

Man... that's a LOT of bitterness there.  I raid a lot, I'd say really the majority of the time I spend in this game is raiding.  I don't have an issue with people enjoying and wanting non raiding features, I think you are pigeon holing all the raiders into this stereotype.  For me raiding is about being with a bunch of people I have fun with, but at the same time being able to be organized enough where we can tackle larger content.  The raiders would be the baseball team, practicing all day in preparation for the big game.  Of course there are going to be people in the baseball field who are there to pick daisies and watch the sunset, hey nothing wrong with that but it's just not what floats our boats.  I'm sorry there just isn't anything exciting about running around in what is essentially a single player game for many with a chatroom, and hey now your solo play chatroom has the added feature you can see the other guys mouth move in real time!!  But that's a valid play style which arguable has been MUCH more catered to in the past few years than the hardcore raiders.

My personal issue isn't specifically with SOE wasting time on this "feature" when other game features are broken or bugged, it's that based on past experience, LOTS of it, I just know they are going to implement it, it's going to be meh and they are then going to proceed to not support it or even mention it ever again and it will rot right next to all the other "features" they have implemented.

[Tigerlord001]

I suppose I should have worded it in terms of myself. I've played EQ2 off and on since a month after launch, and while I love the game, I'm not so dedicated to it that when something breaks, it ruins the game for me. I am, however, very much looking forward to the new experience of EQNext, and the more things they have there that don't have that "been there, done that" feel to them, the better. Speaking only for myself, I'm willing to risk my own dated EQ2 experience for a better EQNext and MMO experience in general. Other players may not agree and are perfectly within their right to feel that way.

[Onorem]

Tigerlord001 wrote:

I suppose I should have worded it in terms of myself. I've played EQ2 off and on since a month after launch, and while I love the game, I'm not so dedicated to it that when something breaks, it ruins the game for me. I am, however, very much looking forward to the new experience of EQNext, and the more things they have there that don't have that "been there, done that" feel to them, the better. Speaking only for myself, I'm willing to risk my own dated EQ2 experience for a better EQNext and MMO experience in general. Other players may not agree and are perfectly within their right to feel that way.

Fair enough...and that explains why I seem to be at odds with your statements. EQnext holds no interest for me. Smokey and crew have done enough damage to EQ2 since he took over for me to know that I have no intention of ever playing a game that he's involved with from the early development stages. I hope you enjoy eqnext. I hope you'll forgive me if I don't want to live beta test both this game and future games.

[Marnus]

While this looks like a really great feature, i cant help but be skeptical that they will "get this right", when they cant even get df, or bg's right...i'm tryin not to be all doom and gloom here, but i look at this , and all i see is horrible lag, extended downtime for "fixes"-and for a feature that only a portion of the playerbase will use. One thing thing i can promise, is that anyone using the halfling gnome voice mod will be ignored by me-imagine having to listen to that for an hour or two at atime? some peoples voices are annoying enough, now they get to add effects like that to them? Not for nothing, but who asked for this? Why would they do this, when so much stuff that exists in the game needs to be worked on? Its becoming a pattern here to come out with these great ideas-that are broken or half-cobbled together-stop working on them after a while, and just leave them "as is". Don't get me wrong, i love this game, and i know they work hard to entertain us, but its seems as if we have just gotten off track here, as far as where the game is going.

[Marnus]

ProteinPlus3 wrote:

Avirodar@Oasis wrote:

I am not looking forward to running up to the broker, and the pot-bellied biker (high elf female) is busy stuffing his face, and forgot (or does not care) that his SOEmote is running.

That is hilarious.

And thanks for the laugh btw

[Koleg]

How funny will it be when some Emote-RP'er is grouping with ya and they say, (in a squeeky Gnome voice) "Dude, did you see that facial expression I just made?"  ... and later I type ... /g Dude, I have that feature turned off and have had you on mute since the minute you joined the group ... pft!

[Gilasil]

I guess I'll find out when it goes live how it works while wearing glasses and headphones.

[duelboxinagain]

This sounds like we beta testing EQNext "features", I expect more and more things like this.

[Filly67]

Atan@Unrest wrote:

I don't presonally know any one in game that will use this.

In fact, anyone modulating a voice in my raid will be removed.  That would just be incredibly annoying for the other 23 people.

Atan you now my hero.  My friends keep pushing me to app to IC.  Just this statement alone is enought to make me seriously consider this option.

[Filly67]

I think this is silly and would say that I will be muting all using this but honestly it's never going to work right so no need to worry about it.

[Onorem]

Tigerlord001 wrote:

When it comes down to it, not every feature added to the game is going to appeal to every player, no matter what it is. Solo instances aren't going to appeal to raiders, raid content won't appeal to solo and small groupers, etc. The trick is adding something that most people will like, and beyond that, I'm sure SOE has their own reasons. They're likely using EQ2 as a testing ground for creative tech that they'll have in EQNext at launch, and that can only be a good thing.

Why can that only be a good thing? I'm not interested in playing on the testing grounds for SmokeJumper's new cashshop heavy game.

--hope that the minor change takes care of the moderation issues with the comment.--

[Crothos]

Onorem wrote:

Tigerlord001 wrote:

When it comes down to it, not every feature added to the game is going to appeal to every player, no matter what it is. Solo instances aren't going to appeal to raiders, raid content won't appeal to solo and small groupers, etc. The trick is adding something that most people will like, and beyond that, I'm sure SOE has their own reasons. They're likely using EQ2 as a testing ground for creative tech that they'll have in EQNext at launch, and that can only be a good thing.

Why can that only be a good thing? I'm not interested in playing on the testing grounds for SmokeJumper's new cashshop heavy game.

--hope that the minor change takes care of the moderation issues with the comment.--

Why would SOE shoot themselves in the foot? It won't be "P2Win".

[Neiloch]

Tigerlord001 wrote:

The squeaky wheel has been oiled for far too long in Norrath, and it's time the other wheels got some attention.

Thats' the point though. the 'raiding wheel' hasn't been greased in quite a while. At most just smashed with a hammer while some huge Sloth character yells "make raiding go!"

But I have to point out, I seriously doubt the people who worked on this have ANYTHING to do with itemization and its progression, which is probably the biggest flaw in the game right now as it stretches across all playstyles.

Also, People still use in game voice chat? And I haven't taken the time to look at a characters face in years. This seems like a waste of resources even from a RP'ing standpoint. There's a reason why mounts sell so well, they are the most visually apparent item a character can have. Second is armor and weapons. If people cared about faces they would be making piles of money adding SC make-up kits, jewelry, exclusive face customizations and other head accessories.

Or maybe its step one in letting people manipulate their entire character xbox kinect style, which would actually be cool even if ineffective in combat. I can just imagine a raid leader yelling at a raid for wiping so many times running around, flailing about 'ohh look at me i'm gonna run right into the AE i'm so smart. hur dur dur. That's you guys! That's what you look like right now!'

[heartstopper]

Filly should app to IC along with her other half. Just sayin...

Now that that is out of the way I for one am excited about this feature for one reason only...........

It will make Muting an entire server of people a more realistic option then just doing it because they annoy me on a regular basis. It's bad enough when I have to talk to people in a group let alone having to hear someone talking in a "new character" voice modulator......

thank you SOE for putting a new twist into cyboring for people heavy into roleplaying.

[agnott]

convict wrote:

duelboxinagain wrote:

This sounds like we beta testing EQNext "features", I expect more and more things like this.

This.. It's SWG all over again. Use an older game for testing new stuff and training new cheaper devs..

ahhh  ... I could not figure out why this & why now.  It now makes perfect sense.

And turns out my comment from yesterday (below) was spot on.

agnott wrote:

What ever it is   ...it will be presented to you as being one thing, but in reality it will be something else.

The space between those 2 things will be wide enough for you to fit an Iowa Class Battleship through (sideways)

[Mathrim]

Heartstopper scares me.........

With that said....definitely feels like we are being used as guinea pigs for EQ Next.

The thread about Drunder and Itemization has been going on for over a month now without a single response or discussion whatsoever from a red named.

[Edited for non-constructive content]

[Dillin]

I know a lot of you gave SOE the benefit of the doubt that we are testing this for EQ3 but the reality is, they would have to pretty much rewrite it to make it work with the new game engine so yeah... not very realistic.  At best this is a stupid feature and we are doing a marketing test to see if players will use it.

Also, yeah this is taking up precious dev time.  A lot of devs have been moved to EQ3 and the spots in EQ2 haven't been filled as far as I know so I doubt there is the specialized talent that we are used to and each dev now has multiple responsibilities.

[Talathion]

Best idea ever.

[Malleria]

So now when I'm standing in the guild hall (cuz y'know, no content to do) my avatar can look as bored as I actually feel.

[Talathion]

I can't wait to make a rap video with this new feature!

[JShield]

 This feature was already teased by Smokejumper regarding EQNext so I assume it will be there as well. It's another level of communication and life-like action in the game, I think it's great. Just like heads turning to your target or NPCs playing a script as you walk by, it's an emmersion feature and from a nerd perspective is boss.

 I'm interested to see where they go with this. An option for "vicinity" chat you walk into would be great for markets or taverns. Please remember that although raiding is the current endgame activity and is great, it's not the entirety of an MMO nor should it be. EQ2 has this content but the whole game is a lot bigger than that.

[Leawyn]

Filly67 wrote:

Atan@Unrest wrote:

I don't presonally know any one in game that will use this.

In fact, anyone modulating a voice in my raid will be removed.  That would just be incredibly annoying for the other 23 people.

Atan you now my hero.  My friends keep pushing me to app to IC.  Just this statement alone is enought to make me seriously consider this option.

We're way cooler in game, you should join us!

And honestly, I am disappointed in the direction this feature is pushing the game. I sincerely hope it is optional, especially the voice chat part.

[heartstopper]

optional to turn other peoples off as well. I mean it is one thing to decide not to subject other to it on a personal lvl but we should be able to turn it off on our own headset. I really don't want to hear a Troll yapping in my ear while I kill things.