Rumors Swirl on EQ2

In the recent EQ newsletter, Sony put in a puzzle that led to two websites: www.nektulos.com and www.wailingcaves.com. (Congratulations to the gang at the safehouse for solving the riddle). Each site brings up an image and the Nektulos one mentions an announcement coming up in May. May is of course when E3 is held. This is the biggest gaming convention of the year, and game companies typically try to save their biggest announcements for the large group of press that comes to E3 each year. So what is Sony going to announce in May? It may be something like a single player game based upon Everquest, or the release of some new zones. However, do not be surprised if it is the launch of Everquest 2. I don't have any positive information on this and am really just speculating, but since they already announced the PS2 version of the game and the Planes of Power expansion, it seems logical that this is not related to either of them. Why make a teaser for something everyone already knows about? And they have never put this type of effort into announcing free content for the game. EQ2, however, would be a huge announcement. In addition, I have been told that the latest version of PC Gamer mentions EQ2 (I have not read it -- I'll try to track down a copy). Plus, Sony has had www.everquest2.com registered for quite a while. So the announcement Sony plans to make in May could well be that they are making EQ2. Or they could just be announcing another expansion or something related to the PS2 version of the game or even something completely unrelated to Everquest. We will be in Los Angeles for E3, so as soon as we find out more, we'll let you know. In the meantime, some of our visitors managed to piece together the murky pictures you see in the two sites.
  • Wailing Caves Full Image
  • Nektulos Full Image
  • Feel free to throw in your own thoughts about what this means. UPDATE (Again): Link already dead.

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    What???
    # Apr 24 2002 at 11:08 AM Rating: Decent
    IMHO, does this sound like crap or what??? doesn't sound like too many are enthusiastic about this and neither am i. some of the changes sound ok.. such as molding a character into any class they would like, then maybe switching classes at lvl 20 or so. but what the hell are they doing to improve on EQ1? taking kunark, luclin and velious out of the game??? what the hell is that!? so that they can re-charge me for the expansions.. because thet EQ1's aren't compatable? lvl limit is now 100??? most likely i have to start over (which is rediculous) but if i can import my lvl 55, do i only start at 55? how crappy would that be if a newbie can obtain that in about 1 month's time because they can lvl much faster then they used to? Buy and sell land??? am i missing a benefit here? why would this be a good idea? my items now rot? sheesh that's harsh. i can't zone from mobs anymore???? i am a caster.. i NEED to zone on occassion, but there are many tanks i know that need to zone also to avoid mobs. this new system has no appeal to me, and the only way i see switching over is with the "AOL effect" where all my friends are on it, so i will sign up.. but honestly i don't see them going for this also. sony and verant make a killing on EQ1.. why replace it with a new game that doesn't have hardly any benefits to people playing the original? if you want to make a killing.. then revamp the old EQ. new engine, new zones, new skills, new quests, fixes for common problems. TAKE YOUR TIME WITH IT... i don't mind waiting longer for a complete product.. hell, i may even pay $15.00 a month for it.
    They are trying to sell us more bugs!
    # Apr 24 2002 at 11:08 AM Rating: Decent
    I think VI should stop creating new titles and fix the ones they have now. Major bugs are still in SoL. They still haven't fix some problems with the original EQ. The Bazaar is still not up, the channels are making people using routers go LD every 10-30 minutes, epics are no long epic, some classes are unbalanced, spells need to be redone, pathing still needs to be worked on, and so on and so on.

    Fix what's broken now before giving us more broken products!

    I don't think EQ2 will be out anytime soon (I hope), but I might play it instead of the original so that I can start at the same playing level as everyone else. They have good ideas, they should maybe implement some of them in the current EQ.
    Whatever
    # Apr 24 2002 at 11:07 AM Rating: Excellent
    All you people out ther, with your various flames and "fooking Verant" and other assorted curses and babblings about not wanting to play.

    /sigh

    Each and everyone of you all will be in line in Oct. 2003, waiting to get your hands on this "uber" game. Why you ask?

    It is called addiction marketing.

    Each and everyone of you people here are thoroughly addicted to Everquest. Some more than others, but, if you love EQ enough to post on here, you are ADDICTED.

    Well...if you are addicted, Verant can ask you to jump, and you all will reply "How High?"

    Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Norrathians, we have a problem. This game is far more addictive than any known drug to man. There is something inherently wrong with the "game" atmosphere that EQ is supposed to have. The progammers are now our "dealers". We ask for "hits" (uber loots). We pay our money to get shoddy product, that we still call ice cream.

    Do I know the answer? Hell no, I am addicted too.

    But, in closing, EVERYONE HERE IS GOING TO PLAY THIS GAME AND ANYTHING ELSE VERANT WANTS TO THROW AT US.

    WE HAVE BEEN ASSIMILATED.

    Enjoy
    RE: Whatever
    # Apr 24 2002 at 11:30 AM Rating: Good
    26 posts
    Boy, you aint-a-kiddin.

    Did you see those screen shots?

    Quicker leveling, but more levels... rotting, but replacable items... more character options... The time spent just tidying up your 'place'.

    All designed to pull us out of our real lives into a more immersive, addictive virtual life.

    And, I too will play until my fingers bleed into my keyboard, only pausing to bind wound and mop up.

    Yee-haw
    EQ2
    # Apr 24 2002 at 11:05 AM Rating: Default
    EQ 2 sounds great but im still fixed on EQ1 and will probably play both.BTW there is a graphics update for EQ1 in the optonal patches.
    Baneb Bloodane
    fixing a problem
    # Apr 24 2002 at 11:01 AM Rating: Decent
    The issue is the game has become a behemoth with problems that they obviously can't stay on top of. I already have noticed this on their re-designs of zones, with new quests that are buged or wield buged items.
    There are also lots of balancing issues with new and old items. Some items are being sold much cheaper than others, and characters now have better odds at starting the game and farming bears and skeletons to get top notch lvl 40th mob items.
    They just noticed that existing concepts from other games such as Asheron and Dark Ages are very feasible. In such, they started developing Star Wars already with that concept in mind.
    Will there truly be an Everquest 2? Yes probably, for there is always the want for people to cast spells and slash up enemies with a sword.
    WOW
    # Apr 24 2002 at 10:51 AM Rating: Default
    ok when this start, i should have checked the allakhazam news sooner, question is this single or multiplayer, or maybe both? I already have the orignal EQ, and when this comes out i'll still play EQ but now i'll have to make time for EQ2 this will be good, judging by the screenshots thou its gona take one hell of a system to run it.

    VI keep up the good work!
    #Anonymous, Posted: Apr 24 2002 at 10:50 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) everquest 1 sound more appealing then eq2..i think most of there new ideas are ghey and detract from the fun....i have a feeling im gonna be sticking with eq 1
    #Anonymous, Posted: Apr 24 2002 at 10:57 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) If you're still playing EQ1 almost 5 years after its release, then you are crazy! Get with the times.
    RE: ghey
    # Apr 24 2002 at 11:28 AM Rating: Default
    Hey I still play the original Civilizations on occasion. Not to mention classic games such as Pac-man, and of course 1942.

    Nerple
    RE: ghey
    # Apr 24 2002 at 12:06 PM Rating: Default

    Wow 1942 ROCKS!!!!! not payed it in ages tho..
    Dark Age of Everquest?
    # Apr 24 2002 at 10:42 AM Rating: Decent
    I've seen this exact game. I think it's called Dark Age of Camelot.
    #Anonymous, Posted: Apr 24 2002 at 10:41 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) OMFG THIS IS 1111 TIMES BETTER THAN ORIGINAL EQ ILL SWITCH AND PAY 30 DOLLARS MORE A MONTH IT DONT MATTER TO ME THIS IS AWSOME STOP COMPLAINING
    Hmmm
    # Apr 24 2002 at 10:41 AM Rating: Decent
    When i read the features i was thinking , Diablo 2, i was thinking , Dark Ages of Camelot, only a few points are really nice as upgrade but why change the whole basis of EQ, we like EQ, we love EQ, i must say im really not impressed by the way Verant wants to change it into a half arcade game.

    Verant -5 points
    ____________________________
    Tuluvar
    #Anonymous, Posted: Apr 24 2002 at 10:36 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) What the hell is this really!! you spend all your time workin on your char in eq 1 then they come out with eq2? if ya want to change the world change it like ya did to cazic-thule just throw it in to game play would be pretty interesting that way and builing your own city's/place, would be cool but when are you gonna make it so you can attack city's i'd love to go on a guild raid with my guild attacking a city would be alot of fun and different. i guess if eq 1 goes so goes me. just my 2 cents
    RE: C'mon Verant
    # Apr 24 2002 at 11:31 AM Rating: Default
    Has anyone else really wanted to raid Rivervale? I've been dying to kill all the little halflings in the zone.

    Nerple
    #Anonymous, Posted: Apr 24 2002 at 10:34 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) if this is just going to be another asheron's call game then i probably won't get it some of the ideas were good but asheron's call sucked because at the higher lvls all the characters were the same, monsters would chase you forever before they gave up, the houses that players owned would cause weird lag, there were no banks in ac and this idea for the new banks sounds kind of stupid to me, also picking where you wanted to hit monsters in ac generally didn't make a difference at all to the fight, and the annoying thing when you died in ac was that you would lose one or 2 items and take a exp penalty kind of like what verant has planned now, way to go for ripping off ac verant ac failed why do they think their version will be better? just cuz it has high system requirements? and does verant actually listen to us when we vent our frustrations with them?
    I THINK
    # Apr 24 2002 at 10:33 AM Rating: Good
    All i think is..

    EQ2 must look like EQ1

    Maybe lose luclin or velious and vah shir.. if they come back on future upgrades its fine with me.

    And if we lose luclin and velious ... MAKE EQ2 NORRATH MUCH MUCH BIGGER more zones or mUCH MUCH bigger zones where you need to travel for hours to get to the other... there goes zoning for losing mobs 2 ... then more use for egress succor evacs ect. and more need to be in groups so you need to adapt the druid to be a more of a good group member then a good soloer.

    hmm not 100% sure of picking classes later this could be a big advantage or a big disatvantage becourse there is no more class pesivic ammor needed or that just some classes can wear it.

    Buying horses, carts, boots, land, houses with pp sounds nice... please make the horses cheaper in EQ1 to /smile.

    The new class TRADER sounds cool and hire NPC to help you sounds great 2.. will there be enough NPC to hire to assault an nebour city for loot all for you alone?

    And npc with a great AI that they will assault you and you not them sounds dangerous but verry advanterous.

    Grifons as speks in sky ... they must realy be flying... so make some more birds and other wild live to fit to it and if can that you can see a wolf eat a rabbit... and not that you hunt a wolf and you find a wolf a tiger and a bear and a rabit walk together.... smaller bugs and rats ofcourse. Creatures must stay far away from eachother so you must realy hunt sounds a nice deal.

    What will happen to camping so you can log... will you have to make a campfire to keep you save from preying animals? or sleep at an inn with a room you payed for or in your own house.

    Can uber guilds form cities and the guild leader becomes a govenour of the land... and he plans raids hunting parties and patrols and collects monney to build new aditions to the city like a bank or a guard tower and hires npc to guard the city or even patrol it.
    (you got a hole wold opend for you then. you dicide what will happen to your town even by living there.)
    (key's that will be a problem can anyone enter your house where you lay down your clothing and expensive items?)

    when griffons fly why cant you... can gnomes build real catapults to fire or flying machines?

    Griffons attack you from the sky why not the other way you attack them from the ground with arrows to shoot them down.

    More difrend coins or even coins per city so you dont be overWTH becourse of miljons of coins you carry.. and purs wher eyou must put your coins in.

    Time will it go slower or faster?

    ... i can call tons of more things to write to make it more fair then just do this do that without thinking it trou what it will DOOOOO.
    and this will make a gaint handbook for newbies dont you think?

    RE: I THINK
    # Apr 24 2002 at 10:54 AM Rating: Good
    "Can uber guilds form cities and the guild leader becomes a govenour of the land... and he plans raids hunting parties and patrols and collects monney to build new aditions to the city like a bank or a guard tower and hires npc to guard the city or even patrol it."

    YEA! That would be totally kick-***! I doubt that it will happen, but would be cool if Uber_Guild01 could just up and kick the FP militia right out of freeport and take over.

    You have many cool ideas. I hope to see some of these things implemented into the game as they do seem like they fit in from what i have read about this new game.
    alrdy seen alrdy done
    # Apr 24 2002 at 10:28 AM Rating: Decent
    Welcome to Ultima-Quest.
    The ultimate merge between EQ and UO in an attempt to gain more money to verant.
    If eq2 comes out, not only will i not restart but i'll probably quit
    RE: alrdy seen alrdy done
    # Apr 24 2002 at 11:52 AM Rating: Default
    No you won't. You're not going anywhere. You're going to play EQ2 and you will no doubt ***** about that too, all the while playing your little black heart out. There is no reason to compare EQ to UO or DAOC or D2 or UFO's or FBI or GTA3, heheh ok I got carried away... Whiners say it's UO because it has personal structures or it's like Shadowbane because it has more character levels, etc... whine whine whine.
    I say it's like Doom2 because I sit at my computer to play that too. Or it's just like a spreadsheet because I use my mouse for that too, how co-incidental!
    Get used to it, change is inevitable, when you walk out the back door three more kids walk in the front and you will not be missed.
    Can you imagine what the world would be like if they still made the Ford Pinto? Sheesh.

    EQ2 will be excellent I'm sure. It'll have bugs because it's the nature of the industry. The less problems it has, the more money they keep so it's not in their best interest to make you suffer.
    Don't take me items away!
    # Apr 24 2002 at 10:28 AM Rating: Default
    I like most of what i am hearing with the new game. Buuut, I i absolutely hate the idea of losing items when you die. I think i work hard and pay well for the gear i get, and the last thing i need is it to be taken from me. They said that only certain situations will merit item removal, which i hope means only fighting a boss and dying will cause that.

    I didnt like the level restrictions on items in DAOC, and i will not like it in EQ2. all that did was made everyone in the game have the same gear(depending on their level range). every low level melee class that could wear chain armor had the FORLORN armor set, including myself. but i really did like that u could actually buy armor from a merchant, unlike in EQ where it costs 500pp for a piece of plate. Making more low level item drops in newbie dungeons should fix some of those problems though. everything wouldnt be so repetitive.

    and i dont like the idea of starting over either, but why do we need to leave EQ1? its not like it is going anywhere. Making a sequel isnt taking anything away from EQ1. the reason why there are so many bugs is the technical support team for the game are just idiots who are probably play the game more than they fix it. :) they are addicts, just like us.

    Nhonac - 43 Level Barbarian Warrior
    Erollisi Marr
    Possible
    # Apr 24 2002 at 10:03 AM Rating: Decent
    Given that the level cap is 100, they could allow characters from EQ to move over.

    They would start about half way to the level cap, as far as I can tell. . .

    Gear could even be destroyed.

    Or, not.
    about EQ2
    # Apr 24 2002 at 9:57 AM Rating: Default
    some of eq2 sounds great but some sounds soo stupid.like building your own town xp debt, come on were did the basic's go? improve on the old eq, raise the lvl cap on pc add new monster new BUT useful spell how about new trades. there are alot of ideas eq2 is just about money i am sad to say (
    Question
    # Apr 24 2002 at 9:56 AM Rating: Decent
    Do I have to start over ...... LOL

    I don't know if I can handle it!
    EQ2? EQ1 isn't finished yet.
    # Apr 24 2002 at 9:54 AM Rating: Decent
    With all the hooplah surrounding the Planes of Power, you'd think that Sony/Verant has plans to keep EQ1 active almost indefinitely. But, we know that this can't -truely- be the case. What company is going to support an EQ1 and EQ2 indefinitely?

    I know it takes YEARS to get your characters up to the high 50's playing just an hour or two a day. Is Sony/Verant telling me that the game I've enjoyed playing for months now -- is going to be obsolete when my character finally starts entering their prime?

    Sony/Verant can re-enhance EQ over and over again, building on their established user base and continuing to sell more expansions (eg: Planes of Power).

    Gandalo
    Good EQ2 Article
    # Apr 24 2002 at 9:54 AM Rating: Decent
    Hello, the best article I've found on this is on caster's realm:
    http://eq.castersrealm.com/viewarticle.asp?Article=4245
    Gives alot of info, also says release is expected October 2003.
    LOL
    # Apr 24 2002 at 9:50 AM Rating: Default
    1. Probably wont come out for a Loonngg time.
    2. As long as EQ makes money they'll keep it up.
    3. It seems to me that another game where all those who constantly complain about "twinking" can go would be a good thing. BTW alot of those who complain about twinking only complain because there not.
    4. What we( myself included ) forget is that VI is not nonprofit. They made eq to make money, and money, not consumer relations or anything else is their goal. Isn't it yours too? Why do we all want a higher paying job?
    #Anonymous, Posted: Apr 24 2002 at 9:49 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) fricking crazy! they just released lucin and now this? fricking morons!
    EQ2 rating
    # Apr 24 2002 at 9:41 AM Rating: Good
    Some good some bad news i guess.

    Good:
    1) Graphics look awesome
    2) Most items appear on you when you die
    3) Xp debt from death...marginally better
    4) Imporved tradeskills sounds like
    5) Faster leveling, more levels
    6) PC houses, etc - should be fun )
    7) starting over

    Bad:
    1) Mobs chase through zones.. hehe i think this >may< change before release, just a guess
    2) Item decay - this sucks. A big part of why i dont play DAoC. Twinking rocks, its a huge asset for EQ wether pple admit it or not, taking this part of the game away will severly cripple the new EQ2.
    3) Splitting customers - what will become of EQ1
    4) Starting over
    RE: EQ2 rating
    # Apr 24 2002 at 9:50 AM Rating: Default
    Exp debt is just like losing EXP!
    RE: EQ2 rating
    # Apr 24 2002 at 9:56 AM Rating: Decent
    Not really. The XP debt means that if you gain a level, get your spells, train in your skills, and then are immediately killed, then you still are your new level when you respawn. With the current system, if you die early on in a level, you revert back to your old level. For casters, that totally blows at spell levels. :-)
    Sell outs
    # Apr 24 2002 at 9:40 AM Rating: Decent
    They should worry about the bugs/problems they need to fix now, instead of trying to get more money for another expansion/game. They have no idea how many people they are loosing a day because of the problems they are ignoring.
    Cheers!
    # Apr 24 2002 at 9:40 AM Rating: Decent
    I am very much looking forward to EQ2! I feel like the world of EverQuest is rather crowded and I am bored when I log on because it seems repetitive. I am glad to see Verant/Sony doing some experimenting. There are so many games and play styles. As for the money thing, EQ and all online games are your choice whether or not to pay to play them. It takes so much time and tedious effort to create and maintain these games! I for one am very glad to see video game designers making a very good living doing what they do. Not only do they make things that are fun for me, it gives me hope that there are indeed ways to make a good living doing what you love. I would rather pay to play these games than pay to watch television with commercials,programing I don't really have a choice in, & no interaction whatsoever. Cable $50 per month or EverQuest1, EverQuest2, & Star Wars Galaxies $50(or less!!)per month. Not a hard choice for me!! :)

    Nimwen Naminuial
    Wanderer of Terris-Thule

    Edited, Wed Apr 24 10:36:25 2002
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