Release, NDA & SOE Live
The question everyone is curious about: When does Landmark Alpha start?
John: The one question I promised our PR person I would keep my mouth shut about. I can say stay tuned. very tuned. [Source]
Will alpha-access founder's packs be available after alpha launches?
John: Alpha-access founders packs will still be available after alpha launches. [Source]
What does the Long Term release look like for EQN? Will it be around the end of this year, or does it look more like late next year?
John: not sure yet. Likely sometime next year. [Source]
Will the NDA allow us to post helpful information for other alpha participants on the alpha forums? Or will there be another restricted site that we could use? Another site could go "public" when the NDA is lifted.
John: we will have forums. Btw, I hope the NDA doesn't stay up too long. [Source]
What can we expect from SOE this year?
John: Everquest Next Landmark will launch.... we have expansions for EQ and EQ2 and an unannounced MMO that we're working on. [Source]
Payment Models, Cash Shop & Authenticator
Is Planetside 2 a good gauge for the pricing model of things sold in the cash shop for Next and Landmark?
John: no. We do our best to try to price things fairly. We're still looking at Planetside 2 pricing and evaluating if we want to move some things lower. Every game has it's own monetization requirements. We'll look at that in EQNL and let the community have their say before we finalize it. [Source]
Will Paypal ever be an option when purchasing Membership?
John: yes it will. fairly soonish [Source]
Ever the option to buy Membership through SC/Steam wallet and not only CC?
John: we have a lot of different ways to pay. We are actually working with Valve on some Steam wallet / subscription stuff. [Source]
Will a mobile authenticator app finally be launched with EQNL/EQN? the FAQ at
https://www.soe.com/authenticator-faq?locale=en_US[1] has been promising one "in the near future" since mid 2011 but as yet nothing has materialised.
John: this is a total fail on us. The issue is resources in our platform group. We have been talking internally about a different way of doing this that we could get done quicker. I will have more info on this next week for you. [Source]
Class, Race & Player Models
Class you're most excited about in Everquest Next?
John: Bard. [Source]
No holy trinity in EQNext, what was the reasoning behind this? In GW2 it ended up being a sad experience running through dungeons jumping around like lemmings. One thing that I loved about EQ was the fact that we had so many roles. Debuffer, slower, tank, healer, DPS etc...How will this experience differ from GW2?
John: I have opinions on this. Strong ones. I'm going to let Dave do his job and hande those kinds of questions. Not dodging.. but I want to let the people making the game explain it. I don't get everything I want around here. Not by a long shot [Source]
The most important question of all, will the Master Race, the Iksar, make an appearance in EQN?
John: always with the Iksars..... I wish we had never put those damn things in! [Source]
What is your take on EQL/EQN's art direction and why it was chosen? I am conflicted b/w liking the more cartoonish look and missing the more realistic aspects of past EQ's.
John: we were conflicted ourselves at first... because of EQ's more realistic historic roots. But we felt this is the right art style to convey the emotion we want on the players faces in particular. Things just kind of came together and everyone said "that's it right there". Not saying it's for everyone, but I will say it's amazing when you actually see it in game. I admit the screenshots don't do it justice. [Source]
Many of the characters we've seen so far are cartoony, baby-faced, and have over-sized hulking armor. Could you please have Rosie ensure that we can customize them to look grittier and darker?
John: believe me there is plenty of gritty stuff coming. You have to see the art style in motion. I'll be honest - the screenshots don't do it justice at all. [Source]
Player versus Player
Tell us something about PVP in EQN.
John: It won't be an afterthought. We are going to make PvP matter in an Everquest game or we're going to die trying. [Source]
The thing that excites me most about ever quest next is the creation and destruction of cities. How open to our whims will the world truly be? Will we be open to build and modify anything or can we rampage across the countryside?
I really hope there are "PvP" servers where everyone can create or destroy any terrain or house at any time. Perhaps something you can buy to place limited protection on a thing, but it would also need a way to be undone so the war isn't stalled by one child's home.
John: I agree completely and fear not.. this is the focus of PvP. [Source]
Gameplay & Content
Is there anything that you can say/share with the rest of the public that will quell all of the doubts about the "emergent AI and/or StoryBricks System"?
John: Have no doubts. The emergent AI system is the real secret sauce. Forget the awesome world that you can blow up. This is what's really going to change MMOs forever. [Source]
With Emergent AI, will mobs ever respawn when killed or will "new" mobs have to travel back to that location, if their AI doesn't make them look for a new destination?
John: some of the spawning questions are what I would call "we're going to try a bunch of methods" kind of things. [Source]
In regards to EQN/EQNL and the emergent AI, will we be able to see migrations/roaming hordes of NPCs throughout the world or will mobs simply 'appear' in new locations?
John: they won't just pop / repop. that's the whole awesome sauce. If a storekeeper opens his store in the morning.. he had to walk from his house to do it. Oh the evil things we can do.... [Source]
Will EQN and/or have zones? or will be a seamless world (with limited loading) like WOW?
John: seamless (except for some situations). [Source]
Will EQNL have a dynamic day/night cycle? IE, will there be different things spawning at night?
John: yes and yes (remember combat won't be there right away though). [Source]
What are the plans for "end-game" in EQ:Next?
John: What we plan on doing is making amazing content and to keep doing it. There will be plenty to do end-game. [Source]
One of my favorite things about the everquest franchise has been getting together with some friends and leaving a dungeon with a badass new sword or wand. Is the loot in EQN going to be desired with that same 'ooh upgrade' sense?
John: oh yeah. Loot fiends will be happy. [Source]
Any plans to have musicians or the ability to play music in some way in EQN or EQNL?
John: yes [Source]
EQN, not true EQ successor? The focus on building and economy is great but no raiding and armor progression etc, skeptical.
John: You SHOULD be skeptical. Judge what we make once you've played it. We're tired of the same old game for 15 years. We want to make something new. When we do this right it's going to change online gaming. I'm super excited. [Source]
Have you considered hiring a resident economist to help design and tune the economy of EQN?
John: yes. [Source]
EverQuest 1 has been considered by many as a "hardcore" MMO, will EverQuest Next be a "hardcore MMO"?
John: This whole "hardcore" MMO thing is a unicorn IMO. I hate unicorns. what is hardcore to one person may be completely different to another person? I don't believe we can come up with a definition for this. What it usually means is the game is very punishing in some way. A game is either fun or it isn't. If it's fun enough, I'll overlook the annoying things (Day Z) or a clunky interface (Eve). when people say something is hardcore, I think more often than not they're referring to what you referenced.. time investment.
To me this is simple - time investment is hugely important and we will keep that as a major factor in all our games. [Source]
Modern MMOs tend to cater to the single-player, and due to this, the majority of the world landmass becomes to be simplified to accommodate them. What is EQN's stance on this?
John: Current Gen MMOs don't have the significant advantage that we have. Our world is not just on the surface. It's deep. Very deep. So we can have our cake and eat it too and we plan too! [Source]
Hello! Regular Planetside 2 player and amateur map maker for other games. I love watching /u/arclegger[1] create new bases for PS2 on his livestream. Will users have the same kind of power the developer does in building landscapes/structures in EQNL?
John: exactly the same power. Literally you guys will be using the same tools we use. [Source]
Occulus Rift, PS4 & Mac Support
I remember back in the office tour video (I think), that there was a hint at the end towards EQN:L supporting the Oculus Rift... did you just experiment on that or can we get our hopes up?
John: we will support Oculus Rift in some way shape or form. Probably for no other reason then it's really damn cool and programmers love that stuff. [Source]
Hearkening back to the EQN Black Box video and the bit with Terry wearing the Oculus Rift...are you thinking about experiment with any other VR solutions in EQN such as the Virtuix Omni, STEM System etc.?
John: hearing good things about 2 competitors.. one of which actually comes from Sony. so I'm thinking this is real and we may have our Snowcrash after all. [Source]
So how about this, has SOE's work on MMO's for the home consoles been good for business? And if so, will we see more games and support for the newest one (ie ps4)?
John: yes. We will absolutely be bringing EQN to the Playstation 4! [Source]
You mentioned a Mac port of PlanetSide 2. As EQ Next and EQ Next Landmark use the same engine, are Mac ports of those in the cards as well?
John: there would be yes. [Source]
General/Miscellaneous
With EQN now looking to be very far off, and EQN:L being the primary focus, do you have any intention of supporting the EQ:N fans (The fans who don't particularly care for Landmark) and continuing to dole out information about EQN as EQN:L is being developed?
John: EQN is very much in the forefront of what we're working on. You'll be getting lots of updates about it along with Landmark. [Source]
You've taken some bold steps with the design of EQN (of which I am a huge fan of). What made you pull the trigger? From a business angle what made you think slight modifications to traditional mmo design would not be enough for a new everquest?
John: We got bored like everyone else of the same old game. Simple as that. [Source]
How far did EQN get into the development process both times before it was restarted?
John: about a year each time. To be fair, underlying tech work was shared between the first two. [Source]
Could you do more in the way of licensing (or creating yourself for that matter) more EQ media outside of just the game?
John: we've merchandised EQ in a lot of different ways. Some have worked. some haven't. But we have a great surprise in store for EQN and EQNL in this regard
[Source]
Can we expect to see advertisement for EQN and Landmark on TV?
John: we've done plenty of TV before and will do more in the future. [Source]
Here's a simple request, would it be possible to earn EQ Landmark/Next rewards in other games or past games. I would like a life day robe from SWG for my 5 year sub, Lifestone from EQ2 etc. Or even new quest content where we are rewarded cross game. It would get a lot of people playing your other titles?
John: excellent idea. One I will bring up right away. [Source]
What's the in office story behind Qeynos?
John: funny story about Qeynos.. It was one of those things like the fish pictures in malls where you can't see it.. and then you can. Until about a year before release I had no idea that Qeynos was SonyeQ. Until I just saw it one day and just laughed. There's lots of stuff like that in EQ. Bill Trost the guys had so much fun. [Source]
With Vanguard shutting down, are you planning on integrating the Guide/Knight Program with EQNL/EQN or other existing SOE titles? How involved will they be?
John: Guide Program - yes. Can't say how involved because we don't know yet. [Source]
What kind of long term goals are planned or you are just hoping to do for EQN?
John: Our goal as a company are to develop amazing virtual worlds for our players. In this case, what we're hoping for is this idea of an ecosystem with the game at the center of it is the right way to go. What I mean by that is we want players playing the game, but also participating in the larger social ecosystem for the game. Whether that's by making items in Player Studio... making a cool new in-game strategy guide (that's coming to Player Studio) or volunteering as a Guide.. we want people to feel like it's their game.
So my perfect scenario would be for us to keep adding amazing systems and content for the game, but focus these on enabling the players to do more and more. To run governments.. to wage wars.. to really live the exciting online life we all want! [Source]
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Maar goed, ik heb een prima pc naast de tv staan, dus die volstaat voorlopig ook wel.
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