Everquest Mysteries

Dandai said:

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Sorry, didn't get all the words in that statement as originally intended. I meant to speak to the kind of attention that really comes from people who are deeper in the lore and role playing aspect of the game.

I mean to really tip my hat to a time where people really attached themselves to names of places, moments, and even music. I don't think any of this matters very much to people anymore. I don't think, and I may be wrong, that many people will break down plot holes and unsolved mysteries of any other MMO. Outside of some WoW lore, I can't even begin to tell you about any other MMO storyline or characters. I think this is more of quality you find in your D&D and early RPG generation players.

I think this is mostly because MMO's aren't lore based anymore. EQ was built with roleplayers in mind, the kind of powergaming and poopsocking that became the norm was, I imagine, an unintended side effect. More recent games are catering to the playstyle we desire rather than creating a world.

I get that feeling in WoW still, but only every once in a while.

Lore Nerd ? /raise hand

As an Old D&D nerd, I can say that I enjoy/ed EQ's lore more than many things in the game. I wasted months following some thread of lore, or rumor. Trying to read the symbols on all the walls in Kunark, tying in other symbols found on random standing stones, etc etc.

I am hopeful that another game will be made by old nerds that caters to old nerds, but I won't hold my breath.

lol people think EQ had story?

kudos said:

How did it not? I'm dying to know.

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It had bits and pieces that made people think there was great coherent story, but there wasn't. It had bits and pieces that hinted at stuff that wasn't the slightest bit fleshed out or completed.

I'm sure people will say that's what's so great about it.

EQ offers a different kind of story. You, as player, create stories along the way instead of following ? and !

Remember first time you were drown in Rivervale? or fell down from tree in Greater Faydark? Travel from Qeynos to Freeport nervously? Follow someone to the basement of Unrest the very first time?

Ya, those are the stories who make EQ so god damn special to all of you, aren't they?

Tearofsoul said:

EQ offers a different kind of story. You, as player, create stories along the way instead of following ? and !

Remember first time you were drown in Rivervale? or fell down from tree in Greater Faydark? Travel from Qeynos to Freeport nervously? Follow someone to the basement of Unrest the very first time?

Ya, those are the stories who make EQ so god damn special to all of you, aren't they?

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I started as a dirty wood elf. I remember my beginning experiences (falling from GFay, working my way through CB up to the throne room, traveling to the dorf city to turn in belts, how scary unrest was, traveling across the Ocean for the first time) from 1999 more then any other MMO I have played. My memories from low end WoW are loot lag, getting lost in the dorf city and then stuff about Mankrik's wife and Chuck Norris.

EQ had stories if you actually did the quests. The langseax quest was always a favorite, where you're tracking down and killing a murderer. You just had to go out and discover them on your own instead of being guided to them, and there was no overarching story tying everything together.

Why do MMO worlds need overarching stories? I'm not really a fan of it most of the time, it always feels shoehorned in and having every player be the hero of the same fucking story is stupid. I think that making one story arc for the playerbase to follow should be a thing of the past, save for perhaps some very specific events (Kith war, AQ opening, stuff like that)

What's the overarching story for earth? Can someone tell me? Does it involve plastic?

Flobee said:

Why do MMO worlds need overarching stories? I'm not really a fan of it most of the time, it always feels shoehorned in and having every player be the hero of the same fucking story is stupid. I think that making one story arc for the playerbase to follow should be a thing of the past, save for perhaps some very specific events (Kith war, AQ opening, stuff like that)

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How is a story no player has any involvement in any better?

Everquest made a real world in the sense that it was not a world overrun by its races and tamed, and it gave about zero fucks that anything lived there (players or NPCs). It was still largely wild. The Earth isn't very hospitable in general, its just hospitable enough. This gives the same sense of accomplishment, that building a fire, catching food, camping, adventuring, and handling the adversity of being. The Earth itself only remains sterile to individuals who have never lived outside of human civilization. If you go out in nature at all, or experience the Earth, its not a safe space. That doesn't mean its murder ball, but it has expectations of competence, and it never lowers the bar.

Death (corpse recovery, and exp loss) both made the "state of nature" a huge part of decision making. Good knowledge could let good players access difficult places in the world. High risk options were available. This is again analogous to say chosing to summit a mountain vs say "camping" at the resort. I lugged 12 Minotaur axes from Gnomeland to Halas and I sold them for double what they went for in Faydark. Experiencing all the risks along the way, with no map and a huge reward at the end.

The limited teleport points acted as airports, but that still allowed the world to feel large while still more traversable (only through talking to someone who was a trained pilot if that was not your specialty).
Henges and Wizard Towers being in every zone everywhere would have been stupid. There isn't airports for commercial airliners in every single place that might be interesting in life either. In general all the interdependence to take only a little sting out of the world really did cause people to constantly interact with each other. This collaboration is hallmark of survival as an individual in reality. I would always search for the wizards or druids that only had the levels for the port I was asking for. They would almost always be more inclined to help me faster, and it just made me constantly interact with people who were not my level. Same with raising people.

Its definitely harder to play in a world like this, but it had the characteristic of yielding experiences that left their mark.

The stopped allowing you to bind there.

And some time later, I think in PoP, the allowed it again since the PoK books were even more trivial.