MMORPG writer Carolyn Koh was at the recent SOE Fan Faire where a new expansion was officially announced for the well known game. Today, Carolyn files this report, giving us a few details about The Shadow Odyssey.

Senior Producer of EverQuest 2, Bruce Ferguson had several things to announce at the opening Keynote speech. The first was the launch of Guildhalls in the fall, the second was the upcoming zone that would be released for free, Vexar, and the third was that the fifth EverQuest 2 expansion, The Shadow Odyssey would be released on November 18, 2008.

The announcement was followed up the next day by a preview panel in a ballroom. Every single seat was filled, and players lined the sides and the back, standing or leaning against the walls or sitting on the carpeted floor. A total of 15 developers were in attendance to answer questions and as each introduced themselves, the crowd showed their appreciation with the Tradeskills designer receiving the most applause including hoots and hollars.

Read the article here.

Just seen the new trailer and it looks horrible, what i don't udnerstand is how they've managed to make EQ2 look even uglier over the years and tried to give it this new art style which just doesn't work. They still havn't fixed the ugly plastic looking models and the textures look really dated.

This picture on mmorpg.com sums up EQ2 for me;

http://images.mmorpg.com/images/screenshots/122007/12666.jpg

Really generic and dated looking, I mean they could make grass look ALOT better and get rid of the fog and put some effort into designing trees and zones themselves. Alot of the time it feels like they got some pre generated crap and stuck it anywhere and let the land barren and uninteresting. SOE even manages to make a Rhino mount really ugly and boring too and the armour in EQ2 is some of the ugliest shite I've ever laid eyes on and the graphics are sooo bad they're only beaten by Vanguard which somehow manages to look even worse.

Really speaks for SOE too because they've never had a game that's looked good with lots of character and great art. Their concept art isn't so bad but for some reason SOE have never been able to bring the concept art to the game.

Agreed, that screenshot looks like crap, but doesn't do the game justice. Try these instead:

www.arcanya.com/screens/EQ2_000055.jpg
www.arcanya.com/screens/EQ2_000062.jpg
www.arcanya.com/screens/EQ2_000086.jpg
www.arcanya.com/screens/EQ2_000096.jpg
www.arcanya.com/screens/EQ2_000100.jpg

I bought a new computer recently, after playing EQ2 on low settings for years, but that is how it looks with all bells and whistles turned on, and in my opinion, for a 4 year old game not bad at all.

But I'm not sure why I even bother posting, considering the majority of replies to EQ2-news here...

Perhaps the author of this article should read things up on Massivly or  go to Bruce Ferguson's Blog to read what TSO really is about. There will be no Dungeons scaling to the levels of either Antonica or Commonlands as you put it (both will get one of those new dungeons). The lowest level to begin scaling up to 80 will be lvl 50 in i.e.  Najena and Miragul. The land mass auf The Moors of Ykesha, once known as Innothule Swamp, wil be the largest overland zone in the game, larger even than any single zone in Kunark, but not bigger than whole kunark as you stated it.

And Papa, you don't need to bash anything with 'SOE' in the text, we all know how you feel...

I love EQ2 for having so much content. It has many things I dont like (like instancing), but over all, it keeps calling for me when I try another of the newer MMOs.

But still it is one of the best MMOs on market. And one of best looking in high graphical options too. How many of MMOs have better graphic?  I speak about playable, good mmos, not something like AoC or Vanguard, or somethink other with prereleased release :) wheres only one thing interesting... modern graphic. I think, i will most likely play by years of developement brushed game with little old graphics, than great looking unplayable game with content for no more then 3 months of play.

WoW still havent the greatest graphics today, but its good playable. Lotro have a verry nice graphics in my opinion and i like it .... but after 4 years, new games will have more interesting look. But ? ... Lotro will have large world and lot of unbugged funny content, same like EQ2 or WoW, or other succesfull games with years of good support.

I like great graphics, but still i think, more important is how is game enjoyable and good made.

I played lotro for year and a half (now i wait for Moria), after that i tried month of EQ2 and now i play month of WoW .... (i must try these older games, because that passed me when i played some other game). Detachedly, these unequal games are both something other, both little differnetly playable, and with some other mechanisms.

But both verry enyoyable for me and i like them. Not DX10 cryengine made graphic, but fun with couple of friends that i know from my real life ... and tahts something more then hi-tech looking.

I cant wait, this is good news for an avid eq2 fan

This game just does not get the credit it deserves in my opinion. It has been consistently evolving and improving since day 1, ( I played beta and the first 3 yrs), and they have stuck to their promises in terms of regulare updates and new packs. I think the marketplace and other aspects continue to show subtle but important innovations that keep MMO's moving forward, whether to some tastes or not.

I will be re-opening my account when this one hits.

Good on yer SOE. This one is a winner in my book.

This looks like a really good expansion packed with a lot of nice stuff.  I like that they are not increasing the level cap, but instead expanding AA, and adding 20?!? new dungeons.

I really think the SOE shot themselves in the foot early on with the adventure packs.  Honestly I thought most of them were horrible.   I mean, who wants to cave crawl?.. and  who wants to pay additional money for published content that other games are giving away for free to subscribers?

Lol remember when Smed said that the Guildwars model was the way of the future?  ppfftt

Ok before I begin I've played EQ2 on and off since beta .. I really like the game it is the one that brings me back time and again .. usually about everytime the release a new expansion

But has anyone noticed that lately they've just been recycling other games features? AA / Talents, Daily dungeons sound kinda familiar .. i don't mind a little imitation is the best form of flattery type stuff but come on .. pay your dev's and come up with something truly new .. *just my two cents* ..

don't get me wrong I still love that they are building on this game .. and i'll prolly be back in Nov. just noticed no one else mentioned this

Ok, EQ1 is the god when it comes to aa's...i think when i moved over to EQ2 back in 04 i had like 728 aa point. And this daily stuff.... LDoN in EQ1. 

Originally posted by Billr00

Ok before I begin I've played EQ2 on and off since beta .. I really like the game it is the one that brings me back time and again .. usually about everytime the release a new expansion

But has anyone noticed that lately they've just been recycling other games features? AA / Talents, Daily dungeons sound kinda familiar .. i don't mind a little imitation is the best form of flattery type stuff but come on .. pay your dev's and come up with something truly new .. *just my two cents* ..

don't get me wrong I still love that they are building on this game .. and i'll prolly be back in Nov. just noticed no one else mentioned this

They copied their AA system of EQ1, I think, they're allowed to ;)

Originally posted by PapaLazarou

Just seen the new trailer and it looks horrible, what i don't udnerstand is how they've managed to make EQ2 look even uglier over the years and tried to give it this new art style which just doesn't work. They still havn't fixed the ugly plastic looking models and the textures look really dated.

This picture on mmorpg.com sums up EQ2 for me;

http://images.mmorpg.com/images/screenshots/122007/12666.jpg

Really generic and dated looking, I mean they could make grass look ALOT better and get rid of the fog and put some effort into designing trees and zones themselves. Alot of the time it feels like they got some pre generated crap and stuck it anywhere and let the land barren and uninteresting. SOE even manages to make a Rhino mount really ugly and boring too and the armour in EQ2 is some of the ugliest shite I've ever laid eyes on and the graphics are sooo bad they're only beaten by Vanguard which somehow manages to look even worse.

Really speaks for SOE too because they've never had a game that's looked good with lots of character and great art. Their concept art isn't so bad but for some reason SOE have never been able to bring the concept art to the game.

The shot you show is a low res image taken on low settings. Whack the game up to full max settings on a fast modern PC and your jaw hits the floor with how amazing it looks. For a game that this old, its still better looking, imho, than any other MMO out today. And it has the game play, content and depth as well.

This next expansion sounds as though SOE are going where I had hoped they would go - giving mass content to groups, thats challenging and has large replay value, and with rewards that are on a par with the easier raid zones. Looking forward to it :)

Eq2 is a great game. I miss my lvl 80 dirge.

AA's sound great, but "puns, puzzles and tradeskills"? Sounds more like a massively multiplayer adventure game than an RPG to me. Have fun playing Myst guys.

Don't forget to check out Hello Kitty Online when it comes out.

Originally posted by Billr00

Ok before I begin I've played EQ2 on and off since beta .. I really like the game it is the one that brings me back time and again .. usually about everytime the release a new expansion

But has anyone noticed that lately they've just been recycling other games features? AA / Talents, Daily dungeons sound kinda familiar .. i don't mind a little imitation is the best form of flattery type stuff but come on .. pay your dev's and come up with something truly new .. *just my two cents* ..

don't get me wrong I still love that they are building on this game .. and i'll prolly be back in Nov. just noticed no one else mentioned this

  Exactly! The hand in the shards from repeatable quests for items is a exactly the same system they've used in SWG with the Heroics system. EQ2 really has become lacklustre.

The EQ2 engine works against it. We're now in an age where we have very powerful mutlicore CPU's and even more powerful Graphics cards, but can the EQ2 engine make use of this? NO! It can't even make use of the latest greatest Graphic chip power because the game engine is designed to assign some of the graphic elements and make them CPU bound. One major one being Shadows. Not good on an engine that can only use a single core CPU.

Maxed out EQ2 in some area's looks OK, but the environment graphics, tree's, Sky, Water and mountain textures etc  all look outdated big time! Since all the raiders bitched about not much content for them in the last expansion you can bet this expansion will try please them as that's all whose left playing EQ2 these days is raiders communities. The rest have done it all before as SOE recycles and reskins content for the same old hoops to jump through with a couple new features laid on top to disguise it as fresh.

No thanks SOE. As with your last expansion. Not interested! Your EQ2 expansions are designed to milk what hardcore fan base you have left, and not add anything innovative and worthwhile. EQ2 past its prime and is going nowhere but slowly down hill in regards to playerbase numbers in a market with to many Fantasy MMO's to pick from as it is and new ones coming.

If you dont like it... Dont play it. Whats the point of bashing a game you no longer play... or from the sounds of it should not be playing. Are you that pathetic that you have nothing else better to do then troll the boards bashing a game you no longer play or no longer enjoy playing... move on.. no one is forcing you to play. To be honest you sound like a SWG vet thats pissed off at SOE and goes out of their way to bash any game or expansion they bring out.

And if you think you are hurting SoE... please; you are hurting the community that plays this game and enjoys it..... by doing what you can to chase off anyone who is thinking of trying this game.

And the stuff you being up.. its OLD NEWS!! everyone knows about it, when you have something new to report.. then post. We all know how the engine could use some updating. And to me.. on my Rig and set-up.. the"Graphics" looks great.

Also EQ2 adding more raids because its raiders want more raiding content... is called listening to your customers.... nothing wrong with that. You ppl either bitch how they dont listen and when they do.. you still bitch.

"and not add anything innovative and worthwhile"

Welcome to the world of MMO's were change happens VERY slowly if at all. Most Fantasy MMO's out today are rip offs of EQ and UO. They took their ideas and just tweeked them....

This is all im going to say to this or another reply you post on this topic.

If SoE is serious about EQ 2 then they need to retool the engine. Its the only thing holding the game back, because what this game really need right now is not another expansion, but a fresh look. It is way over due.

If they're not going to bother fixing the craptastic EQ 2 engine then they might as well sink EQ 2 and invest in Vanguard instead.

I wonder if they even have the resources to retool the engine. Unlike with WoW, it doesn't have a massive subscriber base so I can't help but ponder the fact that maybe they can't without dramatically slowing down content updates.

From what I've heard the dev staff of EQ2 is quite small in comparison to other games. It would be great if they could but its not a deal breaker for me. Its fune, interesting and runs just fun on my outdated comp

The game is great, I've always liked it.  But I won't be returning with this new expansion for the same reason I left:  lack of groups.  I hate to solo and could never seem to find a regular group to play with in Everquest 2.  I played it starting at launch, solid for the first couple of years and then on and off til a few months ago, and only once during that time did I manage to join a decent, active guild.  Everyone I know IRL plays WoW, which I don't care for.  But everytime I join a new guild, it seems to be dying and on its way out, and too many people play only with the family or group of friends they already know, which leaves me always LFG.  I once spent an entire week LFG with my wizard that left me totally demorarlized about the game.  I would suspect that I'm just really, really bad about meeting people, but I can logon to City of Heroes and be in a full group in mere moments despite that game having far fewer players, so I think its something about EQ2 itself that creates this problem for me.  I have nothing but praise for the game itself, its really grown over time, but if my only choice is soloing then I'll just stick with a game that doesn't have a monthly fee.

Originally posted by PapaLazarou

Just seen the new trailer and it looks horrible, what i don't udnerstand is how they've managed to make EQ2 look even uglier over the years and tried to give it this new art style which just doesn't work. They still havn't fixed the ugly plastic looking models and the textures look really dated.

This picture on mmorpg.com sums up EQ2 for me;

http://images.mmorpg.com/images/screenshots/122007/12666.jpg

Really generic and dated looking, I mean they could make grass look ALOT better and get rid of the fog and put some effort into designing trees and zones themselves. Alot of the time it feels like they got some pre generated crap and stuck it anywhere and let the land barren and uninteresting. SOE even manages to make a Rhino mount really ugly and boring too and the armour in EQ2 is some of the ugliest shite I've ever laid eyes on and the graphics are sooo bad they're only beaten by Vanguard which somehow manages to look even worse.

Really speaks for SOE too because they've never had a game that's looked good with lots of character and great art. Their concept art isn't so bad but for some reason SOE have never been able to bring the concept art to the game.

.... uglier?.... wth? The new areas of the game are much better looking than the old. RoK is probably the most beautiful of all expansions and of all other games out there that I've played, and I've played alot.

I think you're trolling. If you dislike the game so much, please go elsewhere. We're sick of hearing about it.

Originally posted by PapaLazarou

Just seen the new trailer and it looks horrible, what i don't udnerstand is how they've managed to make EQ2 look even uglier over the years and tried to give it this new art style which just doesn't work. They still havn't fixed the ugly plastic looking models and the textures look really dated.

This picture on mmorpg.com sums up EQ2 for me;

http://images.mmorpg.com/images/screenshots/122007/12666.jpg

Really generic and dated looking, I mean they could make grass look ALOT better and get rid of the fog and put some effort into designing trees and zones themselves. Alot of the time it feels like they got some pre generated crap and stuck it anywhere and let the land barren and uninteresting. SOE even manages to make a Rhino mount really ugly and boring too and the armour in EQ2 is some of the ugliest shite I've ever laid eyes on and the graphics are sooo bad they're only beaten by Vanguard which somehow manages to look even worse.

Really speaks for SOE too because they've never had a game that's looked good with lots of character and great art. Their concept art isn't so bad but for some reason SOE have never been able to bring the concept art to the game.

The SOGA model characters (new models) do match the character art. Its just some players somehow enjoy the plastic face look and feel the need to upload pics using the old models. Even Sony continues to shoot itself in the foot by releasing pictures of the ugly old models for expansions and updates. Its only one mouse click away to make the characters attractive. The world of EQ2 is far more colourful and interesting than most other games (including WoW, LOTRO and AoC). I will probably go back after the expansion to check out whats happened with Befallen and Najena. Currently playing Vanguard and it has come along in leaps and bounds since I tried it in Beta.

I think the graphics look great. EQ2 is a ton of fun to play and SoE is constantly dishing out expansions and adventure packs to keep the momentom alive. Some of the other games out there take 2 years + just to toss out another expansion so I give SoE credit. I only wish they would maybe try to add some new races or even classes to the game. Always would like to see a Samauri type class in some of these MMO's hehe or bring the old Beast Lords back

Oh look, ANOTHER expansion... Theres a surprise...

Originally posted by evilastro

Originally posted by PapaLazarou

Just seen the new trailer and it looks horrible, what i don't udnerstand is how they've managed to make EQ2 look even uglier over the years and tried to give it this new art style which just doesn't work. They still havn't fixed the ugly plastic looking models and the textures look really dated.

This picture on mmorpg.com sums up EQ2 for me;

http://images.mmorpg.com/images/screenshots/122007/12666.jpg

Really generic and dated looking, I mean they could make grass look ALOT better and get rid of the fog and put some effort into designing trees and zones themselves. Alot of the time it feels like they got some pre generated crap and stuck it anywhere and let the land barren and uninteresting. SOE even manages to make a Rhino mount really ugly and boring too and the armour in EQ2 is some of the ugliest shite I've ever laid eyes on and the graphics are sooo bad they're only beaten by Vanguard which somehow manages to look even worse.

Really speaks for SOE too because they've never had a game that's looked good with lots of character and great art. Their concept art isn't so bad but for some reason SOE have never been able to bring the concept art to the game.

 

The SOGA model characters (new models) do match the character art. Its just some players somehow enjoy the plastic face look and feel the need to upload pics using the old models. Even Sony continues to shoot itself in the foot by releasing pictures of the ugly old models for expansions and updates. Its only one mouse click away to make the characters attractive. The world of EQ2 is far more colourful and interesting than most other games (including WoW, LOTRO and AoC). I will probably go back after the expansion to check out whats happened with Befallen and Najena. Currently playing Vanguard and it has come along in leaps and bounds since I tried it in Beta.

I'm one of "the people" that hates the SOGA models with all my heart .. The old models are awsome imo.

EQ2 seems to be mainly adult oriented wich is one of many reasons Iove the game. No kiddos running around all over the place :P . It's also HUUUUUUUGE . I dare you to name me a MMO with more content than EQ2 ..

Yours ..