Everquest

ok first off I'd like to say the first posters web-site seems to have disappeared. So all the conspiracy theorists can suggest what SOE had to do to make that happen :)

Second - freedom of speech - if you are getting crap service, or this game sucks feel free to come and complain about it so people can learn from your mistakes.

Third - anyone dealing in customer service knows that most consumers cant be bothered complaining they just go somewhere else where they can get better service. Oh and bad mouth that company to all their friends, family and even total strangers if asked for an opinion. Don't know the exact percent but it wouldnt surprise me if its like 1% who will actually complain.

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Originally posted by _Shadowmage

ok first off I'd like to say the first posters web-site seems to have disappeared. So all the conspiracy theorists can suggest what SOE had to do to make that happen :)

Second - freedom of speech - if you are getting crap service, or this game sucks feel free to come and complain about it so people can learn from your mistakes.

Third - anyone dealing in customer service knows that most consumers cant be bothered complaining they just go somewhere else where they can get better service. Oh and bad mouth that company to all their friends, family and even total strangers if asked for an opinion. Don't know the exact percent but it wouldnt surprise me if its like 1% who will actually complain.

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I played EQ for 3 years starting pre-Kunark. I left right around Dungeons of Norrath expansion. I was so fed up at lvl 70 as a paladin LFG for 2-3 hours just to get a grind group somewhere on the planes. Sony did everything they could to nerf this or that, making the game pretty unbearable to play. So I found SWG, not realizing that SOE would do worse in the future. I quested, did the endless grinds to become one of those (at the time anyways) rare Jedi Masters. Then came NGE......there were friggin Jedi everywhere. You couldn't walk into Theed without such massive lag issues because of the 900 or so lightsabers out in duels.

Sony took 2 games I use to enjoy and ran them both into the ground. People do expect certain things not only in life but in their gaming as well and that is consistancy. Now SOE is fairly consistant with screwing their player base but that is not what I mean. If you are for instance a Paladin and you can do certain things and the one day a patch comes out and you can't do that anymore because some dev thinks you are now too powerful, you're going to be a little upset. Have this done to you on a regular basis and I gaurantee that eventually you will get tired of it and move on.

I don't belittle anyone for the contnued support of SOE or any other company into MMO's, but I know SOE will never get another dime from me. For now I play WoW until AoC comes out, then we'll see from there.....

I have played EQ1 since launch, and still log on and play it to this day. In fact, this damn game may have contributed to me getting divorced. (However, I don't play as much now that I'm not married Lmao ironic) SoE over the years have had there good and bad.

My favorite time in EQ that I can remember are Everquest/Kunark and Velious expansions. There was great balance in the game between PC/NPC. There was no one class that could really out do another. It was really when Brad McQuaid left, that the game started going down hill. I can remember the first time I got together with 50 or 60 people to go kill Naggy. And I can remember the wipes, and the CR's. Or the first time I started working on my epic. At a time, where it really was an epic quest to complete. And I can remember the first time we fought the Avatar of War. Or the Saturdays spent clearing out ToV. Those were some very good memories, and I am happy I got to experience it. I created many friendships throughout this time.

Then, the biggest blunder expansion ever to be released, which started a trend in this game. Planes of Power. The point where SoE decided that to progress in a game, you had to be a part of a large guild. This expansion alienated so many people from the game. Because not everyone has the time to raid 5 hours every day. And once you got behind in this expansion, it was near impossible to catch up. If your guild was Time flagged, and you had not made the elementals, you were pretty much out of the raids until you could get flagged. And then, if you were on the other end of that. You would get sick of doing the same events over and over and over again to get people all on the same playing field.

Someone talked about an expansions that were incomplete. Well, the Gates of Discord expansion was just awful. There were mobs in this expansion that had a lvl cap, that was based off the Omens of War expansion, which had not been released yet. The cap was 65 when Gates was released, and it was raised to 70 when Omens was released. Talk about making things a bit challenging. To progress in many areas of this expansion you needed to have a tank that had mass Hp's, multiple healers or an enchanter to dps it all. And the end game content, was not complete either. There were guilds that zoomed through it, and had to do, re-do, and re-re-do events that were bugged/broke or just not completed.

I think the best expansions post Velious, are the Lost Dungeons of Norrath (in it's time. If they would have updated the gear as the game progressed this expansion could still be in use. But as it stands now, it's not worth the time for what you get out of it) And the Dragons of Norrath (which for the time spent and exp gained you get what you put into it. Also, making the currency you obtained from this a droppable/sellable loot type really helps the normal player keep up a bit)

I have had my fair share of issues with GM's. I have had my surnames snatched from me, because of one reason or another. I have had my main characters abilities nerfed to the point where they are no longer fun to play. But for all the bad, there has always been some good. SoE has it's issues just like many other MMO companies. They will always have a big target on their back as long as they continue to produce games that people want to play. Because everyone will have issues with something.

I see that people say "I'ts just a game" Well, to many it's not just a game. This is a 2nd reality. Another way of life, that is different from their normal one. A place where they come to relax. Or a place where they come to lead their guild on a day to day basis to strive to reach the end game. Fact is, to a lot of people a MMO can be more a part of their real life then other real life people. There is so much psycology behind this.

Over time for me, the MMO's have lost their luster. I think there is a MMO photo copier out there. And companies are just xeroxing an original. And each time they do, the copies get worse and worse.  Hopefully in time there will be a game that will take things to the next level for me. I am hoping that Vanguard, or Stargate Worlds fit this bill. I have hopes for Vanguard. To me, Brad McQuaid is like Steven Spielsburg. He has not made a single movie in which I did not like, and I'm hoping Vanguard won't dissappoint. And as far as Stargate is concerned, I'm just a big SG-1 fan ;P

Oh there is even one of these threads in this section. Ok I'll express my anger. What did you do to the game post-Luclin!! :)