Wrong again. All modern MMOs give you a position (and often direction) indicator on your map/mini map. Thus you can not, for example, have any kind of maze in your game, because all players would be able to see the layout of the maze and their position in it, at all times.
Everquest Next reveal today
- Thread starter mcast
- Start date
Wrong again. All modern MMOs give you a position (and often direction) indicator on your map/mini map. Thus you can not, for example, have any kind of maze in your game, because all players would be able to see the layout of the maze and their position in it, at all times.
Only after they have explored it once 'unaided', prior to going through it the 1st time it's fogged out ( or has been in games I've played)
EQ2 had a basic map with a location but no quest data or anything like that showed on the map unless you used a MOD.
What are you saying? you want to type /Loc and make a note of your X/Y all the time on a peice of paper next to your PC? they have said EQ:N wont have static mob spawns or camps so having a map and knowing where you are in the pure im north of the city way isnt an issue really.
Places like wailing caverns werent marked on the map, you had to find them but by the time you'd been there twice you knew where you were going, same for fallen gate etc around the commanlands.
What are you saying? you want to type /Loc and make a note of your X/Y all the time on a peice of paper next to your PC? they have said EQ:N wont have static mob spawns or camps so having a map and knowing where you are in the pure im north of the city way isnt an issue really.
Places like wailing caverns werent marked on the map, you had to find them but by the time you'd been there twice you knew where you were going, same for fallen gate etc around the commanlands.
There's no need for any kind of map or location command at all.
And despite what Newbie thinks, it's not about being hardcore. It's about exploration. Adventure. It's about learning your environment. It's about not relying on the UI, but on your own navigation skills.
I'm not going to say there should be no maps of any kind, but their use should be limited. I find that being able to guide my characters around purely by using the UI map overlay is a huge backwards step.
Maps aren't essential by any means. And I think if some of you were exposed to a game where there was no mapping, you might even enjoy it. You are freed from staring at a small dot moving around a small map, and can instead take in and enjoy your surroundings.
I pored over the EQ paper map endlessly. It gave a general idea that if you headed east from A you'd end up at B. You had no idea what you might meet along the way. I really miss that sense of exploration.
You could get lost in the Kelethin at night and end up in serious trouble. Getting lost, in the dark, in a starter zone. Can you imagine the rage it would engender today
You could get lost in the Kelethin at night and end up in serious trouble. Getting lost, in the dark, in a starter zone. Can you imagine the rage it would engender today
Soldato
- Joined
- 29 Jul 2004
- Posts
- 7,169
Game world looks really nice!
Ahh sleepers tomb, so awesome camping keys and greifing other guilds trying to get enough to enter
Ahh sleepers tomb, so awesome camping keys and greifing other guilds trying to get enough to enter
I pored over the EQ paper map endlessly. It gave a general idea that if you headed east from A you'd end up at B. You had no idea what you might meet along the way. I really miss that sense of exploration.
You could get lost in the Kelethin at night and end up in serious trouble. Getting lost, in the dark, in a starter zone. Can you imagine the rage it would engender today
Don't need to imagine
There's enough rage when you so much as suggest removing things like maps I do take heart that I am not the only one, however. And I refute the idea that it's purely nostalgia driven. By accident or by foresight, the designers of the original MMOs got a lot right. I'm inclined these days to believe it was more by accident, since many of the designers have decided many of these things were 'mistakes'.It's funny thinking about all the roads and pathways in the EQ. Before the introduction of maps, we all followed these roads thinking that they were the best way from A to B.
Then when we got accurate, in-game GPS maps we realised that they meandered all over the shop
But then the mystery and the fun is gone, and you start navigating by the UI instead of by the scenery. Start running in straight lines everywhere. And why? To save a few seconds?A sense of exploration is there regardless of a map or not, and if you can't explore and enjoy your surrounds if there is a map I genuinely feel sorry for you. Little tip for you just because there is a map there you don't have to press the 'm' key to access it.
I've said all I'm going to say. You are well and truly catered for with modern MMOs; it is myself and my ilk that doesn't any longer have a game to call our own.
In all honesty I don't expect the spiritual successor to EQ or UO to come from a big-name developer. I think it will be an indie studio.
The next true, virtual world (as many will agree UO and EQ came closest to being) will not be from Blizzard or SOE or NCSoft. They are too focused on making games for people with short attention spans.
A virtual world these days can only come from people who are willing to buck the trend, and I believe that is only the indie scene.
And the players will be those who can invest themselves, without wanting quick, easy thrills.
I think having an area map is fine. But the always on GPS tracking is definitely a step backwards. Its one of those things that seems like a nice feature initially, but then you realise if you know where you are and you're told exactly where to go, then there's not really much else to do in a quest other than finish it. I think this is why quest design has hit such a stale patch in recent games. The majority of effort in a quest is figuring out what to do, where to go and how you get there. Without any of this it just becomes a grind of moving from A to B. It's no wonder people burn through expansions in a matter of hours. The last WoW expansion(MoP) was finished in a day! That's just silly. All that content, all that adventure, completely missed. Imagine how different that persons experience would have been without GPS.
EQ lost something when they introduced in game maps. I liked the sheathe of hand drawn maps I had printed out. I studied them, and got to learn some areas like the back of my hand. Some areas I would get lost in.
Not having maps enforced that interdependence between players, knowing your way through a dungeon was just as valuable a skill as being able to tank. One time I had to lead 30 odd people through Sebillis to get to Trakkanon, that was a skill in its own right.
Not having maps enforced that interdependence between players, knowing your way through a dungeon was just as valuable a skill as being able to tank. One time I had to lead 30 odd people through Sebillis to get to Trakkanon, that was a skill in its own right.
Eq2 was ruined for me when they introduced the maps with all the quest areas on them. Just made questing pretty dull as you didnt need to search for mobs items etc.
However with eq next you will probably need some sort of map even if it is just simpliefied and it only shows what you have explored.
In general for mmos i just wish they would hold your hands less and dont make everythibg too easy for everyone. If i want to travel to the other side of the planet it shouldn't just happen via a mouse click
However with eq next you will probably need some sort of map even if it is just simpliefied and it only shows what you have explored.
In general for mmos i just wish they would hold your hands less and dont make everythibg too easy for everyone. If i want to travel to the other side of the planet it shouldn't just happen via a mouse click
Evolution is a bitch isn't it, if/when EQN has maps I will be playing it and not crying into my cornflakes, mumbling to myself how maps have destroyed a genre.
An indie studio will never have the cashflow to launch a triple A MMO, especially one where players will happily crawl over broken glass and try to convince others it really is fun. But keep fighting the good fight, as I've stated before, go take a look at ArcheAge.
Edit: Actually don't, I think there's maps, and we've established you don't like games with maps.
Last edited:
Well it certainly isn't the player base that has evolved
Anyway, I'm just glad to have experienced a virtual world like EQ before it was ruined. If nothing like it materialises in future, it will a shame for future players, but I'll at least have the memories.
If I never play another MMO again, it's no big deal. There's plenty of other stuff to do
But I'd rather not play anything than endure the quick'n'easy spoon-fed crud on offer these days.Like others have said above, with nothing to figure out in modern MMOs the repetitive nature of them is plainly exposed. It's nothing but a mindless drudge from one area to the next, playing fetch for NPCs. Enjoy!
Back on the topic of EQN. I noticed in the Q&A they talked a bit about weapons and presumably similar items having a physical presence in the game world and not just icons in a bag slot. Which is kinda cool and not really seen in many MMOs. In fact I can't think of any. Being able to hang your weapon on the wall in your house was the example given.
Permabanned
- Joined
- 9 Dec 2010
- Posts
- 7,438
Is there any in-game footage of this that's recent? Wondering if it'll actually be good or fall flat on it's arse like GW2.