games similar to eq

[lethstang]

As I eagerly await kunark, has anyone ever found an mmo like eq i could do in the meantime? Meaning

1. difficulty
2. outstanding group play which makes the grind fun. no instances so youre sharing the dungeon and developing community
3. requires CC. ive found games that dont...its just a button smashing fest
4. each spell or ability cast is important. each one takes thought, not like the current MMOs ive been playing where again, its a button mashing contest. for example, here as an enchanter I get very few casts per battle which makes every decision a potential gamebreaker.

Ive tried alot of them, but hoping maybe you could point me towards one I have not.

[jim454ss]

Simply put, "no," which is why this server exists and is so popular.

[korrowan]

Vanguard is about it and that game is dying which is a pity.

[fischsemmel]

As I eagerly await kunark, has anyone ever found an mmo like eq i could do in the meantime? Meaning

1. difficulty
2. outstanding group play which makes the grind fun. no instances so youre sharing the dungeon and developing community
3. requires CC. ive found games that dont...its just a button smashing fest
4. each spell or ability cast is important. each one takes thought, not like the current MMOs ive been playing where again, its a button mashing contest. for example, here as an enchanter I get very few casts per battle which makes every decision a potential gamebreaker.

Ive tried alot of them, but hoping maybe you could point me towards one I have not.


You're looking for what I've been trying to find since 2003ish. An MMO with a class and gameplay that is as great as EQ+enchanter.

I haven't found one, and I've been looking pretty hard :(

[Uaellaen]

yeah i have been looking forever too :P there is nothing that gets close ><

[lethstang]

srsly why cant a game be made almost exactly like eq but with todays graphics.

[Chanus]

srsly why cant a game be made almost exactly like eq but with todays graphics.

Because there's no hope of WoW-sized subscription numbers and so it's not worth investing in*. If it doesn't play the game for you, you won't make billions of dollars.



*In the eyes of every moron with an idea for an MMO since WoW came out, apparently.

[Kassel]

everquest next !

[odizzido]

There are none. That's why P99 is so popular.

[moklianne]

There are none. That's why P99 is so popular.

+1

I've played WOW, LOTRO, L2, Guild Wars, and a couple others that weren't memorable. None were quite the same as old EQ in which you speak.

Current Live EQ has become very bland the past 3-5 years as well. Its still better than those mentioned above though.

[Cars]

Vanguard is an awesome game deserving of the title "Spiritual successor to Everquest" but it is plagued with a low population. If you get into one of the top guilds you will have no problem leveling chars as most people have tons of characters that they are always leveling. TBH if Vanguard had a future (like possible expansions) I would still be there.

[Scrooge]

Shards of Dalaya

[Lazortag]

srsly why cant a game be made almost exactly like eq but with todays graphics.

If your machine can handle it, p99 can have pretty decent graphics. Just go to display settings in options and turn on all the advanced shit (like shadows, etc.) There are lots of screenshots taken with these settings on the forums, and they look very nice, as well as kind of dark. You can also get a graphics update for the zone files (I think there's a sticky about it in tech support). So, yeah.

[Peatree]

Go pick of a copy of The Bard' Tale (1985) and play that for a while...brings back memories!

[Chanus]

Go pick of a copy of The Bard' Tale (1985) and play that for a while...brings back memories!

I got the original Might and Magic games off GoG for like $7 a while back. So awesome.

[freakyuno]

I got the original Might and Magic games off GoG for like $7 a while back. So awesome.

Original Pool of Radiance and others like it! Sooo much fun back in the day.

circa: 1988

[boboo]

Earthrise comes out february 4th, its the same studio that is dev'ing Fallout online, so if earthrise sucks, fallout online probably will. Its a pvp-centric sandbox, sometimes described as Eve on foot.

Beside that, im playing Eve Online, nothing else does it for me.

[Chanus]

Original Pool of Radiance and others like it! Sooo much fun back in the day.

circa: 1988

Yesssssss

I played Pool of Radiance on my Commodore 64!

Also, I think it was Ultima 4? And Legacy of the Ancients.

Such awesome games.

[Peatree]

Yesssssss

I played Pool of Radiance on my Commodore 64!

Also, I think it was Ultima 4? And Legacy of the Ancients.

Such awesome games.

Man I played Pool of Radiance as well back in the day. In fact I found my old disks and tried to play it on my new PC....but it ran so damn fast I couldnt even keep up with the rounds of battle....have to figure out how to slow the processor in order to actually play it! :eek:

[Chanus]

I know Might and Magic has a way to set it so it slows down... I'm not at home so I don't know it off the top of my head.

I wonder if DosBox would have something.

[Duma]

Just reduce the number of cpu cycles in DosBox.

[Chanus]

Yeah, that's the ticket.

[citizen1080]

I would pay 45 bucks a month to play Vanguard with a good subscription base...lack of population is killing the best mmo since EQ1. Had a rocky start but its solid now.

[Dantes]

The way I see it - it's been done. At the time EQ came out, there really wasn't much like it. Now you can take your pick between several games that all pretty much offer the same thing.

I think it would be cool if somebody put less emphasis on the graphics and more on optimization. This means more content, more options, and intuitive programming for a game that's always exciting. The graphics don't have to be cutting edge, just "decent." The content keeps players engaged. I'd rather have a new dungeon every month instead of the best possible graphics and the latest technology in boob sway.

[Cars]

I would pay 45 bucks a month to play Vanguard with a good subscription base...lack of population is killing the best mmo since EQ1. Had a rocky start but its solid now.

Definitely the best MMO since EQ1, Definitely had a rocky start and it definitely is solid now. They released a pretty big update with a ton of intriguing raid content that makes me tempted to re-sub and check what its about. Has Epic weapons for each class, flying mounts are finally fully integrated but most importantly "chunking" has been made way more efficient so you barely notice zoning in it. Was watching a friend play the other day and he is in a top tier guild and it looked pretty bad ass.

The flip side to that is that if he wants to level an alt he has to hope that some of his guildies have an alt around the same level.

[fischsemmel]

The way I see it - it's been done. At the time EQ came out, there really wasn't much like it. Now you can take your pick between several games that all pretty much offer the same thing.

I think it would be cool if somebody put less emphasis on the graphics and more on optimization. This means more content, more options, and intuitive programming for a game that's always exciting. The graphics don't have to be cutting edge, just "decent." The content keeps players engaged. I'd rather have a new dungeon every month instead of the best possible graphics and the latest technology in boob sway.

Don't think it really works this way.

If you wanted that much more content, it would be a much higher subscription fee that allowed it, not settling for mediocre graphics to somehow free up more programmers and story writers and bug testers and stuff.

[Chanus]

Vanguard is good now? Like for real?

Like... say the last time I played was like a year after release...

It's better now?

Don't tell me that.

Damnit. I'll have to play if it's better.

Damn.

[Cars]

hahaha thats what I said, I played it from release until about a year after, then quit and came back for a couple months then quit again cause it was still fucked. Nowadays, right before it is about to die, its absolutely fucking perfect!

[Cars]

A game map that is designed to house 2000 players online at a time, that only has about 400-800 is an empty world with no future. But POTA is apparently one of the most impressive raid scenes in MMO's ever made so might be worth a play through. lvl cap is 55 now too.

[Chanus]

Son of a bitch! :P

[Nedala]

everquest next !

i doubt eqnext will be much like eq1 :(

[Cars]

i doubt eqnext will be much like eq1 :(

Even if it was pitch perfect I think I would have a hard time giving Sony any more money... And also I am sick of mega publishers making the same money over and over again by releasing the same product as last time with a numeral beside it. If we keep buying the same games over and over again, we will just keep getting the same shit. As much as i love EQ, other then P99 it will always just be a fond memory, If I ever get into another game it wont happen in the same world.

[yraapt]

VG was a blast, but the rampant duping killed the crap out of that game. It was completely out of control within the first week. I still can't believe they didn't rollback and do a banfest.

I actually had a lot of fun in vanilla EQ2, but I cannot recommended the current iteration.

If you are of the Soloing persuasion subbing to EQ1 and tearing things up with you and your merc can be cool for a while.

[Orov]

Vanguard is about it and that game is dying which is a pity.

This. I loved VG. Too bad Sony raped it. Like they (not Sony, but those I cannot name) did to Indiana Jones.

[Rahnza]

Classic Daoc emu is just as fun as p99 if you like pvp.

[Orov]

Classic Daoc emu is just as fun as p99 if you like pvp.

OMG link plox <3 DAoC

[parlay1]

Classic Daoc was the closest to eq in fun. didn't know there was a emu for it, a link would be cool.

[Rahnza]

Uthgard

[Orov]

I guess I'll try google.

[Orov]

http://www.uthgard.net/

Found. You rock.

[Baa]

Really enjoyed VG... however my whole guild packed up and left for AoC (great idea!...) when things got stale, just couldn't bring myself to go back after AoC fell in a heap.

If they could boost the Australia community I would go back to my Monk and Dread Knight in a second!

[ir0nfist]

Cool, I only beta tested DAoC and never played retail. Will be interesting to check it out. Is there anything like that for the original Asheron's Call by chance that someone is aware of?

[Harrison]

As I eagerly await kunark, has anyone ever found an mmo like eq i could do in the meantime? Meaning

1. difficulty
2. outstanding group play which makes the grind fun. no instances so youre sharing the dungeon and developing community
3. requires CC. ive found games that dont...its just a button smashing fest
4. each spell or ability cast is important. each one takes thought, not like the current MMOs ive been playing where again, its a button mashing contest. for example, here as an enchanter I get very few casts per battle which makes every decision a potential gamebreaker.

Ive tried alot of them, but hoping maybe you could point me towards one I have not.

Ragnarok Online is as close as it gets.

It's more pvp centric, though. Completely different view, class system, etc. too.

But as far as high-end PVE goes, it's close to EQ in difficulty.

[mrgoochio]

Ragnarok Online is as close as it gets.

It's more pvp centric, though. Completely different view, class system, etc. too.

But as far as high-end PVE goes, it's close to EQ in difficulty.

I'm not sure if this is a joke or not. group mechanics in RO? comparable to eq? lol?

im surprised nobody suggested ffxi. im pretty sad ffxiv is so terrible

[eqholmes]

I know this wouldn't ever happen due to the fact Blizzard has WOW, but I had always hoped that they would turn Diablo into a true online world that would support 1500-2000 people. The game has a big enough fan base, and Blizzard is known to wait to put out games till they are polished. Which is something I always find anoying, putting out a game and basically using the first few months and peoples time/money to test fix their game for them, instead of doing a beta the correct way.

But since Blizzard has WOW already taking the reins for them, I dont see them putting time into another game like this for a long time and if they do its just going to be another WOW copy and be pvp/instance game.

Also I think the niche of people like us that want a game that punishes people for being dumb/making mistakes/fear of the unknown due to penalty is much smaller now. This is truely the thing that seperates EQ from any other game I have ever played. I remember never wanting to go to hate as a melee back in 2000 because I couldnt ever get out on my own, if whatever reason I needed/wanted to get off, I felt if I went up there I had to stay 6 hours or I was a worthless sob haha. My guess is that the majority of us played EQ when we were 13-22. That age group of kids now is so used to instant gradification that the player base would be tiny compared to what we had around 99. And now all those people that played 10 years ago don't have the time they did then and so most would be unable to come back to a great game like eq99.

Sadly I dont feel I will ever play a game that gave such great experiences as EQ, I hope to eat my words someday. Sorry I went off on my own tangent, but to answer the OP, never played a game as good as Everquest pre-luclin.

P.S: I didn't have a spell check on the pos notebook I was using at work and had to type fast, sorry for typos!

Holmes 50 Nerco
Gretzky 50 Ranger

[AexDestroy]

The way I see it - it's been done. At the time EQ came out, there really wasn't much like it. Now you can take your pick between several games that all pretty much offer the same thing.

I think it would be cool if somebody put less emphasis on the graphics and more on optimization. This means more content, more options, and intuitive programming for a game that's always exciting. The graphics don't have to be cutting edge, just "decent." The content keeps players engaged. I'd rather have a new dungeon every month instead of the best possible graphics and the latest technology in boob sway.

Pretty much since the marriage of the gaming world and the cinematic world, no one cares about content, game-play, features, etc. Its just about what looks the flashiest and sucks the most these days apparently.

[teganyavo]

EVE online is a fantastic game, but it's definitely only for the hardest core hardcores

[teganyavo]

Pretty much since the marriage of the gaming world and the cinematic world, no one cares about content, game-play, features, etc. Its just about what looks the flashiest and sucks the most these days apparently.

No joke, graphics completely ruined video games. Back in the day games actually had to be clever and engaging to sell at all, because they weren't much fun to look at. Nowadays its way too easy to just get a graphics design team to slap a spiffy looking world over a thoughtless and shoddy game design, and most folks cant tell the difference. So Call of Duty goes platinum again.

I think what's disappointed me the most in this generation of video games is the decline of the soundtrack. Outside of Bethesda games there's just not a lot of important video game music anymore. Someone please give Nobuo Uematsu a job

[Tippett]

I'm not sure if this is a joke or not. group mechanics in RO? comparable to eq? lol?

im surprised nobody suggested ffxi. im pretty sad ffxiv is so terrible

EXACTLY!!! In FFXI most classes could not solo at all, there was named/PH's camping, also had a moderate to high difficulty (depending on class). Was an all-around good game......

and yes ff14 is an abortion of a game that is never to be spoken of again :(

[Harrison]

No joke, graphics completely ruined video games. Back in the day games actually had to be clever and engaging to sell at all, because they weren't much fun to look at. Nowadays its way too easy to just get a graphics design team to slap a spiffy looking world over a thoughtless and shoddy game design, and most folks cant tell the difference. So Call of Duty goes platinum again.

I think what's disappointed me the most in this generation of video games is the decline of the soundtrack. Outside of Bethesda games there's just not a lot of important video game music anymore. Someone please give Nobuo Uematsu a job

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu2NC88TYjI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNZmzLzvJo8&feature=related

This game is chock full of great music and the graphics are great to boot.

[dredge]

.

[Honus]

I am running through Icewind Dale and Ice Wind Dale II to pass the time.

[RocketMoose]

I just hope that EQNext will be something worth waiting for.

If it ever happens. I mean if EQ Next is EQ1 re-released with updated graphics, I'm in. Honestly that's the only thing EQ lacks imo. It's a boxers dream game. Slow enough gameplay to box, and be completely effective, but fast enough that you don't fall asleep at the computer.

Just start EQ Next at Kunark or Velious and there will be so much content to see and do it'll be absolutely amazing. Prolly just start with Kunark and add Velious for another 30 bucks down the road, but that's fine with me, as long as the gameplay is the same.

Keep the original armor stylings, where your suit made a difference, where you could tell where pieces came from instead of making everything so cookie cutter. I love the Old Troll with the BP from PoGrowth that looked like a gigantic bat on it's chest. Amazing look!

Sorry I'm dreaming, but I hope something comes along soon.

DCUO has been pretty fun so far, but to the best I can tell right now it has a limited ceiling, but I'm enjoying the combat system and the change of pace.

[Japan]

I just hope that EQNext will be something worth waiting for.

If it ever happens. I mean if EQ Next is EQ1 re-released with updated graphics, I'm in. Honestly that's the only thing EQ lacks imo. It's a boxers dream game. Slow enough gameplay to box, and be completely effective, but fast enough that you don't fall asleep at the computer.

Just start EQ Next at Kunark or Velious and there will be so much content to see and do it'll be absolutely amazing. Prolly just start with Kunark and add Velious for another 30 bucks down the road, but that's fine with me, as long as the gameplay is the same.

Keep the original armor stylings, where your suit made a difference, where you could tell where pieces came from instead of making everything so cookie cutter. I love the Old Troll with the BP from PoGrowth that looked like a gigantic bat on it's chest. Amazing look!

Sorry I'm dreaming, but I hope something comes along soon.

DCUO has been pretty fun so far, but to the best I can tell right now it has a limited ceiling, but I'm enjoying the combat system and the change of pace.

This is a terrible idea.

[Molitoth]

Vangaurd was a fabulous game that just had extremly shitty luck.
When Microsoft pulled thier funding, they had to release it way too early which led to not enough content in the end.

The game itself upon release was on par with EQ1 up until you hit about level 45. At that point, there was roughly 1 zone you could xp in "Rhaz Inkur" which pretty much required a monk as a puller. Granted, it wasn't so shattering that would cause you to quit. My guild (Blades of Wrath) was very hardcore, so the majority got to level 50 within 2-3 months. At this point there was 2 raid mobs in game that were thought to be unbeatable. But we beat them.

At this point, we were demanding more raid content, and they could just not supply it so many members quit the game. 6 months later they release "Ancient Port Warehouse" which was awesome, but we were so good that we conquered all the content within a month or two.

While I must say the raid encounters were a blast, the fact that it took them so long to design it and took us such short time to beat it left little hope for the end game. The majority of us quit and went to play AoC, in which the same exact thing happened.

PS; I played a Disciple, the best class in the history of MMO's! =P

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/4567/screenshot00141w.jpg

[citizen1080]

Please turbine...take over VG...I will give you monies!

[mrgoochio]

VG Looked extremely fun, I tried it mid last year.. unfortunately the client still felt unpolished and there was a total of about 200 people on at peak on the most populated server.. i never got to really play it. i really wish the launch was better, oh well.

[Molitoth]

i really wish the launch was better, oh well

Launch was actually really good!!!! It was 4-6 months later when people were looking for raid-endgame content that wasn't there that led everyone to quitting.

[dredge]

.

[mrgoochio]

Launch was actually really good!!!! It was 4-6 months later when people were looking for raid-endgame content that wasn't there that led everyone to quitting.

game wasn't buggy and super laggy?

[moklianne]

game wasn't buggy and super laggy?

Unless you had a high end system, yes. I tried it out when it was released. The lag was horrendous and my system was no slouch, it just wasn't what VG needed in order to play correctly. They even mentioned it at a panel at fan faire that year as a joke. I left almost right away, but heard they fixed a lot of that in the months after. Too little, too late IMO though.

[Shodex]

Try Minions of Mirth (http://www.minionsofmirth.com/), I haven't played it much myself, but it looks very EverQuest-ish. It's free, but you have the option to pay a one time fee for extra features.

You can play as a monster too, which is kind of neat. No idea how it works though.

[mrgoochio]

MOM, indie developed off the torque engine.. apparently similar mechanics to EQ, very EQ inspired. However, I don't think anyone actually plays it anymore.. it was small at its peak and probably much, much smaller now..

although the developers of MOM paved the way for a ton of indie developers to mess around using their MMO kit! got me interested in torque, t3d, and mmo development in general. very cool stuff.

[muddy27]

Simply put, "no," which is why this server exists and is so popular.

Agreed, there isnt really anything out there sadly ive done tons and tons of looking over the years myself. Before I started on this server I was playing MUDS for a while and those are way older than EQ :P MMO's in my opinion went down hill pretty much at the time and after World of Warcraft was released. Games are to easy now and people die in game just to fast travel. Not to mention you can solo everything besides end game. If I wanted that id play an offline game.

[muddy27]

Vangaurd was a fabulous game that just had extremly shitty luck.
When Microsoft pulled thier funding, they had to release it way too early which led to not enough content in the end.

The game itself upon release was on par with EQ1 up until you hit about level 45. At that point, there was roughly 1 zone you could xp in "Rhaz Inkur" which pretty much required a monk as a puller. Granted, it wasn't so shattering that would cause you to quit. My guild (Blades of Wrath) was very hardcore, so the majority got to level 50 within 2-3 months. At this point there was 2 raid mobs in game that were thought to be unbeatable. But we beat them.

At this point, we were demanding more raid content, and they could just not supply it so many members quit the game. 6 months later they release "Ancient Port Warehouse" which was awesome, but we were so good that we conquered all the content within a month or two.

While I must say the raid encounters were a blast, the fact that it took them so long to design it and took us such short time to beat it left little hope for the end game. The majority of us quit and went to play AoC, in which the same exact thing happened.

PS; I played a Disciple, the best class in the history of MMO's! =P

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/4567/screenshot00141w.jpg

Nice screen shot, I played Vanguard when it first came out it was alot of fun made it to around lvl 30ish forget what race and class. Its a shame also that Micro$oft and Bill Turd had a hand in it to begin with.

[mrgoochio]

forgot about this thread and duno if i posted this in here.. but i tried vanguard maybe last year but i think the peak server had about 200 players online.. so yeah i didn't end up subbing. the game was finicky at best in terms of control but the actual game play and stuff seemed like i could probably enjoy it.. pretty bored lately guess im getting tired of mmorpgs or at least what has come out in recent year :(

[Tommy_Wiseau]

Nice screen shot, I played Vanguard when it first came out it was alot of fun made it to around lvl 30ish forget what race and class. Its a shame also that Micro$oft and Bill Turd had a hand in it to begin with.

lol if you think microsoft's near-infinite patience and funding is the reason VG failed

[Diggles]

rift was fun, i'm considering going back as soon as AAs come into play

[mrgoochio]

Bump for anyone that knows of any games that may fit along side these types of games thats worth giving a shot. F2P or P2P is fine

EQ, DAoC, FFXI, Vanguard

Something that is group oriented, PvP or little to no PvP is also fine.. just a good group based game hopefully with a nice community.

I'll most likely end up trying red 99 since I never played EQ PvP server before but suggestions would be nice

[Airdefier]

FFXI is best if you are looking for EQish grouping. In FFXI you can barely do anything after lvl 20 without a group

[mrgoochio]

Yeah played FFXI for a while. Every time I go back to FFXI i get sick of playonline and their shitty ass client, non-english speakers, and ridiculously high latency to foreign hosted servers.

i always dream of a north american hosted fresh start server. I would play the shit out of that. unfortunately there will never be one.

[Sorath]

Darkfall reminds me ALOTTTT of everquest. Basicallyy hahaha basicallyyyy..

[mrgoochio]

played darkfall also, i don't see the resemblance?

[Sorath]

look at the art, and its also funny to me how eq2 is never brought up when eq2 pvp was by far the best pvp for years, its a little crazy now, but Kos to around the end of teir 7, even rok was awsome, now its a lil crazy with all the pvp gear, and flurry etc.
i would link my vids but there on my old harddrive in storage, check these out.

Dakis on his swashbuckler ownage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryQDQ8NS_qs

Queklain's first assassin video, considered the best assassin back in the day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5DgknsGaO8&feature=related

Jamilia ranger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyhekFX9lTw

troub slowed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkVV4YdD-lk