How did they get this game so right?

[Tushy_master]

It had to be luck right? Or was Brad a genius?

They were basically just ripping of DnD and MUDs. But so many other mmorpgs sucked ass.

[mycoolrausch]

Because they were trying to make a fantasy world. Every other game that came after was just trying to make a game. But they didn't fail. They were trying to get people to play, not create a good fantasy world. By those metrics they succeeded far beyond everquest.

[Topgunben]

Originally Posted by mycoolrausch [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Because they were trying to make a fantasy world. Every other game that came after was just trying to make a game. But they didn't fail. They were trying to get people to play, not create a good fantasy world. By those metrics they succeeded far beyond everquest.

it's a good point. Every other game has to in some way, some how balance everything so choices dont really matter much in the end. Even the expansions of EQ past Velious did this. For example, choosing a barbarian warrior gave you shitty vision, no regen and no FSI. Not to mention you had no ability to solo at later levels.

Some classes and some races are simply better, and sometimes we choose a race/class combo in this EQ experience not because they are the best, but because we like them the most.

[roks1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqW4...dex=49&t=1806s

[Lune]

I think trying to reproduce the DND/MUD experience in a multiplayer online game naturally lends itself to good online gameplay, and I believe the EQ influences are a reason why classic WoW was so highly regarded as well.

1. You've got to rely on people. You sell items personally and has my favorite economy of any game I've played. You engage with a player any time you buy or sell something. I literally had a potion guy and, at one time, a transfer guy (Hagglebaron)
2. You're trying to get fat loots (dopamine; Blizzard can't even get this one right anymore)
3. There is interplay between #1 and #2. The strong social element makes loot and other achievements more rewarding
4. It's easy to play, difficult to master. The tedium paces periods of action with periods of relative inaction. Everything descending into madness and chaos as you wipe and then end up naked at your bind, having potentially lost hours of time, makes it that much more gratifying when you can consistently avoid this.

Modern MMO's have lost their fundamentals and play more like lobby ARPG's.

[Tushy_master]

Re-examining EQ, it seems like certain things were kind of mailed in, like trade skills and lore to some degree. Other things they NAILED like starting cities, spell casting system, character art, and certain dungeons.

The innate difficulty and need to group and socialize was mostly Brad from what I can gather and it really the game.

Other than that it was pretty much a 3D MUD. They designed a bunch of dungeons using MOBs and race/classes from DnD.

They didn't antiicpateexpect "raiding" or camping to be a thing.

[Evia]

Originally Posted by Tushy_master [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Re-examining EQ, it seems like certain things were kind of mailed in, like trade skills and lore to some degree. Other things they NAILED like starting cities, spell casting system, character art, and certain dungeons.

The innate difficulty and need to group and socialize was mostly Brad from what I can gather and it really the game.

Other than that it was pretty much a 3D MUD. They designed a bunch of dungeons using MOBs and race/classes from DnD.

They didn't antiicpateexpect "raiding" or camping to be a thing.

i kinda like the lore...but it doesnt feel finished. I agree with pretty much everything else here in this take.

EQ feels like a passion project and I think thats where the magic is. You can tell the people who made it actually cared about making a good game and not just a cash grab. Everything else these days just feels like they wanna milk you dry as much as possible until next years new version 2.0. I still havent experience everything EQ has to offer and ive been playing off and on for 20 years. The closest thing to real dnd vibes in a multiplayer setting imho.

[Tushy_master]

Originally Posted by Tushy_master [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

They didn't antiicpateexpect "raiding" or camping to be a thing.

I meant to write they didn’t anticipate raiding (with large numbers of people) to be a thing. In an interview I watched with a game designer, he said they were blown away by everyone’s ability to organize in large groups to kill Cazic Thule when PoF was released.

It just shows how much they didn’t really know things would turn out with emergent game play, but they turned out fine.

[cd288]

Originally Posted by Tushy_master [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Re-examining EQ, it seems like certain things were kind of mailed in, like trade skills and lore to some degree. Other things they NAILED like starting cities, spell casting system, character art, and certain dungeons.

The innate difficulty and need to group and socialize was mostly Brad from what I can gather and it really the game.

Other than that it was pretty much a 3D MUD. They designed a bunch of dungeons using MOBs and race/classes from DnD.

They didn't antiicpateexpect "raiding" or camping to be a thing.

How was the lore mailed in? EQ has really deep lore

[wuanahto]

too much time is a thing
this game sucked up time
then warcraft happened