Thoughts of the past.

[Camerous]

Have we all forgotten the feeling we had when we first played EQ? I know I haven't.

I remember getting that beta disk in the mail. I thought omg I am actually in! I smacked that thing in and created a human warrior named Danadin. And I was blown away. It was so new and great. Coming from years playing UO to the splendor that was 3d graphics in EQ took my breath away. And that feeling was to be repeated again and again through out the next 6 - 7 years I played EQ.

Having said that, yes I also remember the broken shit that was always thrown at us with every new expansion. And how after Velious every new expansion seemed to get lamer and lamer....Legacy of Ykesha anyone? And omg the time sinks like the keys for SSRA and VT...*flips SOE off for that one for sure* PoTime broken content, GoD broken content..ect ect.

But here is the thing....what form of entertainment gives so much for so little? There is nothing that comes to my mind.

I also think SOE did a great job over all. There was alot more unbroken about every exapnsion than there was broken. It's just that by the end everyone was so burned out on EQ that all they did was look for something amiss then they would shout to the high heavens about it. Then the devs would run trying to fix it only to break something else making everyone scream that much harder until the devs just stopped caring. If you can't please people doing the best you can then why try doing the best you can?

Can we recapture the feeling we had when we first got our characters into EQ? Sure we can...you just gotta stop being so fucking jaded that you can't see the beauty in a rose cause all you are looking at is the thorns.

[Nar]

Man, I can't believe someone hasn't already covered a similar topic in at least half the threads on this board. Thank you for delving deeper into the human psyche then I thought previously possible.

[Soldaris]

Why bother fighting the threads, everyone who is coming to boards is bored and waiting on the release of either WoW or EQ2, or the tools still in EQ1.

Can we recapture the feeling we had when we first got our characters into EQ? Sure we can...you just gotta stop being so fucking jaded that you can't see the beauty in a rose cause all you are looking at is the thorns.

God i hope you're not talkin about EQ2...If you are, those are more than thorns on that fuckin rose.

[Sanchek]

Maybe it's because I quit EQ a long time ago and haven't been playing any other games since, but when I first played WoW I got that same feeling as when I first started EQ.

I was just taking my time and letting the quests take me from area to area. The progression from the Tauren newbie area to Thunder Bluff was perfect. Just in general, the way that the WoW quest system leads you from area to area at just the right time is great. Whoever designed the quests up to about level 50 really did an awesome job.

[Sinshiu]

The board is slowly but surely being taken hostage by teenage angst in comparison to being the home of reason and fairness. It's still a nice place to get info, but about the last place I go for a fair review of my peers.

P.s. sup sanchek? you slimy lizard

[Phoenix]

Fools, you can never come close to a expierence again like EQ was. EQ is pure nostalgia.

Trying to relive EQ would be like trying it relive highschool, it just aint possible.

[LucyKemp]

I played Everquest after playing UO too.. I originally made a wizard erudite.. I cannot describe the feeling of excitement I had when I played for the first time..and i really hope I have that feeling at least once again in my lifetime..

I remember being frightened to venture out of the erudin lands, and it was so dark!, i remember soloing the monsters and almost dying and running to guards.. seeing high levels run past and drool over their fine shiny armor

I wonder if first time MMporgers have that feeling when they play EQ for the first time... it was magical for me

[FuckYou]

"And that feeling was to be repeated again and again through out the next 6 - 7 years I played EQ"

I think EQ ages in dog years. Course, I played it for 9 years, so its hard to say.

[LucyKemp]

There weren't spoiler sites when i started, and because the game was so HUGE I was appealed to it more...
I didn't know what i was doing, I didn't know about raiding really.. and I just played the game without reading websites about it.. that was the magic for me

My own fault is i'm a powergamer now, I want to get the best character to the highest power in the shortest time possible.

That is what EQ end game turned into and I have changed because of it

[Wilf McQuade]

All devs should ask this question and learn from the answers they receive.

As for myself I was watching my brother play very early on in its release and was amazed at the graphics and the social interaction. Looking back now it seems funny to think that the graphics played a major role in my decision to pick up the game but they did. However, it was one variable among many.

My first character was a human monk and the game scared the hell out of me. I hated running to derv3 camp and feared death greatly. This fear was without a doubt one of the major motivators for keeping me on the edge of my seat in the early days. It made the game feel challenging and rewarding when I levelled or killed a few mobs without dying (mummies, the odd roaming SG, escaping those damn ghoul roots). How many times I ran through that tunnel towards EC is beyond measure! My only MAJOR grievance with the game early on was that humans were blind at night and that acted as more of an annoyance than a challenge. For that reason alone I scrapped my human and made an Ogre, followng the same lvl path:

-North ro and EC (though too much lag from auctions at times in EC)
-Oasis
-South Karana (Aviaks!!) and Rathe Mntns.
-Cazic Thule and some Perma
-Sol B and then Kunark

So in the beginning it was graphics, social interaction with people from around the world and the sheer challenge of character advancement. Fear always got the blood flowing whether it was running from a train, pulling a mob among many, avoiding adds, running through Kith, running from guards etc. The sting of death and the challenge of fighting a mob and not knowing the outcome beforehand is extrememly excitiing and absolutely necessary for me.

When I play FPS games I never choose the easy setting or use cheats. That is too damn boring and takes the fun out of it. Mind you I do save after every difficult encounter is overcome


Editing in some afterthoughts.

I stated that I save FPS games after I have overcome a difficult encounter so I don;t have to do it again. That got me thinking about grinding etc. If every encounter is challenging and fresh it would never seem like a grind. Looking at EQ for example, going into a challenging battle was what got my blood pumping. However, once I knew the lay of the land, the mob tactics and what strategy to employ, I could trivialize the encounter. Once the encounter became trivial, I could then min max it to lvl up as quickly as possible. The game then felt like a grind largely because I chose to play it that way in order to win the rat race. Sure I still sought the odd challenging encounter but the game and the endgame raiding became too repetitive.

As for myself, I like many am waiting for Vanguard to come through. WoW and EQ2 are merely PH's for the named Vanguard.

Bring back the challenge, beginning at lvl 1 and never ending !!!