I love how the "keywords" in EQ dialogues are highlighted so all you have to do is say "Norrath" and they just continue on yapping with no real input.
Typing Norrath or whatever the key phrase is for a particular block of text is more engaging than just hitting accept or even having a UI mod do it for ya.
Those who actively don't care won't pickup the story either way, but the merely lazy will at least gloss over it while trying to find trigger words. Its a step in the right direction for immersion and making your players care because they understand the history of the whatever. Its no "cutscenes with voiceover" or "mobs pontificating while you kill them" to get the story across, but it's still better than "yeh whatever", Page Down, Accept.
I found Sod Lore a lot more interesting that any of the other expansions. Every expansion usually follows tte same cookie cutter format of advancing the lore without actually revisiting nor understanding better what has already happen. With such a solid establish lore, SoD's idea of reinvisioning old battles was a genius one.
For example, I was always curious of why was the sleeper there, or how does a bunch of frogs managed to take the city from the trolls.I would as a player love to see the struggle of that fight or so many others of the EQ lore.
On wow, as a BE starting zone there is a gigantic scar. From where Artas destroyed old Silvermoon, i would like to see more of that,I would love to fight a raid where you are somehow interacting with the history as well. Lore does not only has to go one way.
SoD storyline It may be rehash, but it sure was a lot more interesting that fighting enemy [xxx] who wants to take over the world, in brands new ways.
Where did this particular big bad guy come from lorewise? I thought when I killed mata'muram that was the end of the legion, but I did quit shortly thereafter.
Where did this particular big bad guy come from lorewise? I thought when I killed mata'muram that was the end of the legion, but I did quit shortly thereafter.
Mata Muram was only one of Discord army commanders, it is specifially said in OoW manual
this lord Brekt guy is the real discord leader. after Mata muram defeat, he started to watch out world to find an easy way to conquer it. That's how he found the weakpoints in time that allowed him to mess with norrath history
for those interested, in each spoiler i have pasted Zeb speechs in each version of the Void
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
After Completing the Oceangreen theme (in The Void "B"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'Again you have returned, to see the tiny march of progress you have accomplished. Again I must ask: Is the winning of a battle worth the losing of a war? Of a way of life? Of an entire world? The damage was already done, many aeons ago, when first the insane ones came to meddle in Norrath's past. You merely prolong the disturbance by your efforts, setting things the way they were will only help so long as your [enemy] chooses to stop interfering with time, which of course they won't.'
You say, 'What do you know of the enemy?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Yes, your enemy is most implacable. You think yourselves superior to them, yet you become more like them with every iteration through this paradox. Was there ever any use to convincing you otherwise? ... No, of course there wasn't. You have always been stubborn, in all of your forms, in all of your guises. I have seen you come here many times, and like the others, you are always so sure of what needs to be done you never bothered asking yourself the hard [questions].'
You say, 'Questions?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Yes, questions, someone said once that an unquestioned life is not worth living, do you not believe that? In a disordered universe, questions lead to answers, and answers lead to solutions. I myself have had aeons to discuss all the matters of the universe with myself, and I now possess greater truths than you could ever imagine. The questions you must ask yourself revolve around time. When [time] is as pliable and as powerful as the waters of a river, how would you hope to face and defeat a foe who has learned to use those powers, without being able to use them yourself?'
You say, 'What about time?'
Zebuxoruk says 'You begin to see. The struggle has meaning, does it not? Even when the outcome is predetermined, even when the possibility of success is nil for many reasons, and the accumulating damage becomes catastrophic. You may chase down your foe, but they return again soon enough, for in time there is no longer any finality. Not here; not since [they] first came.'
You say, 'Who are they?'
Zebuxoruk says ''They', of course. 'They who devour worlds'. They are legion. You shall never stop them. I have seen your despair, your irritation, in a thousand different frustrating visits. You have been ignorant of these moments, of course, because every time They strike again - and how can they do anything else? - you always rise nobly to the [challenge] regardless of the risks, unwittingly playing your part in an eternal drama.'
You say, 'What is the challenge?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Watching you bravely take the next portal, and correct the [damage], warms my heart. It is like watching a child try to sweep a beach clear of all sand.'
You say, 'What damage?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Though you and your friends haven't the vaguest clue what evil you truly face, your efforts have an [impact] on all things. Some good, some not. Know the difference.'
You say, 'What is the next impact?'
Zebuxoruk says 'The invaders are stealing the past of Norrath by interfering with the outcome of the battle you knew as Bloody Kithicor. You must return to the past, and prevent the outcome from changing.'
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
After Completing the Bloody Kithicor theme (in The Void "C"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'You again. Behold the fruits of your latest efforts. More progress, but what of it? Will Norrath ever be the same again? Does it [deserve] to be?'
You say, 'It deserves to be.'
Zebuxoruk says 'That's easy for you to say, you haven't spent thousands of years in a magical cage, and millions more years stuck in time, arguing with yourself! On those long afternoons of virtual non-existence, I would count and lose count. Many, many, many, times. I had to make up words to describe the numbers I could count to, and words to describe the [frustration] of losing my place when counting above each of those numbers. I stopped counting after awhile. Among the things I stopped counting, were the number of times you have asked me that exact same question!'
You say, 'What frustration?'
Zebuxoruk says 'No matter. It is all cyclical anyway, yet I must always try to remember that no matter how many times you have been here, and we have talked, it is always your 'first' time. I try to hold my temper at your inability to learn, to remember our many long and interesting conversations over the centuries. You'll [remember] for awhile, then you'll forget and it will be like starting over anew.'
You say, 'I'll remember.'
Zebuxoruk says 'No, no you'll not. You'll declare yourself victorious one day, perhaps, if you endure long enough; but the world will once again be shattered and you will appear again, young, like you are now, and ready for battle. I have wearied myself to tears many times over the relentless [inevitability] of it all.'
You say, 'What inevitability?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Inevitable but necessary. I wouldn't know what to say to you if you didn't try to restore Norrath; fortunately, you always try, so I've never had to find out. Once I became used to the predictability of You, I [fear] anything else.'
You say, 'What fear?'
Zebuxoruk says 'I've had to cope with Eternity and the endless destruction and rebirth of Norrath; my prison sentence has far outlasted the most sadistic wishes of those who condemned me. What else would I fear but sudden, random change? Who are you, if you will not [restore] things to the way they were?'
You say, 'I will restore things.'
Zebuxoruk says 'The Sebilisian's war against the Dragons in the Field of Scale has given the Discordians an opening to redraw the history of Norrath. Don't let them succeed.'
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
After Completing the Field of Scale theme (in The Void "D"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'Welcome back! Ha, I never tire of saying that to you. It is a small amusement we share... but I see you don't remember. I have heard the echoes of the gods, perhaps even Veeshan will be returning soon to mourn the death of her world. As you can see, the destruction has been catastrophic, but not [total]. You may have had something to do with this.'
You say, 'Total?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Whatever victories you have won in the past, know that even a single arrow can slay the future. In this place, the [future] belongs to the ones who dare to defend the past.'
You say, 'What future?'
Zebuxoruk says 'You have confided to me many times on these repeated travels that you could not rest in your own timeline, knowing that this struggle was as yet underway. Time and time again... you might leave the battle for years, return to Norrath, settle down, raise children, build a different life... and still your [nightmares] of the Enemy would disturb your sleep.'
You say, 'What nightmares?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Yes, the recurring thoughts of the Enemy, working day and night to undo your reality, in past, present, and future, made your inner peace impossible to regain. Now, you are as much a prisoner of this reality as I am, though we both now possess the freedom to [leave] this place anytime we wished.'
You say, 'Why don't you leave?'
Zebuxoruk says 'But where would I go? What would I do? My place is here. If you came here and did not find me, that would truly mean the Enemy's final victory. The loss of my remaining magic, which holds these Portals open and the air upon this rock, would eliminate forever the possibility of saving Norrath and giving you mortals yet another chance to [save] yourselves.'
You say, 'Help us save ourselves.'
Zebuxoruk says 'When the Rallosian Empire was at its peak, the ogre leader Murdunk led an army to the Plane of Earth to subdue the Rathe Council. With a push by the Discordians either way, history as we knew it could become undone.'
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
After Completing the Invasion of Earth theme (in The Void "E"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'It is good to see you. You usually don't make it this far. Gazing after you through the Portals, I often see you fall in battle. Watching you die has no impact upon me, for I know someday you will [return], with each new trip of the cycle.'
You say, 'Return'
Zebuxoruk says 'From here the battles get harder; I always feel the duty to warn you. It is right about now that your true foes begin to recognize your interference with their plans, and begin redoubling their efforts. Theirs is a dangerous path, playing games in time with none other than the gods of Norrath, but their [tampering] cannot be detected except by us.'
You say, 'Tampering'
Zebuxoruk says 'Those among them who can see the changes in time, they know that they will always inevitably succeed, thus they never consider the futility of it all. They cannot; they require new worlds to consume and Norrath is the next to fall. Resistance is as costly as the contamination itself; each trip through these portals wears away at the fabric of existence ever so slightly, but taken together the [impact] is enormous. The Enemy may decide to stop their compulsive assaults upon the history of Norrath, yet Norrath would soon shatter anyway, its elemental forces becoming imbalanced for all time by their interference.'
You say, 'What impact?'
Zebuxoruk says 'Go and [resume] your struggle. All you can do is make them pay for what they've done.'
You say, 'Resume'
Zebuxoruk says 'The Discordians have journeyed to the past, to the worlds of Kuua and Korafax, to cause changes that would further increase their own power against the defenders of Norrath. You are running out of time, they must be stopped!'
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
After Completing the Kuua + Korafax theme (in The Void "F"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'You wear away at the great threat like the tide against the shore, tirelessly, and with noble grace worthy of a [god].'
You say, 'A god?'
Zebuxoruk says 'I begin to understand why the gods punished me as they have. Given the language of the gods, mortals would someday outdo them. The mortal context is so much more flexible, yet mortals also possess an understanding of what it means to lose everything, the humiliation of defeat, that drives their pursuit of victory. At the same time, your limitations bar you from knowing where your true limits lie, and this gives you faith in the impossible. Perhaps it is well you cannot perceive the greater context of the [struggle].'
You say, 'What struggle?'
Zebuxoruk says 'You have already advanced to the level of a godlike being; you transcend time and place, you wield fantastic power. It is time to [complete] your task, as I have seen you do so many times before.'
You say, 'I will complete my task.'
Zebuxoruk says 'The most dangerous of all battles awaits you, the final terrifying confrontations with those who dwell within Discord Tower.'
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
After Completing the Discord Tower (in The Void "G"):
You say, 'Hail, Zebuxoruk'
Zebuxoruk says 'All has been restored; all that remains is the final merging of the tired shards of reality into a unified whole. Norrath, as you knew it, is [saved] . . . For now.'
You say, 'It's saved'
Zebuxoruk says 'There is no escape for either of us, however. The gods will never notice that I have served my eternal sentence of imprisonment many times over, so I will yet linger in my cage when Norrath is reconstituted. You, of course, will return to Norrath with your friends, and do the great things you do, live out your life, leave your [legacy], until at last you pass on. Then, the cycle will someday begin anew as the lamentable Discordians again dabble in time.'
You say, 'What about our legacy?'
Zebuxoruk says 'It is my fate to be punished for the endless eternities, for giving mortals the power you needed to save yourselves, to prevent the destruction of Norrath and the planar realities it touches. Your legacy will be to remember me, and to use the time you have gained to [prepare] for what is to come. Norrath cannot stand forever against its invaders.'
You say, 'We will prepare'
Zebuxoruk says 'Soon you will leave, and I will watch you go through the portal. Later, as the portal shimmers to show a different vista, I can see what I call the Thing's Eye . . . something which waits for the right moment to strike. Perhaps when the [weave] of time becomes too weak, it will come.'
You say, 'The weave?'
Zebuxoruk says 'There are many curious creatures beyond the shattered shards of time. The Discordians are aware of some of them; some they even created, others they evicted from the worlds they struck. Others are completely foreign and beyond your vaguest appreciation. Watch for them. They will sweep aside the very foundations of Norrath in the cosmos, and they will destroy me and all the other gods. I have [foreseen] this. I have spent eternities gazing through the portals, looking upon impossible visions.'
You say, 'What have you foreseen?'
Zebuxoruk says 'When the timeline is weak enough, a new assault will come to Norrath. By then your powers will be so great that both past and future will be evacuated, their peoples to make a last stand in the Now. What a magnificent effort that shall be, though it will be utterly futile. At the moment of your greatest despair, look up and see the Alabaster Tower which shall offer your [salvation].'
You say, 'Our salvation?'
Zebuxoruk says 'You ask too much of me. I saw what I saw, but can offer no evidence. It is but another path among ruined timelines, perhaps one that will yet not be taken. Go now, and savor your victories. I shall wait here in endless timelessness, here with this forlorn tree, for your unwitting return.'
I haven't done much of anything in SoD. I quit after SoF came out during my last re-sub effort but the raid alliance I was in was still doing Solteris (FV it was like FnF - nobody - Us - Nobody...). So when I watched that video I kept thinking it was a compilation due to how much of the same models I kept seeing and kept wondering how this guy got his textures to look so much smoother than mine. Disappointed to find out that's the raid game later on, though the giant badass does look cool.
Seriously progressing through the game right now over again on Mayong we just finished Anguish so 80% of those models looked like trash I cleared last night. The others were the third time a PoP god had been used as a raid encounter. The story is interesting and they've shown they can fuck up when they try to get too cute with rifts and tunnels and shit by adding worlds, but I'm not sure about their choice for so much repetition.
Skimped at the end if I were to be picky; climax shouldn't be re-used visuals. Feels like you just ran out of stuff to drive it at the end there. One thing that separates it from being 'epic'.
Sound image relationship is fun stuff but emphasis's an unrelated song over your content and meaning. EQ vids arent necessarily serious business though; and I do think it works well. To clarify: If you were drawing from stock in game audio it may be less entertaining; but more cinematically relevent. Perhaps there's a way to blend the two.
Not sure if you planned certain shot movements in game or in post, but it was nice to see your preciseness in characters movement leaving and starting from specific areas.
Skimped at the end if I were to be picky; climax shouldn't be re-used visuals. Feels like you just ran out of stuff to drive it at the end there. One thing that separates it from being 'epic'.
Sound image relationship is fun stuff but emphasis's an unrelated song over your content and meaning. EQ vids arent necessarily serious business though; and I do think it works well. To clarify: If you were drawing from stock in game audio it may be less entertaining; but more cinematically relevent. Perhaps there's a way to blend the two.
Not sure if you planned certain shot movements in game or in post, but it was nice to see your preciseness in characters movement leaving and starting from specific areas.
Thanks for the input, man. I did want to use the end part as a 'fast paced recap' and the repetition or lack of interesting models can make it feel a little rehashed sometimes, I try to avoid that as much as possible, but it happens.
The music is fitting, for me anyway. I would make all the videos using some really fast and hard music (Toxic Narcotic, Arch Enemy, Gwar etc...) but not everyone wants to hear that. Andrew W.K. has a nice blend of fast, hard and fun. More importanly, the lyrics as always "we" instead of "I" and since these are guild videos, I find that most fitting. I think it appeals to a bigger/diverse audience. I haven't found too much EQ music consistently good enough that would support a 4-5 minute video, or I'd keep it as an option.
There isn't much in the video that isn't intentional, as far as the beginning/ending of animations/shots go. When they get recorded in-game, I try and grab the shot I want then. But after that's done, I put it in VirtualDub and remove frames where people got in front of me for a second or where the mob turned around for a millisecond. And once they are being put in the actual video, I try and make it so no character or mob is ever standing still. All the shots should be at some point of mid-animation.
Anyway, thanks for your feedback. I can't disagree with any of it. Glad you guys liked it as a whole.
08-03-2009, 06:34 PM
![Seeds of Destruction movie [EverQuest]](http://www.fohguild.org/forums/iconimages/screenshots/seeds-destruction-movie-everquest.gif)
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