Archive for the ‘Everquest’ Category

Everquest Celebrates 10 Years While Other MMOs Die

Mar 17, 2009 Everquest|624views

It must be a huge relief for Sony Online Entertainment to hit the 10-year mark while other MMOs like HellGate: London, Fury and Tabula Rasa couldn’t even stay open for three years. So SOE definitely has something to celebrate with a decade of online gaming now set behind them.

 
This moment must be especially confiding in that newer MMOs are having a tougher time staying open. Warhammer Online and Age of Conan are good examples of the next potentially destined-for-dirt MMOs, given that a lot of their servers have been given the axe.

EverQuest  originally launched on March 16, 1999. SOE tells us that three years earlier in March 1996, the game was given the green light to begin development, and in 1998 it entered open beta with 60K applicants.

In an EverQuest factoid rundown, SOE attempts to explain the scope of EverQuest:

There are over 12 million player-created characters in the game.

Over 1 million NPCs populate EverQuest.

There are 350 square miles of environments explorable in the game.

Over 10 quadrillion bytes of EverQuest data have left the SOE network in the past ten years.

The heaviest hours of operation for EverQuest are from 3 p.m. PST to 11 p.m. PST, with the biggest days being Thursday and Sunday
.
There are about 2,500 pairs of pants in-game.

As a company, SOE has served over 12 million player accounts across all of its titles, which includes all Station IDs.

To make matters even better yet, SOE has announced that they’ll be hosting an Everquest 10th anniversary event at Bally’s Hotel in Las Vegas, between June 25th and June 28th. Activities planned for the event include the following:

Special announcements and sneak peaks of upcoming SOE titles at the Third Annual Community Address from SOE President John Smedley

Autograph signings with members of the original EQ development team and other key contributors

Lots of in-game tournaments; and live, game-themed competitions and quests

Developer forums and roundtables

Cool giveaways and other fun items!

SOE has also launched a website for the occasion at EQ10th.com.

 

EQ and EQ2 Expansions Announced

Aug 17, 2008 Everquest|668views

 LAS VEGAS, NEV. Aug. 15, 2008. Thousands of video game enthusiasts are in Las Vegas for the annual Sony Online Entertainment Fan Faire where the upcoming expansions for the online role-playing games EverQuest (EQ) and EverQuest II (EQII) were just announced. EverQuest Seeds of Destructionâ„¢ is scheduled to be available on Oct.21, and EverQuest II The Shadow Odysseyâ„¢ is scheduled to be available on Nov.18. As part of SOE’s extensive Living Legacy program designed to entice new and past EQ and EQII players into the games and reward the existing loyal playerbase, all Fan Faire attendees will receive the software for both expansions for free, an unprecedented offering.

“It is such a privilege to announce the upcoming expansions for two of our most popular games, EverQuest and EverQuest II, in a venue like Fan Faire where we are joined by thousands of our loyal fans, and it seems more than appropriate to give those fans access to both of the expansions for free,”said John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment. “Both of these expansions are rich in content and adventure, and will provide our players with hours of excitement as they explore the online world of Norrath.”

EverQuest II The Shadow Odyssey is the fifth expansion for the critically acclaimed EQII franchise and follows the award-winning and best-selling Rise of KunarkTM expansion. New players and veterans alike will journey through a substantial amount of exquisite content with more than 20 new zones, including the Moors of Ykesha, a massive outdoor zone once known as Innothule Swamp, and the legendary dungeon Guk. Throughout the summer months, players were treated to prelude events, such as the Void Storms, that gave them a glimpse into the expansion lore and content from The Shadow Odyssey, building the anticipation leading up to the launch.

EverQuest is rapidly approaching its 10th anniversary, and Seeds of Destruction is the 15th expansion for the genre-defining online game. For the first time ever, players will have the ability to hire non-player characters (NPCs) to aid them in their heroic endeavors in Seeds of Destruction. These mercenaries will be valuable player assets as they thwart the efforts of Discord’s Dark God. This expansion also includes a level cap increase to 85, new dynamic high-level raid content, new spells and new alternate advancement abilities.

EverQuest II The Shadow Odyssey Feature Set:

    New Zones: Journey through more than 20 new zones, including the new overland zone, Innothule Swamp.
    Dungeon Adventures: Experience nostalgic EverQuest dungeon themes, such as Najena, Mistmoore and The Sebilisian Empire, and adventure through more than 18 goal-based dungeons, such as Ruins of Guk and Befallen.
    Achievement Point: An achievement level cap increase to 200 that offers new achievements for class-specific lines.
    Dungeon Delving: A new mission system for players to replay content with new and different experiences.
    Heritage Quests: Five new quests with unique rewards being added.
    Shard Reward System: A new, mysterious group of erudites with powerful new armor and equipment will barter for void shards earned during players’ encounters
    Epic Tales: Stories told through battles with dozens of new creatures and hundreds of new quests.
    New Deities: Rodcet Nife and Anashti Sul are introduced into Norrath.
    Access to All Previous Content: Includes all previous expansion packs and adventure packs.
    Legends of Norrath: Includes strategic online trading card game, digital starter deck and booster pack.

EverQuest Seeds of Destruction Feature Set:

    Mercenaries: Player-controlled NPCs are now available and will not only scale to the appropriate level, but also think and act for themselves with limited player guidance. Designed for extra support or extra muscle in PvE encounters, mercenary archetypes include a variety of classes from all playable races.
    Level Cap Increase: Players can now achieve level 85 with new high-level item sets, new alternate advancement ability lines and new spells.
    20 New Zones: Features re-imagined classic content and brand-new realms for adventurers to explore, including the eerie wasteland of the Void, the Battle of Rathe on the Plane of Earth and the ultimate Heart of Darkness in the Plane of Discord.
    Access to All Previous Content - Includes all features and content from the 14 previous expansion packs. Legends of Norrath: Includes strategic online trading card game, digital starter deck, booster pack and loot item.

In addition to attending exclusive panels this weekend at Fan Faire, eligible players with active accounts will receive early access to beta for one or both games, depending on their preference. EQ’s public beta is anticipated to begin on Aug. 19, and EQII’s public beta is anticipated to begin on Sept. 2.

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