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The sociological aspects of ''EverQuest'' (and other MMORPGs) are further explored in a series of online studies on a site known as "the HUB". [http://www.nickyee.com/hub/home.html] The studies make use of data gathered from player surveys and discuss topics like virtual relationships, player personalities, gender issues, and more. <!-- If anyone has the time, this section could be expanded to contain a lot more information, instead of relying on an external link -->
The sociological aspects of ''EverQuest'' (and other MMORPGs) are further explored in a series of online studies on a site known as "the HUB". [http://www.nickyee.com/hub/home.html] The studies make use of data gathered from player surveys and discuss topics like virtual relationships, player personalities, gender issues, and more. <!-- If anyone has the time, this section could be expanded to contain a lot more information, instead of relying on an external link -->


As it enters its seventh year, there is a perception among some longtime players that Everquest's best days are behind it, and indeed many have abandoned EQ in favor of some of the newer MMORPGs on the market, such as [[City of Heroes]] and [[Dark Age of Camelot]]. Although it is true that some formerly-busy zones are now all but deserted, SOE continues to release expansion packs, and certain zones on certain servers continue to be crowded during peak game-playing hours.
As it enters its seventh year, there is a perception among some longtime players that Everquest's best days are behind it, and indeed many have abandoned EQ in favor of some of the newer MMORPGs on the market, such as [[City of Heroes]] and [[World of Warcraft]]. Although it is true that some formerly-busy zones are now deserted, SOE continues to release expansion packs, and certain zones continue to be crowded during peak game-playing hours.


==Real world economics==
==Real world economics==

Revision as of 20:07, 26 January 2006

EverQuest
EverQuest box art.
EverQuest box art.
Developer(s)Sony Online Entertainment
Publisher(s)Sony Online Entertainment
Platform(s)Windows, Mac OS X
ReleaseMarch 16, 1999
Genre(s)MMORPG
Mode(s)Multiplayer

EverQuest (EQ) is a 3D fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that was released on March 16 1999. The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost. It was developed by Verant Interactive (which had recently parted from 989 Studios) and published by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). SOE currently runs and distributes EverQuest.

To play, one must initially pay for the game software and then pay a recurring monthly fee; a free trial is also available for those who wish to experience the game before paying. EverQuest was, for a time, the most popular MMORPG in the industry. In the game, players explore a Tolkienesque fantasy world of sword and sorcery, fighting monsters and enemies for treasure and experience points and interacting with other players. As they progress, players advance in level, gaining power, prestige and abilities. Players can also procure powerful items for their characters in a variety of ways: through slaying monsters (and then looting whatever items they were carrying), doing "quests" (tasks and adventures given by non-player characters ( NPCs ) in which a reward is given upon success), or by gathering raw materials and then fashioning them, via numerous trade skills such as tailoring or blacksmithing, into useful (or not-so-useful, but nevertheless fun) items. In structure and rules, the game is a direct descendant of the famed Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Many of the elements from EverQuest have also been drawn from text-based MUD (multi-user dungeon) games, especially DikuMUD.

The game features a rich 3D environment set in the fictional world of Norrath, its moon Luclin and alternate planes of reality. The geography of the EverQuest universe is vast—few have visited all of the nearly 400 zones. Multiple instances of the world exist on various servers, each one hosting between 1000 and 3000 simultaneous players online during peak times. After selecting a server, a player can create multiple characters by choosing from a variety of classes and races (e.g., humans, gnomes, trolls, halflings, elves, etc.). The main aspect of gameplay involves grouping with fellow players to kill monsters for experience and gear. Beyond that, a player can explore the large world, socialize, role-play, join player guilds, master trade skills, and duel other players (in restricted situations — EQ only allows Player versus Player (PvP) combat on the PvP-specific server, in designated arenas, or in a consensual duel in a limited number of locations.

While some parts of EverQuest can be experienced alone, without the help of other players, EQ generally remains a very group-centric game. A single character will be unable to complete many of the encounters in EverQuest. Most parts of the game can be completed with small groups of up to six or so people, but the most challenging (and rewarding) encounters require the cooperation of many players, possibly totalling 72 players, although the trend in recent expansions tends towards 54 as a maximum. A large force of gamers gathered together to perform one task, is referred to as a "raid". Normally the number of players range from 36 to 72, limiting factors being the maximum number of people allowed in a "raid window" (72) and the maximum number of people allowed in certain instanced zones in more recent expansions. Zerging is when a raid's main strategy is to overwhelm an enemy by sheer force of numbers. As EverQuest has aged, tactics have become more and more involved. Some of the most complex 'modern' raid events can take a very experienced guild dozens of attempts before they succeed. Less skilled guilds may take as many as a hundred tries to beat the same event, if they are able to accomplish it at all, due to the level of strategy and teamwork required to defeat modern EverQuest encounters.

Development

While the original concept is credited to Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost, much of the original product design was done by Brian Canary, Ryan Palacio, Roger Uzun and Geoffrey "GZ" Zatkin. Many other people have worked on EverQuest through the many updates and expansion packs that have been released as the service has operated continually since 1999. The idea of the "MMORPG" (Massive Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Game) is credited to Ultima Online, the first of its genre.

989 Studios funded development and initially published the game, before Verant Interactive took management after 989 Studios unilaterally canceled all of its PC projects. Sony Online Entertainment later purchased Verant, and SOE runs and distributes EverQuest currently.

File:EverQuest - The Temple of Solusek Ro.jpg
The Temple of Solusek Ro was added as a free download in October 1999.

EverQuest launched with some technical difficulties on March 16, 1999 but quickly became successful. By the end of the year, it had surpassed the leading competitor, Ultima Online in number of subscriptions. Numbers continued rising at a steady rate until mid-2001 when growth slowed. As of 2004, Sony reports subscription numbers close to 450,000.

Zones

The EverQuest universe is divided into nearly 400 zones. These zones represent a wide variety of geographical features, including plains, oceans, cities, deserts, and other planes of existence.

Controversies and social issues

EverQuest has lived through its share of controversy, much of it shared by the entire MMORPG genre. One example involves the sale of in-game objects for real currency (often through eBay). The developers of EQ have always forbidden the practice and in January 2001 asked eBay to stop listing such auctions. For a time, such auctions were immediately removed, which created market conditions that allowed a number of upstart auction sites to specialize in this new virtual economy. The game has always had problems with exploiting, cheating, and hacking. Patches have stopped some of the most serious cheats, but controversy also surrounds SOE's policies, once seen as heavy-handed and subjective, now generally perceived as lighter than deserved in many instances. Changes in management have caused changes in company-to-customer representatives who defend or promote said policies. Gordon Wrinn ("Abashi") was the spokesperson of Verant, followed by Alan VanCouvering ("Absor") for SOE; a team now presents plans to the players. Critics of EQ's overall design deride it as "simplistic", and this has led to a satirical game called Progress Quest to appear on the Internet. Some gamers have nicknamed it "LevelQuest", implying that the purpose of the game is to only acquire levels. Monotonous in-game-activities are referred to as timesinks.

The game is renowned and berated (by some psychologists specializing in computer addiction) for its addictive qualities. Many refer to it half-jokingly as "NeverRest" and "EverCrack" (a reference to crack cocaine). EQ is very time-consuming for many people, and there have been some well-publicized suicides of EverQuest users, such as that of Shawn Woolley. Relationships broken because of obsessive playing resulted in the creation of an online support group called EverQuest Widows and sites like GamerWidow.com. The capacity of the game to absorb time and money, and to distract players from a possibly-dull life on the other side of the screen, are appealing features to its users. However, the same could be said for any other addictive and obsessive activity. An infamous rant titled "EQ: What You Really Get From An Online Game" appeared on Slashdot in 2002, and brought this issue of EverQuest addiction to the forefront of many message boards across the Internet.

The sociological aspects of EverQuest (and other MMORPGs) are further explored in a series of online studies on a site known as "the HUB". [1] The studies make use of data gathered from player surveys and discuss topics like virtual relationships, player personalities, gender issues, and more.

As it enters its seventh year, there is a perception among some longtime players that Everquest's best days are behind it, and indeed many have abandoned EQ in favor of some of the newer MMORPGs on the market, such as City of Heroes and World of Warcraft. Although it is true that some formerly-busy zones are now deserted, SOE continues to release expansion packs, and certain zones continue to be crowded during peak game-playing hours.

Real world economics

EverQuest has many in-game items that are hard to produce and/or to find, and most can be traded among players via the game's currency (platinum pieces). Because these items are also sold on eBay, an actual exchange rate between platinum pieces and real life dollars can be calculated. This led some economists, among them Edward Castronova, to study the economics of EverQuest and other MMORPGs. The researchers discovered, to their surprise, that EQ's money was in fact more valuable than the Yen (although this is no longer the case; there are now about 2900 platinum to a U.S. dollar which is worth about 113 Yen), and its GDP per capita is higher than that of China and India.

This led some gamers to start playing professionally, as after some hours of play they could earn income by selling off in-game items. Black Snow Interactive was founded as a company that created characters, leveled them to make them powerful, and then resold the characters. After some time, the firm moved to Mexico, as the salaries for Mexican players are far less. Other firms, such as the Gaming Open Market, specialized in exchanging money between games. A player could exchange a house in The Sims Online for EverQuest platinum pieces, depending solely on market laws of supply and demand.

Sony officially discouraged the payment of real-world money for online goods until July 2005, when they launched Station Exchange. The program facilitates buying in-game items for real money from fellow players for a nominal fee. At this point this system only applies to select EverQuest II servers; none of the pre-Station Exchange EverQuest II or EverQuest servers are affected. [2]

While Sony's official stance on EverQuest is still against real market transactions, any real enforcement of this faded years ago. It is now common to encounter an account on its second or third owner, especially in the higher end game.

Due to the difficulty in learning the role a specific class plays within a group, and of learning the best way to fulfil this role, individuals who purchase high level characters without prior playing experience with a similar character are considered sub-par to those who have developed characters normally. To a lesser extent this is also true of individuals who purchase equipment far stronger then they should reasonably have (known in-game as "twinks"), and pay for help from high level characters in order to raise a newly created character into high levels quickly with little risk (known as "power leveling" or simply "PL"). Referring to a character in EverQuest as an eBay character or to an individual as an eBayer are derogatory comments used to suggest both that an individual did not develop his own character and that he has not learned how to properly play it.

EverQuest expansions

There have been several expansions to the original game since release. Expansions are purchased separately and add significant content to the game (for example, new races, classes, continents, quests, and equipment). Additionally, the game is updated regularly through downloadable patches. The EQ expansions to date:

File:EverQuest - East Commonlands tunnel.jpg
The East Commonlands tunnel was the most frequently used area for trading on most servers before the Bazaar was added in The Shadows of Luclin.
  1. The Ruins of Kunark (March 2000)
  2. The Scars of Velious (December 2000)
  3. The Shadows of Luclin (December 2001)
  4. The Planes of Power (October 2002)
  5. The Legacy of Ykesha (March 2003)
  6. Lost Dungeons of Norrath (September 2003)
  7. Gates of Discord (February 2004)
  8. Omens of War (September 2004)
  9. Dragons of Norrath (February 2005)
  10. Depths of Darkhollow (September 2005)
  11. Prophecy of Ro (announced) (February 2006)

See also: EverQuest timeline

There are many spin-off products from EverQuest. Several servers have been introduced with alternate rule-sets, including one which allows player killing, another, Firiona Vie, that has a set of rules more friendly to role-playing (although it also contained other rule changes that also made it attractive to non-role-players which some argue defeated the purpose), and a premium flagship server titled Stormhammer Legends server (which, for a higher fee provided a greater level of in-game customer service. Many players saw this as a way to charge players more money for a level of service which should have existed without the fee). After many months of the "Legends" community pleading for communication with Sony about its future, nothing was said until a sudden announcement in December '05 that Sony was closing the EQ flagship server. EverQuest Online Adventures, released in February 2003, is an MMORPG for the PlayStation 2 console. EverQuest II, a sequel to EverQuest, was launched in November 2004. Champions of Norrath, the d20 tabletop RPG EverQuest Role-Playing Game, several books, and player gatherings (Fan Faires) have also been spawned from EverQuest.

Fans have created the open source server emulator EQEmu, allowing users to run their own servers with custom rules. Running such an emulator is a violation of EQ's end user license agreement and could result in a player being banned from Sony's EverQuest servers if caught doing so. It has not gained the same popularity as server emulators for Ultima Online. Although technically against the EULA, it is unlikely that you will be banned or otherwise punished for playing on an EMU, unless you admit to it, ingame, in front of Sony support staff.

Gameplay jargon

Template:Wikibookschapter EverQuest carries an internal language and culture of its own, including a plethora of arcane abbreviations aiding communication between players. For example, SoW (which stands for Spirit of Wolf, a popular spell which accelerates players' movement), and vernacular usages such as 'crack' or 'mind candy' which within the context of EQ refer to mana regeneration spells such as Clarity or KEI (an acronym for Koadic's Endless Intellect). While mostly consistent, there are also some differences in jargon between servers, and between the Asian, European and American gaming communities. In-game chatting can practically be a foreign language to anyone who has not played it extensively.

A number of terms used in-game have been coined by players from a wide variety of other MMORPGs or players of EverQuest specifically. One is the habit of calling monsters MOBs or mobs which is a contraction of Mobile Objects and stems from old text-based MUD's use of the term. Some terms like these, while coined in EverQuest, have migrated to other MMORPGs.

Some players use leet, which is also referred to as "dewd" speak, and Internet slang is quite common among users of the game.

References

  • Parloff, Roger (Nov. 28, 2005). "From Megs to Riches". Fortune, pp. 72–84.
  • EverQuest Live - Official EverQuest News
  • AllaKhazam's Magical Realm - Comprehensive spoiler site (quests, item database, bestiary, etc.); although all information is available for free, for a fee, there are much better searching tools available.
  • Lucy - Complete list of known spells and items, Lucy pulls information directly from the EverQuest client.
  • EverQuest Casters Realm - EverQuest news and information site
  • EQTraders Corner - Comprehensive spoiler site dedicated to tradeskills
  • Magelo - The most popular site for creating character profiles in EQ
  • Mobhunter EverQuest news and editorials
  • EQWire.com Automated EverQuest news including an RSS 2.0 feed
  • Eqnewbie Everquest Information site, geared towards new players.
  • The Everquest Speech Community - a conference paper on the topic of EverQuest speech.

Game Archive and Review sites

Humor

Economy