EverQuest roundup: The next steps for the landmark series
Our friends at Massively launched a stream of updates this week on all things EverQuest from Sony Online Entertainment's SOE Live 2013 event in Las Vegas. We're breaking down the news from the week to get you caught up on all that's in store for the popular MMORPG series.
The next game in the series, EverQuest Next, features destructible environments built with voxels. The world isn't entirely a sandbox-like playground, though, as SOE will enforce some restrictions on what can and cannot be destroyed in the game, and the crumbling world will respawn after some time. The game's AI will include "likes and dislikes," and NPCs will remember player choices made during quests, such as instances where players side with either humans or orcs. Public quests known as "Rallying Calls" will also unfold over the course of multiple months and see permanent effects in the game's world, Norrath. Player locomotion will expand in EverQuest Next as well, as players can move along terrain in more ways than the typical run, walk and jump animations offer. Registration for the game's beta program is available now.
SOE also unveiled another game at the event, EverQuest Next Landmark. Landmark offers players tools to construct any (appropriate) structure on a plot of land they claim in the world, then sell in the Player Studio's marketplace, possibly for use in EverQuest Next. The toolset offered to players in Landmark is the same that developers use for EverQuest Next, so the build-and-explore facets of the game should feel genuine.
Lastly, for on-the-go players that need their questin' fix, SOE is offering an iOS and Android app called EverQuest Worlds. Worlds delivers quests and mini-games "that reveal lore, content, and rewards from the EverQuest franchise." The app is free and available now on the App Store and Google Play store.
The next game in the series, EverQuest Next, features destructible environments built with voxels. The world isn't entirely a sandbox-like playground, though, as SOE will enforce some restrictions on what can and cannot be destroyed in the game, and the crumbling world will respawn after some time. The game's AI will include "likes and dislikes," and NPCs will remember player choices made during quests, such as instances where players side with either humans or orcs. Public quests known as "Rallying Calls" will also unfold over the course of multiple months and see permanent effects in the game's world, Norrath. Player locomotion will expand in EverQuest Next as well, as players can move along terrain in more ways than the typical run, walk and jump animations offer. Registration for the game's beta program is available now.
SOE also unveiled another game at the event, EverQuest Next Landmark. Landmark offers players tools to construct any (appropriate) structure on a plot of land they claim in the world, then sell in the Player Studio's marketplace, possibly for use in EverQuest Next. The toolset offered to players in Landmark is the same that developers use for EverQuest Next, so the build-and-explore facets of the game should feel genuine.
Lastly, for on-the-go players that need their questin' fix, SOE is offering an iOS and Android app called EverQuest Worlds. Worlds delivers quests and mini-games "that reveal lore, content, and rewards from the EverQuest franchise." The app is free and available now on the App Store and Google Play store.
