First EQNext Video with Character Model Game Assets
UPDATE: I have honored a request to remove the video links from this article to the website where they appeared. They were preliminary work-in-progress artwork and not authorized for public release.
Thanks to a tip, EQ2Wire has located the first high quality video of EQnext character models in action. The video includes a series of character animation loops with sound effects. A human male knight, followed by a skeletal warrior, and an orc are shown fighting and doing other emotes.
EQNext Screen Shots and Concept Art from Fan Faire 2010 have moved to their own article.
Tags: EQNext
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Comments (38)
Xaverri
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Really, i’m not wanting to draw parallels – but going purely off these linked pics here i see a Night Elf wannabe, the kobold looks Worgen, the Ogre looks WoW Orcish and the scene pics really strike as Stormwind and Un’Goro Crater.
Love EQ2′s appproach to lore and play style, but what’s the point of creating a new incarnate that mirrors other game tales and settings that exist already?
Boring.
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Anon11000
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You pretty much read my mind.
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Blockhead
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Xaverri i completely agree, i think you read my mind as well. A huge problem for EQ2 already is it only follows in the footsteps of EQ1, so to speak. That gets boring, too predictable, and expectations of the player-base get way too high if they played EQ. The game ends up disappointing as it only lets players down because you can’t repeat the glory of the past by only regurgitating content with new textures. Yawn. It’s great for nostalgic reasons but lets use our imaginations SOE and do something new for the franchise.
I was interested in what EQ Next was going to be about, however if its only going to be another upgraded version of EQ1, or another carbon copy wow game then no sale. Been there done that and look how that turned out in both cases.
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Feldon
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That IS what was announced at Fan Faire. Not sure why you are surprised/offended/disgusted. Sounds like you don’t want anything with ‘SOE’ stamped on it.
I disagree with you strongly on the idea that revisiting a popular idea is always bad. Yes, we have seen endless, pointless remakes of movies. But the most recent Monkey Island and Back to the Future games have been very successful. Metal Gear Solid built on the same basic gameplay and idea for 4 games and it was still awesome. I would probably sacrifice a finger to play another Eternal Darkness game.
A game that really delivers on the core of what made EQ1 great, that avoids the pitfalls of EQ2, could be very successful.
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Kneecracker
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Nice graphics.
Now if only they can implement EQNext taking advantage of current technology and get a decent frame rate for the avg H/W set up so that we can enjoy those graphics instead of looking at big pixel wireframes
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Blockhead
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The key word there is “could”, EQ2 was going great what happened there?
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Aarionn
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I like eq next animations
I would be super happy if they would recreate eq1.
But:
- it would have to be same char generation and progress.
- It would have to be hard to level.
- It would have to have much more group than solo content.
- It would have to have some sort of camping mobs. it would have to create some sense of accomplishment.
- It would have to make me hungry to go for more.
The only thing is for soe to ask themselves how much money we want to make while making the best MMO experience on the market, which doesn’t mean how we can make game that will bring us the highest amount of money.
If they want to make something legendary (like eq1) they will have to come to the terms that that game will not become WoW killer or that they will not make billions, while millions are still good.
best ,
Aarion
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AlienShine
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Cell Shading, please no !
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Sudie
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OMG..Please don’t copy WoW characters..I hate chars with big pointy ears like WoW’s night elfs which looks just like the pic above as people have stated…how about some today chars with today hairstyles..Us females like to play Pretty Chars not ugly ones..geez can’t anyone get it right!! Eq2 is closes i have come to a MMO i like the chars..they just need better hairstyles and better customization…I for one hate PVP and I also think there should be a limit on guilds made on each server..for instance 50 guilds per server no new one made til one colapse that way people might stay together and have fun instead of run out and make a guild and it lay dorment with 3 people in it..grrr..Why is every designer trying to copy WoW..it ain’t that great you can complete it’s quest line and get geared and go thru whole content in 3 months..Get it in Head EQ2 is better than WoW..EQ2 just needs to advertise like WoW does ..on TV ,,put game on shelf in walmart..target ..etc…make it just as accessible as wow and look what happens!
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Merkor
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I like the animation, very nice!
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Dilbert
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Aarion wrote:
“I would be super happy if they would recreate eq1.
But:
- it would have to be same char generation and progress.
- It would have to be hard to level.
- It would have to have much more group than solo content.
- It would have to have some sort of camping mobs. it would have to create some sense of accomplishment.”
Those times are over. “You people” are maybe 5% of the players out there.
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Blockhead
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Aarionn, you know that’s what they call a pipe dream, right?
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Blockhead
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Dunno I’m sorry but i was scrolling up through this page and the pics went by, once again sorry but it screams World of Warcraft.
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Egbert
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Dull. Same old same old unoriginal wow inspired, over the top models. Big silly looking weapons, unrealistic proportions, action figure armour. Games nowdays are one endless stream of the same thing. Cartoon monsters from bad manga cartoons.
Get some realism, dare to look different for once.
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Stone
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Finally been done a google search every single day since anniversary 2009 when they reveled it in thier book.
And no EQ is in a total diffrent league then World of Childcraft.
This game will Rock my years to come
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Egbert
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Just wish the designers would actually use their imagination though and not just churn out the same looking stuff. Those creature concepts could be culled from just about any fantasy based game from 2005 to present.
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pkudude99
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2005? You have seen the illustrations from the D&D Monster Manuals from the late 70′s and early 80′s haven’t you? And many of those illustrations were based on mythological creatures described sometimes thousands of years ago.
Personally I don’t mind. If someone says “I fought a Hippogriff” I’d like to immediately know that it was a horse/eagle mix. Orcs should look like large brutish humans. Ogres should look like larger brutish orcs. Dark elves are. . elves with dark skin. That trope’s been around LONG before WoW ever came out, so saying that any game with dark elves is copying WoW is ridiculous in the extreme. And I’ve always thought EQ’s kobolds being a dog/gorilla mix as they are was fairly inspired. I have no idea how anyone could think it looks like a Worgen, other than the vaguely dog-like features, but since kobolds have nearly always been described as dog-like. . . .
Does that mean VG’s Vulpine race is a WoW copy too? What about EQ1′s dog-race of gnolls? And since Gnolls have been a dog-like mob staple since original PnP D&D, how exactly is that copying WoW’s Worgen?
Yes, I’m being absurd here, but I hope that my absurdity points out how absurd it is for you to be claiming that WoW (which copied all of these from older source material) is the source of anything and everything that is now being worked on in the MMO world.
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Tagwen
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I think it’s the nature of the beast really. Companies take ques from their competitors. When you see your competition doing something that is making them money, you think ” I should do that to” and then put a marketing spin on it and do it. Look at Subway for example.. For years they where cold subs only, then a couple of years ago they saw how popular toasted subs where at Quiznos so they decided to do it as well. There’s no reason to let your competitor control the market if its a good idea. So in reality, SOE, Blizzard, Funcom, Mythic, Turbine, etc they all pull from each other to an extent. Its only natural for the larger of the 2 to want to do things for their players the other is doing that you can tangibly see is a good idea.
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Blockhead
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OK, secretly, i had these pictures up and nothing else. I went “hey, whats this to whomever happened to walk by” shooting 100% “World of Warcraft” responses, about half a dozen responded with “World of Warcraft concept art”.
Funny not one of them noticed anything remotely close to EQ? I just said “Oh” and they kept on walking, imagine if i said well no hang on they are concept art for EQ3.
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Feldon
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Show ANY picture of a fantasy creature to the average person and ask them to place it and they will say WoW.
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Murfalad
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Technically impressive, more detail then WoW, but the animation is only the same quality as WoW, it lacks the realistic motion captured feel, although without realistic proportions motion capture is probably not an option.
The proportions are just all out, that makes my immersion go too. The over sized axe, the stubby little legs that just make me think of (in bodybuilding terms) chicken legs. Picturing them moving fast feels more comical then “here comes the big bad guy”.
Personally I’m a pure EQ2 player in that I’ve never played EQ1 so I don’t understand EQ1 or how people relate EQ2 to it, its just not relevant to me.
That probably influences why sitting at the Fanfaire through both EQNext presentations I was given the feeling that Smedley didn’t like EQ2 (he just complained about it the whole time, too many classes etc) and only referenced EQ1 as where to harken back to. Maybe it was just me, but I picked up a negative vibe, I like Smokejumper although I don’t agree with everything he does, but one thing I pick up on there is how he says he’s fighting for EQ2 in the company, it adds to the picture.
The impression I gained of EQNext was a design process where they extensively researched WoW, and ran the numbers on EQ1/EQ2 to produce EQNext. A game where what works in WoW is to be implemented – stylized graphics, less classes, seamless world but with instanced dungeons and a “heroic feel”, and a focus on telling the player the story – not the player making his story. But also combined with running the numbers – adding in only the most popular races (e.g. Dark elves) and the most popular classes and features of EQ1/EQ2.
I did check and there was no current plan to put Frogloks in there for example which I can understand from a costs vs result standpoint, but sucks the soul out of EQ from a storyline view, while its the logical way to create a new MMO, it also feels like what they’ve shown us so far is too predictable and lacks magic.
Overall I think it could be a great game and I feel there is a big surprise/twist coming that will set this apart from other MMOs. But like WoW it just won’t be a great game for me unless this twist is going to be utterly compulsive gameplay (a truly dynamic world? Quests where we choose the ending? This would do it, but alas its not compatible with “telling us the story”, or appealing to the lowlyest keyboard drooler.
My guess is this will be a D&D style MMO, hack+slash to appeal to the masses, I want complex AD&D, I want a dynamic world where action I make effects it, I want to decide what to do on quests, I want realistic graphics like Avatar that make my heart bleed with desire to live in that world.
Lastly, if there is one thing that SOE are poor at, its keeping a game going, they’re great at new concepts and lead the industry, they are good at keeping games going when competitors will pull the rug from under you. But they just don’t seem to be able to take a older game and put the investment into it to keep it AAA, EQ2 is only still AAA due to being designed ahead of its time, but one day that will go. A company like CCP would have rewritten the engine by now for example, although its not all gloom there, when the NDA is dropped there is news on EQ2 to share
Sorry to all if this feels a downer, but I think its a constructive post, I feel that the day this MMO I want is released is a long way off, if ever, I doubt it will ever come from a big name company. And until then EQ2 is still the nearest to that dream.
And it has Frogloks
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Murfalad
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Yeah, my criticism isn’t anything about it looking like WoW, it does share some simularities (oversized shoulders, bad proportions), but overall its better detailed, and none of the animations have looked as bad as the worst WoW ones. Its problem is its just not a style I like, so I guess that’s my problem.
As Feldon said, show anyone new to computer games a MMO and they’ll say its WoW, even EQ2.
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milliebii
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Well I played Everquest and loved it. I got annoyed and left when item inflation made silly sounding weapons Uber and made exciting items redundant. Went to WoW loved it until the community started to get on my nerves (too many under 14 boys trying to sound like grownups). Wandered a bit and came back to EQ2. While its not the best (and yes Dilbert I am part of your 5%), it is the best out there. I hope EQ next will be the place for me but see nothing one way or the other in these graphics.
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Blockhead
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“Show ANY picture of a fantasy creature to the average person and ask them to place it and they will say WoW.”
Too true. I gave up asking.
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Murfalad
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I guess what I was trying to say in my mamouth post is, I like SOE, and I like EQ2, EQNext could be a good game, but so far has shown me nothing that appeals to me, despite Smedley talking at Fanfaire about a EQ1/EQ2 to EQNext migration route.
So please SOE if anyone is reading this, don’t drop the support for EQ2 with the expectations of everyone making a switch, EQ2′s just too darn good and too unique an MMO, keep that EQ2 development coming
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Aarionn
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Well, lots of good comments here.
I would like to further explain why i would have nothing against eq2next being eq1(eq2) remake.
In the last 6 years I can say that in the first 4 i was playing eq2 exclusively while playing other games, mainly rpg (the witcher) and replaying old rpg (bg1/2, iwd, pst) . This was symbiosis which served me well. I was enchanted by eq2 and I was adding to my play with old rpg classics.
Last 2 years since Kunrak I think i lost desire to play end game eq2… I tried lots of games and lots of MMOs but I always came back to eq2 although I was not playing much.
Few days ago I entered Rift beta. it looked little like eq and more like Vanguard which made me think that this cold be what I want. But … it s not. I found myself unable to continue doing even first few quests (after completed at least 5000 in eq2 alone…).
So why I want another eq1/eq2? Because I believe that if they make radical changes and make it more mainstream (wow) I will not play it at all. It seems that I need familiarity of eq1/eq2 to keep me interested so a new game with improved engine and old gameplay would be what i want.
Sorry for long and probably chaotic post, but I had a bad night with almost no sleep and I am now at work. Damn work …
Best,
AA
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Dreiden
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I think the number one reason for EQnext is to restart the story. EQnext isn’t simply a continuation like EQ2, it’s a new beginning. They are taking a world we know and remaking it. Similar characters and locations will exist but the plot will be rewritten, hopefully improved.
Sony will hopefully look back on past mistakes (corpse runs, camping, rare quest named, too many classes, copy paste questing, lack of style in art) and things they got right (guild support, character customization, player housing, group dynamics, raiding, soloing) and then take in some influence of other games and put together a truly 3rd gen mmorpg.
My biggest hope of all is that it isn’t F2P.
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Feldon
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Murfalad said:
This is an astute observation and something I have picked up from several people within SOE.
Murfalad said:
I think this is what is going to prevent EQNext from appealing to EQ1 or EQ2 players. When every feature and design is measured against WoW.
It’s funny. In the car industry, the large carmakers are always trying to copy what the small outfits are doing. American car companies were looking not at Volkswagen or Yugo (large scale, mass market), but at sports cars and F1 to draw inspiration.
Why must every MMO company clone WoW?
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Zynthar
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I’m secretly hoping that they DO look at what the smaller companies are doing. Specifically, I’ve been playing DDO lately and have actually been having FUN. The newer action based MMO’s like that just seem to be more involved. I miss the expansive world building you get in EQ games though. I think adding the action based gameplay into the mix could produce something truly amazing.
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Blockhead
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Hey Feldon, yes you are right i already knew that, reading and posting in between allot of meetings yesterday, a frenzy day. I guess i forgot all about EQNext basic plan.
I wouldn’t say all mmo’s clone wow, go to Rift and watch the latest video:
Under a wounded sky:
http://www.riftgame.com/en/
Is it me or does it not remind one of WoW at all. I know it’s simply a trailer but seems original enough. Any game play vids I’ve seen remind me of a couple different mmo’s actually, not wow though, here’s hoping they have put their own stamp on it.
As far as EQNext, really too early to tell whats going to come out of the oven. Hopefully they read sites like this and take the cue that we aren’t looking for a WoW patterned game, problem is EQ/EQ2 players are the minority of mmo players and is why they are never heard.
WoW cloned every mmo game out there, especially EQ, put thier own spin on it, and now every mmo is trying to clone wow. Ohhhhh, what a world, what a world.
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Jason S
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This whole comparing WoW to every MMO made is simply just getting old! All FANTASY MMOs take a large portion of their lore and art-style from previous games, books, movies, and mythology. As far as I know, Tolkien referred to orcs and goblins in the same manner depicted by EQ1, EQ2, WoW, D&D, Rift, etc. ENOUGH WITH IT ALREADY!
As for showing friends the pictures and asking what they saw, of course they’re gonna say WoW concept art! It’s like if I were to show a picture of a picture of an emu to my friends… 95% of them would say it’s an ostrich. People just associate with ostriches more than emus is all.
This is the type of talk that instantly kills a game before it has a chance to get off the ground running. Those of us in Rift Beta can relate to this… you can’t go literally 5 minutes without some WoW fanboy jumping on chat and saying, “If you guys can;t see this is a WoW-Clone, you’re all stupid!” It just gets old real fast!
As for Dilbert’s comment: “Those times are over. “You people” are maybe 5% of the players out there.”
Get over yourself. Most of “us people” were playing MMOs before “the majority of people” even know what they were. There is money to be made by us 5% whether you like it or not. As someone already mentioned, it would just take a company to check their ego’s at the door and accept LESS than WoW. A games success should not be in its popularity compared to WoW, but in the joy a quality product brings to it’s audience. Look at EVE for that matter… PROFITS FOLLOW QUALITY!
While I’m on this matter, I would like to know where you got your figure of 5% because I would venture to guess the number is way higher. This is just a classic case of someone shutting out the idea of a challeging game because “it won’t appeal to the masses.” WHO CARES!? If you want that sort of game, there are like 25+ of them currently on the market… enjoy! Somewhere along the way, developers and “newer” subscribers alike have decided that the minority should get none of the proverbial MMO-pie, while “the masses” get forcefed crap after crap.
The MMO gaming industry really needs someone to step up and say, “Shit… I’ll take that 5%-15%’s money! So what!? I may not become a millionaire but I sure as shit will be making 6 digits! There is always the chance this takes off though! Who knows!?”
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Aarionn
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Great post Jason S,
it is just what i was trying to say with my poor English language skill in my earlier posts.
Someone will realize that to capture us 5% will bring large pile of money and at the same time they will create something that will last forever like eq1
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Dilbert
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The 5% was just an example. But what do you think EVERY company thinks? Will we make this game so and so, this will please those old players, this gonna be awesome OR lets make it like this so we might get some of those other 95% and prob make millions more. I bet there are plenty of gamedevs out there making a game and putting stuff in their games they dont really want but have to adjust it to make it more accessible to all. Just look at the games coming out now. Why dont we see another Baldurs Gate game coming but instead we get some rpg’s with more and more action/combo combatshit in each title to please all the kids (and to some degree us 5% because we havent any better options) ? Sorry, the gameindustry changed, money comes first as everything else these days.
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Jason S
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Clearly, with games crashing and burning left and right the past few years, these changes the gaming industry have implemented should indicate that their business models are not working. If someone would realize, as CCP did, that there is money to be made from putting out a challenging quality MMO product, maybe this type of, “it is what it is” thinking can change. Just because companies are force-feeding us the same thing, doesn’t mean we should accept it as gospel as many already have.
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Benny V
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All I can say is I am psyched for EQ3. I think the above artwork looks really nice. I have played pretty much every MMO that hit the pc. But EQ will always be #1 to me. I really hope EQ3 holds the smae challenges as the origional.
I would also like to compliment Jason S. on his comments.
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Digless
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I am all for EQ Next, but please, please, please do not make us follow a “story” like it is some script in a movie. Give us a “world” just like in EQ1 and allow us to venture out, explore, and carve our own destinies.
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Digless
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Oh, and bring back public dungeons, please. I never, never, never want to see an instance again.
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LilJohnson
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Norrath = Real World
None of this on-rails quest nonsense.
I hear that.
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