Feldon 
From EverQuest2.com today, December 1st:
Last week, several news outlets participated in the EverQuest II: Age of Discovery and Freeport Reborn Game Update Beta Press Tours. They got sneak previews of the exciting features and content that are coming out with our newest expansion and game update, all set to release on December 6, 2011.
With the lifting of the Press Embargo promptly on November 29th @ 4:00pm PST, Press sites are now posting their previews of the upcoming EverQuest II: Age of Discovery expansion which releases on December 6th, 2011.
EQ2Wire Commentary
The EQ2 team intends to release the Age of Discovery expansion on December 6th. As stated during the Livecast, the expansion will be released with patches expected over the days/weeks afterwards to provide tweaks and additional functionality that won’t make it in by the launch date.
UPDATE: We erroneously reported that NDA was lifting tomorrow (November 30th).
Please stay tuned to the EQ2 forums for more info on any kind of NDA lifting news. Please note as we discovered last year that NDA lifting does NOT include any quotes or screenshots from the Beta.
I love how they all have screenshots, video and other NDA covered information in those articles. While the rest of us sit here waiting to be able to say anything other than directing people to those sites…
I plan on talking about some stuff on the show tonight. Its less than a week until launch, other press have already had their NDA waived. I plan on doing it too. Let them yell if they want to.
so did they not beta test the new AA limit at all?
Trueflight: That stuff is SOE provided. It was one of our news staff that went there, not our fan site side (in other words, not me or Calthine).
Techno: On this evening’s webcast they announced the AA max limit is being increased by 20.
I don’t recall anything about the NDA dropping being announced, so at this point it’s safest to assume you’re still under NDA until otherwise stated. Going to relisten to the webcast once they get it up on YouTube and see if I just missed it.
NDA is still up, because they emphasized it at the beginning of the webcast for potential beta testers, which they are still letting in.
PS — can’t wait for the billion patches that are going to be occurring in the month of December. I tend to play during peak patch time, which means my play time will probably suffer due to the “tweaks and added functionality” they need to put in, along with all the fixes when the usual stuff gets broken.
I am feeling very cynical about this expansion. I do love this game, but the direction it’s taking is not very exciting. I would like more people to play with due to the F2P changes, but after the scary back-alley DCUO crowd present at the webcast, I am worried it’s going to be servers full of adolescents making potty jokes.
OMG… They intent to release it in ONE WEEK ?
This is going to be a serious mess… AGAIN ?
Can already smell the fail
This Xpack was not needed, not now. If they are not ready, who cares to have it in December?
Just deliver the Freeport Revamp along with the Frostfell event for December, and that’s all.
They can keep AoD for February (or even never release it …), and have more room to test and polish things. And eventually to add stuff, because this Xpac is going to be the worst in EQ2 history with unneeded and unasked features.
Short articles the lot of them it seems to me,but lets be fair there wasnt and isnt much to show them is there?
Funniest part is the meat of the article is the new GU which is not even part of the expansion but if you don’t write the article with that new content featured, there is not meat on the bones.
How are the servers not going to explode. The xpac, f2p, frostfell, and the new freeport all on the same day. Color me scared.
Take Tuesday OFF! “to watch your server downtime more proficiently”
@ w/e ur name is lol*(scrolling up takes much effort)
I am worried it’s going to be servers full of adolescents making potty jokes
You obviously dont play on GUK, our raid chat and 80-90 are the cream of stupidity hehe.
The point you are missing is that it was only provided to “some” media outlets. Our show and site is just as news related (even more so than some) as other sites. Feldon’s site is definitly news oriented. So why is it that these tours and prereleased images and videos were not shared equally? It’s been a massive downhill mudslide on the part of SoE’s Public Relations since Kiara left and unfortunatly I don’t see it getting any better any time soon.
To be a Press site, you have to be a multi-game site with X number of eyeballs on your site every week/month. You also have to have a working relationship with the SOE PR and Marketing Departments. The six sites that went on last Monday’s AoD Press Tours were:
Kiara used to run a fan site. She brought us interviews, expansion keys, giveaways, news items, puzzle pieces, and took us on Beta Tours.
Since her departure, we have had no advocate at SOE. Amnerys was too busy, split between multiple games, and Isulith doesn’t seem aware that we exist.
Trueflight said:
It might seem odd to some but I prefer that Feldon wasn’t included, it’s somehow a mark of his independence.
I haven’t approached PR/Marketing for that reason. But ignoring Fan Sites is not the answer either. The upcoming Data Feeds are a big thing, but not every Fan Site will use them, and most would have appreciated a tour through Age of Discovery or maybe a roundtable discussion with Devs.
Trueflight, I won’t disagree that it’s lame that the media wasn’t released to all fan sites. I wish it had been and really it should be. PR should also be in contact with any type of fan site that’s interested because honestly, it’d be in SOE’s best interest.
My point before was please don’t get yourself in trouble by breaking NDA. Even though our news staff was invited to a press tour, Calthine and I are still under NDA and we couldn’t even answer certain questions our news staff asked us afterward as we know that if they didn’t learn it on the tour then it was covered by the NDA. The press embargo and NDA are two completely different beasts and we’re sitting on our thumbs having to be silent for now.
It’s frustrating for everyone I think. I wasn’t heavily involved yet on the EQ2 ZAM site when Kiara was around but from what I’ve gathered the communication has gone downhill.
I hope you are in the beta, Feldon, so at least you can give us a review when they do lift the NDA.
Indeed. 😉
I lolled so much from the comments made by SonyHatesYou when you scroll down from the eq2 zam link
note to Feldon, Been tracking eq2wire for some years now, but since the security breach with sony, I have been comming here on a daily basis. Keep on the good work.
NDA is lifted! Let’s here it Feldon.
http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=509882
NDA lifted!