Feldon 
EQ2 ZAM has reported on an e-mail correspondence which some European players have received about the upcoming changeover. Their article on the subject:
Earlier this year Sony Online Entertainment announced their partnership with ProSiebenSat.1 to distribute SOE games in Europe. Today Eurpoean Everquest II players woke to an email announcing that the EQII PSS.1 transition will be starting in 30-60 days. The letter details the countries effected and the finer points of the processs for non-recurring memberships and All Access accounts.
A translation of the letter can be found below. We also reccommend the ProSiebenSat.1 Games Group FAQ on the Station Community Forums.
The e-mail which players have received:
REMINDER
Dear Norrathians,An exciting time in SOE history has arrived and we are very pleased to be celebrating it with you, some of the most passionate MMOPRG players! As many of you know, SOE has partnered with ProSiebenSat.1 Games to provide and market eight of its games to players in Europe, including EverQuest® II, DC Universe™ Online, Free Realms®, Star Wars®: Clone Wars Adventures™, Magic: The Gathering – Tactics, and PoxNora®, as well as the upcoming PlanetSide® 2 and the next game in the EverQuest® franchise.
Specifically, the above mentioned SOE games will be made available through the ProSiebenSat.1 Games service in more than 40 European territories, including Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Other countries may be added at a later date.
Under this new partnership with SOE, ProSiebenSat.1 Games will lead the effort to further enhance the presence of these SOE games in the European market. Expect more players and more focused attention on international players!
The EverQuest® II transition process to the ProSiebenSat.1 Games service will begin within the next 30 to 60 days. Once the transition takes place, you will need to have or create a ProSiebenSat.1 Games account in order to play EverQuest® II. We will be providing an easy way to transfer your existing SOE account and character data to your ProSiebenSat.1 Games account. Look for another email soon with specific instructions for completing the transfer.
If at the time of the transition you have a pre-paid, non-recurring EverQuest® II subscription, your subscription will be automatically transferred over to ProSiebenSat.1 Games so you can continue enjoying any remaining play time left on the account. If at the time of transition you have a pre-paid, recurring SOE subscription, your subscription will be transferred over to ProSiebenSat.1 Games; however, the subscription will not renew at the end of the current billing cycle. Once the billing cycle ends, you will be able to re-subscribe through the ProSiebenSat.1 Games service to continue enjoying the benefits of a similar membership.
European customers who maintain All Access accounts during the transition period will be transferred to ProSiebenSat.1 Games later on in the process. Further information on the transfer of All Access accounts will follow in the near future.
Again, we are very grateful to have such a diverse and passionate community, and want to assure you that SOE will continue expanding the EverQuest® II world. This email is to notify you that the migration of EverQuest® II is close. Please be on the lookout for our next communication which will explain in detail how to transfer your EverQuest® II
This is the end, my friends.
So long and take care, it was fun.
some OFF TOPIC questions, since forums are down:
I am a big music fan, and I like the EQ2 music a lot.
I know that the original 2004 tracks and the Desert of Flames stuff was composed by Laura Karpman, and that Inon Zur did Echoes of Faydwer.
Does anyone know who did all the rest of the tracks? Where can I find some credits for the composers of EQ2 music?
btw. here’s an awesome computer games music site where you can request and upload music: http://www.cvgm.net
Well I can tell you they did something to the launcher yesterday. It had german log dropwdown menu and had to fix it to full download again. Not to mention having to log in each and every time.
and what does that mean to us guides?
What I have heard so far through the grapevine is that the Guide program will not change.
I did not wake up to any email, that’s why I ask (sorry for takin two comments for one question)…
looks like all the music past Desert of Flames is from Inon Zur:
http://www.inonzur.com/credits/video-games/
Same here, also had to reinstall, got some generic error. And saving passwords is not possible anymore either – Bloody annoying!
I hope someone (SoE?) will write a FAQ on how to get back to the servers we are currently on. Also hope that we can get our Guild status and points back as well :oP
The last lines of the email message read:
Mail received yesterday… Unfortunatly
So what about that VPN listing that was mentioned a few months back.
I refuse to create a PSS1 account.
I think the bigger issue may be where your billing address is.
Haven’t received a mail…
Maybe they have decided I get to stay with SOE even though I’m in Europe? 😉
Disgusting. Pathetic. This move – and it’s been slammed from all angles since January – warrants a diatribe of expletives into the collective ear of SOE. But it’s not worth it as they don’t listen to the player base; never have, never will.
If people follow through what they’re saying on the SOE boards and quit, Europe will be waving bye bye to SOE. Sod Off Europe is the message it’s giving me.
@BADCAT: you can fix the launchpad issues by deleting the cache. you will find the files here: \LaunchPad.libs\LaunchPad.cache
Please not: that you have to login with your account(s) the first time, but from now your credentials will be stored as usual.
I still don’t have an email.
And the PSS1 EULA still has the lines about deleting accounts for inactivity, despite Brasse telling us months ago now that they had been removed. PSS1 ‘promise not to’. Not enough – need it in the legal agreement please.
What narks me the most are comments like:
“exciting time in SOE history”
and
“celebrating it with you”
Does anyone agree with comments like those? I still can’t see an upside, personally. Happy to be proven wrong…
Which is exactly the OPPOSITE of what i am trying to accomplish – i am trying to get AWAY from the ProSiementSat “relocation camp” servers and back to the server i am currently playing on 😛
Gwarin wrote:
They deleted a few of my posts from the thread where I told people their rights and also made a legal statement that I did not wish my information be shared.
This is illegal, and if I cared at all I could easily get in touch with a lawyer and take action, at the very least that moderator would be fired for idiocy.
But.. I find I just can’t care at all about them. I just can’t pluck up the will to care about them anymore at all.
They are scum of the highest order. Utter betrayal of their loyal customers. I have never seen any business that treats their own customers as poorly as the games industry.
My appologies if this is something that has been answered before.
I live in europe but i play on freeport, the server that got people from all over the world playing on the same server for the f2p.
How will this affect me?
Do i have to create a prosebian account and then continue to log into Freeport. Or can i just stay with SOE and keep playing on Freeport without any of this pain.
a solid answer on this would be appreciated.
(by the way i did get the mail but not sure if that is with regards to my every old character on Splitpaw)
If you live in Europe, you’ll have to go through P7S1, regardless of server.
@Panther: afaik, it seems that servers are not region locked but authentication server are server locked. So yes, you will have (like me) to create an account with PSS1 if you want to continue to play (or find a vpn in the us or a server to play as a proxy)
VPN wont help unless you know someone outside europe for a billing address. The account locations will be based on your billing / residential address. They are not basing the accounts on GEOIP / IP based region locking.
It doesn’t matter if you play on a Euro or US server, if your billing address is within the 40 regions sold to Pro7, then you’ll need a PSS1 account..
Fairwell EQ2. SOE games have been a very enjoyable part of my life.. but everything comes to an end..
still waiting on a comment if we can use the SOE authenticator with the new launcher from PSS1. Maybe data security for european customers isnt that important or no mor SOEs business.
Maybe it is too early for this. Since they still have 30-60 days time to inform us.
Since the German consumer rights organization have special rights. Not that we can stop this deal but P7S1 should feel at the start that they can’t do everything with us.
For this we need the help of the German players.
So far we know the SC balance will be mirrored to the P7S1 counter part (not sure if these are the ProSiebenGames Coins). How much the P7S1 currency will cost? They can make things more expensive on the market place. It easy to calculate: for example a mount for 2450 SC is 24.50 EUR (100SC = 1 EUR). Another thing is the gift of 500SC (5EUR) for subscribers.
And compared to SOE the P7S1 information is sparse. For SC 2nd hit on Google for Station Cash http://www.soe.com/stationcash/faq.vm (Note that pricing is available without being logged in to the station account). The only information to find about ProSiebenGames Coins (http://www.sevengames.com/help) compared to the SOE FAQ this is nearly nothing (there is also a German version with less information). If you get more information by signing up at P7S1, this will be very problematic, the information if you want to transfer to P7S1 or stop playing EQ2 is not available before registering.
The German P7S1 FAQ at SOE http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=516738, nothing that we already know.
P7S1 is a bit passive with information. There seems also misleading information about account deletion Brasse says something, P7S1 says even different in the English and German EULA.
Now back to the topic why we need the help of the German players. The easy to find information from P7S1 is nearly not existing or misleading of you compare the different language versions. EA had to sign cease-and-desist declaration (Unterlassungserklärung) because of not informing the German customers about Origin requirements for Battlefield 3 (it was in the fine print). And Blizzard has yet to sign one for not fully informing that Diablo 3 is an online game even in single player mode (requiring a low latency permanent internet connection)
If the German player can file complains to the Verbraucherzentralen in their Bundesland. This may get enough attention about the bad treatment of the customers and potential customers from P7S1 (At time it looks worse than SOE). And P7S1 has to admit this and has to solve all the problems. (Not signing a cease-and-desist declaration in Germany means, you dispute it and want to solve the issue at court)
I live in Israel.. wonder if i’ll be effected since my country is not in europe, although some online companies consider israel as europe (like EA for example).
the french translation of the letter is… er… definatedly not french and lacking a full paragraph (the one below).
I just realised that the post I had made on the official thread pointing out major translation mistakes was removed… *sight*
****************************
If at the time of the transition you have a pre-paid, non-recurring EverQuest® II subscription, your subscription will be automatically transferred over to ProSiebenSat.1 Games so you can continue enjoying any remaining play time left on the account. If at the time of transition you have a pre-paid, recurring SOE subscription, your subscription will be transferred over to ProSiebenSat.1 Games; however, the subscription will not renew at the end of the current billing cycle. Once the billing cycle ends, you will be able to re-subscribe through the ProSiebenSat.1 Games service to continue enjoying the benefits of a similar membership.
I was probably one of the more neutral ones when the news about PSS1 started hitting us but…. I´m very afraid now…. Information have been non-existant, I suspect that me (who´s an european who ONLY play US side) will have to use PSS1 for connecting (and pay the for having an active account) and then pay one more time for the US server…. Other things I suspect or have heard from secure sources is that they will increase monthly cost from current prize, station store will become much more expensive (in the AP-points region) and we won´t be getting any of the 2x/3x XP or Points…. *sighs and mumbles* try to think positive… try to think positive… try to think positive…
@Azzaroth
Brasse stated somewhere that the authentificator worked. I thought it was in the FAQ but can’t find it anymore
P7S1 and the allowing the start of pay-to-win is, I think, the death of this franchise. I beta’d EQ2 and have been raiding since DoV. I played up until they put the pots on sale for good (not long ago) and the players I knew that where long term (hardcore) players left and the few remaining aren’t far off and 0 of them are even attempting EQnext. Micro transaction games may appear to be where the money is at but when they realize the dedicated players totaled pay their checks, I have a feeling it will be to late. If you lose the solid foundation that supports the random rubble that spends impulsively I have a feeling it will be to late to rebuild that base. EQnext will be just another release of yet another MMO in a SEA of MMO’s UNLESS your a previous player of the EQ franchise that, again, has been burned and now has no interest and sacrificing that time.
With all of this they clearly have shown they aren’t counting on their prior subscribers so unless they have something revolutionary in the concept of MMO’s. (SOEmote is fun but considering the little amount of time I had to see my abilities refresh I doubt the look on of my raid leader will have little affect in pulling my attention away from my rotation.) It will just be yet another face in the ever crowding MMO market. Separating your player base by region does nothing but accelerate the process.
EQ has been something that I’ve almost grown up with. I played a year after the first and the lore and style obsessed me. I still have hundreds of pages that Cano(?) wrote for Allakazaam. They’ve completely changed their direction and lost what I consider to be the soul of the game. I wish all you players that stick through it the best and hope they can find the same magic, but for me SOE has lost any confidence I had in them or a path that I could support them in.
Regrettably,
Adairean, Anadorn, Machiavellete, Malicebane, Silentkill, Weslin, Kruall, Odinra, Odinta, Eolix, Benvenuto.
@Scales : because you think i live in Delaware ? :p
I live in France but set a virtual address in Delaware. I’m 100% sure billing address do not matter at all in the authentication process. Only ip matters
Your billing address is what is being used to determine whether you are an SOE or Pro7Sat.1 customer.
just to say, you can also color the Switzerland country… it’s also in the pro7 thing :-/
@Feldon : you mean that as i registered with a fake address in Delaware i’m safe ???
You are sure the authentication server are not region locked ? Because i remember SOE was talking about army bases and such which have specific ip address and how they would manage to authorise them to log on SOE rather than PSS1…
Sidenote : i received the email but i think that the email was for another account that was indeed registered with my france address. As i received only one email and not two, this would make sense.
You are assuming that Scales is a player that have paid through some means that requires entering of a billing adress. I’ve paid for my prestige houses and expansions through other means and i haven’t entered ANY billing information. All SoE have in my case is an IP address.
With that said, SoE said earlier that the IP address will be used in those cases billing addresses are not available. So, you’re both right – and both wrong.
@G : so i might be safe on my main account ? Woot 🙂
i still want to know what will happen to my all access account – vanguard and eq1 are not a part of the soe/pro7 deal.
maybe i can keep my soe account *smile*
lol … interesting thing here is:
once i pointed out to soe that their behaviour is against any law that deals with contracts, you can’t sign a contract for 12 months of play-time and then a month later just say “sorry – not interested anymore … will not deliver the service. ask pss1 if they want to continue it for you”, the mods got their filthy hands and fingers running quickly over their mod panels to remove every bit of that.
at least here in germany you can’t simply end a contract like that without having to face legal action. But looks like in the states this is different.
Why can’t SOE simply say: ok – we will not offer any subscriptions to you euro-folks any longer. We are cancelling every sub that is reoccuring at the moment and once you run out of time – please see pss1 to continue.
they take their part of the contract and just pass it on – without us having a chance to give consent.
time to bring customer-rights agencies on the plan in all affected countries. Too bad those here in germany can’t do much because SOE is located in the states.