From EverQuest2.com:

SOEmote Your Way

SOEmote is finally ready to go live on August 7!  After showing the feature at E3 in Los Angeles earlier this year and getting a lot of interest and feedback, we opted to spend more time developing it to make it fit easily into the game experience so it felt fun, natural, and easy.  You will find the SOEmote listed in the main EQII menu in game, as well as in the game Options. Some features we added are:

• Auto-Enable SOEmote with Webcam. To start with, we wanted the feature to be easy to use. If you have a camera set up, SOEmote will automatically send you a message to enable the feature and options when you log in. After that, when you log in with a webcam, you will be reminded that the feature is active.

• SOEmote Group Window: Included by default if you set up SOEmote, you can easily watch group members’ faces next to their names in the user interface.

• Mini-Chat Bar Additions: We integrated SOEmote buttons into the mini-voice chat bar under the chat window for easy use and access.

• Mirror Me: As we’ve been using SOEmote in the studio a lot, we wanted a quick and intuitive way to be able to see ourselves (because it’s fun) and also to ensure SOEmote is calibrated without having to use the large set-up window view.  With this addition, you see a small version of yourself with a quick Calibration button to set the default facial tracking position for those times when you leave your PC and return. TIP: When calibrating, make sure your own face is in a neutral position with no smile, eyes open and no expression. You get the best results this way!

• Voice Chat/SOEmote Options: We took some time to work on the usability of the existing voice chat controls as we integrated the SOEmote options. It seemed natural for us to pair voice chat and SOEmote options together.

• Local Proximity Chat in Guild Halls and Houses. With SOEmote or Voice Chat activated you’ll have the option to join a Local Channel so you can listen and talk based on your location just like walking and chatting into a room in real life.

• Voice Fonts. We added a selection of voice fonts for male and female voices for you to experiment with in the main SOEmote set-up options.  You will find the voice font selections in a drop-down list. We also added an option to record and play back your voice so you can hear how it sounds with a font.

• FAQ. We wanted to add a fairly deep FAQ for SOEmote to help users with common questions.  We can tell you now that if you are experiencing issues with tracking your facial movements, try increasing your lighting! And if that fails, you might want a better camera. Check out the FAQ and Tips at SOEmote.com/guide.

From EverQuest2.com:

GENERAL

Options for who to display a casting bar for, as well as special coloration for allied casting bars, have been added.  These options can be found under User Interface (Advanced) – Targeting Windows.

PVP

PvP Hot Zones have been added!  Defeating players while in these zones will be more rewarding.  You can check the current Hot Zones on the Welcome Screen or use the /gethotzones command.

PLAYER HOUSING

Concordium Tower Magical Manor home portals will now be visible when placed in a home.

Tinkerfest has returned once again to EQ2! The festivities start on July 29, 2012 and run through August 8, 2012. There’s all sorts of new stuff this year and for those that didn’t get everything from last year, all those goodies are returning.

For a full writeup of the whole event, where else would you go but Niami Denmother’s EQ2Traders.

From EverQuest2.com:

Like clockwork, Tinkerfest has returned! Take up your favorite wrench and celebrate all things gnomish, be they metal, combustive, mathematical, experimental, or a combination thereof! Adventures, rewards, buyables and crafted items await you, both new and familiar. You won’t want to miss all of the fun at Gnomeland Security, your headquarters for all things Tinkerfest, in Steamfont Mountains.

Here’s what’s on Test for Thursday July 26th. Some or all of these changes may go live today or next Tuesday.

From the EQ2 Forums:

This update should occur around 1pm PST.

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Baubbleshire
Changed spawn timers on the injured Baubbleshire citizens from six minutes to two minutes.

ABILTIES
Fixed a bug where reckless stance could increase taunt amounts.

PVP UPDATES
The effects of Blood Ritual and Blood Symphony have been reduced in effectiveness in PVP combat.
Mage Damage has been reduced in PVP combat.
The effectiveness of Lethality and Toughness has been increased.

From EverQuest2.com:

We will perform maintenance beginning at 12:01 AM on Thursday, July 26, 2012; this will impact the following services:

Game Logins (across all SOE games) will be unavailable from 12:01 AM Pacific* Thursday, July 26, 2012, to approximately 8:00 AM Pacific* Thursday, July 26, 2012.

Commerce transactions, including purchases on our websites and in-game marketplaces, will be unavailable from 12:01 AM Pacific* to approximately 8:00 AM Pacific* Thursday, July 26, 2012.

Account management will be unavailable from 12:01 AM Pacific* to approximately 8:00 AM Pacific* Thursday, July 26, 2012.

Forums will be unavailable from 12:01 AM Pacific* to approximately 6:00 AM Pacific* Thursday, July 26, 2012.

Players who are already logged in will be logged out from the game.

We apologize for this interruption and will resume all affected services as soon as the maintenance is completed.

Time Zone Conversions

• PST: 12:01 AM to 8:00 AM
• EST: 3:01 AM to 11:00 AM
• GMT: 8:01 AM to 4:00 PM
• CET: 9:01 AM to 5:00 PM

From the EQ2 Forums:

GENERAL

• Fixed an issue with reforging requisitions.

LIVE EVENTS

• Aether Racing: Great Divide – Now rewards the title “Frigid Flyer” when the race is won in less than 120 seconds.

BATTLEGROUNDS

• We tweaked some of the bolster multipliers on characters between level 70 and 89. Level 80 overgeared characters will do less damage/healing while level 70 to 79 characters will do more damage/healing.

• Please keep giving feedback on your play experience!

We all know about the Alternate Models. Some of us love them, some of us hate them, some of us just don’t care. But which is used more often? Do people use one over the other or a combination of both? Are people really happy with the way the models are set up right now or would they like to have a third option? If you’re one of those hoping for a third option, you may get your wish…or maybe not.

Game Update 64: Qeynos Reborn is coming today on all servers. It’s been 3 months since the long-awaited GU 63, which included the second part of Age of Discovery. In GU 63 we got new contested zones, new group zones and new raid zones, all for players level 85 and higher, not to mention an increase in levels and those wonderful Prestige Points. So what does this Game Update hold in store for us?

Qeynos will finally be easier to navigate, and there will be many new quests for the area, including a new lower level Public Quest in Antonica; Darklight Woods is going to get another visual revamp, although it will be slight; and Battlegrounds and PvP get changes made to them as well. And if this all sounds like it doesn’t affect high-end players, well you’re right.

How many times have you or someone you know looked around at the graphics on EQ2 and thought “I really wish that looked just a little better”? We play the game to not only enjoy the content, but also the visual aspects of the EverQuest2 world. A lot of people have to keep their graphics settings low in order not to get lag, and thus miss out on all the beauty and detail that the devs put into the game. And when you consider the graphics that so many newer games have, it’s sometimes puzzling as to why EQ2 can’t have something similar.

And so the daunting question for so many players has been “Do I buy a new computer or do I put up with the lag and low frame rate of the one I already have?”. Which, for many, isn’t really all that daunting as they can’t afford to continuously upgrade their computers. So what other options to people have? Will the devs be doing anything to help the situation?