If you are a Player Studio creator for EverQuest II or have an interest in developing weapons, cloaks, or house items for EQ2, then you’ll be thrilled at the news that, next Tuesday, a free tool is being added to the EQ2 client to allow designers to get a better idea of how their creations will appear in-game.

When 3D artists create these items in Blendr, Lightwave, 3D Studio Max, Maya, Zbrush, etc. the resulting geometry looks very different to how it looks in-game. This is due to the lighting and shaders which are unique to EQ2. The new Player Studio viewer app will, of course, not eliminate the need for 3D modeling software, but it will make it possible to see a close approximation of how items will look in-game, even at different times of day (affecting lighting and shadows).

The new viewer is also going to open up 2 oft-requested new shader styles — Glow for self-illuminated items, and Alpha for transparent items. The Player Studio app will load FPX 3d files which are a common file format among most 3D modeling programs. PlanetSide 2 got this tool yesterday, and EverQuest will get their preview software in the first week of December. EverQuest II will get their Player Studio viewer app next Tuesday, November 25th.

Last night, EQ2 Art Director Tim “Haohmaru” Heydelaar joined Player Studio Senior Manager Rick “Storn” Reynolds for an episode of Inside the Players Studio to talk about this new tool, which you can watch here:

From the EQ2 Forums:

You won’t want to miss the EverQuest II 10th Anniversary Stream, this Friday, November 14, 2014, running from 2-3PM PST. You can watch us on www.twitch.tv/everquest2

Tune in to watch Holly “Windstalker” Longdale, Kyle “Kander” Vallee, and Ry “Roshen” Schueller as they show off the newest expansion Altar of Malice, and play the new Aerakyn race. The team will also be running a special 10th Anniversary in-game event on the Freeport server that you certainly wouldn’t want to miss!
Do you like giveaways? We got them! During this one hour stream there will be goodies that some of our luckiest viewers will pick up as part of the 10th Anniversary celebration.

You DON’T want to miss this stream! Will we see you in-game or in Twitch chat?

Time Zone Conversions

• PST: November 14 @ 2:00pm-3:00pm
• EST: November 14 @ 5:00pm-6:00pm
• GMT: November 14 @ 22:00-23:00
• CET: November 14 @ 23:00-24:00
• AEDT: Saturday, November 15, 2014 @ 9:00am

The Aerakyn race will become available for purchase sometime tomorrow and through internal testing, the EQ2 team have discovered an issue affecting hair color and the “hidden personal torch” feature. While this issue might not bother most players, if you’re going to drop $20 or $42 on a race, you might be a little miffed if your character customizations don’t turn out quite as expected.

From Afista on the EQ2 Forums:

Greetings Everyone,

We want to identify a problem that some players might encounter when customizing your new Aerakyns. The Aerakyn have a VERY broad color palette for hair shaders, which makes for some unique combinations. We use the exact same shader system we use for SOGA model hair with the Aerakyn but with more contrasting options.

The issue is this: If your character uses a torch in game, the hair base/highlight options you use at character select – where there is no torch – will create vastly different looking hair in game if your character IS using the torch options in game.

At SOE Live this year, we found out that of all the internal test servers that the EQ2 team uses to build content, none of them behaves quite like the Live or production servers. EverQuest II’s 10th annivesary is being celebrated with the return of the Heroes’ Festival event and although we understand the event was extensively tested internally, things just did not work as planned when the event was pushed to the live servers.

To force the event to run properly, members of the EQ2 team and Customer Service have been empowered to manually start up these events and spawn the vendor Roslyn through the weekend until a proper fix can be rolled out on Tuesday.

A Well-Received Event

So far these puppet/patchwork events have been a lot of fun and received positive feedback. Even though they are raid mobs, in actual practice they work like Public Quests in that anyone of any level can participate in the fight. As long as you get the buff on you from fighting them (you need to stand rather close to them), you should get credit.

Don’t worry, they don’t actually do any damage. There are zonewide notifications several minutes before they spawn. Specific details of the event can be found on EQ2 ZAM. Note that if you are a low level character, you can still reach Baelon in the Eidolon Jungle. Travel to the Feerrott and then take the nearest teleporter to the Fearcreep.

Tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of the release of EverQuest II. To celebrate this, the annual Heroes’ Festival returns with some new events, specifically five open raid encounters which anyone can participate in and earn credit (like a Public Quest, you do not need to be grouped or even the right level to get credit).

UPDATE:  The Heroes Festival did not appear on Test or Beta, and so players are reporting a number of issues, specifically that the camps have despawned and vendors are unavailable.

UPDATE #2: According to a dev update, the mobs have been respawned, but there is no assurance that the quest will keep running all weekend.

View the “The Play’s The Thing” Heroes Quest writeup at EQ2 ZAM!

Here’s the original article from Afista on the EQ2 Forums:

By: Racheal Afista McKenny

This year’s Heroes’ Festival is extremely special because Norrathians will be celebrating ten wonderful years of questing, raiding, tradeskilling, house decorating, and socializing in EverQuest II!

Travel to the cities of Qeynos or Freeport for the joyous festivities. Be prepared to join the fun, because the Heroes’ Festival starts on Friday, November 7 and runs through Monday, November 17, 2014.

Yesterday, two Press sites posted their articles about the upcoming Aerakyn race. At 8:00pm, the official news dropped on the EQ2 Forums:

Are you ready to start an adventure with a unique new player race? Get ready, because Aerakyns will soon be available for you to customize and start your journeys! Players will be able to purchase the new Aerakyn race from the EverQuest II Marketplace beginning November 11, 2014. Want to learn more about the Aerakyns? Well, we’ve got the information ready for you!

The Aerakyns were once the unwilling soldiers of the great Prismatic Dragon, Kerafyrm. Now free from his thrall, but unable to return to their homelands, they seek to re-establish their culture in Norrath. Since the Aerakyns were used as shock troops by Kerafyrm throughout Age’s End, they are looked upon suspiciously by most Norrathians. Despite the general prejudice against them, the Aerakyns are a neutral race of seasoned warriors who are determined to prove their worth. Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics that really make the Aerakyns stand out from other Norrathian races!

ZAM Managing Editor Cyliena recently interviewed EQ/EQ2 Creative Director Akil “Lyndro” Hooper and Holly “Windstalker” Longdale about the new Aerakyn race which will be available for purchase on November 11, 2014. She got the inside scoop and plenty of details about the new race and the different pricing tiers which will be available.

As previously announced, the Aerakyn race will not be included in either the Standard or Collector’s Editions of the Altar of Malice expansions, but is instead being sold as a a standalone item. From the EQ2 ZAM article:

Aerakyn will be available on the Marketplace [on November 11, 2014] through several purchasing options. They are:

• 2000SC – Aerakyn: The Aerakyn have vestigial wings, but are of a lower caste and can’t use their wings for travel. Includes 4 appearance wing types that unlock upon reaching Adventure or Tradeskill level milestones. The Aerakyn will use wing attacks when unarmed.
• 4200SC – Noble Aerakyn: The Noble Aerakyn is set apart. With its wings offering benefits as you achieve them by reaching Adventure and Tradeskill level milestones. Includes 4 wing mounts unlocked at level milestones and include run speed, leaping, gliding, and flying. They also have an appearance weapon that allows them to use their wing attacks while wielding weapons.
• 2200SC – Upgrade to Noble Aerakyn. This upgrade adds the ability to earn the 4 mounts on leveling and includes the appearance weapon.
• 4800SC: Discounted Noble Aerakyn Bundle with Character Slot
• 7700SC: Discounted Noble Bundle that includes a Heroic Character Bauble AND character slot

Continue reading “The Aerakyn Are Coming” at EQ2 ZAM
to read the interview with Akil and Holly.

Massively also covered this news in their report here: EverQuest II’s Aerakyn race is spreading its wings November 11th

Tomorrow, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of EverQuest II, the 11-year Veteran Reward will become available to all EQ2 players who have been around since day one. Why 11 years? The first four expansions (Desert of Flames, Kingdom of Sky, Echoes of Faydwer, and Rise of Kunark) each granted 90 days of bonus time, so add it up, and you get 11-year Veteran Rewards for a 10 year old game!

From Afista on the EQ2 Forums:

It’s been ten years since some adventurers first came ashore on the Isle of Refuge. For some, there’s nothing more memorable than the first time they set foot on the pristine beach while seeking refuge from the turbulent seas. The island was a place of new beginnings, where allegiances formed and adventurers learned skills that would help them survive in these new lands. Well, now it’s time for adventurers to return home where their journeys all began. On Tuesday, November 4, 2014, the Isle of Refuge Prestige Home will be available and adventurers will be able to have their very own private piece of history!

From the EQ2 Forums:

Receive $5 off when you purchase any of the SOE pre-paid game cards at GameStop*, valid October 13th – October 28th, 2014.

*This promotion is valid at US GameStop locations only.

UPDATE as of 11:00am PDT Today (October 15th) from Afista:

Greetings everyone,

We have received confirmation that the issue is now resolved and GameStop has made each of their locations aware of this discount. If you continue to experience troubles getting the discount, please let me know the store address so that we can further address the issue.

Sorry again for the inconvenience!

Fr0m Afista on the EQ2 Forums:

Greethings Norrathians!

It’s October and that means it’s time to get ready for Nights of the Dead! Are you ready to decorate your house, pick out a celebration costume, or take on some ghoulish foes? Submit an image in this month’s EverQuest II Nights of the Dead Photo Contest that shows what you are doing to celebrate Norrath’s creepiest holiday!

All entries must be submitted by 4:00 PM PDT on October 31, 2014 to the contest website. Ten winners will be randomly chosen to receive 1,000 SC.

We can’t wait to see what you are doing to celebrate!

From the EQ2 Forums:

It’s the time of year when a chill sets in and darkness falls on the lands. Ghouls begin to emerge from the shadows and both tricks and treats are plentiful. Whether you enjoy crafting holiday items or are looking for a spooky adventure, there’s something for all Norrathians to celebrate as Nights of the Dead returns to Norrath!

There are several new features for Nights of the Dead 2014, including a new Candy Crusher achievement! Adventurers can also seek out Setri Lur’eth in Nektulos Forest to take part in a new annual quest, “A Dream, By Any Other Name.” Don’t miss out on the new things holiday merchants have to sell, including house items, dungeon spawners, petamorph wands, and appearance weapons. New Bounding Orc Skeleton and Shadowy Lich costumes are also available for those who want to adventure in style!

Members of the EverQuest II Art team including EQ2 Art Director Tim “Hoahmaru” Heydelaar, Dave “Covic” Brown, Tom “Ttobey” Tobey, and Chris “Phatkins” Atkins talk about the upcoming Altar of Malice expansion, and give us a look behind-the-scenes with concept art, clips and stills.

Recorded live on August 17 2014 at SOE Live. Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nevada. Video edited and produced by EQ2Wire.

Since September 24th, some 57 players of SOE games have contributed a whopping $3,920 for Extra Life. There’s still time to donate, and you can choose whose name you are donating for.

From the SOE forums:

On October 25th, Team SOE will join thousands of gamers to share the joy of gaming, be it online, board games, LARP-ing, or whatever. Together, we will raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network charity as part of Extra Life’s annual 24-hour gaming marathon. All proceeds donated will go to the local hospital of each team member!

Why are we doing this?
Our team is on a mission to help kids through the shared fun of gaming, and we need your help. Each of our team members has chosen their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital where thousands of children are treated each year, regardless of their family’s ability to pay.

These kids are facing scary stuff like cancer, cystic fibrosis, and injuries from accidents. On October 25th, 2014, Team SOE will be part of a huge international celebration of the social impact of gamers with Extra Life. It’s our sincere hope that you’ll find it in your heart to support us with a monthly pledge or one-time gift that will go directly to any team member’s chosen hospital.

From Afista on the EQ2 Forums:

Greetings Norrathians!

Have you been eyeballing some of those awesome status items on the city merchants? Are you running low on status upkeep for guild halls and need to restock the escrow? Get ready to refill your status, because it’s time for a double status weekend!

All-Access Members will earn double personal status beginning tomorrow, Friday, October 3rd at 12:00pm PDT. This double status will end Monday, October 6 at 11:59pm PDT, so make sure you take advantage of it before it’s too late!

We want to know what you enjoy most in Norrath. As you play this weekend, don’t forget to share screenshots of your adventures here in this forum thread!

Wow has it been 3 weeks since SOE Live 2014? I’m hopelessly behind on getting all my post-con stuff done, but Dellmon and Osgz have saddled up and recorded another episode of the best (wait, isn’t it the only?) EQ2 podcast!

From EQ2Talk:

Episode #77 – What Happens in Vegas
recorded on Aug 30

Dellmon and Osgz’s lives are finally returning to normal after SOE Live 2014. With Dell’s on the ground experiences and Oz’s perspectives via Twitch, there is much to discuss. From zombie prom to tournament play to Fippy and a schwag bag, your EQ2 Talk hosts leave no con stone unturned. As if that wasn’t enough Dellmon wraps up this episode with Tales of Flight 778, Seat 4C.

Click here to listen to Episode 77

Listen to all the shows from our website at http://eq2talk.com
Subscribe to us on iTunes here
Check us out at our Facebook page
Follow us over on Twitter too

Forgive us if we have whiplash, as for the third time this year, EverQuest II has been assigned a new community manager.

From Maggie “Luperza” Krohn on the EQ2 Forums:

Norrathians,

We’ve had a short but sweet journey together. Although I’ve been a player in this community for a long time, it’s been wonderful being your Community Manager for the last few months.

I am proud of the contributions we have made together in this community, and remain inspired by the passion you all bring to the game with your feedback. We created a new web show series, EverQuest II Insider, that has provided everyone with a sneak peek into the Development Team’s side of the world, and I only foresee it growing further with the love and care of Roshen.

Although he may be a troll at times, Roshen is a good chap, so please be kind and welcome him with open arms and /bows. He’s from a different version of Norrath, but I don’t think it’ll take him long to get familiar with our version, especially with the help of all of you wonderful people.

Feel free to keep in touch with me via Twitter or any of my other contact locations.

Thank you all for the great times and memories! I’ll miss you all!

Good hunting.

After the jump, Ry “Roshen” Schueller introduces himself on the EQ2 Forums…

There was a time when SOE kept this kind of information under their hats, but for the last six months, the Player Studio folks have been posting top 10 lists of the most popular items purchased in the EverQuest II Marketplace.

What I like about Player Studio is, players get to design things and see them added to their favorite game, while other players get to give feedback to those players and ask for which items they want next! There’s a forum just for Player Studio designers to collaborate and help each other to solve problems and get items up to the standard desired by each game’s Art Director. Player Studio is a complete microcosm of design delivery and it benefits both SOE and the designer. As we found out at SOE Live this year, some players have made upwards of $10,000 in just one year!

From the Player Studio forums:

These were the highest-grossing items for August 2014:

1. Papa Giuseppe’s Iced Delights Cog Café
2. [eq2u]Decorated Wooden Shingled Roof[/eq2u] 3. [eq2u]Temple Street F.M.[/eq2u] 4. Cloak of the [eq2u]Serpent’s Fang[/eq2u] 5. [eq2u]Papa Guiseppe’s Iced Delights Cog Cafe Expresso Counter[/eq2u] 6. Bundle of Birds
7. [eq2u]Assassin’s Cane[/eq2u] 8. [eq2u]Cloak of the Dragonslayer[/eq2u] 9. Neriak Door ([eq2u]Stained Glass Neriak Estates Door[/eq2u])
10. [eq2u]Lions Head Pub Bundle[/eq2u]

From the EQ2 Forums:

EVERYONE can enjoy double status this weekend from Friday, September 5th, 2014 at 12:00 PM Noon PDT, until Sunday, September 7th, 2014 at 11:59 PM PDT!

Don’t forget to send us screenshots of your adventures on the forums, Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus!

*This event doubles the base status earned by defeating encounters, or rewarded from quests. Guild status is rewarded from that base amount, so yes it is in effect doubled.

Holly “Windstalker” Longdale has stepped up and taken a bullet for Finance with these posts on the EQ2 Forums:

Just so there’s no confusion or suggestion there’s a bug, a few prices have changed on SC items. Very few. About 6 items. We felt that doing that at the same time as the sale might be helpful for members, at least, who choose to purchase those few items.

This week prices that changed are on purchases that you can obtain or use in-game in other ways (like merc slots and revive). As a few people have pointed out, we make adjustments like functioning businesses do. We’ll continue to make adjustments as we go forward which will include reducing prices too (one item this week was slightly reduced).

Overall, please be sure you’re happy with the price before you confirm your purchase. We want you to be happy about what you choose to buy and we are grateful when you do! We aren’t out to trick anyone. I promise you that!

and:

Oh, and on the bonus XP days, weekends, etc. There are going to be plenty of them coming over time. As you have said here, we did Double XP last weekend through to Monday. We’ll be doing it again before too long. Same with Status XP days, weekends, etc.

We like to give you plenty of stuff to look forward to and fun benefits. Next weekend we’ll be doing a Status Bonus weekend, for example, that will include F2P members.

UPDATE: EQ2 Producer Holly “Windstalker” Longdale has addressed today’s price increases on six (out of over 2,700) Marketplace items here.

Original op-ed follows:

It is no secret that EverQuest II, EverQuest, DC Universe Online, and PlanetSide 2 are funding the freewheeling development costs of EverQuest Next and Landmark. Existing properties funding future development is standard procedure in the video game industry. It’s also no secret that the current incarnation of EverQuest Next is actually SOE’s fourth attempt to launch the product, with nearly 5 years of development effort being left by the wayside.

What is a surprise is that, despite the elimination of Double and Triple StationCash promotions last summer, and despite the wildly successful Landmark Trailblazer presale which sold thousands of copies at $100 a pop, it apparently may not have been enough.

I like what the EverQuest II team has been doing the past couple of years (ok those mystery crates are way too stingy! but seriously…). They’ve been communicating with us more than they have in years. They’ve been open and honest with us at SOE Live and on EQ2 Insider about what features are likely, doable, wishlist, or “bucket of awesome” items so our expectations can be set. The EQ2 team have embraced the two focused feedback forums — Area 51 and the Raid Council — /bug (Yes they read it!), and forum private messaging, allowing players of all gameplay styles to reach the game’s developers and designers and be heard. The EQ2 team no longer spring changes on us and hope we won’t notice. In my opinion, it’s a good time to be an EQ2 player.

So it’s frustrating for me to see someone higher up pull the rug out on a Friday night, dial up prices on a few popular Marketplace items, and then leave the EQ2 team holding the bag. In reality, it’s just a few items. So far we’ve only found 50% increases on [eq2u]Item Unattuner Bundle[/eq2u] and Mercenary Unlocks, and a 145% increase on Spell/CA Research Assistants. What concerns me is the way this was done. I suppose it’s possible that the timing of this was purely coincidental and unintentional, but for this to fall just hours into a sale, on Labor Day Weekend, is highly suspect.

Why am I so certain that this didn’t come from the EQ2 team? They’ve earned my trust.

From the EQ2 Forums:

This weekend, SOE will be officially wrapping up summer with some great savings for All Access members!

All Access membership offers great value like in-game perks, a claimable monthly 500 SC reward, and 10% off in-game Marketplace items. But this weekend, we’re going to crank the Marketplace discount from 10% to 25% off!

From Friday, August 29th at 10AM PDT to Tuesday, Sept. 2nd at 10AM PDT, members will get a 25% discount on in-game Marketplace purchases*!

The discount is only available in Marketplaces for games currently part of the All Access program. Excludes Landmark and Dragon’s Prophet as they are not yet included in All Access membership.

Want to browse the EQ2 StationCash Marketplace? You can do so right now on EQ2U!

Because sleep is overrated, EQ2 fan Afista spent the weekend meticulously transcribing the two EverQuest II Q&A panels and has posted them on EQ2 ZAM. Also don’t miss the notes from the all-important Mechanics panel posted by Cyliena as linked below. I got a kick out of hanging out with both of them at SOE Live and seeing what they’re doing for the EQ2 community. I’m starting to feel like a bit of a slacker now… 😉

At SOE Live 2014, the community had questions and the devs had answers! ZAM was there to keep track of what everyone wanted to know. Afista has written a full recap of what happened during the Q&A following the EQ2 keynote, as well as the AMAA Sessions Part 1 & Part 2.

Read the entire Q&A recap over on ZAM!

(also check out our Systems & Mechanics panel recap from last week!)

In the EverQuest II: Systems panel, the EverQuest II team talks about the upcoming expansion, specifically class balance, mechanics, some new features, and takes player questions. On the panel: Akil “Lyndro” Hooper, Kyle “Kander” Vallee, Michael “Xelgad” Ganz, Robert “Caith” Fouts, Dave “Maevianiu” Kish, Douglas “Endymion” VanDerveer, and Justin “Jamiss” Michael. We recorded this at SOE Live 2014 in Las Vegas and are happy to be able to share it.

On YouTube:

While Double and Triple StationCash days may be a thing of the past, it looks like retailer promotions of StationCash cards will be continuing for the foreseeable future. As announced by SOE Director of eCommerce Mark Tuttle at SOE Live, we will soon see Landmark-themed StationCash cards at Walmart and GameStop, each with bonus items attached. Here are the details we’ve been able to glean:

Walmart Landmark SC Card (link) 2,000 StationCash Immediate and permanent access to Landmark’s closed beta. One of five Landmark loot bundles: Earthbound Bonus Pack 3500 Dirt, 3500 Stone, 3500 Sand + 2 random Relics (from Vast Relic Stone, Destructive Relic Stone, or Swift Relic Stone) for free stat upgrades Forester’s Bonus Pack 3500 Plain Wood, 2000 Burled Wood, 1500 Striped Wood + 2 random Relics (from Vast Relic Stone, Destructive Relic Stone, or Swift Relic Stone) for free stat upgrades Excavator’s Bonus Pack 2125 Marble, 2125 Amaranthine, 1550 Obsidian, 1325 Alabaster + 2 random Relics (from Vast Relic Stone, Destructive Relic Stone, or Swift Relic Stone) for free stat upgrades Metalworker’s Bonus Pack 1775 Copper, 1500 Tungsten, 1250 Gold, 1300 Cobalt, 625 Rubicite + 2 random Relics (from Vast Relic Stone, Destructive Relic Stone, or Swift Relic Stone) for free stat upgrades Gemologist’s Bonus Pack 2450 Agate, 2400 Tourmaline, 2375 Aquamarine, 2200 Topaz + 2 random Relics (from Vast Relic Stone, Destructive Relic Stone, or Swift Relic Stone) for free stat upgrades

We recorded the EverQuest II: Altar of Malice keynote, which included about seven minutes of Q&A at the end. We also recorded the EverQuest II Q&A #1 panel and we’ve assembled it into a single video.

NOTE: Audio quality improves at 8:45 as we started using an external mic at this point.