SOE Live 2012: Smedley says EQNext is the 'largest sandbox-style MMO ever designed

[Crator]

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/10...box-style-mmo/

As we reported last night, Sony Online Entertainment dropped a few hints regarding the future of the EverQuest franchise at its annual SOE Live convention in Las Vegas. Though CEO John Smedley's keynote address focused mainly on the firm's non-EQ portfolio, the EQNext tidbit was a doozy.

I have to be honest with you. We have completely blown up the design of EverQuest Next. For the last year and a half we have been working on something we are not ready to show. Why did we blow up the design? The design was evolutionary. It was EverQuest III. It was something that was slightly better than what had come before it. It was slightly better.

What we are building is something that we will be very proud to call EverQuest. It will be the largest sandbox-style MMO ever designed. The same exciting content delivered in a new way. Something you've never seen before. The MMO world has never seen before. We didn't want more kill 10 rats quests. We didn't want more of the same. If you look at the MMOs out there, they're delivering the same content over and over again. So are we. We need to change that. When we released EverQuest, we changed the world. We want to do that again with a different type of game.

Smedley went on to mention that veteran EQ devs Dave Georgeson and Terry Michaels are spearheading the project, and he promised that it would be playable at next year's SOE Live event.

Source: EQ2Wire
More coverage: Official site

[QuantumMechanic]

Sounds a bit similiar to Planetside 2 in it's evolution. First it started out as just a graphical upgrade of Planetside 1, and then they scratched the whole thing for much bigger plans.

Smed also said last weekend that they plan on being even more communicative with the players during the development process of EQ Next, even moreso than during PS2's development.

I just can't wait to see what they do with Forgelight in a fantasy setting. The game should look amazing.

[Kipper]

Thank goodness there are still some companies who are willing to innovate instead of churning out the same old crap with new graphics!

MMO's need shaking up, they've gone stale .... Lets hope this does it.

[Xaine]

So excited for this. Can't even express.

A sandbox game done by someone with a proper budget.

Mother of God. Does want.

[Baneblade]

It won't be a proper sandbox without 100% open pvp. So basically, it isn't happening as we all wish it would, it will just be a theme park that tries to hide that it is a theme park.

I'll be very surprised if it even gets as close to a sandbox as SWG got.

[artifice]

Originally Posted by Baneblade

It won't be a proper sandbox without 100% open pvp. So basically, it isn't happening as we all wish it would, it will just be a theme park that tries to hide that it is a theme park.

I'll be very surprised if it even gets as close to a sandbox as SWG got.

SWG didn't have 100% open world pvp.

[p0intman]

Originally Posted by artifice

SWG didn't have 100% open world pvp.

if you picked up factional kill missions, you were flagged to any member of the opposing faction during pre-stupidity (cu/nge) for 15 mins~.

It most certainly was open world pvp until Smed and co nerfed the fuck out of it.

Come on Smed, show us what you've learned from EVE and Mittani.

[MasterChief096]

Originally Posted by Baneblade

It won't be a proper sandbox without 100% open pvp. So basically, it isn't happening as we all wish it would, it will just be a theme park that tries to hide that it is a theme park.

I'll be very surprised if it even gets as close to a sandbox as SWG got.

Lol how does it have to be 100% PVP to be sandbox? Besides, there might be all PVP servers.

[Crator]

^ I just hope it will have PvP. Was really surprised when EQ2 came out with a good side and a bad side but no world PvP at all.

[IronMole]

Needs to be like Ultima Online was at Pub16.

[Sturmhardt]

Originally Posted by Kipper

Thank goodness there are still some companies who are willing to innovate instead of churning out the same old crap with new graphics!

If you look at ps2, do you feel they have innovated? It was not just a graphical update, it was dumbed down in the process. What they did with ps2 is not innovative in any way, they copied their own game, bf3 and cod and mixed it up with huge scale, that's all. I don't see any innovation.

[Crator]

Originally Posted by Sturmhardt

If you look at ps2, do you feel they have innovated? It was not just a graphical update, it was dumbed down in the process. What they did with ps2 is not innovative in any way, they copied their own game, bf3 and cod and mixed it up with huge scale, that's all. I don't see any innovation.

Yes, the amount of players on the same map was increased from PS1 and, the new ForgeLight engine.

Otherwise, they went backwards in game play innovation elements. This was due to setting a short timeline for beta which was done due to the F2P nature. Meaning, it should get better overtime as long as they keep active development and open communications with the player base.

[Baneblade]

Originally Posted by artifice

SWG didn't have 100% open world pvp.

I never said it did.

Originally Posted by MasterChief096

Lol how does it have to be 100% PVP to be sandbox? Besides, there might be all PVP servers.

The single most critical element to a sandbox is the ability to destroy anything that can be built. Otherwise, you just have a game that gets more crowded even as it gets emptier.

[Assist]

Originally Posted by Baneblade

The single most critical element to a sandbox is the ability to destroy anything that can be built. Otherwise, you just have a game that gets more crowded even as it gets emptier.

I disagree. I played Darkfall for years, loved the game and still love it. I'll play the new one when it comes out. It's what a lot of people would call a sandbox, but in reality it's what a true open-world FPS PvP game should be. There is(was) no restrictions on PvP, no restrictions on destruction of enemies/allies, and it was a full loot game.
The problem was it also had no great world aspects to it. In my mind, it was the best crafted world ever and also the largest by far for it's time. There was just nothing to do in it other than PvP. The crafting was there, but it was only average even though it was the most used/useful crafting I've seen in an MMO. The PvE was horrendous, but I guess that's to be expected in an FPS-style fantasy setting, could you imagine them adding PvE mobs to planetside? It was nothing but kiting and using terrain to farm them, very dull.

To me the biggest thing that makes a sandbox is the interaction between GM's, players, and the world. If Darkfall had done what they originally said, with demi-gods being spawned and roaming the world, then it certainly would of been more interesting. Instead, like most sandbox games, everything becomes static spawns eventually. Everyone knows where to go for specific items. In the end the only thing that was truly sandbox about the game, was the PvP. The PvP was epic though and no game has come close in my mind to what Darkfall was in terms of PvP-skill required and metagame politics. EVE is close, but it's just not on the same level. EVE doesn't have the epic battles(pewpew titan down doesn't compare to a castle siege), the alliances are ridiculously huge and don't change enough for the politics to be interesting IMO. Everything is very organized, nothing is chaotic. Maybe that's just my opinion though. I prefer the Darkfall style of grudge wars, months long buildup to massive sieges that last hours where multiple guilds were putting everything they earned on the line. That kind of stuff is what makes PvP-"Sandbox" games good. If they could put that kind of PvP, into an EQ-style PvE game, then it would be a perfect game and the most difficult game to make.

Unfortunately I think SoE is going a different direction with EQNext. I think they want to cater to the masses and not the hardcore PvE or Sandbox players. Most don't acknowledge it, but EQ was a very hardcore PvE MMO. Hopefully I'm wrong, maybe SOE will make the next great MMO, but I think their track record shows that they care more about profits and taking a leap outside the norm is not what they're willing to do.

[Baneblade]

Oh I didn't mean to imply that the other elements aren't important... only that open pvp is the most important. DFO was a massive disappointment for me, especially since I was one of the handful of people that still held on when it was widely considered to be Vapourware.