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I'm really looking forward to this game. Here's an interview with one of the creators, Chris Cao, and a website called HomeLAN. It explains a few differences and gives us a bit of information. So, without further a-do, read it if you're bored and want something to do.
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Sony Online's Everquest is without a doubt the most successful massively multiplayer RPG launched in the US with hundreds of thousands of playing customers adventuring in the game's fantasy world. Now Sony Online is busy preparing the full fledged sequel, Everquest 2, for a scheduled release later this year. HomeLAN got a chance to chat with the game's lead content creator Chris Cao to find out more about their plans for Everquest 2.
HomeLAN - How daunting is it to make a full sequel to perhaps the most successful massively multiplayer game in the US?
Chris Cao - EverQuest II is the continuation of a saga more than it is a true sequel and we actually see it as a parallel online universe to EverQuest Live. It is a familiar world faced with new challenges, a shattered land filled with new places and a living history given to its own destiny. It parallels the still-thriving world of EverQuest Live, giving players an environment, game play style and character significance that is more personal and more focused.. It compliments rather than competes with the other time periods of Norrath, allowing players a choice in their experience of the world of Norrath.
HomeLAN - How does EverQuest II's back story relate to the established EverQuest continuity?
Chris Cao - EverQuest II is set 500 years in the future of the current world of Norrath. The cataclysmic explosion of the distant moon of Luclin fractured the continents of the world, dispersing populations and destroying empires. Now, only the cities of Qeynos and Freeport remain. Players will explore outward from these last strongholds of civilization, seeking to discover and explore the mysteries still locked within the Shattered Lands while attempting to regain the lost powers of the elder world.
HomeLAN - What established and what new playable races will be in EverQuest II?
Chris Cao - EverQuest II includes all of the playable races of the original with one modification and one addition. The Vah Shir of Luclin have been replaced by the Norrathian Kerans, but the characteristic feline ferocity of their shared bloodlines remains intact. The additional race is the Ratonga, a species of humanoid rat with, well, rat-like tendencies towards mischief and evil.
HomeLAN - How will character generation in EverQuest II be changed and/or improved from EverQuest Live?
Chris Cao - Character generation in EverQuest II focuses on giving players all of the information and control they need to make exactly the kind of character they wish to play. The creation process will clearly inform players of all of the relevant race and class particulars. Players will actually see the progression paths their character can take throughout the course of the game.
Additionally, there will be many different character customization options open to the player. We recognize that the personalization of the avatar image is the starting point for immersion into the world. Players will be able to create a character that they can identify with and play through, a customized individual presence inspired by the fiction of the game.
HomeLAN - Will the process of "leveling up" a character change in EverQuest II?
Chris Cao - Both the pace and the actual play experience of leveling in EverQuest II will differ substantially from EverQuest Live. Due to the fact that EverQuest II will have 100 levels at initial release, the distribution of hours played over those levels will differ. The actual content of those hours will also differ, engaging players in a group-centric play style focusing on a variety of interesting encounters not previously possible. The goal is to make leveling a part of engaging and interesting game play..
HomeLAN - What sort of new quests will be a part of EverQuest II and how will they be handled and distributed to players?
Chris Cao - Due to the fact that EverQuest II seeks to focus the MMO play experience on groups of players, the game play tools have been specifically designed to be as versatile as possible. Because of this the classic differentiation between quest content and play content is actually unified into a larger concept: adventure. While classic NPC-given quests will be available, the nature of the encounters that quest involves the reactions of NPCs along the way and ultimately the connection of those quests to other stories within the world will be much more varied. EverQuest II will be less about sliced-up tasks and more about a continuing, diverse adventure.
HomeLAN - What sort of new locations will be seen in EverQuest II and what familiar EverQuest locations will be a part of EverQuest II?
Chris Cao - Players will immediately recognize the names of many of the locales in EverQuest II, but the face and character of these locations will differ greatly from previous incarnations. This mixture of the familiar and the unknown will inspire a sense of exploration rooted in the well-known. Nektulos Forest? Who knows what it looks like NOW.
HomeLAN - What can we expect to see in terms of new monsters and how will combat with them change for EverQuest II?
Chris Cao - EverQuest II uses an encounter rather than creature-based system for combat. This means that while occasionally players will run into the simple single-creature encounter, more often than not there will be a number of other variables adding to the experience. On the simplest level this will mean that groups of players will interact with groups of NPCs. The resulting behaviors, tactics and circumstantial factors that add to that encounter, however, will make for a continuously changing variety of experience.
HomeLAN - How will communication between players and NPCs be handled in the game?
Chris Cao - EverQuest II utilizes a powerful dialogue tree system that will allow players to interact with NPCs in a variety of ways. Although the primary use of this system is to communicate with NPCs in the world, it will also expand quest delivery, world-object interaction and a few other surprising areas of game play.
HomeLAN - What other unique gameplay elements will EverQuest II have?
Chris Cao - Many of the fundamental MMO game play elements will be modified and, in some cases, reinvented in EverQuest II. Combat will include quite a few action-oriented modifications that will increase the intensity and interaction of a fight. Classic rogue-based skills such as lock picking will require more player attention and skill. But the biggest change is the interaction with the trade skill experience. While this system has classically been far from exciting, trade skills in EverQuest II will be games within the game, entertaining interactions that give players a non-violent way to contribute to the overall adventure of the game.
HomeLAN - When can we expect Sony Online to open up the game for beta testing?
Chris Cao - Specific plans for an external beta test are still forthcoming. We understand that player impressions, experiences and even communities are formed early within the beta. Because of this, we want to ensure that the game experienced at beta is an accurate microcosm of what players can expect in the full release version.
- homelanfed.com
 
Last edited by uncapped; 2003-07-12 at 01:29 PM.
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