Gamer | EverQuest 2 Game Update Blog

New Song!

EverQuest II - News, kithicor.org Comments Off

May 042011

After the events which cause SOE to shut down all servers for security issues, the conversation arose.. what is the gamer going to do in his, now copious, free time? Go shopping? Spend time with the kids? Catch up on house hold chores? This song takes gaming geekdom to the extreme as a fanatical gamer snaps from game deprivation!

The Night the Server’s went down at Sony: Parody of “The night the lights went out in Georgia” (Download MP3)

He worked all day long at radio shack
Now in the car, there’s no turning back
A long fought weekend ahead to relax and unwind

But when he got home, his roomate sighed
The rumours where true, he read online
His beloved, his friends – oh the questions ran through his mind

He ran to his room, darkened with gloom
Once warm and glowing, now cold as a tomb
His heart sunk deep in his chest, shriveled and lame..

Try as he may, a hundred times
What will I do? he screamed in his mind
How can I go on, without playing my game..
—————–
That’s the night the Servers went down at Sony
That’s the night the Gamers played with Idol hands
Nothing to do, to curb their lust for gaming
What’s a geek to do when denied what he demands..

He threw his hands up, there’s just no use
Must be a joke.. a sinister ruse..
The greatest tragety since that dungeon crawl wipe..

Denile and doubt went through his mind
How can this happen? What will I do with my time?
The loss of his precious surely.. the greatest of crimes..

Then deep in his brain, idea came to life
The madness it came like the stab of a knife
A play that would set him free, like a treasure unwrapped

His eyes darted left, they darted right
Seeing his armor and sword there alright
He jumped to his feet, and his mind snapped

He made a helm and sword with sweat and toil
Made of cardboard boxes and aluminum foil
Threw a blanket on his seat like a noble steed, that’ll do it..

His horse gallaped out to the living room
the rolling of wheels spelled inpending doom
He raised his sword and charged with all of his might..
————–
That’s the night the Servers went down at Sony
That’s the night the Gamers played with Idol hands
Nothing to do, to curb their lust for gaming
What’s a geek to do when denied what he demands..

His battle cry rang in the night
His target went down without much fight
His courageous victory would surely be sung by the bards

He jumped as A shout came from the crowd
His room mate glared ‘For crying out loud”
That was my mother’s lamp you friggin tard!
————–
That’s the night the Servers went down at Sony
That’s the night the Gamers played with Idol hands
Nothing to do, to curb their lust for gaming
What’s a geek to do when denied what he demands..

The Stabby Award Winners!

EverQuest II - News, kithicor.org Comments Off

Nov 022010

We’ve run this contest for a Month and the time has come to congratulate the winners!

Best Role Play Tavern: The Maiden’s Fancy (Antonia Bayle Server)
Best Decorated House: Cheddarella (Antonia Bayle Server)
Best Decorated Guild Hall: Legion of Kithicor (Antonia Bayle Server)
Best Quest Ever!: Hitus Sharptongue (The Nom Nom Series)
Most Wrong NPC: Foster Graham (Nettleville: The “Face Cream” quest)
Most Bad Ass Looking Weapon: The Shadowknight Epic “Sedition”
Best Seasonal Event: Frostfell
Best Quest Reward: Earring of Solstice

Disclaimer: These entries where nominated and voted on by you, the gamer, over a period of 6 weeks total. If you disagree with the results, then you should have got off your butts and made a difference by nominating or voting for your favorites for each category. You can see the results of the voting Here

Winners of the awards may place them on their website by saving the graphic in the (above) gallery. Congrats!

The Stabby Awards!

EverQuest II - News, kithicor.org Comments Off

Oct 282010

The Stabby Award (lrg)

THE VOTING!!

This is the First Annual Stabby Awards!

The Stabby Award is given in appreciation of efforts made in the world of EverQuest2. Nominated ad voted on by You, the Gamer and will be proudly presented on the Jethal Silverwing Show on a date in the near future. The categories were chosen by an elite panel of highly informed and drunken lunatics while buzzed out on Red Bull and Cappuccinos.

The awards, themselves, will be presented (if possible) to winner of each category, or the SOE developer who has the balls to take credit.

The Categories are:

The Players…
- Best Role Play Tavern/Club
  - Publicly open RP clubs and taverns
  - Judged on Atmosphere, not design (would you go back and bring friends?)
- Best Decorated Private Home
  - Most beautiful or imaginative player designed house
  - Judged on designed, and functionality (is it good.. but not cluttered?)
- Best Designed Guild Hall
  - Most beautiful or imaginative Guild Hall
  - Judged on designed, and functionality (is it good.. but not cluttered?)
The Game…
- Best Quest Ever
  - What’s the one quest that really made you say “wow, I wanna do that one again”
  - Judged on enjoyment.. not reward.
- The Most “Wrong” NPC
  - Have you walked passed an NPC some time, hear them say something that was so outrageous, funny, or down right “Wrong” that it stuck in your mind?
- Best Quest Reward
  - What’s the one quest that your alts can’t function without?
  - Judged on reward value compared to difficulty of quest.
- Most bad-ass looking weapon
  - Holy Crap, I dont wanna get hit by that, I dont care if it’s level 1…
  - Judged on appearance, not stats.
- Best Seasonal Event
  - Is it Frostfell? Brell Day? Bristlebane Day? Night of the Dead?

Who will win? Who will we be voting on? It’s up to YOU, the gamers! We are now accepting nominations for each category. Please respond to the post at KITHICOR.ORG.

Cast your votes here!!
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

The Cheesit List! Raids

EverQuest II - News, kithicor.org Comments Off

Sep 032010

Hello Ev’ryone! I’m Cheesit Nibblebuns, with the Jethal Silverwing Show! This will be the first of, what I hope will be, many segments of the show – where we ask You, the average gamer – what You think!

Today’s subject is… Your most memorable Raid!

Good, bad or ugly.. there’s gotta be one particular night, burning the midnight oil in some fantastic (or tragic) raid, that sticks in your mind. We wanna know about it!

Reply to his post and (briefly) tell us your most memorable raid night! We may even read it on the air!

Norrath vs Azeroth.. a simple gamers thoughts

EverQuest II - News, kithicor.org Comments Off

Jul 222010

I’m a gamer. My game is EverQuest 2.

Everywhere I turn, I see and hear about World of Warcraft. I’ve bashed WoW on my podcast, I’ve ruthlessly taunted my step son for his obsession with this WoW Rogue. But, no matter my perspective, and my bias toward EverQuest2.. the fact remains that WoW is a hit.

Admittedly, I have played both games.. so, where do I really stand on the WoW vs EQ2 debate? Well, probably where a lot of people are with Mac vs PC. They both have their good and bad points and attract different crowds.

I’m gonna break this down into four comparisons which I look for in a game.

Graphics.
- Character:
  - WoW: Cartoonish, Cookie-cutter – each race and gender has a very limited choice of appearances.
  - EverQuest2: More realistic and very customizable, from textures and colors, to actually being able to reshape most facial features, giving you the ability to create a unique character.
- World:
  - World of Warcraft: Cartoonish, yet very full and enjoyable.
  - EverQuest2: Realistic, vast and a joy to explore.
Performance.
- World of Warcraft: Pretty smooth on mid-level machines
- EverQuest2: You’ll need to upgrade a bit to use quality settings
Community.
- World of Warcraft: From what I’ve experienced, a bunch of juvenile children.. even the adults.
- EverQuest2: More mature, helpful and imaginative.
Extras.
- Player Houses:
  - WoW: No
  - EverQuest2: Yes, 6 Different designs (Freeport, Neriak, Halas, Kelthin, Qeynos, Gorowyn), available in 2-6 room Layouts, each giving the player additional item storage.
- Guild Halls:
  - WoW: No
  - EverQuest2: Yes, 2 Different designs (Freeport, Qeynos), available in three tiers, granting the guild access to most features of a small city, including transportation, merchants, crafting and banking, etc
- Mounts:
  - Wow: Yes. A wide variety including Horses, Rams, Prowlers(cats) and even Dragons and Griffons. Some land and some which actually fly. Available in different speed options.
  - EverQuest2: Yes. Horses, Bears, Prowlers(cats), Clockwork Discs and more. All land-based. Available in different speed options.

So, what am I getting at here? Both have their points. World of Warcraft seems to be geared toward teens, and EverQuest2 more toward adults. WoW definately beats EQ2 in performance. EQ2 wins hands down in it’s community.

So which is the right game for you? Only you can judge. If you’re looking for big time dragon raids with a bunch of “MC-Hammer Dancing” orcs.. WoW is for you. If you’re looking for a mature crowd, good friends and Adventure in a realistic Medieval, Role Playing, setting… I’m known as Jethal, and I’m on the Antonia Bayle Server of EverQuest2 come round and say hi.

My MMORPG New Year’s Resolution

EverQuest II - News, We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog Comments Off

Jan 012010

It’s custom to come up with a resolution every New Year and although there’s plenty of things in my personal and professional life that I want to resolve to change, I’ve got a very specific one for MMORPGs:

Play less; play more quality.

It’s now 2010 and when I look back at my MMO gaming over the last 11 years, I think a lot of it has been very blind and habitual, especially around the turn of the century (I feel so old saying that). The simple fact is that I often spent a lot of time in MMORPGs that I never fully enjoyed or, quite simply, weren’t good enough. I did so because time wasn’t an issue and it was no skin off my nose to invest 4+ hours a day playing Earth & Beyond or Asheron’s Call 2 or even more recent games like Aion (yeah, I know some people love it but it just didn’t do it for me).

I also want to make my time in game count for more. I’m a big supporter of making games more accessible (which doesn’t necessarily mean dumber or easier) because, quite frankly, I don’t want to spend my time waiting, queueing or grinding any more. I want to enjoy every moment of the game that I play and if something’s a chore, then it’s not fun and, hence, not a game. This is a difficult thing to balance with the whole risk vs reward aspect of gaming and measures of gaming to make things challenging but I’m a firm believer that it’s possible to achieve without just plonking down an unimaginative timesink.

A lot of these feelings are due to the fact that I, as both a person and a gamer, am evolving. Gone are my wild bachelor student days (I used to be able to rock MMORPGs all night long, baby!) and here are my calm married professional days. My time is simply too precious now to waste on things that aren’t good enough or enjoyable enough.

So that’s my MMORPG resolution. I want to play more quality and have more quality experiences when I play and I’m not going to sink time into games that don’t cut the mustard.

What’s your MMORPG New Year’s Resolution?

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires – MMORPG Blog

My MMORPG New Year’s Resolution

Should MMORPGs Be Simpler?

EverQuest II - News, We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog Comments Off

Dec 272009

As Tobold points out, with the release of Cataclysm Blizzard will be simplifying many of the stats that are currently in the game, including things like Spell Power, Attack Power and Defense. Check out his article for a full list.

I’m in two frames of mind about the whole thing. I agree in principle with what Blizzard are trying to accomplish (making the game more accessible and streamlined) but I also wonder if it’s taking away a lot of what we love about MMORPGs – choice. Part of the fun and drive of these games is to improve your character through itemisation and by removing statistics and components like Attack Power, Defense and Armor Penetration, they are effectively reducing the pool of options available to us.

The flip side of the coin is that statistics will be a lot more instantly recognisable and players won’t need to rely on stat calculators to determine what item gives them the best increase. Blizzard are also being careful to help simplify the gearing process in groups and raids by making sure that plate wearers will only want plate items and won’t be tempted on rolling on leather or mail items just for the stats. It’s a clever move which should help eliminate a lot of squabbles.

Overall, I don’t think this move will have a large impact on me as a WoW gamer as I’m just a very casual player of the game. Still, it does make we wonder where the balance lies. I want my RPGs to be fairly complex as, traditionally, they have always been that way and required a little bit of thought and foresight in order to gain the best benefits. It may also remove a lot of choice from the game and make items a lot more samey and less interesting. However, saying that, I also understand that some statistics are just silly and unnecessary and complicated for the sheer sake of it.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out with the release of Cataclysm. Undoubtedly there will be the usual cries that Blizzard are “dumbing down” the game and, well, that is hard to argue with in this case. But is it the right move? Will it improve the game? As Blizzard are often the trendsetters in the MMORPG universe (with new games copying their approach in order to try and recreate their success) we will likely see a lot more of this in other games. That’s the most worrying thing to me: seeing Blizzard’s approach mimicked poorly in the next wave of MMORPGs, leaving us with games that lack any sort of variety or complexity.

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires – MMORPG Blog

Should MMORPGs Be Simpler?

Player Loyalty

EverQuest II - News, We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog Comments Off

Nov 072009

Something SOE does quite well in Everquest 2 (and presumably some of it’s other games) is encourage loyalty from their player base. They have a very simple mechanic called veteran rewards which allows you to claim fluff items, titles, experience potions and the like depending on how many days old your account is. It’s pretty basic and appeals to vanity but I always found it a nice little addition.

Being one of the first subscribers to EQ2 meant I had an exceptionally old player account and I used to take a small amount of glee by being one of the first to access a new title or fireworks display. It was also kinda cool to be able to show people that you were a founding member of the game and veteran player through your title even if you’d just rolled a new alt. It was also an easy way of letting people know you weren’t a complete noob.

I’m surprised these veteran rewards weren’t more heavily utilised by SOE in EQ2 (I think they decided they could make more money by selling people fluff items than by giving them away based on account age) and also that this type of loyalty scheme isn’t more heavily advertised in other MMORPGs. I doubt it would actually cause people to keep their subscriptions active even once they got bored of the game but it’s certainly nice to receive a little thank you from the developers for being such a loyal gamer. Plus, I think there’s also a certain amount of pride that a player can take by letting others know that they are a longstanding member of their MMO community.

Having taken a quick peek on the Internet, it appears that Aion has just introduced a veteran reward system of it’s own, offering a batch of goodies for players who stick it out every month up to 6 months (and beyond I’m guessing). Maybe it help people get through the dreaded grind that I keep hearing about.

Personally I find the concept of veteran rewards and player loyalty quite appealing but whether or not it’s actually effective or not is anyone’s guess. What do you think?

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires – MMORPG Blog

Player Loyalty

No related posts.

How Important Are Guilds?

EverQuest II - News, We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog No Responses »

Aug 272009

One of the reasons that I utterly adored Everquest 2 was because of my guild. Even though I was an experienced MMO gamer by the time I hit EQ2, I had never been in what I would call a truly amazing guild and it wasn’t until about a year into playing EQ2 that I found my first one. Maybe it was the fact that I was playing on PvP servers (original Darathar and then Nagafen) but something just clicked and my guild experiences went from strength to strength.

My first great guild, on Darathar, introduced me to the delights of reliable and consistent grouping and also helped me overcome my voice chat shyness. Then my second great guild (and certainly the best I’ve ever had the privilege to be in), on Nagafen, showed me how it was possible to build long term, real friendships with other players. It was an amazing experience, not just because I had a lot of fun playing with everyone but also because I felt a genuine connection with them as people. I still keep in contact with several of the members now via Facebook and email and I’ve even had some drunken phone calls form one particular horny Austrian (you know who you are!).

I haven’t played the same MMO with many of my old guildies since Warhamer Online last year and I’m now thrilled at the prospect of reuniting with some of them in Aion when it releases in September. This really got me thinking about the importance of guilds in MMORPGs.

Although I’ve played WoW for several months now, I’ve never been able to recapture my guild experience there. Perhaps I’ve just been unlucky or perhaps the game doesn’t lend itself to strong social guilds as much as other games but I for one found that it certainly diminished my gaming experience. Not having any players to group with, quest with, or even just shoot the breeze with has been my major gripe with the game from day one.

The Cataclysm expansion has received a lot of attention for it’s content revamp and new classes but it also introduces some rather big changes to the social structure of WoW. For instance, Blizzard intend to give an experience bonus for just being in a guild. Now that’s a huge draw to giving up your nomad lifestyle and it obviously shows the intention of Blizzard to encourage social guild and group play.

I’m probably a pretty social player and I enjoy MMORPGs due to the feeling of existing in a virtual world and being able to interact with other players. Of course, plenty of people don’t see it that way though. I’ve enjoyed the friendships I’ve made in my guilds but in the case of WoW for instance, I found that being in or out of a guild had very little impact on my actually gameplay – I just always ended up soloing anyway.

So what do you think – are guilds an important integral part of the MMORPG experience or are the just social fluff to make the games less lonely?

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires – MMORPG Blog

How Important Are Guilds?

Do We Expect Too Much From MMORPGs Now?

EverQuest II - News, We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog No Responses »

Aug 232009

I’m not going to weigh in on the “Is Champions Online Worth Buying?” debate that seems to be the hot topic at the moment amongst all of the bloggers. I’m still on the fence with it – I’m enjoying the open beta but, due to the fact that I have to move apartment soon, I’m still wondering if I should buy it or save my money. Regardless, reading a lot of people’s comments about Champions Online got me wondering if we just expect too much from our MMOs now.

Although I primarily play MMORPGs, I still keep an eye on single player PC games and console games (I’ve always had a console ever since I was a kid and now currently own a PS3) and buy several a year. My non-MMO acquisitions within the last 12 months include InFamous, Dead Space, Street Fighter IV, Little Big Planet, Sins of a Solar Empire, BioShock and Mass Effect. I spent between £30 – £50 ($50 – $75) on each of them and enjoyed them all thoroughly, yet when I look back on to how long I actually spent playing them, it wasn’t a huge amount of time compared to any MMO. For example, Dead Space only takes about 12 hours to complete and Mass Effect was completed and finished within a week. This short amount of game time doesn’t seem to bother single player or console gamers in the slightest yet a MMORPG gamer would shudder at the thought of handing over cash for something that would only last them one or two weeks.

Even the “worst” MMOs I’ve played (Tabula Rasa, I’m looking at you) probably lasted me a good month, with several hours play every day. A month in any MMO is considered very short term yet single player games like Final Fantasy or Oblivion are praised for their “lengthy” campaigns which might take up to 80 hours to complete. I could pump 80 hours into a MMORPG without breaking a sweat. To give you some perspective, my “main” in EQ2 has over 888 hours of played time. And that’s just one character of mine out of just one MMO I’ve played.

Does every MMO need to have long term appeal? Does it always need to be the game that we move our entire guild to and play for the next two years? Can’t it just be a bit of fun for a few weeks, just like any console or single player game?

This is my dilemma with Champions Online. I think it’s fun and I bet it could easily last me a month or so before I got bored. Even if that only amounted to 60 hours of play time, it would be considered decent value for money by non-MMO standards. However, compared to MMORPG standards, that’s a pretty poor lifespan.

So what do you think? Do we expect too much from our MMORPGs now? Can’t they just be considered like other games and be a bit of fun on the side? Isn’t that still good value for money? And most importantly, should I buy Champions Online?

Original post from: We Fly Spitfires – MMORPG Blog

Do We Expect Too Much From MMORPGs Now?

Page 1 of 2 1 2 Older Entries

EverQuest 2 Game Update Blog

Game Update 62: Age of Discovery

Game Update 61: The War of Zek

Advertisements by Google

New Song!

The Stabby Award Winners!

The Stabby Awards!

THE VOTING!!

The Cheesit List! Raids

My MMORPG New Year’s Resolution

Should MMORPGs Be Simpler?

Player Loyalty

Do We Expect Too Much From MMORPGs Now?

Support EQ2GU

SOE Server Status

Support EQ2GU

Dracos Reborn is Recruiting!

Follow EQ2GU on Twitter!

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Translate this Page

Game Update 60: The Children of War

EQ2 Resources

Links

Advertisements by Google