Information AboutEverquest |
''EverQuest'' ('''''EQ''''') is a 3D Fantasy -themed Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game (MMORPG) that was released on March 16 , 1999 . The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid , Steve Clover, and Bill Trost. It was Developed by Verant Interactive (which had recently parted from 989 Studios ) and Published by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). SOE currently runs and distributes ''EverQuest''. The game's sequel, '' EverQuest II '', was released in 2004 . To play, one must initially pay for the game Software and then pay a recurring monthly fee; a free trial is also available for those who wish to experience the game before paying. ''EverQuest'' was, for a time, the most popular extant MMORPG. EverQuest earned many awards, including GameSpot 's Game of the Year Award for 1999. GAMEPLAY In the game, players create an in-game character who is either a human, humanoid (e.g. elf, dwarf), or a hybrid of a human and some other creature (e.g. Iksar lizardman, Vah Shir cat-person). Players also select their characters' adventuring occupation (called a class - see below for particulars) Players use their character to explore the fantasy world of Norrath , fighting monsters and enemies for treasure and Experience Point s, all the while interacting with other players. As they progress, players advance in level, gaining power, prestige, spells, and abilities. Players can also obtain powerful items for their character in a variety of ways: through slaying monsters (and then Looting the remains), doing '''quests''' (tasks and adventures given by non-player characters ( NPCs ) in which a reward is given upon success), or by gathering raw materials and then fashioning them, via numerous '''tradeskills''' such as tailoring or blacksmithing, into useful (or not-so-useful, but nevertheless fun) items. Many of the elements from ''EverQuest'' have also been drawn from text-based MUD (multi-user dungeon) games.1 The game features a 3D environment set in Norrath, its moon Luclin and numerous alternate planes of reality, such as the Plane of Hate, Plane of Growth, and so on. The geography of the ''EverQuest'' Universe is vast—consisting of nearly 400 Zones . Multiple Instance s of the world exist on various ''servers'', each one hosting between one and three thousand simultaneous players online during peak times. After selecting a server, a player may create multiple characters, choosing from a variety of classes (e.g. wizards, fighters, clerics, etc.) and races (e.g., humans, gnomes, trolls, halflings, elves, etc.). The main draw of Gameplay is grouping with fellow players to kill Monster s for experience and gear. Beyond that, a player can explore the large and varied world, socialize, Role-play , join Player Guilds , master Trade Skills , and duel other players (in restricted situations — EQ only allows Player Versus Player (PVP) combat on the PvP-specific Server , in designated arenas, or in a consensual duel in a limited number of locations). While some parts of ''EverQuest'' can be experienced without the help of other players, EQ generally remains a very group-oriented game. A single character, unless exceptionally well-prepared (either by means of Twink equipment or with spell enhancements, referred to in-game as ' Buffs '), will be unable to complete many of the encounters in ''EverQuest''. Most parts of the game can be completed with small groups of up to six or so people, but the most challenging (and rewarding, in terms of loot) encounters require the cooperation of dozens of players, possibly totaling 72, although the trend in recent Expansions tends towards 54 as a maximum. A large force of gamers gathered together to perform one task, is referred to as a "raid". Normally the number of players in a raid range from 36 to 72, limiting factors being the maximum number of people allowed in a "raid window" and the maximum number of people allowed in certain Instanced Zones in more recent expansions. Zerging (a term that comes from another popular computer game, StarCraft ) is when a raid's main strategy is to overwhelm an enemy by sheer force of numbers. As ''EverQuest'' has aged, tactics have become more and more involved. Some of the most complex 'modern' Raid events can take a very experienced guild dozens of attempts before they succeed. Less skilled guilds may take as many as a hundred tries to beat the same event, if they are able to accomplish it at all, due to the level of strategy and teamwork required to defeat modern ''EverQuest'' encounters. Classes
Social Dynamics Generally speaking, gameplay in EverQuest can be divided up into two spheres: adventuring (i.e. gaining experience and loot) and '''trading''' amongst peers. A third aspect, '''social interaction''' (sending tells, chatting with guild members, or within other channels) was popular enough to lead some to jokingly refer to EverQuest as a glorified chat channel. Adventuring could be done either alone (soloing), with a '''group''' (up to six players), or a '''raid''' (with as many as a zone could support, between 50-200). At low levels, all classes have the capacity to solo, though into the level 20-50 range this may become an unwise use of time for any but the most self-sufficient classes (e.g., the Druid and Necromancer). '''Duoing''' was also common practice, with the Shaman-Monk and Cleric-Warrior tandems being highly successful. Once a group has enough healing and crowd control to stay alive, the primary concern then is to deal the highest rate of damage possible in order to maximize experience and loot uptake for a play session. Thus the ideal group would usually include a Warrior to avoid as much damage as possible (to keep the healer's mana high), two or three Rogues to backstab, or failing that Monks, and an Enchanter to '''pull-and-park''' (aggro then mesmerize) mobs. If there was not a steady stream of mobs to be pulled, other classes could get a sniff in, but broadly speaking, the absolute most efficient group would have a pulling Enchanter, a Cleric not afraid to nuke, a Warrior, and three rogues with powerful weapons. Naturally Shadowknights and Paladins made able substitutes for the Warrior, and a Mage or Wizard might get consideration for a selective group if they played their class well. In EverQuest's heyday of 2000-2002, Druids were generally frowned upon as having low damage output, Shamans were unnecessary if the Enchanter was a good mana-manager and able to slow some mobs, Necromancer players often had a bad reputation as being antisocial, Bards were looked upon as being neither fish nor fowl (having neither a strong offensive nor defensive upside), and Rangers were an unknown quantity who might have good offensive output or not, depending on their weaponry. Levelling up Generally speaking, a new character will spend much of their first ten level either soloing or grouped in small, short-lived groups around their home city. Past level ten, as enemies become more difficult, it becomes prudent to move to a highly-populated zone where a group can be assembled more easily. These zones are usually outdoors, but around the level 40-45 mark, players start to congregate indoors. While indoor zones present a much greater risk of bad pulls and horrendous Train s, the density of mobs and the loot that can be found off rare enemies makes doing so it worthwhile. ]] Typically an indoor zone with more than twenty players in it will be camped by several groups. These groups may last half an hour, or continue for a half a day. A player entering such a well-occupied zone will broadcast, or '''shout''', to entire zone advertising their services: "''Level 43 Warrior LFG for group ''". Established groups in need of a particular class will similarly advertise positions: "''Lower Dogs group looking for Cleric and Rogue''". Groups wanting to move into a camp, or improve their camp situation, will shout "Camp Check" to see which areas of the zone are occupied. It is regardly as completely unacceptable for a group to move on top of another group to claim their turf, although infringements over the 'border area' between two camps are regarded as minor inconveniences. Groups will typically adopt a democratic need-before-greed policy, where a valuable item found by the group may only be claimed by a player who will actually use that item, or who will benefit from it the most. If more than one player needs the item, it will go to a '''roll''': players type in "''ran 0 1000''" to generate a random number between 0 and 1000. The highest number takes the item. If nobody needs an item, it will go to an open roll for all group members. A typical EverQuest session The first thing an EverQuest player will usually do after logging on is to check to see if they have any associates online, using the /who all friends or '''/who all guild''' command. This command line interface has been largely superceeded by floating windows displaying the same information. After contacting people about upcoming events and raids, a player will go about finding a group. They may arrange to rendezvous with one or more friends at a particular zone, or may head off to a popular dungeon or outdoor zone to find a pick-up group. When a balanced group is assembled, which will consist of at least a tank, a healer and some form of crowd control, the group will begin to aggro, or pull, monsters. Ideally the group will have only one mob to deal with at a time, but things rarely go so smoothly. Extra monsters, or '''adds''' will either be mesmerized (ideal), slowed (next best), '''root'''ed to the ground (prone to breaking quickly), tanked, or simply ignored. The last option is particularly reckless, as a mob may quick dispatch any of the weaker casting classes, which will result in frustration and lowered morale. However a watchful healer will usually avert such disaster. If things go really wrong, a group may get wiped, meaning they are killed to a man. While casting classes all have a '''Gate''' spell that allows them a quick escape from a battle, keeping this spell in one of the eight spells slots is considered selfish and amateurish, so it is rarely used to abandon one's comrades, even when death is inevitable. After an hour or two, some of the members of a group will often become tired, bored, or have to leave to meet previous commitments (e.g. work). The group will then seek to replace them as quickly as possible, both by advertising in-zone, and asking friends and guildmates. Eating and bathroom breaks generally do not present a problem, as the person leaving will simply turn on their AFK (away from keyboard) tag and return as soon as possible. Cooking a full meal, however, is frowned upon, as the free experience gained over half an hour to an hour while contributing nothing to a group will usually earn noticeable resentment even from close friends. DEVELOPMENT The design and concept of ''EverQuest'' is heavily indebted to text-based MUDs, in particular DikuMUD , and as such ''EverQuest'' is considered a 3D evolution of the text MUD genre like some of the MMOs that preceded it such as '' Meridian 59 '' and '' The Realm Online ''. John Smedley , Brad McQuaid , Steve Clover and Bill Trost who jointly are credited with creating the world of ''EverQuest'' have repeatedly pointed to their shared experiences playing MUDs such as DIKU and TorilMUD as the inspiration for the game.2 Development of ''EverQuest'' began in 1996 when Sony Interactive Studios America (SISA) executive John Smedley secured funding for a 3D version of textbased MUDs following the successful launch of '' Meridian 59 '' the previous year. To implement the design Smedley hired programmers Brad McQuaid and Steve Clover who had come to Smedley's attention through their work on the single player RPG '' Warwizard ''. McQuaid soon rose through the ranks to become Executive Producer for the ''EverQuest'' franchise and emerged during development of ''EverQuest'' as a popular figure among the fan community through his in-game avatar, Aradune . Other key members of the development team included Bill Trost, who created the history, lore and major characters of Norrath (including ''Everquest'' protagonist Firiona Vie ), Geoffrey "GZ" Zatkin who implemented the spell system, and artist Milo D. Cooper , who did the original character modeling in the game. ''EverQuest'' launched with modest expectations from Sony on March 16 , 1999 under its Verant Interactive brand and quickly became successful. By the end of the year, it had surpassed the leading competitor, ''Ultima Online'' in number of subscriptions. Numbers continued rising at a steady rate until mid- 2001 when growth slowed. As Of 2004 , Sony reports subscription numbers close to 450,000. SOE released a Mac OS X version of EverQuest in 2003, incorporating all expansions through Planes of Power. Development of the OS X version has languished since then, but the server remains up and running, supporting a small but enthusiastic user community. The success of ''EverQuest'' has triggered several corporate iterations of its publishing entity which has engendered a popular misconception among newer fans of the series that ownership and creative leadership of franchise passed somehow in 2000 from an independent entity known as Verant into Sony's hands. In reality, ''EverQuest'' from its inception has continually been owned by one or other subsidiary of Sony Corporation Of America , with John Smedley retaining ultimate control of the product, from his creation of the concept in 1996, to this day. This confusion can be attributed to a shift in Sony's publishing priorities in the US prior to the launch of its Playstation 2 product in 1999. In anticipation of PlayStation 's launch Sony Interactive Studios America had made the decision to focus primarily on console titles under the banner 989 Studios while spinning off its sole computer title, ''EverQuest'' which was ready to launch, to a new computer game division named Redeye (renamed Verant Interactive). Executives initially had very low expectations for ''EverQuest'' but in 2000, following the surprising continued success and unparalleled profits of ''EverQuest'', Sony reorganized Verant Interactive into Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) with Smedley retaining control of the company. By 2002 however, a majority of the original ''EverQuest'' team, including Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover and Geoffrey Zatkin had left SOE and day-to-day development of new titles in the franchise continues largely in the hands of a new generation of Sony designers. ZONES The ''EverQuest'' universe is divided into nearly 400 ''zones''. These zones represent a wide variety of geographical features, including plains, oceans, cities, deserts, and other planes of existence. One of the most popular zones in the game is the Plane of Knowledge, one of the few zones in which all races and classes can coexist harmoniously without interference. As such, it is also the zone to visit if one is looking for "buffs", or spells that enhance characters' abilities. The Plane of Knowledge is also home to portals to many other zones (though not nearly all the zones in the game), including portals to other planes. SERVERS The game runs multiple servers, each with a unique name for identification; these names were originally the deities of the world of Norrath. Once a character is created on a specific server, it can only be played on that server unless the character is transferred to a new server by the customer service staff. Each server often has a unique community and people often include the server name when identifying their character outside of the game. In technical terms, each "game server" is actually a Cluster of server machines. Each individual machine is fairly powerful and was very expensive to purchase at launch. The server machines are regularly upgraded to handle the world as it is expanded. In addition to the standard servers, some Special Servers have different rule sets. For example, some servers allow PvP on the server so that player can attack each other with fewer restrictions than there are on the standard servers. CONTROVERSIES, SOCIAL ISSUES, AND GAME PROBLEMS Sale of in-game objects ''EverQuest'' has lived through its share of controversy, much of it shared by the entire MMORPG genre. One example involves the sale of in-game objects for real currency (often through EBay ). The developers of EQ have always forbidden the practice and in January 2001 asked eBay to stop listing such auctions. For a time, such auctions were immediately removed, which changed market conditions and allowed a number of upstart auction sites to specialize in this new virtual economy. Intellectual property and role-playing Another well-publicized incident from October 2000, usually referred to as the " Mystere incident," involved Verant banning a player for creating controversial fan fiction, causing outrage among Everquest players and sparking a major industry-wide debate about players' rights and the line between roleplaying and intellectual property infringement. The case was used by several academics in discussing such rights in the digital agecf. Garlick M., ''Player, Pirate or Conducer? A consideration of the rights of online gamers'', Yale Journal of Law & Technology, 2004-2005. Addiction The game is renowned and berated (by some .3 EverQuest for Macintosh Issues Ironically, for several years Everquest for Macintosh subscribers lacked the ability to create posts on the official Sony EverQuest for Macintosh forums. Out-of-game discussions thus took root at another location, EQMac.com, and that site became, and remains, the only viable on-line source of information for technical issues as well as for the various gameplay and sociological aspects that are unique to EverQuest for Macintosh.http://www.eqmac.com/forums/index.php Sociological aspects and game problems Online gaming has quickly become a big "social playground" with a graphical interface. The sociological aspects of ''EverQuest'' (and other MMORPGs) are further explored in a series of online studies on a site known as "the HUB."4 The studies make use of data gathered from player surveys and discuss topics like virtual relationships, player personalities, gender issues, and more. In May 2004, Woody Hearn of GU Comics called for all ''EverQuest'' gamers to boycott the Omens of War expansion in an effort to force SOE to address existing issues with the game rather than release another "quick-fire" expansion. The call to boycott was rescinded after SOE held a summit to address player concerns, improve (internal and external) communication, and begin correcting issues within the game. As it enters its seventh year, many long-time players have abandoned EverQuest in favor of some of the newer MMORPGs on the market, most notably World Of Warcraft or its sequel EverQuest II . The decline of server populations due to this has in turn created great difficulty for new players attempting to enter the game. Since EverQuest is a game that relies on groups of player characters working together to accomplish various goals in the game, new players find it exceedingly difficult to form groups due to the lack of player population and the fact that the vast majority of player characters are very high in level. These new players typically grow frustrated and quit. Meanwhile, a lack of new players coupled with older players gradually leaving has forced many high level guilds to resort to "boxing" characters (boxing refers to a person running two or more characters at the same time via multiple computers). Many formerly-busy zones are now deserted, and although SOE continues to release expansion packs and certain zones tend to be busy during peak game-playing hours, it is uncertain as to how much longer EverQuest can be kept successfully operating. REAL WORLD ECONOMICS Because items can be traded within the game and also because of illegal online trading on websites, virtual currency to real currency Exchange Rate have been calculated. The BBC reported that in 2002 work done by Edward Castronova showed that Everquest was the 77th richest country in the world, sandwiched between Russia and Bulgaria and its GDP per capita was higher than that of the People's Republic Of China and India . By 2004, a follow-up analysis showed that the average GDP of each of the two million players was $2,000 (£1,087) which was approximately the same as the GDP of Namibia.56 This led some gamers to start playing professionally, as after some hours of play they could earn income by selling off in-game items. Black Snow Interactive was founded as a company that created characters, Leveled them to make them powerful, and then resold the characters. After some time, the firm moved to Mexico , as the salaries for Mexican players are far less. Other firms, such as the Gaming Open Market , specialized in exchanging money between games. A player could exchange a house in '' The Sims Online '' for ''EverQuest'' platinum pieces, depending solely on market laws of Supply And Demand . Sony officially discourages the payment of real-world money for online goods, except on certain "Station Exchange" servers in EQ2, launched in July 2005. The program facilitates buying in-game items for real money from fellow players for a nominal fee. At this point this system only applies to select '' EverQuest II '' servers; none of the pre-''Station Exchange'' ''EverQuest II'' or ''EverQuest'' servers are affected.7 While Sony's official stance on ''EverQuest'' is still against real market transactions, any real enforcement of this faded years ago. It is now common to encounter an account on its second or third owner, especially in the higher end game. Although any exchange of accounts between players is a violation of the End User License Agreement and theoretical grounds for the banning of an account, Sony turns a blind eye to all but the most public violations. (There have been a number of posts similar to "I just bought this account and do not know how to do X, Y, or Z," on the official Sony forums that have not resulted in punishment.) Due to the difficulty in learning the role a specific class plays within a group, and of learning the best way to fulfill this role, individuals who purchase high level characters without prior playing experience are stereotypically sub-par to those who have developed characters normally. Referring to a character in ''EverQuest'' as an eBay character or to an individual as an "eBayer" are derogatory comments used to suggest both that an individual did not develop his own character and that he does not know how to play it. EVERQUEST EXPANSIONS See Also: EverQuest timeline There have been many expansions to the original game since release. Expansions are purchased separately and add significant content to the game (for example, new races, classes, continents, quests, and equipment). Additionally, the game is updated regularly through downloadable patches. The EQ expansions to date: # '''' (March 2000) # '''' (December 2000) # '''' (December 2001) # '''' (October 2002) # '''' (February 2003) # '''' (September 2003) # '''' (February 2004) # '''' (September 2004) # '''' (February 2005) # '''' (September 2005) # '''' (February 2006) # '''' (September 2006) # '''' (February 2007) # '''' (November 2007) There are many spin-off products from ''EverQuest''. Several servers have been introduced with alternate rule-sets, including one which allows Player Killing , another, ''Firiona Vie'', that has a set of rules more friendly to role-playing (although it also contained other rule changes that made it attractive to non-role-players which some argue defeated the purpose), and a premium flagship server titled Stormhammer ''Legends'' server (which, for a higher fee provided a greater level of in-game customer service. Many players saw this as a way to charge players more money for a level of service which should have existed without the fee). After many months of the "Legends" community pleading for communication with Sony about its future, nothing was said until a sudden announcement in December '05 that Sony was closing the EQ flagship server. '' EverQuest Online Adventures '', released in February 2003 , is an MMORPG for the PlayStation 2 console. '' EverQuest II '', an alternative version (not sequel) of ''EverQuest'', was launched in November 2004. '' Champions Of Norrath '', the D20 System '' EverQuest Role-Playing Game '', several books, and player gatherings (''Fan Faires'') have also been spawned from ''EverQuest''. Recently, SOE opened Progression Servers, named The Sleeper and The Combine, which initially only offered access to the oldest continents of Norrath: Odus , Antonica , and Faydwer . Though the geography resembles that of the game's initial release, newer zones that are located on those continents are also available (for example, Odus includes the Warrens and Antonica has Jaggedpine Forest, though inclusion of both these zones came long after the start of the game). The expansion content is determined by the progress of the players on those servers, and the completion of certain tasks (such as defeating powerful characters or completing momentous quests) triggers the addition of later expansions. Recently, the two servers were merged, and is currently opened up through the Dragons of Norrath expansion. Fans have created the Open Source Server Emulator EQEmu , allowing users to run their own servers with custom rules. Running such an emulator is a violation of EQ's end user license agreement and could result in a player being banned from Sony's ''EverQuest'' servers if caught doing so. It has not gained the same popularity as server emulators for Ultima Online . GAMEPLAY JARGON ''EverQuest'' carries an internal language and culture of its own, including a plethora of arcane abbreviations aiding communication between players. For example, SoW (which stands for "Spirit of Wolf", a popular spell which accelerates players' movement), and vernacular usages such as 'crack' or 'mind candy' which within the context of EQ refer to Mana regeneration spells such as Clarity or KEI (an acronym for ''Koadic's Endless Intellect''). While mostly consistent, there are also some differences in jargon between servers, and between the Asian, European and American gaming communities. For example, KEI is known on some servers as C3 (it is the third version of Clarity). In-game chatting can practically be a foreign language to anyone who has not played it extensively. Players utilized the term '' Nerf '' (a reference to Nerf -brand swords being harmless) to refer to a skill, spell, or piece of equipment that had its game-play utility reduced dramatically by the designers when insufficient play testing had been done before release. The term was Backronym ed to mean "New Enhancement Reduces Fun" or "Not Even Remotely Fair" or "Never Ending Reduction of Functionality". A number of terms used in-game have been popularized by players of ''EverQuest'' and passed one to use in a variety of other MMORPGs. One is the habit of calling monsters ''MOBs'' or ''mobs'' which is a contraction of Mobile OBjects and stems from old text-based MUDs' use of the term rather than from the normal English definition (a disorderly crowd). Other terms, while coined in ''EverQuest'', have also migrated to other MMORPGs. DEITIES See Also: EverQuest deities There are several deities in ''EverQuest''. Like traditional deities, they each have a certain area of rule or responsibility. NOVEL LINE A number of novels have been published in the world of ''Everquest'', including:
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