Discussion - Your personal take on: Is EverQuest still active? (1 Viewer)

[Sinickal]

Was looking at search terms related to EverQuest, Redguides and MacroQuest and an interesting term came up: Is EverQuest still active?

Just made me think; With EverQuest celebrating it's 24th Anniversary and Daybreak thanking all it's player-base for inspiring them to keep developing new content, items, quests and having good old fashioned on-line gaming fun, and RedGuides holding it's 5th Annual EverQuest Software Awards for Lua Scripts, MacroQuest Plugins and general software wonderfulness to support the EQ boxing community.

Why do I still play EverQuest....and why do you?

I started in Kunark, just before Scars of Velious was released. Was a Brit working in the US with a young family and it was my first MMORPG. I remember a mate of mine shifting his day in the UK so he could play EQ when I got home from work about 6pm EST (11pm UK) and he'd play until 5am with me (bloody lemon! But we had a ton of fun.) Days when 500 plat was a fortune (IMO.), epics were Guild raids and dying was a thing! I'm 58 now, I've played a lot of online games and met/talked with a lot of wonderful (and awful) people, but I have to say Everquest keeps me 'hungry', gives me things to aim for, challenges. The RedGuides community enables me to play EQ in a way that supports my changing play-style and I find the technical challenges fun and the ability to Bot my characters almost a necessary part of EQ now.

Why do you still play EverQuest? Is EverQuest still active?

 

[Redfrog]

Yes, the game is still very active So many are so infatuated with thus wonderful game, that with such fervor they condemn players like ourselves. STILL. All of us have aged since the game came out, but its magic still draws us back. A great testament to the intricate details the original design was. Then, there is us...those that, I dare say, love this game so much, that desire to improve and make QoL modifications to continue to play. To keep our adventures in Norrath going. A world that captured our hearts and provides us a happy entertainment.

 

[Kambic]

I think EQ's got plenty of life left in it. It's an old game, but in the grand scheme of things pretty niche and doesn't really have any legitimate competitors in the space of what it's trying to do (which is different from what WoW is trying to do, imo). So that's good in a lot of ways. I think the biggest threat on the front end is it's absurd barrier of entry/learning curve, or on the backend the potential to eventually lose critical mass of players. The dedication over the past several years to QOL improvements (especially UX/engine related), TLP release cadence, and new Live content says a lot (both about the future of the game, but also that bean counters must be happy enough with it to keep investing back into it).

I hope we see good things with the UI overhaul over time. I hope they do a good job and that it's well-received enough that they are able to dedicate resources to polishing the outer layer of the game without destroying the core of it. These are silly examples, but as veteran players even though we understand why LDoN adventures are different than DZs and why Radiant/Ebon crystals on on the main Inventory Tab instead of the Alt Currency tab it's extremely confusing to a new player, and frankly there are just buckets and buckets of goofy shit like that in EQ. Chore to cleanup, and I don't know if it's actually worth it in the long run, but if I were trying EQ for the first time that's the kind of stuff that would be real off-putting to me.

 

[Sic]

I did search one day, and I the earliest calls to "eq is a dead/dying game" was from 2001 (im sure it was said earlier, but this was as far back as i could find).

sure the player base is smaller than we'd like - and it isn't growing - but the revolving return of players is pretty great.

I love the fact that if/when you want to come back, EQ is old reliable with plenty of stuff to do new and old

 

[Jetanroth]

Was looking at search terms related to EverQuest, Redguides and MacroQuest and an interesting term came up: Is EverQuest still active?

Just made me think; With EverQuest celebrating it's 24th Anniversary and Daybreak thanking all it's player-base for inspiring them to keep developing new content, items, quests and having good old fashioned on-line gaming fun, and RedGuides holding it's 5th Annual EverQuest Software Awards for Lua Scripts, MacroQuest Plugins and general software wonderfulness to support the EQ boxing community.

Why do I still play EverQuest....and why do you?

I started in Kunark, just before Scars of Velious was released. Was a Brit working in the US with a young family and it was my first MMORPG. I remember a mate of mine shifting his day in the UK so he could play EQ when I got home from work about 6pm EST (11pm UK) and he'd play until 5am with me (bloody lemon! But we had a ton of fun.) Days when 500 plat was a fortune (IMO.), epics were Guild raids and dying was a thing! I'm 58 now, I've played a lot of online games and met/talked with a lot of wonderful (and awful) people, but I have to say Everquest keeps me 'hungry', gives me things to aim for, challenges. The RedGuides community enables me to play EQ in a way that supports my changing play-style and I find the technical challenges fun and the ability to Bot my characters almost a necessary part of EQ now.

Why do you still play EverQuest? Is EverQuest still active?

Still play because Im a crackhead and love to throw money away.

It is definitely still alive. As long as they are still turning a profit it will likely continue to be. I mean, why not?

 

[ItsSteeeve]

I've been enjoying EQ more these last couple months than I had for years before, though MQ helps with that a lot.

Test has been pretty consistent in player numbers, its actually hitting playercaps for general chat more now than I've ever seen it, though its mostly a revolving door. The live servers I play on arent that much worse off, it seems like people come back from breaks only slightly less than people quit/break.

 

[Doc James]

Easy. If they are turning a profit, it's active.

 

[Shanso]

EQ is still very active. Obviously some servers are more active than others. That is the reason why they combined most if not all of the original servers. Fore example I used to play on 7th Hammer server way back in the day. Eventually it was merged with Tunare server. I think the TLP servers have helped to reinvigorate the interest in the game. People who still play the game are typically older and have been playing off and on for years. What upsets me is when I invest time and money into a particular TLP server and then the next year they release a new one and the population on the previous TLP almost becomes non-existent. I switched over to Project Lazarus for that reason. I tried p99 Green but missed the QoL updates that live servers offer. I also enjoy boxing but I have to admit I am not very good at it and still trying to get better. If anyone has advice for someone new to the 6-boxing scene or if you want to share some good informative links I would be appreciative.

I play EQ still because I enjoy to grind at my own pace. Let me explain; most MMORPGs are too easy and reward players who put in minimal effort. I think this is in part due to everyone following World of Warcraft's game model. I like that Everquest rewards people who put in the effort. If it was too easy it would be boring and if it was too hard then normal people would lose interest because they would have a difficult time progressing. I think Everquest has done a good job of falling in the middle. If the population was dead I certainly wouldn't be playing it. No one wants to play on a server with an extinct population. That is a no brainer...

I don't think profit necessarily equals player activity. You could have a very small percentage of the population spending the majority of the money on the game on microtransactions etc. How many people are currently on the server doesn't necessarily determine activity either because nowadays one person can operate several groups simultaneously. Those things need to be considered.

 

[Sinickal]

Thank you all for your responses. "Is EverQuest still active?" will prompt very different responses from everyone, but the aim here is to just demonstrate that, yes EverQuest IS still active, vibrant, alive and kicking! And with RGs help it's easy to explore those areas where solo characters dared not delve, and opens up a LOT of fun options for playing and enjoying EverQuest.

I know it's said a lot, but I don't think it can be said enough, the RedGuides community enables us all to enjoy and explore, thank you one and all