EverQuest

I couldn't just sit back and let Justin Olivetti have all the fun, could I? When he published The Perfect Ten: My gaming pet peeves, I swept my fist to the sky and screamed "Sypsterrrr!" Literally a week earlier I had jotted down an idea for a similar column. I mean jotted down because I keep yellow pads around the house for late-night ideas or dog-walk eurekas.

Of course his will probably end up the superior article as he is the better writer (and has a good bit of facial hair), but I'm going to present mine anyway. In fact I'll do one better by listing 11 of my MMO pet peeves because, well, I jotted down 11.

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EverQuest is one of those titles that just won't go away. I mean that in the best possible way, of course. After 15 years and 19 (yes, 19!) expansions, it's possible that I could be writing about this game a decade from now. And why not? I just spent a month covering MUDs, some of them 20 years old, so why couldn't a game with such a rich history and loyal playerbase as EverQuest's stick around, well, forever?

I started playing around 2000 or 2001. I didn't catch on to it as much as my wife and soon was back in Ultima Online and later titles like City of Heroes. I have always kept up with EverQuest while still feeling a bit left behind because I didn't stay with it from the beginning. I am so jealous of a player who has actively played any game for 15 years. The character he or she has built has a wonderful story to tell!

Well, I decided this week was time to finally try to get back into EverQuest. What I found wasn't really surprising because I had kept up with the game's developments and played here and there, but the community and the gameplay definitely caught me off guard.

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Last year, SOE threw a new ingredient into its convention mix -- player panels. The result was such a hit that the studio is not only bringing them back this year, but extending their availability; Sunday has been added to the player panels schedule, and that means there are plenty of openings!

Do you have a subject involving any SOE game that you think would be of interest and benefit others? Maybe you are a whiz at livesteaming or you have primo tips and tricks on cosplay to dispense. What about sharing your fan site or holding a raid clinic? Whatever your idea, submit your proposal by 3:00 a.m EDT June 1st for consideration. If selected, you and up to three other panel members will receive All Access passes to SOE Live 2013 (no other expenses are covered, including food, travel, or add-ons). Panel selection -- which is not on a first-come, first-served basis -- will be completed mid-June.

Reader Andrew is quite impressed with the look of Neverwinter, saying that it is visually "amazing!" Without descending into hyperbole, I have to agree. It's a good-looking title with plenty of interesting details if you take the time to stop and smell the corpses.

Corpses? Well, Andrew is standing in the middle of a whole bunch of dead folks here with his spectral flashlight (AA batteries not included). I wouldn't touch that treasure chest if I were you, Andrew. I'm guessing it might be a mimic. Oh no!

As we stumble through the dark, what other visions might we encounter in this week's One Shots?

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Of all of the crazy characters from HBO's Game of Thrones, Brienne is easily my favorite. Why is she my favorite? It's not because she's just heroic or brave or any of the things that people often attribute to her; it's because she's a survivor. Much of that survival comes from her armor and the fact that she knows well enough to be able to protect herself! The actress Gwendoline Christie has talked about how uncomfortable the armor is to wear. I've heard the producers say that the metal skin is supposed to look sort of mismatched, and I love that. It only makes it stronger.

I often wish MMOs represented armor in better ways, especially for female characters. Some MMOs do a better job than others, and some MMOs do a decent job some of the time. Here are some of my picks for my favorite armor sets for female humans, orcs, goblins or... well, you get the point.

(Please don't post Game of Thrones spoilers in the comments section.)

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It's time once again to take a week off from looking at specific MMO soundtracks and open ourselves up to a theme instead. The topic? Battle music. Yeah, it can be some of the most obnoxious music in the game, especially after hearing it for the 3,000th time, but every once in a while I hear a piece that has some merit to it. These are the ones we want to examine today.

What makes for a good battle music track? I think it has to get you excited without being annoying or grating and not so loud or incredibly noticeable that you can't help but get tired of it sooner rather than later. It was actually pretty tricky to pull together six such tracks for this column, but I managed to do with with the help of Colonel Bugle up there. He's got the best MP3 collection around.

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EverQuest's Shadow of Fear just launched; it's the update and second part to the Rain of Fear expansion that released in November. Yes, you read that right: This is the old-school MMO's 19th expansion. If that's not impressive enough for, the list of content that comes with the patch should hold over vets for a long time. If you're level 100, you'll be able to enjoy new zones and content and brand-new mechanics.

The essence of fear is literally raining down in the form of crystalline shards. While players fight to restore balance, an ancient city has been resurrected with no explanation. Mysteries? New content? New spells, items, missions, raids quests, and storylines to discover? Yeah, we wanted in on that. We hung out with producer Thom Terrazas, lead designer Jonathan Caraker, assistant lead designer Julie Burness, and assistant lead game designer and Douglas Cronkhite for a video tour of the new update. Read on to hear what we thought and catch the brand-new trailer too.

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Ahem, take two on today's Daily Grind.

IP-based MMOs are something of a rarity these days, but the major ones seem to come in pairs more often than not. Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV were running concurrently and will be again when the latter finishes its Realm Reborn reboot. EverQuest and EverQuest II have also been playable simultaneously for over eight years now, leading to a dilemma for franchise fans who are long on nostalgia but short on time.

So, how about it Massively readers? Can you play two MMOs based on the same IP simultaneously, or do you stick with one or the other?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

How many times have you found yourself asking, "Why won't the devs just listen?!" For any loyal MMO fan, it can be extremely frustrating to see feedback seemingly get ignored, and sometimes it feels as if there's a huge wall separating the fans from the developers.

Linda Carlson, SOE's Director of Global Community Relations, spoke with Massively at this year's PAX East to talk about SOE's efforts to break down that wall and improve the relationship between players and developers into something that's more collaborative, rather than contentious. Whether you're the most loyal SOE fan or someone who's vowed never to play another SOE game, you might be surprised at what she has to say.

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If there's one pastime that MMO fans share, it's making predictions. Which games will succeed, and which ones will struggle? Which will go free-to-play, merge servers, or even shut down? And will there ever be an MMO that's crowned as the WoW-killer?

But what about the bigger picture of online gaming in general? We've seen it come a long way over the past decades, and it's not always easy to see where it's headed. SOE's director of development of the EverQuest franchise, Dave Georgeson, sat down with Massively at PAX East this year to prognosticate on the future of online gaming. And of course, part of that future includes EQ Next, and while he still can't talk specifics, he did shed some light on the philosophy behind the game's design, with some hints about what players might see when it's revealed at SOE Live this summer.

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There's a lot going on in our lead picture here. There are question marks, a fungus person, a pointedly staring frog, and enough colors to give Crayola a run for its money. But what is it about? What does it mean?

Reader Stacy helps clear things up: "That's mah frog. This was around April Fool's last year (those question marks are fireworks from that in-game event and are amazing in motion). This was my first house; I got it for free from the EverQuest in-game card game, so I did not have much decoration. I bought a bunch of pets from a man down the street and set them loose, then set off all my fireworks and partied the night away with frog and friends."

See, if we did most of these activities in real life, we'd be in jail. Aren't MMOs grand?

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Sequels are both the bane of and a fact of life for movies and video games. Well, "bane" is a strong word, and you're probably thinking of Batman right now anyway, but personally, I'm always willing to give the benefit of doubt to any continuation of a favorite franchise. While we don't see sequels pop up as often in MMOs, they do exist and have significant effects upon the original title that bears the same name.

It's here that MMOs diverge from movies and other video games. With those, the original is not in any sort of danger, other than the perception of having its legacy dragged down into the muck (Caddyshack II, anyone?) and perhaps overstaying its welcome. An MMO sequel, on the other hand, can cause serious consequences to its ancestor.

Here at Game Archaeologist, we look at classic games that have often seen their time come and go. But what happens to one of these titles when a sequel attacks? Almost anything, it turns out.

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In 2011, a new event was added to EverQuest II's calendar, one that paid homage to the fantasy game's older sibling, EverQuest. Now each year around the anniversary of EQ, Chronoportals return to the land of Norrath, allowing EQII players the chance to travel through time to experience the nostalgia of the game that started it all.

Scattered throughout Norrath, Chronoportals are available for every 10 levels. They send players to a specific EQ land where they can then participate in as many time rifts as their level allows. However, due to minimum level requirements, only the highest levels will be able to travel through every one. There are also three new paintings available from the event merchants.

The event ends at precisely 2:59 a.m. Friday, March 29th, so if you want to check out a bit of EQ history and hear some amusing quips that celebrate it (like how to best spawn The Ancient Cyclops in Southern Desert of Ro), time is limited.

Hey there, EverQuest! You're looking mighty fine for a 14-year-old game. What's that, you say? You want us to come party with you? And you're willing to start a little early?

Indeed, tomorrow is EverQuest's 14th anniversary, and SOE is kicking off the celebrations a day early. New anniversary missions that were designed at 2012's SOE Live are now active, as is all of the previous anniversary content. Double XP is also in effect to give your characters a boost.

The developers released a few fun facts about EverQuest for its anniversary, including that the number of NPCs (344,935) is more than how many people live in Tampa Florida. Also, if you created a character on launch day in 1999, then according to Norrath time, that character would be 280 years old.

With Brad McQuaid's return to EverQuest in the news this week, nostalgia has invaded our comment section. The most veteran of our MMO commenters mused about the days of meditating into spellbooks, losing levels on death, embarking on corpse runs, and waiting on the boat. No one even mentioned camping for jboots, begging to be put on a list for a spot in a dungeon group, or having your raid planejumped right before your eyes!

I think old-schoolers know that the old days had more than their fair share of problems, which is why most of them are probably playing Guild Wars 2 or The Secret World and not Asheron's Call or Anarchy Online. Or are they? Are more people living in classic MMOs than they let on?

My first was Ultima Online, and yes, I do poke my nose in once or twice a year, but it hasn't been my "main game" in a truly long time. What about you guys? Do you still play your first MMO? And if you've ever gone back, was it as you remembered?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!