Massively

Upcoming EverQuest Next Landmark livestream will discuss harvesting

MJ Guthrie — Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, Events (Real-World), Game Mechanics, MMO Industry, New Titles, News Items, Free-to-Play, EverQuest Next, Livestream

You've asked for more details about EverQuest Next Landmark, and now you're getting them... tomorrow, that is. On Wednesday, December 11th at 7:00 p.m. EST, devs will be giving you the scoop on gathering in the next Landmark livestream.

Senior Producer Terry Michaels, Producer Emily "Domino" Taylor, and Community Manager Colette "Dexella" Murphy will be showing off even more in-game building while discussing other features and revealing new concept art. Currently on the table are the topics of harvesting and mining as well as character naming, but if you hop in the official Twitch channel, you just might get your own questions answered as well!

Upcoming EverQuest Next Landmark livestream will discuss harvesting originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Dec 2013 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Tattered Notebook: EQ Next scoops up Emily 'Domino' Taylor

MJ Guthrie — Sat, 25 May 2013 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: EverQuest II, MMO Industry, Opinion, The Tattered Notebook, EverQuest Next, Sandbox, Crafting

A curious thing happened as I was strolling through EverQuest II this past week. It seems there was a bit of commotion in the Norrathian community, with races good and evil cheering and dancing in the streets. Personally, I didn't even know Sarnak could move like that! What was the catalyst of this celebration? Why, didn't you hear -- there was news about EverQuest Next! And with the scarcity of that kind of treasure, it's understandable that folks went a'frolicking. But this wasn't just any old news, either. This week, fans learned that Emily "Domino" Taylor, also known as Pentapod, was returning to the EverQuest franchise as the producer for EQ Next.

Can the presence of just one person really send prospective players into a tizzy of anticipation? Yes, it can. I watched as a number of EQII players, once ambivalent or on the fence about EQN, not only look twice at the upcoming sandbox but hop right on over into the newest Norrath's camp. More eyes than ever are watching the development of this game (even though there is scant little to watch at the moment). And this is why.

Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: EQ Next scoops up Emily 'Domino' Taylor

The Tattered Notebook: EQ Next scoops up Emily 'Domino' Taylor originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 25 May 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

GDC 2012: The Tattered Notebook attends Brasse's community panel

Karen Bryan — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: EverQuest II, Culture, MMO Industry, Opinion, Free-to-Play, Events (Massively's Coverage), The Tattered Notebook, Miscellaneous

What do dwarves and Monty Python have in common? They both feature prominently in Linda "The Brasse" Carlson's GDC 2012 talk about the front lines of the SOE community relations team. Given the recent roller coaster ride of the ProSiebenSat.1 deal and the turmoil on the forums that followed, I found it interesting to hear what it's like to be a member of the community management folks as they try to handle being in the middle of it all. While her talk was mainly aimed at community managers in other games, there were a few tidbits that players would probably find interesting and maybe even surprising. Read on for the highlights!

Continue reading GDC 2012: The Tattered Notebook attends Brasse's community panel

GDC 2012: The Tattered Notebook attends Brasse's community panel originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 10 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Tattered Notebook: Breaking up the family

Karen Bryan — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Opinion, Free-to-Play, The Tattered Notebook

This is the cartoon that launched a thousand posts. Well, maybe not a thousand, but it created tension on the forums and resulted in a temporary ban for popular community figure Morgan Feldon. With this week's news about the ProSiebenSat.1/Alaplaya deal, SOE fans were up in arms, and EverQuest II was at the epicenter of the protest. There were concerns ranging from account security to quality of player support, but the biggest concern was the fact that there would be a barrier between U.S. and European players going forward.

I've written before about how tight-knit the community is in EQII, and that's probably why you saw some of the strongest protests originate on the EQII forums. That closeness extends to the EQII development team as well. I've been to a couple of Fan Faires and was surprised at how accessible the team always made itself. Combine that with a core community of longstanding, loyal players, and you basically have one big family. So when fans were hit with the second big news story of the week, the departure of Associate Producer Emily "Domino" Taylor, players reacted as if a friend or family member had moved out of the home. What do these two news stories have in common, and what can they tell us about EverQuest II?

Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Breaking up the family

The Tattered Notebook: Breaking up the family originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 25 Feb 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

EverQuest II Age of Discovery launch date, new features revealed

Karen Bryan — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Galleries, Screenshots, Video, EverQuest II, Classes, Expansions, Game Mechanics, Lore, Previews, Free-to-Play, Hands-On, Dungeons

For months, EverQuest II fans have been patiently waiting for the launch date of the latest expansion, Age of Discovery. Fortunately, the wait is over: SOE has announced that Tuesday, December 6th is the official live date for EQII's free-to-play transition, the Age of Discovery, and the Freeport Reborn game update (GU62). Executive Producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson and EQII Associate Producer Emily "Domino" Taylor both took time to give Massively a tour of some of the new features, so read on for an up-close look at Beastlords, the new Freeport, mercenaries, and the dungeon maker, and check out some new screenshots in our gallery below!

Gallery: EverQuest II Age of Discovery Screenshots

Continue reading EverQuest II Age of Discovery launch date, new features revealed

EverQuest II Age of Discovery launch date, new features revealed originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

The Tattered Notebook: Fan Faire knowns and unknowns

Karen Bryan — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Opinion, The Tattered Notebook

As we inch closer to Fan Faire, speculation begins to mount about what news EverQuest II fans will finally get to hear. Last year, players were smarting from the announcement of EQII Extended, the free-to-play server, and it seemed to deflate the mood among EQII Fan Faire attendees. This year, EQII is full of knowns and unknowns, to borrow a phrase from former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. We have known knowns, which are things that we know we know. And then there are known unknowns, or things that we know but we actually don't know. Lastly, there are unknown unknowns, which are things that we don't know we don't know. That's where things are in EQII currently. Confused? Me too! This week's Tattered Notebook will look at what we know and what we hope to find out more about at this year's Fan Faire.

Continue reading The Tattered Notebook: Fan Faire knowns and unknowns

The Tattered Notebook: Fan Faire knowns and unknowns originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

State of the Tradeskills in EverQuest 2

Michael Zenke — Sat, 03 May 2008 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Patches, Crafting

Earlier this week, EverQuest 2 crafting designer Domino laid out a fantastic 'state of the tradeskills' document on the official forums. The lengthy post delves into crafting changes going all the way back to Game Update 36, just after Neriak and the Arasai were added to the game. Some of those old notes will definitely bring back fond memories - and some interesting links as well! Domino linked to, for example, an interview with Gnobrin about Neriak house items, a Rise of Kunark faction guide for crafters, and of course her developer diaries from the days of Kunark's testing.

Domino also offers up EQ2 players an advance look of what's coming for crafters in GU 45, and out into the future. We've already discussed crafting changes in the next patch, so what's out beyond that?

The addition of imbues to lower level armor sets. Most lower level sets are currently not able to be imbued.
The addition of 'missing' equipment to lower levels, filling holes in crafter's repetoires.
Revisiting mastercrafted jewelry, and hex doll stats.
Revisting cloth and leather crafted armor appearances.
And, of course, more quests!
From the maybe list: big changes to adornments - if time permits.

Make sure to check out the full post to enjoy this great retrospective.

State of the Tradeskills in EverQuest 2 originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 03 May 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

What tradeskill should I pick in EverQuest 2?

Michael Zenke — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Game Mechanics, Guides, Patches, Crafting

There are a bewildering array of options in MMOs. Which race? Which class? Factions, specs, spells ... and, of course, crafting professions. EverQuest 2's fantastic crafting developer Domino attempts to answer the question of "what profession should I pick" with a wealth of experience and firsthand knowledge. The essence of her advice can be boiled down to "do what seems like fun". Crafting is already a specialized experience; you don't want to be stuck making something boring. She offers up a number of assets on top of that, suggesting that every tradeskiller complete the artisan level tutorial quests. Domino links into the EQ2 Traders Corner guides, the Tradeskill discussion boards, and even a guide for what kind of house to buy (got to put all that stuff somewhere).

In a related thread, Domino touches on the future of EQ2 crafting. A plea from a weaponsmith has touched off an epic discussion of crafting itemization, and the tradeskill maven has commented on her future plans throughout. If you're a crafter of any kind in EQ2, make sure and page through some of these comments; they're a glimpse of what we might see in GU 45 and beyond.

What tradeskill should I pick in EverQuest 2? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Tradeskill developer for EQII Emily "Domino" Taylor chats about her role

William Dobson — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Interviews, MMO Industry, Crafting

Tradeskill developer for EverQuest II Emily Taylor (better known to the community as "Domino") was recently interviewed by The Tairise Tribune. Anyone who has ever read the official EQII tradeskill forums will more than likely have seen a post by Domino, or a reply to a player's question, or a hint about upcoming content and changes -- in truth, her level of interaction with the community is amazing, and it's nice to see people's feedback and suggestions being acknowledged by the person who calls the shots.

in the interview, Domino discusses her role with SOE and EQII, working with her team on deadlines (such as the huge amount of new content required for Rise of Kunark) and how working with gaming industry "celebrities" has been far more rewarding for her than meeting the Hollywood celebrities that she did in her former job. It also appears that she isn't above a little real-life tradeskilling too, as she mentions that she has recently been constructing Weighted Companion Cubes inspired by Valve's hit game Portal. Check out the full interview for more from Domino.

[Via EQ2Players]

Tradeskill developer for EQII Emily "Domino" Taylor chats about her role originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Jan 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

EQ2 tradeskill writs confirmed for Tier 8

William Dobson — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fantasy, EverQuest II, Expansions, Crafting

If you were worried that you would be grinding your EverQuest II tradeskiller to 80 without any writs to help along the way, then fear not. EQ2 tradeskill developer Domino has replied in a thread on the official forums, stating that T8 writs are currently being beta tested for inclusion with Rise of Kunark, the new expansion that will see the level cap for both adventuring and tradeskilling raised to 80.

It was also confirmed that the existing distribution scheme of writs throughout a tier, will be used for T8 -- that is to say, the writs will be at level 70, 74 and 79. There was some discussion in the thread as to the possibility of changing this formula, particularly moving the 79 writ a little closer to 74 -- people argued that there was limited use of a new writ on the second-to-last level, and that the few levels prior to this are punishing when grinding on a lower level writ. However, Domino stated that for the time being, the levels would remain the same for the new tier, and could not say whether they would be changed in the future.

Are there any EQ2 tradeskill buffs out there that have an opinion on this matter? Would you prefer to see the last level of writs moved down somewhat, to bridge the large gap -- or perhaps, an extra level of writs to be added altogether? Or are you of the mind that it is fine as is? Let your voice be heard in our comments section.

EQ2 tradeskill writs confirmed for Tier 8 originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments