EverQuest holds a special place in my memory. I was 16 when it came out. I didn't have computer but my mate Rupert did, and I'd outstay my welcome at his house playing it - hardly a sustainable arrangement and it didn't last. But it sparked in me a longing to become a proper part of a 3D online fantasy world (and on my own computer) - a plan I would carry out with Dark Age of Camelot - and it wasn't long after that Rupert (Loman) and his brother created Eurogamer.
All that seems like a lifetime ago, which is why it's weird writing about EverQuest now, 16 years later and on Eurogamer, and about how the game has launched a new expansion - its 22nd, called The Broken Mirror.
Broken Mirror is a proper $34.99 expansion with new and revamped zones, and all the new quests and loot and things that go with them. There are new spells, new alternate advancements, and there's a strange new toy called an Illusion Key Ring.
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Old MMO EverQuest 2 witnessed "amazing growth" after turning free-to-play last month.
Sony Online Entertainment's MMO EverQuest II has been updated with the Monument and Might patch, including a new storyline, new questing, easier spell upgrades and player-written books.
In content terms, the update provides a batch of over 80 new quests for players to enjoy in the Kunark zone, centred on the appearance of Kurn's Tower. The headline new game feature is the appearance of Research Assistants who will upgrade your spells over time, one at a time, so you don't have to rely on expensive purchases or rare drops.
Monument and Might also introduces player-written books. You can use a text editor to create and distribute books that work exactly like those already found in the game and can be traded and sold as normal, except they can say whatever you like.
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An article on Ars Technica reveals that Sony Online Entertainment has bequeathed the complete server logs of its EverQuest II MMO to academic research.
Valve and Sony Online Entertainment have linked arms to bring some of the MMO operator's games to Steam.
Sony Online Entertainment has made the bold move of introducing micro-transaction item sales to its subscription-based fantasy MMOs, EverQuest and EverQuest II.
The game operator has launched StationCash, a virtual currency similar to Xbox Live's Microsoft Points or Nintendo's Wii Points. One hundred SC costs USD 1, EUR 1 or GBP 0.80. It can be used at an in-game marketplace to buy armour, potions and other benefits.
"The EQ and EQII development teams have chosen items carefully in an effort to avoid a disruption in gameplay balance," reads the StationCash FAQ.
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I have an admission to make: even though I've played MMOs for years, I guess I believed the stereotypes, and I expected Sony Online Entertainment's annual Fan Faire in Las Vegas to be filled with shuffling, socially-awkward freaks with poor dress sense, using obscure science-fiction references to mask their conversational inadequacy. The reasons for this are quite simple: having played MMOs for years, I'm a shuffling, socially-awkward freak with poor dress sense, and I use obscure science-fiction references to mask my conversational inadequacy.
Sony Online Entertainment chose its annual Fan Faire convention in Las Vegas this week to announce expansions for long-running MMOs EverQuest and EverQuest II.
Speaking at his yearly address, SOE chief John Smedley said that the original EverQuest "is still going as strong as ever. We're very dedicated to the game, and we're coming up to a milestone I never expected to see – the tenth anniversary."
In honour of this occasion, he unveiled Seeds of Destruction, that difficult fifteenth expansion, which is due out on 21st October. Fittingly, the new content has something of a victory lap feel to it, sending players on a journey through numerous portals which will take them back to various iconic moments from the history of the game. The major gameplay change to Seeds is the addition of Mercenaries, player-controlled NPCs who can be paid to fight alongside you in battle.
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Sony Online Entertainment is desperate to get you back in EverQuest and sequel EverQuest II.
Sony Online Entertainment has announced the date and location for the sixth of its annual Fan Faire conventions.
Fan Faire 2008 will take place at the Las Vegas Hilton over four days, from August 14th to 17th.
Tickets go on sale later this spring, but the hotel can be booked now at a discount rate. Check the official announcement for details.
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Sony Online Entertainment has announced the forthcoming release of new expansions for hit MMORPG EverQuest and its sequel, EverQuest II.
The Prophecy of Ro expansion, which is for the original game, will feature more than 30 new missions, 25 original characters, seven zones and six small instances. Plus it will enable you to use magic powers to influence the rules of the game, and change the way it's played.
The expansion will be out in the US this February in both real and Internet shops along with EverQuest II: Kingdom of Sky, a new add-on with all sorts of exciting features. You can expect a brand new structured skill and ability development system, with level caps raised to 70 for adventurers and artisans and 50 for guilds.
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