Sony MMO EverQuest turns 25 years old

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Lavamelon

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#1 Lavamelon
Member since 2016 • 851 Posts

Back in 1999, Sony Online Entertainment released an MMO called EverQuest. It was one of the first 3D MMOs, and one of the longest running. I have played it many hours, and its pretty good if you don't mind the outdated graphics and steep learning curve. It was a big influence for many future MMOs, including World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 11/14 etc.

Sadly, Sony sold off Sony Online Entertainment, the company is now called Daybreak. But it still has Sony's influence nevertheless.

It is EverQuest’s 25th Anniversary! | EverQuest

Fun Fact: In EverQuest (abbreviated as "EQ"), there is a city called Qeynos, which is "Sony EQ" spelt backwards.

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R4gn4r0k

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#2 R4gn4r0k
Member since 2004 • 46493 Posts

Older than Runescape and looks better too.

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Lavamelon

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#3 Lavamelon
Member since 2016 • 851 Posts

@R4gn4r0k: Haha yes I had a look at RuneScape but I haven’t actually played it. EverQuest looks much nicer IMO.

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Pedro

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#4 Pedro
Member since 2002 • 70024 Posts

It is not Sony's Everquest as OP has stated so what is up with the incorrect title?

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hardwenzen

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#5 hardwenzen
Member since 2005 • 39420 Posts

Ah yes mmos the genre that is 1000000% ruined by mtx and will never recover.

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mrbojangles25

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#6 mrbojangles25
Member since 2005 • 58424 Posts

Happy birthday, Everquest!

Never gave you a try, but I have played plenty of other MMO's inspired, in part at least, by you.

@hardwenzen said:

Ah yes mmos the genre that is 1000000% ruined by mtx and will never recover.

Only the free-to-play ones. MMO's with subscriptions are pretty good...sometimes.

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AcidTango

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#7 AcidTango
Member since 2013 • 3233 Posts

It's funny how Sony got rid of their PC gaming division to focus on their consoles at the time and now they are back to supporting PCs again. I wonder if they regretted selling off Sony Online Entertainment aka Daybreak Game Company?

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hardwenzen

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#8 hardwenzen
Member since 2005 • 39420 Posts

@mrbojangles25 said:

Happy birthday, Everquest!

Never gave you a try, but I have played plenty of other MMO's inspired, in part at least, by you.

@hardwenzen said:

Ah yes mmos the genre that is 1000000% ruined by mtx and will never recover.

Only the free-to-play ones. MMO's with subscriptions are pretty good...sometimes.

Like which ones are good? The only mmo that has preserved itself over the years is Runescape. I've never played it myself, but i do know a thing or two about the game, and microtransactions haven't ruined it and made all its in game items and challenges completely worthless.

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mrbojangles25

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#9  Edited By mrbojangles25
Member since 2005 • 58424 Posts

@hardwenzen said:
@mrbojangles25 said:

Happy birthday, Everquest!

Never gave you a try, but I have played plenty of other MMO's inspired, in part at least, by you.

@hardwenzen said:

Ah yes mmos the genre that is 1000000% ruined by mtx and will never recover.

Only the free-to-play ones. MMO's with subscriptions are pretty good...sometimes.

Like which ones are good? The only mmo that has preserved itself over the years is Runescape. I've never played it myself, but i do know a thing or two about the game, and microtransactions haven't ruined it and made all its in game items and challenges completely worthless.

Well, context is important here. MMO's are service-based games, and as a result they need a source of constant income. This means a.) subscriptions and/or b.) microtransactions.

The good models offer both, with subscribers getting enough perks and rewards to justify the subscription (unlimited bank space, for example) and not inconveniencing them with certain mechanics (limited character slots, for example).

And then the subscription-only models such as World of Warcraft barely make you aware of their microtransactions market at all. I only really am aware it's there when I go looking for it in game (which I never do, because microtransactions are lame).

Look man I get why people don't like MMO's, but there's a reason the business model has lasted this long and it's because there are good offerings for both the subscriber and the free-to-play crowds.

It's why I think games like Destiny and other "games as a service" should actually have a subscription option, so people don't get constantly bombarded with ads/microtransaction offers.

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sakaiXx

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#10 sakaiXx
Member since 2013 • 15954 Posts

I am surprised this game still have active sub. Congratulations on the longevity!

I never played Everquest but watched a lot of youtube videos regarding it, seems like it was really well loved by fans.

Loved MMO can last a long time. FF11 also somehow still going strong with an expansion last year. I think WoW and FF14 will last for another 10 years as well.

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dimebag667

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#11 dimebag667
Member since 2003 • 3094 Posts

I think I played a demo of it or something on my PS2, but SOCOM 2 won the battle for my attention.

@mrbojangles25: I feel like I'm chasing you around 🙃. Are there any MMOs with 'souls' combat? I like MMOs, but the 1-3-2-1-4 number combat stopped interesting me 20 years ago.

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Howmakewood

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#12 Howmakewood
Member since 2015 • 7713 Posts

Everquest was big back in the day, meanwhile most probably dont even know EQ2 released as well, as it happened to launch at the same time as WOW and got overshadowed so hard

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Litchie

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#13 Litchie
Member since 2003 • 34699 Posts

Never played it. Don't think I even gamed online when it was current.

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mrbojangles25

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#14  Edited By mrbojangles25
Member since 2005 • 58424 Posts

@dimebag667 said:

I think I played a demo of it or something on my PS2, but SOCOM 2 won the battle for my attention.

@mrbojangles25: I feel like I'm chasing you around 🙃. Are there any MMOs with 'souls' combat? I like MMOs, but the 1-3-2-1-4 number combat stopped interesting me 20 years ago.

Not in my experience.

The Conan MMO is the only one I can recall that had somewhat more interesting combat but even that wasn't even close to something like a soulsborn.

I'm sure they're out there, though. Or people are trying. I'm just not sure the genre can support it, though, otherwise we'd see more MMOFPS games and things based more on action and reflexes. Maybe it's an infrastructure thing? Like you can't have thousands of people on a persistent server at the same time taking actions that rely on such perfect timing?

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Lavamelon

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#15 Lavamelon
Member since 2016 • 851 Posts

@mrbojangles25: Yes I like subscription models. The only downside to subscriptions if you play several MMOs at once the subscription fees can stack on, meaning you have to be careful about it. Good news is that subscribing to EverQuest 1 will grant you access to EverQuest 2 benefits, so thats cool.

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TheEroica

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#16 TheEroica
Member since 2009 • 22837 Posts

I never played it, but I was working at best buy during college when it came out and the entire computer department was addicted. Lol. I remember purchasing a pink N64 with my store discount around that time to catch up on Nintendo games I missed while in school!

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R4gn4r0k

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#17 R4gn4r0k
Member since 2004 • 46493 Posts

@Litchie said:

Never played it. Don't think I even gamed online when it was current.

I started playing online with Medal of Honor Allied Assault and Return To Castle Wolfenstein, even those games were considered the early days.

1999 must've been the time of dial-up.

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Lavamelon

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#18 Lavamelon
Member since 2016 • 851 Posts

@mrbojangles25 said:
@dimebag667 said:

I think I played a demo of it or something on my PS2, but SOCOM 2 won the battle for my attention.

@mrbojangles25: I feel like I'm chasing you around 🙃. Are there any MMOs with 'souls' combat? I like MMOs, but the 1-3-2-1-4 number combat stopped interesting me 20 years ago.

Not in my experience.

The Conan MMO is the only one I can recall that had somewhat more interesting combat but even that wasn't even close to something like a soulsborn.

I'm sure they're out there, though. Or people are trying. I'm just not sure the genre can support it, though, otherwise we'd see more MMOFPS games and things based more on action and reflexes. Maybe it's an infrastructure thing? Like you can't have thousands of people on a persistent server at the same time taking actions that rely on such perfect timing?

Yes Age of Conan had good combat and class variety, it was a pretty good WoW competitor. Sadly the population is very low, some people say its in maintenance mode.

Neverwinter is one MMO that I would suggest has Soulsbourne-like combat (I have over 1130 hours playing this game on Steam lol). It has plenty of emphasis on fast combat and dodging, plus it has a stamina system so you can't dodge too much, making it resemble Soulsborne even more. This game is also based on Dungeons & Dragons (just like Baldurs Gate), so if you are fan of the franchise then feel free to give it a shot.

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mrbojangles25

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#19 mrbojangles25
Member since 2005 • 58424 Posts

@lavamelon said:
@mrbojangles25 said:
@dimebag667 said:

I think I played a demo of it or something on my PS2, but SOCOM 2 won the battle for my attention.

@mrbojangles25: I feel like I'm chasing you around 🙃. Are there any MMOs with 'souls' combat? I like MMOs, but the 1-3-2-1-4 number combat stopped interesting me 20 years ago.

Not in my experience.

The Conan MMO is the only one I can recall that had somewhat more interesting combat but even that wasn't even close to something like a soulsborn.

I'm sure they're out there, though. Or people are trying. I'm just not sure the genre can support it, though, otherwise we'd see more MMOFPS games and things based more on action and reflexes. Maybe it's an infrastructure thing? Like you can't have thousands of people on a persistent server at the same time taking actions that rely on such perfect timing?

Yes Age of Conan had good combat and class variety, it was a pretty good WoW competitor. Sadly the population is very low, some people say its in maintenance mode.

Neverwinter is one MMO that I would suggest has Soulsbourne-like combat (I have over 1130 hours playing this game on Steam lol). It has plenty of emphasis on fast combat and dodging, plus it has a stamina system so you can't dodge too much, making it resemble Soulsborne even more. This game is also based on Dungeons & Dragons (just like Baldurs Gate), so if you are fan of the franchise then feel free to give it a shot.

Sweet! I will give it a try.

I think I am done with WoW until the new expansion comes out, so I am looking for something to scratch that itch.

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Lavamelon

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#20 Lavamelon
Member since 2016 • 851 Posts
@AcidTango said:

It's funny how Sony got rid of their PC gaming division to focus on their consoles at the time and now they are back to supporting PCs again. I wonder if they regretted selling off Sony Online Entertainment aka Daybreak Game Company?

Yes that is rather strange how they changed their minds like that. I believe Sony sold off SOE (now Daybreak) during the Kaz Hirai era, but something like this could never happen during the Jim Ryan era. Daybreak is now owned by a Swedish game company called Enad Global 7. Maybe Sony can re-purchase Daybreak from Enad Global 7, or even buy out Enad outright? Lol.

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Lavamelon

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#21 Lavamelon
Member since 2016 • 851 Posts

@mrbojangles25 said:
@lavamelon said:
@mrbojangles25 said:
@dimebag667 said:

I think I played a demo of it or something on my PS2, but SOCOM 2 won the battle for my attention.

@mrbojangles25: I feel like I'm chasing you around 🙃. Are there any MMOs with 'souls' combat? I like MMOs, but the 1-3-2-1-4 number combat stopped interesting me 20 years ago.

Not in my experience.

The Conan MMO is the only one I can recall that had somewhat more interesting combat but even that wasn't even close to something like a soulsborn.

I'm sure they're out there, though. Or people are trying. I'm just not sure the genre can support it, though, otherwise we'd see more MMOFPS games and things based more on action and reflexes. Maybe it's an infrastructure thing? Like you can't have thousands of people on a persistent server at the same time taking actions that rely on such perfect timing?

Yes Age of Conan had good combat and class variety, it was a pretty good WoW competitor. Sadly the population is very low, some people say its in maintenance mode.

Neverwinter is one MMO that I would suggest has Soulsbourne-like combat (I have over 1130 hours playing this game on Steam lol). It has plenty of emphasis on fast combat and dodging, plus it has a stamina system so you can't dodge too much, making it resemble Soulsborne even more. This game is also based on Dungeons & Dragons (just like Baldurs Gate), so if you are fan of the franchise then feel free to give it a shot.

Sweet! I will give it a try.

I think I am done with WoW until the new expansion comes out, so I am looking for something to scratch that itch.

If you want to try Neverwinter, I would recommend playing melee class such as warrior or rogue since these provide gameplay similar to Soulsborne-type games. If you play spellcaster or cleric the experience would be different from Soulsborne, but then again there are different styles of gameplay, even for the same classes. There is a newer class called Bard which I havent played before, not familiar with how this class would play.

Hope you enjoy it :)

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Djoffer123

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#22 Djoffer123
Member since 2016 • 2255 Posts

@hardwenzen: gamers wanted F2P instead of a monthly subscription, and ten years later all mmorpgs has turned to shit! Very surprisingly the people in charge couldn’t manage to balance out the amount of micro transactions needed to both sustain the game and at the same time keep the playerbase not feeling ripped off🙄🙄

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Djoffer123

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#23 Djoffer123
Member since 2016 • 2255 Posts

@mrbojangles25: NWO online base game was extremely good, then they started adding expansions and then the gear progression system turned into an absolute shitshow where the only purpose it has was to force people to buy loot boxes! And yeah every ( more or less) expansion more or less made every old piece of equipment useless…

So yeah do try it, but just stick to the base lvl 1-50 experience would be my suggestion:)

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hardwenzen

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#24 hardwenzen
Member since 2005 • 39420 Posts

@djoffer123 said:

@hardwenzen: gamers wanted F2P instead of a monthly subscription, and ten years later all mmorpgs has turned to shit! Very surprisingly the people in charge couldn’t manage to balance out the amount of micro transactions needed to both sustain the game and at the same time keep the playerbase not feeling ripped off🙄🙄

Sure, but games like gw1 didn't have any subs, and it was an amazing game. And now, every game that does have subs, they also have mtx, and being able to buy gold with $ makes every achievement and item in the game completely worthless, so there's no point of even trying the game.

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dimebag667

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#25 dimebag667
Member since 2003 • 3094 Posts

@mrbojangles25: Yeah. Darkfall had manual combat, but it was real floaty, and didn't feel great. I thought there was one called Crowfall or something that was supposed to have souls combat, but I haven't heard anything about it in a long time. Honestly I have no clue about this stuff, but if warzone can handle a 100 players shooting each other, couldn't they do something like segmenting or zoning parts of the MMO map to run independently? Maybe it's not possible, but maybe it is.