Thinking about Freeport and Zone revamps in general, just my thoughts. I welcome yours.
...I know, I know, nearly everyone that posts about the (now not-so) new Freeport revamp tends to hate it and gives reasons why. When I first saw the changes I wasn't impressed myself.
The difference for me has been playing a necro on Vulak progression... I have had to live in the new freeport. I am finding it big... be not so bad to navigate now that I am getting used to it. Some of the smaller original condition cities are actually harder to get around I am finding. I admit it feels more like a city than a mini idea of a city (which to be honest is what most eq cities feel like). So it's been really functional for me in it's new form.
I like that its not 3 zones anymore --Neriak has also been a frequent stop of mine, and I played mostly there back in the day and it is a pain having to slow-zone multiple times while doing simple errands between bank/guilds/merchants. Many design features of Neriak have not aged well, the signs on the walls alone... Could Neriak been done up nice following the existing "foot print" into 1 zone... certainly.
The revamp of Innothule changed the style significantly, but I actually like the asian-style swamp for variety. If they redid every Kunark swamp similar I wouldn't like that though. Their track record on recent revamps is controversial... and it seems like they have stopped doing them? Too bad really, I know some people dislike the loss of Oasis of Marr as a separate zone, but I'm not sure it's that big of a deal.
You spend a couple of weeks running across the Karanas with no SoW (welcome to progression) you kind of wish they had consolidated that huge area too...
Most of places you just have to turn off the grass to feel more "old school" anyways if that is your thing...
I suppose it's several years of playing various mmo's... the New Freeport is definately closer to the modern standards --keeping in mind of course that EQ was good for 1999 standards (great in places, not so polished in others).
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Since both of my Paladins were kos I tended to stay out of freeport, but going to arcstone did get me used to the city again. It does as you say take some time to get used to but I also think its O.K. as long as you aren't kos to militia and temple patrols.
Poor troll got jumped by those paladins while the militia just wanted me to keep my distance.
Poor troll got jumped by those paladins while the militia just wanted me to keep my distance.
7 posts
With the find feature, I do not find it too difficult to navigate. If the find feature didn't exists, I would hate new Freeport. Since I am coming back from a LONG hiatus I couldn't navigate anything in the new Freeport!
BTW West Karana is a BEAR to run across. Even with SoW!
Edited, Mar 14th 2011 3:29pm by robwinkky|WH
BTW West Karana is a BEAR to run across. Even with SoW!
Edited, Mar 14th 2011 3:29pm by robwinkky|WH
robwinkky|WH wrote:
With the find feature, I do not find it too difficult to navigate. If the find feature didn't exists, I would hate new Freeport. Since I am coming back from a LONG hiatus I couldn't navigate anything in the new Freeport!
BTW West Karana is a BEAR to run across. Even with SoW!
Edited, Mar 14th 2011 3:29pm by robwinkky|WH
BTW West Karana is a BEAR to run across. Even with SoW!
Edited, Mar 14th 2011 3:29pm by robwinkky|WH
I agree.
If they'd added... 100x the mobs to the zone over the years then I could see keeping it. But it's crazy-spaced out for camps and roamers even in a role-play "I am the ranger on the hunt" mode.
Given the choice of it (the karanas) being made smaller or having more there... I'd vote put more in, even though I hate the run.
7 posts
West Karana is the exact reason why I will never ever start a human in Qeynos. I can't imagine having to run across that thing often. I'll hit numlock then heat up some hot pockets and hope that my invis didn't wear off!
I've stayed out of all revamp discussions but now I think I know why... I like them both in different ways.
When they change a zone you remember, you lose all feeling for it. Every revamp zone tries to keep landmarks we remember but fails by necessity. You either relearn it, or you diss it.
Coming back to EQ after so many years, it makes a poignant contrast. The old zones I remember. The new ones I am like a noob level 1. My memories of what I used to do are irrelevant. The clicks on the mouse and keyboard to avoid the mobs here... pointless. But from a 'this is a new game perspective', it is fantastic. The graphics are nice, the trees and grass convincing. I don't quite know where I am and what I am doing so I feel nervous. We interpret that mostly in a bad way, but on a server like Fippy, it's great, because I am just as lost, even with the maps, as a babe in Nektulos.
I genuinely like what the SOE dev team has done graphically since PoP. I also love to see what I remember when I played in 1999. Sadly you can't have a classic EQ alongside a graphically modern EQ... and what we have now as a montage is a bit silly.
I'd much rather have had them revamp all the zones and given us a config toggle to play the new, or bask in the old. As it stands, it's a mish mash and doesn't make either look good.
My feeling is that the negative vibes from both the Luclin character model changes along with the mixed reviews of the first zone revamps made them just cut it before it made things... worse? Could you make things worse than stopping right in the middle of a massive change? It's like playing Wolfenstein 3D one minute and zoning into Half Life the next.
When they change a zone you remember, you lose all feeling for it. Every revamp zone tries to keep landmarks we remember but fails by necessity. You either relearn it, or you diss it.
Coming back to EQ after so many years, it makes a poignant contrast. The old zones I remember. The new ones I am like a noob level 1. My memories of what I used to do are irrelevant. The clicks on the mouse and keyboard to avoid the mobs here... pointless. But from a 'this is a new game perspective', it is fantastic. The graphics are nice, the trees and grass convincing. I don't quite know where I am and what I am doing so I feel nervous. We interpret that mostly in a bad way, but on a server like Fippy, it's great, because I am just as lost, even with the maps, as a babe in Nektulos.
I genuinely like what the SOE dev team has done graphically since PoP. I also love to see what I remember when I played in 1999. Sadly you can't have a classic EQ alongside a graphically modern EQ... and what we have now as a montage is a bit silly.
I'd much rather have had them revamp all the zones and given us a config toggle to play the new, or bask in the old. As it stands, it's a mish mash and doesn't make either look good.
My feeling is that the negative vibes from both the Luclin character model changes along with the mixed reviews of the first zone revamps made them just cut it before it made things... worse? Could you make things worse than stopping right in the middle of a massive change? It's like playing Wolfenstein 3D one minute and zoning into Half Life the next.
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