What I like about "Q"Follow

I’ve seen so many negative comments in posts both here and elsewhere that I thought I’d take an opposing point of view and list some of the things that I like about EQ2! When you stop and think about it, there are a lot of things that SOE got right. Some of them are little things but some of them are a big deal. Maybe you can add some of your favorites to the list! Meantime, here are a few of mine:

I love the fact that the character model carries his/her weapon and shield stowed on the back unless fighting. A small detail maybe but one of the things that always bugged me in EQ was that my character had to wield his weapons even while swimming!

I think the new UI is beautiful. I love having most of the readouts above and below the image area and the letterbox view gives a nice cinematic feel to the visuals. I’m also happy that they pared down to 2 camera angles. 1st and 3rd person is really all you need and most of the half dozen choices available in EQ are redundant, anyway.

Crafting is so much more interesting now. You can see that they really put some serious thought into this area.

For starters, when you craft something it takes time. From to the sub-combines through to the final step, you feel like you really have a hand in making the item. And there is a level of suspense as the item is being crafted. Will I make it to pristine? It’s gonna be close! Adding an XP bar for craft was also a good idea. Now you know exactly where you are in terms of crafting skill.

In addition, the need to pay attention to the process and cast mini-spells to correct for problems on the fly adds a major facet to the immersion you feel during the experience. And finally, having your character’s name on a crafted item is quite a neat flourish!

Although I’ve always played a ranger and sort of mourn the fact that everyone can forage now, the activity is so much better in EQ2 that I can understand why SOE wanted to let everyone play with it! Foraging in EQ was boring and mundane. Click, “oh, look, I found a root.” In EQ2 it’s much more exciting. You see something in the distance and you have to decide, “do I wanna go kill a critter of see what I might discover under that rock/garden/log?” And fishing… For the first time, I am enjoying fishing ingame!

Another thing I love is that nothing stays on your tooltip anymore. Everything now is auto-inventoried for you. Yeah, I had a hot key set up for that in EQ but now I don’t have to! And no more dropped items. If you reach overflow, you just can’t loot anymore!

And how about the way spells have changed? I used to hate the scribe and mem timers. I think the way things work now is a vast improvement. And having multiple grades of spells available that automatically upgrade when you scribe them is great! It’s also nice that you now get new spells and abilities every level. I always thought it was a major PITA that you got a batch of spells and then had to grind out 5 more levels till you could get some more!

I also like the fact that money is so hard to come by. In EQ, more often than not, the quickest solution to most any problem was to throw money at it. Need an armor upgrade or a faster weapon? Just head for the bazaar and BUY it!

Not so in EQ2. The general lack of money forces us all to think outside the box. Need a weapon upgrade or a new piece of armor? XX gp is a lot of money… guess I’ll quest for it or craft it!

Which brings me to the quest system and the sheer volume of available quests. It boggles the mind! I now keep a list of quests that I want to run handy and when I’m waiting for friends to log on, I just pick one and go. When I’m bored of XP grinding or trade skilling, I just take a break and it’s quest time! If I don’t feel like grouping, I can choose to chain quest, moving from quest to reward to new quest till I’m exhausted! It’s another unique activity that doesn’t take a ton of time and can include outstanding rewards. And one more point. Duo or group questing is a ball and a completely new experience for me. Kind of like multi-player tasking that is going on in EQ, by taking along another player, you can succeed at harder quests and you each get the credit for the same kill.

I think that giving every item a range in which it is useful and even equipable was another good idea. It not only keeps players from twinking but also keeps you aware of which pieces you need to think about upgrading.

I have heard some folks complain about the mechanic that causes buffs to only work within groups, but I don’t see it as a problem. I see it as a huge plus. It has eliminated buff-beggars all together! I used to hate having to deal with the spam while trying to get something done in PoK. SoW… KEI… Temp… VIRT… the list is long and somebody was ALWAYS begging for buffs. It was enough to drive me to drink!

I really love the new look that SOE has given to the places I have come to know. Qeynos for example now looks and feels like a big sprawling metropolis. Much more so than the claustrophobic little hamlet that I was used to in EQ. And Antonica looks so much better than Quenos hills and the Karanas ever did. More than just the quality of the texture mapping employed, the design and scale of the zones is truly beautiful.

The sound of the game is outstanding. Just adding the NPC vocalizations has made a world of difference for me but SOE didn’t stop there. The use of surround sound in execution of environmental loops is outstanding. The music selections plush and add yet another level of texture to the immersion experience and the sound effects are in perfect balance with the other sounds. Things like footsteps that change in sonic texture as you move from cobblestone to grass show a tremendous attention to detail. Simply put, this game sounds as good as a big budget movie.

Oh, yeah... one more... I almost forgot that I love the fact that quest items no longer take up space in your inventory. It always struck me as dumb that you went through a collect LDoN picking up the items that you were asked to gather only to find out that no one wanted them and nobody would pay you anything for them!

Much better idea to get credit for finding the item without ever having to waste a slot to keep it in.

Well, I guess that’s enough for now… Hopefully, this post has helped to validate that this game we’re playing isn’t so bad after all. I know there are problems, but I think that on the whole, Sony has done a splendid job in executing a Herculean task. In fact, I think I’ll go log on for a while!!!


Edited, Fri Jan 14 07:14:48 2005 by OldBlueDragon

Excellent points, both of you. I'm at work, and a bit brain dead right now, so I can't think of anything else to add. I'll come back if I do.

But for now, add me to the list of people who do like this game.

I'm going to only say something nice about the game and nothing bad. Can you believe it?


Okay, here goes: my footsteps echo when I run through a tunnel!

Try it, like in the tunnel from the oakmyst dock to the forest.

That's it. Okay, I'm going back to being a grumpy gnome now.

I can never get the link thing to work. When I try to drag it to chat, it just ends up repositioning my window, and nothing goes to my chat bar.

I am teh suck

I've been pretty negative too about this amazing and awesome game. Let me list out some of my positives, even though many Old Blue hit on already :

- Quest system. Oh my god, the quest system is absolutely awesome. I always have something to do rather than randomly killing things. I can see what quests I've done and what steps I've already done in active quests. Most are one-time encouraging you to seek out more and more challenging quests. You feel less need to twink with a quest item, because shoot, I'll just have my alt do the quest again! This feature is absolutely perfect.

- Lack of money. This challenges you and makes purchases mean that much more. It works out OK because when you truly need things, you quest for them; or you can quest for money specifically, or just go out and do quests and you'll get money.

- Immersion. Deer look very nearly like real deer. Rotting logs look realistic. Sounds work very well. You're in a realistic-looking fantasy world, odd as that might seem.

- Collection quests. Wander around and catch butterflies for that rich weirdo who wants a collection. What a neat idea, and the huge number of these available makes them fun.

- Tradeskills. An alternate combat system, basically, to make item creation more interesting. Deep and varied recipes, for good stuff. Specialization ensures an active trading community on the market.

- Guilds and societies. I like the idea of guilds having status, and the society status thing is a nice touch too.

- Smart trivial loot. Are you really broke, and don't want/can't do a quest? Go kill grey things. You'll pick up some junk you can vendor sell. But you won't get any chests with cool items.

- Harvesting. The variety of stuff is amazing. You have skill in this and presumably will be able to get a +1 pick of mining when fully fixed. Gives everyone a reason to wander around zones - need something? Go out and harvest it.

- Character customization. No two PC's are the same.

- Player stats. Well, this is EQ2players.com, but still. Yes, I am a stat junkie and I love knowing how many mobs I've killed etc.

And the biggest one -
It's simply fun. I have a nighttime playcycle only. When I played EQ I was always sleepy, and would fight to stay awake to get that next level, get that rare drop, or participate in that raid. EQ2, instead, I log off when I'm sleepy and notice that I need to sleep. That's a big difference right there.

I have to mention though, that it's all ruined by the four character limit. Seeing all the things I love about this game, with one stupid thing wrecking all of them, drives me nuts.

My character journal - updated daily

Edited, Fri Jan 14 13:07:38 2005 by MRRX