Everquest II

• What it promised?

  The game was supposed to be aimed at the regular player. As such it was promised that players new to the world of Everquest (and possibly new to the world of MMOs) will have no problems learning how to survive in the dangerous world called Norath.
  
  A huge marketing point was that the team behind the game had 5 years of experience gained in working on Everquest (1) and as such will be able to provide us with the perfect experience for both old and new players.

• What it delivered?

  At the start of the game players found themselves on a ship in the middle of the ocean. On this ship we were taught how to use the interface, how to get quests and how to complete them.
  
  After this we were left on the Isle of refuge. This is the place where we learned more about the different classes the game offered, made the choice and then started down the path of one of the 4 archetypes (mage, fighter, scout and priest). On the island we would complete a chain of quests that would teach us the basics of the class we have chosen and give us some basic equipment.
  
  There was also a quest that introduced us to crafting, but in the end most players learned about crafting later on in the game from other players.
  
  As a whole this introduction into the game world was easy enough for someone who was familiar with the basics of RPGs, but a total newbie easily got lost in the interface, which was far from perfect.




• What it offers now?

  Not much changed about the way the game introduction works. New players still visit the Isle of refuge where they learn how to fight. Figuring crafting on your own still takes a bit of time, but there are always enough people around to help you get started.
  
  One thing got better though – the interface. I will return to this later on. As far as a beginner is concerned, the new interface is far more intuitive, the information it offers is better distributed into the various game windows and it is nicer too look at.

World of Warcraft

• What it promised?

  Since the day WoW was announced, we were promised that this will be the most beginner friendly MMO out there.
  
  Seeing that the authors (Blizzard) are known for the fact that they make games that have an almost perfect control scheme, most players expected the interface to be near flawless.

• What it delivered?

  When the player created his character he was put into a starting zone (specific to the race he chose) with a quest giver in front of him. The game offered tool tips for the first few steps, after which we were left pretty much on our own.
  
  Although I made this sound bad, it is in fact quite the opposite. Since the interface the game offers is so intuitive most players got the hang of it by the time the tool tips stopped displaying. As such, any additional tool tips would only bother most players.

• What it offers now?

  Hardly anything changed concerning the beginning of the game. It is still newbie friendly and as such no changes were needed.

Everquest II

• What it promised?

  We were promised a powerful, fully customizable, yet still user friendly interface. While the first two generally contradict the third there was still a possibility that they might pull it off.

• What it delivered?

  The authors kept their promise as far as customizability and usability are concerned. Unfortunately they came a bit short as far as friendliness is concerned.

  We were able to fully customize the interface right in the game. We could resize, move and hide all interface windows. We were even able to control the opacity of the windows. Even more could be done outside of the game, where we were given tools to completely rework the interface, add more information and options, etc. Basically we could completely rework the interface.

  All this made the interface less user-friendly than it could be. There were countless times when players were asking in the OOC channel (the game chat channel where people talk out of character) how to bring back a certain part of the interface which they accidentally turned off.

• What it offers now?

  The interface went through 2 changes. The first just reorganized some windows and information displayed in them, while the second actually changed most of the interface windows.

  As it is now, the default interface is more intuitive, it covers far less space on the screen and as such most players don’t need to extensively tweak it. While this is still possible most players will usually just add an ability bar or two and leave the rest of the interface intact.

World of Warcraft

• What it promised?

  As I said in the previous section, seeing that this is a Blizzard game we all expected the interface to be top-notch.

• What it delivered?

  Upon launch the game interface was clean, intuitive and customizable to some extent.

  We could not move game windows around to our liking, and we were only able to add an ability bar or two. We were able to change some cosmetic parts of the interface and that was pretty much it. Outside of the game we were able to do more heavy tweaking, but most users resorted to user interfaces published on the internet, made by others.




• What it offers now?

  Again, practically nothing changed in the last year. There were minor tweaks done to the interface, but as far as most are concerned, the interface is still the same as it was one year ago. Why change something that works?

Everquest II

• What it promised?

  As most new MMOs, EQ2 promised us the perfect mix of both solo-able content as well as content that only groups could tackle.

  Again, one of the selling points was that the EQ2 team had years of experience with EQ and as such would know how to keep the player base happy.

• What it delivered?

  A year ago most MMO players would say that if you intend to play by yourself you should avoid EQ2. For the most part they were right. Except for the first few quests the game required players to group if they wanted to do anything at all. While it was very easy to find a group with the help of the in-game group tools (LFG tag, OOC channel…), this still made short game-play sessions almost impossible. Sure, one could always grind on the solo-able creatures, but that is somehow not the point of the game.

  On the other hand, if you had 3 or 4 hours of spare time, you could have a lot of fun. Since finding a group was easy, it took only minutes before a group of adventurers was on its way to a dungeon or a spot where someone wanted something killed (usually for a quest). If you were lucky and you had grouped with fun/good/interesting players, such expeditions would make the money invested into EQ2 worthwhile.

  Another thing EQ2 didn’t lack is hardcore content. There were enough raid zones, raid instances and rare items to keep most of the player base happy.




• What it offers now?

  There were major changes done to the game as far as content is concerned. A lot of the previous group-only encounters were changed to solo-able encounters. About 90% of the overland encounters are now intended for solo players or small groups. The dungeons are still reserved for groups however.

  There were literally hundreds of quests added (SOE - Sony Online Entertainment says that there were over 1000 quests added) and most of them are intended for solo players. As such, it is now quite possible to get stuff done even in short play sessions.

  Some dungeons were overhauled to offer a greater challenge to groups and consequentially offer more fun.

  The authors added some raid instances which gave the higher end players and guilds more stuff to do.

  Two adventure packs were also released which added more solo, group and raid content. Even though they are payable, a large number of players gave them a go and enjoyed what they offered.

  The first expansion also came out (Desert of flames) which raised the level limit from 50 to 60 and added several new zones.

World of Warcraft

• What it promised?

  The primary selling point was the solo-able content. About 90% of the game was supposed to be solo-able. The rest were group instances and raid instances. Everybody could reach level 60 on their own, and not miss too much in the process.

• What it delivered?

  The game delivered exactly what it promised. Everybody can level up their character all the way without grouping once!

  But to experience the instanced dungeons and get the best loot we had to group of course. If one was not guilded, they had to use the game’s chat channels to find somebody who was willing to group with them.

  As far as the end game content is concerned most agreed that it was lacking. Sure, there were raids, but not nearly enough of them.

• What it offers now?

  A lot of content was added to the game since launch. We now have Battleground, arenas where we battle the opposing faction. Almost everybody can enter these battlegrounds (one has to be at least of level 20 to enter one) and enjoy the combat in them.

  There were several raid instances added to the game, most of them aimed at the level 60 characters.

  The authors added a few events into the game, aimed at the whole population, like the monthly Darkmoon Faire.

  They also overhauled an entire zone with new quests, aimed for the mid to high level players. With the latest patch they also started a server-wide event where players gather various items. They give these items to collectors. Once enough stuff will be collected, two new raid zones will be opened.

Everquest II

• What it promised?

  Since the authors learned a lot during the years they worked on the original Everquest they decided to use that knowledge in the sequel. Some interesting combat mechanics were introduced into the game because of this.

  For one, there would be absolutely no power leveling, no kill stealing and no grieving. All combat would be locked, preventing other players from helping/hindering us.

• What it delivered?

  The authors kept their promise. All encounters in the game were locked. The moment the player attacked the enemy encounter, the whole encounter got locked and became attackable only by the player (and his group). No outside players were able to help the player by healing him or by damaging the creature.

  Also, healers were not able to resurrect other players if they were not grouped. This was to prevent grief players from resurrecting players against their will in the middle of dangerous zones, just so that they would die again.

  A feature of the combat mechanics was the heroic opportunities. When triggered, they enabled a player and his group to do extra damage/heal/gain buffs if they used their abilities in the correct order. This gave combat the element of cooperation within the group.

  Dying in EQ2 was not nice. A player would experience some equipment damage, accumulate some experience debt and lose a soul shard. The later cause players to have their statistics lowered until they returned to the spot they had died in and picked up their soul shard. The experience debt caused the player to gain xp at a reduced rate until they paid off the debt. When in a group, the xp debt was shared between the groups members, which made some players think twice before joining a group.

  As far as classes are concerned, they were split into four main categories. The first category being damage dealers (mages and scouts fall into this category), the second category being tanks (most fighter classes’ fall into this category), the third category being healers (priest classes’ fall into this category) and the last, fourth category being support (bards and some mage classes fall into this category).

  The “feel” of each class was distinctly its own, even though they followed the same basic rules. All classes used power to use their special attacks/spells. And while playing a wizard was a completely different experience then playing a paladin, their roles in combat were not distinct enough.

• What it offers now?

  Encounter locking was removed from the game. Now players can help other players without being grouped with them. Only the first player to attack the creature gets experience though. And if the player (and his group) causes less then 25% of the damage to the creature, then they get reduced experience for the kill. This prevents power leveling to some degree.

  Healers are now able to resurrect players who are not grouped with them, but the player has to accept the resurrection.

  Heroic opportunities are still in the game, but they are a bit easier to accomplish. They also offer graphical effects now.

  Dying has changed though. First of all, there are no more soul shards. Dying only results in xp debt and equipment damage. Another thing that is no longer present is group xp debt. Even when grouped, you only accumulate xp debt for your own deaths.

  About 6 months after launch there was a live update, which completely changed the classes. All combat abilities were overhauled, making classes more diverse. Today combat is more face paced then it was with shorter downtimes. It still requires some skill to finish off stronger enemies. When grouped, each class has a more distinct role – different tank classes actually have different pros/cons.

World of Warcraft

• What it promised?

  The authors promised us a PvE experience where we would have fun regardless of our level and solo/group preference. Different classes would have a noticeably different feel to them as well.

• What it delivered?

  Again, Blizzard kept their promise. While upon first glance the combat consisted only of clicking on buttons to do different attacks, there were major differences in game styles between the various classes. Not only did they have different abilities, they also used different methods of using them. Some classes had mana which they consumed when they used their attacks. Other classes had a power bar that filled when they hit their enemies. They would then use this power for special attacks. And the rouge class even had combo attacks, where they accumulated points when they used special attacks and then used them for a combo attack.

  Regardless of class, the combat system was easy to learn.




• What it offers now?

  There were some changes to class abilities, but nothing major. Most of the classes were changed a bit to be more balanced, but combat remains what it was at launch. As before, why fix something that is not broken?

Everquest II

• What it promised?

  From day one the authors said that there would be no PvP in the game at launch. They were focusing on PvE.

• What it delivered?

  The authors kept their promise – there was no PvP of any kind in the game.

• What it offers now?

  With the first expansion pack, arena fights and duels were introduced into the game. Arena fights throw the player into an arena of their choice where they battle the enemy in various game modes. They can fight as themselves or in the skin of arena champions (monsters with specific abilities).

  Even though it is a nice idea, not many players choose to take part of the PvP in the arenas. As such, they are mostly empty.

  In less then a month full PvP is coming to EQ2. 2 new servers will be opened for this.

World of Warcraft

• What it promised?

  We were promised full PvP, with PvP quests, battles and more. We were promised battlegrounds and a honor system that would give point to PvP-ing

• What it delivered?

  On launch, the PvP was not well implemented. Players could PvP in the contested zones (on PvP servers that is), but there was no reward for doing it.

  There was no sign of the promised PvP quests, battleground and the honor system.




• What it offers now?

  The honor system was the first addition to the PvP system. Players now get honor points for killing other players of the same level range. These points allow the player to rise in rank and gain access to armors, cheaper mounts, weapons and more.

  Battlegrounds were the next big thing to be added. In their core battlegrounds are arenas where players try to help their team to do a specific objective. In one battleground they need to steal the enemy flag (basically a CTF match). The second battleground has players battling themselves for territory and trying to take over the enemy base. The last battleground makes players fight for contested points on the map. The team that controls all the points wins.

  With the addition of both the honor system and the battlegrounds, PvP in WoW got a whole new dimension. It also gave players something to do besides raiding once they have reached level 60.

Everquest II

• What it promised?

  As far as graphics are concerned, EQ2 promised to be the most technologically advanced MMO yet made. Pictures and videos that the authors released were full of beautifully rendered robes, armors, adventurers killing huge dragons with amazing pixel shaded spell effects and much more.

  We were also promised voiceovers – the NPCs in the game would talk to us with real voices – a first in any MMO.

• What it delivered?

  From a technological point of view, we got what was promised. The game was absolutely gorgeous to look at. This came at a price however – high system requirements. If one had a fast enough system he would be able to enjoy absolutely breathtaking vistas and combat. Those with slower PCs would lose much of the eye candy if they wanted to play at a steady frame rate.

  Artistically speaking the game was lacking. There was no sight of many of the armor/robe designs that we saw in the previews. Because of that, there was not much diversity between the look of players of the same class. Some people also didn’t like the realistic art style that the game had.

  
  

  The sound in the game was absolutely top notch. Hearing NPCs hail you and talk to you about their problems gave the game a new dimension. The music was professionally made as well, although it started to repeat itself after some time.

• What it offers now?

  Nowadays the game has been tweaked to some extent and thus runs better then it did on launch.

  The art of the game is still lacking, even though there were now armor/robe designs introduced into the game. This is supposed to change with the next expansion pack.

  A while ago the SOGA player models were released. They gave the game a new look, since most player character got a new, more anime-style, look. Most players liked them, but some preferred the old models. Luckily the authors gave us the choice of which model set we prefer.

  One thing that has not improved is the sound. While it is will good, there are more and more NPCs that don’t have voiceovers. While at the beginning the authors released new voiceovers for the NPCs that still had voiceovers missing, they have stopped doing this and currently a lot of the NPCs are voiceless.

World of Warcraft

• What it promised?

  Blizzard promised us the world of Azeroth like we had never seen before. The game would keep the original Warcraft art style, but give us the ability to see it from a different perspective.

• What it delivered?

  We got a new Azeroth alright. The world of WoW (strange phrase) is a seamless place, where we are able to run from one place to the other without ever seeing a loading screen.

  While technically not as advanced as the competition, WoW still looked great, thanks to the unique art style that most love. The system requirements were also quite acceptable so not only the players with elite computers were able to experience the full glory of Azeroth.

  Sound-wise the game came offered us a classical Warcraft soundtrack (meaning a great sounding soundtrack that most movies can only dream of) and nice sound effects.

• What it offers now?

  Blizzard has been adding new armor styles and for that reason alone some players love WoW. Every player in the game looks unique, since there are countless armor combinations available. The armors also give a fair indication of how powerful the player wearing them is.

  Otherwise not much was added to the game since launch. The new zones mostly use the old art that was already in the game and no new sounds were added (not that they were needed).

Everquest II

Crafting in EQ2 is a game of its own. There are actually players who only craft and don’t adventure at all. Crafted items are usually in great demand and are comparable to the best non-raid items that can be found in the game.

Crafting consists of using several components to create ingredients for more complex stuff. The process is interactive and requires the player to be active during the process

World of Warcraft

Crafting in WoW is there more for the fun of it. Everybody can craft and level up their crafting while they are out adventuring. It is impossible to be only a crafter though. And there is not much fun in it either. You only select the item you want to craft and that is that. If you have all the components the item will be created in a few seconds.

Everquest II

EQ2 has been guild oriented since launch. A lot of the best stuff in the game can only be bought of merchants that sell items only to members of high level guilds. And guild members actually complete quests to raise their guild level.

With the expansion that came out 6 months ago, guilds got overhauled, giving them even more meaning. They now have guild banks and the ranks in the guild have an actual effect on the members.

World of Warcraft

In WoW there are guilds. That’s more or less it. Sure, there are ranks, but they affect nothing.

Oh, you can wear a guild tabard, showing others the cool design your guild has. But that is pretty much it.