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[ManaByte]

I play a Erudite Necromancer in EQ (Firiona Vie server), and if you've been following EQ2 you'll know that SOE has kept the EQ looks for the Erudites and Frogloks under wraps for the longest time. A week or so ago, they finally revealed what the Erudites look like in EQ2 (no Frogs yet!), and it's a big change over the originals. They're stats are still good for casters, but I'll probably do a Human caster in EQ2.

For comparisons sake, here's what Erudites look like in EQ Live:

 

[Buggy Loop]

Sad that such technology is in poor artistic hands. Im kinda waiting to see how EQ2 turns out, i was burned out from the original, how could they possibly fix all annoying things..

 

[belgurdo]

Get some Koreans on the art staff STAT!

 

[mr2mike]

That is ugly beyond words.

"Get some Koreans on the art staff STAT!"

word!

 

[ManaByte]

Sad that such technology is in poor artistic hands. Im kinda waiting to see how EQ2 turns out, i was burned out from the original, how could they possibly fix all annoying things..

Completely different game from EQ Live. Just about all the things that drove people away from EQ have been changed in EQ2 as that's the target audience for the game - people who either tried it and didn't like it or people who didn't like it and left.

Here's a good write-up from E3 that details much of that:
http://pc.ign.com/articles/516/516911p1.html

EQ2 is like the Bizarro version of EQ in terms of how it's structured.

I am just going to miss the conehead Erudites

 

[Tortfeasor]

I am sure i will buy it, but I can just not get over how ugly the game is... I do not know how it is supposed to compete graphically with existing product. When it ships, it will already be well behind the curve.

Plus, looking at the new gameplay direction as described in the ign article, I do not know what audience they are going for with this product. It seems like they are ignoring their fanbase in order to bring in more people and just assuming that the loyal crowd will just follow even though they have been kicked in the balls. I do not see how a less complex game with less strategy and bad graphics is going to cut it in the MMORPG market.

 

[Buck]

There is no hope for EQ 2. they have not learned from all the backlash from SoL expansion, and this is just the same crappily designed crap with a coat of bump mapping, whoop tee do. ill take the pre luclin models and animation over that shite any day thank you very much.

 

[ManaByte]

Plus, looking at the new gameplay direction as described in the ign article, I do not know what audience they are going for with this product. It seems like they are ignoring their fanbase in order to bring in more people and just assuming that the loyal crowd will just follow even though they have been kicked in the balls. I do not see how a less complex game with less strategy and bad graphics is going to cut it in the MMORPG market.

Well, everyone knows that current EQ players don't want to leave their level 65's (soon to be level 70's) to start over the same character in the same game world with updated graphics, so they are looking at a more casual non-EQ player as their target.

That's why they are updating the EQ Live graphics so much over the next couple months. When the new engine is fully implemented, it'll look like EQ 1.5. There will be many things in EQ2/EQ Live to keep people playing both. The worlds will be "linked" so EQ Live players will be able to keep playing their level 70's while not feeling detached from EQ2. The way it's going to work out is actually kind of cool.