Forums » General Pantheon Discussion

Is this happening?

    • 724 posts
    March 8, 2020 7:15 AM PDT
    I saw that Holly “Windstalker” Longdale is leaving EQ.
    Is there a chance she is going to help out VR?
    Some of you all may know but I'm hopeful that maybe, maybe, maybe, a fine mind and dedicated fan of mmorpg's is heading in our direction.
    • 1273 posts
    March 8, 2020 8:36 AM PDT

    Hmm, I did know that but it didn't cross my mind that she might be coming here.  Hmmmmmmmm

    • 557 posts
    March 8, 2020 9:55 AM PDT

    In her post on everquest.com she wrote, "I will be taking my leave from Darkpaw Games for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I owe to all the players and developers of EverQuest and EverQuest II."

    That doesn't sound like a move to an indie studio.   She already held a senior position at DBG/Darkpaw.   My guess would be a move to neutral ground such as a company like Twohat, working on back end gaming technology where she could have a positive impact on multiple titles.   Perhaps she's taking a role inside an organization such as the Fair Play Alliance which has members from across the industry.

    She also said she was "leaving Darkpaw Games as a producer for now", which hints at a return and that perhaps where she's headed is a temporary appointment.

    I wish her well wherever she's bound.

    • 523 posts
    March 8, 2020 2:16 PM PDT

    Holly is a little bit of a badass, definitely interested in what she is up to.

    • 99 posts
    March 8, 2020 2:30 PM PDT

    keep us posted 

    • 379 posts
    March 8, 2020 3:13 PM PDT

    I'd rather VR hire 10 more artists and animators.

    • 844 posts
    March 8, 2020 3:13 PM PDT

    Nope. Holly is staying where she has a regular gig. On P99.

    • 368 posts
    March 8, 2020 4:54 PM PDT

    Fragile said:

    I'd rather VR hire 10 more artists and animators.

     

    Hear hear

     

    I hope she doesnt come here. She's been driving EQ1 EQ2 into the dirt for years.


    This post was edited by arazons at March 8, 2020 5:40 PM PDT
    • 287 posts
    March 9, 2020 7:29 AM PDT

    Fragile said:

    I'd rather VR hire 10 more artists and animators.

    +1

    A batch of newbie artists and animators is worth a lot more than one well-known and probably overpaid name.

    • 3852 posts
    March 9, 2020 7:37 AM PDT

    I have nothing against Holly but this wouldn't be a good time to hire her at a presumably fairly large cost.

    Making a splash like that might well be worth it for the publicity alone if we were nearing release. We are not. All the publicity and excitement would fade before we even got to alpha, leaving behind only more complaints about lack of progress and disappointment. 

    • 1281 posts
    March 10, 2020 12:21 PM PDT

    For those recommending they hire her, do you even know if she would be a good fit in terms of vision? EQ (modern) and Pantheon are two different types of games. While the direction she's taken EQ may work for some people, would it work for Pantheon? I like the leadership we have right now because they have the roots planted back at a time in the game we want this game to be like.


    This post was edited by bigdogchris at March 10, 2020 12:23 PM PDT
    • 2756 posts
    March 10, 2020 4:39 PM PDT

    bigdogchris said:

    For those recommending they hire her, do you even know if she would be a good fit in terms of vision? EQ (modern) and Pantheon are two different types of games. While the direction she's taken EQ may work for some people, would it work for Pantheon? I like the leadership we have right now because they have the roots planted back at a time in the game we want this game to be like.

    Indeed. I have no idea who she is (well, I've heard very little) but if she's been happily working on EQ1 in recent times, I'm really not sure that is a sterling endorsement for working on Pantheon.

    • 56 posts
    March 10, 2020 6:30 PM PDT

    Not a fan of this idea at all. I would actually lose interest in a game I have been following for longer then most. 

    • 346 posts
    March 15, 2020 9:00 PM PDT

    I don't see it happening to be honest. This is less to do with VR and Pantheon and more to do with the future of EQ and EQ2. DBG is doing what is commonly known as a divestment strategy. They need to centralize and sell their assets and IPs. This is one way to go about it as potential buyers may want to buy up EQ and EQ2, but not Planetside. Holly likely knows this and it allowed her time to get her ducks in order and head out since it was likely she'd be taking a pay cut to stay.

    As Fragile has said, VR has one known bottleneck and that's artists, more specifically in the asset creation process. If any hiring is done, it is more likely to be there than hiring Holly as an exec position given what she'd ask in terms of a salary. I and I'm sure we all wish her well for those who are familiar with her from the EQ days. I personally only know of the name from when I left EQ when she was a junior position, but it was surprising to see ow she climbed that ladder even after the hiatus to work elsewhere for four years in between.


    This post was edited by Janus at March 15, 2020 9:01 PM PDT
    • 801 posts
    March 15, 2020 11:34 PM PDT

    Hope not, anyone from Daybreak will not hold water with many of us old time EQ players.

    • 9115 posts
    March 16, 2020 3:32 AM PDT

    Not happening ;)

    • 3852 posts
    March 16, 2020 8:14 AM PDT

    Kilsin said:

    Not happening ;)

     

    Good. Events over the last 6 months make some arrangement between VR and Darkpaw conceivable (not at all likely but not quite as unlikely as before Darkpaw was created) but hiring one high priced person who has left Darkpaw would not have been a good move. Maybe for the buzz if we were near launch but we are not near launch.

    • 368 posts
    March 16, 2020 6:16 PM PDT

    Kilsin said:

    Not happening ;)

     

    Best news I've heard all week

    • 196 posts
    March 29, 2020 5:24 PM PDT

    Akilae said:

    Fragile said:

    I'd rather VR hire 10 more artists and animators.

    +1

    A batch of newbie artists and animators is worth a lot more than one well-known and probably overpaid name.

    +1, +3 vs. devs that drive games into the ground....

    • 67 posts
    March 31, 2020 6:17 PM PDT

    Kilsin said:

    Not happening ;)

     

    Good news IMO.

    • 5 posts
    April 6, 2020 7:33 PM PDT

    ShaggNasty said:

    Kilsin said:

    Not happening ;)

     

    Good news IMO.

     

    Agreed.  If Windstalker or Kander came anywhere near Pantheon, I'd be gone before the ink was dry on the press release punctuation. 

    • 801 posts
    April 7, 2020 2:24 PM PDT

    Wulfgyr said:

    ShaggNasty said:

    Kilsin said:

    Not happening ;)

     

    Good news IMO.

     

    Agreed.  If Windstalker or Kander came anywhere near Pantheon, I'd be gone before the ink was dry on the press release punctuation. 

     Especially the class, spell, Dev.. it was a nightmare to deal with as a player.. The nerfs hurt us, and drove us away.

     

    P.s Hate this forum


    This post was edited by Crazzie at April 7, 2020 2:25 PM PDT
    • 1281 posts
    April 24, 2020 10:15 PM PDT

    FYI she accepted a job at Blizzard as a Game Producer.

    • 2 posts
    April 25, 2020 4:13 AM PDT

    bigdogchris said:

    FYI she accepted a job at Blizzard as a Game Producer.

    For that once in a lifetime opportunty, I guess she got also has a time machine back to 2004.