EQoA was fantastic, just unfortunately ahead of its time and also restricted due to some rules. First, it was a bit early for a console MMO, although I'm glad we were able to blaze a trail there. Second, we weren't permitted to release the PC client, which I think would have made it more popular and have longer legs. Great game, though, for sure.
Miss it too man. So many fond memories. If i could pick a favorite thing it would be all the sweet out of the way camp spots in the huge zones. All word of mouth kind of deal, someone shows you and you show the next group. There was one way out in the dunes between MTG and NRo with tons of clockworks? maybe something else but tons of them and fast repawn and nobody ever went there. Then there are some more propular spots but still out of the way. Who remembers this island?
All those caymans and crocs :)
Pantheon already looks like it has some similar feel to EQOA. Don't know if any of the devs had a hand in it or even played it, but hope they did.
Edit: Whoops he posted right above me haha. Awesome guy!
oh this is the Sony ps version, i always wondered what people ment by EQOA.
Once announced, i went with the PC version and the addiction kept me playing. Aradune kept us playing non stop for days on end :)
We had no time to look at anything else lol
EQOA was my first MMO and the only one I played extensively. I still have pangs of withdrawal/nostalgia thinking back on all the good memories.
I was a huge fan of the lvl 17 armor quests - even umpteen alts later I still did every single one for fun and the look of a coordinated set, as well as all the coaches.
I loved the raid competition too, and the frustration/reward that went along with it.
The pet classes were awesome - wether it was a druid/chanter with a charmed pet or a nec/mag.
I liked the death penalty - instead of losing levels/xp, you earned an XP debt to pay as you grinded.
There is a revival effort going on similar to P99, progress is slow but continuous - one day I hope to play Pantheon and EQOA as my two main time sinks!
I bought the game at a yard sale simply because it had EverQuest on it. I can't remember exactly why I was never able to play it - either my PS2 couldn't connect to the internet or the game code had already been used. Either way, I was happy to just have another piece of EQ merchandise on my bookshelf. The game looks really interesting and I wish I had a chance to play. I hear rumors that there is going to be revival for PS4?
Sicario said:
This is amazing. If I had seen this on TV when I was younger I probably would have peed my pants.
Super lame and unpopular opinion: I hated EQOA. At the time, I was die hard into EverQuest, and really didn't like the fact that they were expanding it to a console audience... I was resistent to the push towards voice chat... I still remember the ridiculous argument I always made: "MMORPGs are about the dissimenation and analysis of textual and statistical information in a role playing environment." And in truth, I still wish that was how it played out... I don't love voice chat in these games... but I also prefer a forum environment to Twitch and Youtube.... so that's just an old guy not getting his way. As time has moved on, I realize that the progress was inevitable. I do wonder if trying to push the boundaries of the genre is what has left us in this particular environment where there is no true "old school" MMORPG left to enjoy in the major marketplace, but I can definitely appreciate that there is obviously a significant crowd that grew up on EQOA and with whom it left and indellible impression and love for the franchise and genre. That tells me that the game was worth something, with a certainty.
EQ was such a fantastic world and came at such a perfect time during the explosion of multiplayer gaming... I'm glad you guys had a version of Norrath to enjoy for a few years.
Hannar said:Super lame and unpopular opinion: I hated EQOA. At the time, I was die hard into EverQuest, and really didn't like the fact that they were expanding it to a console audience... I was resistent to the push towards voice chat... I still remember the ridiculous argument I always made: "MMORPGs are about the dissimenation and analysis of textual and statistical information in a role playing environment." And in truth, I still wish that was how it played out... I don't love voice chat in these games... but I also prefer a forum environment to Twitch and Youtube.... so that's just an old guy not getting his way. As time has moved on, I realize that the progress was inevitable. I do wonder if trying to push the boundaries of the genre is what has left us in this particular environment where there is no true "old school" MMORPG left to enjoy in the major marketplace, but I can definitely appreciate that there is obviously a significant crowd that grew up on EQOA and with whom it left and indellible impression and love for the franchise and genre. That tells me that the game was worth something, with a certainty.
EQ was such a fantastic world and came at such a perfect time during the explosion of multiplayer gaming... I'm glad you guys had a version of Norrath to enjoy for a few years.
It didn't have voice chat though. I wouldn't say it was a newschool type mmorpg either. It wasn't as advanced as EQ in all aspects but it was still oldschool. It had grinding, limited quests and the main focus on grouping.
I know this thread hasn't been commented on in a while, and I doubt anyone will have anything to say afterwards, but I saw it and couldn't help myself.
EQOA was also my first love, like some of you have mentioned. Wilsef said it right up there about "the pangs of withdrawl and nostalgia." I get it so often that I look up videos on YouTube just to hear the sound effects and the old ass character animations, lol. I was only 13 when the game came out, but I played it until I was 18 and even tripple boxed after I became good at it. I miss having a game like that, that I could sink so much time into. It was the greatest social experience of my life, and I sincerely hope that Pantheon takes some themes from EQOA... because it is what gave me a love for MMOs. I think a lot of EQOA for me, too, was the fact that you could sit back and relax on a couch and play, rather than use a keyboard and mouse and be stuck in a chair. Nothing wrong with keyboard and mouse, of course, especially for EQ -- though mostly because it was so slow paced. I can't stand all these MMOs on the PC these days that are all action based and so fast moving that you can't have a TEXT-BASED social interaction with the other players. The groups area ALWAYS moving, rather than sitting and camping in one spot. I know we have Vent and Discord and whatever other team speak crap there is, but to be honest, I don't care for voice chat. It simply breaks the immersion for me when a big beefy tank has the voice of an 8 year old child, or the sorceress has the voice of a 45 year old man-child, lol.
ANYWAY, I digress. EQOA was great, and I hope to see a lot of things from EQOA put into Pantheon. For instance, I read another thread that talked about death penalties, and one of the GMs said an option was xp debt. I loved EQOA's debt system. It was penalty enough that you didn't want to die, but it wasn't horrid enough that you had to spend a lot of time trying to get your body back or risk losing items, and you could work off the debt through xp grinds.
But meh, that's all I have to say about it. Glad to see there are a lot of other people out there that miss EQOA as much as I do. Maybe that emulator will work out in the end, maybe not... but at least we'll have Pantheon!
Man, my friend introduced me to this game and it was like drugs. So many things I could talk about powerleveling, using various glitches like pet pling or "say" slow cast cancel glitch. The scarecrow with the 1hp debuff as an enchanter. That club from the goblin quest you could use to solo goblins well above your level. Enchanting the huge bear by DM and taking it to town. That OP undead D's people were using to pl like crazy. The fact lycanthropy was a thing. I found a way to charm sea creatures and bring them up on land. Raging rhinos, merks, moots, phants, kappas, those treants by clw, clops, clockworks and many more camps! The nostalgia is unreal, remember the pox that went around? Staff of faykind was awesome and while the game was frustrating at times it was still great for its time. Hopefully one day it will be here to play once again.
EQOA was my first MMO as well. I watched my friend play EQ, but I didn't have a powerful enough PC to play, so I got EQOA for the PS2 and played it almost daily for over 7 years. For those who don't know, all servers were shut down back in 2012 and the IPs are owned by different parties and the server technology is so old it can't be brought back.