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 Thread (5 posts)
Stradden  6/21/06 11:08:42 AM
#1

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Today, we are happy to bring you an exclusive Q&A from Chris Lena, an EverQuest Producer, as he and our own Carolyn Koh sit down to talk about the new EQ Progression Server:

 

MMORPG.com: There’s been a lot of interest in the Progression Server and I’m going to ask the $64 dollar question. Why? Why did you think that such a concept would work?

Chris Lena: There are a lot of reasons for this server idea, but for me it was a fairly simple solution to a problem EverQuest has had for a long time. People always say to me that they would love to try EverQuest or that they used to play and would like to get back into it but they feel overwhelmed because of all of the content that has been added. They feel like they could never catch up and just lose their gumption. The Progression Server is a way for all of those people to get on this new server at level 1 and progress through all the content together. The amount they have to learn when they start is bite-sized. But the Progression Server has become a lot of things to a lot of people and you can find dozens of different reasons on our forums as to why players are interested in this concept.

MMORPG.com: There’s even been talk of a population control and a 2nd server. Did you expect to generate this amount of interest from the fan base and do you have a “magic” number for the population before you open up another server?

Chris Lena: We do have a magic number and we have reached it. In other words, there will be a second server launching on June 28 called The Sleeper. The bigger question is what the population long-term is. Whenever we open any new server the initial interest is huge compared to the lasting population. I expect this to be even more dramatic with the Progression Server. We have to balance allowing everyone to try the server who wants to with technological limitations and long-term server viability.

You can read the article, here.

Cheers,
Jon Wood
Managing Editor
MMORPG.com
Gonodil  6/21/06 12:50:58 PM
#2

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Ehh, is there more? Seems very short.
 
Billius8  6/22/06 10:04:38 AM
#3

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While the Progessive Server is a great idea, I think the reason many players want it is to see the old world come to life again:  Folks walking around Freeport, Qeynos, Commonlands, Halas, Kelethin, Erudin, etc...

It's not so much these folks want the high level content locked out, they just don't want the low level areas dead.   The old world was the beauty of the game.  Even if you were far away fighting in some dungeon, you always made a pit stop back into the old world where you could see noobs running about.

Only one zone in one expansion killed the old world off:  Plane of Knowledge.  Tutorials didn't help much either.  If they can limit access to the Plane of Knowledge and bar any tutorials, then I think the Progression servers will thrive for some time.  If not, then as soon as POK becomes available and the infamous tutorials, the low level game will quickly die out once again.
 
Gonodil  6/22/06 6:31:02 PM
#4

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Originally posted by Billius8

While the Progessive Server is a great idea, I think the reason many players want it is to see the old world come to life again:  Folks walking around Freeport, Qeynos, Commonlands, Halas, Kelethin, Erudin, etc...

It's not so much these folks want the high level content locked out, they just don't want the low level areas dead.   The old world was the beauty of the game.  Even if you were far away fighting in some dungeon, you always made a pit stop back into the old world where you could see noobs running about.

Only one zone in one expansion killed the old world off:  Plane of Knowledge.  Tutorials didn't help much either.  If they can limit access to the Plane of Knowledge and bar any tutorials, then I think the Progression servers will thrive for some time.  If not, then as soon as POK becomes available and the infamous tutorials, the low level game will quickly die out once again.

The PoK books wont be back until PoP is unlocked, which may or may not take some time depending on how hard the devs make it.

They might consider even removing them for these servers if the outcry for it is great enough. Thats my own guess though.
 
zandwarf  6/29/06 11:59:13 AM
#5

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Pounding out aggression, Turned into obsession...
I have never played EQ but have played EQ2 since launch.  I always hear guys talking about EQ and how great it is, but have never bothered playing it in fear that i would be so far "behind the times" so to speak that i would just be lost.  I think this server is a great idea for the older guys who just wana go back to their roots, and maybe for some newer guys who would like to play the game but dont wana solo the whole thing =)