EverLonging

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Archived from groups: alt.games.everquest (More info?)

It's not that I keep hearing the Plane of Tranquility bell in the distance,
or waking up at 2am realising I was dreaming about East Commons or Rathe
Mountains, or even the odd looks people give me when I re-enact casting
animations at the automatic doors at the supermarket.

It's the friends I miss I didn't realise how many people I would just
completely lose when I left EQ, or rather, when they left it.

I think this is a serious downside to the great experiment that is MMORPGs.
You make real friends, and when the game dies, you lose them.

Regards,
James

 

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On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 01:25:07 GMT in
<T1DId.129951$K7.99619@news-server.bigpond.net.au>, "James Hicks"
<nospam@forme.plz> graced the world with this thought:

>I think this is a serious downside to the great experiment that is MMORPGs.
>You make real friends, and when the game dies, you lose them.
>
>Regards,
>James
>
This happened to me twice so far, once whe UO came out and I was
playing Diablo. I was new to the mmorpg thing, and had made a few good
friends, Naturally, no email addresses, UO came out and everyone
disappeared. I could be playing with them and not even know it. Second
was a <large> contingency of bounty-hunters and PKs in UO that I
knew... everyone stayed in contact when EQ came out, most came to try
it out. Time wore on, and within a year, people faded away, and
several people disappeared froom EQ, either going back to UO or moving
to DAoC. I have no idea where <any> of these people are now.
I understand that EQ is coming out with (or perhaps already has in
eq2) a process for leaving messages for others who aren't
online--something UO did years ago. I should be able to log on and
retrieve any messages left to me.
Now, IMO, if a game is going to encourage (read: force) people to
group, perhaps if they made more of an attempt at supplying an easy
way for people to keep in contact besides joining the same guild, it
would help one hell of a lot. Not everyone is real happy about passing
out their email address to someone they met in a game. Not a big
selling point for newbies, but I think for anyone who has been playing
a long time, they can see the importance of this, in <and> out of the
game. And, I don't think I need to say, it should be serverwide.

 

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"bizbee" <tuberoo@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:4TEId.3179$YD5.2168@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 01:25:07 GMT in
> <T1DId.129951$K7.99619@news-server.bigpond.net.au>, "James Hicks"
> <nospam@forme.plz> graced the world with this thought:
>
>>I think this is a serious downside to the great experiment that is
>>MMORPGs.
>>You make real friends, and when the game dies, you lose them.
>>
>>Regards,
>>James
>>
> This happened to me twice so far, once whe UO came out and I was
> playing Diablo. I was new to the mmorpg thing, and had made a few good
> friends, Naturally, no email addresses, UO came out and everyone
> disappeared. I could be playing with them and not even know it. Second
> was a <large> contingency of bounty-hunters and PKs in UO that I
> knew... everyone stayed in contact when EQ came out, most came to try
> it out. Time wore on, and within a year, people faded away, and
> several people disappeared froom EQ, either going back to UO or moving
> to DAoC. I have no idea where <any> of these people are now.
> I understand that EQ is coming out with (or perhaps already has in
> eq2) a process for leaving messages for others who aren't
> online--something UO did years ago. I should be able to log on and
> retrieve any messages left to me.
> Now, IMO, if a game is going to encourage (read: force) people to
> group, perhaps if they made more of an attempt at supplying an easy
> way for people to keep in contact besides joining the same guild, it
> would help one hell of a lot. Not everyone is real happy about passing
> out their email address to someone they met in a game. Not a big
> selling point for newbies, but I think for anyone who has been playing
> a long time, they can see the importance of this, in <and> out of the
> game. And, I don't think I need to say, it should be serverwide.

I left eqlive for eq2 simply because of the level cap increase from 65 to
70 - I tried it a bit but was too used to raiding etc to go back to
grinding. Add to that the sworn promise that they would never raise the lvl
cap above 65 and I got very discouraged. I played eq2 for a bit but found it
too easy and I missed friends who didnt leave eqlive.

Ive gone back - still have my eq2 account but dont think Ill play much.

Cladari
Quillious server

 

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Archived from groups: alt.games.everquest (More info?)

James Hicks wrote:
>
> even the odd looks people give me when I re-enact casting
> animations at the automatic doors at the supermarket.

I don't suppose there's any chance your posting from the South East
of Missouri, is there? Cause I for one would love to see you doing
this.

> It's the friends I miss I didn't realise how many people I would just
> completely lose when I left EQ, or rather, when they left it.

The one biggest regret I have for leaving EQ is losing touch with all
my buddies whom I would yak it up with. No more embarrassing mistells
in the wrong channel. *Deep, deep sigh*.

> I think this is a serious downside to the great experiment that is MMORPGs.
> You make real friends, and when the game dies, you lose them.

Ya, but it's also a hook that keeps many coming back and paying that
monthly fee even when the rest of the magic is gone. Personally, I
think the advantages far outweigh the inevitable losses.

--
Annie

AGE EverQuest Live FAQ:
http://www.icynic.com/~don/EQ/age.faq.htm

Mirrored at:
http://webpages.charter.net/lenny13/age.faq.htm

http://www.derfy.net/agefaq.html

 

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"bizbee" <tuberoo@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:4TEId.3179$YD5.2168@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 01:25:07 GMT in
> <T1DId.129951$K7.99619@news-server.bigpond.net.au>, "James Hicks"
> <nospam@forme.plz> graced the world with this thought:
>
> >I think this is a serious downside to the great experiment that is
MMORPGs.
> >You make real friends, and when the game dies, you lose them.
> >
> >Regards,
> >James
> >
> This happened to me twice so far, once whe UO came out and I was
> playing Diablo. I was new to the mmorpg thing, and had made a few good
> friends, Naturally, no email addresses, UO came out and everyone
> disappeared. I could be playing with them and not even know it. Second
> was a <large> contingency of bounty-hunters and PKs in UO that I
> knew... everyone stayed in contact when EQ came out, most came to try
> it out. Time wore on, and within a year, people faded away, and
> several people disappeared froom EQ, either going back to UO or moving
> to DAoC. I have no idea where <any> of these people are now.
> I understand that EQ is coming out with (or perhaps already has in
> eq2) a process for leaving messages for others who aren't
> online--something UO did years ago. I should be able to log on and
> retrieve any messages left to me.
> Now, IMO, if a game is going to encourage (read: force) people to
> group, perhaps if they made more of an attempt at supplying an easy
> way for people to keep in contact besides joining the same guild, it
> would help one hell of a lot. Not everyone is real happy about passing
> out their email address to someone they met in a game. Not a big
> selling point for newbies, but I think for anyone who has been playing
> a long time, they can see the importance of this, in <and> out of the
> game. And, I don't think I need to say, it should be serverwide.

Biz. You can't go being civil and stuff. It feels *wrong*. Please go
back, READ what I wrote, and think of a good *flame*.

j/k

 

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Archived from groups: alt.games.everquest (More info?)

"James Hicks" <nospam@forme.plz> wrote in message
news:T1DId.129951$K7.99619@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
| It's not that I keep hearing the Plane of Tranquility bell in the
distance,
| or waking up at 2am realising I was dreaming about East Commons or Rathe
| Mountains, or even the odd looks people give me when I re-enact casting
| animations at the automatic doors at the supermarket.
|
| It's the friends I miss I didn't realise how many people I would just
| completely lose when I left EQ, or rather, when they left it.
|
| I think this is a serious downside to the great experiment that is
MMORPGs.
| You make real friends, and when the game dies, you lose them.
|
| Regards,
| James
|
|

The mass exodus from EQ at the end of last year has resulted in a game I no
longer enjoy on my regular server. The game had been sliding for a very long
time but it was my friends that kept me going. Unfortunately for me I was
paying a year at a time, so my two accounts are still active for a few
months. When I log on, it's just sad to see the decline of population and
the emptiness that used to be a full friends list. I ended up starting over
on FV with a friend, it's helps to enjoy the game a bit as a newbie with no
twinking, back to the original eq.

However, we've kept the guild board running even though most of the guildies
have moved on to either WoW or EQ2. For a while at least we will be keeping
touch there, a good many of my friends were in our family type guild.
There's always the public board for communicating with non-guildie friends.
Hopefully when Vanguard comes out, we'll be reuniting for some hunting on
the same server.

 

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"Annie Benson Lennaman" <teapray@real.people.only.yahoo.com> wrote in
message news:41F43674.AF685342@real.people.only.yahoo.com...
> James Hicks wrote:
> >
> > even the odd looks people give me when I re-enact casting
> > animations at the automatic doors at the supermarket.
>
> I don't suppose there's any chance your posting from the South East
> of Missouri, is there? Cause I for one would love to see you doing
> this.

Melbourne, Australia actually. In fact, Brunswick, where such behavior
is quite acceptable.

> > It's the friends I miss I didn't realise how many people I would just
> > completely lose when I left EQ, or rather, when they left it.
>
> The one biggest regret I have for leaving EQ is losing touch with all
> my buddies whom I would yak it up with. No more embarrassing mistells
> in the wrong channel. *Deep, deep sigh*.
>
> > I think this is a serious downside to the great experiment that is
MMORPGs.
> > You make real friends, and when the game dies, you lose them.
>
> Ya, but it's also a hook that keeps many coming back and paying that
> monthly fee even when the rest of the magic is gone. Personally, I
> think the advantages far outweigh the inevitable losses.

I agree with that - if I had the time again I'd sign up all over again.
I just think it's... unfortunate... that one bad corporate decision can mean
I lose contact with a couple of friends. If I were designing a MMORPG today,
it would have to have as much longevity built in as possible, and naturally
sort people into geographically coherent groups. I know it's kinda cool to
be in a group with one guy from texas, one from dublin and one from japan,
but ultimately I think people would be better served by meeting people
closer to where they lived.

Maybe I was just spoiled by the old local BBS thing...

Cheers,
James

 

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Archived from groups: alt.games.everquest (More info?)

Did you say something, Annie Benson Lennaman
<teapray@real.people.only.yahoo.com>?

> The one biggest regret I have for leaving EQ is losing touch with all
>my buddies whom I would yak it up with. No more embarrassing mistells
>in the wrong channel. *Deep, deep sigh*.

One thing quitting did do was remind me that while they were my
friends, they were my game friends, and that was pretty much all we
shared. So the number of EQ friends I am still in touch with can be
counted on a somewhat mauled hand

I've been playing AO this past week. It's neat. But, in the interest
of school, I'm not leaving the AO newbie island till after my exams.
So I won't be running into much people there either.


Cel
Retired druids & sundry

 

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"Celaeno" <celaeno@choklit.nospam.org> wrote in message
> Did you say something, Annie Benson Lennaman
>
> > The one biggest regret I have for leaving EQ is losing touch with all
> >my buddies whom I would yak it up with. No more embarrassing mistells
> >in the wrong channel. *Deep, deep sigh*.
>
> One thing quitting did do was remind me that while they were my
> friends, they were my game friends, and that was pretty much all we
> shared. So the number of EQ friends I am still in touch with can be
> counted on a somewhat mauled hand
>
> I've been playing AO this past week. It's neat. But, in the interest
> of school, I'm not leaving the AO newbie island till after my exams.
> So I won't be running into much people there either.

As I recall, we're all on the same newbie island in AO, is that correct?
Because we're all using the free year? If so, what's your character's name
there? I'm Hoag, a bureaucrat (with that name, what else would I be?).

 

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"Celaeno" <celaeno@choklit.nospam.org> wrote in message
news:ij7dv09eilt5nu5gmmcvcpnsepk316qbn7@4ax.com...
> Did you say something, Annie Benson Lennaman
> <teapray@real.people.only.yahoo.com>?
>
> > The one biggest regret I have for leaving EQ is losing touch with all
> >my buddies whom I would yak it up with. No more embarrassing mistells
> >in the wrong channel. *Deep, deep sigh*.
>
> One thing quitting did do was remind me that while they were my
> friends, they were my game friends, and that was pretty much all we
> shared. So the number of EQ friends I am still in touch with can be
> counted on a somewhat mauled hand
>

*shrug* It is what you make of it. If thats all you're expecting, then
thats all you're going to get. I've become good friends with many people that
I met in EQ. In fact I'm now living in another state, with a girl that I
first met on EQ, and several other "EQ friends" in the surrounding area.

--
Davian - Wood Elf Warrior on Guk
Talynne - Half Elf Rogue on Guk
Dearic - Dwarven Shaman on Guk

 

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Archived from groups: alt.games.everquest (More info?)

Did you say something, "Davian" <davian@nospammindspring.com>?

>
>
>
>"Celaeno" <celaeno@choklit.nospam.org> wrote in message
>news:ij7dv09eilt5nu5gmmcvcpnsepk316qbn7@4ax.com...
>> Did you say something, Annie Benson Lennaman
>> <teapray@real.people.only.yahoo.com>?
>>
>> > The one biggest regret I have for leaving EQ is losing touch with all
>> >my buddies whom I would yak it up with. No more embarrassing mistells
>> >in the wrong channel. *Deep, deep sigh*.
>>
>> One thing quitting did do was remind me that while they were my
>> friends, they were my game friends, and that was pretty much all we
>> shared. So the number of EQ friends I am still in touch with can be
>> counted on a somewhat mauled hand
>
>*shrug* It is what you make of it. If thats all you're expecting, then
>thats all you're going to get. I've become good friends with many people that
>I met in EQ. In fact I'm now living in another state, with a girl that I
>first met on EQ, and several other "EQ friends" in the surrounding area.

As with many other things, YMMV. I never even had any EQ friends on
the same continent, or even regular friends I grouped with ingame.
And I am fairly certain that while these lost friends don't feel close
enough to me to contact me on their own, I am equally certain that
they'd talk with me as if I hadn't been gone at all should I ever
start playing again. And that's fine with me.


Cel
Retired druids & sundry