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Post by Kwibble (Shazap) on Feb 1, 2014 20:17:15 GMT -7
Hey all - just wanted to let you guys know that 1) EQNext Landmark when into Alpha test this morning, and 2) Sony lifted the NDA already so I'm allowed to talk about it! If anyone else bought a Founder's Pack with Alpha access and wants to find me, my in-game name is Shazap. It doesn't seem to matter what server you sign in on because you can freely bounce around between the servers.
Some observations:
1) The game is beautiful - very nice graphics and sound 2) The game is buggy - this is Alpha, so to be expected. SOE had their entire team in today working on bugs and putting out a patch this evening (a Saturday), so they seem to be serious about getting this rolling. 3) The crafting is simplistic - just have the stuff you need in inventory and press <Create> and wait a few seconds. Not sure if they'll keep this model or turn it into a more involved mini-game later.
I haven't gotten into the building yet. The Claim system is still wonky (although tonight's patch should improve things, I hope). I put down a claim this morning, and now I can't find it. Without my own piece of land, I can't build anything! (nor can I set up crafting tables to make more advanced harvesting tools so I can harvest better than tier one stuff!)
Looking forward to seeing what the next few days holds... :-)
Shaz
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Post by Kwibble (Shazap) on Feb 2, 2014 19:08:24 GMT -7
Day two. I really have to hand it to the SOE guys.... Dave Georgeson (Smokejumper - the EQNL PM) was answering forum posts on Saturday morning, about 10am PST, after a late night to launch the Alpha (it launched around 1am PST I believe). After reading the posts, he called in the Dev team, and they began working on a hot list of 5 key items (including the claim issues). About 4pm PST, the one of the servers crashed, and they shut down the other one in prep for a hotfix. It didn't go very smoothly. They kept at it until about 11:00 AM PST this morning, when the servers came back up. All the while, they kept the alpha testers updated frequently and let us know exactly what was going on. Very rare (and appreciated!) in this industry.
So, was it worth it? The servers have been up all day and very busy. They raised the population caps 50%, but there have still been frequent delays of 30 minutes to an hour to log in. But the log ins have been quite smooth - have only crashed once today. I was able to set up a new claim (I like the location of this one better - a picturesque view from atop one of the minor peaks in the area), and was able to place my forge and cutting saw. That has allowed me to progress to the fourth level of pick (Stone -> Copper -> Bronze -> Iron), and I'm working on collecting enough silver to hopefully upgrade to a silversteel pick. After that, I think you have to find recipes to continue, so it will be time for some deep-Norrath mining. :-)
Haven't really tried building anything yet, other than flattening out the hilltop and placing a bit of a wall, just to get a feel for the basic building UI. Looking forward to that as I have time.
BTW, if anyone of you are thinking of getting in, it turns out servers DO make a difference. That was a big issue yesterday - it wasn't pinning the locations to the server, which was causing all sorts of confusion and people losing their claims (including me). Now that it matters - I'm on the COURAGE server, and have set up a claim in the Mesa island. Give me a shout (Shazap) if you happen to participate!
Shaz
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Post by Kwibble (Shazap) on Feb 5, 2014 20:24:19 GMT -7
Seems like my limited time to play (~9pm to 11pm EST) is also the time SOE likes to apply patches :-) Still, getting along... have my Silversteel pick now. SOE has had to reset the voxels a couple of times, so that nice leveled-off mountaintop where I placed my saw table and forge? well, it gobbled them up when the terrain reset to original. Some people were able to dig out their crafting tables, but I gave up after awhile and rebuilt them. Now I've got my sifter and workbench, and am workign on materials to upgrade to a marble forge (so I can get the tungston pick!). Game continues to be fun, but not vor everyone
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Post by Kwibble (Shazap) on Mar 22, 2014 9:37:26 GMT -7
The Alpha test is winding down. I believe Sunday (3/23) is supposed to be the last day. The servers will come down Monday and Tuesday for a wipe, then come back up Wednesday with some new features and the start of the Closed Beta phase. My Trailblazer pass gives me four Closed Beta keys to hand out. SOE has announced some good news in that they will no longer be time-limited keys, but will be good through the entire Beta! I have offered them to four of my old college Minecraft buddies, but I'm guessing one or two of those won't be used. So... if you're interested in getting in on the Beta (Nikki? I'm thinking of YOU!), let me know and I might have a key I can give you.
Current Observations: Harvesting engine - still simplified, harvesting trees has gotten (a little) more interesting. Supposedly caves and underground resources will be added at or early into Beta. Crafting is quite a bit simpler and less time consuming that EQ2. Decorating and the building tools are AMAZING, very open-ended, and quite an outlet for creativity. Some of the things people have already one in the Alpha are mind-boggling. No combat yet. No treasure chests yet. No economy yet. SOE says it's all coming.
Also, if you're interested in the Beta, it's good to be aware of the minimum system requirements (EQNL requires quite a bit of horsepower)...
Minimum System Requirements:
OS – Windows 7 64 bit (NOTE: 64 bit required! ill not run on 32 bit OS) Processor – Intel i5 Quad Core or higher / AMD Phenom II X4 or higher Memory – 4GB RAM Hard Drive – 20GB Free Video Memory – 1,024 MB RAM Video Card – nVidia GeForce GTX 275 series or higher / AMD HD 4890 or higher Sound Card – DirectX compatible Internet – Broadband (3Mbit/sec or higher)
Recommended System Requirements:
OS – Windows 7 64 bit Processor – Intel i5 Quad Core or higher / AMD Phenom II X6 or higher Memory – 8GB RAM Hard Drive – 20GB Free Video Memory – 1,024 MB RAM Video Card – nVidia GeForce GTX 560 series or higher / AMD HD 6870 or higher Sound Card – DirectX compatible Internet – Broadband (10Mbit/sec or higher)
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Post by Kwibble (Shazap) on Apr 6, 2014 19:17:46 GMT -7
I got confirmation this weekend that one of my friends will not be able to use their Beta key for EQNL, so I have one key available. Anyone want to take a look? Let me know if you're interested.
Shaz
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