Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

I've already brought you a preview of EverQuest: Secrets of Faydwer and a Picture Tour. To cap off my coverage of the 14th expansion to the game that put Sony Online Entertainment on the map, I spent some time getting some answers to my questions from Travis "Rashere" McGeathy, Lead Designer of EverQuest. You'll see a picture of his in-game avatar, Rashere, to the right below. McGeathy is an enchanter because he loves the crowd control aspect of the class.

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Ten Ton Hammer: What would you want people to know about the Secrets of Faydwer (SoF) content?

Rashere was both tour guide and protector to Ralsu on his tour of Secrets of Faydwer.

Travis McGeathy: Few things. I'm always trying to get the word out that while EQ may be many years old, we're constantly working to be sure it doesn't feel like an old game. In a lot of ways, SoF is a return to some of the older ideas from EQ history. It's an expansion built to last a while and see players gain a lot of power as they go through it. For new folks, the SoF box comes not just with SoF, but with EQ and every one of its expansions to date.

Ten Ton Hammer: So EverQuest (EQ) is getting new players then?

Travis: We don't always know if new accounts in a month are completely new players or people who have come back to EQ after a while. But the number is enough to pretty much even out the trickle of people who inevitably leave the game.

Ten Ton Hammer: How would you characterize the subscriber base?

Travis: The EQ player base is holding pretty steady these days. The majority of our player base tends to be at the higher levels these days and have a history with the game. SoF is built specifically to cater to these players.

Ten Ton Hammer: Lifers?

Travis: Yeah, tons.The other day I was chatting with some guys who were talking about playing since the original beta. Got me thinking of where I was when that happened and how long ago it was.

Ten Ton Hammer: It is these lifers SoF is built for?

Travis: We built it mainly for our core players--high end, single-group players.

Ten Ton Hammer: What about the raiders?

Travis: Heh, can't forget the raiders. They have about 30 new raids and their own 4 tiers of progression to play with. We've done our best to make sure both styles are fully supported here.

Ten Ton Hammer: 30 raids? That's like several expansions in one!

Travis: Yeah. SoF is the first expansion in our new once-a-year expansion cycle.

Ten Ton Hammer: Why a full year?

Travis: That extra time means that we have more leeway to provide upgrades and tiers of content for players.

Ten Ton Hammer: When you say a "new cycle" of expansions, I hear a dedication to continued growth of the game.

Travis: Hah! EQ is eternal. I think it is going to outlive us all.

Ten Ton Hammer: Explain the longevity of EQ.

Travis: EQ's trials and tribulations really built a strong community where players have to rely on each other to accomplish things. And [in] everything we do, we keep our tried and true players in mind. We may alter the game here and there to improve things or make some things easier to do, but we're always careful to keep EQ itself.

Ten Ton Hammer: Are you able to point to one thing in SoF as your favorite?

Travis: It's the tiers for me. All the gear you need on the next tier is available in the tier before it.

Ten Ton Hammer: I will be the right level by the time I get somewhere?

Travis: If you're not, you'll quickly know to go back a few steps and gear up.

Ten Ton Hammer: I've encountered some new AA choices in SoF. They seemed really strong on my MAG.

This could be the future of humanity in Norrath.

Travis: That's actually a theme with SoF.

Ten Ton Hammer: We've heard of the headlining features of SoF with Meldrath, Kerafrym and the level cap increase. Tell me about some other things.

Travis: EQ has always been a more gritty fantasy, but the clockworks really turned up the levity.

Ten Ton Hammer: True, Meldrath's game room shows it well.

Travis: We went a bit nuts with this [expansion]. In addition to the expansion, we made a number of core system changes that will roll out with the expansion. [The changes include] both balance changes, like changing AC across the boards to improve caster survivability and convenience changes, like adding auto-loot functionality to corpses.

Ten Ton Hammer: What is the team working on with SoF behind it?

Travis: A first pass at the new human model. That's...not something going out with SoF, but we put it up [in the SoF beta] to get feedback from players.

Note: you can view the unfinished human model in the picture to the left. You can see the back side, too.

Ten Ton Hammer: As a final question, what would it take for somebody to get you to do anything else for a living?

Travis: Hah! Good question. A boatload of cash. Being a developer isn't easy, but it's about the most fulfilling job I can imagine, and it's hard to beat coming to work every day with the goal of making people have fun.

Ten Ton Hammer: Thanks so much for your time, Travis!

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