14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Sony Online Entertainment says that its currently-in-alpha-state EverQuest Next Landmark is at the moment getting new features at a faster pace than the company originally envisioned, and that means gamers will be able to experience more core gameplay mechanics before the beta launches.
Terry Michaels, a producer working on the coming title, says that the user interface team has been especially effective and that in the coming days gamers will be able to experience the MMO with added groups, friend notifications and locations for claims.
Friends can also help each other build new content, and the developer tells Massively that “We expected really phenomenal things, but some of the stuff that's being created blows us away. It's just fantastic.”
EverQuest Next Landmark is designed as a game that will pave the way for the next big MMO project from Sony Online Entertainment by allowing players to use some of the development tools that the company has created to deliver content.
Everything that players put together will be evaluated by SOE, and the best elements will be integrated into EverQuest Next when it is launched, although the team has not yet offered clear information about how the process will work.
The Landmark component will be launched before the end of the year, and on March 31 a selected group of players will be able to get into the beta and test out even more of the core mechanics.
SOE still has long-term plans for the first two titles in the EverQuest franchise, which will continue to get access to new content all through 2014.
Thom Terrazas, a producer on the original game, says that his team will focus on celebrating 15 years since the MMO was first launched.
He explains that “This is the big drive to get everybody into the content that most of players are playing and most of the content we've been working on in the last couple of years.”
More race and class combinations will be added to the game, and there are also more armors and mounts for gamers to use in the game.
For EverQuest II Sony Online Entertainment is also planning some celebratory events, which include two new Heritage quests, and in April the level cap will be increased just as 20 new events are being introduced and more loot is available in the MMO.
A new mount is also being prepared for the game.