EverQuest Next Preview
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'˜Tumbling somewhere you're not supposed to be' is part of EverQuest Next's mission statement. SOE's vision for the next generation of MMOs involves a gameworld that is layered like Minecraft, with hand-designed fantasy landscapes on the surface and procedurally-generated tunnels below. The next Norrath is built out of voxels clever cubelets that can be generated, moulded and destroyed on the fly. At the most basic level, that means a surface world built out of destructible components: demonstrating the game for the first time, game director David Georgeson showed how melee strikes and magic attacks can blow up walls and leave craters.
This is impressive simply as a visual effect, and adds a level of responsiveness to the world that isn't present in other games. Over time, this damage will repair itself to make way for fresh adventurers, and certain key areas won't be destructible at all but it's what voxel technology has allowed SOE to do next that elevates it from impressive to important.
Break through the floor in EverQuest Next either in the aftermath of an earth-shattering blow, or by casting a spell or picking up a shovel and you'll enter a subterranean cavern that is generated on the fly for you to explore. You'll be able to hunt monsters, claim items and conduct the rest of your MMO business in an environment that promises a new experience every time you enter it and the deeper you go, the more you'll encounter.
As well as differentiating the strata of the world through visual themes underground lakes, crystal caves, the volcanic core each layer corresponds to an era in the game's lore, enabling you to encounter history first-hand as you pick through the remains of each passing age.
EverQuest Next is a reboot rather than a sequel. The key characters and places of Norrath will return, but their alignments, appearance and fates have been remixed. The creative freedom this has granted SOE will be extended to the players as well.
Later in the year, SOE will release EverQuest Next Landmark a freeform voxel-building game where players can claim plots of land, dig for resources, and build whatever they like with them. The obvious inspiration is Minecraft, right down to the random generation of landmasses on every server. Unlike Minecraft, however, Landmark's construction tool allows for the smooth carving of blocks: rough edges are possible, as are curves and even perfect spheres. It's seriously impressive in action, like watching professional 3D software running in a game engine.
