Kenafin

I was discussing in-game "taverns" and other social gathering areas with some TERA friends, when this question came up: "What's your favorite in-game tavern/bar, for any game?" My response was the bi-level bar in Neriak of the original EverQuest, with its large window that opened into a lake outside the bar. That venue has stood out in my mind through countless other games. With EverQuest then fresh in my head, I decided to install the now Free-To-Play game via Steam and give it a whirl.

Honestly, I wish I hadn't.

I've got many fond memories of the good times I had in EverQuest, but those good times happened over a decade ago. I know that there is a TON of content for this game, which has seen around 14 expansions in 14 years. However, what really hasn't improved much is the user interface. I started a new dark elf character, intent on making my way back to Neriak and the bar I so loved, but it never happened. I was so frustrated with the UI that I quit playing well before I had finished the tutorial section of the game.

For those that have continued to play EverQuest all this time, they're probably accustomed to the clunky UI and have leanred to live with it. Those of us who moved on have seen 10+ years of improvement in our MMO's, including how developers approach building a UI. More modern games make it almost effortless to jump in and start playing, whereas I felt like I had just entered the cockpit of a starship with EverQuest.

Perhaps I'm being mellowdramatic, but I DID want to play the game long enough to revisit some old haunts - I just wasn't willing to put up with the frustration of navigating the game's ancient UI to get there.

Kethron wrote:I was discussing in-game "taverns" and other social gathering areas with some TERA friends, when this question came up: "What's your favorite in-game tavern/bar, for any game?" My response was the bi-level bar in Neriak of the original EverQuest, with its large window that opened into a lake outside the bar. That venue has stood out in my mind through countless other games. With EverQuest then fresh in my head, I decided to install the now Free-To-Play game via Steam and give it a whirl.

Honestly, I wish I hadn't.

I've got many fond memories of the good times I had in EverQuest, but those good times happened over a decade ago. I know that there is a TON of content for this game, which has seen around 14 expansions in 14 years. However, what really hasn't improved much is the user interface. I started a new dark elf character, intent on making my way back to Neriak and the bar I so loved, but it never happened. I was so frustrated with the UI that I quit playing well before I had finished the tutorial section of the game.

For those that have continued to play EverQuest all this time, they're probably accustomed to the clunky UI and have leanred to live with it. Those of us who moved on have seen 10+ years of improvement in our MMO's, including how developers approach building a UI. More modern games make it almost effortless to jump in and start playing, whereas I felt like I had just entered the cockpit of a starship with EverQuest.

Perhaps I'm being mellowdramatic, but I DID want to play the game long enough to revisit some old haunts - I just wasn't willing to put up with the frustration of navigating the game's ancient UI to get there.

No worries, I felt the same way when I tried to play DAOC a little while back. It was frustrating!!! Another oldie and still played game you could go back to is "The Realm," you can still find people standing at the corner.

The Realm is one I did go back to, just for grins, in the mid-2000's. Now I'm content to leave it be. What made that particular game worthwhile was the community, which is almost non-existent now.

I was thinking of patrolling a few other "old haunts", including DAOC, but I think I'll skip it since you've already explored it.

Kethron wrote:The Realm is one I did go back to, just for grins, in the mid-2000's. Now I'm content to leave it be. What made that particular game worthwhile was the community, which is almost non-existent now.

I was thinking of patrolling a few other "old haunts", including DAOC, but I think I'll skip it since you've already explored it.

Yeah it reminds me of when I played Mass Effect 3 then went back to play Mass Effect and noticed how far gaming has come. Another example is Morrowind vs Oblivion vs Skyrim.

I didn't play Skyrim when it was released and my room mate had, but hadn't played Oblivion, so informed her that I still had it. Hehe, she had fun with it, but was pointing out the differences in it vs Skyrim. So yeah I then got Skyrim and been playing it off and on.