I absolutely agree that we should have said something sooner. I wish that I could have, because it was clear what the reaction would be. For those who feel hurt or misled, I sincerely apologize.
I had no desire to deceive anyone, though I acknowledge that the few comments I have made on this subject are ambiguous at best and could be interpreted multiple ways. Had I wanted to invent a coverup, it would have been simple enough to make up some excuse about how nobody had found the quest yet and so we decided to redo it.
But I’d rather have you know the truth, even if it causes people to call me a liar in the process. My job isn’t all trips to France and having drinks at FanFaire; it’s taking the heat for unfortunate decisions and accepting my part in that. So again, let me say that I wish this had been handled better and I’m sorry for any hurt feelings that have arisen.
– Moorgard
I feel very bad for Moorgard. He is, after all, given a choice between following orders and becoming unemployed. For a fansite writer to be offered a position at SOE is a dream come true that few would turn down. Yes, he’s a sell out, but most folks are when placed into that sort of situation. Mortgages and non-hungry children start looking more important than principles after a while.
As he says, he wishes he could have told us the truth, as he knew what would be our response would be to finding out later. It must have been a miserable situation, and I’m sure he’s been dreading having to come forward and reveal the deception.
I save my anger for Moor’s superiors, who prevented him from speaking the truth when he undoubtedly wanted to. But knowing now that, like anyone with bills to pay, he will put towing the company line before honesty, we would be very stupid to continue to give what he says any great weight. Thats what happens when commentators get too cosy with their subjects. (As EQVault shows on a bi-weekly basis.).
* Clues not included.
Fresh in:
I was the fansite admin who was running this interview with Moorgard. And I can assure you that he said it…He said that the frogocks were in game and unlockable…And that when someone will find how to unlock them, everyone will know because of server scripted events and so on.
– FitzChevalerie of Mondes Persistants. A less than happy journalist.
Because significant changes to combat will be arriving on the Test server with our next update, we have decided to delay Priest balancing and changes to Summoner pets until we are confident the combat system is where we want it to be. – Moorgard
The news just gets worse. The Guk-gate scandal, and now some of the worst afflicted classes are going to have to wait at least another month for the fixes that have been promised, well, quite a long time now. At first sight, it might look as if Moorgard is trying to annoy as many people as possible today, but I have another theory, that makes far more sense.
Yes, it’s Opposites Day at SOE, when you say exactly the opposite of what you mean. Coming up next, a free advertising brochure for every Station-Access account filled with useful information for anyone who doesn’t have access to the internet.
Hopefully sanity will return over there presently, and I can get back to getting called a “fanboi”.
This was posted today by Moorgard:
We know that many of you have been anxiously awaiting the chance to play a froglok character. As we announced before launch, we decided to tie the availability of the frogloks into a major game-changing event. Since some of you have been searching for clues about how to unlock the froglok race, we wanted to provide an update on their availability and pass along a bit of insider info on what’s about to come.
After making the decision to hold back the frogloks at launch, we gave our art team some extra time to enhance their animations and armor appearances. Since frogloks are the most distinct race from a physical perspective, they require handcrafted animations to take full advantage of their unique characteristics. To accomplish this, we decided to delay them a bit longer so we could release them in the most polished manner possible.
This also gave our Live Events team the chance to plan something really cool for their unveiling. I’m pleased to report that the live event for May is going to be the unleashing of the frogloks!
Players will be able to complete solo quests that allow them to play froglok characters on their own EverQuest II account. Unlocking the race for the whole server will involve the completion of an elaborate series of quests that culminate in an epic raid zone event that will challenge even the most seasoned adventurers. This is your chance to defeat the evil force that has kept the froglok spirit imprisoned for so long.
As part of Live Update #8, scheduled to hit the live servers the week of May 2, players will be receiving new animation files for the frogloks. This will kickoff the beginning of the froglok live event.
We realize some of you froglok fans out there would have preferred to receive this information sooner, but we decided to stay quiet until the Live Events team had finished their planning. We think the wait will be worth it, and players will have a lot of fun participating in this major event.
??? I don’t believe it! They did it to us again!
Races and Race/Class Combinations FAQ
Will all races be playable at launch?
At launch you can choose from 15 races to create your characters. The last race, the froglok, must be unlocked via a server-wide quest before it is playable as a character race.
Of course, playing with semantics, they never stated that quest was in game. In fact SOE has been very quiet on Frogloks all round. My exhaustive search for devs using the F-word turned up 3 entries, all of which were Moorgard, 2 of which are above. (The other one just mentioned that Froglok characters have to start in Qeynos.)
It would have been the easiest thing in the world to tell the public that the Froglok-unlocking quest was not in-game yet. Sphinxlike they sat, as the requests for clarification were proffered. Countless folks have been wasting their time trying to find something that was not there, and the theories and efforts have been getting increasingly crazy. Fortunately I wasn’t one of them :)
In spite of playing SWG, I’m basically pretty benign towards the EQ2 devs, but this has been giving me nasty jedi-related flashbacks. But more, I just don’t understand why this deception was necessary.
Were there really that many people who would only buy EQ2 if they could play a anthropomorphic frog?
The suspense must have been killing the poor lass. Five months of anguish.
Theres also this, from Moorgard’s trip to La Belle France, and an interview with Mondes Persistants, who asked him directly, whether the unlocking method was implemented.:
Personne n’a encore découvert le moyen de les delocker, mais quand cela arrivera, on le saura rapidement, car cela déclenchera toute une série d’events scriptés entre autre.
Which, translated as best I can states “No-one has yet discovered the method of unlocking, but when they do, a series of scripted events will occur, amongst other things.”
Today, the outdoor zones have had a lot of their heroic encounters replaced with solo ones. I am glad of this, but not for the reasons supposed by the devs. Any of my characters were more than capable of defeating a green heroic encounter, and higher than green in some cases. I also enjoy grouping outdoors, and am most surprised to be told this is rare. Simply, at the moment, the heroic opponents are not worth my time.
Well, obviously the extra xp for a heroic is nice, if you’re into that sort of thing, but instead of that heroic green you could just as easily go slay a solo orange critter.
Since the loot table changes to the outdoor zones, solo creatures have become the sensible prey for anyone not rabidly concerned with xp gain. The heroic encounters did not gain any of the new drops, which is of a quality that, at least in the case of Antonica, is vastly better than most of what even the named foes possess. Holly Windstalker drops a Runed Bramblewood Rod (DR 6.2, +7 health, +4 power. Masters at level 17). The second snake outside Qeynos gates I breath on gives me a Snake Hoop: (+2 int, +2 agi, +2 sta, +4 power, +20vs cold. Masters at 14th.). An extreme example, as Holly may well drop better items sometimes, but enough to show the point.
To change the loot of a whole zone in such a piecemeal way turned risk vs reward upon its head, and in such a topsy-turvy world, those seeking fortune should seek the easy targets. I wonder if the decline in outdoors grouping began with the solo loot update.
Another Fine Example!
As Harold Macmillan rightly proclaimed, nothing can send a government (or guild) off course like an unexpected event. Even one that was foretold in the patch notes.
I am hurt.
A plague o’ both your houses! I am sped.
Is he gone, and hath nothing?
Mercutio, on the other hand, was just rather annoyed about getting a rapier stuck in his chest. He had every right to be upset. Yet very soon he cursed no more, for the sword is an efficient killer.
Which is more than can be said for the Septicemic Blight that is sweeping Norrath at this time. It causes greenness of both flesh and clothing, some unsociable coughing, and, well, that’s about it. And therein lies the problem, for it leaves its victims alive to complain.
The plague has spread to every corner of Norrath. Priests can only heal themselves and those willing to group with them, and countless Typhoid Marys have carried plague to every instance of every dungeon. Even the undead and the inanimate have fallen prey to this most insidious pestilence.
With such a vast reservoir of germs, untouchable by player healers, there is nothing I or any other priest can do to stem the tide. We can only hope that the tales of an alchemical cure are more than mere rumour.
In the time I’ve spent writing this far I have been infected with the blight 12 times. I have, to my shame, given up offering to cure anyone. I fear we are all doomed. But perhaps, should any survive, their descendants will find the following suggestions helpful:
1) Events are a good idea. They tend to be shortlived, and as such need to have a real game-changing reach in order for everyone to notice. The plague has certainly done that!
2) No matter how innocuous you make the event, someone will complain that it is affecting their gameplay adversely. The lack of adverse effects from being infected is exactly why so many people are running about spreading disease. Pay no heed to those who consider turning green to be a reason to quit.
3) Try to make it fit in better with the existing world. I was horrified, upon visiting the temple of Rodcet Nife, god of healing, that not only did they have nothing to say about the disease, but they were all infected! By having NPCs (and tents and statues) be infectable, infectious, yet not curable, you have removed any possibility for the players to control the epidemic.
4) Of course, the disease won’t be defeated until someone’s completed some fancy quest somewhere. So far the only static one I’m aware of is for Alchemists, in Nektulos. Which is of course fine, but there probably aren’t all that many tier 3 alchemists out there. Don’t you think that it’s a tad specialised?
5) The other quests I’m aware of are initiated by GMs playing NPCs. I love that idea, but what proportion of the population is likely to encounter such wonderful sounding content? Any information vital to the storyline needs to somehow be available to anyone of sufficient level without needing to be playing in the right timezone at the right spot.
Anyhows, it’s daftly designed, but I’m still glad our first Event has come. Though let us hope that brave adventurers are rising to the challenge of curing the land, or this Event could outstay it’s welcome.
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