On Friday Sony Online Entertainment surprised its fans by announcing the early launch of the alpha test for EverQuest Next Landmark, the all-mining, all-crafting aspect of the next-generation fantasy MMO. I entered that alpha test, and I tore a hole in the world.
The alpha test was announced on Friday. The announcement was followed by a live stream, during which EverQuest director of development Dave Georgeson wore this hat.
The live stream ended without the alpha launch, so fans waited and read Twitter for several hours. Finally the servers went live, and players scrambled to claim prime plots. By the time I got in, 8AM the next morning, most of the prime spots seemed gone, but some rapid mouse clicking scored me a lovely desert mountaintop to play with.
And then the game went down for most of the day. On Sunday it returned with massive queues (a new server should open up tonight), and I didnāt get back online until this morning.
Here is my tale of travel and building, of ripping a hole in the ground with my bare hands and clawing out the fruit of the earth. Of getting lost. Of standing dramatically. This is ten minutes in EverQuest Next Landmark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFWGRKQtJS8
So far, so good. For my next trick, Iām going to try building some things. Wish me luck!
