Here’s a peek at my whiteboard circa ‘The Buried Sea’ expansion.

In the upper left is a cubic representation of the different elements used to create power sources. I wrote some background lore that never actually made it into the game, but I’ll share here:

The Combine Alchemists fuse magic, science, and engineering together to achieve technological advancements.

The efforts of these alchemists have born much fruit over the centuries, teleportation, advanced construction techniques, and powerful magics (to name just a few).

Infused Armor is the most recent Combine achievement, and is a testimony to their continuing advancement. By understanding the 9 fundamental (known) elements of life: Water, Light, Shadow, Growth, Decay, Ice, Fire, Earth, and Air, the Combine are able to isolate the pure energy component. This energy, extracted by magic and concentrated by science, can be used to imbue carefully engineered armor with particular properties.

The base element, water, serves as the base point about which the four elemental dimensions revolve, each dimension consisting of two diametrically opposed elements.

The traditional Combine Alchemists follow strict guiding principles, and are very careful in their use of these purified elements. Certain elements can be fused together to form new elements (although there is some debate over whether or not these fusions are actually true elements, or should be called as such).

Among some of the more radical dissenters is a somewhat eccentric alchemist named Halon Griere. Citing irreconcilable differences, he has decided to relocate to the surface Islands and carry out his continued experimentation into the combination of elemental essences. In order to fund his experiments, Halon has entered into an arrangement with the pirates… He provides them with his creations, which they happily test, and in return they provide him with the resources he needs.

The upper right quadrant contains a graph of some different resist curves that I plotted when I was trying different approaches to designing a new resist system. Just under the curves are some rough concepts I drew for the Katta Castrum Portal System before I ditched the whiteboard and pulled out the graph paper.

The “circuit diagram” in the lower right is actually a simple map of the lower floor of the small pyramids. I used it to map out the search patterns for the “Knowledge for Power” mission. If you look closely, there are some pretty solid clues on exactly how the search patterns work.

In the lower left is a crude diagram I drew to explain how our data export system works. In the center is some nice tank concept art that Prathun drew… unfortunately it didn’t make it into the game. In contrast, just below and slightly right of the tank, are two art concepts I drew for Solteris weapons that our artists (slightly) refined and turned into the Lance of Solteris and Pike of the Vampire God.

Keith “Merloc” Turkowski
EQ Designer - Items

Since we have recently announced Fan Faire, I thought it would be a great time to ask the people planning on attending what type of panels that they would like to see. We always have the typical spells, content, and general topics that we cover but we all always open to suggestions! If you have always had an idea that you thought would work into our format please send in your comments.

I would love to see a few of the panels be more interactive. Thoughts???

Fan Faire Returns to the Las Vegas Hilton,
August 14 – 17, 2008!

If you’ve never been to an SOE Fan Faire before, you’ve been missing out! Fan Faire is a great place for SOE gamers to mix and mingle with each other and meet some of the faces behind their favorite SOE games. Here’s just a taste of some of the great stuff we’re planning:

• In-game tournaments
• Live, game-themed tournaments and quests
• A costume contest
• Lots of social activities, including a Kickoff Reception, a Grand Banquet and a VIP Party with live entertainment
• Sneak peaks at SOE titles currently in development
• The 2nd Annual Community Address from SOE President John Smedley
• Developer forums and roundtables

Sure enough, a celebration was had at the SOE San Diego offices. The cake was a hit with everyone and people went away with a “slice” of EQ. *hahahaha… I crack myself up!*

We are pushing the update out one day to allow everyone to enjoy the last day of the Fabled Events. Make sure you take part in these Live events while time lasts. When the update rolls out players will be able to redeem their Veteran rewards so you can look forward to that as well!

It’s amazing how fast time can pass.  It feels like just a few days ago when I first walked through the doors here but now, more than 5 years later, it’s time for me to move on.  I’ll be leaving SOE at the end of the month and wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you, the EverQuest players, for your dedication and friendship over the years.

Looking back over everything that EverQuest has done in the last 5 years is enough to make my head swim, but the one constant throughout that time has always been the fans.  Between fan faires, community summits, and the forums, I’ve met more dedicated and knowledgeable players than I could ever count and many of you have become good friends.  That level of interaction with players is something you don’t often get to experience in this industry and I’m certainly going to miss it.

EverQuest has always been a pioneer in the MMO industry and it has been a distinct honor to be part of that legacy and work with the wonderful team behind the game.  I leave EverQuest in the very capable hands of Ryan “Rytan” Barker and I have no doubt that he’ll continue its success long into the future.

Thanks you all for the great memories and I hope to run into everyone again in the future.

Travis “Rashere” McGeathy

Lead Designer

EverQuest

I hope that you all had a great time with the April Fool’s Day event that we pulled off. We learned from last year and added a nofun flag for those of you that wanted to turn it off. We had a great time watching the chaos!

We have been very busy with Live-events and I hope that you have all had a chance to jump in and enjoy the hard work that the guys have been working on.

Here is a Timeline that the marketing folks put together that outlines the major milestones in EQ’s history. It also make a great wallpaper!

Bonus Experience Weekend: To help celebrate the 9th Anniversary, starting 12:00 noon PDT, Friday, March 14, 2008 until 12:00 noon PDT, Monday, March 17, 2008, adventurers will be surrounded by a magical bonus experience increase of fifty percent.  Enjoy!

Below is a portion of the latest press release regarding EverQuest’s ninth anniversary. We have a ton of events planned around this anniversary and they will be rolling out over the next few months.

Sony will be celebrating the 9th anniversary of the launch of EverQuest with a variety of in-game and fabled events beginning this weekend.

The first events marking the occasion will be connected to the Planes of Power, the 2002 expansion that introduced new game zones in the form of non-planetary “Planes.” Beginning March 16, an NPC in the Plane of Tranquility named Garin Tvalish will begin handing out bags and clue books to players as part of a scavenger hunt for items featured in the Planes of Power expansion. Players will have to decipher the book’s hints, then collect the items and combine them in the bag to receive a special in-game reward.

Another month-long event linked to the divinities and servants introduced in the Planes of Power will begin on the same day, with familiar characters including the Thunder Giant Hreidar Lynhiilig and Rallos Zek the Warlord having their might increased to provide a proper challenge for current players. Loot value has also been cranked up to properly reward gamers willing to throw down with the Gods.“

It’s a great feeling to know that after nearly a decade, and fourteen expansions, EverQuest still resonates so positively with people all over the world,” said Sony Online Entertainment Producer Clint Worley. “Alongside its flourishing community, the in-game world is still going strong and changing daily, further proving EverQuest is a living and breathing virtual world that will stay active into the foreseeable future.”