EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin Preview
We visit Verant's offices to get the latest on the upcoming expansion to EverQuest.
The Shadows of Luclin is the third expansion to EverQuest, Sony Online Entertainment's popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Sony announced the expansion on April 18, surprising many fans so soon after the release of the second expansion, The Scars of Velious, just last December. Thematically, visually, and technologically, The Shadows of Luclin represents the most ambitious addition to EverQuest since the original game was released more than two years ago. In fact, this expansion is informally known as EverQuest 1.5. The Luclin expansion is also the first to take place on another planet; Luclin is a moon of Norrath that is currently visible to players only from the Plane of Air. In addition, the expansion adds a new playable race and a new playable class to the game. Due to enhancements like these, it's definitely aimed at keeping EverQuest players involved with the evolving gameworld and story.
GameSpot recently visited the offices of Sony Online Entertainment and Verant Interactive to get a closer look at The Shadows of Luclin. Verant has indeed been working on this expansion since January, a month after The Scars of Velious was released, although the developer was cautious about revealing its existence right away. The Shadows of Luclin is scheduled to ship this December, and judging from its current progress, it looks like the expansion will successfully blend the familiar with the new. For instance, an entirely new gameworld, complete with more than 25 zones designed for all levels of characters, will be available for exploration and adventure. Verant's Luclin team has been creating all-new creatures, cities, outdoor environments, and character models that essentially change the look and feel of the game. Secondly, Verant has been reworking the game engine to support a few technologies that in turn allow for higher-detail textures, higher-polygon models, and more. In addition, one aspect of the all-new character models--facial animations--hasn't yet been highly publicized, but it's absolutely one of the most stunning visual enhancements to the game. And just as impressive are the new adventuring zones. While most of the zones aren't finished or populated yet, we did see a sample of several indoor and outdoor environments, which definitely look unlike anything seen thus far in the EverQuest gameworld.
Although The Shadows of Luclin is still six months away, the technological improvements are already in place and will enable the artists and game designers to continue to create and add new content in the months ahead. Let's take a closer look at this expansion and its unexplored territories.
- Sony Online Entertainment
- Fantasy Online...
- Release: Dec 2, 2001
- ESRB: Teen
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