What the heck is EQNext Landmark?EQNL is a free to play sandbox MMO. At its core, the entirety of Landmark is really the development toolset for EQNext proper. The main focus of gameplay is to explore, gather resources and build things around the world like one might do in Minecraft. As the title moves forward toward launch and beyond, however, more and more tools will be added such as AI scripting, mechanical objects, combat, etcetera. Everything that SOE can develop for EQNext, you will be able to recreate or improve upon within Landmark.
How easy will it be to build?Quite easy.
How much effort will all of this take?Quote:
Landmark can be boiled down to finding a spare space, staking a claim to it, and then gathering the raw materials - and the skills to work with them - to build houses, castles, or whatever else you want on your plot of land. The progression through learning different tools will get more complex, and though you can be gifted more advanced tools or other items by in-game friends who have already earned them, you won't actually be able to use them until you've gone through the process of gaining the relevant skills.
That in itself could take a while, if you want to be the very best. "It would take you more than nine hours to go through the process of making the best pick" creative director Jeff Butler explained, "assuming you have all the materials." Figure on thousands of hours of work to contract a small house, he estimated.
Initially you'll learn your skills at one of the core crafting stations around the island hubs, but players will also be able to construct more advanced tools and stations to take to their own claimed areas. There, surrounded by a buffer zone for future expansion, they're safe from having their constructions destroyed or tampered with; they also get underground and airspace rights, though neither is taken advantage of in the alpha.
Can I sell my creations?Yes. You can create something within the game and save your entire plot or item as a blueprint. You can sell this blueprint on the SOE Player Studio for anyone to buy, and if they have the materials required, anyone can duplicate your creation within their own claim.
Claim? What's that?In EQNL, you can't just build anywhere you want. Well, you can, but first you need to claim the area - much like a gold rush. At the start of the game you will not be able to claim any land immediately; you need to go out into the world and explore/build to get your first claim flag. Once acquired, you can place it in any unclaimed area of the world and a 70m x 70m x 100m (subject to change) area of game world is now yours. Each claim comes with a cost of upkeep and you can have as many claims as you can afford to keep up. They can be linked together to create massive structures.
Where does the "MMO" part come in?Community building and item tagging. If you choose, you can allow other people to work on (destroy, modify, build upon) your claim. If you have access locked, people will be able to enter your claim, but will not be able to damage or modify it in any way. Every item you create will have the ability to be "tagged" with whatever you like - blue door, sci-fi decoration, dinner table, whatever. Other players will then be able to search/filter the entire world for whatever they are looking for, and may come across your creations and decide to use it themselves (if you'll let them).
How do I progress?By exploring, collecting, and building. When you start the game you won't have all of the building tools available to you, you wont be able to go and harvest whatever materials you want. You need to go out and find plans for new abilities before you can unlock them. Unlocking new crafting stations etc. gives you the ability to create better tools with which to... gather more materials to make the next
better thing. Details still fairly unclear regarding this.
Shut up and show us moving pictures!When can we play?Well, the alpha starts today, January 31st.
If you want to get in early, you can pay $60/$100 for two different sets of in-game rewards and alpha access. $20 will get you some rewards and closed beta access. I believe the open beta is slated for March 31st.
Where can we find out more?
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
