Player housing, larger inventories and new zones await players in House of Thule
Sony Online Entertainment made it perfectly clear today in Las Vegas that they are not about to leave EverQuest behind. At last night's Opening Address at SOE Fan Faire, John Smedley announced the upcoming EverQuest expansion, House of Thule. Today EQ Producer Thom Terrazas and a team of seven other developers and designers on the EverQuest team divulged more information as to what players can expect with the new expansion.
Players will have a level cap increase up to level 90. Not only will this provide more spells for players to learn but it will also make easier some of the current content that some players have difficulty in beating.
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One of the more fun aspects of the expansion is that player housing will be added to the game. Now players will be able to own their own homes in Norrath. The housing system in EverQuest will share some similarity to that of EverQuest II with upkeep and escrow balances, but there are some fundamental differences too that promise to make player housing a fun and somewhat unique system.
A zone will be made available with 73 plots of land. Players can then purchase the plots and build their homes on them. As an added bonus the plots aren't just for houses. Also available will be lawn ornaments and decorations that can spice up a player's property. Included will be plant life and ornaments. Plots will also be able to support two houses if players wish. Every character can own up to two plots, so there will be plenty of space to build your landscape.
Furniture for the houses will be made by various crafting skills and will also be available on vendors and in the Station Marketplace. All non-lore weapons can be mounted and placed on the walls. Be careful though. Some items will cost their own upkeep to maintain in addition to the property upkeep costs. If upkeep isn't paid the items will simply be placed in the closet (for indoor items) or the shed (for outdoor items). The items will not be lost, simply just kept in the virtual container until upkeep is paid again.
What if a player buys property and never uses it? Not to worry, as there will be inactivity time outs which will open up the property for sale again. The previous owner will have all of their items shipped to them in a storage crate for the next time they log on.
Players will be able to have pets in their homes, and there is even talk about possibly adding a "banker pet" which will allow the owner to bank in the comfort of their own homes.
Each home comes with extra storage slots to hold personal items, and this feature falls in line with another anticipated aspect of House of Thule: expanded inventory. In addition to more storage slots available to players in their homes, every character will gain two additional main inventory slots on their character. 12 and 14 slot bags will start dropping in Norrath, and fans who purchase the expansion will receive a free 16 slot bag for their character with their purchase. Larger containers will become available as the game matures, but SOE will be keeping close watch to make sure to meet a comfortable balance.
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What else does House of Thule have in store for players? There will be 13 new zones including one new raid zone. Feerrott is undergoing a revamp with improved graphics. Within the zone a house will appear which contains the answers to some mysterious events that will be happening in Norrath as some well known NPCs will have fallen into a permanent sleep.
The zones are based around these NPCs nightmares. For example, one zone will be Al'Kabor's nightmare in which he has gained enough power to destroy the world. In the zone Norrath will have been shattered and all that remains are many chunks of land forming islands that players may explore. Each island will have very identifiable landmarks indicating which part of Norrath the chunk of land has come from.
In Erud's nightmare Erudin has lost the war with the heretics and Erudin is burning. In Miragel's nightmare players can explore Miragul's mind.
Overall there is a lot for EverQuest fans to look forward to with House of Thule, as the cheers from the crowd today at Fan Faire indicated. Stay tuned to Ten Ton Hammer for more details over the next few days.
