Sony Online Entertainment announced today that EverQuest Next Landmark has moved from its Alpha stage into a full Closed Beta. The team has been slowly working on the game behind-the-scenes, with a bunch of new and improved features heading in ahead of the first beta. The new MMO will have some very unique features, that will attract new fans looking for something different to the classic questing of an MMORPG.
Dave Georgeson, Director of Development for the EverQuest franchise, said:
“Alpha was an extraordinary time where the players blew us away with their creations at every turn. Time and time again, players are discovering and building things with our tools in ways that we didn’t even know were possible … we simply cannot wait to see how Landmark evolves with the start of Closed Beta.”
The new MMO is very different from the classics like EverQuest II. The new game is in very early alpha, so the mechanics are nowhere near fleshed-out at this stage.
EverQuest Next Landmark focuses much more on creativity rather than grinding akin to a more traditional MMO. The game will have an expansive land claiming and building system, all centered on players creating their own worlds within the wider world. As players explore the world and claim land, they can also engage in battle and questing to unlock new tools and materials.
The main goal is that players will be the primary mechanism behind upgrading gear. As you adventure you will unlock the recipes and materials for both new gear and upgrades to it.
Players will be able to eventually build up their own housing, and then band together to seemingly build their own settlements. At least that appears to be the goal for SOE. There will eventually be a shared system for deploying quick-build assets too, allowing players to effectively build the worlds as they play.
If you would like to see more of the game in action, check out a recap made by IGN that takes players though this new adventure.