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Sony Online Entertainment has always lead the way in MMOG trends so when President John Smedley stops to talk business, we all stop to listen.


In a recent bold move, SOE added a micro-transaction...

President of Sony Online Entertainment, John Smedley has a lot to be proud of but one shining example of MMO gaming continues to thrive amongst the threat of new generation games.

Meet the new lead designer!

From Shadowknights, to Progression Servers, to possible upcoming changes.

The Everquest Dev's recently held a Q&A chat session with MMORPG.com. Here's a sample of the log.

Celebrating the original, or near original...

I DO want to know more!

In honor of EverQuest's 9th anniversary this past weekend, Massively interviewed Travis McGeathy, Leade EverQuest Designer.

Ah, nostalgia.

Michael Zenke, of MMOGNation and Slashdot, has a lengthy interview with Scott Hartsman about Kunark and all things EQ-related up at his site.

What is this, expansion 50 or so?

Mobhunter sits down with Travis "Rashere" McGeathy to discuss the changes coming in EverQuest's next expansion, "The Secrets of Faydwer."

Is there any intent to change the rate at which characters earn experience or AA experience?

There are two areas concerning experience where we are looking at making changes.

Keeping the Everquest series alive and kicking...

While much of the attention normally generated by SOE's FanFaire was drowned out by the enormously loud BlizzCon, SOE certainly has been sitting on its laurels. Gamasutra has fielded an interview with SOE's head of their San Diego studio, Nicholas Beliaeff, and they discuss everything from FreeRealms to the future of the EQ series.

Members of the Sony team that created the latest expansion speak about some of their personal favorite elements

RPG Vault has had a chance to sit down with the developers of the latest Everquest Expansion. Keep reading to find out what they had to say.

EverQuest: The Serpent's Spine is the most recent expansion pack for Sony Online Entertainment's landmark persistent state world. Available via digital distribution since the middle of last month, it features the addition of the Drakkin as the first new playable race in some years. Another major element is Crescent Reach, which is described as a fully functioning city complete with merchant, quest, combat and tradeskill areas. The Serpent Spine Mountains area offers content for characters of every level, from complete newbies up to those at the level cap, which has been raised from 70 to 75. There are also new zones, enemies, abilities and more. As always, we were interested in how the individuals who created the product view the result of their combined efforts. To this end, we got hold of three team members' opinions on some key aspects.

Keep reading with just a click. Share your thoughts on the Serpent Spine expansion in our Ten Ton Hammer Forums today!

Jose Araiza answers some questions on the launch of The Serpent Spine

MMORPG.com has posted an interview with Jose Araiza. In this interview they talk abotu how things went with the launch of the latest expansion Serpent Spine.

MMORPG.com: This expansion also includes a new race, the Drakkin and basically, with new race and new content path to level 75, invites new players to try out EQ. Have you seen an upswing in new subscribers or much re-activation of dormant accounts?

Jose Araiza: Yes, we actually started seeing this upswing when we launched the Progression Server. That was the start, and it seems The Serpent's Spine continued the trend because of what you just mentioned. I also think the new changes to downtime had some part to play in this.

Get clicking to read the rest of the interview and be sure to share your thoughts with us in the Ten Ton Hammer Forums today!

SOE's Chris Lena Chats About the Progression Servers

MMORPG.com was able to do another Q&A With Chris Lena recently. This interview looks mainly at teh furture of the Progression Servers...

MMORPG.com: How are the Progression servers doing? Are there still plans for an eventual merging?

Chris Lena: Both of the servers are still going amazingly well with their populations continuing to exceed that of a normal server. I would expect some loss as some players return to their regular play servers and especially once the progression portion is completed. In other words, I still imagine their will be a merge but we are still a long way away.

Keep reading to learn more. Are you playing on the Progression Servers? Share your experiences with us in the forums right here at Ten Ton Hammer.

New Life for an Old Favorite: Progression Servers Q&A with EQLive Producer Chis Lena

In case your one of the ten MMORPG enthusiasts that hasn't heard, SOE opened two "Progression Servers" which give players a chance to experience the original EverQuest. Guilds "progress" the game through each of its seven expansions by completing in-game objectives. A number of the Ten Ton Hammer staff have since returned to revel in the nostalgia, so we thought we'd see if anyone at SOE would answer a few questions we had about the origin of the Progression Server idea and where it goes from here. Producer Chris Lena was kind enough to oblige.

"Tony Jones, Ten Ton Hammer - How do you feel about the brisk pace with which some of the guilds are unlocking the special expansion content?

Chris Lena, EQLive - My philosophy is that you can never accurately predict how fast or slow content will be overcome so all we can do is set up the rules and just let it go. Trying to control players in an MMO is like trying to put a tuxedo on a tiger – it can be done but nobody is going to be happy about it. I know that some players wish they could linger in certain expansions longer before the next one is opened up but still others feel that the pace is fine. We knew from the very beginning that not everyone would be happy with how things unfolded. That is simply impossible to avoid. "

Learn more about the Progressive Servers in this exclusive interview. When you're done, let us know if you are playing in the forums right here at Ten Ton Hammer. Share your experiences with us!

RPG Vault's Second Half of Their Look At The Serpent's Spine

This week brings us the conclusion of RPG Vault's interview with David Ford. This installment covers magic, items and more!

Jonric: Will there be many new items such as weapons, armor, etc? What are some interesting ones players can expect to see?

David Ford: Visually speaking, there are a number of really great looking held items that will be found in The Serpent's Spine. One I really like is a Lava dagger that has flowing magma that runs through the blade itself.

We will be itemizing the expansion from level 1 onward, so there really won't be any type of item that exists in EverQuest that you can't find somewhere in this expansion. Not to say that every item will be duplicated, but the variety will be quite large.

Catch up on your reading with part one before reading the rest of this interview. Are you looking forward to playing The Serpent's Spine? Let us know in the forums right here at Ten Ton Hammer.

Light Shed on the New Race

RPG Vault sat down with Game Designer David Ford to talk about the upcoming Serpent's Spine expansion for SOE's Everquest. In part one of this interview we learn about the new race, Drakkin, which are part human and part dragon. We also get a hint at some of the new features that will be included in the expansion.

EverQuest: The Serpent's Spine is the next expansion pack for Sony Online Entertainment's landmark persistent state world. Aimed to be available via digital distribution in September, it will feature the addition of the Drakkin as the first new playable race in a few years. The official announcement unveiling the product earlier this month also mentioned some other notable elements. For instance, Crescent Reach is described as a fully functioning city complete with merchant, quest, combat and tradeskill areas. The Serpent Spine Mountains area will offer content for every level, from newbies up to the level cap, which will be raised to 75. There will also be new zones, enemies, abilities and more. Since we were immediately keen to know further information and details, we were fortunate in being able to set up the chance to question Game Designer David Ford.

Keep reading to find out what David Ford had to say and then head over to the forums right here at Ten Ton Hammer and let us know if you are planning to play this new expansion.