Heya everybody!

I'm not quitting EQ (yet) but Asheron's call is my number 1 game if my RL
friends aren't logged into EQ. Thought I'd share this with ya'll. I know
it's WAY Off Topic but I thought I would share. I know some of my fellow
bards are just as frustrated as I was with EQ so I thought I'd post this
very viable alternative.

Last year I tried out Asheron's Call beta and really hated it. The graphics
sucked, the interface was kludgy etc. So when final came along I didn't get
the game. I was totally un-impressed. Needless to say my tune has changed
now. I tried it out this past two weeks while I was on a business trip...
All I can say is "I'm impressed". I'm not going to go into all the nitty
gritty but I'll post some of my impressions that I got from the past 2
weeks....

1) Better support. The GM's and Advocates (guides) really care about their
players. They respond very quickly compared to ours (EQ).
2) Better support. They post regular updates as to what's been fixed, why
it was fixed and what to expect from it.
3) Better support. They listen to the players. Usually when a bug is
reported it's fixed by the next patch, if not the one after. There's not a
single bug left in the game that was reported from beta (*cough*)
4) Amazing landscape graphics! The graphics are much better than EQ for
scenery. I was stunned. The sun looks like the sun, not a big yellow ball
in the sky. Night time is a sky full of stars with the moons in the sky.
Better than that dark blue sky with a big white ball in the sky ;)
5) Combat interface is more realistic
6) Graphics for characters/npc's aren't quite as good as EQ but they're
improving those now too.
7) A _truely_ dynamic world. Events occur regularly that involve the
entire playerbase. Everyone has an impact upon the world around them.
Allegiances (Guilds) can even form Kingdoms, laws etc.
8) Ability to truely customize your character. A Skill system similar to
role master or AD&D Revision 3. Rather than the 'cookie cutter' classes
like original AD&D you have a set of skills to choose from which allow you
to make a truely unique character.
9) Ability to customize your character's appearance. About 100 different
varieties of faces. Can change hair styles, color and shade. Can change
eye color and facial features. Can change between a wide variety of beards.

It's not all golden and sunshine though. There are drawbacks to it as well:
1) No zone-wide shouts (there are no zones) AC staff has stated they're
working on a "Yell" command that will be heard in an area (probably 10 times
the radius of "say")
2) Tougher learning curve. Asheron's call is a lot more in-depth and takes
a little more effort than EQ to just "jump in".
3) Only 3 races, all human. (kind of like Human, Erudite and Barbarian).
There are no non-human player races in AC, but they do state that it's
possible that portals may start opening to other worlds so who knows?
4) No Bard Class :( Nor any bardic skills really.

Anyway. Please don't flame this is NOT a bash against EverQuest. It's just
a post letting everyone know that Asheron's Call is a viable alternative
(and a lot less frustrating). I think the best thing I've noticed about
Asheron's Call so far is that the game designers actually communicate with
the players. There also doesn't seem to be some horrible fear of players
gaining levels. The best example of this is that in Asheron's Call, good
tactics are applauded and rewarded rather than causing a cry of "Exploit"
followed closely by a Nerf. In Asheron's call it's entirely possible (with
good tactics) to take down creatures four-five levels higher than
yourself... solo. And the Game Masters applaud people who figure out how,
they don't nerf a class just because one or two people figure out how to
play it effectively.

Lyrnia Jongleur
Bard of Norrath

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]