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View Full Version : Sad Day for EQ. Muse from EQAtlas is quitting.



BlueAdept
12-04-2002, 12:28 AM
Just wanted to thank him for all his hard work over the years. Those maps were/are a lifeline to a lot of players. I feel so bad that Sony screwed him over too.


From the site:

The Future of EQ Atlas Thursday, December 3rd
I've tried for about a week to come up with a good way to say this, but since I couldn't I'll just say it. I don't plan on making any more maps for this (or any) site in the future. There is probably a 20-page explanation for why I've decided this, but I'll give you all the brief version. This site has existed now for a little over three-and-a-half years, and has been the work of just myself. While it was very satisfying when I started, it has become less so as time has gone on. I currently barely play EQ anymore for fun, and it's very difficult to be enthusiastic about a fan site for a game that you are no longer a fan for.

It would also be accurate to say that the money situation is not really what I had hoped at this point. I had been hoping, at some point, to make a book of the maps I have on this site in order to make enough money to recupe what I had spent in terms of time in the creation and support of the site. After SOE bent me over a barrel, the major publishers felt there wasn't a large enough market for another book, and I don't have the time to create one on my own, so that idea is pretty much dead in the water. Any other potential for making money would probably rely on making up new content for the site that would be pay-for content, and I don't have the time to easily create that kind of material, and it would probably have a limited market and appeal if I did.

In the end, though, running any site like this comes down to a major time investment. I can keep up with updates alright, but the creation of new material simply takes too long. I have a regular job that demands 50+ hours a week if I do it right, and I really want to do it right. Therefore, my commitment to this has to change.

That all being said, the site isn't going anywhere. It's still going to exist as it does now, and I will keep it as up-to-date as the information you guys send me and the little bit I find out on my own. I may be trying to put up some of the parses I have as just outlines, since that requires very little work on my part at this point and would provide you all with at least some information to use. Who knows, at some point in the future the situation might change and I'll be willing to do more maps, however at this point I wanted to let everyone know that that's not likely to be anytime soon.


Muse...

Amadeus
12-04-2002, 09:43 AM
The maps at eqatlas.com are simply the best. It's too bad they were not recognized as such from Sony.

datadog
12-04-2002, 09:58 AM
Muse has been a fixture in the EQ community for as long as I have been playing.

He has probably done more to help make EQ more enjoyable for more people than any single individual.

Unfortunately SOE (and Verant before) has always treated him like he was running a spoiler site (witch is technically accurate).

There was a day when they used to track down and try to 'shut down' spoiler stuff. I seem to remember Graffe's getting in trouble with Verant for posting spoiler info around the time SoV came out (or maybe before... im old and have a poor memory)

Its unfortunate that SOE cannot recognize that when people make tools to overcome serious defeciencies in their game.. ITS A GOOD THING..

They should have hired muse to do the maps that SHOULD have been in our UI from the beginning. Then his site would have never been necessary.

MisterSpock
12-04-2002, 10:06 AM
I can fully understand and sympathize with Muse regarding this decision.

Muse has produced what is undoubtedly the finest collection of EQ maps out there. Frankly, I can understand why the wind has been taken out of his sails.

SOE was, of course, well within their rights to produce a book containing EQ Maps. It was more than ironic, however, that they named their book the same as the most successful web site. In fact, I found this to be downright predatorial. I have often pondered if Muse might have a legal case over this name.

Congratulations SOE. In your haste to grub every possible penny out of this game you've managed to castrate one of the finest web sites out there for EQ players. It also appears that you've successfully alienated yet another high profile EQ supporter.

jaguar36
12-04-2002, 11:42 AM
I'd be a lot sadder if, and I'd suspect SOE wouldn't dislike Muse as much if he didn't sell out and put some of his maps in SoV spoiler book.

Not that I blame him, as I'm sure he got paid well for it.

whome
12-04-2002, 03:01 PM
Originally posted by datadog
Unfortunately SOE (and Verant before) has always treated him like he was running a spoiler site (witch is technically accurate).


Isn't it funny how the "spoiler" is ok with them as long as they're making money from it. I for one will never buy their book. eqatlas.com is one of my favorite sites and will be sadly missed.

chaotic
12-12-2002, 02:39 PM
I, too, used EQAtlas well before I became competent enough to maintain my SEQ box. While many mapmakers produce a few maps of very fine quality, his maps were both a) comprehensive, representing 90+% of Norrath and b) of a high graphic standard. I also like the fact that they were hand-drawn, but then I like touches like that; I think high-gloss, production-grade art is somewhat soulless.