Adios, Alpha
On Wednesday SOE will take EverQuest Next Landmark out of alpha and into closed beta, in the process taking a wrecking ball to the painstaking creations of its users so far. (The reason you haven't seen an angry petition is 1) this was always the deal, and 2) the users get to keep templates of the stuff they've made.) What better time, then, to look back at the weird and wonderful creations that the community has built so far. Beginning with this AT-AT homage made by Pharoso Fluoroso.
Narnia Mansion
As you'd expect, magical fantasy domiciles are meat and drink to EQNL master builders like Daedarius.
Check This, Mate
We've seen recreations of numerous board games, including Monopoly, but oversized chess sets like this one by Insolint are particularly popular. As The Wire noted, "all the pieces matter". And also take ages to make.
Are You Not Entertained?
Are those columns doric or ionic? My patchy classical education has let me down again, but either way this desert build by Woutman is a stunner.
Well Balanced
You have to wonder how Zer0ne's startlingly-balanced diamond stone double pyramid ever got planning permission.
Mother Of Dragons
I was slightly surprised not to see more dragons in the alpha. But that's probably because wings are insanely hard to build. Unless you're a savant like kyridus, who made this one.
Ballooning
What better way to see the cast EQNL world than from your own miniature Hindenberg? This one was designed by Qutie.
Load Bearing
I'm all about the subtle lighting on this bridge, although the fact it also includes a fully-modelled train doesn't hurt either. Well done, typo, (which is the name of the user, rather than an indication I've taken to talking to my own words).
Adorable Trojan Horses
Give people tools, they will build ponies with them. This is the 375th rule of the internet, as confirmed by user Lerlene.
Edutainment
User Bryde is doing a series of in-game tutorials on how to get the most out of EQNL. Masterful voxel editing chops on show here.
Ice Palace
Nvara tried this wintry creation in a number of different colourways. But I liked this one best. *slams gavel on desk*
Building This Will Tear Your Soul Apart
Oh hell yes. This is a gloriously accurate (other than its enormous size) recreation of the Lament Configuration box from Hellraiser. Bravo, Piquet. Now build us Pinhead, please.
Love, Letters
Well this is just adorable. User Faeryn created a poem to register an issue with gem colouration. SOE picked it up, squashed the bug, and then mod AlenL created this response. I'm welling up here. (Give it a few months of full release and it'll probably be all death threat monoliths and penis forests instead. Oh internet!)
Grounded
This is either a Viking longboat by theArchitect, or a BTS shot from that new Noah movie.
It's-A-Him!
User CP0020 loves Mario, hates copyright legislation. He was last seen heading for the border with Nintendo's attorney death squad in pursuit.
Exterior Design
This gothic cathedral by Seabiscuit (who knew EQNL could be played so effectively with hooves?) is so good that we had to show you the outside…
Interior Design
…and the inside.
Statues, Stop Being So Sexy
Don't worry, nudity is fine so long as it's tastefully done. As user Bill Ding shows here. We like to imagine it's some sort of offering to a fertility godess, as opposed to just: 'heh, marble bewbs'.
Incoming!
This rocket strike on a side of a house by Jensride shows how a little creative thinking can make a big impact.
Sky Skull
Positioning your avatar on your creation gives a good indication of scale when submitting screenshot pr0n to the EQNL forum submissions thread. Also: looks badass.
Get Some Air
Another aerial build, this time with more than a hint of M.C. Escher's cockamamie staircase design. (True fact: M.C. Escher was the first victim of the '90s coastal rap war.)
When In Rome
More use of judicious lighting, plus a night-time setting, make this classical temple creation an EQNL hall of famer.
Who Goes There?
The alpha saw more than one Tardis designed, but this one by Ighox gets extra props for the 'bad wolf' reference.
Masterful Sword
Excellent work from user Heilig. I mean, why bother with anything as vanilla as a sword emerging from a lake when you could have an enormous one planted on top of a mountain? Don't answer that. I said don't.
I Choo Choo Choose You
Steam trains are another popular, oddly comforting, type of creation. This is a killer example from garianthas. You can almost smell the steam. (Wait, is steam odourless? Have I ever retained *any* knowledge?)
Nice Guns
Beware of the dog signs are cool, but nothing says stay off my lawn quite like a turret ripped from the hull of a battleship, as MrVic's design demonstrates.
Heading South
This giant-sized compass by Senjen serves no practical purpose other than to reaffirm the fact the only thing I can build is an excellent Bloody Mary.
Selfie, Imposed
It's that man Daedarius again, this time posing in front of another excellent piece of EQNL architecture. As if you didn't think selfies were going to be massive here.
Catching Zs
Sometimes, the simple build trumps the grandiose construction. And sometimes, after a hard day's gathering resources, you just need to take a load off. Well played, user bumboo.
Space Race
The EQNL alpha saw a mix of high fantasy, sleek sci-fi like this spaceship from shattari, and pop culture references. All three major fan food groups covered, then.
High Times
Another floating construction, this time from Nik Nak. After trawling through enough of these, regular studio apartments start to look fantastical.
Getting Mediaeval
A brace of wonderful catapults created here by Obsidian W0lf. SOE will be adding PVP to EverQuest Next Landmark at some point, and it'll be interesting to see how clever builders are able to boost their chances. Mazes, maybe?
Sign Of The Times
Nothing says love quite like hand-chiselled signage. In this case the credit, and my heart goes to, amarinth.
Hobbiton
The entrance to Dimelin's underground lair took over 15 hours to create. Just don't mention the Teletubbies.
Day Of The Tentacles
User romp calls this creation the 'watcher of the spire'. I call it 'my dread lord master of the fleshy overrealm'. Or 'Dave'. You can't quite see from this artful angle, but it has a single eye on the other side.
Gaze On My Work, Ye Mighty…
Mother?
Doge days
Well, it's the meme du jour. I can't wait to see what the EQNL community comes next. (It'll involve kittens, won't it?)
