PC Gamer has news that the makers of the failed Yogventures kickstarter are giving every backer a free Landmark key to apologize for the failed project.

Previously on the Adventures of Yogventures: Yogscast raise over half a million dollars in Kickstarter money to make an open world sandbox, that game is eventually cancelled, backers are understandably not happy, and a game called TUG is offered as a replacement. Now: backers have received a game key for Sony Online Entertainment's Landmark as well. Yogscast have struck a deal with SOE to provide Yogventures backers with a key for Landmark's Settler Founder's Pack, which gives immediate, "unrestricted" access to the closed beta and a few small digital doodads as well.

It's worth pointing out that (EverQuest Next crafting-sandbox prologue thingy) Landmark will be a free-to-play game when it releases properly, so Yogventures backers aren't exactly being given another free game here, but rather advance access to Landmark's closed beta, at a tier that would have set them back $20/£15 otherwise. If you backed Yogventures, you should have received an email by now with details on how to claim your game key; SOE are also offering 7 days' free access to Landmark at this link, whether you were a Yogs backer or not.

EQ Hammer has a list of topics, and answers from Sony Online for Landmark.

Is there a guild cap limit?

Not currently. We’ve talked about instituting one just for ease of maintenance, but it’s not necessary at this time.

What about key binds?

We know that there are some issues with key binds. We’re working on them, although the fix won’t be in this update.

Animations are sticking when chopping wood. Will that be fixed?

We’re aware of it, and we’re on it.

Will there be a way for game makers to set what heroic movement players can use?

We’re working on that. The design team wants you to be able to specify as much as possible, so expect to see things expanded in the weeks ahead.

Will we ever get external email notices when claims are about to expire?

We’re working on some upgrades to upkeep management, and that will possibly be included. We’d also like to give you the ability to drop your claim back into the world instantly if it has expired and the space is still available. That’s a complicated thing, so it will take some time. We also want to extend the upkeep limit as a reward for active players.

We hate the “F to Interact” and “E to Grapple” UI icons. Can we get rid of them?

They’re more annoying than we had anticipated. We’re looking at ways to reduce that.

Will there be more weapons?

“Oh, heck yes!” - Dave

Gamespot is giving away free beta keys for Sony's Landmark MMO. All you have to di is enter your e-mail, and hope they have some keys left.

EverQuest Landmark allows you to play with the impressive, voxel-based crafting system that let's you create almost anything you can imagine by combing powerful and intuitive building tools to make a fully destructible world.

These keys will get you into the closed beta for seven days. The time starts when the code is activated. Enter your email address before we run out of keys!

LUGO TV has a new video preview of Sony's MMO Landmark.

In this first look, because of a viewer, I got the chance to hop into
one of this years anticipated titles. Everquest Next Landmark is SOEs
newest sandbox MMO creation game that allows your imagination to run
wild, but does it live up to our dream, or is it just another nightmare
to be washed down the drain?

MMO Games has posted a new preview of Sony's new MMO Landmark, and even posted a new video of the closed beta for everyone to watch.

LAY OF THE LAND

Landmark is currently in closed beta. It will be a free to play game with an in-game cash shop. To snag yourself access you will need to sign up for the beta, enter contests, or purchase permanent access via the founders pack for 20 Dollars or 18 Euros. Landmark’s main focus is, of course, giving players the freedom to roam around a huge world with tons of items to craft, and options to build things. It is not possible to build anywhere you like because the world heals every 20 minutes. All of the resources you’ve gathered or massive holes that have been dug, will be restored. Before a player can start building, they must first claim a piece of land. From there, they will be able to create anything their heart desires.

Sony is also operating in a semi-transparent mode, meaning anyone can publicly view all of the upcoming changes, features, and most importantly, give their opinion. At the moment most of the crafting, gathering, and building systems are in place. To highlight some of the much needed upcoming features, Sony is adding health and death systems, monsters, water, in-game voice, and lots of different things to explore above and below ground.

TO SUMMARIZE

Pros
- Solid feature foundation for an early beta
- Looks and feels great
- Easy to learn building controls
- Tons of changes and additions coming very soon

Cons
- The whole EQ:Next/Landmark name confusion was silly
- Early beta will burn players out. Might be better to wait for release
- Nothing else really…

CLOSED BETA VIDEO PREVIEW

Instead of the usual social plugs, I thought it would best if I leave some of my other work such as my video reviews. So below you can find my video preview of Landmark!

GamerHub.TV has another video interview with Sony Online Entertainment, and includes a preview of Landmark that will be shown more at E3 next week.

Sony Online Entertainment previews the new Landmark game and explains how these tools will impact EverQuest Next in this exclusive interview before E3.

MMO Games has new article for Landmark that takes a look at the first month of the beta version, and talks about what can be improved in the following months.

I don’t feel comfortable recommending Landmark as a paid beta experience. While I certainly enjoyed my time building, the reality is, on two separate occasions, I had to start all over because I failed to log in and pay my upkeep. I am not criticizing the upkeep mechanic (which currently caps at 5 days but will be expanding) but offering anecdotal evidence of Landmark’s ability to sustain interest. As stated at the beginning, this isn’t a game, but a content creation tool and that makes Landmark a niche product at best, and an esoteric curiosity, at worst. The potential of Landmark to change the way MMORPGs are developed and played, is apparent, as is the future enjoyment of it as a companion product for EQ Next. For right now though, the tedium and relative lack of things to do, outside of building, cement it in the category of “wait and see.”

EDGE has a new article for Landmark that calls the game an ambitious sandbox that aims  to map out the future of player creativity in online games.

The current version of Landmark is a convincing proof of concept, demonstrating that SOE’s ambitious voxel-shaping tools not only work, but can already be used to create remarkable things. The next step is to implement the game’s survival features – combat and more substantial resource gathering, which will provide players with a reason to explore beyond discovering what their neighbours have been building.

2P.com has a new article for Landmark where they talk about why the game is worth your purchase. So if you're interested in the MMO give a read, or not it's your choice.

On May 14th, Sony Online Entertainment announced its sandbox, free-to-play MMORPG Landmark (Formally EverQuest Next Landmark) is now available on Steam Early Access. While this opens up an entirely new audience for the game, many of these people find themselves asking “What IS this?” If you find yourself in this position, these next few paragraphs are for you.

Sony Online Entertainment has released Landmark on Steam Early Access. So if you have disposable income they offer a variety of different packages.

Welcome To Landmark!

Hello from the Landmark Development Team!

We’ve been working hard on Landmark and are excited to share it with the Steam community! Players are already creating spectacular objects and collaborating on massive building projects, all while being involved in the development process.
We’d love to have you along for the ride!

Founder's Packs Options

Landmark Offers Three Different Packs

• Settler Pack - $19.99 – Includes unrestricted beta access plus exclusive in-game items
• Explorer Pack - $59.99 – Includes all Settler Pack items plus several additional items not included in the Settler Pack
• Trailblazer Pack - $99.99 – Includes all Settler and Explorer Pack items plus additional items not included is the Settler and Explorer Pack, such as 4 sharable permanent beta keys and your name in the Landmark Credits.

Purchase a Founder's Pack! Join us now, stake your claim and help build EverQuest Next!

About the Game

Landmark is a social building MMO that is currently in Closed Beta. Landmark lets you build anything you can imagine. In addition to building, the game will incorporate combat, survival and a procedurally generated world with endless content below the surface, plus much more. With Landmark's state of the art tools, you have unprecedented control over your creations. Additionally, Player Studio will allow players to submit their creations for possible inclusion in the in-game marketplace and share in the proceeds when their items are sold.

Sony Online Entertainment released a new tailer for Landmark called Raising the Bar.

Watch how Landmark players have dramatically changed the game! How will you make your mark? Join our Landmarks of Landmark competition and make a permanent mark on the game!

Everquest Next Landmark has ben renamed to just Landmark, and Senior Producer Terry Michaels has also posted the next Producer's Letter video about the Beta.

First off, a bit of housekeeping. We are changing the name of the game… literally. The game is no longer called EverQuest Next Landmark. We are now just Landmark. You may be asking, “Why the change?” Answer: To a lot of people, having EverQuest in the name immediately implies a fantasy game. Landmark is anything you can imagine. Removing EverQuest Next seemed the best. This doesn’t change anything we’ve said about Landmark or EverQuest Next. All the details of the games are still the same. We’re still using Landmark to build EverQuest Next – and we’ll still have areas dedicated to EQN. We’re just simplifying the name and making it easier to understand that the games are different from one another

iSOE's Dave Georgeson was interviewed at the GDC 2014 convention to talk about Everquest Next: Landmark. Topics include water, NPCs, and optimization.

Georgeson explained that a complete server wipe is in store for beta, but was quick to note that creations won’t be lost. By templating and saving your creations, you’ll be able to pop them back down in beta after collecting the appropriate materials. We were told that the very last day of alpha will be March 23rd, so you’ve still got some time to back up data.

Sony Online has released a new video of the new Desert Environment.

Learn about the many components that make up EverQuest Next Landmark! In this episode of Building Blocks, we introduce the Desert Environment.

Game Talk Live has a new video interview for Everquest Next: Landmark .

Somy Online John Smedley takes the time to talk to co-host Todd Roy about the amazingness that is EQ Next...all while taking a VERY important phone call.

Meanwhile co-host Paul Nyhart interviews David Georgeson, to get the scoop on WHO exactly EQ Next Landmark is for as well as when people can expect it.

If you like Everquest Next Landmark...this is the business for you.

DualShockers has a couple of new videos and screenshots for Everquest Next: Landmark.

Below you can see a gallery with a few early screenshots of the alpha, courtesy of Reddit users insolencehd and StoneLegionGaming, and two videos showing character creation and David Georgeson’s in-game introduction, uploaded by YouTube user Incarnate and Mike Garcia.