Simple Client Status

[krusher]

Hey WC.

Could you post a quick reply as to the status of the SC. Just curious as to how its comming and what if any plans you have.

Thanks

Krusher

[DarkGothic]

Sorry been out for some time what is SimpleClient??:?

[Angelox]

SimpleClient is a free, open source Everquest client - it would replace your Titainium client or what ever you have now. I believe it would be "customizable" to fit the needs of any specific server.

[Strake]

Wow, that sounds nice. I've been looking for something like this, but so far all I've found is people modding MacroQuest and I'm pretty sure that's not allowed :-/

Is there a website or something with updates and such about this? Or is it all here?

-Dillon

[ksmith08]

SimpleClient is a free, open source Everquest client - it would replace your Titainium client or what ever you have now. I believe it would be "customizable" to fit the needs of any specific server.

Might be better to say a free, open source EQEmu client. Who wants to make an Everquest client anyway. Unless the intent is to make another client to play Live. In that case, just ignore me.

[Rogean]

Krusher: Sent you a pm a couple weeks ago, didn't get a response. Re-sent it. Reply when ya can. Thanks!

[Scorpious2k]

open source EQEmu client. Who wants to make an Everquest client anyway. Unless the intent is to make another client to play Live. In that case, just ignore me.

Almost right - except it won't be open source.

It will only work with custom zones (no sony zones)

[John Adams]

Scorpious, do you know if it'll (ever) be possible to "convert" SOE zones for those who still wish to have that old familiar world? Mostly just talking landscapes and such. Server admins might still yearn for EQ-ish gaming, without the hassles of legality.

[mattmeck]

No, it needs to be 100% independent, or it will risk legal action.

Wind is creating it to get 100% away from SOE.

[GeorgeS]

I believe custom zones are preferable and are not all that hard to make in OZ. I think after I give SC a go, I will get a better idea of what's going on.

GeorgeS

[Scorpious2k]

Scorpious, do you know if it'll (ever) be possible to "convert" SOE zones for those who still wish to have that old familiar world? Mostly just talking landscapes and such. Server admins might still yearn for EQ-ish gaming, without the hassles of legality.


As GeorgeS said, they will have to be custom.

The idea is to remove everything Sony from the game. I admit I actually *could* convert sony zones, it would be a lot of work and I think in a way you can create the feel of the game without copying the zones.

I also have found on our server there is always excitement when a new "world" (group of related zones) opens up. This isn't a copy of places they have been before. It's all NEW! That means exploring. That means really facing the unknown. No internet cheat sites, no ready made maps.

I think it is preferable from a player point of view to have all new, custom zones. You can keep the feel of EQ or create your own.

I would like to add that I have offered all 20 (going on 21) of the custom zones we have including the Windcatcher zones which I modified. We have a good start on this already.

[John Adams]

I definitely agree, custom = new and exciting. I also understand completely that offering SOE-like content (even if manually generated zones and content in every way) might be digging back into the SOE danger zone. I was only asking if it was even possible (privately aside from this project) to do just that - convert existing topologies so an admin CAN run a Norrathian world that is familiar, though textured differently, with the same in-game goals so many have come to love.

I grasp the concept of getting away from SOE, and I think most understand this is not a client to replace the EQ clients so you can play "Everquest". I'm only asking about possibilities far down the road. I'd love to supply a SimpleClient to my players who can still enjoy the EQ they love. But I won't hold my breath, unless I plan on becoming intimate with OpenZone and 3D modeling, heh. Or perhaps, I do not fully understand the breadth of this project?

[GeorgeS]

Since custom zones means no body has an advantage on loot drops, npc stats and locations and strategies - We all start over again as level 1 and hopefully relive the old eq of old.


GeorgeS

[Scorpious2k]

But I won't hold my breath, unless I plan on becoming intimate with OpenZone and 3D modeling, heh. Or perhaps, I do not fully understand the breadth of this project?

It's possible you don't.

The goal is to replace everything. A handful of people can have it at the same level as EQ when it was beta in just a couple of months,

[Ueguvil]

Excuse my ignorance about this project, but what will remain the same? What I mean by this is if you replace everything how can you call it an Everquest client as opposed to a completely new game?

[John Adams]

I gotcha Scorp. I'll wait and see how things turn out.

As for Ueguvil, this is definitely not an Everquest client, nor it's replacement. It's a whole new game, based on similar concepts.

[Windcatcher]

Wow. Sorry for not replying yet. I've been on a weekend trip and just got back. Will read what's here and try to catch up sometime tonight. First have to get settled...

Wind

[Windcatcher]

Okay, current status. First, let me speak toward the people are very kindly testing this for me. Aside from fixing a couple of crash bugs I haven't changed the functionality of the client lately, but underneath it has undergone a MAJOR refactoring. Part of the reason for this involves licensing: SC had some GPL code in it that would otherwise be fine if I was open-sourcing it, but since Doodman and company want me to keep it closed-source all that stuff had to go. The only real casualty from a functionality standpoint was the loss of .XMI music capability, but since we don't have any of our own .XMI music anyway that's not all that big a loss. I had to move the OGRE code that I was using to read the keyboard out to a DLL, and when the client is released that will be open-sourced. Another major difficulty was the fact that I have to use a minimal amount of code from EQEmu, because SC of course has to interoperate with it. Doodman and FNW are aware of the two pieces it's using and I'm awaiting direction in that area. In my opinion, from a design-cleanliness standpoint one of those pieces has no place in any client, but I need a couple of packets to be added to the protocol to properly do away with it.

A benefit of the refactoring, though, is that later releases of SC will be WAY more agnostic when it comes to particular EQEmu server versions. Some of the problems I'm reading about aren't really problems with the client per se but the 0.5.5 server I distributed for testing. SC can talk to several EQEmu versions between 0.5.5 and 0.6.0, but there is a separate effort going on to allow it to talk to 0.7.0. This will probably take quite some time as I need someone to write a DLL for me (whistles innocently), but internally at least, SC should be much more able to talk to later revisions when the DLL eventually exists.

As far as development goes, I will definitely have to release the source to someone, as OpenZone itself is so much of a handful that I'm overwhelmed. SC is the type of project that demands a dev team, but as it's based on OpenZone's code that team will have to know something about Delphi (and have it, of course). Unfortunately, SC will probably have to remain closed source as well, as someone with a compiler could find all kinds of ways to cheat otherwise.

So what's planned for the future? I first want to get OpenZone 7.7 out the door, including somewhere between one and three mob models (definitely an orc, and possibly a skeleton or spectre). The thing's been sitting on my hard drive for entirely too long and I want to get it done. For the time being, the models that are available now are the ones that come with OpenZone 7.6, though not all models are exported to all zones. SC does support force-loading, however, so server operators do have some leeway.

I'm not overly concerned about copying the look-and-feel of EQ in terms of the GUI, as Apple lost that particular legal battle ages ago. I'm more concerned about mimicking their game system, and perhaps the client-server protocol might have to be expanded to allow for some game system flexibility (where the server DB would dictate some of the game system particulars). EQ borrows heavily from AD&D so not all that much flexibility is really needed, but at any rate such a thing would require coordination between both the server and the client.

[Teppen]

Definately would like to see some undead mobs. Id like to see a zombie version of your models. Something like having rotting flesh covering all the body except from one elbow down to hand being of a skeleton model and from one kneecap down to foot being a skeleton model. Maybe left arm and right leg or vica versa. Maybe one side of chest rotted flesh and the other side exposed ribs of skeleton model. Maybe head of a zombie but with jawbone of skeleton model. Maybe skin (rotted flesh) as greyish green. Dunno if you could weave your skeleton model with a zombie model but I think it would be cool additon to your undead release in OZ 7.7. Just shooting out ideas, not asking any requests as I know your busy.

One question I have about simple client, is it recognized by the official eqemu loginserver or does it require its own login server?

[Dralanna]

While I greatly appreciate the work this involves and look forward to it's results, I have to ask if this is intended as a replacement for Titanium? (ie. No further support for EQ Clients?) For me (and I'm sure for many) the fun of the Emu is in reliving what was on live... or seeing things I never got to on live. If this new client wont be able to use original EQ content we lose the nostalgia factor. So basically the question is: will the servers development continues to support Titanium in addition to this new client or will Titanium support be replaced by the new client?

[Windcatcher]

Well, GeorgeS' spectres are done. I finished rigging and animating them yesterday. If you'd like to see more models, perhaps you should ask him :D

I doubt that SC will ever replace a live EQ client but that's really a question for the server devs. My client is just a separate option for people who don't have a compatible live client (with obvious differences, e.g. no SOE content). The official EQEmu login server does recognize SC, though the protocol is entirely different and SC connects to a different LS port for it. The protocol will likely change as we still need to implement client version authentication somehow and I'm awaiting direction from Doodman and FNW on how they would like to handle it. Otherwise, the LS protocol that SC uses is entirely our own invention.

[John Adams]

While I greatly appreciate the work this involves and look forward to it's results, I have to ask if this is intended as a replacement for Titanium? (ie. No further support for EQ Clients?) For me (and I'm sure for many) the fun of the Emu is in reliving what was on live... or seeing things I never got to on live. If this new client wont be able to use original EQ content we lose the nostalgia factor. So basically the question is: will the servers development continues to support Titanium in addition to this new client or will Titanium support be replaced by the new client?
I tried asking this question, and in general was told the EQ of old is not supported. I do not see how SC can zone me into ecommons and see the SOE-specific info unless the server admin provides that content - which will be going against the entire philosophy of SC (i think).

I had asked somewhere if there might be (unsupported) tools for converting SOE content to SC-compatible, and that answer was a resounding "no".

I doubt the devs will cease development of EQEmu for normal EQ clients - but perhaps a branching will occur that keeps the 2 server projects seperate.

[Windcatcher]

As far as I know it should be possible to keep a single server source tree that can accommodate both the live client and SimpleClient, though SimpleClient will eventually allow for a much broader set of features that the live client cannot support. I would still expect server devs to support the live client, certainly for the time being, though if SC gets the developer support I'd like to see it get perhaps the live client will eventually become unnecessary.

I suppose if someone wanted to recreate SOE zones with OpenZone it's possible, though I would find that disappointing. Even though a recreation may still be legal if free content, models, textures, etc. were used (and if the zone names were changed), the entire point of OpenZone was to allow players to experience worlds beyond what Norrath offered, that is, to bring back the thrill of discovery (without something like Allakhazam to tell them where everything is before they even get there).

As an update, I've completed rigging and animating two of GeorgeS' skeleton models, though using them will necessitate a tiny update to SimpleClient to make them practical. I'll see if I can get something out to Cavedude this weekend (or perhaps before). I'll also see if I can fix at least one or two of the bugs people have mentioned (a stickied SC bug thread might be especially useful going forward so I don't have to sift through pages and pages of threads to hunt them down).

[John Adams]

(a stickied SC bug thread might be especially useful going forward so I don't have to sift through pages and pages of threads to hunt them down).
I'm still pushing for an entire SimpleClient category here with forums to support General, Support, Bugs, Fixes, and Development. Not sure if an Admin has gotten to that yet, or plans to.

[CrabClaw]

I think this is a great idea and would love to help make zones for it. I would rather use Blender though its free to anyone and its plenty powerful once ya learn it.

Did you guys look into Raknet for the internet suff, or even Crystalspace? I have compiled a lot of both of those libraries and demos and they are pretty handy.

I would love to see the project go open though as I like to compile my own binaries and possibly contribute to the database.

Do you have a beta SQL schema setup?

[cubber]

Any plans on making a linux client, if not will SC be wine compatable?

[Windcatcher]

I'm not making any effort at a Linux client as SC is written in Delphi. Has anyone tried it under Cedega?

[cavedude]

SC works perfectly with Cedega for me.

[Windcatcher]

A new beta of SimpleClient has been posted to cavedude's FTP.

Program changes:
- Fixed some engine lighting bugs
- Changed the way that OpenZone exports placeable objects to XWF files, and the client has had to change as a result. Also, the change meant that I had to re-export all zones, and so you must download them. This is definitely the better way to handle it, though.
- Fixed a bug in spawning doors.
- When you select a mob, the name above it will flash.
- Fixed mob animations (sitting, standing, looting, etc.)

Content changes:
- Aside from re-exporting all zones due to bug fixes, Lelembeth has undergone some MAJOR additions. The city is now much more complete, and I've added a druid ring and a rocky area to the west. Go do some exploring...
- Added GeorgeS' Type I skeleton model, prefix SKE, race 60, to the global creatures file. You can spawn them in any zone you like. This model has two body types.
- Added GeorgeS' Type II skeleton model, prefix SKF, race 401, to Lelembeth. This model has four body types.
- Added GeorgeS' spectre model, prefix SPE, race 85, to Veldona. This model has four body types.

A lot of files have changed, so make sure to get everything dated today.

Wind

P.S. I can also post my DB as mine has mobs and doors spawned in Lelembeth, but I don't know if cavedude has been changing his DB. Let me know if you want mine.

[John Adams]

I'm still very interested in testing this for you guys, I just have little to no time again... but I'll try and squeeze some in. :) Do you know if the char select issues have been resolved from a month or so ago?

[Windcatcher]

Because they're calling for rain in Veldona.

http://i10.tinypic.com/4ops1ls.png

Stay tuned. I might be posting the new version tonight.

Wind

Edit: Turned on anti-aliasing for the rain drops...

[Windcatcher]

New version posted (just the EXE file)...

Rain and snow are visible (though not very much at night, I'm not sure if I want to change that or not).

Snow will now properly turn off.

Let me know what you all think :)

Wind

[Teppen]

@Windcatcher:
so uh where is this ftp everyone is downloading from? i have tons of spare time to test for bugs. only thing i would be lacking is the delphi experience, as ive only coded in assembly, c++, perl, and QT4 for c++ gui's. I like the screenshots, and would like to run around and test for bugs and such, anyways, send me a pm if you find i can test this client out. I didnt see the post in time when you said for people to pm you for testing access. But im bored with alot of free time and would be able to test daily.

let me know.

-Teppen (eqemuforums)
-Senzo (peq quest team)

[Windcatcher]

New version posted to the closed beta FTP...

- Mob sizes should be fixed now.
- Re-uploaded Veldona.xwa...the door to MacGill's inn should appear now.
- Re-uploaded Windszone.xwa...added some small plants to make it look a little bit more interesting.
- Added some code to try to prevent rain from falling indoors. It's not perfect, but a definite improvement.
- Uploaded lelembeth.sql to the database area so door spawns can appear.

[Windcatcher]

A pic just for fun...

http://i13.tinypic.com/54bpz6e.png

[Teppen]

i take that as a no.. <shrugs>

[Windcatcher]

We're trying to keep the beta closed to mainly devs and certain zone builders at this time. The client is still pretty buggy, and we're trying to concentrate on both playability and getting it to handle whatever content people create. We also don't yet have a patcher mechanism in place and don't have any way to control what versions people run (there isn't even a versioning scheme in place yet). Also, since I'm the only one working on it, I really can't handle getting bug reports from the entire community, though it does mean that I need the people who are testing it to make sure to send me feedback. It's a balancing act, but for all of these reasons we're keeping it fairly restricted at this time. I post pics and progress info for the benefit of the community at large so you can at least see that we're making progress. That's not to say that I don't need help, especially when it comes to things like mob models and spells, (and especially a good patcher we can use), but at this time I think we have enough testers. Of course, if people stop sending me feedback, I reserve the right to invite more testers, though.

[Windcatcher]

Yet another version posted:

- Added auto-attack on and off messages.
- The merchant/loot/bank/training windows will close if you walk away from the mob.
- Made numerous refinements to swimming. It still doesn't take your swimming skill into account for calculating swimming speed, but otherwise it should be much better now.
- Relogging will clear the chat window.
- Uploaded a new eq55sc.sql file to the database area, it fixes some problems with the merchants in front of the big tower and adds a bunch of skeleton spawns in windszone and lelembeth (and a spectre or two in veldona)

Updated files:
- gametext.xml
- clientdata.xml
- simpleclient.exe
- eq55sc.sql (in the database area)

[Windcatcher]

You'll have to explore to find out.

http://i14.tinypic.com/6ewqs0x.png

[Teppen]

@Windcatcher

ah, i guess ill stop downloading openzone versions then until simpleclient goes public, been creating zones, and some other custom content with your openzone editors. plus i was curious of how the simpleclient handled.

just curious, but could you post what you would like to see in a patcher? features and such? I could code one however, the guts would be c++ and the eye candy would be using the latest QT4.3.2. but like always, im just talking shop.

Im actually in process (since i have alot of extra time nowdays) of coding an all in one editor which consists of items, npcs, recipes and quest editors. Eventually, hoping to expand to other editing areas. Making the quest editor so it will be easy for any dev to quickly make quests using a drag and drop quest text feature from a list of current quest commands. At the moment every visible text of the editor is translation aware, and in future public builds it will use dynamic language switching, which i believe will greatly help the eqemu community like those who are from france, and korea whose native language is not english. Like simpleclient, this editor is still under private builds, not as stable yet as Im wanting it to be, but its getting there. The bigest problem is getting drag and drop to work flawlessly without minor errors, but its coming along slowly, just a matter of creating layouts per perl command. I actually was tossing around the idea of coding a client for eqemu awhile ago, but im limited in 3d programming so I never started it lol.

oh well, back to coding. so very bored.

[Windcatcher]

I don't really know anything about patchers, but I guess we need it to d/l a file from a location with filenames and crc's, check for those files locally, and download anything that isn't there or has a crc mismatch. We would also need something at the server end to (re)generate the list on command. But as I said, I don't know anything about patchers so someone else probably has a better idea. It has to run under Windows, though if it runs on more than that it's up to you.

Even though the beta is closed there's nothing stopping you from making zones. If you have a live client you can test them with that as well, just overwrite an existing zone. OpenZone and SimpleClient use the same engines, though, so except for extra details like the UI, sun, moon, stars, fog, lighting, etc., they will look very similar in OpenZone as they will in SC.

[Teppen]

@ Windcatcher

One approach would be to code a patch server which has a list that is checked when the client version of the patcher connects looking for updates, if the timestamp of files on server is newer than what is in users everquest directory then client patcher downloads the newer files from the patch server. Im sure there are several ways to create a patching system, I do believe that someone had already posted a windows patcher in forums, been awhile like a year or so.. posters name was corfuben or something like that, if that forum link doesnt work, i can take a stab at coding one.

Porting it to different systems is very simple with c++ and QT, because no changes need to be made to the source code by you, you just choose an option when compiling the source. So when I compile the editor im working on I do a qmake -Unix followed by a make, and tada it works on my OpenBSD system, or if I wanted to use on my Windows machine just use -Win32. Its just my preference, because not everyone on here has windows as their standard machine.

might want to browse forums for corfubens patcher.. cant remember if it was open source or not.. but i believe he coded his in visual basic. cant remember really. touch bases with me later.

[Windcatcher]

Yeah I talked with him on IRC a few days ago. He's working on a rewrite, so maybe the thing to do is wait to see what he comes up with.

[Windcatcher]

guess im not worthy enough to code the simplePatcher or be a dev in your little beta click. think ill just stay on the peq team (where any coders and devs are welcome). I signed up here back in 2002 just like you, was member of hackerquest before eqemulator even existed, and yet you take in people who joined in 2005, 2006, etc, but not someone who has been here as long as you? that alone is a slap in the face. i wont download something after i offer a hand (in coding or development) to help a project and someone slaps it away. best wishes on your project, me and my 15+ years of programming applications will go elsewhere. this is my last post on this thread so dont bother even posting a counter to my post.

no offense to other devs on the "closed" beta simpleClient project, guess there was a time limit on dev applications which is sad.

good day to you sir !

WTF?

Since when did I ever give anyone the indication that involvement with SimpleClient involves some sort of seniority-based pecking order? Since when did I give the impression that length-of-stay in this community grants one the right to test anything I produce? Since when does length-of-stay mean anything to me? Now do we really want to talk about childishness? "I've been here longer than THOSE people!" Good grief. Cry me a river. I believe in rewarding based on merit, not seniority (and since when am I obligated to reward anyone? Since when do you even need me to do it?)

And, for that matter, since when did I slap anyone in the face? Since when am I the gatekeeper for contributing anything toward the client effort? If you want to write a patcher, then write one -- it's not as if I can stop you, and, to be blunt, it's not as if I care one way or the other whether you do so or not. I'm not obligated to respond one way or the other (and, believe it or not, I do have other activities that consume my time outside EQEmu). Frankly, I'm getting a bit tired of trying to motivate everyone I come across; sometimes I like to sit back and see if people can motivate themselves to contribute.

Sheesh.

By the way, you're not the only one working on a patcher -- maybe, just MAYBE, mind you, I didn't BEG you to write one because I didn't want you to waste your time. Maybe I wanted to wait to see what the other effort would produce, as I'm led to believe it's much farther along. We do need a patcher, but we don't need *two*. I've deliberately washed my hands of the patcher effort, save to point out that one is needed. I don't recall signing myself up as the manager of the SiimpleClient Patcher Project. Feel free to nominate yourself, and more power to you. I'm not God on these forums, never was, and I don't wish to be. Frankly, I'm pretty darned surprised that you're angry that I didn't give you my blessing. One, I'm not obligated to do so, and two, you don't need one from me in the first place!

The beta is closed for several reasons. The reasons are completely arbitrary, decided by me. When you write a client, then you can set your own rules. I want the testing closed to:

1. Control bug submissions. A small team of dedicated testers is simply easier for me to work with. The LAST thing I need is tons of people reporting the same bug over and over. If someone wants to design an entire website with automated bug-handling features, and administer it, then we can talk about opening the testing process up. As long as I'm a one-man band, this is the way it has to be.

2. Hopefully better protect test servers. I don't need teenage hackers trying to take down beta-test servers because they're sexually frustrated, and the people hosting testing servers for me surely don't need it. The client is simply not ready for a hostile environment yet. Testing has barely begun, and as far as I can tell, it's focused entirely on gameplay so far.

3. Better focus the testing. SimpleClient is all about customization, so I want to make sure that serious zone builders are able to test with it. This doesn't mean everyone who has downloaded OpenZone, but those who in my capricious opinion have demonstrated both the ability and dedication to create zones that people will actually want to play in (read: zones that server operators will use once everything goes live).

For those of you who want to build zones but aren't testing the client, it's not an insult -- we need to keep the testers to a reasonable level and I picked a few. My choices are arbitrary and capricious -- go sailing for a week and you'll see what I mean. I want to see the client improve and go live, but it means that I need it tested in such a way that I'm not overwhelmed by the process. I wrote it, and as far as I'm concerned, it's my right to choose who I let play with it. So I picked some people with whom I'm familiar. If someone comes along and asks to test it, I might add him or I might not. There are no rules -- I simply make a judgment call based on whether I think it would be a good idea. Nothing personal, whatsoever. You don't know me, so don't pretend to. I have less tolerance than most for childish games and I don't play them. Is this process perfect? Hell, no, but we're all doing this in our spare time and I have no right to complain. Neither does anyone else, in my opinion.

EDIT: If someone has a better idea for a testing process, I'm all ears. Please propose one. As long as it doesn't require administration on my part, I'm open to suggestions. If someone simply wants to complain, "your process is teh suk!", then I can't help you.

[Scorpious2k]

OMG!!! KHAN!!!

So good to see you back!

We need to talk...

I think you totally misunderstood WC ... he is not against a patcher for SimpleClient (And i will add having a 'real' patcher would be nice), he is just saying he doesnt have the time to code one~

Again, a real patcher that wouldnt require an exe to run on server (using timestamp for example) would be a really nice add to simpleclient, now, to code one, it doesnt require simpleclient exe or files :p

I think you would want to use CRC instead of timestamps, unless the patcher sets the timestamp on the client side. I have seen them be a little different for the same version of the program before.

[Sakrateri]

Back on topic here. WC let me know when you have had a chance to try those zones out with simpleclient and if you will want more. I know your busy so take your time.

[Angelox]

Trying to get this thread back to what it should be: a really great project.
Teppen; stop pissing off the boat bow! you getting yourself pissed, and all the rest of us too.

[KhaN]

OMG!!! KHAN!!!

So good to see you back!

We need to talk...
Yo~
Im sort of back yeah :p

[Scorpious2k]

Yo~
Im sort of back yeah :p

I won't sidetrack the thread any more than it has been, but I wanted to welcome you back. The project has missed your contributions and presence.

[Windcatcher]

Back on topic here. WC let me know when you have had a chance to try those zones out with simpleclient and if you will want more. I know your busy so take your time.

I tried them out in my zone explorer (see the ZoneExplorer thread) and they check out ok. I can try them in the client itself, but that requires DB work so I'd rather do that only if absolutely necessary. They show up great in ZoneExplorer, so I'm 99% confident they'll show up in the client as well (there is nearly complete code commonality between the two).

I've released the source to ZoneExplorer as there is really no harm in it. It only loads zones and lets you fly around them, as well as view objects. It's the sort of information that I think the community as a whole should have anyway.

[hallsofvallhalla]

I have been reading through the thread and I must say, friggn awesome job!

I currently am building my own MMORPG, somewhat like everquest, my graphics are better and hope to have alot more features..BUT anyways was wanting to help here in my spare time(the little I get). If you need a link to my project to see my work then PM me. I can model, Map, texture, code, blah blah and much more. I think being able to create your own worlds apon the Everquest engine is a great idea and would love to help in any way possible. I am new to the emu, set it up a while back but never really got any further, fixin to setup my own server for the devs of my project to all play on in the meantime.

Thanx for any responses and or where to get started.

[Windcatcher]

This whole discussion has made me revisit the idea of a closed beta and whether it's such a good thing. Cavedude and I worked it out informally, where he would host a server and I would send updates to his FTP site. The testing process has been somewhat spotty since it's been so informal, and perhaps we can do better. Do we want to try an open beta instead?

I'm open to suggestions (*especially* from devs), but here are my initial thoughts:

1. First, there MUST be a patcher. An open beta does us no good unless we can have some confidence that everyone is running the same version. Otherwise I foresee we'll be chasing our tails more often than not running down obsolete bugs. I know that Teppen was offering to write one -- but Cofruben already has one in the works (undergoing rewrite). I don't care either way, but if *the community* wants an open beta then a patcher is a prerequisite for it to be useful to those of us working on the client (who am I kidding -- at this point *I'm* the only one working on it...any Delphi devs out there?)

2. We'll need a server that's up all the time, and since the beta would be open it would be somewhat accountable to the community (I don't mean anything formal here, just pointing out that if it's down we would likely hear about it in short order on the forum). I can't provide this.

3. We'll have to decide on a server version, at least tentatively. That isn't too big a deal since SimpleClient supports several revisions between 0.5.5 and 0.6.0, but if we want to use something newer and/or want the beta server to evolve into a live one then we need to think it through a bit. SimpleClient requires a different netcode DLL to talk to 0.6.1 and newer servers, for instance, and I'll need help there if we want to take that route.

I've never run an open beta of anything before (and before this, a closed one either) so I'm definitely looking for guidance here. I don't consider SimpleClient all that robust yet, but it *is* a beta, after all, so it's one of those "use at your own risk" deals. In any case, I definitely *can't* manage this process as I'm swamped already as it is, but I do want this to get released to the general public at some point in a way that satisfies as many as possible. I'd especially like to hear from devs (current and former) as you probably know a lot more about managing a community project than I do.

EDIT: Since SimpleClient can talk to multiple server versions, there isn't anything saying that there has to be only one beta server, or even one beta server *version*...but the prospect makes me worry a bit about confusion among the player base. It's something else to discuss, I suppose.

I'm willing to discuss either here or on IRC, but I prefer it to be here since it's persistent and if there's one thing I've learned it's that it's best if the discussion be open. The agreement between Cavedude and I was worked out on IRC and, while we're well within our right to do that, it's led to confusion and some hard feelings that I'd just as soon avoid.

[Windcatcher]

Don't all reply at once...

Anyhow, here's another progress pic. I now have some fairly decent sky tinting...

Sunrise in Peshara Highlands

http://i21.tinypic.com/2gxgs3m.png

Also, the position of the sun/moon/sky are aware of the game day/month. This is a pic taken when it's June, so the sun rises a bit to the northeast, and will rise high in the sky. In January, of course, it rises to the southeast and never gets all that high (I have the latitude set at 42 degrees north). I added a /clouds on|off command and I turned the clouds off for this pic.

Here's another in the afternoon with the clouds on and set to high quality...

http://i21.tinypic.com/29c48as.png

EDIT: I'm still making improvements; for instance this has a better sky sphere with increased detail at the horizon and some code to eliminate the fade-to-black at the horizon...

http://i22.tinypic.com/23j0h9w.png

EDIT #2: Don't worry about the frame rates you see. I've since optimized sky-tinting and it's now in the 40's...

EDIT #3: The moon can cause sky-glow too, if it's near full...

http://i24.tinypic.com/10emu76.png

[Sensu-Bean]

[QUOTE=1. First, there MUST be a patcher. An open beta does us no good unless we can have some confidence that everyone is running the same version. Otherwise I foresee we'll be chasing our tails more often than not running down obsolete bugs. I know that Teppen was offering to write one
[/QUOTE]

Teppen's been banned from eqemu forums. He also posted a farewell post over at projecteq forums and everyone there hated to see him leave. Dev's all posted that he was welcome back anytime, however that really depends on weither his account gets unbanned on here or not. He has been talking with mattmeck and is going to be contacting angelox soon. Until then you will have to wait on corfuben's rewrite, which Im sure will do the job nicely. Below is Teppens farewell post on projecteq, which by the way had nothing to do with your thread windcatcher.

http://www.projecteq.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3342

Nice screenshots by the way, it looks better and better with each post windcatcher.

[Windcatcher]

Thanks for the compliments. It's up to the admins to decide what to do. I'm sort of reserving judgment since I haven't seen all the deleted posts (I was away for the entire weekend and they were already gone when I got back). I'd like to just move on from the issue and see a working patcher going. At that point I may be finally able to publicly release the client, pending perhaps some preliminary discussions with devs/admins/server admins to see if they have any outstanding issues. In the meantime I'm adding this new sky code to OpenZone and ZoneExplorer. Then I might see if I can learn something about GLSL shaders (yes, KhaN, I know you're looking at me...)

EDIT: I finally got around to enabling mipmapping...

http://i24.tinypic.com/28meye.png

[Windcatcher]

I have a question for the server devs out there: what is the best way to handle books ingame? Currently you can't read anything in SimpleClient because I'm not sure how best to handle it. I don't know if things have changed since, but my 0.5.5 test server uses a books table in the DB for book text. Apparently the way the protocol worked then was the client would send a request to the server with a particular title, and the server would return the text in the book. I can make SC work this way, but it wouldn't be localizable. This being the case, I figure I should ask if we want to do anything else before taking this route.

[Windcatcher]

This was the last major feature I needed...now you can read stuff:

http://i24.tinypic.com/zx3b6o.png

[IADarkyth]

Amazing work Windcatcher, just came back to EQEMu because it's been a long time and low and behold here you are still working like a madman on projects that no one would even dare imagine.

Something like this is one of the major stepping stones in order to truly emulate EverQuest and give it some of the updates and flexibility that it really needs.

[Windcatcher]

Thanks! I'm presently waiting to post another version to cavedude's beta-test FTP site (his provider had a problem and they need to work it). I've since redesigned the way I repaint the scene, which improved the frame rate and smoothed out movement speed. I also made the software occlusion culler more efficient which also boosted framerate, and added NumLock for auto-run. I added /clouds on|off since they impact frame rate and added settings to SimpleClient.ini for cloud fidelity (low, medium, high) and whether or not to use mipmapping.

[GeorgeS]

Regardiing books, I would just keep the format the same as the emu table struct -

name or id as varchar(30)
txtfile as text no limit

this seems to work well.
I also may have a book BMP skin you may find usefull - I'll look for it if you need something fancy like that.

On another note, I redid my PC and forgot what you use to unzip this .gz file. Tried about everything and it failed -
Load SQL: beta_team_dump.sql.gz

GeorgeS

[Windcatcher]

Regardiing books, I would just keep the format the same as the emu table struct -

name or id as varchar(30)
txtfile as text no limit

this seems to work well.
I also may have a book BMP skin you may find usefull - I'll look for it if you need something fancy like that.

On another note, I redid my PC and forgot what you use to unzip this .gz file. Tried about everything and it failed -
Load SQL: beta_team_dump.sql.gz

GeorgeS

Yeah, that's what I did--I simply followed the same protocol as the live client. If you have a better book skin, I wouldn't mind using it; I made this one in PSP and use it for both the spellbook as well as for books and scrolls.

gunzip is the old standard. Are you using Windows or Linux? I use ZipGenius for all my archive files.

[Windcatcher]

I created some icons and DB items, and did a little coding...

http://i20.tinypic.com/6898ck.png

I don't have any world containers (forges, etc.) but handheld tradeskills like tailoring are working :)

EDIT: It's not in this screenshot, but item info windows are showing the item icon as well now.

[Sakrateri]

Very nice work indeed WC !!!

[Windcatcher]

I can't believe I got this working so quickly...

http://i20.tinypic.com/9fn13n.png

For those who are wondering, I took a sharpening stone and a rusty weapon and sharpened it. I've also created a mold icon and added a bunch of molds to the DB, but this was an easier test.

[Windcatcher]

Hmmm. I actually found some bugs in my server version (EQEmu 0.5.5) in doing this:

OP_ClickObjectAck and OP_CloseContainer should be 0x2a2. In the code they were the same opcode as OP_GMSummon, which is bad...

CloseContainer_Struct should actually be 28 bytes, not 24 (having a testbed helps).

I suspect that these might also be problems in 0.5.6 since that has the same opcodes, but YMMV.

[GeorgeS]

That's excellent WC - tradeskills are extremely important, and I'm glad they are working, including the fantastic progress I'm seeing.

I'll get the book graphic to you later this week after I get some of the server admin code written...

GeorgeS

[Windcatcher]

I'm working on trying to test SC with a newer server version. It supports up to 0.6.0-DR2, but it's been so long since I tested it that I don't remember how to get it running. I'm trying to go through the EQEmu LS as Doodman implemented SC's protocol a long time ago but I don't have the host+port any more (I'd use a minilogin for it instead but I don't know if one exists). 0.5.5 doesn't support certain things like getting your sharpening stone back when you sharpen a weapon, so I need to test that on a newer server. One of the versions in between might support that feature, but I figure I may as well make sure I haven't broken 0.6.0 compatibility while I'm at it.

EDIT: GAH. I forgot I need to use MY minilogn, which I already have. Man, it's been a long time...

EDIT: Well. 0.6.0-DR2 still works, and I managed to fix some problems along the way. The server is still sending me extra item packets for cursor items that aren't really there but the client handles them without crashing or anything (when you put them somewhere the server complains that they don't exist).

[Windcatcher]

Who's thirsty?

http://i20.tinypic.com/xcsju9.png

I don't even have support for alcohol effects in the client (though you can consume stuff so it might work), but this is a start...

I don't suppose anyone would be willing to model some of the other tradeskill items?
- Pottery wheel
- Kiln
- Oven

[GeorgeS]

I'll look into the other tradeskill objects this weekend and make a few samples. Should'nt take much time for those.

GeorgeS

[Windcatcher]

Two more handheld items in the next version, and a bunch of tradeskill icons and items in the test DB...

http://i20.tinypic.com/20r0fgh.png

[Windcatcher]

http://i13.tinypic.com/6c7tf8n.png
http://i8.tinypic.com/4lnd1lz.png

I haven't yet made loot tables for these yet, but the Saravite bandit leader might be carrying something interesting...

I've also improved the last two of the external views. The left and right square bracket keys will rotate you around and the comma and period keys will rotate you up or down.

Hmm...I need to fix the weapon delay printout and that usable classes list for the chain shirt :P

[waternorth]

Still active?

[Windcatcher]

Yes, but I took a break for a while and I'm not working intensely on it. At the moment I'm trying to get alternate faces to work, which is a multi-step process:

- Tweak the player Anim8or models so facial textures are recognizable as such
- Update OpenZone so .XWF files store extra information so facial textures can be identified
- Update the loader DLL so facial texture ID information can be read by the client
- Update the client's 3D engine so it can use alternate facial textures

I'm on the last part, and this is probably the hardest. I might work on it a little tomorrow. Two weeks from now I'll have two weeks off from work, so hopefully I'll make some real progress then.

I've also updated the character selection and character creation screens so you can see your character. After I get alternate faces working, I need to make some minor bugfixes around the server and character selection windows -- sometimes closing them doesn't properly kick you back a level. The client also needs support for the 30-second camp cycle. At that point it should be ready for an initial public release, but we REALLY REALLY **REALLY** need a patcher system so we can push out updates without sowing chaos in the process.

[Windcatcher]

Finally...

http://i5.tinypic.com/8dz2108.png

I still need to do some more testing, but this is a good sign.

[Windcatcher]

I wasn't quite there, but it's all fixed now. I had to make more changes to OpenZone, to the client, and even an addition to my 0.5.5 server (because it didn't support NPC faces) but alternate faces are definitely supported now (using the "face" field in the npc_types DB table). Chalk up another important feature.

http://i14.tinypic.com/6yb9tzr.png

[Sakrateri]

Still watching this intently WC, I cant wait for the day that thanks to you I will be able to make a totally unique game for others to play.

On top of the zones I am releasing I am making others for just such a time that will be without maps and players will have no idea of direction until they learn the zone..

This is where games today fall short of mystique and want of exploration, by giving maps of zones there is no real need to explore and find out what is out there.

I hope people will get the feel of the first time they played EQ. Wondering what secrets lie around the next corner, wondering what that player in the distance is doing to come upon it and find its an NPC with a deep hatred for players, Asking others if they have seen your corpse.

Yes WC, I think any hope of a true new wonderment will come from what you are doing here, even the classic EQs being worked on wont do it for the simple fact everyone knows whats around the next corner, there is no mystery, no wonderment, no hope of anything new, just reflections of what once was,

Thanks for the hope WC :)


p.s, I still just have to get simple client working when I get back, look forward to questions lol

[waternorth]

SC looks absolutely incredible, WC. It's come so far from when KhaN showed me the first few screenshots of it (back when I was with WoA). I'm glad you stuck with it.

[Windcatcher]

Almost as soon as a patcher appears it will be ready for release. I've fixed the bug where closing the character selection or server selection windows would hang, and I've created a packet where the client will identify itself (and its version) to the world server (opcode 0x210, and the packet is just a 64-byte null-terminated string for now). The opcode and packet are contained in config files so we can expand them later. Today I'm probably going to work on customization packets that would allow the server to change the client's behavior, with the only major feature left being the 30-second camp cycle.

[Windcatcher]

Okay, here's my first cut of packets that I've made up that could let the world server configure the client to some small extent. Aside from the first one, I haven't added support for these yet, but I've made lots of internal architectural changes so that they would be easy to support. My question is, before I code these up, is there anything else we need to add? (I'm aware that at some point we want packets to change the number of available races, classes, deities, etc., but those should be separate).

// This is a TEXT file that the program reads to determine record structures.
// The format is as follows:
//
// NONE OF THE ENTRIES IN THIS FILE ARE CASE-SENSITIVE
//
// structname <struct name>
// structsize <size>
//
// <byte offset> <type> [struct name] <field name><array sizes>
//
// Structname: This sets the literal name of the struct to be used by the parser.
//
// Structsize: This tells the program how big the structure is.
//
// Byte Offset: must be a decimal number.
//
// Type: can be any of the following:
//
// sint8 or int8 (signed 8-bit number)
// uint8, char, or byte (unsigned 8-bit number)
// sint16 or int16 (signed 16-bit number)
// uint16 or word (unsigned 16-bit number)
// sint32 or int32 (signed 32-bit number)
// uint32 or dword (unsigned 32-bit number)
// sint64 (signed 64-bit number)
// float (32-bit single-precision floating point value)
// double (64-bit double-precision floating point value)
// struct or record (a structure/record)
//
// Structs may only have names that are used in "structname" declarations, e.g.:
//
// itemproperties_struct
//
// Note that unions aren't explicitly specified. They aren't necessary since
// the byte offset tells where each field lies.
//
// Field name: The program is looking for these SPECIFIC names, regardless
// of what they are called in the actual server code. Remember that this program
// doesn't treat anything here as case-sensitive. It's too easy to make typing
// mistakes.
//
// Array sizes: The format should be the same as in C (see below). ALL TEXT
// AFTER THE TERMINATING SEMICOLON IS IGNORED
//
// Comments: ONLY single-line comments using two slashes are supported.
//
// Blank lines: they are ignored.
//
// Tabs: I personally abhor the tab character, but the parser doesn't care.
// The first thing it will do is convert them to spaces.
//
// Whitespace: Put as much whitespace at the beginning or end of each line as
// you want. It will all be stripped prior to parsing.



// ClientVersion_Struct
// ================================================== ==========================
// PURPOSE
//
// Client tells the world server its version.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// NOTES
//
// 1. A typical string sent would be of the form: SimpleClient_1.0.0.0
// 2. The string could, however, take any form within the space allotted.
// 3. The string is null-terminated.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// FIELD DETAILS
//
// FileVersion
// A null-terminated string containing the client name and/or version.
// ================================================== ==========================

structname ClientVersion_Struct
structsize 64

00000000 char FileVersion[64]



// PlayerSingleClassInfo_Struct
// ================================================== ==========================
// PURPOSE
//
// World server tells the client details about a single player class.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// NOTES
//
// 1. Corresponding names for class and stat indices can be found in clientdata.xml.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// FIELD DETAILS
//
// ClassIndex
// The zero-based index of the player class. Valid values are in the range
// 0-31. The client will ignore all others.
//
// BaseStats
// An array of values to be added to the base player stats for the given class.
// For instance, all warriors might start with a strength bonus.
//
// AddPoints
// Specifies the number of additional points that players have available to
// assign to stats as they wish.
//
// AllowableSkills
// A bit-field that specifies which skills are available to the class, where
// the LSB of the first element is skill #0 and the MSB of the last element is
// skill #255 (little-endian).
// ================================================== ==========================

structname PlayerSingleClassInfo_Struct
structsize 104

00000000 uint32 ClassIndex
00000004 sint32 BaseStats[16]
00000068 uint32 AddPoints
00000072 uint32 AllowableSkills[8]



// PlayerClassInfo_Struct
// ================================================== ==========================
// PURPOSE
//
// World server tells the client details about the available player classes.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// NOTES
//
// 1. This is a variable-length struct.
// 2. This does NOT allow the world server to change the number of available classes.
// That will be handled in a different packet.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// FIELD DETAILS
//
// NumClasses
// Contains the number of PlayerSingleClassInfo_Struct entries there are
//
// ClassInfo
// Contains detail information for a single player class. See PlayerSingleClassInfo_Struct
// for documentation on this field.
// ================================================== ==========================

structname PlayerClassInfo_Struct
structsize 108

00000000 uint32 NumClasses
00000004 struct PlayerSingleClassInfo_Struct ClassInfo[1]



// PlayerSingleRaceInfo_Struct
// ================================================== ==========================
// PURPOSE
//
// World server tells the client details about a single player race.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// NOTES
//
// 1. Corresponding names for class, stat, deity, and skill indices can be found
// in clientdata.xml.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// FIELD DETAILS
//
// RaceIndex
// The zero-based index of the player race. Valid values are in the range
// 0-31. The client will ignore all others.
//
// ModelIndex
// The number corresponding to the race as understood by the server (there are
// hundreds of these, but only a small number are player races).
//
// Voice
// Specifies the voice pitch (low, medium, high) for sounds such as player
// jumping, getting hit, etc. Valid values are:
// 0 ... low
// 1 ... medium
// 2 ... high
//
// ObsHeight
// Floating-point number that specifies in world coordinates how far a player's
// viewpoint is above the player's feet. For instance, tall races should have
// larger values than short races.
//
// BaseStats
// An array of values that specify the base player stats for a given race, (e.g.
// strength, intelligence, etc.)
//
// AllowableClasses
// A bit-field that specifies which classes are available to the race, where the
// LSB is class #0 and the MSB is class #31 (little-endian).
//
// AllowableDeities
// A bit-field that specifies which deities are available to the race for each class,
// where the LSB is deity #0 and the MSB is deity #31 (little-endian).
//
// AllowableCities
// A bit-field that specifies which starting cities are available to the race for
// each deity, where the LSB is city #0 and the MSB is city #31 (little-endian).
// ================================================== ==========================

structname PlayerSingleRaceInfo_Struct
structsize 337

00000000 uint32 RaceIndex
00000004 uint32 ModelIndex
00000008 uint8 Voice
00000009 float ObsHeight
00000013 uint32 BaseStats[16]
00000077 uint32 AllowableClasses
00000081 uint32 AllowableDeities[32]
00000209 uint32 AllowableCities[32]



// PlayerRaceInfo_Struct
// ================================================== ==========================
// PURPOSE
//
// World server tells the client details about the available player races.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// NOTES
//
// 1. This is a variable-length struct.
// 2. This does NOT allow the world server to change the number of available races.
// That will be handled in a different packet.
// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// FIELD DETAILS
//
// NumRaces
// Contains the number of PlayerSingleRaceInfo_Struct entries there are
//
// RaceInfo
// Contains detail information for a single player race. See PlayerSingleRaceInfo_Struct
// for documentation on this field.
// ================================================== ==========================

structname PlayerRaceInfo_Struct
structsize 341

00000000 uint32 NumRaces
00000004 struct PlayerSingleRaceInfo_Struct RaceInfo[1]


I figure that since this has a direct effect on the community at large we should have a healthy discussion on this topic. I'm aware that we've already had a "blue-sky" discussion on client capabilities, but those are much longer-lead items and this is where we really get to brass tacks. Because the client is currently so closely tied to the server, I could really use some direction on how to make it more flexible in concrete and incremental terms.

[Windcatcher]

One thing I'm going to add to the packets that I'll work on this weekend (hopefully) will be vision type (normal, infravision, ultravision) to the race info packet. In the meantime, I started work on this (the mesh is still a work in progress):

http://i17.tinypic.com/8alhjbd.png

GeorgeS deserves a HUGE vote of thanks for supplying me with clothing textures :)

EDIT: Here's a later one (lots of little changes to the head, hands and arms are textured, some other tweaks)

http://i14.tinypic.com/7y7jeyg.png22

More tweaks to both textures (earrings) and structure since then (hair), but this is basically what she looks like.

[Windcatcher]

She has a sister, too...

http://i6.tinypic.com/6wxxjte.png

[Windcatcher]

I'm very happy with the finished product:

http://i12.tinypic.com/8euwdja.pnghttp://i6.tinypic.com/6lmeiw4.pnghttp://i3.tinypic.com/8c26pme.pnghttp://i4.tinypic.com/7xceky8.png

It's not really done yet...I have to make six more facial textures, make a robed mesh, put the existing robe textures on it, and replicate to the six variants. Then I have to modify the skeleton to match the meshes and alter the animations. All this will take a while, but step #1 is finally done (the four main armored variants).

[Windcatcher]

The female wood elf model is done, bar some tweaking to the animations and bone weights. I'm currently hurrying to make some meaningful content, concentrating mainly on the Lelembeth zone...

http://i15.tinypic.com/6txx5qa.png

I have a bunch more to do, such as make more items, LOTS more NPC's, etc., but so far I've done:

- Added a camp like the above pic *somewhere* in the zone (hee, hee)
- Added a bunch of wood elf NPC's
- Added signage above important buildings (e.g. bank, shops, guilds, etc.)
- Added some furniture

[Windcatcher]

Good xp (thanks, GeorgeS!)

No, I didn't kill just one of these to level.

http://i15.tinypic.com/6oy17w4.png
http://i15.tinypic.com/7ynyplu.png

[waternorth]

Incredibly impressed... just out of curiosity, what program are you using to model inanimate objects?

[Windcatcher]

I made the majority of them in OpenZone, though I'm increasingly starting to make some in Anim8or (especially weapons).

[Windcatcher]

I've got hanging flags working now (flapping in the breeze), and Lelembeth is fully usable now (has merchants, guards, lots of things to kill, a couple of guildmasters, etc.). I've also fixed some serious bugs and the client is basically ready for a release/public beta. The major question at this point is: where to put the first public/test server? Cavedude has been hosting a private one for small beta testing, but a public one will have to be readily accessible 24/7. Also, while my test db is usable, some zones are still mostly empty and you could explore everything in pretty short order (though Lelembeth has enough content for quite a bit of leveling, with the highest-level mob, excluding guards, at level 20).

Is the client still buggy? You betcha--I would consider this more of a public beta than a public release, but I feel pretty good about letting it loose on the public -- but we need a server that the community can access, and the correct loginserver host/port (paging Doodman...).

At this time, SimpleClient supports the following server versions:

EQEMU 0.5.5
EQEMU 0.5.6
EQEMU 0.5.7
EQEMU 0.5.7-DR6
EQEMU 0.5.8
EQEMU 0.6.0-DR2

I'm currently testing on my box with 0.5.5, but when I release everything I plan to upload a 0.6.0-DR2 DB as that server has lots of fixes (for example, 0.5.5 has a nasty tendency to forget your inventory items).

There WILL be updates to the client as we move forward into 2008 (for instance, at this time the only existing player models are (1) male human, (2) male wood elf, (3) male dark elf, (4) female wood elf. Anything not modeled shows up as the default human male, and as time allows I'll add more types). There WILL be bugfixes, most likely driven by player feedback. But today I can say that I consider it playable.

Oh, and about those hanging flags: I had to make a TINY change to the client, but the gist of it is that the flag is simply exported as a mob model for that zone, with a single skeletal animation "P01". Placing it is done in the DB using the "objects" table. All in all it was surprisingly easy. I don't believe that the live client can do this, but it's easy when you're writing your own client :)

[Scorpious2k]

I repeat my offer:

I will donate the scorpious2k server, version 5.7 DR6 (with DB) to be used for simple client. All we need is some people who will run reliable, 24/7 servers.

[Windcatcher]

Bear in mind that your DB would require some rework as the item icons and spell icons don't carry over and only a small subset of the NPC models exist. The items work would go pretty quickly, though.

EDIT: I'm throwing together a dark elf female model too, which should be ready in another day (it will be closely based on the wood elf one).

[Windcatcher]

Well, I've fixed a bunch of stuff, finished the female dark elf model, and I think I've reached the point where the initial version can be turned loose. There is still a LOT more to do and lots of things won't work and/or aren't implemented, but it has to go out the door at some point and this is a good time for it. The only issue is hosting. Since the EQEmu devs are demanding that a client be closed-source to deter cheating, I can't just put this on SourceForge. So I guess what I'm asking for is a long-time community member to offer reliable hosting ("long-time" here merely means "likely to hang around" :D ). I can have it packaged up in another day or so and post it -- once I know that hosting is available, I'll take the step of porting my 0.5.5 test DB to 0.6.0-DR2, which will be the final step before I package it.

It will come with a small program called ClearLogin, which is a sort of Minilogin, but Doodman has already implemented SimpleClient's login protocol into the main EQEmu loginserver. We only need to prevail on him to publicize the host/port info...

Wind

[krusher]

Hi Wind

I would be glad to host for you. Drop me a PM and we can discuss.

Krusher

[Scorpious2k]

Bear in mind that your DB would require some rework as the item icons and spell icons don't carry over and only a small subset of the NPC models exist. The items work would go pretty quickly, though.

True enough. But with our server you get a lot of bug fixes, augments (we also have custom augment pools), and if you want there is also player merchants, growing spells (spells that get stronger as your level gets higher) and stargates among other things.

[Scorpious2k]

An added note: Sakrateri and I are working on the s2k custom zones and putting some new ones together for SC...

[Windcatcher]

DING!

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/9166/simpleclient63bk1.th.png (http://img72.imageshack.us/my.php?image=simpleclient63bk1.png)

I haven't yet landed hosting for this yet, so in the meantime I'm fixing bugs and adding content.

[mattmeck]

Keep it on topic, and take the drama elsewhere.

[Windcatcher]

WOW!! What did I miss?

I've been suffering from some burnout lately and haven't done much on SC in the past couple of months. I'm toying with the idea of releasing it as-is, though not all spells are there for all classes. Does anyone have any thoughts?

[mattmeck]

WOW!! What did I miss?

I've been suffering from some burnout lately and haven't done much on SC in the past couple of months. I'm toying with the idea of releasing it as-is, though not all spells are there for all classes. Does anyone have any thoughts?

PM sent about the drama (dont start it again!)

Wind, some of us have been waiting for years for this!

If you think its good enough to hand out then it is.

[Windcatcher]

Alright, maybe tomorrow I'll start packaging it up. I just need to place a necro spell merchant somewhere in a zone (there are spells for druids, wizards, and necros up to level 20, and a handful for some other classes--the community can add more to their heart's content with OpenSpell). I definitely think we need to set up a private SVN server somewhere so I'm not the only one with the source code, too. I think we need to have that discussion ASAP. (and it's in Delphi, so I suppose certain coders in California will be thrilled to learn that they've been Delphi experts for the last ten years :D -- and that's all I need to say about that, LOL -- I've been coding Pascal since before some of them were likely even glints in their parents' eyes).

[Windcatcher]

Just a small update...I probably won't release until next weekend. I've got the necro spell dealer in and the necro guildmaster, but I'm in bed with a cold and I just can't get it all done yet. Once I kick this I'll put it all together and upload it somewhere. In the meantime, are there any thoughts on source code management?

[Darkriderone]

I just wanted to say Thank You for this, hopefully it will make it easier to access my 400+ custom zones. Also I was wondering about how it would handle custom models and other content?

[GeorgeS]

I'm for releasing it also, and it would be good to see how certain things were done/coded - but I guess I'm too "young" to be what you call an expert in Pascal ;)

I can host a copy of the source on my end as the server (like me) has been around for ages.

GeorgeS

[Windcatcher]

Thanks, George. I may be hitting you up for hosting very soon ;) I'm just adding some guildmasters so people in different classes can at least train. At this point, I recommend the following races:

Human male
Wood elf male
Wood elf female
Dark elf male
Dark elf female

I haven't modeled any other player classes so anything else will show as the human male model. As for classes, I recommend the following:

Warrior
Wizard
Necromancer
Druid

There are some spells for other classes where there is overlap, and a handful of cleric spells, but I haven't put any real effort into building spell sets for all the other classes yet. As for the ones above, I stopped at level 20 so anything else will have to be done by the community. With OpenSpell out there, everything people need is available. I'll be releasing another version of the Admin Tool shortly as I've fixed a couple of bugs and I have the items tab showing miniature item icons in the item list. I'm finding that this is very helpful when building items from scratch (especially spells).

NOT all skills are in yet, but some are (e.g. bash). They aren't hard to add, but it depends on what the server can support. I can build a list of what's implemented if people ask for it. At this time, there are no specialized buttons for anything, but you can assign "/" slash commands to the programmable buttons in the bottom left to implement any supported command (e.g. /bash, /cast 1, etc.)