What OpenEQ Is
 

OpenEQ is an opensource Everquest client that is in the works.
It is released under the terms of the GPL, and will eventually, hopefully, supercede the official client for Emu play.

We have plans to support other MMORPGs as well, including Everquest 2 and WoW.

If you have any further questions, reply to this thread please. Thank you.

i have a question, whats an opensource everquest client?

An opensource replacement for the official Everquest client from Sony.

why make a replacement for the offical everquest client? is there any advantages? whats the difference? what exactly is the client, is it still running on the same engine with the same zones/content?

Advantages:
1) It's opensource so it can be analyzed by anyone
2) It will run natively on Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, BeOS, etc
3) It will allow us to add new features to the client and server without waiting for Sony to implement them first or using some cheap hack
4) It will support our own custom content far better without cheap hacks such as ZoneProxy (that said, ZoneProxy is damn cool :) )
5) It will allow us to take complete control over the protocol. We don't have to reverse-engineer the packets and crypto since we define them ourselves in the client.

Disadvantages:
1) It will take time, and a decent bit of it
2) It will require a lot of work, but for quite a lot of return (simply not being a slave to Sony's protocol is a good enough reason to justify the work)

Those are the main advantages and disadvantages. If anyone has any to add, post them please :)

does openeq use a diff 3d engine?

Yes. We share absolutely no code with Sony's client. Not only that, our implementation is muuuch different. For instance, we use OpenGL rather than DirectX.

Thats the point, ya can trash their garbage for better quality, and they can't cry warez.

We can be free to edit character mesehes, better zones, better everything, etc...


edit....OH and more to the point....You can offer a complete patcher. Players can download the entire client....

HENCE the refference to the copyright crap in the first place :-P

im offended right off cause you called verants work garbage.

so, OpenEQ includes a different (and most likley inferior) 3d renderer , netowrk code, 3d, and npc text. now they cant cry warez. and i see why not, because it has NOTHING TO DO WITH EQ ANYMORE. if you want to emulate eq there going to have to be able to cry warez. if you just want to make your own server, but with a different engine, client, 3d, and everything, why wait for OpenEQ to do it? your server has nothing to do with eq, use an engine which is already advancded.

MNJ, please refrain from posting if you don't understand - the explanation has been made, and you have repeatedly ignored the message.

?

I have to agree w/ MNJ somewhat. Verants work on EQ is when it was a great game , its not til SOE took over that the game started to go down hill. (although I dont think anyone mentioned Verant til he did)

Anyway this is an interesting idea , however if you use any part of EQ , client , zone files , music , etc .. you are violating the copyright. So then to get around this you would have to make an opensource version of the entire game without using any knowledge or source from the copyrighted game.
And as MNJ said I highly doubt anyone will be able to make anything similar to EQ now in under about 3 years - which by that time I think EQ will be dead completely and therefore useless.

What it comes down to is basically what your are invisioning and attempting to make is a completely new game that has some basic references to EQ but is in no way EQ. So all in all youd do better giving it a name that didnt include EQ(which is copyrighted anyway)

On Scorpios2k there is new expancions planned, and eventualy we will no longer use any EQ zone at all.

This client would allow even more customizing, like a part necro part Shammy part BST. or Just new classes all together.

Not every server is out to emulate EQ, its the EQ gameplay in a diferent way that were after. You are correct that a server that tryinf to be like live would find this useless, however what happens when live gose down and you cant patch to get new players? This would solve that issue too.

/Offtopic ON
You sir is WRONG > http://www.worldofalkora.com/temp/KhaN/EQ000148.jpg
I agree its abit empty atm, give us some more weeks, and our zones will have flowers, grass, bench, crates, ...
/Offtopic OFF

heh, my posts were not ment to start a war here....was just an opinion, and compliment to the openEQ project.....

Looks like it all started AFTER my posts..I think htis thread could stand to be X'd from my post on.