Old EQ1 player.. Thrilled about Emulator!. Looking for server and company of others

[Blinky_Bill]

Hi there!

Hope you are doing ok! :o)

I just googled EQ Emulator, and lo and behold here I am!
I was looking for a free game download... Then I remembered fondly my days of playing private servers of Ultima Online emulations.

Then I remembered that way back then there was some projects in the works to produce an EQ emulation.

So my train of thought led me here! Excellent!

So yeah, as you may be able to tell by the exclamation points I'm somewhat excited about the prospects!

However... There was some big (in my opinion) flaws with EQ's gameplay. I still enjoyed it alot, and spent (/wasted hehe) many many hours playing it. My dad was also a big EQ fan, and he is currently playing WoW.

What I'm trying to avoid in MMO is a few things. So I thought it would be best to pose it to the forum members here, to see if they could suggest a server where somewhat like-minded people have made an effort (appreciated) and would like my company and contribution to compliment those efforts.

So, here's my list of desired features... Not too ambitious I hope, and I'm sorry if it is unreasonable, or 'misses the point' of EQEmu...

This will be a long post, but I hope you will find it worthwhile to have read it! Thanks! :o)

1. Less/mininal/limited grinding - Grinding sucks terribly. Whether for experience or money or loot. The prize loot should be dropped in abundance, at key sections of challenge in a dungeon crawl, and finally at the completion of the dungeon crawl - not just grinding some random mob for the 0.004 percent chance it will drop the specific item you are after.
Say for example, you just killed 'Emperor Bigmob', and he drops a bunch of loot, and everything in the group goes, 'hey that loot is ok, it will be excellent to use for <the next big dungeon crawl that requires a different type of ability> think I will use that! good run!' instead of 'i searched this particular item on allakhazam and its the best for my class at this level so i'll see you in a week after ive grinded the same mob for 80+ hours'

2. Ability to take on big challenges as two person team - Once when I was playing EQ, I met a player who had just made a dwarf. They liked the idea of being an 'epic hero' and fighting giants, as a tiny little dwarf. I was like 'Yeah I know what you mean, too bad the game mechanics don't support it very well'.
EQ was an utter STRUGGLE, and it was like experience was some sort of tap set to very low. It wasn't 'experience' I was interested in, it was EXPERIENCE: A fun, challenging, immersive, skill-required, community focused experience!

3. Less/no respawns when taking on an area (possibly part of number 4, GM events, GM player events) - I think it's pretty stupid how mobs just respawn by appearing out of thin air. Especially when you've basically just completely slaughtered them, like genocide. And when you're on a long dungeon crawl, and because someone has to ake a break, then they respawn on top of you then it's game over, back to the start, try again after corpse run etc etc. THAT IS NOT FUN. Sorry for the capitals, but I just want to emphasise what I'm looking for and hoping to find someone sympathetic and empathetic to my ideas of how to make EQ 'better' (for me anyway).
And also, having a different explanation or method as to how mobs respawn (instead of just appear out of thin air), because it is very difficult for roleplay purposes to just say 'They just reappear out of nowhere, and that's just the way it is! Just stay out of roamer path so its doesnt add!' - it would be better if it was scripted, like 'Reinforcements have arrived at the West Gate, and are on their way to us... Everyone, be on your guard!'

4. GM and GM player events - I would like to play with someone who is actual the server GM, or who has GM status, and can arrange challenges for us to enjoy together and with others. Such as, mentioned in point 3, turning off the respawn features.
Now I'm not sure if this would be possible with the EQEmu software, but here is a scenario I think would be cool:

Instead of respawns, such for example in that big Icegiant place (That place was cool I reckon, had some very challenging areas!) - just turn off the respawns.
Then when you make it to a certain point theyre like 'Intruders have breached our outer defenses! All able forces are called to enter the battle! Don't leave the King and treasures undefended!'

^ That's just an example. Basically, I want a game that's about fun, adventure, and things that make you go 'Cool!' instead of 'oh man, another grind to get some loot and some stupid level where I still can't beat anything that is fun to fight solo... excuse me while i go punch my wall in frustration..'

Also, increasing the player/character strength, so that they can fight multiple enemies at once. Say for example, in that scenario where all the Icegiants rush into battle against your small group - you should be like epic warriors, that although it is very challenging, you can rise to the occasion and bust some Giant kneecaps.
You know, make it like 'Strider skills', rushing headlong into an army of Orcs.

5. Upgraded character classes - What I liked about the clerics in EQ was that they could wear plate, and wear a decent swing with a club. However, they were not intended to be melee class. I would like to see someone so 'Nuts to that!' and actually consider making the caster classes warriors also, and giving the warrior classes some magic ability.

6. EPIC HEROES, EPIC BATTLES, EPIC.. Fun! - Point 6 basically sums up all previous points. Even with only two people, this can be achieved - basically by making it so characters ARE overpowered, and as such the challenges that they should of the epic variety in some of the cases (on a small server balance isnt much of an issue, and we shouldnt concerned about making people grind so that the monthly revenue keeps coming in.. we have to keep in mind that is the basic premise for the business model of the mainstream subscription mmorpgs and the original EQ)
I have a pretty active imagination, so I would always be able to contribute to good constructive ideas as to how to improve the gameplay experience on a server.

7. Videos! - This of course is a feature I can take care of myself, but just thought I should bring it up, because if I find a great server with great people, I would love to make videos and share them with others so that they can see how cool it is, and my friends on the server can relive the moments.

Anyway, those are the things I am looking for in a server. Or I am looking for a server that is maintained by people who agree with me, and would like my company and whatever help I might be able to offer them!

Thanks so much for reading, and I eagerly await your replies!

:o))))))))))) *dancing banana x10!!!*

Take care and Lord bless!

~Nick

[warhawk]

Hi Nick

I think the server you are seeking is called Stormhaven . check the thread about that server is this section of the forum.

Warhawk

[SourCelery]

As far as the respawn problem goes, I believe (haven't played on these servers, but I'm assuming) they have LDoN (lost dungeons of Norrath). What that expansion did was give a big bunch of instanced zones specifically designed for dungeon crawls like you mentioned. The mobs are spawned for your group, and once you kill them, they stay dead. I wish the rewards had been better, because they really were a blast to play. There are other instanced zones in other expansions, but LDoN was all about the dungeon crawl.

Hope that helps.

[Theeper]

Welcome to the community!

At this time, LDoN instancing does not work on EQ Emu.

[John Adams]

You can simulate the LDON experience without "instancing". I highly doubt any server has the population where 2 parties would need access to the exact same zone. The system that currently exists is broken, but you can still fake it using quest scripts.

However, the zones are not spawned... so yet another obstacle. So yah, as Theeper said... not working.

To the OP, sounds like you want a WoW emulator. Check out some of the 20x exp servers online. I'm sure those are amazingly challenging.

[Astaldoath]

Originally Posted by Blinky_Bill

Hi there!

Hope you are doing ok! :o)

I just googled EQ Emulator, and lo and behold here I am!
I was looking for a free game download... Then I remembered fondly my days of playing private servers of Ultima Online emulations.

Then I remembered that way back then there was some projects in the works to produce an EQ emulation.

So my train of thought led me here! Excellent!

So yeah, as you may be able to tell by the exclamation points I'm somewhat excited about the prospects!

However... There was some big (in my opinion) flaws with EQ's gameplay. I still enjoyed it alot, and spent (/wasted hehe) many many hours playing it. My dad was also a big EQ fan, and he is currently playing WoW.

What I'm trying to avoid in MMO is a few things. So I thought it would be best to pose it to the forum members here, to see if they could suggest a server where somewhat like-minded people have made an effort (appreciated) and would like my company and contribution to compliment those efforts.

So, here's my list of desired features... Not too ambitious I hope, and I'm sorry if it is unreasonable, or 'misses the point' of EQEmu...

This will be a long post, but I hope you will find it worthwhile to have read it! Thanks! :o)

1. Less/mininal/limited grinding - Grinding sucks terribly. Whether for experience or money or loot. The prize loot should be dropped in abundance, at key sections of challenge in a dungeon crawl, and finally at the completion of the dungeon crawl - not just grinding some random mob for the 0.004 percent chance it will drop the specific item you are after.
Say for example, you just killed 'Emperor Bigmob', and he drops a bunch of loot, and everything in the group goes, 'hey that loot is ok, it will be excellent to use for <the next big dungeon crawl that requires a different type of ability> think I will use that! good run!' instead of 'i searched this particular item on allakhazam and its the best for my class at this level so i'll see you in a week after ive grinded the same mob for 80+ hours'

2. Ability to take on big challenges as two person team - Once when I was playing EQ, I met a player who had just made a dwarf. They liked the idea of being an 'epic hero' and fighting giants, as a tiny little dwarf. I was like 'Yeah I know what you mean, too bad the game mechanics don't support it very well'.
EQ was an utter STRUGGLE, and it was like experience was some sort of tap set to very low. It wasn't 'experience' I was interested in, it was EXPERIENCE: A fun, challenging, immersive, skill-required, community focused experience!

3. Less/no respawns when taking on an area (possibly part of number 4, GM events, GM player events) - I think it's pretty stupid how mobs just respawn by appearing out of thin air. Especially when you've basically just completely slaughtered them, like genocide. And when you're on a long dungeon crawl, and because someone has to ake a break, then they respawn on top of you then it's game over, back to the start, try again after corpse run etc etc. THAT IS NOT FUN. Sorry for the capitals, but I just want to emphasise what I'm looking for and hoping to find someone sympathetic and empathetic to my ideas of how to make EQ 'better' (for me anyway).
And also, having a different explanation or method as to how mobs respawn (instead of just appear out of thin air), because it is very difficult for roleplay purposes to just say 'They just reappear out of nowhere, and that's just the way it is! Just stay out of roamer path so its doesnt add!' - it would be better if it was scripted, like 'Reinforcements have arrived at the West Gate, and are on their way to us... Everyone, be on your guard!'

4. GM and GM player events - I would like to play with someone who is actual the server GM, or who has GM status, and can arrange challenges for us to enjoy together and with others. Such as, mentioned in point 3, turning off the respawn features.
Now I'm not sure if this would be possible with the EQEmu software, but here is a scenario I think would be cool:

Instead of respawns, such for example in that big Icegiant place (That place was cool I reckon, had some very challenging areas!) - just turn off the respawns.
Then when you make it to a certain point theyre like 'Intruders have breached our outer defenses! All able forces are called to enter the battle! Don't leave the King and treasures undefended!'

^ That's just an example. Basically, I want a game that's about fun, adventure, and things that make you go 'Cool!' instead of 'oh man, another grind to get some loot and some stupid level where I still can't beat anything that is fun to fight solo... excuse me while i go punch my wall in frustration..'

Also, increasing the player/character strength, so that they can fight multiple enemies at once. Say for example, in that scenario where all the Icegiants rush into battle against your small group - you should be like epic warriors, that although it is very challenging, you can rise to the occasion and bust some Giant kneecaps.
You know, make it like 'Strider skills', rushing headlong into an army of Orcs.

5. Upgraded character classes - What I liked about the clerics in EQ was that they could wear plate, and wear a decent swing with a club. However, they were not intended to be melee class. I would like to see someone so 'Nuts to that!' and actually consider making the caster classes warriors also, and giving the warrior classes some magic ability.

6. EPIC HEROES, EPIC BATTLES, EPIC.. Fun! - Point 6 basically sums up all previous points. Even with only two people, this can be achieved - basically by making it so characters ARE overpowered, and as such the challenges that they should of the epic variety in some of the cases (on a small server balance isnt much of an issue, and we shouldnt concerned about making people grind so that the monthly revenue keeps coming in.. we have to keep in mind that is the basic premise for the business model of the mainstream subscription mmorpgs and the original EQ)
I have a pretty active imagination, so I would always be able to contribute to good constructive ideas as to how to improve the gameplay experience on a server.

7. Videos! - This of course is a feature I can take care of myself, but just thought I should bring it up, because if I find a great server with great people, I would love to make videos and share them with others so that they can see how cool it is, and my friends on the server can relive the moments.

Anyway, those are the things I am looking for in a server. Or I am looking for a server that is maintained by people who agree with me, and would like my company and whatever help I might be able to offer them!

Thanks so much for reading, and I eagerly await your replies!

:o))))))))))) *dancing banana x10!!!*

Take care and Lord bless!

~Nick

You will probably like my server thats in the works. Its full pvp for the moment until i figured out how to limit it to certain zones. Vendors, 7 dungeon crawl quests, Ancient armor quests. Im gonna be doing epic 2.0s soon, then also epic 2.5s or 3.0s It has 5x exp 6x aa exp so grinding will be easy. I plan on making it so the gear you gain gives you a feel that you are actually leveled and can kill mobs you couldnt before solo.

[XebeknSZ]

www.pwnedemu.com

Its regular EQ up to classic with PvP. Kunark will be released soon. Not sure if you are looking for anything like this but its an awesome server with one of the best populations. GM events more often than most.

[Rathora]

Stormhaven is fun to play on, wouldn't mind grouping with you, although can not promise that I won't kill you.... as the Timix never dies! :P

[trevius]

Here is a useful link to some servers with descriptions. I doubt all of them are still around right now because some servers only last a few months and then disappear forever. But, there are quite a few servers that have been around a while.

It sounds like you are looking for a custom legit server. For that, I would highly recommend Zebuxoruk, EZ Server, or my server Storm Haven. All 3 of those meet most of the criteria you are looking for and they are all great servers. Links to their websites are provided in the post that I linked below. You can find out many of the details about them on their sites and decide which one is right for you.

The nice thing is that they are fast paced, so if you play on 1 for a day, you can get a pretty decent feel for how much you will like the server. And if you want to try one of the others, it is an easy switch. You don't have to play for weeks to realize if you will like them or not, but I think they all deserve a chance.

http://www.eqemulator.net/forums/showthread.php?t=24875

I know there are some other servers out there that will probably meet your criteria as well and I am sorry for not mentioning all of them. The 3 I mentioned are all ones that I have personally played on for an extended amount of time, so they are the only ones I can give a true recommendation for.

I wish there was an easy way to keep a clean up to date list of each server, their respective websites and some details about them. Unfortunately, that would be a very hard to maintain list unless it was managed by the server admins somehow. Maybe with some kind of check against the login server to see if the server has been down for a certain amount of time for it to remove them from the list automatically. Something like a server status page where each admin could put their own details in would be amazing. But, I doubt that would ever happen.

Anyway, I am sure you will enjoy the Emulator. It is by far the best emulator out there as far as I know.

[KingMort]

If your as old school as you say you are, then you will want to play on an old school server..

My server Raid Addicts www.raidaddicts.org is the oldest active eqemu server atm..

Also I have been leading raids on live since Jan , 2001.. And I still lead raids on live 4 days a week..

Unlike many servers, My server has very little Instant Gratification...

You will get a few nice items when you start out.. But compaired to the more than 1700+ custom items 600+ custom spells for each level past 70, as well as years of work on all the content by some of the most talented devs in eqemu..

And you will Grind , and Greul your way there , Leveling is easy sure.. but gaining your gear will depend on your skill 100%...

If the people of EQEMU wish to have a nice Challenge , head to Raid Addicts

King Mortenson
www.raidaddicts.org

PS.. If you ever see my End Game Content I'll send you a free Raid Addicts T-Shirt

[Rathora]

Hey Mort what server do you play on live?

[John Adams]

Originally Posted by KingMort

PS.. If you ever see my End Game Content I'll send you a free Raid Addicts T-Shirt

lol I love this guy.

[KingMort]

Luclin

And yes.. The T-Shirts are nice, Check them out for yourself on website..

We also sell hats

[Rathora]

Cool Mort, now I can bug you for hours on end until you ignore me :P

P.S. I love the grind of Raid Addicts! Gives an oldschool feeling