The obvious solution is a total replacement client--models (player and mob), zones, weapons, icons, the whole nine yards. IMHO the hardest part of it is the content, not the code. There is an OpenEQ section about *coding* a client, but it might be a good idea to set up a section where people can organize calls for replacement content and post submissions:
- spell icons
- item icons
- player models
- creature (monster) models
- zones (though the OpenZone section is good for this)
I'm not surprised they shut WR down, if nothing else because WR, with 300+ players, was actually beginning to compete against live on a non-trivial level. We've had a day to lament it's loss (well, you have; I've never seen WR), but in loss there is also opportunity: I've lost count of the number of people in the past couple of months who have expressed to me a desire to create original content beyond zones. This would be an exellent time to organize a total (and I *do* mean total) divorce from the live client. With a 100% home-grown client that uses not a single byte of SOE's content, a post-WR server could tell them to pound sand (as well as branch out into game systems beyond EQ's, which IMHO is like D&D For Dummies).
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