My comments were pretty sparse... I have been pondering what to say...
-- I have kicked the Minecraft meets EQ idea around with a cousin of mine! To add to what you are saying....
http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
(a)... Literally making traps and mega constructions are one of the funnest things in Dwarf Fortress! So when you say The Enviroment is Dangerous... I am So There!
-- Extreme Crafting!! WOW! Yes, Yes, YES!
_***_ Some of the big things I pondered was:
-- Extended Antonica: using the Drakkin additions such as Valdeholm
-- Vellious: The whole Dragons Vs. Giants story line was a really cool concept that seemingly got dropped way too early...! The Dragons had a pretty good amount of content areas, but the Giants had decidedly less. Hence my idea to use Valdeholm...
-- Kunark ... So many COOL places!
-- The Original Planes + Some of the later planes... : Plane of Hate, Plane of Fear...
-^-: Perhaps some of the planes off of Plane of Tranquility? They would have to be heavily modded of course. The point of using them would literally be to extend "Original EverQuest: Antonica extended, Kunark, Vellious"
(a) ... For Instance: Kunark could be extended by adding a 'zone-up' to Plane of Torment etc... Some of those 'advanced' planes could be scattered around various places to greatly extend and Further Advance *OLD* quest lines that were never really finished. Then some new ones could be seeded in holistically. Oh, Tower of Frozen Shadow, and Sol Ro Tower... so many possibilities here!
-- Perhaps "holistically re-vamp" the entire 'world-set'. Example Given: Anyone remember the ancient class quests such as Warrior: Centaur Crafted? That is just one example of course. Point being, what if it were re-visited in a way that added in Evolving Item status to it? The reason? Perhaps each evolution would add a combination of Stats, Adds, and *Aug Slots*. The aug slots could be a specific way to add in Crafting, and Questing to these old armor sets.
(a) ... To extend this line of thought: How about the same extension treatment for Thurgadin, Kael Drakkel, and Skyshrine quest armors? Some of these old quests were really good!
-- Deities? Could true Deity action be added in?
(a) ... Armor sets that either originate Via Deity, or armors such as the Thurgadin, Kael Drakkel, and Skyshrine armors could add a Deity_Slot? Perhaps on the final evolution of the armor one of the slots would be for a Deity_Aug. This would Push the player to Decide on a Path.
(b) ... Spell Lines that are Deity specific per class? Have a Grey_Core of spells that are common, then perhaps Dragon_Core / Giant_Core, then Deity_Core. This way the level of customization Life Path Choices really adds up!
I will leave off here for now... I hope I have not stepped in-it! Your server ideas are really exciting!
Gary