open beta testing for classic legit pve

[nilbog]

i would love to have it as 1 client only.. but i don't see how that is feasible, unless a LOT of people are going to play that haven't expressed interest .

when the server is fully released, i will limit it to 2 clients.. so people can have a box and actually accomplish things. when i played on tz/vz, the player limit of 2 seemed appropriate and worked well.

[Slaya21]

I tried logging on today and it kept sending me back to login screen. :X

[nilbog]

yep.. sorry bout that. had to test some parts and my ip was changed. everything is working now

[Slaya21]

works now, made a dark elf sk. woot.

[Ueguvil]

While I'd love to play classic again, I pretty much agree with eqtest. If this server is to have the following 3 things:

1. Very slow xp.
2. No quick travel (#peqzone)
3. 2 clients allowed per person

then only the most extreme masochists will play here. Yes, all 3 of those conditions existed in classic everquest (most people only played 1 character even) but there was a huge population to offset this. You could log on and be near any dungeon that was guaranteed to be teeming with other players. This is a mistake lots of classic servers seem to make, and they fade away.

The fact is very few people want to spend their hours traveling across the same world they've traveled a million times just because it's the only possible chance they can group with someone (if there is even anyone else their level on atm) and get a shot at progressing their character. It's simply not fun.

If the grind has to be super long, at least implement some sort of quick travel maybe? It would go a long way in encouraging grouping.

[nilbog]

While I do agree with the fact that not everyone wants to play classic with the classic penalties, I don't think that's why the other servers faded away. They faded away for no apparent reason. It wasn't a slow and steady decline.. in fact, just the opposite. People were raiding and joining guilds with each other and then the servers vanished..seemingly overnight.

Fast travel was implemented in 1999 :P Druids and wizards.

I do appreciate the feedback, as I like to hear everyone's opinions of classic. I do not think my server will include such things as fast travel though :( sorry to those who require it.

[Slaya21]

are you gonna use boats?

[Ueguvil]

Originally Posted by nilbog

While I do agree with the fact that not everyone wants to play classic with the classic penalties, I don't think that's why the other servers faded away. They faded away for no apparent reason. It wasn't a slow and steady decline.. in fact, just the opposite. People were raiding and joining guilds with each other and then the servers vanished..seemingly overnight.

Fast travel was implemented in 1999 :P Druids and wizards.

I do appreciate the feedback, as I like to hear everyone's opinions of classic. I do not think my server will include such things as fast travel though :( sorry to those who require it.

Fair enough. Just remember it's no fun running through empty zone after empty over and over again. When those zones are alive with players is when they're interesting to trek through.

Classic isn't classic without thousands of players in the world. When that vital part is missing concessions need to be made.

But I guess that's just my opinion! Good luck with your server. It looks like you've put some real dedication into it. (CT looks awesome)

[porigromus]

Originally Posted by nilbog

While I do agree with the fact that not everyone wants to play classic with the classic penalties, I don't think that's why the other servers faded away. They faded away for no apparent reason. It wasn't a slow and steady decline.. in fact, just the opposite. People were raiding and joining guilds with each other and then the servers vanished..seemingly overnight.

Fast travel was implemented in 1999 :P Druids and wizards.

I do appreciate the feedback, as I like to hear everyone's opinions of classic. I do not think my server will include such things as fast travel though :( sorry to those who require it.

I agree with you Nilbong, I am just learning of your server and can't wait to help you test it. Why have all servers the same right? This is going to be fun.

[porigromus]

Originally Posted by Ueguvil

While I'd love to play classic again, I pretty much agree with eqtest. If this server is to have the following 3 things:

1. Very slow xp.
2. No quick travel (#peqzone)
3. 2 clients allowed per person

then only the most extreme masochists will play here. Yes, all 3 of those conditions existed in classic everquest (most people only played 1 character even) but there was a huge population to offset this. You could log on and be near any dungeon that was guaranteed to be teeming with other players. This is a mistake lots of classic servers seem to make, and they fade away.

The fact is very few people want to spend their hours traveling across the same world they've traveled a million times just because it's the only possible chance they can group with someone (if there is even anyone else their level on atm) and get a shot at progressing their character. It's simply not fun.

If the grind has to be super long, at least implement some sort of quick travel maybe? It would go a long way in encouraging grouping.

I myself would be okay with doing some minor customizations if done tastefully, if this brought in more players. I have always thought some things that SOE did could have been done but more tastefully. Don't get me wrong, if classic is released exactly like it was in 99', I would be like a kid in a candy shop. : D

There are some slight things you could do to alleviate some of these issues and I think enhance classic but what you suggest is too drastic especially the #peqzone. That would really ruin the feel of being in a world.

1. I would be okay if the xp was increased but I would go a step further and only increase the xp in dungeons. I think a bit more xp in dungeons (not much) would be okay considering the risk and may also alleviate not being able to find others to group with issue. Would be some hotspots where a lot would be found xping.

2. If travel becomes an issue there is a tasteful way it can be lessened. There could be a few discrete npc wizards/druids around the world that you could "hail" to provide very limited ports to certain places. At least it would be unobtrusive and feel like it belongs in the world.

3. I was thinking there could be some discrete npc bots (classic races/classes) that could be for hire in towns that could assist with times when players are not avaliable. This may solve the need for wanting more than one account. I would make sure the bots were no replacement for players but would help you solo if unable to locate people to play with. It would be nothing similar to EQ's mercs presently.
I think they implemented it poorly. I don't think mercs should xp with you nor do I think you should be able to put them away or pull them back out like a pet. I also think they should be a price/time when you hire them to come with you and after that time they "poof". If you want their help again you must go hire them again.

*************************

I personally think EQ could have done things more tastefully in the past to fit the world better than they did. To me they didn't seem to care if things flowed well together, expansions felt like different games tacked together. The PoK, teleporting books, moon travel, cats living on a moon O.o, bazaar, mercs in present form, etc etc .. all done very ugly, intrusive, out of place, unimpressive.

Just my 2 cents, hope no one thinks I am asking you to customize your server. I would be happy with it as it was in 99' to repeat again. I am merely stating that if done very tastefully and carefully some things for convenience could be put in that doesn't take away from the world.

[Throttle]

Originally Posted by porigromus

I myself would be okay with doing some minor customizations if done tastefully, if this brought in more players. I have always thought some things that SOE did could have been done but more tastefully. Don't get me wrong, if classic is released exactly like it was in 99', I would be like a kid in a candy shop. : D

There are some slight things you could do to alleviate some of these issues and I think enhance classic but what you suggest is too drastic especially the #peqzone. That would really ruin the feel of being in a world.

1. I would be okay if the xp was increased but I would go a step further and only increase the xp in dungeons. I think a bit more xp in dungeons (not much) would be okay considering the risk and may also alleviate not being able to find others to group with issue. Would be some hotspots where a lot would be found xping.

2. If travel becomes an issue there is a tasteful way it can be lessened. There could be a few discrete npc wizards/druids around the world that you could "hail" to provide very limited ports to certain places. At least it would be unobtrusive and feel like it belongs in the world.

3. I was thinking there could be some discrete npc bots (classic races/classes) that could be for hire in towns that could assist with times when players are not avaliable. This may solve the need for wanting more than one account. I would make sure the bots were no replacement for players but would help you solo if unable to locate people to play with. It would be nothing similar to EQ's mercs presently.
I think they implemented it poorly. I don't think mercs should xp with you nor do I think you should be able to put them away or pull them back out like a pet. I also think they should be a price/time when you hire them to come with you and after that time they "poof". If you want their help again you must go hire them again.

*************************

I personally think EQ could have done things more tastefully in the past to fit the world better than they did. To me they didn't seem to care if things flowed well together, expansions felt like different games tacked together. The PoK, teleporting books, moon travel, cats living on a moon O.o, bazaar, mercs in present form, etc etc .. all done very ugly, intrusive, out of place, unimpressive.

Just my 2 cents, hope no one thinks I am asking you to customize your server. I would be happy with it as it was in 99' to repeat again. I am merely stating that if done very tastefully and carefully some things for convenience could be put in that doesn't take away from the world.

Making the XP rate too fast would be detrimental to the server, even if it's an emulated server with a potential playerbase of no more than 30. If everyone levels to 50 in under a week, not only will the longevity suffer but the new arrivals will have noone to group with. It'll probably be a little easier to level anyway because of certain unfixable factors related to the PEQ codebase and the client and such. Not only that, but leveling in Classic EQ really wasn't all that hard; the main factors that slowed us down was that we often had to wait in line for groups or had to solo, and we didn't really know all that much about the game or how to play efficiently. The former will largely be eliminated by the ability to two-box, making for very effective duos or making the process of forming groups easier, and the latter is less of an issue now that we are not only veteran EQ players but have also learned things from newer games, some of which are very applicable to EQ1.

I am not wholly against very small elements of assistance that aren't true to canon, but they should only be there to compensate for the lack of a full-fledged playerbase and should only simulate the things that would otherwise exist. Soulbinders, for example, were not there in the old days but are almost a requirment on a server where there might at times not even be a player online with the Bind Affniity spell. Likewise, very rare and discreet methods of teleportation are acceptable, such as the translocators in place of boats and maybe an alternative way of teleporting to Plane of Hate. Travel is a very important aspect of EQ's gameplay and should not be eliminated, so I wouldn't want to see easy access to every other zone in the world. Playing a porter should have its perks too.

I would not want to see soemthing that was never possible in the original game. There should be no NPC bots, gate trinkets or anything of the sort. The creators are trying to give us the closest thing to the real experience, and any drastically different elements would ruin that.

[Fifflefluff]

I've been trying to connect to your server, but it isn't working. The farthest I got was the character selection screen. I made a character and tried to enter the game (I forgot to un-check "Start Tutorial" so it tried to put me in the Gloomingdeep Mines), but the client froze while loading. Now, I can sometimes get to the character selection screen, but every time I try to enter the world with the character I made, it just freezes or drops me back to the login screen after a long wait. I tried remaking the character, too, this time remembering to un-check the "Start Tutorial" button so it wouldn't automatically try to send me to the Gloomingdeep Mines or anything like that, but I get the same problem. I can connect to, create characters on, and then play those characters on other EQEmu servers. Do you have any idea what could be wrong?

[Fifflefluff]

Also, sometimes it freezes and then kicks me back to the login screen even just when I select your server and try to initially connect to it.

[Slaya21]

it kicked me off the first time, but now it works everytime. I am on it as we speak.


also /bump for good will.

[Fifflefluff]

I was just able to log in, finally.