While I can see some reason to have an independent client (multiple platforms, getting off the SOE protocol), beyond that, you're probably breaking the copyright in a half dozen new ways if you keep using the old zone files and if you're not, then well, at that point you've designed a whole new game and should really think about simply making your own game and making a living at it.
Yes, I know that there are a lot of "Open source everything!!!" people out there, but the reality is that when you have a smaller group of people who can concentrate on a single project and actually direct their abilities, you end up with higher quality and more consistent content.
Just look at EQ up until Luclin, it was all pretty good gameplay, a consistent world and other than the fact that they couldn't fix anything (non-exploit bugs and broken quests) to save their lives, was pretty damn good. Now look at the PoP and later content. It lost everything that made EQ good up to that point and was almost completely focused on either raiding or on helping everyone hit the point where they could start raiding. Players killing their gods with no consequences. Expansions that had nothing to do with the in-game lore (GoD, OoW anyone?) and seemed at times to be only created so that they could get that immediate 'post-expansion boost' to their playerbase and a few more sheckels out of us.
If you want to create a high-quality game, go get some funding and find a large team of people who are focused on quality. Heck, do it part-time until you're ready to get funding at the late Alpha/early Beta stage. Then you'll have enough leverage to keep control over the project after it goes live and still get your funding.
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