Project 1999 - 1 Hour FTE, Alt-tabbing, GM's watching Toes, Leashing, and the current state of P99

It's been a long time since I've had the energy to write something in regards to keeping P99 as classic as possible, but with the recent introduction of the 1 hour FTE rule, alt-tabbing, GM's watching toes, and the leashing mechanic, I figured this would be as good a time as any. I solely am posting this on my own. And as some would say.... without logic or reason. =P

Let me first start by saying I greatly appreciate everything the Dev's have provided us over the years. You guys have done a fantastic job, and have brought back a lot of great memories for all of us. Many hours have been poured into making P99 a great EQ experience, and I'm sure I can speak on behalf of most of us.... THANK YOU!

I'll start off by stating the obvious: The 1 hour FTE rule and FTE in its current state is a failed experiment.

This rule was introduced to encourage casual guilds to compete for raid targets by giving 1 hour of prep time to engage raid targets. Although thoughtful, this was essentially a band-aid to a much bigger issue, and that's the current state of FTE. Neckbeards staring at walls (myself included) are also to blame, but as rules are made there will always be adjustments made to those rules, especially those rules that cannot be policed or sustained without extensive micromanaging.

This isn't a slight, but the reality of where our server stands. Policing toes on the FTE line isn't sustainable. Policing alt-tabbing isn't sustainable or even possible. Are we as a player base expected to believe alt-tabbing isn't still happening because nobody is posting videos of themselves doing it anymore? Are GM's going to watch toes forever? Will casual guilds even attempt to FTE anything outside of West ToV (which is essentially forgotten by A/A nowadays) against 20-30 neckbeards staring at a wall? The answer is no.

Judging by all the farewell and goodbye posts, and the rumblings in every other thread I have read recently, I feel I am fair to say this experiment has failed and needs adjusting.

I have played on P99 since the 3rd week this server was released. I have seen many rule changes, many GM's come and go, and many different variations of neckbearding, but one thing has remained constant; You can't change EQ to fit 1 persons ideology without ruining the game. And right now we are witnessing an unprecedented amount of effort to keep putting band-aids on a failed experiment. (ie. see GM's watching toes, alt-tabbing, and our most recent band-aid and non-classic game mechanic: leashing.

I understand the answers to these questions are not easily answered, but we as a community are not blind to the fact that these mechanic and rule changes are not part of classic Everquest. It's almost as if we have forgotten why this server was made to begin with.

With that said, we need to go back to our roots.

And that's classic Everquest.

During classic we had a very easily defined ruleset. Yes, poopsocking became an issue, but you had to clear to Nagafen or Vox, and overall the rules of engagement were clear.
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1.) No more than 1-2 trackers from a guild (or entity) in a zone for a raid target at any given time or you are disqualified. (ie. likes the planes). Welcome back Ranger trackers.

2.) Upon FTE, the raid target needs to either be pulled to camp immediately or dropped. (this will not eliminate alt-tabbing, but will lessen the possibility of a select few people guaranteeing targets for their guild by introducing variables such as load times, ranger trackers paying attention, and guild preparedness).

3.) Remove leashing mechanic (this is a non-classic mechanic that was only introduced to encourage ToV clears and to stop excessive training, which is as classic as it gets)

4.) Remove binds in ToV (not classic) and add appropriate roamers to LTK area.

5.) You hear the howl of Ancient Wyverns surround you. Increase the aggro radius of Ancient Wyverns at the North ToV door. (Okay, I might have made this one up, but good luck DA'ing to doubles or triples or Vulak solo)

6.) Finding new ways to get casual guilds involved in the raid scene. This is probably the most difficult part, but is obviously the reason we are in the situation we are in today.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated! Thanks guys.

-Hyjal <Awakened>