[Hype Thread] EQ Classic HD - Art the original artists (probably) would approve of!

[Sorn]

Already know what this is about? Click here to get your download directions + sweet art pixels! (http://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=280545)

Dear p99 community:

Do you suspect your character needs to go to the eye doctor? Do you feel like the faces of your friends are just one big pixelated blur? Have you sometimes wished you could actually read the words in that open book you keep carrying around that's always on the same page?

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They're judging your low resolution...

Well, look no further, my near-pixel-sighted friends. Today is the day we release...

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EverQuest Classic in High Def

After a whole lot of hard work and sore fingers, a team of intrepid and slightly crazy art nerds have brought you a big ol' pack of character textures that have been upscaled (that means we made 'em bigger), clarified (that means we made all the blurry stuff sharper), and retouched (that means we fixed all the bits that got messed up by the sharpening), all while keeping as close to the classic spirit as possible. Heck, we've even put in the animation fixes and transparency fixes Zaela made way back when!

We even managed to make a little installer for the people uncomfortable with manually updating the files. (Feel free to report any issues with the installer in the actual Technical Discussion thread. And BACK UP YOUR FILES!!)

This texture pack is 100% optional, so the truly strict purists have the option of not installing. It won't impact your game or what loot you can get. It just makes everything prettier.

This is just a hype thread, so for the real info and download, head on over to the release thread. (http://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=280545)

[Swish]

https://i.imgur.com/ZcVXmYs.gif

I'll definitely be trying this, how long did it take??

[Sorn]

how long did it take??

Hmm...I think the actual team effort began about 9 months ago, but some work had been done long before that by various others.

Edit: Nope it's actually been nearly a year. October 2016!

[Ruien]

Wow, this took some serious effort. Hats off to the development team!

[Kelzar]

Thanks for this.

[Peacocky]

http://i.imgur.com/GH3TT2U.gif

[brightlights]

this is the best update in gaming history

[Kelzar]

Trying to install it.

Get a multiple lines text saying The syntax of the command is not correct.

?

[Lhancelot]

Is there a way to view how it looks without downloading the files etc.? I just want to view the work done I imagine it's quite impressive.

[LiQuid]

I've been waiting my whole life for this...

Here's some quick comparisons of Plush's gorgeous visage with the various texture packs available:

1. OG, low rez
http://i.imgur.com/M9kqm.jpg

2. Older hi rez texture pack that I think I DL'd from the same place as the Duxa UI
http://i.imgur.com/gi5h4Sp.png

3. This beautiful god damned thing
http://i.imgur.com/LR53fN8.png

[Lhancelot]

I've been waiting my whole life for this...

Here's some quick comparisons of Plush's gorgeous visage with the various texture packs available:

1. OG, low rez
http://i.imgur.com/M9kqm.jpg

2. Older hi rez texture pack that I think I DL'd from the same place as the Duxa UI
http://i.imgur.com/gi5h4Sp.png

3. This beautiful god damned thing
http://i.imgur.com/LR53fN8.png

very nice work.

[khanable]

Is there a way to view how it looks without downloading the files etc.? I just want to view the work done I imagine it's quite impressive.

There is a screenshots thread link in the tech discussion post

[Lhancelot]

There is a screenshots thread link in the tech discussion post

Alright thanks I go check it out.

[ir0nfist]

Nice job, thanks for the work you guys put into this.

[PabloEdvardo]

This is AMAZING and complements the high res world texture pack perfectly!

[paulgiamatti]

Trying to install it.

Get a multiple lines text saying The syntax of the command is not correct.

I believe I know why this is happening, and will be fixed this weekend. If you receive this error you'll have to follow the manual install process for now.

[kotton05]

pras your efforts!

[Swazzle]

I am living the hype.

[Sorn]

Some screenshots with the new textures + trilogy world textures!

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[Sorn]

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And of course everyone's favorite...
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[Sorn]

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[SamwiseRed]

not classic, inc ban

[paulgiamatti]

Trying to install it.

Get a multiple lines text saying The syntax of the command is not correct.

I believe I know why this is happening, and will be fixed this weekend. If you receive this error you'll have to follow the manual install process for now.

This should be fixed now - if you were experiencing this issue when using install.bat, feel free to redownload using the original links.

Couple notes about the installer: it will request administrative privileges, so if you have EQ running it will probably black out your EQ window (just a forewarning because that's super annoying for some people). It will automatically create backups of all of your current textures, so to make uninstalling much easier it's recommended that you use install & uninstall.bat. They can be run just like any executable - double-click, or right-click and select Open.

[NachtMystium]

Badass thanks so much for the effort!!!!

[Muggens]

Nice to see it finished and out! Thanks alot - Installing this will work along the Luclin texture pack?

[Lhancelot]

I got another question.

If we install these graphic files, will there be any performance hitches or effects at all on performance?

I don't think it would, but figure I ask; I know nothing about the tech side of this stuff.

[Jimjam]

The only time I saw even a slight decrease in performance was during the 100+ man break in at hate when about 20 mob trained into the camp at once.

I believe this was a log, not graphics issue though. Also I was using an outdated install of the HD textures at that point.

Given the detail of these textures I think they are pretty efficient in terms of the memory they require.

[khanable]

you can't increase texture size by 2-8x for thousands of textures without an impact to performance, but I think most would be surprised to know how small the impact is

this pack approximately doubles the amount of memory usage, which I guess may be an issue if you're playing eq on a microwave. also keep in mind the raw size of the files has increased, which can increase loading times on your 5400rpm platter drive from 2003.

we went through weeks of figuring out how to package this and keep the memory usage low (the client will crash if it reaches a certain point, which it can in several zones)

if you used the 4x upscale pack from 2013 without issue you can use this without issue as this pack is significantly more efficient with memory usage

[paulgiamatti]

If we install these graphic files, will there be any performance hitches or effects at all on performance?

If you have a decent system the difference in loading times / frequency of crashes will be negligible, but if you're answering batphones on a 1997 Packard Bell then it might be a problem.

(the client will crash if it reaches a certain point, which it can in several zones)

The Titanium client suffers from memory bloat which cumulatively adds up the longer you play, which is why the more times you zone or switch characters the higher the chance is that you'll end up crashing as it writes more and more data into memory. And your physical memory makes no difference - whether you have 2 GB or 32 GB of onboard RAM, the client will throw an exception and crash to desktop all the same once it gets near 2 GB (roughly 1.8 GB) of memory usage, due to being a 32-bit application.

So these are problems that have always existed in Titanium, and you'll experience them regardless of which textures you're using, though you'll experience them more often if you install the high-resolution Trilogy textures or other upscaled/custom textures. Our textures are more client-friendly than the 4x upscaled "realistic but better clarity" package that Chebby released in 2013 because we've converted a bunch of stuff to DDS, which decompresses in real-time much more efficiently due to mipmapping, therefore using less overall memory.

As far as system requirements go, if you have at least a dual-core with a mid-range GPU, you can use these textures without issue, though you'll probably experience some slowdown if you have particles enabled during a raid, but that would be true even without installing EQ Classic HD.

[NextToTheGods]

https://i.imgur.com/PDqav5M.gif

[lland]

Bless you nerds!

[Lhancelot]

The Titanium client suffers from memory bloat which cumulatively adds up the longer you play, which is why the more times you zone or switch characters the higher the chance is that you'll end up crashing as it writes more and more data into memory. And your physical memory makes no difference - whether you have 2 GB or 32 GB of onboard RAM, the client will throw an exception and crash to desktop all the same once it gets near 2 GB (roughly 1.8 GB) of memory usage, due to being a 32-bit application.

Thanks for explaining this I always wondered why this happened...