will Pantheon be the Death of p99?

[Zorrok]

what Do you guys think, will everyone who loves the classic MMO experience be prone to gravitating towards the latest and greatest from Brad McQuaid?

some peeps are anti subscription fees.
some peeps are here for the nostalgia

how many people have to be interested in p99 to keep this thing running?
if blue looked like red and if red was dead will my p99 account stay in limbo without use and can everyone with a fungi tunic seriously think about letting me keep it warm.

to be honest I do not expect an immediate abandonment of p99.
and to be even more honest i dont know who is keeping this thing running and what it cost but i salute you!

so glad this is here.

and to that i say, Good Day!

[Phenyo]

Server pop will dip and rise again when everyone realizes brad has produced another glittery turd

[DinoTriz]

In the first week I think the server population will be halved.

After that, most of them will come back.

I appreciate Pantheon and hopes it does well, but I don't know if it will hit that sweet spot like a lot of us think it will.

[feniin]

I don't think P99 is going to lose many to unreleased vaporware.

[skarlorn]

Pantheon game play will be unconscionably boring because they are trying to make it difficult and group oriented like EQ, but with modern style. Eq is excruciatingly boring but the art is solid and the rudimentary anesthetic let's us fill in huge swathes with our imagination.

Simply put, game play won't be fun.

[Barkingturtle]

I find much of the allure of P99 is that I can play it on my nine year-old laptop.

[kruptcy]

Pantheon will probably never be released so I don't think it will have much impact.

Even if it is released though, I don't think it fills the same space as EQ. EQ is a warm blanket, a place we are all familiar with and comfortable. We play it because of nostalgia and because it conjures up echoes of the feelings we had when we played it the first time around, when we had no idea how huge an online world could be.

I hope Pantheon is released and is everything we all hope it will be, but in the meantime I am not getting my hopes up.

[Gilder]

I just wanna know how many $10,000 backers Pantheon had. I went to the site for the first time and couldn't believe someone would drop that kind of cash. I'm guessing only a handful, but I'd love to know.

[Daloon]

For many people it'll be a good opportunity to retire from P99. P99 is the largest EQEmu server 5-10x over considering the amount of boxing on other servers, so it aint going anywhere

[kruptcy]

I just wanna know how many $10,000 backers Pantheon had. I went to the site for the first time and couldn't believe someone would drop that kind of cash. I'm guessing only a handful, but I'd love to know.

I'm not super surprised to be honest. A lot of us started EQ in our early- to mid-teens. In the ensuing 19 years we have had a chance to become successful in our professional lives. I would also make a very self-serving assumption that successful EQ players are probably at least marginally more intelligent than the general population. If i had any faith that Pantheon would actually be released I could see myself putting a couple grand toward it.

[JurisDictum]

Some people just don't like new games. Their too flashy and fast-paced. Everything changes every few months. Nothing is as difficult to get as end game gear is on p99.

There is a type of person -- not all that uncommon -- that doesn't like change all that much. These are mostly the ones that still play p99...esp after Agnarr.

[DinoTriz]

I would also make a very self-serving assumption that successful EQ players are probably at least marginally more intelligent than the general population.

I don't know why, but I 100% agree with this statement.

I like us.

[Smurflogik]

rudimentary anesthetic

Aesthetic?

[Nachtsuchen]

Project 1999 has survived through many of these other MMO releases. It'll live to see the light of day once more, as per usual. What is dead may never day. <3 o7

[Vormotus]

In the first week I think the server population will be halved.

After that, most of them will come back.

I appreciate Pantheon and hopes it does well, but I don't know if it will hit that sweet spot like a lot of us think it will.

You deserve a slap in the ass sir, I believe you are 1000% correct:cool:

https://i.imgur.com/XzhFxK6.gif

[Baler]

will Pantheon be the Death of p99?
LOL no,. P99 is the BEST Classic Everquest Server.

pantheon is going to suck, sorry sirken.
UO has done it better.
More insanity, More RP, More Custom, More everything

[sereal]

I just wanna know how many $10,000 backers Pantheon had. I went to the site for the first time and couldn't believe someone would drop that kind of cash. I'm guessing only a handful, but I'd love to know.

My guess is it's someone who was going to throw 10k+ towards the company regardless - this is a nice way to get the goal number bumping quick so people think "oh this isn't a turd". Could also be like a family loan sorta thing.

I suspect if you had the kinda cash to throw 10k at a random game you would probably just buy a stake in the company and get a return/make sure Brad doesn't drive away.

Rumour (so grossly optimistic) I heard was hopefully q4 2019.

I find much of the allure of P99 is that I can play it on my nine year-old laptop.

Chances are by the time pantheon is released you will be able to.

I very much doubt this game will have any real impact on server pop unless it's crazy good. Probably see a month or two dip - maybe server peaking at 900 instead of 1200 at prime time. Even if it's the spiritual sequel to EQ in every gameplay way possible it's still not going to be EQ. People are still going to want that nostalgia and lots of people won't want to learn a entirely new world.

I find it hard to believe anyone who plays on P99 will be all that concerned with a $15 or whatever sub. A dollar a hour for entertainment is pretty cheap and most folks probably put in a whole lot more than 15 hours a month.

[fastboy21]

Pantheon game play will be unconscionably boring because they are trying to make it difficult and group oriented like EQ, but with modern style. Eq is excruciatingly boring but the art is solid and the rudimentary anesthetic let's us fill in huge swathes with our imagination.

Simply put, game play won't be fun.

I agree with this...part of the "boredom' of EQ is that (like irl) you have plenty of time between doing things to chat, hang out, watch youtube, check email etc...

I couldn't sit at any classic camp for 12 hours if this type of game play wasn't possible.
Sometimes, less is more.

If they wander from this too much then the game will not have the same appeal to me.

[Baler]

a dear friend of mine called everquest Instanced gameplay. I never understood it for the longest time. But the 'camping' aspect and gear aspect of EQ really ring true.

Add some RNG into the mix, then you got a game. Prob why i'm an arpg/uo addict.

[Canelek]

Ooo hard to say. MMORPG history tells us that even if it is top-notch it will flame out in less than six months. SWTOR and Secret World were rad concepts, but failed to have fully-baked "end game" material. Rift was a super-fun WoW clone. Aeon was fuckered from the start due to spam. I guess I can mention Funcom failures and call it good.

Speaking of Funcom--how about a well-made Anarchy Online concept? :D

I really do hope Pantheon works and can grab some of that sweet, sweet WoW market share. It's going to be tough with an elf sim though. Will people appreciate something difficult and team-oriented? There's just no telling.

I'll certainly give it a whirl, as I am sure most of us here will. The $15/mo sub fee shouldn't be a factor.

I also hope for the continued success of this project, including Green99. Because EQ is tiptop.

[Baler]

Speaking of Funcom--how about a well-made Anarchy Online concept? :D

funcom is doing bad. The last time I played AO, (last year) it was entirely filled with multiboxers and old world zones felt empty of players.

[Gumbo]

I've watched a few Pantheon videos on YouTube of different gameplay, character designs, gameplay with the Devs and for a game coming out this year or by next year. It looks as if the game was designed and made ten years ago. I've seen graphics for games such as Witcher and Gods of War and I ask why can't they make a EQ game that looks like those games?

Pantheon is a game coming out for the PC so the graphics should be extreme... Hell, check out Cyberpunk 2077 and tell me why those type graphics can't be for Pantheon?

[Canelek]

funcom is doing bad. The last time I played AO, (last year) it was entirely filled with multiboxers and old world zones felt empty of players.

That is too bad. I have not played AO since the many hours I played after I got my beta CD in the mail.

Oh, I forgot to mention EQ2, DAOC, Neverwinter, GW2, Lineage, etc.

I really enjoyed DAOC! That is sort of the vibe I get with Pantheon. Sort of.

GW2 is pretty, and I love the dynamic content, but ultimately, it is just another easy-mode game.

Neverwinter is even easier-mode, and remains a tremendous disappointment to me due to the huge amount of material there is to work with compared to what ultimately was delivered. It is sort of like the Dark Tower movie from last year. Is this what we deserve? :P

[beargryllz]

Pantheon =/= classic

[aaezil]

Yep

Also lol at all the doomsday sayers.

See you all on day 1 unless you fail to make enough cash rmting to pay subscrip

[Cylock]

About Pantheon, I done the 100.00 Knights pledge a while ago and it comes with Alpha and Beta access. I have not agreed to a NDA or anything so when it goes to Alpha I will post SS's and stuff as long as its okay with VR.

[LulzSect©]

Real shame they just didn’t just reskin EQ a la blizzard Starcraft

[sereal]

Ooo hard to say. MMORPG history tells us that even if it is top-notch it will flame out in less than six months. SWTOR and Secret World were rad concepts, but failed to have fully-baked "end game" material. Rift was a super-fun WoW clone. Aeon was fuckered from the start due to spam. I guess I can mention Funcom failures and call it good.

Speaking of Funcom--how about a well-made Anarchy Online concept? :D

I really do hope Pantheon works and can grab some of that sweet, sweet WoW market share. It's going to be tough with an elf sim though. Will people appreciate something difficult and team-oriented? There's just no telling.


The failure of new MMO's has been that they make it all about end game and everyone gets to see ALL the content with little effort. The 1-max is just busy work solo play and thus they make it fast to hit max because it's boring. So other than the 1-4 week grind the entire time playing is end game. No raid competition means you always get your chance at a target, if you fail well you just try again.

EQ worked because the 'fun' stuff isn't just the end game content. In fact many prefer the levelling up part.



Pantheon is a game coming out for the PC so the graphics should be extreme... Hell, check out Cyberpunk 2077 and tell me why those type graphics can't be for Pantheon?

Doing fancy graphics costs a lot of money and I doubt Pantheon would have done a crowd funding if they were rolling in money.

[sereal]

That is too bad. I have not played AO since the many hours I played after I got my beta CD in the mail.

Oh, I forgot to mention EQ2, DAOC, Neverwinter, GW2, Lineage, etc.

I really enjoyed DAOC! That is sort of the vibe I get with Pantheon. Sort of.

GW2 is pretty, and I love the dynamic content, but ultimately, it is just another easy-mode game.

Neverwinter is even easier-mode, and remains a tremendous disappointment to me due to the huge amount of material there is to work with compared to what ultimately was delivered. It is sort of like the Dark Tower movie from last year. Is this what we deserve? :P

I used to love the neverwinter nights persistent servers. That shit was a lot of fun.

[Canelek]

I used to love the neverwinter nights persistent servers. That shit was a lot of fun.

Too bad the Neverwinter MMO wasn’t as good!

I also agree with your earlier comments regarding leveling. It is so much more fun in an open world grind than quest hub hopping. I keep thinking there will be a gift shop at some point.

Oh wait...

[Vormotus]

Yep

Also lol at all the doomsday sayers.

See you all on day 1 unless you fail to make enough cash rmting to pay subscrip

I do not rmt, though I give "special" chat text sessions for money.

Give me 500 plat in game and you will be amazed at what these fingers of mine can type! ;)

[https://i.imgur.com/sqZxLpx.gif

[mr_jon3s]

The only way p99 dies is when the servers get shut down. People that play p99 are chasing a feeling of the past. Its like heroin first time is the best then you keep on chasing it till you die or realize you are never gonna get that high again and quit till you relapse.

[rollin5k]

Rip to those that o.d. on eq

[fadetree]

I did the knight's pledge as well. looking forward to checking it out. Might suck, might not. Even if it works out it will be a niche game, since you don't get to buy success and can't make max level in an afternoon (I hope).

[Silken]

I have been following Pantheon, due to it's obvious ties to Classic Everquest. It has a lot of great ideas and following, but I can't help but question that they are going to continue to be able to maintain financing it's development until it's release in 2025 or whenever, or if enough people will even care by then.

[Wfrench1234]

I bought a new computer and pinned my MMO hopes and dreams to Pantheon. Hoping they don’t fail me.

[sereal]

I have been following Pantheon, due to it's obvious ties to Classic Everquest. It has a lot of great ideas and following, but I can't help but question that they are going to continue to be able to maintain financing it's development until it's release in 2025 or whenever, or if enough people will even care by then.

I guess I don't know anything about game development but I'd be curious how this shit works because realistically it's not like Pantheon is going to be getting 100k subs for multiple years.

http://www.pantheonmmo.com/about_us/the_team/ that's a lot of salary to pay for multiple years.

[Silken]

I guess I don't know anything about game development but I'd be curious how this shit works because realistically it's not like Pantheon is going to be getting 100k subs for multiple years.It is a niche-MMO with a limited but rabid group of followers. If they can draw some of the players from some of the "hand-holding" MMOs, without alienating their target audience. I think that it could be a success, I am just worried about their timeline, as it seems like it is still several years away from release.

[Pint]

I would also make a very self-serving assumption that successful EQ players are probably at least marginally more intelligent than the general population.

lol

[Ella`Ella]

Real shame they just didn’t just reskin EQ a la blizzard Starcraft

World of StarQuest

[Caldwin]

The failure of new MMO's has been that they make it all about end game and everyone gets to see ALL the content with little effort. The 1-max is just busy work solo play and thus they make it fast to hit max because it's boring. So other than the 1-4 week grind the entire time playing is end game. No raid competition means you always get your chance at a target, if you fail well you just try again.

EQ worked because the 'fun' stuff isn't just the end game content. In fact many prefer the levelling up part.

Exactly. What's the point in having levels if they don't mean anything. Might as well start out at max level and just have raid content if the end game is all that matters.

I've never raided myself. And, after reading about the raid seen in the forums, I'm not sure I even want to raid. My highest character on live was mid 20's, due to little time and being an altiholic. Even on P99, my highest character just made lvl 51 two weeks ago.

There are still many areas I haven't experienced and may never experience like it would have been on live, because even on P99, the race to the top exists by twinks, as well as just having so much knowledge now that wasn't there in the beginning. Twinked soloists, duos or trios can take on content that used to be difficult even with a full group. What was several camps on live, are now combined to a few camps, or one camp. Also, there are the high level farmers. I for one, would love to go with a level appropriate group and actually get experience from the jailmaster camp in Permofrost.

If I had the knowhow to make a server myself, I would make one that is classic like, but make it more difficult for the twinks, like maybe having a decay factor on items, such that the lower the level you are from the mobs or quests the items come from, the faster the item decays (i.e. the stats get worse) until the item eventually vanishes. If you are at the appropriate level or higher, there would be no decay. Well, that's just one idea.

Another issue, which is related to the twink issue, is the obsolescence of older content by newer content. Maybe having newer items not usable, or not as usable, on older mobs. Not sure how that would work. But, something needs to be done to address this issue.

Hopefully Pantheon can address these issues.

[chadtwoke]

Pantheon will never release. If it does, it'll die off as soon as Brad snorts all the companies money away, and when the staff tries to throw him an intervention, he murders them all then kills himself.

[fadetree]

Pity reply.
I suggest you get a new annoying brad-meme to drop into game discussions with. That one is so old, and is so overused, it just means you aren't even trying any more. If I am going to have any chance to get annoyed by someone, they should at least put some effort into it.

[Wonkie]

DAE brad does drugs? lmao witty banter hahaha

[Mblake81]

Exactly. What's the point in having levels if they don't mean anything. Might as well start out at max level and just have raid content if the end game is all that matters.

You have to put a little filler in there, like taco bell. But yeah it would make it much better for stream culture so they can finish in a few days tops then be on to the next gayme they are trying to market push.

[xCry0x]

I think people often confuse successful long running MMOs with early stage MMOs.

I have heard the argument around meaningless levels directed at WoW repeatedly. Yes, in the Legion expansion you are able to reach level 110 and you can buy character boosts taking you directly to 100. Yes, the content in legion is entirely designed for the 100-110 leveling experience and from there everything is end game raid focused.

However, is that really a problem? The game is 14 years old. The playerbase, is focused around the raid scene.

Would you really want to buy a 14 year old game and have to spend months leveling in abandoned zones because the majority of people are max level?

The fun of these emulators like p99, nostalrious, etc is that they restrict the game back down to the "original" experience which is naturally heavily focused around leveling and introductory raids. Any new MMO is going to be similar to that experience since the new game hasn't been around long enough to experience the natural inflation of gear/stats/levels that occurs over time.

The big thing I want to see with a new MMO is the EQ like leveling from the perspective of grouping.

I jumped on nostalrius for WoW after playing p99 and in the back of my head I kept telling myself, "Oh I am going to level so fast, leveling in WoW was SOO much easier than EQ."

In reality - it wasn't really faster or easier. It was significantly more boring since it is all solo leveling doing quests you have already done before in zones you have already been through before. In EQ that same experience is enjoyable because even if you have leveled in unrest a million times, you meet and interact with new people each time.

I actually burned out on the WoW emulator in about 2 weeks because it was so incredibly boring blasting through the same horde side quest line I had done multiple times on live.

[Mblake1981]

Massively Online Game (MOG) vs. Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game.. til they stripped that as well in favor of streamline.

Nighttime darkness? pfft that gets in the way of my min/max leveling. Don't make me write a really angry petition. Who cares about charm and mystery, losers! I just want my pixels so I can RMT to afford better Ramens.

Oh and that sweet lifelike sex doll that looks like an anime character.. oh yeah! come to daddee

[Expediency]

The only thing that will cause a p99 collapse in the next ~5 years would be the devs shutting it down by force or choice. It will not die by natural causes.

[Psionide]

Remember when Ag'narr was going to kill p99 lol?

[Mblake1981]

I remember, I remember the posters taunting about it so bold and cocky.

Think they have moved on to another server again.

[Swish2]

Remember when Ag'narr was going to kill p99 lol?

BDA literally said they'd take 100s of players with them to Phinigel because they weren't allowed to have protected pixels here in Velious not long after launch.

Wind forward not too long...there was a dip in the population (certainly not "100s of players") for about 2 weeks, and P99 has been doing great.

Same with Agnarr, people come back because the live servers really aren't great or well managed.

[chadtwoke]

Pity reply.
I suggest you get a new annoying brad-meme to drop into game discussions with. That one is so old, and is so overused, it just means you aren't even trying any more. If I am going to have any chance to get annoyed by someone, they should at least put some effort into it.

https://i.imgur.com/huCzrNv.jpg

[Jimjam]

The only thing that will cause a p99 collapse in the next ~5 years would be the devs shutting it down by force or choice. It will not die by natural causes.Basically.

It's not gonna die till the hamster does or till we all choke to death on our ramen filled pop tart sandwiches.

[sereal]

There are still many areas I haven't experienced and may never experience like it would have been on live, because even on P99, the race to the top exists by twinks, as well as just having so much knowledge now that wasn't there in the beginning. Twinked soloists, duos or trios can take on content that used to be difficult even with a full group. What was several camps on live, are now combined to a few camps, or one camp. Also, there are the high level farmers. I for one, would love to go with a level appropriate group and actually get experience from the jailmaster camp in Permofrost.

That's just a reality of having the server locked and running for almost a decade. Only way to get around that is to release more expansions like SOE did, or reset the server. Neither are options here.



However, is that really a problem? The game is 14 years old. The playerbase, is focused around the raid scene.

Would you really want to buy a 14 year old game and have to spend months leveling in abandoned zones because the majority of people are max level?


No, but when I played WoW during cataclysm I hit max in a week, and started raiding, but the thing is the gear I got levelling was better than the best gear from the previous expansions raids so there was zero reason to ever go do that content. Which is kinda a shame because well before my 3 month sub finished I had already seen all the raid content and had nothing to do and just didn't renew. I also heard good things about previous expansions raids.

I mean there are advantages to that system (like being able to be raiding with friends in a week) and instancing makes older content difficult to incentive.

Nothing wrong with the WoW model, I just wish we had a bit more choice.

It is a niche-MMO with a limited but rabid group of followers. If they can draw some of the players from some of the "hand-holding" MMOs, without alienating their target audience. I think that it could be a success, I am just worried about their timeline, as it seems like it is still several years away from release.

I mean there is definitely a big enough niche out there and most of these folks are going to sub for YEARS, it's just more if you spend a ton of money over multiple years making the base game you gotta make that money back while still funding the development of expansions, GM's maintenance, bugs etc. to keep your player base around. I mean like I said I don't know how the money stuff work with game dev, maybe they got this shit under control

[Frudrura]

I think p99 will likely be around for a long time. I feel like in the past 2 years, it has kind of died a bit. Things aren't as exciting. It just seems to be the same old stuff over and over. Sitting in EC, I am finding nobody wants to buy my shit and there is no shit for me to buy. I am getting an end of the road type of vibe. Now, I don't think this is really the end of the road, like right now, but judging by the server's history and my impressions of the server now, given the current set of circumstances, basically we just got put in the retirement home and we're eating little plastic fruit cups and jello from now on. I am not saying the server is going to die in that it will go down and be gone forever. I think at this point, the server is basically for the players that already have everything.

[Tethler]

I think p99 will likely be around for a long time. I feel like in the past 2 years, it has kind of died a bit. Things aren't as exciting. It just seems to be the same old stuff over and over. Sitting in EC, I am finding nobody wants to buy my shit and there is no shit for me to buy. I am getting an end of the road type of vibe. Now, I don't think this is really the end of the road, like right now, but judging by the server's history and my impressions of the server now, given the current set of circumstances, basically we just got put in the retirement home and we're eating little plastic fruit cups and jello from now on. I am not saying the server is going to die in that it will go down and be gone forever. I think at this point, the server is basically for the players that already have everything.

For the longest time there was Velious to look forward to so people had incentive to keep at it. Now that we've hit the end of the road for major content, there is nothing to prepare for or get hyped about. I still have a lot I want to do in game, but I can understand the apathy as well.

[aaezil]

Years away from release? Kind of like chardok 2.0 amirite

[zodium]

Same with Agnarr, people come back because the live servers really aren't great or well managed.

actually classic EQ just can't work without constraints that preclude a viable mmog business model, like not allowing people to box, which is why verant changed the core design

[Swish2]

To what exactly? The point of the game was to interact and work as a team - among a bunch of people who want to solo (necros back then, mostly) :p

Also, more subs or less subs after mercs were put in? I'll let you decide.

[Dolalin]

Hardcore burnout just means more content for casuals. I'm okay with that.

[Calkrow]

Whilst I will definitely try Pantheon, I'm also very keen to see how Ashes of Creation turns out. There isn't a lot to go on so far but what they say on their about page and in the FAQs is intriguing.

[sereal]

I think p99 will likely be around for a long time. I feel like in the past 2 years, it has kind of died a bit. Things aren't as exciting. It just seems to be the same old stuff over and over. Sitting in EC, I am finding nobody wants to buy my shit and there is no shit for me to buy. I am getting an end of the road type of vibe. Now, I don't think this is really the end of the road, like right now, but judging by the server's history and my impressions of the server now, given the current set of circumstances, basically we just got put in the retirement home and we're eating little plastic fruit cups and jello from now on. I am not saying the server is going to die in that it will go down and be gone forever. I think at this point, the server is basically for the players that already have everything.

Yet 1000+ people log on at the same time every day. Considering you can easily find a group (and usually end up waiting because all the camps are full) at any level range, there are multiple people porting for donations at just about any time of day, I never struggle to buy stuff I need (like spells) in EC.

P99 breaking new ground, Live was never locked at vel for so long. Closest thing was eqmac locked to PoP. So yeah things are different but the population is still healthy. (in the last week the lowest the population has hit was 400ish and highest was 1300.)

Since oct the peek on blue was 1454(773 avg) , and peek on red was 194 (68 avg).