Message Board(s)

[stormlord]

Anybody remember when the message boards were operational? You can still find them in some of the inn's and taverns in different cities. They operate in much the same way that they do in ultima online. If you're not familiar with UO, they were boards on the walls of banks in the different cities that players could use to post messages. The difference in UO was that the auto-task system used them, and the bounty system had its own board too in the same vicinity. In EQ, it just allowed you to post messages.

If they were active pre-luclin, will they be made available?

Reason I ask is that, as a potential crafter at some point, I could use them to post my services in the local area without having to use these forums (which I don't want to use for this purpose). These forums don't give me the "immersive" feeling. Ya, I hate spamming on boards, but: a) that could be controlled with a better system b) I can ignore the spam and just pretend they're lunatics like i would in real life. Anyway, message boards have my vote, if they're planned.

[Bumamgar]

I remember them working in classic. I don't know if they ever stopped working, but I also know they were nearly never used and doubt they'd be used here on p1999 even if they did work.

I know they certainly aren't even on my mind of 'places to find a crafter' :)

[km2783]

i remember those!

never, ever remembered to even try to check them

[stormlord]

i remember those!

never, ever remembered to even try to check them

In my view, they're just a way to give an area more definition (like a who's who). They were used, but infrequently. And when you're bored and wandering around town, they're a good diversion to keep you entertained for a minute or two.

And since people have this forum and /auction as alternatives, their presence shouldn't be a threat to anyone.

[stormlord]

I remember them working in classic. I don't know if they ever stopped working, but I also know they were nearly never used and doubt they'd be used here on p1999 even if they did work.

I know they certainly aren't even on my mind of 'places to find a crafter' :)

I don't remember whether they worked in 1999 or 2000-01 (when I played).

I do remember using them and others using them :) (ya, not a lot of people though)

They give me something to do in the inns and taverns that's somewhat in-character. I like things to do.

I remember seeing one in high-pass and being surprised that there were even messages on it. It felt all alone there!

[Malrubius]

Loved the message boards, but not sure they could be implemented here.

Are they useful or practical? No, it's a game, it doesn't matter if they're practical or not. :D Anyway, I'd love to see them here.

[FatMagic]

I think it would be a sweet idea... but why do I have the feeling it would just turn into a Rants & Flames board and not something that really would add that "EQ Feel" to the game? Or maybe that's what people want on the boards - hah I dunno!

[km2783]

I could see "l33t dewds" taunting each other on them, definitely.

A "classic RP" server might get more legitamite use, but I highly doubt there is enough interest in such a server hehe

[lumin]

Wow, getting these to work again is a great idea.

I really think that the "East Commonlands Tunnel" and "Guild Discussion" thread should be completely closed down and the Message Boards feature should be used in the game instead.

This is one thing that I think would make the taverns and inns actually be used for something. Wouldn't it be awesome to actually see players meeting up in the inns to form groups, sell loot, and recruit guilds? I think it would beat the heck out of posting it on lame forum threads.

[lumin]

I think it would be a sweet idea... but why do I have the feeling it would just turn into a Rants & Flames board and not something that really would add that "EQ Feel" to the game? Or maybe that's what people want on the boards - hah I dunno!

Well, why couldn't the admins make a rule about not using the message boards for spam or rants? Just punish those players that do it and keep the crap on the forums. Leave the MBs for recruitments, trading and groups.

[stormlord]

Wow, getting these to work again is a great idea.

I really think that the "East Commonlands Tunnel" and "Guild Discussion" thread should be completely closed down and the Message Boards feature should be used in the game instead.

This is one thing that I think would make the taverns and inns actually be used for something. Wouldn't it be awesome to actually see players meeting up in the inns to form groups, sell loot, and recruit guilds? I think it would beat the heck out of posting it on lame forum threads.

Amen. Taverns and Inns in EQ are kind of boring. I wish there were more things to do in them. It's "almost" fun to just sit (stand in place) and listen to non-players. Sometimes you can find quests that way (some quests work like this). There's so much that could be done to make them livelier and a better meeting place. Then again, it should all be an option, not a necessity.

The in-game message boards were nothing special. No edit command. Interface was probably slow. They don't have all the features that these forums do. So anything feature-rich would not be classic-compliant. If it was feature-rich and it was allowed to exist, it would threaten these forums and even /auction. Personally, I would rather see it stay simple and non-threatening the way it was. That way it doesn't change the game in big ways. Easier to implement too.

Has there been a poll about this? Have any of hte big names said anything? If this really happened in 1999, then I'm surprised that it's not operating. How hard is it to make a k.i.s.s message board system? Probably not hard, and I program as a hobby. On the other hand, this would require a good bit of networking code and interface work. In my experience, that can be confusing, but that's probably because I don't like to touch networking code. For a new project coder, it would be way too much.

So you see.. on the server side we would have something like:

1) Store the posts in a series of file(s) like: qeynos.bbs, freeport.bbs, highpass.bbs.
2) When player clicks on BBS, the server loads the file and sends the information to the client.
3) When player clicks add button, server runs the bbs add_post command.
4) When player clicks update button, server sends a fresh copy of the bbs information back to the client.
.....

Etc. Something like that, but I'm missing a lot of stuff. Might want to break up the files into 10 posts each or something to reduce loading time and saving time and download length. You'd want to save with each change because if hte server crashes then you'd lose the bbs changes. The amount of traffic would probably be small since most people wouldn't be using it.

If you don't already have a system in place like this, it would take a while to get it working. Almost impossible for someone that's new because they don't even know the organization of the server/client code yet. I've worked with an open source client/server type project, and it was very very confusing. Can you say 200+ project files, couple different projects tied together, and cryptic code and wondering how it all comes together? It's not easy! At first, it's like reading chinese. Several months of constant browsing and tweaking to get anywhere. Depends on the project, and on what you spend your time doing. That's one of hte biggest hurdles for a project is to find a coder that can dedicate enough time to get things done.

[LazyFuj]

this is classic as far as I can remember.

[Spud]

YES i was gonna make a thread about the message boards but i forgot.

They add some flavor to the taverns however i dont think people will be forming groups up there lol.

I just want them so i can write "Spud wuz here"

[utenan]

I remember useing them in classic, just another thing that made classic eq cool. I have not seen them functioning on any emu, and I remember not being able to use them at a certain point post classic. I just assumed that if it had not been fixed yet, then it probably couldn't be fixed?

[stormlord]

YES i was gonna make a thread about the message boards but i forgot.

They add some flavor to the taverns however i dont think people will be forming groups up there lol.

I just want them so i can write "Spud wuz here"

Right they really had a limited use, but would be fun to have them.

Would appreciate any responses about this.

Does anyone know of any screenshots of the in-game bulletin board system? I don't remember, but it was probably very simple because I don't recall editing or deletion functionality. I don't remember how many bulletins were stored (could you see posts from 2 years ago?).

[divarin1]

If it were possible to bring them back I would love it. I was disappointed when they took them out in the first place.
However, it may not be possible, when the message boards were first removed it's likely they made changes to the eq client and removed or commented out functions necessary for it to work.
On the server side anything is possible, but there may be client side code that's just not there anymore

[Virtuosos]

if they are put back in....kaladim is going to get hit hard with some dwarf love messages...


i will bring glory back to kaladim!

[mmiles8]

but I also know they were nearly never used and doubt they'd be used here on p1999 even if they did work.

I clicked on one just 2 days ago when I happened by one, I mad a sadface and moved along, but it would be an awesome tool for those who do use them.

[Kambris]

From a roleplay/immersion perspective I think message boards are a sound idea. I don't remember them in classic, but I think that's just because I never actually used them or knew about them.

They sure get my vote though. I know I would use them! (:

[Reiker]

Dudes, take 2 seconds to think about it. The message boards stopped working way before DODH. This is a DODH client. The message boards will never work here.

[doacleric]

Unfortunately, I don't see those message boards ever working on P1999. Though the message board graphic still appears in game, the client no longer recognizes that its a clickable item. Thus, no data is ever sent to the server to say "the player clicked on a message board, retrieve info!".
Also, with the update of the new UI, there is no longer a screen for the message board.

Its a shame really, as I always thought it was a cool, if underused, feature. I remember reading posts about guys looking for wives on the boards.

[mmiles8]

Unfortunately, I don't see those message boards ever working on P1999. Though the message board graphic still appears in game, the client no longer recognizes that its a clickable item. Thus, no data is ever sent to the server to say "the player clicked on a message board, retrieve info!".
Also, with the update of the new UI, there is no longer a screen for the message board.

Its a shame really, as I always thought it was a cool, if underused, feature. I remember reading posts about guys looking for wives on the boards.

Would it be possible to institute a workaround using interactive items that have no use?

Most zones have at least one oddball spot (such as a tree or other formation) that will give a 'too far away to interact' message when clicked, and when in range, have no effect. Maybe they could be re-worked and relocated into a functional Messasge Board, if creating the objects is the issue.

[Destruction]

I played from 1999 on and I never knew this was even available... :eek:

[stormlord]

Unfortunately, I don't see those message boards ever working on P1999. Though the message board graphic still appears in game, the client no longer recognizes that its a clickable item. Thus, no data is ever sent to the server to say "the player clicked on a message board, retrieve info!".
Also, with the update of the new UI, there is no longer a screen for the message board.

Its a shame really, as I always thought it was a cool, if underused, feature. I remember reading posts about guys looking for wives on the boards.

That's too bad! Oh well, have to throw it in the drawer with the rest of my unmailed love notes.

[doacleric]

Would it be possible to institute a workaround using interactive items that have no use?

Most zones have at least one oddball spot (such as a tree or other formation) that will give a 'too far away to interact' message when clicked, and when in range, have no effect. Maybe they could be re-worked and relocated into a functional Messasge Board, if creating the objects is the issue.

The first part of your idea might be possible, with some work. The problem is that, even if we can have the client tell the server "the player clicked on this special object", the server can respond all it wants about messageboard info, but the client will have no idea what to do with it, because that functionality has been long removed. The client doesn't even have a concept of a message board UI to display information in, let alone typing in data and displaying it in game.

[Majin]

How hard is it to make a k.i.s.s message board system?

you mean this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zpm5HSj6Ek&feature=player_embedded

if you use a classic client, about 20h, if you dont, well, its impossible =)

[mgellan]

you mean this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zpm5HSj6Ek&feature=player_embedded

if you use a classic client, about 20h, if you dont, well, its impossible =)

Whoa - could you elaborate on what this is? Classic Client with a eqemu server? EQC?

Regards,
Mg

[Majin]

Whoa - could you elaborate on what this is? Classic Client with a eqemu server? EQC?

Regards,
Mg

look at all the other videos with Auditor in title and you will figure it out yourself

[Secrets]

.................

[Secrets]

Would it be possible to institute a workaround using interactive items that have no use?

Most zones have at least one oddball spot (such as a tree or other formation) that will give a 'too far away to interact' message when clicked, and when in range, have no effect. Maybe they could be re-worked and relocated into a functional Messasge Board, if creating the objects is the issue.

The issue is the clicktype and opcode was removed from the client itself, so the client doesn't know wtf to do when it clicks on the object. Post 2003 packet collects reveal the clicktype of messageboards shows up as 0x00, which means "it's a door, make it a door from an object" which would have no effect when you click it.

What we could do is check if you are in a proximity near the messageboard, and use typed client commands to make that work. Either that, or, the mail system is another option.

[Majin]

^_^

[Secrets]

.................

[Secrets]

.................

[Sarkhan]

So I was looking back through the Kunark manual because I was bored and on page 40 it reminded me about message boards. I was going to post a thread on it when I found that there was already one...

Seriously, could we get the message boards? It'd be neat to see the messages on each different board. Hell, could make a scavenger hunt where you try to post on every board across Norrath!...