Project 1999 - Kunark

Greetings, citizens!

Since the launch of the server, the majority of development time has been spent working on existing content and features. Recently, I have read posts indicating players believe Kunark is not being developed due to a lack of patch notes or changelog. I am here to set your mind at ease. In actuality, Kunark development is going very well, but notes are not published, because the changes made aren't for existing content.

Comparatively, Kunark adds 26 zones to the existing 79 in classic. For several months, I have trained new content developers and ensured the necessary framework to complete Kunark. As content manager, I estimate Kunark zones onward will look at least 50% better than what you currently experience. You might ask, "What does 50% better mean for me?". Simply, a methodical approach to zone creation is producing a much better gaming experience.

Is Kunark development hard? Why isn't it complete?
Some players have asked, "Isn't Kunark complete on other emulators? Why don't you use that?" My answer is, Kunark is no where close to complete on any non-soe server. The stock eqemu databases, while providing an outline of Kunark, fall incredibly short in terms of details and accuracy. For every spawngroup, there are npcs that need faction, loot, stats, spells, procs, level variance, respawn times, pathing and possibly perl scripts or merchant lists. These steps are taken for every individual npc type. When all of these details come together, the zones come to life.

Content development isn't the only aspect of Kunark that requires artisans. Game mechanics, and long-lost features of EQ are being recreated. (e.g. Soulbound items, original melee disciplines, a functioning stamina bar). This is where the source developers come into play. They do an excellent job at not only fixing the existing bugs, but also fabricating new features, and answering source requests from the content developers.

How is development time spent that isn't Kunark!?
The current development team is extraordinary compared to what we started with. Unforeseen bugs, exploits, and stability issues emerged that could have only been found by the plethora of characters created. Not only have game mechanics needed to be fixed or fabricated, but also administrative tools to deal with such a playerbase. The stock EQemu source and database were inadequate to deal with the needs of 900+ individuals at a time. I give special thanks to Rogean for not only ensuring the server hardware goes vroom-vroom, and also creating administrative features that are necessary for us to deal with anything in an efficient manner.

When's Kunark?!
Now that some of the specifics have been described, I'm sure what you are really wanting to know is when Kunark will be released. I can't provide an exact date for release, but I can answer a few questions. "Is it more than 50% done?" Yes. "Is it coming out next month?" No. "How fast is work proceeding?" Compared to prekunark, work is being completed at a rapid pace. As we near completion, I will be able to provide a better estimate or date. It is the #1 priority of all content developers, and work is done every day. As I said above, expect a MUCH nicer looking product. We have started preliminary zone "QAing" for the completed zones, and as they are finished, we will be opening these zones in a progressive order for... beta testing!

Kunark beta testing?!
Yes. We will be opening a test server, specifically dedicated to Project1999 beta testing. This will grant us beta testing reports, and directly answer questions about how Kunark is looking. The zones will be released in a progressive order, starting from the Iksar newbie area. This ensures low level content is tested as thoroughly as everyone's favorite dungeon. This system will most likely allow you to copy your current character for testing, as well as the option to create an Iksar character. Details to follow.

I want to take this opportunity to give thanks to the content developers.. for without them, there's no possible way I could do this alone. Spirell, Wenai, and Xzerion have contributed the most content changes for Kunark to date. These are the people behind the scenes making pages full of changes the player's don't see. Thanks guys.

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