No expansion server

[El-Hefe]

I've never played vanilla, I started at Kunark launch.

The only part that makes me feel like it'd get old is how much I hate the OG 45+ dungeons. LGuk, SolB and Perma are all just the absolute worst.

Other than that, it'd probably be okay.

[Fammaden]

Originally Posted by El-Hefe [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I've never played vanilla, I started at Kunark launch.

The only part that makes me feel like it'd get old is how much I hate the OG 45+ dungeons. LGuk, SolB and Perma are all just the absolute worst.

Other than that, it'd probably be okay.

Those dungeons are masterpieces of old school DnD style dungeon mapping and full of good lore, art, and danger. The thing that might get old for most is how crowded and limited in content the old world ends up being for a thriving server pop.

You could definitely go another year of vanilla IMO though. Just farming those dungeons, the raid mobs, the planes, to get your guild geared out before Kunark. Would be fun really but I understand the three year approach is the simplest and most direct plan.

[Danth]

Originally Posted by Fammaden [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Those dungeons are masterpieces of old school DnD style dungeon mapping and full of good lore, art, and danger.

I agree that some of those old dungeons are masterpieces of design. I disagree about the art however. I've always felt like EQ's graphics weren't *quite* good enough to pull off what the developers wanted to do. Mistmoore Castle is exhibit A: It's obviously trying to be a dark spooky dracula-style castle, complete with the long narrow pathway crawling up the cliffside to the main gate....but the limited graphic quality and framerate concerns forcing a limited vista simply don't do the vision justice. On the other side of it, a few places like Najena are so horror-inspired in design that with more modern graphic quality they might well have earned the game an "M" rating due to the dismembered corpses and gore everywhere. I accept it in spite of its flaws because I don't need superb graphics to enjoy a game, but I'm not blind to that flaw either. Modernized graphics using the SAME** graphic style as the original would be a sight to behold.

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I like the old world's general design best of the three periods P99 covers. The main limitation with the old world is the relative lack of content. It's a fun game but it can't effectively support as many people as (especially) the Velious era can. Lower Guk is a great zone, but it's not a great time when there's 100 people in there. A timelocked pre-expansion server works best if there's a lower population or some sort of layering/etc in place to handle population overload.

Danth

**Therein lies the rub: It's exceedingly rare for anyone modernizing an older game to be able to resist the urge to....tinker with it.

[Deathrydar]

Originally Posted by Danth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I agree that some of those old dungeons are masterpieces of design. I disagree about the art however. I've always felt like EQ's graphics weren't *quite* good enough to pull off what the developers wanted to do. Mistmoore Castle is exhibit A: It's obviously trying to be a dark spooky dracula-style castle, complete with the long narrow pathway crawling up the cliffside to the main gate....but the limited graphic quality and framerate concerns forcing a limited vista simply don't do the vision justice. On the other side of it, a few places like Najena are so horror-inspired in design that with more modern graphic quality they might well have earned the game an "M" rating due to the dismembered corpses and gore everywhere. I accept it in spite of its flaws because I don't need superb graphics to enjoy a game, but I'm not blind to that flaw either. Modernized graphics using the SAME** graphic style as the original would be a sight to behold.

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I like the old world's general design best of the three periods P99 covers. The main limitation with the old world is the relative lack of content. It's a fun game but it can't effectively support as many people as (especially) the Velious era can. Lower Guk is a great zone, but it's not a great time when there's 100 people in there. A timelocked pre-expansion server works best if there's a lower population or some sort of layering/etc in place to handle population overload.

Danth

**Therein lies the rub: It's exceedingly rare for anyone modernizing an older game to be able to resist the urge to....tinker with it.

I always dreamed of someone recreating EverQuest classic, but with update graphics. Imagine that! I know it's impossible, but imagine it..

[Mblake81]

Originally Posted by Danth [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Modernized graphics using the SAME** graphic style as the original would be a sight to behold.

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I like the old world's general design best of the three periods P99 covers. The main limitation with the old world is the relative lack of content. It's a fun game but it can't effectively support as many people as (especially) the Velious era can.

Yeah, I have wondered what a modern engine with the same style would look like. A rendering would be enough to get excited, there are some on the wiki. Also consider part of the charm was the flaws and the original engine.

Edit: Link to the wiki page renderings

500 people playing is more than enough friends, single server experience.

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Jibartik]

Originally Posted by Mblake81 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Yeah, I have wondered what a modern engine with the same style would look like. A rendering would be enough to get excited, there are some on the wiki. Also consider part of the charm was the flaws and the original engine.

Edit: Link to the wiki page renderings

500 people playing is more than enough friends, single server experience.

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

This guys is the only guy I would trust to update EQ. And I barely trust him, even with all this proof haha [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Wenai]

I would actually love a server locked to purely classic. I love Kunark as well, but despise Velious

[El-Hefe]

Originally Posted by Wenai [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I would actually love a server locked to purely classic. I love Kunark as well, but despise Velious

I’m genuinely curious why.

I like Velious a lot, only big downside I could see is power creep in a non-classic timeline.

[Cyph]

Originally Posted by Mblake81 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Yeah, I have wondered what a modern engine with the same style would look like. A rendering would be enough to get excited, there are some on the wiki. Also consider part of the charm was the flaws and the original engine.

Edit: Link to the wiki page renderings

500 people playing is more than enough friends, single server experience.

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Damn, I do like those. I would be down for that. Really seems like the next step for this "classic" experience, a way to keep it alive post all this [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[El-Hefe]

Originally Posted by Fammaden [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Those dungeons are masterpieces of old school DnD style dungeon mapping and full of good lore, art, and danger. The thing that might get old for most is how crowded and limited in content the old world ends up being for a thriving server pop.

You could definitely go another year of vanilla IMO though. Just farming those dungeons, the raid mobs, the planes, to get your guild geared out before Kunark. Would be fun really but I understand the three year approach is the simplest and most direct plan.

Just too cramped, windy, confusing and single colored for my tastes. There are Vanilla dungeons that I absolutely love (Unrest, Mistmoore, SolA (Gnomes, mostly) and Blackburrow), it’s just the highest end dungeons in vanilla that I find... lacking.

Now, Kunark has it’s own issues, namely many of the dungeons require you to crawl through it to an exit that is separate from the entrance. But overall I think they’re easier to navigate without the benefit of years of memorization.