Project Quarm - 1 Box Planes of Power

[Jimjam]

Today I found some old friends who just never quite got the itch scratched by p99 on Quarm. Hurrah!

[Bisonzabi]

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

You can even enable for those retro hardcore people the very OLD ORIGINAL EQ UI ... and it fully works although in a very low resolutiuon, but I know a couple of guys playing it on CRT monitors at base resolution for ultimate vintage nostalgia.

They better be using dial up as well for true authenticity.

[Seducio]

Great resource worth checking out:

SQL database lookup for PQ
https://quarmdb.com/ by Toxic (Mars)

Not officially maintained by Secrets Project Quarm team

[Seducio]

Why the original, 1999 version of EverQuest is still one of the best MMOs to play today

Congrats to Secrets and the Project Quarm team for getting an article written about your server on PC Gamer magazine. That's an accomplishment any old school gamer can appreciate in a new era of gaming.

The article is a nice homage to Old School EQers in the EQ Emu scene.

P1999 and TAKP also get shout outs by PC Gamer.

[Nexsar]

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

Why the original, 1999 version of EverQuest is still one of the best MMOs to play today

Congrats to Secrets and the Project Quarm team for getting an article written about your server on PC Gamer magazine. That's an accomplishment any old school gamer can appreciate in a new era of gaming.

The article is a nice homage to Old School EQers in the EQ Emu scene.

P1999 and TAKP also get shout outs by PC Gamer.

I feel like this much publicity is also a bad thing for the server (and even P99… even though P99 has an agreement with DBG). DBG may not care for their IP being flaunted like that.

In the world of copyrights / patents, if you don’t actively defend your copyright / patent, you basically give up your rights to it.

[Seducio]

We are closer to Pong players then a set of possibly-lucrative players that a gaming company would try and monetize.

I see what you are saying and if the year was 2008 you'd be on to something. In 2023 I think it's probably ok. Only time will tell of course.

Most gaming companies that are doing well are not worried about IP from 20-25 years ago because the current paying gaming public thinks that games made with graphics from that era are unplayable.

[Swish]

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

We are closer to Pong players then a set of possibly-lucrative players that a gaming company would try and monetize.

I see what you are saying and if the year was 2008 you'd be on to something. In 2023 I think it's probably ok. Only time will tell of course.

Most gaming companies that are doing well are not worried about IP from 20-25 years ago because the current paying gaming public thinks that games made with graphics from that era are unplayable.

Dey'break Games needs to realize there's some mileage in making an official server that's classic with old models, mob timers and info, etc etc. The hard work has been done for them (P99) but they still go for the lazy option and keep out of era stuff for their progression servers. Their choice. Until then expect the classic crowd to keep playing here/Quarm.

[Evia]

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

Dey'break Games needs to realize there's some mileage in making an official server that's classic with old models, mob timers and info, etc etc. The hard work has been done for them (P99) but they still go for the lazy option and keep out of era stuff for their progression servers. Their choice. Until then expect the classic crowd to keep playing here/Quarm.

I'd gladly pay daybreak a $15 a month sub if they offered a server similar to p99 or quarm. And I'd play there indefinitely. You're right tho for some reason they're not interested in doing that.... very well said.

[Seducio]

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

Dey'break Games needs to realize there's some mileage in making an official server that's classic with old models, mob timers and info, etc etc. The hard work has been done for them (P99) but they still go for the lazy option and keep out of era stuff for their progression servers. Their choice. Until then expect the classic crowd to keep playing here/Quarm.

I'd assume the active player base of Old school EQers across P99, TAKP, and PQ is in the 6k to 8k range player population. With semi-active players that might be able to get over 10k population, but I don't think that is the case anymore if only counting active players.

So let's assume 6k-8k population in the active Old school EQ player base for some fuzzy back of the envelope math.

If there was a server that cost $15/mo to play on that was officially supported, I doubt that all of the older players would actually pay on it. So let's do a probability tree.

50% Players willing to pay:
3000-4000 players x $15 x 12 months = $540,000 - $720,000 year

25% Players willing to pay:
1500 -2000 players x $15 x 12 months = $270,000 - $360,000 year

10% Players willing to pay:
600 - 800 players x $15 x 12 months = $108,000 - $144,000 year

What I'm getting at is in a perfect world where half or 50% of us were willing to pay a $15 fee you might get to place economically where having an official server for Old school EQers pencils out.

In the real world given all the free gaming options available, it's likely that less than 10% of us Old School EQers that currently pay nothing would be willing to pay that monthly fee.

Once you are that level the costs associated with maintaining a server, having paid company CSR staff for that game, and overhead in general create a scenario that does not pencil out for a company looking at the financials of it. The juice isn't worth the squeeze. There aren't enough folks that are willing to pay for this Old school version of EQ.

[Torven]

Daybreak has a duty and obligation to preserve the game so that it's not lost to time. EQ is a key piece of gaming history. People 1000 years from now should be able to play it as it was intended by the original designers. EQ isn't just an IP to monetize and throw away when it's no longer profitable. It's priceless like the Mona Lisa. It's historical art. I have similar concerns for other games but EQ is special. Even if it's "not profitable" (debatable) for them to set up and host a 1999 accurate server, they need to save EVERYTHING they have that allows the most accurate as possible server to be made. Back it all up and organize it. Allow people in the future who have the will to make it at least.

I kind of wish they would work with us emu guys in a mutually beneficial arrangement. We'd work for free under the right circumstances.