Question about future custom content

[Mblake81]

Original EQ intro.

Speaking of returning to it's fantasy roots.

[Clark]

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

If Luclin had Vikings... [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

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[Danyelle]

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

Also can we get our classic character selection/creation screens back and keep it please?

The good background for the good races, bad background for the bad with your toon spinning so you can check your gear out.

Take away all the races we won't be using, make it more professional looking [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I already know how to do this...kinda:

Originally Posted by Nirgon

I miss the old char select with the good or evil backgrounds depending on race/religion. Old UI, my old friend, where have you gone.

Originally Posted by Danyelle

The character select zone is actually just that...a zone. It isn't part of the UI. You can get it back again, both the Classic and Luclin versions, by deleting clz.eqg and renaming load1.s3d or load2.s3d (Classic and Luclin character select zones respectively) to clz.s3d including text files and _chr/_obj files. HOWEVER, it will always place you at 0, 0, 0. Not in the appropriate spots (there's tiny little "rooms" for each good/evil/class/race etc in one giant zone that you would go to depending on character choice, since that's no longer the case it defaults to 0 cords now and that can't be changed.)

Originally Posted by Nirgon

So my dark characters will start in that cave with the lava and shit instead?

Originally Posted by Danyelle

Nah, you'd be in the right zone, but due to the placement of modern character select it'd put you at 0 cords which i believe is dead air. you can see all the rooms floating around you though :P

Basically in your install there is 3 sets of files:

clz.eqg
clz_EnvironmentEmitters.txt

This is the current loading 'zone' used from Dragon's of Norrath onward.

load2.s3d
load2_obj.s3d
load2_switches.s3d

This is the Luclin loading 'zone' used from Planes of Power - Omens of War

load.s3d
load_obj.s3d

This is the original loading 'zone' used from Classic-Luclin

Now... The client is currently coded to look for clz, not load or load2. BUT it doesn't differentiate between .eqg or .s3d it will simply attempt to load .eqg files first, then default to an .s3d file if available. So you can rename the load or load2 files to clz and remove clz.eqg and clz_EnvironmentEmitters.txt from your install and it will use them instead.

The problem is, the new clz loading zone doesn't use different 'rooms' for races. It's just the one big platform built around the 0, 0, 0 coords in the 'zone'. It will do the same thing in the load/load2 zones because that's how it's hardcoded. Putting your characters up in dead-air and the rooms being so far away they aren't even visible.

Theoretically someone (probably Secrets) could force the client to place each race in different rooms, the load/load2 zones can be explored on any Emu server so you can #goto around them and find the appropriate coordinates to place particular races. as this would likely involve .dll injection it's currently beyond me however [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] I may start researching or leeching knowledge off Secrets and one day see what I can do though.

[Dragonmist]

I doubt they will ever do any type of customization on P99 after Velious thats it.

But maybe someday P99 2.0 could release some similar to this ruleset...

Guild Tags under names,no CR's,a shared bank, and No plat encumberance, expansions up to Luclin or PoP 1 IP per household still would be the best server ever but thats just my own opinion.

[smazzocity]

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

Original EQ intro.

Speaking of returning to it's fantasy roots.

Wow, haven't seen that video forever. I remember watching that and then playing the tutorial as Soandso.

[Priceline]

just add AAXP to Velious, re-tune merbs accordingly. This will give folks something to do for quite a few years [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Mblake81]

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

Wow, haven't seen that video forever. I remember watching that and then playing the tutorial as Soandso.

Original eq was D&D based for sure. Maybe they wont alter p99 like someone said but allow you to mirror you character over to the 2.0 server or just start new.

There is a chance we could get more content that is classic inspired and looks the part what with the strong modding communities that follow games like this.

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[Danyelle]

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

Original eq was D&D based for sure. Maybe they wont alter p99 like someone said but allow you to mirror you character over to the 2.0 server or just start new.

There is a chance we could get more content that is classic inspired and looks the part what with the strong modding communities that follow games like this.

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Seems to be Nilbog's intention based on what he was saying. Make a 'clone' of P99. Leave the first one as it is as a museum, customize the second one. Probably copy characters. Or maybe not, might be cool for the second server you have to start fresh.

[tanknspank]

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

But it might be, that it is a kind of mudflation kind of deal. You can only add so many expansions and thus new content and powers, before you destroy the basics of the original game.

Generally speaking yes, but if the power creep is carefully managed, there's a lot of room to go before that is the obstacle. To be honest I feel Velious raised the gear level too much. So did PoP (I don't remember the itemization details for Luclin).

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

AA's were one of the laziest things the SOE devs ever did. Sure, they gave neat abilities. But the mechanics how you got them was pure lazy dev nerf. "Just grind out these alternate exp levels!"

Yes and no. Grinding XP had been the cornerstone of advancement in both classic and Kunark (levels). In my eyes it is iconic to classic content. The problem with AAs was that they added far too many of them, to the point where the grind became limitless.

This is why I think each xpac should have a set of "Class-specific AA Levels" in the 5-10 range that continue your class's progression without the added power disparity that levels give.

Also, unlike levels AAs don't take you on a journey. You can grind your first AA in the same zone as your 4000th. Levels take you on a journey from Orc 1 to Dervs to Karana to Guk to Karnor's to Howling Stones (or whatever your chosen path is). With this in mind maybe different zones in an xpac turn 'green' in relation to AAXP earning as you progress in "class-specific AA level".

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

WoW it great in the last expansion - they made their AAs (talents) to be selective limited - not I must have 69 points in Z or I don't get spell X crap. This is how true AA system should be: you can have 3 nice abilities to choose from, but you can only ever have 1 of them.

It depends on how it's implemented. I don't like the fact that WoW grants talents automatically for levelling, nor how easy you can switch. In an AA system I think it would be better to "Buy A, B or C for X points. Once you buy A, if you want to switch you have to earn the point cost and buy B or C which removes A (and the points spent)". The permanency of choices is iconic to classic EQ for me. No do-over on your starting stat, deity, no flip-flopping your class's role (spec), etc.

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

On Luclin - Soulbinders are mandatory to this game and should have been in from day 1. Or give me wow graveyards to respawn at in each zone.

I disagree. This game classic's era was defined by player interdependence. You needed others for bind, sow, ports, rezzes, corpse recovery (drag/summon), etc. That defines the feel of the community. So it's something that needs to be kept and that was lost on live as expansions added more NPC services.

I do see the need for some flexibility, especially as the world grows. But I think the idea is to make the "bind" portable. It should still originate from a player, but allow a melee to take it with them to a different location so they can bind at 5am in an abandoned zone. This could be in the form of a crafted item or a spell-created one.

[Kika Maslyaka]

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

I do see the need for some flexibility, especially as the world grows. But I think the idea is to make the "bind" portable. It should still originate from a player, but allow a melee to take it with them to a different location so they can bind at 5am in an abandoned zone. This could be in the form of a crafted item or a spell-created one.

Problem with this is that game will cater even more to specific classes and make others even more dependable. We already have classes that can sow and port and bind and heal, and get cash for that, and we have classes that have 0 convenience abilities that only get hoops they need to jump all the time. I do get class interdependence in combat group - cleric heals, warrior tanks, rogue dps etc. But outside of combat what does warrior have that cleric/druid/wiz can possible need?

The DnD group strict inter-dependance approach only works for small group of players who always play together - such as at joint meeting sessions. It falls apart in MMO when you do not automatically have a perfectly balance group ready to go the instant you log in. Hence class interdependence where warrior/rogue/paly MUST look for a caster for an hour just to get a bind is ridiculous. Specialty if traveling to far off places like Erudin.

Having portable bind potions is great, unless its casters who make them - because you just gave casters yet another cash generating machine that melees will have to pay for. Casters already generate ton of profit by selling binds, sows, ports, even heals, while melees have none of such convince income. I strongly believe that no class should have a cash making ability, unless each class has it and its needed by everyone else. Otherwise its just broken. Every person I knew in RL who played EQ at some point made either druid or enchanter alt to generate cash for their melee mains by sitting in one spot casting ports/KEI. And that is where game is broken.

So I say - no one should be able to cast bind, but all cities should have soulbinders. Druids and Wiz may have ports but port must require VERY EXPENSIVE component bought from vendors - so you only port when its really needed like for a guild raid. All buffs should be group bound - like in EQ2 - you join the group with a cleric - you get cleric buffs, you leave the group, you loose the buffs - so no cash from buff selling.

RE: wow talents - yeah i don;t like easy swap spec system neither, but general approach to have limited talents is good. EQ's grind 600 AAs just to be considered for a raid guild was sick.