EQ Classic? Not really.

Keep in mind that all of this testing is ONLY game mechanics. It has absolutely nothing to do with the database. IE - Mobs, their drops, their locations, their spawn cycle, items in general, and drop percentages. There's a ton of work that still needs to get done. P99 has a nicely worked up database, but even they have a lot that isn't perfect. IE - world drops. They only have the things that were listed on Allakhazam, but that table doesn't take into account "any mob level 29 can have this item". So all that level or region specific work will take an unimaginable amount of time to perfect. It would be nice if YL could talk someone at SoE to give him the real database and spawn/drop percentages, but that's unlikely. So expect it to be a year or so until the "real" game goes live.

In the mean time, you've got a bunch of time to play the Alpha and figure out exactly what class you really want to play when the game goes live.

LachiusTZ_sl said:

What is the likihood of this server actually denting the P99 community?

I dont see many leaving toons they have dumped that much time into.

And will it have all the "features" of release EQ? Necro pet daggers, etc etc

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I'm willing to bet that the majority of the p99 community would leave in an instant, assuming there was a viable alternative. If EQC becomes the viable alternative, p99 will be a ghost town in a matter of weeks.

The time investment doesn't play as much of a role here. The high end crews generally play for the competition. We've all had decked out toons on live and we still quit when it got dry.

I'm not sure they're going to be about recreating bugs. Stuff like Manastones, Guises etc dropping is one thing, but trying to recreate something that wasn't a part of the client that they are running, and that is/was clearly a bug, is something i don't see happening.

Amen origin. Time dont mean a thing, p99 is such a shit place to be that no eq is better than playing there. Give me no corruption, transparent GM's and a reasonable reproduction of classic and people will play. *channeling field of dreams*

Yeahlight is creating a single ruleset. Not an ever-changing one the way "real" EQ had.

For example, he just decided to do away with the Hybrid Experience Penalty. This penalty was gone by the end of Velious, so he didn't see a need to keep it in for his version of the game. The reason for this is simple - Many people will actively skip playing a Hybrid just to have an easier road to 60. It really makes the game world kind of dull when 1/4 of the classes aren't represented at all. We can't all be Shaman, Clerics, Druids, Warriors, Monks, Rogues, Wizards, Mages or Enchanters. I left out Necro, because there's only 1 in Alpha, and it's lower level. Fear Kiting isn't very easy in the tutorial zone... guards steal your kills.
This theory is greatly shown in the Alpha where of probably 50 people able to log in, only 3-4 are playing a Hybrid character. There is 1 high level bard, a 40's Paladin, a 40's Ranger... There's a single SK as well, but he hasn't been able to play much lately.

So people will ignore playing the "hard" characters, just because they can get to 60 easier with others.
WoW has fucked with the leveling game that people don't enjoy it. They want to race to the cap so they can sit in the same 2-3 zones as everyone else, but that doesn't exist at all in Alpha (there's only 1 real zone). So they hit 60 and in many cases, stop playing. It's dumb.

Holy shit Xarpolis. I remember that name. You were the first wiz on Tarew Marr to get your Staff of the Four. Um, that's all. Carry on.

Wouldn't removing the xp penalty basically mean its not an "original" experience? Sure it sucks but the pure experience is what I thought this server was going for... There were shit tons of changes for the good and bad that happened. Making exceptions are a slippery slope. I'd prefer no changes are made unless this is being release at Velious.

As for leveling...I think people will enjoy the path of adventure/loot camping when the rewards exceed that of xp grinding. Knowing i'll use a SBH for several weeks+ before outleveling it means its intrinsic value it much higher. Same goes for creating a social circle / decent friends list that doesn't become worthless because people either out level'd me the very next day or I blew past them.

Shit, in every game today I try to team up with some friends or even random people and most of the time we end up separated in content level within even hours.

Noahx_sl said:

Wouldn't removing the xp penalty basically mean its not an "original" experience? Sure it sucks but the pure experience is what I thought this server was going for... There were shit tons of changes for the good and bad that happened. Making exceptions are a slippery slope. I'd prefer no changes are made unless this is being release at Velious.

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Totally agree that any changes are a slippery slope. I have played on many emu servers that quickly went overboard. That said, I can think of maybe 4 or 5 absolutely crucial changes from classic that should be implemented immediately and ditching the hybrid penalty is one of them imo. I really, really think the server will be a far better experience if they are taken care of off the bat instead of making people wait up to 2 years.

I don't see any issues with removing the xp penalty. hybrids are already handicapped by a poor hybrid system, the xp penalty was just salt on the wound.

I actually disagree with removing it. I liked the flavor it added by the reasoning behind the penalty. It's more like, youshouldn'tplay an SK, but we dare you to try anyway.

This server should be immediately appealing because of a superior platform - it will feel better, look better, and play better. Not to mention it will give diehard nerds an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a new server. We may also see decriminalization on the controversial topic of "boxing".

Big things... if there are enough people with the willpower and desire to still play EverQuest...

Its going to have the Velious full screen version I believe. Not just the small ass stone theme UI. I actually like that better than the customizable XML thing that they tacked on later.

as long as my hotbars are not fucking horizontal

fucking things....

Balin_sl said:

Holy shit Xarpolis. I remember that name. You were the first wiz on Tarew Marr to get your Staff of the Four. Um, that's all. Carry on.

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Yup, that's me. And Balin... I'm thinking Rogue? Possibly The Awakened? Maybe Numinous.

Racial and hybrid penalties aren't removed, they just don't hurt your group experience. I doubt many people remember or even knew about that. It would hurt grouping and stuff. Other than very, very minor things like this, he's keeping it as classic as possible. No worries.

Oh snap, really? That's fantastic - actually keeping it in but removing it for the group.

Kudos.

I'ma dual box me some paladins then. Respect the pal/pal combo.

I don't feel like jumping through the hoops to sign up for alpha testing, I just wanted to punch in an email address and shit. I guess they are actuallytestingthough, ;p