So...

[Starwind]

I'm looking to get into EverQuest, as I never got to play the original game other than a very brief stint after it went F2P.

I originally played EverQuest Online Adventures (and Frontiers) on the Playstation 2, and played EQ2 for a while near launch before switching to WoW because EQ2 melted my computer at the time. After WoW I just kind of bounced between MMO's for a while, playing nearly everything that came out: WAR, Rift, Age of Conan, LotRO, Tera, SWTOR, FFXIV, etc... After EQOA none of them but WoW really stuck for very long, and that only lasted until the first expansion drove me off.

So I'd been playing other games, and got into Planetside 2 right after its release (I was about 5 months late due to being in Afghanistan at the time). I've been with that for just over a year now, and SOE changed all their memberships to all access. Because of that I've hopped back into EQ2 and am enjoying it thus far, though the linearity of it and the blind "follow the glow on the map" hand-held questing is bothering me at least a bit. Though getting back into the EQ universe has got me interested in it again, with the all access membership being a boon as well.

Which brings me to EQ1. I'm wanting to give it a more serious shot this time around, as I was kind of occupied with other games during my brief F2P stint. From what I've heard, my old favorite EQOA is far closer to EQ1 than it is to EQ2, with the open world, zero hand holding for quests, slower less mobile combat and etc.

So I guess that means my question is: if I'm going to play EQ1 for the first time. . . Would I be better off playing the "original" with Project '99, or playing the "live" version of the game?

[Flamewraith]

All of the games on your list are EZ mode games compared to EQ. If you think you may have an idea what you're getting into because you played EQ2 and those super shitty xbox versions you are very wrong. However seeing as how p1999 is free at least give it a shot..... No harm in trying. Yes I know eq live is FTP, but in the same way SWOTOR is ftp, you can't do shit unless you subscribe. I have literally played every game up there except for age of conan and I always find myself coming back to p1999.

[Swish]

EQ2 melted my computer at the time.

I have to say I think they lost A LOT of people to the high settings it needed to play. Mine was quite jerky and I didn't stay too long :p

<3 for Planetside 2, I was a big PS1 player :)

If you start here it really isn't too difficult, people will probably help you out with some starter gear. There's a huuuuge gap between difficulty here versus live over the last 6-7 years though if you've played there. Nothing is "easy" in that sense.

I'd totally grab Titanium from wherever you can "find" it (see thread at the top of this forum) and give it a shot :)

[HeallunRumblebelly]

P99 is great. Just don't get discouraged that you're "so far behind" everyone. On one character you can be just as geared as anyone in about 4 months--providing you put in quite a bit of effort :P

[zanderklocke]

P99 is great. Just don't get discouraged that you're "so far behind" everyone. On one character you can be just as geared as anyone in about 4 months--providing you put in quite a bit of effort :P

The only people that care about what gear you have are those that have worse gear than you. In fact, I'd say the only person that really cares when I get an upgrade is myself. My friends might congratulate me, but truly, they don't really care. As long as you're content, that's all that matters. The game isn't a race.

[Thundun]

Also, you need to be aware of how slow leveling is in p1999. It's slow.

And I dig it, mostly. You spend time places and levels in p1999 in ways you don't in other games. In EQ2 you can rocket out of the newbie area in a few hours, leveling into your teens. Expect to spend days in the first few areas of p1999 (depending on how long you play each day).

Because of that, I get to know areas in EQ the way I don't in other games. I get to know my class, and the enemy mobs. If you focus less on the xp bar, and more on getting the whole experience, it can be enjoyable.

[Nuggie]

Also, you need to be aware of how slow leveling is in p1999. It's slow.

And I dig it, mostly. You spend time places and levels in p1999 in ways you don't in other games. In EQ2 you can rocket out of the newbie area in a few hours, leveling into your teens. Expect to spend days in the first few areas of p1999 (depending on how long you play each day).

Because of that, I get to know areas in EQ the way I don't in other games. I get to know my class, and the enemy mobs. If you focus less on the xp bar, and more on getting the whole experience, it can be enjoyable.

+1 I like how put that.

[Starwind]

All of the games on your list are EZ mode games compared to EQ. If you think you may have an idea what you're getting into because you played EQ2 and those super shitty xbox versions you are very wrong.

It was the Playstation 2 version, actually. Which is nothing like EQ2, or any other modern mmo. It honestly seems like the middle child between EQ1 and EQ2 - you level up through large amounts of grinding mobs, no random fetch/kill quests all over the place (quests were at certain level markers, gave good rewards, and were quite long/involved), no LFG tool, no auction house, etc. Plus the world was completely open - and I mean completely. There was never a single loading screen in EQOA anywhere other than traveling between continents or fast-travel between coaches.

Though it did have a bit of the less "hardcore" stuff in it that ended up being in EQ2, such as EXP debt rather than EXP loss, a much more streamlined UI, and etc. I can't really compare it to EQ1 that well due to limited experience, but EQOA is nothing like EQ2.


Yes I know eq live is FTP, but in the same way SWOTOR is ftp, you can't do shit unless you subscribe.

I mentioned that I'm already a subscriber, because SOE changed all of their game memberships into All-Access memberships, and I'm a Planetside 2 member, so I also get gold membership for EQ1 and EQ2.

-

Anywho, back on topic. Thank you all for the responses, but my biggest concern was being forced to solo or not. There's no way to tell the population of the live EQ1 servers, but EQ2 has at least 2 high population servers, and finding a group even for lowbie content is easy. I think I'd rather try p99 for my EQ1 experience, but even the live servers seem rather empty, and the forums/reddit complain alot about it basically being solo play or nothing.

As much as I might want to give EQ1 a shot, and think it might be a genuinely better experience for what I'm looking for... I don't think it would be worth it if I have to solo everything. Regardless of how much better of a game it is, that defeats the entire purpose of an MMO - and I'd rather stick with EQ2 if that were the case, as finding a guild/group to go through the content with is easy there.

So I guess that gives me a little addendum to my original question - will I be able to find assistance or a group for anything in p99? Will I be able to on the live EQF2P servers? Or both, or neither?

[Xer0]

Groups are pretty common at low levels in p99. My tip would be to play a class everyone wants in their group, cleric, chanter, warrior, rogue etc. Hybrids cause a pretty big xp penalty to incur for the whole group and are often turned why by the min/maxing elitests that dominate this game, but I managed to get to 42 on my first character, a Shadowknight, and earn enough plat for Best in slot shield/sword for my lvl.

[MilanderTruewield]

Grouping is there on p99. Not so much on Live, due to the mercs and box armies.

[HeallunRumblebelly]

It's important to remember that it really, really helps to be proactive in forming groups on P99. Few players have the initiative (or want the headache) of forming the group and constantly finding replacements. Fewer still have knowledge inside these zones so that they can actually traverse and pull them safely.

[littlebobby3]

Keep getting info on p99 here on the forums, it's a great game and the devs do it all for free.

Yeah there are bugs but it's a emulated server so it happens.

As far as soloing goes, I play a necro which is a solo class but grps are ALWAYS there. Server pop is 1000+ at peak times and still 300+ at like 3 am.

This game is difficult. it's not like other mmo these days, consider vanilla wow only less hand holding and more pain(sometimes).

I would try it but don't just try it to lvl 5 and quit keep going it can be really fun and I have had a great experience so far, and like others have said it's NOT a race. Lvl 60 will not come quick. My char is 4 years old and I'm 53, gear is not important like other mmos.

If you play hmu in game I'm Sliren.

[Mattius]

If anything you're gonna be spending more time alone in-game if you play Live instead of P99

[Varsha]

As much as I might want to give EQ1 a shot, and think it might be a genuinely better experience for what I'm looking for... I don't think it would be worth it if I have to solo everything. Regardless of how much better of a game it is, that defeats the entire purpose of an MMO - and I'd rather stick with EQ2 if that were the case, as finding a guild/group to go through the content with is easy there.

So I guess that gives me a little addendum to my original question - will I be able to find assistance or a group for anything in p99? Will I be able to on the live EQF2P servers? Or both, or neither?

I started playing EQ in Planes of Power era (that's like 12 years ago). I moved to WoW and other different games as well after the bad xpacs on EQ.I just recently started playing here on P1999 and so far Im having a really good time.

Everquest will be brutal compared to any games you played. Here is some advices/inputs about the game, what you must be prepared to deal with.

----------
Be smart - THINK about what your are doing, make LOGIC CHOICES.

Everquest is quite a big world. There is no graveyard like in WoW in each zone where you will respawn after death. You will respawn at your binding point which could be 15 zones away if you "forgot" to bind yourself closer to your hunting area.

In some areas, mobs are very "social". It doesn't work like WoW where if you run far enough ,they will stop chasing you. Mobs will follow you to the zoneline. So its important that you try to get single mobs when you pull and kill them in a secure location.

P1999 is not a cross server experience like WoW where you get to meet new asssholes and noobcakes everyday through the LFG/PVP system and never see them again. Your reputation here MATTERS. Be nice with other people, be patient. Everquest is a very slow paced game compared to WoW. You have plenty of time to be nice and polite. It will pay off eventually, you will make new friends, build a strong reputation that will get you into groups.

You will have to ask people in random zones if they have room in groups. Going LFG means you put the LFG tag on, advertise in your zone that you are LFG, seek other people LFG in the same lvl range. This is not a quick process. The game is called EVERQUEST. Its not a game where you can go LFG, jump in a group and get half your xp bar in 20min. Be ready to put the time if you want lvl. That process takes hours.

The game is brutal compared to other MMO. While WoW was a nice fresh system when it came out, they dumbed it down so much for casuals that the skill and effort doesn't matter anymore. You can outgear anything. Here, good luck having a tank chain pulling when healer is oom. It could take you HOURS to recover your corpse and Im not kidding.

Its a game of cooperation and respect. Not all classes have a heal or tanking abilities. So you will have to work with others. There is no "lets AoE everything". You actually have to assist your tank and kill specific targets. Its very good for coordination and to gain focus.

If you have time and hours to put into a game, Everquest is a great challenge, you will make new friends that will probably follow you beyond this realm. Its not a game about content as much as social interaction. Interaction that you will want to come back to. Lvling new alts with the same group of friends and live new adventures. :)

[Iksandar Peregrinus]

Pssst..../whisper Someone tell him about teh hell levels.

[Starwind]

I'm quite aware of the hell levels, and the XP penalties and such.

Luckily one of the guys in my gaming group has been an EQ1 gamer for a long time, and even has a couple characters here on P99. I even managed to talk him into reinstalling it to show me the ropes and duo up with me.

However, he did end up talking me into playing my favorite race/class combo despite the massive XP penalty; a Troll SK.

Also to Varsha, everything that you mentioned - other than mobs following you all the way to the zone line - was in EQOA. I'm surprised that everyone here seems so down on the game.

[Starwind]

So I don't make an entirely new thread, if anyone could help I'm having a bit of technical issue with the install, and can't seem to find any help anywhere on the forums or wiki.

I "acquired" EQ titanium, the deamon tool, got it installed, then removed the files listed on the P99 guidebook, as well as unpacked the P99 files into the directory.

Now at that point, running the Launch Titanium .bat tries to run it, then I get a windows error saying "eqgame does not exist." Running the eqgame.exe (which does exist) just gives a Project 1999 window telling me to delete wsock32.dll and eqgame.dll, which don't exist. So I'm a bit stuck...

[leezard]

Did you add "patchme" to the end of your .exe shortcut? Most common cause of problems involving never getting into the game.

If you ran the patcher at any point prior to the above you should probably just re install, preferable to do so direct to drive. Just FYI the forums have a Technical Support section, with some very comprehensive FAQ style posts and a slew of experience to draw upon. A search there might be beneficial.

[Starwind]

Did you add "patchme" to the end of your .exe shortcut? Most common cause of problems involving never getting into the game.

If you ran the patcher at any point prior to the above you should probably just re install, preferable to do so direct to drive. Just FYI the forums have a Technical Support section, with some very comprehensive FAQ style posts and a slew of experience to draw upon. A search there might be beneficial.

I didn't see anywhere in the instructions to add that. Or are you saying I shouldn't have? In which case, no, I didn't.

[Xer0]

You definitely should have added "patchme" . If you ran the game without the patchme addition, Leezard is correct and you will need a reinstall

[leezard]

I didn't see anywhere in the instructions to add that. Or are you saying I shouldn't have? In which case, no, I didn't.

No you have to add it to your .exe path by opening properties and adding -minus quotes- "patchme"

It's part of the Eqemu setup instructions that take place prior to modding for P1999.
Those may be found on Eqemu starting instructions.

Hope this helps you enter Norrath