New game using EverQuest's engine?

[NachtMystium]

Is this feasible to create a new project using the game's engine? Is it behind some kind of IP wall? I think it would be badass to just make your own skins and your own mmo project but with re-skinned character models etc etc.

I know there are emu servers that have custom content etc. but I'm talking about building a new game from the ground up using the engine provided.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[dafier]

Umm...EQEMU ...and other sources. You can get all the app/files you need to make your own custom server.

GL though, it will take a bit of work to get that up and running.

[loramin]

I think it depends on what you want to do. If you're serious about making a new game I'd imagine you'd want to code it yourself, or at least start from an existing OSS project (eg. http://www.planeshift.it/Source%20code). But if all you want is EQ with a different database then EQEmu or something similar would make more sense.

[NachtMystium]

Yeah, I see what ya'll are saying, but correct me if I'm wrong here. It seems that all of the projects that have been created just kind of add their own custom items here and there or quests and stuff like that, but I haven't seen any servers that create their own zones or character skins or new races/classes etc.

I'm not versed in the development aspect at all, just curious here, I'm assuming it's just a lot of work to really make that kind of thing tangible.

[AzzarTheGod]

Yeah, I see what ya'll are saying, but correct me if I'm wrong here. It seems that all of the projects that have been created just kind of add their own custom items here and there or quests and stuff like that, but I haven't seen any servers that create their own zones or character skins or new races/classes etc.

I'm not versed in the development aspect at all, just curious here, I'm assuming it's just a lot of work to really make that kind of thing tangible.

I can tell you that its possible but requires a lot of work as far as zones and textures go.

Also without the source of the client there is only so many things you can do. Some of the limitations would surprise you. Something as simple as wanting to add a new /emote is impossible if the emote does not already exist on the client. You cannot just add a new emote to the server. The client won't have it.

Considering no emulator project has been able to get oldschool spell effects 100% operational (I think p99 is mostly classic, but other projects failed and abandoned the effort after 10 years of development. p99 refuses to share because they put the work in) you can see how difficult it is to reverse engineer stuff that DOES EXIST on the client, so stuff that DOES NOT EXIST on the client is basically fantasy land.

Basically you're better off rewriting a new game client and using the reverse engineered EQ client functions as a blueprint. And there is not a hobbyist on the planet insane or autistic enough to attempt to write what he thinks is the entire eqgame.exe

for zones you can run the work by this guide

http://wiki.eqemulator.org/p?Modeling_Custom_Zones_

[loramin]

Yeah, I see what ya'll are saying, but correct me if I'm wrong here. It seems that all of the projects that have been created just kind of add their own custom items here and there or quests and stuff like that, but I haven't seen any servers that create their own zones or character skins or new races/classes etc.

I'm not versed in the development aspect at all, just curious here, I'm assuming it's just a lot of work to really make that kind of thing tangible.

Here's the thing: you need models, and you need something to render them. Obviously there are a lot more parts involved, but fundamentally that's what we're talking about here.

What I hear you saying is "we've got this great renderer already, why not just use new models and make a new game?" And you can ... but it will mean working with code written back in the 90's, only it's even worse for you than it was for them because the Verant developers at least had access to their own source code.

Or you can say "fuck it, I want modern tooling to work with models (and access to source code and/or documentation and/or test suites and/or ...)", and suffer the inconvenience of having to learn a modern rendering library like Unity. Or you can do basically the same thing, but leverage open source code already built using such a library, like that game I linked earlier.

Caveat: I'm a programmer but not a (serious) games programmer. Still if I was going to do any significant modeling work, I would NOT want to have to use (or even have to work with) the tools from '99. I'd try and find the closest open source game to what I want and start from there, or (if there was no such game) build something from scratch using a library like Unity. But if I just wanted an EQ-like game with different database content (eg. where mobs path, what their name is, how many HP they have, etc.) then I'd start with something like EQEmu.

[xKoopa]

There was a server called Sanctuary that was basically a new game using the engine. Custom classes/spells/items/tradeskills/zones etc etc. Had a ton of content, but the guy who was making it decided to start from scratch on unity

[Swish]

There was a server called Sanctuary that was basically a new game using the engine. Custom classes/spells/items/tradeskills/zones etc etc. Had a ton of content, but the guy who was making it decided to start from scratch on unity

I was about to say the unity engine is worth considering... how did that guy get on from there?

The bigger dilemma is not in the making of the game you want to make, but finding people who want to play it - especially with more and more choice being out there these days in terms of F2P games, an extensive Steam catalogue and GOG. If its just for funsies and seeing what you can do, I think most of us here would also be interested in what's possible.

Did anyone see this? >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl2IttKGBHw (pras)

[Secrets]

There's been a ton of servers like this. Check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeLQ2GDQhY8

Blood of the Akkadian, Edge, Enlightened Dark: Ascension, Sanctuary, etc. All have/had a ton of custom content. Some have been more successful than others.

The problem with most servers, imo, is the amount of boxing required to progress. No one has any idea how to balance a server around 'classic' mechanics.

[Baler]

It's winter's roar all over again.

---
It's already been said but since games like Everquest, Ultima Online and world of warcraft have pretty good open source emulators. The sky is the limit on what you can do with them and their engine. If you can modify the client or hook into it you can take it even further.

[xKoopa]

There's been a ton of servers like this. Check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeLQ2GDQhY8

Blood of the Akkadian, Edge, Enlightened Dark: Ascension, Sanctuary, etc. All have/had a ton of custom content. Some have been more successful than others.

The problem with most servers, imo, is the amount of boxing required to progress. No one has any idea how to balance a server around 'classic' mechanics.

Any of these still active? Havent really played any eq since sanctuary died

[Qtip]

There's been a ton of servers like this. Check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeLQ2GDQhY8

Blood of the Akkadian, Edge, Enlightened Dark: Ascension, Sanctuary, etc. All have/had a ton of custom content. Some have been more successful than others.

The problem with most servers, imo, is the amount of boxing required to progress. No one has any idea how to balance a server around 'classic' mechanics.

That video is akkadien? That looked pretty damn good.

[dafier]

The problem with most servers, imo, is the amount of boxing required to progress. No one has any idea how to balance a server around 'classic' mechanics.

Exactly. P99 is the most successful due to player population. If someone starts something up and attracts a player base that stays around and it grows, then you have great success.

Another problem is the admins or creators of new servers tend to do what they want with their sandbox, which has some people flaming...and so on and so forth....