An Open Letter to Roegan

[ajohnymous]

Hello Roegan and good morning, at least, it’s morning where I am.

This video game and the community surrounding it that you’ve helped create spans across an astounding number of cultures, countries, and time zones. It’s the focal point for complete strangers with nothing in common but an old, strange game to come together and work towards something bigger than the sum of their parts. The game itself forces people to work together, more so than most online RPG’s, yet despite the necessity, I’ve seen people go above and beyond their own gains and forge genuine, lasting connections with other players. In the world we live in today, I find that positively incredible. It’s these qualities of Project 1999 that I believe are why the long-term community exists, new players are drawn to it, and thus, stands as the server’s most important aspect. While I was thinking on this, I couldn’t help but wonder what you think is most important about our community.

I wonder because I simply don’t know. I’m not sure that anyone does. You clearly care about the Project just by how much time and effort you put into it, but why? What’s your motivation? From what I’ve seen the past six months, it appears your primary goal is to create the most pure Classic Experience possible with seemingly zealous blindness. And that concerns me.

The most recent teasing of the full blackout spell book is a good example. While, yes, this is exactly how the game functioned in 1999, no reasonable video game player would want this in place. Staring at a spell book icon waiting for mana to regenerate while anxiously wondering if a mob is about to kill you is not fun. It is classic, though. Having an obsolete, awful dial up connection with a phone jack and frequent, random disconnects is not fun. It is classic, though. At what point do you balance archaic mechanics with people actually having fun and enjoying the video game?

You have seen it once with the recent pet window change. The amount of backlash and outcry from the community was enough to actually reverse that decision. I have to ask, how did you not anticipate that? Was it because ”there wasn't particularly a discussion internally regarding the sudden removal of these items that people had gotten used to over so many years” ? Was there no feedback gathered from the staff or community? Are similar decisions for Green being made right now? Is the raid scene on Blue about to be hit by another short-sighted change like the rooted dragons?

Don’t mistake my concern for anything but that. I love this community, it’s gotten me through some hard times over the years, and my motivations for writing this are solely for its benefit. Regardless of how this is received, I hope this letter imparts upon you a heavy request: do what you think is best for the community. You’ve done incredible work here and I look forward to how the next year shakes out.

With love and appreciation,
A member of the Project 1999 community

[loramin]

Inb4 "A member of the Project 1999 community" gets taken to school about the entire point of this project's existence ...

[AbstractVision]

I for one am 100% on board and want total book blindness, and am glad about the pet changes. I just hope we get a classic UI now too.

[Jimjam]

My guess is p1999 is an adventure in electronic experimental archaeology.

The 'customer' experience is really a sideline to that. We've already seen CSR convenience is put higher on the totem than customer experience.

Not that customer experience here is at all negative.

[El-Hefe]

The point of the server is to recreate the EverQuest experience from the turn of the century as closely as possible. If people like playing it: Great! If they don’t: That’s great too! It’s not for everyone. It is for a niche group of classic EverQuest fanatics.

I would argue that trying to please people is what made EverQuest and MMORPGs begin their decline in the first place.

[zodium]

My guess is p1999 is an adventure in electronic experimental archaeology.

The 'customer' experience is really a sideline to that. We've already seen CSR convenience is put higher on the totem than customer experience.

Not that customer experience here is at all negative.

it's actually a psychological experiment

[Jimjam]

Big if true.

[Videri]

tl;dr: OP is afraid of looking at his spellbook for the first 35 levels and STILL mad about rooted dargons. Lock thread and move to resolved.

LAST

[feniin]

tl;dr: OP is afraid of looking at his spellbook for the first 35 levels and STILL mad about rooted dargons. Lock thread and move to resolved.

LAST

[Chortles Snort|eS]

Dear brad jr,

QQ

-OP

[Rogean]

Name spelled wrong, didn’t read.

[Chortles Snort|eS]

moved to resolved

[AegnorP99]

Name spelled wrong, didn’t read.

Lol

[ajohnymous]

Name spelled wrong, didn’t read.

Yup, that’s fair, I deserve that.

[Vx36]

While you have your own opinion you cannot say for sure what everyone finds fun or not. Also as El-Hefe put it so well:

I would argue that trying to please people is what made EverQuest and MMORPGs begin their decline in the first place.

[eddyystop]

I'd like to mention a few things from release on live.

The spell book was initially displayed while medding even at level 50. I was 50 before the level 35 patch was introduced.

You could also move spells around in the spell book while medding. I had a VERY organized one.

I believe you could also see your groups' health bars while medding. I distinctly remember medding till a heal was necessary then medding again. Unfortunately I have no pictures of this.

I understand that the blank screen hack was the best that could be done. I'm a developer and such is life.

I'll have to stand up every 6 secs to check the health bars I guess. Maybe every 3 secs as a lot can happen in 6 secs.

At least the change was not classic enough to last past level 35.

[Danth]

I believe you could also see your groups' health bars while medding. I distinctly remember medding till a heal was necessary then medding again. Unfortunately I have no pictures of this..

Of course you could. Clerics/etc couldn't function otherwise and it's plainly visible on any number of old-world screenshots. I believe you can see the group window on their implementation of it too. It's very difficult to see because it's black UI elements against a black background, but I don't think the meditate blackout covered up the UI elements. The hotbuttons are clearly still visible. There simply weren't any other players grouped with the test character. If the other UI elements (such as group window) are NOT visible that would be extremely un-classic.

EDIt: re-watched Rogean's video. player health bars, socials window, target window, hotbuttons, chat window are all clearly visible while meditating. No reason to think the group window (hard to see due to black-on-black) would be uniquely and solely hidden when none of the others are. I think we're safe in that respect.

Danth

[AbstractVision]

Name spelled wrong, didn’t read.

Classically Savage.

[Cecil]

Classically Savage.

That made he so horny

[Rooj]

IMO we shouldn't be launching any new servers until we get the viewport UI fully functioning and required. :)

[Jibartik]

There is a carnal difference between dial-up speed and disconnections, and mediation requiring your full attention 1-35.

One is an actual mechanic designed into the game on purpose the other is a byproduct of the environment and has nothing to do with the game itself.

Meditation adds serious gameplay implications that affect class balancing, it gives melee classes in classic a huge advantage for leveling early game, and gives low teir players something very rewarding to look foward to. 35 is like end game for most mid range and casual players that dont stay till the final expansion. On blue level 35 is just hurray, welcome to hell levels! On green (and in classic everquest) it was a milestone achievement. A huge victory. There are all kinds of spells in this game designed around it, sentinel, uh.. theres more but thats the only one I remember lol

Nary the two are relatable. It'd be like saying what makes classic classic is hearing your sister playing Britney Spears while you game.

"Boy I love that game Everquest, I cant stop thinking about how that earthquake in Turkey killed 13,000 people around the same time it came out"

What you need 13,000 people to die prior to green's launch for it to be "accurately classic" *gamer voice* ?

lol

Look you can not like meditation up to level 35, but it aint anything like slow dialup speeds.

That said, and Ill never stop sounding like Daldean over it: Druids cant track and med at the same time until someone proves it.

[aaezil]

Werid way to whine about spellbook meditating but oh well

[Jibartik]

lol let this be the decider:

https://i.imgur.com/cQaEtys.png

[Wonkie]

Blue: Book not up

Green: Book is MANDATORY

[Chortles Snort|eS]

hahahaha !!! LIKE WHEN ROUGE STOLE BOOK

JOKE I GET HAHA!!!! SO FUNNY!!! HAHAHAH

tell joKe agaIN! mE neVeAR heARd it b4!!!

[Jibartik]

Green: Book is MANDATORY

lol! :D

[Wonkie]

hahahaha !!! LIKE WHEN ROUGE STOLE BOOK

JOKE I GET HAHA!!!! SO FUNNY!!! HAHAHAH

tell joKe agaIN! mE neVeAR heARd it b4!!!

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

[Videri]

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

No one told us PoHate would be this way. I'm glad you're there for us, Wonkie.

[turbosilk]

I for one am 100% on board and want total book blindness, and am glad about the pet changes. I just hope we get a classic UI now too.

Agreed. No one is forced to play green like it was back then. I remember always being worried about what might be respawning or pathing near me as I sat looking longingly at only my spellbook.

[turbosilk]

I would argue that trying to please people is what made EverQuest and MMORPGs begin their decline in the first place.

Yes, catering to that ezmode environment somehow makes games less interesting. I don't know why for sure but it does make the games less interesting.

[Chortles Snort|eS]

it lookIN anYthiNg but eZ moDe wiTh all ThesE clAsSic iMPlemeNTationTS
can'T !WIAT

[Jibartik]

Every time I am like WAIT THIS MEANS-- I stop and remember, oh yeah who cares level 35 it's all good, bring it on!

I have been playing my human with regular gamma but then I broke down and hacked the gamma.

They said meditate and UI was impossible to force but here we are, how long until we can figure out how to force gamma? Or is that going to require quantum supremacy? :(

[Nirgon]

swamp supremacist detected, alt+f4ing

[skorge]

Server will never be classic as everyone knows everything about EQ now. On April 1999 nobody knew nothing about EQ. People didn't even know to fight near zone lines or that casters couldn't tank, lol. People thought STR made their spells hit harder and INT made them steal items better. People didn't know the guise and manastone would no longer drop.

All these new experiences are impossible to recreate unless custom content is added.

Imagine a new server with ALL new custom content using old school EQ graphics and rules...now that would be recreate the classic feel.

[Uldarre]

Server will never be classic as everyone knows everything about EQ now. On April 1999 nobody knew nothing about EQ. People didn't even know to fight near zone lines or that casters couldn't tank, lol. People thought STR made their spells hit harder and INT made them steal items better. People didn't know the guise and manastone would no longer drop.

All these new experiences are impossible to recreate unless custom content is added.

Imagine a new server with ALL new custom content using old school EQ graphics and rules...now that would be recreate the classic feel.

As someone relatively new to P99, this is the potential thing I'm most excited for. I would love to see some classically-inspired custom content.

[Lanzellot]

Name spelled wrong, didn’t read.

YOU HAVE STYLE I LOVE YOU HAHA

[jacobar]

Hello Roegan and good morning, at least, it’s morning where I am.

This video game and the community surrounding it that you’ve helped create spans across an astounding number of cultures, countries, and time zones. It’s the focal point for complete strangers with nothing in common but an old, strange game to come together and work towards something bigger than the sum of their parts. The game itself forces people to work together, more so than most online RPG’s, yet despite the necessity, I’ve seen people go above and beyond their own gains and forge genuine, lasting connections with other players. In the world we live in today, I find that positively incredible. It’s these qualities of Project 1999 that I believe are why the long-term community exists, new players are drawn to it, and thus, stands as the server’s most important aspect. While I was thinking on this, I couldn’t help but wonder what you think is most important about our community.

I wonder because I simply don’t know. I’m not sure that anyone does. You clearly care about the Project just by how much time and effort you put into it, but why? What’s your motivation? From what I’ve seen the past six months, it appears your primary goal is to create the most pure Classic Experience possible with seemingly zealous blindness. And that concerns me.

The most recent teasing of the full blackout spell book is a good example. While, yes, this is exactly how the game functioned in 1999, no reasonable video game player would want this in place. Staring at a spell book icon waiting for mana to regenerate while anxiously wondering if a mob is about to kill you is not fun. It is classic, though. Having an obsolete, awful dial up connection with a phone jack and frequent, random disconnects is not fun. It is classic, though. At what point do you balance archaic mechanics with people actually having fun and enjoying the video game?

You have seen it once with the recent pet window change. The amount of backlash and outcry from the community was enough to actually reverse that decision. I have to ask, how did you not anticipate that? Was it because ”there wasn't particularly a discussion internally regarding the sudden removal of these items that people had gotten used to over so many years” ? Was there no feedback gathered from the staff or community? Are similar decisions for Green being made right now? Is the raid scene on Blue about to be hit by another short-sighted change like the rooted dragons?

Don’t mistake my concern for anything but that. I love this community, it’s gotten me through some hard times over the years, and my motivations for writing this are solely for its benefit. Regardless of how this is received, I hope this letter imparts upon you a heavy request: do what you think is best for the community. You’ve done incredible work here and I look forward to how the next year shakes out.

With love and appreciation,
A member of the Project 1999 community

The fact you dont realize P1999 is an AI proofing ground, lol

[Secrets]

The Joe Roegan experience.

[Zeboim]

Roegan? (https://youtu.be/9kMTg3drpdU?t=19)

[jacobar]

The Joe Roegan experience.

"Oh man, woah, dude cool story. . . You ever try crystaluzed sulpher?"

[Jibartik]

The Joe Roegan experience.

"Oh man, woah, dude cool story. . . You ever try crystaluzed sulpher?"

"there are no chimpanzee's in norrath you ever notice that man?

[Clazxiss]

"there are no chimpanzee's in norrath you ever notice that man?

There's a certain island in the Field of Bone you should visit. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

[jacobar]

There's a certain island in the Field of Bone you should visit. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

" Kunark of the apes, Jamie, pull that shit up. The rulers are lizard people, man, their all reptillians wearin guises bro"

[Evia]

Server will never be classic as everyone knows everything about EQ now. On April 1999 nobody knew nothing about EQ. People didn't even know to fight near zone lines or that casters couldn't tank, lol. People thought STR made their spells hit harder and INT made them steal items better. People didn't know the guise and manastone would no longer drop.

All these new experiences are impossible to recreate unless custom content is added.

Imagine a new server with ALL new custom content using old school EQ graphics and rules...now that would be recreate the classic feel.

I had a similar suggestion for a EQ server that had everything changed in it, but the core game remained the same. It would bring back the wonder and mystery of EQ.

[zodium]

Server will never be classic as everyone knows everything about EQ now. On April 1999 nobody knew nothing about EQ. People didn't even know to fight near zone lines or that casters couldn't tank, lol. People thought STR made their spells hit harder and INT made them steal items better. People didn't know the guise and manastone would no longer drop.

All these new experiences are impossible to recreate unless custom content is added.

Imagine a new server with ALL new custom content using old school EQ graphics and rules...now that would be recreate the classic feel.

I had a similar suggestion for a EQ server that had everything changed in it, but the core game remained the same. It would bring back the wonder and mystery of EQ.

it's called shards of dalaya and predates p99 by like six years

[Worry]

I'm stoked for Green and hope it's as classic as possible.

Pras to staff for sticking with their convictions.