Athynox's Guide to Everquest - October 1st, 1998

[Dolalin]

Thought this might interest some. A guide to EQ as it existed in Phase 2 beta. Pretty long.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16VTowObw_xUhknPLJmB7LGBGFgXiaFbI/view?usp=sharing

Found here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20000817100730/eqvault.ign.com/files/guide.zip


When Can I Play EverQuest and How Much Will it Cost?

Phase 2 of the beta test is currently in progress. 4000 players will be allowed into the third closed phase of beta testing, near the end of October. A final open phase of beta testing that doesn’t require a formal application will then occur. The game is currently expected to ship around January, 1999.

[Tecmos Deception]

Nice. I skimmed through it, lots of interesting tidbits about what the devs apparently were planning way back then that often didn't make it into the game: heat/cold affecting character without proper clothing/protection, 1500 cap on server populations, channeling was going to be spell haste, rumors of stuff like "necromancers can turn into the lich miragul" that may have been hinting at the illusion of lich spells, the devs apparently thinking there wouldn't be "autonomous" characters with the "balance" they were creating... haha. Good stuff. Player housing, "renting" inns in the wilderness, lyncanthropy... hah.


You think the info about kunark and velious was just from interviews about future plans? That they had maps and names to all of that stuff in the beta for classic surprised me.

Also interesting to me was how many of his sources were print articles. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise since this was 22 years ago though.

[Kanuvan]

god when he talks about the social aspects and roleplaying and how there's multiple guilds for diety/faction/race/playstyle it sounds so much better than the boring line waiting greed simulator that we have now, wish i could go back to that time and experience the real thing again

also 1500 player per server was classic, teal needed to go

[gherron]

god when he talks about the social aspects and roleplaying and how there's multiple guilds for diety/faction/race/playstyle it sounds so much better than the boring line waiting greed simulator that we have now, wish i could go back to that time and experience the real thing again

also 1500 player per server was classic, teal needed to go

You can’t undo knowledge. You can only deter them with hours and hours of being on a list with AFK checks every 15 min and an extremely low drop rate.

[Frug]

Some other things I noticed...

> ogres have very low intelligence, which reduces their resistance to certain types of spells. ...

> [monks] ... are very religious as well, and the gods are known to bless them, not by prayers
and spells, but by magically enhancing their attacks.

> no animal will ever attack him unless first attacked by the Druid. (Not even in EK?)

No "Beg" skill listed. I still maintain that was a "feature" that escaped and they never meant it to be in the game.

> Teamwork is facilitated by including the stats for all party members in the main interface,

I guess they mean health/mana, there, as opposed to things like STR/DEX, etc.

> Character alignment will be affected by one’s actions and will significantly influence the way the character is treated in the game. For example, a Paladin that performs an evil deed could lose some or all of his/her powers.

> Unlike most of the smaller variety, giant snakes are known to hunt and chase their opponents.

> Plague Dragon (?)

> Each magic class begins with one spell:
> Bard: Hymn of Restoration

If only.

> Although your character won’t die when you run out of food or drink, you will no longer regenerate stamina and hit points.

[Frug]

also 1500 player per server was classic, teal needed to go

Sweet Jesus, give it a rest already.

[Tecmos Deception]

god when he talks about the social aspects and roleplaying and how there's multiple guilds for diety/faction/race/playstyle it sounds so much better than the boring line waiting greed simulator that we have now, wish i could go back to that time and experience the real thing again

There are like 25-30 camps in the whole game that a "greedy" player will ever go to, and hundreds of camps they will never visit. If you choose to not /list, not to just bounce between frenzy and freeti and dagnor and rathe nameds and whatever, not to exp in HHK, you'll almost never run into "greedy" players.

If you want the classic experience, you can have 98% of it on P99. You just have to ACTUALLY want it... not just moan on the forums that you wish you had it while visiting all the same camps that everyone else is unclassically focused on.


You can’t undo knowledge. You can only deter them with hours and hours of being on a list with AFK checks every 15 min and an extremely low drop rate.

You don't have to "undo knowledge" in order to have most of the classic experience. Don't keep the wiki open 24/7. Don't go to all the same camps that the people who you claim are ruining your classic experience are going to while acting like you're not as much the problem as they are. Don't sit on the forums reading drivel and spewing out drivel of your own. Those things are the real detriments to the classic experience on p99, not a handful of different mechanics or "unclassic knowledge" or "people are just greedy minmax wow players these days."


I'm getting obnoxiously philosophical with this, but imo you find what you're looking for. It's true in life, and it's true on p99. If you're GENUINELY looking for the classic experience here, you'll find it.

[Kanuvan]

You can’t undo knowledge. You can only deter them with hours and hours of being on a list with AFK checks every 15 min and an extremely low drop rate.

not really that, its the mentality of today's player, the zoomer focus and focus only on personal wealth, where as before games were so much more about being social and just having a good time

sometimes i can be in a zone with 50 people and no one says a word for multiple hours, because people are focused on themselves only in 2020, or a group of 3 people taking up a camp wont invite more because "waaah my exp" or "waaah exp penalty"

[cd288]

Don't go to all the same camps that the people who you claim are ruining your classic experience are going to while acting like you're not as much the problem as they are.

This might be your best quote ever.

[cd288]

sometimes i can be in a zone with 50 people and no one says a word for multiple hours, because people are focused on themselves only in 2020, or a group of 3 people taking up a camp wont invite more because "waaah my exp" or "waaah exp penalty"

I will agree that I've run into this problem more than I thought I would. However, I wouldn't say that I frequently run into not full groups being unwilling to take more...it's still more of the exception than the rule but it's a bit more common than I thought it would be.

I do see it being pretty quiet sometimes, even in groups, but I wonder if we have a lot of new people on Green who never played EQ back in the day and so they're used to the whole social aspect of MMOs being non-existent. I do find that if you make an effort to be talkative though that people will generally respond.

[Tecmos Deception]

This might be your best quote ever.

I've said shit like this forever. You just weren't paying attention :)

[Kohedron]

lol @ people getting so worked up about Teal's existence

[Mblake81]

Thought this might interest some. A guide to EQ as it existed in Phase 2 beta. Pretty long.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16VTowObw_xUhknPLJmB7LGBGFgXiaFbI/view?usp=sharing

Found here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20000817100730/eqvault.ign.com/files/guide.zip

Nice find.

[Vexenu]

Part of the reason it's impossible to recreate classic 1999 gameplay is that the server is not populated with people living in the year 1999. Back then simply interacting with a stranger in a 3D virtual world was a completely novel and exciting experience in and of itself. The internet was still not quite mainstream and most people had never conceived of anything like EQ. So simply navigating your character through Norrath and encountering other real people you could interact with was extremely exciting and engaging. The vast majority of players were not powergaming and lusting after pixels. They were just stoked to explore the world, level their character and meet other cool players along the way.

[iamnotsalem]

I dont think 3 man groups turning down randoms is a big deal. Im playing the game for fun, and its not fun playing this game with most or all of you. Do you want me and my pals to stop having fun just so your bumb ass can get some XP? Pass

[Mblake81]

Part of the reason it's impossible to recreate classic 1999 gameplay is that the server is not populated with people living in the year 1999. Back then simply interacting with a stranger in a 3D virtual world was a completely novel and exciting experience in and of itself. The internet was still not quite mainstream and most people had never conceived of anything like EQ. So simply navigating your character through Norrath and encountering other real people you could interact with was extremely exciting and engaging. The vast majority of players were not powergaming and lusting after pixels. They were just stoked to explore the world, level their character and meet other cool players along the way.

I agree but the pixel lust was still there. It just wasn't ramped up yet.

People like Johnathan Wendel were fringe. The extremes of professional paid "gamer" and couch casual were not fully defined yet with people taking sides. I like to use Reddit as my punching bag for establishing this (even though its probably not true)

Online play had all of those guys at the same time. No console matchmaking. No Xbox voice chat.

[cd288]

lol @ people getting so worked up about Teal's existence

What existence?

[Saaxir Asimatenya]

god when he talks about the social aspects and roleplaying and how there's multiple guilds for diety/faction/race/playstyle it sounds so much better than the boring line waiting greed simulator that we have now, wish i could go back to that time and experience the real thing again

also 1500 player per server was classic, teal needed to go

There is still the Dark Men of Odus friend. If you are an erudite interested in a fraternal brotherhood dedicated to Erud's way, contact a member and we will set you on your path.

[mcoy]

I will agree that I've run into this problem more than I thought I would. However, I wouldn't say that I frequently run into not full groups being unwilling to take more...it's still more of the exception than the rule but it's a bit more common than I thought it would be.

I do see it being pretty quiet sometimes, even in groups, but I wonder if we have a lot of new people on Green who never played EQ back in the day and so they're used to the whole social aspect of MMOs being non-existent. I do find that if you make an effort to be talkative though that people will generally respond.

I think a lot of it is the lack of voice chat (which I'm thankful for). Back in '99 EQ taught me how to type. People coming from other more modern games may be slightly turned off at the idea of having to talk with their hands...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxB-H6f3crY&feature=youtu.be&t=55

-Mcoy

[TripSin]

I think a lot of it is the lack of voice chat (which I'm thankful for). Back in '99 EQ taught me how to type. People coming from other more modern games may be slightly turned off at the idea of having to talk with their hands...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxB-H6f3crY&feature=youtu.be&t=55

-Mcoy

Do you even MUD bro?

[shovelquest]

great find, this is like getting a dunedigger while noodling around in Nro.

[mcoy]

Do you even MUD bro?

Nope - pretty sure my first experience with an online multiplayer game was this WW2 flight sim knockoff that AOL had. No idea what it was called. Prior to that it was just playing coop or deathmatch Doom and Duke3d with friends from school "when you hear your phone ringing type atdt..."

Only found out about EQ because I worked at Circuit City at the time and it was all the rage over in the computer section.

-Mcoy

[TripSin]

Nope - pretty sure my first experience with an online multiplayer game was this WW2 flight sim knockoff that AOL had. No idea what it was called. Prior to that it was just playing coop or deathmatch Doom and Duke3d with friends from school "when you hear your phone ringing type atdt..."

Only found out about EQ because I worked at Circuit City at the time and it was all the rage over in the computer section.

-Mcoy

Ah, unlucky. MUDs were sick. My first MUD was on AOL. All I remember though is that my character was like half draconian. That and I would run up the phone bill like crazy playing it.

[mcoy]

Oh neat - apparently it was called "Air Warrior":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFmJUhUI5KI

-Mcoy

[Mblake81]

Oh neat - apparently it was called "Air Warrior":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFmJUhUI5KI

-Mcoy

Cool.

EQ, UT99 and Janes ww2 fighters (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVmINMa6UTc) were the first games I got for PC.

https://i.imgur.com/mtzW5EU.jpg

edit:
https://i.imgur.com/AdNrVYj.jpg

[Siege]

I dont think 3 man groups turning down randoms is a big deal. Im playing the game for fun, and its not fun playing this game with most or all of you. Do you want me and my pals to stop having fun just so your bumb ass can get some XP? Pass

It depends where you're at. If you're in a popular spot (Crushbone, Guk, Unrest, etc.) where people go to find groups, turning people away is definitely a dick move. If you're in The Gorge of King Xorbb, have at it.

[Frug]

Oh neat - apparently it was called "Air Warrior":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFmJUhUI5KI

-Mcoy

Air Warrior was on GEnie, not AOL. I played the shit out of it (at least the first version), on a 1984 Mac, 9" screen, black and white.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Warrior

[mcoy]

Odd - I found the name from that Wiki article when I searched for "ww2 flight sim aol":

Kesmai also did business deals to provide access to Air Warrior through additional on-line services, including Delphi, CRIS, CompuServe, America Online, Earthlink, Gamestorm and CompuLink. A version of Air Warrior for Windows was ported back to the Macintosh in 1997 in an Internet open beta, and then later moved to America Online.

Of course it could have been something else, but it definitely reminds me of it. I mostly did bombing runs though because the concept of working different positions in the aircraft with other people was fascinating to me.

There's a game called HMS Marulken (that now is called Wolfpack https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=501529353 ) that has a similar mechanic.

-Mcoy

[Smellybuttface]

Would have been awesome to have the in-game mail system like they originally intended, though it was added much later in EQ’s life.

Also, we definitely need GM’s to take control of NPC’s occasionally. I’d love to see a GM-led train wiping out a swath of players in Lguk. Sort of a camp “reset” button.

[Tethler]

Cool find! It's funny the things that didn't make it into the game, like this one:


And finally, this little tidbit: Lycanthropy will exist in the game, and it’s possible that
your character will become cursed and grow fangs on a full moon. Brad McQuaid
has this to say about the effects:
“It's a curse... and I can't go into details, other than to say that when you target a
player or NPC while under that curse, instead of revealing its name (as is usual), it
says "meat" :)”

[Frug]

Odd - I found the name from that Wiki article when I searched for "ww2 flight sim aol":

Kesmai also did business deals to provide access to Air Warrior through additional on-line services, including Delphi, CRIS, CompuServe, America Online, Earthlink, Gamestorm and CompuLink. A version of Air Warrior for Windows was ported back to the Macintosh in 1997 in an Internet open beta, and then later moved to America Online.

Of course it could have been something else, but it definitely reminds me of it. I mostly did bombing runs though because the concept of working different positions in the aircraft with other people was fascinating to me.

There's a game called HMS Marulken (that now is called Wolfpack https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=501529353 ) that has a similar mechanic.

-Mcoy

I think there were later versions that may have been on AOL, but the original (and I think what the youtube shows) was GEnie.

[Siege]

I still have the charter for a Troll-only RP guild that I joined in phase 4 beta. I'll have to dig it up and post it here.

[ScottBerta]

So many great places to exp in p99 on every continent across all level ranges. Every time I
make a new alt (after previous one hits 60) I focus on a new continent and try to go to several new zones. So much fun and adventure to be had!

[Danth]

I think there were later versions that may have been on AOL, but the original (and I think what the youtube shows) was GEnie.

Air Warrior was so far ahead of its time that it's destined to be forgotten. It was and remains my favorite computer game of all time. That was the game I would have made if I was going to make a video game. I remember when I found it I felt like it had been sucked out of my dreams, much as how a lot of folks on this board probably feel about EQ.

All of the early versions of Air Warrior were offered through GENIE insofar as I know. This includes the early mac version and amiga version, as well as early DOS versions. I started dabbling with it in 1994, by which time it had already been around awhile. I believe Air Warrior was the first graphical/realtime online multiplayer game, dating back to October 1987. 6 bucks an hour on top of long distance dialup fees (in 1980's money!) severely limited its popularity even among the tiny proportion of computer owners who had modems at all in those days. During its early years it was more or less cutting edge in terms of realism and flight modeling.

GENIE finally died its much-overdue death during the mid 90's IIRC. From about 1996-1998 or so Kesmai had a deal with AOL to offer the Windows version of Air Warrior (aka Air Warrior for Windows, based on the DOS version). This was somewhat strange because Air Warrior II was already out around that time but was barely or never offered on AOL as I recall. Kesmai went back to hosting Air Warrior more or less directly on its Gamestorm service in 1998, (up to Air Warrior III by then, with some basic 3D rendering patched on top of the rather outdated graphic engine). It peaked at something over 20,000 subscribers around 1999, but the end came surprisingly swiftly--it (and its studio) was bought by EA and promptly shut down, closing for good in late 2001. That unfortunate fate has been shared by entirely too many games and studios over the years. I haven't spent a dime on an EA product since. Screw 'em.

WW2 air combat is awesome. No artificial math mucking up combat: no levels, no gear, no timesink-based gating. Just you and the other guy(s). If you're good, you can engage 3 vs 1, 5 vs 1, even 10 vs 1 and expect to win. If you're bad, you're cannon fodder, no low-level helpless opponents to beat up on--as it should be. It's about the only defunct PC game I genuinely miss. There is no equal replacement. I never liked its in-era competitors quite as well for one reason or another. Insofar as I've seen the modern WW2 air combat games (and I've tried most of them) tend to be arcade-mode trash, in a (to be fair, largely successful) effort to bring in the mediocre majority that the more serious simulators couldn't keep due to their difficulty. They're very pretty but severely dumbed down and sometimes add disgusting features like time/currency-gated equipment. Yuck!

As an aside, circa 1999-2000 I remember chatting with some Kesmai programmers on usenet boards and on numerous occasions they complained about not getting work done to to them playing too much Everquest. Hah!

Danth

[Frug]

Thanks Danth, I enjoyed reading that. And agree completely (although I do also miss the X-Wing and TIE fighter games, as well as Air Warrior.) Totally remember the $6/hour charges, although I was lucky enough to have a local POP to dial in to.

As I mentioned, I played on the original Mac with the 9" b/w screen. I guess I was lucky enough to have a screaming 1200 baud modem (eventually moved up the speeds to v.32!), but I'm older than most here so probably had a paying income before a lot of people during that time.

[Danth]

6 bucks an hour for B&W wireframe graphics that ran at questionable framerates was something of an acquired taste. By the time I got into it in '94 we had the luxury of VGA graphics. Think most of the old hands called us "dos dweebs" or other less savory terms. Due to the fees I never played much until about 1996.

I keep the early 90's AW-Manual.pdf on my computer so I can read through it once in awhile for nostalgia's sake.

Danth

[Frug]

6 bucks an hour for B&W wireframe graphics that ran at questionable framerates was something of an acquired taste.

It's all we had at the time; we didn't know any better. And FOR the time, it was pretty damned good.

[fadetree]

Air Warrior was so far ahead of its time that it's destined to be forgotten. It was and remains my favorite computer game of all time. That was the game I would have made if I was going to make a video game. I remember when I found it I felt like it had been sucked out of my dreams, much as how a lot of folks on this board probably feel about EQ.

All of the early versions of Air Warrior were offered through GENIE insofar as I know.

Danth

Oh MAN, I remember GENIE. I was into that hard for that Gemstone III game, the rpg text adventure with hundreds of people playing. That ate my life, it sounds like I had the same reaction to it that you had to Air Warrior. I especially remember a $600 phone bill and my wife's reaction.

[Christina.]

god when he talks about the social aspects and roleplaying and how there's multiple guilds for diety/faction/race/playstyle it sounds so much better than the boring line waiting greed simulator that we have now, wish i could go back to that time and experience the real thing again

also 1500 player per server was classic, teal needed to go

That's how everquest is suppose to be, the problem is everyone on p99 is old irl and don't want to spend the time roleplaying. I roleplay myself I like the nostalgic feeling

[Christina.]

Part of the reason it's impossible to recreate classic 1999 gameplay is that the server is not populated with people living in the year 1999. Back then simply interacting with a stranger in a 3D virtual world was a completely novel and exciting experience in and of itself. The internet was still not quite mainstream and most people had never conceived of anything like EQ. So simply navigating your character through Norrath and encountering other real people you could interact with was extremely exciting and engaging. The vast majority of players were not powergaming and lusting after pixels. They were just stoked to explore the world, level their character and meet other cool players along the way.

This Exactly.

[Christina.]

I think a lot of it is the lack of voice chat (which I'm thankful for)

I hate voice chat with a passion, and it disgust me people require it now days on everquest