stormlord
12-15-2011, 03:07 PM
This is version 2 of the rough draft for this server idea.
-> Introduction
.....Anybody wondered why there's no emulated server that's explicitly made for progression? On Irreverant, for example, there's a progression guild, but it's not built into the server. All of it's orchestrated by the guild officers and posts in the forum. What I'm getting at is a server that has tasks tied to progression and rules that you can't break. These things are hard coded. They're not arbitrary. However, a player can choose not to be a progression character. If that's the case, they can play on this server and it'll be much like PEQ without any restrictions on what they can wear/use.
-> A Progression Character
.....The character will probably be flagged as a "progression character" after they enter the game. Alternatively, it could be based on whether they choose to enter the tutorial or not. If they choose not to enter the tutorial, then that would mean they're flagged as a progression character. At a later point, a character should be allowed to disable the progression flag. Whether or not this can be undone, I'm not sure. This would allow them to be able to play the game like it's PEQ.
If you're a progression character then you will start out pre-Kunark.You can't wear weapons/armor/etc that're from Kunark or after. You have things you must complete in pre-Kunark content in order to open up Kunark and be able to wear/use items from Kunark. This applies to all expansions, successively. For example, once you're in Kunark, you have to complete things in Kunark before being able to wear/use luclin-specific weapons/armor/items/etc.
-> How to ensure unbroken progression
.....Care might have to be taken to prevent high-levels from hogging old named/raid mobs so that progression characters can progress. One way of getting around this might be to diversify the targets a player must kill and the quests they must do to progress into the next expansion.
-> Things a player does to advance progression
.....Kill targets. A developer might put raid mobs, named and other small monsters on the list (that normally aren't going to be camped very much). You could make it so that 15 out of 30 must be killed or 20 out of 60 must be killed. This way a player could pick their targets and have a large array of options. I imagine that some raid targets -should- be required to kill, but it shouldn't be excessive and it should be made so that higher-levels can't impede the flow.
You might also add quests to the list of things to do. For example, maybe a player has to complete his level 46 spell quest in addition to his targets to enter the next expansion. Some fluidity here is good. You want to mix it up and give players choices so that it doesn't feel cemented. They need to feel in control. So this means lots of options. Perhaps instead of doing the level 46 quest the player must do a chain quest that's on the same level. You need many alternatives so that a player can build their character the way they want to.
-> How would a player keep updated about his/her progression
.....How would a player be communicated the targets and quests he or she could do? I'm thinking of a book in the players inventory when they create the character. Or a command like #progress. These would list all of hte targets you can kill and all of the quests you can do to advance, as well as your accomplishments thus far.
-> Races
.....How would races be handled that're post-classic? Like lizards and cats and frogs? Well, this is a tough one because they were made for those later expansions. If a player decides to be pure progression then they must progress through classic before entering Kunark or being able to use items in Kunark. So where do these races go that're not original. One idea is to not allow them to be progression characters. Another is to only allow them to progress in their expansion and after, but not before. Another is to allow all progression characters to travel anywhere in any expansion but -not- be able to wear the items or use the expansion-specific potions/etc they're not flagged for. Only downside is that a cat or lizard has to travel to classic when they start. Original races could begin leveling up immediately, by comparison. Is this acceptable?
Another thing I might add is the possibility of a cat being able to level up in luclin and use items that're tagged as being classic - things like rusty swords and rations and fine steel and bronze and so on. And they could buy classic items while in luclin. Finally, they could travel to classic when they're comfortable and actually be able to wear/use everything that drops and work on their progression.
-> Item Database
.....Items would have to be flagged according to the expansion they belong. So all Kunark items have to be flagged as Kunark and this is hte case for Luclin and after. Items that drop in all expansions can be flagged as classic (everyone has access to them).
-> Progression rate and solo-ability
.....The server is almost certain to have a low population, at least at first. One thing that would be important to do is to increase the experience gain by a dramatic amount. This should probably always be the case since this server is about progression, not about grinding. Therefore, you probably need to lower the difficulty of the raid mobs. You might even decrease the power of the monsters if hte population is low and increase it when it increases. I think most everything should be soloable (including progression) except key named and raid mobs - which can be done by 2 or up to 6. But don't overdo it. That's not the aim.
-> Type of progression
.....With this server it's not the toughness of things or how hardcore you're. It's the number of things. Max level is not the goal. Showing that you have raid gear is not the aim. Showing that you have progressed IS. This tells others that you have seen antonica, you know the dreadlands, you tasted the snows of the wastelands, you saw the creatures on the moon, and so on. It's more subtle than judging someone based on their items.
-> Still looking for the ideal server
.....I haven't really found a server yet that perfectly fits what I'm looking for. Project 1999 and its pvp server, for example, are fun, but: 1) they don't allow you to explore anything after Velious 2) it's more of a grind than progression 3) not really good for someone who's already seen most of it before (a veteran) but wants to iron out all of the loose ends to see the things he or she missed. To reiterate #3: A lot of EQr's are looking to re-experience EQ, but not at the same pace as before. I think that p1999 is somewhat fun if it's all new to you. Otherwise, the grind is painfully obvious. As for other emulated servers, I haven't found one that's like PEQ but geared towards a more structured sort of progression. I gave an example in the introduction of Irreverant. It falls short with respect to the inaccessible nature of the (structured) progression.
-> I'm not bashing on project 1999
.....I love p1999 and the pvp server. Don't misunderstand me. I don't like the map window. I like corpse runs. I like the old zones. I don't much like luclin and some of hte newer zones. I like how the older game has a more fleshed out world that's innocent and not messed up and sterile compared to the more modern. There're homecities in this older game. In the new one, it's just POK. That's lame. I could go on and on about the things I like about p1999 and its pvp server. So don't label me or pigeon-hole me into a corner.
I will also say that p1999 and its pvp server are the most genuine servers out there. I respect them mightily. They work very hard to be accurate. For many reasons they're recommendable.
-> What about the progression server on live?
.....It's not at all like the progression server on live because that one is SHARED progression across the ENTIRE server. What I'm referring to here is a progression character. The character must accomplish certain goals to unlock the next expansion. This is different.
If anything, this thread was posted here for fun. Grab a beer.
-> Introduction
.....Anybody wondered why there's no emulated server that's explicitly made for progression? On Irreverant, for example, there's a progression guild, but it's not built into the server. All of it's orchestrated by the guild officers and posts in the forum. What I'm getting at is a server that has tasks tied to progression and rules that you can't break. These things are hard coded. They're not arbitrary. However, a player can choose not to be a progression character. If that's the case, they can play on this server and it'll be much like PEQ without any restrictions on what they can wear/use.
-> A Progression Character
.....The character will probably be flagged as a "progression character" after they enter the game. Alternatively, it could be based on whether they choose to enter the tutorial or not. If they choose not to enter the tutorial, then that would mean they're flagged as a progression character. At a later point, a character should be allowed to disable the progression flag. Whether or not this can be undone, I'm not sure. This would allow them to be able to play the game like it's PEQ.
If you're a progression character then you will start out pre-Kunark.You can't wear weapons/armor/etc that're from Kunark or after. You have things you must complete in pre-Kunark content in order to open up Kunark and be able to wear/use items from Kunark. This applies to all expansions, successively. For example, once you're in Kunark, you have to complete things in Kunark before being able to wear/use luclin-specific weapons/armor/items/etc.
-> How to ensure unbroken progression
.....Care might have to be taken to prevent high-levels from hogging old named/raid mobs so that progression characters can progress. One way of getting around this might be to diversify the targets a player must kill and the quests they must do to progress into the next expansion.
-> Things a player does to advance progression
.....Kill targets. A developer might put raid mobs, named and other small monsters on the list (that normally aren't going to be camped very much). You could make it so that 15 out of 30 must be killed or 20 out of 60 must be killed. This way a player could pick their targets and have a large array of options. I imagine that some raid targets -should- be required to kill, but it shouldn't be excessive and it should be made so that higher-levels can't impede the flow.
You might also add quests to the list of things to do. For example, maybe a player has to complete his level 46 spell quest in addition to his targets to enter the next expansion. Some fluidity here is good. You want to mix it up and give players choices so that it doesn't feel cemented. They need to feel in control. So this means lots of options. Perhaps instead of doing the level 46 quest the player must do a chain quest that's on the same level. You need many alternatives so that a player can build their character the way they want to.
-> How would a player keep updated about his/her progression
.....How would a player be communicated the targets and quests he or she could do? I'm thinking of a book in the players inventory when they create the character. Or a command like #progress. These would list all of hte targets you can kill and all of the quests you can do to advance, as well as your accomplishments thus far.
-> Races
.....How would races be handled that're post-classic? Like lizards and cats and frogs? Well, this is a tough one because they were made for those later expansions. If a player decides to be pure progression then they must progress through classic before entering Kunark or being able to use items in Kunark. So where do these races go that're not original. One idea is to not allow them to be progression characters. Another is to only allow them to progress in their expansion and after, but not before. Another is to allow all progression characters to travel anywhere in any expansion but -not- be able to wear the items or use the expansion-specific potions/etc they're not flagged for. Only downside is that a cat or lizard has to travel to classic when they start. Original races could begin leveling up immediately, by comparison. Is this acceptable?
Another thing I might add is the possibility of a cat being able to level up in luclin and use items that're tagged as being classic - things like rusty swords and rations and fine steel and bronze and so on. And they could buy classic items while in luclin. Finally, they could travel to classic when they're comfortable and actually be able to wear/use everything that drops and work on their progression.
-> Item Database
.....Items would have to be flagged according to the expansion they belong. So all Kunark items have to be flagged as Kunark and this is hte case for Luclin and after. Items that drop in all expansions can be flagged as classic (everyone has access to them).
-> Progression rate and solo-ability
.....The server is almost certain to have a low population, at least at first. One thing that would be important to do is to increase the experience gain by a dramatic amount. This should probably always be the case since this server is about progression, not about grinding. Therefore, you probably need to lower the difficulty of the raid mobs. You might even decrease the power of the monsters if hte population is low and increase it when it increases. I think most everything should be soloable (including progression) except key named and raid mobs - which can be done by 2 or up to 6. But don't overdo it. That's not the aim.
-> Type of progression
.....With this server it's not the toughness of things or how hardcore you're. It's the number of things. Max level is not the goal. Showing that you have raid gear is not the aim. Showing that you have progressed IS. This tells others that you have seen antonica, you know the dreadlands, you tasted the snows of the wastelands, you saw the creatures on the moon, and so on. It's more subtle than judging someone based on their items.
-> Still looking for the ideal server
.....I haven't really found a server yet that perfectly fits what I'm looking for. Project 1999 and its pvp server, for example, are fun, but: 1) they don't allow you to explore anything after Velious 2) it's more of a grind than progression 3) not really good for someone who's already seen most of it before (a veteran) but wants to iron out all of the loose ends to see the things he or she missed. To reiterate #3: A lot of EQr's are looking to re-experience EQ, but not at the same pace as before. I think that p1999 is somewhat fun if it's all new to you. Otherwise, the grind is painfully obvious. As for other emulated servers, I haven't found one that's like PEQ but geared towards a more structured sort of progression. I gave an example in the introduction of Irreverant. It falls short with respect to the inaccessible nature of the (structured) progression.
-> I'm not bashing on project 1999
.....I love p1999 and the pvp server. Don't misunderstand me. I don't like the map window. I like corpse runs. I like the old zones. I don't much like luclin and some of hte newer zones. I like how the older game has a more fleshed out world that's innocent and not messed up and sterile compared to the more modern. There're homecities in this older game. In the new one, it's just POK. That's lame. I could go on and on about the things I like about p1999 and its pvp server. So don't label me or pigeon-hole me into a corner.
I will also say that p1999 and its pvp server are the most genuine servers out there. I respect them mightily. They work very hard to be accurate. For many reasons they're recommendable.
-> What about the progression server on live?
.....It's not at all like the progression server on live because that one is SHARED progression across the ENTIRE server. What I'm referring to here is a progression character. The character must accomplish certain goals to unlock the next expansion. This is different.
If anything, this thread was posted here for fun. Grab a beer.