is there traditionally a gm halloween event? was there one last year?
 

what date exactly was it last year? if it happened?
trying to decide if I can spare the time for real life this weekend or not.

Rumor has it that there will be a Halloween event this year on Halloween. 31st of October
And the devs have been working hard on it!

IIRC, there was an event last year on Halloween. It was a scavenger hurt across all continents.

There have been several Halloween events by the staff on the server, however, it's not a guarantee and the extent of the event is determined by the staff member who has taken it upon themselves to create it. Organizing and creating an event on p99 is neither required of guides nor particularly easy to do.

Last year, starting around early evening and lasting til...I guess about 2amish east coast time? there was an event that was essentially a scavenger hunt spanning all the continents (maybe...unless Odus was left out, as usual). There were a few bugs (a few large bugs, to be honest, which were acknowledged by staff members), but it was still an extensive event, with custom scripts and NPCs.

This year, the head GM, Sirken, announced that Braknar (same guy who did last year's event) will be doing one this year. Specifics are basically pure rumor at this point. Hopefully Braknar gives us a little warning before he starts everything up. (I'm also sure everyone who got hit by ice comets last year is hoping there's not an encore performance of that particular part. :P)

don't put aside any real-life time for a project 1999 server event. instead of being fun events people like, hoidays are usually used to play cruel & sadistic jokes on the playerbase. timed events you'll spend hours on that aren't finished so you can't complete them. quest items poofing from your inventory. if there is any loot rewarded, it's the kind of stuff that drops from gnolls in blackburrow. the events are also very tedious and not fun, typically. its halloween weekend you have better things to do.

I just wanted to see what day it would be. I thought it might be weekend peek time, but if it's actual halloween instead that helps me actually a lot. so thanks for that.

GM where talking about it on discord during the big update a few weeks ago, so there's definitely something planned, but I'm not aware of any information at the moment...

Not long after I spent several hours trying unsuccessfully to get an Iksar Ceremonial Chestplate in Trak's Teeth, a GM event last year rewarded me with that very item upon turning in four thingamabobs. It was a great day. I imagine I strummed a little song of joy. Perhaps shiny treasures are in store for this year's participants! And if not, some fresh EQ experiences!

what big update? I wasn't aware of any update since the 5th of september?

I meant the big server update that let us down for many hours, not a game update...