As a player in the days when the Tumpy Tonic quest was on live, I have to say I'm having trouble understanding the idea that Tumpy Tonics quest on the "Classic" EMU server is a cheat.
The quest is in my opinion similar to Manastone and Jboots etc.
The case I am making here is not that the quest didn't give people unfair advantage in the early days of Everquest, anymore than I would argue that any of the overpowered items nerfed by sony over the first months of EQ give players unfair advantage over those who did not get them pre-nerf. In the early days of EQ, lots of people used Tumpy Tonics to level quickly, it was very common and lasted until the quest was nerfed. WHEN the quest was nerfed, there was no punishment for using the quest, any more than there was punishment or removal of Manastones from people's inventory.
There is a bit of confusion here for players who did not, I think, understand the dividing line between what the developers of this EMU server intended to be "Classic" and therefore still included despite Sony's (and the rest of the planet's) decision to nerf on live EQ servers and what the developers of this EMU server have decided is game breaking and should be removed (despite it's inclusion and eventual nerf on live servers).
Project1999 has been recognized for, among other things, being a place where players can engage in content as it existed before it was removed by Sony or Verant. Clearly, as a well remembered quest that was engaged in by thousands of players on every server, Tumpy Tonics is a quest "old schoolers" would look forward to. The fact that it was reverted back to it's former EXP gain indicates that someone along the line agreed.
Also, a point of confusion appears to be that the some developers did not know about Tumpy Tonics. Tumpy Tonics are very fondly remembered by large portions of the EQ community, and the quest is not a 'bug', but clearly a quest that existed on EQ Live (until being nerfed) in an identical form as it existed on this EMU server a few days ago:
"lol the 'bard' class button during creating would be broken, i bet. It would be nice to get a mana stone and a mask of deception though. Also to kill a boat would be fun. Ooo and the tumpy tonic quest would be cool."
Discussion of a EQ server minus nerfs:
http://74.55.118.12/showthread.php?t=1108&page=2
"People did the Tumpy Tonic quest...for xp....alot... "
Post entitled "Can you remember..." Enchanter Forum
http://www.therunes.net/forums/viewt...hp?f=40&t=7006
"Well, I guess I wont be getting my vambraces soon. They took Tumpy out, so getting a tonic is impossible. WOO!"
Discussion about how to obtain Tumpy Tonics from practitioners of the Brewing skill, Helps date the Nerf of Tumpy Tonic Quest experience.
http://eqclerics.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7513
"Btw, Tumpy Tonics wasn't a cheat, nor a bug.
The quest was supposed to give faction and xp, and it did.
However, Verant hadn't forseen the industrial scale that people would do the quest on."
Thread entitled "Old School"
http://ayonae.com/sitemap/old-school-t389.html
"I remember doing the Tumpy Tonic quest over and over again and getting experience like crazy."
http://www.allakhazam.com/forum.html...59829318049227
As you can see, the quest gave the correct amount of exp to reflect an accurate 1999 EQ environment.
And for this reason, the developers of Project1999 unwittingly set in motion, for lack of a better word, a "trap" for old school players.
They advertised a server where the "Classic" experience could be lived again. They offered a Pre-Nerf experience, and they set the Tumpy Tonic quest exp back to as it existed in classic EQ. True to form, the first things people raced for on this server were Pre-Nerf items and quests. Imagine everyone's surprise when Tumpy Tonics gave 3000+ exp! (The quest was nerfed from 3000+ to 5 exp) Their first thought was "I LOVE THIS SERVER!"
The assumption, because of the advertising, of old school players was that it was included on purpose, and not an exploit. Figuring the quest was set purposefully to pre-nerf status, I think most people assumed the developers would follow the time-line on Live servers, as they plan to do with other "classic" content, and nerf the quest when it was originally nerfed on live (or, after a few months like Manastone etc.)
You can see the confusion here in pointing fingers and throwing accusations about exploits, because I can't seem to find a list that separates and divides what truly broken and overpowered "Classic" content is allowed and what truly broken and overpowered "Classic" content is an exploit.