Remaking Everquest with a modern game engine

[rooter]

Hey all!

My cousin and I started playing EverQuest back in 1999 on Povar. I was Rooter, the human Shadow Knight and he was Obian the Barbarian Warrior. We were just starting college that year (I didn't go to class enough, was playing EQ all the time). Those times in EverQuest for the first 6 years or so of the game were some of the best moments in gaming I had ever had. Since then I have tried various MMOs, but nothing ever measured up. Today, my cousin and I are both professional software engineers with over 20 years of experience each. We both miss EverQuest, the friendships we made and the experiences we had.

Here are why modern MMOs are a letdown for us:

1. Community breakdown: In giving in to player demands and not sticking to a vision, the games have become watered down. People don't form strong communities anymore because of things like dungeon finders, auction houses, server transfers, name changes, etc.

2. You don't have to really earn anything: Everyone gets to raids, easy modes, in game purchases, etc.

3. Large parts of the world are static or dead: Did you discover a neat cave in a remote location? Why is it empty? Exploration doesn't make any sense, everything is on rails.

I could go on forever, and I think many in this community understand what I'm getting at.

What we want to do: We want to remake EQ with a modern game engine, but stay faithful to the feel. We also have some ideas to add in some dynamic elements to keep the world evolving and fun to explore while maintaining a balance and not overloading players.

I'd like to hear from the community about what you think of this? Good idea? Do you have suggestions? What might you want to see in a remake?

Thanks for your time,
-Rooter Darktide of Povar

[magnetaress]

check out lanterneq

butt ya

my perfect MMO

Forced First Person Perspective (avoids DDR mechs, and creates immersion)
Low APM (constantly spamming the same 10 keys over and over is dumb), High and Deep on Strategy.

And high fantasy class design without tons of giant flaming swords and huge clubs with eyeballs and stuff floating around it like some kind of cosmic petrified turd. Like real LOTR style stuff. Wizards aren't flashy until they are. At those key moments etc.

[rooter]

Great stuff magnetaress, thanks for contributing your thoughts! I definitely agree with everything you said, and we will definitely be having a vision and sticking to it!

[One Tin Soldier]

Forced first person camera? I won't be playing. That doesn't add immersion for me it just pisses me off.

And big multi-group raids? Honestly, how many people actually want to do that. The endgame of EQ was the thing I hated the most about it.

I basically want EQ with the harsh death penalties and grouping and no hand holding but not the awful endgame. Keep the enjoyable part of the game going forever instead of turning it into a tedious, not-enjoyable mess.

Luckily some people are already making that game. Or at least it says so in their FAQ. We'll see if they are playing a cruel trick on us all.

[Evia]

I relate to the love OP has for the game and the memories it created. It's sad that MMOs didn't truly build off what EQ did but rather went away from its design. Modern MMOs don't really resemble EQ at all sadly. I'd love to play "eq with updated graphics" and if anyone ever manages to do so I'd play in a heartbeat. I hope someone does it eventually...but if not, always have p99 to fall back on.

One thing that might have been a huge part of the magic of original EQ is the online aspect and playing with other players all over the world. When EQ launched that was half of the selling point and part of the allure and magic. Now playing a game online with other people isn't "amazing" and it doesn't captivate the audience like it once did. I think this is why we've all become pretty jaded and solo most of the time or stopped socializing with others. I'm not sure that part of the experience can ever be recreated again.

[Trexller]

Yeah the next big thing is gonna be AI bots that seem like real players

Until that novelty wears off and the human species just dies of boredom

[Swish]

Are you going to do a kickstarter?

[Swish]

Originally Posted by Evia [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

One thing that might have been a huge part of the magic of original EQ is the online aspect and playing with other players all over the world. When EQ launched that was half of the selling point and part of the allure and magic.

This is very true. Most EQ players were in North America but us Euros loved having some across the pond friends and as a general signpost of where everyone was at the time... everyone was friendly, reputation mattered, and very few people were soloists.

In 2024 the world is becoming a cesspool online, and it carries over into people's gaming interactions. I feel like its moved from having fun with others online to having fun online at other people's expense in a lot of games. I think anyone nostalgic for old game remakes wants the full 1999 experience. Be kind, help people out, and join others in the quest for ultimate victory [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Rimitto]

Originally Posted by Trexller [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Yeah the next big thing is gonna be AI bots that seem like real players

Until that novelty wears off and the human species just dies of boredom

you mean like those spambots in ecommons? [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Rimitto]

Originally Posted by Swish [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

This is very true. Most EQ players were in North America but us Euros loved having some across the pond friends and as a general signpost of where everyone was at the time... everyone was friendly, reputation mattered, and very few people were soloists.

In 2024 the world is becoming a cesspool online, and it carries over into people's gaming interactions. I feel like its moved from having fun with others online to having fun online at other people's expense in a lot of games. I think anyone nostalgic for old game remakes wants the full 1999 experience. Be kind, help people out, and join others in the quest for ultimate victory [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

People don't want victory they just want to have ultimate level 60's max gear of everything and then die.

not a single one of them gives a shit about finding the answers to broken items or unsolved quests. Just replace them with AI and you wouldn't notice a difference.