Longing for the Old Days of P1999, Yet Grateful for the Journey

[IzHaN80]

There’s a part of me that would love to go back to the days when P1999 was my drug of choice. Exploring the Desert of Ro, one of my favorite places, watching people level up there — veterans and newcomers alike. Wandering through Karana, returning to the roots, seeing the server alive and full of people everywhere… but it’s hard now.

Since Quarm, it’s been especially difficult, and I understand why. On Quarm I was able to experience grouping in dungeons I never thought could be filled with so many players, witnessing loot drop for the first time that I never even imagined existed in those places. Raiding, making friends, camping valuable items — so many things without having to invest three sleepless weeks of your life, glued to the chair, waiting for a single mob to spawn with the hope it would finally drop what you were looking for… and not losing your mind after 14+ hours when it didn’t. Because, let’s face it — we all have lives now.

Things that might seem small — like not seeing the damage of your DoTs, mobs not taking full damage unless they hit you first and remain static, the clunky camera, the XP rate, even having rings that immediately tell you a mob’s difficulty instead of spamming /con nonstop — these are just a few of the many details that wear you down.

I don’t care much about Luclin, I don’t care much about PoP. All I wish is that P99 could adapt, just a little, to today’s players. That it wouldn’t only cater to those who can spend unhealthy amounts of time in front of a PC 24/7 chasing items. I’m not asking to be hand-held, I’m not asking for free rewards. But most of us here are adults now, with responsibilities. At least those of us who have loved this game since 1999.

And yet, I have nothing but gratitude. Thank you, Project 1999. You brought me back to my childhood. You allowed me to enjoy EverQuest again. I leveled many characters to 60. I raided — not endlessly, but enough to have fun in Kael, in Plane of Fear, and other events.

P1999, I wish you could be what you once were: with that classic soul, but just a little more adapted to what players need today. Quarm is wonderful, I enjoy it — it removes absurd barriers and unnecessary tedium at the start, giving us a smoother path — but… it will never be my P1999.

Disclaimer: I have used GPT to help me out traduce my thoughts, since English isn't my first language, so excuse me if you find a bit of ChatGPT in my text.

[cd288]

Another post from Quarm people talking about how it's better than P99 and P99 needs to do what Quarm does?

No thanks.

The low population here currently isn't because of Quarm. It's because the servers are old and mudflated. If they merged tomorrow and launched a new server, the new server's pop would be a couple thousand people. People are just playing Quarm because there's no new P99 alternative right now.

[Goregasmic]

You can't long for p99 and then in the same breath wish for a custom ruleset. It is classic or it isn't, for better or for worse.

[Rygar]

Very little gear is "needed". Just group and have fun. A crazy pull that nearly wipes your group is exhilarating (doesn't matter if you are wearing rags), it will be remembered long after a piece of raid gear drops for you or the 5th alt.

[IzHaN80]

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

Very little gear is "needed". Just group and have fun. A crazy pull that nearly wipes your group is exhilarating (doesn't matter if you are wearing rags), it will be remembered long after a piece of raid gear drops for you or the 5th alt.

It really depends on your class — gear makes a huge difference. But I get where you’re coming from. I miss those days too, but honestly, it’s hard for me to imagine this server ever being as populated as it once was, where you could just stumble into groups and dive into low-level dungeons or dangerous zones together.

[sajbert]

Rose tinted glasses I say. Early on in Classic they changed ZEMs which boosted outdoor XP by a lot. The result was that every single spawn worth a damn more or less was camped 24/7.

People had to stand in line to camp a single gnoll in South Karana, or the hermit, or the Aviak Guards in Lake Rathe, or Cynthia or Hill Giants in Mountains of Rathe or Frost Giants in Everfrost, Harbor Dwarves in Butcherblock and more. Sometimes even obscure little known about spawns were camped. Meanwhile groups in the same usual locations (HHK and MM) ran on but typically difficult to get a spot.

Since gear was shit melee struggled. Warriors were basically useless. Class XP penalties were brutal.

... The legacy camps were just a small part of the pain relatively.

[Duik]

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

Very little gear is "needed". Just group and have fun. A crazy pull that nearly wipes your group is exhilarating (doesn't matter if you are wearing rags), it will be remembered long after a piece of raid gear drops for you or the 5th alt.

Ive never done the raid drop for 5th alt thing but the rest rings true.

[IzHaN80]

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

You can't long for p99 and then in the same breath wish for a custom ruleset. It is classic or it isn't, for better or for worse.

I just wish they would reset the server.

As for a custom ruleset — nothing that breaks the game’s difficulty. Some QoL changes could be included. Strictly sticking to “classic” doesn’t always mean better, or even more fun. A lot of things were broken back then, and they were only fixed when X patch eventually came in. That’s kind of BS, especially when they knowingly reintroduce bugs just because “that’s how it was in classic.”

Things like DoT damage not showing in the window, DoTs not dealing their full damage because of a bug that got intentionally reimplemented “for the sake of being classic,” nerfing loot that was supposedly not “classic” without solid proof (looking at you, Seafury Cyclops)… and honestly, the list could go on and on.

[Goregasmic]

Originally Posted by IzHaN80 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I just wish they would reset the server.

As for a custom ruleset — nothing that breaks the game’s difficulty. Some QoL changes could be included. Strictly sticking to “classic” doesn’t always mean better, or even more fun. A lot of things were broken back then, and they were only fixed when X patch eventually came in. That’s kind of BS, especially when they knowingly reintroduce bugs just because “that’s how it was in classic.”

Things like DoT damage not showing in the window, DoTs not dealing their full damage because of a bug that got intentionally reimplemented “for the sake of being classic,” nerfing loot that was supposedly not “classic” without solid proof (looking at you, Seafury Cyclops)… and honestly, the list could go on and on.

Sticking to classic doesn't mean it is better but it was what it was. If you start implementing later fixes where do you stop and why? And QOL stuff is the same, where do you stop and when does it become a different game? And by making some people happy you'll be pissing off others.

Sticking to classic is the "easiest" way to avoid those pitfalls.

[IzHaN80]

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

Sticking to classic doesn't mean it is better but it was what it was. If you start implementing later fixes where do you stop and why? And QOL stuff is the same, where do you stop and when does it become a different game? And by making some people happy you'll be pissing off others.

Sticking to classic is the "easiest" way to avoid those pitfalls.

A smoother camera would certainly enhance the experience, and fixing the Damage Over Time mechanics, which are currently bugged, wouldn’t hurt either. I remember being able to cast spells while sitting on the ground without needing to toggle the sit/stand hotkey. The target cycling could use some improvement as well. I truly believe that these quality-of-life changes wouldn’t break the immersion of the game; rather, they would make life a bit easier for everyone. Such adjustments could attract more players, and in the end, everyone would benefit.

Claiming that these enhancements would negatively impact the server and detract from its classic feel reminds me of the time when many aspects were nerfed without any solid evidence—just based on a few old posts from random forums by individuals who likely had little understanding of the game.