Should ZEM even be in the game this early?

[Frostback]

January 14, 2001

Zone Experience

The first and perhaps easiest to explain change that we are making to the experience system is the modification of what we call the "Zone Experience Multiplier", or 'ZEM'. Currently, every creature in game of a given level yields a fixed amount of "Base Experience" (experience before it is allocated to group members). That base experience is then multiplied by the ZEM which is set to a value in correlation with the risk in a particular zone compared with the reward; at least, that is the goal.

https://web.archive.org/web/20010609...rs_letter.html

[Bookie]

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

January 14, 2001

at least, that is the goal.

Northern Karana 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75
Oasis of Marr 75 75 75 75 75 75
Gorge of King Xorbb (Beholder's Maze) 75 75 75 75
Eastern Karana 75 75 75 75 75 75
Lavastorm Mountains 75 75 75 75 75 75
Ocean of Tears 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 75
Highpass Hold 80 80 80
Runnyeye 100 100 100 100 100 100
Rathe Mountains 75 75 75 75 75
Lake Rathetear 75 75 75
Southern Karana 75 75 75 75 75
Permafrost 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90
Najena 130 130 130 130 130
High Keep 150 150 150
Splitpaw Lair 90 90 90 90 90
Cazic Thule 85 85 85 85 85
Solusek's Eye (Solusek A) 130 130 130 130 130
Lower Guk 80 80 80 80 80
Nagafen's Lair (Solusek B) 80 80 80

[Converse]

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

ZEMs were in from the start. But the insane bonuses on newb dungeon ZEMs was added during PoP when they added the low level cleric rez spells etc.

I've done all the digging.

In era sources from a ShowEQ dev that the max ZEM was 100 pre-Luclin, explicit references to Crushbone and Najena ZEMs being 80, and so on.

We are playing with PoP ZEMs and this should change.

https://www.project1999.com/forums/s...d.php?t=343193

Your thread above was a good read!

With your suggested changes, I wonder if we'd see players more spread out across the world & be more willing to adventure outside the current highway.

Right now, it's hard to beat a place like Highkeep, with it's high ZEM, loot, vendors & banker all within the zone. Arrive around lvl 25, then never leave until 50, with a Santa Claus sized bag of plat.

Interesting to think about the potential shake up!

[BlackBellamy]

Yeah, the ZEMs are most unclassic thing here. I'm getting a huge bonus in one of the most popular dungeons in the game, wtf? It's ALREADY popular. But it wasn't during PoP because by then everyone went on to new places, so they gave it a high ZEM we're seeing here.

[Zeboim]

I'd settle for HHK being nerfed into the ground.

[Fammaden]

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

I'd settle for HHK being nerfed into the ground.

[lordpazuzu]

Back in the day we weren't aware of such a thing as a ZEM and so we all spread out more. Now, knowing what they are, we cram around the high ZEM zones and avoid zones with ZEM penalties, so certain places are camped to the gills while others remain under-utilized. Whether the ZEM in and of itself is classic or not, I don't know. But KNOWING that they exist and what they are definitely does not make for a classic experience (no pun intended.)

[unleashedd]

everyone pines about classic this, and slow exp/enjoy the journey that, and wearing shit gear... just get rid of ZEMs, people will love it.

[cd288]

The ZEMs on P99 are also sort of weird in that they don’t seem to accomplish what ZEMs were supposed to be, which is motivation to go to places that you might not otherwise go due to danger etc.

Befallen makes sense, as does a zone like the Warrens. But CB? Unrest? Neither of those are particularly dangerous zones!(Unrest, for instance, if you’re in the MR you can pretty much avoid any trains for other floors by standing in the corner of the room). Highkeep? Hardly dangerous and phenomenal loot...people would go there regardless. Kurns? Barely dangerous at all.

Guk I think can be dangerous if there aren’t enough people in it clearing stuff, but even then the loot is good so people would go there anyway regardless of ZEM.

Then you have zones like Mistmoore, CT, and Splitpaw which I would argue should have higher ZEMs than the zones above since they’re much more dangerous. Permafrost is another that I think would make sense to have a higher ZEM than some of the zones above if for nothing else than just to encourage more people to hang out there.

The ZEMs just don’t really make sense in a lot of ways and we’d never have had them stay static for years back on live, which meant people wouldn’t just have this same EXP highway to do for years. Maybe it’s difficult or otherwise an annoying hassle to switch up ZEMs periodically and that’s why they don’t do it?

[jlxharville]

I'd be 100% okay with no ZEM. Make exploring great again...

Instead everyones crunched into a few zones. I mean, why?

Lots on this server isn't entirely classic... might as well just do this.