Can we talk about the future of P99?

[Sonark]

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

Boxing on blue when

I started playing on blue in 2017 and people were boxing all the time.

[Old_PVP]

Merge them all into RED. You all deserve to be humbled into seeing what a dead server looks like.

[aaezil]

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

First off, I love P99. I messed around a bit in Classic and eventually made my Bard Tewaz the night Kunark dropped. I was running around killing stuff in Black Burrow and there was a fun event where mobs would drop an item that you could turn in to an NPC and get some random piece of gear back. I got a Froglock Crown and I was absolutely floored. I got up to my 50's, joined Knights who say Ni and did a bit of poopsock raiding, but mainly spent my time aoe kiting all of OT and BW with some of the legends like Deejay and Hmotzart (sorry for the 25 mob limit). I've played off and on since then. I usually play about 6 months per year with some pretty intense play during the Red exp increase in 2015-2017 and on Blue over the past two years.

I have played to 60 on red and blue and into the 50s on Green. I've raided from scratch with people trying to steal kills in HoT to gear their first toon, I've killed every target in the game and made probably 100 alts at this point. I've done the poopsock meta, the trainout meta, the OBS meta, and even the get camped until your entire guild quits playing Red meta.

All this to say, I'm worried about our servers and there is a huge elephant in the room that no one at the top, CSR, or player level really wants to talk about.

We are losing players across all servers.

Whether it's Quarm, stale meta, 15 years of P99, old age, whatever, players are leaving the server.

On Blue we are seeing more and more common targets sit up uncontested like Vindi, Ayillish, and HoT Minis. The EC tunnel is full of WTB and almost every item for sale is a high end item. Targets people want being left up is cool I think, but it is also a sign of failing population.

So I wanted to start a thread talking about the future. Here are the limiting factors:

1. CSR has made it clear that future development on the server is delayd, so suggestions should keep that in mind. Examples: No Luclin or custom content, no major changes to things like spawn windows, respawn timers, mob pathing, or drop chance, etc.
.
2. Merging seems to be off the table. It was a part of the initial idea for Green, but appears to be dead for unclear reasons. That being said, Green (and Red too, why not?) being merged into Blue would do a lot for project health.

3. Certain players/guilds that constantly push the envelope of what is tolerated in the raid scene are not going anywhere. CSR hasn't dropped permanent bans since Sirkin's reign, so suggesting their removal is pointless.

So what are your recommendations to improve the project and keep it growing/thriving past year 15?

A few of mine:

1. Try new metas for the raid scene, but try ones that have a possibility of becoming THE meta. No SoW FTE lock and camp rules are the two put forth and they seem like they are meant to vex 95% of the raid scene population.

2. Shake up natural respawn windows. This is the 100% largest issue with the raid scene in my opinion. Classic or not, a 24 hour window on ST golems is absolutely insane. Even if the respawn is classic, race lines, FTE yellow texts, and train pulls are clearly not classic. It is also a pointless mechanic that wastes people's real life hours when most of us have already given years to this server. It's just silly to have it in a game in 2024. Addressing this would also lead to less gigantic guilds.

KWSM on Blue put forward an idea to reduce spawn windows by making any spawn in the first half of the window stay up and become an FTE race at the half way point of the window, and if mob spawns in the second half it is FTE like normal. This single idea would instantly increase participation for natural respawns, it requires no development and would be policed by the players easily. Socking half a window would appeal

3. Standardize player agreements for Scout, Ring 8, Ring 10, and Angry. Level range, time to roll, time to kill can all be easily standardized across both servers.

4. Address the bottleneck camps in the game like DS. As the server population drops and new players choose other servers, the demand for these types of items increases. I don't have any ideas for this outside of developer changes, but it is an issue that will slowly increase over time unless there is a population decline.

5. More Quakes. I know quakes are meant to mimic server crashes in the early 2000s, but this is the single best event on Blue and more of these in prime time help players that have played the game for 10 years and don't have items they're chasing.

6. Legacy items. This is more of a blue problem. As players retire (or get banned) a lot of this gear has disappeared. Beads are needed by a lot of guilds for pulling HoT and they are clearly an advantage item that is a MUST HAVE in the current DA train meta. Sure Eashen and other targets are doable without but taking 30 minutes to kill Eashen greatly hinders a guild and that can hemorrage members very quickly.

7. Communicate. That's it. Someone with any knowledge of the future. Please. Communicate.

The solution is pretty easy: Make this gear available during every CSR event. CSR has done this but it's so rare that it's absolutely insane. Most players on blue would probably delete two of their level 60 characters for a guise on one. We are at year 9 of Velious...Velious lasted 9 months on live. They added a casino on live in the next expansion with these items available. Also this would cut down on the RMT problem because no one needs to buy 1.3 million platinum to afford beads on Blue.

I remember loot raining on us during early P1999 GM events and also on live. Hell, I remember getting a Luclin item at a GM event BEFORE THE EXPANSION DROPPED. Adding any means of legacy items would be incredible and the only path to that now is CSR making it part of events. I'd throw a random guise on Velketor or some other super low priority target every quake just for the fun because why not?

I'd like to hear other player suggestions. I'd love to hear what CSR says about this. I would be absolutely floored to have even the smallest inkling of communication about the future of these servers from Nilbog or Rogean.

Nah mate the 16/24 window garbage is far from classic. stuff used to just spawn in a week give or take a tiny variance.

This combined with the absolute refusal of staff to disband/remove problem guilds/players have left the game uninteresting to raid and sometimes horrible people you have to interact/communicate with when you do raid have made the server basically unplayable for a lot of people when options like quarm exist.

[Naethyn]

#K1C1

[Eisai]

I'm so jealous of anyone that is able to play eq right now... Even the red guys! I would do anything for/to anyone if it got me back in the pixals. I know, poor sad loser i must be; but I'd take norrath over any other addiction. I would love to be there with everyone; anyone. Any client, any server, any expansion, any class; guild. I haven't been on/in for over two years and it's miserable! It physically hurts to be without my precious! It's my joy; my happy thought; my soulmate. It's one of only three things that i have never desired to change about my past present or future. I totally see how pathetic that seems but i believe that the only purpose in life is to find the things that make you happy and do them as much as you can, and this is my thing. I am great at it, sure, but i spend almost every moment in game sharing my favorite thing in the world with any person willing to experience it with me. I love it so so much! I hope i find a way back soon... I miss everyone, even those of you that i haven't even met yet.

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Ugh... So friggin lame...

My name is Juliet and I'm am addict.

/sit

[Snaggles]

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

Imagine if all the people who only hang on because of the sunk cost fallacy would go play on a server like quarm or thj where they would actually have fun. Blue might look like Red at that point.

I don’t know what is more sad: Just playing the sim you likely regret getting into or looking for the “next big thing” which is just another sim with a different coat of paint.

I won’t defend my time spent here but sure as F won’t go hunting for cracked staves for the 3rd time in my life. EQ is 95% community and routine, if you like your guild here there is little reason to leave.

[XDrake]

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

At max population P99 was a boutique experience. Now it’s even more sparse.

Instead of missing all the extra people think of yourself as a very peculiar influencer who plays an elf sim. It’s basically a custom server at this point…invite some friends.

It's amazing I have two eras of nostalgia... Classic Live and P99!

Experiencing the Classic Era and Kunark Era for both was amazing. The joy of people seeing Classic EQ again was wonderful. Still is, but I think people want a new beginning.

If merging Green into Blue is possible a New Green would be popular again.

Some of my best times were when each era was new.

Many folks returned for Green. I think we'd see a big push again.

The thing that is most displeasing is that staff has been quiet. I appreciate everything with P99 and the countless hours of work they put into it and still do. But this is a very popular issue... I feel hearing there is some agreement with Daybreak saying new green is possible. It has no source but baseless rumor, but even just acknowledgement of plans for the next 2-3 years would be great. If they are all but certain the quest to re-create the early era of EQ that's a fine answer too.

Just wish there was an answer.

[jolanar]

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

It's amazing I have two eras of nostalgia... Classic Live and P99!

I don't know who here said it first, but I'll say it again: at this point I think I am more nostalgic for my early P99 days than I am my early EQ days.

[Eisai]

I am the future.

[Wiltan]

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

But this is a very popular issue...

I think you'll find as many people hate the idea of a server merge as those that like the idea.

I don't have any objection to them spinning up a new server; they could turn Teal back on whenever they want, presumably. But that's no reason to punish Blue by forcing a merge upon us.