Hi all, many of you may know me as Bromgok from Temerity. I must admit, I was initially very skeptical of this server until I heard two pieces of news: beta is going live soon, and a 3-toon box-limit will be enforced. It seems like the dev team is on the right track to make this a truly successful server and I'm very excited about that. I do have a couple more questions about the server as I haven't been following it TOO closely, and still have a lot to learn before deciding exactly how much time to invest. I apologize if any of these have been asked already--please let me know if that is the case: 1) Do the devs have any sort of timeline/goals on how quickly they would like to launch each expansion (in an ideal world)? I understand that like P99, this is a non-profit personal project of a few people donating their time to the cause and things will get done when they get done. But some open-ended communication about the goals the dev team is setting for themselves would be cooll. 2) This is a followup on the point about goals/plans. As someone who would consider donating some cash to the server, what guarantees do I have that progress will continue on development? Generally speaking Im pretty confident in the team behind this, but I know it is going to be a long endeavor and things could change. I would be pretty disappointed to see things stall after the first expansion or two. 3) Just curious, why isn't the server hosted under EQEmu like all the other Emus? I'm guessing it might have something to do with retaining some data from the old AK client. Is there any concern that this will have an impact on server awareness and adoption? 4) Once the Beta goes live, what is the plan to continue testing future content/xpacs? Will a separate server be opened to allow players to participate in the testing? Thanks in advance for the infos. Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces around!
I just want to say since EQmac went down someone has been working on the server EVERY single day. They also welcome help, look at all the bugs posted. For the length of time between expansions, hard to say what will come up but they will be out as soon as possible. In reality it has taken many other servers, p99 included, alot longer to get to the same point in developement. We have a dedicated GM team, Dev team which is only growing at this point. Rob who is a machine with the DB work, I honestly do not know how he does so much work. Especially with the majority of bugs being posted are DB bugs(looking at you Iance). From what I understand there will be another "dev" server up to test the next expansion, not sure if everyone will get access. Kunark will prolly take the longest, it is one of the biggest expansions. Velious as well, Luclin they will have to deal with AA's, then PoP is on the smaller side. I doubt they can/will give you a time frame right now
Furst pretty much hit it on the head. We have very active gm's/devs, this server is a spin off with AK code so that has created an immense amount of work to re-create a server with that era of client and make it all mac compatible. The first release has taken the longest.......to get all the netcode/backend/mobs parsed ect. Torven has literally parsed every boss mob on live up through Luclin for resists and min/max hit and hps. We are striving to get mobs correct and have an active replication for as many mobs as possible.(Mobs that were changed on live obv cannot be parsed now) Part of Kunark is already done. We are not putting dates/timelines on releases but devs are looking to tie the releases to a sort of progression. The GM's and Devs were avid AK players and want this server to be a replica of AK.....they are not going to stop until it is finished.
Not at this time no. Personally I'd like to see an expac per year at the least. But we can't set goals since it is volunteer. I can't speak for rob, Cavedude or anyone else. But I am fairly certain that we will be on this project even if we have zero population. I loved this era of EQ. All other games have been a disappointment. There really isn't anything out there that matches the fun of this era of EQ even among live and other EQ servers. Let alone the accuracy I desire IMO. This is a good question. One that has been considered. Our login server code/opcodes that allow us to login are quite different than eqemu proper. It would take some work that I think a few are wanting to do in order to make it compatable with that login server. Yes there is a second server that is considered a dev server that we will have a select number of people invited to test further expansions. It won't be an open platform and by invite only. Others have pretty much answered these very accurately but I thought I'd reiterate for clarification of where I see it. Back story of me personally regarding this. I pretty much plan to stick with this as I have been playing EQ since just prior to this era and been a active member of eqemu since my reg date of 04. I was in and around eqemu prior to that but forgot my original log in info. I discovered emu back in 02. I have wanted an accurate to PoP server since they released LoY. I got tired of SOE's machine gun cash cow style expansions. I hoped someone would have made a very accurate server for too long. When I discovered AK I was pleasantly surprised. But then the shutdown issues came and I was saddened to lose what I wanted for so long. It was at this point that I think I came to the conclusion of the old adage. "If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself." Rob and I knew each other prior to AK and we pretty much had a similar view on this. I loosely quote him saying "I don't care if this server ever gets popular, I will always work on this to completion." I echo that sentiment. But there will be times where we need breaks. Him and I have pretty much done "something" for this project almost everyday since prior to the first AK shutdown notice. In closing, since we are very personally attached to this era and the hard work of not only ourselves but other people as well. If we seem harsh in enforcement it is due to this. We don't take kindly to others peeing in our sandbox.
Thank you guys for the detailed responses, my questions have been thoroughly answered. I'm glad to hear the level of dedication behind the server. Makes me a lot more willing to invest my time here. I must admit I'm crossing my fingers that the progression pace will beat all odds and expectations as I'm eagerly awaiting Luclin/PoP. But do I still plan to dabble here in between playing on P99 to keep tabs on things and offer my support. Though I completely understand that things are still very early in the process and a lot could change in the future. Thanks and good luck! See you guys in Beta!
Hi Brom, I am a GM here and doing some web dev work. Quaos also asked the other day if I would be willing to post some information about myself for people to get to know me. I started playing EQ in 1999 and despite a few breaks from time to time have continued to play. I was an officer in Phoenix Crusaders on EMarr, and in many other guilds such as Pendragon Society. I had accounts on the Storm Hammer server, and continued to play on several EQ PC servers. I was a member of several guilds on EQMac including Destiny and have played many high profile characters on the server in many raids with Temerity, Destiny, and others. (as an example Starsha knows me and our children have played together IRL) I recently became involved in this project and was welcomed aboard openly and honestly. This server is legit as are the people working on ensuring it not only remains so but becomes better. I look forward to having you join us here and hope that we can live up to your expectations.
Frank here, you'll see my taking overflow work for the real gm's. I do database checking and add an extra set of eyes for the coders. I've been with the project since June and there is a seriously dedicated crew here who won't stop until AK is re-created. I love EQ.....played on Solusek Ro from 99-05 then found Shards of Dalaya and played there for years. Played on P99 for a while and then finally EQmac nearly at its sunset. I enjoy raiding extensively and keeping a fair playing field for all.
I am also a potential player. I would like to know if people from eqmac will be getting their old characters cloned on to this server, and if so, at what point will this be happening? I don't really want to play if people have maxed out time geared characters running around on day one.
