41–50 of 166 posts
Oh EverQuest... funny to see this even posted here. I still occasionally log into P99 for a few hours here and there to play around at the low levels. 1 to around 24-30 is peak MMOPRG before it slows down and turns into that raid grind...
Yeah, people should know that https://project1999.com/ exists.
I absolutely loved EverQuest and it’s still probably holds some of my fondest gaming memories. My favorite feeling about it is that it felt like a real world first, gameplay second. It had a real sense of danger and wonder that I think will be almost impossible to recreate. Going from Qeynos to Freeport, or crossing the ocean on a boat felt absolutely epic and dangerous. It was wonderful, but not something I would wa…
I agree with everybody else commenting here, it was a truly unique experience that I would love to be able to re-live, but our expectations as players have moved on a long while back, you can no longer capture that magic because it's now all rote and routine. In 1999 it was the first time many of us had ever experienced anything like it, it flooded the senses and it felt like a world full of interesting people and epic adventures. It was the frontier at the time.
https://www.keithparkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/EQ...
This seems to be entirely hand drawn (acrylic painting?) with a lot of skill.
A Google Image search for "Keith Parkinson" shows more of his great paintings. Unfortunately he died in 2005.
I absolutely loved EverQuest and it’s still probably holds some of my fondest gaming memories. My favorite feeling about it is that it felt like a real world first, gameplay second. It had a real sense of danger and wonder that I think will be almost impossible to recreate. Going from Qeynos to Freeport, or crossing the ocean on a boat felt absolutely epic and dangerous. It was wonderful, but not something I would wa…
It was also at the perfect moment in time where you couldn't just pull up the game's wiki on a second monitor and have fully detailed maps and quest details on hand. You actually had to learn things for yourself by exploration and trial and error. You had to learn things from other people by talking to them in game. In my mind back then, I was in awe of people that even had the knowledge of how to get across certain…
How about a simple NDA to prevent players sharing this kind of info?
My friends had a company. Then they got into EverQuest. I don't know what percent of "work time" they spent playing. Maybe zero. But, they would stay at the office after work to play. I visited one day and saw playtime in the corner of the screen of one friend at ~36 days. My first thought was "what could they have done with over 5 months of "work time". If you work 40 hours a week then 36 days of game time = 846hrs = 21.6 weeks = ~5 months or work. Note: I use tons of time in my own life in ways that others would not (like spending time on HN) so again, not judging, just obsverving, though I often wish I did more productive things that would / would have lead to more future freedom.
In any case, one of those friends encouraged me to give it a try saying it reminded them of when we used to play D&D in high-school. That friend had also spent time becoming a fletcher (maker of arrows). If I understand correctly, the ability to make bows and arrows from materials was a skill. You gathered the materials, then picked "make" and you had a random and relatively low chance of succeeding. If you did succeed though, your "skill" at making bows and arrows increased. Once you passed some threshold you could always succeed. This made you a "fletcher" and people who needed bows and arrows would seek you out to buy them from you. I thought it was amazing that my friend effectively had a 2nd job. I'm guessing that's common a game mechanic in games since then?
Another of those friends also played at home on top of at the office even though they had a spouse and 3 kids under 10. After a while, their spouse demanded they stop. They visibly deleted their character but then made a new one back at work and of course all the "overtime" for the last several months had actually been "game time". 3 months later the spouse found out and said "quit or I'm leaving". My friend quit.
When World of Warcraft came out and blew past EverQuest in its reach that friend told me if I wanted to check it out be sure not to make any friends or join any guilds. They said it's the social obligation that's the addiction. Like joining a sports team, if you're not there your group can't achieve their goals so you feel obligated to participate and that's the addiction. I've never tried WoW either, having seen people spend so much time in it.
Also another random thing, another aquaintaince moved to Thailand and setup an EverQuest farm for a year or two which at the time was a new thing, making a living selling stuff in game. In which games is that common now?
I absolutely loved EverQuest and it’s still probably holds some of my fondest gaming memories. My favorite feeling about it is that it felt like a real world first, gameplay second. It had a real sense of danger and wonder that I think will be almost impossible to recreate. Going from Qeynos to Freeport, or crossing the ocean on a boat felt absolutely epic and dangerous. It was wonderful, but not something I would wa…
It was also at the perfect moment in time where you couldn't just pull up the game's wiki on a second monitor and have fully detailed maps and quest details on hand. You actually had to learn things for yourself by exploration and trial and error. You had to learn things from other people by talking to them in game. In my mind back then, I was in awe of people that even had the knowledge of how to get across certain…
Admittedly, it does take a degree of willpower and sometimes I will still do some online research when a game gets particularly frustrating. The biggest obstacle to my approach of avoiding online information is that some games feel like they're designed with that in mind and don't provide enough information in the games for an isolated player to really figure everything out.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, people should know that https://project1999.com/ exists.
Doesn't hit the same when you're over 30.
> Gijsbert van der Wal’s famous 2014 photograph of Dutch teenagers ignoring a Rembrandt masterpiece in favor of staring at their phones has become for many psychologists, social theorists, and concerned ordinary folks a portrait of our current Age of Digital Addiction in a nutshell. While a great photo, to me it looks like the kids are just doing some kind of school / field trip assignment.
It could be anything, but it resonates with people for a very good reason. Many people feel the negatives of technology and social media and miss the time before it. I know how sentiment will skew here, and I know it's easy to take for granted the advantages of having a fully capable pocket computer. But I also understand what we have given up for it.
It makes me laugh because we all just used to stare glumly at our newspapers! It's not like we were discussing philosophy or something...
I absolutely loved EverQuest and it’s still probably holds some of my fondest gaming memories. My favorite feeling about it is that it felt like a real world first, gameplay second. It had a real sense of danger and wonder that I think will be almost impossible to recreate. Going from Qeynos to Freeport, or crossing the ocean on a boat felt absolutely epic and dangerous. It was wonderful, but not something I would wa…
i met so many people who helped me get into some really scary places (lguk at 16 is terrifying) as i wondered in all sorts of climates and places, what a fantastic place!
looking back the world felt so different and huge and alive with life
i will never get that experience again
I absolutely loved EverQuest and it’s still probably holds some of my fondest gaming memories. My favorite feeling about it is that it felt like a real world first, gameplay second. It had a real sense of danger and wonder that I think will be almost impossible to recreate. Going from Qeynos to Freeport, or crossing the ocean on a boat felt absolutely epic and dangerous. It was wonderful, but not something I would wa…
My first memory of EverQuest was leaving the tutorial quest, running along a road at night, and being eaten by a lion. I had no idea what I was doing but I was hooked on figuring out.
