Return to the original Everquest - 3 Years Later (56K Warning)

[Razgon]

At times, I feel I really missed out on not being part of the everquest1 group that was playinjg back when it all started...seems like EQ1 was one of the first big ones, both in terms of gameplay , awefactor and sheer fun, and the friends people made :-)

[Daehawk]

It was great fun but UO was so much more.

[Tokek]

It was great fun but UO was so much more.

Man, I still remember tieing up my phone line for a week to download the beta client.

[Redfive]

I made a revisit soon after the Dungeons of Norrath expansion and started over from scratch.  It was a fantastic expansion and kept me busy for 4-6 months and I managed to level 2 toons to 40+.  The goblin camps In Butcherblock had their loot tables redone and they would drop items worth 1-3 plat.  This made outfitting a newb very easy.  I was dumbfounded that most folks had no idea about this as I was constantly getting compliments on my gear for my level(having no high lvl mains to twink).  Good stuff!  I think I'll revist;)

Hey I remember those days!

[Redfive]

Rolling an evil guy on Venekor.  Have no idea why I'm doing this..mainly because I have a fat internet pipe to do the download, have quit Wow, and am getting tired of CoD4.

EDIT: ok Sarnak Necro in TD named Redfive

EDIT part deux: are we not on Venekor?  Oasis is it?

[Daehawk]

The OO guild is on Oasis.

[Blackadar]

It was great fun but UO was so much more.

Which version of UO?  Pre PVP nerf or post?

UO is one of those love-hate games.  You couldn't solo because you'd get constantly ganked and your loot stolen.  Dogs and cats were more powerful than you when you started.  You'd get killed just by making a bank deposit by griefers.  There was a good chance that you'd enter a dungeon to get greeted by a train of monsters that some griefer was working up.  There were constant scams, hacks and cheats.  And don't get me started on the wall-to-wall houses on every server.

On the flip side, there was a tremendous gameworld, a freedom to do whatever you wanted and some really cool areas.  It's the only game that made fishing fun and you could own your own boat.  Crafting was pretty cool and you could make a good living just by being a crafter.  World events were always happening and it wasn't unusual to log on to the world and find some city overrun by orcs.  And the housing options were stupendous...you were only limited by your creativity.

Sadly, I don't think we'll ever see a MMO like UO again.

[RobbieD]

I couldn't get into the original EQ. I bought it shortly after it was released and it was my first MMO. I would create a character and get to about level 12, which was when downtime really started, and I would create a new character...rinse and repeat. I just couldn't get into having to read a book while my health and/or mana replenished, or waiting for a boat and then the 15 minute ride.

Thinking back it might have been more enjoyable if I wasn't antisocial and asked to join groups or a guild. I ended up quiting when Asheron's Call came out. I did try it again when I had a Station Pass but didn't last long as all the things that bothered me several ago still bothered me.

[Daehawk]

Which version of UO?  Pre PVP nerf or post?

Old original pre noto patch UO. Back when I had a Dread Lord. I died so much yet killed so much. Was great fun. Even looted a house deed off some poor sucker player.

[Blackadar]

Old original pre noto patch UO. Back when I had a Dread Lord. I died so much yet killed so much. Was great fun. Even looted a house deed off some poor sucker player.

That's the perfect example of what I was referring to before with UO.

I'm not saying you did anything wrong - you played by the rules of the world - but that's the perfect example of why you'll probably never see a mainstream MMO like UO again.  While looting that deed was great fun for you, that player probably pitched a fit about losing that house deed (an expensive item).  The weak, casual or new player really had no chance in UO pre-patch. Working for days to get something decent and then having a player walk up to you, one-shot you and take all that stuff was beyond annoying.  It made a lot of players quit.  If you didn't have the time to build up an uber-character or didn't have the big guild to protect you, you'd end up as someone's lunch.  I remember dying at the bank just trying to put my stuff away because someone would send fireballs right down the main street.  At one point, players could gank newbies in the newbie area! 

People think EQ was "hardcore", yet UO was a much more hardcore and cruel gameworld than EQ. 

[Austin]

People think EQ was "hardcore", yet UO was a much more hardcore and cruel gameworld than EQ. 

I never played UO but it doesn't sound like an apples to apples comparison, although no doubt in the end this is correct.  UO was hardcore because of other players, while EQ was hardcore, in the beginning, due to the game itself with tons of time sinks, harsh death penalties and other things within The Vision (tm).

[Blackadar]

People think EQ was "hardcore", yet UO was a much more hardcore and cruel gameworld than EQ. 

I never played UO but it doesn't sound like an apples to apples comparison, although no doubt in the end this is correct.  UO was hardcore because of other players, while EQ was hardcore, in the beginning, due to the game itself with tons of time sinks, harsh death penalties and other things within The Vision (tm).

No doubt there were some aspects of EQ that were harsher.  For example, travel time - the gameworld was significantly bigger in EQ, so travel took longer.

Still, the harshest death penalty I can think of is loss of your stuff.  I'd have loved the EQ "lose exp and time" penalty over that. 

[Destructor]

Still, the harshest death penalty I can think of is loss of your stuff.  I'd have loved the EQ "lose exp and time" penalty over that. 

Back in MY day of playing EQ1, your corpse could rot and then you'd lose everything on it. And there were no stinkin' guild houses or graveyards where you could summon your corpse from. Heaven help you if you got killed while taking a boat ride (that took 15 minutes to reach its destination), as your corpse (with all of your items on it) is now sitting at the bottom of the ocean. Or if you'd have a total wipe during a Fear break in.

Now get off my lawn!

[Austin]

People think EQ was "hardcore", yet UO was a much more hardcore and cruel gameworld than EQ. 

I never played UO but it doesn't sound like an apples to apples comparison, although no doubt in the end this is correct.  UO was hardcore because of other players, while EQ was hardcore, in the beginning, due to the game itself with tons of time sinks, harsh death penalties and other things within The Vision (tm).

No doubt there were some aspects of EQ that were harsher.  For example, travel time - the gameworld was significantly bigger in EQ, so travel took longer.

Still, the harshest death penalty I can think of is loss of your stuff.  I'd have loved the EQ "lose exp and time" penalty over that. 

Right, which is why I said you are ultimately right - but again that was a PVP aspect that caused the hurt.

[Cragmyre]

I tried playing the original EQ again and I'm too spoiled.  It isn't the graphics that spoiled me, but some of the things I take for granted.  Like hovering over your target and knowing things about it.  Or, more importantly, when I cast a heal on my target, if it isn't friendly, I'm used to having that spell work on my target's target.

[Redfive]

I ultimately quit UO because I hated getting ganked and losing my stuff but I must say there were a few times where I was able to take advantage as well.

Once I was travelling down the road and found a backpack.  Even though a little alarm was going off in my head I checked it.  Next thing I know I'm dead and some guy steps from behind a tent with a crossbow to take everything I had.

Then there was the time I was walking down the road and found a guy dead full of all kinds of armor and stuff I'd never seen.  I looted just as fast as I could and ran.

The biggest though, was the time a friend and I were running through the wilderness and I guess we found where a house had just decayed or something because we found a treasure trove of chests and all kinds of gear just laying around.  We were in the middle of grabbing all we could when a portal opened and some guy in full plate stepped out.  We both recalled as fast as possible.

I still quit UO in disgust though.

[Razgon]

Then there was the time I was walking down the road and found a guy dead full of all kinds of armor and stuff I'd never seen.  I looted just as fast as I could and ran.

The biggest though, was the time a friend and I were running through the wilderness and I guess we found where a house had just decayed or something because we found a treasure trove of chests and all kinds of gear just laying around.  We were in the middle of grabbing all we could when a portal opened and some guy in full plate stepped out.  We both recalled as fast as possible.

that actualy sounds fun!!