One of the points of FreakU is that ZoneProxy won't be necessary since the client will load any zone you throw at it.

I doubt that loading .3DS files is a viable option since there they don't contain other important details, like a BSP tree or other very important information specific to WLD files. We know how to create WLD and S3D files for the most part, so I don't think it's a major problem. One thing I'd like to see is someone port OpenZone's S3D and WLD code to C++ so the EQEmu team can use it for handling line-of-sight calculations.

WC

For me, if client is done, and if peoples like WC can decode WLD (to create weapons, models, all graphics), EQEmu will have the possiblity to take eqemu out of eq, read you will be able to create your own custom world, from scracth, without any eq contents.
Maybe im a dreamer, but i would love to see eqemu becoming a sort of opensource MMO, where peoples will be able to build their games with tools like OpenZone and the one Sandy is creating, well you got me.

3DS example, by thinking of it, i would prefer to see a MSH importer, like you build an object/items, and you can directly see in with FreakU, because render under 3D modeling tools and EQ Environnement are not the same. MSH-SCN file format WC done are great, im sure they would be a way to use them as a quick viewer for FreakU.

Now, this bring in my mind another question, if FreakU is DX9 based (like EQCLient), will it be possible to implements things that are not in EQ Client (Bump Mapping ?). I know those kind of question are wayyy to early compared to where FreakU developement is ... but .. im curious :/

Thank you KhaN! I had the exact same idea. I want to be able to create a completely custom world :)

I also want to be able to _build_ worlds in FreakU, both offline and online. I want to make it a completely integrated development and design tool.

FreakU is OpenGL and SDL-based, btw. I don't use windows or any of MS's other proprietary bullshit.
Oh, and yes, bumpmapping can be implimented. I'd also really like to play with normal mapping, but both of those technologies will require building completely new content. Should be fun :)

**** **** !!!!!

/me reread al this to make sure this is not a dream or a joke

Yup, EqEMu would greatly improve from a free client, i want to throw in some help if i can

free means no-pay, but above all, means EQEMu players control over it.. OMGz, we need that. Let's stop trying to catch up with live. Create new worlds :)

**** **** !!!

got to re-read again :D

FYI, downloaded the tarball (0.2a), and compiled under both linux (slackware 9.1) and cygwin-gcc for windows.

Everything went perfect (one single warning in eqnetwork.c, lines 49 and 50, redefinition of a macro), though i could not build with the configure script.

Running (windows only) is ok on small zones, but larger ones are waaaaayyyy toooo sloooow. I'm not sure the GL libs i'm using are hardware accelerated though :(. Are you clipping the planes to LOS anyway ?

looking forward to hear from you, i'll browse through the code in the meanwhile.

'later

Good to hear that it does in fact build with cygwin :)

We don't currently do any culling using the BSP tree, but we hope to do that soon.

I'm a little confused on this issue. Is FreakU supposed to be an EQClient Clone, but same zones, spell effects, UI, etc?

I think that creating a client with just the same zones but different UI, spell effects and game essentials like that would basically take the eq out of eqemu.

the purpose of freaku is to make a client that doesnt suck ass.

a xml type skin system would be nice. but well.... i could care less, i'd just like a client that doesnt crash on me and i dont have to worry about breaking my eqemu

I really hope Freaku wont be an EQClient clone /poke Daeken.

You dont need freaku to "take eq out of eqemu", this is easily handable with actual eqclient. But yes, it will make things way easier, but all of this is already possible with actual eqclient.

I was thinking of it today, and i realised one thing, doing the graphic engine of Freaku will be a small part, because there are a TONS of others things in client that are hardcoded, and it will need to be recoded in freaku (which i find dumb), or integrated to eqemu code ...

Cisyouc, I think the major thing FreakU will offer above the EQClient is a truly custom world over what we can currently do now. There are many limitations due to client hardcoding that are a pain to bypass, if some are even possible at all. FreakU would(most likely) allow for fully custom zones with unique file names, instead of having to replace current zones with a new mesh, etc.

This probably takes the EQ out of EQEMu for you, and with good reason. However, I for one am definitely looking forward to it, because it provides a new level of customization for the "hardcore custom" servers which want to provide fresh new zones and content for their players to experience.

EQ is SOE's custom version of an EQEMu server :P

There's much chance however that the first working freakU client uses a lot of current game design and ui (not to say ... files). The easier the better imho.

The initial versions of FreakU will use EQ's files until we replace them with our own. The goal is that we can eventually replace them completely, and document as we go so that people can replace them as they want.

I didn't mean the skin system I just mean the skin appearance itself.

Eh, I dunno. Im on the fence about this whole thing, if we loose some of the essentials like the UI or the spell effects (just examples), we aren't Emulating EverQuest really. We're just using the zones such as Windcatcher allows us to import Quake 3 maps, lol.

You stick with the sony client then, ill use the freaku. thx =)

But the main thing is that we will have the UI and spell effects and such. We will have every feature from EQ with the possibility of adding more.

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The best thing imo about Freak is that we could give it out.. No more "how do I get warez?" from newbs. If made properly, could use opcodes from any generation server, so would be universal..

My hope is that we don't have to worry about various versions, simply because we can make our own variations on the EQ protocol as we see fit. But that's a while in the future...

Incorrect. We could give out the basic client "framework" but we would still not be able to distibute any of the content. .s3d or anything like that. sony still owns them

hmm, there are now good tools for building custom zones :p

Go, go, daeken_bb !

We can legally pass out WC's custom zones. If we have our own client and server, eqemu is then 99% OS, free as in speech, free as in beer, with maybe just the loginserver closed source.

They didn't patent .s3d file formats.

No doubt. making a full featured MMORPG would very much be a possibility. But the bulk of the people who peruse these boards want Free EQ sadly. And it will not solve anything as far as passing out the copyrighted sony content =D

This is interesting.
Other than the few posts in this forum is there any information to be had anywhere about the file formats? I wouldn't mind having a play with them myself but don't want to have to reinvent everything.