Classic or era-based server content

[MarcusD]

Originally Posted by AdrianD

Perfection is impossible.



It's easy to drop any magelo generated loottable/lootdrop. There are quite a few of the above table entries that go unused which could be matched up with a bit of work.

It's also easy to drop all items outside of an expansion if those items are labelled with an expansion - like I have done for 60k+ items - so some of the magelo gen data dropping isn't necessary.

This is what I'm basically talking about. Getting the data proper in the database is huge as everyone has said. I've made some of it so simple a caveman can help!

I have not yet graduated to caveman level but I will be helping at some point lol. I need to learn more about databases...learning how to use Heidisql would probably help .

[AdrianD]

Contact me bro!

It's in my selfish nature to assist people where I can so I can achieve my self-righteous goal of getting classic content?

Yeah, that's it...

[image]

Most people who are already here likely have time invested in their existing projects and will continue to work those. No one is going to drop what they are doing just to start a new project unless they are truly motivated. These tasks are pretty thankless (building databases/handing them out publicly). Plus doing classic everyone wants it done 'RIGHT', what is 'right' you may ask? Hell if I know, but everyone seems to have their own interpretation of each mob, quest, etc and the slightest cosmetic can turn a player off to the server.

As provocating touched on part of the community will scorn you for the work, lack of perfection in every avenue, so unless you have everything done and sparkly for them its a spit in the face. Another group of individuals might just take what you did and start their own server with no credit and put you in the dust (Which I guess is the fear for some servers?).

Even P99 is a 'vague classic equivalent' and probably will be the only 'classical' server with the full extent of changes made. EQClassic went the route for trilogy, then yeahlight dropped the ball and its back to titanium client and they are pretty much reinventing the wheel again. With the Titanium classic it is impossible to have full on classic, features have been ripped out of the client (I miss those message boards) and boats are worked around using the 'beta' boat etc. Any true hope of a trilogy or older client is highly diminished especially with the compatibility issues of operating system/hardware. Simply put in lots of minds 'its more trouble than its worth'.

TLDR: If you want it, you have to do it yourself. Time is invested elsewhere, to pick this up and 'do it right' would take years, P99 isn't going to help you, don't count on anyone helping. What work you get done will be critiqued heavily and social aspect of the community can sometimes be detrimental in the classic area. At this point 'doing it right' is the only way it will probably get recognized and everyone has their own pipe dream of what that 'right' is.

[mgellan]

To me the Mandate of this Project (Lets call it OpenEQ for giggles) is as follows:

"Develop and release EQEMU code, data, and quests that model the Live releases of EQ as accurately as is possible, make those releases freely available, and ensure the Community can implement working servers as easily as possible."

So here's my proposal:

- Create an OpenEQ project on GIT and fork the current EQEMU code, database, and quests into it. Or, implement someone else's code and data thats closer to Milestone 1.
- Create and host development forums and an "OpenClassic" EQEMU server
- Create a Roadmap that will track every major release of EQ starting with March 1999. Each milestone will be a release of the code, and each release will consist of code, database, and quests. So if you want to step through a complete progression, check out each milestone release, compile, load the database and install the quests. Or, hell, with a Linux server we can publish VirtualBox VMs of the complete package and serverops can just load player tables.
- All code changes need to be committed to the repository, and each milestone has a database load associated with it

Since everything is hosted on GIT, and will be freely available, no one person has control since any issues people could just start their own development fork.

So, Milestone 1 would be to build an accurate release of EQ as of March 1999.

FWIW I'm an professional server operations guy (Director level) with a development background, although my C++ is pretty rusty (15 years rusty!) - part of my reason for looking for a project is to re-engage those skills. I'm a pretty good PHP programmer tho. Most of my professional life is project management so I can add that dimension. My own server is currently aimed at modelling Velious but this to me is a more righteous project so I'd be happy to offer up my pretty recent code and database as a starting point and start moving it to Classic.

I offer up the following:

- A hosted instance of EQEMU and database to use as a main test server
- A phpBB based forum where we can interact and work out issues, post bug reports etc.
- My services to do builds of the server and deal with operational issues
- My services as Project Manager
- My services as a developer, content editor, tester

I can have the server available within a day or so. If you want to participate, great, love to have some input. If not, do your own thing. If no one jumps in, then obviously it's not a viable project. However if you jump in you commit to everything being open sourced and freely available.

Happy to adjust the above to meet the needs of the community but to me this is how to proceed. Thanks!

Regards,
Mg

PS Be quick to neither give nor take offense. Seems like we're all interested in the same goals, I'm sure we can be civil.

[MarcusD]

Originally Posted by mgellan

To me the Mandate of this Project (Lets call it OpenEQ for giggles) is as follows:

"Develop and release EQEMU code, data, and quests that model the Live releases of EQ as accurately as is possible, make those releases freely available, and ensure the Community can implement working servers as easily as possible."

So here's my proposal:

- Create an OpenEQ project on GIT and fork the current EQEMU code, database, and quests into it. Or, implement someone else's code and data thats closer to Milestone 1.
- Create and host development forums and an "OpenClassic" EQEMU server
- Create a Roadmap that will track every major release of EQ starting with March 1999. Each milestone will be a release of the code, and each release will consist of code, database, and quests. So if you want to step through a complete progression, check out each milestone release, compile, load the database and install the quests. Or, hell, with a Linux server we can publish VirtualBox VMs of the complete package and serverops can just load player tables.
- All code changes need to be committed to the repository, and each milestone has a database load associated with it

Since everything is hosted on GIT, and will be freely available, no one person has control since any issues people could just start their own development fork.

So, Milestone 1 would be to build an accurate release of EQ as of March 1999.

FWIW I'm an professional server operations guy (Director level) with a development background, although my C++ is pretty rusty (15 years rusty!) - part of my reason for looking for a project is to re-engage those skills. I'm a pretty good PHP programmer tho. Most of my professional life is project management so I can add that dimension. My own server is currently aimed at modelling Velious but this to me is a more righteous project so I'd be happy to offer up my pretty recent code and database as a starting point and start moving it to Classic.

I offer up the following:

- A hosted instance of EQEMU and database to use as a main test server
- A phpBB based forum where we can interact and work out issues, post bug reports etc.
- My services to do builds of the server and deal with operational issues
- My services as Project Manager
- My services as a developer, content editor, tester

I can have the server available within a day or so. If you want to participate, great, love to have some input. If not, do your own thing. If no one jumps in, then obviously it's not a viable project. However if you jump in you commit to everything being open sourced and freely available.

Happy to adjust the above to meet the needs of the community but to me this is how to proceed. Thanks!

Regards,
Mg

PS Be quick to neither give nor take offense. Seems like we're all interested in the same goals, I'm sure we can be civil.

I'm a total noob but I think your thought of approach is little cutthroat.

How about we all do whatever we want to do, then those of us that are working towards some sense of classic (any sense) can post all our stuff to some sort of centralized host and include a readme explaining what the goal of our project is and what we did and what our future directions are?

[MarcusD]

My goal (and it is a compromised goal)

1. is to get trilogy client and corresponding source code from openEQC working using some database (whatever works).

That is milestone 1 for me.

2. Modify the database to get it as classic as possible, and remove all quests for now. (I have no idea how to work on the database would love some links for direction)

And that's it. #2 would be ongoing.

Other thoughts?

[AdrianD]

2. Modify the database to get it as classic as possible, and remove all quests for now. (I have no idea how to work on the database would love some links for direction)

And that's it. #2 would be ongoing.

Other thoughts?

I have been working on the DB with the system I created. The system is simple and a good first step towards classic/progression content and it's EASY to customize and share progress.

I have no doubt others are doing their part with whatever system they have.

I'm glad you posted this, little by little we may actually get some shit done collectively.

Also, many will say they've made things custom and it isn't classic or blah, blah, blah. I can be the judge of what I want to use as with others.

The point is getting more accurate content not perfectly accurate content.

[AdrianD]

Yes Secrets, we are all human.

Taking the risk to make it open is an act in humility.

That other stuff about credit and jobs means nothing to me, personally.

People can typically see through that.

[Secrets]

Originally Posted by AdrianD

Yes Secrets, we are all human.

Taking the risk to make it open is an act in humility.

That other stuff about credit and jobs means nothing to me, personally.

People can typically see through that.

It's a risk in humility but going through 'any lengths' to keep something open that someone requests remains closed from the beginning is not making something 'open source' - that's called stealing and is not part of the open source mantra.

EQEmulator is not a community where we leak the latest and greatest programmers in the communities' work. If you want that type of community, I recommend this website: www.ragezone.com

[Furniture]

Just use the takproject code if you want a classic server. No need to reinvent the wheel. If the server is just for personal use then it is perfect. A non p99 classic server with eqemulator will undoubtedly be vastly inferior to both takproject and p99.

[mgellan]

To me the Mac client is a dealbreaker, and the stated goals of the project are to emulator the Al'Kabor server not provide a progression timeline...

Regards,
Mg

[provocating]

Originally Posted by Furniture

Just use the takproject code if you want a classic server. No need to reinvent the wheel. If the server is just for personal use then it is perfect. A non p99 classic server with eqemulator will undoubtedly be vastly inferior to both takproject and p99.

I would rather be shot in the foot having to use the Trilogy client, or even Titanium for that matter.

[image]

Lol for the hate for older clients, the trilogy client is not compatible with the new netcode anyway, any sort of support for trilogy would require a lot of modification.

Sounds like there are a lot of conflicting interests in this post anyhow I don't see much agreement.

[provocating]

Originally Posted by image

Lol for the hate for older clients, the trilogy client is not compatible with the new netcode anyway, any sort of support for trilogy would require a lot of modification.

Sounds like there are a lot of conflicting interests in this post anyhow I don't see much agreement.

Someone said to use the TakProject net code. I thought they used the Trilogy client, it may have been EqClassic that was using it.

[mgellan]

Originally Posted by provocating

Someone said to use the TakProject net code. I thought they used the Trilogy client, it may have been EqClassic that was using it.

Tak uses the Mac Al'Kabor client, which is POP era AFAIK. -- Mg