Solo gone wild vs Legit

[JimB_1958]

Exactly. That's what generates that typical scenario of a server experiencing a possible small surge after launch, players bulldoze to the end and fade away.
But if you slow that leveling and experience down, (keeping the content soloable), would those same "bulldozing" players still be interested ?

In a word... No.

In my experience, slowing down leveling and experience for most players is like watching paint dry.

It sounds good, but while thinking that slowing things down will make it a challenge, that's not the kind of challenge most players want.

In my opinion, (and it is just an opinion), let them advance fast. Let them bulldoze to their hearts content. Just keep giving them more and more and more to bulldoze.

But, the issue with that is that you have to be willing and able to keep developing content that people actually want to do.

Then you have to decide how much time you can spend on it.

The time you can spend on ideas and development is a major factor in the success of the server.

[Albator]

I agree and disagree. I agree let people bulldoze content. Heck in diablo 2 people got good enough to hit the rough softcap of lvl 87 in a day or so. They were just skilled. That didn't stop them from having fun with the character for years or just make more alts. If the game is FUN then people will keep playing regardless how quick they beat the game. Heck I bet most people who play eq now 18 years later have still yet to seriously try half of the classes! So the key should be to focus on the fun. Now yes you should keep things fresh but not by zoneflation. The reason I never came back to eq after 1999 was because all the old zones I loved were abandoned. Diablo 2 did a great job of creating divergent content; like fury visor and warshrikes and death's web and other items that let you play a class in vastly different ways and were very exciting to make an alt and level them solely to use that item. So you don't have to screw up the game like sony did to keep things fresh and fun.

[JimB_1958]

You're not REALLY disagreeing with me

New content does not always mean new zones. Just something new for the players to work on.

[daerath]

Originally Posted by JimB_1958

You're not REALLY disagreeing with me

New content does not always mean new zones. Just something new for the players to work on.

Unfortunately most players who cry about new content DO mean "new zones", "new stuff that didn't exist in EQ live" instead of, "There are literally hundreds of quests I've never done" or "I've never played XYZ class, maybe I'll do that!"

I'm playing through Crescent Reach and the surrounding zones because I've never been there before. It's neat. The quests are super minimal, so I'm going to implement them as I go along (unless work interrupts, which it probably will, but it's still a goal!)

[GRUMPY]

Originally Posted by The_Beast

a "classic"
tag on the Server Type would be a great idea under "view server description

There is only two tags needed on the whole list. Emuquest and Everquest

[GRUMPY]

These are the servers who are (currently) maintaining an average of 30+ players
(Numbers subject to change weekly or monthly) Info gathered from stats on the
server list page.
P99 883
EZ Server 268
PEQTGC 222
P99 (PvP) 112
Dragon Soul 96
Al'Kabor 94
EQTitan 93
The Hidden Forest 69
Raid Addicts 57
Shards of Dalaya 46
Imperium 36

[ChaosSlayerZ]

Hmm,I am really not sure how many REAL players are among those numbers. I know that PEQ, RA and THF all very boxer heavy.

[GRUMPY]

Ya, a lot of servers are allowing some form of boxing now. Even EZ's guide on their website
indicates that "most people here box 3 to 12 characters".

[The_Beast]

This is why I support the use of bots. Comparing them to boxing, you still have to gear up all your own toons either way,
but with bots, they all level together, you don't have to buy spells for them and never have to worry about their corpses.
But if a server is going to head towards "solo", as compared to the classic "need a group", I am an "all or nothing" type of
guy with no grey areas inbetween. Whether boxing or bots, go all the way with it, or not at all. Then live with the decision
whether it turns out positive or negative. Obviously the boxing has turned out positive for servers like EZ and others. But
if you ask the opinion of 100 different players, they will all have something different to say. We hear all sorts of rants
and raves about what players hated on EQ Live. "Been there, done that, don't want to do it again", "Didn't like this or that",
but then all these custom servers reinvent what they think EQ should be like, then again, we hear opinions, "I don't like that".
Some say they don't like boxing, some don't like bots, some don't like MQ2. I even read about someone complaining that when
he zoned, his toon heading wasn't pointed in the right direction. (He must of accidently glued his mouse to the puter desk).

As for what my own eyes see, I have no choice but to believe statistical facts over individual opinions that try to speak for
the rest of the player base. While "some" players are definately looking for something new (custom), when you look at the
population of a server like P99, others are quite happy with locked content.

As I indicated in my OP on this thread, there is a variety out there. Solo servers, classic grind, boxing, mercs, bots,
custom content, items and gear, custom zones, locked or unlocked expansions, buff bots, porters, corpse summoners, etc.
It's usually the odd individual with "picky" preferences that will show up on these forums looking for something special.
Like, "Oh I am looking for a solo server, easy but not too easy, with people on it to talk to, but no boxing or bots, in case
I want to group once in awhile. Mercs are ok as long as I can solo good with them and free starter gear, but no defiant, with
a porting npc and buff bot placed on the north side of the PoK for easy access." ...Sure, I'll get to work on that right away.

[ChaosSlayerZ]

The_Beast, I think there is one significant difference to point out.

The P99 is the ONLY true 100% Classic server - its that server where you COUNT on being able to get groups as required per game set up. Even then, HALF of newbie posts on P99 forums ask - "which class is better for soloing?"

All other players scattered around all other server want something LESS hardcore than P99. And then the "Been there, done that, don't want to do it again" - comes in - most of so called CUSTOM servers are basically: PEQ DB with 3x XP and a couple custom raids here and there. In other words, the server is neither true classic, but it is still 99% same old content I already seen 13 years ago and done to the death.

The server has to be REALLY CUSTOM and inspiring to catch the players attention.

I short I do believe that majority of players would prefer a server where anyone could SOLO, but then easily get a group if they wanted to.
It just some players more of on one of side of group/solo fence and some more on the other.
P99 allows that to some classes up to some level, and it got population to make it possible.

[GRUMPY]

As far as I'm concerned, the most one can do in customization, to make a server more unique than others,
is new zone/npc visuals and new items. If thats what gets players excited. No matter how custom the quests
are, it's all the same in the end. Kill mobs, do turn-ins, get rewards and get leveled. New quests can be made
to have different NPC's to hail, different zones to collect items from, but still have the same plot in the end.
Brand new custom zones can be created, or simply revamp an old zone, fill it up with npc's and custom stats
but the only thing that changes is the visuals. So one can say "I'm tired of looking at the orcs in commons,
so give me a new npc in a new zone for my tank to dual wield on."
Don't get me wrong, I'm not being grim about the game, my point is, it's not a matter of "been there, done that".
No matter how custom the server is, it really is "been there and still doing it". Just different visuals to look at
and different quests to do.
Trees, rocks and hills come in many different shapes and colors but we want to see them all and climb them all.