Idea... single player EverQuest?

Secrets · #1 12-12-2007, 08:49 AM

I've always had this dream... EverQuest as a single player game.

After working on several projects, namely working hard on KMRA, I realized something.

The 'something' I realized was that most servers' databases are closed to the public in terms of databases, source, etc. (Minus PEQ, which mimics live and is open source.)

But, I had a crazy idea. What if someone was to make a custom server that anyone can download, set up, and start playing and adding on to in the form of 'mods' to this database/source?

It would have to be completely different though. Custom content is what people want, so why not make your own and play through it with your friends? You could play through the game like it was The Elder Scrolls III, meaning, you could roam free, and play through it like it was storyline based.

Or, you could play it any way you wanted to. Say there's a level 1 rat in the game who you think is too tough to start out with. You could use #npcedit hp 13 and change that rat because YOU think the rat is too tough, not anyone else.

That brings up another point that would be solved in the community with this type of LAN RPG.

Hacking. We know MQ2's out there, but if it's on a local server, that brings out something very important. You don't have to worry about that hacker warping, ghosting, etc. Hell, if you wanted to do it yourself, go for it, it's your server and if someone wants to play the game without cheats, by all means they can.

Having a central database like this would also make it easier to do mods to a custom game. And who says it just has to be one person making this type of game? Make as many of them as you wanted to. Have your friends mod your game. Have another person make something LIKE yours but with a whole different storyline and quests, or even have a version-control system for official releases of YOUR game, and people can mod it any way they want. Heck, if someone wants, share it with the community so everyone can see what YOU did. I think THAT is what open source is all about.

Minilogin still works if you get everything working properly.
It's not too late to have a new start on an old game.

In fact, Minilogin helps support this idea of having local servers like this, because you can be disconnected from the internet and still play the game like you want to.

So, in conclusion, that's an idea I have been thinking about for the last... 2-3 weeks. I already am starting on a "LAN-RPG" myself, and maybe will have one ready to be shown sometime.

I'd like to hear what you as a community thinks about this type of idea, and when the time comes and i'm finished with my project, I will release it to the public and show that maybe, MAYBE that it can work.

Single player EverQuest was always a dream of mine; maybe it can become a reality if I or someone else puts an effort torwards it.

Sakrateri · #2 12-12-2007, 09:12 AM

With minilogin it already is a single player game, Or more if you want through your LAN? You already have the ability to play it however you want? I don't understand what idea you are trying to extrude that is so different then what is already available? Perhaps I just missed something there....

Secrets · #3 12-12-2007, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sakrateri

With minilogin it already is a single player game, Or more if you want through your LAN? You already have the ability to play it however you want? I don't understand what idea you are trying to extrude that is so different then what is already available? Perhaps I just missed something there....

The idea is that you CAN play it through your LAN, but you would download creations that other people have made, play through them, kind of like how people release games in the gaming industry, except they would cost nothing, and would be completely able to be modified to the extent of the everquest client.

That's what my vision is here; open source playgrounds for people in the way that only a few other people have thought of before. (Source Engine, etc.)

It's not anything new; it's reinventing the wheel on what's already there and an attempt to spark creativity in a community.

Secrets · #4 12-12-2007, 10:57 AM

Sorry for double posting, but I left out a few things in my last post and the edit button is no where to be found.

The content in these types of servers would be tuned to solo-play. It's not going to have any original EQ content (well, depending on what you'd like to keep that isn't spawns) but will have the same concept in a smaller scale.

I used The Elder Scrolls as an example because that reflects my idea the most. It reflects the idea of everquest, but I feel the emulator has more customization opportunities in its current state than most people realize.

Just a few things I forgot, again, sorry for double posting.

Theeper · #5 12-12-2007, 01:33 PM

Interesting idea if I understand it correctly.

There is no reason you can't make your own DB and quests and distribute them. Lots of people here have given away their custom setups over the years.

But, I don't think it's a simple task to create a complete server, especially if you plan on starting with an empty DB. Not many people would want to invest the time it would take to create one from scratch. It seems to me that a more fluid model would be to make mods for existing DB's like PeQ or AX.

Then people could download the core DB and grab a Secrets_Nektulos_Mod_V.1 which contains your version of Nek forrest. Or possibly a whole expansion mod or something.

**GeorgeS** · #6 12-12-2007, 02:16 PM

Excellent idea. I think my version (if I made one) would require quest driven level advancement, so that questing (playing) was a bit more linear, with an open-ended feel.

GeorgeS

Secrets · #7 12-12-2007, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theeper

Interesting idea if I understand it correctly.

There is no reason you can't make your own DB and quests and distribute them. Lots of people here have given away their custom setups over the years.

But, I don't think it's a simple task to create a complete server, especially if you plan on starting with an empty DB. Not many people would want to invest the time it would take to create one from scratch. It seems to me that a more fluid model would be to make mods for existing DB's like PeQ or AX.

Then people could download the core DB and grab a Secrets_Nektulos_Mod_V.1 which contains your version of Nek forrest. Or possibly a whole expansion mod or something.

This is sort of what I was aiming for, personally. Anything that would mod a database or add on to it which was not in original EQ, whether it be a whole new database, or just a new zone (that in your example, would tie to EQ lore.)

Maybe i'll even release a few custom zones for the community to use and modify to their likes.

We'll see.

Cripp · #8 12-12-2007, 09:48 PM

/cough Nug Blazers /cough

Secrets · #9 12-13-2007, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cripp

/cough Nug Blazers /cough

Cripp's server is an excellent example of this idea.

<3 cripp

boogerific · #10 12-13-2007, 05:18 PM

So how does one gain access to play on Cripp's server?

bowmaster · #11 12-14-2007, 04:37 AM

yea cripp when your server comes up ?

iceman88869 · #12 01-02-2008, 03:47 PM

I have had kinda the same idea as Secrets, except my idea was that maybe one day after the EQ servers close down, they would bring out EQ with all expansions, but it would be changed so that a single player could beat all content, or at the most a LAN party.

I like your idea Secrets!

Billzum82 · #13 01-02-2008, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceman88869

I have had kinda the same idea as Secrets, except my idea was that maybe one day after the EQ servers close down, they would bring out EQ with all expansions, but it would be changed so that a single player could beat all content, or at the most a LAN party.

I like your idea Secrets!

I would have much love for the person who could make a version of EQ that I could play alone with my wife as a two man team and really be able to play all the content. I realize that this would be a... retarded? amount of work. However, I would love you =D

I am NOT capable of doing this and am merely a consumer... Maybe in a few years when I get back to college I can learn enough to do this.

**TheLieka** · #14 01-03-2008, 02:17 AM

I think it would be a lot of fun to play with a group of maybe 6 friends, utilizing a modified version of Magoth's bot code. It could have a GuildWars feel to it (not Image's GuildWars, but the commercial namesake), having bots available would help keep you from having to rework every encounter. I also really like the idea of cutting diffs of your database for modular distribution.

We started out with ax_classic, and have been modifying it as time goes on. At this point (though I truly appreciate what Angelox did for us) it doesn't look anything like the Ax database. It would be cool to make certain (completed or revamped) zones available to the public like that.

Someone should set up a site for it. I'd play along.

Dax

Irreverent · #15 09-20-2008, 02:56 PM

Or there is the Irreverent for a solo eq that is (S)table and fun.