Lots of Questions. Deciding on doing a Winters Roar type ...

[Draugr]

Hi,
A friend and I have been thinking about creating a custom EQ server. We would do something similar to Winter's Roar with regards to designing our own island or continent by connecting various zones so they link up differnetly then in LIVE EQ. After that we plan on doing some major changes such as a 100% complete custom item, monster and possibly spell list that is designed after AD&D. Ex: Longsword +1 or A Two-Handed Sword of Lightning.

There is obviously a lot of work to go into outlining everything we plan to do so we are organized when we are ready to move forward and design. Then of course there is the design phase which will be even longer, but if we can get the server I have envisioned, it will definitely be a lot of fun to play on. I'd like to now ask some questions and hopefully get some answers as this will help us to determine whether or not to move forward and spend time on such a project.

1. Database (BASIC) - Is there a database out there that has the weather, ambient sounds, and doors done, but nothing else? Again, we would be starting from scratch with mobs, items, spells, spawns, loot, etc... so we would only need a database that had the appropriate weather patterns for each zone and hopefully all the doors setup as well as the typical atmospheric sounds like wind, birds chirping or monsters growling off in the distance. Ex: West Karana. Please let me know if there is a basic database that might fit our needs listed in this question.

2. Graphical Admin type program - I used to work on a UO emulator and we had a great Admin program that made item, monster, spell, quest creation really easy to do in a GUI interface type program and not with command line parameters within the client. I know we had EQ Admin a while back, but I believe that it is no longer supported. Can anyone confirm this and also let me know if there is another similar project in the works that would make database design and management a lot easier than doing it by hand in the client via command lines?

3. Re-naming Zone Names - Is it possible to change the name of the zone that pops up when a player zones into a new zone? Ex: When you enter Blackburrow it says Entering Blackburrow. Is there a way to have it say Entering Draugr's Pit for example?

4. Is there a way to set which classes and races are useable as player characters? If so is this done in the database or does it require programming of the server code?

5. I was told in another post that all the editing type programs are out of date and not functional with the 6.x versions of EQEmu. Does anyone know if any of the item, spell, zone editors that are out there are up to date or at best still being worked on so that there will be a 6.x compatible version? I'm asking because I'd like to look into these programs and see how they work, so I'll be familiar with them before we go forward and begin working on our own server.

Well, I guess thats enough for now. I have so many ideas that I've written down. I will juggle the ideas around and see which will be added to our custom server, if we go forth and design this world. One of the new thoughts I had was to speed up combat so its a little more action based. I have to research it, but I'm thinking if there is a way to modify the starting haste % for players and for mobs that combat would become more hectic and possibly if tweaked properly, a lot more fun. Again, this is just one idea and as I said I'll have to look into it to see if it can be done without hurting the gameplay.

In closing, if anyone can answer any of the above questions, please PM me or respond here. I appreciate any info that anyone can share.

Thanks
John