Thursday, May 28, 2020

Increase The Population : EverQuest

So much for that moment of madness. It's not as though I even want to play on Aradune only, y'know, everyone else is doing it. Or so it seems.

At least I didn't  take the day off work yesterday, like Tipa. Although, right now, every day is a day off work, so...

I noticed last night that both EverQuest and EverQuest II were having server issues. I got kicked when I zoned to Freeport on the way to my Mara home, where I was heading to craft a compass and a throne for the researcher missions.

Couldn't get back in so I went to log in to EverQuest instead, meaning to collect my Overseer rewards and set another five quests to run overnight. Couldn't get in there, either.

Server issues are something of a way of life in Norrath these days so I didn't think anything of it. I'd forgotten it was launch day for the two new servers so I didn't even think to blame them for breaking the game.

This morning all was back to normal. I finished up all my stuff then I happened to read Tipa's post.

I hadn't been planning on making characters on either server because I know if I did they'd never get played. Look, here's what happened when I made characters on Selo.


Level three! Level four! I really stuck with it last time, didn't I? And look at those names. Breezy and Buffy. I was definitely planning on taking it all very seriously. Actually, I'm pretty shocked I got those names. I must have been there when the server came up. Unless there was pre-registration...

It's strange, though, isn't it? Here's a twenty-year old MMORPG (Okay, twenty-one. Geez!). It already has three retro servers up and running. Then they put up another and just like that it's full. At seven in the morning (Pacific time). On a weekday.

You'd think the novelty would have worn off by now. I mean, there's nostalgia and there's obsession.

You can get onto the other new server, Rizlona, although it's showing "High" population right now. So's Aradune, for what it's worth. The tracker only does Low, Medium and High. There is no Full. Or Empty, come to that.

I'll give it a few days to calm down, maybe. Then I might try again. I do fancy another few hours in the Commonlands or Steamfont or Qeynos Hills. Poking orc pawns with a rusty shortsword. Bashing gnoll pups with a warped staff. Maybe I'll get as far as level five this time.

Or perhaps I'll make a character on Vox, the only "Preferred" server that isn't some form of Progression/Time Limited/Special Ruleset. It's a long time since I levelled up under the normal rules with normal xp and a merc.

Oh, hang on, wait a minute...

I already have two characters on Vox! Both gnomes. Both... level one. What is wrong with me?

And, oh god... no, this can't be happening...

Those two are on my current All Access account. You need one of those to play on any of the Time Limited Progression servers. But anyone can play on Vox...



And it seems I already do. Or did. I  have six characters on Vox on my old account. The one I actually play EQ on but don't pay for. Not the one I actually play EQII on and do. What a mess.

When did I play on Vox? I have no memory of it at all. One of those characters got to level forty-five. And another to twenty-one. And they're both gnome necromancers! How did that happen?

Oh, I get it - the level twenty-one is from Fippy Darkpaw, which just merged with Vox this week. I remember him. That was the last time I actually stuck with a Prog server for more than a couple of sessions.

I am seriously going to log into every server and make a list of all my characters. I have no clue how many I have or where they are.

I guess, when you look at it like that, another one on Aradune's not going to hurt, is it?

4 comments:

  1. Daybreak did some update right before the new server launch and then when the crowd rushed in, EQ fell over, EQII fell over, and the forums fell over. It was quite the afternoon. I suspect that launching a special server at the stated time is just asking for a bolt out of the sky. These things are never allowed to go smoothly.

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    1. Luckily for Daybreak, Phantasy Star Online 2 seems to have taken all the headlines for worst possible launch day. I went to download that before I discovered it was North America only. Lucky escape!

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  2. I think you did write about grabbing names on Selo.
    http://bhagpuss.blogspot.com/2019/03/happy-20th-birthday-everquest.html

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    1. Geez. My memory is even worse than I thought it was! I can remember writing that post - now I read it. Until then I had no memory either of the post or the events that precipitated it. I really ought to re-read my blog sometime. I'd learn a lot.

      Obviously, Buffy never got to 20 to take a last name. Not even close. Lana on Kaladim in EQII, however, has done a lot better. She's level 22 and I've played her several times in the last few weeks.

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