EverQuest

Nostalgia & Sense of World

• Many recall EverQuest as their most memorable game: “world first, gameplay second,” with danger, mystery, and long, hazardous trips (e.g., Qeynos–Freeport runs, ocean boats) creating lasting emotional impact.
• Players emphasize how big, unknown, and alive the world felt, especially on first contact, and say that kind of “frontier” feeling is essentially impossible to recapture now.

Friction, Danger, and Discovery

• Harsh mechanics are remembered both fondly and critically: corpse runs, losing gear, night blindness, food/water management, XP penalties, death penalties in keyed zones, and long waits (boats, airships, spawns).
• Some argue this “pain” created real stakes and immersion; others say nostalgia glosses over experiences that were simply punishing or unfair.
• Slow, opaque progression made every upgrade feel earned; modern games are seen as showering rewards and smoothing difficulty curves.

Modern MMOs, Wikis, and Streaming

• A common theme is that external knowledge (wikis, YouTube, data-mining, streaming) has killed the sense of exploration and wonder.
• Some try to self-impose “no guides,” but note many games now assume you’ll look things up, making solo discovery impractical.
• Ideas to restore mystery—procedural worlds, frequent map resets, NDAs—are discussed; most are seen as either technically limited or unenforceable.

Addiction, Time Costs, and Ethics

• Multiple stories describe EverQuest (and later MMOs) derailing school, careers, relationships, even leading to firings and divorces.
• Some attribute this to underlying issues (ADHD, depression, social pressure) with EQ as the outlet; others frame MMOs as structurally similar to gambling.
• There’s debate over hard time limits per account: one side sees them as necessary public-health regulation; the other rejects any constraint on personal leisure choices.

Social Design and Community

• Group dependency, dangerous travel, and player-run trading (tunnels, bazaars) forced interaction and built strong communities, guild leadership experience, and lifelong friendships (including marriages).
• The same social obligation is also blamed for deep addiction: raid schedules and guild expectations kept people logged in like a second job.

Game Design Debates & Comparisons

• Comparisons arise with Ultima Online, FFXI, WoW, RuneScape, DAoC, SWG, EVE, Souls games, Death Stranding, Kingdom Come, and others.
• Many feel the genre shifted from “persistent shared world” simulations toward theme-park, on-rails, engagement-engineered experiences—more accessible, less ambitious.
• There’s tension between wanting friction, mystery, and long, empty travel vs. modern lives with limited time and lower tolerance for tedium.

EverQuest’s Legacy & Ongoing Scene

• EverQuest is credited with teaching typing, programming, Linux, scripting, leadership, and a sense of agency; some careers trace directly back to ShowEQ, emulation, or guild tools.
• Players still revisit official servers and classic emus (Project 1999, Quarm, Lazarus), though many admit the magic doesn’t fully return with adult responsibilities.
• A current lawsuit against a popular emulated server (The Heroes Journey) is flagged as important, highlighting tensions between fan communities and the IP holder.

Industry Perspective

• An ex-insider describes EverQuest-era subscription revenue funding broad experimentation (including unshipped MMOs and SWG), and notes that some celebrated figures behind EQ and related projects had serious management failures.
• Overall, the thread treats EverQuest as both a foundational artistic achievement and a cautionary tale about how powerful, and dangerous, virtual worlds can be.