Everquest Nostalgia

Well as you may know, from a previous posting, I am playing Everquest (live) again. Well, I am trying. I have gotten snagged by Runes of Magic a little - and I was able to purchase a copy of Darkfall Online one day when the shop was open for like 5 minutes. Combined with my job and my personal life - I don't get much time anymore - and it's killing me.

That said, I have been thinking about how my very first graphical MMO made me feel. That MMO was Everquest, and I dived in about 4 months before Luclin was released. I remember the total newb feeling I had thinking "oh wow. what the hell am I supposed to do now?" I slowly learned how to get quests. How to get efficient (yeah right) with xp gains. How to craft - which at that time in EQ was a royal pain in the ass. I remember getting a quest in Qeynos at level 7 or some such and trying to make my way all the way to Highpass to deliver some mail. I died. A lot.

Everything about EQ that I experienced, I loved. Having to keep a binder of maps and spell lists. It sounds so archaic now, but I actually enjoyed all this! I fed off it. I spent more time reading the lore and printing maps than I did playing the game I think.

I never made it very high level, but I still remember grouping in Timorous Deep. The first time I entered the zone and seeing 100+ people there. All the zone-wide shouts for people looking for a group, or groups looking for a tank or a healer, etc. The times sitting at that first safe spot in Blackburrow as trains rolled past.

Looking back, it all seems so ancient. I don't know if any of these things would "fly" in today's MMO market - but I sure as hell would love to get that feeling back. I don't know if it was EQ itself, or just the newness of MMOs at the time. Is it even possible to get that feeling again, after having played so many MMOs? There is a discussion over at the FoH boards with many people stating if EQ were redone - with new graphics but basically the same content, lore and mechanics, they would subscribe in a heartbeat. This is how I feel. What do you think?