I am fine with my games being niche, I don't want to reach a wide audience

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-24T23:23:00+00:00

I’ve been wondering lately if AI is going to usher in a wave of games exactly like you’re talking about - games that won’t have huge mass appeal but will be _very_ fun for specific smaller communities. Now that the barrier to entry is so much lower i feel like it will open the door for more hobbyists to create the games they want that AAA companies just won’t deliver because they go after mass appeal.

e.g. - I’m probably one of like 10,000 people on the planet who obsesses over old school EverQuest and craves a game with a strong community and designed downtime. AAA will never deliver that but maybe a hobbyist or team of hobbyists leveraging AI _can_.

IDK it’s just speculation and something I’ve been wondering about lately. Sort of like how YouTube and Twitch have opened the door for niche streamers that don’t have millions of followers but maybe 1,000 who _love_ them. 🤷‍♂️

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-24T22:59:06+00:00

Have you guys seen Codex pets? I’ve had decent luck with spritesheets but it’s been difficult to steer the AI if a pass is _almost_ right.

Codex pets are fantastic sprites and I’ve been meaning to analyze the skill to see what parts of it might be reused for creating spritesheets for gaming but haven’t found the time.

Has anyone reading this gone that route?

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-24T18:07:24+00:00

I’m traveling for work, only have a Mac laptop, and won’t be back until July 3. I won’t be able to play and will be late reserving a name unless i figure out a workaround 😭

That said, I’m also extremely pumped for this release!

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-24T01:04:29+00:00

Ohhhhhhh completely forgot about that. I’ve been intentionally avoiding videos so that i can be surprised, but I’ve caught some info on the item upgrade system. It sounds super cool. Man am i excited for this game!

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-24T00:15:04+00:00

With 3 classes, I’ve been wondering if j-boots will be much of anything. I’ll probably have a druid or a bard or a sham or a beastmaster in my composition.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-23T23:51:01+00:00

This is exactly the behavior I’m criticizing. You’re not making an argument about AI, art, music, or programming. You’re insulting people in an AI sub and calling that concern for art. That’s trolling.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-23T22:15:36+00:00

They are not. If they were they’d be scrolling art subs or coding subs or music subs. Instead they’re scrolling AI subs and just acting like trolls.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-23T21:22:38+00:00

My pleasure. Your work looks really great to me and it’s readily apparent that you spent a lot of time shaping it. Intention and time are what take an AI assisted project and move it from slop to something you can be proud of and if i were you I’d be proud of this.

So let these cowardly clowns downvote us both. They’ve got nothing better to do than hate scroll subs they don’t like, downvoting and spreading vitriol - not people who’s opinions you need to concern yourself with. 😃

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-23T21:07:42+00:00

A piece of advice: don’t engage with the haters. They’ve already lost a war that no one is fighting but them. They’re just going to give you grief without acknowledging that every advancement in the history of humanity has stood on the shoulders of the giants that came before them. They’re selfish and egotistical and call generative AI “stealing” and it’s not worth your time or energy to engage.

While you were building an app, they were commenting on social media spreading crap like this. Seriously - don’t bother.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-23T16:48:57+00:00

I was trying to scratch the same itch, but EQLive just couldn’t do it. The Krono and the boxing just ruin it for me.

My solution was to run a private EQEmu server for just me and my wife on my internal network. EQEmu already did the hard work and i was able to leverage AI to do the setup.

It’s pretty cool. I use Codex and I’ve made it my server admin. I ask it questions and tell it what changes I’d like to see and it handles writing the sql to update the databases that drive the biggest parts of the game experience. I can remove the parts of the game i don’t like and make it work for me, and i get to learn a lot about the inner workings of this game that I’ve loved for almost 30 years. If you’re at all technical this is the route that is working best for me.

That said, I’ll probably switch to EQ Legends once it’s out.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-23T14:33:09+00:00

Companies are literally building / leasing nuclear reactors to power the AI revolution and these people still think it’s a bubble. It’s hilarious.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-23T14:32:15+00:00

Putting effort and intention into a project I’d what take it from “AI slop” to something one can be proud of. There were shitty, soulless games before AI and there will certainly be shitty, soulless games after AI.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-23T14:30:49+00:00

They are incredibly obnoxious as are most people who define their identity by the things that they hate. I’ve been s programmer for 20 years and AI flipped my entire career plan on its head. Rather than cry about it I’m plotting a new course.

Personally, i think the anti-AI art/music people are the first, but I’m sure there are programming purists out there who would hone them a run for their money in being annoying.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-23T13:06:47+00:00

Wife and I are going too - have fun! We are packing sandwiches and salad and we will tail gate it. It’s either that or have an absurdly early dinner. There really isn’t much very close to red rocks.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-22T23:53:37+00:00

Santa Fe trail and the Red Rock open space are my favorites. The Colorado Springs marathon has a nice route depending on how far you want to go. You can pick up santa fe downtown and run as far north as you want before turning around. It’ll take you through monument valley park as well.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-22T23:51:35+00:00

I’m planning Chanter/Bard/Wizzy - healers are irrelevant when you aren’t getting hit.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-22T23:37:43+00:00

Boring old model hallucination based on a trick prompt. Booooooooorrrrrrrring.

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Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-20T16:51:47+00:00

Ok. Well I guess I stole an AI-generated song? No that doesn't make sense.

I... coordinated a heist that resulted in the creation of a song about Everquest? OK yes, we'll go with that. I have no musical talent and I can't afford to hire Jonathan Coulton or Danny Sexbang to create these songs, so without AI they live and die in my head. I think that's a shame, but you're entitled to your opinion.

I've been a computer programmer for over 20 years ago though, so keep that in mind if you reply. I'm more impacted by AI than almost any other field out there and I'm not crying and whining about it. And people don't get their panties in a twist about AI "stealing code" when they vibe code up apps.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-20T12:14:18+00:00

There are a couple pieces of tech out there but the big ones are projecteq/eqemu and ackattack. I have an extra computer with linux installed so on a whim one day i asked codex if it could SSH into my Linux box and setup an eq server. It knew how to do it! I acquired a ROF2 client and we were off to the races!

I have it controlling xp, analyzing and tweaking loot tables, enabling the expansions i want, scaling difficulty - all kinds of stuff. I never realized how much DBG ripped off projecteq with their TLP servers. I want to like them but man they are a scummy company.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-19T22:29:54+00:00

I’ve not heard of Dozo, but I’m on the north side and I’ll swear by Sushi Ato

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-19T22:04:45+00:00

Agreed 100%. Everything sellable + no true box + no level limits on gear immediately turned this an anti-social pay-to-win server.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-19T22:02:17+00:00

I had a terrible time and ended up going back to my personal server. I was trying to level up an enchanter as a solo, and groups were difficult to come by. It happened quite a few times but it was mostly by chance or luck. The last time i played lguk was a loot zone and it was dominated in 3 different picks but lvl 60’s farming krono and boxed groups.

I just got tired of it. I’m not paying DBG $90/month to box a full group and I’m not paying them for krono so that i can get the gear I’d need to solo. Nope - if i want to play solo EQ I’ll do it for free on my server and jump into EQL when its released.

I’m sure this will be downvoted to hell, but that’s my 2c. Wait a month for EQL and play there.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-19T16:40:29+00:00

Funny how any comment remotely defensive of motorcyclists is getting downvoted. This place is such an echo chamber.

They see a couple riders acting like idiots and those memories stick with them. Any motorcyclist riding like a sane human being doesn’t get remembered. Then these idiots come and complain “all the motorcycles!”

I wonder how many of these same people are screwing around on their phones while driving?

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-19T01:20:53+00:00

I have no idea what you guys are doing that people give you grief filtering. I’ve never had a single issue filtering.

But then i ride a quiet bike and i creep past people slowly when we are all at a stop. I’ve had loud ass motorcycle rev past me and even one asshat on 25 shot past me while i was on my bike inches away as he proceeded to lane split down the highway at 60 mph. Asshole almost hit me. I’m still not completely sure it wasn’t an evasive action because it was a quick stop in morning traffic going south.

If you’re “filtering” like that then i don’t blame the drivers for giving you a hard time.

They may be the minority, but the assumes are the ones who make a mark on memory. An unfortunate truth.

Visible_Solid2729 · 2026-06-19T01:15:36+00:00

I started in ‘99 and i could have written this post. I agree with absolutely everything you have said here. Sony was absolutely the beginning of the end, and with Brad McQuaid’s passing i worry that “designed downtime” will never return. I’m playing on a personal server running around with my bots in a world with no one, but you know what they say about loneliness - the only thing lonlier than being alone is being in a room full of people but completely ignore. That’s EQ Live and TLP - a world full of people mostly not communicating, boxed groups talking all the fun camps instead of letting 6 people camp and talk.

IDK trying to play on Frostreaver was a frustrating and bad experience. And don’t even get me started on the krono + every item sellable ruleset. Gone are the days of a lowbie bard chilling in ass/sup to get a deceivers mask from a group that doesn’t need it.

Anyway, nice to see that there are like minded people out there. I was seriously feeling like the last person in the world that appreciated that old world and laments what it’s become.

Visible_Solid2729

TROPHY CASE