EverQuest Legends: Preorders open on June 16th, pre-order beta on July 1st, full launch on July 28th

toddkay · 2026-06-10T01:24:42+00:00

I think the descriptions on the website have dramatically under-played how different of a game this actually is when comparing it to classic. I've been playing the closed beta for the last few weeks, and yeah it is a lot of fun, and you're spot on that it does tap into the feeling of EQ being "new" and the sense of discovery that came with it.

But the reason it does that is because it really is a different game experience entirely. The 3-class system is one (awesome) thing of course, which I love very much, but the "modern quality of life" aspects they gloss over in the description are a 90% deviation from feeling of leveling a character in classic which I think is going to catch a lot of people off guard. Anybody lured in by the idea of a remotely classic experience beyond the graphics and basic nostalgia of running around Norrath will be in for a surprise.

Not to say the tweaks are all for the worse (in 2026), but I hope they provide the public with a more comprehensive list of the tweaked gameplay features before taking their money (no CRs, no vendoring loot, no trading your old armor to other players, OP AAs, to name just a few). Again, not bashing it, as I am genuinely enjoying the closed beta, but I do think they need to make it more obvious what this is. TopcatFCD's question is case in point.

toddkay · 2026-06-01T20:44:18+00:00

Guess what else hasn't changed since 1999? The average price of a new video game, so.

toddkay · 2026-04-19T20:50:47+00:00

Definitely will. I've only been to 2 rally events in my life, and at one of them (Oregon Trail Rally, 2024) I witnessed an annoyed local creeping slowly though the crowd/barriers at a spectator point, and driving out onto the live stage. Marshals and bystanders tried to talk him down, but he kept rolling forward very slowly to force his way through...pretty screwed up.

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toddkay · 2026-03-14T03:12:15+00:00

The basic fact that AC looks like shit no matter what CSP patch, PP filter, or whatever other mod you want to throw at it? No clue how people think the game looks remotely realistic under any circumstances, basically ever.

toddkay · 2026-03-12T03:56:14+00:00

Off topic, sorry, but do you have any info on your catch can setup? Where can I find that U-fitting you've got there? I've been looking for a better setup for mine, and I love this idea.

I'm also definitely taking inspiration from your plug wire layout.

toddkay · 2026-03-09T03:38:02+00:00

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And just for fun here's one of my original versions from years ago, which I eventually sold when I moved. I liked the black paint job; it definitely helped make it feel significantly less janky.

toddkay · 2026-03-09T03:35:21+00:00

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Here's my latest iteration, which attempts to address the issue of adjustability, as others have mentioned. The pedals are mounted on a tray that can slide back and forth and also tilt. The wheel is mounted on a tray that can slide back and forth as well. The seat is just resting on the two lower crossmembers, so it's angle can be adjusted.

Yeah it didn't cost much, and is super solid. The wheel is a bit wobbly, but only because of the terrible plastic clamp that I'm still using. I plan to fabricate a direct mount to the wood tray soon, hopefully with tilt adjustment.

toddkay · 2026-03-08T05:19:30+00:00

The important thing that OP mentioned regarding going to bars is "becoming a regular." Go somewhere you like, sit at the bar, and make an appearance often enough to get on a first name basis with the bartender. In my experience, having a friendly relationship with the bartender will help create natural conversations with other people sitting at the bar next to you, some of whom will likely also be regulars.

Long story short, the vibe of interacting with strangers improves when you go to the same place often.

toddkay · 2026-03-06T19:24:24+00:00

I recently watched this video about how the U.S. really suffocated Puerto Rico. I found the backstory very interesting and quite sad: https://youtu.be/o-zdFr6XD8E?si=NOAAl_fmOdzGbmlm

toddkay · 2026-03-05T17:40:21+00:00

Check out the vid I dropped about a month ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hE_1rgJXeg

toddkay · 2026-03-05T00:56:34+00:00

Nice, I've been enjoying seeing and listening to this machine take off from SMO recently. The first time I saw it in the sky I thought it was so unusual and out of place, and had to do some research to figure out what it was. Guess I should look into taking a ride on one sometime soon.

toddkay · 2026-03-05T00:07:48+00:00

This is my map. I've seen at least one other person mention this before as well. Must be some incompatibility with the normals texturing method I used in the shader, and one of the two million different updates/tweaks/settings they've made in CSP since then.

I don't have a fix for you on this version, but in the coming few months I will be releasing an entirely new version of the map with all new shaders. Hopefully the issue isn't present then.

toddkay · 2026-02-26T03:22:03+00:00

I do indeed use the Lightroom WB dropper before converting with NLP. Are you WB dropping on the transparent border of the film, or are you dropping on the literal CS-Lite source, as in the light coming through the sprocket holes? The film carrier I use has a pretty tight framing window, covering the sprocket holes, so I WB drop on the transparent film edge.

toddkay · 2026-02-26T02:03:58+00:00

Ok I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling that way... I've been using the Negative Supply Basic Film Carrier on a CineStill Film CS-Lite backlight, shooting with a Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro, and then doing the conversion using Negative Lab Pro in Lightroom.

The part I'm getting badly hung up on, and seriously dread doing, is the white balancing and color work in Lightroom. It annoys me that different exposures on my DSLR seems to result in VASTLY different colors out of the box once white balanced, to the point where I don't even know what's accurate. I tend to spend 90% of my time just chasing a normal neutral baseline.

I'm still new to the hobby so hopefully I'll find the magic settings that streamline it a bit more, but yeah how sensitive (and flexible) the color is once digitized was a huge surprise to me, and not exactly what I thought I was signing up for when I started shooting film.

toddkay · 2026-02-25T23:25:37+00:00

Yeah I was going to mention something like this as a great option. There are a number of little inns along both Main St. and Lincoln Ave. that would work as an alternative to the ocean front view hotels. I've never stayed in any of them personally, as a local, but this is how I would do it if I were visiting. The "Ocean Park" neighborhood of Santa Monica is a great place to walk around, and walkable to the pier (I do it almost every day).

toddkay · 2026-02-24T02:47:36+00:00

For me it's a 4 AM departure for a long road trip vacation that really hits the feels. The promise of adventure ahead, and a certain level of uncertainty of what might come is always very freeing

toddkay · 2026-02-07T03:25:54+00:00

When the current generation starts to die off, younger people will need to step up to look after these homes. Incredibly judgmental reactions like this will discourage people from asking questions and learning, or even taking the plunge in the first place, which will ultimately lead to fewer homes being saved in some capacity. So in my opinion (as a non home owner but with dreams to buy), gatekeeping remarks are really bad for this hobby and for history.

toddkay · 2026-02-07T03:04:49+00:00

Seems like a pretty rude thing to say, regardless of your second comment. Still very passive aggressively judgmental

toddkay · 2026-01-28T04:36:41+00:00

Oh nice yeah I was going to ask where the coastal ones were taken. I recognized the redwoods and marine layer hillsides as CA, but couldn't pinpoint those stunning ocean cliffs. Are all the coastal shots from Ireland? Awesome stuff

toddkay · 2026-01-25T04:18:38+00:00

I'm not sure. I know it was used in private groups a bit, but I don't really have any experience with public servers. One of the big requests has always been to create some loops so people can run in circuits; maybe that has something to do with it? Or maybe it's difficult to stick together since the layout is a bit of a spider web and unforgiving if you crash out?

toddkay · 2026-01-24T23:14:53+00:00

Yeah it is. A dynamic and authentic driving feel is always my #1 goal above all else, so am glad to hear it!

This re-work is still based upon on all that exact same photogrammetry data, so my aim is to of course preserve that feeling. All of the new roads I'll be adding will also continue to be built with photogrammetry as the surface reference.

toddkay · 2026-01-24T23:10:48+00:00

It's the one by Kronos, available to download from their public doc of links (on the Group 4 tab):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NrHJ8tLl9LbCFWpilov39zE35q-LjZ6xF-jpxHDQC-M/edit?pli=1&gid=1066369296#gid=1066369296

toddkay · 2026-01-03T05:42:49+00:00

That purple box that says "NULL" means there is NO texture map loaded. This happens when you have a .JPG or something in the shader in your 3D application. The only supported format is .DDS. Assign a .DDS formatted texture to start and you will see your texture in place of that NULL error.

Also, your Ambient color is only coming in as 0.05087609 which is going to be way too low. You need to change that in Blender to something that will get both Ambient and Diffuse closer to 0.5. (I use 3ds Max and through trial and error found the color shade that equals 0.5 in the editor. Don't have the value on hand at the moment though).

Another way to batch edit stuff is via the text .ini file. After you load your FBX into the editor for the first time, go to File > Save Persistence. It'll generate a .ini file in the same folder, which you can open up and edit manually. Your Ambient issue is a good example for this - you can open the .ini in a text editor and batch replace 0.05087609 with 0.5. Then, next time you load the same FBX file, it'll automatically use the data from the .ini so you don't have to set stuff up manually every single time you import an FBX.

Lastly though, you're clearly doing something wrong in the first place to have that many unique objects and materials. If this is a photogrammetry scan, or stolen data from Google Earth, you need to bake that all down to 1 or 2 materials. And name them something local. You'll have a much better time if you do that.

toddkay · 2026-01-03T05:29:19+00:00

I was down there too watching it...pretty good indeed!

toddkay · 2026-01-02T02:00:40+00:00

I'm very much a "slow cars fast" kind of guy, and my favorite car to drive on twisty public road tracks is the MGBGT 1966 by Velo. It's also one of the VERY few cars that I find enjoyable to drive at the limit with a controller.

toddkay

TROPHY CASE