Name Reservations for the Combine (Progression) Opening on May 31st

The Combine (Progression Server) will be available on May 31st for all current subscribers to log in and reserve a name for the launch on June 28th. The Combine server will open between 10am and 12pm PDT for name reservations only and will remain open until June 26th. Only one character per account will be allowed.

When the server goes live you will be able to fill all 8 character slots but for the sake of fairness we are limiting the pre-launch naming to a single character per account. Keep in mind that until later expansions are unlocked, Iksar, Frogloks, Vah Shir, beastlords, and berserkers will not be available for character selection.

Naming Server Fact Sheet

Opening: May 31st between 10am and 12pm PDT
Closing: June 26th
Character Limit: Naming will be limited to a single character per account although the live server will allow the full set of 8.
Race Limit: Iksar, Vah Shir, and Froglok are not available.
Class Limit: Berserker and beastlord are not available.

You can get to The Combine to reserve your name once it is available as you would log into any other server on the main Live Server Select screen.

Message Edited by Kytherea on 05-30-2006 05:44 PM

Kytherea ~~wielding a giant hammer & a hairless War Hamster~~
"I'm late, I'm late...."

Original post here.

DirectX 9.0c update on Test and is going Live with the next update

Posted by Grumbuk, EQ Programmer, on 05-22-2006:

This post is just another reminder to folks that we've updated the Test server to use the April release DirectX 9.0c. Note there is a little bit of confusion about which specific version of DX9.0c you need; there happens to be a couple of different versions of DX9.0c and to make a long story short if you aren't sure which specific version of DirectX 9.0c you have installed, please just visit the microsoft DirectX update site to be sure your system is fully up to date. While it's a little confusing to everyone that there are multiple releases of DirectX 9.0c, it is a thankfully simple process to just go to the microsoft site and update automatically (I have no idea why Microsoft didn't update the visible version numbers, sorry).

Please note that with the next update to live servers players will be required to use a version of DirectX released in April or later.

For anyone interested in why we are updating, it is because there have been a good number of bug fixes in DirectX 9 since the version currently in use on Live servers. The latest version also provides some very useful diagnostic tools to help us continue to improve the stability & performance of EverQuest. This is not a significant update to the code; pretty much all that had to change from a code standpoint to support the latest DX was shader API related.

Our compatibility lab spent a lot of time testing all the the permutations of supported hardware (which is a lot of time & hardware) and so far neither QA or the players on Test have reported any problems with the DirectX update. That said, if you want to be certain your system will not have any problems related to the DirectX update when we patch live servers, I recommend you log in to the Test server and verify your system allows you to log in and play with no obvious visual artifacts. To the best of our knowledge, updating DirectX to the latest version will not affect your ability to play on Live servers and in fact we believe a significant portion of the player base is already using the correct version. We are optimistic this will be a smooth update, but it's always good to get more people confirming the results so if you're able to get on Test to check it out please do.

Thanks-

---------------------------
Eric Cosky - "Grumbuk"
Assistant Lead Programmer, EverQuest
Sony Online Entertainment

Full thread here with links to Microsoft for DirectX.

8th Year Veteran Reward Decided

Posted by Oshran, EQ Designer, on 05-22-2006:

Quick announcement: the 8 year veteran reward has been decided! It's called Throne of Heroes and will port 8 year vets directly to the throne room in the guild lobby. ToH will be similar to Origin in regards to its casting and reuse timers. To accommodate this new ability, the guild lobby and its amenities will be made available to everyone, even those who are not yet flagged for Dragons of Norrath.

Looking forward to 8 more,
Oshran

Full thread is here.

Stealth Update 05/03/06 at 4am PST

The following zones were updated early this morning:

Fanning the Flames (Tirranun raid) - The lava spout traps were removed.
Demi-Plane of Blood - Tether added to Mayong Mistmoore.
Deathknell - Ability to feign and stun the tank was removed from the Deathknell Enforcers.
Trakanon's Teeth - Can now launch and enter the Kunark monster mission raid with only one person needing to be flagged.
Hollowshade Moor - The war should be working again.

Let me know if you have any questions.

-Prathun

Full thread is here.