Game design for the TLP servers has a lot in common with antique car restoration. Some folks want only "original" parts in their vehicles ... no power steering, no power brakes, no air conditioning, etc. Other folks are comfortable with using more modern equipment ... but want that "look and feel" of driving a 52 Chevy down the road. I favor modern equipment in antique cars and I also enjoy the quality of life improvements made to the current EverQuest TLP design. However, corpse runs need to be re-implemented with Aradune. 1. The overall "look and feel" of Aradune should approximate ... well ... how Aradune would have implemented it. ... and that means corpse runs are a part of the game world dynamic. 2. Strengthens the mechanics of corpse dragging, corpse locating, and corpse summoning. Necromancers, Rogues, and Shadow Knights would shine. 3. Increases the risk of certain player choices ... presenting them with interesting challenges. Let see you make Freeport - Highpass - Qeynos run on your level 5 Bard! 4. Improved sense of player accomplishment when navigating the old world quests. Consequences 1. Increases the probability of permanent item loss. Depending on how this is implemented, but I feel that your corpse and its equipment should completely evaporate after seven days ... or upon server reset. I understand that this means that any character bound equipment in your inventory would be gone ... and that includes any in-game purchased bags, krono, mounts, etc. Breaking Plane of Fear would definitely spike the adrenaline ...
Too late for Aradune but I really wouldn't mind seeing a future TLP that had more hardcore rules. Especially if it went alongside another TLP server with more friendly rules. The TLP servers thus far are a bit of a missed opportunity in terms of not having much gameplay rule variance. Probably due to budget reasons or whatever.
There's plenty of hilarious TLP rule suggestions on this forum, but this one is pretty impressive. You want players to lose all marketplace items and all kronos if they happen to have an unrecovered corpse when the server resets. With server stability the way it's been lately, some players would be risking thousands of dollars every minute they're in game. I love it!
Originally in EQ when one consented a corpse, the person given consent could loot. Too bad about that no-drop item Fred... That's hardcore.
Corpse runs and the associated situations were in no way a positive. The dirty little secret about items staying on corpses was that it allowed nearly undetectable item duping exploits and that it the real reason that it was removed from the game. Have you ever seen those screen shots of scores of corpses littering the guild lobby? That's what that was all about. So whenever I see "bring back corpse runs!" I read it as "I want to get my old exploits!"
Another reason that corpse runs are a dumb idea in 2020 is that there are games built around item-risk and high costs of death, and they do it much better than a TLP with classic EQ rules.
Code has done research on this and the amount of code rewinding is NOT insignificant for a mechanic that some people have fond memories of yet most hate with a burning passion. The Fond memories are often about community... and there are better ways to achieve community.
One of the absolute worst game mechanics ever created. I not only lost 2 pieces of Pre-Nerf Lustrous Russet to this bad mechanic in Fear, I lost the very first Rubicite BP ever dropped in the game to it too. Any game that adds this mechanic in as a feature to its game will never get my money. The Fear loss was not my doing, it was a wipe from a train from angry windowlicker and an ignorant early Verant policy of "No Customer Service Zone" policy in the Planes early on. It took me nearly 2 months to even consider logging in again.
The only times I've ever felt afraid or uneasy in a video game was at the bottom of a dungeon in old EQ and flying an expensive ship in Low / Null sec in EVE online Too many people want an uneventful item treadmill as their games these days unfortunately.
Thanks Ngreth, I appreciate the explanation and response. Disappointed, but sometimes it's ok to have power steering and power brakes in your classic car ... or classic game!
Realistically people would just have their corpse summoning boxes and no high price items would ever be lost. How people play games that have been mastered is the bigger change than the mechanics.