Project 1999: Green, a fan-led endeavor, is finally releasing the classic Everquest on Oct. 25.
The project is an homage to Everquest, one of the pioneers of MMORPG, as it even predates the World of Warcraft. The creators of Project 1999 really tried to recreate the original feel, look, and even the expansion timelines. They aim to spark nostalgia for those who played the game between 1999 and 2001.
But if you’ve been playing Everquest lately, from the multiple expansions, you can revisit the game from when it started. The game has 25 expansions so far, the last of which–The Burning Lands–was released in December 2018. In December this year, the 26th expansion, Torment of Velious, will be released. The Torment of Velious just entered the beta phase on Oct. 16.
Everquest was released in March 1999 by Sony Entertainment, winning Game of the Year honors at that time. It became one of the most influential MMORPGs in history. It even surpassed Ultima Online, one of the first successful MMORPGs, in reach and popularity. For five years following its release, nobody could touch Everquest.
The project’s concept is quite simple. They wanted older fans and even newer fans to experience Everquest from the start. Project Green will also create a server, which would host the base level of the classic game.
It means the PvE server won’t enable expansion or patches upon the release of Everquest. However, you will be able to play legacy items like Manastone or Guise of the Deceiver. More will be added to the server when the patches and expansions arrive. In the following months after the Oct. 25 release, the team will then drop expansions.
However, the expansion may not follow the original timeline for Everquest. For instance, the first expansion, The Ruins of Kunark, was released in April 2000. This was followed by The Scars of Velious and The Shadows of Luclin in the years 2000 and 2001. The Planes of Power expansion dropped in October 2002.
But according to Project 1999’s timeline, The Planes of Power will drop first in January 2020. Plane of Hate will drop in April 2020, Plane of Sky, and Ruins of Kunark in August and November 2020. The Scars of Velious, meanwhile, will be released in July 2021.
In between, the creators will also unlock patches each month in the period between March 1999 and December 2001. For long-time fans of Everquest, they only have to wait for a few hours for Project 1999 to drop.
