# Revisiting EverQuest
Whenever I play this game, I invariably change most of the default settings. This document exists to remind of what to do when I will inevitably try to play this game again (and again, and again..). While keeping a copy of eqclient.ini has been sufficient at times, I've noticed the game client tramples much of the config after merging updates.

### Maximized Fullscreen
The game client can be coerced to run in a borderless windowed mode. Window resizing should be disabled first, otherwise the mouse will be offset incorrectly.  You can find this setting in game under:

*Options* > *Display* > *Allow window resizing*

Or in eqclient.ini:
```ini
AllowResize=0
```

An alternative way to do this is to leave window resizing enabled, and manually fix the mouse offset. Might be useful if you really want to resize the window to something less than full screen (maybe to run more than one eq client).
```ini
WindowedModeXOffset=2
WindowedModeYOffset=1
AllowResize=1
```

The window borders can be removed by a third party utility such as this [autohotkey script](http://gaming.stackexchange.com/a/17307/7413). Just make sure to run the script as Admin, and perform the resize after logging into the character. If the resize occurs on the character selection screen, the renderer won't realize and you'll need to reset the resolution to fix screen stretching.
```autohotkey
    ^!h::
    IfWinExist EverQuest
    {
       WinSet, Style, -0xC00000 ; hide title bar
       WinSet, Style, -0x40000 ; hide thickframe/sizebox
       WinMove, , , 0, 0, 1920, 1080
    }
    return
```

### Texture Flickering (aka Z-Fighting)
In-game lighting appears to be [broken by default](https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq/index.php?threads/technical-question-about-dynamic-lighting.251405/) on modern systems, with no in-game UI option that sufficiently resolves it. The workaround is to use the command: /dynamic off
```ini
ShowDynamicLights=0
```
Shadows will eventually begin mis-rendering all over the place and occasionally just start flickering. Turn off shadows in game!

I like to tweak the default FPS limits.
```ini
MaxFPS=60
MaxBGFPS=60
```

The windowed gamma feature should be off by default now, but just in case:
```ini
WindowedGamma=0
```

### Controls
Mouselook sensitivity can be adjusted under mouse options. The camera mode can be toggled with F9. Roll the mousewheel while in the default first person camera mode to freely adjust it into a reasonably comfortable third-person mode.

Definitely enable "Click Through Self" in General Options.  Otherwise you'll have a hard time clicking anything remotely near your character. The target selection isn't quite so advanced.

### Hotkeys
Custom keyboard configuration is in eqclient.ini [KeyMaps] section. Note that on a fresh install, [KeyMaps] won't be there. I tend to unbind keys for infrequently used features that are accessible through the in-game menu.

### Minimal User Interface
A good UI gets out of your way. [My minimal UI](https://i.imgur.com/mcO4oAA.jpg) is available in this repo in diffs.  Maintaining my custom UI changes as a patch set makes integrating official updates  easier.  I like to set the fade transparency level for most windows to 0%. The exceptions are the hotbars, spellbars and chat windows. I've avoided changing UI panels that are not persistently on screen in order to minimize the long-term maintenance.

**Out of scope:** `AtlasSkin` / `uiresources/` (guild, achievements, overseer, and other HTML panels) — only the classic `UISkin` XML layer is themed; modern panels stay stock Default.

Verify patches: `bash ui/verify.sh` (see [AGENTS.md](AGENTS.md)).

If you've installed [bash on Windows](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10), you could install the UI with the following commands:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/isuldor/eqclient-conf
cd eqclient-conf/ui
./install.sh
```

Copy UI_Player_server.ini into the game directory and try loading the window layout from it under General settings.

### Text colors
Chat colors are stored as separate RGB values in eqclient.ini [TextColors] section. The default color scheme is a relatively dark palette. I've implemented the ir_black theme and it can be found in the relevant section in the included eqclient.ini in this repo. This is an ideal light text on dark background scheme, so it'll only make sense if you have dark chat windows like I do.
I have experimented with [gradient backgrounds for chat windows](/docs/gradient-10.jpg), but the result wasn't great because I could only get 10 levels of transparency from a tga texture ingame.

### (Optionally) Reorganize game data
There's over 4.3 thousand files sitting in the root game directory. If that triggers your OCD (or you hate having to look for the same file over and over again), you can [reorganize everquest](https://www.eqinterface.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21379) using symlinks. This made a little more sense back when I used a slow spinning disk rather than striped ssd storage.

### Extras
Useful information can be found at various third party websites:

* [EQLogParser](https://github.com/kauffman12/EQLogParser) open source alternative to [Gamparse](http://gambosoft.eqresource.com/gamparsegettingstarted.php)
* [Brewall](http://www.eqmaps.info/) has detailed maps
* [EQStats](http://www.eqstats.net/) has a spell and item database
* [Raidloot](http://www.raidloot.com/) item and spell info
* [Lucy](http://lucy.allakhazam.com/) is a spell database
* [Allakhazam](http://eq.allakhazam.com/) records items and quests info
* [Magelo](//eq.magelo.com/) has player profiles
* [Traders Corner](http://www.eqtraders.com/) has tradeskill info
* [Beimeith](http://www.elitegamerslounge.com/home/progress/) is a server-wide leaderboard


Some of the oldest websites about EverQuest are still around.  These are rich archives of EQ lore, quests and discussion:
* [Safehouse](https://thesafehouse.org/forums/forum/everquest-wing)
* [Shaman's Crucible](http://www.shamanscrucible.com/forum/)
* [Druid's Grove](http://thedruidsgrove.org/archive/eq/)
* [Paladins of Norrath](https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/paladinsofnorrath/index.php)
* [GU Comics](http://www.gucomics.com/comic/?cdate=20000710)

There is plenty of lore in Norrath created by the developers. But the real story is about the [players](https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/sacredomen/we-are-all-old-now-t6985.html) [within](https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/sacredomen/hi-t6995.html) the [game](https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/sacredomen/tholuxe-paells-original-guild-manifestos-t6991.html), and the communities they created.
* There is a brief [lore](https://www.everquest.com/lore) page on the official website
* [Wikia](http://everquest.wikia.com/wiki/Lore) has a nascent lore article

### Fixing Allakhazam
Ala is an ad-supported website with useful free content. I think they have a subscription membership that goes with Wowhead, which seems like a great idea if you use it frequently. Their advertisements even seem to get through uBlock Origin.  Here are some UBO filters that you should totally never use. I'll aim to [contribute to their wiki](http://everquest.allakhazam.com/wiki.html?p=Special%3AUser_contributions&user=Isuldor) rather than be tormented by their advertisements.
```
everquest.allakhazam.com###logo
everquest.allakhazam.com###row-top
everquest.allakhazam.com###col-right
everquest.allakhazam.com##a.pw-button
everquest.allakhazam.com###gdpr-dashboard
everquest.allakhazam.com###gdpr-toggle
everquest.allakhazam.com###zul-bar
everquest.allakhazam.com###horizontal-bg
everquest.allakhazam.com##footer
everquest.allakhazam.com###wrapperDiv
```
