Enabling old-style spell effectsFollow

I came across an interesting post on the SOE forums regarding switching between old-style spell effects and the current ones. After trying it out I found:

1) It works
2) It isn't a hack
3) It enables the main portions (surrounding area, floor, and target) of the old spells
4) It doesn't enable the hand effects we used to have
5) It calls the original spell sound file.
6) You have to do it every time you launch EQ.

To enable the effects launch EQ normally. After patching and before pressing <PLAY> open a file manager and delete the files-
.../everquest/spellsnew.edd
.../everquest/spellsnew.eff

Click <PLAY> and enjoy.

Every time you patch, these files are downloaded so there is no risk to the integrity of your EQ files. Switching back to the new effects is as simple as restarting EQ.

I don't know if there are any issues with this working on high level spells that didn't exist before spell effects were changed. My highest character is 65 and it seems to work with everything I've tried casting.

I'm gonna necro this back up since it relates to the TLP servers. This 'fix' still works and it is fun to see the old effects.

I also wanted to add that disabling (in game: options>display>advanced) radial flora also helps to make the graphically revamped zones look more classic. If anyone else has more suggestions on graphics settings that bring back the old look, post em here!

edit: UI link removed / non functional

If you're correctly deleting the 2 files after SOE Launcher updates and BEFORE you click play... it works. it may not work for every spell, but it certainly swaps most of mine to older effect graphics. I also verified this on Fippy with my new shaman. Burst of Flame went from an orange triangular blob to a nice orange particle explosion.

My memory tells me these are not the original effects, but the effects that were modified around 2000-2001. I remember the 1999 original effects having more tiny particles and causing more lag.

Edited, Nov 10th 2024 10:39pm by Samatman

Yeah I tried out a wow UI a long time ago and honestly hadn't even noticed they are still there. I'll have to figure out how to replace them with something better without messing up the rest of the UI.

Still works in 2024.