Have you ever considered allowing the vast EQEmu community join forces with Daybreak to create a better product?
There are a ton of us who understand the game client and server code just as well, and better in some areas, than some of the current developers on the EverQuest team. This is not a slight against them - we'd love to be able to help them, but because Daybreak is so shrouded in mystery and set in their ways (No one can really afford San Diego, Cliques)
When I heard that Al'Kabor would never be considered to be recreated for PC due to development time needed to be invested, I immediately thought of the EQ emulator folks because they are some of the most passionate fans that would be capable of bringing such an old client up to speed. If you take a look at The Al'Kabor Project, they have done tremendous work on restoring the game to 2002 with a high level of accuracy. Unfortunately, their client lacks modern features such as DirectX9, framerate limiting and other optimizations over the years. These of course are being worked around, but having access to the client code would make a night and day difference for quality. To be honest, we don't need the server or database - EQEmu has faithfully recreated the server code and the content without all of the exploits present in Live EQ.
It would also set the standard for an era-appropriate client being used on Project 1999, whom you guys already have an agreement with, and could potentially monetize - I am certain that Project 1999 would benefit from a higher standard of customer support (Having actual Daybreak GMs would be a good start) and your investors would love some extra money for flipping a switch on.
I would honestly be willing to bet if anyone could spin up a TLE/TLP/Expansion-locked server with the ruleset they like and the content they like using EQEmulator as a framework, that it would be extremely profitable and fun for the players if monetized behind Daybreak's All-Access.
So my questions really are these:
1) Would it be possible to formalize a partnership with EQEmulator? Why or why not?
2) EQEmulator is much more stable than the live servers. Would Daybreak be open to using the free, open-source software for any future projects?
3) Is there any interest in bringing back a modernized 'Classic EverQuest' similar to what World of Warcraft is doing - ie; keeping mechanics the same for the era instead of guestimating them?
4) Why is Daybreak afraid of having remote contractors? Feldon from EQ2Wire had asked for years to work with Daybreak, but he would have to move to San Diego, and would have been a very valuable asset in expanding the EQ2 Census project.
5) Are there any plans to revert the revamped zones (IE; Freeport) for any future TLPs? They are pretty high up there on the complaint list by most.
6) Why are developer resources being spent on EQ1/EQ2 expansions when a very small portion of your active subscribers will even see that content?