I started doing periodic backups of the levels after some jerk decided to delete everything at one point (not naming names), so I decided I would generate the maps from the earliest and latest timestamped copies. I added some recent images I posted for timeline context.

The earliest system timestamp I can find on my version of the first map including the castle is 9/29/2005.



The earliest system timestamp I can find on my version of the Overworld Map expansion concept, which includes some additions to the last map aside from the imagined future, was from 11/26/2005.



The earliest system timestamp I can find on my version of this initial Overworld Map expansion is 1/2/2006 (which agrees with the timestamp on the screenshot)



Overworld Map from 7/11/2006 (missing some levels, probably because I'm not using the correct GMAP). The gmap I used is from 7/22/2006. I tried using the GMAP from 4/2/2006, and from that I can infer that Nimda got re-added to the gmap between 4/2/2006 and 7/11/2006 (although not fleshed out for content), and that the errors are weird.



Here's 7/27/2006, which doesn't have the weird errors, but shows the work I did to move level25.graal up to a proper elevation for snow for the first time in Graalian history. It also brought about a potential for a "fish mountain" arc in any Graal storyline (following further overworld updates), but that's no longer a thing.



For good measure, I figure 8/21/2006 would be a good halfway point to look at how things were evolving over time.



Overworld Map from 11/15/2006, shortly before I essentially quit.

Posted by Jhenkzi

What is the area in the purple circle? I've always been curious.

Oh wait, I misunderstood the first time. That is a level formerly known as level25.graal. It was what I believed to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing in Graal, so I wanted it to stay on the map. It was originally at a really low altitude, which I always found kind of weird because it had snow, so I made an effort to put it at a higher altitude when putting it on the map. When I first played, it was part of level 3 sword quest. You would obtain the obsidian shaft component by digging in that level with the level 2 shovel. From my old FAQ pages, it was part of Fox's cave complex that led to Sylphia (Snow Town).

Posted by iBubble

When you were still able to glitch out of the map you'd reach a black void and no matter how far you dragged your screen to nimda, it was fully gone lol (same with the other areas)

Graal only ever loads the level you're in and the surrounding 8 levels when you're on the gmap, which is why when you drag your camera you can't see beyond a certain area.

Posted by Wolfie

Never really got to know what Nimda really was. Only been there through offmap glitches. What is the purpose of Nimda? I know there are games like boat race and such. There's also a forest too. Was that a quest?

Before the first server wipe, there was a forest quest there, followed by another quest that took you to a place called dragon's island. Neither of those quests were reimplemented during my time. I was trying to get Pretext/Castle/Gnomes/Kull's/Sardon's done as the highest priority quests. We only got up through the castle quest ever completed. The Gnomes quest was extremely frustrating because I couldn't get anyone to work on it.

There was a shop there where you could get the torch and a mini-game system, and the map to Nimda Forest. You'd follow the map to find ratform. You had to kill a boss for it. Once you had the ratform, you could enter the Dragon's Temple on Nimda Island. Once completing the Dragon's Temple, a dragon would carry you to Dragon's Island, where you would find the Graal of Life (one of the four graals needed to enter Midas' Realm) after defeating the dragon mage in a temple there.  

Link to a previous post with task assignments in case anyone's just clicking to the third page. In addition to providing some sort of vision and assigning everyone tasks to accomplish that, what I did was primarily scripting and the detailing of levels.

The previous post documents the Overworld Expansion from 9/29/2005, around when I became the lead developer (also my first semester of college), to 11/15/2006, around when I quit (it was my third semester in college, the server had lost a lot of players and nobody was particularly happy with what I produced).  

Well, now I've reviewed the castle dungeon quest levels and I'm missing them. Too bad I can't make a video. It's a classic raise/lower water puzzle, get's you the level 1 glove (lift rocks), a few secrets that you can bypass, a projectile boss battle, with little other combat.

Forgive the lack of relevant graphics being loaded, but the level names should be self-explanatory (this is like screenshots of a third, and all missing lots of graphics, but whatever).  

I really liked the castle quest. I had a trial account at the time so I had to do it every time I logged in.  

Posted by Skyzer

I really liked the castle quest. I had a trial account at the time so I had to do it every time I logged in.

Your feelings on the inaccessible treasure chest that looks like it ought to be accessible in this quest? I also put that one by the waterfall west of MoD Town, although it seems someone gave it a fancier graphic and made it accessible via ratform.

It's practically a freebie if the devs wanted to reimplement it. The coding and levels already exist (at least I have a lot of it). Meanwhile, I doubt the existence of requiring a quest for newbies would really work with the server's current lag issues, especially when you have hundreds of people wanting to do it at once. I also don't know if anyone in present development has planned for people being able to handle lifting/throwing rocks in the present iteration of Graal.

So rock throwing and distribution could be issues any devs would face if they wanted to implement such a thing. Of course, if you get a good distribution system, that would significantly help quest implementation in general.

This had me thinking, the warp ring jewel system I implemented could be used to distribute access to quests so that not everyone is doing the same quest at the same time (albeit with some minor changes, e.g. giving warp ring jewels an expiration date rather than being permanent). E.g. you dive and find a warp jewel to a quest. Or you kill a baddy and find one. It only lasts for a certain period of time, otherwise you lose your spot. Heck, you could make a warp jewel repair guy that you pay gralats in return for fixing your used warp jewels, which would then allow you a replay of quests.  

I think I asked Ranger or Tatsumi if you could get it. They said you couldn't and I left it at that. I remember the one near MoD Fort, too. I noticed it was a tile instead of a coded chest so I knew it wasn't accessible.

I liked finding all of the warp gems and stuff, too. Classic around 2005-2006 was really fun for me. Thor changed the warp ring when he became Dev Admin, though.  

why doesn't iClassic look that big and good? now everytime I log on IOS i will cri  

Posted by Gitaz

why doesn't iClassic look that big and good? now everytime I log on IOS i will cri

Looks better now than it ever did, both level wise and GFX wise.

Classic always had **** levels that were mostly broken. I'm sure massokre tried to fix the cliffing but anyone that's ever worked with the server knows that once you fix one set of cliffs you need to fix the rest or else the problem is still there. Absolute horse **** to work with. The detailing was always bad, interiors were garbage with the excuse of "iz clasik styl!!", and I'm glad quests are gone because I never liked them.  

Posted by deadowl

Before the first server wipe, there was a forest quest there, followed by another quest that took you to a place called dragon's island. Neither of those quests were reimplemented during my time. I was trying to get Pretext/Castle/Gnomes/Kull's/Sardon's done as the highest priority quests. We only got up through the castle quest ever completed. The Gnomes quest was extremely frustrating because I couldn't get anyone to work on it.

There was a shop there where you could get the torch and a mini-game system, and the map to Nimda Forest. You'd follow the map to find ratform. You had to kill a boss for it. Once you had the ratform, you could enter the Dragon's Temple on Nimda Island. Once completing the Dragon's Temple, a dragon would carry you to Dragon's Island, where you would find the Graal of Life (one of the four graals needed to enter Midas' Realm) after defeating the dragon mage in a temple there.

Dang. Never knew Nimda had such an epic purpose.

Are the quests on Graal Reborn exactly the same as the before the wipe? Like that Nimda quest  

Posted by Crono

Looks better now than it ever did, both level wise and GFX wise.

Classic always had **** levels that were mostly broken. I'm sure massokre tried to fix the cliffing but anyone that's ever worked with the server knows that once you fix one set of cliffs you need to fix the rest or else the problem is still there. Absolute horse **** to work with. The detailing was always bad, interiors were garbage with the excuse of "iz clasik styl!!", and I'm glad quests are gone because I never liked them.

Cliffs are a collective work, so yea, it involves a comprehensive approach. Onnet Town is the biggest cluster**** of all. In regard to resources, there are a lot more graphics resources now than there was then, and that's definitely an improvement. The scripting drought still seems to remain from at least an outside perspective. Tilers are often hit and miss, but establishing the general outline of levels and detailing them can be two different jobs, so that was never really hurting.

I can understand that you don't like quests, but generally MMORPGs attract players based on several different factors of play. Quests cater to a large segment of players, and even though you might not be included as one of them, that segment exists and it's significant. See: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/pdf/3-2.pdf  

The graal of water quest, though never complete due to baddy issues and weapon issues (namely the birdshot, which is pretty much equivalent to a hookshot), did have a complete set of levels and puzzles. A lot of the clientside code was written pre-GScript2, which would no longer be supported (in contrast to the castle dungeon quest I posted about earlier).

This is the first level. You get approached for help. That's pretty much the deal here.



Here we see one of the first central levels, i.e. you might have ended up coming back here many times. That whirlpool shaped thing was actually replaced by an actual animation, but it was there to signify in the tiling where those would go. The whirlpool affected the players movement like you'd expect (that scripting was done). It would dump you out in another level.



Here's the level it would dump you out in.



The doors here would be numbered, and you'd have to keep track of them in order to complete the quest (hinted by an NPC in another level). The door you chose would be different depending on what path you took in another level.



This was a path choice. It was filled with blocks that you could move, but only in the sense that depending on which way you moved the first one, you'd end up at only one of those two doors at the right side of the level.



Only one of those whirlpools actually took you somewhere, but I bet on you being worried about picking the wrong one. The other would take you somewhere else, but only after the quest was complete.



Here is a screenshot of the boss that I provided earlier in the thread depicting the boss battle.



After the battle, you could obtain the Graal of Water (or whatever it was called). Before that, however, you'd have to get through this maze that I posted a screenshot of earlier.

 

Intro to the Graal of Life quest:



Bush & Bush Baddy Maze!



You'd get sent back to the beginning here if you were hit by something. Also, tree baddies.



A bit more, but I don't want to spoil much if there are ever any plans to introduce this quest, although it's certainly not as complete as the water quest.

 

I remember that there was a big thing about baddies not being scripted but I never understood why. Can you elaborate?  

Weren't they no longer coded into the client?  

Posted by Skyzer

Weren't they no longer coded into the client?

Ya but that hasn't stopped Thor from creating them to work with his custom systems or Dusty from creating them with the default ones.