Overview
On August 9, 2000, Verant added the ability to customize the text colors of your EverQuest client when viewed in Overlay mode. Overlay mode is reched by pressing F10 when first entering the game, and shows the world of Norrath in full screen with a Heads Up style display of the Spell icons, hotkeys, group list and chat window.

The problem with this view was that much text in EverQuest appears in colors that are not easy to read against much of the terrain of Norrath, even when toggling between Transparent Overlays and Shaded Overlays (Toggled by the ~ key if you haven't customized your keyboard layout.)

In this article, we will provide you with the instructions from Verant on how to customize, an RGB Color chart for commonly used colors, and some sample custom schemes that you can download and customize to your taste!

EverQuest Client Editor Version 2.2
For your convenience, we've created a Client Editor utility which you can download and install for your use. This utility lets you see the colors from your current EQCLIENT.INI. To use this utility, simply download the file here and extract the ZIP file to a temporary directory. Then run SETUP.EXE to install the application.

Version 2 of the EverQuest Client Editor Utility includes several new features:

• Improved Save and Load Ini File Routimes
• Ability to restore both Original and New EverQuest Color Defaults
• Ability to view your text against both the Windowed background and the full screen background.
• Seven built in Backgrounds to view your customized colors against.
• View your text against your OWN Screenshots (640x480 recommended).

• Support for New Color options
• Support for Auto Log On function

• Support for New Color options (32-34)
• Reduced EXE size (uses external GIFs instead of embedded BMPs)

Note: If you have not run EverQuest already, run it before running this program the first time. The EQCLIENT.INI file must be generated by EverQuest for the default colors to load properly in this application. The file is created the first time you connect to any of the EverQuest servers. You do not need to actually bring a character into Norrath to generate this file, just get to the character selection screen.

The Client Editor Utility (Version 2.2) is available for download by clicking here.

Already have 2.1? Download the 2.2 upgrade by clicking here. Extract the upgrade into your current Client Editor Directory.

This program is available for download at your own risk. Stratics assumes no responsibility for any damages caused by this program.

Looking for version 1? Download the original Client Editor here.

Verant Documentation
Upon starting EverQuest, a new file (EQCLIENT.INI) will be created in your EverQuest directory. This file contains customizable settings for:

• Colors for text messages in the in-game chat window
• Default screen viewing mode
• Default travel speed (run or walk)

The documentation will be included in the online manual in your EverQuest directory once the design is finalized over the next several weeks, but the working document is posted below. We felt that people would rather have access to the customizations right away while we're in the process of building them.

Modifying this file is optional.

EQCLIENT.INI documentation
The [TextColors] section contains entries for various text colors in the client. All colors are to be set with Red, Green, and Blue values, in decimal. Valid settings for each color range between 0 and 255. "Black" (0 red, 0 green, and 0 blue) will be white in overlay mode, and black in normal mode.

Here is a list of user colors to use as a guide when editing the file:

• 1 - Say
• 2 - Tell
• 3 - Group
• 4 - Guild
• 5 - OOC
• 6 - Auction
• 7 - Shout
• 8 - Emote
• 9 - Spells (meming, scribing, casting, etc.)
• 10 - You hit other
• 11 - Other hits you
• 12 - You miss other
• 13 - Other misses you
• 14 - Some broadcasts (duels)
• 15 - Skills (ups, non-combat use, etc.)
• 18 - Default text and stuff you type
• 20 - Merchant Offer Price
• 21 - Merchant Buy/Sell
• 22 - Your death message
• 23 - Others death message
• 24 - Other damage other
• 25 - Other miss other
• 26 - /who command

The [Defaults] section contains some default setting for the client. Here is a list of valid settings:

• RunMode - TRUE for run, FALSE for walk.
• ScreenMode - NORMAL for the default window view, FULL for the full view with overlays

Color Theme Templates
Want to change the look and feel of your EverQuest client but don't have time to fiddle with all the colors? Well give these samples a try! Just download the file, rename it to eqclient.ini, and put it in your EverQuest directory. Be warned, make a backup of your existing EQClient.INI file first!