I was mostly just wondering what instanced zones do to a server and how hard they were to create, other people commented on it for certain zones lol. I've just always wondered what it takes so finally just asked.
if you're curious how to create an instance here is a little run down for you:
You need to have an npc with the quest code that includes these following commands.
quest::GetInstanceID("name", $i_id);
$i_id is defined earlier, you can set this to playerID or guildID to make it an instance for your guild
then you check if the instance is created already, if it returns less than 1 then you need to create the instance.
quest::CreateInstance("name", $i_id, -1);
or if it is created you create a new variable and define it as
$instance2 = quest::GetInstanceID("name", $i_id);
then you pass that variable to the following command
quest::AssignToInstance($instance2);
and finally you send the player to the instance/zone
quest::MovePCInstance(zoneID, $instance2, x, y, z);
There is another way to do it that will have your group go in with you, and also another way to do it that keeps the instance open and allows anyone in your guild to go in to help you.
I hope i've helped. You asked what was involved. Everything you need to know about more detail on this subject is available to read on the EQEmu forum - Trevius and Secrets are regular posters over there in the Quest Q&A forum and are a wealth of helpful information - they have helped me more than they understand thanks to the search function lol.