(Player News) Deepwater Public Library

[Flagg]

For well over 10 years, Kas Valentine curated the Deepwater Public Library. Some few weeks back I was saddened to notice it had gone IDOC. Some of the player written books within being about as old as Europa server itself, I figured it'd not be an option to have this cultural landmark disappear entirely! As the tower came down, I managed to save most of the books from the elements. Stones and foundations of the collapsed Large Tower have now been turned into a brand new Library.

This Phoenix of a library rises with few new feathers; Very recently, the library received HUGE donations from Heimlich and Bobar. I also supplemented the place with relevant portions of my own collection.

Currently, shelves house some 280 books that are almost exclusively written by the RP community of Europa. Oldest tomes were written in late 90's, newest just this year.

Everything has been re-arranged and categorized for thine viewing pleasure. So come one, come all and drown into two decades worth of creations by the European Roleplaying community!

This isn't some museum display to be sealed or finished. As such, Library's collection will never be full or "complete." It will eternally miss that one great book of yours, new or old, that in some way or another orbits Europa's RP community! If you have anything you'd feel might be at home on the shelves of this library, (as a copy or otherwise!) please let me know! And/Or drop me a mail in-game. Again, any and all books that are either written In-character or in some meaningful way highlight the Europa community and/or it's guilds would be very much appreciated!

Full listing of all 300-ish books currently available for reading has been attached to this message as a .txt file.


In case you'd like to visit, Town of Deepwater and it's Library are located near Yew, FELUCCA. Map below!

- Stradlin

 

[ShriNayne]

Well done @Flagg the library is really beautifully done, the roof is fantastic and I love the gargoyles! It reminds me of an old Abbey, thank you for letting us visit, some of the poetry books were actually pretty good! Might take us a while to read them all though...

 

[callum_fitzhugh]

Woah great and terrible news all rolled into one. I spent many a happy time in that library. I am actually going to download UO over the weekend and try and login.

 

[Flagg]

Thank you @ShriNayne! If nobody ever took em out for a read,boookworms might feast. Speaking of worms and bugs,thanks to Q as well for stomping on a pretty nasty one about the shelf settings.

@callum_fitzhugh do you believe Owl's Eye Tavern is still standing there!? ( Just few screens West from Library) Has been there since late 1998. Without a doubt one of the oldest (prolly oldest?) houses on Europa. Prolly up there world-wide too.

 

[callum_fitzhugh]

Heh. My first house on Europa was a two storey marble [is that the correct term?] in Felucca on the outskirts of Moonglow [i think] that was placed on day one of Europa opening as a shard. I then moved into a house in Naeloth in Felucca about 2004 or so. last time I visited Naeloth even the Library there was gone and all th eother player owned houses apart from one. Bank Holiday Weekend nostalgia? Yes please!

 

[Mary Jane]

Thanks for saving it. Think im the only Deepwaterian left in the game, unless Riboflavin still lurks around. It really means alot, especially to me personally. The nostalgia is what keeps me around and every piece of history saved is precious. Or something like that.
High5!

Go read up you, who have not as of yet! Europa RP history!



For Deepwater and the Guards!
/
Ytran / Xasadei

 

[Flagg]

The nostalgia is what keeps me around and every piece of history saved is precious. Or something like that.
High5!




For Deepwater and the Guards!
/
Ytran / Xasadei

I know exactly what you mean, I recon much of my UO gears keep ticking just like this as well. Thus it always blows to see buildings in Deepwater or Stonekeep falling. How much life orbits them today can unfortunately be...questionable at best. But you can fit loads of memories and life in the busiest of the yesterdays of last 20-ish years. Those can be valuable to have and share. It is good if all of it doesn't decay away or end up forgotten.

Deepwater was one of the places where I'd end up hanging when I was brand new..But I played far too little back then to be an actual part of the community. Some 18 years back might have been a bit busier time to move in, but better late than never?;p

And hey, if you are Deepwaterian and I am a newly moved in Deepwaterian, that makes a population of 2! o/\o
Btw!! Imho You'd do this touch silent town a great service if you one day wrote a word or two about life and times here as you recall them!

Do you remember who held the library before Valentine family? I know Kas had it for ages, from 2005 or so at least. But who held it before him? Ryndir and Belladona?

 

[Mary Jane]

I know exactly what you mean, I recon much of my UO gears keep ticking just like this as well. Thus it always blows to see buildings in Deepwater or Stonekeep falling. How much life orbits them today can unfortunately be...questionable at best. But you can fit loads of memories and life in the busiest of the yesterdays of last 20-ish years. Those can be valuable to have and share. It is good if all of it doesn't decay away or end up forgotten.

Deepwater was one of the places where I'd end up hanging when I was brand new..But I played far too little back then to be an actual part of the community. Some 18 years back might have been a bit busier time to move in, but better late than never?;p

And hey, if you are Deepwaterian and I am a newly moved in Deepwaterian, that makes a population of 2! o/\o
Btw!! Imho You'd do this touch silent town a great service if you one day wrote a word or two about life and times here as you recall them!

Do you remember who held the library before Valentine family? I know Kas had it for ages, from 2005 or so at least. But who held it before him? Ryndir and Belladona?

Always better late than never!
Population has doubled, the future is bright D

Not sure who held it, many alts and a foggy memory. I mostly remember the tower as the Hall of Magicks where Dardan Brook trained aspiring, knuckleheaded spellcasters into grand scholars. Later on the classes was smashed together with Spiritwoods dito and i suppose it was at that time the Hall turned into a library. Or something like that.

 

[Gorthyn]

Woah great and terrible news all rolled into one. I spent many a happy time in that library. I am actually going to download UO over the weekend and try and login.

Cal, did you do this and manage to log in ?

 

[callum_fitzhugh]

Cal, did you do this and manage to log in ?

Gorth - Sadly no but I am looking to download the client today hopefully.

 

[callum_fitzhugh]

Oh my word what a ghost town! So many houses/places gone and forgotten.

Unicorn Grove is still there in Felucca



Hawk's Hollow is deserted



The once busy player run village by The Shadowcourt is now an empty valley filled with ice and snow.

 

[Flagg]

It all looks (a bit) worse than it is.;p I'd guess most returning vets are never up to speed with which places draw the crowds and so on. Game and Europa are bit busier than all the eerily silent old haunts.
Sadly, emphasis on "bit" there, world is far quieter and emptier now. As a queer side effect, Felucca has more castles than other houses combined!

 

[callum_fitzhugh]

It all looks (a bit) worse than it is.;p I'd guess most returning vets are never up to speed with which places draw the crowds and so on. Game and Europa are bit busier than all the eerily silent old haunts.
Sadly, emphasis on "bit" there, world is far quieter and emptier now. As a queer side effect, Felucca has more castles than other houses combined!

Oh yes I am sure it is. I don't want to sound negative about the current player base numbers.

I have almost no interest in the state of UO currently and the last RP talking event I attended on an alt about a year ago with one of the EMs in Castle Blackthorne or somewhere was fairly painful to observe. But that's nostalgia talking. I remember the days when Twothumb ....

But thats all gone and will never come back. Time moves on things change. I don't want things to return to how they were in 2001 as I have moved on myself.

Good luck to Europa and I will pop in and out of the game at times and if I have time may attend an EM event or two. But Callum Fitzhugh is long gone from Sosaria and will almost certainly never return

 

[Gorthyn]

Hmmm well at least that answers my wonderings about how Rhovanion looks these days !

I may still try and log in one day but I suspect the experience would be a melancholy one ! Sad to think all those people we knew and creativity we experienced scattered and vanished.

Won't mention any other games I have played since UO, am currently playing, or thinking of trying as it would be rather bad form but nothing past or present has come close to the glory years of UO for me.

 

[callum_fitzhugh]

Oh yes the imagination and creativity was shattered and dispersed. The main cause was World of Warcraft was just so much more alluring and fun to play as a game and frankly required little or no thought or imagination and was pure relaxation. I remember after UO role play sessions I was burnt out and physically tired! The fun was hard work sometimes

 

[Gorthyn]

I think I must have been the only mmorpg player in the world who has never played World of Warcraft ! For me, it was Dark Age of Camelot which gradually drew me away followed by Star Wars Galaxies (before they ruined it) and then on to Lord of the Rings Online with a few other refugees from UO. Currently playing and enjoying Elder Scrolls Online but keeping a close eye of Shroud of the Avatar and hoping...hoping they make a success of it rather than the damp squib I fear it may become.

Yes rp in this game could be intense and draining, it could be pompous and self indulgent, but it could also be wonderful on a remarkably regular basis. Plus had great times delving dungeons with guild mates or just stood chatting in Vesper Square for hours at a time. Truly special times.

 

[Kas Valentine]

Heyho !

I've only just visited the newly formed Deepwater Library in the last few minutes and I'm glad to see the literature has been preserved; that collection was easily the most valuable thing stored in the crumbling old place. Sadly I think I missed the window to save the tower by a few days (an unfortunate card change had rendered the accounts unpaid) but I'm glad not all was lost. I'll have to check on my place in Cove now, but I dare say it's met a similar fate.

To answer your question, prior to my ownership Elv'eng was in charge of curating the library and passed it over to me when he moved on to greener pastures in 2005 (ish).

Keep up the good work and thanks for dusting down the bulletin boards. /double thumbs up

 

[Kas Valentine]

Update: My place in Cove is still intact so perhaps the card change was recorded sooner by the first account (holder of Deepwater Library) than by the second.

Is it possible to place a large tower on the spot the building once resided? Just curious as the library sat on a small hillock, but was originally built in August 1999 (the period I joined Britannia ironically enough) when land regulations were a little more forgiving.

As an aside, I still play many of the games you've mentioned in your discussion of MMO's from the past, however they're not 'officially sanctioned' so to speak. Can I mention them or does moderation prohibit that...?

Thanks in advance !

 

[Flagg]

Hey Kas! Ha, there is a blast for the past and a monkey ass rarely flaunted!!! I'm very glad to see your corpse twitches yet! Are you back and/or playing for real, or just checking them old haunts? I have a soulstone, fragments and whatnots with your names on em.
I did try to place an L-tower there but I'm unsure if I had the location exactly right; attempts were a bit half-hearted since the idea of trying to make some sort of a 18x18 monastery felt very tempting! Way too few custom made houses in Fel now..friggin garden of castles. ;p

 

[Mary Jane]

Heyho !

I've only just visited the newly formed Deepwater Library in the last few minutes and I'm glad to see the literature has been preserved; that collection was easily the most valuable thing stored in the crumbling old place. Sadly I think I missed the window to save the tower by a few days (an unfortunate card change had rendered the accounts unpaid) but I'm glad not all was lost. I'll have to check on my place in Cove now, but I dare say it's met a similar fate.

To answer your question, prior to my ownership Elv'eng was in charge of curating the library and passed it over to me when he moved on to greener pastures in 2005 (ish).

Keep up the good work and thanks for dusting down the bulletin boards. /double thumbs up

Oh Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas, Kas, Kas, Kas, Kas, Kas...


Love
Ytran

 

[Kas Valentine]

Teehee ! I'm SORRY Ytran, you orange surcoat wearing legend of baldness. No-one is more disappointed than I am at the demise of one of Deepwater's core buildings. Naturally the card change was the crucial aspect, but I didn't notice the e-mail from Mythic informing me of the change until a few days after the fact (I may need to fiddle with the notification permissions on my phone).

Anyway, Flagg, I'm pretty much just continuing to serve as caretaker for my accounts. While I no longer play commercial UO I've always vowed to stick around until whichever company finally closes the doors, so that's what I'll keep doing. Don't worry about the soulstones and fragments thereof (does one of them have Alchemy stored on it? See ! My memory still works !), I haven't really got much use for currency these days.

Glad to see people are still kicking around though, I might pop to one of the Britain bank meetings during the week.

 

[Flagg]

Anyway, Flagg, I'm pretty much just continuing to serve as caretaker for my accounts. While I no longer play commercial UO I've always vowed to stick around until whichever company finally closes the doors, so that's what I'll keep doing. Don't worry about the soulstones and fragments thereof (does one of them have Alchemy stored on it? See ! My memory still works !), I haven't really got much use for currency these days.

Glad to see people are still kicking around though, I might pop to one of the Britain bank meetings during the week.

Yeah try not to be a stranger! Daily Brit meetings are idd a thing still, at 6 P.M. And no alchemy. Tons of what went down went poof, at least few book cases included I fear. :/ I do have a stone with 100 focus tho. So if you ever feel ADHD, gimme a poke!




Many thanks to Bobar, Geoffrey Blake and Heimlich for your extremely notable contributions to library's collection! Thanks to Geoff's vast pile from yesterday, the .txt in OP is now utterly out of date. Pleasant issue to be sure.

I'm trying to come up with a bit better way of listing the books..txt or word files and such isn't very suitable. If anyone has a recommendation, I'm all ears.

 

[callum_fitzhugh]

I never did find a way to list books or to copy them out of UO into word or txt files. The only way we figured was to take about a million screenshots. But frankly my life wouldnt be long enough for this.

I have hundreds of books in my house which arent red leaved etc. and I dread the account/house falling.

But then I think to myself its a time long gone and, well... its never coming back. SO why hold onto the past so securely?

Having said all that of all the games I have played since UO is the only one where I still visit the forums

 

[Flagg]

Almost-a- one-year-anniversary of the thread bumb!! Got a significant donation of books from Geoffrey Blake last fall, much of it added to library by now. Updated the book listing in OP to reflect this.

 

[Rimeny]

How strange, I just visited Deepwater only a couple of days ago on a nostalgic wonder tour


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[DJAd]

I never did find a way to list books or to copy them out of UO into word or txt files. The only way we figured was to take about a million screenshots. But frankly my life wouldnt be long enough for this.

I think Pinco UI has a feature to export books to a text file.

 

[Faith Leafmould]

Nicely written, As I live just East of there I will visit soon with Versace (only person in my house that has reading skill ! ) Will write a small paperback first on my 20 year on/off UO life for the shelves.

 

[Flagg]

Ha! Copy of such would be much appreciated! Be sure to check Owl's Eye Tavern right next door, too.

 

[Planters]

I think Pinco UI has a feature to export books to a text file.

I need to learn this because there are some that I absolutely love and would like to keep forever


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[Flagg]

Finally done with adding most of a huge pile of donations Geoffrey Blake handed my way a thousand years back!

Updated the booklist attached to OP.

 

[Valura]

I have some time off as of now and I am definitely headed your way! I love libraries!

 

[Flagg]

^ Give a shout if you come across anything you'd like copied etc!


As a re-reminder, I'm very interested of any and all writings by Europa's RP community. Pls drop me a line if you have anything that you recon might feel at home on these shelves!

 

[Nirot]

Not sure if I find the orginal books. - But when the old Deepwater library felt..... it seemed no one was there.
I used if quite often, so when I came in stuff started to disappear... I remember I picked up some of the runebooks and all stuff I could get... but lots just vanished at that time.
Was really a sad day. - I loved to use that library.

 

[Lex Darion]

I've got a bunch of books at Grd archives. (Yew cemetary, Trammel).
Might want to copy / duplicate eachother so that we can be sure it isnt lost.

Deepwater was the first player run town I visited back in the good old days.
Was always exciting to run over and see if you'd survive the trip. Between overpowered monsters and reds roaming.. a poor little footman was mince.

 

[Kas Valentine]

Oof, just over two years since the last post, how time flies !

How is the library going, does the Owl's Eye still stand? Sorry I'd check myself but my accounts only exist in Broadsword's databases.

 

[Melchiah]

Chances are Kas, that by now, your accounts have gone to EJ and you can log in with them to go investigating with your own two eyes...

But yes, it is still standing, have just gone for a little nosey.

 

[Halister Marner]

I went to go visit, as I do occasionally, and the library was no longer there. Did it fall, or is it being relocated?