K
Kayne
Guest
I had the fortune to catch Paidric for long enough to ask him some questions, I know alot of people asked for this interview so I hope you all enjoy it and maybe get to know a little more about the person who is probably the most famous player on Europa
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If I’ve got this right you started UO originally in the Beta and you left until Europa came online. What was it that first got you interested in UO?
I started playing with computers rather young and two games got me addicted: Civilization and Ultima. I especially remember spending months running around in Ultima 7, out of the main plot. When I first heard about Ultima Online I was in heaven. Player interaction is what the Ultima series missed to be godly. I still think no game is as deep as UO nor has better potential for excellence.
We’ve all noticed the falling numbers of Youngs in Haven, you more than anyone else must have noticed, do you agree with all the doomsayers around that say this is a sign that UO is dying?
*Casts asbestos skin* There are less young players for sure. Now I don't know how many leave, so I can't say if we're growing or shrinking. But there are surely less new players. I also noticed many of them are returners. Maybe I should keep statistics
Though, I still think UO has more potential than other games, it is still unique.
KR didn’t exactly make the big bang everyone thought it might, more like the fizzle when we fail in the casting of a spell. What do you think KR’s biggest problem is right now?
I think that if at KR Launch the client were like it is now, it would have had more success. Many new players started with KR and I've seen many getting so frustrated they gave up. I remember a very stubborn one who crashed about 30 times during our conversation. Regarding the current state of KR, I have to say it has improved a LOT and there is much less frustration now. I still think it can be a good client, it has some nice features and I'd gladly use it if my laptop allowed me
Recently you started the HLP guild and now work alongside Deothos, Minerva and Drill and others. What made you stop helping on your own and start a guild of people willing to help the youngs?
I never really helped on my own Along the years there were many people out there to help the youngs and we often teamed up to catch as many youngs as possible. At some point though, we realised the youngs didn't make a connection between us. So we decided to create a guild, to make it easier for youngs. Now we can easily carry on helping someone another member has met.
What is the biggest challenge for new players when they join UO?
The depth. There is so much to learn! I think the complexity increased a lot since AoS. In the past you had your skills and that was it. Everyone had GM made armor and weapons. Now skills and equipment are to be considered altogether. Not counting all the other aspects of UO like housing, champ spawns, doom, peerless, etc. Add to that the latest skills like bushido, ninjitsu or spellweaving which require a better knowledge of the game mechanics than it used to be. Swordsmanship doesn't require much thought on how to best use it...
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the website you’ve created especially for beginners to the world of UO, its very well designed. What made you create a guide?
Explaining game mechanics or guiding a young through the different menus can be very difficult. They don't necessarily see what's obvious for you. So to make our daily helping easier and give better service to the youngs, I decided to put some pages together to answer the most common questions. Pictures speak more than many words! It also allows the youngs to find answers quickly as the website is centered around their first days of playing. I don't go into details about complex systems nor do I plan to, that's the job for Stratics or UOGuide and they do it well! It is thus meant to be a tool for helpers and youngs alike and I think it does the job from the feedback I have, I'll try to keep it updated with all the changes to UO that might affect its content.
I’m sure there are a lot of people who think you are some sort of god, Or worse an EA staff member. Are you human?
Security of the state... I can't answer that question or I'd have to kill you!
and a final word from Paidric:
I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the Europa community in general for being the nice people they are! And in particular, Deothos, Minerva Foxglove, my other fellow HLP members, Cailleach Bheaur, RAA guild and all the regulars of Haven. You all are my best reason to stay in UO. Oh, and big thank you to my wife for her patience with that geeky hubby of hers
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I'd like to thank Paidric for taking the time to let me interview him and for answering my questions.
-------------------------------------------------------
If I’ve got this right you started UO originally in the Beta and you left until Europa came online. What was it that first got you interested in UO?
I started playing with computers rather young and two games got me addicted: Civilization and Ultima. I especially remember spending months running around in Ultima 7, out of the main plot. When I first heard about Ultima Online I was in heaven. Player interaction is what the Ultima series missed to be godly. I still think no game is as deep as UO nor has better potential for excellence.
We’ve all noticed the falling numbers of Youngs in Haven, you more than anyone else must have noticed, do you agree with all the doomsayers around that say this is a sign that UO is dying?
*Casts asbestos skin* There are less young players for sure. Now I don't know how many leave, so I can't say if we're growing or shrinking. But there are surely less new players. I also noticed many of them are returners. Maybe I should keep statistics
Though, I still think UO has more potential than other games, it is still unique. KR didn’t exactly make the big bang everyone thought it might, more like the fizzle when we fail in the casting of a spell. What do you think KR’s biggest problem is right now?
I think that if at KR Launch the client were like it is now, it would have had more success. Many new players started with KR and I've seen many getting so frustrated they gave up. I remember a very stubborn one who crashed about 30 times during our conversation. Regarding the current state of KR, I have to say it has improved a LOT and there is much less frustration now. I still think it can be a good client, it has some nice features and I'd gladly use it if my laptop allowed me
Recently you started the HLP guild and now work alongside Deothos, Minerva and Drill and others. What made you stop helping on your own and start a guild of people willing to help the youngs?
I never really helped on my own
Along the years there were many people out there to help the youngs and we often teamed up to catch as many youngs as possible. At some point though, we realised the youngs didn't make a connection between us. So we decided to create a guild, to make it easier for youngs. Now we can easily carry on helping someone another member has met. What is the biggest challenge for new players when they join UO?
The depth. There is so much to learn! I think the complexity increased a lot since AoS. In the past you had your skills and that was it. Everyone had GM made armor and weapons. Now skills and equipment are to be considered altogether. Not counting all the other aspects of UO like housing, champ spawns, doom, peerless, etc. Add to that the latest skills like bushido, ninjitsu or spellweaving which require a better knowledge of the game mechanics than it used to be. Swordsmanship doesn't require much thought on how to best use it...
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the website you’ve created especially for beginners to the world of UO, its very well designed. What made you create a guide?
Explaining game mechanics or guiding a young through the different menus can be very difficult. They don't necessarily see what's obvious for you. So to make our daily helping easier and give better service to the youngs, I decided to put some pages together to answer the most common questions. Pictures speak more than many words! It also allows the youngs to find answers quickly as the website is centered around their first days of playing. I don't go into details about complex systems nor do I plan to, that's the job for Stratics or UOGuide and they do it well! It is thus meant to be a tool for helpers and youngs alike and I think it does the job from the feedback I have, I'll try to keep it updated with all the changes to UO that might affect its content.
I’m sure there are a lot of people who think you are some sort of god, Or worse an EA staff member. Are you human?
Security of the state... I can't answer that question or I'd have to kill you!
and a final word from Paidric:
I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the Europa community in general for being the nice people they are! And in particular, Deothos, Minerva Foxglove, my other fellow HLP members, Cailleach Bheaur, RAA guild and all the regulars of Haven. You all are my best reason to stay in UO. Oh, and big thank you to my wife for her patience with that geeky hubby of hers
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I'd like to thank Paidric for taking the time to let me interview him and for answering my questions.
