So.... why are we still here?

[Fat Midnight]

<Drunken Ramble>
After all the years playing this game I still love playing UO. I guess love is a too strong word, its less depressing than my real life. In UO I dont have to worryabout my exwife, never being able to see my kid again, being broke, the economy etc.

But thats not what this is all about. Why do you people still play this game? Family?
Friends?
Nostalgia?
Or do you really enjoy the content?anyone?

The other day I was really thinking about it and I realised UO, for me anyways, is just like drugs.

Im still chasing the high I got from this game back in the T2A era. That first "buzz" just never comes back. I will never forget mining and running from reds, the sense of accomplishment from killing something harder than a mongbat for the first time, my first house, being in a player run city, being a PART of an event, being a real part of the economy, and hella more. Just like the junkies on the street I am always chasing those first highs. No matter how much I play it never comes to me. No matter how much pixel crack I assemble its just not the same. But...im still here.


I asked my brother (Lord Benjamen(PWZ)- Napa Valley) this same question and he said "I never got this involved before in this part of the game" I can understand that.

So many things from this game are dead to me. PvP is a joke. Housing is too cheap. The economy is... artificial. The dozen or so PPL I knew in RL that played are gone. I still play. I will be here until the lights go out.

</Ramble>

 

[Snakeman]

Honestly a lot of it has to do with people met in game & chatting with in TS. Laughing at how many time one simple thing can get u'r butt waxed so many times . Being able to go after just about anything either alone or with a group of friends. The game is not just group nor individual based, it's how you want to make it & that to me is fun. And it also give me something to do working nites at my business rolleyes:.
BTW I see your brother many times at nite in Minoc on Napa. He's one busy guy most of the time running here & there. I leave him a few stolen arti's at the bank many nites , I hope he enjoys them.

 

[ProZac]

OP, I share a lot of your feelings on the game.

Back in 1997 (at 11 years old) and the first time I saw my friend's brother pop in an Ultima Online beta CD and run around I have been glued. Those first few years were endless fun. I can't remember a dull moment. I think I truly enjoyed the game completely until around publish 16 when the game started to really transform.

Since that time I have been going back and fourth. At times I am motivated to play completely hardcore and aim to be the best of the best, filthy rich, and make a mark wherever I'm playing. I've succeeded in doing that about 3 times in the past 4 years, all 3 times with the same end result - realizing it is what it is, and nothing I can do will bring back the original game. That one night never fails to come when I recall to my house and ask myself "Am I having -fun- playing this -game-?", when the answer is a resounding "No." I realize it's time to pack up and take another leave.

As you said, it's very much like a drug. It seems like no matter how done I think I am with it, I always have the itch to come back eventually. No matter how many other games I try and have fun with, they're all temporary while UO feels embedded. I've come to realize in general I don't even really game anymore. I can't pick up an Xbox game for more than an hour or play a different MMO for more than a couple months without becoming bored and missing that rush UO gave.

As far as reasons a lot of people still play, I think what makes MMOs enjoyable is having friends. I think everyone plays MMOs to feel like they have that extra niche in the world. To feel apart of something bigger, to step into another reality without the same limitations and downfalls. To contribute and feel as if you're making a difference in someone's life, where in RL you may lack that sort of feeling. Not to say everyone who loves MMOs has some sort of real life problem(s), it just tends to be more appealing if your real life is somewhat lackluster.

Not here to give an answer, because I really don't have one. Just to say I share your feelings, and I'm once again teetering on whether to make a big return to what feels like home for me, or to avoid it altogether. Tough call. Part of me just wants to ride it out until the end and stay true to the game I have always cared deeply for.

 

[yars]

cause i aint got no place else to go!!!!

 

[Megilhir]

The original UO is Dead, long live the original UO.

Unfortunately you (OP) hit many cords that those who remain in the dimming twilight of this game hear.

In attempting to compete with WoW and all the others, UO has become a lesser shadow instead of bright beacon of difference.

I too had many of the same fun times you speak of. They are gone, like yesteryear's pizzas. Once tasty but now only a memory of fat on one's waistline.

People play UO out of sense of the familiar and repetition.

I politely suggest you change your hamster wheel to WoW or LoTR or some other venue for a while.

I say hamster wheel because in the end all these MMOs are pretty much similiar now: Grind; Grind; Craft; gather; Grind.

Hell you even get a little sound in other games when you "level". Pavlovian perhaps?

For my part I drift away from the computer for a few days or weeks and wander back. It is particularly interesting how much real life stuff can be accomplished if you simply shut of the computer as an entertainment source for a week or so.

Read books, paint, craft (in RL), physically work-out, or perhaps even meet someone who may be better for you in the long term than your EX was. Or not, but at least it was a nice attempt initially.

Yep. That's the cool alternative..go live some real life and then wander back to UO as a treat, not a commitment. (Keep your account active or the lights will go out sooner).

 

[Gowron]

I still play because there are limitless possibilities with what can be done in the game.
I still play because I enjoy the community, despite that it is a shadow of what it was during the days of T2A.
If I feel like fishing, I can go fish up some MIB's or nets.
If I feel like mining, I can go do that.
Sometimes, I enjoy filling BODs.
If I want to go do a Champ Spawn, I can see how long it takes to get raided, or not.
Sometimes, it's just nice to wander around and see what kind of house designs impress me.
Sometimes, I might want to see if I can steal from someone.

 

[dum3886]

I am not still here bcz the new UO is not UO at all.. it is actually a beta version of a beta version of a beta version of WoW.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

<Drunken Ramble>


So many things from this game are dead to me. PvP is a joke. Housing is too cheap. The economy is... artificial. The dozen or so PPL I knew in RL that played are gone. I still play. I will be here until the lights go out.

</Ramble>

You took the words right out of my mouth...


...believe me, you are not alone in how you feel.

Old School UO vets get no love...

 

[five oclock]

For there is no such thing as gravity...UO just Sucks...You back in...

Been here from the start...cheap entertainment I say..Hey 15 bucks a month..dang I cant even see a movie for that much...

Understand tho what you mean me friends

 

[Fat Midnight]

BTW I see your brother many times at nite in Minoc on Napa. He's one busy guy most of the time running here & there. I leave him a few stolen arti's at the bank many nites , I hope he enjoys them.

Not just him, I have a char with the same name, similar guild title, same mount and we both bank at minoc. I noticed some decent stuff gets left on the ground around here tho...

 

[VoiceInBlackness]

After not logging into these forums since mar 2008,its hard to see any big difference in post content.......except the posts dont have as much lively character. There was a time i enjoyed playing the game as well,after that i mostly posted and played a lot less.I always enjoyed rants the most,it was like a twisted wacky ride,a much enjoyed place i shall remember!

If i re-call corectly "kingdom re-born",or something close to that was my last expansion,i didn't mind it,but i remember all the belly aching over it,some of it warranted and some was just people living in the past.I never quit because of that expansion,in the end i still liked my house and all the tele port deadend rooms and the drop offs on my roof,but i found for over a year i played less and really didn't fully enjoy my in game playing time like i had before.And the "new haven" was yet another crack into the world as it was a nice place to help new players and getaway from all the noise in the other parts of the world before it too was changed.......Sure there is always something to do in the world but there wasn't the zest as before to do it for me,so i let it all fade away fully knowing i would never play this game again.


I held my main and only account open for years without playing much so i know what its like to hold onto an idea of the way it "used" to be.It dont really matter when you got in,as the game has forever been changing and everybody has their once ago memories.If you still enjoy the game then hats off to you and i hope it continues to be enjoyable for you........

..........but, if you are holding on with your head in the past and thoughts of UO re-gaining whatever glory you believe it once held for you then you are wasting your time.And we all need to waste time to allow time to catch back up with us but theres a time when you need to shake yourself out of your comatosed state and realize you are but wasting your life living in the past......not one damn thing stays the same...nothing,it either gets worse or better depending to how tight you cling to what "should be".Makes no difference if its relationships,jobs,or a game.....the contents/feelings will differ in value but the end result is doing/ staying with things that bring no continued value in your life are plain wasteful to your life and for that matter,you mind.Save yourself,.........maybe even save a friend from the endless clicking while puppeteering yourself to a blacksun that casts shadows on your path to a brighter future.

Inbetween deciding why you are here in the UO world i gotta say I'm pleased to offer you a bit of entertainment on this soon to be released[may18] western video game by rockstar called "red dead redemption". Theres about 7 short movies all show casing the excellent oldwest gameplay. You can go hunting,break in different wild horses,ride in a open concept world,be a outlaw/lawman,mini quests,online play if you want to,shootouts,campfires....if you got any cuss words or west in ya this is something to checkout! http://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption/videos/4311#/video:4311 its coming out for xbox and play3,has good reviews and there is suppose to be online play.Theres also extra ingame bonus's depending who you buy the game from......I'm kinda excited about it!

Most likely i have lost my stratics signature,so....cheers to those that still play UO and enjoy themselves!

 

[Chardonnay]

<Drunken Ramble>
After all the years playing this game I still love playing UO. I guess love is a too strong word, its less depressing than my real life. In UO I dont have to worryabout my exwife, never being able to see my kid again, being broke, the economy etc.

But thats not what this is all about. Why do you people still play this game? Family?
Friends?
Nostalgia?
Or do you really enjoy the content?anyone?

The other day I was really thinking about it and I realised UO, for me anyways, is just like drugs.

Im still chasing the high I got from this game back in the T2A era. That first "buzz" just never comes back. I will never forget mining and running from reds, the sense of accomplishment from killing something harder than a mongbat for the first time, my first house, being in a player run city, being a PART of an event, being a real part of the economy, and hella more. Just like the junkies on the street I am always chasing those first highs. No matter how much I play it never comes to me. No matter how much pixel crack I assemble its just not the same. But...im still here.


I asked my brother (Lord Benjamen(PWZ)- Napa Valley) this same question and he said "I never got this involved before in this part of the game" I can understand that.

So many things from this game are dead to me. PvP is a joke. Housing is too cheap. The economy is... artificial. The dozen or so PPL I knew in RL that played are gone. I still play. I will be here until the lights go out.

</Ramble>

I stay for Stratics it's free!