Surely though it's the nature of UO to always appear to be dying, or on a downwards slide.
It's not your typical game, it's not even really your typical MMORPG. It's unique in many ways, and that's why (IMO) it has more of a revolving door problem.
Ever since I first played UO way back in the day (98/99) I've never really known anyone to be 'wowed' by UO ... generally it's more a case of 'hey this is neat, that's neat, this is neat, oh yeah I can do THAT!'
All though out it's history I have seen influxes of players, who leave shortly afterwards. They try it out, but they don't really want this UO, they want a game that wows ... not that is open and non-linear. IMO this is why we have so many people who have played since day one to present, or for x amount of years. On the other hand ... those same people who are looking for the WOW effect of a game are also not the same people who will commit years and years to it ... as we all know the WOW feeling never lasts long and they get bored.
How is this relevant to Pre:UOR ...
... well it's very relevant because it explains the "Golden Age" in part ...
UO:R was the beginning of a set of releases that appears to be more designed to appeal and attract those players who want wowing. IMHO UO:R wasn't the real beginning of the end, the implementation of a non-PVP facet is a wonderful idea in theory, but it did unbalance the game in so many ways. Simply look at the term that was used for Trammel for so long ... "carebear land" ... Trammel was the start on the slippery road not because it was designed to be safe, but because in reality it made the game "EASY"!! Simply removing PVP on an identical land left UO so unbalanced that Felucca was bound to die, and all that it stood for ... which is not just PVP.
Prior to this split we all had to bond together and form communities. Not simply hang out with the same 5-10 guys, but get to know a vast amount of people. Names meant something then. Sometimes you saw a name and dread filled your heart, or you saw a name and you ran to find the person. It wasn't always bad. When you needed armour, you would go to the GM Smith, not log in as your mule, or simply walk around a million vendors selling everything. Again names where important. You would go out of your way to visit the location that your favourite smith sold from ... he/she'd actually be working there too usually, not just throwing up techno-colour vendors! With the lower cash-rates, and harder skills gains too, we all would call on a smith we 'trusted' to repair our outifts. The same goes for a multitude of skills, not just smithing, but smithing is a good example. Look at Treasure Hunters ... it was a single dedicated character template you had to work hard to build, not something anyone could do.
Now to touch briefly on the PVP ... yes there was more of it. Yes there was ganking, but it wasn't always, infact in my own experience, very rarely, was it malicious. Think about the old-school "Great PK's" from your shards. Again names! There were many famous PK's at the time. Real old-school duellers, the guys who would get a kick out of single-handedly killing 3x blues, because the really were that good. These guys were the ones that after killing you, would rez you, rarely clean loot you, and many times chat afterwards about PVP skills. When was the last time ANYONE had that happen in game ??
I have seen a great many times when the same 'famous PK' has been hired to give noto's a damned good spanking, or even brought into RP plots (because of famous name).
So, sticking with the PvP, yes at times we got stuffed and lost everything or ganked to death. What happened though ... did we quit whining ... HELL NO!! We talked to others, we improved our skills, we banded together, sometimes sought revenge too. Basically though, we improved and adapted ourselves, learning from mistakes.
Yes, I always hear how people quit because of the ganking ... but I have never once REALLY SEEN IT HAPPEN!! I have still yet, in all my years of playing, to actually find proof of someone quitting because of PvP ruining their game (not same as lack of PvP ruining game
). I've heard the rumours, but that is all. I've known people to leave back in the day because the game itself didn't suit them, because it was too hard, because it needed too much time (read lazy player), but never once did I hear "I'm quitting because of PK's" or "Dave quit because PK's ruined his game".
I should change this statement actually, I never heard that Pre:UOR, and mostly not during UO:R until 2000 or 2001. At this point, I found the RP'ers quitting as the new wave of PvPers (those after UO:R) were griefing RP scenarios. As the largest part of the player base had moved to Trammel, the community had died. Trammel led to the single-player attitude that ended up seeping into all of us somewhat. So when these poor RP'ers came looking for help against the griefers ... the community had crumbled. The old school PvP'ers had moved on because there was no-one to PvP. The friends of old had moved on and could not be found. The community had crumbled so much, that nobody was even there, let alone able to help.
So this is why we need a Pre:UOR shard.
We want this game back. It's not just the PvP, the whole 'community' aspect of it.
We love UO for the community. That's why many old vets log in and just wander around aimlessly talking to old friends. This game might WOW us from time to time with it's 'new innovations' but the old way is gone, the community, the fact that we HAD to be community.
This is also why so many of the free shards never do that well. All the real, true, old-school players are still logging into EA's shards, or alternatively stalking Forums like stratics waiting for the inevitable release of a 'classic' or Pre:UOR shard. We've tried the free shards from time to time, enjoyed playing them somewhat, but they aren't the same. They generally miss the 'professionalism' that a production shard has. They miss a little bit of the control thatis had over a production shard. Mostly though, nearly every free shard I have played has been ruined by a 'gimmme'. Quick skill gain, extra cool stuff, massive rewards, increased skills .... whatever it is, it's always been what UO:R started, the same thing that ruined UO for many vets ... there's an extra 'easiness' offered to attract new players.
This also why Siege slips also .... it wasn't Trammel, it was the rest of it. All the 'new patches' to make the came easier to solo.
It's time to wake up and smell the coffee now.
True UO addicts want this challenge back. Even though we've done it all, it's just that it's so easy to do everything now.
Having a seperate shard really does defeat the point that it will hurt other production shards games. Yes the player base might drop, but it's going to basically be the non-productive players who leave anway. The disillusioned guys who still cannot stop playing and supporting the game they love. The 'moongate gankers' and whatever will not all flood to an old-school shard. They don't want to lose their glowing clothes, powerful arties, and easy to under stand weapon stats and uber-spells. They will of course try it ... but seeing as classic UO is not a solo game, they will either return to their production shard, or become part of the community.
Well ... that's my 2cents-worth. I felt it worth saying as i feel we missed a few aspects of that, and to me it's important to explain how and why the Pre:UOR game was better for so many.
