Here's one: blessed invasion spellbooks.
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[UO Herald] Producer's Letter - Where are we and what the heck are we doing?
- Status
Here's one: blessed invasion spellbooks.
M
Malador
Guest
Why dont you wave the smoke out of your eyes and realize that we dont owe them ****. They owe us. I pay a boat load of money each month, relative to what I get out of it, and have been since 97. If I happen to disagree with a dumbass dev idea that is my perogitive as a paid subscriber.
Certainly they have presented us with years of fasinating game play but with it came unfixed bugs that lasted years. With it came one broken promise after another. With it came one bad idea after another. Lets not forget that speed hacking and duping have existed almost since the game was released and that both have been almost totally ignored. Cheat has probably driven off more subscribers than anything yet no one at EA wants to bite the bullet and actually proactively do anything about it.
The item that should be at the top of the list is once and for all doing something about speed advantaged players. A bandaid until a proper fix comes in would involve turning mount stamina back down. Speed hackers are notorious runners. They attack and if it dont go well they flee. They rinse and repeat this behavoir over and over again until they win. Let them stam thier horse running away
If they fixed that one issue it would go farther toward bringing players back than any other idea they have.
A classic shard would not bring back any measurable amount of players. THose folks have moved on to new games
First: factions revamp. We want to make it not only engaging for PvPers, but make it possible for those who craft and heal a contributing part of the system.
Can we hear more on this? Will it be something Crafter's can do without needing uber combat skills or mega-millions for ingredients?
Next: is there ever going to be a classic shard? I will tell you … it’s a good idea … in theory. In practice it gets a LOT more complicated.
Glad to hear this is actually being considered. Please make it pre-AoS so that we Crafter's can normally craft gear worth buying without very rare, very expensive tools (runics) being required.
Also please have it include Trammel. I'd happily pay to play a Classic Shard as long as I was paying to have fun myself, not paying to be fun for others.
After that we’ll be looking into coming up with a solution for 3rd party program detection.
Can this be done by monitoring the data stream?
I left UO the last time because of how far things got towards requiring Punkbuster, which would have required my leaving known holes in my firewall and trusting that a very small company could avoid providing hackers the use of those holes. The only program I want freely wandering around my system is my chosen anti-virus program.
I also multi-task and run programs in the backround on occasion. Please have whatever system you set up not automatically result in banning if it detects a possible problem. I'd rather be given the warning not to run software program B if I plan on playing UO because it might be affecting the Client.
Final thing: What are we doing about the live story arc (see the reference to Magincia above)? We need to resolve the relationship between Dawn and Zah. How are we going to do that? Well I’m a believer that we seed you with some of the basics and let the community roleplay the outcome and transitions for the story. In short, as in Dungeons and Dragons, we’ll give you the nodes of the story, and allow you to fill in the blanks.
Can it involve some other kind of opponet than 10,000 hp, does 1000+ hp damage per second monsters? This routine has gotten old.
Given that, we’re giving Event Moderators a few more tools that will allow them to create better gaming moments. This does NOT mean making better things to give to their friends, it means creating better creatures with interesting behavior that will fry your noggin and add to your gameplay experience.
Sounds good. Having a hardcore PvPer EM run a lesser flavor monster as a character and dazzle us with fancy footwork & tactics instead of just tossing in a super monster would be a pleasant change of pace.
Coming for March: Mysticism spell enhancements; updates to Gargoyles
Sounds good. Mysticism is very underpowered. My fiftyish Mysticism 112 Imbuing skill Gargoyle has to cast a ridiculous number of Eagle Strikes to kill things.
Can the hit rate for throwing weapons be increased? My gargoyle has Elder magery and uses a mage-weapon throwing weapon and rarely hits his targets. With the magery bonus items he's wearing he's throwing with 103 weapon skill. You'd think it was just 3 skill.
Finally, not sure if you’ve heard, but the team has been playing in Baja. The reason? Cause we laugh hysterically when we do, and two, we want to learn how to reduce the barrier to entry for those who want to play our game.
Have new players find a copy of a good playguide available in their backpacks when they arrive along with a link to UO Stratics with a spoiler notice. Making it concise & printable would be a bonus. The manual that was included with UO:Ren was a great help in getting started. This game is far to complicated & deep to just log into at first and have little guidence on how things work. Counting on having someone nearby & willing to help new players has to be leaving many new players clueless & lost.
Could a Mentor program be set up? I'd be willing to help new players but I don't want to sit around Chessie's very dead New Haven waiting. Maybe provide a way for new players to call up a list of currently in-game players who are willing to train a protege thats catagorized by playstyle. I'd be good for low-end combat & crafting skills. A private chat system between the Mentor and Protege would be handy, and perhaps a way to travel to their location if they want help.
There has to be a way that I can reduce the cost of reagents without having to know a dozen imbuers to get what I need. I’m gonna have to see who is in charge around here!!
Having regeants being more accessable would be nice. The twenty you can buy at once now doesn't last long or do much good with all the fizzles and very low damage due to a new players low skill. A new player doesn't know about, or have the gold for the npc stock buildup process, or is probably willing to do all the waiting involved.
Perhaps have the magery trainer in Haven issue a blessed, limited durability, 100% lrc item to those who have 'young' status and only useable by them? Say have it only last as long as their young status lasts? (& warning them of this)
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New players need to find a better learning environment with more basic how-to-get-around-and-do-things info available to read as they arrive. Preferably in a printable form they can have laying beside the keyboard as they get used to the game.
Can we hear more on this? Will it be something Crafter's can do without needing uber combat skills or mega-millions for ingredients?
Next: is there ever going to be a classic shard? I will tell you … it’s a good idea … in theory. In practice it gets a LOT more complicated.
Glad to hear this is actually being considered. Please make it pre-AoS so that we Crafter's can normally craft gear worth buying without very rare, very expensive tools (runics) being required.
Also please have it include Trammel. I'd happily pay to play a Classic Shard as long as I was paying to have fun myself, not paying to be fun for others.
After that we’ll be looking into coming up with a solution for 3rd party program detection.
Can this be done by monitoring the data stream?
I left UO the last time because of how far things got towards requiring Punkbuster, which would have required my leaving known holes in my firewall and trusting that a very small company could avoid providing hackers the use of those holes. The only program I want freely wandering around my system is my chosen anti-virus program.
I also multi-task and run programs in the backround on occasion. Please have whatever system you set up not automatically result in banning if it detects a possible problem. I'd rather be given the warning not to run software program B if I plan on playing UO because it might be affecting the Client.
Final thing: What are we doing about the live story arc (see the reference to Magincia above)? We need to resolve the relationship between Dawn and Zah. How are we going to do that? Well I’m a believer that we seed you with some of the basics and let the community roleplay the outcome and transitions for the story. In short, as in Dungeons and Dragons, we’ll give you the nodes of the story, and allow you to fill in the blanks.
Can it involve some other kind of opponet than 10,000 hp, does 1000+ hp damage per second monsters? This routine has gotten old.
Given that, we’re giving Event Moderators a few more tools that will allow them to create better gaming moments. This does NOT mean making better things to give to their friends, it means creating better creatures with interesting behavior that will fry your noggin and add to your gameplay experience.
Sounds good. Having a hardcore PvPer EM run a lesser flavor monster as a character and dazzle us with fancy footwork & tactics instead of just tossing in a super monster would be a pleasant change of pace.
Coming for March: Mysticism spell enhancements; updates to Gargoyles
Sounds good. Mysticism is very underpowered. My fiftyish Mysticism 112 Imbuing skill Gargoyle has to cast a ridiculous number of Eagle Strikes to kill things.
Can the hit rate for throwing weapons be increased? My gargoyle has Elder magery and uses a mage-weapon throwing weapon and rarely hits his targets. With the magery bonus items he's wearing he's throwing with 103 weapon skill. You'd think it was just 3 skill.
Finally, not sure if you’ve heard, but the team has been playing in Baja. The reason? Cause we laugh hysterically when we do, and two, we want to learn how to reduce the barrier to entry for those who want to play our game.
Have new players find a copy of a good playguide available in their backpacks when they arrive along with a link to UO Stratics with a spoiler notice. Making it concise & printable would be a bonus. The manual that was included with UO:Ren was a great help in getting started. This game is far to complicated & deep to just log into at first and have little guidence on how things work. Counting on having someone nearby & willing to help new players has to be leaving many new players clueless & lost.
Could a Mentor program be set up? I'd be willing to help new players but I don't want to sit around Chessie's very dead New Haven waiting. Maybe provide a way for new players to call up a list of currently in-game players who are willing to train a protege thats catagorized by playstyle. I'd be good for low-end combat & crafting skills. A private chat system between the Mentor and Protege would be handy, and perhaps a way to travel to their location if they want help.
There has to be a way that I can reduce the cost of reagents without having to know a dozen imbuers to get what I need. I’m gonna have to see who is in charge around here!!
Having regeants being more accessable would be nice. The twenty you can buy at once now doesn't last long or do much good with all the fizzles and very low damage due to a new players low skill. A new player doesn't know about, or have the gold for the npc stock buildup process, or is probably willing to do all the waiting involved.
Perhaps have the magery trainer in Haven issue a blessed, limited durability, 100% lrc item to those who have 'young' status and only useable by them? Say have it only last as long as their young status lasts? (& warning them of this)
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New players need to find a better learning environment with more basic how-to-get-around-and-do-things info available to read as they arrive. Preferably in a printable form they can have laying beside the keyboard as they get used to the game.
Third: Speedhackers and movement. We have had this on internal testing for a couple of months, and are in the last 5% of a 100% solution. So as anyone who has had any project management experience knows … this is where you sometimes have to consider …”Is this good enough?” I’m sure you’ll let us know. We’re going to implement the system in the next couple of publishes after some time on Test Center. After that we’ll be looking into coming up with a solution for 3rd party program detection.
I lol'ed at this.
I remember all the Punkbuster QQ going around here. How are you going to detect what a user is running with out knowing what processes are running with the game on the users machine?
I will get the popcorn ready for when this patch comes out. Im sure it will be "entertaining"
I lol'ed at this.
I remember all the Punkbuster QQ going around here. How are you going to detect what a user is running with out knowing what processes are running with the game on the users machine?
I will get the popcorn ready for when this patch comes out. Im sure it will be "entertaining"
I think it's absolutely hysterical, to be honest, that UO's reached such a low point in its subscriber base that the current "producer" of Ultima Online is considering putting to rest one way or another the debate over a "Classic Shard." A debate which every previous development team has laid to rest ad nauseum.
The fact that there is consideration of a "Classic Shard" is proof positive that the subscriber numbers are nearing the dangerously low level -- because now Mythic will try anything to get new subscribers.
And it might work.
For about six months.
And then all of those players who come back who had been pining for a "Classic Shard" will remember all of the reasons that the game progressed beyond a "Classic Shard," and will be bored all over again.
By the way... it's bad enough that you are having to support two rulesets... considering a "Classic Shard" while the Siege Perilous ruleset has basically been back-burnered is basically a slap in the face to dedicated, CURRENTLY PAYING customers. It's not often you're going to see me waving pom-poms for Siege Perilous, but seriously, why in god's name would we trust you to effectively support a THIRD ruleset when you cannot effectively support a SECOND ruleset?
I have to say... I'm not impressed with what I'm hearing. I'm not impressed with how long it's taking to complete the SA product (which has been out for several months now). There are still areas in the game you can't even get to. I'm not impressed with it taking THREE YEARS to do something with Magincia (I mean, come on, REALLY?). And I'm not impressed that we're going on YEARS AND YEARS of development on a replacement client that STILL fails to be a "draw" to Ultima Online.
The release of Draconi, which I'm certain in no short order affected the departure of Sakkarah, and many of the other "decisions" that have been made with regard to Ultima Online simply cement the well-known industry fact that EA continues to make money off of Ultima Online completely and totally in spite of its efforts to the contrary.
The fact that there is consideration of a "Classic Shard" is proof positive that the subscriber numbers are nearing the dangerously low level -- because now Mythic will try anything to get new subscribers.
And it might work.
For about six months.
And then all of those players who come back who had been pining for a "Classic Shard" will remember all of the reasons that the game progressed beyond a "Classic Shard," and will be bored all over again.
By the way... it's bad enough that you are having to support two rulesets... considering a "Classic Shard" while the Siege Perilous ruleset has basically been back-burnered is basically a slap in the face to dedicated, CURRENTLY PAYING customers. It's not often you're going to see me waving pom-poms for Siege Perilous, but seriously, why in god's name would we trust you to effectively support a THIRD ruleset when you cannot effectively support a SECOND ruleset?
I have to say... I'm not impressed with what I'm hearing. I'm not impressed with how long it's taking to complete the SA product (which has been out for several months now). There are still areas in the game you can't even get to. I'm not impressed with it taking THREE YEARS to do something with Magincia (I mean, come on, REALLY?). And I'm not impressed that we're going on YEARS AND YEARS of development on a replacement client that STILL fails to be a "draw" to Ultima Online.
The release of Draconi, which I'm certain in no short order affected the departure of Sakkarah, and many of the other "decisions" that have been made with regard to Ultima Online simply cement the well-known industry fact that EA continues to make money off of Ultima Online completely and totally in spite of its efforts to the contrary.
Please quit.
Second, can I have your stuff?
Third, if I can't have your stuff...would you at least tell me where your house is?
Fourth, if I can't find your house and can't have your stuff...can you please quit so I can ask again?
Thank you.
H
Heartseeker
Guest
Self importance is a disease...
As Spock once said at the end of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country: "If I were human, I believe my response would be: Go to hell. IF I were human."
You're right. So perhaps the producer of Ultima Online should take a step back and look at what is needed to continue to make this game a forward-moving success, and stand up to Mythic and/or Electronic Arts, ask for a team to do just that, and do so with a solid, sensible plan in motion.
But then, I'm the only one with this feeling... as evidenced by the multitudes of support with absolutely no discernable disdain for the producer's letter.
Put down the pom-poms.
???? That is a compliment. You have good stuff and I want to make it my stuff...ok?
I just want your stuff.
I didn't take it as an insult; I'm just not giving up my stuff.???? That is a compliment. You have good stuff and I want to make it my stuff...ok?
I just want your stuff.
Dammit Jim!I didn't take it as an insult; I'm just not giving up my stuff.
E
Evlar
Guest
If they did make a classic shard, which I would be happy to move to and start from scratch, you can all have my stuff
WOOT MORE STUFF!If they did make a classic shard, which I would be happy to move to and start from scratch, you can all have my stuff
It sounds like you guys didn't even read the full thread...
lacking attention span ? rolleyes:
lacking attention span ? rolleyes:
No one seriously believes the Classic Shard is the solution to our problems. You cannot progress forward by taking two steps back.
But even the skeptics cannot help but admit that nostalgia is one of the most powerful forces in the continued success (or survival) of Ultima Online. We all know that such a shard would bring back at least some of the players that the 'progression' of Ultima Online wrought upon their beloved game world. And such a shard may very well pull in the revenue needed to put this dinosaur back on track. Any revenue brought in by such a static shard would go straight towards the development of the production shards.
It's not a solution. But a classic shard could be a very effective bandage.
But even the skeptics cannot help but admit that nostalgia is one of the most powerful forces in the continued success (or survival) of Ultima Online. We all know that such a shard would bring back at least some of the players that the 'progression' of Ultima Online wrought upon their beloved game world. And such a shard may very well pull in the revenue needed to put this dinosaur back on track. Any revenue brought in by such a static shard would go straight towards the development of the production shards.
It's not a solution. But a classic shard could be a very effective bandage.
A
AesSedai
Guest
- I agree; although I do not consider it to be a beneficial bandage,
because I consider such a change to be nothing but a bandage, and
-not-
an overall improvement to the further evolution of UO ~ which is a definite necessity for all reading & imo a necessity for all that is UO...
(~I has alternate idears & I be promoting them soon~)
If it removes the damage done by AoS it probably will be a very healing bandage. UO was such a fun game before AoS.
QFT
- Status