Wondering which shard and client to choose

[gortman]

Hi,

I have a couple of basic questions:
1) Which client do most folks use - 2D or 3D? Does the 3D client improve gameplay/enjoyment?

2) For a person who has absolutely no interest in PVP, which OSI shard(s) would be better than others?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Tazar]

Most use the classic (2D client) at this point. The new client is still in a beta stage and while it works great, there is not enough yet to convince the older players to take the time to tackle the learning curve. For a new player, I'd strongly recommend that you give the new Enhanced Client a try.

As far as server, most offer a good PVM experience - the question is more do you want a lot of players to interact with? or not? If you want a good population, try Atlantic.

 

[gortman]

Most use the classic (2D client) at this point. The new client is still in a beta stage and while it works great, there is not enough yet to convince the older players to take the time to tackle the learning curve. For a new player, I'd strongly recommend that you give the new Enhanced Client a try.

As far as server, most offer a good PVM experience - the question is more do you want a lot of players to interact with? or not? If you want a good population, try Atlantic.

Thanks for the info Tazar. I played UO for about the first three years after it was released, so I have some long lost experience with the 2D client. I'm guessing things have changed significantly since I last played - I will basically be a newbie again.

Is there room on Atlantic for placing houses? From what I can remember, most of the open space on the shards I frequented were totally gridlocked with houses by the time I left the game.

Thanks again.

 

[Tazar]

There are open housing spots available on all shards. With Atlantic being the most populous, the best sized open plots will be in Felucca. You can easily place something in the 10x13 range in Trammel or Malas.

 

[Beer_Cayse]

yeah - and LA is almost the opposite. small population but good folks. I know Tram and Malas have lots of open spots for good sized structures. There might even be a castle area here and there ... haven't wandered around much lately.

 

[Merion]

I would really see to which server you have a good ping. Then choose from them based on population (high or low, whatever suits you).

Or just pick a name that sounds cool to you

 

[Beer_Cayse]

<laughs> LA is essentially a West Coast shard. I'm East Coast and except for a few moments now and then, really good performance on RoadRunner. 2D client on a dual-core system with 4 GB Ram and a hefty video card.

 

[gortman]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I live in the Denver area so Lake Austin might make good sense for me ping-wise.

 

[Beer_Cayse]

okay ... west coast are Pacific, Sonoma, Lake Austin, Baja - perhaps Origin. Not sure and may have missed one or two. Being in the Mile High area, you might also have luck with Lake Superior or Great Lakes (Central US essentially).

But try at least one in each timezone ... you might actually do better to the East Coast than those in your back yard. It's wierd that way.

 

[Schuyler Bain]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I live in the Denver area so Lake Austin might make good sense for me ping-wise.

Location and Ping are important for sure, but I will also add that it may be a good idea to visit some of the shard specific forums to get a flavor of the players on that shard. While not every player is a Stratics member you will no less have an idea of the guilds, events and general attitude of the shard. I find this to be as important or more so than ping.

Good luck with your choice and Happy Holidays!

 

[gortman]

While not every player is a Stratics member you will no less have an idea of the guilds, events and general attitude of the shard. I find this to be as important or more so than ping.

Good luck with your choice and Happy Holidays!

Thanks for the tip. I'm looking for a place with lots of friendly people who play the game to enjoy the atmosphere and help others when opportunities present themselves. Are the "general" shards so different from each other now that you can clearly say one has a higher percentage of those kind of folks than others?

Thanks again and Happy Holidays to you, too!

 

[Schuyler Bain]

Thanks for the tip. I'm looking for a place with lots of friendly people who play the game to enjoy the atmosphere and help others when opportunities present themselves. Are the "general" shards so different from each other now that you can clearly say one has a higher percentage of those kind of folks than others?

Thanks again and Happy Holidays to you, too!

Well as in the real world you find all types of people (friendly and not-so-friendly) just about everywhere you look. I have personally found that certain communities attract certain types of players. That is not to say that one shard is friendlier than another per se, but it does appear that different shards have different mixes based on the community members that frequent Stratics. There is no magic formula just what "feels right" to you.

I made a new home on Catskills earlier this year so I could join a guild and group of players I felt fit my play style based on what I read on these forums. They had a nice mix of the three major play styles and no one style seemed to over shadow another. So far it has worked out and I am pleased with my decision.

It is just another tool to help make your decision, but it is doubtful it will make or break your experince... then again it just might.

 

[Basara]

okay ... west coast are Pacific, Sonoma, Lake Austin, Baja - perhaps Origin. Not sure and may have missed one or two. Being in the Mile High area, you might also have luck with Lake Superior or Great Lakes (Central US essentially).

But try at least one in each timezone ... you might actually do better to the East Coast than those in your back yard. It's wierd that way.

There hasn't been a Central server for almost 8 years, at least.

Sometime around the beginning of 2002, if not sometime in 2001, the GL & LS servers were merged with the East Coast server farm. I went through the various dev notes and news, and the last mention of the Central shards as independent was in early 2001, and in early 2002 they were already being shown as part of the East Coast Shard server farm.

OH, and I play Lake Austin from Kentucky, and only have about 90 ms latency. OF course, since I don't PvP, as long as my connection speed is under 125, there's not much an issue for me.

 

[Beer_Cayse]

I'm about the same from NY to LA - w/out PvP

 

[hawkeye_pike]

1) Which client do most folks use - 2D or 3D? Does the 3D client improve gameplay/enjoyment?

Let me quote from Supreem (Game Developer), adressed to veteran players:

You might like the Classic Client better because you are used to it, but is it really the best client for a truly new player to use? Probably not.

I second that.

 

[gortman]

Thanks everybody for the advice - much appreciated!

 

[Caldwin_UWF]

I agree with trying different shards, see what the latency is for you. Atlantic is certainly the busiest. If placing a big house immediately is your major priority then you might want to consider a less populated shard. However, there is a good turn over rate of housing on Atlantic, so if you're willing to be patient you can get into some geat digs in just a few months.

Back when you played we basically went out to fight the spawn in the dungeons, much of which we soloed easily. Now there are many champs, peerless champs, mini champs spawns and so forth. For someone relearning the game it would be prudent to find others to do these with. That being the case I think a more populated shard would be best to learn on.

 

[Ally Oop]

I use 2d. If you want to really have some fun, lots of places to place a house, try Siege. Sure you die but its not boreing. We have a guild called NEW that will help you get started for 30 days. There are lots of nice people here and some not so nice but you will find that on everyshard. Check out the Siege board and come check us out. We dont seem to have the spamers that sit around Luna and shout their wares like others do. (stand around in one spot to long you will either get pick of items in your pack or dead) its a lot of fun and I havent regretted my move to here.