[UO Herald] December Developer Letter

[_zigzag_]

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]For the record what I am about to write is “so not my gig”, but I’ll endeavor to push through it.

I wanted to pass on that with the recent announcement of earning fromElectronic Arts that the Ultima Online team is still intact and stillpressing forward on both the Stygian Abyss Expansion, and supportingthe Live Game. In addition, we are still moving forward with the EventModerator Program. I know it’s been a long time coming, but as you may haveread we’re going through more than a bit from our side these days.[/FONT]

More...

 

[DevilsOwn]

okay, this is good news ~~ we're getting puppets!

 

[Tomas_Bryce]

I hope this settles the sky is falling talk for at least few weeks!

 

[dielock]

Thanks, that is good information indeed.

 

[canary]

The way hes talking makes it sounds like there is a LOT of work in the new client.

 

[soze]

This is the best post on Herald I have seen in a long time, and very well timed . Much, much appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Gheed]

This is the best post on Herald I have seen in a long time, and very well timed . Much, much appreciated.

Thank you.

/signed

For this not being his gig he certainly crafted a well written letter. Lately I'm starting to think EA is getting it. Good job!

 

[Deb]

This is the best post on Herald I have seen in a long time, and very well timed . Much, much appreciated.

Thank you.

I agree and it definitely couldn't have come at a better time. Am starting
to get real excited about SA and the future of UO.

 

[chrisjwhite]

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]For the record what I am about to write is “so not my gig”, but I’ll endeavor to push through it.[/FONT]

After reading this line I thought... Oh CRAP!!!
Then I read the rest.

 

[sapphirediablo11]

YES!

 

[Chaosy]

I was kind of hoping for a FOF, but at least they posted up the patch notes which pretty much addressed most of the questions a FOF would have contained anyway!

 

[siyeng0]

I hope this settles the sky is falling talk for at least few weeks!

Puppets?! Oh no! The sky is falling!

I have been playing this game for almost five years now. They have recieved hundreds of my juicy Australian dollars - and for what? The gameplay has only given me hours of enjoyment, the world was only immersive enough to have kept me absorbed for those five years and for the foreseeable future, and the wide-open sandbox thing is overrated, because who really wants freedom and flexibility? Seriously? The game is unbalanced. Some players are better at it than others; the devs should be seeking out the more skilled players and deliberately nerfing their characters to level the playing field and make it easier for me- I mean, ah, their loyally playing customers!

UO is going down the drain. The devs' persistence in working around the clock for us says to me, loud and clear, "We don't care about the fate or future of this game." They ought to be ashamed of themselves. The recent spate of fatalist posts has to point to something. I mean, it's not as if people have been predicting the imminent end of the game ever since the beta test first opened.

But back to the point. Introducing puppets spells doom for Ultima Online. What will the advent of the puppets do to PvP? What will it do to crafting? You'll never know whether you're fighting a real person or a puppet poking up from behind a log... and the crafters will be so absorbed by crafting these cunning decoys that they will neglect armour and weapons and the economy will collapse! I think this is a very bad idea, devs. If you introduce puppets, where will it end? Mannequins? Crash test dummies? It's the beginning of the end.

I'm a paying customer and deserve to have my opinion listened to, carefully considered and implemented, even if it costs hours of manpower. If you do not do exactly as I say, the game will crash tragically and I will take my credit card and go home.


(I am joking.)

 

[sapphirediablo11]

Puppets?! Oh no! The sky is falling!

I have been playing this game for almost five years now. They have recieved hundreds of my juicy Australian dollars - and for what? The gameplay has only given me hours of enjoyment, the world was only immersive enough to have kept me absorbed for those five years and for the foreseeable future, and the wide-open sandbox thing is overrated, because who really wants freedom and flexibility? Seriously? The game is unbalanced. Some players are better at it than others; the devs should be seeking out the more skilled players and deliberately nerfing their characters to level the playing field and make it easier for me- I mean, ah, their loyally playing customers!

UO is going down the drain. The devs' persistence in working around the clock for us says to me, loud and clear, "We don't care about the fate or future of this game." They ought to be ashamed of themselves. The recent spate of fatalist posts has to point to something. I mean, it's not as if people have been predicting the imminent end of the game ever since the beta test first opened.

But back to the point. Introducing puppets spells doom for Ultima Online. What will the advent of the puppets do to PvP? What will it do to crafting? You'll never know whether you're fighting a real person or a puppet poking up from behind a log... and the crafters will be so absorbed by crafting these cunning decoys that they will neglect armour and weapons and the economy will collapse! I think this is a very bad idea, devs. If you introduce puppets, where will it end? Mannequins? Crash test dummies? It's the beginning of the end.

I'm a paying customer and deserve to have my opinion listened to, carefully considered and implemented, even if it costs hours of manpower. If you do not do exactly as I say, the game will crash tragically and I will take my credit card and go home.


(I am joking.)

LOL i was like hrmm something seems strange here when reading it... thanks for the laugh

 

[eccentricjules]

Thanks for the great news Cal!!

 

[sapphirediablo11]

me thinks me read something about the SA and the graphics being near done or something... can we sa get a Pictorial of it?

 

[JC the Builder]

We eliminated anyone who had legitimate marks on their accounts

It would be nice if they told the people who were eliminated for this reason about it. Or in general, whether or not you may have a chance in the future to be accepted.

 

[Cal_Mythic]

Yes ... There will be updates and screenshots posted on the SA Website. We'll cross post when the site is updated. Expect more info in the next few weeks.

Our art director re-tooled the look of the Gargoyles (omg is that a spoiler? -- oh wait no we told you about the race already) so we need to post the new images.

So as not to hijack this thread with more SA news. Some good stuff in this pub ... hope you enjoy!

And thanks for the support

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Yes ... There will be updates and screenshots posted on the SA Website. We'll cross post when the site is updated. Expect more info in the next few weeks.

Our art director re-tooled the look of the Gargoyles (omg is that a spoiler? -- oh wait no we told you about the race already) so we need to post the new images.

So as not to hijack this thread with more SA news. Some good stuff in this pub ... hope you enjoy!

And thanks for the support

Thank you very much for the update, and for specifically, head-on addressing the (to my mind justified) concerns we had about EA's difficulties and their impact on UO.

*salutes*

Thank you!

-Galen's player

 

[Aroma]

What no fof just his letter. hmmm guessing the contest hinted at last friday was just a tease..course there was more reading between the lines in this.

 

[Flora Green]

Baby Bach ftw. (says the Mom with a ton of Baby Einstein dvd's...)
Oh and thanks for the update, Cal.

 

[Cal_Mythic]

Or in general, whether or not you may have a chance in the future to be accepted.

Yup.

 

[kennykilleduo]

This is the best post on Herald I have seen in a long time, and very well timed . Much, much appreciated.

Thank you.

I agree and it definitely couldn't have come at a better time. Am starting
to get real excited about SA and the future of UO.

This maybe the biggest day in history for UO , well sorta . A UO dev being open , to the point , and honest.. Hmm , I like this Cal guy more and more... :bowdown: , now if he could only get marketing to increase UO's market presence...




PS Thx for update it's good to see we didnt lose anyone , and Happy Holidays to all at Mythic.

 

[Mark Knotts]

Yup.

Perhaps you missed this Cal. SA isn't the only thing you should be working on.

http://vboards.stratics.com/showthread.php?t=115179

 

[sapphirediablo11]

Ohh Puppets that going to be a new skill set??? that can make you cash!! $ $
\ /
---

anyways hehe thanks Cal Vote Cal for UO today... the hero of the month...

 

[AirmidCecht]

What a great letter. I'm saving it. This is how it should be done.

Thank you!

 

[Oriana]

Fantastic!!! Great to hear things are going forward. I can't wait to see sneak peeks at the new client and the gargoyles!!

Thanks bunches Cal!!

 

[Marcus Blackwell]

Great news.. One thing on beta though will it include a mix of people since SA can be accessed by 2d? Unless that changes(which I hope it dosent for awhile) you'll probably need those who will play SA on the new Client and those on the Legacy Client both in beta. I plan on playing SA with the Legacy client and just want to make sure you have testers for both clients cause no telling what kind of bugs there will be..hehe

 

[Maplestone]

"or anyone who had “great intentions” but no event experience at all."

hehehe ... I applied - if for no other reason than it was an excuse to write and brainstorm - but I would have been shocked if I was selected - I'm still a noob

 

[LadyNico]

Fear Puppet Destard

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

Good to read, and done quite quickly after the latest news blurb on cutbacks at EA.

Although I have no illusion that it will in any way slow down certain naysayers on this board.

Personally I look forward to installing the new-new client and seeing how it handles and looks and where we can take our UI mods with it.

 

[sapphirediablo11]

So if we are getting puppets... when are we getting that revamped music system i've been asking for the past 6 years???

 

[Petra Fyde]

y'know, I could be totally wrong on this, but I thought the 'puppets' idea was a joke relating to Leurocian playing with his baby?

 

[DevilsOwn]

fairly certain it was, Petra but dang, wouldn't puppets be fun??!? I mean, look how well Lady Nico has that skill trained up already!

thing I'm really happy about is that "re-tooled the look of the gargoyles" comment.... personally, I thought those things were pretty uggy lookin'

 

[Petra Fyde]

heh, I'm being more cynical. They 'retooled' the female paper doll in 3D and gave her the body of a starlett, but I can't say I like the face they gave her. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

 

[MalagAste]

heh, I'm being more cynical. They 'retooled' the female paper doll in 3D and gave her the body of a starlett, but I can't say I like the face they gave her. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

Personally I thought the body looks like a starlett on steroids a bit on the "masculine" side but maybe that's just me. But at least they redid the female doll..... the males still look like a 50+ senior with a bad case of hemorrhoids, bad dunlap disease and terribly out of shape...... certainly not the "buff" dude I'd think of if I thought of my character as someone who's very physically fit... after all my character is an archer I expect to see pecks and biceps that are ripped.... and he does a bunch of walking so I'd expect he's not got a bad case of dunlap disease....

I also agree the faces on both males and Females even if you go and get a new one at the body sculptor are UG-LY!..... They could use a lot of love.

 

[WizzaX]

[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]For the record what I am about to write is “so not my gig”, but I’ll endeavor to push through it.[/FONT]

After reading this line I thought... Oh CRAP!!!
Then I read the rest.

Me too!

 

[Experimental]

What, no pic of Cal??
*pout*
lol

 

[drinkbeerallday]

The way hes talking makes it sounds like there is a LOT of work in the new client.

I hope the work goes into game play and stability and not more new consumable items.

 

[drinkbeerallday]

It would be nice if they told the people who were eliminated for this reason about it. Or in general, whether or not you may have a chance in the future to be accepted.

especially considering there's no way to see what GM's have written on your account over the past 11 years. and that 10 years is a long time for people to change.

 

[drinkbeerallday]

So as not to hijack this thread with more SA news.

if you have news start a new thread.

 

[Maplestone]

thing I'm really happy about is that "re-tooled the look of the gargoyles" comment.... personally, I thought those things were pretty uggy lookin'

Even after all the time we spent getting keeping poor Cathat up late nights tweaking the feet?

 

[Gheed]

Puppets? Cal plays FFXI!

 

[siyeng0]

I also agree the faces on both males and Females even if you go and get a new one at the body sculptor are UG-LY!..... They could use a lot of love.

I thought that being ugly was the whole traditional point of gargoyles? I mean, this is like complaining that characters' lich forms look too bony. If nothing else, perhaps your character can get a job squatting on the eaves of Castle Britain and scaring the pigeons away.

(I always longed for a way to completely customise how my character looked, but understood that's not possible yet. Shame.)

 

[LadyNico]

Aww man! I am absolutely serious when I say that I really hope the gargies don't change all that much.

Way back when CatHat unveiled them, I said I was all excited about the prospect of looking just like Grace Jones. I was not joking. I mean, Grace Jones is awesome.

 

[Flutter]

Looks like the last screenshot I took when we raided the Rikki spawn!

 

[Nok]

Great letter Cal.

 

[Rix/\]

I just so confident now, seeing the Dev's writing skills are as bad as their dev's skills. They'll tell you anything to keep your money coming, but will you believe it?

 

[Cal_Mythic]

Puppets? Cal plays FFXI!

DO NOT!! nyeh

 

[statman]

This is the best post on Herald I have seen in a long time, and very well timed . Much, much appreciated.

Thank you.

/signed

For this not being his gig he certainly crafted a well written letter. Lately I'm starting to think EA is getting it. Good job!

I agree. An outstanding post. Who is this guy? My guess he is a programmer. If that is the case, then we have found our problem with communication...only use programmers and not "relations"-type people to talk to the community.

Short, concise, clear. That is the programmers motto ;-)