I think alot of players would come back if...

[Exgirlfriend]

I think alot of players would come back if EA did more for the vet players. They seem to want a pre-aos shard, and for some reason EA dosent get it that reguardless of how leet the dev's idea's might seem to them, it's really not what the players want.

I think if im forced to start over like with AOS or the new content is grossly overpowered or if it dosent look like UO it will be the end of UO for me and alot of others. EA can not expect people to keep starting over. Time after time they have done this and time after time people leave the game in droves.

1) EA need's to give people the ability to reach 120 without having to join or pay a massive red guild.

2) EA need's to remove people that are co-dependent on cheat programs.
Maybe a new shard to banish accounts to, but with something like no gold.

3) EA need's to address balance issues faster. When 80% or more of the pvper's play the same 3 templetes it's really a problem that should have been delt with alot faster.

4) EA needs to stop hearding all the pvp to a fraction of the game board.

5) EA should have public vendor spots, like maybe win a spot in the vesper smith shop.

6) EA needs to step up and not only allow but also reply to negative feedback on these forums to address the players issues.

7) UO needs an in-game voice chat program, sorta like what DDO offers.

I could go on and on, EA already knows what i'd say, but they just dont listion. We are not liabilitys EA, We are the only asset's that matter.

EX

 

[Viper09]

Public vendors sound like a cool idea. That would be neat.
Edit: I would like it better if players could invest in NPC vendors and feed them gold to increase their inventory. In return the investor would get a percent profit of items sold

EA does respond to some feedback on these forums that are not simply rants, but stratics is not even the majority of the player base. Not everyone who plays comes here.

No need to have an in-game voice chat program, though. Players already use their own choice of programs.

Edit:
But let's be honest. While getting old players back would be nice, what UO needs are NEW players.

 

[Ender]

Players would come back if UO stopped trying to be other games and was UO again.

 

[hawkeye_pike]

1) EA need's to give people the ability to reach 120 without having to join or pay a massive red guild.

While I agree that PK guilds with ghost cams shouldn't have a monopoly on Power Scrolls, I think the 120 scrolls are way overrated. I never bought a 120 skill scroll, with one exception (Fencing) which wasn't worth its money. Pushing skills to 120 always leads to a problem with your total amount of skill points, and the advantage is not noticable.

 

[Fink]

5) EA should have public vendor spots, like maybe win a spot in the vesper smith shop.

Do many people go there on your shard? I couldn't even remember if Vesper had a smith shop. Evidently it does! Public vendor spots would be nice, but I don't think they'll entice many people back to the game. I doubt many people left over a lack of them.

 

[Lord Patapon]

I agree with points 3 and 5, but for the remaining points, I think these are not the solutions to UO's problems (or, not as they should be in-game).

Hawkeye said it, no need to have 120 skill points to be competitive, even in PvP.

Oh ! And Ender got it right: UO needs to be UO again.
But now, the question is: what IS the real UO ?

 

[Tazar]

6) EA needs to step up and not only allow but also reply to negative feedback on these forums to address the players issues.EX

Well... considering that EA is a totally separate entity with no control over Stratics, they could not allow it here if they wanted to. The policies on this forum are set by Stratics and Stratics only.

Regarding negative feedback. It is allowed and is all over the forums... so long as it does not violate the ROC in some way other than just being negative.

Most negative posts do end up in the "Spiels and Rants" section because that is just what they are... Add in some suggestions for improvement/discussion rather than just complaining and the posts tend to stay in U-hall.

 

[Tazar]

Why are there two of these threads?

Fixed... Threads merged...

 

[Maplestone]

1) EA need's to give people the ability to reach 120 without having to join or pay a massive red guild.
what if +skill jewelry could take you to 120 regardless of your cap? (similar to gloves of mining)

EA need's to remove people that are co-dependent on cheat programs.
Sounds good, but it's harder than just pushing a button.

3) EA need's to address balance issues faster.
I'm not a PvPer, don't really care about balance, don't believe that there is a utopian "balance" that doesn't degenerate into either everyone playing the same characters with different graphics/names or a rock-paper-scissors situation.

4) EA needs to stop herding all the pvp to a fraction of the game board.
Wouldn't they then start complaining that people were spread out over too much land? Doesn't it make sense to focus attention on a limited number of battlefields? Siege?

5) EA should have public vendor spots, like maybe win a spot in the vesper smith shop.
Wouldn't this create a Luna effect if it was successful? I'm not opposed to the idea, I'm just dubious over whether it would have much effect.

6) EA needs to step up and not only allow but also reply to negative feedback on these forums to address the players issues.
There's a difference between negative feedback and abusive feedback ... a lot of what happens around here is the latter. There are also far, far more players than there are devs ... we opinionated forum trolls likely already have a disproportional impact on their thinking and we can't even agree with each other most of the time. Other than that though, I agree

7) UO needs an in-game voice chat program, sorta like what DDO offers.
I'm of mixed opinions on these ... they open a whole new suite of security and bandwidth issues, but they do seem to be the way the world is moving.

 

[Splup]

Bah... That attitude is exactly what's killing this game.

Instead of trying to so hard lure OLD players, EA should be making this appealing for NEW players. Fresh blood, that's what we need!

 

[Kaleb]

I feel and based on conversations with vets that have left EA but still play the game is that they need to open up some pre aos style servers (aos killed UO to a majority of 1st and 2nd generation UOer's)some Fell rule only some tram rule only. There should be a tram version of siege also. and of course the mixed servers would remain but maby close some underpopulated to use for above.

Better CS.
Waiting hours for a canned message is not good CS.

Think of it like this with the way UO is today with all the arties and gear where does it stop the only way to add items is if they are overpowered to the previous ones. where if it were a pre aos system all artifact weapons could=power-vanq just named, all armor pieces would = fort- inv just named, all jewelery would be just named items(stat increase items would be a no no you would be capped at 225 stat points, 700 skill points, 100 per skill). Items broke and wore down pretty fast witch kept a balance. GM Crafted gear was just as viable as magic. every armor class had its pros and cons like leather you could med in but had a lower AR and plate had a high AR but couldnt med and took a dex penality. There would be balance in the game again only true balance for UO is UO (Pre AOS combat item system).

Just as an idea of prefrence of players based on options of rulesets where EA dosnt have these options this PRS has( Do not PM me asking how to play there). They run 3 one is pre ren 2nd age its the lowest populated only a couple hundred on at a time. 2nd is a Fel only UO:R style as discribed above just no extra land masses I have seen player totals 2k plus but adverage 1k -1.8k depending on time. 3rd is basicly current ML with tram and never seen more than 800 on.

now based on numbers of populations of these PRS it would be a wise decision to offer servers with pre aos item/combat systems. The people that play these have their choice of rulesets and game play options its free so they are not forced to play one style and the Pre aos pub 15/16 wins over the pre ren t2a and current ML. And based off normal conversation with players there is that they would come back to EA in a heartbeat if they offered pre aos style servers. most only play PRS due to EA not providing these options PRS GM's can tend to be corrupt sometimes. just for the fact there would be minimal amount of GM intervention on EA they would pay to play again.

I have sent PM's to devs over the years showing them this server since aos asking why this armchair dev can do it and they cant? at least offer him and his team Money for the source code and work off that. I know they know about it and have seen the #'s themselves. I know its not totally in the Devs hands the suits at ea have to see the potential $$$ numbers and someone to get off their keyster to sell their case.

 

[BloodstoneGL]

Bah... That attitude is exactly what's killing this game.

Instead of trying to so hard lure OLD players, EA should be making this appealing for NEW players. Fresh blood, that's what we need!

And just how do you expect to do that? You do realize that UO's graphics (2D, KR, and SA) are laughable at best when compared to the variety of MMO's out there right now. Oh sure we know how great of a game UO is but you can't put a salesman in every game store pushing UO and even then it still wouldn't work. UO is dated, it is old, and it is ancient technology to anyone wanting to buy a new game. Why would you own a gaming computer and buy something equivalent to a SNES game? You wouldn't unless someone convinced you how awesome of a game it was.

This is why we need to bring back the old player base. They already know how great of a game UO USED to be. Bring them back and you up the player base. Bring them back and it is far more likely that they will bring more new players (via irl friends) than slapping together a half ass client and putting it in a shiny box. The only thing UO can do do attract a lot of new players is to make UO2.

Besides, what's the difference between and old player and an new player? They are both just a subscription number.

 

[Gellor]

I think alot of players would come back if EA did more for the vet players. They seem to want a pre-aos shard, and for some reason EA dosent get it that reguardless of how leet the dev's idea's might seem to them, it's really not what the players want.

Like everyone says... negative. You shouldn't cater to the vets. But at the same time, pissing on their back like they have been doing isn't the best bet either.

What they need to do is maintain the current players while getting NEW blood.

Opening up a pre-aos shard will do absolutely nothing. Most of the vets I know who left are not playing a pre-aos free shard.

1) EA need's to give people the ability to reach 120 without having to join or pay a massive red guild.

120s are overrated and more a symbol of status. There are very few skills that HAVE to be 120 in order to PvP or PvM. Plus, you can sneak in spawns on any shard. Current system is almost perfect.

2) EA need's to remove people that are co-dependent on cheat programs.
Maybe a new shard to banish accounts to, but with something like no gold.

EA hasn't been able to fix any cheat programs or curb it in any way. Sure, they go on raids once every two years so they can say "We pulled 150 Billion gold" out of the economy... but by and large, they aren't doing a thing.

3) EA need's to address balance issues faster. When 80% or more of the pvper's play the same 3 templetes it's really a problem that should have been delt with alot faster.

They need to address balance issues faster AND broken mechanics faster.

7) UO needs an in-game voice chat program, sorta like what DDO offers.

No thanks. There are any number of free ones available out there and the last thing UO needs is more junk that is going to bloat UO. Heck, they've had the eternal memory leak they haven't fixed in beyond years.

As stated, they need to maintain their current players. This means catering to EXISTING players and stop taking away the perks for being a vet player: ie taking away the AOS stat point bonus. They need to give more little perks that don't effect PvP.

But they also need to attract NEW players. Go look in any game store. Guess what you do NOT see: UO boxed sets OR UO display panels. We haven't seen a new boxed set in what: 2 years... 3 years? What about a nice big display like you see for WoW or EQ... haven't seen one of those in probably 8 years.

The graphics 100% need to be updated... no, not like any of the current online games(aka WoW, EQ, etc)... more like any of the current strategy games(new generation of Starcraft). Maintain the top down ISO view we have now but with new graphics. The 10 year old graphics we have now will not attract NEW players.

Lastly, they need to cut EA Japan off at the knees. This treating everyone as second class citizens if you aren't serviced by EA Japan is complete BS. Looks at the current 11th anniversary tokens as a GREAT example.

 

[Frey Wavestrider]

Lots of good points raised. Getting old players back would help but you need the new players. Alot of the older players do sell the game. My wife is a vet and remembers the "good/bad old days". She got me playing. However I know that a return to pre AOS and the "good/bad old days" will not increase the player base. It may in in fact lower it as alot of players now playing would leave. Graphics aside most of the new players enjoy the interaction, crafting, building houses. Alot just do crafting and go on hunts with their guilds. UO's main problem is selling itself. You do not see it in stores other than gamestop or ebgames. You do not hear about it, except through word of mouth. My wife beta tests and I have seen alot of games with better graphics, newer concepts but none has what UO has even in the current version.

Even the constant bickering between PVP's and non PVP's does not change that. It is very hard on most games to build communities as found in UO. Very few of the games out there make it possible for parents to play with their kids or grandparents with their grand kids. That is a way to get new players. SA will offer a host of possibilities, how we as players sell it is as important as how EA sells it. If SA offers new worlds a better interface for play then it should succeed. Remember there are a lot of MMO's out there that have better graphics but they seem to go the way of the Dodo very quickly. Most will never build communities in game that allows them to continue. Once you reach the top level in a lot of them, there is nothing for you to do, and you move to the next UBER game.

I suspect that others will not agree, but in it current state UO is surviving. It does not have the same market share as in the pre AOS days but then it was also the first to succeed and there was not a lot of competition. Now it survives when there is a new flavour every week. That has to mean something. Can it be improved? Yes! Do we want more players? Yes!! But as a community we have to try to sell the game also. If Fel is empty because no one wants to Pvp, then pvp'rs need to find ways to make it so people will try it. If someone does not want to pvp then do not put them down. Same with Non Pvp'rs do not look down Pvp'rs for their game style. It is game, a game that seems to create communities which is why a majority of us seem to play it.

 

[WildWobble]

They do what they do and we have a game to play if you want the past find a free shard and live in the past. What we need is good people ones who want to help become great hero's and have some fun in our spare time. if you want to get 120 then go get the scroll either pay the gold or go to fel that simple they should be where its risky to go to. If your crashed alot then think about difrent location to spawn

 

[laurlo]

public vendor spots would be very nice...

 

[Redxpanda]

The OP makes many valid points. There are too many problems in this game that go ignored and unfixed and it makes people angry when they have to deal with it and drives people away from the game. Many people have deactivated their accounts in protest and are just waiting for things to get better before coming back. I would reactivate both of my accounts if they fixed half of the problems.

 

[Exgirlfriend]

8) Weapons/special moves are totaly out of control...throwing more crap on the same pile just dosent help EA

 

[Viper09]

8) Weapons/special moves are totaly out of control...throwing more crap on the same pile just dosent help EA

I didn't know they were throwing more "crap" on anything. Need to watch how you word your posts lest you get them tossed into SnR forums like usual. But special moves were a good idea...

But I agree special moves need some tweaking. I think what would help would be a cool-down timer on special moves so they can't spam them. Would make warriors have to time their specials for a good moment instead of spamming it.

 

[Hanna]

I personally think that the focus so much on PVP the last few years has cost more PVM accounts then there ever have been PVPers.

1) EA need's to give people the ability to reach 120 without having to join or pay a massive red guild.
Not a hugh concern to PVMers, but the scrolls did not help the imbalance in PVP

2) EA need's to remove people that are co-dependent on cheat programs.
Maybe a new shard to banish accounts to, but with something like no gold.
The main cheaters have many accounts, and just create more when they lose one

3) EA need's to address balance issues faster. When 80% or more of the pvper's play the same 3 templetes it's really a problem that should have been delt with alot faster.
Won't do a thing to bring back most people that left (PVMers)

4) EA needs to stop hearding all the pvp to a fraction of the game board.
Will discourage most people from coming back, because most aren't PVPers

5) EA should have public vendor spots, like maybe win a spot in the vesper smith shop.
Or the could just burn all of luna to the ground, and then they can go back to the way vendors used to be

6) EA needs to step up and not only allow but also reply to negative feedback on these forums to address the players issues.
As long as it's civil, I don't see the problem

7) UO needs an in-game voice chat program, sorta like what DDO offers.
Might be a neat idea, but don't think that will bring people back, when they have so fundimentaly distroyed the game for so many

 

[Amren]

What good is a voice chat program when there is no group content in the game?

Games like WoW offer in-game voice (as an alternative to Ventrilo) because the game has things like instances and raids that require team work.

A lot of people I know quit UO because "Friday guild dungeon night" became so boring since there was nothing we came across that we could not solo individually, so why even have a guild or even a party system?

I know a lot of UO players would whine as soon as a dungeon was added that relayed on people working together, but the same people would also complain if UO looked like Age of Empires 3 instead of Ultima 8.

 

[Cybrdragon]

What good is a voice chat program when there is no group content in the game?

Games like WoW offer in-game voice (as an alternative to Ventrilo) because the game has things like instances and raids that require team work.

A lot of people I know quit UO because "Friday guild dungeon night" became so boring since there was nothing we came across that we could not solo individually, so why even have a guild or even a party system?

I know a lot of UO players would whine as soon as a dungeon was added that relayed on people working together, but the same people would also complain if UO looked like Age of Empires 3 instead of Ultima 8.

What he said!

The endless item fest has caused this skill/item creep up that makes it easier and easier to kill stuff which makes the game boring to groups. I can't remember the last good guild hunt I attended in UO. It's been THAT long ago. I do remember having some really really really fun ones a long time ago, though. I really miss those days a LOT. Those are the kinds of times that would pull me back to UO if there was still such a thing to be found in the game.

UO is now an item-based game without a level system which makes it really imbalanced unless they keep adding more total skill points (levels) or harder content. And content isn't added fast enough to keep most people interested.

At this point I would not return to UO unless they made UO2. If it had 3D graphics like WoW and ambient sounds where the world would come alive around me, I'd be there in the New Sosaria in a heartbeat, just to gaze upon it and explore.