With all the DF hype, Mythic should have...

[deadite]

With all the DarkFall hype, Mythic should have had a UO "Classic" shard ready and set to open the same day DF releases. When people realize that game isn't fun or near finished, they could come back to the ORIGINAL experience that they were hoping to find there. We could totally "steal their thunder."

Somebody put me in charge of marketing!

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

Somebody put me in charge of marketing!

I don't think they have that department. It got removed from UO in cuts a few years back...la

 

[deadite]

Even better. No one has to get fired for me to take over.

 

[Black Sun]

Mythic should have had a UO "Classic" shard ready and set to open the same day DF releases.

Quit living in the past.

 

[deadite]

Hey BlackSun, thanks for your completely irrelevant comment. I don't remember saying that I would be either a DF player or a Classic shard player in that post.

It would potentially be a good way to get some of the many disappointed DF players to come back to UO. Revenue is revenue, whether you agree with it or not.

Go troll elsewhere.

 

[Rotgut Willy]

Every MMO forum is polluted with hype when a new MMO is about to be released. Through all of the many MMO releases, UO is still here.

There will likely be a slight drop in UO population for a month or three then things will return to normal.

 

[Hemisphere]

Quit living in the past.

What, you mean like all the countless thousands of people playing classic ruleset free shards should quit living in the past too?

Classic ruleset UO is an undeniably popular game, and all smart companies re-release their popular games ad infinitum (did you notice how many times each version of Mario and Final Fantasy get rereleased? And each time they manage to be smash hits!)

 

[hawkeye_pike]

I think you overestimate the DF hype.
And you overestimate the effect of a classic shard.

 

[rwek]

Hey, if going back to the beginning. Make sure we can res ghosts inside houses with circle of transparency. I so loved that weekend of house looting!

 

[Winker]

I think you overestimate the DF hype.
And you overestimate the effect of a classic shard.

if you include all the americans who want to play, they say they have over 200,000 people waiting to sign up. Not hype....but real figures

 

[Black Sun]

What, you mean like all the countless thousands of people playing classic ruleset free shards should quit living in the past too?

Yes. UO has changed, deal with it. EA has already said a number of times they have no plans/interest in reverse engineering a shard for the "classic UO" die-hards. That's what Siege is supposed to be.

 

[deadite]

Yes. UO has changed, deal with it. EA has already said a number of times they have no plans/interest in reverse engineering a shard for the "classic UO" die-hards. That's what Siege is supposed to be.

Haha. Siege is hardly classic UO...

It doesn't matter what EA said a year ago, two years ago or four years ago about not making a classic shard. Why? Those people are GONE... We have a pretty high turnover rate on the UO team if you hadn't noticed.

But I don't understand why the idea offends people like you so much. You can call other people's opinions wrong all day long, but that doesn't make you right. It just makes you narrow minded.

 

[Lord Gareth]

No need to burst his bubble Black Sun or that first comment which I think was trolling.

Anyways. I think that would have been a GREAT idea! I would have laughed and who knows maybe it would have worked heh. I know I would play it so my crafter was useful again.

EA/Mythic should do a survey and see if they would turn a profit by doing a server Pre-Tram that would NEVER EVER HAVE TO BE UPDATED. I mean really they would just let it run and wouldn't have to do jack heh.

Yes SP is suppose to be that rule set but it still has Luna and Tokuno and whatever else. Plus has all the new stuff.

Well anywho I think that would have been very funny hehe.

 

[Ribaldry]

Darkfall is going to be a trainwreck.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I am too lazy to go dig it up, but very recently Draconi did hint at the possibility of a pre Ren/T2A shard.

I don't understand why people that don't want a classic shard give a care whether or not one is created. If you don't want to play on it...don't...stay on your current shard.

Rather than slamming "new" UO, I will just say...to each their own. It seems like the best solution for bringing back players that didn't like where UO went after T2A.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Darkfall is going to be a trainwreck.

It will have it's share of problems just like all new MMOs have. And I feel that they are going to learn quickly that full-on open PvP, even in towns, is going to fail.

 

[deadite]

I agree with Morgana.

I think the "new" UO is fine and still fun to play. But I don't think there's a thing wrong with giving people an option to experience the game the way it used to be, mainly because it was SO different back then.

 

[Petrify]

Quit living in the past.

You realise the most popular free shard has more people on than any shard could dream of having?

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I understand that it is against the rules to discuss those shards here, but is there somewhere to get good information on them? It has been a long time since I tried them.

 

[Larry]

Darkfall has failed to meet the hype.

Once people realize its just left-click spam they will come back to UO. The smart ones won't even try it.

 

[ElRay]

You realise the most popular free shard has more people on than any shard could dream of having?

I dont think she does, why else would she make a moronic statement like that?

Free shards own EA shards population wise, lol @ EA, all that money they are losing out on. Oh well, carry on EA.

I guess its "what do you expect from a company who allows customers to hack their game?"

Answer: A pulse.

Ive never seen such mediocrity accepted by customers in an MMORPG.

 

[christy1221]

I would play on a classic shard but would still play on my regular shard too.

 

[deadite]

Well, the free shards are a mixed bag. Since they are free, you get the dregs of society playing. Not as good of a community as the real shards.

I don't think you can translate directly over the amount of players to an official classic shard, because many of them may not want to pay $12.95 per month for what they already get for free...

That said, I know there's a LOT of people that won't play free shards just BECAUSE of the community tends to be not so great. They would be the primary returnees I think... and nobody knows how many of them are out there. Impossible to quantify.

 

[Black Sun]

I dont think she does, why else would she make a moronic statement like that?

I'm not a she, and no I don't have any idea what any shard populations are, and frankly I don't care.

 

[ElRay]

I'm not a she, and no I don't have any idea what any shard populations are, and frankly I don't care.

Well then, dont act like a female dog then, and we wont have to call you out.

 

[ScottishHero]

Don't be daft Petrify, why would someone have facts to back up a statement?

 

[Hemisphere]

I'm not a she, and no I don't have any idea what any shard populations are, and frankly I don't care.

Then you shouldn't make unsubstantiated attacks on other people's desires.

A GREAT deal of people would like a classic shard, and even devs have hinted at the possibility lately (which is a HUGE turnaround from the flat "no" they gave a few years ago).

It's not for you to tell people to "stop living in the past" - if enough people want to play an old ruleset, enough to warrant a shard that operates under it, then it's a valid suggestion, and what you appear to fail to understand (or "don't care" enough to understand) is that there are literally tens of thousands of people playing classic ruleset shards already.

If UO has 75,000 subscribers, and 30 shards, that's around 2,500 subscriptions per shard, or around (at a guess) 1000 actual players per shard. The top free shards regularly boast more than that in logged in users. Not accounts, or active players, but actual logged in users (and the proportion of active accounts to actual logged in users in MMOs is usually around 5:1).

In short, there would be a LOT of interest in a classic ruleset server, at least enough to fill it more than any other shard, and a lot of those players would be brand new subscriptions - yes, actual new subscriptions from people who weren't playing before.

So, I can understand if you don't care, or you don't want to live in the past, or if the idea of a classic ruleset shard absolutely repulses you - that's your business, and your opinion, which you have every right to voice. What you do not have a right to, however, is to tell other people what their opinion should be.

 

[Draken-Korin]

Sadly the most populated freeshard out there is fairly close to what an old school dueler/pvper/pker/anti is looking for, and more.

Its amazing what a bit of imagination will do for a game. The dueling system and events are truly a fantastic setup.

That being said the missing component is true meaning as to why your playing. Loyalty to guild and friends, common goals, is something when put together with the ruleset of original UO cannot be matched.

 

[Tek]

It’s difficult to convince people to pay for something that they currently get for free. Although I’m not against a classic shard, would the work in maintaining it ensure enough of revenue return for it to be profitable - probably not or there would already be a classic shard.

 

[HD2300]

It’s difficult to convince people to pay for something that they currently get for free. Although I’m not against a classic shard, would the work in maintaining it ensure enough of revenue return for it to be profitable - probably not or there would already be a classic shard.

Exactly. Like why would someone pay for something when its FREE elsewhere with server speed caps and GMs that ban cheats.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

EA is definitely missing out on some business from old timers. I know about 4-5 people IRL that would come back if there was a classic T2A era shard.

Now, I know that 4-5 people are not many, but if everyone that posts here knows 4-5 people, etc. etc...it adds up.

I think some of the free shard players would remain as such to avoid the subscription fees, but some are there because they don't like the "new" UO. Those may actually come back.

 

[Shioni]

DF = Fail


People think a none skill based first person shooter mmo will be amazing but the truth is it takes half of the RPG genre and half of the FPS genre and butchers them both.

Sure it may be neat to explore and sail a ship and... oops I just got my head blown off by a griefing team mate and none like me so he gets a medal.

On a side note if DF dost have a voice communication system or a scaled proficiency system I will expect a steep decline just like Horizons witch apparently dosnt even exist to my knowledge anymore.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

What hype?

 

[Saris]

OH I have been waiting for DF for years, I will try it however, I have played SWG, WOW, DOAC, Tabula Rasa, WAR(or WHO), and FFO

I have been playing on UO since you could dbl click your nails to gain carp, and in over a decade i can tell you, DF will have 0 impact to me on UO.

How could someone even compare the game that started it all with a game that comes out 12 years later?

UO is forever

DF time will tell but UO will not die to a game that can only hold 10k ppl at the moment.

Better question, can DF survive the KOTOR MMO and MO and i hear Bethesda is getting into the mx later this year.

Now a retro shard, yay I aways wanted a beta shard, but it had so many problems also, many of the fixes are good while some were not so good, if they made one I would play it but how long, I bet it would bore me in about 4 days.

I just dont get why all the DF fan bois made thier way over to stratics, most of DFs forums are old UO vets, the rest need to learn some respect for the first MORPG ever, I was in the beta in the army back in ft wainwright when most of the current mmo ppl were riding the school bus and a few still needing their mothers to wipe their backside.

a pre pub 16 shard sounds fun but in realty it would be empty and a waste of thier resources.

 

[ColterDC]

Exactly. Like why would someone pay for something when its FREE elsewhere with server speed caps and GMs that ban cheats.

That's an excellent point people often forget about when discussing free shards.

Funny how a free shard run by a couple of guys in their spare time can eliminate 99% of the cheating, a feat that mighty EA with all their millions of employees and billions of dollars has been unable to match.

People currently playing free shards may come back to EA's UO if they introduced a classic shard, but I guarantee they would not stick around for very long due to EA's **** poor management of their game.

 

[kennykilleduo]

With all the DarkFall hype, Mythic should have had a UO "Classic" shard ready and set to open the same day DF releases. When people realize that game isn't fun or near finished, they could come back to the ORIGINAL experience that they were hoping to find there. We could totally "steal their thunder."

Somebody put me in charge of marketing!

I don't think they have that department. It got removed from UO in cuts a few years back...la

Even better. No one has to get fired for me to take over.

Quit living in the past.

It's so silly they don't go classic , how hard would it be to make a shard with no other lands except Fel ?

As for living in the past UO of old was way better than after AOS..

 

[accessdenied]

Every MMO forum is polluted with hype when a new MMO is about to be released. Through all of the many MMO releases, UO is still here.

There will likely be a slight drop in UO population for a month or three then things will return to normal.

wtf do you mean back to normal. I don't know if you've noticed, but UO isn't as populated as it once was. Every time a new game comes out, we lose more players. If that's normal, then at least his idea warrants some thought.

 

[Nexus]

That's an excellent point people often forget about when discussing free shards.

Funny how a free shard run by a couple of guys in their spare time can eliminate 99% of the cheating, a feat that mighty EA with all their millions of employees and billions of dollars has been unable to match.

People currently playing free shards may come back to EA's UO if they introduced a classic shard, but I guarantee they would not stick around for very long due to EA's **** poor management of their game.

It's not that amazing. When UO started, none of the issues we gripe about where even thought of really, also you have to realize that most emulation software is open source, and most hackers and other unscrupulous types seem to have a soft spot for open source. Why do you really think Linux and Unix based O/S have fewer issues with viruses targeting them.

With UO running on a 12 year old server core (well I'm sure it's had updates but the core framework...) none of us know exactly how much they can and can't do from inside the code...

 

[Cal Hurst]

DarkFall is going to be an awesome game. I have beta tested it, and continue to do so. It's a LOT of fun.

I will play UO for the roleplay. I will play DarkFall for everything else.

It'll be fun

 

[The Craftsman]

It's so silly they don't go classic , how hard would it be to make a shard with no other lands except Fel ?

That is not a classic shard. Thats only one small element of it.

How do you even know if they COULD do a classic shard now?

The code has been muddled for years and could they reverse engineer it back to the way it was?

Who even defines a classic shard? EA have stated in the past that a classic shard means many different things to different people. Exactly which ruleset would you use?

Suppose you could eventually agree on the most popular classic ruleset, how much would it cost to set up? How can you quantify if its worth the expentiture as you cannot say with any degree of certainty the number of extra subscribers you would get?

How many additional staff would be needed to maintain it? EA are running UO resources staff wise down to the bare essentials. Would they ever want to increase it?

Quite simply, its not as cut and dried as a lot of people think it is and im going to bet it'll NEVER happen due to all of the above.

 

[hawkeye_pike]

The question is (and none of us can really answer it), whether a classic shard will bring as many new subscribers as there are needed to finance that shard (hardware, provider, traffic, backup/restore, maintenance). And it will be some money, even if this shard never receives an update.

(I already see people whining about some 10-year-old bugs and balancing issues that never will be solved.)

 

[Lord Kynd]

With all the DarkFall hype, Mythic should have had a UO "Classic" shard ready and set to open the same day DF releases. When people realize that game isn't fun or near finished, they could come back to the ORIGINAL experience that they were hoping to find there. We could totally "steal their thunder."

Somebody put me in charge of marketing!

if they do, may they fire you promptly.
the last thing we 'need' is a 'classic' shard. if anything they should think about cutting back on shards somehow and remove a few of the 'not-so'used' one's

some other game doesn't have anything to do with UO, so why should we have some 'classic out of date' shard just because of some new game that is sure to fail.

 

[deadite]

some other game doesn't have anything to do with UO

Obviously, you've done zero research on Dark Fall.

so why should we have some 'classic out of date' shard just because of some new game that is sure to fail.

I think I explained that in the original post, thanks.

the last thing I personally 'want' is a 'classic' shard.

Fixed that for you.

if anything they should think about cutting back on shards somehow and remove a few of the 'not-so'used' one's

Sorry if the population sucks on some of the current shards, but I don't recall this thread having anything to do with shard merges.

Have a nice Friday!

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Yes. It's exactly the right decision to create yet another shard with a shard-specific rules set that'll have to be accounted for in updates and create a community of people who will whine about what they have and don't want, and want and don't have, and, hey, why is does this classic shard include the Healing skill? It shouldn't! That's not "classic" UO. It came in later.

And it especially makes sense to do this in the face of potential competition from another product.

-Galen's player