Why we dropped and returned to UO?

[Paulanius]

I started playing this game since Second Age back in Nov 1998 when I was 13 yro, I stopped after the free month provide by the original purchase as I didn't have credit card nor could I afford a game card as a kid (as I bought the game, I didn't even know there would be subscription required, lol). However, this game struck deep inside my memories (still recalled one incident when I was killed by a pig after attacking it as a new character... with people around me laughing, and free PvP of course...). When UOR came out in 2000, I started to play again for few months (old account got deleted). Later I picked up some free servers and played for another few months or so and got distracted by all the new mmorpgs flourishing during the golden age of mmo. After I got tired of these new mmo, I came back again when the Samurai Empire hit the shelf in 2004 (totally by chance as I was skimming through games in store). I played yet again on a new account and continued for roughly 3 months until Feb of 2005 as I got distracted yet gain by WoW (which I dedicated for 2 and a half years) and came back right before Kingdom Reborn (another 3 months of gaming).2 days ago, I came back again, not sure how long I will play this time after losing my castle and countless loots stored in it. To be exact, I don't know why I always return to the game, but this game has some special influences on me that I couldn't explain. I know many people here are returners, I would really like to know why you guys jumped back into the game.

 

[wee papa smurf]

Welcome back!
For me UO has the ability to pull me back simply for the variety in the game, it has its problems but in my opinion its the best game there is out there

Long live UO

 

[sayler04]

Interesting topic, and one that i've wondered about myself.


I started way back in 98, and for a long time my uo involvement was in direct relation to the stability of my real life. When I lived in places with reliable internet and computer and had a stable bank account, I usually would be pretty active. Times when I was poor, or "couchsurfing", times that I had no computer or internet connection or a reliable and regular period of time in which to play, my accounts would go inactive.


Now that I'm a little older, settled down in a home I own with a stable career and relatively stable schedule, I find that I play pretty consistently. Sometimes I'll lose interest if there's nothing going on in-game or if I just kinda hit a wall, so I'll stop for a few months. I always end up back though. Its my way to relax, not so much a game as a hobby, like sewing or gardening might be for some people. Its not my only hobby, of course, but definitely among my favorite

 

[Sebrina]

Aye, indeed welcome back once again, Explorer! This one will not go away or totally get out of your mind. Just remember that "You are the Avatar." Huge grin!

 

[Foolio the Bard]

With all its faults, UO is still the best example of a virtual world MMO. WoW killed the pursuit of virtual worlds as every MMO since is just a WoW clone. Where are the online worlds?? I don't want another sterile "on-rails" amusement park ride. I want a living breathing world.

 

[Paulanius]

First, thank you for the warm welcome

I just figured deep inside my heart, I believe to an extent that UO is still the most complex and completed MMORPG I have ever played (and I have played hell lot...Shadowbane, EQ2, WoW, Lineage 1 and 2, D&D, Conan, Gods and Heroes Beta, EVE, Dungeon runners, Guild Wars... etc) There is always one thought that repeated in my mind whenever I started playing UO again, "if only EA can put some efforts in game advertisements and distribution we might be able to get a second golden age of UO." We have very good player base with all the kindest people willing to help new players (the most mature player base with great manner IMHO), what we need is just a good advertisement to re-ignite the engine of this game! Players are still asking Blizzard for player housing in WoW, while we already have the best housing system since the end of the 20th century. People were still shouting for more hunter pets in WoW when we already have a full list of God knows how many pets tamable in UO! This might be an ancient game, but this is the mother of all the MMORPG today, we have what they don't and for whatever they have, we have better.

 

[Redxpanda]

Dropped UO years ago. Was frustrated when EA took over and the support started going downhill. Picked it up again in 2006 outta pure boredom and got addicted again but dropped it again because it was distracting me from things that needed to be done.

 

[hawkeye_pike]

I started playing with the release of UO, back in 1997. I quit in 2001 for several reasons:

- Trammel/Felucca split destroyed communities.
- I focused too much on items and this pressure annoyed me.
- Important things in real life prevented me from playing.

I tried a few other MMORPGs, and compared to UO, they all were a joke.

I returned in 2007, after I found some old screenshots and nostalgia hit me. I wanted to explore Britannia again! I basically had to re-learn UO from scratch. Customized housing, resists on armor, magic mods on all items, many new skills.... The game had changed A LOT. Most of the changes were great, some of them not so great. I play UO differently today. I only play for fun. No pressure. No frustration. Just fun. It only is a game after all....

 

[Farsight]

I also quit in 2001, partly because I was bored with UO (I felt I had done everything the game had to offer) and partly because my "main" at the time was a disarm thief and I was dissapointed at the creation of Trammel and the potential addition of insurance (there was talk at the time, but it wasn't implemented yet).

I returned when my wife wanted to play the game with some real life friends of ours, and was instantly hooked again, but my playstyle now is 100% different than my playstyle then.

 

[EnigmaMaitreya]

I left UO about 8 months after Trammel went live.

I went to Everquest to Build a World (Veeshan) as that was what the Management Team of Everquest wanted.

I and others did build a World, we were the first to do most everything in Everquest.

*Shrug*

After they were the Big Gorilla on the block they stopped caring about people building worlds.

To one point, what was it 3 or 4 years ago, during a thread discussing server merges, that an Everquest employee told people that It should be enough that "Everquest gave them the opportunities to become legends in their own minds" a far cry from the days of asking the people to build their worlds...

Then Everquest proceeded to become Extremely Itemized and Raid Centric.

This simply reached a point of complete and total absurdity.

I came back to UO for the Community and the off chance that the Management Team was more interested in the Players (even if it was to for the money to stay employed) than they were about driving UO down the Itemization Path.

Worst case scenario for me was there would be many years before UO became Itemization Addicted.

By then, with any luck an MMOG would emerge that was based on a different model from the following.

Take an object, give it Hit Points and Resources, Give it an Attack profile, Give it a Defense Profile. Now scale it up/down according to the games need. Plain, Simple, So very much 1995 - 1997.

I am hoping the next one will be Psudo Learning enabled.

 

[Wallenstein]

My first day of playing was the day Age of Shadows was released. I played for a little over three years and then quit for approximately six months. I reactivated my account when I heard of the Kingdom Reborn client. As it was continuously delayed I canceled my account again, but rejoined about a month later when I heard 'Stones' in a YouTube video.. been here ever since.

Dang nostalgic music.

 

[Cazzador]

I started playing in 1997, Quit in late 1998. I had a lot of crap in my houses which I lost. I had decided I wasn't coming back. Six months later I was back and regretting losing all my stuff. I was pretty upset and from that day I decided that if, I leave I would keep my main accounts open regardless. Now I take breaks a few weeks maybe month but I always come back. Im happy I still have all my junk 8) which is way more than what I lost before 8). I play other games but nothing beats UO you always come back specially after you listen to "STONES"

 

[Black Sun]

I started playing in 2000. I played straight up until mid/late 2004. About that time I felt my interest fading. I took a break for a while, and came back in the summer of 2007. During my time off I tried other MMO's, but found them all to be too repetitive, too easy, and generally full of annoying children. I returned to UO because it seems to be the only MMO that offers the variety I want. No other game out there suits my ADD personality like UO.

Take this weekend as an example. Saturday morning I got up and spent 2 hours stocking my vendor and gathering supplies for the week. After that I decided to go do a little adventuring, and headed off to Tokuno and hunted hoping to get an event drop (which I didn't, Damn RNG). After about 2 or 3 hours of monster bashing I decided to relax a bit and hijacked a boat left unlocked in Haven and set out to sea for some fishing. After fishing I jumped on my thief and raided a few towns in Fel for goodies to put on my vendor then headed to Jhelom to train my stealing a little higher. When I got tired of stealing I logged in my tamer for his GGS, and while I was out I tamed ridgebacks for savages to kill, and looted the leather off them for my tailor. At the end of the day I settled into my crafter and made some armor, turned in a few bods and watched people at the bank while I worked.

So in 1 day, I was a merchant, a warrior, a fisherman, a theif, a tamer, a blacksmith, and a tailor. I have yet to find another game that gives me that same range of options, that is as indepth and free as UO. Any given day I can be anything I want, and I'm only limited by the skill combinations I can come up with.

 

[Joshua Ravenloft]

I started playing this game since Second Age back in Nov 1998 when I was 13 yro, I stopped after the free month provide by the original purchase as I didn't have credit card nor could I afford a game card as a kid (as I bought the game, I didn't even know there would be subscription required, lol). However, this game struck deep inside my memories (still recalled one incident when I was killed by a pig after attacking it as a new character... with people around me laughing, and free PvP of course...). When UOR came out in 2000, I started to play again for few months (old account got deleted). Later I picked up some free servers and played for another few months or so and got distracted by all the new mmorpgs flourishing during the golden age of mmo. After I got tired of these new mmo, I came back again when the Samurai Empire hit the shelf in 2004 (totally by chance as I was skimming through games in store). I played yet again on a new account and continued for roughly 3 months until Feb of 2005 as I got distracted yet gain by WoW (which I dedicated for 2 and a half years) and came back right before Kingdom Reborn (another 3 months of gaming).2 days ago, I came back again, not sure how long I will play this time after losing my castle and countless loots stored in it. To be exact, I don't know why I always return to the game, but this game has some special influences on me that I couldn't explain. I know many people here are returners, I would really like to know why you guys jumped back into the game.

Was one of your chars Paulius?

 

[Nyte Doombringer]

Well as everyone has prettymuch said there is no other game out there that has the diversity of UO. My first experience with this type of game was Legends of Kesmai which I played for a couple years. Then EA actually bought out the little company running it and closed it. I meet some people in LOK that where playing UO and they talked me into trying it so Feb if 98 I landed on the Europa shard.
Played non stop till wow came out I think it was Feb 2005. Played that for 2,5 years and came back to UO again but then got led astray to LOTRO. I played that for 9 months and found myself back to UO again and this time I am going to stay. I always end up back here. I have always said why oh why didt Mythic make a real UO-3d instead of WO. There is no game out there to date that can compare to UO with everything there is to do.

 

[StifledArgument]

I came back not long ago when I got burned out on being a healer monkey in WoW for my friends,family, and guild. I have other characters, but I realized after Naxx25 that every single thing in WoW was the same grind and my options for what to do were limited and every single thing introduced in the game was a timesink.

So, my UO history (why I left and came back).

Started in 1997, played with my husband, he got tired of being ganked when trying to leave town and stopped almost immediately. I, on the other hand kept playing, figured out I could lumberjack the trees around Moonglow still in guards zone and had a great house someone gave me right outside (by the tree) Minoc mine. People treated me like crap regarding the house, and told me that house belongs to the public being so close to the mine. Which royally pissed me off and I made sure not to open it for people to smelt there anymore. But the straw for me was one day I was lumberjacking, had made $14k worth of wooden shields on my pack horse and the server went down. I lost everything except the house. This was 1998.

I left for a few years actually. I missed the depth of the game and wanted to see how it was, if they could keep servers up etc; so I came back and got my husband to come back. We played a LOT, and had a good vendor house we had to pimp all the time and we quit again when we realized we let the game become a job. This was right when WoW came out. I played WoW for awhile with my hubby, got sick of the jerks and came back to UO. My husband didn't come back. My server was low pop, no one ever seemed to be around, and I got lonely and bored and left again 1 year later.

My hubby and I played WoW because a fleet of our family and friends were playing. We had a small guild and when our old guild started to die everyone asked to join. We had a lot of fun, but we were stuck and had to expand. I found a guild that would merge with us and everyone was happy. We started raiding, but got sick of the 5 hours a night schedule. We got to have no life at all. After months of this, I quit WoW more than likely for good. And I came back to the place that I love, even with it's poopy graphics...UO. I have been trying to get my family and friends to come back, but I don't know if it will work. And with the proposals people have for the game, I am not going to keep trying anymore.

I love this game, I love that I have so much I can do in a day. If I don't want to hunt, I can gather, or craft, or run around looking for IDOC's or work on skills of characters still dusty sitting on the sidelines.

I am guessing I shouldn't have rambled this long, but oh well...

 

[Uvtha]

Left: Boredom

Returned: Boredom.

 

[Extra Value Meal]

I left in late 2006 after 8 years of playing, which I can't believe has been almost three years since I left. After hearing about the upcoming expansion and some of its changes, I'm kinda sorta interested in coming back for another whirl. After playing a fill of Non-Con PvP games though such as EVE, I think I'm going to play on Siege instead of restarting on Atlantic, be a Chef/Caterer/Tradesman.

I used to play so many games as a warrior and if available a thief, but due to altering play styles, I think a good change might provide another breath of fresh air. I had thoughts of being a Chef/Caterer/Tradesman of sorts, with a dash of good ol' thievery thrown in for good measure.

I think I'm gonna wait until the expansion, and I hear Siege, as usual, is getting a bit smaller so I'm not sure. And it doesn't seem like the community really has changed much, still all about the items.

 

[Pindershot]

Left: Boredom

Returned: Boredom.

LOL

 

[Paulanius]

Delanius, Warius etc my real name is Paul if you have got them mixed up

 

[Demonous]

I started playing this game since Second Age back in Nov 1998 when I was 13 yro, I stopped after the free month provide by the original purchase as I didn't have credit card nor could I afford a game card as a kid (as I bought the game, I didn't even know there would be subscription required, lol). However, this game struck deep inside my memories (still recalled one incident when I was killed by a pig after attacking it as a new character... with people around me laughing, and free PvP of course...). When UOR came out in 2000, I started to play again for few months (old account got deleted). Later I picked up some free servers and played for another few months or so and got distracted by all the new mmorpgs flourishing during the golden age of mmo. After I got tired of these new mmo, I came back again when the Samurai Empire hit the shelf in 2004 (totally by chance as I was skimming through games in store). I played yet again on a new account and continued for roughly 3 months until Feb of 2005 as I got distracted yet gain by WoW (which I dedicated for 2 and a half years) and came back right before Kingdom Reborn (another 3 months of gaming).2 days ago, I came back again, not sure how long I will play this time after losing my castle and countless loots stored in it. To be exact, I don't know why I always return to the game, but this game has some special influences on me that I couldn't explain. I know many people here are returners, I would really like to know why you guys jumped back into the game.

id like to know why u constantly quit the game after a few months... can't achieve much in those small bursts, 8 1/2 yrs+ and going strong without ever having quit right here, the only other mmo i've tried is darkfall because its similar to uo with a felucca only feel which is how i knew it would be, but i still play uo too

 

[Paulanius]

The problem was I had never built up any connections to other players and was never in a guild. The lack of social interactions in the game and getting restricted to solo most of the time were kinda like hitting the wall at some point (in this case, every few months I lost the momentum). However, I did join a guild eventually in 2007 with help from a very nice person (Love Spirit, Sonoma) the reason for my last quit was due to the need to focus on my study, but since I stopped, I did not pick it up again until last week.

 

[Pawain]

I started in Oct 97 and like many others, quit because of idiots who PK and steal. I finally got a house near Minoc. Someone stole the key and rune from me and took everything in the chest they could carry. Then I lost my shadow armor by a looter.

The game sucked when you finally found a silver sword but you couldn't take it out because you may run across a looter or PK.

I came back on my original account and love the fact that I can run around and not have to worry about someone ruining my fun.

 

[Paradox_]

I started in Oct 97 and like many others, quit because of idiots who PK and steal. I finally got a house near Minoc. Someone stole the key and rune from me and took everything in the chest they could carry. Then I lost my shadow armor by a looter.

The game sucked when you finally found a silver sword but you couldn't take it out because you may run across a looter or PK.

I came back on my original account and love the fact that I can run around and not have to worry about someone ruining my fun.

Are you kidding? That is what MADE the game.

There was a sense of attachment to everything you had because one misstep and you lost it. It gave the game an edge and feel that nothing, NOTHING has been able to match.

The game was Skill based - both on your charachter and the person controlling it, and not so much on items. That is the difference. No pointless grinding.

I cant understand where the fun is in having no risk if you die except losing reagents or bandages. There is no challenge. That is why people quit.

Have you lot also thought that that could be the reason the game economy is so f'ed? People arent buying new suits of armour, new weapons etc all the time when they die because everything is insured. You couldnt MAKE the best armour, you could make adequate armour and weapons, but you got the best by KILLING STUFF. Thats what integrated the PVM and PVP sides. Ever since Trammel/AOS, this rift has been increasing and, from experience on my own shard, has lead to it being a ghost town.

The amount of people returning to UO should say something - people think it used to be a great game. Now, it is too far broken, such as apples, power scrolls, items etc which is why they play alternate shards that relive the glory days. They can also compete - run out with GM leather and fight rather than spend all your time killing stuff so you can get that one gorget that is average as it is to be able to compete.

I have quit UO and come back around 3-4 times since I started in 99. I quit just after Trammel, came back after a few months, quit a few months before AOS then came back for AOS, quit before SE then came back just after ML.

I dont think that SA will save this game however, and I think I will not return again. Every day further played encroaches on my nostalgia of how great this game actually was, and how far it has dropped.

 

[SUPRsalad]

i shut down every year. some winters, i forget to come back, or im in mexico.
my reasons:

1. its complicated enough to keep me interested
2. theres enough items to keep me interested. (i love ****ing items)
3. 2d ftw. I hate new'ish graphics. I hate 3d.
4. Nostalgia. I've played since i was like 14 or so as well.

 

[Kaleb]

i shut down every year. some winters, i forget to come back.
my reasons:

1. its complicated enough to keep me interested
2. theres enough items to keep me interested. (i love ****ing items)
3. 2d ftw. I hate new'ish graphics. I hate 3d.
4. Nostalgia. I've played since i was like 14 or so as well.

QFT bro

 

[Demonous]

I started in Oct 97 and like many others, quit because of idiots who PK and steal. I finally got a house near Minoc. Someone stole the key and rune from me and took everything in the chest they could carry. Then I lost my shadow armor by a looter.

The game sucked when you finally found a silver sword but you couldn't take it out because you may run across a looter or PK.

I came back on my original account and love the fact that I can run around and not have to worry about someone ruining my fun.

ahhahaha thats the funniest thing i ever heard..... though i did not play uo before trammel came out, i can only imagine those glorious years.... u realize that UO lost a gigantic chunk of its player base when UO: Renaissance was released..... most people that got UO right away loved being able to kill anyone anywhere out of town and take what they had loot their houses and all, thats the way the game should have stayed and its a shame that uo lost so many pvp legends because of tram.... my advice for you back then is to learn how to fight back, its not difficult.... i don't die in uo when a guy attacks me, if i want to die i stay and wait till they get a bunch of friends and keep fighting, if i want to live i can simply leave... I find it funny that most people in UO nowadays cannot understand the concept of being killed and losing everything, even before AOS, after UO:R was still fun without insurance.... now u have nothing to ever worry about except losing 3k which is nothing....... if it were up to me tokuno would have a felucca rule set and ud get tok minors at your own risk

 

[Demonous]

Are you kidding? That is what MADE the game.

There was a sense of attachment to everything you had because one misstep and you lost it. It gave the game an edge and feel that nothing, NOTHING has been able to match.

The game was Skill based - both on your charachter and the person controlling it, and not so much on items. That is the difference. No pointless grinding.

I cant understand where the fun is in having no risk if you die except losing reagents or bandages. There is no challenge. That is why people quit.

Have you lot also thought that that could be the reason the game economy is so f'ed? People arent buying new suits of armour, new weapons etc all the time when they die because everything is insured. You couldnt MAKE the best armour, you could make adequate armour and weapons, but you got the best by KILLING STUFF. Thats what integrated the PVM and PVP sides. Ever since Trammel/AOS, this rift has been increasing and, from experience on my own shard, has lead to it being a ghost town.

The amount of people returning to UO should say something - people think it used to be a great game. Now, it is too far broken, such as apples, power scrolls, items etc which is why they play alternate shards that relive the glory days. They can also compete - run out with GM leather and fight rather than spend all your time killing stuff so you can get that one gorget that is average as it is to be able to compete.

I have quit UO and come back around 3-4 times since I started in 99. I quit just after Trammel, came back after a few months, quit a few months before AOS then came back for AOS, quit before SE then came back just after ML.

I dont think that SA will save this game however, and I think I will not return again. Every day further played encroaches on my nostalgia of how great this game actually was, and how far it has dropped.

if you're interested, the new game Darkfall is just like UO when it came out with a felucca only type of ruleset, you leave town, you risk dying and losing whatever u have

 

[Phaen Grey]

My husband and I take breaks from time to time, keeps up the appreciation of the game when we come back. Our longest was a 4 year stint in EQ but the UO addiction never goes away!

 

[Paradox_]

if you're interested, the new game Darkfall is just like UO when it came out with a felucca only type of ruleset, you leave town, you risk dying and losing whatever u have

I doubt I will, I prefer 2d as I play for gameplay and not graphics.

I also know nothing will compare to UO.

 

[Demonous]

I doubt I will, I prefer 2d as I play for gameplay and not graphics.

I also know nothing will compare to UO.

most uo players prefer 2d as opposed to graphics, however it is the closest mmo that they ever made to uo, i haven't tried anything else besides this because i knew what it would be like, skill based just like uo, not levels like in wow, u'd be surprised how many people ive met in the game that played uo between 97-99

 

[Paradox_]

most uo players prefer 2d as opposed to graphics, however it is the closest mmo that they ever made to uo, i haven't tried anything else besides this because i knew what it would be like, skill based just like uo, not levels like in wow, u'd be surprised how many people ive met in the game that played uo between 97-99

To be perfectly honest I am at the stage in my life where I have spent 10 years playing one game and I dont have time to spend on a new one.

I wish it all the success, but the fact is, I have tried other MMO's and in comparing them to UO, they dont come close. Only game MMO I would consider would be a UO2. I will only play variations of this game, and they wont be official. Its sad.