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Question about the Mythic Patcher

popps

Always Present
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Alright, I decided to download the Enhanced Client (some 1.8 Gigs download.....).

I went to UOHerald and clicked the link. I downloaded a file which I unzipped in a directory.

There I found a file "Patch Client version 1.0.3.44".

I launched it and started the patch download.

While doing it, at about 9%, I lost connection.

So I re-connected to the internet, cancelled the patch and re-started it (I waited for a good while, like 10 minutes, before cancelling but did not notice it doing anything so I imagined that I had to give a manual input to resume download by cancelling and restarting the patch client again).

When the Patch Client started again, I noticed that the upper left corner info said now 0% Mythic Patcher.

But it was 9% when I lost connection !!

Does it mean that the patcher is not able to start from where I lost connection and cancelled download and that all the previous download work got lost ???
The Patch Client started from scratch all over again ?

Seriously, on a download of 1.8 Gigs no restart from where it left the previous download session ??

If so, I forget about downloading althougether and would like to know hod I can get a DVD of the EC client by mail. The risks of losing connection during such a long download are, at least for me, quite high and I do not want to start it all over, endlessly.

Thanks.
 

Schuyler Bain

Lore Master
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
I have downloaded the Enhanced Client a few time the past few months and had zero issues. I agree with Mapper... once you get the small patcher it should work just fine.
 

popps

Always Present
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Stratics Legend
Where did you download it from?

I used http://www.uoherald.com/downloads/ and its only about 18mb then it patches. Are you sure you downloaded the correct thing?


Yes, that link is where I started it from (I clicked the yellowish button Enhanced Beta Client) and it is giving me the issues mentioned.

NOTE. After the very first download using the link you mentioned, I then went to the directory and used the uopatch file that was unzipped there assuming THAT was the patch executable needed to get the actual enhanced client.

But, as I said, upon losing connection after having reached 9% download using the uopatch file, I restarted the uopatch file after cancelling the download (after I did restart the internet connection, obviously), and after that the Mythic Patcher restarted from 0% rather than from the 9% I previously had before losing connection.

Now it is showing, for example, "Patching files......22MB/1713MB".
1713MB is, as I said, about 1.8 Gigs........ The top left corner says 1% Mythic Patcher

That is, I ALREADY downloaded 22MB (on my second download and with 22MB am at only 1% of what I have to download according to the Mythic Patcher). I think 22MB is larger than the 18MB you mention and yet, the Mythic Patcher says I am only at 1%.

What gives ???
 

popps

Always Present
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I have downloaded the Enhanced Client a few time the past few months and had zero issues. I agree with Mapper... once you get the small patcher it should work just fine.


Well, I am afraid it is NOT working just fine. At least not for me.

I downloaded the small patcher (I assume you refer to the file uopatch, Mythic Entertainment, an EA Studio, Version 1.0.3.44, Size 749kb which was part of a zip file UOSASetup_105.exe), fired it up and initiated a monstrous 1.8 Gigs download which I have a feeling I had to restart all over upon losing connection while being at 9% a previous time.

Now I am at 1% with about 1.7 Gigs to go and am freaked out to loose connection again and have to restart it all over and over and over, endlessly, as many times I may loose connection while having to download such a monstroous size download.

If that is what I am expected to download, to get the Enhanced Client, well, I'd rather have a DVD disk mailed to me.

But how ??
 
A

altarego

Guest
Yes, that link is where I started it from (I clicked the yellowish button Enhanced Beta Client) and it is giving me the issues mentioned.

NOTE. After the very first download using the link you mentioned, I then went to the directory and used the uopatch file that was unzipped there assuming THAT was the patch executable needed to get the actual enhanced client.

But, as I said, upon losing connection after having reached 9% download using the uopatch file, I restarted the uopatch file after cancelling the download (after I did restart the internet connection, obviously), and after that the Mythic Patcher restarted from 0% rather than from the 9% I previously had before losing connection.

Now it is showing, for example, "Patching files......22MB/1713MB".
1713MB is, as I said, about 1.8 Gigs........ The top left corner says 1% Mythic Patcher

That is, I ALREADY downloaded 22MB (on my second download and with 22MB am at only 1% of what I have to download according to the Mythic Patcher). I think 22MB is larger than the 18MB you mention and yet, the Mythic Patcher says I am only at 1%.

What gives ???
The 18 MB was just the patching utility itself. It seems you've successfully downloaded and installed that.

22 MB is ~1% of the 1713 MB total you need to download and patch. If you get disconnected, it will pick up where you left off, but only if you have a complete .uop file. There are many of those files downloaded during the 1.8 GB download.
 

Zym Dragon

Seasoned Veteran
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
That's how it works Popps. You download the patcher in order to download the game. The game itself is upwards of 2 gigs (many modern games are much larger than this), which will be downloaded in parts. What's nice about the patcher is that if your download gets interrupted, it will resume where it left off. You just have to let it run so it can do its thing.

After losing connection, the patcher will start at 0% again as it checks the files to determine where to continue the download from. After it does that, it should shoot up to 9% quickly and then resume where it left off.
 

popps

Always Present
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
The 18 MB was just the patching utility itself. It seems you've successfully downloaded and installed that.

22 MB is ~1% of the 1713 MB total you need to download and patch. If you get disconnected, it will pick up where you left off, but only if you have a complete .uop file. There are many of those files downloaded during the 1.8 GB download.


So, in order to get the Enhanced Client I do have to download some 1.8 Gigs ??

For those not having a broadband connection that's quite unpractical for such a huge size download.

Is there an option to have a DVD disk be mailed ?
 

popps

Always Present
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
That's how it works Popps. You download the patcher in order to download the game. The game itself is upwards of 2 gigs (many modern games are much larger than this), which will be downloaded in parts. What's nice about the patcher is that if your download gets interrupted, it will resume where it left off. You just have to let it run so it can do its thing.

After losing connection, the patcher will start at 0% again as it checks the files to determine where to continue the download from. After it does that, it should shoot up to 9% quickly and then resume where it left off.


Well, I have been now well into an hour of the second download (that is after I lost connection while I was at 9%) and it has NOT resumed or picked up from that 9%.

It is now showing 2% Mythic Patcher and some 39MB/1713MB.

I think in 1 hour it should have had enough time to double check that I was at 9% the previous time, shouldn't it ?

As I said, perhaps for those having a broadband connection such a large download may be a trivial task but not all internet users have broadband.

Is there an option to have DVD disks be mailed with the Enhanced Client for those who simply find such a large download an unpractical task ??
 

aarons6

Certifiable
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Stratics Legend
the patcher display was broken for me.. it stopped many times but it did download the whole game in about 3 hours..

one time it said error something was corrupted on the server and it did appear to download everything over again but it really isnt.. what its doing is it seems to start from 0% but its hashing the files making sure they are correct.. to it rechecks everything but only downloads what it needs.

once you download the game tho, you only need to run the uosa.exe file to start it.. the patcher is only needed to update when there is a patch.
 

Supreem

Founder, Citadel Studios
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When the patcher loads up it determines how much it needs to download to get what you have currently to a complete install. Even if you have downloaded some of it already, it will still show 0% at the start. That doesn't mean its downloading everything again, it just means its 0% complete downloading what you still need.

And it will resume downloads within a single uop file.
 
S

Sweeney

Guest
Glad you're going to give it a whirl.. give yourself two weeks to get used to the client and get over the learning curve, you'll like it.
 

popps

Always Present
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Stratics Legend
the patcher display was broken for me.. it stopped many times but it did download the whole game in about 3 hours..

Wow. 1.8 Gigs in 3 hours ??

May I ask what type of connection you have ? How fast ?
 

popps

Always Present
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Stratics Legend
When the patcher loads up it determines how much it needs to download to get what you have currently to a complete install. Even if you have downloaded some of it already, it will still show 0% at the start. That doesn't mean its downloading everything again, it just means its 0% complete downloading what you still need.

And it will resume downloads within a single uop file.


Well, thanks, that's a relieving information.

It would not hurt if this was somehow better put in evidence so that one does not wonder whether the download started all over again from scratch......

Can you please say anything about a Mail-in option for the large 1.8 Gigs as an alternative to the download of the Enhanced Client ?

Thanks.
 

popps

Always Present
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Glad you're going to give it a whirl.. give yourself two weeks to get used to the client and get over the learning curve, you'll like it.


The problem is, that in several hours of downloading I am still at 5% only.

Even leaving it going all night through I am afraid it will only scratch it and at wake up it will be like 10% done with still 90% left to do.
Which means, 9 more days of pure download which is unrealistic, IMHO, I am afraid.

It is way but way too much a large download to cope with for those not having a broadband and it turns down perspective users of the Enhanced Client not having a broadband connection.

There should be alternate ways for players to get the Enhanced Client if there is the wish to make it more used among players.
 
S

Sweeney

Guest
Yes, let it download while you sleep. I'm on broadband (weak) and it took me over 12 hours.

But it's worth it. After that the patches aren't that large (60 megs), whereas for the classic client the patches are 100-350 megs as you have seen.
 
T

Thangorodrim

Guest
Wow. 1.8 Gigs in 3 hours ??

May I ask what type of connection you have ? How fast ?
Get a grip.

I get 1.8 GB in 3 *minutes* on fiber. Sucks to be you, I guess.

Why don't you do something constructive to obtain a modern connection speed instead of running your usual routine of whining?

You can get an EVDO connect for less than $40 a month.
 
T

Thangorodrim

Guest



this is why people think i speed hack when i do not :(
Yet you obviously don't get 25 Mbps downstream for a sustained transfer or you would have that file in twelve minutes.

Not sure what plan you have, but you might be getting excessively throttled. Call the help desk. Don't accept the speedtest.net bull****, though, discuss only sustained transfer rates.
 

popps

Always Present
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Stratics Legend
Get a grip.

I get 1.8 GB in 3 *minutes* on fiber. Sucks to be you, I guess.

Why don't you do something constructive to obtain a modern connection speed instead of running your usual routine of whining?

You can get an EVDO connect for less than $40 a month.


That is assuming quite a few things about me like like that I had to live in the USA (to use dollars) and that I lived in a urban area where broadband is readily available and that whatever its cost was I could sustain it.

Now, ever wondered that "perhaps" I neither lived in the US nor did I live in an area where broadband was readily available or that I could not afford it within my budget ?

Just wondering.......
 
S

Sweeney

Guest
That is assuming quite a few things about me like like that I had to live in the USA (to use dollars) and that I lived in a urban area where broadband is readily available and that whatever its cost was I could sustain it.

Now, ever wondered that "perhaps" I neither lived in the US nor did I live in an area where broadband was readily available or that I could not afford it within my budget ?

Just wondering.......
Devil's advocate until the end.. how about telling us some facts instead of spewing "what ifs"???

I like you popps but you have no truths and only questions.
 

Basara

UO Forum Moderator
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Once you get out of urban areas, it's EASY to be in an area without broadband, Half the neighboring county has neither cable nor DSL, as

1. the phone companies don't offer DSL to people more than 2 miles from a switch (which the switches are all on the major highways - with some of the hollows extending 5-10 miles away from those roads),
2. the cable companies either don't offer it at all, or don't extend more than 2-4 miles into the hollow (and stop where house density makes it cost more from running the lines than they'll ever get back - the line is EXPENSIVE)
3. Cell is non-existent in those areas, and Satellite sucks for gaming (if the dish can even get a signal over the hillside)


Most of Knox County, KY outside the Corbin & Barbourville areas, is like that - the flat area around Corbin has both DSL & Cable (and multiple cell companies for wireless), while the county seat went out of its way with its municipality-owned cable system to rewire the entire town a decade ago.

But, get more than 3 miles from either city, and all bets are off.

This is the NORM for internet availability, folks - those of you who delude yourselves into thinking that everyone has multiple major options like in a large metropolitan area really need to get a grip.

In Europe, things aren't much better (in fact, there's a lot less competition and incentive to extend lines to new customers, from how many phone and cable companies are government monopolies) - and I shudder to imagine how hard it would be for someone in rural Australia to get a good ping time anywhere (when I used to play on an Australian MUD, and often I had better pings to the MUD with dialup (and then the signal crossing the Pacific from the Eastern US) than locals did with what passed for broadband in the late-90s).
 

popps

Always Present
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Once you get out of urban areas, it's EASY to be in an area without broadband, Half the neighboring county has neither cable nor DSL, as

1. the phone companies don't offer DSL to people more than 2 miles from a switch (which the switches are all on the major highways - with some of the hollows extending 5-10 miles away from those roads),
2. the cable companies either don't offer it at all, or don't extend more than 2-4 miles into the hollow (and stop where house density makes it cost more from running the lines than they'll ever get back - the line is EXPENSIVE)
3. Cell is non-existent in those areas, and Satellite sucks for gaming (if the dish can even get a signal over the hillside)


Most of Knox County, KY outside the Corbin & Barbourville areas, is like that - the flat area around Corbin has both DSL & Cable (and multiple cell companies for wireless), while the county seat went out of its way with its municipality-owned cable system to rewire the entire town a decade ago.

But, get more than 3 miles from either city, and all bets are off.

This is the NORM for internet availability, folks - those of you who delude yourselves into thinking that everyone has multiple major options like in a large metropolitan area really need to get a grip.

In Europe, things aren't much better (in fact, there's a lot less competition and incentive to extend lines to new customers, from how many phone and cable companies are government monopolies) - and I shudder to imagine how hard it would be for someone in rural Australia to get a good ping time anywhere (when I used to play on an Australian MUD, and often I had better pings to the MUD with dialup (and then the signal crossing the Pacific from the Eastern US) than locals did with what passed for broadband in the late-90s).

Exactly.

Besides, I fail to see how asking about a mail-in alternative to a monstrous 1.8 Gigs download could qualify as "whining".......

I am starting to feel that either one takes things as they come whether they are right or not or that any criticism or legit complaint or even suggestion to better things becomes whining by default.

And even if, who cares, I neither see all this negativeness about whining.

The negativeness is about things not working right, properly or as they should, NOT about anyone voicing their rightfull criticism about things they disagree with, IMHO.

I think that the right to dissent and to criticize is the pillar to democracy and it is of paramount importance to allow democracy and civil rights to endure, that people is entitled to voice their criticism about what they disagree with, always.

That's how I see it.

P.S. I still have not yet got infos of a mail-in alternative.
Should I start realizing that it does not exist, period, and that downloading is the only option to use the Enhanced Client ?
 
A

altarego

Guest
Exactly.

Besides, I fail to see how asking about a mail-in alternative to a monstrous 1.8 Gigs download could qualify as "whining".......

I am starting to feel that either one takes things as they come whether they are right or not or that any criticism or legit complaint or even suggestion to better things becomes whining by default.

And even if, who cares, I neither see all this negativeness about whining.

The negativeness is about things not working right, properly or as they should, NOT about anyone voicing their rightfull criticism about things they disagree with, IMHO.

I think that the right to dissent and to criticize is the pillar to democracy and it is of paramount importance to allow democracy and civil rights to endure, that people is entitled to voice their criticism about what they disagree with, always.

That's how I see it.

P.S. I still have not yet got infos of a mail-in alternative.
Should I start realizing that it does not exist, period, and that downloading is the only option to use the Enhanced Client ?
Either that or have another player send you a copy of the completely patched directories from a clean installation. They could burn it to DVD and mail it to you, the old fashioned way.
 

popps

Always Present
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Either that or have another player send you a copy of the completely patched directories from a clean installation. They could burn it to DVD and mail it to you, the old fashioned way.

Having a friend help is a work around to a problem and requires having to bother someone else.
Not to mention that personally, if I ask someone a favour, than I feel that I owe them a favour, and I just don't like the idea of owing to anyone. So, I'd rather be able to do things on my own, without asking anyone.

I think that if there is a wish to have the Enhanced Client be more wide spread among players, perhaps a snail mail option official policy to get it, would possibly help its larger usage.
 

Wenchkin

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Popps I lived for many years with a connection speed of about 28k-40k, I'm surprised you're not really used to the issues this brings. You have two simple options here - do the overnight downloads for as long as it takes or ask a fellow player to burn a DvD for you and mail it.

Yes it's a pain that there isn't a DvD out there, but that's just life. Send in some feedback about your problem and then pick one of the available solutions and get the new client. Then look into options you may have for getting faster internet and hassle your telecoms company. Where I come from, there were communities who strung out DIY radio networks to reach areas outwith normal broadband and others petitioned their politician to support businesses by part funding broadband via satellite. I'm not saying don't ask EA to consider your situation and help, but if I was in that situation again, I'd direct most energy to the people who could give me a long term solution and fix me up with fast internet access. EA won't be able to give you broadband, but while you're downloading the EC you could be writing letters and calling people who could help you.

Wenchy
 

popps

Always Present
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Stratics Legend
Popps I lived for many years with a connection speed of about 28k-40k, I'm surprised you're not really used to the issues this brings. You have two simple options here - do the overnight downloads for as long as it takes or ask a fellow player to burn a DvD for you and mail it.

Yes it's a pain that there isn't a DvD out there, but that's just life. Send in some feedback about your problem and then pick one of the available solutions and get the new client. Then look into options you may have for getting faster internet and hassle your telecoms company. Where I come from, there were communities who strung out DIY radio networks to reach areas outwith normal broadband and others petitioned their politician to support businesses by part funding broadband via satellite. I'm not saying don't ask EA to consider your situation and help, but if I was in that situation again, I'd direct most energy to the people who could give me a long term solution and fix me up with fast internet access. EA won't be able to give you broadband, but while you're downloading the EC you could be writing letters and calling people who could help you.

Wenchy


I guess it is a matter of different point of views.......

While one way to see it is to put the burden on the player (and paying customer) by having to sustain a lengthy download or for having to bother someone with a faster connection to do it for the player with a slower connection, personally I think it would be way more appropriate, logical and reasonable that it was the Company to offer a policy of snail Mail delivery of the Enhanced Client for those players (and paying customers) who might prefer this option to spending days downloading or have to bother someone else to ask a favour.

A snail mail option, of course, for a fee that covers the cost for the shipping, I would imagine.

A snail mail option just looks to me the option that would sound more appropriate rather than leaving players with slower connections to have to find a solution on their own or just have to stand a lengthy and days spanning download.

At least, that is my opinion about it.
 

Uthar Pendragon

Seasoned Veteran
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Being as the client is still technically in beta, I seriously doubt that they will consider putting up a hard copy option until such a time as it is out of beta. But thats just my 2 cents.
 

popps

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Being as the client is still technically in beta, I seriously doubt that they will consider putting up a hard copy option until such a time as it is out of beta. But thats just my 2 cents.


I can understand that, and that is why I said offering such an option for a fee.

Those players willing to have the beta enhanced client snail mailed to them could possibly be willing to pay a fee covering costs for the shipping in exchange for avoiding the lengthy download.

Unless there is more issue other than the costs which a fee could cover, which I am overlooking when thinking about a snail mail option.

I am only trying to point that if it is a goal to help the enhanced client widespread as much as possible among the player base, perhaps the option to have alternate ways to raw download could help increasing the number of players using it.

This is my second day of download, left the patcher going all night long and I am only at about 40% done and still 60% to go.

That is, I still have over 1 Gig to have to download after many, many many hours of leaving the computer hooked up for this download.

I would have picked a snail mail option in a blink of an eye to avoid all this.
 
F

Fink

Guest
Having a friend help is a work around to a problem and requires having to bother someone else.
Dude, the whole friggin' game is one long series of work-arounds. I have seen no limit to the inventiveness of the players when presented with a problem that shouldn't exist.

Q: "I can't open my paperdoll, how do I fix it?"
A: "Try dismounting, eat an orange petal, go vamp form, cancel insurance auto-renewal, die, log out, log in, res and loot yourself. But don't res before you log out, you'll screw it up."

As for bothering someone else, it's a little late to start worrying. I don't think anyone's going to help you unless they really want to, you should learn to accept a favour. Life is a gift, are you so anxious to reject it too?
 

popps

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Dude, the whole friggin' game is one long series of work-arounds.

I have seen no limit to the inventiveness of the players when presented with a problem that shouldn't exist.

And so what ?
Problems should not be there to start with. Sure, it is a thing of life that nothing's perfect but that does not mean that it ain't improvable either.....

It is all about deciding on whose shoulders the burden of getting the Enhanced Client (beta) should be.

Some think on players', I happen to think, instead, being end users, that such a burden should not be on players' shoulders but on the Company which developed the client.

Hence, I would only see it as fit, like the most appropriate way, IMHO, an option for snail mail of the Beta Enhanced Client, for a fee covering shipping costs, to players, rather than expecting them (at least those with a slow connection) to get involved into a lengthy download or have to resort to "work arounds" like bothering someone else to get the client downloaded.

Is this such a terrible option to think as the most appropriate for the need ?


you should learn to accept a favour.
I feel I had my life experiences about favours, and they led me to think that I'd better avoid bothering others asking for favours.

Life is a gift, are you so anxious to reject it too?
Is it a gift ?

Unless I read it wrong, it may depend on what religion one believes in.
Some faifths, from what I read, argue that it "could be" that beings may choose to get born or, as some think, reincarnate......

Some religions theorize also the possibility to be born humans and then also in animal forms.

Of course, who can really say.........
 

Wenchkin

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I guess it is a matter of different point of views.......

While one way to see it is to put the burden on the player (and paying customer) by having to sustain a lengthy download or for having to bother someone with a faster connection to do it for the player with a slower connection, personally I think it would be way more appropriate, logical and reasonable that it was the Company to offer a policy of snail Mail delivery of the Enhanced Client for those players (and paying customers) who might prefer this option to spending days downloading or have to bother someone else to ask a favour.

A snail mail option, of course, for a fee that covers the cost for the shipping, I would imagine.

A snail mail option just looks to me the option that would sound more appropriate rather than leaving players with slower connections to have to find a solution on their own or just have to stand a lengthy and days spanning download.

At least, that is my opinion about it.
It's nice when companies consider slow internet connections, but slow connections are such a minority of the customer base that sometimes they're overlooked. Much as minority operating systems and browsers can be.

What I'm saying is pick your battles where you'll get the best outcome and work around the inconveniences in the meantime. You could go complain to each software maker that doesn't cater for your connection speed or spend the time and energy instead on getting yourself a faster internet connection. Submit feedback to EA then move on to the telecoms companies. Let's face it, if your connection is bad your gaming experience probably isn't ideal even if you got the magic EC DvD.

Wenchy
 

popps

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It's nice when companies consider slow internet connections, but slow connections are such a minority of the customer base that sometimes they're overlooked. Much as minority operating systems and browsers can be.

What I'm saying is pick your battles where you'll get the best outcome and work around the inconveniences in the meantime. You could go complain to each software maker that doesn't cater for your connection speed or spend the time and energy instead on getting yourself a faster internet connection. Submit feedback to EA then move on to the telecoms companies. Let's face it, if your connection is bad your gaming experience probably isn't ideal even if you got the magic EC DvD.

Wenchy



It is confusing though......

I mean, Ultima Online started as a dial up game, and the game values veteran players who supported the game over the years on one hand (the Veteran Rewards program) but then, on the other hand, penalize those same old, veteran players for their slower connections who nonetheless have been playing the game with those connections, over the years ?

And this, when all it would take is offering slower connections players a snail mail option to get their beta Enhanced Client ?

Duh......... there are some things which are simply beyond me from understanding them.....
 

Viper09

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It is confusing though......

I mean, Ultima Online started as a dial up game, and the game values veteran players who supported the game over the years on one hand (the Veteran Rewards program) but then, on the other hand, penalize those same old, veteran players for their slower connections who nonetheless have been playing the game with those connections, over the years ?

And this, when all it would take is offering slower connections players a snail mail option to get their beta Enhanced Client ?

Duh......... there are some things which are simply beyond me from understanding them.....
Are you suggesting that the old veteran players always have slow connections? Perhaps it's just you.
 

popps

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Are you suggesting that the old veteran players always have slow connections? Perhaps it's just you.


Just noting the oddity that since the game started with dial up, most players back then had dial up.

Now, assuming that some of those old players live in areas not served by broadband or where broadband is not affordable as in urban areas, it is a possibility that some of the old players kept playing the game as they were back then, today.
That is, whatever the reasons.......

I find it odd that on one hand old players are prized for their long lasting loyalty and playing the game and on the other hand get penalized because, whatever the reasons, they still play the game as they did, back in the old days.

Just noting the oddity........

Particularly, since a mere snail mail option could address the need, quite handily.......
 

Viper09

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Just noting the oddity that since the game started with dial up, most players back then had dial up.

Now, assuming that some of those old players live in areas not served by broadband or where broadband is not affordable as in urban areas, it is a possibility that some of the old players kept playing the game as they were back then, today.
That is, whatever the reasons.......

I find it odd that on one hand old players are prized for their long lasting loyalty and playing the game and on the other hand get penalized because, whatever the reasons, they still play the game as they did, back in the old days.

Just noting the oddity........

Particularly, since a mere snail mail option could address the need, quite handily.......
So you are assuming that all old veteren players have poor connections. An argument based on assumptions is a waist of time...

But regardless, dial-up is old. Why don't you go to Blizzard and bash them for not trying to focus on people who use dial-up. Or better yet, why not bash every company for requiring newer technology to keep playing new games! It's not EA's fault that there are places where they can't get broadband or players can't afford it. This game can't keep catering to the minority who can't get faster connections to play.
 

popps

Always Present
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So you are assuming that all old veteren players have poor connections. An argument based on assumptions is a waist of time...

I didn't say one, few nor many. Definately not all.

Just said that most players started on dial up back in the old days and, that there might be among those old players valued for their long time playing Ultima Online (Hence the Veteran Reward program..), players that, whatever the reasons, keep playing the game with the connections they used to (or not that much faster due to a number of issues...).

That does not mean all, not some nor any number. It just states it could be, regardless what the numbers would be for this sub set of players.

But that is not even the point....

But regardless, dial-up is old. Why don't you go to Blizzard and bash them for not trying to focus on people who use dial-up. Or better yet, why not bash every company for requiring newer technology to keep playing new games! It's not EA's fault that there are places where they can't get broadband or players can't afford it. This game can't keep catering to the minority who can't get faster connections to play.
Did I say that ?

I do not think so.

I just said that it would be "nice", to those still playing the game with slower connections, "if" there is a goal to have the (beta) Enhanced Client be used by as many players as possible, that the Company designing such client would make it available "also" through a snail mail option.

Did I say only through snail mail thus penalizing those with faster connections ? Nope.

I said it as an added bonus and a nice help to those players with a slower connection but still enjoying playing the game, regardless.

Is that such a bad thing to ask ??
 

Nok

Lore Master
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Couple of things here. What Popps is asking for is not unreasonable, and has been addressed by Mythic in the past... it just hasn't been updated.

KR was made available on a Swift DVD for users that had slow connections and/or didn't want to download the entire client. The EC is not your typical install file though. What Mythic needs to do is create an EC installable package complete to that date, then make it available as a Swift DVD with the EC on it.

This would be the right thing for players and Mythic to focus on in this situation.
 

Wenchkin

Babbling Loonie
Alumni
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Stratics Legend
It is confusing though......

I mean, Ultima Online started as a dial up game, and the game values veteran players who supported the game over the years on one hand (the Veteran Rewards program) but then, on the other hand, penalize those same old, veteran players for their slower connections who nonetheless have been playing the game with those connections, over the years ?

And this, when all it would take is offering slower connections players a snail mail option to get their beta Enhanced Client ?

Duh......... there are some things which are simply beyond me from understanding them.....
UO also started on a much older version of windows. That's not exactly supported either :) When the majority of your customers are on dialup, of course you have to cater to them, but now you're in a very small minority, it's the fast connections that are EA's main customers.

Send in feedback and if enough dialup customers do the same, perhaps you'll get the result you want. But even if you do, you'll still have a very slow connection for doing everything online. So I think it would be more constructive for you to tackle your telecoms problem which is at the root of this issue.

Wenchy
 

LordDrago

Certifiable
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I don't have time right now to read all of this thread, but is it safe to assume that popps asked a question or had a problem, then for the rest of the thread rejected every suggestion and has generally pissed everyone off? :)
 

Cogniac

Grand Inquisitor
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I don't have time right now to read all of this thread, but is it safe to assume that popps asked a question or had a problem, then for the rest of the thread rejected every suggestion and has generally pissed everyone off? :)
I believe we have a winner.
 
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