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Officially Waited 3 Years. WBTB Housing and over 1000$ RL lost.

In Flames

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Just paid for another account.

I called support today, when I asked about UO I was told I had to contact in game support. I contact in game support and I get a canned response telling me they "are unable to discern" the issue.

So again, I come here pleading for help.

I've sunk over 1000$ waiting for the fix, or something.

I wish I could convey the absolute frustration I feel over this here. I do have to say though, if my voice wont be heard over this issue, I will vote with my dollars. I'm not trying to make the "FIX IT OR I'M QUITTING" threat. I'm just sick and tired of waiting and sinking my money into a game when one issue, one very small and minor issue, can cost me real life cash for 3 years. I've emailed, I've contacted GMs, I've called your support line, I've tried PMing and posting here on the forums for 3 years. Officially 3 years. One problem, 3 years.

ALL I WANT, is for the stupid house that was placed in the middle of the ones I currently own to drop as it SHOULD have as it's a WBTB house.

Please. Just this once.
 
L

Liquid_Ape

Guest
I am not here to flame you. I am sure there will be about 50 people around to do it shortly. I just want to give you my perspective:

When I first started playing UO, the most important thing to me was my stuff. When I got my first house, that was the most important thing in my world. Soon, I was placing and upgrading houses left and right and making money way back when houses were worth something. Then I met a great group of people, made some friends that I still have today and learned to enjoy the *experience* of UO. I'm not talking about the stuff, but the people. Eventually, UO grew annoying when AOS came out, so we all moved to other games, but those games never captured what is truly unique about UO - the community. The other games were just *grind grind grind*.

I started up again this past November. I had no house, no fancy gear, nothing, but it was fun because I was able to connect with fellow players to experience UO the way I used to.

Things come and go. I could drop my house right now and all my worldly possessions would decay, but it would not matter. I am here to interact with people and have fun. I can do that with a minimal amount of stuff.

So, while I certainly understand your frustration, if you have truly only paid for the past 3 years on the hopes a house would fall so you could place something else, I feel sorry for you. You are missing out on the best part of UO while focusing on the worst part.

Hopefully you will find the joy and magic that is UO once again and stop worrying about the small stuff.

Take care and I hope I have misread your situation.
 

In Flames

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I play(ed) this game for the fight.

Sure there are people I call friend in it, but first and foremost was the fight. I haven't walked onto UO's battlefield in quite sometime as I get that fix from other games now. (MW2, CSS, TF2, Warhammer Online). Sure, none of them are as involved and complicated as UO's battle system is, but I get the same level of enjoyment out of them and they require next to no time.

I play UO only from time to time now, and while it may seem silly (or even downright stupid) to still wait for that house to fall, I reached that point of no return a long time ago.

You can tell me I'm playing this game wrong, but it's not true as this isn't about how I play the game. It's about how this game is broken and costing people money. I'm sure I'm not the only person out there who's waiting on a WBTB house to fall. I just may be the one who's the most invested in waiting on a fix.
 

retrorider

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I feel your pain. I waited for 10 years to be able to expand my plot in yew. But I spent my time in game playing and having fun. I hope you are too.

There is no quick fix for your kind of problem other than lucking out and finding an old school GM who shows up to fix a problem. Even then they may not be able to do anything about your housing situation.

Good luck. Have fun!
 
U

UOKaiser

Guest
Or the player still has his account active and just don't log in. I can name one like that Darsus heh we know all about him.
 
M

Malas Auctions

Guest
Jeremy was supose to be the one workin on getting these houses dropped, since then she has been let go and I feel so has your hope of that house falling :(..
 
L

Luke Carjacker

Guest
You know, for $1000 RL you could buy between 2-5 or more castles on most shards. I'm sure the possibility of waiting this long didn't cross your mind when you started waiting 3 years ago though.

I can definitely understand why you're upset, but a lot of people have been waiting for a lot of different things to happen in UO over the years. Personally, I've been waiting for about 10 years (not sure exactly, I haven't counted the days) for Bards to be credited with provoke damage on champ spawn bosses. I've spoken with EMs, GMs, Mesanna, and brought it up in a number of meetings. They know it's not working as intended, and it's been years since they even suggested they are actually working on the issue. And UO is now a land largely devoid of Bards (well you definitely don't see many around these days).

So, instead of waiting around and being frustrated after every spawn for not getting credited with damage, I made some new characters and can often be top damager with an archer or necro mage. I'm a Bard at heart and would love for that to work properly, but finding a way to enjoy the game is a lot better than sitting there, being frustrated while waiting for a change that probably isn't forthcoming.

I actually have a theory on this housing problem (and why other houses seem to take much longer than expected to fall after an account is closed). I think that they are afraid that many shards will have huge swathes of empty space if all such houses were eliminated at once, and that it would create a feeling that the shard was dying or dead. Better to give a semblance that these places are still populated, even if it is a facade.
 

Lady Laurel

Seasoned Veteran
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I know you don't want to hear this, but you cannot say for an absolute certain that the person is not paying for the account. You also cannot be certain that they are not playing, unless you are logged in 24hrs per day, everyday, and staring at their house. Just because they came back during WBTB doesnt mean that they left again. They might not have the same playing hours as you. There is an active person that owns a house next to one of mine and I have never seen him there. I know he is active, because I have talked to people who play with him, but they said he usually plays about an hour or so a day, and usually around 3am. Even if we played the same hours there is a chance that I would'nt see him around, unless he spends alot of time at his house.
 
L

Liquid_Ape

Guest
I play(ed) this game for the fight.

Sure there are people I call friend in it, but first and foremost was the fight. I haven't walked onto UO's battlefield in quite sometime as I get that fix from other games now. (MW2, CSS, TF2, Warhammer Online). Sure, none of them are as involved and complicated as UO's battle system is, but I get the same level of enjoyment out of them and they require next to no time.

I play UO only from time to time now, and while it may seem silly (or even downright stupid) to still wait for that house to fall, I reached that point of no return a long time ago.

You can tell me I'm playing this game wrong, but it's not true as this isn't about how I play the game. It's about how this game is broken and costing people money. I'm sure I'm not the only person out there who's waiting on a WBTB house to fall. I just may be the one who's the most invested in waiting on a fix.
Ah, I would not dare tell you that you are playing wrong, and what some miss, as you might have, is that PvP, and even PKing is still all about the interaction with other people. IMHO, whether you are cooperating and making friends, or improving your skills by fighting against the best possible opponent, or just PKing the first blue that pops up on the screen, it is the human factor that makes UO special. That's all I was trying to say. I didn't mean to offend.

As far as the game being broken and costing people money, it is your choice to play a broken game. For lack of a better term, UO has been "broken" since it first went live. There is always something wrong, always something that needs a tweak or a fix or whatever. I remember a time when no houses decayed for a year or more. This was back when the shards were full of houses and newbies couldn't find a place to live and they left decay for all houses off. Perhaps, since housing is so plentiful now (I can place at least half a dozen large towers in the next 20 minutes on my home shard without breaking a sweat) the development team is focusing on other things.

I don't have an answer except to say that I hope the house you are watching falls and you are there to place something in its place.
 
N

NewThunder

Guest
Perhaps the house was placed during WBTB and the owner actually updated payment info and has continued to pay for the account?
 

Aran

Always Present
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
If you wandered past any of my fiancee and I's four houses you'd likely think neither of us has played in years for all the attention the houses get.

That doesn't mean someone's STEALIN YO MONEY because our houses exist.
 

Experimental

Lore Keeper
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I know you don't want to hear this, but you cannot say for an absolute certain that the person is not paying for the account. You also cannot be certain that they are not playing, unless you are logged in 24hrs per day, everyday, and staring at their house. Just because they came back during WBTB doesnt mean that they left again. They might not have the same playing hours as you. There is an active person that owns a house next to one of mine and I have never seen him there. I know he is active, because I have talked to people who play with him, but they said he usually plays about an hour or so a day, and usually around 3am. Even if we played the same hours there is a chance that I would'nt see him around, unless he spends alot of time at his house.
I can say for certain that the person Flames is talking about is NOT paying for an account with UO and I can say for certain that he placed the house during the WBTB promo then quit a few days after placing the house. This information came to me from his own lips. Certainly, I have not seen his account page to see for myself that it is inactive, but I will take his word for it.
 

Tom_Builder

Slightly Crazed
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I sent in 3 spots that were old OSI houses. All 3 have been deleted, it took them about 8 months. But they did get to them, even if it was rather slowly. Anyhow, good luck.

Tom
 

DreadLord Lestat

Forum Moderator
Administrator
Moderator
Professional
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Social Media Liaison
Wiki Moderator
UNLEASHED
Just paid for another account.

I called support today, when I asked about UO I was told I had to contact in game support. I contact in game support and I get a canned response telling me they "are unable to discern" the issue.

So again, I come here pleading for help.

I've sunk over 1000$ waiting for the fix, or something.

I wish I could convey the absolute frustration I feel over this here. I do have to say though, if my voice wont be heard over this issue, I will vote with my dollars. I'm not trying to make the "FIX IT OR I'M QUITTING" threat. I'm just sick and tired of waiting and sinking my money into a game when one issue, one very small and minor issue, can cost me real life cash for 3 years. I've emailed, I've contacted GMs, I've called your support line, I've tried PMing and posting here on the forums for 3 years. Officially 3 years. One problem, 3 years.

ALL I WANT, is for the stupid house that was placed in the middle of the ones I currently own to drop as it SHOULD have as it's a WBTB house.

Please. Just this once.
3 years is 36 months, One account bills 12.99 per month (the account you are holding open for when the house falls), 36 x 12.99 = 467.64, so how is that over $1000? You can't add in the other accounts because they don't need to be open to take the house once it falls. Just curious on your math.
 

Assia Penryn

The Sleeping Dragon
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Sounds like a really frustrating issue for you. My suggestion is to keep at it and don't let it ruin your fun. If you aren't having fun anymore, than take a break for a bit.

I'm not sure what your ultimate goal is if it is to be able to place a large house like a castle, but I'd honestly suggest to try buying a castle instead. You'd be surprised at how much gold you probably could earn cleaning out your homes of stuff you've accumulated. If you are set on that home location, all you can do is keep at it. It doesn't sound as if you play much from your post which I think is contributing to your frustration. Perhaps try a different playstyle in-game, rp or join a guild you wouldn't normally consider. You might find yourself having fun in the meantime while you continue to wait for this house and you might be pleasantly surprised about it.
 

BigEv

Lore Master
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
I can say for certain that the person Flames is talking about is NOT paying for an account with UO and I can say for certain that he placed the house during the WBTB promo then quit a few days after placing the house. This information came to me from his own lips. Certainly, I have not seen his account page to see for myself that it is inactive, but I will take his word for it.
Heres an idea that you may not like but maybe it will fix your problem quickly Flames. To Experimental, maybe if you could get intouch with this player that placed this house as you said you have talked to him you could have this player or Flames get in touch with each other. Maybe Flames if you really want this house gone bad enough, you could offer him a game code so he could log on and drop the house for you. Would cost you a little bit for the code but its a for sure way to get the house dropped right away if this player would accept this offer to help you out......Just an idea :)
 

Viper09

Grand Poobah
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I know you don't want to hear this, but you cannot say for an absolute certain that the person is not paying for the account. You also cannot be certain that they are not playing, unless you are logged in 24hrs per day, everyday, and staring at their house. Just because they came back during WBTB doesnt mean that they left again. They might not have the same playing hours as you. There is an active person that owns a house next to one of mine and I have never seen him there. I know he is active, because I have talked to people who play with him, but they said he usually plays about an hour or so a day, and usually around 3am. Even if we played the same hours there is a chance that I would'nt see him around, unless he spends alot of time at his house.
This...

Not saying it ISN'T a WBTB house that hasn't fallen. But it could just as easily be that the person updated the info and could still be playing.
 

a slave girl

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
"I've sunk over 1000$ waiting for the fix, or something."


"I'm just sick and tired of waiting and sinking my money into a game when one issue, one very small and minor issue, can cost me real life cash for 3 years."



Thank you for supporting UO?
 
G

gjohnson5

Guest
Just paid for another account.

I called support today, when I asked about UO I was told I had to contact in game support. I contact in game support and I get a canned response telling me they "are unable to discern" the issue.

So again, I come here pleading for help.

I've sunk over 1000$ waiting for the fix, or something.

I wish I could convey the absolute frustration I feel over this here. I do have to say though, if my voice wont be heard over this issue, I will vote with my dollars. I'm not trying to make the "FIX IT OR I'M QUITTING" threat. I'm just sick and tired of waiting and sinking my money into a game when one issue, one very small and minor issue, can cost me real life cash for 3 years. I've emailed, I've contacted GMs, I've called your support line, I've tried PMing and posting here on the forums for 3 years. Officially 3 years. One problem, 3 years.

ALL I WANT, is for the stupid house that was placed in the middle of the ones I currently own to drop as it SHOULD have as it's a WBTB house.

Please. Just this once.
You're feeling the same love I'm feeling and that love is mostly troll pots, bad info, unhelpful and unassociated stuff that has nothing to do with the thread. Unfortunately, join the club. The forums for the most part aren't helpful and wasteful of time

1. Unfortunately UO has been slow to fix things if they have been fixed at all. Just the way it's been
2. Atleast UO has a phone number to call for support issue now and they do attempt to help folks. My suggestion would be to try the support number. You'll get the best help there if you're going to get help at all
3. GM will point you to support.ea.com... Basically unhelpful or unassociated

Unfortunately your post does come off as a fix it or I'm quitting thread. But in terms of pragmatic value , that's what it is. because odds are the issue isn't going to be fixed and your support options own't resolve the issue. But as some have pointed out , the person may be paying for the house so this may be a non issue. In which case it's still a "I'm quitting" situation. However your posts does echo the general sentiments many have of UO and the lack of an real pragmatic support or bug fixes... But that's why many will go out of business in this recession
 

Harlequin

Babbling Loonie
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
GMs, cust services, billing all don't have the authority to take the house down in this case.

Good news is that a few months back, the devs mentioned that they are looking at the WBTB houses.

At the same time, I understand they want to be very careful with implementing the code to fix it (esp since they are deleting any player possessions including houses). So it might take a bit longer.

I believe you are trying to replace the plots with a castle? Over 1K subs spent means you have corralled the WBTB plot with 2 or 3 of your own.

If you want to take things into your own hands rather than waiting for a fix that has no ETA yet (which may possibly cost you another 1K), see if you can buy off your neighbors on the other sides that are not affected by the WBTB house. Throw in an offer to trade them the plots you don't need.

An even better alternative is if you can contact the player of the WBTB house and work out a way for him to take the house down (even if you pay for his account for a month, it's only 12.99).

I know neither are the perfect solution, but just some alternatives to consider.

Personally, I have a couple of grandfathered houses on my 2 shards that I used to actively play before I transferred to my current one (due to lag issues). All my rares are there and I still logon to there once in a while (esp every time there are gifts). However, my neighbors there rarely see me and might be thinking the same thing that you are.

Good luck!
 
C

Connor_Graham

Guest
You can't add in the other accounts because they don't need to be open to take the house once it falls. Just curious on your math.
But he does need them open to keep the space holder houses he's got waiting for the one house to fall so he can place a castle. Otherwise someone else could come along and place a house and he'd be back to square one.
 
C

Connor_Graham

Guest
I contact in game support and I get a canned response telling me they "are unable to discern" the issue.
The only thing I could suggest would be to continue paging and hope you get a GM at one point or another that actually knows how to log in to UO.
 

Experimental

Lore Keeper
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Heres an idea that you may not like but maybe it will fix your problem quickly Flames. To Experimental, maybe if you could get intouch with this player that placed this house as you said you have talked to him you could have this player or Flames get in touch with each other. Maybe Flames if you really want this house gone bad enough, you could offer him a game code so he could log on and drop the house for you. Would cost you a little bit for the code but its a for sure way to get the house dropped right away if this player would accept this offer to help you out......Just an idea :)
Tried that already. He is never on icq anymore and doesn't respond to any messages :/
 

In Flames

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I know you don't want to hear this, but you cannot say for an absolute certain that the person is not paying for the account. You also cannot be certain that they are not playing, unless you are logged in 24hrs per day, everyday, and staring at their house. Just because they came back during WBTB doesnt mean that they left again. They might not have the same playing hours as you. There is an active person that owns a house next to one of mine and I have never seen him there. I know he is active, because I have talked to people who play with him, but they said he usually plays about an hour or so a day, and usually around 3am. Even if we played the same hours there is a chance that I would'nt see him around, unless he spends alot of time at his house.
The day the plot was placed I had a chance to speak with the owner. He mentioned that he was back through the WBTB service. Of course back then I was not concerned as I "knew" the house would fall soon, and I was not then the owner of the third house so was in no rush.

Now, 3 years later, it's beyond frustrating.
 

In Flames

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I sent in 3 spots that were old OSI houses. All 3 have been deleted, it took them about 8 months. But they did get to them, even if it was rather slowly. Anyhow, good luck.

Tom
This isn't an old "Owned by OSI" home.

It's owned by a player, and that player placed it during WBTB years ago and has not been seen since. I have ICQed, and scoured the internet for the possibility of finding another way to contact to no avail.

I have emailed EA many MANY times over the past three years. All to no effect.
 

In Flames

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
"I've sunk over 1000$ waiting for the fix, or something."


"I'm just sick and tired of waiting and sinking my money into a game when one issue, one very small and minor issue, can cost me real life cash for 3 years."



Thank you for supporting UO?
You're welcome?

^^
 
S

Suzzy

Guest
Someone mentioned this earlier. Although there is a chance he could be a WBTB person still, there is also a chance he could have re-subbed and is playing legitimately. There is no way for you to tell for sure. The GM's could be giving you the run around because you're asking for them to take someone's house down who is a paying customer. They aren't going to tell you that up front because that is informing you of another person's personal information.
 

In Flames

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
3 years is 36 months, One account bills 12.99 per month (the account you are holding open for when the house falls), 36 x 12.99 = 467.64, so how is that over $1000? You can't add in the other accounts because they don't need to be open to take the house once it falls. Just curious on your math.
36 x 9.99 (we pay 6 months at a time) x 3 accts (Between me and Exp, we have I think 6-7 accounts open, 3 are just holding those houses)

1078.92

And growing steadily.
 

In Flames

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I understand many of you want me to accept the possibility that this account might actually be being paid for.

Please, understand that when the house was placed I spoke with it's owner. He was looking for his old guild mates, which was the dead guild to which I referred (back when the UO guild & char search worked, not sure if it's still broken or not at this time)

He said that he was there for the WBTB promotion, had played the game a bit and was going to leave the account closed as the game still didn't interest him.

He never customized the house, it's still just a dirt plot.

He never logs onto ICQ, I've left books on the porch asking for contact, asking to buy/trade for the house, leaving my AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ and an email. I've left named horses, I've scoured the net to contact him, no good. While no, I can never be 100% sure that the man didn't start up his account again, I can say that I'd be willing to bet the farm on it.
 

In Flames

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Heres an idea that you may not like but maybe it will fix your problem quickly Flames. To Experimental, maybe if you could get intouch with this player that placed this house as you said you have talked to him you could have this player or Flames get in touch with each other. Maybe Flames if you really want this house gone bad enough, you could offer him a game code so he could log on and drop the house for you. Would cost you a little bit for the code but its a for sure way to get the house dropped right away if this player would accept this offer to help you out......Just an idea :)
At this point, if I could actually get in touch with the owner via a method where I was sure of who it was, I would easily send him a GT card.

But there is that issue of actually getting a hold of him.

Thanks for the input though.
 

Cyrah

Certifiable
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Please help this man devs. When UO gives him lemons he keeps trying.

Not me, when your game mechanics ruins my home I cancel accounts. Give him a break !

For those who will say he does not have to keep trying oh just hush, it is how he plays.
 

AzSel

Lore Keeper
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I am not here to flame you. I am sure there will be about 50 people around to do it shortly. I just want to give you my perspective:

When I first started playing UO, the most important thing to me was my stuff. When I got my first house, that was the most important thing in my world. Soon, I was placing and upgrading houses left and right and making money way back when houses were worth something. Then I met a great group of people, made some friends that I still have today and learned to enjoy the *experience* of UO. I'm not talking about the stuff, but the people. Eventually, UO grew annoying when AOS came out, so we all moved to other games, but those games never captured what is truly unique about UO - the community. The other games were just *grind grind grind*.

I started up again this past November. I had no house, no fancy gear, nothing, but it was fun because I was able to connect with fellow players to experience UO the way I used to.

Things come and go. I could drop my house right now and all my worldly possessions would decay, but it would not matter. I am here to interact with people and have fun. I can do that with a minimal amount of stuff.

So, while I certainly understand your frustration, if you have truly only paid for the past 3 years on the hopes a house would fall so you could place something else, I feel sorry for you. You are missing out on the best part of UO while focusing on the worst part.

Hopefully you will find the joy and magic that is UO once again and stop worrying about the small stuff.

Take care and I hope I have misread your situation.
:heart::heart::heart: *claps*
 
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