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Nice letter, Cal!
I´m still under the "I´ll believe it when I see it"-opinion but so far it sounds good.
C
canary
Guest
OMG they remembered there was an EC that was only partially finished and will give it some love finally. I may have to one day actually use it.
Good write up Cal. Can you go into more depth with this movement fix? For instance, what does it do? etc.
C
canary
Guest
BTW, is it just me or does it seems various members of the UO team take LOTS of trips to Japan? hmmm.
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UOKaiser
Guest
Well they either will destroy UO or make it better. They running on a tight rope. Which direction it will take I guess we will see in this year.
Hey, where is it? What about photos of Cal seeing the production shards?
I would like for it to not be there and just have the current system handling it just fine.I´m still under the "I´ll believe it when I see it"-opinion but so far it sounds good.
If we start cracking down in too many players, then the game itself will lose so many players it won't survive.
We've lived all this time with cheaters and things are just fine.
...
Derek and a couple of his engineers are right now in the middle of a three week feature sprint for the Enhanced Client. The bug and feature list is fairly expansive, and we are trying to address a bulk of the items brought up in the last House of Commons chat and prominent on the boards.
I look forward to this.
Derek and a couple of his engineers are right now in the middle of a three week feature sprint for the Enhanced Client. The bug and feature list is fairly expansive, and we are trying to address a bulk of the items brought up in the last House of Commons chat and prominent on the boards.
I look forward to this.
V
Vercingitorix
Guest
Good read, nice to know things are being worked on and that there's still passion for the game in the Dev's offices, regardless of region.
Cal...
You may one day make a believer out of me. However as always... you know I'll have to wait and see it for myself.
And I'll be right there with my rotten tomatoes if you mess up! *plucks a couple heads of lettuce too*
I'm trying that patience thing... ... However it don't go very well with me you know.
*taps foot*
You may one day make a believer out of me. However as always... you know I'll have to wait and see it for myself.
And I'll be right there with my rotten tomatoes if you mess up! *plucks a couple heads of lettuce too*
I'm trying that patience thing... ... However it don't go very well with me you know.
*taps foot*
C
Cal_Mythic
Guest
heheh I know ... and for the record I like ranch dressing!
B
Beastmaster
Guest
I hope the turning of attention to bards is some real love for a change.
What the??? Seriously flawed logic. If they actually do soemthing about the cheaters all the people who left because they got tired of trying to compete (pvp, mining, whatever) might come back.
You logic is like leaving the drug dealers on the corner along becaus they patronize the local shops.
Really out of whack.
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UOKaiser
Guest
No am pretty positive they won't. Maybe 1-5 for every 600 that leaves. So I have to agree with him. Im so positive that I would start getting ready to pack up before they shut down servers.
I disagree. I believe the vast majority of program abusers will quit using after a few people get banned they know or if they implement a warning before banning system. If the system works and gives a warning before a ban it would be plenty effective.
Cheaters that have been hoarding items & resources will lose some accounts but will retain large quantities of goods that will go up in value. It's arguable if some people will be able to circumvent the system or not and continue to cheat. The number of those will be small in comparison to the number of blatant and rampant cheaters of today.
The argument that cheaters are "too big to fail" doesn't hold water for me. I believe the only factor in that equation is whether or not the system works as intended. Short of that evidence all talk is flat on the subject.
"We have part of the UO team in Shinjuku. I actually love visiting Tokyo, this is the fourth time I’ve been, and I managed to pick up a few more phrases and words without getting in trouble."
"The coolest part of the visit was actually seeing the production shards. It was a very Matrix 'coppertop' moment knowing there were players in Japan and Korea all playing UO. Perhaps at any given moment there was someone stealing, begging, destroying, building, gardening, or connecting with someone they had not seen in a long time. It was truly surreal."
By production shards, does Cal mean he stumbled into a gold farmer workshop, or an Internet cafe? I really don't understand the Matrix parallel.
By production shards, does Cal mean he stumbled into a gold farmer workshop, or an Internet cafe? I really don't understand the Matrix parallel.
Yawn-
umm... last letter was doing speed hacks then we will look at 3rd party. Now we have not seen any action on the speed hack but all of the sudden they are well into third party? No one thought this was odd.
and even with a warning system... someone holding several accts open will reduce them to none or one. it will be a loss to ea, a massive one. This whole returning players argument is ridiculous. It just won't out weight folks that use programs to macro skills and make things like spell books etc. Yes, the extreme violators will be nice to see gone.. bu thte massive population that would not play without redundant things removed by macroing will sink the ship. go ahead and yell about the millions of returning players that will be so relieved to hear about UO being cheater free that they instantly sign back up and save UO without any lapse of income because we can be sure that EA would maintain and accept the losses over the course of several months while they slowly found out etc. Even if enough returned, it would be to slow causing losses that the suits that sit in a room would say drop the axe - uo is dying.
umm... last letter was doing speed hacks then we will look at 3rd party. Now we have not seen any action on the speed hack but all of the sudden they are well into third party? No one thought this was odd.
and even with a warning system... someone holding several accts open will reduce them to none or one. it will be a loss to ea, a massive one. This whole returning players argument is ridiculous. It just won't out weight folks that use programs to macro skills and make things like spell books etc. Yes, the extreme violators will be nice to see gone.. bu thte massive population that would not play without redundant things removed by macroing will sink the ship. go ahead and yell about the millions of returning players that will be so relieved to hear about UO being cheater free that they instantly sign back up and save UO without any lapse of income because we can be sure that EA would maintain and accept the losses over the course of several months while they slowly found out etc. Even if enough returned, it would be to slow causing losses that the suits that sit in a room would say drop the axe - uo is dying.
No matter the numbers, I will shed no tears for losing cheaters.I would like for it to not be there and just have the current system handling it just fine.I´m still under the "I´ll believe it when I see it"-opinion but so far it sounds good.
If we start cracking down in too many players, then the game itself will lose so many players it won't survive.
We've leved all this time with cheathers and things are just fine.
And should the game not survive the loss, oh well...
Taylor
Former Stratics CEO (2011-2014)
VIP
Alumni
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Campaign Benefactor
I occasionally forget that, in some ways, the devs have a greater vested interest in this product than the players. UO is our hobby, but it is their livelihood. We can be experts in certain facets, but they are expected to know all the in's and out's.
Anyway, good letter.
Anyway, good letter.
U
UOKaiser
Guest
I want the game to survive. Thats the difference.
Don´t worry. The game ain´t going nowhere...
A
AesSedai
Guest
- I completely agree.
- I agree again.
Good letter and the update was both unexpected and appreciated. I've skimmed it a few times now and haven't found a single thing to bicker about
Go team Derek.
I like the play in the multi
And they'd still be tired of competing or tired of not having the resources available to them. Most people have found other games, I really doubt we're going to find enough players will to come back to off-set the maybe 30.000+ accounts UO would lose.
After over 12 years, its just too late to really effectively do anything that doesn't mess up the game severely.
Well, I'd rather the game survive, if it takes cheaters to keep it afloat because of bad decisions by the various dev teams, then I've been living just fine in the game for a decade with them being there, its not going to start bothering me now.
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UOKaiser
Guest
Well of course freeshards are always there to welcome us. But the EA one will go away as soon as cost is more than profit within a quarter. Especially in this recession. The Dev will be shifted to more profitable areas of there department and the servers will be shut down and spaces reserve to manage other Ea games or cut of the rent for bandwith and space. The rights would be sold if able to be bought and the Uo we know would be gone and another will probably go up in it's place similar to WOW from scratch to take some market share from WOW. If unsucessful it will also be shut down and will be another decade before another try is made. Just like every other game that failed.
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Aristillus
Guest
Leave it to UHall to take a very optimistic letter from the devs and turn it into another end of UO thread.
People started shouting the sky is falling shortly after UO's release. Over a decade later I personally don't believe the end is near.
People started shouting the sky is falling shortly after UO's release. Over a decade later I personally don't believe the end is near.
V
Venus_AUPK
Guest
For the first time in a long time im excited about the future of UO.
Can you imagine a UO with out cheats or speed hack or edited clients, an even pvp field.
Also with the movement fix i can run around on TC1 with a ping of 300 and not feel any lag.
If UO does shuts down because of lack of cheating players then it may be time to let the old girl die n keep some of the glory for the legit players
Can you imagine a UO with out cheats or speed hack or edited clients, an even pvp field.
Also with the movement fix i can run around on TC1 with a ping of 300 and not feel any lag.
If UO does shuts down because of lack of cheating players then it may be time to let the old girl die n keep some of the glory for the legit players
F
Fink
Guest
Attention is such an ambiguous word, isn't it?
S
sbom
Guest
Don't worry about that one...you'll notice he's the only one complaining whereas everybody else who posted prior was pretty happy about the news
Yep, like the "attention" I get from Greater Dragon Paragons.
You don't then, think that the current movement changes on test center: http://vboards.stratics.com/showthread.php?t=188480
Have any connection to the speedhacking fixes? I firmly believe there is a such a connection.
C
Connor_Graham
Guest
We were told quite some time back that these types of accounts are normally not being paid for due to past promotional offers and the mass quantities of codes being given out. They also added stolen credit card information is being used on some. So, no, it won't be a massive one at all.
Y
Yalp
Guest
phoeey on you sir!
I don't believe for a moment the game has been "fine" with the cheaters. I don't believe for a moment the game is infested with cheaters and I'll be the only person playing once the "crackdown" has begun. I don't believe for a moment that status quo on cheating is either good for the game or good for the EA brand.
Ah, but did it stop programs or did it just smooth out connection speeds for the laggy. it may help some bu tit is not what they said it was going to be.
My God.
Things are not just fine. Cheating destroys games. Cheating drives away honest people. I don't want to play with cheaters, at all.
You do? It's OK with you, "Because we've had them before"...
Seriously? I mean...seriously???
In the back of my mind, I see you scrambling to think how you will be able to use your scripts, if they start checking for cheaters, maybe? Maybe not...but I can tell you...I definitely want an anti-cheat program in place. I want it badly.
Cheaters devalue honest play time, and the achievement that the honest effort produced. If you can't understand that, and by your very words, you do not, then I would think there is no hope for you.
There is absolutely no substitute for integrity.
Not even money.
*nods*
One of the worst things cheaters have managed to do over the years it to convince people that "everyone," or "most people," or "more people than you think" cheat. In fact there's little actual evidence of this, it just helps the cheaters' cases if "everyone" does it, not just them.
The Factioners who cheat, for example (who can run over obstacles you normally can't run over, who speed hack, who have characters in more than one Faction on the same account, etc.), constantly accuse the Factioners who do not cheat of cheating.
I've been accused of using speed-hacks, when in fact I'm actually slow.
For purposes of cheating, there's 3 kinds of players as near as I can tell.
1. Those who cheat, and are so utterly committed to cheating that they won't play unless they can cheat, and often.
2. Those who do not cheat at all.
3. Those who cheat because they know they can get away with it, but are also perfectly capable of playing the game legitimately.
I am willing to bet that the largest category by far is 2 and that category 1 isn't full of enough people to make a noticeable difference in subscriptions or revenues. I have no idea how close category 3 is to category 2 in terms of numbers, but as long as they keep playing, as I think they will, then who really cares?
If anything, if the team can get rid of or minimize cheating, the category 3 people may become instrumental in lobbying the team to make more reasonable skill gain or crafting systems. Suddenly deprived of their shortcuts, but still committed to the gain overall, they'll have the most incentive to lobby for change.
-Galen's player
A
Aristillus
Guest
I believe that any ability to control speed server side is a step toward a fix for speedhacking. I mean if they can speed someone up who is laggy, I would imagine they could slow someone down also.
B
Beer_Cayse
Guest
Yup - "show me" is a good byword ATM. But I'll wait as patiently as I can.I´m still under the "I´ll believe it when I see it"-opinion but so far it sounds good.
V
Vyal
Guest
Speedhacking - if the client detects your ping is over 10 thousand automatic disconnect no more speed hacking hurray im freaking smart
Then if people mod the client perma ban em all ips and credit card numbers...
Then if people mod the client perma ban em all ips and credit card numbers...
The vast, VAST majority will be fine with removing all client mods, speed hacking and script programs.
As a part of that, and they have already come a long way with this, the Devs would need to make it so that doing tasks like crafting do not contribute to CTS. I make no apologies, and have been very open, when I say I have used scripts for crafting and training for many years, for that specific reason. No game interface is worth not being able to use your God given limbs and muscles. The line I never crossed and never would will always be the no help when fighting. THAT is lame beyond words.
If your such a ***** that you can't Pvp without scripts, speed hacking and client mods, then you shouldn't be in this game at all and need to be absolutely banned. No-one is going to miss that person. We'll finally be rid of the SCUM of this game, and no-one misses scumbags. Good ****ing riddance!!
Keep up the good work Cal. Many thousands of us have dreamed of an even playing field in PvP for more than a decade.
Make it come true brother!!!!!!
As a part of that, and they have already come a long way with this, the Devs would need to make it so that doing tasks like crafting do not contribute to CTS. I make no apologies, and have been very open, when I say I have used scripts for crafting and training for many years, for that specific reason. No game interface is worth not being able to use your God given limbs and muscles. The line I never crossed and never would will always be the no help when fighting. THAT is lame beyond words.
If your such a ***** that you can't Pvp without scripts, speed hacking and client mods, then you shouldn't be in this game at all and need to be absolutely banned. No-one is going to miss that person. We'll finally be rid of the SCUM of this game, and no-one misses scumbags. Good ****ing riddance!!
Keep up the good work Cal. Many thousands of us have dreamed of an even playing field in PvP for more than a decade.
Make it come true brother!!!!!!
...
Then if people mod the client perma ban em all ips and credit card numbers...
I assume you're talking about the 2d client and not the legal mods made for the Enhanced Client.
Then if people mod the client perma ban em all ips and credit card numbers...
I assume you're talking about the 2d client and not the legal mods made for the Enhanced Client.
Since he mentioned pvp i'm assuming he's talking about the client side art mods which the "pro pvpers" use to not see trees and run through stuff normal people can't. I really don't think it can be detected at all since it's just art mods.
I do find it humorous he openly admited to scripting crafting-working skills but wants people that cheat in other areas perma banned. This logic is why people have left the game not the cheating itself.
Out of my years playing i have been across multiple shards guilded in larger guilds on each shard and i can honestly say 9 out of 10 of my guildmates past and present use some form of illegal 3rd party app. There's resource scripters, attended looters, skill scripters, quest/craft/bod scripters even down to those using "that free illegal version of uoassist".
It's all illegal and falls into the same category that Cal wants to detect and ponder on. The reality is the number he's going to find is going to be a LOT more than anyone thinks.
I do find it humorous he openly admited to scripting crafting-working skills but wants people that cheat in other areas perma banned. This logic is why people have left the game not the cheating itself.
Out of my years playing i have been across multiple shards guilded in larger guilds on each shard and i can honestly say 9 out of 10 of my guildmates past and present use some form of illegal 3rd party app. There's resource scripters, attended looters, skill scripters, quest/craft/bod scripters even down to those using "that free illegal version of uoassist".
It's all illegal and falls into the same category that Cal wants to detect and ponder on. The reality is the number he's going to find is going to be a LOT more than anyone thinks.
E
Evlar
Guest
Whatever systems they put in place within the game, or as "satellites" to the game to detect various forms of cheating, they also need to enforce the Terms of Service and the "rules" of the game. The two go hand in hand.
Effectively detecting cheating is a valuable and important step in combating it. Enforcing the necessary penalties is though, the key.
Effectively detecting cheating is a valuable and important step in combating it. Enforcing the necessary penalties is though, the key.
One is not related to the other? Besides, there's no way they're going to tell us the speed hack fix is ready until AFTER it's gone in. Same with any other cheat counter or detection coding. It wouldn't make sense to do it any other way.
I don't need to know if it's going in with this publish, next month or yesterday. It doesn't directly effect my playing. I'm just content to know it is happening, or even may have already happened.
Excellent analogy Arcus
Are you kidding me ??? I admit some people may leave if/when anti-speedhack & 3rd party detection gets implemented. But I think the appropriate course of action is to support the move and encourage those who only stick around because they can exploit PvP with speedhacks/scripts & UO materials/gold with script mining etc. to stay. It sounds like the argument some are making is: "Don't input 3rd party protection, don't discipline speedhacks and cheats because then people may quit". That is absurd! Yes, I say again; we may lose a few peeps if speedhacks & 3rd party progs. are no longer able to be used, but we'll also gain a few who left because of them and retain those who may quit in the future because nothing is done. Dynamics dictate that those who have become victim or subject to the unfair advantages they give in PvP & other areas support this change. Those who criticize it generally do so because they currently use them and do not want to lose that advantage. Just simple logic & behavioral science.
Since when did the concept of a level playing field become such a bad thing... and playing by the rules such taboo?
I support you devs... keep on chugging !!