I think it was a ploy from Cal.
the topic started because on the UO page the devs update or whatever stated that they had a lunch and there was talk of opening a classic shard and they would sit down and work out if they were to go ahead with it in the future.... Its the first time they have actually admitted they are thinking about it, not just randoms sparking interest. Thats why the topic started.
Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia recently came away from a meeting with EA and reported that although "earnings are somewhat depressed due to ongoing expenses of the Star Wars MMO, management has high hopes for this and believes 2M+ subs is possible." He added that a little over 1 million subscribers is needed to reach the break-even point, but the ultimate goal is to get several million subscribers.
Just a couple of points:
If I disagreed 100% with everything that anyone has said in this thread, I'd still offer them my backing, for what that's worth, over any crap you may post - at least they are trying. If it turns out Cal and the gang is yanking everybody's chain, then so be it.
But there's a difference, Morgana - we are ALL jaded in one form or another. It may not be about the same thing, although we pretty much ALL agree that AoS killed things for pretty much any point of view except Diablo fanatics...
Ugh, seriously, go away.
The game at launch had a lot of problems. The lag was a nightmare, people were placing houses on top of water, and there were a lot of bugs.
Well, the reason you dont see anyone NOW is because there is practically no one playing the game at all. What few there remain are crammed into luna bank spamming selling artifacts and who knows what other garbage.
having to teleport to the Lost Lands was probably done for programing and server reasons. the ways to the lost lands seemed pretty reasonable, for a fantasy game. The only thing I miss was those portals and dungeons being the only way to get to the lost lands. I remember when they first came out, players could not recall between the Lost lands and britannia. I also remember that, for a while, you couldnt bring any pets back from the Lost Lands either. Ostards and nightmares were restricted to the LL, until they lifed that rule.
Full circle.You know, the more I read through the thread, the more I would like to see some comment from one of the devs.
With that in mind, since the carrot has been dangled by Cal and we've heard nothing since, it would be good to hear the thoughts and opinions (without needing to commit to anything in particular) from the devs, if not as "developers", at least as "fellow adventurers" in the world of UO
I guess I am not being very clear...or maybe you are being deliberately obtuse...either way, I was not suggesting that a Classic Shard start without all the bug fixes and such that T2A brough...just not including the landmass in the beginning. Don't try to confuse the two things in an effort to make your point seem more valid. Even in the T2A days, there were numerous bugs and issues that have been dealt with since. Those bug fixes should be included as well...so what we are discussing here is not really an exact copy of T2A anyway.
It's both. At least on Atlantic, I can go to any of the 'new' areas where the "best" items are dropping, and I see players. I can go to Despise for example...and all I see are scripters...if anyone. It was the combined addition of uber items, and the new land areas that you have to go to in order to get them. Why would anyone want to go into the Lost Lands or the old dungeons now? Beyond nostalgia...you don't get anything worthwhile there.
Wrong.
People will eventually ask for or demand lots of things. But as I said before, I think the Lost Lands should eventually be added. Don't get me wrong though, if they launched the shard, and it included the Lost Lands, I would not complain or refuse to play on it.
Okay...you got me with that argument!
That kinda contradicts the whole idea of not having any of the new dungeons in a T2A setting, In essence Vanq/INV is the best how many places under T2A were there to get those pieces? Having newer dungeons and getting the same gear but maybe a tougher challenge would hardly separate the population. Under AOS to get certain items means doing peerless/ SA bosses/doom is a must to keep up With the game the way it is now. With the old item system it would be more diverse some would camp blood ele's in shame or some doing ancient liches in Khal,T-hunter doing lvl 5 maps, Or if SA were in a group doing Slasher, a group doing a peerless boss all would be looking for the same loot but different challenges.
I had Vanqs before T2A...so you could get them off of pretty much any creature that dropped loot back then. There were no specific areas that certain items were dropped. That came later...with Ilshenar...and then got completely out of control with AoS.
Really you couldn't compare the 26 standard shards to a shard with the T2A ruleset, todays UO is too item dependent and in areas where the better items drop are always the hotspots, thats where everyone is people are not spread out today they are at the same spawns in the ever evolving arms race, it wouldnt be like that if it were under a t2a ruleset, people would take on the tougher spawns more so for the challenge than the items.
As I recall, the way loot worked back then, at least whether you got ruin, power, vanq, etc. was a percentage chance. I don't think it mattered the creature. Of course, this was before they were called "mobs" too...
They were always called "mobs", that term predates UO.
Can you please point out the origin...because I was under the impression this term originated in EverQuest, where they had mobile creatures, and others that remained in a fixed area...hence the term "mob".
Hey! You see? This thread is not useless! I learned something new! Thanks LC!!
you.Yeah...I am not getting into that here.Well, glad to be of service, despite you not wanting to support my suggestion and as such cost UO/Mythic 2 accounts for the rest of UOs lifetime.
But I still
Ummm.....not every monster that dropped loot could drop a vanq or invul magic item. As a matter of fact, Vanq/invul were very hard to come by. The drop rates for those items were very low, even on Lord (ie lich lord, ogre lord, orc lord) type monsters and dragons. Dungeon chests rarely every provided them too. The best way to get vanq/invul was by fishing or treasure hunting.
Agreed.
You werent being very clear. Thank you for the clarification.
Your examples point squarely to gameplay, AOS gameplay to be specific. See, the reason those new dungeons with the peerless bosses and such are so heavily populated is because players NEED to be in those dungeons getting artifacts so they can "keep up with the Joneses" so to speak.
Either way, the dungeons and portals were interesting ways to get to the lost lands. If you think about it, the UO Lost lands is similar to the Lost Lands in Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle's Lost World. It was a plateau that could only be reached through a series of maze like caves, or by hot air balloon. Now, since hot air baloons have no place in UO (neither does a cyborg Lord Blackthorn, McFarlane you half-wit!), teleporters are a reasonable replacement, given the fantasy setting.
No one would complain. As a matter of fact, having the Lost Lands would be expected because they have been a part of UO for so long.
Exactly. Nightmares came with The Second Age, deep in the heart of the Terrathian Keep.Okay...you got me with that argument!
Yes, youre right, only high monsters had a chance to drop Vanq and Invul magic weapons and armor.
Well I quit playing the EA shards because I missed old school UO so much that I started playing the free servers. And most of them are complete garbage. They're like methadone to a heroin addict, they help you cope, but it just isn't the euphoric cloud nine like the real thing. I know of like ten people off the top of my head that will gladly fork out the 15$ a month to come back and play.
The problem with these charts, they came AFTER pub 16. It was during this time that each ore had different armor values, with Iron begin the weakest and Valorite being the strongest.Here is a small list of basic mods, This was taken shortly after runics were introduced, Ignore the runic mods. Maybe this could help set up AR and weapon damage. Sorry in the transition of cpus i managed to loose the Leather/bone armors, and itemized weapon damage.
Armor Mods.
Weapon Mods.
I hated the colored ores for the new added power levels, because I knew more was on the way. I thought they'd add more and more bits at a time, never dreamed they'd go so far with AoS in one fell swoop.
Exactly.
)... but i am sure the PVPers go so they can get the new item which will give them an extra MR2 or extra DCI or extra HP w/o taking another armour slot... Remember Lt Sash, +10hp robes etc.. the list goes onOkay...so what is it exactly that you want? Trammel? AoS? Artifacts? Expansions? Insurance? Custom Housing? Neon Items?
lol so trueOh, and I forgot to mention, at almost any time on well over half of those 26 shards, you can pretty much have the place all to yourself
Slippery slope. The people that are looking for this and that would return don't want changes and don't want the new features. You can not cater to everybody... thats how trammel came about. Classic T2A shard up to a certain publish. Done. Tons would return.Also... as for a straight T2A shard... i don't expect the UO classic shard to stay still in time forever but it is a good starting place for a beginning. Let it run for a yr maybe then start adding in new features... there have been some good changes and i wouldn't mind them being implemented... i just don't want an item based game. You can bring in bushido watever you want... the parry system for bushido would be fine... i'm sure they would have to work out a system for how to fit it all in but i would be find if they add new skills in. There is no reason the bushido parry system etc... wouldn't work without the new items etc...Just no arties, nothing that will create an unfair advantage and will split the community up. Look at peerless.. the so called monsters that can't be soloed... within a month people figured out how to solo them.. it ridiculous...
In the end if they make a classic shard they should just listen to the people and change what people want... BUT stick to their core ideals... if the classic shard is meant to be a non-item based shard/skill based shard, make the best changes they can make which satify people without killing the original core of the game.
And now look at the UOHALL people r crying that they want holidays a day before or after... why? because they want the EM items which will what? GIVE THEM AN ADVANTAGE IN PVP... or they r collecters (boring
Seriously. When they added in the different AR ratings for the different ores, it threw everything out of balance. Valorite became "must have" instead of just being for visual appeal and having to serious impact.