So what else was said?

[Goonball FC]

was it just a 2d flash presentation of hell kitty ADVENTUR island?

or were any other topics addressed at the town hall?

 

[Basara]

There was a 2-3 hour Q&A session, mostly on different subjects, after the hour long presentation of AHS.

Try actually watching/listening to what occurred - there are recordings out there, you know.

PS: The "Adventur" typo was by a poster here - NOT EA. The stuff at the event was spelled correctly. I should know, since I sat in the first row, right next to the projector.

 

[Nok]

Watched the recording. Is anyone out there aware of photos and a written transcript posted to the web?

 

[Storm]

I especially liked the Q&A part

 

[Petra Fyde]

I kept getting called away and missed most of the question/answer session. I'd love to be able to read a transcript.

 

[Siteswap]

I especially liked the Q&A part

Q&R not Q&A was what they called it.

Probably because they knew they wouldnt be giving many answers...

 

[Green Mouser]

I especially liked the Q&A part

Q&R not Q&A was what they called it.

Probably because they knew they wouldnt be giving many answers...

They answered more than they did not. (I said this in another post) While sitting in the room and watching them their body language spoke volumes. Watch their reactions and listen to the responses.

Absolute NO to pet dyes but I loved the Idea of rare Spawning Natural colors of tamable pets...Like Black/Green Dragons Messana described.

No direct answer and lots of fidgeting when asked about Customizable Keeps and Castles.

I used the same observe approach during the Blackthorn UO Fest and fidgeting speaks volumes.

 

[Basara]

Yeah, the word parsing and body language on the "getting the game back into stores" question was pretty obviously indicating that their "download-only" policy was likely to include some sort of retail presence in terms of game cards usable on any Bioware game, probably with UO and the other two Mythic RPGs as accidental beneficiaries (the real targets being SWTOR). It also seemed to confirm my suspicions that the reason why the UOGameCodes site isn't being fixed, is that it's a lame duck that's only running out the contract, to be replaced by a (hopefully) better provider for the Mythic/Bioware stable of games (which of course will probably not go active until SWTOR goes into pre-release sales)

 

[Yalp]

Yes, they were pretty emphatic on more than a couple of points...


** This section means there are no decisions, plans, actions, or resources assigned to this issue at this time in the history of UO***
1) NO shelf presence. Period. Digital download from now on.. only.
2) NO PR campaign for UO. Period.
3) NO Free to play
4) NO work on game inflation
5) NO Improvements to guild/alliance management
6) NO re-establishing the bounty system (players)
7) NO means to remove/replace guild stones other than axe destruction
8) NO new races
9) NO barding for pets other than the current swamp dragon
10) NO change to the current system of randomized resource locations
11) NO Pet dyes
12) NO change to the way dev's communicate with community *ask the devs*
13) NO classic shard
14) NO brewing of the rum for pirate booster pak
15) NO to anything that jeopardizes game rating
16) NO to adding new '0' level t-maps
17) NO stealing new boats
17a) NO rideable seahorses

** This section means there is a desire, plan, forecasted effort sometime in the future to address this topic in one way or the other, if time/resources allow***
18) MAYBE Merchandise and GTC cards in stores
19) MAYBE 4th type of boat for AHS (Gallion, rare, massive, can't dock)
20) MAYBE differences w/types of boats, (tok boat, 4 cannon/faster)
21) MAYBE Vendor search program for all areas
22) MAYBE new music for bards
23) MAYBE 2d Paperdoll option for Enhance client
24) MAYBE instanced corpses for peerless while still in party
25) MAYBE craftable armor for new boats
26) MAYBE faction changes
27) MAYBE throwing "tinkering"
28) MAYBE Human/ELF/GARGOYLE Hair/Horn style changes
29) MAYBE boosting drop rate of gargoyle arties
30) MAYBE new pet spawn colors, black/green GD's for ex.
31) MAYBE fix issue with GM Alchemist get 30% EP's jewls get 50%
31a) MAYBE the arena system will be implemented after the booster release


** This section means there are definitive plans, efforts, or resources assigned and current action items undertaken to affect these areas**
32) YES expanded storage of banks/houses of 20% new cap is 60%.
33) YES fixing old boat movement with new AHS Booster
34) YES usage for blue gems from Halloween event
35) YES to continued support of duel clients (although they REALLY want everyone to switch to Enhanced)
36) YES 13th anniversary event is already planned
37) YES 13th anniversary rewards already done
38) YES Magincia rebuilding/story arc will begin soon and completed by holidays
39) YES to continuing EM live events
40) YES new fishing quests
41) YES to questing system taking to legendary fishermen
42) YES to new fish species
43) YES to new cooking recipes
44) YES to AHS Booster out before Christmas
45) YES to new quest npc "bounty" system
46) YES to location specific fishing
47) YES to adding Big Fish caught date, real world
48) YES to crafter needs for new boats (repairs, canon crafting/maintenance, canon balls, gunpowder crafting)
49) YES to 2 new bosses , Scalis < Slasher, 1 unnamed)
50) YES new boat control via mouse, smoother/faster
50a) YES to 2 new trophy fish (display trophy)
50b) YES to continued holiday trinkets and mini live events

 

[Nastia Cross]

Yes, they were pretty emphatic on more than a couple of points...

13) NO classic shard

Was this really stated? The Q&A audio clip I listened to cut off after 10 minutes and I couldn't find a full version of it.

 

[Yalp]

Was this really stated? The Q&A audio clip I listened to cut off after 10 minutes and I couldn't find a full version of it.

I know classic shards are a hot topic like few others.. so I don't want to inflame the passionate... but to paraphrase the overall tenor of the developer Q&R....

The discussion was "We have turned all our efforts and attention to this Booster system. Other major projects take a back seat and we'll get to them as we have time. The booster system is designed to have mini-releases every 4 months or so. So.. about the time we've got this one out the door, we'll be working on the next one. Classic shard, faction changes, new expansions and the like take a huge amount of commitment of time and resources. We are still in the milling it over phase for major projects."

This is all paraphrasing of course... and there's nothing that says in the days to come a new dev team may be installed and old priorities become new and new priorities get created.

 

[Nastia Cross]

Ok, I'm not so concerned about the Classic Shard but I know many people who are eagerly anticipating it so I just wanted to check.

It seems to me that in between boosters they'll be releasing updates in-game. We've seen a major update to the Treasure Hunting system this month and then they expect to have the AHS released sometime in the Fall. I know they've stated that the Magincia update and things are in the works for the Winter of this year so I assume that after that we will get another booster. Seems like a nice balance of in-game and booster upgrades.

 

[deadite]

Interesting stuff overall. Still getting caught up on the news, as I spent the weekend celebrating an anniversary with my awesome wife.

I like the idea of the Boosters coming out 2-3 times per year. I just hope they'll actually stick with whatever direction they settle on. I think the current devs are doing a good job overall, but UO has always suffered from ADD. Some longterm focus would be great for the game, no matter what direction they choose!

As far as no classic shard, faction updates or F2P model? Gotta say I'm a little disappointed, but if the future Booster Packs turn out to be as cool as the one coming up may be, then I'm onboard 100%... I'm looking forward to trying out the new ships.

 

[Zurhet Pebblethief]

Yes, they were pretty emphatic on more than a couple of points...

13) NO classic shard

Was this really stated? The Q&A audio clip I listened to cut off after 10 minutes and I couldn't find a full version of it.

Cal actually said he still has time to think about it before the end of the year, there was no definite no.

 

[Picus at the office]

So all the work that was done on the new faction stuff plus the arena that you can fall into and get stuck was for nothing?

When did EA/Mythic become a side plan for the teamsters?

I can understand adding new content but why not just use the land that is already there? Sure it's harder to charge $$$$ for something that seems to be there but if you left us with no other option we'd all be owners all the same.

 

[Yalp]

I know those who are passionately involved in the classic shard v. no classic shard will of course latch on to my "NO classic shard". Nothing on that list is a definitive "forever and ever, amen". Things may change in the future with new people, new priorities, new equipment, new economic developments, etc.

Here's what we learned on this matter... NO resources are being put forward for discussion or debate. NO planning is being done to identify resources needed or time lines for completion. NO team has been assembled to begin the classic shard creation process. NO staff hired. NO desk space cleared. NO accounting planning. The only positive move toward a classic shard, is that the idea is rolling around somewhere in Cal's gray matter....

In my book, that's a NO.

 

[Crysta]

Yknow, I was going to go through and fix all the problems with the YES, NO, and MAYBEs in the post by Yalp, but it ended up being as many changes as there was text initially, so I decided to stop and just say everyone needs to really listen to it all themselves since at least half of it seems to be an attempt to make things sound worse than they actually were.

So all the work that was done on the new faction stuff plus the arena that you can fall into and get stuck was for nothing?

Perfect example. No. Arenas on hold until after the booster release (most likely.. depends on free time), Factions being worked on but they want things to be far more solid than they were before they put them up on a test center again.

 

[Yalp]

So all the work that was done on the new faction stuff plus the arena that you can fall into and get stuck was for nothing?

When did EA/Mythic become a side plan for the teamsters?

I can understand adding new content but why not just use the land that is already there? Sure it's harder to charge $$$$ for something that seems to be there but if you left us with no other option we'd all be owners all the same.

Sounded like the faction changes proposed and tested recently on TC1 need to be worked on more than just tinkering and bug elimination. Sounded like they needed some serious overhauls on that and it will take some resource allocation to fix...so for now, those resources are being used for the Booster.

The arenas, same thing. Sounded like they love the idea and plan to implement, but the arenas need work and the resources needed to do that are being allocated to the Booster.

They told us their priorities will shift to those after the Booster launches.

 

[Yalp]

Perfect example. No. Arenas on hold until after the booster release (most likely.. depends on free time), Factions being worked on but they want things to be far more solid than they were before they put them up on a test center again.

Wait..isn't that the very definition of a maybe? Needs more work, needs for them to have the free time.. etc. etc. Not a definitive NO, and not a solid YES. Depends on a variety of factors.... all that equals.. MAYBE.


Thanks for the kind offer to correct my post.. but I'll stand by it.

 

[Picus at the office]

But the arena in fel t2a is going to stay, waiting for another player to fall inside and not being able to get out of? Let's hope it's not that one new guy we get every 3 months...

 

[Yalp]

But the arena in fel t2a is going to stay, waiting for another player to fall inside and not being able to get out of? Let's hope it's not that one new guy we get every 3 months...

yeah hee. I've trapped myself more than once there too!

 

[Velvathos]

1) NO shelf presence. Period. Digital download from now on.. only.

Good, we don't need it in stores, waste of time and money..

2) NO PR campaign for UO. Period.

I don't know what this is, nor do I care..

3) NO Free to play

Understandable..

4) NO work on game inflation

This should be one of their top priorities at the moment..

5) NO Improvements to guild/alliance management

We're all still hoping for the return of Order & Chaos guilds..

6) NO re-establishing the bounty system (players)

I don't see why not?

7) NO means to remove/replace guild stones other than axe destruction

BOOOOOOOOO!

8) NO new races

I found this rather upsetting, orcs deserve to be a player race, they have been the most popular to roleplay as besides elves, we have demanded time and again for orcs to be a player race and the developers simply ignore us, orcs should have been a player race before elves..

9) NO barding for pets other than the current swamp dragon

10) NO change to the current system of randomized resource locations

I don't see the need to change it..

11) NO Pet dyes

Good, I don't want to see neon pets running around.

12) NO change to the way dev's communicate with community *ask the devs*

13) NO classic shard

Not important, but I know a good majority of the player base wants one.. I would totally play a classic shard myself..

14) NO brewing of the rum for pirate booster pack

Awwwww

15) NO to anything that jeopardizes game rating

Guess that is why there is no bounty system

16) NO to adding new '0' level t-maps

And there shouldn't be..

17) NO to stealing new boats

I think players should be able to sink each others ships however, that would be cool, maybe after you ship sinks your character ends up at the nearest dock with the boat in his pack (that would be neat) ship wars would be fun..

18) NO rideable seahorses

Seahorses have always been in game, they just don't use them(spawn them) they can make them available anytime they want to though..

 

[canary]

We're all still hoping for the return of Order & Chaos guilds..

I just need to ask, who is this 'we'?

I surely do not feel it is necessary in game.

 

[Murdok]

When did EA/Mythic become a side plan for the teamsters?

Hey now! Nothing wrong with the Teamsters! Local 541 here!

 

[Velvathos]

I just need to ask, who is this 'we'?

I surely do not feel it is necessary in game.

I know a lot of players who would like it back, it allowed PVP in other facets aside from Felucca, between guilds, it was almost like a good vs evil system for guilds, guild warring had never been higher when they were around, faction guilds were also able to be in Order or Chaos and you knew instantly that if you saw a guild in order or chaos that you were going to war them, it defined Felucca from PVP (Felucca is now OMFG PVP-land) which I disagree with, there was no stat loss(there didn't need to be) and you could perform benefitial acts..
Besides, there is no harm in bringing them back..

 

[canary]

I know a lot of players who would like it back, it allowed PVP in other facets aside from Felucca, between guilds, it was almost like a good vs evil system for guilds, guild warring had never been higher when they were around, faction guilds were also able to be in Order or Chaos and you knew instantly that if you saw a guild in order or chaos that you were going to war them, it defined Felucca from PVP (Felucca is now OMFG PVP-land) which I disagree with, there was no stat loss(there didn't need to be) and you could perform benefitial acts..
Besides, there is no harm in bringing them back..

Which is fine, as that is your opinion.

Your post, however, reads as though the 'we're all' is indicative of, well, 'us' (the entire playerbase). Which it isn't. Merely some of us.

 

[NuSair]

Yknow, I was going to go through and fix all the problems with the YES, NO, and MAYBEs in the post by Yalp, but it ended up being as many changes as there was text initially, so I decided to stop and just say everyone needs to really listen to it all themselves since at least half of it seems to be an attempt to make things sound worse than they actually were.

This.

 

[Basara]

Several of the No's weren't no's from my position in the first row.

While they said that factions still needed a lot of work, they also mentioned somewhere in that mess that they were looking at making Factions part of a future booster (so where effectively those that want to play factions would in effect be paying for the faction improvements).

The Arenas are expected to go live sometime in the next 3-6 months.

The seahorses are still the buggy mess they were when first cancelled; Mesanna was pushing hard for them to be fixed, but attempts to fix them only showed how bad the programming for them was to begin with, and they couldn't spare the time and money for such a tiny project to redo from scratch.

BTW, my suggestion of the 0 level maps being reintroduced (they could only be done by "Young" characters) was because there's no way for young characters to get introduced easily into Treasure Hunting, especially since that whole system was revamped.

If they just added the old "Youthful" maps to the current New Player Experience, it would serve as an introduction to a profession that has NO Quest NPC representation in New Haven. The only thing they'd have to do would be to cut out the 4 locations that the Haven event blew into open water. It's especially ironic, since those level 0 "Youthful" maps had Guardian mobs nearly a decade before the current maps did.

 

[Yalp]

I certainly don't want to start some kind of debate on my list with someone so decorated in Stratics.. but to shoot down my list whole sale on one hand and then confirm it later in your post doesn't make any sense to me.

If you are reading my "no" section as .. "It is forever banned from UO and never to be discussed/debated and/or mentioned in polite company again" ... then you're reading it incorrectly. You can read it as "There is no positive action being taken at this time to affect these issues."

 

[Mapper]

Seahorses have always been in game, they just don't use them(spawn them) they can make them available anytime they want to though..

Although the graphic is available, I got the impression the ridable part didn't look or work right.

And as others said, It wasn't a no to the classic shard, It's still under thought.

 

[Lady Michelle]

Good, we don't need it in stores, waste of time and money..



I don't know what this is, nor do I care..


Understandable..



This should be one of their top priorities at the moment..



We're all still hoping for the return of Order & Chaos guilds..



I don't see why not?


BOOOOOOOOO!



I found this rather upsetting, orcs deserve to be a player race, they have been the most popular to roleplay as besides elves, we have demanded time and again for orcs to be a player race and the developers simply ignore us, orcs should have been a player race before elves..




I don't see the need to change it..



Good, I don't want to see neon pets running around.




Not important, but I know a good majority of the player base wants one.. I would totally play a classic shard myself..



Awwwww



Guess that is why there is no bounty system



And there shouldn't be..



I think players should be able to sink each others ships however, that would be cool, maybe after you ship sinks your character ends up at the nearest dock with the boat in his pack (that would be neat) ship wars would be fun..



Seahorses have always been in game, they just don't use them(spawn them) they can make them available anytime they want to though..

seahorses are in the game they are one of the rewards you get for aquarium

 

[Obsidian]

Remember the Q&R period was focused on the AHS booster and things in the immediate future. They purposely did not speak about things further out as nothing is set in stone. We (the UO community) have a habit of finding 5 year old dev posts made by someone 2 dev teams ago and trying to hold the current team to it. UO is a dynamic "sandbox" game and priorities change.

If you get a chance, watch the Q&R video and make your own analysis of their body language. I thought they were very open and transparent. They are just as passionate about UO as any of us.

-OBSIDIAN-

 

[popps]

36) YES 13th anniversary event is already planned
37) YES 13th anniversary rewards already done

Was anything else said about these ?

What type of an Event ?
What Rewards have been thought ?

[41) YES to questing system taking to legendary fishermen

So it will not be necessary to actually acquire 105, 110, 115 and 120 powerscrolls ?
It will be done through Quests specific for fishing ?

46) YES to location specific fishing

What does this mean ? Fishing tied to a specific tile ?
Meaning, that once a player has find the "right" tile they can farm it forever ?

 

[Crysta]

As much as I dislike talking to you...

Was anything else said about these ?

What type of an Event ?
What Rewards have been thought ?

Mesanna purposefully would not say. She wants it to be a suprise.

So it will not be necessary to actually acquire 105, 110, 115 and 120 powerscrolls ?
It will be done through Quests specific for fishing ?

Not quite. The powerscrolls will be gotten through the quests.

What does this mean ? Fishing tied to a specific tile ?
Meaning, that once a player has find the "right" tile they can farm it forever ?

No, it means certain fish will be able to be found in certain regions of the world, rather the same fish everywhere. Not on specific tiles, but in specific regions.




Also;

Although the graphic is available, I got the impression the ridable part didn't look or work right.

Exactly. Mesanna said it "was a nightmare" and "wasn't possible to get them working properly". Just from seeing them on private servers, I can tell you movement flags get screwed up when getting on or off of them severely, and of course the usual "waterfall" problems exist en-masse. For Mesanna to have still said this after they completed something that has been believed to be impossible for over a decade (smooth ship movement), it most likely really is an impossibility.

 

[Lord Frodo]

7) NO means to remove/replace guild stones other than axe destruction

OK this is a part I may have missed. I redid my keep a while ago and was able to redeed a guild stone by axing it. When did this change? Don't remember seeing anything about this, anywhere. Does this mean that if I ax a guild stone it is gone forever now.

 

[Yalp]

OK this is a part I may have missed. I redid my keep a while ago and was able to redeed a guild stone by axing it. When did this change? Don't remember seeing anything about this, anywhere. Does this mean that if I ax a guild stone it is gone forever now.

That is the impression I got from Mesanna.. she mentioned guild stones don't exist anymore.... something to that effect. I'd probably send her a PM before I tried to redeed the guild stone.. just to be sure.

 

[Yalp]

Was anything else said about these ?

What type of an Event ?
What Rewards have been thought ?

They didn't give specific's but they were very excited when the topic came up... I suspect we'll have a great time when it happens.




So it will not be necessary to actually acquire 105, 110, 115 and 120 powerscrolls ?
It will be done through Quests specific for fishing ?

Sounds like the means to get to Legendary Fishing (120) are tied into the new legendary fish, the new fish quests and the new fishing locations.. the fine details weren't divulged.




What does this mean ? Fishing tied to a specific tile ?
Meaning, that once a player has find the "right" tile they can farm it forever ?

NO, means that new "legendary" fish are found only in certain locations.. ie Tok specific fish, Doom specific fish, 1 Fel fish not found in Tram, and vice versa, Ilsh specific fish, etc.

 

[Arcus]

Hey now! Nothing wrong with the Teamsters! Local 541 here!

Dont get me started on the problems with worthless unions....

 

[Basara]

popps:

REL Location specific Fishing

It means that certain fish types can only be found in certain locations. For example, one type of rare fish is only found in Malas.

 

[Lady Storm]

ok
Lady Michelle the seahorse is a Artifact from the Leviathan the White Nets you toss in, along with the Ghost Anchor among other arties they can drop. Its rare for them to drop it but not from fish tanks.

As for riding a sea creature... I doubt it can be fixed. So many problems its not worth the effort.

As for the guild stones. I just axed 3 of mine and moved them off to Origin for the museum about 5 days ago. They are fine. The statement I think was to tell you axing was the only way to redeed them for moving. Like christmas trees.

As for resources I am ok with the ore not changing but the trees spawning of high end wood....... It's why I am wanting a Tool(s) to up the type. Or better get something to help locate types.

 

[Lord Frodo]

As for the guild stones. I just axed 3 of mine and moved them off to Origin for the museum about 5 days ago. They are fine. The statement I think was to tell you axing was the only way to redeed them for moving. Like christmas trees.

Thank you! I thought they changed something without telling us. Was waiting for all the hate posts to start flowing in for losing Guild Stones.