[UO Herald] Producer's Update 10/01/10 - New High Seas Test Publish & More

[UO News]

From the desktop:

High Seas Test Server Published:

I will apologize now for using the term “beta” in regard to the booster pack we are releasing. The better term would have been “Open Test.” The server is called “High Seas test.” During the time of test we’ve released updates during maintenance cycles, and at the time you are reading this we have a planned publish that addresses:

• Boat movement and graphics glitches
• Ship access and ship hold sizes
• Fishing Quests
• Ship parking
• Ship combat balance and other features

You can read about the update and also see the publish notes [here]

A few of you understand this is an elongated cycle on a Test Center before going live October 12th for Publish 68. We will continue to take player feedback and update you on the High Seas forums.

Also, a sample of the High Seas key art can be seen [here].



More...

 

[Babble]

Man thing or Swamp thing attacking a boat?
Damn Comic figures.

 

[Viquire]

Well I think the art in the poster looks cool, I wish we "saw" more about cycles so we have some idea whats goin on. I guess its something I can try and take regular note of, but I do not feel excited, and frankly, I'm trying real hard to figure out why that is.

 

[AesSedai]

- I apologize for doubting that decent action would be taken against cheating in UO (~ in the Producer's Update 9/10/10).

Thanks for the update on actions being taken against UM and illegal 3rd party usage.
It is a very positive UO improvement; and I greatly appreciate your last paragraph on the subject today.. very much. Keep up the good work UO Team.

 

[Beastmaster]

I will apologize now for using the term “beta” in regard to the booster pack we are releasing. The better term would have been “Open Test.”

I applaud the efforts of the team to bring the long requested pirate adventures to UO. But I can't see any professional programmers labeling what hit TC as anything other than "alpha". Perhaps you had internal testing that was deemed "alpha", but if you did, there should have been alot more bugs squashed before putting this out to the public.

 

[Basara]

Man thing or Swamp thing attacking a boat?
Damn Comic figures.

One of the best comic series titles ever....

"Giant-Size Man-Thing"

 

[Viquire]

Well, I just went trough and read the whole thing. You know Cal, you are getting pretty good at this, nice job.

With regard to the actions on accounts, I'm looking around in my gaming environments and well not everything is perfect yet. Not telling you your job but if you have a super sleuther and its been hard at work and the results are in and action taken, well, we missed a bit.

 

[JC the Builder]

I applaud the efforts of the team to bring the long requested pirate adventures to UO. But I can't see any professional programmers labeling what hit TC as anything other than "alpha".

Alpha is a term used for a software product which is in a basic usable state. If you go by what Alpha and Beta are supposed to mean (and not what some companies like Google have twisted the meanings into), what is currently available on High Seas Test is late beta and close to release.

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

Cal, sorry, but it’s a Beta... Trying to use marketing spin to retcon the issue is painfully obvious. Please, honesty trumps spin doctoring every time. We know when smoke is curling 'round our nethers.

It is nice to see Devs posting on the BETA board about issues and very nice to see things we find griefable changed promptly. (Yay for the massive change to boat access privileges!)

People want a tad more transparency on the 3rd party issue. We don't need the names or even necessarily the numbers, but some sort of continuous feedback would be good.

Pub 68 bug fixes. Uhm... If you are going to be gold on Oct 12th, then by definition the booster is feature locked at this point. Thus, a list of what will be included surely exists. Your lack of forthcoming publish notes indicates that none of these things will be properly tested 'long-term' on either TC.

RTB...
Sigh. This would have been more effective after UO:AHS had been released, not before. You could have shown the returning masses all the new shinies that the paying customers get to play with.. Whet their appetites to return.

Currently, they get to hear US complain how some things aren't being addressed and how we fear they will remain unaddressed far after release.

Epic. Marketing. Fail.

Oh. Yay. You remembered the anniversary.. SIX DAYS AFTER THE FACT. Sorry, but if the vet rewards/gifts still aren't finished then you have serious time management issues. There is no excuse for annual tardiness on this issue. It’s been the same date for 13 years...

This is kind of like getting a late Christmas gift from a relative who said they would throw a big holiday party and then sat on their butt and did nothing while the day came and went.

If you’re proud of the accomplishment, celebrate IT! Post something on the anniversary date, even its just “Yay, 13 years and counting! Thank you players! Woot!” It’s pathetic that we are more interested in the accomplishment then you are.

 

[MalagAste]

Ah but Martyna why would they break with tradition.... 13 years of rhetoric and counting.... why would they break tradition....

And who could forget the regifting of Xmas gifts the one year?

That was just sad.

But that's what we have to look back on and that's the kind of BS we have come to expect, sadly.

Not like they didn't KNOW Christmas was coming... hello we have one every Dec 25th.... since the day we are born... much longer for most of us than the 13 years of UO and they still couldn't be bothered to be prepared for THAT coming... when Christmas Gifts have been a staple of the game since the early days ....


So why should we expect this year to be any different at all?

 

[Lord Chaos]

Why make a poster of something that is nowhere near as big ingame?

 

[Petra Fyde]

I sometimes wonder if the devs ever sit there on a bad day and think 'Why the hell should I bother when they're all so damn rude about everything I try to do?'

I know I would, and have occasionally when someone decides to slam the work I've tried to do on uo.stratics.
No one is perfect, I'm not, the devs aren't, but that doesn't mean it's oki to be insulting and rude. Criticise if you feel the need, but do it politely and constructively.

Sometimes I'm tempted to say 'stuff the lot of them, I quit'. But I know there are those who appreciate my efforts, even if they're not as professional and competent as they'd like them to be, so I carry on.
Sometimes I wonder if the Bioware/Mythic folk do the same thing.

 

[Babble]

They get a paycheck and the one at fault is their boss with the timeframe. Either he should get better developers, or make a more realistic timeframe.

Talk to writers what they normally have to take on criticism where they put their heart into it and then about some reviews of their work.

 

[canary]

I sometimes wonder if the devs ever sit there on a bad day and think 'Why the hell should I bother when they're all so damn rude about everything I try to do?'

That's just it though... he (and the rest of the team) didn't 'try' to do anything when the anniversary hit. At all. Not even a three minute (if that) post that said 'Thanks guys for being with us for 13 years of Ultima Online!'.

But overall, Cal and the team and getting people complaining about the state of the game itself because they are currently underachieving on all fronts and it is being presented as acceptable, which, to be honest, it isn't. You can't let years old things be left not tended to. You can't turn a deaf ear to the issues in game without working on fixing them (EC, art in general, heck even the broken t map release). You can't keep releasing things like EC, SA and AotHS when they SIMPLY ARE NOT READY TO BE RELEASED, then sit on around and listen to people voice the issues and act like it isn't a problem. It IS a problem.

I think you'd see less complaining if the UO team was actually doing what would be called a competent job. And yes, complaints will ALWAYS be tossed by someone. You'd just hear, I promise, less of them.

But hey, like I always say to people who post things like you just did. You can enjoy your cold pasta and bad, bad waiter service. I prefer a restaurant that serves hot food with a competent waiter assisting me. You have exceptionally low expectations on what entails quality service and professionalism. I don't. Whatever.

 

[Restroom Cowboy]

Dear DEVS

Corgul seems to be a selling point for this expansion, yet ALL the items it drops are completely lame. The sash is weaksauce too.

Duplicate spellbooks? With no sdi...and useless mods? lame.

Sorry...had to say it...

 

[Kiminality]

I think you'd see less complaining if the UO team was actually doing what would be called a competent job. And yes, complaints will ALWAYS be tossed by someone. You'd just hear, I promise, less of them.

Doubtful.
There'd always be people getting their panties in a bunch over little things.

 

[canary]

Doubtful.
There'd always be people getting their panties in a bunch over little things.

Well let's see...

The lack of announcement by ANYONE on the recent 13th anniversary spurred how many posts/ threads? Oh yes, that's right.. quite a bit.

So that right there would have been less complaining, so sorry, but you are wrong. I never said 'people will not complain'. I said 'they will complain less'. The trick is ensuring a playerbase feels tended to. With Cal making one three minute post and acknowledging it was year 13 you would have seen many appeased by that simple statement.

So you are, essentially, wrong. rolleyes:

 

[Obsidian]

I too am disappointed by the negativity on these boards. Things are often said here behind the veil of virtual anonimity in a manner that would not be said to someone face-to-face in rl. We should as a community be thankful first that this thing we love (UO) continues to go strong. When we as a community are criticising a person's convictions, motivations, and aptitude, maybe we should think twice before airing our personal greivances openly. That should be worked out in private.

I am looking forward to pub 68 and the continued efforts to add new and exciting things to UO.

-OBSIDIAN-

 

[Petra Fyde]

But hey, like I always say to people who post things like you just did. You can enjoy your cold pasta and bad, bad waiter service. I prefer a restaurant that serves hot food with a competent waiter assisting me. You have exceptionally low expectations on what entails quality service and professionalism. I don't. Whatever.

The last time I encountered this in a restuarant I called the waiter over and told him 'I'm sorry this is unacceptable, it is cold. Please do something about it'. He apologised and replaced the meal. As I was eating it the manager came to the table, he also apologised and told me there would be no charge for mine, and my two companion's meals. The reason? Because I raised the matter quietly, politely and without causing a scene.

I still say. Criticise if you feel the need, but do it politely and constructively. Rudeness merely generates respondent hostility and a reluctance to acquiesce.

 

[Uriah Heep]

*makes notes on how to get a free meal next time in Chili's*

Petra has a valid point. I have sat and wondered quite frequently lately, why some of them even bother, especially the EMs. I'm not a fanboi, I get disgusted as well, but I have tried to modify my redneck approach to criticism. Hasn't always worked out that way *grins*.

I mean, really, let's face the facts. UO, or any game, is like a scratch off lottery ticket. There is only so many courses of action available. Match a number, beat a number, three in a row, etc.
UO is no different. Kill a monster, Craft an item, have a scavenger hunt, collect a rare, kill a player.
Everything is derivative of this. So to an extent, it's all the same ole same ole, only the deco and landscape and names change.
And after 13 years, and with the new influx of games hitting the market over the course of those 13 years, can anything really be new and original? So to change it up (as in cannons and ships) the processes to use them is changed to be challenging. Mobs get harder to kill. Crafting takes more and different ingredients. And any game will eventually reach the point where we are today, caught in a spiral of:
Tougher bosses
so we increase char's damage output, which leads to
tougher bosses, which leads to...

And it becomes a never ending spiral.
And I have really digressed LOL. But ships and cannons, no matter how involved they are to use and maintain, are a nice "new look" to killing players, and killing monsters. But in the end, it's still the same thing

*returns to corner and sits quietly*

 

[Kiminality]

Well let's see...

The lack of announcement by ANYONE on the recent 13th anniversary spurred how many posts/ threads? Oh yes, that's right.. quite a bit.

So that right there would have been less complaining, so sorry, but you are wrong. I never said 'people will not complain'. I said 'they will complain less'. The trick is ensuring a playerbase feels tended to. With Cal making one three minute post and acknowledging it was year 13 you would have seen many appeased by that simple statement.

So you are, essentially, wrong. rolleyes:

what makes you think there wouldn't be doxens of replies of "Is this all?" "Where's my gifts?" "Are you going to add ML ingredients to treasure chests?" "We don't want anniversaries, we was fixes"
Regardless of whether you'd accept his post, many others won't, and will just use the opportunity to jump down his throat.

 

[AirmidCecht]

I think the communication from Cal et al has gone above and beyond with everything from open testing the booster to violators of the ToS.

I could go into a long winded novel of a text on what it means to have UO as strong as ever with development and the community that plays and the well earned award happening on Oct 7th for the longstanding MMO we have in UO...

Instead I'll just say thank you Cal, Mesanna and everyone who is working so hard at keeping us entertained and relevant for 13 years now.

Happy Anniversary guys

 

[Old Man of UO]

Well, I just went trough and read the whole thing. You know Cal, you are getting pretty good at this, nice job.

...QUOTE]

You know, that's exactly what I was thinking when I read this Update. I'm sure someone reviewed and edited it, but it's by far the best of his updates.

*EDIT*

AIRMID! I just noticed... Welcome back!

 

[Cal_Mythic]

The truth remains, I did miss the acknowledging the 13th Anniversary for UO to the rest of the community. I'll own up to that.

In other news however, I've been working to try to get more eyes on the game from more sources.

As we get closer to next week with the Hall of Fame there will be more media coverage for Ultima Online. (About 5+ sites) The timing for RTB, the publish, the Hall of Fame coverage and High Seas all needed to come together at the fairly precarious moment. In addition, the release was done in concert with the other two Mythic products.

We did discuss timing for RTB and can extend it so that other can enjoy the updates.

In short, there are a lot of moving pieces.

On the other side of that, we're taking a lot of the feedback from the Town Hall on communication ... so as we get our community person up to speed we'll get into more meaty actual ANSWERS to the questions.

I'd like to offer this there are a three reasons we may not answer completely:

1) The topic is something we are working on but it's not complete,

2) It's something we are working on but want to keep it in our back pocket. Sometimes we wonder if some of you have mics in the dev pit.

3) We say no, because we simply can't get to it.


As far as "transparency" is concerned that is often very dangerous. But in terms of 3rd party program detection that may be something I can look at improving. But I want everyone to know we are very serious about giving you all a "clean" environment. There are multiple reasons we make some decisions that we do ...

I can understand that if you've been screaming until you're hoarse and the devs do nothing you'd be more than agitated. Its not always the squeakiest or most persistent wheel that gets the grease, but sometimes it does take a moment for the driver to notice about the other sounds of the road. (if you can follow that analogy EI +0.8)


All this to say, thanks to those who drop me a line every now and then who appreciate what the team is doing, and for those who continue to use my name as if we've actually had coffee ... thanks to you too. It's good to remain humble.


Final random note: when I type the word "up" on my phone it wants to write UO -- more importantly it recognizes the name as valid.

(Oh and Logrus is helping me roll my first Sampire today ...)

 

[Cal_Mythic]

Oh, and I wanted to note one last thing in regard to the 13th Year Anniversary.
I was talking to Rich Vogel this week (1st Producer of UO).

He's been telling me a lot of great stories.

I know there are lots of guilds out there and there have been lots of community supports and fansites.

But since the beginning Stratics and The Syndicate have been on part of the journey.

Mad props to the folks of Stratics and the moderators for supporting us all these years. And congrats to the Syndicate (next time I'll bring schwag in person!)

Is it true Syndicate is in the Guinness Book for longest standing Guild?

- c

 

[Storm]

The Syndicate Awarded Guinness World Record for Oldest Online Gaming Guild | Ten Ton Hammer


http://www.gamesindustry.com/industry-news/detail/62333

check these out cal

 

[Cal_Mythic]

The Syndicate Awarded Guinness World Record for Oldest Online Gaming Guild | Ten Ton Hammer


http://www.gamesindustry.com/industry-news/detail/62333

check these out cal

Wootness!

 

[Storm]

For those that done want to go to the links here is wh

THE SYNDICATE AWARDED GUINNESS WORLD RECORD​

OCTOBER 1 2010 – The Syndicate®, an online gaming community composed of hundreds of members from around the world, was just awarded the Guinness World Record™ for being the oldest, online gaming guild. The specific definition of the record is: "With a documented history stretching back to at least February 1996, The Syndicate (www.LLTS.org) is the longest-running online guild, with 14 years, 5 months and 22 days of continuous operation as of 7 July 2010."
While there were certainly online gaming groups that existed before 1996, the key measure for this World Record was "continuous operation." In addition to proving the founding date, to set this record an applicant must have proof of continual operation from independent sources. The Syndicate had a clear time-line with dozens of independent sources dated throughout its entire history with no gaps in the time-line at all. This is what allowed this record attempt to be measured and validated. Claims of being "old" are frequently made in the online world, but an exhaustive search into those claims revealed they fall into two basic categories. Those two categories are that the claims are often unverifiable by sufficient independent, trustworthy sources or the claims were not in "continuous operation" for their entire lifespan.
"To obtain a Guinness World Record is no simple matter" said Sean "Dragons" Stalzer, President & CEO of The Syndicate®. "First, you have to determine if you can even apply for a record. There are all sorts of rules about what does and does not qualify as a record attempt. Second, you have to apply to be considered. At that stage you are evaluated on if your claim meets the criteria to be reviewed. Third, if you pass that stage then you have to prove your claim. In our case, we filed ourselves as the Oldest, Continuously Operating Online Gaming Community. Making that claim and having a website that says we are old means nothing in terms of setting a record. There is a very in-depth process which Guinness uses to determine if you should be awarded a record. You have to provide verifiable proof, from 3rd parties, that they can review, authenticate and then use to make a ruling on the record attempt. The Syndicate's nearly 15 years of history including our two Trademarks and more than 100 different articles, interviews, books and other publications were able to be analyzed and validated to prove our claim. Of course, I shouldn't discount the fact that we actually had to survive since 1996 which, in the online gaming world is a very rare feat."
Guinness World Records™ for Online Gaming related topics are very rare. Ultima Online has a series of records associated with that game including the Longest Running MMORPG. Beyond that very limited amount of records on the books, MMORPGs and related Online Gaming topics are largely unrecorded in the tomes of the Guinness World Record™ books. As such, it is significant that another aspect of online gaming culture, the oldest continuously operating guild, has been immortalized within the record books.
quoted from Tentonhammer site

 

[Viquire]

Oh, and I wanted to note one last thing in regard to the 13th Year Anniversary.
I was talking to Rich Vogel this week (1st Producer of UO).

He's been telling me a lot of great stories.

I know there are lots of guilds out there and there have been lots of community supports and fansites.

But since the beginning Stratics and The Syndicate have been on part of the journey.

Mad props to the folks of Stratics and the moderators for supporting us all these years. And congrats to the Syndicate (next time I'll bring schwag in person!)

Is it true Syndicate is in the Guinness Book for longest standing Guild?

- c

Careful swinging too much praise in that direction, they certainly are NOT alone as a guild still in existence since Alpha, but kudos are due them for keeping it as big and organized and mostly visible. It may very well be true that they got themselves listed in Guinness. *edit* and there you have it, see links above. That is one thing they are very good at.

I am more excited to read your replies this morning than I was to be captaining a ship until 3:30 AM my time, and I dont ever do that anymore. So that should tell a small tale in itself.

I'll be posting critiques in other places, BUT the overall experience was great. And I have not been anticipatory or in preparation for an "expansion" in forever. And I'll be getting ready for the next couple of weeks.

Your writings this morning excite me largely because I think you have found the game, or it has found you, and that makes me hopeful in whole new ways. Learning that there is so MUCH lore that is SO rich is a big step in and of itself. Branching out and discovering new temps is another, figuring out what the next chapters are while being true to everything that has transpired up until now is how we keep it real and make it more at the same time.

It had not re-occurred to me until I was fighting orcs from the deck of a ship last night that I had somehow magically been transported back to my adolescence and hours upon hours of playing Quest of the Avatar. THOSE are the things for me that make Ultima, and anything we do to bring more of that kind of "this world is real but different and special* (read virtues) feeling into the game is how we are going to suck new generations in, like I got sucked in around thirty years ago. And to be part of that growing process makes me *and everyone else playing* part of something larger than myself, and that just feels awesome.

Thanks Cal.

 

[Syndicate]

Thanks Cal The door was opened for Online Gaming related World Records by Ultima Online claiming several of them a few years ago including the Longest Running MMO. The press release for our GWR intentionally contained that reference in the hopes of bringing some positive attention to UO as we are about to set sail with the new Booster pack.

 

[Arcus]

The last time I encountered this in a restuarant I called the waiter over and told him 'I'm sorry this is unacceptable, it is cold. Please do something about it'. He apologised and replaced the meal. As I was eating it the manager came to the table, he also apologised and told me there would be no charge for mine, and my two companion's meals. The reason? Because I raised the matter quietly, politely and without causing a scene.

75% chance you got something 'extra' in your pasta that day.

 

[Trebr Drab]

The last time I encountered this in a restuarant I called the waiter over and told him 'I'm sorry this is unacceptable, it is cold. Please do something about it'. He apologised and replaced the meal. As I was eating it the manager came to the table, he also apologised and told me there would be no charge for mine, and my two companion's meals. The reason? Because I raised the matter quietly, politely and without causing a scene.

75% chance you got something 'extra' in your pasta that day.

Some years ago McDonalds had a game where you ran the McD's business, and you could see the little guy at the counter spitting on a few hamburgers. Cracked me up.

 

[Llewen]

Haven't read the entire thread, so if someone's already posted this, my apologies. I want to grab the big guy from the poster and stick him in a pot of boiling water! That's one hell of a lobster claw! Bring on the garlic butter!

 

[canary]

I still say. Criticise if you feel the need, but do it politely and constructively. Rudeness merely generates respondent hostility and a reluctance to acquiesce.

Right, and the people who have been asking the 'waiter' for things like, I don't know, FINISHING THE VIRTUES (for just a start) have been waiting patiently since, what... 2002?

After a while, people get tired of being 'polite and constructive' when said things just fall on deaf ears.

edit: As an aside, Cal can promote UO all he wants. The fact of the matter is that he and his team keep releasing half finished product before its ready and then let it LANGUISH as such. That is totally unacceptable to promote, because people will look at it and instantly dismiss it.

'Yup, things still broke. Yup, art is still ugly. Yup, EC is still in beta.'

Yeah, that looks AWESOME to try to keep players while attempting feebly to win over a larger fanbase.

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

UO will never attract new subscribers as long as things remain incompleted, and quite honestly, it doesn't deserve to.

The two people I tried my damndest to being into UO quit in disgust over the lack of any worthwhile game-provided new player experience. The 5 min 'tutorial' the EC gives (CC players get NOTHING, BTW) sucks beyond any reasonable level of being pathetic. My friends didn't want to have to pour over websites to figure out how everthing worked when I couldn't be there to hold their hands. I won't be reccomending UO to anyone again unless things are seriously fixed.

Again, RTB was a bad marketing move ATM.

"Welcome back to UO! Yup, the same unfinished things that were there when you left are STILL unfinished! SA is still incomplete, no sign of that changing.. YAY! The EC's perpetual Beta continues without hope of end... Awesome, no? OH! We're about to release ANOTHER big thing you get to pay extra for that we've already stated won't be finished at launch! Gotta keep up our low standards, ya know! GO BIOWARE MYTHIC!"

 

[[JD]]

Three things

1. Some of you people are being too hard on them. If the items in the expansion suck, just provide the feedback without the bellyache. If Cal forgot the 13th anniversary, he's a dork. JUST KIDDING. Guys, seriously - chill. Too much venom is a good way for people to just start skipping your posts as they aren't constructive.

2. I'm still not convinced on the "3rd party detection". You talk a lot about unattended macroing. Where are the banned scripters and speed hackers? Where are the #s?

I'd always thought lots of people were speed hacking because they could move so MUCH FASTER than I. Turns out I was having video lag issues. As soon as I upgraded from the lame on board video to a decent PCI-express 2 video card I became super fast. I was able to "examine" my new world and decided if anyone was speed hacking they weren't much faster than me.

UNTIL 2 DAYS AGO.

When I saw an enemy guild member, in Stone Form, running around VERY fast. Not as fast as mounted, but way faster than he should have been, on foot, in Mysticist Stone Form (which has a speed penalty to boot)

No I was not lagged and everyone else was moving at normal speeds.

It seems you need to do a better job with regards to speed hackers and scripters.

3. I thought the return to Britannia thing was a good idea. Though 14 days doesn't seem enough to hook someone who was malcontent. I'd have gone with a Month free. Lastly, I have an old account I would have reactivated except they can't find me. I've provided every shred of information I had. The character name, the years I played, the shard, etc and they are unable to find it. I don't get what's going on. I didn't imagine 2 years of UO from 1997-1999...

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

Speed penalty on stoneform was removed.

 

[NuSair]

Careful swinging too much praise in that direction, they certainly are NOT alone as a guild still in existence since Alpha

While I agree on this, I wonder how many guilds have been around since then?

 

[[JD]]

Speed penalty on stoneform was removed.

Even so, he was faster than a non mounted person should be - I'll be pulling up FRAPs next time he pulls these hijinks

 

[popps]

As far as "transparency" is concerned that is often very dangerous. But in terms of 3rd party program detection that may be something I can look at improving. But I want everyone to know we are very serious about giving you all a "clean" environment. There are multiple reasons we make some decisions that we do ...

This is very refreshing to hear....

I can't wait to finally be able to play a cheat-free UO. Thank you very much for all of the efforts.

I think it as important, as a player, that I can feel my games' picks to be cheat-free because I was able to learn, playing previous games, that games from a given company are cheat-free since cheating was firmly fought.

As in regards to UO, though, I would like to see some actual "visual" effect of players being either caught or banned because of cheating.

I mean, that it happens behind the scenes is all fine and dandy but if I have no knowledge of it, I am left wondering whether it is happening or not....

 

[Storm]

Burn em all at the stake lol Now doesn't that sound familiar

 

[Babble]

Burn their houses down?

 

[UOKaiser]

Hmm so that explains why the population dropped so rapidly. It's getting lonely out there CAL.

 

[Ls Jax Ls]

2. I'm still not convinced on the "3rd party detection". You talk a lot about unattended macroing. Where are the banned scripters and speed hackers? Where are the #s?

If you run the enhanced client, you are by definition a "speed hacker". Honestly, speed hacks only level the playing field between ec/cc. For those that don't use it, well I guess that's their decision. So much effort is being put forth to stop such a silly activity. They obviously cannot detect all the speed hackers, so they should just turn a blind eye to it, rather than force people to play handicapped while other people still get away with using it. Following the supposed 3rd party detection I stopped using it for a week and found that nearly every single person ran twice as fast as me (and I was pinging 7). They obviously are not going to stop it, so once again I am forced to use it to compete.

Most people don't use it to get an advantage...they use it to level the playing field. Can you blame them?

 

[Mervyn]

I don't condone speedhacking at all, however i can sympathise.

People can play on EC and pvp as a dexxer and run faster than on CC, however there are still several issues that dramatically prevent high end mages playing EC too so have to speedhack to travel same speed as EC dexxers.

OK, after high seas is done devs can fix all issues on EC and you can mage pvp on it....I don't actually want to, i prefer the 2d graphics. I'd much prefer they slowed the running speed of EC down to CC level. Then i wouldn't be forced to change to EC to compete.

 

[Restroom Cowboy]

If you run the enhanced client, you are by definition a "speed hacker". Honestly, speed hacks only level the playing field between ec/cc. For those that don't use it, well I guess that's their decision. So much effort is being put forth to stop such a silly activity. They obviously cannot detect all the speed hackers, so they should just turn a blind eye to it, rather than force people to play handicapped while other people still get away with using it. Following the supposed 3rd party detection I stopped using it for a week and found that nearly every single person ran twice as fast as me (and I was pinging 7). They obviously are not going to stop it, so once again I am forced to use it to compete.

Most people don't use it to get an advantage...they use it to level the playing field. Can you blame them?

This is a cop out...100%. I have seen how fast you move...and it would SEEM to me that you are using your statement as a crutch for your own activities. For goodness sake, you admit to a 7 ping...which makes you already one of the fastest people on the server.

You say these people outrun you...but I don't see that happening. With my connection I am still able to keep up with most...even those that use the EC. Of course they can manuever better, but that does not equate to a faster speed in a straight line.

A cheat is a cheat...and if you have to say that either

1) they run cheats...so I run them to keep up
or
2) they run EC...I run cheats to keep up

then you are part of the problem with this game...you are not a solution.

BTW, to say they (devs) can't see you do this or can't detect that...I call BS. People need to show some self control, period. The dev's want to keep people playing this game...not ban the game out of existence.

 

[Mervyn]

If i log on EC for 5 mins, i get everyone in general chat saying...
Ah blah mervyn using speeder now, hypocrite blah blah

and a guy in my guild uses it and i'm perma getting messages over icq telling me to kick him for using speeder when i know he's on EC

 

[UOKaiser]

Oh one thing I hope DEV realise you ban 1 account and if thats his main more likely he will close 2-10+ accounts. Then any of his close friends might leave in a chain reaction. Can't judge UO population by accounts. So you never have the accurate numbers as most accounts are owned by 1 person and mutiple family and friends. Remmeber this is a game where UO vets childrean has continued the tradition and where there parents met and married. Hell I attended many UO ingame weddings and I remmeber once attending 1 of those weddings real life wedding.Be very careful who you ban. Looking at the other shards and mines it doesn't look too good.

You have way too many things going against you from easiness of reaching end game to boredome setting in and losing vets by the fistful. If your goal is to lure in the new kiddies WOW crowd to replace vets it will end in disaster as they leave.

Just a word of caution that Im sure Draconi would of given you as well.

 

[AesSedai]

- Aye, like UOKaiser said.. be careful who you ban. By that I mean keep banning cheaters and keep cleaning UO up so those that play by the rules will continue to do so and new people that dislike cheating may give UO a chance.
Aye, like UOKaiser said, some people might start or be playing this, get married and pass it down to their children; and just remember DEVs, some future parents may not want to introduce their children to a game that is so rife with cheating that some participants think the game cannot survive without it..
I greatly look forward to seeing UO die -if- the absence of cheaters would cause its death. Long live UO; live long and as cheat-free, and thus as respectable a game, as possible.

 

[Ls Jax Ls]

I've played UO for 7 years, and for not one day of those 7 years was UO cheat-free.