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Prince Caspian
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...what are the top five issues with this game that need to be fixed immediately?
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In your opinon....
- Thread starter Prince Caspian
- Start date
- Watchers 5
1 - Lack of investiment from EA both in money, manpower and development
2 - No advertising/enticements for new/existing players
3 - Very poor customer service from the CSR's and Customer support in general
4 - Slow response to exploits/dupes/hacks
5 - Two clients, make the EC have a 'classic' mode so that it looks and acts like the classic client (Would also stop almost all the known scripting programs from running) and dump the classic client (Considering its now 14 years old).
2 - No advertising/enticements for new/existing players
3 - Very poor customer service from the CSR's and Customer support in general
4 - Slow response to exploits/dupes/hacks
5 - Two clients, make the EC have a 'classic' mode so that it looks and acts like the classic client (Would also stop almost all the known scripting programs from running) and dump the classic client (Considering its now 14 years old).
The second they block the old client someone will edit the scripting programs to work with the new client. Takes a day or two and thats it. Same old problem and alot of unhappy customers. Trash the new client instead. It is unstable as posts on these forums go and when looking on screenshots of the new client i always get eye cancer... And why change the new client to look like the old client if you already have the old client?
1. see Salivern_Diago
2. see Salivern_Diago
3. see Salivern_Diago
4. see Salivern_Diago
5. I want new content and a much simpler item system. I hate the AoS crap. We used to tell just by the name of the item if it is good or bad ...
1 - Server Economies: All the servers have terrible economic issues and the root causes need to be identified and corrected. A few choice ones are BOD's, Commodity Deeds and Resource Availability/Rarity.
2 - 2 Clients: I personally feel they need to either pick the CC or the EC and focus on it, or drop the EC and create a new, more efficient client that is modern enough to make the game feel new.
3 - Questing System: Let's face it. In order for new players to get into the game, you will have to drag them along a bit. Most don't know anything about Ultima, it's history or culture. A good (non-mandatory) questing system would make the game more enjoyable for someone just coming on board who doesn't have any idea of how to make their own goals in the sandbox.
4 - Travel: It has become too easy to skip almost the entire game by using marked runes and recalling/gating everywhere. No one is 'out there' anymore which makes the game seem completely empty. Travel needs to get back to horseback and moongate.
5 - Housing: Housing needs another look. I think that going forward and instanced housing model needs to be seriously investigated, so that anyone who can afford a house can get a house. This would also clear up open space in the game to hold events, reduce lag by making screens load faster and make sure that everyone who could afford a castle could get a castle. Of course storage would have to be addressed to ensure it didn't get out of hand....
Just my thoughts.
2 - 2 Clients: I personally feel they need to either pick the CC or the EC and focus on it, or drop the EC and create a new, more efficient client that is modern enough to make the game feel new.
3 - Questing System: Let's face it. In order for new players to get into the game, you will have to drag them along a bit. Most don't know anything about Ultima, it's history or culture. A good (non-mandatory) questing system would make the game more enjoyable for someone just coming on board who doesn't have any idea of how to make their own goals in the sandbox.
4 - Travel: It has become too easy to skip almost the entire game by using marked runes and recalling/gating everywhere. No one is 'out there' anymore which makes the game seem completely empty. Travel needs to get back to horseback and moongate.
5 - Housing: Housing needs another look. I think that going forward and instanced housing model needs to be seriously investigated, so that anyone who can afford a house can get a house. This would also clear up open space in the game to hold events, reduce lag by making screens load faster and make sure that everyone who could afford a castle could get a castle. Of course storage would have to be addressed to ensure it didn't get out of hand....
Just my thoughts.
Iam of the same opinion EC must have piriority, not in general this EC, i like to see both in one client, maybe high rez old graphics, so that the 2d people like to play it and that you can activate new functions, but only one client development.
I would love to have the enhanced client focused on more as well, but until it's crash issues, memory leaks, and lag issues are solved, the classic client must remain. If those issues are fixed, there is no need for the classic client anymore.
Sorry I have to disagree, you may like the horrid graphics in the EC, but not everyone, like myself, does.
I was looking forward to the EC when I heard about it, new macros - great, gave it a try and I could not stand the gameworld graphics .. if they change those, then I might agree until then I'll stick with the CC.
I agree with this..
and for everyone that has problems with EC graphics, maybe it's time you dump your old 1990's era video card and get something a little newer. I mean we've all been there, technology moves along and eventually we all have to upgrade.
1.) Pull their heads back out into the sunshine and improve Customer Service dramatically.
2.) Pull their heads back out into the sunshine and fix the new billing system.
3.) Pull their heads back out into the sunshine and advertise the game to draw in new customers. More customers, more profit.
4.) Pull their heads back out into the sunshine and drop the poorly done EC and stop wasting time with it. The bulk of the customer base doesn't like it's shoddy quality and worse graphics. Better the CC's old style clean graphics than the garbage of the EC's graphics. Hire somebody who knows how to program in UO's programing language and just add new features to the CC.
5.) Pull their heads back out into the sunshine and when the next booster or expansion is released, have it be something other than 30k hp monsters that are the only sources of the ingredients for the new craftable items which are sold for millions in gold, further screwing up the games economy. With the price of materials piled up the new craftables can't be sold to most players. They don't have a billion plus in gold.
2.) Pull their heads back out into the sunshine and fix the new billing system.
3.) Pull their heads back out into the sunshine and advertise the game to draw in new customers. More customers, more profit.
4.) Pull their heads back out into the sunshine and drop the poorly done EC and stop wasting time with it. The bulk of the customer base doesn't like it's shoddy quality and worse graphics. Better the CC's old style clean graphics than the garbage of the EC's graphics. Hire somebody who knows how to program in UO's programing language and just add new features to the CC.
5.) Pull their heads back out into the sunshine and when the next booster or expansion is released, have it be something other than 30k hp monsters that are the only sources of the ingredients for the new craftable items which are sold for millions in gold, further screwing up the games economy. With the price of materials piled up the new craftables can't be sold to most players. They don't have a billion plus in gold.
D
DeadRed
Guest
Leave my old Classic Client alone. I would quit if it was dumped. And alot others. Its cleaner.
Just fix Ea customer service(since all they do is lie and hang up on calls). called in 2 x the other day both times hang ups.
Just fix Ea customer service(since all they do is lie and hang up on calls). called in 2 x the other day both times hang ups.
I'm not sure exactly what you're talking about as far as game world graphics go, they're almost identical... some terrain changes in areas yes (for the better - such as the solen ant hives), dragons don't look the same, ok... snakes and serpents untargetable unless you use ctrl+shift, whatever... I've been through the world and seen many npcs, mobs, structures, terrain, etc. and almost all are identical, so I'm not sure what there is you don't like about the graphics.
As far as the macros go, they are absolutely incredible. By the way, are you aware that the enhanced client basically has a built in auto-map? It's not exactly the same as UOAM was, but also did you know that when your character is dead that wandering healer locations are pinpointed on your map?
C
Capn Kranky
Guest
^ this, with my "big 3" being #2 - #4
Why would you quit over an actual improvement?
I used the classic client for years, I didn't care for the first 3d client, never got a chance to try KR, but the enhanced client, seriously if the issues with it were fixed, there really would be no need to use the classic client anymore. I would hate to see people leave the game over such a great client improvement.
1.) 1 client
2.) Regular content updates with at least 1 major update per year
3.) Separation of PvP and PvE content and systems
4.) Complete revamp of current item system. All properties should be unlocked only with the appropriate skills: e.g. If you have Magery, Eval and Meditation you get to have 100% LRC unlocked from items. If you have Sword, Tactics and Focus you get to unlock DCI and HCI. This everyone class having all the bonuses crap has to end. It's garbage and it makes the game based on gear and less on skills.
5.) New monitary system that doesn't eliminate gold but add to it with another currently only attainable in a limited supply at a judged pace.
2.) Regular content updates with at least 1 major update per year
3.) Separation of PvP and PvE content and systems
4.) Complete revamp of current item system. All properties should be unlocked only with the appropriate skills: e.g. If you have Magery, Eval and Meditation you get to have 100% LRC unlocked from items. If you have Sword, Tactics and Focus you get to unlock DCI and HCI. This everyone class having all the bonuses crap has to end. It's garbage and it makes the game based on gear and less on skills.
5.) New monitary system that doesn't eliminate gold but add to it with another currently only attainable in a limited supply at a judged pace.
P
pgib
Guest
1. better designers
2. a small, constant stream of new or revised content to keep players interested
3. some form of communication with the player base about what's going on
4. bug fixing
5. some (upward) balance among the variety of pvm chars we can create: in a game where the point is to choose to be someone else it is not good to have to choose between being X, and do everthing you want, or be a masochist.
2. a small, constant stream of new or revised content to keep players interested
3. some form of communication with the player base about what's going on
4. bug fixing
5. some (upward) balance among the variety of pvm chars we can create: in a game where the point is to choose to be someone else it is not good to have to choose between being X, and do everthing you want, or be a masochist.
Six ideas:
- The classic client needs to go away and be replaced by a client that is more acceptable to everyone. EA needs to do something like invite a group of die-hard CC users of all play styles to participate in a focus group for several months to critique the EC and get it to the point where it is more acceptable to CC users. Get the most vocal critics of the EC involved in the process and really listen to them. During that period, EA would need to keep its ear to the ground to pick up on any news of third-party programs being developed to run alongside the EC and be proactive about addressing the reasons behind the development of such third-party programs. Make a decision and stick to it as to whether or not you will eventually support programs like UO Assist to run alongside the EC or truly do want to discourage their use. Don't be wishy washy and hope the issue just goes away because it won't. Develop well-written and useful user guides for the new client and publish them well in advance of completely abandoning the CC. Make it clear that the CC is going away on a specific date-- no if's, and's or but's about it.
- EA needs to address the root causes for afk skill training. They need to recognize the situation many returning players find themselves in, i.e., struggling to quickly get themselves up to speed to play with veteran players who have little interest in "wasting time" going with them to hunt low-end mobs or do other "lowly" activities to get skill gains and make some gold. The designers and developers need to check each skill and make sure that there are ample opportunities available for every skill to gain at every level, from 0 to the maximum, and that such opportunities aren't overly tedious, use ridiculous amounts of resources, or are too dependent on the acquisition of another skill to finish training. They need to address any issues that might exist with regard to disparity in rates of decay among various skills. The game's producer also needs to make sure that the official playguide discusses various types of skill training aids (e.g., soulstones and soulstone fragments, crystal ball of knowledge and the skill tutor, SoTs and SoAs, sources of various types of power scrolls, etc.) If it is feasible, EA should consider offering each account or even each character a one-time option to gain skill under the traditional skill gain system from 0 to 120 or under the RoT system that applies on Siege and Mugen.
- The designers and developers need to create more game-wide events that aren't reliant on the availability of EMs and that run 23/7 hours per day for a month or two at a time and that encourage participation of both solo players and small groups of players and that contain some kind of turn-in or questing element. The ophidian invasion and various town invasion events come to mind as examples for difficulty levels of the monsters, but add something like the ToT turn-in or a variety of repeatable quests to kill monsters at varying levels (as long as there's also enough spawn being created with enough frequency to support the quests).
- The UO team needs to create a focus group of PvPers to come up with ideas on how to implement arenas and revamp factions so there are renewed opportunities for solo and group PvP, more opportunities for thieves and for characters who assist/support PvP without actually engaging in direct combat, and more reasons to hold towns. Get rid of faction artifacts or make them unusable outside of Felucca. Consider re-implementing the "no beneficial acts" rule in Trammel for faction characters and fix the bug that allows you to put characters on the same account and same shard into multiple factions. Greatly expand the options for faction crafting (i.e., stuff to be used in or at strongholds, equippable gear, house and captured town deco), and add some more unique faction mounts. Make being in factions something a little bit special that people aspire to, not something that is extremely commonplace.
- The Trammel champ spawns should drop "cursed" 105 power scrolls. That way people who resent having to purchase power scrolls from PvPers or are recently returned or new to the game and not ready to PvP and don't want to immediately purchase gold from a broker to fund their power scroll purchase have a viable option to get their own 110, 115, and 120 power scrolls by binding 105 power scrolls. Hopefully making them "cursed" would discourage afk farming of scrolls (and yes, it would give the thieves in a guild a new challenge).
- I think many returning and new players become very discouraged when they see the areas on every shard that are dominated by castles and keeps plus I wonder just how much damage has been done to the game's economy through the sale of castles for ridiculous amounts of gold. If I were running the show, I would seriously consider deleting castles and keeps from the housing menu but grandfather any existing keeps and castles to their current owners (i.e., they can no longer be traded). I would also give every house the same basic storage capacity as a castle, increased of course as appropriate by the purchase of expansions and boosters. I'd also add more pre-built house styles to the housing menu and provide several options for converting the appearance of grandfathered keeps and castles while retaining the existing amount of usable floor space.
Tina I am a hard core CC user and I still have to agree with just about everything you said I am not sure I would make the switch but if I were offered the chance to participate I couldn’t disagree. I do think that getting rid of castles and keeps would be a somewhat moot point as most shards have more then enough housing (well at least the ones I play on). The only thing other that I would suggest is that the trammel spawns drop 110’s instead.
K
Kayne
Guest
I find this post utterly ridiculous and hilarious.
I have a problem with the EC graphics. I don't like them.
But do not presume to know anything about the kind of system I own.
My graphics card is less than 2 years old and was top of the range at the time. I don't run some outdated old piece of junk because contrary to the belief some here have about other UO players we don't all only play UO. I am a gamer. I play Star Craft II, I have played WoW, and Aion. I own and play countless other games.
I also happen to be an I.T specialist so I know a lil something about PC's.
For god sake people here need to stop thinking everyone is a pom pom waver and that we are all technically illiterate or only play UO.
Oh and while you are at it lets remember that UO was ALWAYS designed to run on lower end systems - that was Richard Garriots choice and was STILL the choice of EA/Mythic etc when they made KR (even though it would barely run properly on a high end PC much less a lower end one)
I really like pretty much all of your suggestions Tina. I especially think the above would be of value.
I mirrored your suggestion about Siege-style skill advancement on a different thread a while ago and I think it would be a good idea for all characters to be subject to it going forward. No better way to stop grinding than to put a limit on how much you can/need to grind in a day.
There's no more cap on skill gains on Siege once you get into RoT. But the timers still apply.
I think it might be a questionable business decision to implement unique features of the lowest population servers into UO. If new characters took years to skill up it would probably end anyone coming back in. Seige is Seige and it is a great idea and many of the players there are wonderful. But there are not that many of them and sadly that is largely due to the rules set.
Oh well.... I haven't had the opportunity to set up a character on Siege as of yet. From the rules I found posted on the out of date UO Herald website, it appeared that they had made a fair and balanced advancement model.... Maybe they should bring it back.
In any event, your ideas of Focus Groups for various parts of the game are excellent!
1. Merge some shards, using the empty space in Malas OR at least lower the price of Character Transfers to 5 dollars. Merging must happen in the long run, however.
2. Refine the questing system. Right now at least in the CC it's a bit of a mess. I'll include here the need for more active CMs.
3. Discover the mental roadblocks which interfere with people having fun with PvP. Develop systems which help people cope and bring them into that part of the game. The recentish faction changes are a perfect example of the kind of system adaptation I'm referring to.
4. Build a robust bug fixing climate so that annoying bugs like those affecting Mannequins are solved in a timely manor.
5. Develop an effective account protection system to help against hacking and item loss.
6. Develop an effective, searchable, and thick knowledge base which can address the steep learning curve of coming into this game either as a new player or someone coming back after a long break.
And because I'm always harping on about this: Things which Stratics can do!
1. Ask people who have proven themselves to be experts in a particular area (Crafting, Sampires, Imbuing, etc...) to work on the existing Stratics pages in order that they can be kept up to date. The existing people have a lot on their shoulders and are just not experts. Bring in people who know their stuff.
2. Hold contests for thick article writing! Offer large-sum gold prizes for weekly content development which is then placed on the main Stratics page. I'm sure there are many community members, including myself, who would be willing to devote gold and time to this.
2. Refine the questing system. Right now at least in the CC it's a bit of a mess. I'll include here the need for more active CMs.
3. Discover the mental roadblocks which interfere with people having fun with PvP. Develop systems which help people cope and bring them into that part of the game. The recentish faction changes are a perfect example of the kind of system adaptation I'm referring to.
4. Build a robust bug fixing climate so that annoying bugs like those affecting Mannequins are solved in a timely manor.
5. Develop an effective account protection system to help against hacking and item loss.
6. Develop an effective, searchable, and thick knowledge base which can address the steep learning curve of coming into this game either as a new player or someone coming back after a long break.
And because I'm always harping on about this: Things which Stratics can do!
1. Ask people who have proven themselves to be experts in a particular area (Crafting, Sampires, Imbuing, etc...) to work on the existing Stratics pages in order that they can be kept up to date. The existing people have a lot on their shoulders and are just not experts. Bring in people who know their stuff.
2. Hold contests for thick article writing! Offer large-sum gold prizes for weekly content development which is then placed on the main Stratics page. I'm sure there are many community members, including myself, who would be willing to devote gold and time to this.
K
Kayne
Guest
re: 3. I don't enjoy PvP simple as that. Would much rather do a peerless run or a tram champ run than go play in fel. You can't make people enjoy something that holds no interest for them.
re: 4. Surely they need decent customer service to obtain a robust bug fixing climate.
re: 6. They will argue that is what stratics is for, and lets face it all MMO's have a go-to website for game help. WoW has/had (i havent played in years) wowhead we have stratics. Frankly I would rather come to stratics and uoguide anyway.
Re: your stratics suggestions stratics is entirely volunteer run and you have to remember they can only work with what they are given. If you know something is wrong contact the content people - namely Petra who will update it.
Endless Decanter of water was missing on stratics I told petra and its now there. Tell her when something is wrong. Offer your help believe me she will gladly take any help.
Also why should they offer a prize of large sums of gold. Again stratics staff are volunteers who do what they do because they want to help not because they want something in return. Petra does all what she does because she wants to help. She never complains about it and she never asks for anything in return. Quite often she also gets no thanks for it. I'm sure she would love piles of gold for all what she has done to get UO:Stratics to the point at which it is now.
Basara
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1. Totally redraw the maps, eliminating/moving server lines and without the buggy crap they got when they altered the existing terrain in the name of KR compatibility.
a. Expand the existing world 100% in both directions on all facet (thereby increasing the size of the world to 400% of its current size) in the process of redraw, and double the size of the z-access. This would also have the effect of cleaning out 15 years of conflicting code to provide a better base for the future (and cross-client compatibility). It would also allow 3-story homes in areas that terrain currently prevents.
b. This could be done to existing shards (especially Atlantic) to add room, or as a means of creating new shards, to relocate the EXISTING features of 2-3 shards into their corresponding locations (with corresponding combined character lists, etc.) without anyone losing their housing spot (at most, displaced a screen width, but still within the clearing that the house was before - just with new neighbors).
2. Give both Trammel and Felucca a massive infusion of spawn - after all, we can technically do the self-sustaining world RG and others envisioned originally. Make the overland spawn really nasty in some places (say, give each city a recurring invasion cycle, based on nearby spawn - Yew would have spawn wander up from Shame, the lich woods or the orc mines, Britain neighbors wandering down from Despise or the Bog of Desolation, Dragons or the denizens outside Sanctuary raiding the Skara farms, etc. - that doesn't really go into the city because these invasions would be subject to the guards EXCEPT when EMs choose otherwise).
3. Resolve the mess that is New Haven WITHOUT making it a clone of Ocllo. Get a copy of the old Haven maps from one of the archives (or hit up someone running a LBR or Aos -era freeshard for it), and recreate PARTS of it on the New Haven landscape. Too much stuff was removed that was not necessary to remove, in creating New Haven, such as the Cemetery and the Standing Stones. If you're going to do away with the Dark Knight quest, there's no reason to NOT rebuild old Haven in part or in whole (just without the old bugged code that caused its termination originally).
4. Reinstitute the AoS & SE quests (and write ones for other professions) using the new quest system (modified, of course, for the current terrain of New Haven), for new characters, making them the first steps characters do AFTER whatever new player experience you do implement. Those were a LOT more instructive than people really gave them credit for (and could be made even better). They would also be the first step along the way that other characters should be able to assist the new ones.
5. Rebalance PvM and PvP by undoing all the damage you've done since SE, by making the two combat systems DIFFERENT, instead of trying to force PvP balance by gutting the PvM usefulness. Make Bushido even LESS compatible than it still is with other mana-based skills for PvM, and give humans back their JOAT abilities whose removal seemed to be deliberately designed to remove human characters from the game.
a. Expand the existing world 100% in both directions on all facet (thereby increasing the size of the world to 400% of its current size) in the process of redraw, and double the size of the z-access. This would also have the effect of cleaning out 15 years of conflicting code to provide a better base for the future (and cross-client compatibility). It would also allow 3-story homes in areas that terrain currently prevents.
b. This could be done to existing shards (especially Atlantic) to add room, or as a means of creating new shards, to relocate the EXISTING features of 2-3 shards into their corresponding locations (with corresponding combined character lists, etc.) without anyone losing their housing spot (at most, displaced a screen width, but still within the clearing that the house was before - just with new neighbors).
2. Give both Trammel and Felucca a massive infusion of spawn - after all, we can technically do the self-sustaining world RG and others envisioned originally. Make the overland spawn really nasty in some places (say, give each city a recurring invasion cycle, based on nearby spawn - Yew would have spawn wander up from Shame, the lich woods or the orc mines, Britain neighbors wandering down from Despise or the Bog of Desolation, Dragons or the denizens outside Sanctuary raiding the Skara farms, etc. - that doesn't really go into the city because these invasions would be subject to the guards EXCEPT when EMs choose otherwise).
3. Resolve the mess that is New Haven WITHOUT making it a clone of Ocllo. Get a copy of the old Haven maps from one of the archives (or hit up someone running a LBR or Aos -era freeshard for it), and recreate PARTS of it on the New Haven landscape. Too much stuff was removed that was not necessary to remove, in creating New Haven, such as the Cemetery and the Standing Stones. If you're going to do away with the Dark Knight quest, there's no reason to NOT rebuild old Haven in part or in whole (just without the old bugged code that caused its termination originally).
4. Reinstitute the AoS & SE quests (and write ones for other professions) using the new quest system (modified, of course, for the current terrain of New Haven), for new characters, making them the first steps characters do AFTER whatever new player experience you do implement. Those were a LOT more instructive than people really gave them credit for (and could be made even better). They would also be the first step along the way that other characters should be able to assist the new ones.
5. Rebalance PvM and PvP by undoing all the damage you've done since SE, by making the two combat systems DIFFERENT, instead of trying to force PvP balance by gutting the PvM usefulness. Make Bushido even LESS compatible than it still is with other mana-based skills for PvM, and give humans back their JOAT abilities whose removal seemed to be deliberately designed to remove human characters from the game.
Well... In my opinion the following are my "recommendations".
1. Customer Service needs a MASSIVE Overhaul. It's Key to customer satisfaction. You want to keep customers keep them happy. Make sure that your GM's and customer service reps KNOW the game. Make sure they are informed of current issues and bugs that REQUIRE their service. If you tell the customer to contact support to get an item "fixed" then by all means make sure the GM's know they are supposed to fix it and how to do it right.
2. Lose the CC. Most all of the scripting and things are done with the CC. We all know this and have known this. Most all the Illegal 3rd party programs are for use with the CC. Create a new client if need be or actually put serious effort into the EC but keep only ONE client. This splitting of resources between two or more clients has GOT to end. And trust me anyone who really cares about UO WILL adjust. (Personally I would rather slit both my wrists than return to using the extremely outdated CC).
3. If you are serious about getting new customers or returning customers you have got to update the game engine... the old tile system will have to go. It's long overdue.
4. This sort of goes with customer service.... but quit being so quiet and secretive.... communication with the player base needs to be improved. Let the players get more involved... There are some seriously brilliant minds playing UO... and there have been some really good ideas posted. Keeping the customers informed helps to keep interest up in the game as well. Never saying anything for days and weeks on end just serves to frustrate the customer and make them feel as though they are NOT important.
5. A major revamp of loot tables, old dungeons, old cities and skills is in order. The more new things get added the more confusing things become and the more the old stuff is left out of date and inconsistencies make things overly confusing. Quests need to be redone so there aren't 3 or 4 different types of quests. Also in this category of revamping... serious attention needs to be given towards tutorials. Old players know how to work skills... DEV's I don't think have much of a clue as to what really works for skill building. They know what they intend for it to work.... but players really know more of the ins and outs of skill working. Sadly the Companion program is dead... But new players need somewhere to go to get questions answered and to obtain assistance. Having good tutorials and up to date information is a must. Most new players aren't going to know about Stratics or UO Guide or anything like that. Sadly most often they are likely to get misinformed... or scammed resulting in frustration and overwhelmed feelings which would/could lead to them leaving.
Years ago the game came with a booklet that helped quite a bit. Now it's an online download with no real direction... UO needs advertising as well if it's to survive. Folk need to know that UO isn't a game that's going to take you by the hand and tell you everything you need to do..... but at start-up download of the game the new player needs to be informed just what sort of a sandbox it is. They need help in explanations of skills, templates, styles of play and general knowledge of how the game works. Basically that there is no goal in the game but those you set for yourself... And that the world of UO is pretty much just a tool for exploration of your own style. Some enjoy crafting.... some fighting... some like to acquire wealth... others enjoy community... Role-play... some find just building characters and learning all the skills in game to be sort of a game in itself...
UO is what you make it... it will not be fun if you don't realize that this game doesn't follow any set paths or directions. It's about freedom. Something the DEV's should keep in mind when they are adding things to it.
1. Customer Service needs a MASSIVE Overhaul. It's Key to customer satisfaction. You want to keep customers keep them happy. Make sure that your GM's and customer service reps KNOW the game. Make sure they are informed of current issues and bugs that REQUIRE their service. If you tell the customer to contact support to get an item "fixed" then by all means make sure the GM's know they are supposed to fix it and how to do it right.
2. Lose the CC. Most all of the scripting and things are done with the CC. We all know this and have known this. Most all the Illegal 3rd party programs are for use with the CC. Create a new client if need be or actually put serious effort into the EC but keep only ONE client. This splitting of resources between two or more clients has GOT to end. And trust me anyone who really cares about UO WILL adjust. (Personally I would rather slit both my wrists than return to using the extremely outdated CC).
3. If you are serious about getting new customers or returning customers you have got to update the game engine... the old tile system will have to go. It's long overdue.
4. This sort of goes with customer service.... but quit being so quiet and secretive.... communication with the player base needs to be improved. Let the players get more involved... There are some seriously brilliant minds playing UO... and there have been some really good ideas posted. Keeping the customers informed helps to keep interest up in the game as well. Never saying anything for days and weeks on end just serves to frustrate the customer and make them feel as though they are NOT important.
5. A major revamp of loot tables, old dungeons, old cities and skills is in order. The more new things get added the more confusing things become and the more the old stuff is left out of date and inconsistencies make things overly confusing. Quests need to be redone so there aren't 3 or 4 different types of quests. Also in this category of revamping... serious attention needs to be given towards tutorials. Old players know how to work skills... DEV's I don't think have much of a clue as to what really works for skill building. They know what they intend for it to work.... but players really know more of the ins and outs of skill working. Sadly the Companion program is dead... But new players need somewhere to go to get questions answered and to obtain assistance. Having good tutorials and up to date information is a must. Most new players aren't going to know about Stratics or UO Guide or anything like that. Sadly most often they are likely to get misinformed... or scammed resulting in frustration and overwhelmed feelings which would/could lead to them leaving.
Years ago the game came with a booklet that helped quite a bit. Now it's an online download with no real direction... UO needs advertising as well if it's to survive. Folk need to know that UO isn't a game that's going to take you by the hand and tell you everything you need to do..... but at start-up download of the game the new player needs to be informed just what sort of a sandbox it is. They need help in explanations of skills, templates, styles of play and general knowledge of how the game works. Basically that there is no goal in the game but those you set for yourself... And that the world of UO is pretty much just a tool for exploration of your own style. Some enjoy crafting.... some fighting... some like to acquire wealth... others enjoy community... Role-play... some find just building characters and learning all the skills in game to be sort of a game in itself...
UO is what you make it... it will not be fun if you don't realize that this game doesn't follow any set paths or directions. It's about freedom. Something the DEV's should keep in mind when they are adding things to it.
My post was directed towards people who posted saying that they were getting headaches because their cards were rendering the higher resolution of EC in a blurry or unfocused manner.
If that doesn't apply to you.. then well. it doesn't apply to you.
And KR ran fine on my rig at the time.
The KR graphics were much better than the current EC graphics. I'd be inclined to play more with the EC if they put those graphics back in it.
The 'new' flavor graphic style and pretty clean looking to boot. One of the EC's most noticable flaws would be gone.
...
1. COMMUNICATION. Some teams have done better than others, but after the demise of Five on Friday up through today, that level has dropped horribly.
2. FINISH WHAT YOU START. Clients, expansions, storylines, systems, the list goes on and it's NOT by any stretch limited to any one dev team. Abandoning work on a project about 75-80% finished has been an almost standard UO strategy going back as far as the beginning of the game.
3. CUSTOMER SERVICE/POLICING THE GAME This is probably the first in my list of the "Catch-22" issues. We all are under the impression that UO is effectively "cash strapped" and thus limited funds = limited support. BUT the other side of this is that the limited support causes a significant amount of accounts to be lost thus keeping the game "cash strapped". No, I don't expect the GMs to catch and ban every instance of rulebreaking (impossible in its own right) and there has always been the problem of players who seem to be so hand-held that a GM call is a daily occurrence which of course taxes GM resources. However, a better CS staff is a must on all levels compared to what we have had in the past.
4. PROGRESS Why is UO so afraid of progress? Why must it be mired a decade and a half behind the times? As resolutions get higher, UO gets smaller and smaller. While other games update their single client, UO is afraid to let go of the old to embrace the possibilities of new technology. Where once an Ultima release meant that you'd better have an up to date system or start upgrading, UO's latest major release went BACKWARDS in this regard. There was once a brief vision that would have been the paragon of real progress on this level, but was left behind in the name of "compromise".
5. ADVERTISEMENT This is a necessary item, BUT it's also the most provisional one and one that is based on both the actions of the devs and the actions of the players. From the devs point of view, outside of "we're old!", there's nothing to "glam up" UO unless and until they can come out with a TRULY updated client. Pixelated and distorted 2d artwork isn't "glam" and simply is NOT going to get any box or disc sales no matter how much people here may want to see boxes on the shelf. From the player point of view, a recent thread on this very forum says it all. If people are talking about coming back to the game (something we should all want for the good of the game), it's not exactly helpful when the thread gets filled with "everything SUCKS!!!" types of posts. Like it or not dear player, unless your name is Ben Croshaw, you're probably NOT exactly helping with the advertisement of the game by trashing it in every thread from someone "looking to return". If the devs are relying on the playerbase for word of mouth, they might want to look elsewhere... because quite frankly... we suck at it... at least on this board.
1. COMMUNICATION. Some teams have done better than others, but after the demise of Five on Friday up through today, that level has dropped horribly.
2. FINISH WHAT YOU START. Clients, expansions, storylines, systems, the list goes on and it's NOT by any stretch limited to any one dev team. Abandoning work on a project about 75-80% finished has been an almost standard UO strategy going back as far as the beginning of the game.
3. CUSTOMER SERVICE/POLICING THE GAME This is probably the first in my list of the "Catch-22" issues. We all are under the impression that UO is effectively "cash strapped" and thus limited funds = limited support. BUT the other side of this is that the limited support causes a significant amount of accounts to be lost thus keeping the game "cash strapped". No, I don't expect the GMs to catch and ban every instance of rulebreaking (impossible in its own right) and there has always been the problem of players who seem to be so hand-held that a GM call is a daily occurrence which of course taxes GM resources. However, a better CS staff is a must on all levels compared to what we have had in the past.
4. PROGRESS Why is UO so afraid of progress? Why must it be mired a decade and a half behind the times? As resolutions get higher, UO gets smaller and smaller. While other games update their single client, UO is afraid to let go of the old to embrace the possibilities of new technology. Where once an Ultima release meant that you'd better have an up to date system or start upgrading, UO's latest major release went BACKWARDS in this regard. There was once a brief vision that would have been the paragon of real progress on this level, but was left behind in the name of "compromise".
5. ADVERTISEMENT This is a necessary item, BUT it's also the most provisional one and one that is based on both the actions of the devs and the actions of the players. From the devs point of view, outside of "we're old!", there's nothing to "glam up" UO unless and until they can come out with a TRULY updated client. Pixelated and distorted 2d artwork isn't "glam" and simply is NOT going to get any box or disc sales no matter how much people here may want to see boxes on the shelf. From the player point of view, a recent thread on this very forum says it all. If people are talking about coming back to the game (something we should all want for the good of the game), it's not exactly helpful when the thread gets filled with "everything SUCKS!!!" types of posts. Like it or not dear player, unless your name is Ben Croshaw, you're probably NOT exactly helping with the advertisement of the game by trashing it in every thread from someone "looking to return". If the devs are relying on the playerbase for word of mouth, they might want to look elsewhere... because quite frankly... we suck at it... at least on this board.
...
They had TWO focus groups for KR/EC... we (the players... as in the ones who actually USED the client) TRIED. We had bug lists, proposals, ideas, opinions, etc etc etc but the EC and its compromises is what we got.
The problem with this is that the singular bit of "advice" given by "the most vocal critics" has been "I hate it, kill it". Not a very productive viewpoint with which to run a focus group.
They had TWO focus groups for KR/EC... we (the players... as in the ones who actually USED the client) TRIED. We had bug lists, proposals, ideas, opinions, etc etc etc but the EC and its compromises is what we got.
I never understood why they don't just do a high res version of the CC art, as most of the art in the CC is rendered from 3d anyways. Most of the current EC art looks completely ameteurish, when the engine renders it in focus enough to see. They should maybe re-do the terrain in the EC also so that the edges doens't look like sorsara is sitting on a giant block of grated cheese.
That said also, my biggest issue with the EC isn't the artwork, but how unstable it is and the fact that some things just flat out don't work in the EC. (for example, the targeting system, while much better for combat, neglects all other skills that use targeting to the point where there's things you simply can't do)
Honestly though, biggest draw for me would be a rollback to the pre-aos item system, it was much cleaner and much more fun than we have now. (there's a couple freeshards out there that are set up like this that INDIVIDUALLY have more people playing at any time than all OSI shards combined, but the software that they run on is pretty unstable and has some serious annoyances, if EA wanted to they could grab all those players in a heartbeat.)
easy:
stop the support of the old client. nobody should use it anymore.
then, stop the support, really...
when that is done, focus on the bugs in the game, one by one.
Then kill the old client once again, to make sure it is dead. really dead.
Finally just kick everyone that still wants to ride that dead, beaten, old horse of a client. If they can't handle the new client, let them leave.
That will give us the ONLY fighting chance in hell that this game will survive more than another year.
When all this is said and done, we are going to have a grand old time with what-ever is thrown at us in a new and exciting publish, and continue to pancake about every single aspect of what we are really and truly enjoying here in the game here on stratics. And that is cool, because that is what we do, and what we love. The more pancakes, the more engaged we really are. THe only true metric of how poorly UO is doing currently is the low number of posts on stratics recently...
But really, kill that bug ridden old 800x600, corner of my screen backwards, even lame as a screen saver, dated, lame duck of a client and focus on building a real game. Otherwise, we might as well all hold on to our fireworks wands (don't turn them in for points, please) to "celebrate" the last day of UO and get the in-game t-shirt saying "i was there when the lights went out" take a screen shot and put that on our facebook pages, smoke a cigar on the porch and talk to our grand kids about how cool the first online MMORPG reall was.
for those that disagree, they can join a free shard with the lot of them. I actually don't care. Perpetuate this unsupportable client, persist that everything was better when there were no rules, leave. plenty of free shard mayhem to join using a ridiculous 15 year old client. it is not that we loose revenue, because those people would not pay to play a current game anyway. Let them, please, leave, so we can continue to build out this phenomenal game to its full potential. I, for one, plan on paying for this game for a long, long time to come. However, I will have to stop paying if development stops. And it stops only as a result of the CC client, UO enemy number uno.
/end rant. Oh, and make pinco president of UO, or something.
stop the support of the old client. nobody should use it anymore.
then, stop the support, really...
when that is done, focus on the bugs in the game, one by one.
Then kill the old client once again, to make sure it is dead. really dead.
Finally just kick everyone that still wants to ride that dead, beaten, old horse of a client. If they can't handle the new client, let them leave.
That will give us the ONLY fighting chance in hell that this game will survive more than another year.
When all this is said and done, we are going to have a grand old time with what-ever is thrown at us in a new and exciting publish, and continue to pancake about every single aspect of what we are really and truly enjoying here in the game here on stratics. And that is cool, because that is what we do, and what we love. The more pancakes, the more engaged we really are. THe only true metric of how poorly UO is doing currently is the low number of posts on stratics recently...
But really, kill that bug ridden old 800x600, corner of my screen backwards, even lame as a screen saver, dated, lame duck of a client and focus on building a real game. Otherwise, we might as well all hold on to our fireworks wands (don't turn them in for points, please) to "celebrate" the last day of UO and get the in-game t-shirt saying "i was there when the lights went out" take a screen shot and put that on our facebook pages, smoke a cigar on the porch and talk to our grand kids about how cool the first online MMORPG reall was.
for those that disagree, they can join a free shard with the lot of them. I actually don't care. Perpetuate this unsupportable client, persist that everything was better when there were no rules, leave. plenty of free shard mayhem to join using a ridiculous 15 year old client. it is not that we loose revenue, because those people would not pay to play a current game anyway. Let them, please, leave, so we can continue to build out this phenomenal game to its full potential. I, for one, plan on paying for this game for a long, long time to come. However, I will have to stop paying if development stops. And it stops only as a result of the CC client, UO enemy number uno.
/end rant. Oh, and make pinco president of UO, or something.
Considering that the vast majority of the remaining UO players use only the CC because the EC is a bad user interface and will indeed leave if the games only good user interface is dropped, do you plan on opening and paying for several 10's of thousands of new accounts to keep the game profitable for EA? If you don't plan to, EA will pull the plug.
The EC is tolerable only for short periods of gameplay. EA announces that the CC is going to be not maintained, or flat out dropped, My accounts drop the same day.
I've played the EC and have it installed and updated on both my computers. It's pretty much a waste of hard drive space.
A game is only enjoyable if it has good content *and* a good user interface. The EC is not good.
P
puzzleagent
Guest
But EC offers much more than CC, and I dont have to use anything else but the client. I still don't understand why people would quit over an improvement. Why would you quit if EA merges these into one single client with better graphics, UI etc.
I don't see how you can call the enhanced client's superior user interface bad... that is actually mindblowing. Maybe you don't understand what a user interface is? That is the only reason I can think of why you would say that.Considering that the vast majority of the remaining UO players use only the CC because the EC is a bad user interface and will indeed leave if the games only good user interface is dropped, do you plan on opening and paying for several 10's of thousands of new accounts to keep the game profitable for EA? If you don't plan to, EA will pull the plug.
The EC is tolerable only for short periods of gameplay. EA announces that the CC is going to be not maintained, or flat out dropped, My accounts drop the same day.
I've played the EC and have it installed and updated on both my computers. It's pretty much a waste of hard drive space.
A game is only enjoyable if it has good content *and* a good user interface. The EC is not good.
It would seriously be a shame if you dropped your accounts because of a superior UI is taking place of an old outdated UI.
The ONLY reason I still have the classic client on my computer is due to the fact that I cannot pvp on the enhanced client because of lag. (memory leak issue most likely)
If the lag issue is fixed, I seriously hope that they do get rid of the classic client because it absolutely 100% will not be needed any more. If that drives you away from the game, that is seriously a shame, but I personally wont care.
Maybe you should give the superior UI another shot.
EC UI, why it is superior:
Built-in world map, which you can use to look at any dungeon, can mark locations in the map, can see where wandering healers are when you are dead.
Hot Bars, which you can drag any item, stat, or macro onto, keeping your UI tidy (compared to dragging spells onto your screen in the CC)
Chat Window, while I believe it does still need work, it keeps your game screen from being spammed, also because you have to hit enter to begin typing a message, it allows you to use more keys for macros without spamming 11111112222233333333eeeewwwwwqqqqqqqqqqq etc to clear your message area when you want to type.
Skills Window & Skill Tracker, your skills are very nicely sorted into a tabbed window (or gump I guess) that lets you find the skills you are looking for faster than using the old skill gump. The skill tracker gives you a nice little list of skills on screen you choose to show that you may be working on, allowing you to keep track of them easier.
Containers, Instead of searching like a madman, moving objects to find an item that somehow ended up underneath another item, you have the OPTION to use grid on your containers, which nicely sorts all the items in the container making them far easier to find, sort, and organize.
These are just a few things, and only related to the UI... I could get into the superior macros, but those aren't UI related.
Edit: did I mention the game window is scalable giving you a sort of HD quality to the game? Where as the largest the game window in the classic client can get is 800x600.
Z
Zomeguy
Guest
Very simple explanation and it is taught in every good management course: Kübler-Ross model
The EC client is obviously better although the graphics are debatable.
I also use nothing but the EC.. It's just far superior.
I do understand why a lot of players want to hold on to the nostalgia of the old client.
Change can be hard.
And I actually have verified one flaw in the targetting system as it relates to stealing that someone else posted about.. I think it was Raptor but can't remember.
BUT.. as someone else mentioned, UO was written in 1997 so as to be compatible with low end computers. The idea of a "gaming" rig hadn't really gotten past my workshop yet. (just kidding I'm sure I wasn't the only one).
Internet play was in it's infancy and most people were using dial-up. The CC was written with this in mind and artwork on dynamic objects was kept to a minimum to keep packets small, and even then... ask anyone who was around for beta launch.. lag, dropped packets, client crashes and server crashes were rampant. I lived in a semi-rural area at the time and the phone lines weren't all that great. Couldn't play at all if it rained.. to much static on the line.
But not many people have such restrictions on their bandwidth anymore. And my phone has more computing power than my computer did back then.
In my opinion, the players that refuse to accept our game being brought into modern day technology are hurting it more than any other issue.
I do understand why a lot of players want to hold on to the nostalgia of the old client.
Change can be hard.
And I actually have verified one flaw in the targetting system as it relates to stealing that someone else posted about.. I think it was Raptor but can't remember.
BUT.. as someone else mentioned, UO was written in 1997 so as to be compatible with low end computers. The idea of a "gaming" rig hadn't really gotten past my workshop yet. (just kidding I'm sure I wasn't the only one).
Internet play was in it's infancy and most people were using dial-up. The CC was written with this in mind and artwork on dynamic objects was kept to a minimum to keep packets small, and even then... ask anyone who was around for beta launch.. lag, dropped packets, client crashes and server crashes were rampant. I lived in a semi-rural area at the time and the phone lines weren't all that great. Couldn't play at all if it rained.. to much static on the line.
But not many people have such restrictions on their bandwidth anymore. And my phone has more computing power than my computer did back then.
In my opinion, the players that refuse to accept our game being brought into modern day technology are hurting it more than any other issue.
P
Prince Caspian
Guest
Mein zwei pfennigs:
1.) The EC Client eliminated my need for UOA and UOAM. That alone makes it worth it and shows an evolution towards what we as players want.
2.) I have 2D on my laptop when I'm traveling, and I hate playing in 2D, ESPECIALLY dealing with containers. My neatly ordered storage containers are now nightmarish clutter piles.
3.) The 2D graphics look like a game from 1991. No matter how much nostalgia you have, every once in a while as you are driving your Studebaker around the Indy 500 racetrack, you will have to acknowledge the fact you're driving an outrageously outdated relic.
3a.) Yes, the EC client will never be Skyrim-level realisim with the graphics, but it's miles ahead of what 2D has to offer. I prefer to see the different types of monster, not just 15 different hues of the same sprites.
4.) Hotbars. They make a huge difference. As does a size-able resolution.
5.) Despite the points above, t is rather difficult to deny that EA has tried overhauling the 3d Engine THREE TIMES (Third Dawn, Kingdom Reborn, EC) and each time has not gotten it right yet.
1.) The EC Client eliminated my need for UOA and UOAM. That alone makes it worth it and shows an evolution towards what we as players want.
2.) I have 2D on my laptop when I'm traveling, and I hate playing in 2D, ESPECIALLY dealing with containers. My neatly ordered storage containers are now nightmarish clutter piles.
3.) The 2D graphics look like a game from 1991. No matter how much nostalgia you have, every once in a while as you are driving your Studebaker around the Indy 500 racetrack, you will have to acknowledge the fact you're driving an outrageously outdated relic.
3a.) Yes, the EC client will never be Skyrim-level realisim with the graphics, but it's miles ahead of what 2D has to offer. I prefer to see the different types of monster, not just 15 different hues of the same sprites.
4.) Hotbars. They make a huge difference. As does a size-able resolution.
5.) Despite the points above, t is rather difficult to deny that EA has tried overhauling the 3d Engine THREE TIMES (Third Dawn, Kingdom Reborn, EC) and each time has not gotten it right yet.
I wasn't addressing you in particular.
My 5 ideas:
1. Crystal Clear Dev Comunication, weekly updates as to what is being done, which means no hidden agenda. Plain and simple dialog with players and dev is needed. This must also include future additions, fixes, and general mantence to game. Surprises are nice for birthday gifts but not the game I am paying hard earned cash for.
2. Customer Service should be as its name implys. Billing is prime example for both #1 and 2 here. Had customers been given a heads up much of the call center would not have been bombarded with frantic players over the inability to access their accounts. In game GM's who are not ban happy but will police the game as it should be. Players should be willing to have their indescression cost them for breaking rules. Banning should only be for major game infractions. Making one pay with comunity service in game.
3. UO General Play Guide - a simple thing to write for both the new and returning player who has missed out on much of the latest game advancement. A PDF of content and structure for download at the time of game installation would help greatly both groups. Many new players are totaly lost and have no clue as to how the game is done.
4. Advertisement - As the game stands many new to online games do not know we exsist, as the title of this clearly states we have no shelf presents or web one ether. Even here on stratics is there a post of any UO game related ads or mention on any of the other games stratics supports? Web and other types of advertisements are needed to bring more players to the game.
5. Client upgrade: EC vs CC, KR..... Why not have both? It's clear there is enough supporters of the EC to warrent its continued support and advancement. As too the CC has a large player base in its use. All will agree that getting a staff that knows the coding for CC is prime for any upgrading and advancement in the game is sorely needed.
As for killing off CC:
As I see above the loud vocal people will do as they always have and push off all others who disagree or do not want that which they do. CC is and has always been how UO has looked from day 1. Oh we have had some tweeks but it has stayed the same for the 14 + years of the games history. Far be it from me to say which is better for the masses but nether should any one person. For many EC is the cats meow and they love it to a great degree that they are willing to cut off the other players from the game by removing CC. This the vast majority will not take sitting down. CC has it's followers too.
Lets stand back for a second and consider the out come of this action of removing the CC.
Senerio:
Tomorrow EA drops all CC support... at mantence of each shard, the system for CC disapears and any player who has not gotten the EC client installed finds they cant get in the game. For them UO is gone. The large percentage of CC players are in a panic after finding the game has now done the unthinkable. As is EA's mo they didnt warn of the change but just did it. The EC client players are over joyed that the game is moving forward... but at what cost.
How many of the games remaining player base is running CC??
How many run EC?
I can tell you this EA without reservations will shut UO doors the minute this happens. 75 % to 90 % of the CC account players will close their billing down and walk. This is not theory this is fact.
Many can not handle EC. Plain and simple it is a real physical pain to watch it for many.
Its cartoonish landscapes and lack of clear lines fustrates many players who have tried it and come back to CC.
Computer system upgrades aside, the EC is a prefrence not a requiement for fun and play. EC has issues with some computer systems and with the ecconomy in such a state to make players have to buy new equipment is not gunna happen.
More over simply many do not share the overly pushie loud EC supporters. If screaming and tantrums got you a lolly as a child and you put in to use in this forum your sadly mistaken if you think anyone will give you your wish. Hold yoru breath as long as you like, scream and throw a tantrum... Just do not think because you do you will get your way. Past Dev did give in to this extortion by players who did this very thing and look where it got us... Just cause you can scream the loudest and drowned the rest out dont make it what is really needed.
The needs of the few do not outweigh the needs of the many in this case to coin a StarTrek phrase.
Oh and as a side note to all, I do walk the shards lands and see the loss of houses and towns that once covered UO. Outside of a very small handfull of shards the vast landscape of uo is devoid of homes. All homes not just the smalls, this is not to say there is not a population of players on the shards mind you but the ownership of homes of ANY size has shrunk to the point that EVEN a Castle or Keep would be a welcome sight! WE have a finite amount of players and I see no super influx of players coming on the horizon. Opening the lands for any house placement should be done and I would go further to open up a second house for all accounts to boot. The psycology of this is 2 fold, if a shard looks like it has more players are more content to stay and not flee to a bigger shard. Second, it gives that player the ability to have a choice of play. Friends have moved to other shards but due to the rules of 1 per account they cant just pick up and follow or go visit more then the bank box allows them. As many know playing out of a bank box is not fun. Houses should have the same lockdowns as a castle this I support fully. There are shards that I would be so content to have my 7x7 if this was so. I know others would too. You try running 5 to 7 characters out of under 700 lockdowns/storage in a small house. All who have needs for stored items for their skills... not all play warriors who live out of their back packs!
1. Crystal Clear Dev Comunication, weekly updates as to what is being done, which means no hidden agenda. Plain and simple dialog with players and dev is needed. This must also include future additions, fixes, and general mantence to game. Surprises are nice for birthday gifts but not the game I am paying hard earned cash for.
2. Customer Service should be as its name implys. Billing is prime example for both #1 and 2 here. Had customers been given a heads up much of the call center would not have been bombarded with frantic players over the inability to access their accounts. In game GM's who are not ban happy but will police the game as it should be. Players should be willing to have their indescression cost them for breaking rules. Banning should only be for major game infractions. Making one pay with comunity service in game.
3. UO General Play Guide - a simple thing to write for both the new and returning player who has missed out on much of the latest game advancement. A PDF of content and structure for download at the time of game installation would help greatly both groups. Many new players are totaly lost and have no clue as to how the game is done.
4. Advertisement - As the game stands many new to online games do not know we exsist, as the title of this clearly states we have no shelf presents or web one ether. Even here on stratics is there a post of any UO game related ads or mention on any of the other games stratics supports? Web and other types of advertisements are needed to bring more players to the game.
5. Client upgrade: EC vs CC, KR..... Why not have both? It's clear there is enough supporters of the EC to warrent its continued support and advancement. As too the CC has a large player base in its use. All will agree that getting a staff that knows the coding for CC is prime for any upgrading and advancement in the game is sorely needed.
As for killing off CC:
As I see above the loud vocal people will do as they always have and push off all others who disagree or do not want that which they do. CC is and has always been how UO has looked from day 1. Oh we have had some tweeks but it has stayed the same for the 14 + years of the games history. Far be it from me to say which is better for the masses but nether should any one person. For many EC is the cats meow and they love it to a great degree that they are willing to cut off the other players from the game by removing CC. This the vast majority will not take sitting down. CC has it's followers too.
Lets stand back for a second and consider the out come of this action of removing the CC.
Senerio:
Tomorrow EA drops all CC support... at mantence of each shard, the system for CC disapears and any player who has not gotten the EC client installed finds they cant get in the game. For them UO is gone. The large percentage of CC players are in a panic after finding the game has now done the unthinkable. As is EA's mo they didnt warn of the change but just did it. The EC client players are over joyed that the game is moving forward... but at what cost.
How many of the games remaining player base is running CC??
How many run EC?
I can tell you this EA without reservations will shut UO doors the minute this happens. 75 % to 90 % of the CC account players will close their billing down and walk. This is not theory this is fact.
Many can not handle EC. Plain and simple it is a real physical pain to watch it for many.
Its cartoonish landscapes and lack of clear lines fustrates many players who have tried it and come back to CC.
Computer system upgrades aside, the EC is a prefrence not a requiement for fun and play. EC has issues with some computer systems and with the ecconomy in such a state to make players have to buy new equipment is not gunna happen.
More over simply many do not share the overly pushie loud EC supporters. If screaming and tantrums got you a lolly as a child and you put in to use in this forum your sadly mistaken if you think anyone will give you your wish. Hold yoru breath as long as you like, scream and throw a tantrum... Just do not think because you do you will get your way. Past Dev did give in to this extortion by players who did this very thing and look where it got us... Just cause you can scream the loudest and drowned the rest out dont make it what is really needed.
The needs of the few do not outweigh the needs of the many in this case to coin a StarTrek phrase.
Oh and as a side note to all, I do walk the shards lands and see the loss of houses and towns that once covered UO. Outside of a very small handfull of shards the vast landscape of uo is devoid of homes. All homes not just the smalls, this is not to say there is not a population of players on the shards mind you but the ownership of homes of ANY size has shrunk to the point that EVEN a Castle or Keep would be a welcome sight! WE have a finite amount of players and I see no super influx of players coming on the horizon. Opening the lands for any house placement should be done and I would go further to open up a second house for all accounts to boot. The psycology of this is 2 fold, if a shard looks like it has more players are more content to stay and not flee to a bigger shard. Second, it gives that player the ability to have a choice of play. Friends have moved to other shards but due to the rules of 1 per account they cant just pick up and follow or go visit more then the bank box allows them. As many know playing out of a bank box is not fun. Houses should have the same lockdowns as a castle this I support fully. There are shards that I would be so content to have my 7x7 if this was so. I know others would too. You try running 5 to 7 characters out of under 700 lockdowns/storage in a small house. All who have needs for stored items for their skills... not all play warriors who live out of their back packs!
K
Kayne
Guest
I didn't say you were but I was responding to the points. This is after all a discussion forum. No discussion if no one responds to other people.
You know... I couldn't agree with you less. Your argument is that we need to keep the old look and feel of the game which makes the old players happy and keeps new players away.... That has to be the worst possible scenario for any game. How long do you think it will be before even the old vets get bored and move on with no replacements? This game needs new players to survive, not the old guys who have multiple accounts.
The game must update and attract new players to survive, otherwise it's fleas on the back of a dying dog. We need a new dog....
One of the idea's I suggested for "attracting" new players was to build a special shard for new players or returning players that is "FTP".
This free shard would have everything that a normal shard does but it would have many LIMITS...
Such as you can only place a 8x8 house.... nothing larger. There are no PS. All skills are capped at GM. There are no Stat scrolls you get 700 skill points.
This shard would offer and have tutorials for every skill and quests to learn about skills and the history of UO as well as learning about different playstyles, and other aspects of the game.
This shard would NOT have player Vendors. NPC's would be the only way to buy or sell things other than peddling your items yourself.
This shard would also not have insurance... or artifacts.
This shard would have a limit of 1million gold per person.
When folk are familiar with the game and wish to move to a "paid" shard.... they would get the opportunity to have a free transfer token that would allow the transfer from the free shard to a paid shard, however it would not allow anyone to transfer TO the free shard. And Resources such as Wood, Ingots and the like would be limited to 999...
This would allow folk to get the "feel" of UO without spending money and would let them experience UO... If they want more they will pay for it.
This free shard would have everything that a normal shard does but it would have many LIMITS...
Such as you can only place a 8x8 house.... nothing larger. There are no PS. All skills are capped at GM. There are no Stat scrolls you get 700 skill points.
This shard would offer and have tutorials for every skill and quests to learn about skills and the history of UO as well as learning about different playstyles, and other aspects of the game.
This shard would NOT have player Vendors. NPC's would be the only way to buy or sell things other than peddling your items yourself.
This shard would also not have insurance... or artifacts.
This shard would have a limit of 1million gold per person.
When folk are familiar with the game and wish to move to a "paid" shard.... they would get the opportunity to have a free transfer token that would allow the transfer from the free shard to a paid shard, however it would not allow anyone to transfer TO the free shard. And Resources such as Wood, Ingots and the like would be limited to 999...
This would allow folk to get the "feel" of UO without spending money and would let them experience UO... If they want more they will pay for it.
P
Prince Caspian
Guest
One problem with Ultima Online, I still maintain, is that the Ultima Series is, frankly, old. I lived through the Ultima Series, playing each as I was growing up. I'm now in my midthirties, like many of the other Old School Ultima fans. I'm no longer the prime gamer demographic, which has always been 16-29.
These new gamers probably don't hold a lot of interest in a series that is over twenty plus years old.
Ultima Online came out and blew everyone away. We had the hot product -- MUDs werent new but this kind of presentation was dynamite.
But, seriously -- I don't think we ever really "hit the mark" again. We didn't do anything innovative that got everyone in the gaming business talking.
I've always maintained gamers are also fickle. They move to the next hot thing, by and large. Many of them have a "been there, done that" feeling.
Worse, we started following everyone else's lead! Age of Shadows tried to turn this game into Diabolo. Third Dawn took a catastrophically inept attempt to bring us into a contemporary presentation.
Add all that up, and I really don't see how this game really appeals to the twentysomethings. Why would it? Its an ancient franchise their older brothers (and maybe even dads) played, and ESPECIALLY when we keep the original client(!) from a decade and a half ago, it doesn't make us look progressive or innovative at all.
I love UO, I have played it since day one. And I will be playing it the last day, guaranteed. I will not join another MMORPG again, because this is the one I love and the Ultima Series is special to me.
But I really don't see how we can bring new blood in. I really don't. Frankly, I'm astonished UO is still in production.
Personally I agree with you to a point. I don't know how you can take this game to the next level due to it's issues with... lots of stuff. Let's look at actions for instance. What I mean by that is that you can't even jump, swim, climb/jump off a hill. It's so limited that no new interface will be able to bring it up to current industry levels. If they slap a new shell on the game, there will still be some extremely powerful and wealthy characters messing with the economy. No newbie is going to come to a game that flaunts player housing and stay once they find out that there is no place to actually place a house.
It's a toughie! What they could do is create a new game, just like they were doing with UOX and UO2 and while they were building this game, provide everyone who pre-ordered a discounted (or free w/cash store) account in UO, that could raise some money to get the new game going and get the new players up to speed on the game world.
I'm confident that they have the code for the UOX and UO2 games laying around there somewhere. Dust that stuff off and check it out! It might still be worth bringing to market with some upgrades!
As far as everyone getting to keep thier stuff if any new game was created, I don't think that could or would ever happen. The playing field is too crazy now, there's no way they would skew a new game by giving a few individuals a huge amount of cash, magic items and housing.
As a side note, it's possible that EA is keeping UO online so that they can claim the title of Longest Running MMO Company which could boost their other titles a bit. Either that or they do have plans, but need to roll out SWTOR and Neverwinter first.
It's a toughie! What they could do is create a new game, just like they were doing with UOX and UO2 and while they were building this game, provide everyone who pre-ordered a discounted (or free w/cash store) account in UO, that could raise some money to get the new game going and get the new players up to speed on the game world.
I'm confident that they have the code for the UOX and UO2 games laying around there somewhere. Dust that stuff off and check it out! It might still be worth bringing to market with some upgrades!
As far as everyone getting to keep thier stuff if any new game was created, I don't think that could or would ever happen. The playing field is too crazy now, there's no way they would skew a new game by giving a few individuals a huge amount of cash, magic items and housing.
As a side note, it's possible that EA is keeping UO online so that they can claim the title of Longest Running MMO Company which could boost their other titles a bit. Either that or they do have plans, but need to roll out SWTOR and Neverwinter first.
K
Kayne
Guest
While your idea is great in principle MalagAste. Those of us who now count as veterans are not likely to go to this F2P shard and be there to help and answer questions like we do on the prodo shards now. The basic idea is sound but without veterans to help and offer assistance it would ultimately not be good.
Speaking as a twentysomething who first discovered UO at the age of 15ish via friends who played on freeshards and played there for a while before eventually making my way here. The game appeals to me immensely. I've played so many other games, FPS, RTS, MMO, Sim City types. You name it and I've probably tried it.
I didn't play the Ultima games (though it would be nice to do so) and I was probably fairly late into the party. But UO always was and probably always will be the game that I enjoy the most. No other game can I RP whatever I want. Be a crafter named Asmo if I wish or equally be a music playing dragon slayer.
<rolls eyes> Yes... I know what a user interface is. <laughs>
I tend to use the superior UI, the CC. I tried the latest new one and in spite of all it's added features, it's still inferior. I put up with it when I use it for the larger possible display window, other than that, I use the superior quality CC. Old & venerable it may be, but business's did things right back in those days. These days it's slap something together quickly & cheaply and call it the new improved version, and pile the baloney into the rave advertisements. Let the buyer beware.
The last 25 years of my career was working in Quality Control, the last 18 as Leader. I didn't accept anything that was 'good enough', or 'close', things were made & done right, or were rejected. The Enhanced Client, while not a complete fail, isn't good.
Love the EC & rave about it all you want, most of the players know it's not good and are staying with the CC. Play the CC more and maybe the reasons why will sink in.