UO's Future - Why can't we find anything out?

[Redxpanda]

I think a bigger problem is the lack of information about things that are currently going on. Where is someone supposed to find out how to participate.

Imagine a new player starts today. This new player would have no idea about events or where to do what when and how to participate. At this very moment, there are things going on like the grave diggers and such. Most people have no idea what that is about or how to get involved unless they hear about it and go seeking information on the internet. Even then, the information you receive barely gives you an understanding of what is going on.

I Thank glob for sites like Stratics and UOGuide but i still think more can (should) be done.

 

[Uriah Heep]

I think a bigger problem is the lack of information about things that are currently going on. Where is someone supposed to find out how to participate.

Imagine a new player starts today. This new player would have no idea about events or where to do what when and how to participate. At this very moment, there are things going on like the grave diggers and such. Most people have no idea what that is about or how to get involved unless they hear about it and go seeking information on the internet. Even then, the information you receive barely gives you an understanding of what is going on.

I Thank glob for sites like Stratics and UOGuide but i still think more can (should) be done.

Are they still going on? I know when I did the quest bit, you followed the blood into Ver Lor Reg and talked to Shiron, went and got blood, came bac, went to the mtn climber, and then you had access to Central Ilsh.
However, a few days ago, Had a new one to the quest, so we couldnt find a way into Ver Lor, finally!!!! after loads of looking heard he was in Jukaville. Yup, there he was, standing in the middle of the floor at the inn where you turn in artifacts. But is the quest still on? The new one couldnt get him to talk to him at all. I tried as well, expecting to get a "ya big dummy, I told ya already!" but he was mute. What gives?

 

[Sir Ophid of Yew]

Are the members of the UO team allowed to reply in threads anymore?

 

[Rupert Avery]

Are the members of the UO team allowed to reply in threads anymore?

The Devs post on stratics very regularly...

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

The Devs post on stratics very regularly...

Aside from TheGrimmOmen, no they don't. Moreso than on UOForums, surely, but definitely not "very regularly."

 

[Rupert Avery]

Aside from TheGrimmOmen, no they don't. Moreso than on UOForums, surely, but definitely not "very regularly."

well maybe I'am comparing between the two fansite forums..

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

well maybe I'am comparing between the two fansite forums..

You mean the blatant favoritism?

 

[Redxpanda]

Are they still going on? I know when I did the quest bit, you followed the blood into Ver Lor Reg and talked to Shiron, went and got blood, came bac, went to the mtn climber, and then you had access to Central Ilsh.
However, a few days ago, Had a new one to the quest, so we couldnt find a way into Ver Lor, finally!!!! after loads of looking heard he was in Jukaville. Yup, there he was, standing in the middle of the floor at the inn where you turn in artifacts. But is the quest still on? The new one couldnt get him to talk to him at all. I tried as well, expecting to get a "ya big dummy, I told ya already!" but he was mute. What gives?

Dunno. Honestly, i have been playing for months and had no idea about the whole questing thing. I just found out about the gravediggers and all. I ended up searching (and finally finding) the place where you dig for pieces of ancient artifacts.

 

[Rupert Avery]

You mean the blatant favoritism?

Lets not get into that....

back to topic...

There is obviously reasons why they don't give insight into the future.. We will never truly know the full reason why.. Perhaps the future is all hinged on this 15 year celebration? or maybe they simply don't know... maybe EA don't want them saying to much for what ever reason....

I just look forward to what ever information can and do share

 

[Woodsman]

There is obviously reasons why they don't give insight into the future.. We will never truly know the full reason why.. Perhaps the future is all hinged on this 15 year celebration? or maybe they simply don't know... maybe EA don't want them saying to much for what ever reason....

What obvious reasons does a 15 year old game have about hiding its future versus a game such as SWTOR that's barely been out 6 months and that is bombarding us on a weekly basis with future plans, some of which run to nearly a year from now? Nobody in the industry is going to care what UO does from a competitive point of view, but a lot of other companies are watching SWTOR's plans and might even be making adjustments in their own games, released or otherwise.

Unless those reasons are negative, i.e. there is not a future planned and they are just going to let the clock run out on the game or they are planning on doing something with UO that is going to upset a lot of people and they are trying to keep it secret until the end, I have a hard time understanding why no other EA game is cloaked in this much secrecy.

If they are planning on just running out the clock, why go through the expense of upgrading the graphics?

That proves my point (and Martyna's): I can make a good case that UO is in maintenance mode or I can make a good case that UO has big things planned but they are just trying to get the anniversary out of the way.

To add to those two scenarios, several months ago, somebody I know made a good case that maybe the reason for the secrecy is they have some big things planned that are going to be unpopular with some, and they are waiting until those plans are done so they can just push them out, tell people that's how it's going to be, and then move on.

 

[Woodsman]

There is obviously reasons why they don't give insight into the future.. We will never truly know the full reason why.. Perhaps the future is all hinged on this 15 year celebration? or maybe they simply don't know... maybe EA don't want them saying to much for what ever reason....

There is something else I mentioned on the last page that goes against what you and others are saying.

With the 15th anniversary, this is the most publicity that UO has gotten in 3 years, and probably more likely 5 years going back to KR.

It will be 5 more years before UO, assuming it survives, gets this much attention again.

If EA, Jeff Skalski, etc. don't take advantage of this publicity to try and sell UO to new and old players who quit a long time ago, then my only conclusion is that they've given up on UO and are just running out the clock.

There is no other logical explanation for EA to just throw away this much free publicity.

None.

 

[Sir Ophid of Yew]

I had closed my WoW account about a year ago. My dad just sent me a new invitation that said if I came back I would get a free level 80 character. My dad got a cool special mount for doing it as well.

I never really liked WoW but the deal was too good to pass up. Remember wow is a game that doesn't even need more people, yet they still found a way to get me back into the game.

Uou would think that UO would care about bringing old players back and attracting new players even more than a company like blizzard that has more subscribers than they can handle.

What better time for some cool new attraction or special offer then the 15th anniversary of the granddaddy of all rpg's?

Just please don't add any more land masses. The world is too big as it is, for such a small player base.

 

[Uriah Heep]

Hopefully JSkalski can come up with something for UO that everyone will like. Or at least, will only alienate a small portion of the playerbase, unlike what Cal did. I don't think there were many people that he didn't piss off. First was all the trammel based players, with his "Bring back the Wild West To UO" comments, to the talk of classic shards for the pvp'ers which was finally axed (and left quite a few wondering if that was just sleight of hand to redirect us from other problems) to a video that never made it. And a whole lot of us quit paying attention to the video talks, because he, The Producer, could never give an answer without Mesanna's permission. That alone told some of us we had no firm authoritative figure with his hands on the reins guiding us into the future.

It does seem to me that the last few years we've been a ship just being blown from one place to another, depending on wind direction, with no one driving.

Most of us are just tired of the smoke and mirrors, carrot on a stick approach. We have new art coming...oops nm, that got put on back burner. But we do have a new quest system coming. A few months later, oops, that got put on the back burner, but we have blah blah blah.... and in the end we are like Charlie Brown at Halloween, everyone else gets candy, but all we got was a rock

 

[Sevin0oo0]

somebody I know made a good case that maybe the reason for the secrecy is they have some big things planned that are going to be unpopular with some, and they are waiting until those plans are done so they can just push them out, tell people that's how it's going to be, and then move on.

Considering that devs probably have alts, here in poster land, they could still be developing paths. That 6mths out thing, sure if you include graphics in that start to finish. as we've seen, many code changes almost overnight, sometimes hours. I want to believe many of our issues will be addressed soon, and corrected. I been playing UO a long time, and I don't mind fighting for some changes, not an indefinite one where all I get is a deaf ear. If I want to be ignored, I can just call for my cat, easy, free.

 

[Uriah Heep]

If I want to be ignored, I can just call for my cat, easy, free.

Yeah. Or tell the kids and grandkids it's time to go to bed...:/

 

[Woodsman]

I want to believe many of our issues will be addressed soon, and corrected. I been playing UO a long time, and I don't mind fighting for some changes, not an indefinite one where all I get is a deaf ear.

If they had a plan that would take UO to 20 years, I'd get behind it even if I disagree with parts of it. I'm not one of those people who would rather see UO be allowed to die rather than change to survive in the 2010s. As somebody else said, UO can't really change anymore than it already has with Trammel, Insurance, and Itemization/AOS.

I want to believe that good things are going to happen, but the lack of direction makes it all to easy to assume the worst.

If I want to be ignored, I can just call for my cat, easy, free.

 

[Lady Storm]

Sugar no person wants to loose their job... EA is not hesatant to pink slip anyone.... Corp big wigs dont care what going on in any of their games... infact they hardly know us. What they do care about is their bottom line. Take a peek at who is on the board.... These people are not gamers..... Except the chairman he siad he was .... but honestly 1 out of how many? They dont sit around the boardroom talking about halo 3...

The reason for the Dev's silence is not that they havent got it down or that its not great... the suspense is for the next installment of the fun. Your asking for your surprise party to be written out so you know all the details...... not much of a surprise.

Yes i too wish the powers that be used every oppertunity to push UO so we get more back and new ones to try us. (i also wish that the naysayers in game would stop telling the new and returning to quit cause they noobs. I am so tired of telling them to stop till i'm blue in the face.)

 

[Woodsman]

The reason for the Dev's silence is not that they havent got it down or that its not great... the suspense is for the next installment of the fun. Your asking for your surprise party to be written out so you know all the details...... not much of a surprise.

If you're talking about the live arc, I don't think that should be spoiled, but that's really a part of the present UO and not the future. Even if the live arc continues past the 15th, I don't consider it to be something that will attract new or old players to UO, because people who don't play UO are not even aware of it.

If you are saying they shouldn't talk about things like the graphics update, every successful MMORPG is out there right now talking up their future plans and trying to attract players to their games. It's what game teams do to keep people coming in. Even games like The Elder Scrolls Online are blasting us with information to get us interested in a game that won't be out until a year from now. If you don't lay out plans for the future of a game, and you don't get out there and sell it, eventually it will die. The moment a game team stops trying to sell the game to outsiders or bring in new players is the moment it's dead, even if it goes on for a few more years.

Given that most of your 40+ accounts came from people who have left the game, you probably feel the pain of a lack of players more than a lot of us do and I can see why you want the devs out there selling the game.

(i also wish that the naysayers in game would stop telling the new and returning to quit cause they noobs. I am so tired of telling them to stop till i'm blue in the face.)

Too me that's borderline harassment and you should be paging GMs or emailing Mesanna with screenshots or something. The in-game harassment rules probably cover it. Anybody trying to hurt UO like that should not even be playing.

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

The reason for the Dev's silence is not that they havent got it down or that its not great... the suspense is for the next installment of the fun. Your asking for your surprise party to be written out so you know all the details...... not much of a surprise.

This is apparently Mesanna's line of thinking.

It is wrong.

Not knowing what's upcoming for UO (even in a broad-strokes fashion) isn't suspenseful, it's stressful. If your players don't hear news of future events/plans on a semi-regular basis, they begin to question why they are continuing to pay money. (We aren't complaining about not hearing what is coming up in the event arc, story-wise, I think everyone is content to be "surprised" on that front.) We've had next to no information revealed about the future since SA launched, with a few minor exceptions. What little that was revealed has all mostly cancelled or deferred, only dungeon revamps have remained.

We want the game to last past the 15th Anniversary, however, we currently have little reason to believe the future holds much more then maintenance mode.

 

[RaDian FlGith]

Well Ultima used to be as big or bigger than Warcraft, used to make the cover of the PC gaming magazines every time a new version came out or was announced.

WoW wasn't released until 2005. By then, the media's love affair with UO was long over. And... WoW's launch eclipsed even the highest of UO's subscriber numbers. Truthfully, at its peak, EQ eclipsed UO's highest subscriber numbers... by nearly 200%.

But one thing WoW did and did extremely well, was the new player experience. It's a lot easier for somebody who has never played WoW to slide into WoW and be up and running very quickly. There are also things done within WoW to help get new players attached to WoW. The first flight out over the landscape, the early quests to familiarize people with the game and the game world, etc. The new player experience is extremely polished, and I think that is one of WoW's biggest assets.

And this is the crux of the issue. It's also the thing that "killed" SWG, because Sony/Lucas couldn't figure out how to do it either.

Making a new player experience for a leveler is easy, comparatively. For a skill-based game, you can't just say "Here's the best way of doing things," because ostensibly there aren't any best ways of doing things. In fact, as we've seen, the "best" ways of doing things are often at the fringes of the ruleset (think sampire).

Now, trust me... this isn't to say that I don't think that a new player experience -- and an EXCELLENT one at that -- couldn't be done. I just don't think they've had anyone with the particular vision to get it done properly for UO. One of the things any new player experience would have to do is start with a base template of skills, teach the player the ins and outs of playing the game in the normal sense (ie: interface, movement, et cetera), but ALSO teach how skill gain works, AND give suggestions on what skills to adopt (not just the whats either, but the whys as well).

It would be a huge undertaking, but yes... better graphics + better new player experience might actually = new players.

The "cartoony" graphics that some frown upon also have a point - they designed such that they run well on a lot of older computers. They could have pushed the hardware like say Guild Wars, but they have wisely chosen to keep things a lot more simple. Same with Diablo 3 - the graphics have a point - they can be dialed way down.

Well, yeah, and even with a properly designed engine, this isn't difficult. The problem is that historically, the DevTeam (not this one in particular, but past ones) have cut corners in this regard. You could easily have an "ugly" version of the game which is played with bare bones stuff so that it runs on a system from 1997 (though I wonder how many actually need that anymore), AND have ramped up graphics that require more processing oomph. The best part is that this could be done with it ALL looking like the same game. Higher graphics gives more details and better effects, but in the end, it wouldn't matter which version of the game you sat down in front of, you'd recognize it. The same, by the way, cannot be said for the difference between UO and KR graphics, which was a mistake, though, the answer, mushing UO's graphics into KR to make EC without any upsampling was equially bad.

And UO could use that as a strength. For people with old computers or who like the 1990s graphics, play the CC. For those who have good computers and want something to take advantage of large displays, the EC

Well... as UO always pretends to learn, but never quite does (UO vs. T2A... CC vs. 3D... CC vs. KR... CC vs. EC...), having multiple clients to support is one majorly, MAJORLY bad idea and causes twice the amount of work just to support them both. While it would be more work to support multiple graphical versions, it would be far less than implementing stuff twice.

Also, WoW does a very good job of laying out their direction and keeping people informed. I'm constantly getting emails from them, they are constantly talking to the media.

Agreed. This 1997 version of "We must keep our secrets because our customers might be disappointed if we don't implement something, AND other companies might steal our ideas" information hording is silly. But then, no offense to the powers that be here, so is using Stratics as the unofficial/official forums.

 

[RaDian FlGith]

You do realize that graphics are the least of this game's problems. How about the issue of no-one in the younger generation knows or cares about the 'Ultima' franchise? It's kinda like how everything sucks except iPhone.

Well, unfortunately, this statement is as wrong now as it was when it was first typed into a message board in probably 1997. Graphics are not the least of this game's problems. In fact, they are one of the largest problems crippling it from seeing new players. Sure, people are playing games with similar graphics on portable devices... that doesn't mean that people expect to play equally bad graphics on their desktop PC. The graphics of this game have failed to adapt in nearly 15 years, the KR nightmare not withstanding. And the problem is, Uriah green-lit the bad graphics that were incoming from China for use in KR (which makes me wonder where the art director was snoozing at during the process), so KR got launched with graphics that totally changed the UO environment in the client. Had the money been spent appropriately, and hi-res versions of graphics that matched UO's style, instead of a feeble attempt at recreating UO's style, we'd be in a different place today most likely. However, all that said, I'm not sure EA would ever green-light a budget like that again because of how poorly it was spent in the first place (though, since EA continually canned sequels to UO, maybe someone should start a sequel to UO so that they can cancel it in 8-12 months and the budget reallotted to updating UO again... *snicker*).

I played UO back in the beta, and even then it was a niche market. I played all the games in the Ultima franchise, so it was only natural that I experience an awesome gaming world online. But even with people who I grew up with, I was about the only one who played Ultima. Special props to U7 and U8.

It seems that unless you are on xbox/PS3 no one will care. Ask a young person what 'Call of Duty' is and I bet they get it. Ask the same person what 'Ultima' is and I'm sure they won't know, or say it's just too old.

Ah, but that's the thing. There are millions of WoW players who have never even played Warcraft. Believe it or not. While UO is a direct successor to the Ultima franchise, it isn't bound by it, nor should it be.

Btw.

- Graphics don't make a game. Diablo 3 is nothing more then a watered down WoW game client. All the textures are very similar to WoW, yet, there are a lot of people who played Diablo 2 years (12?) ago that are die hard fans. I bet this game sold more copies then vanilla UO, only because of it's fan base.

Actually, the Diablo client and the WoW client couldn't be more dissimilar. If you've followed any of the development of Diablo III, you know that it was built from the ground up, and has technical limitations that the WoW client doesn't have, specifically because they designed a client for the game they were designing.

As for graphics... while they don't make a game, they do make an experience. Believe me.

- And why do you think WoW was so successful? The 'Warcraft' name resonates across the world, wither you like it or not. Ultima is niche. I honestly think the game should get a graphics upgrade, and be re-marketed to have any shot.

Actually, WoW was so successful because of the Blizzard name, not on Warcraft alone. Why? Because the Blizzard mindset has always been "we'll release it when it's done." That isn't to say there's never any bugs or glitches, but that they go a lot further in presenting a polished experience and making sure that things, in general, work, and are enjoyable.

UO, sadly, never has that kind of shot because EA is always about the "release it now so we can start making money on our investment." Which is sad, because Electronic Arts of the 1980s was an innovative company that actually cared about the experience. Now it cares more about the end results. SW:ToR IS sort of a sign that they're moving in a different direction, and actually working toward better experiences... but they also have a huge Lucas license to contend with. Still, one can hope that at some point this all bodes well for UO. Though, with the rather lackluster year UO's been having so far, I can only pray that the 15th anniversary announcements are worth the wait.

 

[Rupert Avery]

What obvious reasons does a 15 year old game have about hiding its future versus a game such as SWTOR that's barely been out 6 months and that is bombarding us on a weekly basis with future plans, some of which run to nearly a year from now? Nobody in the industry is going to care what UO does from a competitive point of view, but a lot of other companies are watching SWTOR's plans and might even be making adjustments in their own games, released or otherwise.

Unless those reasons are negative, i.e. there is not a future planned and they are just going to let the clock run out on the game or they are planning on doing something with UO that is going to upset a lot of people and they are trying to keep it secret until the end, I have a hard time understanding why no other EA game is cloaked in this much secrecy.

If they are planning on just running out the clock, why go through the expense of upgrading the graphics?

That proves my point (and Martyna's): I can make a good case that UO is in maintenance mode or I can make a good case that UO has big things planned but they are just trying to get the anniversary out of the way.

To add to those two scenarios, several months ago, somebody I know made a good case that maybe the reason for the secrecy is they have some big things planned that are going to be unpopular with some, and they are waiting until those plans are done so they can just push them out, tell people that's how it's going to be, and then move on.

There is something else I mentioned on the last page that goes against what you and others are saying.

With the 15th anniversary, this is the most publicity that UO has gotten in 3 years, and probably more likely 5 years going back to KR.

It will be 5 more years before UO, assuming it survives, gets this much attention again.

If EA, Jeff Skalski, etc. don't take advantage of this publicity to try and sell UO to new and old players who quit a long time ago, then my only conclusion is that they've given up on UO and are just running out the clock.

There is no other logical explanation for EA to just throw away this much free publicity.

None.

I didn't say I agreed with hiding the future plans or even that it is good to Hide these things. I was just stating that they will have their reasons. For me I doubt I would accept any excuses as good reasons.

I totally agree they need to be taking advantage of the 15 year anniversary MUCH more than they have been. I have asked int he past why do we see game time cards for Rune Scape in places like Wall Mart or Asda in the UK or any many other shops, and not see Ultima Online GTCs... The reason we don't see it on the shelves is cost of distribution etc.. But these cards would be a fraction of that cost...

Advertising is another that that I think we could see more of.. in this day and age.. anybody can create a Facebook ad and it costs very little. it would target directly the people they choose. Or they could ask the players and fans of Ultima to create ads for a competition... give them a Game time code as a prize and use their ad. Which would relieve the cost of designers.

these are just my thoughts on how i think UO could be helped

 

[Lady Storm]

I am not sure what tv shows the playing public watch... but some ad's would be great... E-mailings would help the old players if they ever were the same.. something I doubt by the way many now a days do for security. Magizines.... any would be good.. there must be a few still out there people read.... We do have things worth doing in game... we are different then when we opened in 97... more changes to come... we just need players. More players to come to the game, new, old, even the 6 mo and gone would be more preferable than none.
Radian Figith (no i wont try to do your hi and lo's) There is a documentary on Blizzard, it shows how the company got its start and who was the backers of Blizzard. They had a very interesting set of investors...... Unlike how EA shafted Garrott and his team, being the investors of a crazy group of people they saw promise of a future...so they gave them their head and let the creative juices flow....
EA wanted control... sort of control freaks if you want the correct wording. UO was breaking ground in the online game world and being "Suits" they needed to control it badly. Unlike stand alone machine games like atari where the Suits were use to getting what they wanted and not deal with "players" UO was a new ball of wax and they couldnt handle it. But however they didnt want anyothers to know that and went on a denial trip that went through so many Dev teams I doubt any here could list off the names unless you have one of the old gifts sets to rattle off the names! Oh we got "NEW " art by that idiot who got millions of dollars from EA for alot of trash. AoS... now there was a tragedy (not greek ... hmm it looks Greek) Every change drove off players..... They were Lazy, made the game so much a mess I doubt Garrott could fix us.
If Jeff was serious there is alot that could be done to UO, but there is the rub. Could be... Jeff said in one of his interviews the limited budget.... EA has even him on a very short leash. They cant take back AoS.... sorry kiddos.. the back up of this boo boo is way off the radar.
Things to make UO more Friendly to returning players and New players: (WE count too in this)

1. Loss prevention Just as it sounds GM's will replace what has come up missing. It's only pixels boys... Wow tracks it all why not UO, But there will be a twist.. you must report it within the time the servers register you with it at last master save.

2. Accounts will have 1 house per shard limit. Housing will have larger co owner list and a larger cap on the lock downs/secures to the max of 5k per no matter the size of the home.

3. The 3D support will be expanded over the months to completion and supported by the game as large. 2D will be called classic and fully supported and considered the main look of UO.

4. New workings of skill trees and addition of a higher skill lvl. Players will find more to do and make in the crafts and masterys of skills that top the best artifacts of old...(meaning to the crafter your getting back the old ways of GM made meaning something... )

5. New Dungeons in the new lands ... Tokuno, TerMur will get new more skill leveled dungeon.... Party and solo modes will be the new wave of fighting. If your not say GM or 105, 110, 115 or the max 120 you cant enter etc.... Each dungeon will have a setting for the lvl of character template can enter. 120's will find it has turned to hell in the new Dungeons and they are the ritual sacrafice!

6. Crafters rejoice! New Bod rotating gifts and tired gift system. New Bods for Tinkers, Tailors, Smiths, Carpenters, Boyers, and even Alchemists exams, all that junk you toss to the trash will have a new way to earn you skills, gold and gifts. Lumberjacks, Miners, Fishers, Cartographers your not left out! Under the gifts of one of the skills above will be a locator remote with 100 charges each ( stackable to 1000 charges) that gives you signals of what your highest item is in test area. Meaning a lumberjack will click on it and target the closest tree and give you a message of the highest tree wood in a 15 square grid of your chosen spot. Same for miners. Fishers get a fish detector that will tell them of schools of fish near by. Carto will be more presise now with the locator tool. select the map use the tool on that map and the detector will tell you one of 5 messages alone with the general direction of the target. (1. There is no treasure here, 2. Treasure is detected but your too far away, 3. Treasure is near by go _____ (direction N,E,S,W) 4. Tresure is here! (means its within 5 square steps of you 5. Get off the Treasure and Dig!!)


Ok I know I am tired I went back to being Boss again................... :bowdown:

 

[Sauteed Onion]

5. New Dungeons in the new lands ... Tokuno, TerMur will get new more skill leveled dungeon.... Party and solo modes will be the new wave of fighting. If your not say GM or 105, 110, 115 or the max 120 you cant enter etc.... Each dungeon will have a setting for the lvl of character template can enter. 120's will find it has turned to hell in the new Dungeons and they are the ritual sacrafice!

6. Crafters rejoice! New Bod rotating gifts and tired gift system. New Bods for Tinkers, Tailors, Smiths, Carpenters, Boyers, and even Alchemists exams, all that junk you toss to the trash will have a new way to earn you skills, gold and gifts. Lumberjacks, Miners, Fishers, Cartographers your not left out! Under the gifts of one of the skills above will be a locator remote with 100 charges each ( stackable to 1000 charges) that gives you signals of what your highest item is in test area. Meaning a lumberjack will click on it and target the closest tree and give you a message of the highest tree wood in a 15 square grid of your chosen spot. Same for miners. Fishers get a fish detector that will tell them of schools of fish near by. Carto will be more presise now with the locator tool. select the map use the tool on that map and the detector will tell you one of 5 messages alone with the general direction of the target. (1. There is no treasure here, 2. Treasure is detected but your too far away, 3. Treasure is near by go _____ (direction N,E,S,W) 4. Tresure is here! (means its within 5 square steps of you 5. Get off the Treasure and Dig!!)


Ok I know I am tired I went back to being Boss again................... :bowdown:

I mostly want to pick out the first line in 5. Actually, just the first 2 words in 5. And then the first line in 6. Which coincidentally are the first 2 words hehe. They have no problems giving us new dungeons, or reasons for crafters to rejoice.. or new .. wait. What I meant to say is they got no problem revamping old dungeons and messing with things that crafters do. But hey at least they're trying.

The things that may be is that perhaps the development team does want massive wonderful new stuff to happen. But they are trying to just change it all at the same time, or so close to that, that instead of making each thing "better"; they are making a lot of things well.. some people feel it's "better" others feel it's "worse" and some people are just like uh.. and why can't we get a fix for our shields and weapons to stop changing hands everytime we face north to south? Think about like this... You turn on UO.. and you want EVERYTHING!!! WOO! Gimme gimme gimmee!!! It's mine!! WOO! So you did a little of everything. You got 20 cookin skill, 48 fishing skill, 17 magery 54 chivalry 10 hiding (cause that's just slow.. man), maybe 11 stealing, no stealth cause ya couldn't figure out why it isn't working, some poisoing a little dab of alchemy cause potions rule.. I mean a little of everything on that 1 character. The one to rule them all! But by doing everything all at once, you've made everything suck. You didn't take the time to refine your skill in hiding, and figure out why you couldn't stealth. You didn't single out a magic skill so now you're novice at best in all fields of it.. you spread yourself so thin, you couldn't even get to all the things you wanted to do before you reached your potential.. and all your buddies won't hang out with you, because you can't "hang".

/end cryptic analysis. *Edit* forgot to meow. Meow.

 

[Bob Schaffer]

There is no amount of graphics changes (worth spending) that will make people want to play UO.
No one is going to want to play UO with any trammel improvements, if i wanted to quest i would play WoW and it would look better and have more people.
Because you (or your tiny group of friends) like to endlessly grind dungeons for worthless items do bods, mine, pretty much anything you can do in tram, dont expect others would actually want
to play UO for those reasons. In fact if you presented these ideas to a relatively sane new MMORPG player they would probably laugh at you.

The only chance Ultima even has is based off content changes, mostly in the pvp area. Pvp is the endgame of Ultima and if you are trying to attract people when they look to the end of the game and see nothing
then i think you better rethink the situation.
Most players want a reason to farm or a reason to grind, not to grind for fun.

That which makes UO unique also damns it. Housing is unique but when a player decides to leave and let their house drop this is a significant impact, one that again most sane people would not
even consider going back to.

For people like Woodsman i feel bad, i dont believe there is plans for the 15th aniversarry beyond yay its the aniversarry. But i bet i could catch several of you the day you find out that you are getting nothing
betting on what your getting for the 16th.It is true that disinteresting is the most dangerous thing UO can be and to much of its population and former population, it is.

 

[O'Brien]

There is no amount of graphics changes (worth spending) that will make people want to play UO.
No one is going to want to play UO with any trammel improvements, if i wanted to quest i would play WoW and it would look better and have more people.
Because you (or your tiny group of friends) like to endlessly grind dungeons for worthless items do bods, mine, pretty much anything you can do in tram, dont expect others would actually want
to play UO for those reasons. In fact if you presented these ideas to a relatively sane new MMORPG player they would probably laugh at you.

You start off ok

The only chance Ultima even has is based off content changes, mostly in the pvp area. Pvp is the endgame of Ultima and if you are trying to attract people when they look to the end of the game and see nothing
then i think you better rethink the situation.
Most players want a reason to farm or a reason to grind, not to grind for fun.

This is where you fail to sufficiently explain your point.

1. UO has no one endgame.
2. You argue in the first part that if someone wants to quest, they'll do it in WoW. Well you could same the same for PvP, so...
3. If you present UO PvP to a relatively sane new MMORPG player, they would laugh at you as well

 

[Petra Fyde]

If pvp is the endgame, then I will never reach it.

I do not enjoy pvp. It doesn't suit my personality. It may be the 'end game' for some people, but let's not generalise. Not everyone likes the same things. One of the beauties of UO is that it allows for so many totally different playstyles.
As to UO's future, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm as worried as anyone else, but EA have always played their cards close to their chest with UO. Does no one remember the hints that there was a fabulous new combat system in AOS that we were going to love, but absolutely no details until it arrived?
(my math's challenged brain still hates it btw and wishes we could go back to the simpler version)

 

[Shelleybean]

Well, what we do know is that an expansion is not in the future plans. I guess I’m the only one bothered by it.

 

[Redxpanda]

If pvp is the endgame, then I will never reach it.

I do not enjoy pvp. It doesn't suit my personality. It may be the 'end game' for some people, but let's not generalise. Not everyone likes the same things. One of the beauties of UO is that it allows for so many totally different playstyles.
As to UO's future, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm as worried as anyone else, but EA have always played their cards close to their chest with UO. Does no one remember the hints that there was a fabulous new combat system in AOS that we were going to love, but absolutely no details until it arrived?
(my math's challenged brain still hates it btw and wishes we could go back to the simpler version)

I agree. While i have done it in the past, i am thankful that it is not forced onto me. I'm too old to keep up with all the button pressing. Yesterday i was fighting this monster (paragon desert scorpion) and i swear it reminded me of pvp and i hated it.

 

[Petra Fyde]

Well, what we do know is that an expansion is not in the future plans. I guess I’m the only one bothered by it.

To be honest I think uo has 'expanded' about as far as it can go. We most definitely don't need any more new lands, Which is what is traditionally included in a game expansion.
If you think about it, there's almost as much work in the dungeon re-vamps, if you add them all together and include re-forging. Without anyone having to agonise, in this difficult economic climate, over finding additional funds to purchase the additions.

 

[Lady Storm]

I so totaly agree with Petra and Redxpanda. Pvp is only a small part of why UO is so good, but dont catagorize it as the "end all" Many a old pvp player has gotten so tired of pvp they dont even want to hear about it when I ask them why they no longer do it. As for the calculating of things Petra, I am with you!! and I am a math wiz or so I thought till i tried to get my head wraped around the math needed for combat. Petra is correct money is tight for alot of players, these changes should be on the patch menu every week like in the begining we had patches almost every day... they dont have to slave to do much... just take a project at a time.

Sauteed Onions sugar, I was tired and was on a rampage when I wrote that.... if i had my boss hat on at Mythic, the dev of uo would be in a world of flying arses and elbows. Oh dont get me wrong I am a thoughtfull boss, just ask my old employees. Who got 4 to 6 course dinners on nights they worked till 1 am. Or the weekends of fresh homemade cookies and chocolate for the deadlines to get out. But I do expect the work to be done and done right. Dont get me wrong the Dev do try ... But they do need my velvet covered whip to get their arses in gear and get it done..............:whip:
But and here is the kicker.... its a big but. We do need all of what I pointed out. Too many were disapointed when crafting was majorly left out, too many friends left do to houseing and the capasity in said homes(many said they didnt want castles but the lockdowns were the need not the size. heck if I had the lockdowns in some of my 7 x7s of a castle rather then a few measly hundred I'd not have needed so many castles!) The Dev got to really spend a few weeks in the game like a true gamer does and do each style of player setup. When they made 1 house per account so many of my friends left i was flooded with accounts in my e mail. We need to open this back up so the players can float around UO as the first DEV told us they wanted. Grandfathered accounts should show you that many of us took them at their word and spred out to other shards. We need that if the game is to survive, pegionholing players is not helping.

I'd love to see a dev with the LJ/Miner crafter try to get enough of any wood or ore. With no tricks or special looks a dev can do... just the same as you or I have. Lets see them find a frost tree! Or keep at locating val ore or any other ore for that matter outside iron.... with out the tools we have its down right a pain in the neck. I or anyone else should not have to rely on the Stump or OreCart for our resources... and speaking of them.....they really need to add in the ML stuff to ether the sos's or t maps chests. We get every other one BUT THEM!!! ok boss hat off geesh I must still be uptight on this subject......
To enjoy UO we need people... plain and simple. To get more we need to majorly upgrade the lot in the game. I am willing to give ideas of items and types of things to pull players in. Do you hear me DEV??? We can help you.

 

[Woodsman]

There is no amount of graphics changes (worth spending) that will make people want to play UO.

Like it or not, graphics help sell a game, especially these days. It gets the younger players in the door. If graphics weren't among the things holding UO back, then UO wouldn't have been in decline for the last 7-8 years, since UO offers a richer experience than most other games that have come along since 2004.

No one is going to want to play UO with any trammel improvements, if i wanted to quest i would play WoW and it would look better and have more people.

With the exception of a few games that I could count on one hand and still have fingers left over, the industry and the vast majority of MMORPG players has proven that the Trammel style is the way to go.

I know, I've played most of the major MMORPGs out there. Other than Darkfall or EVE Online, they all offer consensual PvP in the form of allowing players to choose PvP or PvE servers or a variation of that.

Pvp is the endgame of Ultima

Well hell I should have quit playing UO back in the 1990s because I was PvPing then. Little did I know that less than two weeks into playing UO, I was already at the endgame!!!! I hadn't GMed a single skill, I hadn't even hit 10,000 gold in the bank, I was a year or two away from owning a house, but I was already PvPing, so I guess I should have quit playing UO nearly 15 years ago since I had reached the endgame!

I don't think you understand the term "endgame". These days, once a new player gives up their young status, they can go PvP at any time. That is not an endgame. Owning a castle somewhere or a big house in Luna, switching your gameplay to Siege and building a reputation there, along with a GM character, these are things that are closer in line with an endgame, because they take work and a lot of time. Given UO's emphasis on owning things, a castle is probably one of the best definitions of a UO endgame. Anybody can PvP, but very few can own a castle due to their limited availability. Even then, the endgame in UO is really defined by each player on their own, which is one of the most unique things about UO.

Anybody can PvP, but most people don't. That's just the way it is.

Or they are like me and bored by PvP. Yes, bored. I said it. There is no appeal for me in winning or losing a few thousand gold for insurance. None. I have not been able to get into factions either. Maybe it's because I also like playing FPSs and killing or being killed by other players means little when it can happen a dozen times in 15 minutes in some of the games I've played. Maybe it's because I remember the early days of PvP when it was a radically different experience than what we have now. Maybe it's because I've played EVE Online extensively. If anything, EVE Online is the only game that reminds me of UO's early PvP since you can risk and lose everything, or come out with substantial winnings. Darkfall comes close, but I've always had a hard time getting into it. But EVE's unrestricted PvP definitely reminds me of the early UO days.

It's nothing against the current UO team, it was several teams ago that decided to remove the risk from PvP with insurance. I hope that my attitude changes after I'm settled in on Siege and that PvP will become more fun and feel more risky, but PvP on a normal shard excites me about as much as playing Battlefield 3.

Most players want a reason to farm or a reason to grind, not to grind for fun.

I agree with that. I know people who spent years working up to a castle or a house in Luna. They would not have done all of the grinding and farming they did if they didn't have some kind of goal. I hope that some things are resolved in this live arc that make the grinding that some are currently doing worth it.

That which makes UO unique also damns it. Housing is unique but when a player decides to leave and let their house drop this is a significant impact, one that again most sane people would not even consider going back to.

Having let my houses drop in the past, I completely agree with you. When I did that, it was partly with the intention of not returning - I knew that dropping them and losing what I did would be a deterrent to coming back, but here I am.

It is true that disinteresting is the most dangerous thing UO can be and to much of its population and former population, it is.

I agree. I have encountered many people who don't care about UO's future or they just accept the status quo and assume that UO can never grow again.

I believe that there is a big place for UO. Having played so many MMORPGs over the years, I've encountered so many people who get bored and just hop from game to game, because no game offers the kinds of things that UO does in terms of tying players down. Things like housing. Things like a skill instead of level-based systems. The extensive crafting and the things like fishing and gardening.

The problem is that without clear plans for UO, and without things like a modernization of UO (graphics, etc.), those players are never going to give UO a shot, because the impression many people have of UO is either "oh hey 1990s graphics" or "UO IS STILL AROUND?"

UO could get a lot of those players who get bored with other games, it just has to give them a reason to take a look. The optimist in me hopes that the new player guide is a sign that somebody wants to bring in more players and they got the guide ready for that.

 

[Woodsman]

I totally agree they need to be taking advantage of the 15 year anniversary MUCH more than they have been. I have asked int he past why do we see game time cards for Rune Scape in places like Wall Mart or Asda in the UK or any many other shops, and not see Ultima Online GTCs... The reason we don't see it on the shelves is cost of distribution etc.. But these cards would be a fraction of that cost...

It's a problem because there aren't enough UO player and lack of GTC is not the reason for UO's low population. If they offered an Origin.com gift card, that's another story, and I'm honestly surprised they don't (assuming they don't). An Origin.com gift card would take care of UO GTC and it would have more of a chance of happening.

Advertising is another that that I think we could see more of..

With the anniversary, UO is about to get more advertising, for free, than it's gotten since Stygian Abyss, and even probably before then.

 

[Sauteed Onion]

I so totaly agree with Petra and Redxpanda. Pvp is only a small part of why UO is so good, but dont catagorize it as the "end all" Many a old pvp player has gotten so tired of pvp they dont even want to hear about it when I ask them why they no longer do it. As for the calculating of things Petra, I am with you!! and I am a math wiz or so I thought till i tried to get my head wraped around the math needed for combat. Petra is correct money is tight for alot of players, these changes should be on the patch menu every week like in the begining we had patches almost every day... they dont have to slave to do much... just take a project at a time.

Sauteed Onions sugar, I was tired and was on a rampage when I wrote that.... if i had my boss hat on at Mythic, the dev of uo would be in a world of flying arses and elbows. Oh dont get me wrong I am a thoughtfull boss, just ask my old employees. Who got 4 to 6 course dinners on nights they worked till 1 am. Or the weekends of fresh homemade cookies and chocolate for the deadlines to get out. But I do expect the work to be done and done right. Dont get me wrong the Dev do try ... But they do need my velvet covered whip to get their arses in gear and get it done..............:whip:
But and here is the kicker.... its a big but. We do need all of what I pointed out. Too many were disapointed when crafting was majorly left out, too many friends left do to houseing and the capasity in said homes(many said they didnt want castles but the lockdowns were the need not the size. heck if I had the lockdowns in some of my 7 x7s of a castle rather then a few measly hundred I'd not have needed so many castles!) The Dev got to really spend a few weeks in the game like a true gamer does and do each style of player setup.

I'd love to see a dev with the LJ/Miner crafter try to get enough of any wood or ore. With no tricks or special looks a dev can do... just the same as you or I have. Lets see them find a frost tree! Or keep at locating val ore or any other ore for that matter outside iron.... with out the tools we have its down right a pain in the neck. I or anyone else should not have to rely on the Stump or OreCart for our resources... and speaking of them.....they really need to add in the ML stuff to ether the sos's or t maps chests. We get every other one BUT THEM!!! ok boss hat off geesh I must still be uptight on this subject......
To enjoy UO we need people... plain and simple. To get more we need to majorly upgrade the lot in the game. I am willing to give ideas of items and types of things to pull players in. Do you hear me DEV??? We can help you.

I rant a lot lately, meow. But I like that bit in the first paragraph "They don't have to slave much... just take a project at a time" I'd like to add though, be communicative in advance before just comin out and saying "Hey go check this out on TC1 or Origins rq" like a week before it's getting jammed into all the other servers.. whilst buggy and not fully checked to see what these new codes conflict with. And even then.. ignoring or just not taking into account the reports of bugs associated with the new goodies while they are still indeed on TC1 and then origins. When a report of "Hey I just lost my whole bank box full, or the backpack disappeared off my paperdoll and when I relogged in, the backpack was there but all my stuff is missing.. or my mount disappeared and isn't in the stables.. and gm refuses to replace it" type reports.. those should be where the line is drawn and that new goody doesn't get implemented before it goes "back to formula".. kinda like when the Green Lantern flips out in Spider Man man movie.. hehe BACK TO FORMULA!?! Anyhow.. it shouldn't stymie the implementation altogether but it should throw up an immediate red flag and halt it's integration to the rest of the servers before it's addressed, singled out, and fixed. Also, one thing that's been bugging me for like.. oh years.. When I'm in a party, and we decide to break that party so we get an instanced loot box at the end of a fight, all my buddies flippin bars disappear. They don't disappear if they are invisible when the party is broken, but if the "fix" to keep the bars from disappearing is to ensure my friends are invisible before I break party, then I smell laziness. Meow.

*Edit for sillyness*

Hmm, let me go check my youtubed stuff and see if I can't find an instance with the party bars.. brbmeow

 

[Woodsman]

To be honest I think uo has 'expanded' about as far as it can go. We most definitely don't need any more new lands, Which is what is traditionally included in a game expansion.
If you think about it, there's almost as much work in the dungeon re-vamps, if you add them all together and include re-forging. Without anyone having to agonise, in this difficult economic climate, over finding additional funds to purchase the additions.

I agree completely. And players contribute a lot of content within UO and they contribute to the experience. I believe UO has more content than most MMORPGs out there. It's a matter of getting other people interested in it.

A lot of problems that players in UO have would be alleviated by the addition of more players. PvPers would have more people to PvP with, crafters and vendors would have more people to sell to. Guilds would be able to put together larger events. There would be more guilds. The list goes on.

As I said in another thread, the best thing the devs could give us for the 15th anniversary is a bunch of new players, because that would help take UO to its 20th anniversary.

 

[Sauteed Onion]

Fast forward to 4:50'ish and watch what I'm talkin about there meow with the party bars. Even my own health thingy. Just blewp. goninated.

 

[Uriah Heep]

Yeah that's bad.

Fast forward to 4:50'ish and watch what I'm talkin about there meow with the party bars. Even my own health thingy. Just blewp. goninated.

And what totally drives me crazy is to have everyones party bars neatly lined up on one side, someone gets dc'd and comes back, and the bars fly all over the screen! And if you're just about to let a spell go, and someone's flying bar get in the way, you're attacking a guildie lol. But this has beeen talked about for years with no help, maybe since we aren't going head down full speed working on expansions anymore they can revisit some of these old problems...*crosses fingers*

And let the record show, I'm adding goninated to my dictionary, I like that LOL

 

[Bob Schaffer]

Or they are like me and bored by PvP. Yes, bored. I said it. There is no appeal for me in winning or losing a few thousand gold for insurance. None. I have not been able to get into factions either. Maybe it's because I also like playing FPSs and killing or being killed by other players means little when it can happen a dozen times in 15 minutes in some of the games I've played. Maybe it's because I remember the early days of PvP when it was a radically different experience than what we have now. Maybe it's because I've played EVE Online extensively. If anything, EVE Online is the only game that reminds me of UO's early PvP since you can risk and lose everything, or come out with substantial winnings. Darkfall comes close, but I've always had a hard time getting into it. But EVE's unrestricted PvP definitely reminds me of the early UO days.

First off woodsman you are not an easy person to quote when you write books. Second at least its a book worth reading.
You've summed pvp up, even most of the pvpers feel this way, you are not alone, perhaps your a closet pvper after all.

The people who don't understand why Ultimas pvp was/is unique is the ability to interact with so many players at the same time. Diablo doesnt have it, their games run 4 deep, alot of games have limits. Ultima even for its age
is above many its competitors in this aspect. You dont realize that pvpers want more targets not less, so the very large numbers can be very appealing and interesting. However we can already see games like EVE catching on to this
basic concept which by the way WoW didnt really. I believe Darkfall is close in this aspect (havent played) but i have heard friends that do play complain of other things.

Lastly Ultima gold is being sold at 10 cents per million, its everywhere. I can literally buy a billion gold for less than a cheap 1 month subscription. People attributing real money value to digital items isnt something new. Also it
shouldnt be new to anyone to see websites attributed to selling it. Why isnt there a bigger investigation into these? Do we all believe this is all legit products? I dont personally believe they have helped the economy as a whole
and in the end, the game as a whole.

 

[NuSair]

If pvp is the endgame, then I will never reach it.

PVP is not the endgame of UO- UO doesn't have an end game. That is something the PVP'ers tell themselves and others to make themselves feel special. And from all the 'u suck', 'u r terible', 'you mad?' and various other misspelled insults/taunts they need that ego boost.

 

[Sauteed Onion]

PVP is not the endgame of UO- UO doesn't have an end game. That is something the PVP'ers tell themselves and others to make themselves feel special. And from all the 'u suck', 'u r terible', 'you mad?' and various other misspelled insults/taunts they need that ego boost.

you mad = 'umadbro?' So, let me ask you.. umadbro?

 

[NuSair]

lol, only when I get phat loot from Cora and it's ruined by 1 bad property... +20 hci, +20 dci - 100 luck.

Then again, I did get a clean lesser artifact... so, it's not so bad.

 

[hen]

PVP is not the endgame of UO- UO doesn't have an end game. That is something the PVP'ers tell themselves and others to make themselves feel special. And from all the 'u suck', 'u r terible', 'you mad?' and various other misspelled insults/taunts they need that ego boost.

A total diversion away from the original point of the thread. An utter and total diversion.

 

[RaDian FlGith]

Just a general response to whichever response had mention of new dungeons in them... this is the ONE THING that drives me the most insane about the whole "dungeon revamp" going on.

First, we don't need "new dungeons." Good god, the place has enough wasted dungeon space as it is, so the idea of applying themes to the individual dungeons is good. On the other hand, they're already in danger of making newer dungeon revamps make obsolete other new revamps. They should tread carefully and ensure there are good and UNIQUE reasons to visit each dungeon.

That said, the ONE THING that bothers me the most is that we KNOW they can update the map (why they didn't with the Fire Island Casino is beyond me, but then, that's only one of a million questions), so why in the world don't they drop a few new passages in here or there, add new places to explore INSIDE of familiar places? I mean, I could make a new layout, put in all kinds of stuff to theme it properly, and make Covetous 6, Deceit 5, Wrong 4, et cetera given about 8 hours. We could see new passages connect old ones, we could see out and out revamps that would actually add exploration to places we already know. Think about clicking a lever in Deceit, and then stepping on a platform, and whoosh, you're whisked to a never-before-seen level. There's PLENTY of expansion opportunity in each dungeon's own backyard. We don't need new dungeons, we need new places to explore. And while they sound like the same thing, one -- new dungeons -- dilutes the playerbase, while the other -- new areas in old familiar places -- encourages visits to already known places.

But that's just me.

 

[Sauteed Onion]

Yeah that's bad.


And what totally drives me crazy is to have everyones party bars neatly lined up on one side, someone gets dc'd and comes back, and the bars fly all over the screen!
And let the record show, I'm adding goninated to my dictionary, I like that LOL

Oh, I forgot to mention there is "fix" kinda sorta for that; because I dislike when that happens as well. You know how you can connect the bars together so you can move them as just a big stack of bars? Don't link them together; just leave a minute gap between them. This will make it so only the person who disconnected will have discrepancies with their bar. I don't believe I have a video'd version of that anywhere.

 

[hen]

I think it is quite telling that this thread is ignored by the devs, yet they post pictures of the 15th anniversary harpsichord deed they are giving us. Maintenance mode.

 

[Woodsman]

I think there might be some hope. On Twitter, Jeff made it clear he understands how important presentation is.

Just watched the Ubi E3 conference. Proud of ya Francois! U lookd good up there. Congrats 2u & the team. AC3 looks amazing.

In response to this twitter from some guy named Darren an hour or so ago

@Jeff_Skalski Maybe they're just waiting for the right time to show them? I do feel there were some missed opportunities though.

Jeff made it clear that he understands about missed opportunities and how people want to find out about games.

@darrenkerwin I can understand. I was bummed there was no showing of Animal Crossing, Metroid, Smash Brothers or even a serious Zelda.

I think Jeff can understand how bummed out we are that none of us have an idea about UO's future and I'm sure he understands how important the 15th anniversary will be.

It's just a matter of how do we get him to talk about UO? Do we strike up a Twitter conversation and say "Jeff, you know how you're bummed not finding out about Animal Crossing and some other Nintendo games, that's how we feel about not knowing UO's future"?

Anybody have any suggestions for approaching him? The man is a serious gamer, I think he can understand us, it's just a matter of opening some kind of dialogue.

 

[O'Brien]

rofl.

Yeah let's come up with a plan to get the UO producer to tell us what's coming up. Maybe a virtual intervention or ambush or something.


I actually don't see what the big deal is on this one. I just want game improvements. I don't care so much if I'm told in advance about it. Telling us plans in advance seems like just more opportunity for them to over-promise and under-deliver.

I think there might be some hope. On Twitter, Jeff made it clear he understands how important presentation is.


In response to this twitter from some guy named Darren an hour or so ago
Jeff made it clear that he understands about missed opportunities and how people want to find out about games.

I think Jeff can understand how bummed out we are that none of us have an idea about UO's future and I'm sure he understands how important the 15th anniversary will be.

It's just a matter of how do we get him to talk about UO? Do we strike up a Twitter conversation and say "Jeff, you know how you're bummed not finding out about Animal Crossing and some other Nintendo games, that's how we feel about not knowing UO's future"?

Anybody have any suggestions for approaching him? The man is a serious gamer, I think he can understand us, it's just a matter of opening some kind of dialogue.

 

[Sir Ophid of Yew]

I think there might be some hope. On Twitter, Jeff made it clear he understands how important presentation is.


In response to this twitter from some guy named Darren an hour or so ago
Jeff made it clear that he understands about missed opportunities and how people want to find out about games.
...
...
It's just a matter of how do we get him to talk about UO? Do we strike up a Twitter conversation and say "Jeff, you know how you're bummed not finding out about Animal Crossing and some other Nintendo games, that's how we feel about not knowing UO's future"?

Anybody have any suggestions for approaching him? The man is a serious gamer, I think he can understand us, it's just a matter of opening some kind of dialogue.

Are you saying Jeff should care as much for the game he produces and that pays his salary and that I pay $117 a month for 9 accounts towards that salary, as he does for games that he might wanna play that are sold by his competitors?

Ophid

 

[Zyon Rockler]

UO's future is probably protected in some ways. Alot of games are inspired and much more capable and willing to spend money than EA.

So, they probably have this future plan but really have not done anything except for the very basic, needed changes. There's probably not enough resources to allow each section of the game the ability to reach its' future, so, it is held back.

I think some of the major problems with not being able to see UO's future, is the fact that they will work backwards and there will be alot of work that is done that will never be used in the final product.

What should be done is a website that works similar to WIKI, where you add the basic systems that already exist and then you add concept ideas so that anything that is part of the world, including ideas, are part of a classification system.

So, if you had, for example: an upcoming publish, you would be able to see what was in the publish and the designers could outline a section of what is going to happen.

Then you would also have the ability to add to ideas that people have made, where you could have discussions on those changes or things that are added to the WIKI.

So, you would have a list where you could go into ideas like pet dyes and even though it's not in the game, there would be a long list of how it would work and you would also find different types of systems of how it could work differently, even foot notes of why things might work a certain way and you could design different systems so that if the ideas would affect other futuristic plans or change the way one mechanic might work vs. another mechanic, meaning the entire system would affect other systems, kind of like removing the roots from a tree, could affect the tree in a certain way.

So, then you would have this whole section of UO's future, possible future and concepts where you could expand on any given system and everyone could add and change or update the systems so the entire world could essentially work on any one given problem.

I think alot of the problem is money. So, that rather than producing something that works, the ideas are hidden and when they come out they affect other things in a negative way, which is proof that a solution was not found that is simply a change and I think that holds back UO, as well as any other game. So, rather than working on the ultimate game for RPs we are working to try to make money, which is what ends up doing the opposite.

I think the future has alot of expectations for people and it's ok to have surprises but when systems are changed and time is spent they should try to stay with those changes.

Like, with the art for example, the main reason for the change in art, does anyone know why we were trying to make the game more advanced? Instead people complained about the looks. Now, with a concept page people could of understood better and possibly could have helped in that goal but instead people were all worried about something that had nothing to do with the change in the first place. It gets upsetting to me to think that i'm paying for a game that I can play on my phone. I want a game that uses the latest technology. I want the cutting edge programming, Direct X capability.

So, then we get this whole idealism about how it will change UO, while I sit here worried Microsoft might figure out they need to advance Windows and we end up needing DOS Box for UO.

Doesn't anyone worry where it gets to the point where if you buy a new computer, you're going to need to keep your old one so you can play? We are talking about the future of UO but no one can even understand what that means unless we have a way of looking at things and understanding things for their main purpose.

Another example: The graphics card. Look at all the different colors it can use. Look at all the different objects it can process. Now UO might look good to some 2D players, that's wonderful but how capable is it. How much does it push the limit? When KR came out, it pushed the limit but I think people would of been able to live with it. I think it would have caught on and possibly advanced the game by 10 years. It's the same thing with sound. You've really got to understand the reasoning behind it. Like, with the classical music of UO. You have to bring it up to date, not necessarily change it and adding to it, in no way, is changing it. It might not be pretty but we should be more concerned with functionality. Like a sparkler to a fireworks show to a super nova. To be able to experience, you need to move forward.

If you look at the enhanced client now and you look at KR, which one is better? I think alot of changes that are made are not really what people want and that it's going to take alot longer to get to where we need to be. If it were up to me, there would be a blue print that everyone could work on.

 

[Madrid]

If you look at the enhanced client now and you look at KR, which one is better?

KR was better hands down from a high resolution graphics perspective. I don't care what anyone says...I'll tell you right now if I had a choice between any client in UO's history I'd be going with KR. Pinco has done wonders and has made the EC client better than KR in terms of features and stability of that there is no question whatsoever. EC wins hands down as far as features...all glory to Pinco!

It terms of look and feel though KR was hands down the better looking art set and it's still sitting somewhere on a computer somewhere which is so frustrating.

Somone posted on stratics that "KR was too much too soon" for the CC users.

KR was the reason I started playing UO again after seeing screenshots of it on Wikipedia. I came back to UO after several years hiatus and 2 years into it they pulled the plug on it and introduced the "Stygian Abyss Client" which then turned into the EC Client. When I first heard they were making a new client with even better graphics than KR I was exciting thinking UO may end up being something like Titan Quest instead resolution regressed and used the CC graphics and put them in the EC client to appease all the CC users who hated the EC Client and try and win them over.

The EC client is the CC client with a modernized GUI and it's not going to attract new players which UO needs to remain solvent.