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They haven't had an event away from their HQ in years.
Not everyone...
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Woodsman
Guest
The good news is, this must mean that they have some decent things planned (graphics update, etc.) because if people took off from work and paid good money only to be entertained with demos of harpsichords or a few other gifts/rewards rather than major updates or changes, the PR nightmare would be hilarious. EA is already not happy with BioWare over SWTOR and some of the Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2 stuff, and they are probably still trying to figure out the reaction to Ultima Forever. I doubt the UO team wants to increase that unhappiness even more.
I'd like to, but I don't have a rune marked and I'm not sure my gate scrolls would work.
No one knows what this birthday bash is.. it could be a party with drinks and nibbles and a chance to say happy birthday.. it doesn't mention being a town hall or anything like that....
Right lol. people might show up and there be a cake from the local grocery store and some Hawaiian punch, not a projector screen in site.
J
Joey Porter
Guest
I would have to agree, this seems like a very good sign and possibly Petra's remarkable optimism was correct.
I have some experience organizing events for participants but I don't think I'll be able to make this one as much as I'd love to.
Here are a few suggestions to make this less expensive and more fun.
Everyone stay at the same hotel. Preferably one like the Holiday Inn Express which offers a free breakfast buffet. For $80 you get a room and breakfast. Some rooms have 2 double beds so you can share a room with someone if you want.
The breakfast room is also open during the day so it's a great place to hang out together.
Staying at the same hotel will allow you to get reduced rates if someone can act as the hotel contact person.
Staying at the same hotel allows people to travel together.
Someone might want to rent a van to pickup people at the airport and other travel. Those picked up might want to pay the driver a few bucks to help pay for the rental.
Figure out where you want to go as a group to eat and make reservations.
Fairfax Hotels near Washington DC:Holiday Inn Express Fairfax
And no, I don't have anything to do with Holiday Inn Express. It's just a halfway decent hotel that has free breakfasts!
Here are a few suggestions to make this less expensive and more fun.
Everyone stay at the same hotel. Preferably one like the Holiday Inn Express which offers a free breakfast buffet. For $80 you get a room and breakfast. Some rooms have 2 double beds so you can share a room with someone if you want.
The breakfast room is also open during the day so it's a great place to hang out together.
Staying at the same hotel will allow you to get reduced rates if someone can act as the hotel contact person.
Staying at the same hotel allows people to travel together.
Someone might want to rent a van to pickup people at the airport and other travel. Those picked up might want to pay the driver a few bucks to help pay for the rental.
Figure out where you want to go as a group to eat and make reservations.
Fairfax Hotels near Washington DC:Holiday Inn Express Fairfax
And no, I don't have anything to do with Holiday Inn Express. It's just a halfway decent hotel that has free breakfasts!
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who care, come have funz we bees familyI wanna go, but I won't know anybody and it'll be awkward, then I'll get nervous, then I'll end up being that drunk guy 2.0.
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If I could go I'd bring my whips too. It is a goodness to scare people with whips! But you know they would be lining up for body wraps.:whip:
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Woodsman
Guest
Speaking of Austin, if you have a bunch of money to burn, you can listen to Rich Vogel, Starr Long, and Raph Koster talk about the early years of UO in October
Game Developers Conference Online | October 9-11, 2012 | Austin Convention Center | Austin, Texas
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Your mom is Melissa Etheridge?
I'm gonna be real shocked if there is much of a turnout. A dozen or so, the eternal optimists, and then the ones who were tired of going to the movies for a night out and just decided to kill an evening there. Thing that strikes me is, they were very careful to word that invitation to avoid the idea of any information coming out of it, just get together and visit and stuff I guess. The announcement timing is a bit odd too, a month isnt a lot of warning, with people going back to school, getting kids back in school, life routines being changed up this time of year make things difficult. Not a problem if ya have a couple or three months to work it out.
But I doubt there will be anything big come from this, they have nothing to say. No comment from them about anything or any concerns we have in quite some time.
The other thing that concerns me is in the pub notes, it said Halloween pumpkins were in the patch and would become active Oct 1st thru 31st. I have a feeling this may be it till after the first of the year, other than a few pixels tossed into the Christmas pool. =(
But I doubt there will be anything big come from this, they have nothing to say. No comment from them about anything or any concerns we have in quite some time.
The other thing that concerns me is in the pub notes, it said Halloween pumpkins were in the patch and would become active Oct 1st thru 31st. I have a feeling this may be it till after the first of the year, other than a few pixels tossed into the Christmas pool. =(
Actually I'm pretty surprise that this game is still running since the players around are incredibly less than certain freeshards (some freeshards reach over than 1500 players). So it's possible that EA have cut their founds and now they work exactly like the freeshards: by adding events using redyed creatures and items.
By doing some math it's possible that the total mothly income from UO is less than 30-40k$ that is barely enough to pay the servers and less than 10 people of the staff (most of them part time) with a total revenue of 0 (if they are not losing money). In short it could also be a goodbye party to thanks everyone before pull the plug
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Woodsman
Guest
I think there are things to announce. The problem is that not giving people who don't live near there a reason to show up, and giving such short notice is going to lead to very few attending. Sure, hanging out with the devs for the birthday would be really fun and interesting and a cool way to celebrate the birthday, but whoever wrote this invitation does not understand how to generate excitement for the birthday.
Even just mentioning that there will be some announcements would generate more interest and maybe get the MMORPG sites to send somebody to cover it.
The only interesting thing will be free food and drink (not sure, probably you have to pay for it too)
That would be a non-advertised expansion pack. For $9.95 you get a fishing pole, some mandrake root, and some cake. Milk and chips would be in a different $9.95 add-on pack with a raised garden bed.The only interesting thing will be free food and drink (not sure, probably you have to pay for it too)
Actually, based upon your playing time compared to other account holders who show up to the party:The only interesting thing will be free food and drink (not sure, probably you have to pay for it too)
91-100% - Free food and drink
81-90% - Free snacks
71-80% - Free tic-tac
51-70% - You get in
0-50% - Thanks for coming...do you need directions back to the Interstate?
How did you come up with that number? My numbers are different. Just by counting the number of individuals who participated in the cure event you get 2925 participants. I for one didn't even bother to participate with my multiple accounts and there were many that didn't either. In addition, you also need to factor in those with multiple accounts probably have time to use only 1-2 accounts to accumulate them for the bigger prizes. So I say this 2925 number is 1/3 of the number of total subscriptions. That's a conservative estimate. So that means UO generates at least close to 100k per month in fees and still puts it at 1.2 mil per year. I don't know about you but if i am running a company even 10k net profit at the end of the year is still a profit.Actually I'm pretty surprise that this game is still running since the players around are incredibly less than certain freeshards (some freeshards reach over than 1500 players). So it's possible that EA have cut their founds and now they work exactly like the freeshards: by adding events using redyed creatures and items.
By doing some math it's possible that the total mothly income from UO is less than 30-40k$ that is barely enough to pay the servers and less than 10 people of the staff (most of them part time) with a total revenue of 0 (if they are not losing money). In short it could also be a goodbye party to thanks everyone before pull the plug
That number is not the number of accounts that participated the event, it is the number of characters since it is also equal to the number of sashes which players got one of each for every character they have turned in a cure.
I was more generous, I counted for 5k accounts per 8$ months = 40k.
They can't reach 100k/month, not even in their dreams...
10 staff members x 2k$ = 20k $ of salaries
server, database, website and related maintenance (and technicians) could be around 10-20k $
and that's all spent. I really don't think there are more than 5k accounts even counting multiple account per person... just look around on shards like atlantic if you can count 80-100 people around is a record.
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Please let me know how you are paying $8 per month because even at 6 months subscription I still end up paying 9.99 per month. Lets look at another way, and counting people per shard playing at any given time is definitely not an accurate way. Let's look at houses per shard. There is a program somewhere that allows you to see how many houses are out there per shard. Add all those up then minus the few accounts that are grandfathered say 10% and an extra 5% due to banned houses, you'll have a much better estimate on the number of accounts.
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the house is not an accurate way to count since you can pay 1 month and stay 3 without pay...
lol... the saying is significantly older than Melissa Etheridge (and my mother)... 16th century English origin.
Try listing some of the towns you'll be passing through, maybe you can pick someone up along the way?
hmmm...1500 miles (round trip) with someone who has a pony on their desktop? That's allright, I could use the exercise...
No offense, but that is completely bonkers. MMOData had UO pegged at 100k about three years ago. It hasn't updated its UO number since then, and hey maybe it's lower now, but the idea that it's 95% LOWER is total insanity. Pretty much every single Japanese shard is bigger than Atlantic.
Almost nobody I know even realized that stupid cure quest crap existed, much less cared. I'd be shocked if it represents even 10% of the playerbase. I heard it mentioned exactly once outside of this forum.
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In 2010, Draconi said that UO subscribers hovered around the 50K mark. I'd wager we are somewhere between 25K and 45K, not healthy but still profitable.
(Sadly, most of Draconi's posts where he gave actual information have all mysteriously been deleted.)
(Sadly, most of Draconi's posts where he gave actual information have all mysteriously been deleted.)
That's really misleading. UO had 50K 'subscriptions' the number of subscribers is below that by a good bit i would think. Considering we have so many people with 5-45 subs, every time they piss someone off and make em leave it's not a 1 for 1 deal, it hits em harder than that. And I'm not sure they have ever understood that.
That is very true, Uriah. I know many people with multiple accounts, myself included. Someone like Lady Storm delivers a hefty chunk of change on a monthly basis, were people like her (or even those with a more modest 10 accounts) to get fed up enough to leave, UO could be in dire straits indeed.
Alienating 5 angry subscribers could be a very bad thing.
Alienating 5 angry subscribers could be a very bad thing.
Depending on who those subscribers are UO could go down for sure if several of us quit. Look now at Rascal leaving that is down 8 accounts right there. Though he didn't leave in anger... and I'm still hoping he'll be back.
Most of my old friends left in anger, I admit. 3 of em absolutely loved playing a smith...A0S killed the smith, and I am sick of people arguing about that. A bunch left over stupid bugs, some of which are still ingame. a few more left because they got 72'd for the bod bug...(hey, we play it like you code it, don't want us doin it, fix it). Most of these were multiple accounters, one had two accts, his wife two, a niece playing, a nephew with two accts, the bod'ers were all family, 4 of em with about 3 accts each, you know, it don't sound like much, but over time it really adds up.
Some moved on to SWG when it came out and had a blast with it till they tore it down. ( I'd be totally gone too, but my machine wouldn't handle it). But the old attitude I felt from Calvin when he talked about "churning players" doesn't work. It's gotten to the point where more and more as they leave, they don't wander back in. Lots of those long gone, look, and go again. Somewhere down the line someone has to quit depending on addiction alone to bring back/retain people, and do something besides a new shiny.
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Some moved on to SWG when it came out and had a blast with it till they tore it down. ( I'd be totally gone too, but my machine wouldn't handle it). But the old attitude I felt from Calvin when he talked about "churning players" doesn't work. It's gotten to the point where more and more as they leave, they don't wander back in. Lots of those long gone, look, and go again. Somewhere down the line someone has to quit depending on addiction alone to bring back/retain people, and do something besides a new shiny.
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Basara
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If I go (haven't sent in yet - need to talk to someone about a vehicle), I'd be joining the route you're taking between Kingsport & Johnson City, TN (me driving down US 25E from KY). IF we could find a place to park one vehicle, we could carpool the rest of the way). I have a friend in Johnson City, but don't know if he'd let me leave a vehicle at his folks' place.
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Woodsman
Guest
At 25,000, most likely still profitable, at 45,000 very profitable given the size of the team.
I would lean towards 25,000. When I came back, I was on a medium shard and I filled up several runebooks with 18x18s and towers as well, and there are even more spots now. That's just on Tram, I've seen bigger spots on Fel. Even on Atlantic I was able to find some spots for small houses. If Atlantic is considered to be packed, we're screwed.
That is what bothers me with the strategy that Jeff and Mesanna have of changing their focus on returning players instead of new players. I hope at this birthday thing that they talk about trying to bring in new players, because relying on people who have already quit at least once is not a winning strategy. That first time is the hardest, but after that it gets pretty easy to leave again.
Without devoting the time and resources to a worthwhile NPE, the high-res update to the EC, FINISHING THE EC, and straightening out the billing system (a year later and there are still issues? Really?) Mythic shouldn't bother trying to court new or returning players.
I want UO to continue, as I enjoy playing with my friends and have recently started interacting with a bunch of new people who I really like. However, I have to take a step back and objectively look at the mess the game has become: the unfinished/broken systems, the WTF?!/half-assed development decisions, the continuing lack of meaningful communication (I really hope Mesanna's upcoming letter says something), and the rapidly declining player base. How much longer do I want to throw money at Mythic before deciding it's better spent on entertainment that isn't so frustrating on a meta level?
We keep hearing the word "passionate" casually bandied about by the powers that be. I'm concerned that it should be added to the list of words which they do not adequately comprehend.
Don't turn, run the f'n sign over and make a new road damn it.
good for the japanese, but if you count the multiple accounts required to play this game (so you can have many imaginary friends to play with), every person who quit remove a good number of accounts... My friends (real one, not imaginary) uses to have 5-6 accounts before they all quit... I have 3 accounts, but in the latest months I started to keep just 1 active at time and in few months I'm probably going to quit.
Japanese are probably made for grinding with the 486 and CC, I'd like to see a game like this evolve and not to fossilize, but seems noone care about that...
like the fossils this game will live forever, but just because of their nature they can only stay in a museum
good for the japanese, but if you count the multiple accounts required to play this game (so you can have many imaginary friends to play with), every person who quit remove a good number of accounts... My friends (real one, not imaginary) uses to have 5-6 accounts before they all quit... I have 3 accounts, but in the latest months I started to keep just 1 active at time and in few months I'm probably going to quit.
Japanese are probably made for grinding with the 486 and CC, I'd like to see a game like this evolve and not to fossilize, but seems noone care about that...
like the fossils this game will live forever, but just because of their nature they can only stay in a museum
It amazes me how bitter people can get. What are you trying to accomplish here? Your posts and a couple of others have been nothing but doom and gloom. I mean give it a rest. This thread was about the 15th year anniversary party, a major milestone to stay the least and here you are posting about 2k subscriptions, game dropping, 10 people attending, nothing new to report. Really? I heard they were near full capacity registration of which the room they booked was capped at 80.
Bottom line is: If you don't like the food, don't eat it. If you don't like the movie, don't watch it. If you don't like this game, don't play it. But to badmouth it post after post after post why do it? This game may be awful to you but to some of us still enjoy it. Some of us still thinks paying 10 bucks per month in order to have access to a 24/7 on-line playing is still the cheapest form of entertainment. I am hoping this game will last another 2 decades. You think that's wishful thinking, don't be so sure as every time I see Galaga in a movie theater or in a bar, I have to toss in a few quarters just to play it and that game hasn't changed for 3+ decades.
Perhaps for those who are under 20 paying 20-30 bucks a month could be a concern, but for those of us who grew up with this game and are now in our 30s and 40s or beyond, shelling out 40-50 bucks per month is nothing. I spend more than that just to go see a movie and have dinner afterwards.
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Just ignore them, its just the same few that are ruining every thread. They have bigger problems then UO. My advice to them, a good psychiatrist.
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