[Question for the Devs] Veteran Reward Account Age & Items

[popps]

Popps I hear what you are saying, i just believe differently than you. IMO every argument you make in favor of leaving the system as is, only further illustrates my point. If these rewards are so irrelevant to game play, what would be the harm in letting more people have access to them? The fact is, most of the veteran rewards, while not a requirement to play, are very sought after and would be useful to the vast majority of the player base.

Ultima Online might be a game to us, players, but it is a business service. Like with all businesses, to my opinion, promotions, rewarding customers' loyalty etc. etc. come as very important for the business to get new customers, maintain existing customer, use business strategies to keep customers over the years and so forth.

If the product's revenues count on subscriptions lasting over time (the longer the time a customer is subscribed, the more months go by and so the more subscription fees come in as revenues to support the product), if a customer is appeased by a product in a short time, because they can experience all they want about the game in a short time, perhaps even get to have all Veteran Rewards right away thanking to short cuts which would reduce the actual time wait, it is a risk that the customer, having experienced all there is about the game which interests them, closes the subscription and goes elsewhere, to other products out there. This would be a loss for the game, because revenues would be lost.

So, having a Veteran Reward Program with rewards appealing and wanted by players but not really indespensable to play the game, as I see it is a very smart and ingenuous program which does precisely what a Veteran Reward Program should do IMHO, try to be appealing to motivate customers to keep their subscriptions as active month after month, year after year, and thus ensure revenues which can also help business planning for that game mid and long term.

What I am trying to say, is that as I see it a Veteran Rewards program that builds up rewards over time is a good program because it makes an attempt to try have customers maintain their accounts as active to build up the age to then qualify for the wanted Veteran rewards. This, as I see it, contributes to ensuring resources for the support of the game and helps for better mid and long term planning for new content since there is a bulk of accounts which stay active and so loyal to the game supporting it over time. This is better (more reliable for planning), to my opinion, than to have a higher number of accounts which open and close in 6 months...

 

[popps]

I think u'll find the ''older vets''are happy with the way it is and the ''others'' would like a more level playing field [fullstop]

Hell iam a 14 year vet in a few months..BUT .i would much sooner let 3-4-5 year players have the ''same level playing field'' as the ones that have played from the start.....PRETTY MUCH NEAR LIKE ME ........

LISTEN UO will never encouagre new players when u have to wait more than 10 years to use some good stuff...and the shard shields are pretty game breaking...please dont say u can buy them in store ..who the hell wants to pay even more real money on a dying game..the subs is enough already!!! and please dont say u can buy them ingame...they RE CRAZY PRICES....think i woul much sooner get them free!!!! mmmm ive got 6 picks owing..aint bad for nothing that is it..5 shard transfers around the shards tht u pick and back home per month!!!!! ....and this is not game changing??? how much would that cost in the EA store or in UO gold....AND THIS IS NOT GAME BREAKING??????

I am not sure that I understand what the point may be.
In order to qualify for 14 Years of active account age (to earn shard shields), the Veteran players have paid their accounts for 14 x 12 months = 168 months. That is quite a lot of subscription fees....

Now, these Veteran players, who have supported the game with their money for all that long time, can enjoy a little reward thanking to Shard Shields. I stress the emphasys on "little", because the limitation to the Shard Shields are such that their usability, at least as I see it, is much reduced and so, consequentially, their worth. They are account bound, and each shield cranks out, one per month, transfer tokens always for the same one shard. After the initial novelty, my guess is that several players out there are already building up tokens that they are not using and are just taking up space, month after month.
In a year time, a given shield makes 12 tokens to that same shard and unless a player has reasons to go to that shard at least once a month, soon, over time, the tokens will start piling up not being usable by other players.

The regular transfer tokens are better and more flexible. Sure, they cost money to buy but this money goes to support the game for new content. Why should a younger account, which has supported the game for much less time (less monthly subscription fees paid), be eligible to the Shard Shields like a 14th Year Veteran Account account which has paid over monthly fees for some 168 months to reach that point ?

Not only, IMHO, it would be not fair towards those players who have paid their monthly fees for that long, but it would also deprive Ultima Online of revenues from regular transfer tokens sales which contribute to help maintain the game and add new content.

That's at least as I see it.

 

[Merus]

Ultima Online might be a game to us, players, but it is a business service. Like with all businesses, to my opinion, promotions, rewarding customers' loyalty etc. etc. come as very important for the business to get new customers, maintain existing customer, use business strategies to keep customers over the years and so forth.

If the product's revenues count on subscriptions lasting over time (the longer the time a customer is subscribed, the more months go by and so the more subscription fees come in as revenues to support the product), if a customer is appeased by a product in a short time, because they can experience all they want about the game in a short time, perhaps even get to have all Veteran Rewards right away thanking to short cuts which would reduce the actual time wait, it is a risk that the customer, having experienced all there is about the game which interests them, closes the subscription and goes elsewhere, to other products out there. This would be a loss for the game, because revenues would be lost.

So, having a Veteran Reward Program with rewards appealing and wanted by players but not really indespensable to play the game, as I see it is a very smart and ingenuous program which does precisely what a Veteran Reward Program should do IMHO, try to be appealing to motivate customers to keep their subscriptions as active month after month, year after year, and thus ensure revenues which can also help business planning for that game mid and long term.

What I am trying to say, is that as I see it a Veteran Rewards program that builds up rewards over time is a good program because it makes an attempt to try have customers maintain their accounts as active to build up the age to then qualify for the wanted Veteran rewards. This, as I see it, contributes to ensuring resources for the support of the game and helps for better mid and long term planning for new content since there is a bulk of accounts which stay active and so loyal to the game supporting it over time. This is better (more reliable for planning), to my opinion, than to have a higher number of accounts which open and close in 6 months...

If you want to talk business models, UO is the wrong example. Most subscription based models, across the board, are about driving in new customers with promotions... not offering super rewards to super long term customers. Think of your cell phone subscription... Never once have I gotten rewarded for staying with the same carrier, but you see TONS of promotions to bring in new customers. Do you know what the difference is? New customers are vital for a business to grow.

Furthermore, I do not believe people stay in UO just hoping for the vet rewards... They stay because they are having fun. While vet rewards are hardly the only, and likely not the most significant, I believe the current rewards model does discourage newer players. 3 years to ride an ethy... 5 years to dye metal armor... Etc etc. In the end new players realize that there will ALWAYS be content they are excluded from because there is no plateau for veteran status.

My original account is from 1998, so I get the whole "reward loyal customers" idea, I think we have just taken it too far under the current reward model given the game dynamics.

 

[Lord Frodo]

I am not sure that I understand what the point may be.
In order to qualify for 14 Years of active account age (to earn shard shields), the Veteran players have paid their accounts for 14 x 12 months = 168 months. That is quite a lot of subscription fees....

And if there is a player that is willing to pay $1,680 (168 x $10 = $1,680) to age thier account then I say go for it, EA would lose no money.

Lets be real, do you really think UO will be here for another 14-15 years or better yet you or me? IMHO I don't think it will be. Anything EA/UO can do now to retain its current player base should be looked at.

Things that can be done now:
#1 Vet Reward turn-in system

Direct Exchange
Turn in a Vet Reward and you pick a reward equal to or less then what you turned in (as long as your account is old enough to pick it)

Point System (Vet Reward NPC)
You get 1 point per year of the Vet Reward and the more you turn in the more points you have to spend. The Vet Reward you could buy may be on an equal point system or at the most double the points required.
Example would be 14 points for a 14th year reward or 28 points for a 14th year reward. Your account would still have to be old enough to use the reward or the NPC would just geve you choices that you would get based on your account age. This would allow us to change rewards (and as Popps asked for so many times) and pick a new location for our Shard Shields at a cost.

Game time
When you apply a game time code (1, 3 or 6 month) you account ages by the same amount. This would fix the account age problem we have had and still do on some accounts aging properly and as an example the Shard Shield would give you more tokens at that time (it will be up to you to use these wisely as you will not get any more till more game time is applied). With this system anybody could age thier account to as many years they wanted to with the understanding that if UO closes down you could lose some real money on your gamble. Yes you could have an account that is older than UO is but if you are willing to gamble on EA then both would win. You get all the rewards for the aging and EA gets money to use on UO now.
I have a 14.5 yr account and also a 12 yr account that I would be willing to age this way for more Shard Shields alone. EA loses no money and on the 12 yr account I gamble that UO will be here in 2 yrs. A gamble I am willing to take.

 

[Blood Ghoul]

Obviously the shield shards are not only the “mine/not yours” item as well as the only key to making this work (that’s until we see what the 15 year “outhouse” looking thing will do that they showed us at the birthday event). Anyone who states the shield shards are not a huge advantage is kidding themselves. Last night at the EM Halloween event on Origin I’d venture at least ¼ of the people there were shard jumpers only there for the item. Heck, its probably for sale on Atlantic right now. I’d venture to guess that the transfer tokens for sale at the EA store are normally used when players wish to actually change home shards but the shield shards are used to collect event items and work the economy. They also make it easier for those players who earn real life money selling gold and items thus I can see the reason “some” wish to restrict others from getting them. And, lets be honest a portion of players with 15 year accounts bought them from others so they never earned them either. (Go search on Google, you can find tons of accounts for sale). The shield shards are the only reason I could see a current player buying several years of account status as I’d assume there will not be many players who will buy from year 1 to 9 just to ride a polar bear.

UO is never going to attract a mass of new players. Face it, the game looks old and even plays old. The new generation of gamers would prefer to play games on PS3 or their phones. They do not wish to work at a career more less spend 15 years in a game. While I hope the game is around for another 15 years I would not be too optimistic. For UO to improve it needs revenue and to get that cash flow it will need to tap into its current player base as well as pulling back former players. (Heck—to be honest the main reason I play UO is almost to be nostalgic and remember playing with my old friends in 97-99 who have all moved on to other games or stopped gaming all together. I also do not have the time to commit to games which require a “raid” type of game play).

I can understand the mentality of “I have been here supporting the game so I should be rewarded and if you did not then too bad on you.” Like I have said I have over 10 years of paid time and while I would think about buying 3 years needed for the shield shards I am not sure I’d be able to swallow my pride enough to look my wife in the face and tell her I want to spend $500 to obtain some virtual item. But, we have supported UO through its best of times. 10 years ago the game was rocking and they didn’t need the subscriptions from the few of us reading this post. Those days are over and I’d venture to say every year for the past 7+ years there has been fewer paying subscription than the year before. One day the game will go into the red and then the plug will be pulled. Even if we have players who have supported the game for 20 years EA will not funnel cash into a “sinking ship.” You will get the ole “Thank you for the numerous years you supported Ultima Online and please try our new game blah-blah-blah.”

For all I know UO is a cash cow and is pulling in 10 times the amount it costs to run. But while at the birthday party it seemed to have what I’d consider a skeleton crew (who were extremely motivated and dedicated to the game). During the open dialogue a number of players brought up suggestions the Dev team stated were great but then they commented on how they did not have time/resources to tackle that issue. In order to hire another programmer/artist/whatever selling account vet time might be the best solution. For the game to improve the way the current players wish and draw back some former players they need an increased revenue stream.

BG

 

[Warpig Inc]

Now how many those wanting reward system changes also argued points on the F2P. I play this long and can shard hop restricted for free. You who have been playing not long enough for ice cubes to shrink in your freezer think you should get same treatment. Just need to sell more cool stuff for real money maybe watered down and not age restricted. And give them another item title then reward stuff. Still think F2P is a better system? Deep pockets? Then there are some items like the Reforge Tool for cash that should be a rare reward on the BODs. Another F2P aspect of the more you spend the better advantage you have.

At the rate the shields produce the restricted transfer tokens. The tokens should not be age or account restricted. Some rewards need to be relooked as far as age to be a pick and age to be used. Retouching Tool for eths was and utter miss. At times I go to the bank and chat shout "Eth trading for for same type choice retouched."

 

[popps]

If you want to talk business models, UO is the wrong example. Most subscription based models, across the board, are about driving in new customers with promotions... not offering super rewards to super long term customers. Think of your cell phone subscription... Never once have I gotten rewarded for staying with the same carrier, but you see TONS of promotions to bring in new customers. Do you know what the difference is? New customers are vital for a business to grow.

Furthermore, I do not believe people stay in UO just hoping for the vet rewards... They stay because they are having fun. While vet rewards are hardly the only, and likely not the most significant, I believe the current rewards model does discourage newer players. 3 years to ride an ethy... 5 years to dye metal armor... Etc etc. In the end new players realize that there will ALWAYS be content they are excluded from because there is no plateau for veteran status.

My original account is from 1998, so I get the whole "reward loyal customers" idea, I think we have just taken it too far under the current reward model given the game dynamics.

Veteran Rewards are a simple "bonus" to players staying loyal with the game. Sure, new players are important, but I neither think that new players might join UO for just the Veteran Rewards not that they might leave UO because of Veteran Rewards they may see too far to reach.
Why do I think so ? Because the Veteran Rewards items, while being a nice "bonus" for players playing the game over the years, they are hardly items needed to play the game and have fun with it.
They are not even much valuable !! Anyone can just go to any Event and get an item which will then sell for hundreds of millions of gold. And that gold, can buy back lots, but LOTS of whatever Veteran Rewards one might need or want.....

So, as I see it, there is really no point in providing short cuts to younger accounts to increase their active account age to gain access to older Veteran Rewards which might be wanted, but not really necessary to play the game nor that much valuable.

 

[Sargon]

Furthermore, I do not believe people stay in UO just hoping for the vet rewards... They stay because they are having fun.

I think you underestimate the role that veteran rewards play in encouraging players to keep their accounts active when they would otherwise feel inclined to cancel. For me personally, I have played very little over the past 10 years, and I probably would have canceled my account long ago if not for the fact that every unpaid month is a month that I could never get back in account age. That alone has been enough for me to stay subscribed over a very long period of inactivity.

 

[popps]

For the game to improve the way the current players wish and draw back some former players they need an increased revenue stream.

While I agree that more revenues are good for a better support to Ultima Online, I do not agree that the right way could be selling account age time.
Shard Shields made sense to be introduced in the game because the accounts eligible to claim them are relatively low and so, they do not hurt much the sale for regular transfer tokens, also considering the wider limitations which they have as compared to regular transfer tokens.

But if all of a sudden accounts could boost their age and gain access to Shard Shields, then the sales of regular transfer tokens would drop persistently thus being a loss of revenues higher than whatever could come from selling account age.

It would be a bad thing for Ultima Online and, is my opinion, cause more a loss of revenues than a gain.

So, I think that it would be much better to leave the Veteran Rewards Program as it is and if at all, introduce some more new rewards for those years which are not well covered thus making the ladder more interesting so as to have something nice to claim when moving upwards from one year to another.

In regards to players using Shard Shields to transfer to other shards to participate to Events, I really do not see the big deal considering that some Event items sell for hundreds of millions, even the purchase of regular transfer tokens (if one does not have access to Shard Shields) can be well justified as an investment cost to be recovered when the Event item is sold.

 

[Merus]

Veteran Rewards are a simple "bonus" to players staying loyal with the game. Sure, new players are important, but I neither think that new players might join UO for just the Veteran Rewards not that they might leave UO because of Veteran Rewards they may see too far to reach.
Why do I think so ? Because the Veteran Rewards items, while being a nice "bonus" for players playing the game over the years, they are hardly items needed to play the game and have fun with it.
They are not even much valuable !! Anyone can just go to any Event and get an item which will then sell for hundreds of millions of gold. And that gold, can buy back lots, but LOTS of whatever Veteran Rewards one might need or want.....

So, as I see it, there is really no point in providing short cuts to younger accounts to increase their active account age to gain access to older Veteran Rewards which might be wanted, but not really necessary to play the game nor that much valuable.

What I read in this post is ...

These rewards aren't worth anything ingame, but I still don't want others to have equal access to them. IMO if they are so irrelevant then why not make them available? If they are valuable, which I think they are, then limiting their availability is a discouragement to new players who see them as our of reach.

 

[Merus]

I think you underestimate the role that veteran rewards play in encouraging players to keep their accounts active when they would otherwise feel inclined to cancel. For me personally, I have played very little over the past 10 years, and I probably would have canceled my account long ago if not for the fact that every unpaid month is a month that I could never get back in account age. That alone has been enough for me to stay subscribed over a very long period of inactivity.

There are always people who are willing, for one reason or another, to pay for a game they do not play. I think there are far more who just quit paying, that is evidenced by the availability of IDOCs. I doubt any 12 month old account is going to be kept open by a new player in hopes of getting that shard shield. They will either go to the aftermarket and buy an aged account or just quit.

 

[popps]

What I read in this post is ...

These rewards aren't worth anything ingame, but I still don't want others to have equal access to them. IMO if they are so irrelevant then why not make them available? If they are valuable, which I think they are, then limiting their availability is a discouragement to new players who see them as our of reach.

I may have expressed myself poorly. I said that they should and some are cool and desirable and this is good because the goal of the program, as I see it, is to have desirable items to try have players maintain their accounts as active so as to reach the age needed, eventually, to claim what they want.

YET, even though these rewards may be desirable, they are NOT NEEDED TO PLAY THE GAME.
And, on top of that, THEY ARE NOT THAT MUCH WORTH. Lots of Event items are worth way more than veteran rewards.

Just to make an example, a transfer token which is much better than a shard shield, usually sells about 20-25 millions of gold. I think I heard of an Event item (the vicious child) selling for like 300 or 400 millions. That makes it for like 20 transfer tokens................

So, while the veteran rewards may be nice, the game can be well playerd, and very succesfully too, doing without them at all.

 

[Merus]

I may have expressed myself poorly. I said that they should and some are cool and desirable and this is good because the goal of the program, as I see it, is to have desirable items to try have players maintain their accounts as active so as to reach the age needed, eventually, to claim what they want.

YET, even though these rewards may be desirable, they are NOT NEEDED TO PLAY THE GAME.
And, on top of that, THEY ARE NOT THAT MUCH WORTH. Lots of Event items are worth way more than veteran rewards.

Just to make an example, a transfer token which is much better than a shard shield, usually sells about 20-25 millions of gold. I think I heard of an Event item (the vicious child) selling for like 300 or 400 millions. That makes it for like 20 transfer tokens................

So, while the veteran rewards may be nice, the game can be well playerd, and very succesfully too, doing without them at all.

So since em event items are so easy to get and exchange for transfer tokens we should not expect to see any vets claiming shard shields? Hogwash!

I will say it again, most of the veteran rewards (other than robes) offer significant enhancement to game play or home deco, both of which are unique and important aspects of UO. Telling a new player to wait 10 or 14 years for them is a turn off, not an incentive.

 

[Sept]

Merus, we get your point, but repeating yourself and regurgitating the same sentence after every other post is not going to change the fact that not everyone is going to agree with you.

In this game, just like in other games or in life, sometimes there are things you cannot have, sometimes there are things you have to work for and sometimes there are things that come to those who wait.

 

[THP]

its just a stupid out dated system..cetainly no need to add NEW 15 year rewards...lets top out at 14 years with the rewards weve got....then maybe give the vets extra picks for every year over 14......ie...instead of 2 picks at 15 they get 3..one extra...thats pretty cool return for payng there subs for so long......Lets be honest they gonna pick anythng else bar the shard shileds anyways or maybe odd teleporter

adding extra 15 year rewards would simply discourage new players starting form scratch.....yes deffo add gifts to 1 year 3 year and 5 or whatever

 

[Storm]

I look forward every year to earning the next level in vet rewards and I think rewarding people for longevity is great and besides whats it hurting anyone else.

 

[Lady Storm]

I have to agree with Sargon. I am sorry for you that you didnt get to play UO for years that some of us did. But I cant see giving you any paw up on age cause you need to be able to play with a Vet reward.
Hence the term "VET" I am a Vet of UO. I put in that 15+ years. I do feel for you in that the Tubs use is hell on the younger players but I have over the years offered to dye things free and I dont belittle players for asking.
I do have a few accounts that cant use the tubs, yes its a hastle to get one that can to dye it for that character but in the long run its worth it. Now I will agree perhaps the age limit could be dropped on the tubs. I have even put in the original black tubs for player use on all vendor houses I own due to the age bit.
But to "buy" age????
Hell no.
Now as Olahorand has pointed out this I do agree with.
If your account was started in say 12/1/97 and your shown age is only 140 months old then yes I feel a "fix" should be in for that. We all have walked off for a bit (me a week max) and I can see an ajustment for that if the breaks were not so big that it was years inbetween!
Vet means something.
Now I find nothing wrong if a player has purchased an account that is older then their actual playing time.. It means only that someone put in that time and it will be a used account again. Mythic/Bio/EA might have a problem in this area, but over the years I have aquired many of my friends accounts and I could not see them go to waste. Beleave me They are loved.

THP I put in that idea a few months back.. IT is a good one many older accounts have used up many of their Rewards and lets face it there are tons of new items to pick... 2 just dont cut the mustard.
Also I put forward to the Dev the idea of perhaps a Vet reward exchange program. You must admit we have far too many dye tubs running around and if my secures full of Dragon statues is anything to go by .... Way to many of them as well. It would be nice to turn in some for other choices. Mind you if you turn in a first year you should only be aboe to get back a first year etc... but you get the drift.

 

[popps]

adding extra 15 year rewards would simply discourage new players starting form scratch.....yes deffo add gifts to 1 year 3 year and 5 or whatever

I really do not understand the argument. Let's say that I am a new player, I never ever played Ultima Online. I look at the Veteran Rewards for 13 Years and see the teleporter tiles. What do they do ? Recall from one home to another. As a new player of the game, I think, can I recall ? Well, yes, if I have magery or chivalry I can recall from the outside of one home to the outside of another home.
So, WHO CARES if the teleporter tiles won't be available as my pick for 13 years, I can ALREADY recall from house n.1 to house n.2 RIGHT NOW !!

Then I look at the Veteran rewards for 14 Years and I see the Shard Shields. What do they do I wonder... They allow the transfer from one shard to another but with a bunch of limitations. They are account bound, do not allow loaded pets along, they are for set shards and not for any wanted shard. So I think, hey, does that mean I have to wait 14 years to be able to transfer ? NO ! I can transfer RIGHT NOW using a regular transfer token which allows me to carry along loaded pets, allows me to go to any shards I may wanna choose, and hey, if I change my mind I can even sell it to another player !!

The Veteran Rewards Program is fine as it is and the Developers have been great in adding rewards for all of the Years from 1 to 14 (and now to come 15) making them wanted ones but not indespensable to play the game. I see nothing discouraging because there is something cool for every Year and, besides, one can well have fun with Ultima Online without the need to absolutely get any and all Veteran Rewards. They are simply a bonus, a token of appreciation to players who have been supporting the game for many, many Years and an incentive for them to think about maintaining their accounts as active rather than closing them. And that is good for the game, IMHO.

 

[Merus]

I really do not understand the argument. Let's say that I am a new player, I never ever played Ultima Online. I look at the Veteran Rewards for 13 Years and see the teleporter tiles. What do they do ? Recall from one home to another. As a new player of the game, I think, can I recall ? Well, yes, if I have magery or chivalry I can recall from the outside of one home to the outside of another home.
So, WHO CARES if the teleporter tiles won't be available as my pick for 13 years, I can ALREADY recall from house n.1 to house n.2 RIGHT NOW !!

Then I look at the Veteran rewards for 14 Years and I see the Shard Shields. What do they do I wonder... They allow the transfer from one shard to another but with a bunch of limitations. They are account bound, do not allow loaded pets along, they are for set shards and not for any wanted shard. So I think, hey, does that mean I have to wait 14 years to be able to transfer ? NO ! I can transfer RIGHT NOW using a regular transfer token which allows me to carry along loaded pets, allows me to go to any shards I may wanna choose, and hey, if I change my mind I can even sell it to another player !!

The Veteran Rewards Program is fine as it is and the Developers have been great in adding rewards for all of the Years from 1 to 14 (and now to come 15) making them wanted ones but not indespensable to play the game. I see nothing discouraging because there is something cool for every Year and, besides, one can well have fun with Ultima Online without the need to absolutely get any and all Veteran Rewards. They are simply a bonus, a token of appreciation to players who have been supporting the game for many, many Years and an incentive for them to think about maintaining their accounts as active rather than closing them. And that is good for the game, IMHO.

IMO you represent the perspective of a old veteran player who like the exclusive rewards. Unfortunately, I think very very few new players would share it. The vet reward system as it currently is designed tells new players there will always be content they are excluded from. That does not provide incentive.

UO offers a vast array of playability options, so suggesting that its no big deal for players to work around content they are excluded from does little to bolster your case. The fact that you could kill Medussa with a boat load of purple pots does not mean that players who want to kill her with a sampire should be limited from doing so. The same goes for vet rewards... If a new player wants his metal armor dyed he should not have to find someone else willing to color it for him or wait 5 years to do it himself.

 

[popps]

Also I put forward to the Dev the idea of perhaps a Vet reward exchange program. You must admit we have far too many dye tubs running around and if my secures full of Dragon statues is anything to go by .... Way to many of them as well. It would be nice to turn in some for other choices. Mind you if you turn in a first year you should only be aboe to get back a first year etc... but you get the drift.

I am not in favour of exchanging already picked Rewards for new ones.

Why ?

IDOCs.

There is around far more Veteran rewards than actually Veteran players because a whole lot of already picked rewards have been salvaged from IDOCs that if such an echange program would be introduced, players would double, triple, quadruple, Xtiple their total allocation of picks by turning in tons of salvaged Veteran Rewards to then pick tens upon tens of Shard Shields for all possible Shards.

No thank you.

Whatever pick was used up, it was used up. Every Year a high end Veteran player gets 2 new picks. I see that as plenty. If there is the need for some more transfer tokens and there is not enough picks to get more Shard Shields just buy a regular transfer token and support the game with some good revenue.
Or buy it with gold from some other player who bought it with real money. It still means that Ultima Online got some revenues from its sale.

So, I am not in favour of any exchange program that will multiply picks for Veterans to increase their Shard Shields because this would further reduce the sale of regular Transfer Tokens and would further cause loss of revenues to Ultima Online which, to my opinion, is not good.

Shard Shields can be a good idea only as long as their usage is limited. Few Veteran players able to claim them and few picks available to them. Increasing either one would just be bad for the game so, IMHO, better not.

 

[popps]

UO offers a vast array of playability options, so suggesting that its no big deal for players to work around content they are excluded from does little to bolster your case. The fact that you could kill Medussa with a boat load of purple pots does not mean that players who want to kill her with a sampire should be limited from doing so. The same goes for vet rewards... If a new player wants his metal armor dyed he should not have to find someone else willing to color it for him or wait 5 years to do it himself.

To my opinion, a Veteran status is something that needs be earned either through actions, over time, supporting something over time and so forth. I see the word "Veteran" as a word that means something.

If being a Veteran brings some rewarding, whatever it may be, giving that same rewarding to anyone regardless of their Veteran status, age, whatever, would just make the word "Veteran" meaningless.

That's at least as I see it.

The game can be played with lots of fun without necessarily having all of the Veteran bonuses. And infact, even a 15 Years Veteran would not have enough picks to pick all of the available rewards. Meaning, that Veterans need to make choices on what they want to pick, they cannot have all rewards.

A 14 Years Veteran at most can count on 25 picks total.

Unfortunately, the total of available rewards throughout the 14 Years is 184 if I counted them all right (considering all cloaks, shards etc.) so, at best, a 14 Years Veteran can pick a mere about 13.6% of the existing and available rewards.

So, as I see it, no Veteran Player can play with any and all rewards. At most they can play with not even 1 out of 7 of what there is.

So, the argument that a young Veteran may be deterred from playing because they can't have right away all of the Veteran Rewards available to them is meaningless to me as there is no Veteran player, not even a top end Veteran player with all picks unpicked, who can pick any and all available rewards. They simply are way, but WAY more than whatever picks a Veteran player may have available.

To my opinion, the Veteran Reward Program works well as it is, no change is necessary and if at all, perhaps a few more cool and interesting rewards should be added for those 2 or 3 Years along the ladder which are not well covered. But other than this, I see no other change as necessary.

 

[Olahorand]

I could imagine a code in the store (i.e. Veteran Game Time code for increased price or Veteran Reward code), which does the following if applied:
Add 3, 6, 12 month to your account age (maximum limit your real account age + 3 month - we got once a bonus of 3 month) and grant 2 (or 1) additional reward pick. The price would have to be in a range, which gives EA a good compensation for lost subscription fees, but gives the payer also the feeling to make still a good enough cut to be interesting.

 

[Olahorand]

For younger players this could be a sponsorship token, which does not really alter the account age, but allow usage of certain rewards ...

 

[Blood Ghoul]

I could imagine a code in the store (i.e. Veteran Game Time code for increased price or Veteran Reward code), which does the following if applied:
Add 3, 6, 12 month to your account age (maximum limit your real account age + 3 month - we got once a bonus of 3 month) and grant 2 (or 1) additional reward pick. The price would have to be in a range, which gives EA a good compensation for lost subscription fees, but gives the payer also the feeling to make still a good enough cut to be interesting.

I agree with you. I think the only hold up is the shields and those are the only items that gives the 14+ vets a huge advantage. The entire idea that a player can buy two transfer tokens at $20 each to travel to a populated shard to purchase an item is stupid. Some players are on very low population shards with zero economy. On Origin there has only been one 120 power scroll (Blacksmithing) for sale in about the last year and its been gone for over a month. If a player has the shields they can transfer a character to Atlantic and buy all the scrolls they desire and then come back. Expecting someone to pay $40 to do that is crazy. Unless the Devs put in an "Etheral Vendor" or something with could charge a fee to allow players to purchase items from other shards the shields will always give a massive advantage to the 14+ year people. I am almost at 11 years and I will have to continue to save all future picks until I hit 14 (if the game is still here) in order to pick up as many shard shields as possible.

While the 15 year item is sweet and worthy of a vet award it still does not have any sort of negative impact on other players. Being able to manipulate the economy does. The only players who claim the ability to transfer shards provides them no advantage whatsoever are the ones currently doing it.

All things aside though I still think it is a solid business move to sell vet time but only if the funds were going to be used to improve upon the game. Just to grab them as easy profit would not be as good IMO.

 

[Sept]

BG, the problems you put forward are idiosyncratic. There are other ways to obtain a power scroll, other than purchasing it. The fact that your shard has no economy has nothing to do with veteran rewards.

I am however happy that they gave 1 year vets an ethy to ride, I also wouldn't be opposed to the idea that they drop all rewards by 1 year every year. So for example, in the next patch the shard shield becomes a 13th year pick next year a 12th year pick and so on.

 

[Blood Ghoul]

BG, the problems you put forward are idiosyncratic. There are other ways to obtain a power scroll, other than purchasing it. The fact that your shard has no economy has nothing to do with veteran rewards.

I am however happy that they gave 1 year vets an ethy to ride, I also wouldn't be opposed to the idea that they drop all rewards by 1 year every year. So for example, in the next patch the shard shield becomes a 13th year pick next year a 12th year pick and so on.

I agree 100% there are other ways to get them and that is the way some shards go about it. I have two chests stocked with scroll binders were I combine every single 105, 110, and 115 I get (that I don't use). On some shards you can find 105 left on the ground at banks. But, lets say you are looking for a 120 Eval Intel. On a low population shard it can take months or even years to get one doing spawns regardless to how much gold you have. On a high population shard you can buy one in 2 seconds off a number of vendors. I am not saying its a bad thing as I feel when you get that artifact or power scroll from a drop or combine its sweeter than just going to Luna and picking one up. But it doesn't make a level playing field when the majority of players on a low population shard do not have any real recourse but to try and get the drop while some can just zip to Atlantic (or wherever) and pick up a 120 Magery.

I still wonder why the Devs even put the shields in the game since it allows the gold sellers easy access to make real life cash off selling stuff. Just walk around Origin and pick up one of the 1,000 books left laying around about the players from Atlantic (it says all items and gold are on Atlantic) who are selling stuff for cash and they will transfer the purchase over. I'd bet the majority are not using the $20 tokens from the EA store.

Besides the shard shields everything else is "nice to have" but really doesn't provide a huge advantage.

I know everyone with the 14 year rewards will say it provides them with no advantage whatsoever over a 1 year player and they have struggled so long paying for a game and deserve what they have. I am not saying they don't but lets be honest they are a huge advantage.

But in saying that I still think selling account age would be a good way for UO to make some extra income. Thats all I am getting at. If anyone has any other bright ideas go ahead..beside the advertise more which will never work.

BG

 

[Sept]

I see the playing field as level as anyone can make the choice to play any shard. I, myself, left Europa for many of the reasons you state above.

However after giving it some thought, I must admit that when my account turn 14 years I will be claiming a shield or two, so I suppose it does offer a small advantage, but not a game changing one.

 

[yadiman]

Change 720 total skill cap to 1 year. As above poster said, lower the age requirement of rewards by 1 year, every year. UO needs to appeal to both vets and new players. Without one, the other will fall. And right now it favors Vets much more than new players. Although the ethereal horse is a big help.

 

[vwrmic]

With the new veteran rewards for 15 years, what I would like to know is it the rewards are usable by players under that account age. Have the developers taken the feedback on board, or was it too late to do anything about it? I might need to update my list.

 

[Blood Ghoul]

With the new veteran rewards for 15 years, what I would like to know is it the rewards are usable by players under that account age. Have the developers taken the feedback on board, or was it too late to do anything about it? I might need to update my list.

I would assume it will only be able to be used by the 15 year accounts. That is a guess though.

 

[Samaira]

My account hit four years a month or two back. Now I can finally finish my tamer... so yes, I agree that the 720 point cap needs to be moved down the ages a fair bit.



I also just have to say, I remember having no ethies. I remember the day my account hit 36 months, being overcome with joy at finally having an ethie. Nevermind the fact that I had paid almost all my gold the year before to get a Charger. I find myself wondering if some of the august readership of this forum has forgotten how much it SUCKS BALLS to not have an ethy mount. Not game changing? Yeah right.

/rant

 

[popps]

I think the only hold up is the shields and those are the only items that gives the 14+ vets a huge advantage. The entire idea that a player can buy two transfer tokens at $20 each to travel to a populated shard to purchase an item is stupid.

I need to disagree.

For players who have maintained their accounts as active for 14+ Years chances are that they have already contributed and supported the game financially a lot. Not only through the monthly subscription fees, but also purchasing the various expansions which over the years have been released and so forth.

So, to provide to long time Veteran players a little savings when they already have spent a lot on the game over so many years I do not see it as a problem.

Besides, the shard shield transfers have way more limitations than the regular transfer tokens that can be purchased and this also justifies the cost for the latter ones.

Perhaps a better alternative could be to simply lower the cost for the transfer tokens ?
Like selling them in bundles at a cheaper price ? Like purchase 6 of them for 30$ which would come at 5$ each ?

I mean, rather than messing up with the Veteran Reward Program which I think is overall very well organized and done, I'd prefer (and see as more simple) just a drop in the price for the regular transfer tokens perhaps allowing the sale of bundles of a number of them.

Just a thought.

 

[Minerva Foxglove]

Very interesting post! Im all for letting players be able to use all or atleast all essential ones as soon as they are paying for an account. The 720 skillcap as well. Ethy horse 1 year is better than 3 years but a new player waiting a year is too much . New guys are active and get long in a year. The leather dyetub is important, noone wants to look like a newbe. The new shribe who wants to set up a vendor and really make a living of it cant dye runebooks!

I dont mind if some pure status symbols remain if they are just that. But veterans have so many choices! A new player can just pick afew and will start with some ethys . If they are hard working they should be able to buy and place any reward that they want. Many vets are like me and have an old and some newer accounts, its nice to be able to use the rewards in the house where it fits.

All this to not make new players discouraged, we need them and their friends. I meet brand new players every week and if they are happy they bring in friends.
Nothing in the game should be restricted from using. Not be able to craft without certain expansions is ok but items like the advanced training dummy .. should be for the ones that train most.

 

[Olahorand]

Nothing in the game should be restricted from using. Not be able to craft without certain expansions is ok but items like the advanced training dummy .. should be for the ones that train most.

well this using stuff - sometimes I can understand it in context with expansions, sometimes not. So not being able to even go onboard of a High Seas vessel belonging to some other account is such a limitation, which makes team play difficult and should not be restricted.
And yes, the argument with dying runebooks for sale is a good one. I see also, that newer players may take up the work for maintaining a runebook vendor, while for older players often the gold accumulated from runebook sales is not worth the time spent with making the runebooks.

 

[popps]

Nothing in the game should be restricted from using. Not be able to craft without certain expansions is ok but items like the advanced training dummy .. should be for the ones that train most.

I think instead that to have aspects of the game which unfold over time, not right away the very first day of logging into the game, helps to keep the player "grow" little by little with the game and, eventually, stay with it longer.

My thinking is, that if everything is there up for use right away upon logging the very first day, then the player, after trying out the game a bit, eventually looses interest because of the lack for goals to reach, areas to open up through time or experience and so on.

I do not think it is good for the game, long term, to have everything readily available to players from their very first day of logging into the game. The "growing" aspect (which involves time wait, also) is an important factor, IMHO, to develop a bond with the game and thus want to keep playing and supporting it over time.

I may well be wrong in my thinking, but that's my opinion.

 

[Minerva Foxglove]

The people that played the first years never had to wait for anything that others had. They were the first to get everything that came out. Some still plays. There are so many other things happening ower the years its always a next publish or celebration to be curious about. I dont mind if newer people look forward to the same items as I do. I would feel better if they did. Im 13 years non stop in UO , waithing two years for everyting isnt a big deal..but if I had to wait 6 0r 10... We need new blood better than show off items.

 

[Merus]

While I agree in part with your philosophy, there comes a point were it can be taken too far.

I believe the vast majority of content should be available on day one of logging in. The challenge with UO should not be unlocking content, but achieving success within the content. Should a character be able to fight Medussa on day one? I say sure, but you will probably die just trying to get the keys. In that scenario the content itself is not restricted but it is limited by the players accomplishments. I firmly believe it would take years of play to experience all that UO has to offer with no content restrictions.

I do agree with the idea of a very limited amount of content (vet rewards) being unlocked over time. However, I think at some given time everyone should be on a level playing field. We could debate the "value" of rewards till pigs fly, but IMO someone who has supported UO for three years is every bit as deserving to ALL of the game content as someone who has played for 15.

 

[Siabra]

Hopefully I can get this submitted to the developers, I think I may have even posted about it a few years back, but it never got looked at.

So, with 15 years flown by in Ultima Online, the veteran rewards are becoming more and more diverse. The veteran rewards are there to thank players for their service, which is a fantastic idea and I don't think it should stop. But, I believe it needs to be re-evaluated from a new player's perspective. I, personally, have played UO on and off since around 1999, but having a number of different accounts means my current and main account is only just coming up to 4 years. Now I'm not here to complain about why I can't have polar bears or ethereal animals, or even the new shard transfer rewards, no, these should stay as they are.

My main concern is Dye Tubs and other decorative items. As a new player starting now, let's say I want to dye my metal armour. Wait a second.. I have to wait 5 years before I can even touch the dye tub? That's ludicrous. It's the same with the others, why can't I dye my runebooks? Even I can't do that and my account is nearly four years old. I have to use a friend's account just to dye my books. I've seriously seen players laughed at for asking someone for help with a dye tub and it certainly wasn't pretty.

Some rewards can be used, for instance, new players can use Commodity Deed Boxes, Crystal Portals, etc, so why not the rest? Player's have to wait 1 year before they can dye a piece of furniture. The decorative pieces are the same, the easiest way to get around it is to add a co-owner who is old enough to place the deed and place it that way, but shouldn't we now be asking why do we have to do this? I personally believe we should be making the game more accessible for newer players, not keeping road blocks like this in place.

So, here's the list of rewards I would like the account age limit removed from and I would appreciate everyone else's opinion on the matter. No one is losing anything with these changes, it's just making items more accessible.

1st Year:

• Black Dye Tub
• Special Dye Tub
• Furniture Dye Tub

2nd Year:

• Leather Dye Tub
• Flaming Head Deed
• Banner Deed

4th Year:

• Runebook Dye Tub
• Decorative Shield
• Hanging Skeleton
• Seed Box

5th Year:

• Reward Statuette Dye Tub
• Metallic Dye Tub
• Bloody Pentagram
• Ankh

6th Year:

• Brazier

7th Year:

• Decorative Cannon
• Tree Stump
• Sheep Statue

8th Year:

• Weapon Engraving Tool

9th Year:

• Wall Banner Deed

10th Year:

• Ankh of Sacrifice
• Mining Cart
• Skull Rug
• Dolphin Rug
• Rose Rug

12th Year:

• Chaos/Order Banners

would you like some cheese with that whine??? ----
gee so if you can't have what you want WHEN you want I guess the entirre world should revolve around that?
Let me see if i can put this clearly- VET REWARDS - would you like me to post the term VET here so you can see the meaning of it??
OR do you think you can LOOK that up yourself???
its a REWARD for BEING HERE a LONNNNNNG time and PAYING a LOT in monthly fee's

UO didn't even have those at the start of the game but was NICE enough to go back and add in the ages of peoples whose accounts
were ACTIVE so they could get rewards- yes, often the rewards ages got messed up but they fixed it

 

[Lord Lew]

Having tubs that are accessed by different year players also drives community and trust. It causes the player to have to interact with other players in order to get their item dyed. It pushes said player from a single player game into the multi-player game that UO is. Allowing everyone to use everything would be sending the wrong message in my humble opinion.

Lets face facts here, some items are for age status, some for building trust and community, and some are a reward for spending years playing ultimate online. It is my feeling that most want the restrictions removed so they can have a shard shield, but anyone can work and buy a transfer token to do essentially the same thing.

Now the new items are out, and the complaint will move to the shed and table. However testing is showing that a player can purchase this item from a vet they trust, co-own them and have them place it with co-owner security, then remove them from the co-own list. Leaving the item useable by the purchaser regardless of account age. If this is what the Devs intended, then I am amazed at there forward thinking. It will drive community, foster trust between players, and give older vets a new reason to use rewards and keep playing. Yes there will be people that abuse this function, but keep reading!

There was a time long ago, before artifacts and repair deeds, that a players name was important. Items created by a GM crafter and repaired by GM crafter were highly sought after. A player would make a name for himself or herself by being honorable and trustworthy. I miss those days personally, and long for them. If the above paragraph turns out to be true, than I have become a believer again in our Dev team, they are moving UO in the right direction..

Ok I'm done!

 

[vwrmic]

would you like some cheese with that whine??? ----
gee so if you can't have what you want WHEN you want I guess the entirre world should revolve around that?
Let me see if i can put this clearly- VET REWARDS - would you like me to post the term VET here so you can see the meaning of it??
OR do you think you can LOOK that up yourself???
its a REWARD for BEING HERE a LONNNNNNG time and PAYING a LOT in monthly fee's

UO didn't even have those at the start of the game but was NICE enough to go back and add in the ages of peoples whose accounts
were ACTIVE so they could get rewards- yes, often the rewards ages got messed up but they fixed it

As far as I can see, I wasn't "whine'ing", I was merely stating my own observation and conclusions, alas, I will not be drawn in to a bickering argument. However, since you obviously didn't read my initial post, I said I did not want veteran rewards to be taken away, I merely wanted the restriction removed. You see what I said there? - RESTRICTION - not REMOVE - RESTRICTION.

 

[Siabra]

As far as I can see, I wasn't "whine'ing", I was merely stating my own observation and conclusions, alas, I will not be drawn in to a bickering argument. However, since you obviously didn't read my initial post, I said I did not want veteran rewards to be taken away, I merely wanted the restriction removed. You see what I said there? - RESTRICTION - not REMOVE - RESTRICTION.

I am well aware you don't want to be "drawn into an argument" nor do I.... I also know what a restriction is and generally they are put there for a reason ..such as to increase a desire for an item.. or as a reward !! oooooooo.. there's a thought!! Facts remains Vet Rewards are Vet Rewards- NOT.... "I want them to but I've not paid in the months of fee's/dues that any of you have have
"O wait I have it, we can just remove the restrictions THAT way I don't have to wait- I can use things that other people had to wait years to get!! O yes "droorooll" that would work!!!. and geeezz.. I Know i picked those other rewards "back" then instead of saving my choices for some things now.. but .. maybe if I whine some more about this I can get it done. So how much cheese do you want.. you already have the whine

And here's a far more fair idea.. sell the vet rewards through the UO Store ONLY!! YOU PAY what it costs EACH MONTH x the monthly game fee- so say that fee is $13.00 per month $13 x 12 = $154 per yr?? ... ah I can hear you now.... you say that's stupid!! but that's what others have paid, month after month after month of supporting you for years and years - so why not you? oooo you might not ever get what you want that way?? .. What a pity SOmeone might play a game and NOT get something.. the shock of it!! the outrage!!

THE restrictions are the point with you, its because you are not old enough ... I frankly ran out of cheese and crackers at the moment... and as Clark Gable said at the end of the movie "Frankly my dear, I don't give a ......

 

[Siabra]

My account hit four years a month or two back. Now I can finally finish my tamer... so yes, I agree that the 720 point cap needs to be
moved down the ages a fair bit.I also just have to say, I remember having no ethies. I remember the day my account hit 36 months, being overcome with joy at finally having an ethie.
Nevermind the fact that I had paid almost all my gold the year before to get a Charger. I find myself wondering if some of the august readership of this forum has forgotten how much
it SUCKS BALLS to not have an ethy mount. Not game changing? Yeah right.
/rant

Yes I like the ethy's also.. and I too remember getting my first one, but then after that .. UO Put in a charger you could purchase and use at any age .. just didn't have the same look as the
ethy, but it was /is a neat looking charger. Soulstones and the Soulstone fragments & now you can even craft soulstones.. have made a lot of difference in the choice you make with your
character. It is not like you have to take an entire year of real playing the game to become a GM smith etc . and i surely remember the mind numbing work of being a GM smith, I rather
like mining it broke up the bordom as you could get a lot of different colors I most certainly remember have to work DOWN a skill while changing my char around.
THEN they came in with soulstones.. lol but isn't that the way it goes.. if its so easy to do anything .. what is the point of doing it at all???

I'm not thrilled with the skill cap either, but with that in effect, you must make choices, which effects how you char is in the game.. but with the soulstones now, its not that big of a deal to change
your char skills- true you have to have to begin with, but that's a ton easier to do also

 

[Siabra]

I agree 100% there are other ways to get them and that is the way some shards go about it. I have two chests stocked with scroll binders were I combine every single 105, 110, and 115 I get (that I don't use). On some shards you can find 105 left on the ground at banks. But, lets say you are looking for a 120 Eval Intel. On a low population shard it can take months or even years to get one doing spawns regardless to how much gold you have. On a high population shard you can buy one in 2 seconds off a number of vendors. I am not saying its a bad thing as I feel when you get that artifact or power scroll from a drop or combine its sweeter than just going to Luna and picking one up. But it doesn't make a level playing field when the majority of players on a low population shard do not have any real recourse but to try and get the drop while some can just zip to Atlantic (or wherever) and pick up a 120 Magery.

I still wonder why the Devs even put the shields in the game since it allows the gold sellers easy access to make real life cash off selling stuff. Just walk around Origin and pick up one of the 1,000 books left laying around about the players from Atlantic (it says all items and gold are on Atlantic) who are selling stuff for cash and they will transfer the purchase over. I'd bet the majority are not using the $20 tokens from the EA store.

Besides the shard shields everything else is "nice to have" but really doesn't provide a huge advantage.

I know everyone with the 14 year rewards will say it provides them with no advantage whatsoever over a 1 year player and they have struggled so long paying for a game and deserve what they have. I am not saying they don't but lets be honest they are a huge advantage.

But in saying that I still think selling account age would be a good way for UO to make some extra income. Thats all I am getting at. If anyone has any other bright ideas go ahead..beside the advertise more which will never work.

BG

I am totally 1050% behind your idea of paying UO Store for this. Its fair and reasonable. lets see roughly $13.00 a month x 12 months = roughly $154 per year.. sooo take someone who wants a 10 yr vet reward?? Simply lets say thier account is 5 yrs old - so this way, they only need to pay 5 more yearly fees of $154 per year they wish to add on to their account, in order to get the rewards ! which is only the same vets have paid nothing more. That to me is fair, pay what others have at least in money it sure wouldn't be in actually time of support of a game itself. And it would let the people at UO hire more people, so at the same time we would all be helping the real life people who need jobs!

 

[Siabra]

And if there is a player that is willing to pay $1,680 (168 x $10 = $1,680) to age thier account then I say go for it, EA would lose no money.

Lets be real, do you really think UO will be here for another 14-15 years or better yet you or me? IMHO I don't think it will be. Anything EA/UO can do now to retain its current player base should be looked at.

Things that can be done now:
#1 Vet Reward turn-in system

Direct Exchange
Turn in a Vet Reward and you pick a reward equal to or less then what you turned in (as long as your account is old enough to pick it)

Point System (Vet Reward NPC)
You get 1 point per year of the Vet Reward and the more you turn in the more points you have to spend. The Vet Reward you could buy may be on an equal point system or at the most double the points required.
Example would be 14 points for a 14th year reward or 28 points for a 14th year reward. Your account would still have to be old enough to use the reward or the NPC would just geve you choices that you would get based on your account age. This would allow us to change rewards (and as Popps asked for so many times) and pick a new location for our Shard Shields at a cost.

Game time
When you apply a game time code (1, 3 or 6 month) you account ages by the same amount. This would fix the account age problem we have had and still do on some accounts aging properly and as an example the Shard Shield would give you more tokens at that time (it will be up to you to use these wisely as you will not get any more till more game time is applied). With this system anybody could age their account to as many years they wanted to with the understanding that if UO closes down you could lose some real money on your gamble. Yes you could have an account that is older than UO is but if you are willing to gamble on EA then both would win. You get all the rewards for the aging and EA gets money to use on UO now.
I have a 14.5 yr account and also a 12 yr account that I would be willing to age this way for more Shard Shields alone. EA loses no money and on the 12 yr account I gamble that UO will be here in 2 yrs. A gamble I am willing to take.

I'm behind pay for what you want and stop the whine!! but I think you did some rounding off in your math, I do believe my fee is around $13.00 per month -(I can not afford to pay for 6 month tokens on all my accounts at one time hehe) so I think that flat fee would be closer to $2,184.00 and I think if people want to pay that then sell it!!! UO profits, they hire more people etc its a win win win win also NO REFUNDS!!

 

[Thunderz]

With regulates to the share shield as that seems to be the main issue along with paying to age your account.


They could always release a new token in the store that has the same restrictions as the vet transfer, I.e account bound and no pets for say $10 that would sort that out just like they did with the house teleporters.

With regulates to paying to age your account sure if people wanna pay that $ let them it will benefit us all if it could be done in a way so we the players can see its going back into the game not ea's profit boost. Lets be realstic here up wont be around in 10 years for most people to even get a shot at most the pixel crack.

Thunderz

 

[Warpig Inc]

AGE TO PICK REWARD. The rewards that are a choice buy an aged account. Maybe a few items could be rethought on but most should never change.

AGE TO USE REWARD. Here is something that should not be on rewards but rides and worn items. House deco items that have no major game abilities. Deco with bling like a statua that fires off fireworks 24/7 and once a day a huge finally can be shot off is not game changing. Just could be aged accounts cool picks. Rugs are aged right? New players have not grind enough to have MIB/Map handouts? The reward list just needs a relook on the age to use on picks.

Now we get to the shed as an example. Age to pick is spot on. Age to use should be anyone. Extra storage wont kill a boss or win a PVP duel.

THE MATH. How much gold will players shell for a reward. Should younger players waste their cash buying gold or rewards from the LowLifeSites? Should players start a second account or buy an account based off age, rewards and worked characters to experience this small aspect of the game? Should the UO store sell a token that allows you to pick anything on the reward list that only "Age to Use" restricts their choice. This last option does away with the need to artificailly age accounts or put cash in the pockets of those paraSITES. Any veteran account that has an issue with the token sales for players to get rewards that their accounts age can use is just childish and don't care for the game they claim to love. This is assuming every red cent spent at the store goes to supporting the game players are spending their money on.

 

[Lord Frodo]

I'm behind pay for what you want and stop the whine!! but I think you did some rounding off in your math, I do believe my fee is around $13.00 per month -(I can not afford to pay for 6 month tokens on all my accounts at one time hehe) so I think that flat fee would be closer to $2,184.00 and I think if people want to pay that then sell it!!! UO profits, they hire more people etc its a win win win win also NO REFUNDS!!

I used a $10 a month fee for this as most people use 6 month time codes and back in the day UO was $10 a month. At this stage in UO's life I would be will to make it even less to age your account just to keep as many people playing UO. I have been playing this game for over 14 yrs and it would not bother me one bit to allow a new player that was willing to age thier to 14 yrs to do so. If they are willing to do this then it would be very hard to walk away from UO after spending all that money.

 

[vwrmic]

I am well aware you don't want to be "drawn into an argument" nor do I.... I also know what a restriction is and generally they are put there for a reason ..such as to increase a desire for an item.. or as a reward !! oooooooo.. there's a thought!! Facts remains Vet Rewards are Vet Rewards- NOT.... "I want them to but I've not paid in the months of fee's/dues that any of you have have
"O wait I have it, we can just remove the restrictions THAT way I don't have to wait- I can use things that other people had to wait years to get!! O yes "droorooll" that would work!!!. and geeezz.. I Know i picked those other rewards "back" then instead of saving my choices for some things now.. but .. maybe if I whine some more about this I can get it done. So how much cheese do you want.. you already have the whine

And here's a far more fair idea.. sell the vet rewards through the UO Store ONLY!! YOU PAY what it costs EACH MONTH x the monthly game fee- so say that fee is $13.00 per month $13 x 12 = $154 per yr?? ... ah I can hear you now.... you say that's stupid!! but that's what others have paid, month after month after month of supporting you for years and years - so why not you? oooo you might not ever get what you want that way?? .. What a pity SOmeone might play a game and NOT get something.. the shock of it!! the outrage!!

THE restrictions are the point with you, its because you are not old enough ... I frankly ran out of cheese and crackers at the moment... and as Clark Gable said at the end of the movie "Frankly my dear, I don't give a ......

You know what, I actually spent the time to write up a worthwhile post which questioned your decision and opinions, but after re-reading your post, I really can't be bothered to post it. Your hostility and childish "droorooll" simply doesn't interest me. The devs responded, people gave some great opinions, you just didn't really contribute anything to this thread.

 

[Frodo The Great]

Facts remains Vet Rewards are Vet Rewards- NOT.... "I want them to but I've not paid in the months of fee's/dues that any of you have

I think your VERY WRONG! i am 18 Years of age and i have been player 7 years i have had my account payed for me untill i was 15 when i got myself a part time job to pay for it myself.. So thinking about it how can i pay for 15 years when i would have been only 3 when the game came out! now that is not fair for people in the same boat as me i do not think, I would have been 11 when i satarted playing this game, My dad has been playing 12 years and he got me into it, i used to have a tamer on that account which is my main account and my main char now that isnt the point in this but all i am saying as there is no way a young person like myself can get a account and get it to 15th year to get the items that are there, more on that in a second but im saying that your wrong about paying for account and i want them and i've not paid for them because thats wrong!

About the Vet rewards a little bit now as this is what the treat is about...

I personally think that most people on this tread are right.. the Vet Rewards should NOT BE items that every player would want it should be a REWARD like someone has stated (no names) so REWARD would say something that shows off how long they have been there like someone said about the colors of robes OR something...

As the transfer shields are 15th i understand that you would not be able to let EVERYONE use them as it would ruin the sale of the Transfer token in the UO Store BUT what i would say is like someone did above about the 1year can only have ONE shield and then 2years can have 2 shields and so on, BUT i do think there should be a limit to how many you can get..

i think this tread is a MUST and has to be read by the Dev's and Mesanna Because they all need to know what the Players of Ultima Online are thinking and what they would prefer!

Again to that

I am well aware you don't want to be "drawn into an argument" nor do I.... I also know what a restriction is and generally they are put there for a reason ..such as to increase a desire for an item.. or as a reward !! oooooooo.. there's a thought!! Facts remains Vet Rewards are Vet Rewards- NOT.... "I want them to but I've not paid in the months of fee's/dues that any of you have have
"O wait I have it, we can just remove the restrictions THAT way I don't have to wait- I can use things that other people had to wait years to get!! O yes "droorooll" that would work!!!. and geeezz.. I Know i picked those other rewards "back" then instead of saving my choices for some things now.. but .. maybe if I whine some more about this I can get it done. So how much cheese do you want.. you already have the whine

And here's a far more fair idea.. sell the vet rewards through the UO Store ONLY!! YOU PAY what it costs EACH MONTH x the monthly game fee- so say that fee is $13.00 per month $13 x 12 = $154 per yr?? ... ah I can hear you now.... you say that's stupid!! but that's what others have paid, month after month after month of supporting you for years and years - so why not you? oooo you might not ever get what you want that way?? .. What a pity SOmeone might play a game and NOT get something.. the shock of it!! the outrage!!

THE restrictions are the point with you, its because you are not old enough ... I frankly ran out of cheese and crackers at the moment... and as Clark Gable said at the end of the movie "Frankly my dear, I don't give a ......

If you have nothing nice to say, then dont post on a thread, i know he wanted replys and other peoples views but he did not ask for ABUSE and to be talked to like some kid.. you need to re-read your reply and maybe say something nice and not bite down peoples throats read what i have put and tell me what you think of that i would love to hear it

Thankyou

 

[Donal Mor]

I left UO 8 years ago and recently re-activated to piddle around for the winter and see how things go. When I left, OSI had vet rewards pinned to a 5 year cap. No 6th years and beyond were going to be offered. I am disappointed to see that someone caved. It is discouraging to see 15 year rewards looming. It doesn't help you lure new players or encourage older players to try it again.