16 Year Old Vet

[Goodmann]

Ok, I was thinking I have 3 accounts currently coming up on 16 year status..... If I am involved with any company for 16 years it seems that I should be getting some kind of price break or some special bonus. I know we get 2 new rewards per year..... not good enough for being a loyal customer for 16 years. Let's get the ball rolling for new incentives for not only 16 year customers but anyone that has been paying or accounts for more than 5 years! Just some food for thought

 

[Vexxed]

Ok, I was thinking I have 3 accounts currently coming up on 16 year status..... If I am involved with any company for 16 years it seems that I should be getting some kind of price break or some special bonus. I know we get 2 new rewards per year..... not good enough for being a loyal customer for 16 years. Let's get the ball rolling for new incentives for not only 16 year customers but anyone that has been paying or accounts for more than 5 years! Just some food for thought

Do you post anything that doesn't start with.... I WANT ?

 

[Lord Lew]

Buying aged accounts does not constitute being involved with a company for as long as said accounts

 

[Tazar]

Sooo... How long have you been buying Electricity from your local Electric company or Co-op? Do they give you a bonus for being there that long?

How long have you been buying gasoline at the corner station? Do you get a bonus there other than the club card that discounts the overly inflated price back down to a little above what it should be?

How long have you been...

Do I really need to go on?

 

[Goodmann]

Sooo... How long have you been buying Electricity from your local Electric company or Co-op? Do they give you a bonus for being there that long?

How long have you been buying gasoline at the corner station? Do you get a bonus there other than the club card that discounts the overly inflated price back down to a little above what it should be?

How long have you been...

Do I really need to go on?

 

[Penana Car]

Gasoline is a reliable, consistent product. Ultima Online is progressively worse and the product does not hold its original value. Since when did VCR's cost as much as 3D Blu-Ray players?

Do I really need to go on?

Sooo... How long have you been buying Electricity from your local Electric company or Co-op? Do they give you a bonus for being there that long?

How long have you been buying gasoline at the corner station? Do you get a bonus there other than the club card that discounts the overly inflated price back down to a little above what it should be?

How long have you been...

Do I really need to go on?

 

[Tazar]

Gasoline is a reliable, consistent product. Ultima Online is progressively worse and the product does not hold its original value. Since when did VCR's cost as much as 3D Blu-Ray players?

Progressively worse is an opinion. I paid a monthly fee for the original land... then they added the lost lands and I paid the same... they added Trammel and it stayed the same... Ilshenar... Malas... Tokuno... Ter-Mur...

UO has grown significantly for the price. I consider it to be a great value... and I pay less since I pay by 6 months at a time.

 

[Penana Car]

Actually the subscription cost was hiked up by almost 3 dollars. Expansions were purchased at face value and Renaissance was mostly a big patch. Back when the game had in-game and out-of-game support, ongoing publishing and relevance in the MMO community the subscription cost held its worth, but not so much now.

 

[Tazar]

A cost increase of $3.00 with all those new lands every month (The original game had a purchase at face value too... remember?) doesn't even keep up with inflation over the last 16 years... it's still a great value.

 

[Goodmann]

A cost increase of $3.00 with all those new lands every month (The original game had a purchase at face value too... remember?) doesn't even keep up with inflation over the last 16 years... it's still a great value.

Def not a great value, look at other games in the same genre, most free to play with tons of content added on... we are in cruise control until we hit the ice berg

 

[Tazar]

I have looked at other games... hollow shells with preset courses, etc. None hold a candle to UO and yet all have freely borrowed from it.

 

[kelmo]

Why the Debbie Downer attitude. Goodmann?

 

[Goodmann]

Why the Debbie Downer attitude. Goodmann?

Just would like to see some new content added. I'll still be paying for my 10 accounts regardless of what they do.

 

[The Zog historian]

Gasoline is a reliable, consistent product. Ultima Online is progressively worse and the product does not hold its original value. Since when did VCR's cost as much as 3D Blu-Ray players?

Do I really need to go on?

That coming from you, who hasn't played in three years and demands that the game suit what he wants, well, the rest of us have little regard for your trolling.

Actually the subscription cost was hiked up by almost 3 dollars. Expansions were purchased at face value and Renaissance was mostly a big patch. Back when the game had in-game and out-of-game support, ongoing publishing and relevance in the MMO community the subscription cost held its worth, but not so much now.

Let me introduce you to a concept known as inflation. The same $9.99 in 1997 is well over $14 today.

It's a marvel for a MMORPG to last as long as this, so just be glad the same is still around to see a 16th anniversary. Oh, I forgot, you don't even play anymore.

 

[Zosimus]

I have looked at other games... hollow shells with preset courses, etc. None hold a candle to UO and yet all have freely borrowed from it.

Thats is your opinion.


Millions ( I could say at least a Billion) of F2P, B2P and other P2P MMO's think other wise and would defend their game just as you have . As we know the UO player base numbers dont hold a candle to their player base numbers.

Let me touch upon the "borrowed" remark. UO was the the so called first while others will say Mudd but the first commercially MMORPG, which UO is catagorized in, was The Realm Online and not UO. No matter the argument who was first, they all borrowed their ideas off of board, card and dice games. So let roll with those relics of gaming. I will say that those early forms of gaming was borrowed off the ......hmmmm.....books....medieval lore...Greek and Roman lore..... or how about the human imagination?

So you are saying that UO did not borrow anything from any other type of games like Neverwinter Nights ( the origina AOL game) released in 1991? Bill Gates "borrowed" other ideas and made Windows. All ideas are borrowed and improved/ruined upon depending on the person. Man is still finding ways to improve on the wheel lol. Maybe that guy should come back and complain that the human race has borrowed from his original idea. So Atari had it perfect and the Xbox. Wii, and PS's are all just cheap imitations. Wtf is Atari now? I am craving that game you all called pong or something. I have a hankering to play Pitfall. I had to look this stuff up on Atari


That is my opinion and fact. Really don't understand the "hate" on Stratics when it comes to other games. Not saying it's not OK to defend against the haters but you sure are not going to win over other players from these other games with this type of attitude either. Players want healthy and vibrant communties. I can't even catagorize what state the UO community is in.



To the OP.......

Enjoy the game and just enjoy that you can still play the game you love. Items don't make a game. What you do within the game is priceless and there is no price tag on that.

 

[kelmo]

You lost me at millions...

 

[Tazar]

I am aware that some people prefer to be lead along a preset path from quest to quest - but not me. Games like that will have a much harder time 16 years in because of the lack of replay value. There is also more of a constant push for the next expansion to add to the "end-game". UO does not have an end-game and the daily decisions of "what do I want to do today" are real choices.

As to the rest, you have put a lot of words in my mouth when I say others borrowed from UO and you tried to turn it around. I'll leave that part and the assumptions to you since it was not me that said any of that... nor was there any "hate" for other games... they are just not for me and don't hold the things that I look for when I play.

For what UO Provides - I am very happy paying $9.99 a month for my subscription. I see great value (to me) in the money I spend that I could not get through other games, or through other recreational activities/hobbies.

 

[Flutter]

I think we can agree to disagree here guys. Going back and forth isn't going to get the other person to stop believing as they do.
I understand the desire for content, I miss the regular content that they used to add to the game too.
I understand Tazar's point that we don't pay much for the game and we shouldn't feel entitled. I think Goodmann's point is that when he started paying for this game there were regular upgrades and content additions. Not so much anymore. We have to remember back then we also had a lot more problems. Sometimes we couldn't even log onto our favorite shard because it was "full".
It's six of one half dozen of the other.
I'd like to see some cool ideas for vet rewards! Can we get back on that topic?

 

[CovenantX]

Yea, definitely would like to know if the devs have anything planned, as far as vet rewards, or anniversary gifts.

It'll be here before you know it.

 

[Flutter]

Yea, definitely would like to know if the devs have anything planned, as far as vet rewards, or anniversary gifts.

It'll be here before you know it.

Haha I just want to know before I use the picks I have saved on Shard xfer Shields LOL!

 

[Jirel of Joiry]

That coming from you, who hasn't played in three years and demands that the game suit what he wants, well, the rest of us have little regard for your trolling.



Let me introduce you to a concept known as inflation. The same $9.99 in 1997 is well over $14 today.

It's a marvel for a MMORPG to last as long as this, so just be glad the same is still around to see a 16th anniversary. Oh, I forgot, you don't even play anymore.

my accounts are respectfully 12.3 years, 11.3 years and younger. The ONLY thing I want from EA/Mythic/Bio ware or whatever name they go by this week is customer support. When I tried to update my credit card in June it was a total comedy of errors culminating in a phone call to EA Support.
Well after being passed around much like an hors d'oeuvre platter at a party, I am told "I'm sorry but EA no longer supports that title by phone, only email."
Um, wow thanks. Luc got much the same during the King's Collection catastrophe. Very sad, they took away phone support and never even told the player base.

I'll keep paying the $12.99 if they return phone support for UO.


That's my 2 cents, with interest, and after taxes. (Accountant humor)

 

[Uvtha]

Ok, I was thinking I have 3 accounts currently coming up on 16 year status..... If I am involved with any company for 16 years it seems that I should be getting some kind of price break or some special bonus. I know we get 2 new rewards per year..... not good enough for being a loyal customer for 16 years. Let's get the ball rolling for new incentives for not only 16 year customers but anyone that has been paying or accounts for more than 5 years! Just some food for thought

Why? What company gives price breaks for long time customers? Phone? Nope. Tv? Nope. Any other game? Nope.

I assume there will eventually be 16 year vet rewards if the current ones are not enough, so be happy with that.

 

[Kylie Kinslayer]

Why? What company gives price breaks for long time customers? Phone? Nope. Tv? Nope. Any other game? Nope.

Heck, all those seem to go up every year, just be glad UO ain't.

 

[Goodmann]

Why? What company gives price breaks for long time customers? Phone? Nope. Tv? Nope. Any other game? Nope.

I assume there will eventually be 16 year vet rewards if the current ones are not enough, so be happy with that.

Insurance Companies, Credit Card Companies, Banks, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Auto Car Dealers, Cable Companies, Phone Companies, ect. So pretty much any company that has competition has some sort of cash back/bonus for being a loyal customer.....

 

[Smoot]

16th year vet reward of being able to change the email associated with my account? and credit card even? Im all for it!

 

[Lord Nabin]

I deal with about 400+ 16 year olds on a yearly basis who believe the world revolves around them!

So I get what my Good friend Goodman is saying. ( no slam on Goodman here)


Now here is the great thing in about two years your mind finishes reprograming itself and you once again re connect with reality. If you have not wasted all those vet rewards you are going to be very appreciative.

Those of you with teens who have gone through this will totally back me up.

bottom line no matter how you slice it. A lot of us are considered pre teens or teens in this game.

Time to mature up!

 

[Viper09]

Insurance Companies, Credit Card Companies, Banks, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Auto Car Dealers, Cable Companies, Phone Companies, ect. So pretty much any company that has competition has some sort of cash back/bonus for being a loyal customer.....

So cash back/bonus is what you're asking? Isn't that what vet rewards were made to be? That's just their version of a bonus for players.

 

[Lord Nabin]

So cash back/bonus is what you're asking? Isn't that what vet rewards were made to be? That's just their version of a bonus for players.

Yes

 

[SixUnder]

dude, let me just say.
if you are like me and a beta tester, you know for a fact we get nothing. Just how it is.
my 2 main accounts are both 192 months, im sole owner, and they have never been deactivated.
we get nothing, sucks but they dont care.

 

[Lord Nabin]

dude, let me just say.
if you are like me and a beta tester, you know for a fact we get nothing. Just how it is.
my 2 main accounts are both 192 months, im sole owner, and they have never been deactivated.
we get nothing, sucks but they dont care.

see and in 2 years you will appreciate it. When you're 18

 

[weins201]

WHA ANOTHER DLTDHYOTA.

IF YOU DONT LIKE WHAT YOU ARE PAYING FOR STOP AND STOP PLAYING!

 

[SixUnder]

dude, let me just say.
if you are like me and a beta tester, you know for a fact we get nothing. Just how it is.
my 2 main accounts are both 192 months, im sole owner, and they have never been deactivated.
we get nothing, sucks but they dont care.

i started at 18 sir, im 36 now

 

[Lord Frodo]

i started at 18 sir, im 36 now

WOW You just made me feal very old, I have 2 children older than you. Yes I am as old as dirt.

 

[The Zog historian]

Insurance Companies, Credit Card Companies, Banks, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Auto Car Dealers, Cable Companies, Phone Companies, ect. So pretty much any company that has competition has some sort of cash back/bonus for being a loyal customer.....

What you think is "cash back" is actually a gimmick of charging higher in the beginning, getting a little interest, then later sending the customer a check that makes the gullible happy. When you buy something for $X with a rebate, do you tell yourself, "Oh, I got such a great deal, they're giving me $Y back"? Or do you realize that the true price is $X minus $Y?

Come on, don't be so naïve as to think there's such a thing as a free lunch. In the end, a company has to make a certain minimum to stay in business. Right now, the month-to-month payment for $12.99 for UO is below inflation, and there are far fewer players than the heydays when we did get regular new content.

You want "cash back" from EA? Fine, then our subscriptions will be a few dollars higher, allowing EA to give us "free months." In the end, customers have to pay for it somehow. When I signed up for my cable company, there was a promotion of getting $250 back after maintaining service for half a year. Do you really think I and other customers aren't paying higher monthly bills to pay for that?

An offer of "$1000 cash back" on a car simply means the MSRP is inflated by $1000. Zero interest is courtesy of the Federal Reserve's cheap loans to the automaker's lending arm. One supermarket chain I frequent offers a discount at the adjacent gas station it owns, which customers already pay for with slightly higher prices.

Credit cards give "points" or "cash back" because they charge merchants a high percentage of fees. Having managed retail, I can tell you that nobody will just absorb the cost, no more than a store owner will pay for the lights out of his own pocket. Most people are foolish enough to think, "If I use my card to buy enough, I'll get points for a free airline ticket." In the end, they certainly paid for it through slightly higher prices. In recent years we can see the difference because some merchants, like gas stations, are offering lower prices for cash payments.

 

[Lord Nabin]

What you think is "cash back" is actually a gimmick of charging higher in the beginning, getting a little interest, then later sending the customer a check that makes the gullible happy. When you buy something for $X with a rebate, do you tell yourself, "Oh, I got such a great deal, they're giving me $Y back"? Or do you realize that the true price is $X minus $Y?

Come on, don't be so naïve as to think there's such a thing as a free lunch. In the end, a company has to make a certain minimum to stay in business. Right now, the month-to-month payment for $12.99 for UO is below inflation, and there are far fewer players than the heydays when we did get regular new content.

You want "cash back" from EA? Fine, then our subscriptions will be a few dollars higher, allowing EA to give us "free months." In the end, customers have to pay for it somehow. When I signed up for my cable company, there was a promotion of getting $250 back after maintaining service for half a year. Do you really think I and other customers aren't paying higher monthly bills to pay for that?

An offer of "$1000 cash back" on a car simply means the MSRP is inflated by $1000. Zero interest is courtesy of the Federal Reserve's cheap loans to the automaker's lending arm. One supermarket chain I frequent offers a discount at the adjacent gas station it owns, which customers already pay for with slightly higher prices.

Credit cards give "points" or "cash back" because they charge merchants a high percentage of fees. Having managed retail, I can tell you that nobody will just absorb the cost, no more than a store owner will pay for the lights out of his own pocket. Most people are foolish enough to think, "If I use my card to buy enough, I'll get points for a free airline ticket." In the end, they certainly paid for it through slightly higher prices. In recent years we can see the difference because some merchants, like gas stations, are offering lower prices for cash payments.

Coming from a place of knowledge you are not exactly correct with all this.

That being said your point that " a deal for Cash back" needs to be accounted for somewhere is.

yes cash back, points, credits are accounted for in the end game but balancing it are things like points never cashed in, Breakage on gift cards, etc.

Really The only good deal is the one you are happy with.

For me and my accounts

We are fine and have a good deal going

 

[Lord Nabin]

i started at 18 sir, im 36 now

I figured but speaking account wise you are a teen come on just play along

 

[Viper09]

While we are on the topic of cash-back, rebates, etc, one might argue that paying for more months at a time (such as the 6 month package) is a very similar deal, coming out to $10 per month.

 

[Lord Nabin]

While we are on the topic of cash-back, rebates, etc, one might aruge that paying for more months at a time (such as the 6 month package) is a very similar deal, coming out to 10 per month.

True That

 

[Alexander of ATL.]

I deal with about 400+ 16 year olds on a yearly basis who believe the world revolves around them!

HEY! I'm 17 years old.... I'm willing to share the feeling that the world revolves around me!!

lol... kidding aside, I do agree that UO needs to be more constant with their expansions to get new players involved. But I don't agree with the idea of giving discounts to those with 16 year old accounts, you run into the issue of:

1) There is no way to prove that you were the original owner of that account, 16 years ago.
2) It wouldn't be fair to those who are lets say, 1-2 years off - It will more than likely loose players.
3) for $13 a month or $60 every 6 months, I really do believe we are getting our monies worth.


Just my opinion. What we need to be focused on is trying to make the game popular and really recruiting new members, or this game WILL die. Who cares what we get for our vet rewards... this game is loosing players... I heard EA was sued for millions of dollars. If this game declines much more, they will be forced to shut it down because they are loosing money. I'd rather pay the few extra dollars than see all those years spent go to waste.

 

[FrejaSP]

I like little thing like the vet mounts, maybe a special pair of shoes/boots, craftable, but when you wear them, they will tell the age of your account and of your char. This could be made for other clothes items too.
A shield, you can use or put on your house wall. It will show the house owners account age and char age and if you wear it your account age and char age.
If someone else use it, or lock it down in his home, the text will changes to the new owners ages.

I do not need extra vet rewards, even when I'm sure I could find use for 3 as 15 years old, we always have a lot young accounts on the shard, who need a e-horse.

Why not, just changes it, so 2-5 years also get 2 additional reward choices, why are they limit to one?

Make 6, 12, 18 etc. years get 3 additional reward choices just like 1 years vet do

This way, all have something to look forward too, and in the end it gives more rewards to all and more reasons to keep the account active.

1 additional reward choices for the 2-5 years old are not much, as there is a lot to choose from and a lot they will need.

 

[Uvtha]

Insurance Companies, Credit Card Companies, Banks, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Auto Car Dealers, Cable Companies, Phone Companies, ect. So pretty much any company that has competition has some sort of cash back/bonus for being a loyal customer.....

None of those give you money off for length of time as a customer (that I have ever heard of) except for auto insurance and that is a reward for not getting into car accidents, not for longevity. Miscellaneous rewards programs are basically vet rewards, except that everyone gets them regardless of how long they have been in the program... we already have that.

 

[Aurelius]

If I am involved with any company for 16 years it seems that I should be getting some kind of price break or some special bonus. I know we get 2 new rewards per year..... not good enough for being a loyal customer for 16 years.

All depends how you view it, really. There's been plenty of bad decisions, awful design and truly abysmal 'support' in the time I've been playing, but from my perspective I knew the price per month, and in return got a game I've hugely enjoyed for 15 years, and along the way some pixel stuff got given to me simply for being there. I honestly don't need a 'special bonus', all I want is for the game to continue, hopefully grow, and get the support and intelligent design that will keep and attract players.

 

[MalagAste]

I figured but speaking account wise you are a teen come on just play along

Account wise 1month in-game=1 year... So account wise my characters are over 160 years old. If you consider they were "adults" when created since there obviously and sadly are no "children" in game and such then you add another 16 years or so to that. But elven most of them so they are still kinda young.

 

[Warpig Inc]

Being one those old dice rollers. Bag of Holding as a vet reward. Container that items can be put into. 125 item limit no weight count. Cannot view the contents, DCing it and a random item in it pops out.

Or a Sea Horse eth for fishing in locations that a boat can't be dropped in. 16 year vet pick that any age can use. For those that need a discount can sell it for $100 and have that $1 discount for the next 100 months.

Just because the gasoline I buy and put into a Edsel. Does not mean it still not a classic. In a magic world the gasoline would turn the Edsel into a Rimac.

Instead of a discount at 16 years old an 8th character slot is added instead. Sure that would bring no tears from the less then 16 players.

 

[The Zog historian]

Coming from a place of knowledge you are not exactly correct with all this.

Then you can back your claim with specifics, instead of an absurd "You're wrong and I won't say how."

That being said your point that " a deal for Cash back" needs to be accounted for somewhere is.

yes cash back, points, credits are accounted for in the end game but balancing it are things like points never cashed in, Breakage on gift cards, etc.

Of course not all points are cashed in, and not all rebates are redeemed. That's extra for companies, though. No company, at least not one that wants to stay in business, can offer rebates or gift cards with the assumption that only a minority of customers will redeem the offer.

Not to get on too much of a tangent, but I'll add that there's been some controversy in recent years about how companies can claim unredeemed gift card sales as revenue. It's unnecessary controversy for honest companies, however. GAAP provides ways of reporting unredeemed cards and points as liabilities, and if there's no expiration, then a company should continue to report such things on the liability side.

I for one am glad UO subscriptions don't resort to price or rebate gimmicks. There's the standard month-to-month fee, with discounts for paying several months at once. It's fair and transparent for players, and easy for EA to see exactly how much UO revenue they're receiving.

 

[dupapa]

Insurance Companies, Credit Card Companies, Banks, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Auto Car Dealers, Cable Companies, Phone Companies, ect. So pretty much any company that has competition has some sort of cash back/bonus for being a loyal customer.....

You got yours it called "vet rewards"

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

 

[NBG]

To be honest.... After almost 16 years playing UO, all I care about is that I can log on my characters and just forget about other things in my life. UO provide a good release and I can not ask anymore. Yo EA!!!! or Dev...... I paid for almost 16 years please just keep the game around and continue to fix stuff heh.

 

[Assia Penryn]

I'm a month away from 16 years as well. I honestly don't need a special bonus or reward for staying in the game. I pay my monthly fee to have the opportunity to enjoy myself in the game when I have the time.

Cash back and rewards work because in my opinion many people these days need a pat on the back for whatever they are doing, no matter how irrelevant or petty it is. Unfortunately, it is a symptom of how society has become too greedy. Everyone can't accept that they aren't special or that you have to be special to matter. You don't need to be special like someone famous or important to live a full life. Many have forgotten how to be happy without being praised or entertained. A grown child caring for their parents in their twilight years, taking the time to listen to someone who needs it, a mom who actually parents and cares for their children rather than letting technology do it or a teacher who inspires their students to pursue their goals. Not every child who grows up is going to be a rocket scientist, be rich/famous or discover a cure for cancer. The ones who flip the burgers at a fast food restaurant, the teachers who try and educate the youth in a world that doesn't appreciate them as much as someone throwing a football, the overworked staff at nursing homes that care for the elderly so the adults of today don't have to give up their freedom and the people that drive the garbage trucks to pick up all the waste of food and goods that society discards because many don't understand what it means to actually have nothing. We are spoiled rotten. When we can complain about having to pay $15 on a video game every month...that we deserve more... when there are children dying because they have no food... when generations of families are stuck in an endless cycle of poverty... and when women, men and children are exploited around the world for entertainment and profit.

I know there are people who disagree with the comments above. I respect that you have the freedom to think differently, even if I feel it is wrong. Sometimes when you stop and think about the things that anger you... really stop and weigh it against the troubles of others... sometimes you realize it isn't that big of a deal after all. When people complain about their unhappiness, they forget that sometimes you have to pursue it and that it isn't going to be handed to you made to order.

The glass isn't half full.
The glass isn't half empty.

Sometimes... happiness comes when you realize the glass... is just right.

 

[flappy6]

"The same $9.99 in 1997 is well over $14 today"

Yes but the $9.99 was before Obamma Hamma, Your $14 now is really only worth $7 ,so its cheaper to play now

 

[Warpig Inc]

Shhh, mention politics around here and they give you a 72 hour time out.