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Uo.com Vs uoguide Vs uostratics

Lord Gandalf

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Why does uoguide.com or uo2.stratics.com provide better and more specific info about almost everything about uo?
Who should we trust? And why doesnt uo.com provide those calculators and make things clear to everyone?
 

Lord Gandalf

Crazed Zealot
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Stratics Legend
The official website uo.com is pretty bad. I mean they even have the WRONG information showing!!!! 3rd party sites such as uoguide and stratics can update the pages but the official website can't?

See here for an example: http://uo.com/Material-Bonus
Yeah true, but its updated in publish 81 patch notes, very tricky to find though :D

Its like the rat and cheese game on uo.com!
 

GalenKnighthawke

Grand Poobah
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Don't forget this site too:

http://ode-guild.com/uostuff/index.html

I actually, for my part, wouldn't look to the official game site for, say, formulas and calculators. Those feel more like fan-made things to me.

Having said that I long have wished for more consistently updated guides on the official site. This ain't nothing new, though.

-Galen's player
 

Lord Gandalf

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Maybe i should change the title of this thread and make look like "what does the devs do during the day?" Im not exaggerating or trying to be arrogant, we all know it takes a minimal effort to keep us updated with the game they have created.

Its like were buying a product with no nutrition facts on it?
 

Larisa

Publishing Manager, Stratics Leadership
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Be patient! They are completely re-doing uo.com...I HOPE it's done soon because I agree it needs a huge makeover :) I can't wait to see it when it's done!
 

DJAd

Stratics Legend
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Be patient! They are completely re-doing uo.com...
They have been saying this for over a year. The new account management was due "mid may" and nothing what so ever has been said about this.

I mean it takes all of 2 minutes to post up a message on UO.com saying something like "hey guys account management is coming along great but might be a few weeks late". Instead they just leave everyone in the dark.

What annoys me most is how they announce all this stuff as coming "soon" then no updates for months, even years. High res artwork, pet revamp etc etc.
 

Larisa

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Yeah I know we are all a bit disgruntled....but remember they are hard at work on not only the website, and account management, AND the new expansion..AND the gem global events....I know sometimes we just want a word or three here and there but they do the meet and greets in game and they just put out the Dev Diary not too long ago...not many games I've played have the Devs come talk to their players in game every month..
 

DJAd

Stratics Legend
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Yes I'm sure they are hard at work. They should just keep quiet and stop teasing us with features that are going to be ages away! Just announce stuff when it's ready.
 

FrejaSP

Queen of The Outlaws
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UOGuide have better stuff because all with a login can edit and add info
 

Smoot

Stratics Legend
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
AND the gem global events....
devs have nothing to do with the global events. the EMs do that. Personally, i think it was a bit lazy to pawn this off on the EMs. some of the lazier EMs will probably even count that as their content / drop for the month (its not tho, some shards so far have had regular content/drop plus the global content/drop)

it just doesnt make sense to me why this wasnt put in as a static global quest that everyone can do. only explanation is the devs didnt feel like doing it.
 

Merus

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devs have nothing to do with the global events. the EMs do that. Personally, i think it was a bit lazy to pawn this off on the EMs. some of the lazier EMs will probably even count that as their content / drop for the month (its not tho, some shards so far have had regular content/drop plus the global content/drop)

it just doesnt make sense to me why this wasnt put in as a static global quest that everyone can do. only explanation is the devs didnt feel like doing it.
I certainly agree that limiting global arc content to a specific/very limited time for availability is a poor avenue for distribution.
 

Scribbles

Long Live The Players
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Uo.com lol.... that site has been a joke for far too long. It goes right along with the fact that the producer of the game is also the PR person... In the past 6 years i have never directed a "new player" to get any information from Uo.com... I have always recommended stratics or uoguide. In fact the only time i ever go to UO.com is to get the link to the account mngmt page. Which is a joke in of itself.

We can hope that the new account mngmt which is now late and new uo.com are successful. However i severely doubt they will have near the content that stratics or uoguide has on the game. Furthermore, if uo.com does have the content, it will undoubtedly be copy pasted from stratics or uoguide. The main reason being that i doubt the producer knows in detail on how the game actually works anymore.

Good luck, dont hold your breath.
 

Lord Frodo

Stratics Legend
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Don't forget this site too:

http://ode-guild.com/uostuff/index.html

I actually, for my part, wouldn't look to the official game site for, say, formulas and calculators. Those feel more like fan-made things to me.

Having said that I long have wished for more consistently updated guides on the official site. This ain't nothing new, though.

-Galen's player
GREAT SITE, but you would know that just by the person doing it,hint hint. People need to go look http://ode-guild.com/uostuff/index.html
 

sablestorm

Babbling Loonie
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Maybe i should change the title of this thread and make look like "what does the devs do during the day?" Im not exaggerating or trying to be arrogant, we all know it takes a minimal effort to keep us updated with the game they have created.

Its like were buying a product with no nutrition facts on it?
Don't underestimate the time wasted keeping people updated. I remember working for corporate America for a small company where all the programmers up and left leaving me to man the fort. Meanwhile we still had all our sales guys out working with the clients, acting in the dual function of sales person and project manager. I was overwhelmed as it was, but each sales guy demanded meeting time to discuss projects. More than half my time was spent in these meetings rather than doing actual billable work. Now imagine that times a thousand with every UO player out here. Multiply that by how unreasonable some players can be. Blame EA all you want for not supporting the game better, but don't bash the Dev team because they are obviously trying to get this new expansion up and running.
 

NuSair

Crazed Zealot
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
The official website uo.com is pretty bad. I mean they even have the WRONG information showing!!!! 3rd party sites such as uoguide and stratics can update the pages but the official website can't?

See here for an example: http://uo.com/Material-Bonus
I have offered several times over the years to update the information on their site for minimal pay, and have never gotten a response.
 

Lord Frodo

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Don't underestimate the time wasted keeping people updated. I remember working for corporate America for a small company where all the programmers up and left leaving me to man the fort. Meanwhile we still had all our sales guys out working with the clients, acting in the dual function of sales person and project manager. I was overwhelmed as it was, but each sales guy demanded meeting time to discuss projects. More than half my time was spent in these meetings rather than doing actual billable work. Now imagine that times a thousand with every UO player out here. Multiply that by how unreasonable some players can be. Blame EA all you want for not supporting the game better, but don't bash the Dev team because they are obviously trying to get this new expansion up and running.
I am sorry but when is the last time you visited the site? This is one of the 4 headlines
#4 Whether these are your first steps into Britannia or you are a seasoned veteran, King Blackthorn is delighted to welcome you! Return to Britannia and play Ultima Online free from October 1, 2014 through October 31, 2014. LOL how hard is it to take down old news (7 months).

#3 http://www.uo.com/article/Anniversary-Party-Closing Ultima Online’s 15th Anniversary Party Itinerary LOL 2 years old

#2 http://www.uo.com/article/Ultima-Online-High-Seas Prepare yourself for adventure when Ultima Online: High Seas sets sail October 12, 2010

#1 http://www.uo.com/Stygian-Abyss Give me a break

Please, please do not tell me that this is the latest and greatest news going. First impression does matter and this site has been overlooked for so long. I am sorry but this is beyond understanding and the bottom line is that it appears that UO does not give a damn what impression it puts out there. You don't drum-up new business with a 50 year old store front. Up-to-date games have up-to-date web sites, it shows people that they care. I don't eat at a restaurant that looks like a pig sty no matter how good the food may be.
 
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Lord Gandalf

Crazed Zealot
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Don't underestimate the time wasted keeping people updated. I remember working for corporate America for a small company where all the programmers up and left leaving me to man the fort. Meanwhile we still had all our sales guys out working with the clients, acting in the dual function of sales person and project manager. I was overwhelmed as it was, but each sales guy demanded meeting time to discuss projects. More than half my time was spent in these meetings rather than doing actual billable work. Now imagine that times a thousand with every UO player out here. Multiply that by how unreasonable some players can be. Blame EA all you want for not supporting the game better, but don't bash the Dev team because they are obviously trying to get this new expansion up and running.
The only unreasonable person here is you.
I dont care what EA does, stick to the subject, and stop throwing all ur crap on someone else.

Lol "dont underestimate the time spent keeping people updated?" Really? Ofc when u keep postponing ur work for several years, ur gona wake up some day and say heyyy!!! I have a lot of work to do!!! Coz uve been so lazy throwing stuff behind u the whole time...

Anyways, thx @Lord Frodo, i hope ur post will keep some players quiet for a while now...
 

Kirthag

Former Stratics Publisher
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Campaign Benefactor
The major difference between the official site and fansites like UOGuide and Stratics is the content generated by the users who contribute to the fansites.

Many games have been opting to release a very bare bones type of play guide (eg. this is how you walk, this is how you fight sort of instructions) and leave it to the communities to come up with detailed guides - after all that is part of the joy of the game! Back in the day it came by way of Play Guides that you purchased at GameStop (I still have my Prima Strategy Guides for UO Second Age & Warcraft). Its kinda part of the gaming industry - although now a lot of that is now published to the internet in subscription only places - or by community fansites like us here at Stratics.

That's been the formula since MUD & MUSH days actually - and before that. Digging into the web archives, you find all kinds of fan-sites with guides, hints, tips and such going back to old games like Curse of Ra and even PacMan!

Insofar as calculators and other tools, I am currently going through all of them and contacting the original developers to ensure we have clean installs with working guides. As for trust, you have to go with your better judgement and rely on reputation and such.

EA has vetted several third party tools that may still work with the Classic Client better than with the EC. If more tools will be coming forth, it is up to the tool developer to seek vetting from Broadsword and ultimately EA. I believe that's what Pinco did with his UI for the EC. As for spreadsheet calculators, you have to trust the person who is putting it out. To note, as with any and all third party tool, you still use it at your own risk.

I'm cleaning up the Resources and hope to have every tool up there soon(tm) but remember, all of the people who do things for Stratics are volunteers, including myself. :)
 
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Gidge

Lore Keeper
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Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
I have worked for years in many different industries and the web page above all has become the face of the company and the product. If they are indeed coming out soon with a new expansion, then they need to have a framework in place, set in stone, tested, retested, spot checked and double checked because the last thing you want, trust me on this, and I don't ask people often to trust me, when they go live on steam for whatever they plan to do, and the server is bum rushed (yeah, it won't fail) and all the kiddos come to look for the....

Videos of what the game play is like.
Guides for answers to questions in game.
Ease of communication with the powers that be.
Community info on how to meet like minded people.
Serious PVP not b*tchfest, whiners, in gen chat calling you random body parts and saying gross sexual things.

That bum rush is going to turn into a breeze that just passes on by. Tons of new faces will pop in and be gone just as fast. We'll all be back here hashing over the what ifs and the coulda and shoulda wouldas.

I have a 19 and 13 year old and they play about 5 major games and cycling through them will require some meat on the bones.
If I as a "not to much older" person. *clears throat* don't have the patience with what the site has to offer and I know quite a bit about the game, they are not going to take the bait much less nibble enough to set the hook.

I asked them and they said seeing the "game in action" is a major deal breaker if they can't see the game play before hand. Something like some of the streamers do here.

Yes I know it will be fishing for all ages.
 

Dot_Warner

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UNLEASHED
Yeah I know we are all a bit disgruntled....but remember they are hard at work on not only the website, and account management, AND the new expansion..AND the gem global events....I know sometimes we just want a word or three here and there but they do the meet and greets in game and they just put out the Dev Diary not too long ago...
Remember, Mesanna stated that the new account management site and the new UO.com will be here in mid-May! YAY! *looks at calendar* Oh...wait.

If the same people who are doing the expansion are doing the website, BS has serious hiring issues. There should be dedicated web peoples, not sidelining a dev with it. The global events are no different from regular EM events, at least from a player perspective. Its just extra work for Mesanna.

The Dev diary was almost 4 months ago now (Feb 24th), with nary a mention of the expansion outside the focus group notices or the fiction. The fact they aren't advertising the hell out of the expansion is worrisome.

not many games I've played have the Devs come talk to their players in game every month..
I play three games where the devs pop into the game on nearly a daily basis and either solicit opinions or just bs with players. Kyronix does a good job talking to players, and I'm sure Mesanna's inbox is perpetually bursting. But UO desperately needs a community person that can respond to matters throughout the day, everyday, and make the players feel heard (something simple like going through the bug forum and saying "added to the list").
 

Gamer_Goblin

Sage
Stratics Veteran
The major difference between the official site and fansites like UOGuide and Stratics is the content generated by the users who contribute to the fansites.

Many games have been opting to release a very bare bones type of play guide (eg. this is how you walk, this is how you fight sort of instructions) and leave it to the communities to come up with detailed guides - after all that is part of the joy of the game!
I've read that a lot on other games. I think a bare minimum type approach is also needed though. Like maybe just explaining the stats, different attributes, races, and skills at least. Not a training guide, but just what they're used for. I wouldn't assume it'd be tough to maintain. :) Truth said though, if they have limited resources I'd choose everything except the site too.
 

Gidge

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I've read that a lot on other games. I think a bare minimum type approach is also needed though. Like maybe just explaining the stats, different attributes, races, and skills at least. Not a training guide, but just what they're used for. I wouldn't assume it'd be tough to maintain. :) Truth said though, if they have limited resources I'd choose everything except the site too.

After 20 years of the concept and implementation of UO you would think that UO itself somewhere along the line would have had something at this point. The thing is that they came out of the gate strong with a HUGE player base with people helping people and there "seemed" to be no need. Well now there is and they really let it slip. There use to be information on the website but through the ages with each new Producer and Dev Team responsible for the website, it has been stripped and stripped and stripped. Somewhere those files exist maybe? Heck even asking permission from some other sites to use there information. Is it copywrited since it is nothing but information about "their own game?"
 

Spock's Beard

Sage
Stratics Veteran
I play three games where the devs pop into the game on nearly a daily basis and either solicit opinions or just bs with players. Kyronix does a good job talking to players, and I'm sure Mesanna's inbox is perpetually bursting. But UO desperately needs a community person that can respond to matters throughout the day, everyday, and make the players feel heard (something simple like going through the bug forum and saying "added to the list").
The lack of a meaningful feedback-gathering mechanism is arguably UO's most significant structural flaw, not so much because a couple dozen posters here don't feel sufficiently catered to, but because it leaves the developers out of touch with the ground-level realities of the game and how it's perceived. Stratics has been severely damaged as a means of relevant criticism for years now anyway, by moderators terrified of what will become of the site if developers have their feelings too hurt to post here.

I know that "The Devs Totally Play UO, Honest" is an article of official orthodoxy that it's frowned upon to question, but they seriously and desperately need someone on that team who genuinely plays the game at a high level. Some of the stuff that came out of their mouths during those Meet & Greets was dumbfounding.
 

Lord Frodo

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I know that "The Devs Totally Play UO, Honest" is an article of official orthodoxy that it's frowned upon to question, but they seriously and desperately need someone on that team who genuinely plays the game at a high level. Some of the stuff that came out of their mouths during those Meet & Greets was dumbfounding.
The Dark Lady had to be the winner on this one. Her and MsTroubleMaker have been here forever but strangely you never hear from MsTroubleMaker, wish she would come and speak. You are 100% right about UO needing a person playing UO at a high level even if we don't know it at least they would have first hand knowledge of what is going on in the real UO world.
 

Captn Norrington

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The Dark Lady had to be the winner on this one. Her and MsTroubleMaker have been here forever but strangely you never hear from MsTroubleMaker, wish she would come and speak. You are 100% right about UO needing a person playing UO at a high level even if we don't know it at least they would have first hand knowledge of what is going on in the real UO world.
I thought I had heard that MsTroubleMaker was no longer working for Broadsword, and left a few months ago?
 

Ender

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Yeah I had to go to the client download page the other day and saw advertising for RTB in October... of 2014. Really?
 

Lord Frodo

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Yeah I had to go to the client download page the other day and saw advertising for RTB in October... of 2014. Really?
Don't forget the
Ultima Online Stygian Abyss AVAILABLE NOW!
or
Ultima Online High Seas AVAILABLE NOW!
OMG two new expansions AVAILABLE NOW! Will wonders never cease.

or wait for it

A NEW SOVERON RULES BRITANNIA! And when you click on it you get, drum roll please
The Anniversary Party is Closing IN Ultima Online’s 15th Anniversary Party Itinerary OMG 15 years of UO, can I still get an invite.

Hell the RTB is the most recent thing there advertised to draw in new customers, LMAO, and that as you said is out of date.
 

Kirthag

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Alumni
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After 20 years of the concept and implementation of UO you would think that UO itself somewhere along the line would have had something at this point. The thing is that they came out of the gate strong with a HUGE player base with people helping people and there "seemed" to be no need. Well now there is and they really let it slip. There use to be information on the website but through the ages with each new Producer and Dev Team responsible for the website, it has been stripped and stripped and stripped. Somewhere those files exist maybe? Heck even asking permission from some other sites to use there information. Is it copywrited since it is nothing but information about "their own game?"
Stratics does have the old UO Herald content which Mythic put in our trust many years ago.

As we are migrating all content into a more modern format, that will include the UOHerald stuff. :)


The lack of a meaningful feedback-gathering mechanism is arguably UO's most significant structural flaw, not so much because a couple dozen posters here don't feel sufficiently catered to, but because it leaves the developers out of touch with the ground-level realities of the game and how it's perceived. Stratics has been severely damaged as a means of relevant criticism for years now anyway, by moderators terrified of what will become of the site if developers have their feelings too hurt to post here.
If anyone have constructive feedback, visit http://uo.com/contact - it is a direct contact form to Broadsword. Is also a great way to submit bugs you find (hint).
The Stratics forums are open to anyone who wishes to post. It is when those posts become detrimental to the community and/or abusive that we lay heavy on the moderation. We do have a rather flexible RoC - and it is everyone's reponsibility to stay up to date and read it.
Post with respect, intelligence and courtesy and you'll find even the most scathing of commentary on the game will stay in place.
 
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Spock's Beard

Sage
Stratics Veteran
If anyone have constructive feedback, visit http://uo.com/contact - it is a direct contact form to Broadsword. Is also a great way to submit bugs you find (hint).
The Stratics forums are open to anyone who wishes to post. It is when those posts become detrimental to the community and/or abusive that we lay heavy on the moderation. We do have a rather flexible RoC - and it is everyone's reponsibility to stay up to date and read it.
Post with respect, intelligence and courtesy and you'll find even the most scathing of commentary on the game will stay in place.
The fact that your counter-example consists of an email link on a website pretty much says it all. They have no real means of surveying the players other than the woefully inefficient process of logging in and talking to them one at a time, nor have I ever heard anything to indicate that they're able to gather much in the way of useful metrics from the software itself.

I mean I'd love to hear what proportion of players have ever attempted the Honesty virtue, for example, versus how many have successfully advanced it to each stage. It doesn't seem especially difficult to have the server write "account X advanced to level Y" to a file somewhere each time someone progresses and then run a script to parse the log into readable numbers, but if anything like that exists then it's a state secret for some reason.
 

Kirthag

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Alumni
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I know that "The Devs Totally Play UO, Honest" is an article of official orthodoxy that it's frowned upon to question, but they seriously and desperately need someone on that team who genuinely plays the game at a high level. Some of the stuff that came out of their mouths during those Meet & Greets was dumbfounding.[/QUOTE]
The fact that your counter-example consists of an email link on a website pretty much says it all. They have no real means of surveying the players other than the woefully inefficient process of logging in and talking to them one at a time, nor have I ever heard anything to indicate that they're able to gather much in the way of useful metrics from the software itself.

I mean I'd love to hear what proportion of players have ever attempted the Honesty virtue, for example, versus how many have successfully advanced it to each stage. It doesn't seem especially difficult to have the server write "account X advanced to level Y" to a file somewhere each time someone progresses and then run a script to parse the log into readable numbers, but if anything like that exists then it's a state secret for some reason.
Interesting - like the statistics they provide for WoW and some other games. Yeah, I'd love to see "world first" and other achievements by guilds!
I think they are starting to do some things like that - after all, look at the Void Pool... perhaps more will be coming down the pipe.
 
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