New Stuff Coming for DAoC -- Maybe Also for UO?

[Tina Small]

Some recent notes from the Dark Age of Camelot dev team indicate they have a lot of new stuff planned: Dark Age of Camelot .

I noticed a few things that made wonder if the UO team might have something similar in the works for UO:

- New website release
- Either improved search filters for consignment merchants (set up by and used by players to sell items to other players) AND/OR ability to do cross-server purchasing (they said probably one or the other of these, but not both)
- Mail
- Live updating of leaderboards and realm war pages on the DAoC website
- Official forums that will require an active game account in order to be able to post
- New Account Center (in May 2015, the DAoC team said the new Account Center would be out in the fall....where have we heard that before??)

 

[Lord Frodo]

Some recent notes from the Dark Age of Camelot dev team indicate they have a lot of new stuff planned: Dark Age of Camelot .

- Official forums that will require an active game account in order to be able to post

The Dark Lady was asked last night at the Napa M&G if UO was considering bring back the old UO Forum and she stated that no they weren't but had something else in the works that we would love. I wounder if this is going to be a BS Forum that will be shared with UO. I just hope that if they do this that a Forum ban does not equate to a game ban like the old UO Boards did.

 

[Lord Frodo]

@Tina Small OMG I just read that link and alls I can say is can their TEAM come over and give our understaffed TEAM a hand now and then. That literally looks like they are rewriting DAoC.

 

[Lord Frodo]

Why didn't we get this too
Dark Age of Camelot
Memorial Day Weekend is just around the corner and to celebrate we're bringing the traveling merchants back and introducing the following zone bonuses for the next two weeks!

The event will run from today, May 16th through Tuesday, May 31st.

Notes

• The traveling merchants have returned to their usual spots and are offerring their excellent selection of wares to any and all! They've even discounted their Darkness Falls weapons!
  • Albion: Outside Castle Sauvage
  • Midgard: Outside Svasud Faste
  • Hibernia: Outside Druim LIgen

Bonuses

On Ywain:

• 50% bonus to RP gain in all NF zones (including the Labyrinth)
• 50% bonus to RP gain in all battlegrounds
• 100% bonus to normal XP gain in all classic zones and dungeons
• 50% bonus to normal BP in all NF zones
• 50% bonus to normal BP in all battlegrounds

On Gaheris:

• 100% bonus to normal XP gain in all classic zones and dungeons
• 50% bonus to normal BP gain in the capital cities
• 50% bonus to normal RP gain in the capital cities

In each Capital City:

• 40% Bonus to Crafting Speed
• 20% Bonus to Crafting Skill Gain

In all Housing Zones:

• 20% Bonus to Crafting Speed
• 10% Bonus to Crafting Skill Gain

Does DAoC have a huge staff and we have what 4 people on staff

 

[Tina Small]

@Tina Small OMG I just read that link and alls I can say is can their TEAM come over and give our understaffed TEAM a hand now and then. That literally looks like they are rewriting DAoC.

DAoC has a couple of things that UO doesn't have, without even looking at the issue of how many people may or may not be developing new content for either game:

- DAoC seems to have a very, very active PR/Community team that I believe includes at least two people, including one who speaks German.
- DAoC also has the Knights of the Round Table program (Dark Age of Camelot).
- The PR/Community team and the Knights do a lot of live streaming (there is an official DAoC Twitch channel), contests, and code give-aways.
- The DAoC Facebook page and Twitter feed get a lot of attention.
- The current producer, John Thornhill, is a former lead developer for DAoC who moved into the producer role in late 2014 when the former producer, Talal Saad, moved into a different role at Broadsword where he would be overseeing more than one game. (Maybe he is Mesanna's boss? Or maybe Broadsword is managing another game for EA, perhaps Dungeon Keeper?) As a result, Mr. Thornhill may still be at the stage in his career where he is still growing into the producer role and feels he needs to prove himself by really rolling out a lot of improvements to the game.
- DAoC also has a shop on Zazzle where they sell a lot of items (Dark_Age_of_Camelot: Designs & Collections on Zazzle ).

 

[Lord Frodo]

@Tina Small It just looks as if DAoC get better support even though they are run by the same company, BS. I wish BS as a team would work on both games or hire more support for UO.

 

[Captn Norrington]

@Tina Small It just looks as if DAoC get better support even though they are run by the same company, BS. I wish BS as a team would work on both games or hire more support for UO.

According to the Broadsword website, they have 16 employees total. I only recognize 4 of them from UO (Mesanna, Kyronix, Bleak, Misk).

So apparently DAoC has 3x the amount of staff UO does. 4 people vs. 12 people. They should definitely even that out a bit to give UO some more support.

It lists them all here: Broadsword Online Games

 

[Giggles]

New forums... oi..
Some people already complain about Stratics being too strict and censored... lol?
I might be just a tad biased in this, but I really don't like the idea of using a forum where my account is linked. People have bad days and bad moods, I hope their moderation will keep that in mind before accounts get banned. I guess I should hold my judgments until its released, but so far I'm skeptical.

 

[FrejaSP]

Old UO forum did have volunteers choosen between the players, I don't believe they had any access to ban your account, only your login to the forum.
Also the focus group forum, used for VvV and ToL was somewhat linked to your account, don't think anyone had trouble with that.
I did like, that with no active account, no posting except for on a new player forum.

 

[Shane Douglas]

Maybe BS should get a few unpaid interns...I live ~20 minutes away from their office--I'll volunteer to stop by weekly and develop things for free. If those 4 staff are actually physically working out of that Herndon office, I'm sure they could easily get part-time unpaid interns there.

Heck, I forgot it is 2016 - just get an intern from overseas to submit stuff online.

 

[DJAd]

I've been waiting for the new account management for over a year now...

 

[Lord Frodo]

Old UO forum did have volunteers choosen between the players, I don't believe they had any access to ban your account, only your login to the forum.
Also the focus group forum, used for VvV and ToL was somewhat linked to your account, don't think anyone had trouble with that.
I did like, that with no active account, no posting except for on a new player forum.

On the old UO Boards if your board account or your game account as they were the same got a ban then both were banned. The majority of the MODs/posters were in fact the DEVs themselves and it was great talking to them directly but look out if you made one mad, your account could easily get a vacation.

 

[Lord Frodo]

I've been waiting for the new account management for over a year now...

And it looks like DAoC is spear heading it, TY.

 

[Lord Frodo]

Maybe BS should get a few unpaid interns...I live ~20 minutes away from their office--I'll volunteer to stop by weekly and develop things for free. If those 4 staff are actually physically working out of that Herndon office, I'm sure they could easily get part-time unpaid interns there.

Heck, I forgot it is 2016 - just get an intern from overseas to submit stuff online.

EA will never allow this because of getting burned by the old Volunteer program.

 

[FrejaSP]

On the old UO Boards if your board account or your game account as they were the same got a ban then both were banned. The majority of the MODs/posters were in fact the DEVs themselves and it was great talking to them directly but look out if you made one mad, your account could easily get a vacation.

I dit not get banned and trust me, there was a lot changes I was unhappy about and I sure told them that. There must had been other reasons posters got banned, maybe because of cheating or other illegale actions.

 

[Lord Frodo]

I dit not get banned and trust me, there was a lot changes I was unhappy about and I sure told them that. There must had been other reasons posters got banned, maybe because of cheating or other illegale actions.

I myself never got banned but a friend of mine got into a HEATED talk with one of the DEVs/MODs and both used some very not so nice words and the DEV gave him a 24hr cooling off period but nothing for the DEV/MOD. Yes it was hard to get a ban but having both accounts tied together was the bad part. Also being that you have to have an active account to use the boards will still make Stratics a needed site.

 

[FrejaSP]

Yes we would still need Stratics, I have my guild, alliance and town forum here and there a new UO/BS Forum would be great for interacting with devs, thoughts about changes etc, Stratics would be great for the UO community, when it comes to interact, trading and RP.
How do you know, the Dev/Mod did not get a warning too? 24 hours cooldown for acting in a hateful and maybe rude and disrespectful way is not bad. Sometimes people need to learn to control them self. I can easy get my point out without being hateful, rude and disrespectful.

 

[The Craftsman]

People have bad days and bad moods,

Yep and the new system here means that you could have 1 bad day every two and a half months, despite posting hundreds of legitimate posts and easily pick up the five 2 point infractions to get you banned within 12 months. Marvellous.

 

[FrejaSP]

Did not hear about that system

 

[Captn Norrington]

Yep and the new system here means that you could have 1 bad day every two and a half months, despite posting hundreds of legitimate posts and easily pick up the five 2 point infractions to get you banned within 12 months. Marvellous.

Technically you are wrong. You forgot that there are also suspensions in the system.

4 points = 3 day suspension
6 points = 7 day suspension
8 points = 30 day suspension

Therefore a person would have a total of 40 days during that year where they were not able to access their account, so it would be impossible to get new warnings during that time, but the timer for point expiration would still be going, meaning that some of the points may expire during the time the person is suspended. It also provides them with 3 separate opportunities to calm down and get over their bad day before returning to active posting.

 

[The Craftsman]

Technically you are wrong. You forgot that there are also suspensions in the system.

4 points = 3 day suspension
6 points = 7 day suspension
8 points = 30 day suspension

Therefore a person would have a total of 40 days during that year where they were not able to access their account, so it would be impossible to get new warnings during that time, but the timer for point expiration would still be going, meaning that some of the points may expire during the time the person is suspended. It also provides them with 3 separate opportunities to calm down and get over their bad day before returning to active posting.

You're splitting hairs and you know it. Even taking into account that 40 days users could have one bad day every two months (9weeks) despite like I said posting hundreds of times without incident over those 9weeks. 1 bad day within that 9 week period can get you permabanned within 12 months. Fact.

 

[Captn Norrington]

You're splitting hairs and you know it. Even taking into account that 40 days users could have one bad day every two months (9weeks) despite like I said posting hundreds of times without incident over those 9weeks. 1 bad day within that 9 week period can get you permabanned within 12 months. Fact.

Another fact is that the majority of users on Stratics have between zero to two warnings over the lifetime of their account, which in a lot of cases is 10+ years.

These aren't exact statistics but based on what I've seen I'd say it goes something like this:

60% = 0-2 warnings total
25% = 3-5 warnings total
10% = 6-10 warnings total
5% = 10+ warnings total (the highest I know of is 34)

(I'm only counting active posters who post at least a couple times a month)

So why is it that very few people ever got more than 5 warnings over the multiple year lifetime of their accounts, but a handful of people used to get warnings on a nearly weekly basis even though the rules were applied equally?

Regardless of the moderation system that is used, most posters on the site will not be significantly affected by it because most posters behave. It is only the ones who consistently push the limits that get a large amount of warnings.

You keep complaining about our moderation system but you never offer any alternatives, yes we get that you don't like it but endless complaints about it don't do anything to improve the situation.

If you came up with an alternative you see as better, then you could at least point to something and say "your system isn't as good as this one, you should use this one instead" as opposed to simply saying "I don't like it so make it different".

 

[The Craftsman]

I raised this in the announcements forum in the appropriate thread for discussion a couple of days ago. I ask if any mods had given any consideration to the math behind how you can get banned permanenty without stepping out of line once every couple of months. No reply.

 

[FrejaSP]

Do people get the info, that they got a point? is a point = a warning?
*Wonder how many point/warnings she have *

 

[Shane Douglas]

EA will never allow this because of getting burned by the old Volunteer program.

Career Opportunities

EA has lots of unpaid internships posted.....

 

[Captn Norrington]

I raised this in the announcements forum in the appropriate thread for discussion a couple of days ago. I ask if any mods had given any consideration to the math behind how you can get banned permanenty without stepping out of line once every couple of months. No reply.

Yes, you asked us to look at the system again, but you did not offer an actual alternative. There is a big difference between "look at it again please" and "here is an alternative I have created for you, please use it". If the staff truly saw your creation as better, switching to it would definitely be possible.

 

[Captn Norrington]

Do people get the info, that they got a point? is a point = a warning?
*Wonder how many point/warnings she have *

You have never gotten any warnings or points the entire time you have had your account, which is 15 years. (I just checked).

Yes, people can see their own point total if they have any.

Here is the thread explaining how it works: Maintenance Downtime and Moderation System Revision.

 

[FrejaSP]

Thanks, then the rules can't be that bad, as I had had my bad days, where I feeled the need to tell some other posters I was sorry, when I calm down and could think clear again.

 

[GarthGrey]

EA will never allow this because of getting burned by the old Volunteer program.

They didn't get burned by the program, they got burned by 2 or 3 counselors that complained over a program they volunteered for. And as a former counselor, I'm not just speculating.

 

[The Craftsman]

(the highest I know of is 34)

... and its not me Craftsman fans!

 

[Lord Frodo]

Yes we would still need Stratics, I have my guild, alliance and town forum here and there a new UO/BS Forum would be great for interacting with devs, thoughts about changes etc, Stratics would be great for the UO community, when it comes to interact, trading and RP.
How do you know, the Dev/Mod did not get a warning too? 24 hours cooldown for acting in a hateful and maybe rude and disrespectful way is not bad. Sometimes people need to learn to control them self. I can easy get my point out without being hateful, rude and disrespectful.

That would have been priceless, a UO DEV getting a ban on their own forum and the DEV/MOD really never changed his tone even after my friend was banned and they were both guilty as hell.

 

[Lord Frodo]

Career Opportunities

EA has lots of unpaid internships posted.....

LOL Those are all paid internships.

 

[Lord Frodo]

They didn't get burned by the program, they got burned by 2 or 3 counselors that complained over a program they volunteered for. And as a former counselor, I'm not just speculating.

Getting sued by your Volunteers and them winning is not getting burned and EA having to let all their Volunteers go because of it is not getting burned. What exactly would you call it then?

 

[GarthGrey]

Getting sued by your Volunteers and them winning is not getting burned and EA having to let all their Volunteers go because of it is not getting burned. What exactly would you call it then?

The "program" would have been fine if it weren't for the small group of people that got greedy with their volunteer time.

 

[Lord Frodo]

The "program" would have been fine if it weren't for the small group of people that got greedy with their volunteer time.

Totally agree that is was not all the Volunteers that did this but it did kill all the Volunteer programs and EA or any of its sites will no longer have unpaid people working for them as they must by law give them so sort of payment/reward or what ever you want to call it.

 

[Tina Small]

Did UO used to have an in-game mail system? Seems like I remember hearing that it did, but there was nothing like it by the time I started playing UO at the end of 2004. How did it work? What would be a good way to set up a new in-game mail system?

 

[FrejaSP]

Don't think so, but GM's and Counselors had a tell command, I believe it could easy be activated, so you say tell <char number> <text you want to send to the member who have the number in gen chat>

 

[OREOGL]

I think we may be reading too much into DAOC development.

It's fun to speculate though.

 

[Lord Frodo]

Don't think so, but GM's and Counselors had a tell command, I believe it could easy be activated, so you say tell <char number> <text you want to send to the member who have the number in gen chat>

Please do not give this ability to the regular player base, I can just see all the bullcrap people will see on their screen.

 

[Lord Frodo]

I think we may be reading too much into DAOC development.

It's fun to speculate though.

I was at part of the Napa M&G and Mesanna was asked if the old UO Forums was being considered to be reopened and she said no to that but something else was in the works and we would be very happy with it and then we see the post in DAoC who is also being run by BS also that maybe, just maybe this is what she was referring to.

 

[Shane Douglas]

LOL Those are all paid internships.

"Please note that this is an unpaid internship that is to be related to your ongoing university education or similar."

You obviously didn't look through 'all' of them.....

 

[Lord Frodo]

"Please note that this is an unpaid internship that is to be related to your ongoing university education or similar."

You obviously didn't look through 'all' of them.....

And you OBVIOUSLY didn't look at where those educational internships were and you OBVIOUSLY do not know that BS is located in the US not some foreign country that allows this for educational purposes only. All those internships that were listed that were not educational internships in a foreign country are PAID internships.

 

[Dot_Warner]

Did UO used to have an in-game mail system? Seems like I remember hearing that it did, but there was nothing like it by the time I started playing UO at the end of 2004. How did it work? What would be a good way to set up a new in-game mail system?

Yes, it did. It was also fairly awful. It exposed ALL character names on an account to other players, ruining immersion for RPers. It was removed because nobody really used it; partially for the exposure reason, partly because it was just badly designed. (It had been farmed out to another company, the dev team who implemented it didn't have much to do with it)

We also used to have a friends list in KR. It allowed you to see if your friends were online and for a brief, glorious period, send them tells. The pivot to the EC saw its demise.

Both features, with improvements, would be a welcome re-addition to UO.

 

[The Craftsman]

We also used to have a friends list in KR. It allowed you to see if your friends were online and for a brief, glorious period, send them tells.

Hallelujah! All these years I was thinking there wasnt a single good thing that KR offered and there it is. Marvellous..