you are probably right.....new players might not notice this.....but experienced players sure as hell do....and we want new players to stick around long enough to become experienced...
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It don't take hours to help a new guy in the game.
Sometimes a friendly hello goes along way.
Young's want info and some do except help in the way of gear.
Most are wide eyed and are in awe that more are not around...
I have had to tell many Atlantic has the majority of players... not that I liked doing so.
This has lead them to abandon their new character and go to Atlantic where the mean streets of UO are. (not all but a good portion)
Now this is not saying other shards don't have jerks on them...
Look a new player wants friends to hang with...
They need to have a teacher with a good attitude and patience to deal with a snot nose kid who might be a bit on the short attention span league.
Some "new" are older players... who are looking for some fun and not much drama.
Shards are not empty... this I know when I go at odd times around collecting bods or feeding my fish.
Like I said above, We don't have the same time amounts to play these days as we once did... and most have pegged their times to be on when others of their guilds or friend will be on. You got to learn this time and ajust to it.
I wish some of the over flow of Atlantic would go back to their home shards and liven it back up.
if wishes were fishes man would eat for free. I can hope cant I?
I was a counselor when the original program was active and knew a lot of the companions.. The did a great job..
You don't need powers or a fancy robe to help players.
Just a big enough heart to do it.
PS: There has always been corruption in the game world, and people who abuse the powers given.
Eventually they screw up and get caught.... Just remember I am watching you...
Sometimes a friendly hello goes along way.
Young's want info and some do except help in the way of gear.
Most are wide eyed and are in awe that more are not around...
I have had to tell many Atlantic has the majority of players... not that I liked doing so.
This has lead them to abandon their new character and go to Atlantic where the mean streets of UO are. (not all but a good portion)
Now this is not saying other shards don't have jerks on them...
Look a new player wants friends to hang with...
They need to have a teacher with a good attitude and patience to deal with a snot nose kid who might be a bit on the short attention span league.
Some "new" are older players... who are looking for some fun and not much drama.
Shards are not empty... this I know when I go at odd times around collecting bods or feeding my fish.
Like I said above, We don't have the same time amounts to play these days as we once did... and most have pegged their times to be on when others of their guilds or friend will be on. You got to learn this time and ajust to it.
I wish some of the over flow of Atlantic would go back to their home shards and liven it back up.
if wishes were fishes man would eat for free. I can hope cant I?
I was a counselor when the original program was active and knew a lot of the companions.. The did a great job..
You don't need powers or a fancy robe to help players.
Just a big enough heart to do it.
PS: There has always been corruption in the game world, and people who abuse the powers given.
Eventually they screw up and get caught.... Just remember I am watching you...
I think you may be generalizing. I know a good handful of people around 20 years old, and none of what you said applies to them. They don't want to play UO because of graphics. They have zero issue sinking hundreds of hours in games, and or playing them for months on end.
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I don't think I have ever personally been effected by any of those things.
She is generalizing.
There's a cornucopia of reasons for why new players don't stick around, the biggest of which land on Broadsword and not the existing community. Incidents of rudeness turning a player off may occur, but I'd wager they're pretty isolated and rare in comparison to the amount of people turned off by what they perceive to be a game in maintenance mode. The account management/billing page is an unmitigated disaster, the graphics are severely dated and made worse by the glaring inconsistencies in art style and the misplaced tiles all over the map, Broadsword does not communicate outside of the very obscure Meet & Greets, and the UO team insists that they don't need a community manager because... reasons. Someone new to the game would likely get the impression that there's next to no investment going into UO, and they wouldn't be wrong. We recently got new content in the form of ToL, but there seems to be many problems with the expansion. Remember too that we are paying a subscription fee for a game in a market where subscriptions are no longer the standard. People don't want to pay monthly fees in general now, and certainly not for something that feels so janky.
Beyond Broadsword's failures, I personally think that the empty servers are a larger problem than any rudeness on the part of players. The problem there is that Broadsword's issues have to be remedied before the population can ever start to grow.
UO is a very old game and it has to work extra hard to keep the few players it will attract these days. That's just not happening.
To be clear: I'm not trying to imply that the dev team doesn't work hard. I'm sure they do. It seems like the bare minimum resources are going into UO (maybe that's justified given the game's age) and they're doing as much as they can with what they have. I just think it's a very high shame that a game as critically important as UO has been put on an IV drip.
My two bits.
Beyond Broadsword's failures, I personally think that the empty servers are a larger problem than any rudeness on the part of players. The problem there is that Broadsword's issues have to be remedied before the population can ever start to grow.
UO is a very old game and it has to work extra hard to keep the few players it will attract these days. That's just not happening.
To be clear: I'm not trying to imply that the dev team doesn't work hard. I'm sure they do. It seems like the bare minimum resources are going into UO (maybe that's justified given the game's age) and they're doing as much as they can with what they have. I just think it's a very high shame that a game as critically important as UO has been put on an IV drip.
My two bits.
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I would list New Player Experience multiple times but that's a cliche'.
Today's new player experience is beyond insufficient, beyond appalling.
The following is from the original New Haven design doc from the last century. However, I've been told that the AI code that supported it was lost in one of the several moves of the code base.
An excerpt:
-------------------------------------------------------
Renaissance was meant to be the sort of guided experience required now by online games. And, as I read it, it might have been good for then but insufficient for now.
Were it up to me, I would have redone the new player experience instead of creating Time of Legends. Graphics aren't the issue, complexity isn't either. Accessibility is.
Today's new player experience is beyond insufficient, beyond appalling.
The following is from the original New Haven design doc from the last century. However, I've been told that the AI code that supported it was lost in one of the several moves of the code base.
An excerpt:
-------------------------------------------------------
Greater interaction with NPCs
The NPCs of Haven will be unlike those on the regular shard. Each one will be scripted with responses more appropriate to new players. Although fiction and feel is a concern, teaching will be the biggest thrust of the new NPCs. Thus, these NPCs will actually give players commands such as “USE [DBL-CLICK ON] the hammer while standing near the forge and anvil.” These new NPCs will be friendlier and will speak directly to the players. Thus new players will not be confused by conversations with other new players.
New NPCs will:
· Use clear phrases that may break fiction, but will be able to be understood by newer players.
· Will be able to give clear directions to hotspots. (Blacksmith can tell players how to get to the bakery.)
· Will be able to locate the nearest companion.
· Will have all materials necessary for new players to learn skills, but will not give them more than they need.
· Will understand important catchphrases:
How + make + armor = “To make metal armor you will need to have metal ingots, a hammer…”
Learning to use skills and tools of the trade
Learning to use skills will be the main thrust of Haven. Therefore, a two-pronged approach will be used: NPCs, and companions. Below is a listing of skills and the locations where those skills will be taught by NPCs.
NPC tutorial scripts will have to be written for each skill to be taught.
Besides learning basic skills of their character, players will also be taught how to:
Access their account at the bank. (9)
Use a ship at the dock. (17)
Tools and materials will be provided by the NPCs, or the companions will have access to them. Either way, the players will never have to worry about not having what they need to learn their skills. However, the players will be able to garner all necessary material in the way they normally would.
-----------------------------------------The NPCs of Haven will be unlike those on the regular shard. Each one will be scripted with responses more appropriate to new players. Although fiction and feel is a concern, teaching will be the biggest thrust of the new NPCs. Thus, these NPCs will actually give players commands such as “USE [DBL-CLICK ON] the hammer while standing near the forge and anvil.” These new NPCs will be friendlier and will speak directly to the players. Thus new players will not be confused by conversations with other new players.
New NPCs will:
· Use clear phrases that may break fiction, but will be able to be understood by newer players.
· Will be able to give clear directions to hotspots. (Blacksmith can tell players how to get to the bakery.)
· Will be able to locate the nearest companion.
· Will have all materials necessary for new players to learn skills, but will not give them more than they need.
· Will understand important catchphrases:
How + make + armor = “To make metal armor you will need to have metal ingots, a hammer…”
Learning to use skills and tools of the trade
Learning to use skills will be the main thrust of Haven. Therefore, a two-pronged approach will be used: NPCs, and companions. Below is a listing of skills and the locations where those skills will be taught by NPCs.
NPC tutorial scripts will have to be written for each skill to be taught.
Besides learning basic skills of their character, players will also be taught how to:
Access their account at the bank. (9)
Use a ship at the dock. (17)
Tools and materials will be provided by the NPCs, or the companions will have access to them. Either way, the players will never have to worry about not having what they need to learn their skills. However, the players will be able to garner all necessary material in the way they normally would.
Renaissance was meant to be the sort of guided experience required now by online games. And, as I read it, it might have been good for then but insufficient for now.
Were it up to me, I would have redone the new player experience instead of creating Time of Legends. Graphics aren't the issue, complexity isn't either. Accessibility is.
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That all sounds pretty good. Why was it not implemented like this?
It was Uvtha. Then two things happened:
1. The settlement of the AOL lawsuit in favor of the volunteers, thus whacking the Counselor program.
2. The loss of the AI for the NPCs.
Keep in mind that this was the state of the Counselor program back then. Again, this is from the original design document for New Haven:
Introduction to and interaction with companions
When a player leaves the tutorial for the first time, a companion will be notified of the new arrival into Haven. The new player will arrive in a location which is representative of their main skill. Thus, if they have a 50 in cooking, they would be dropped off at the Haven Bakery. The companion would greet them, and offer to get them started on learning their skills, or just let them “browse” if that is their choice.
The companion program should be fully staffed at this point. The current program, as it stands now has 1065 trainees of which probably 900 will eventually graduate. By the time Haven goes live we should have 1,200-1500 active. The goal is to have a minimum of 4 active per shard each hour the game is up.
Clearly we cannot have THAT level of volunteer support again, but restoring the design and the AI of the NPCs can and should happen. And it should happen ahead of any future expansions, in my view.When a player leaves the tutorial for the first time, a companion will be notified of the new arrival into Haven. The new player will arrive in a location which is representative of their main skill. Thus, if they have a 50 in cooking, they would be dropped off at the Haven Bakery. The companion would greet them, and offer to get them started on learning their skills, or just let them “browse” if that is their choice.
The companion program should be fully staffed at this point. The current program, as it stands now has 1065 trainees of which probably 900 will eventually graduate. By the time Haven goes live we should have 1,200-1500 active. The goal is to have a minimum of 4 active per shard each hour the game is up.
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My own opinion is that a person getting into video games today needs a much more guided experience. It is ironic that UO used to have this in multiple iterations, but it has all been removed and once again it just drops you into the world and expects you to figure it out on your own.
It also does not help that there is basically no information available on how to start out in the game. UOGuide has the most extensive guide at the moment (www.uoguide.com/New_Player_Guide), but by a rough estimation it should be at least 10x larger, covering what a player could be doing after weeks of playing.
Another issue is that there is no detailed guide to the Enhanced Client. There was a very extensive guide to the Kingdom Reborn client (www.uoguide.com/Kingdom_Reborn_Client_User_Guide) but all that is out of date at this point.
Everyone reading and posting on Stratics takes for granted the knowledge they have accumulated about UO. If someone logs in and does not have anyone to help them, how exactly are they supposed to become a mage? Or a swordsman? In other MMOs this is all laid out clearly.
It also does not help that there is basically no information available on how to start out in the game. UOGuide has the most extensive guide at the moment (www.uoguide.com/New_Player_Guide), but by a rough estimation it should be at least 10x larger, covering what a player could be doing after weeks of playing.
Another issue is that there is no detailed guide to the Enhanced Client. There was a very extensive guide to the Kingdom Reborn client (www.uoguide.com/Kingdom_Reborn_Client_User_Guide) but all that is out of date at this point.
Everyone reading and posting on Stratics takes for granted the knowledge they have accumulated about UO. If someone logs in and does not have anyone to help them, how exactly are they supposed to become a mage? Or a swordsman? In other MMOs this is all laid out clearly.
Oh how I agree with you, JC
This....so much THIS. Which is why it has been allowed to stay broken for 15 years and counting.
It's gotten to the point where the very idea that someone wholly new to the game would even come along ceased to be considered
It should, that would be cool.
A bit of both is magic....our Messana, I believe, got her start as a Counselor, at a time when all manner of folks were busting down the doors to get in.
You are feeling awkward, in every manner possible, when you first enter an online game. Nowadays, the game reaches out to you and tells you you're wanted. That's nice. But, in Ultima Online, when you'd see those funny lights and a counselor or a companion would appear - a live person welcoming you - that was different. Online games are not computer experiences; they are human experiences.
I've said it over and over and over again about the new player experience being non-existent. We have to have one. There is no way to get around it. Without it new players are forced to put up with only chat which lets face it is HORRIBLE. Not to mention 99% of the players don't use the help chat that new players are left with... and since you can't be in 2 chats at the same time most everyone who's anyone avoids help chat and the spamming of the spam bot that is on EVERY shard but Siege spamming all day every day. That's what we want new players to be confronted with?
The problem with the spam bot is that it must work to some extent along with the constant book littering at every gate and all around Luna on every shard.
Part of the problem was opening Haven to old players and expecting them to "help" new players on their own. I wouldn't know when a new player was even on. And honestly I have better things to do in-game than stand around waiting for one to show up. Someone else had a good idea about having an announcement pop up (toggleable is a must) for those who'd like to know. Some of us really would like to know... but that should be voluntary. They made advisers but you know I've never seen one since the thing started. Did that quit? And I'm sorry but you need more than 1 or 2 around. UO is a large place.
And there absolutely positively has got to be some sort of written guide. A comprehensive guide that is able to be searched. No one wants to spend an hour researching how to mark a rune or whatever. Hell there isn't anything to even tell new players about their bank box. (BIG pet peeve of mine) They don't know about the moongate on the island that takes you somewhere else... they have no idea about even half the skills .... there is nothing when building a character to even guide them to a useful template. Most the templates on the character creation menu are terribly out of date.
The EC has new player experience but it is horrible and very lacking.
I'll keep saying it.... UO NEEDS A NEW PLAYER EXPERIENCE. BEFORE they go live on Steam... or do any advertising at all... because if a new player started now and tried to experience UO all they would get would be frustrated and they would NOT come back or stay with it. I'm willing to bet that over the last few years since the destruction of Haven and loss of councilors that we probably lose 90% of the "new" players trying UO simply because they don't like not knowing WTF to do and have no idea where to go for help. If they don't run into decent current players to help them and if they run into the bunch of A-hats that are in chat well then... I don't think anything will save UO from extinction.
The problem with the spam bot is that it must work to some extent along with the constant book littering at every gate and all around Luna on every shard.
Part of the problem was opening Haven to old players and expecting them to "help" new players on their own. I wouldn't know when a new player was even on. And honestly I have better things to do in-game than stand around waiting for one to show up. Someone else had a good idea about having an announcement pop up (toggleable is a must) for those who'd like to know. Some of us really would like to know... but that should be voluntary. They made advisers but you know I've never seen one since the thing started. Did that quit? And I'm sorry but you need more than 1 or 2 around. UO is a large place.
And there absolutely positively has got to be some sort of written guide. A comprehensive guide that is able to be searched. No one wants to spend an hour researching how to mark a rune or whatever. Hell there isn't anything to even tell new players about their bank box. (BIG pet peeve of mine) They don't know about the moongate on the island that takes you somewhere else... they have no idea about even half the skills .... there is nothing when building a character to even guide them to a useful template. Most the templates on the character creation menu are terribly out of date.
The EC has new player experience but it is horrible and very lacking.
I'll keep saying it.... UO NEEDS A NEW PLAYER EXPERIENCE. BEFORE they go live on Steam... or do any advertising at all... because if a new player started now and tried to experience UO all they would get would be frustrated and they would NOT come back or stay with it. I'm willing to bet that over the last few years since the destruction of Haven and loss of councilors that we probably lose 90% of the "new" players trying UO simply because they don't like not knowing WTF to do and have no idea where to go for help. If they don't run into decent current players to help them and if they run into the bunch of A-hats that are in chat well then... I don't think anything will save UO from extinction.
Over the Christmas break my nephew was visiting (he's 12) and I thought I would show him UO. His initial reaction was positive...he really loved housing. He plays games like Minecraft and Team Fortress 2 so he really doesn't care about graphics.
Being a good uncle I told him that I would pay for three months of subscription fees for him to get him started. So, I went to uo.com to get him started. Well, if I haven't played UO since 1999, I would have never figured out the process. The Play Now button takes you to the 14 day trial with no mention of a subscription fee. The store button takes you directly to the EA store with no mention of UO. I know you just need to search, but why can't the link go the store filled with the UO options. Then you have to guess at what expansion to get, make an account, buy a time code, etc.
Well, I got him set up and he is enjoying himself. But there is no way he could have figured out the process by himself.
It needs to be 1. make account 2. buy game time code 3. buy expansion 4. download client ...
Just my two cents.
Being a good uncle I told him that I would pay for three months of subscription fees for him to get him started. So, I went to uo.com to get him started. Well, if I haven't played UO since 1999, I would have never figured out the process. The Play Now button takes you to the 14 day trial with no mention of a subscription fee. The store button takes you directly to the EA store with no mention of UO. I know you just need to search, but why can't the link go the store filled with the UO options. Then you have to guess at what expansion to get, make an account, buy a time code, etc.
Well, I got him set up and he is enjoying himself. But there is no way he could have figured out the process by himself.
It needs to be 1. make account 2. buy game time code 3. buy expansion 4. download client ...
Just my two cents.
And we need WAY Better choices for what we need to buy. I mean there are too many expansions... and too much you need this for that, this for that and this for that.... It's time High Seas was put in with either SA or ToL... and price dropped for the Rustic/Gothic sets and those need to be sold as ONE. Yes EA/UO needs to make money.. but a new player or returning player isn't going to want to shell out for the account, shell out for SA, ToL, HS, Rustic, and Gothic... and they will get frustrated to no end when you say "Oh no sorry you can't come with we don't have an old style boat for you..., sorry no you can't use the garden bed..., No sorry you can't put things on the vendors in new Magincia, No sorry you can't wear 90% of the loot now..., no sorry you can't use fish pies, no sorry you can't you can't you can't you can't.... until you shell out another 100 150 bucks... etc.... no anyone coming now would go F that!
/I agreed
Sovrano
Visitor
market the game as something for those wanting a challenge and be thankful we aren't playing with kids who only care about graphics. Or just announce uo2 (or 4 if im counting correctly) and tell everyone their account age or skills carry over. Might spark some interest and get some re-subs if people think they are getting a head start on a new game they want to play.
All that stuff is secondary....... what we need is a company and Devs that give a ****.....cause ours dont or this would have all been addressed already!!!
How many months have we been promised a new account activation interface??
How long has new haven been a complete failure
How long are we going to tolerate being fed garbage before we demand a change?
How many months have we been promised a new account activation interface??
How long has new haven been a complete failure
How long are we going to tolerate being fed garbage before we demand a change?
My guess is they want to do a lot of things like they talked about making an "in-game" store and such but my guess is that the problem is in EA not the DEVs or Broadsword.
As always Mal I think you and many others give them too much credit. I have never seen any proof what so ever of what you say! You are guessing...or perhaps you are hoping that is the truth.
I would rather assume it isnt the truth and assume that the problem rests squarely inside Broadsword. I dont think EA makes them put out half finished garbage that doesnt work. Content that isnt tested for usability or suitability in EC and CC. I dont think that is EA. The UO store is most likely an EA issue, but I am sure Broadsword has influence on how it is resolved.
By assuming the negative there is a chance to improve things with the replacement of some Devs. If it is EA..... it will never change where UO is concerned.
What time zone are you speaking of when you say to visit at 6PM. I would like to come visit then, but don't know what that translates to in my time. Thank you.
This I agree with. EA still has the reigns to UO even though BS is under contract with them.
Yes, yes they do... example: High Seas. Was uber rushed and thrown out the door like a reeking corpse. Totally buggy and whatever... and that was on EA. And Mesanna has said on more than one occasion that the Steam agreement is waiting on EA.
I hope they fix the account management and store before they put on steam. the devs maybe spending all their time with bad codes and accounts setups
Oh I agree. I think that and a New Player Experience ought to be TOP priority before going to Steam or anything like that. Buying the game and getting into it ought to be simple not a nightmare.
it's what happen every day!!
Merlin from the *censured* UWF, you'll never get any reward defending the game or mesanna ok? lol
Mine is not cynicism, It is what happens and it is that which has always happened!
Players with at least two neurons in the head knows this...
Maybe what I wrote bothered you because it corresponds to what you do too
Maybe because you're still a child does not understand the truth in front of you
if you like there 's also a third answer...
have a nice day!
Crazy Dave has it correct.
You can scream we need this or that but what we really need is a strait forward way to get up and running without the gymnastics in the different fields just to pay our bill or have new people get started without an interpreter to get through the management page.
Timberwolf
You ask for a caring dev team... we have one.
I don't know what your use to where you work but I have watched this 5 (5 mind you) person team do things and give us more then any could expect from so few personal.
ToL might not have enough content to satisfy your taste in challenge but I think you underestimate the teams desire to add more as they go.
We (meaning the players) ask a lot.
We want it fast, we want it good, we want it now....
This is your and every other player's cry to the Dev when you see them... all I hear is WHEN we want it NOW.
Now add in the non stop waling to them about bugs and things not working to their wants or needs (even when its working perfectly fine).
I will also remind you EA may have handed over the reigns to a board member to run but it doesn't remove EA from the equation.
They still OWN UO.
Things coming soon might change some of the troubles with the day to day workings of UO.
I will tell you one thing I do know for fact ...
Attitude twards others in game have to improve.
We need those new players and returning vets more then you know. I play nearly every shard in my time in UO. I have seen the small changes do good in players returning to their home shards. No offence to Atlantic but the noticeable return to a few shards of players is nice to see. Yes they seem empty... but go try to place a castle ... short of few shards where old players for various reasons have left us.(we lost a family in the Paris attacks who played ) Death of some of our founding players happens (we are so close to 20 years you know).
Do the math (yea you were how old when UO came to be?).
You can scream we need this or that but what we really need is a strait forward way to get up and running without the gymnastics in the different fields just to pay our bill or have new people get started without an interpreter to get through the management page.
Timberwolf
You ask for a caring dev team... we have one.
I don't know what your use to where you work but I have watched this 5 (5 mind you) person team do things and give us more then any could expect from so few personal.
ToL might not have enough content to satisfy your taste in challenge but I think you underestimate the teams desire to add more as they go.
We (meaning the players) ask a lot.
We want it fast, we want it good, we want it now....
This is your and every other player's cry to the Dev when you see them... all I hear is WHEN we want it NOW.
Now add in the non stop waling to them about bugs and things not working to their wants or needs (even when its working perfectly fine).
I will also remind you EA may have handed over the reigns to a board member to run but it doesn't remove EA from the equation.
They still OWN UO.
Things coming soon might change some of the troubles with the day to day workings of UO.
I will tell you one thing I do know for fact ...
Attitude twards others in game have to improve.
We need those new players and returning vets more then you know. I play nearly every shard in my time in UO. I have seen the small changes do good in players returning to their home shards. No offence to Atlantic but the noticeable return to a few shards of players is nice to see. Yes they seem empty... but go try to place a castle ... short of few shards where old players for various reasons have left us.(we lost a family in the Paris attacks who played ) Death of some of our founding players happens (we are so close to 20 years you know).
Do the math (yea you were how old when UO came to be?).
This is over the line in more ways than can be enumerated but I've run out of troll peanuts or elixirs for bitterness so I'll stick with a few.
UWF has never been censured. And why would it be? In 30 years of online gaming I've never encountered a more well rounded, mature persistent player organization. Not saying there are none as good. Not knocking any other guild. What I admire most about it is that it requires years of service to both the player community and the guild itself before any member is promoted to Emissary. Player skill or individual accomplishment doesn't matter.
As for multiple neurons, you meant *censored* not *censured*
Finally what use does it serve to disparage each other, especially in personal and puerile ways when discussing a game we share so many pleasant memories of? So why don't I delete that third paragraph....sorry I really should but I can't
Merlin
The Enchanter
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As I stated previously, that cynical attitude does far more harm to the new player experience than your unfounded accusations of corruption, duping and whatever else. I call it like I see it - and the accusations I see on UHall about corruption/collusion, etc. are often unsubstantiated and merely hard feelings for not getting event drops or other non-sense.
You can insult my guild, condescend to me and call me a child, imply that I am amongst the corrupt - but all that does is further show the shallowness of your own position.
If you have real corruption or duping to report - you should submit it to the developers with whatever proof you have so that it can be addressed through the proper channels.
Orc Bomber
Visitor
First I'd like to congratulate everyone for still playing UO and for making it all the way to 2016! Quite an accomplishment however i wont be nice from here on out.
Everyone is making some valid points here, however your missing ONE major point. Trammel Trammel Trammel. The game has the population of a crack house currently and thats because of Trammel.The cry baby whiners got their way and thus ended UO's real hidden theme. Harass, stomp, loot, murder, pillage, rob eachother until the server goes down.
I'm sorry but the bulk of the UO population went poof when Trammel came out. UO is sadly dying and I'm still paying for my castles and accounts out of nostalgia alone. The PVP is gone! The population is gone! The game is massive, overly complicated (not at all complicated for us veterens but for new players forget about it). Unless you can hold the person hand for six months there will be very little NEW population. The game has way too many servers, way too many expansions and lands, and not enough people to fill a tavern in Minoc. The DEVS omg where to begin...i cant even pick on them because they have destroyed this game so bad..
Here is UO at its current state. Make a char on every shard. Go get the event items if you can, sell it to the highest bidder, go do a spawn ...wont get raided, go decor the house that nobody will come too, go fish for ten hours and build some lobster traps.The only way to even attempt to rebuild this game would be to make " 2 west coast shards, 2 east coast shards, 1 europe shard and 2 asian shards. The last remaining life of of UO needs to be Herded into a sheeps pen to duke it out. Do you really need Ish? Do you really need SA dungeon? Do you really need lands of eodan...or should i say lands of the SUCK. Dinosaurs were my last straw. I will be packing it up and calling it quits from here on out. This game IS and WILL be the BEST game ever created imo. It is also the Saddest most pitiful game on the market right now BECAUSE of what??? YES YES say it ....TRAMMEL ding ding ding.
Dying UO
Trammel
Massive maps and areas
No Population
Too Many Servers!
Games has no talent left....im sorry but its all merchants and event item hoarders now ...complete joke.
Complicated clunky interface
No marketing no new players
Lazy Devs
No pvp
No heart
No talented pvpers around (They are long gone folks) looong gone. I can duel people with my eyes closed and win nowadays. Total utter complete joke.
Everyone is making some valid points here, however your missing ONE major point. Trammel Trammel Trammel. The game has the population of a crack house currently and thats because of Trammel.The cry baby whiners got their way and thus ended UO's real hidden theme. Harass, stomp, loot, murder, pillage, rob eachother until the server goes down.
I'm sorry but the bulk of the UO population went poof when Trammel came out. UO is sadly dying and I'm still paying for my castles and accounts out of nostalgia alone. The PVP is gone! The population is gone! The game is massive, overly complicated (not at all complicated for us veterens but for new players forget about it). Unless you can hold the person hand for six months there will be very little NEW population. The game has way too many servers, way too many expansions and lands, and not enough people to fill a tavern in Minoc. The DEVS omg where to begin...i cant even pick on them because they have destroyed this game so bad..
Here is UO at its current state. Make a char on every shard. Go get the event items if you can, sell it to the highest bidder, go do a spawn ...wont get raided, go decor the house that nobody will come too, go fish for ten hours and build some lobster traps.The only way to even attempt to rebuild this game would be to make " 2 west coast shards, 2 east coast shards, 1 europe shard and 2 asian shards. The last remaining life of of UO needs to be Herded into a sheeps pen to duke it out. Do you really need Ish? Do you really need SA dungeon? Do you really need lands of eodan...or should i say lands of the SUCK. Dinosaurs were my last straw. I will be packing it up and calling it quits from here on out. This game IS and WILL be the BEST game ever created imo. It is also the Saddest most pitiful game on the market right now BECAUSE of what??? YES YES say it ....TRAMMEL ding ding ding.
Dying UO
Trammel
Massive maps and areas
No Population
Too Many Servers!
Games has no talent left....im sorry but its all merchants and event item hoarders now ...complete joke.
Complicated clunky interface
No marketing no new players
Lazy Devs
No pvp
No heart
No talented pvpers around (They are long gone folks) looong gone. I can duel people with my eyes closed and win nowadays. Total utter complete joke.
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Don't really see why folks say that.. if ya ask me Fel is the dead area.. Trammel seems to be the active area. Don't see how the active area "killed" UO.. but..
Ugh...not the 'Trammelz kildz muy UO!' chestnut again. That conspiracy theory is so easily disproven that it instantly invalidates any argument/post it's attached to...
LMAO. I can't believe that after 16 years people are still whining about TRAM. You do understand that UO was dieing pre-Tram and in 2016 UO would not be here for you to whine about so you should thank Tram for saving UO sio you could come on here and WHINE about it.
Trammel didn't kill UO. But Trammel did kill the player cities, or at least the reliance on them.
But they should have left just one facet, Felucca, and allowed the player towns like Evermoor, Wintermoor, Rivendell, the STC settlement at Horsehead Bay, etc. etc., to be able to hire NPC guards just like those in the town guard zones, paying them out of city coffers provided by the guild running the town. Guards would folllow same rules the town guards did.
Then, you would have seen communities all over the place, people relying on each other for player created safe havens. As it stands now, there is no need for player to player interactions, or groups, or even to be in a guild for that matter. The only reason players really want to group up now, is to handle the new stuff the Devs are pushing on us trying to force grouping. It would have come naturally by need and desire if they would have done it right.
But they should have left just one facet, Felucca, and allowed the player towns like Evermoor, Wintermoor, Rivendell, the STC settlement at Horsehead Bay, etc. etc., to be able to hire NPC guards just like those in the town guard zones, paying them out of city coffers provided by the guild running the town. Guards would folllow same rules the town guards did.
Then, you would have seen communities all over the place, people relying on each other for player created safe havens. As it stands now, there is no need for player to player interactions, or groups, or even to be in a guild for that matter. The only reason players really want to group up now, is to handle the new stuff the Devs are pushing on us trying to force grouping. It would have come naturally by need and desire if they would have done it right.
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Definitely can't argue with you there. I do miss all the player run towns that used to exist on Atlantic. Sure, there are a few hold outs here and there, mainly for rp stuff.. but nothing like it was years ago for sure.
On the reverse side of the coin though.. it really would blow to take on some of the larger bosses now, get a good drop after hours and hours invested just to have a group of folks show up to gank ya and get it in a couple of minutes max though.. so I am glad for Tram rules.
most people don't play uo because they dont know about it
the account management should be a next, next, next, type format, so people can pay and play, easily. there has been too many problems with this. lost a lot of players since switch.
most, if they do start to play, they don't stay long, which I wont go into.
about less people in fel, people I know are doing fel less and less. they have no chance with large vvv groups and everyone else is your enemy, and with all the new changes just not fun. well wont even go into cheating. when they took away factions and there was no vvv yet, I had the best pvp fighting in years. even with the cheating, was the most fair in a long time.
if a person did come to play/stay, soon find out how much the cost is to up grade everything. I know I wouldn't pay that much.
a lot of good honest players that use to help the new people have left. a lot don't want to take the time to help because it can be a lot of time and effort. an in-game verbal chat program would really help, typing sucks and theres so much to inform someone lol
there is a lot of great things in this game and these are just my opinions
the account management should be a next, next, next, type format, so people can pay and play, easily. there has been too many problems with this. lost a lot of players since switch.
most, if they do start to play, they don't stay long, which I wont go into.
about less people in fel, people I know are doing fel less and less. they have no chance with large vvv groups and everyone else is your enemy, and with all the new changes just not fun. well wont even go into cheating. when they took away factions and there was no vvv yet, I had the best pvp fighting in years. even with the cheating, was the most fair in a long time.
if a person did come to play/stay, soon find out how much the cost is to up grade everything. I know I wouldn't pay that much.
a lot of good honest players that use to help the new people have left. a lot don't want to take the time to help because it can be a lot of time and effort. an in-game verbal chat program would really help, typing sucks and theres so much to inform someone lol
there is a lot of great things in this game and these are just my opinions
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For today's avg gamer (basing this on my kids/grandkids and their friends) If they get past the pay monthly to play
They tend to stumble over paying for the latest expansion
They always kinda balk at buying a previous expansion to be able to play.
And then to add insult to injury, they have to buy even more to have the full game.
And all the while fumbling thru the account mismanagement system.
Then they come ingame, systems are complicated as hell to learn, and there are dozens of em. they start off with money so small it wouldn't keep a mage in regs for 2 days, and start with armor so sorry they can barely stand to fight an ettin.
Armor on vendors costs (even on the cheap side) 300k...that's an awful uphill climb when they are lookin at looting 100 gps per kill.
Then general chat is all about who did what to whose mother, etc etc and etc...
Lots of todays vets are pure rudeness to people asking simple questions, seeking information. Saw that twice last week, in the time they spent calling the questioners lazy and stupid they could have answered the question with less typing.
Unless a new player can find a sugar daddy to get em started off it's close to impossible to get top line in a reasonable time. They basically start off where we did 18-19 years ago...but the ladder has grown way taller, the climb is steeper, therefore the starting line should have moved, but it never has.
Agree, disagree, no matter to me...just my observations
They tend to stumble over paying for the latest expansion
They always kinda balk at buying a previous expansion to be able to play.
And then to add insult to injury, they have to buy even more to have the full game.
And all the while fumbling thru the account mismanagement system.
Then they come ingame, systems are complicated as hell to learn, and there are dozens of em. they start off with money so small it wouldn't keep a mage in regs for 2 days, and start with armor so sorry they can barely stand to fight an ettin.
Armor on vendors costs (even on the cheap side) 300k...that's an awful uphill climb when they are lookin at looting 100 gps per kill.
Then general chat is all about who did what to whose mother, etc etc and etc...
Lots of todays vets are pure rudeness to people asking simple questions, seeking information. Saw that twice last week, in the time they spent calling the questioners lazy and stupid they could have answered the question with less typing.
Unless a new player can find a sugar daddy to get em started off it's close to impossible to get top line in a reasonable time. They basically start off where we did 18-19 years ago...but the ladder has grown way taller, the climb is steeper, therefore the starting line should have moved, but it never has.
Agree, disagree, no matter to me...just my observations
Really? No PvPers gonna challenge this? This kinda undermines the credibility of the post, doesn't it?
As others have said the cost to get the full game is just stupid. SA, HS, Kings, Gothic, Rustic, TOL then a month to 6 month sub. A very steep learning curve with junky guides and documentation. Multiple systems with little to no guidance. Very few people outside of the UO community even know UO still exist, which leads to the worse than bad marketing..... there is ZERO marketing. A hyper inflated economy where average gear cost a small fortune for a new player. Opening a new account is a PITA.
And don't forget we are talking the instant gratification generation that has a limited attention span. Honestly I don't know if old school vets would try UO if they were just starting out. UO has by far one of the steepest learning curves of any game out there.
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I still have yet to understand reforge, that is one area that I am a total loss at.
I finally figured out how to make 150 luck items. Beyond that it gives me a headache. All those enhancing polishes and stuff make for good clean up points
Sad but true.
The absolute grind to do anything... the botting... the vets that have everything with no catchup mechanics...
It's just not a great system anymore and the system was designed to roleplay and make friends, but most people are just gear junkies and have their own cliques already.
The best thing about UO is the skill system, housing customization, and when you find that group of players you enjoy playing with. The skill system is boiled down to few templates now if you want to do content on your own, the housing customization is overwhelming when you're new and see what vets can do, and the players are set in their ways and have their friends or don't have time to form bonds because of all the grinding they have to do for other stuff.
It's just not a great system anymore and the system was designed to roleplay and make friends, but most people are just gear junkies and have their own cliques already.
The best thing about UO is the skill system, housing customization, and when you find that group of players you enjoy playing with. The skill system is boiled down to few templates now if you want to do content on your own, the housing customization is overwhelming when you're new and see what vets can do, and the players are set in their ways and have their friends or don't have time to form bonds because of all the grinding they have to do for other stuff.