I'm getting old i guess..

[Kijimea]

Hey folks, i have been playing UO from probably 2000-2005 or something. Played on Europe, my last Guild were United Champ Hunters (UCH). It was the damn best time i have ever had in Video games for sure! I am 33 now and i played like 10 yrs WoW and tried out tons of different MMOs, most of them just for a very short time.

Right now i am into EvE again but every once in a while i remember UO again and i feel i want to enjoy it once again. Last time i played i was a kid. But i thought the game is dead, which is probably is compared to its prime time before.
However i finally took the first step and created a Char on UO Renaissance. I remember the old items like vanquising and stuff, jeez such a long time. And when the day came and everything changed. I still enjoyed it.
I read about populated Shards and UOR was kinda advised and it looks to be good.

Now i am just not sure if that is really what i want or if its more playing on OSI Server again... but so much changed.. i feel like i dont know nothing anymore. Bushido, ninjas.. wtf? Imbues? Even lands i never heard of. I went through this forum for a bit and found a thread somewhere for new players and returning players. It was about what changed, especially items, item stats and build etc. and when i read it i just read like % here % there, stat xyz 12345, so maaaany new things to keep in mind, overwhelming and it somehow puts me off.

Did this game really got so complicated or am i just stupid and old? I was used to play a simple Warrior back in the days, then i was used to use these paladin spells, chiviary or something, but thats abt it. Maybe i shall just stick to UOR cause its a great Era and its just more simple for on old stupid Dude like me lol..
I want to go Champhunting again! Finding scrolls and sell them like before! Which i cant do on UOR though.
I want to have fun with Professions like Smithing and stuff but i feel that ppl are so damn rich, the econmy and all, its maybe just impossible to make things which ppl actually buy, to make some serious gold with it..


Last but not least i dunno abt the servers. I read that Europe has a west brit bank meeting every evening which sounds really nice. Remember the times when it was full of ppl and it took me like a minute to just run by bec of lag with my 56k Modem. But even it sounds nice i heard that most of the Servers are kinda dead and only Atlantic is decently populated, is that correct? Cuz i like to run around trammel/felucca whereever and just see ppl passing by, so yeah i prefer populated Servers.

In my early days i was so addicted, i spend abt 300 Hours a Month to UO. I know that for sure cuz i remember my Mum had a contract with AOL for 100 hrs fixed price and lol i did 300 so yeah she had to pay alot of money... Good times haha.. Well nowadays i still play alot but not like that. I am single dad so i have responsibilites ofc but still i i play alot. I just dont spend so much time with games like i did before so i kinda like a guild but then i play solo often cuz i just play when i have time and i dont want to have fixed times ( like in WoW raiding before etc )


So yeah, too much to read i guess, sorry. How does this game look like for a new player / returning player, for an "old" dude like me.. i admit the simplicity of games like WoW made me stupid ^^ but i want to get deeper again, just this game guys.. it sounds so difficult and i dont feel i can do something with professions or even Combat at this point.

 

[skett]

Hello Friend

I just returned about a week ago after being away for about 3 years or so.
I quit playing back then because of how complex it had become.
How almost all bosses you need a group and with the shards emptying wasn't going to happen.
Just to be able to craft anything you have to resources and recipes that took power characters and lots of grinding.
I to have children 5 and for the very casual player I am I just fell behind to the point I couldn't go into most dungeons.
I finding on my return it's even far worst than before.

Not sure what happen to just making it fun to play with having to spend endless amount of time to create armor and weapons with spread sheets and having to have add on apps just to play.

I'm older than you this game has become a headache and a disappointment to say the least.

I really hope one day we will get a new producer to turn this game around but I fear it's past that point.

I will say this most people here are great very helpful and giving in every way, that's part of what keeps me coming back and hoping some they open a pre AOS shard or better Per Pub 16 good old days simple fun exciting heart pounding acting.

I hope UO never dies even if I stop playing it, it's been a great game for me and so many others

Guess I'll just play Baldur's gate again for the ?? Time

 

[Gidge]

Everything that you enjoyed about the game is still here. More things have been added, but don't feel like you have to do all the new stuff within a month of logging in or at all.
You can still play with old stuff. I have a few characters that do. Just when you fight something, it may take a few more whacks or spells to take it down (if that).

Probably the biggest thing depends on your learning ability. When I meet a new person I try to give them resources, websites and offer to answer any questions they have to get them back into the swing of things. If you are good at absorbing info and taking notes (yeah it helps! lol) you'll be fine.

As far as choosing a shard, reading the forums for the shards is a great way to start, but spend some time on each shard you want to check out during your active time
to see if it is a good match for you. Some have smaller communities, some have tight nit communities.

I tell this to everyone, even vets. Play on the test shard! It is a quick easy way to check out templates, see new items and get a feel if you want to change something on your character before making any costly or drastic changes.

Above all else, this game is what you make it. That is what keeps it wonderful!

Welcome home and p.s. ...you are not old.... Are you kidding me!?

 

[Swordsman]

That's true, I have seen many posts talked about similar problems in the past several years.

 

[MalagAste]

Everything that you enjoyed about the game is still here. More things have been added, but don't feel like you have to do all the new stuff within a month of logging in or at all.
You can still play with old stuff. I have a few characters that do. Just when you fight something, it may take a few more whacks or spells to take it down (if that).

Probably the biggest thing depends on your learning ability. When I meet a new person I try to give them resources, websites and offer to answer any questions they have to get them back into the swing of things. If you are good at absorbing info and taking notes (yeah it helps! lol) you'll be fine.

As far as choosing a shard, reading the forums for the shards is a great way to start, but spend some time on each shard you want to check out during your active time
to see if it is a good match for you. Some have smaller communities, some have tight nit communities.

I tell this to everyone, even vets. Play on the test shard! It is a quick easy way to check out templates, see new items and get a feel if you want to change something on your character before making any costly or drastic changes.

Above all else, this game is what you make it. That is what keeps it wonderful!

Welcome home and p.s. ...you are not old.... Are you kidding me!?

No what I enjoyed about the game is not still here... well there are maybe a few folk still here... but most the dungeons that I love are now useless... or destroyed... lots of the "old stuff" is dead...

the crafting is now so overly complicated it just hurts trying to make a simple suit.

Quite a lot of stuff just can't do anymore... And yes the game is what you make it and I used to say this continually... but anymore the game is pretty much lone play... everyone solo's everything... there is little to do as a group and what you need to do as a group or whatever it's hard to get more than 2 or 3 people together to do things and I'm on a more populated shard... can't imagine what it's like on a dead one.

Tried doing events and such but you are lucky to get 2 or 3 people to attend and participate if you don't give away billions in stuff.

 

[Minerva Foxglove]

My kids are as old as you ..they brought me to UO in Feb 2000 and I never left. Im on Europa and sit at the Brit bank every evening. We are a bunch of ppl from that time, and there are returners comig on and off and even completely new people . Thoose who has been away a couple of years or 18 come for catching up and get a suit that is right for the first months in UO atleast. Advise about regaining accounts if needed and what guides to use. They also get in contact with other people they can go hunting with..or join guilds . Can be hard to find ppl with your own playstyle on your own. We are several old crafters and some has alot of knowledge. Its all friendly and layed back and we have coffee and pizza and more most days
People sometimes open a trial account and come and see us and come on their old account at the next meeting!

 

[Petra Fyde]

Don't let all the complicated formulas put you off. You don't HAVE to play technical, I don't. While I can take in which mods to aim for on what character type, the nuances of getting an 'uber' suit escape me, I just do what I think might be about right and if the character doesn't die too often or too easily I consider I'm doing ok. If it doesn't I might think 'I probably need a bit more [mod]', but I don't think 'I need [x]%'

 

[ShriNayne]

My husband and I were the same, we came back in 2013 and everything overwhelmed us! We only stayed for two months as the changes were just too much. Then last year we decided to try again and do things differently, we are also on Europa and we started out by going to the Brit Bank Meet as often as we could. Well what can I say?? The people at the bank meeting are just the most helpful and lovely people ever, they made a huge difference to us with help and advice and now we have also got some great friends. Making new friends is the difference between staying and leaving, finding a good guild makes everything so much more fun, we have been back almost a year now and will be getting another 6 months game time in a couple of weeks. Don't give up too soon, there are people here to give a helping hand!

 

[The Craftsman]

Everything that you enjoyed about the game is still here. [bcolor=rgb(204, 205, 205)][/bcolor]

Quite simply not true. Many of the things that made UO such a great game are long gone.

 

[Kijimea]

Thx for all your answers and different opinions so far First off ofc being 33 is not really old but you know what i mean ^^ i played that game when i was like 16 and life changed completely etc, it feels like much more than 17 years. However my passion for games will always stay and so it is no suprise for me that i just cant forget Ultima Online.
I see that even the Vets here have different opinions if the Game has still the same enjoyment as before. Ofc everyone has a different view and it helps to read through them and get a picture of what i can expect from UO in 2017. I am glad that there are ppl, like all of you, still playing this game which i loved so much because without the Community still playing it i couldnt even consider getting back. I think we can all agree that Ultima Online was just a masterpiece, now i just have to see if i can dig into it once again.

I read here that some dungeons are worthless or even broken or something, what does that mean? I remember i farmed Dragons alot in the past in Destard, even the Ancient Wyrm down there. Also i farmed Shame i guess? Like there were some difficult elementals? Jeez dunno hard to remember ^^. And later on when Doom was there i went there a few times but i never really farmed Doom cuz nothing dropped and it got boring. So yeah dunno how Dungeon farming looks like today?
Crafting was fun as well but i guess today you need to craft a top tier item with like perfect stats cuz otherwise nobody will buy it? Kinda sad actually. Especially bec of the tons of stats an item can have, it is quite difficult to craft something good. Unlike in old days when you just had a few stats.

Maybe it is the social aspect that might catch me again, i dunno. The past years i played MMOs almost solo only cuz you know the community in games like WoW just sucked balls and i just couldnt stand the trash talk and behaviour of 12 yrs old anymore.

So yeah thanks for your answer so far its very informative and nice to read them. Helps me to get a picture of the game and the community today.

 

[funkymonkey]

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, with uo its even more so.

Leave it as you remember you will never get the same feeling.

 

[Ellie]

On different shards there are guilds that will help you get started. I am on Siege and there is a guild that does that. There are also many people that will give you advice and help you out. You do not have to craft high gold price things. My crafter makes crafting tools for all of the skills.. Sells them cheap and does well. There maybe a guild that just does crafting. On siege things wear out so I am always making new stuff. It sometimes keeps me really busy. Give us a try. Get in general chat and start yelling. If its a trial acct you will have to be in the help channel. Ive been here since around 1999 or so. And I am the old one. I have kids older than you.

 

[Finley Grant]

I can offer Some help. Feel Free to contact me.

 

[Tanivar]

Much in the game is not broken, it's just not how some people think it should be, so they call it broken.

There's 20 years of game additions to wander through and play, some you will like, some you won't. I bought the Modain's Legacy and Stygian Abyss expansions for the crafting additions, I rarely go into their new dungeons, I didn't find them fun. Mega-hp monsters just don't do it for me. For the most part I play Samurai Empire and older game material and am quite happy. Until the game goes away or I do, I'll be a UO player.

Many only consider the game fun if they're thumping rump and taking names fighting the most powerful monsters that give the most powerful loot. Then there are those of us who have a grand old time running around the game world and seldom go into a dungeon, and are happy with whatever loot we get since we're not obsessed with getting thousands of platinum in the bank, we're just here to have fun.

Start at least one new character and train him up just playing the game. There is a ton of game so many skip over by power training their characters to max skill and going after only the top end stuff. All that skipped over game is entertaining to play.

 

[callum_fitzhugh]

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, with uo its even more so.

Leave it as you remember you will never get the same feeling.

This.

I still visit the forums [was just wondering why as I have no intention of ever entering Sosaria again] and keep an eye on things and have my moments of reminiscing and nostalgia. But when it came to logging in, last time I did it, it was maybe five years ago and the places I knew and loved were empty or gone. There was so few people around. I walked the entire length and breadth of felucca and didn't meet a single other player in an hour. On Europa. I will login again one day to bank my stuff and prepare some screenies of special things in case the servers get turned off. But its not the game it was. The game involved OTHER players en masse. Like the felucca hunt we did once with over 100 players on a Sunday afternoon. Those times will only come again if UO is changed to a 3d-model world.

 

[old gypsy]

I vaguely remember a day when I thought 33 was "old".

I'm 71 and started playing UO in late 1998. I can't speak for anyone else regarding why they are still playing (or, like me, why they are still subscribed but seldom actually play). I'm sure I'm hanging around primarily for nostalgic reasons. As for some of the major changes over the years, I tend to view them as both too complex and far too time consuming. For me, they have gradually become more daunting than enjoyable. But that's just my opinion.

Basically, if you enjoy a game - any game - and don't mind devoting a reasonable amount of time to it, it can be a positive addition to your life. If you no longer enjoy it, or if it interferes with your real life rather than enhancing it, that's another thing altogether.