Ultima Online to receive a huge pile of new content very soon, including a Free to play - option!!

[Flagg]

Broadsword has been extremely busy of late and it looks like they mean to stay that way. Loads of very cool stuff coming our way. : D

- - -
Publish ??

The Free to play option of UO - The Endless Journey!
Official up-to-date Info HERE



Details about it provided by Basara, check the direct quote at bottom! ETA: " It is hoped" the launch will happen during first quarter of 2018.

Following based on a picture of a presentation during the 20th Anni! Pic taken by UOcraft.com and can be found on their facebook wall over here: UOCraft.com

Publish 100 and 101
* Castle Builder for contest
* Virtue Vs Vice Update

Publish 102 and beyond..
* High Seas 2.0
* Updated Community Collections
* user-Generated Quest System
* New official forums!



What is the Endless Journey? Following quote of a post by @Basara has some of the answers!

Endless Journey:


EJ accounts have a limited bank, unless you pay for storage. ONLY that additional storage is subject to auction. While an EJ account, most of your regular bank contents are inaccessible, but will be there if you go paid.

Can't use houses. Characters will have to live out of an inn, tent, or otherwise take chances on logging. How this will affect buying from vendors wasn't sufficiently answered.

Existing Accounts will have to go without paid status long enough for existing houses to fall, to switch to EJ.
New accounts would go into EJ if they aren't paid by the end of trial. The Trial Account period would probably remain unchanged from how it currently works (including how a trial account converts after being paid).
The 30 day code/90 days to save/fall a week later pattern is COMPLETELY UNCHANGED. The earlier reports were the result of Mesanna not fully hearing the question, and the answer resulting going in a completely odd direction from what was asked. There were multiple clarifications later, throughout the afternoon and evening.

Access by friends/co-owners that are paid up was never brought up, at least not where I could hear, so will probably be as currently.

As long as an account has a house and is unpaid, it can't log in (why it would take approximately 95-100 days after last paid day to convert to EJ)

EJ accounts can buy Sovereigns and use them like any other account, making it the equivalent of a very limited F2P - but probably wouldn't meet the standard definition of a "real" F2P+purchases game.
Current plans are to allow EJ characters to do spawns, but with steps to prevent their use as ghost cams. How this would work has not been decided yet.

All accounts will be ungraded sometime in the next couple of publishes to be Stygian Abyss (instead of the current ML). Apparently, this will happen soon enough that Mesanna advised to not pay upgrade to SA unless you really felt you had to give them money...

EJ accounts are not eligible for holiday gifts or vet rewards. Presumably, this means that an account would have to be paid to claim existing, remaining, vet rewards from previous years.

Mesanna stated that the EMs would not be ACTIVELY told to watch for multi-boxers, and that if they spot blatant evidence, they could call down her wrath immediately. (probably means EMs will be given the power to contact a GM/Dev for immediate action, something that was AFAIK not part of the rules currently)

All of this info is basically just a gathered copy paste work from stuff posted in the other threads. I just felt it needs and deserves a thread of it's own, and not drown and derail among absolutely awesome 20th anni party picks and so on!

Sources:
@Basara
Facebook wall of UOcraft.com, found here; UOCraft.com

 

[Cear Dallben Dragon]

YAY

 

[Uvtha]

I responded verily because I'm always in character on the forums, bruh.

 

[Flagg]

I responded verily because I'm always in character on the forums, bruh.

Tis a bruh forsooth!!

 

[Mandrake of DF]

Mesanna stated that it will never happend.

 

[Uvtha]

Tis a bruh forsooth!!

Art thou mocking me? Thou elf skinned bull pizzle!

 

[Phantasmagorian]

UOCraft.com

 

[Slayvite]

I cannot vote because I have not read anything about "huge pile of new content"
All I see there is backlog, bug fixes, nerfs. Nothing about "new content"???

 

[ShriNayne]

Just so we are clear, all the options actually mean the same, as in 'yes'? That being the case then why is there no 'Hell Yeah!' ?

 

[Flagg]

Did anyone hear anything about the timeline of Free to Play release? Some guy at reddit said devs spoke of next March? Is this true?

 

[Larisa]

Hah, Mesanna is going to get multiple "multi-box" calls at every EM event for a while. Same with off shard legendary bot gathering I bet.

I have lots of old accounts dating back to 98 which I have no clue what's in their banks, sounds like the new system will let me take a peek? I have a crafter account that has banks full of armor/weapons from the old days when skill lock was not possible. I hated going from GM to 99.9 blacksmith, for example, so I loaded the banks, lol. The main toon's name was "Chevrolet" but I'll be darned if I was going to pay for all those old accounts just to find that one.... this helps.

Unfortunately no..the new system with the Endless journey is very different. You won't have access to your bank, if you want access to your bank you have to pay. Endless Journey will have it's own storage.

 

[Larisa]

I don't think you'll even be able to see it, would be nice...be able to open your bank but not take anything out..but I think they will block you from even saying BANK if I am understanding correctly.

 

[Cear Dallben Dragon]

If we get a F2P model we better get on steam, GOG, and origin.

 

[petemage]

Did anyone hear anything about the timeline of Free to Play release? Some guy at reddit said devs spoke of next March? Is this true?

Even if devs said so, It doesn't mean much. Bonnie is always super quick with promising stuff she can't deliver in time.

 

[Flagg]

Even if devs said so, It doesn't mean much. Bonnie is always super quick with promising stuff she can't deliver in time.

Every single dev ever is, it seems. ;p

 

[Great DC]

Unless there is more that hasn't been reported, I don't even see a reason to login for the next year and half. VVV regardless of how they update it will never be better then factions was. High Seas isn't worth spending any time on, only thing it ever had was corgul and I doubt that's gonna change. Not sure what the quest system is referring too. I was supposed to be there and didn't go, im kinda glad I didn't go. EJ is gonna force whats left of PvP into dungeon fights to avoid mass trial accts of stupid nonsense. EJ will also bring more cheating and scamming to the game. I don't see whats so bright about whats to come.

 

[It Lives]

There is no fail option to vote for. It sounds good till you get to the parts where the team says it will be good!! *Clap* Clap* Clap* We just don't know how we are going to implement it yet. They have been saying for years ftp wont happen here and now they have dropped that bomb on us with half formed plans.... does not bode well.

 

[Uvtha]

and now they have dropped that bomb on us with half formed plans

I'm sure the plans are fully formed. Just because we don't know the exact details of everything doesn't mean they don't.

 

[Merlin]

If we get a F2P model we better get on steam, GOG, and origin.

Bonnie said Steam will never happen for UO at this point. EA won't allow it.

Also, its not "free-to-play" in the sense other games are. It's just an expanded trial account really.

 

[Uvtha]

I don't even see a reason to login for the next year and half. VVV regardless of how they update it will never be better then factions was. High Seas isn't worth spending any time on, only thing it ever had was corgul and I doubt that's gonna change.

1) I don't know anything about the changes... but they will never be better than factions. Okkkkk.

2) They say they are going to upgrade/expand an element of the game, then you cite the lack of current quality in that that content (the same lacking that is clearly what precipitated the upcoming change) as evidence that the said changes (again with no details) will change nothing. Oooookkkkk.....

 

[Theron]

Well I didn't expect all of this to happen.
I guess it will, at least, get people coming back and spending time on the servers to check it out once more?
Hopefully they won't be flooded with hackers, spammers and scammers (almost guaranteed?).

 

[Cetric]

So how would ftp effect the item farming?

They just run 300 free accounts at once on a dead shard right?

@Bleak
@Kyronix

 

[Pawain]

So how would ftp effect the item farming?

They just run 300 free accounts at once on a dead shard right?

@Bleak
@Kyronix

The minax items should be cheap soon!

 

[The Craftsman]

Even if devs said so, It doesn't mean much. Bonnie is always super quick with promising stuff she can't deliver ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶.

fixed it for you.

 

[G.v.P]

Did anyone hear anything about the timeline of Free to Play release? Some guy at reddit said devs spoke of next March? Is this true?

The devs did suggest March as a possibility for Endless Journey, and the notion of boxing being banned was said by Mesanna as a measure made only when Endless Journey is out. If you are expecting EMs to handle boxers at the next event, probably don't hold your breath.

Regarding free-to-play, consider that Mesanna and the team were VERY careful not to say "free-to-play," while deliberate or not. This is "Endless Journey." I am unsure as to whether Endless Journey will be treated as a complete free-to-play the way we might expect. We will have to see! One concern I have is that for those who cannot access their old accounts, who will want to PvP with less than 720 cap? What other restrictions will hinder their play? We will need to see a definitive list and hopefully have time to discuss that list with Broadsword.

If we get a F2P model we better get on steam, GOG, and origin.

Many new Origin titles are not on Steam. EA must want its Origin store to remain managed by them so that their users are on their platform rather than Steam. Or I guess I should say, while Broadsword teased us with the possibility of being on Steam, why isn't Sims 4? Etc.

 

[Cetric]

This will be heavily abused without a lot of safeguards

 

[RL'S pker]

F2P, and yet it's still a waste to invest any time into this game.

 

[It Lives]

I'm sure the plans are fully formed

How this would work has not been decided yet. Typical dev/ messana speak for.... we dont know.

Fully formed and Uo lol

 

[Flagg]

Bonnie said Steam will never happen for UO at this point. EA won't allow it.

Also, its not "free-to-play" in the sense other games are. It's just an expanded trial account really.

Looking at that feature list, I'd say it is very easy to see/sell it as a pretty typical execution of a Subscription/F2P hybrid MMO. It is approx. what you would imagine, really. There are some F2P MMOs that offers F2P model that appears more fair. There are several that come with far stingier take.
It looks fine.

Who knows how well everything will work, if any kind of a crowd will find UO due to this, if there rises a million unforseen foul ups or issues...But the chosen point of departure for this journey appears excellent..
...Save for that oddball auction thing.

GOG.com would be a perfect fit for UO tbh. I wonder if it is doable. It should be. Certainly far more so than Steam; many EA games are being sold via GOG at least. Including every single player Ultima ever made.

 

[Flagg]

One concern I have is that for those who cannot access their old accounts, who will want to PvP with less than 720 cap? What other restrictions will hinder their play? We will need to see a definitive list and hopefully have time to discuss that list with Broadsword. [bcolor=rgb(16, 16, 16)][/bcolor]



Many new Origin titles are not on Steam. EA must want its Origin store to remain managed by them so that their users are on their platform rather than Steam. Or I guess I should say, while Broadsword teased us with the possibility of being on Steam, why isn't Sims 4? Etc.

I didn't catch a mention of a skill cap restriction. Makes sense it is there I guess it would be mostly to restrict existing players from having a ton of F2P dud chars for various purposes. It is a bit hard to imagine a brand new player with a pure F2P account who'd very quickly reach a stage where lowered skill cap is only thing holding him back. By the time it becomes relevant for some potential imaginary new player to start eating power scrolls, one is pretty hooked already.

I think F2P accounts' only hard restriction should be with housing and storage. That alone would be perfect and suffice just fine. As notable exception, various small and large safe guards that prevent abuse of Endless Journey-accounts in anything too important.

 

[Lore]

Any high seas 2.0 details?

 

[Jovi]

New contents, nerf, new castle, free account etc etc... ok sounds good but doesn't affect me much.

Can Someone please start to fix the BuGS before we talk about anything else?? What is everyone doing talking about next 10 years when we have so many bugs in the back log.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Pawain]

an Someone please start to fix the BuGS before we talk about anything else?

Thats at the top of the list. Start emailing your bugs in.

 

[Qikdraw]

I'm pretty stupid, soooooo what is "boxing"?

 

[Nexus]

So how would ftp effect the item farming?

They just run 300 free accounts at once on a dead shard right?

@Bleak
@Kyronix

I beleive the EJ accounts won't receive anytype of drop. No arties, no EM items, no PS, though they can engage in the content.

 

[Cetric]

I beleive the EJ accounts won't receive anytype of drop. No arties, no EM items, no PS, though they can engage in the content.

And can't loot corpses? Thinking legendary items and gold looting.

Wouldn't even matter because if the mob loot split, once it goes public the one paid account could loot all the stuff.

Imagine just killing putrifier on every shard with 100+ chars. Enough to 1 shot Everytime it spawns, on several shards at once. The amount of loot would be even more rediculous than it is now.

Would be hard to deny the ej accounts looting rights right? They need gold and items too. So what's the answer?

 

[Nexus]

Any high seas 2.0 details?

NO because they plan to fix High Seas 1.0 first

 

[Jovi]

Thats at the top of the list. Start emailing your bugs in.

View attachment 72339

Already did... none was taken yet. The only one they fixed a little faster was when we couldn't mount our armoured Swampy last week, and all those messed up icons.

I am serious about bugs like pets that used the bonding potion died without a ghost. I lost a good lesser Hiryu and 500 sovereigns because of this. Then my old Friend lost his x-year old Paroxysmus dragon after a recent event. Recent bug i found the WBB arcane circle did not work for my 2x120 SW and both Tier 3, only strength 5. Trapbox started to lose its dart recently after fighting an invasion.

I Guess if I find a bug that allows me to duplicate stuff and make billions in 1 hour, it's called an exploit and will attract a ban and patch within 24/7. But the game is starting to get so buggy i cannot guarantee DF will drop 10 Scholar's Halo in my bag soon lol.

Joke aside... HeLP!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Basara]

From the way one of the questions was answered, an EJ character might be able to RETRIEVE something from their bank that was placed there when it was a paid account, but wouldn't be able to put it back in. Something to the point of the player having to be very selective about their stuff in storage.....

 

[skittles1337]

Bonnie said Steam will never happen for UO at this point. EA won't allow it.

Also, its not "free-to-play" in the sense other games are. It's just an expanded trial account really.

Most ftp I've played give you basic content and expect your to purchase access to more premium features, so I think UO is on that same path. They are giving you access to almost all of the content, but in order for your to receive awards or drops you need to become a premium player or subscriber like in most ftp games. Trials in essence gave you access to a couple lands, but no dungeons which most pvm action occurs. I think this is a step forward, if they don't look at trying to get on steam I don't see how this works tbh. If EA is the one putting a stop to steam they are in essence dooming this game, because we do need some fresh blood.

 

[Yadd of Legends]

soooooo what is "boxing"

Multiboxing. Back in the day, it meant actually having a dozen machines or more, executing the commands of a single keyboard. so basically you control the actions of a dozen characters all at once. I remember seeing a video of Markee Dragon's setup that got him banned several years ago. I don't imagine "multiboxers" have to have actual multiple "boxes" (PCs) now but use some kind of external program to duplicate the commands to multiple characters. By contrast, it is fine to run 2 or 3 UO accounts in separate windows or tabs at the same time, as long as each account window is controlled separately in normal fashion and with no other external program to duplicate your keystrokes to multiple characters. People do it all the time, for example, one character on one account to discord and another on another account to fight, running in separate tabs or windows - or you could play two accounts on two PCs side by side if you wanted to. The key difference is you're actually playing the characters on both accounts and not using some cheat program.

 

[Qikdraw]

Multiboxing. Back in the day, it meant actually having a dozen machines or more, executing the commands of a single keyboard. so basically you control the actions of a dozen characters all at once. I remember seeing a video of Markee Dragon's setup that got him banned several years ago. I don't imagine "multiboxers" have to have actual multiple "boxes" (PCs) now but use some kind of external program to duplicate the commands to multiple characters. By contrast, it is fine to run 2 or 3 UO accounts in separate windows or tabs at the same time, as long as each account window is controlled separately in normal fashion and with no other external program to duplicate your keystrokes to multiple characters. People do it all the time, for example, one character on one account to discord and another on another account to fight, running in separate tabs or windows - or you could play two accounts on two PCs side by side if you wanted to. The key difference is you're actually playing the characters on both accounts and not using some cheat program.

Thank you for the explanation! With a history lessen to boot! Awesome!

 

[Gem]

High Seas 2.0--Yes please!!!!

 

[Lore]

"Soon"

 

[Lore]

Multiboxing. Back in the day, it meant actually having a dozen machines or more, executing the commands of a single keyboard. so basically you control the actions of a dozen characters all at once. I remember seeing a video of Markee Dragon's setup that got him banned several years ago. I don't imagine "multiboxers" have to have actual multiple "boxes" (PCs) now but use some kind of external program to duplicate the commands to multiple characters. By contrast, it is fine to run 2 or 3 UO accounts in separate windows or tabs at the same time, as long as each account window is controlled separately in normal fashion and with no other external program to duplicate your keystrokes to multiple characters. People do it all the time, for example, one character on one account to discord and another on another account to fight, running in separate tabs or windows - or you could play two accounts on two PCs side by side if you wanted to. The key difference is you're actually playing the characters on both accounts and not using some cheat program.

See it in WoW all the time. I multi-boxed elemental shaman in PVP once on 5 accounts and was "1" shotting people all the time with chain lightning. LOL They'd see me move and see a blur of 5 characters and get hit by 5 chain lightnings. It was legal in WoW though. They're my five accounts.

A Synergy server is what I used.

 

[petemage]

First, I hope they start to use the term "Free to play" when they finally announce it to the public. Nobody outside of our UO bubble will have an idea what "Endless journey" should mean.

Second, hopefully, they won't just treat them as second class citizens. FTP should be first class citizens as well (Normal loot, Powerscrolls, Quests, etc.) but only with the difference that they are generating the revenue through micro-transactions instead of paying 10 bucks each month up front.

Only I doubt Mesanna can resists her secret focus group crying foul left and right along this path...

 

[petemage]

"Soon"

"very soon", to be correct

 

[Capt. Lucky]

Well first off I'll believe it when I see it. Second, what they are thinking of doing and what we think they are going to do are often vastly different. I'll reserve my excitement till I see what they actually do. Castles should be an empty plot, that ignores existing terrain for properly placed castles, and be done with it. There's no valid excuse why that doesn't happen. Castle spots are suppose to be the ultimate house in the game, just because Mesanna doesn't like them is not a valid complaint. Would there be some borg cubes? Sure just like 90% of the 18x18 houses that are out there now. You could also make some great designs with that much space. This castle thing is a joke. They want to say they did something about castles while doing nothing constructive with it in reality. We all are going to feel the same way, there will be "our personal idea" idea which is brilliant and the rest suck lol Now if we got a chance to vote on the winners, that might be slightly better. Personally I'm going for the most floor space and personally I'll have my version of a borg cube regardless of what they do. It'll be a lot of work but completely doable.

 

[G.v.P]

NO because they plan to fix High Seas 1.0 first

Mesanna introduced High Seas 2.0 and everything on that slide as "their list," which to me was like trying to gauge us to see if we would want these things. I do think High Seas 2.0 is something we would want. There were also a couple or a few good ideas for High Seas, where then Mesanna and the devs said they want to fix High Seas bugs first, as Nexus said, which was different from what they said when they introduced the slide XD.

One of the cooler ideas I thought that was offered during Q&A was the idea of a Vice vs. Virtue tie-in system where people could command a stronghold on the sea, but Mesanna responded that there were still issues with the way cannons work and the time it takes to make it all work. I told my guildmate Dak, I teased, "When cannons and pirates came out, I solo'd pirates. Cannons aren't that hard." I got lucky, though, too. I got my white dye tub on my first or second pirate ship.

 

[NuSair]

What it takes to make the cannons / balls / powder, ect- isn't worth the rewards. And that isn't including that too many ships just aren't lootable once you beat them. In getting back into the game, my wife and I did ships the other night. 2 out of 8 were not able to be looted. And of course we reported it... never received a response.

Also, somehow lost a big ship that was tied to a lighthouse.... but, that's another story.