What would you like to see in UO endless journey vs Paid account(s)

[kaio]

This is not a debate about wether UO is f2p, or what you're grandma had for lunch.
This is simply what you would like in EJ, and what paying customers should get/have.

I start i guess
I would like xmas presents for both EJ and paid accounts, simply because xmas is the time of year where everyone should be good to eachother, and i really love xmas.

let the fun begin

 

[Archnight]

I would like xmas presents for both EJ and paid accounts

That unfortunately would be a bad idea... people would abuse especially with the xmas presents usually having rare gift boxes and nicer gifts than other holidays. Restrictions will be very important with EJ accounts

 

[Ford Taunus]

Maybe limited xmas presents like no special box and no jewerly box . I think many palers would be happy even for "not so high end" gifts

 

[kaio]

That unfortunately would be a bad idea... people would abuse especially with the xmas presents usually having rare gift boxes and nicer gifts than other holidays. Restrictions will be very important with EJ accounts

Good point, so how about xmas presents for everyone, but only paid subs have a chance for the rares (if any)?

 

[Spartan]

Good point, so how about xmas presents for everyone, but only paid subs have a chance for the rares (if any)?

Nope. IMO, that would be too difficult to adjust in the programming - where is the line of "rare"/? From a Dev vs Player standpoint I bet this is quite different. Also, do all EJ accounts get these or as in subs, those ingame for 30+ days?

If these gifts are for EJ accounts, there should be a plain box or pouch. Period. Or as has been mentioned ... nothing.

 

[kaio]

Nope. IMO, that would be too difficult to adjust in the programming - where is the line of "rare"/? From a Dev vs Player standpoint I bet this is quite different. Also, do all EJ accounts get these or as in subs, those ingame for 30+ days?

If these gifts are for EJ accounts, there should be a plain box or pouch. Period. Or as has been mentioned ... nothing.

Tbh i think the check for different account type is already in place, how else whould they know not to give rewards at easter etc etc. to EJ accounts.
As i stated earliere, gifts for EJ accounts should be the same as for paid subs with the exception, that they cant get any rare colored boxes, or anything else rare.
I love xmas, so i think anyone should get something, and it dosent have to be anything spectacular.

 

[Daemon McCrowley]

Ok ill chime in. I love Christmas. That being said, I think every holiday for EJ accounts should be a “Happy Holidays from the uo team. Thanks for playing EJ” IMO holiday gifts should be a draw to subscribe “Whoa! Where do you get that xxxxxx???” “Oh this old thing? It was one of the gifts we get for a subscription account, nice isn’t it?”

Or as an alternative “Happy Holidays cheapskate! Get a real account and we will give you a real present!”

Btw, I am a professional card writer, kinda looking for work.......





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Spartan]

Tbh i think the check for different account type is already in place, how else whould they know not to give rewards at easter etc etc. to EJ accounts.
As i stated earliere, gifts for EJ accounts should be the same as for paid subs with the exception, that they cant get any rare colored boxes, or anything else rare.
I love xmas, so i think anyone should get something, and it dosent have to be anything spectacular.

You missed my point ... What is/are "rare" colors/patterns determined and WHO determines it? If they will not pay for a sub maybe it should be a lump of coal? Naughty persons that they are ... not giving EA their cash. <shrug>

Having played this game for more years than I wish to discuss I have learned one thing: Even the simplest changes will not be implemented without foulups. And that goes all the way back to the days of T2A release.

PS - it also is a knowledge tidbit from 40+ years in IT.

 

[Lord Arm]

there will be people that will start up 10s or even 100s of free accounts for gifts. there should be no gifts for free accounts. if people are really worried about the free accounts not getting gifts, you could always give gifts out to them. just start a tradition where you give Christmas gifts to free accounts.
the only thing I would like to see is no cheating but this is only a dream.

 

[Pawain]

There should be a message like this every time they log in during a Gift season.

*Upgrade your account to receive a _____ Gift*

 

[kaio]

You missed my point ... What is/are "rare" colors/patterns determined and WHO determines it? If they will not pay for a sub maybe it should be a lump of coal? Naughty persons that they are ... not giving EA their cash. <shrug>

Having played this game for more years than I wish to discuss I have learned one thing: Even the simplest changes will not be implemented without foulups. And that goes all the way back to the days of T2A release.

PS - it also is a knowledge tidbit from 40+ years in IT.

Interesting, EA/broadsword pretty much determines what will become a rare color or not when they give over seasons rewards.
But this thread is about what everyone wants, so what do you want to be the UO experience for EJ and paid subs when it goes live ?

 

[Lady Storm]

I think the EJ is fine.. don't change or add any "gift" ...
Sorry guys this is to let people try the game out not give them the store and hope they pay...
I have watched the players on Atlantic poof... yes the major shard is getting thin..
I have a idea why..
Many have shut down their accounts as it will need be off for over 120 days to go EJ.
They are not big on houses, the banking limits and all the other limits and no use items and are ok with it.
All to have their cake and eat it too...

See the idea of F2P is not paying for the game in some people's thinking.
They want to play not pay..
You can object all you want but it all boils down to paying for the game....
EJ is not meant to keep those F2P people happy... it is a way to bring old and new back to a paying public.
Which will keep our game in the black...

Paying players should have a few more incentives to keep paying...
Perhaps a smaller second home attached to their First house (not ltterally attached) as an annex.
This can be say a plot or classic house of under a keep size/storage limit. Main House account may not go inactive longer then 31 days or the annex house will fall no warning given.. once lost it may not be reset. This means you go 32 days bye bye annex and will not be restored back to main house.
It should be part of the exsisting house, and subject to that house and its decay.
This will perhaps put more homes in Felucca or Malas that is on most production shards litterlly void of homes.

 

[Spartan]

Interesting, EA/broadsword pretty much determines what will become a rare color or not when they give over seasons rewards.
But this thread is about what everyone wants, so what do you want to be the UO experience for EJ and paid subs when it goes live ?

Exactly as Broadsword has announced ... including no holiday/longevity gifting. They want the goodies they can subscribe.

 

[Potgut]

Maybe they can add "basements" or an underground floor to our existing homes. Such buildings exist in Britain, Vesper and etc... I wonder if it would be difficult to program this for the players home.

 

[Uriah Heep]

I think the bank restrictions are too harsh for it to be a realistic trial. Personally I believe EJ accounts should have most everything except housing and gifts...

 

[ShriNayne]

I agree about the bank storage, I think they are trying too hard to force people to sub and it may well backfire. They don't have a middle ground at all, it's everything or pretty much nothing, new player experience will also need to be a big priority!

 

[kaio]

Exactly as Broadsword has announced ... including no holiday/longevity gifting. They want the goodies they can subscribe.

You don't see the ingame shop as a possible income source for Broadsword to keep the game running ?
I mean whats best for the game, 100 EJ accounts spending $10 on something, or 0 EJ accounts spending $10 ?
You also think that the subscription fee for a 20 year old game is fine as it is ?

 

[ShriNayne]

I still think there should be a middle road, especially if they won't be selling anything useful in the store, which free players kind of expect...the team will be walking a tightrope with this!

 

[Slayvite]

No gifts for freeloaders!
They want the goodies then they sub up just like every other mmo.

If they must get a gift then it should just be a piece of coal in a normal bag....cheap gift for cheap persons.

 

[Okami]

Unpopular opinion. If it was possible code wise, EJ players should be able to place the noncustomizable, one room houses. With the Caveat that they have a gold land rent cost, and if a paid account decides it wants your spot, well, your stuff gets evicted straight to a storage unit, maybe you'd like to subscribe? (And slash the rental houses storage amounts too, of course)

Aside from Fel PVP, the only unique thing UO offers is housing and deco, and that is probably the one thing that could tempt an EJ player to upgrade. But without a taste, they likely won't see the appeal of it.

Cause I hate to be the one that says it, but there's other games out there that let you explore vast environments and stick stick swords in things, that is not UO's best feature to offer.

Edit: I also realize the separate housing menu for unpaid accounts is probably not even possible, so, unlikely to happen, I'm just saying IMO its UO's strongest feature to encourage subscription.

 

[ShriNayne]

Lots of MMO's have housing, some have it instanced, some have it semi-instanced in villages and a few have it out in the open like UO. Housing used to be a unique feature of UO but it hasn't been unique for a long time. I enjoyed decorating in Star Wars Galaxies just as much as in UO, it was also open world housing. The bank storage being restricted does make a lack of housing a bigger problem though. Just not sure how effective it will be in making people sub.

 

[Slayvite]

Only thing ej is gonna mean to me is that instead of having 3 accounts active to be able to roll 3 chars in my little mob pack (sampire, majik master and healer/pet master) now I will only need to pay for 1 account

 

[Okami]

Lots of MMO's have housing, some have it instanced, some have it semi-instanced in villages and a few have it out in the open like UO. Housing used to be a unique feature of UO but it hasn't been unique for a long time. I enjoyed decorating in Star Wars Galaxies just as much as in UO, it was also open world housing. The bank storage being restricted does make a lack of housing a bigger problem though. Just not sure how effective it will be in making people sub.

I should have specified non-instanced housing. SWG isnt active anymore, obviously. What other MMOs currently have it? No sarcasm, I'm genuinely curious. The 2 big MMOs that come to mind only have instanced variants.

 

[ShriNayne]

For some people it doesn't matter if it's instanced or not, but back when we first got Luna it was a major lag-fest in fact all of malas was like that!

 

[Pawain]

I think the bank restrictions are too harsh for it to be a realistic trial. Personally I believe EJ accounts should have most everything except housing and gifts...

They get a bank. They can pay for all toons to have access to the same bank items. So, they can get something paid subs do not have.

 

[Lady Storm]

What part did you NOT understand??
EJ is a way to let hopefully new and returning players to get a better feel for the game, more then the 14 day trial does.
NO house no ship no friending...no co owning... This is just a more relaxed invite. No frills till you buy in.
So this chatting of give banking or a small house.. that is the bait.. along with the rest EJ play will not let them touch.
GET THE DRIFT???

 

[Pawain]

GET THE DRIFT???

I do. And after talking to returning players, they could open accounts and look at their toons and see which account they want to open the most. Much better than oops I opened the wrong account so I am quitting again.

For new players, they can play for more than 14 days to see how they like the gameplay and how much time they can play. Other players will help them get armor anyway.

They don't need a house, gifts or pack drops until they pay.

 

[Lady Storm]

My point exactly.
This gives all that luxury to find the right account to turn on and play... saving time, money and peace of mind.
It also gives the new player who only has an hour or 2 a day to jump in and run around...
Its not a lot of time in 14 days to put in to find if the game is to your liking.
For the people who think this is a great thing.. it is.
Those that think this is a way to avoid spending and getting your UO fix... good luck with that... its a big maybe for those who are too use to the paid way..

 

[petemage]

What part did you NOT understand??
EJ is a way to let hopefully new and returning players to get a better feel for the game, more then the 14 day trial does.
NO house no ship no friending...no co owning... This is just a more relaxed invite. No frills till you buy in.
So this chatting of give banking or a small house.. that is the bait.. along with the rest EJ play will not let them touch.
GET THE DRIFT???

But what's the point of it then? I know Bonnie is not thinking things through much, but isn't the point of EJ to get more players in, which in return will spent money on the game? Or is it just busywork?

 

[petemage]

No gifts for freeloaders!
They want the goodies then they sub up just like every other mmo.

If they must get a gift then it should just be a piece of coal in a normal bag....cheap gift for cheap persons.

For a fair part of those "every other mmo", the "freeloaders" are spending quite a bit more money through micro transactions each month than those "cheap persons" only paying a small monthly sub and demanding constant updates in exchange.

 

[cholupa]

EJ accounts should only receive a plain greeting card for the holidays. If they want more stuff then they can buy from the UO store.

And give the subscribers much better gifts. There needs to be some advantage for the people that pay.

 

[Great DC]

Do you know it costs the same to play every game online on PS4 for a YEAR, as it does to play only UO for 6 months?? I wonder why no one plays this anymore. EJ is only going to compound this issue. Even if the population increases by 5 times, its also going to increase the scripting by the same amount or more, plus im sure it will be full of bugs as every patch is since they don't test anything properly.

 

[Luc of Legends]

Well according to Piney on Legends they're going to pull the plug in 2018. There not gonna be an "Official" UO anything and that everything the devs tell us is smoke up our tukush.
According to him he knows the Devs "PERSONALLY" and hung out and drank with them at the 20th Anni party. BIG.... FAT.....HAIRY.....DEAL.
How many other people at the party hung out and drank with the Devs? The thing I want most for EJ and UO some moderation; consequences for actions.
Act Like a turd....UO Jail 3 days
Act Like turd in Gen chat...24 hrs jail and 3 days squelched. (So they might meditate on Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver)
Have a foul nasty char name...24 hr jail and a name change to something like Bella, Daisy or Buttercup that can not be changed for like 3 months
For repeaters the time would double until the 3rd offense at which time you will receive a lovely one month vacation from Ultima Online the punishment shall extend across all accounts owned
by using the Master account.
If they'd done this 20 years ago I wouldn't be writing this, Atlantic wouldn't be the butthole of UO, and we would have a TON more players still active.

I know this will NEVER happen but I can dream.

 

[Lady Storm]

The main reason for EJ is to give the potential paying player a more relaxed time to get attached to the game.
I have to agree time management now compaired to when I first started has changed for the more spot play then the strait flow of hours at a go.
Work, school, time in traffic and time management have made any game play no matter the game spotty at best.
Quite simply we don't have the big blocks of time we did in 97-2000.
EJ is the answer the dev gave to the nagging for f2p that was smart for this reason to let the new have a real trail of UO and with hope they decide to stay and pay to play.
No game can survive without the playing public...

 

[ziox]

- Please don't let the EJ accounts to walk around IDOC house. if it's happen, There will be an huge fight of bot and no one player will can enjoy doing it anymore.

-No interactions between paid accounts and EJ (no window trade etc).

- EJ should only have access to one facet And this facet restricted by paid account.

 

[ziox]

- No access to EM Event for EJ.
Thanks bye

 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

As far as endless journey is concerned, I ONLY WANT NEW PLAYERS! On Atl i will equip any newbie with decent gear as long as it isnt (rhymes with) All good man!
F that dude... At least the tard wont be making a new account every two weeks when EJ starts... My chat bans will mean something then.

 

[Tina Small]

The main reason for EJ is to give the potential paying player a more relaxed time to get attached to the game.
I have to agree time management now compaired to when I first started has changed for the more spot play then the strait flow of hours at a go.
Work, school, time in traffic and time management have made any game play no matter the game spotty at best.
Quite simply we don't have the big blocks of time we did in 97-2000.
EJ is the answer the dev gave to the nagging for f2p that was smart for this reason to let the new have a real trail of UO and with hope they decide to stay and pay to play.
No game can survive without the playing public...

I say Broadsword or EA should send all old players a post card:

 

[Spartan]

You don't see the ingame shop as a possible income source for Broadsword to keep the game running ?
I mean whats best for the game, 100 EJ accounts spending $10 on something, or 0 EJ accounts spending $10 ?
You also think that the subscription fee for a 20 year old game is fine as it is ?

Discussion was what was wanted in EJ vs paid ones. I answered that - what Broadsword specified for EJ.

As for sub rate ... IMO it should be dropped by US$4/month at least. HOWEVER, assume UO is on life support now, would the decrease in revenues cause it to flatline? Keep in mind that as compared to other Broadsword ventures, UO is severely lacking in number of bodies in the Dev group.

 

[kaio]

Discussion was what was wanted in EJ vs paid ones. I answered that - what Broadsword specified for EJ.

As for sub rate ... IMO it should be dropped by US$4/month at least. HOWEVER, assume UO is on life support now, would the decrease in revenues cause it to flatline? Keep in mind that as compared to other Broadsword ventures, UO is severely lacking in number of bodies in the Dev group.

I asked a fair question, witch you didn't answer. You don't like revenue coming from the shop, and yet you wan't the EJ accounts to be so restricted that they are almost unplayable. Because you like the subscription model ?
Or did i miss something here ?
We players pay full price for UO, and we don't even get the same service as they do in other online games. When i played wow, and called a gm for help
i had to wait 5min for one to popup, see thats service.
Iv'e seen freeshard running fine from selling stuff trough their webshops, and its beyond me why EA/broadsword dosen't fill their shop with stuff actually worth buying. They also need to lower the price on serveral of their items. but hey thats just my opinion.

 

[Slayvite]

Well in the news recently was EA with the whole "****storm" caused by their micro-transaction in Battlefront 2.
US ruled it wasn't gambling (no suprise there)
Australia has said it is gambling but is looking deeper into it as Law has not caught up with Tech yet,
Belgium has ruled it is also gambling and is seeking advice,
Hawaii has claimed it is and is bringing the whole "micro-transactions" issue to the International Court of Justice, they want the whole lot banned from games as it encourages kids and minors to gamble. A sort of "conditioning" to prepare them for adult gambling.
Looks like the whole way big companies have been designing their games is about to change back to the old style.....buy the game, buy the expansions, that's it.

This will be a very interesting case to watch unfold, looks like the whole F2P model is doomed

 

[kaio]

Tbh i would't mind buying the expansions at all. I still enjoy playing warcraft3+expansion, and i paid for that like 300 years ago..lol

 

[Okami]

This will be a very interesting case to watch unfold, looks like the whole F2P model is doomed

Expect Loot boxes and randomized rewards to go, but micro transactions are here to stay, and thus F2P will still survive.

But someone needs to really take a hard look at "What does UO offer versus XYZ alternative." The current system does UO no favors in any matchup not weighing "Nostalgia" factor. EJ may possibly bring back some players, and a few new looks, but without some changes, it won't stick.

 

[Spartan]

I asked a fair question, witch you didn't answer. You don't like revenue coming from the shop, and yet you wan't the EJ accounts to be so restricted that they are almost unplayable. Because you like the subscription model ?
Or did i miss something here ?
We players pay full price for UO, and we don't even get the same service as they do in other online games. When i played wow, and called a gm for help
i had to wait 5min for one to popup, see thats service.
Iv'e seen freeshard running fine from selling stuff trough their webshops, and its beyond me why EA/broadsword dosen't fill their shop with stuff actually worth buying. They also need to lower the price on serveral of their items. but hey thats just my opinion.

I don't mind that there is revenue from the shop. Never said that was an issue. However if the BS rules are that EJ accounts cannot buy from there, then so be it.

Note the bold section of your response? That all goes back to a serious lack of support in the Dev/GM arena that UO has versus other games. How many Devs supported WOW? How many competent GM staff were employed? UO has a super small staff and I rather doubt the GM staff has many powers much less plays all that often to know the game.

As for the ingame shop items, I have yet to see one that I would REALLY want to buy ... which would mean dealing with Origin to get the sovs. Nope. I'll get it myself or it's not worth having. <shrug> THAT is only my personal view, ya unnerstand! <chuckle>

 

[Slayvite]

The way they are pushing the court case is that any game with micro-transactions would instantly be classed as an 18 rated game, this hurting the release sales.
Interesting route that EA will not like one bit

 

[Spartan]

The way they are pushing the court case is that any game with micro-transactions would instantly be classed as an 18 rated game, this hurting the release sales.
Interesting route that EA will not like one bit

All they need do is rewrite the EULA and TOS to include EJ and the requirement for under-18s to get parental permission due to the purchasing. Which is not what Epic did and is now taking some heat.

 

[petemage]

- Please don't let the EJ accounts to walk around IDOC house. if it's happen, There will be an huge fight of bot and no one player will can enjoy doing it anymore.

-No interactions between paid accounts and EJ (no window trade etc).

- EJ should only have access to one facet And this facet restricted by paid account.

LOL. Let's gimp EJ until nobody wants to play ... because I'm worried I could loose out on IDOCs. The selfishness is almost unbearable "Couldn't care less if EJ is a flop as long as I will still be superior by definition". My only fear is that Mesanna is very open for that kind of elitism non-sense.

The more EJ is restricted, the less attractive it is to actual players. Keep restricting it more and more, and you hit the point where really only the scripters enjoy EJ accounts. Cry to Mesanna you knew it before and call doomsday. Everything stays at it is. Mission accomplished.

 

[MalagAste]

LOL. Let's gimp EJ until nobody wants to play ... because I'm worried I could loose out on IDOCs. The selfishness is almost unbearable "Couldn't care less if EJ is a flop as long as I will still be superior by definition". My only fear is that Mesanna is very open for that kind of elitism non-sense.

The more EJ is restricted, the less attractive it is to actual players. Keep restricting it more and more, and you hit the point where really only the scripters enjoy EJ accounts. Cry to Mesanna you knew it before and call doomsday. Everything stays at it is. Mission accomplished.

Elitism non-sense? I pay monthly for a game and you think some newb who hasn't paid should have all the benefits and rewards that I do??? And that's Elitism???

My concern is that these accounts will be run to drop actual paid accounts further destroying the chances of keeping UO alive... So that they can endlessly farm for anything worth a dime they can then turn around and make tons of RL profit from at the cost of the entire game.

NO they should not be able to farm anything worth making large profit from and this includes IDOCs.

 

[ziox]

I can imagine all unlimited ej account bot vacuum idoc stuff. They will kill this feature.

 

[petemage]

Elitism non-sense? I pay monthly for a game and you think some newb who hasn't paid should have all the benefits and rewards that I do??? And that's Elitism???

My concern is that these accounts will be run to drop actual paid accounts further destroying the chances of keeping UO alive... So that they can endlessly farm for anything worth a dime they can then turn around and make tons of RL profit from at the cost of the entire game.

NO they should not be able to farm anything worth making large profit from and this includes IDOCs.

There is some room between "all the benfits and rewards" and "anything worth making large profit".

If they should not be allowed to make large profits, should they kill thousands of Ettins until they have a mil to buy that one cool armor piece? All you do with that is making them spent their money on another game. Sure, if you are just concerned about *your* status quo, that's great. If you are concerned about the game's health in general, it might not sound that appealing.

On the other hand nobody is taking anything away from you. And an EJ player spending $50 a month on the UO store would be worth even more than us subscribers barely spending $10 a month. That's why I call that attitude I see here "elistism". People are only concerned to save their status quo but couldn't care less how the game gets its revenue past next month.

And in the end Mesanna will listen. They will make EJ so useless nobody except scripters will want to use it. And then you got your own prophecy fulfilled.