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NEWSLETTER 33

ShriNayne

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Producer Notes

Greetings,

We hope everyone had a great holiday and a happy new year!!

The Ultima Online team is very excited for 2019! We can promise the new year will bring new adventures, new stories, and reintroduce you to some old friends!

Since its release in 2010, High Seas has been one of the most commonly talked about additions to Ultima Online. It comes up at meet and greets, the various player gatherings we've had over the years, the forums, and in feedback we receive directly. We are excited to announce the theme for 2019 will be focusing on the High Seas!

So what does that mean for publishes this year? Is every publish going to be about sailing the oceans, fishing, and pirate hunting? Not exactly - but close! Our goal is to continue to support the events and systems you have come to love while revamping the areas of the High Seas that need it most. In each publish we will be tackling a major High Seas content area and combining it with often requested new features, content, quality of life updates, client updates, tools, and bug fixes.

The first Publish of 2019 is Publish 104 - Rising Tide. Rising Tide will introduce new veteran rewards, a new way to identify hues in the classic client, client performance and accessibility updates, Parry balance changes, quality of life updates to cannons, and more!

You can join in on the conversation on the Parrying balance changes and the Cannon QoL update on the official forums!

You can also check out below to see the first look at our 2019 development roadmap - we are excited to share more details with you as the year sails on!

This year we will continue to add to the Ultima Store with new items such as additional mailbox styles, house teleporters, vanity mounts & pets, and more! We also look forward to the awe inspiring designs from our Castle & Keep contests.

In the beginning part of the year we will see some exciting EM events that will begin to tell the story of the latest threats facing the realm; how will you rise to face those challenges?? Keep an eye on the UO.com event calendar for more!

For the month of January the Developer Meet and Greet schedule is as follows:
January 14th Napa Valley at 9 pm ET
January 28th Drachenfels at 2 pm ET

Finally, the following are actions taken on accounts that were banned or suspended:

6 - Disruptive Behavior
3 - Macroing
2 - Harassment

See you on the High Seas,

Bonnie "Mesanna" Armstrong
Producer
2019 Development Roadmap
The High Seas are vast and t'will be a long voyage ahead!

Join us as we look forward to a year of swashbuckling adventure at every turn!

March will bring Rising Tide, updating the cannon crafting, ammunition, and firing process!

As we sail into the Summer June brings Forgotten Treasures where we will focus on updates to treasure chests on both land and sea!

Coasting into Fall we find ourselves confronting Forsaken Foes - a new take on Corgul & Charybdis!

Wading into Winter look high for Jolly Roger bringing both cheer and dread to the oceans far!

This is only a small portion of what 2019 brings and we look forward to sharing more details as the year sails on!


Question & Answer

Look for new Questions & Answers in the next newsletter following our first Meet & Greets of 2019!

Join us on,
January 14th Napa Valley at 9 pm ET
January 28th Drachenfels at 2 pm ET
 

Keith of Sonoma

Grand Poobah
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
As we sail into the Summer June brings Forgotten Treasures where we will focus on updates to treasure chests on both land and sea!
Assuming I am still playing UO then, I am looking forward to it. BUT, I am taking it with a "grain of salt".

In the beginning part of the year we will see some exciting EM events
@Mesanna @Kyronix @Bleak Based on the lack of timeliness, EVERY MONTH, by what PASSES for an EM on Sonoma, I look forward to this awesome story arc, in 2020!
 

Xris

Lore Master
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
I don't think I've done any High Seas content ever. Not even sure if I have the xpac. Is it any good?

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk
 

Uriah Heep

Grand Poobah
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
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I like the part about tchest and sos's getting a boost.

What I fear, is that the way these guys work, it will be 10% boost to loot intensity, and a 300% boost to guardian difficulty... *hopes not*
 

Xris

Lore Master
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
I think they should make a moongate for champ spawn areas. I don't know how to get to some of them, and some are just really far. I think this would increase pvp too, instead of checking a few spawns you could scout them all.

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk
 

BeaIank

Crazed Zealot
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Campaign Supporter
They will revamp Corgul.
I guess I will have to do as much Corgul as I can till they completely destroy that boss and make it not worth playing.
Dammit, yet another fun stuff I like will be taken out of the game. :(
 

Gem

Slightly Crazed
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
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Campaign Supporter
On behalf of the fishers and seafarers of Britannia--Yahoo!! and Thank You!
 

ShriNayne

Babbling Loonie
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Awards
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It took me so long to make all the items to fire a cannon I had totally lost interest in firing it, why oh why was it so cumbersome!? Let's hope the process will be stripped down to a much easier overall experience....
 

Larisa

Publishing Manager, Stratics Leadership
Editor
Reporter
Moderator
Professional
Editor
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Wiki Moderator
UNLEASHED
I guess I'm the only one excited about a hue ID tool coming to the CC....there are only 2 reasons I load the EC...Hue ID tool and save journal to text...hint hint

I stopped doing anything related to High Seas a long time ago...will be nice to go sailing again!
 

BeaIank

Crazed Zealot
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Campaign Supporter
Considering the track record of this dev team, I need to start preparing to cancel my accounts and drop the game after they completely destroy everything that makes the Corgul encounter fun.
 

Xris

Lore Master
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
Considering the track record of this dev team, I need to start preparing to cancel my accounts and drop the game after they completely destroy everything that makes the Corgul encounter fun.
They haven't done anything yet. Everyone calm down.

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk
 

Pawain

I Hate Skilling
Governor
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
They listen to what we tell them. More rewards and trophies in the huntsmaster challenge are things I asked for. The transmogrify token was something I asked for.

The frost drake were redesigned based on poster feedback.

Give good feedback and ideas that fit the lore and you will be heard.

Or just complain. Your choice.
 

Tabby Kapak

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Campaign Benefactor
Oh gosh, it's that time again... Changes coming to High Seas while we haven't even touched it at all yet?! *Feeling-so-incredibly-behind-on-everything!*
 

Ender

Crazed Zealot
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Can't wait for these devs to accidentally **** up parrying in PvM as a side effect of PvP balance changes
 

Lord Arm

Certifiable
Governor
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people gave been script fishing since day one and many have never been caught, how can the honest player deal with it lol. they can even script the quests now. until they stop these activities, I have no hope. there's nothing in the ocean that can really kill you too. will probably be designed for multi account used too. ill wait and see.
 

Minerva Foxglove

Lore Keeper
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
All sounds great to me! cant wait ! The only thing with Corgul I heard complaint about is the loot is a bit same old . if we like Corgul we already have 20 sashes and even more books..could need something new to drop in the backpack. Or if the island still is bugged and empty sometimes I should add that. It have not happened to my guild for long but we dont go there as often now so that might be the reason. Nothing was said about lobster trapping and useless fish bait and pies but hopefully something will happen there too.
 

Eärendil

Legendary Mall Santa
Supporter
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
They listen to what we tell them. More rewards and trophies in the huntsmaster challenge are things I asked for. The transmogrify token was something I asked for.

The frost drake were redesigned based on poster feedback.

Give good feedback and ideas that fit the lore and you will be heard.

Or just complain. Your choice.
My Philosophy for years!
 

petemage

Babbling Loonie
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
I loved doing Scalis. Hope they don't ruin that content from our past developers. A boss fight every template can join. After the revamp it will be for a single specific template and 10x grindy.
 
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MalagAste

Belaern d'Zhaunil
Alumni
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Stratics Legend
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They haven't listened to much of anything I've said so far what makes you think they will listen to any of us now???

Everything they do anymore is a huge boring grind that is too overly complex for the average player with little to NO reward at all for wasting 2 to 4 hours on something... OOh and if it isn't like that you pretty much have to use a super geared out Sampire or forget it...

Seriously hope they don't do that with High Seas.
 

Uriah Heep

Grand Poobah
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
They haven't listened to much of anything I've said so far what makes you think they will listen to any of us now???

Everything they do anymore is a huge boring grind that is too overly complex for the average player with little to NO reward at all for wasting 2 to 4 hours on something... OOh and if it isn't like that you pretty much have to use a super geared out Sampire or forget it...

Seriously hope they don't do that with High Seas.
+1
 

BeaIank

Crazed Zealot
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Campaign Supporter
They haven't listened to much of anything I've said so far what makes you think they will listen to any of us now???

Everything they do anymore is a huge boring grind that is too overly complex for the average player with little to NO reward at all for wasting 2 to 4 hours on something... OOh and if it isn't like that you pretty much have to use a super geared out Sampire or forget it...

Seriously hope they don't do that with High Seas.
This is my main worry.
The shame revamp was fun, the Wrong one, not so much. Despise was a complete disaster.
Doom revamp made it annoying and boring.
The Halloween event? They had a very fun formula in Doom, sort of improved in Eodon, screwed it up badly with Ish and completely killed the fun of the event with Khaldun this year.

So their track record with boss and spawn revamps isn't the best one out there.
 

MalagAste

Belaern d'Zhaunil
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
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This is my main worry.
The shame revamp was fun, the Wrong one, not so much. Despise was a complete disaster.
Doom revamp made it annoying and boring.
The Halloween event? They had a very fun formula in Doom, sort of improved in Eodon, screwed it up badly with Ish and completely killed the fun of the event with Khaldun this year.

So their track record with boss and spawn revamps isn't the best one out there.
Exactly... I enjoyed the trade deal thing the first time... nice deco stuffs you could keep loved the black and red candles and all .... was rewarded I felt for the work I was doing ... could do it on many of my characters... this year .... not so much. And the "reward" for working hard and spending 2 hours getting Krampus to actually spawn... I felt the bag of Gems with a tad of gold an insult... felt more like a boot to the head than a reward. In that time I could have gone and killed 100+ dragons and had 500x more gold and gems. It was an insult. Now if the bag "did" something... sure it'd be great... but the bag is as worthless as the gems. Would have rather had the whip as the booty prize. But getting just 1 of those was an effort in futility.
 

BeaIank

Crazed Zealot
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Campaign Supporter
Whence why I didn't even bother with Krampus.
And the fact that is was like this only increases my worries about what they will do with Corgul.
Right now it is a bit dragged on but fun. Kill first wave of pirates, hit Corgul, hide, kill second wave of pirates, kill corgul, walk out with 12 to 20+ pinks plus some very meh drops, but the pinks make up for it.
That takes 20, 30 minutes of your time, tops. Good stuff.

Whatever they will come up with will have annoying mechanics and will drag this encounter to over an hour in length for a negligible chance of a drop.
No thanks.
 

sablestorm

Babbling Loonie
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I guess I'm the only one excited about a hue ID tool coming to the CC....there are only 2 reasons I load the EC...Hue ID tool and save journal to text...hint hint

I stopped doing anything related to High Seas a long time ago...will be nice to go sailing again!
I'm looking forward to this too. You can save your journal in a text file on CC already. Is this different than the EC's functionality?
 

Drakelord

Grand Poobah
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I don't think I've done any High Seas content ever. Not even sure if I have the xpac. Is it any good?

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk
I like it myself. It give me something more to do that is new. you can hunt down Merchants or play the good guy and go after pirates. Here is the link for all the information Ultima Online: High Seas - UOGuide, the Ultima Online Encyclopedia. There is also www.uoguide.com/Corgul_the_Soulbinder I love this one, plus more.
 

Drakelord

Grand Poobah
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I think they should make a moongate for champ spawn areas. I don't know how to get to some of them, and some are just really far. I think this would increase pvp too, instead of checking a few spawns you could scout them all.

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk
I disagree with this, let then search for me, not make it easy to seek me like a missile locked on me. I rather they have to go looking and trust my luck that they don't check where I am
 

MalagAste

Belaern d'Zhaunil
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Campaign Supporter
I think they should make a moongate for champ spawn areas. I don't know how to get to some of them, and some are just really far. I think this would increase pvp too, instead of checking a few spawns you could scout them all.

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk
Sure right after they put PS in Illsh and Tokuno spawns they can do that for you...
 

Tina Small

Stratics Legend
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Whence why I didn't even bother with Krampus.
And the fact that is was like this only increases my worries about what they will do with Corgul.
Right now it is a bit dragged on but fun. Kill first wave of pirates, hit Corgul, hide, kill second wave of pirates, kill corgul, walk out with 12 to 20+ pinks plus some very meh drops, but the pinks make up for it.
That takes 20, 30 minutes of your time, tops. Good stuff.

Whatever they will come up with will have annoying mechanics and will drag this encounter to over an hour in length for a negligible chance of a drop.
No thanks.
I did some of the resource gathering for caddelite crafting in September. I checked out Khaldun twice once it was active and collected some of the potions. However, the rewards just didn't appeal to me, so I didn't bother with it after that. Pretty much the same with Krampus. Haven't bothered with it at all. Been having some problems with my eyesight lately, so between not finding the temporary content appealing and not really being able to see stuff so well, I'm just sticking to boring old hunting and trying to increase my gold collection and getting tiny little taming gains on old tamer characters I haven't finished yet. Keep asking myself why I'm paying so much to keep accounts open, but closing them is such a pain in the neck it's easier to just keep paying and stalling on shutting stuff down. I keep hoping the dev team will add some good new content, but I strongly suspect anything else they do is just going to be a big grind and I'll hate it.
 

Cinderella

Babbling Loonie
Stratics Veteran
Awards
6
Main good thing on good ole Krampus is (was?) the Frost Drakes I think, nice new tamable..
It is a nice new tameable… love the addition...
but I have to admit I really like getting all the new items...
there is only two items I haven't gotten... a silver branch (bad karma branch) and cool whip (whip that does cold damage)

I have been trying to get as many of the recipes as possible, for my crafters...
I personally love that Mrs Claus can now craft the hat & boots (when her tailoring is high enough that is)
 
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