NEWS UO Newsletter #47

[Lord Arm]

if people are really concerned about soul stones, put them in the bank. I almost lost all my soulstones because gm did not find them under the floor of my castle. 6 months later another gm came to check for mouse hole and found all my soulstones under floor, still locked down. mine have been in bank ever since.

 

[Toshi]

@Toshi I asked the same thing on the official forum. Kryonix replied...

Thanks for the update. That's exactly what the publish notes say.

 

[Toshi]

So, the end of March is here...what happened to "the biggest and boldest endeavor in over a decade?" https://screenrant.com/ultima-online-new-update-2020-details/

As for the update, developers are not revealing much, but the team says they are in the "early stages" of building what they describe as the "biggest and boldest endeavor in over a decade." While this doesn't tell players anything about what to expect, they can expect it to happen at some point during March of 2020. More information will likely be revealed leading up to the update's release.

 

[Pawain]

So, the end of March is here...what happened to "the biggest and boldest endeavor in over a decade?" https://screenrant.com/ultima-online-new-update-2020-details/

: [Crystal] Albertus Magnus: Does the biggest and boldest endeavor mean the opening from UO on the steam plattform?
: [Crystal] Mesanna: no
: [Crystal] Mesanna: when everyting is planned out we will reveal
: [Crystal] Albertus Magnus: thanks for the answers
: [Crystal] Mesanna: until then we are keeping it under wraps

That was her reply.

 

[MalagAste]

Be prepared to be seriously underwhelmed.

 

[John Knighthawke]

I have to admit that the new/revised quest system could be a pretty big deal if done properly and (critical) if coupled with new quest content. It's critical, I suggest, that meaning is brought to our in-game activities.
-John's player

 

[ShriNayne]

Let's hope it actually sees the light of day, unlike the player generated quest system that was mentioned at the 20th Anniversary party and was never mentioned again. Quests have long been confusing since there is more than one quest system and no consistency, it's one of the things new players have a lot of trouble with. In fact lack of consistency has been a problem in a few areas, interaction with NPC's is another system that could do with a more consistent approach.

 

[Uriah Heep]

But neither of those things will bring us to a larger audiencethan ever before.

Probably feel good talk, kinda like that new and improved acct mgmt we were gonna get

 

[ShriNayne]

Makes you wonder what they are actually doing though, especially with all the things they've been breaking lately, are these things connected? Who knows?!

 

[petemage]

Makes you wonder what they are actually doing though, especially with all the things they've been breaking lately, are these things connected? Who knows?!

You mean with all the biggest and boldest improvements they are doing to UO. Tmaps.. *cough*

 

[petemage]

But neither of those things will bring us to a larger audiencethan ever before.

Probably feel good talk, kinda like that new and improved acct mgmt we were gonna get

To be fair, she can't just say "In march we are going to bring you something that's barely gonna make 5% of when we had a properly staffed team. Hope yall still hyped for it though".

 

[ShriNayne]

@petemage ouch!!

 

[Xare]

Maybe we'll all get lucky and she announces her retirement and we get a competent Dev team.

 

[Danpal]

To be far the CC client was made with a team of 8 people back then. EA wanted to cancel online and work on the single player game that was until the beta disk came out and the numbers made EA happy and they pulled everyone from the single player game to are much loved online game.

I can see them makeing a new version of the game with the staff they have that could be the biggest endeavor. But what would happen to all the players that have been playing for the past 20 plus years

 

[Uriah Heep]

She's just padding her job security. And I don't know why yall place so much faith on her knowledge of the game, when half the time you have to explain to her the questions people are asking at the M&Gs. Plus, I have read several times that she isn't a coder... nor engineer.

She's the Producer, the one with the arrow pointing which way we are going. Which seems to be rainbow unicorns and fluff, instead of solid gameplay.

 

[Uriah Heep]

To be far the CC client was made with a team of 8 people back then. EA wanted to cancel online and work on the single player game that was until the beta disk came out and the numbers made EA happy and they pulled everyone from the single player game to are much loved online game.

I can see them makeing a new version of the game with the staff they have that could be the biggest endeavor. But what would happen to all the players that have been playing for the past 20 plus years

I suspect they had 8 people, most of whom could code and program. as far as I know, Mesanna and Misk don't do either, or at least not much and not deep. Kyronix tries, not sure about Bleak LOL

 

[Anonymous UOPlayer]

2 things can kill UO.
1: It stops making cash
2: EA throws a fit & dumps it on a whim of some type

if it's making $, and if ea doesn't throw a fit, then it won't be killed just because the employees on it leave.

if EA throws a fit and dumps it, then it won't matter who's working on it.

the fact that EA doesn't seem 2 like it (never has!), and yet it still exists, prolly means it's still making cash.

 

[TheGrimReefer]

Of course its making money. Look at all the 3rd party sites that sell items. Each one of these sites returns a percentage of sales to keep them being able to sell these items. Do people really think these sites would still be open if they cracked down on them.

 

[Xare]

After looking at or playing most other MMOs, yes, I think they do exist despite the producers intent. I'm constantly amazed that people are ignorant enough to believe that there's a giant conspiracy to leave RMT websites alone.

 

[Captn Norrington]

Of course its making money. Look at all the 3rd party sites that sell items. Each one of these sites returns a percentage of sales to keep them being able to sell these items. Do people really think these sites would still be open if they cracked down on them.

The third party sites don't pay the developers a percentage of their sales, I've known the owners of just about all of them at some point and they all found the idea of that hilarious. Even going as far back as Markee Dragon, he proudly tried to bribe the developers so many times and couldn't despite his best efforts. That's why he left, he now makes vastly more money in other games through actual kickbacks (the lead Shroud of the Avatar developer openly said on a livestream that they sell him products at severely discounted prices for him to resell, and he's the only one they do it for, they called him a "Trusted Trader").

Now, that isn't to say that UO doesn't indirectly benefit from them, the developers must be aware of that. Those sites often pay for 100+ accounts each to script with, and I'm sure at some point it was realized that shutting them all down would cause a huge amount of paid accounts to be lost, so it unfortunately has never been worth their resources to do it. They'd be spending lots of time and money, just to lose themselves even more money through lost accounts. The websites are very irrelevant in modern UO as well, it's only the casual players who buy from them, as the active players for the most part all buy from individual sellers or friends these days for way cheaper prices. There are over 150 people on my ICQ list I could buy from for half the prices of the websites if I had any desire to for example.

 

[Fridgster]

The third party sites don't pay the developers a percentage of their sales, I've known the owners of just about all of them at some point and they all found the idea of that hilarious. Even going as far back as Markee Dragon, he proudly tried to bribe the developers so many times and couldn't despite his best efforts. That's why he left, he now makes vastly more money in other games through actual kickbacks (the lead Shroud of the Avatar developer openly said on a livestream that they sell him products at severely discounted prices for him to resell, and he's the only one they do it for, they called him a "Trusted Trader").

Now, that isn't to say that UO doesn't indirectly benefit from them, the developers must be aware of that. Those sites often pay for 100+ accounts each to script with, and I'm sure at some point it was realized that shutting them all down would cause a huge amount of paid accounts to be lost, so it unfortunately has never been worth their resources to do it. They'd be spending lots of time and money, just to lose themselves even more money through lost accounts. The websites are very irrelevant in modern UO as well, it's only the casual players who buy from them, as the active players for the most part all buy from individual sellers or friends these days for way cheaper prices. There are over 150 people on my ICQ list I could buy from for half the prices of the websites if I had any desire to for example.

This needed to be said for a long time.

 

[Anonymous UOPlayer]

The third party sites don't pay the developers a percentage of their sales, I've known the owners of just about all of them at some point and they all found the idea of that hilarious. Even going as far back as Markee Dragon, he proudly tried to bribe the developers so many times and couldn't despite his best efforts. That's why he left, he now makes vastly more money in other games through actual kickbacks (the lead Shroud of the Avatar developer openly said on a livestream that they sell him products at severely discounted prices for him to resell, and he's the only one they do it for, they called him a "Trusted Trader").

Now, that isn't to say that UO doesn't indirectly benefit from them, the developers must be aware of that. Those sites often pay for 100+ accounts each to script with, and I'm sure at some point it was realized that shutting them all down would cause a huge amount of paid accounts to be lost, so it unfortunately has never been worth their resources to do it. They'd be spending lots of time and money, just to lose themselves even more money through lost accounts. The websites are very irrelevant in modern UO as well, it's only the casual players who buy from them, as the active players for the most part all buy from individual sellers or friends these days for way cheaper prices. There are over 150 people on my ICQ list I could buy from for half the prices of the websites if I had any desire to for example.

ur very, very likely 2b correct. ty 4 this post.

 

[Pawain]

This needed to be said for a long time.

ur very, very likely 2b correct. ty 4 this post.

But is a lot easier than facts.

 

[TheGrimReefer]

Within the last few years, more and more of these sites have popped up. Why? Because it is allowed. The only way you allow something that is completely illegal according to their very own TOS, is by getting something from it. Yea they may have 100+ accounts, but how many of those are on a rotation? How many are actually paid for each month at $13+ per month? How many are running scripts 24/7?

Everyone has their own opinion and thats fine. If people want to believe that they dont get kickbacks, go nuts. But to those people, Do you really think that the sale of Illegal cloth or a corrupt EM is as far as it goes? FACTS.

 

[Xare]

I think you misunderstand the word facts. Usually, when one uses that word, they're providing real information that can be verified by an independent source. What you've provided is nothing more than an unverifiable claim, lacking any support, and pulled from the depths of who the hell knows where. Please refrain from using your conspiratorial opinions as facts.

Thank you,

 

[Pawain]

Please refrain from using your conspiratorial opinions as facts.

Im conspiring that there is no conspiracy? I think you need a conspiracy to have a conspiracy. Or maybe I am the Queen trying to throw you off.

Do you really think that the sale of Illegal cloth or a corrupt EM is as far as it goes? FACTS.

Comparing a paid professional to an unpaid player. uhuh.

 

[ShriNayne]

Come on guys, call a truce, the world is in a bad enough place right now, let's not start a war here!

 

[Anonymous UOPlayer]

Within the last few years, more and more of these sites have popped up. Why? Because it is allowed. The only way you allow something that is completely illegal according to their very own TOS, is by getting something from it. Yea they may have 100+ accounts, but how many of those are on a rotation? How many are actually paid for each month at $13+ per month? How many are running scripts 24/7?

Everyone has their own opinion and thats fine. If people want to believe that they dont get kickbacks, go nuts. But to those people, Do you really think that the sale of Illegal cloth or a corrupt EM is as far as it goes? FACTS.

I don't like Norrington one bit, he's actually gotten me in trouble at least once, but odds are much better he's right, y? because he has more facts in this instance. most of your post is speculative.

The bottom line is this: no conspriacy or kickback is required 2 explain y these sites still exist. that the team sucks at controlling it & the game's profits are too tenuous 2 warrant trying harder is kinda bad enough. y go to conspiracy or kickback? it's not require 2 explain it.

let's look at it item by item.

Norrington:
-credible testimony from folks who sell things who scoff at the notion
you in response:
-speculation that the team has to be getting something from it

Norrington:
-here's an instance from another game, one related to UO, where that actually occurs, out in the open, here's the person that does it, who failed to do the same thing in UO
you in response:
-"do you really think [stuff] is as far as it goes?"
That's not a fact, really, that's an implication. not same.

Norrington:
-here's a credeible description of how the game's profits benefit from this stuff, no conspiracy required (lots of accounts)
ok this one isn't really a fact but it makes a lot of sense, & you seem to concede the basics
you in response:
-how many of those accounts are on rotation?
this actually doesn't effect norrie's narrative, when you think about it. 100 accounts on rotation is still cash.


this time, norrie wins, and this time i'm glad.

 

[Anonymous UOPlayer]

how the hell did i start this fight this time? oh yeah i pointed out the obvious, that the odds are the game's still bringing in money or it'd be dead already.
somehow that caused the conspiracy fantasies to be trotted out. i guess because I said the words money and profit?
lol
so yeah. posting the obvious around here was a mistake. i'll stick to spewing bile from now on. it fits in better.

i'll start now

U ALL SUK! D1E IRL!!! CONSPIRCY! CONSPIRCY! KIKBAK!

that better?

 

[ShriNayne]

*sigh* Everyone is posting here because they care, they don't all care about exactly the same things but if they didn't have at least some nostalgic love for UO they wouldn't be wasting their time posting here. They would have just moved on and not given this place or UO another thought. Some of us are 100% happy with the direction the Dev team are going, some are 50% happy and some are not happy at all, but we all have something in common, we feel on some level that UO is worth fighting for, even if that means fighting the current Devs. For a lot of us UO was the first MMO we ever played and it still has a special place in our hearts, whether we are playing right now or taking a break. I know there are some of us who seem to be mostly Doom and Gloom, but it can be hard to find something positive when changes all seem to go one way.

 

[Slayvite]

Personally I keep looking back at their FB updates splash screen for UO, you know the one WITHOUT the EA logo.
Either they have bought out UO from EA and that's gonna be their announcement.....or EA is gonna throw a fit if they find out they are advertising without the EA logo, a VERY big no no for any game owned by EA no matter how small.

 

[ShriNayne]

@Slayvite Apparently there are no EA trademarks on the Swag Store or the items sold there either, could there be some change somewhere that accounts for that and the FB pages?

 

[chester rockwell]

Ol' GrimReefer has some doozy comments in the commission vendor thread too. Zero grasp of reality.

 

[chester rockwell]

P.S. I've never heard of anyone saying that those sites give kickbacks to UO/EA/whatever. That's just crazy sounding. Legit crazy.