This interview was done some time back and as we all know the face of Luna has changed once again and the departure of this vet player has had a lot to do with it. He has always been supportive of the Great Lakes community. Please feel free to leave your good wishes to Rhen. The original interview is on the News main page.
Ten years is a long time to put into the realm of UO. Soon I will be approaching the eight year mark myself. In your nine years on the Great Lakes shard please share with us several of your favorite memories. I remember the first time a buddy took me into Destard and I saw dragons. That was the coolest thing ever. Big, red, growling, fire breathing monsters! My heart was pounding as we took them down. Truly a joy.
The first time I killed a thief trying to get into my little 7x7 shack. Back then you didn't have to lock your stuff down to keep it from decaying so if a thief stealth's into your house he could rob you for all he could carry. I was so proud of myself for defending that which was mine. I really loved that little house right on a quiet beach.
More recently, the first time we did Dreadhorn was an amazing amount of fun. All the peerless bosses ended up being my favorite thing to do. The challenge was back in the game with the addition of those bosses.
There are so many more I could go on for pages. I have very fond memories for everyone of my guildmates, our old auctions, the shops and all my renters, many many people in the game. Look now I am getting melancholy.
When and how did you first hear about UO?
I was playing a MUD called Federation and lots of solo RPGs on computer. A buddy had heard about UO and suggested I look into it. UO was still in beta but I was blown away by the info I was finding. I remember the first day it hit the shelf. I took off work that day and loaded it on my computer to find that my PC wouldn't run it...or so I thought. Every time I tried to run it I would get a black screen, finally I walked away in frustration only to find when I returned the game was there and running. On my old PC it took about 40 seconds to fully load, I though it was just locking up. I freaking loved the opening screen with the squeaky chest and the music. Its the little things you remember.
There are always positives and negatives in real life and in the gaming realms. I try to stay on a positive note but I am sure our readers would like to know why you are leaving the game.
Tough question and one that doesn't have a single answer. The guild that we built in UO is something that I will be proud of for my entire life. Good people, all working to help each other, funny, fun, and yes at times we argued but always like friends. UO, to me, has become too easy. Even the peerless bosses became easy. My own success in a way killed the game for me. I know this will generate some grumbles but it is true. The years of hard work paid off and I wanted for nothing, needed nothing. The only thing I never got that I wanted was a castle. UO was a game for me, for fun, so I was never willing to spend RL cash for anything. I waited too long to get a castle and within the last few years you could only get one with cash.
So it boiled down to there was no more worthy goals, no more challenges. And now EA is killing the game even more by continuing to make it easier. A good example is Doom, it started hard, then got harder, then got super easy. The KR client is another killer for me. We listened to the rumors for years about this super new client. My hopes were so high for KR. I prayed it would bring new players to the game and add that new blood. KR has no hope, sorry but that's my opinion.
In your nine years on Great Lakes you have acquired very pricey properties, many of them and countless items. When you first started this game was that a goal of yours?
To have fun. The goal from the first day to the last was have fun. If it wasn't fun, I didn't do it. That's why I never got into PvP, it wasn't fun to me. I really really enjoyed running the shops. Being a merchant was the thing I had fun doing. I loved when people would tell me "I love your shops, I always find what I need at them". That was a big goal for me, keeping well rounded shops including the low or no profit items like repair deeds and such.
At our height, myself, Gold Matterson, Dante Hicks, and Indiana Jones managed five shops in Luna. It really was a team effort.
You ran a very successful auction house for some time. On several occassions I helped with decor and enjoyed it a lot. How long did the auction house run and what was your favorite thing about that experience? You are being kind by calling our auction house successful. Running the auction house was the hardest thing I ever did in the game. You cannot fully understand the amount of time and effort that goes into an auction unless you do it. People do not flock to you dropping off tons of good items to auction, you have to go out and get people to submit items. Then you have to make sure every week you have people to work. We started the auction to fill the hole REA made when they left (for those that remember the REA auctions). Our plan was to have fun and give ALL profits back to the attendees in the form of games. From the first to the last auction we never kept a single gold piece from the fees. We stopped because attendance dropped to 20 or fewer, we were auctioning our personal items because submissions were so low and it was just too taxing on us. We decided to leave the auctioning to the professionals at MOA. I think our auction ran for just under a year.
On the subject of auction houses MOA will be selling your UO history. How many items will that be approx. and how long do you think it will take? I have five packed houses that will be auctioned over time at MOA. I was not a big rares collector but I did like the old potted plants/trees and rare armor but mostly you will see things that are useful. Ethys, tok arties (including tons of dyes), full bod books, etc etc. The only thing I am not selling is Rhen's suit. I want all properties and items sold by mid Sept when my accounts renew. Things will get sold faster if I get off my lazy butt and get them submitted to MOA quicker. I know Pratt, I'm trying, really I am! LOL.
Everyone needs to know and understand that the folks at MOA are some of the best in game. We have been friends for years (I hope they would agree to me saying that). They supported our auction house and never ever looked at it as something to take their business. It all helped the game community and that is what MOA is about. "Good people" is how you describe those at MOA.
I have to ask this question because our readers will want to know. What was the highest number of accounts you had opened at one time and will you still keep one open even though you may not play?
A good friend and I managed, I think, 11 accounts for a while. A more stable number was around 9. Mainly they just held houses. Right at this moment we are at 5. I will keep Rhen's suit and a couple million in gold in case I ever decide to come back but for now all accounts are being shut down.
This interview is kinda like a formal farwell. Can you give myself and our readers any advice and/or is there anything you would like to say? I quit smoking about 5 years ago. I did it cold turkey. The only way I can quit UO is cold turkey. I am playing another game now but the one thing I have learned in that other game is it does not and can never have the community that UO has. It was extremely rare that I saw a name on GL that I didn't know. I miss that and I am positive I will continue to miss that. I still chuckle when I think about some of GL's infamous / nefarious people. LOL, you all know one or two. Such characters, such a diverse group, it makes me smile.
I know there are some in game that did not like me or REN. I am betting 99% of those people don't even know me. Myself and REN members got what we had through hard work, luck and friends in game. I never tolerated cheating, scamming, or stealing in any form in REN or from shop renters. We had fun and that was why we played.
Advice is like a-holes, so here comes my a-hole. Play your game, have fun playing your game, do not try to force others to play your game. That's good advice for RL or in game. If you can't understand it, you never will.
Thanks UO it was a great 10 years,
Rhen
Ten years is a long time to put into the realm of UO. Soon I will be approaching the eight year mark myself. In your nine years on the Great Lakes shard please share with us several of your favorite memories. I remember the first time a buddy took me into Destard and I saw dragons. That was the coolest thing ever. Big, red, growling, fire breathing monsters! My heart was pounding as we took them down. Truly a joy.
The first time I killed a thief trying to get into my little 7x7 shack. Back then you didn't have to lock your stuff down to keep it from decaying so if a thief stealth's into your house he could rob you for all he could carry. I was so proud of myself for defending that which was mine. I really loved that little house right on a quiet beach.
More recently, the first time we did Dreadhorn was an amazing amount of fun. All the peerless bosses ended up being my favorite thing to do. The challenge was back in the game with the addition of those bosses.
There are so many more I could go on for pages. I have very fond memories for everyone of my guildmates, our old auctions, the shops and all my renters, many many people in the game. Look now I am getting melancholy.
When and how did you first hear about UO?
I was playing a MUD called Federation and lots of solo RPGs on computer. A buddy had heard about UO and suggested I look into it. UO was still in beta but I was blown away by the info I was finding. I remember the first day it hit the shelf. I took off work that day and loaded it on my computer to find that my PC wouldn't run it...or so I thought. Every time I tried to run it I would get a black screen, finally I walked away in frustration only to find when I returned the game was there and running. On my old PC it took about 40 seconds to fully load, I though it was just locking up. I freaking loved the opening screen with the squeaky chest and the music. Its the little things you remember.
There are always positives and negatives in real life and in the gaming realms. I try to stay on a positive note but I am sure our readers would like to know why you are leaving the game.
Tough question and one that doesn't have a single answer. The guild that we built in UO is something that I will be proud of for my entire life. Good people, all working to help each other, funny, fun, and yes at times we argued but always like friends. UO, to me, has become too easy. Even the peerless bosses became easy. My own success in a way killed the game for me. I know this will generate some grumbles but it is true. The years of hard work paid off and I wanted for nothing, needed nothing. The only thing I never got that I wanted was a castle. UO was a game for me, for fun, so I was never willing to spend RL cash for anything. I waited too long to get a castle and within the last few years you could only get one with cash.
So it boiled down to there was no more worthy goals, no more challenges. And now EA is killing the game even more by continuing to make it easier. A good example is Doom, it started hard, then got harder, then got super easy. The KR client is another killer for me. We listened to the rumors for years about this super new client. My hopes were so high for KR. I prayed it would bring new players to the game and add that new blood. KR has no hope, sorry but that's my opinion.
In your nine years on Great Lakes you have acquired very pricey properties, many of them and countless items. When you first started this game was that a goal of yours?
To have fun. The goal from the first day to the last was have fun. If it wasn't fun, I didn't do it. That's why I never got into PvP, it wasn't fun to me. I really really enjoyed running the shops. Being a merchant was the thing I had fun doing. I loved when people would tell me "I love your shops, I always find what I need at them". That was a big goal for me, keeping well rounded shops including the low or no profit items like repair deeds and such.
At our height, myself, Gold Matterson, Dante Hicks, and Indiana Jones managed five shops in Luna. It really was a team effort.
You ran a very successful auction house for some time. On several occassions I helped with decor and enjoyed it a lot. How long did the auction house run and what was your favorite thing about that experience? You are being kind by calling our auction house successful. Running the auction house was the hardest thing I ever did in the game. You cannot fully understand the amount of time and effort that goes into an auction unless you do it. People do not flock to you dropping off tons of good items to auction, you have to go out and get people to submit items. Then you have to make sure every week you have people to work. We started the auction to fill the hole REA made when they left (for those that remember the REA auctions). Our plan was to have fun and give ALL profits back to the attendees in the form of games. From the first to the last auction we never kept a single gold piece from the fees. We stopped because attendance dropped to 20 or fewer, we were auctioning our personal items because submissions were so low and it was just too taxing on us. We decided to leave the auctioning to the professionals at MOA. I think our auction ran for just under a year.
On the subject of auction houses MOA will be selling your UO history. How many items will that be approx. and how long do you think it will take? I have five packed houses that will be auctioned over time at MOA. I was not a big rares collector but I did like the old potted plants/trees and rare armor but mostly you will see things that are useful. Ethys, tok arties (including tons of dyes), full bod books, etc etc. The only thing I am not selling is Rhen's suit. I want all properties and items sold by mid Sept when my accounts renew. Things will get sold faster if I get off my lazy butt and get them submitted to MOA quicker. I know Pratt, I'm trying, really I am! LOL.
Everyone needs to know and understand that the folks at MOA are some of the best in game. We have been friends for years (I hope they would agree to me saying that). They supported our auction house and never ever looked at it as something to take their business. It all helped the game community and that is what MOA is about. "Good people" is how you describe those at MOA.
I have to ask this question because our readers will want to know. What was the highest number of accounts you had opened at one time and will you still keep one open even though you may not play?
A good friend and I managed, I think, 11 accounts for a while. A more stable number was around 9. Mainly they just held houses. Right at this moment we are at 5. I will keep Rhen's suit and a couple million in gold in case I ever decide to come back but for now all accounts are being shut down.
This interview is kinda like a formal farwell. Can you give myself and our readers any advice and/or is there anything you would like to say? I quit smoking about 5 years ago. I did it cold turkey. The only way I can quit UO is cold turkey. I am playing another game now but the one thing I have learned in that other game is it does not and can never have the community that UO has. It was extremely rare that I saw a name on GL that I didn't know. I miss that and I am positive I will continue to miss that. I still chuckle when I think about some of GL's infamous / nefarious people. LOL, you all know one or two. Such characters, such a diverse group, it makes me smile.
I know there are some in game that did not like me or REN. I am betting 99% of those people don't even know me. Myself and REN members got what we had through hard work, luck and friends in game. I never tolerated cheating, scamming, or stealing in any form in REN or from shop renters. We had fun and that was why we played.
Advice is like a-holes, so here comes my a-hole. Play your game, have fun playing your game, do not try to force others to play your game. That's good advice for RL or in game. If you can't understand it, you never will.
Thanks UO it was a great 10 years,
Rhen
42 Days 5 Hours and 37 minutes till it starts !