A Letter from Live

[Guest]

<center>A Letter from Live</center>

Hello everybody! On behalf of the newly formed Live Design team, I’d like to take a moment to introduce ourselves and our goals for UO.

The Team
Allow me to present our newest designer: Adida. She joins us from the world of Game Masters, where she served most diligently and skillfully before relocating with our group to become a designer. Even in the short time we’ve worked together we’ve managed to accomplish a lot, and I’m looking more and more forward to what she can do!

For myself, I started out as a junior designer on UO back in 2005, right after the release of Mondain’s Legacy. Since then, I’ve been bouncing back and forth between groups as needed, and also contributed some of the larger systems for the live events. You may remember me from such disasters as “The Ophidian Invasion,” “The Destruction of Haven,” and the “The Fall of Magincia.”

We’re relatively new, but growing! We also have the advantage of having old friends like Leurocian around (who have their own responsibilities now), and in the grand tradition of Ando and Mesanna, you’ll probably be seeing some new faces from the production staff appearing on test centers.

In short, having a chance to actually work fulltime on the live side of things is an exciting and daunting prospect. So without further ado, here’s what we’re up to:

The Mission
Our mission is to provide UO with the greatest content and gameplay publishes possible. This means Bug Fixes. Balances. Enhancements. New Content. It means delivering a plot arc the likes you’ve never seen, with a dedicated events team who’re passionate about not only UO’s history, but Ultima’s itself.

Those are pretty direct statements, so let’s explore their impact:

<ul>[*]Bug Fixes, Balances: UO is a brilliant world, thanks to both our fervent community and the years of development the team has given her. UO is also complex: we need to fix the bugs. We have longstanding issues and completely new problems that pop up on a weekly basis. Critical issues that interfere with your enjoyment of UO are as intolerable to our team as they are to you.

Just to be clear: our focus is server bugs, not client. While larger systems will take some time, there’re things that need to change immediately – which leads us to our next topic.[/list]<ul>[*]Cheating: We hate it as much as you do. We can’t disclose our plans or methods, but be assured that removing exploits and keeping the game fair is a top priority for the Live team. As far as the cheaters themselves? Some of you may know what I can do with a lit match and some blackrock. Expect burned out shells where treasure vaults of ill-gotten gains were once held. Allow me to reiterate: <font color="brown">cheating will not be tolerated.</font>

Please report anything you see through the in-game petitioning system, and larger issues to Jeremy through the Feedback system on the Herald.[/list]<ul>[*]New Content: UO thrives on new content. Britannia was designed as a world, and everything we add to it, permanent or no, leads it further along that path. We’re not only excited about the coming event arcs, but also just the fun, interesting things we can do.

This Valentine’s Day was the first project we all had an opportunity to work together on, and we think you’ll be pleased with the results. Having a live events team again is, I believe, one of the strongest parts of our initiative. After all, Adida can’t wait to show you the surprises she’s prepared for you![/list]So in closing, I just want to say how happy I am to have been extended this new opportunity on UO: the game I love. Being able to work with people like Leurocian, Mesanna, Adida, and all the new people I’ve met here is an honor, and I can’t wait for you to get to know them better too.


Yours,

Tim “Draconi” Cotten
UO Live Lead Designer

 

[Babble]

Good luck and I hope you manage to partly deliver what you intend to do.

 

[Larisa]

WOOO Draconi lives!!! *laughs*

Wow.....very impressive Draconi, it's so good to see who is doing what and where.

I have the utmost faith in you and the entire team.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Adida in the hot tub on Winterland...VERY nice person and a pleasure to talk to.

The future of UO is a bright one with this team at it's helm. Thanks!

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Our mission is to provide UO with the greatest content and gameplay publishes possible. This means Bug Fixes. Balances. Enhancements. New Content.

[/ QUOTE ]
What? You cant throw 10 years of tradition in the trash just like that.

<blockquote><hr>

It means delivering a plot arc the likes you’ve never seen

[/ QUOTE ]
Delivering them is all good and well but seeing them through to completion in a timeous manner would also be welcome.

<blockquote><hr>

Please report anything you see through the in-game petitioning system

[/ QUOTE ]
Are you saying that we will get more than a canned response? Is that what your saying?

Excuse my cynacism but I'll believe it when I see it. It takes more than a few paragraphs to convince me that things are changing for the better. Lets see results.

Good luck and lets just hope that this is more than a PR excercise in the face of public damnation and an attempt to string us along for a few more months whilst you cream off the subscription fee money to develop Warhammer online.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Wow.....very impressive Draconi

[/ QUOTE ]
Its very easy to impress with fancy words Larissa. Actually delivering on those words is another thing altogether.

 

[kennykilleduo]

Thank you for update , The players who dont come here and frequent uo.com may like to see this news also..

Hopefully Mods will not let this turn into a train wreck..

 

[imported_MoonglowMerchant]

"Frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I'm from Missouri. You've got to show me."

Willard D. Vandiver

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

The Team

[/ QUOTE ]

Draconi,

'Team' is a pretty broad term, numbers wise. It could be as little as two. Could you actually enlighten us to exactly how many people comprise "The Team" ,who they are and what their roles are within the team?

Thanks

 

[Sakkarah]

Awesome!! With all the gloom and doom on the boards lately, we definitely needed to hear you guys have some good stuff in the works for us.

*awaits eagerly the Valentine's Day event*

<blockquote><hr>

As far as the cheaters themselves? Some of you may know what I can do with a lit match and some blackrock. Expect burned out shells where treasure vaults of ill-gotten gains were once held.</font>

[/ QUOTE ]
WOOOT!

 

[_Uriah Heep_]

You may remember me from such disasters as “The Ophidian Invasion,” “The Destruction of Haven,” and the “The Fall of Magincia.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now why did I read that, and have a sudden urge to go watch The Simpsons?

 

[Guest]

This phrase interests me:
"Expect burned out shells where treasure vaults of ill-gotten gains were once held."

Does this mean that houses placed and or used by scripters to hold their resources will be burned?

 

[Guest]

Thank you,

for at least saying something. I am glad that the higher ups approved your letter.

After reading it and thinking about it, I have many questions, but I will just asked one that I would like a further explaination.

As far as bug fixes go, you state that the team is more focused on server bugs, than client ones. What is the difference? Could you give any examples to delinate between them?

Thanks again for at least saying something.

 

[Piotr]

Thumbs up!


Sounds like you're ready to rock!

I can't wait to see what you guys and gals are up to!

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

I am glad that the higher ups approved your letter.

[/ QUOTE ]
Approved it? They probably instigated it.

 

[wanderer1origin]

wow!! will pay for another month and see what happens

 

[Guest]

Does it really matter?

Even if the higher ups said to write a letter. I believe that it still would have to have been approved.

It is nice that we p(l)ayers finally have something to chew over. But words are cheap, it is the follow up that counts.

 

[Cellmate]

Thankyou for that information Draconi, and congrats on what appears to be a promotion within EA Mythic for you personally.

I suppose, without wanting to sound too cynical, you've got the talking part done, now remains to be seen what is actually accomplished with regard to your "Mission". Best of luck there and I hope we'll all soon see the benefits.

I read this to mean that as a Live Team, you are responsible for gameplay issues, event content etc and a Production Team responsible for expansions etc exists with their own set of responsibilities and goals. Things like the future development expansions such as Stygian Abyss, the longevity or not of support for the 2D client etc would be Production issues, I guess? Hopefully we will hear from them soon as well.

Still, having been one of the many bemoaning the lack of any real info about UO for far too long, your post, while stating little specifically, is at the least some positive communication for us to chew on for a while, so thanks for that much. You do understand that we will all want to hear a whole lot more, of course. In particular, I'm "chomping at the bit" to use Jeremy's chosen metaphor, to hear from Cal!!

Edit: Ok, having just read the Herald, and the words from one Calvin Crowner, Development Manager, I retract my last sentence above. I read it a couple of times and am left with an unquenchable urge to say...Hmmmm.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

But words are cheap, it is the follow up that counts.

[/ QUOTE ]
The exact point I raised earlier in the thread.

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

Draconi posted ...

................................... He did ??????

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

But words are cheap, it is the follow up that counts.

[/ QUOTE ]
The exact point I raised earlier in the thread.

[/ QUOTE ]
and some are cheaper than others...

Give the man a break. He gave us some info and put the Valentine's day festivities out on the line there. I'll hold my judgement of his words and things to come after I see how pleased I am with that.

 

[Guest]

Thank you. At least you guys have said something.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

and some are cheaper than others...


[/ QUOTE ]
Exactly! And I'm afraid that EA's words are the cheapest of them all right now. Their stock is running VERY low at the moment. Hence the understandable cynacism.

 

[Guest]

Here's hoping you get the freedom and space you need to do what I know you really desire to.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Here's hoping you get the freedom and space you need to do what I know you really desire to.

[/ QUOTE ]Amen.

 

[Frarc]

Look forward to see what the future will bring us!

 

[pallas]

I _really_ appreciate someone stepping up and saying _something_. Looking forward to this new event when the patch goes out.

 

[Guest]

Maybe by letting him loose blow up cheaters it will give him the fun?

he needs and save our towns in the bargain! Go for it Draconi!! And leave little pieces of their bodies on the front lawn

 

[Lady_Rachel]

*you see a cheaters house*


BOOM!!!!

Maybe that is what we will turn our blackrock in for?

 

[Toguro]

"Cheating: We hate it as much as you do. We can’t disclose our plans or methods, but be assured that removing exploits and keeping the game fair is a top priority for the Live team. As far as the cheaters themselves? Some of you may know what I can do with a lit match and some blackrock. Expect burned out shells where treasure vaults of ill-gotten gains were once held. Allow me to reiterate: cheating will not be tolerated.

Please report anything you see through the in-game petitioning system, and larger issues to Jeremy through the Feedback system on the Herald."


HAHAHAHAHA LOL
is it just me or is this almost copied/pasted from the same one from last year and the year before that? Yet when people report speedhackers/scripters all we get is to wait in queue for hours for a canned response, and the people we reported arnt affected.

WTB PunkBuster

 

[Guest]

Cheating: We hate it as much as you do. We can’t disclose our plans or methods, but be assured that removing exploits and keeping the game fair is a top priority for the Live team. As far as the cheaters themselves? Some of you may know what I can do with a lit match and some blackrock. Expect burned out shells where treasure vaults of ill-gotten gains were once held. Allow me to reiterate: cheating will not be tolerated.

Please report anything you see through the in-game petitioning system, and larger issues to Jeremy through the Feedback system on the Herald.


HAHA thanks i needed that!Another lame attempt to stop cheating how sad.You guys shoulda just activated punk buster along time ago and we wouldnt be having this problem now.And notice no mention of scripters my guess would be geared towards the dupers with this post.

 

[Guest]

...

Finally... an info dump.

Thanks Draconi and Cal.

Can't wait to see the info for the next patch and publish though!

 

[Guest]

Really happy to hear this. I look forward to it.

<blockquote><hr>

cheating will not be tolerated.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is fine and all, but the team also have got to take some responsibility for encouraging it as well.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

The Team

[/ QUOTE ]Draconi,

'Team' is a pretty broad term, numbers wise. It could be as little as two. Could you actually enlighten us to exactly how many people comprise "The Team" ,who they are and what their roles are within the team?

Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed, wouldn't it be nice to finally see something like this for UO; a simple single web page that shows us who the complete team is along with their responsibilities:

http://www.roma-victor.com/devs

 

[Guest]

Sounds great.
The entire Mission sounds great indeed; I dearly hope that bug fixes, balances, and cheating are given top priority (even if I would like their order to be reversed at this time).
Burned out shells - mmmm

Congrats on the new position, Draconi.

 

[kennykilleduo]

Well I must also say , We ae in good hands , Draconi's dedication to the game is awesome , Hopefully the move to VA doesnt change that , I think once we as players see words put into actions , we will be ALOT happier..

Question is , Will EA Mythic turn around UO??

 

[Nicland]

I can't take anything that UO/Mythic says seriously. Just more lip service, the whole lot of you should be fired. there is zero support for this game and it's customers. I have tried for months to get out of factions with either a link provided saying how to get out or a message to email UO and don't expect any more corrispondence. Don't even get the courtesy of someone saying we don't know how to get you out of factions. Instead I get folks telling me to delete the character. Really trained monkies could provide better customer support.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Yes, but what are you actually going to do?

<u>We have had a million 'soon' and 'just wait, its going to be great!' posts</u> from you guys before. How about instead of more platitudes you post a list of things you are going to fix and do?

[/ QUOTE ]

Also a fine point, which I think pretty much summarizes the feelings of many players towards Electronic Arts and the UO developers, from repeated experience.

These types of things have been said over and over again every year. Even long-time supporters of UO are very weary. These types of cyclic claims have always proved to be a lot of hot air. Instead, the game world has gotten much, much worse as new producers have had their own agendas to push rather than understanding what the core values of the Ultima world were and should be. What started as an online community is now but a mere video game to waste some time on.

With each new team, we've seen the new producer ruin the Ultima virtual world experience, trying to make it their own, from split communities, mirrored worlds, half-ass 3D x2, in-game item statistics &amp; properties, single player content &amp; quests, to Mcfarlane, robots, neon, giant insects, elves, and even ninjas.

So far, the only developers that seem to have gotten the medieval Ultima renaissance community experience right are the original ones...

EA already has hundreds of video games, as a mere video game UO makes no impression on the world. But, what they don't have and apparently don't understand is virtual worlds. This is evidenced by the continual yearly process to dumb Ultima Online down to nothing more than just another title in their long list.

 

[imported_UONutt]

Thanks!! Great good post! Sounds good! Thanks for coming here to give us your status!!

Looking forward to all that is to come!!! *happy dance!*

 

[Nicland]

These types of things have been said over and over gain every year. Even long-time supporters of UO are very weary.



Until a few months ago, I was content making my own way in UO. I was tolerant of UO shortcomings because I loved the platform and the flexibility of the game in general. When it comes to the complete lack of accountability and any willingness to escalate a problem, I have lost my ability to cut UO any slack. I have shut down one account because of lack of customer service and I guess I will be forced to shut another down because UO will not fix the bug that will not let me get out of factions or pull up the single click menu to toggle insurance and other functions.

 

[Guest]

cheating will not be tolerated.

-anymore?
-after were are done tolerating the current cheating?
-any more cheating that what is tolerated now?
-except in certain cases?
-all cheating?
-provable cheating?

 

[Guest]

I like how they sent you to the lions (us) out here knowing we wont devour you ^^

We like it when you blow things up.

&lt;3 Draconi

 

[Guest]

thank you ... and good hunting.

 

[Wood]

I'll believe all the hype and hooplah when it actually comes true.

Don't believe the hype.

 

[Guest]

I don't think Draconi would have posted it without meaning it.

 

[imported_Heartseeker]

I guess we'll see "soon".

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

'Team' is a pretty broad term, numbers wise. It could be as little as two. Could you actually enlighten us to exactly how many people comprise "The Team" ,who they are and what their roles are within the team?

[/ QUOTE ]
That's exactly right! In fact, the design team for Live is two people at the moment, but the Live team itself consists of engineers, artists, and production staff. For myself, I can't just pop out all their responsibilities and titles right now. I can tell you that the design team is meant to grow, and that even as is I'm very pleased with what we can do for the Live game.
<blockquote><hr>

As far as bug fixes go, you state that the team is more focused on server bugs, than client ones. What is the difference? Could you give any examples to delinate between them?

[/ QUOTE ]
Server bugs are basically everything related to actual gameplay and mechanics. A targeting bug that messed up your cursor, or a UI element that didn't work - that would be client.

PVP balance, spell damage, resistances, flagging issues - those are server.
<blockquote><hr>

This phrase interests me:
"Expect burned out shells where treasure vaults of ill-gotten gains were once held."

Does this mean that houses placed and or used by scripters to hold their resources will be burned?

[/ QUOTE ]<font color="brown">... heh</font>
<blockquote><hr>

I like how they sent you to the lions (us) out here knowing we wont devour you ^^

We like it when you blow things up.

&lt;3 Draconi

[/ QUOTE ]Well, I mean, I was a forum mod for Atlantic here. I don't exactly have a fear of flames... in fact, <font color="brown">I like fire.</font></font>

 

[Lord Zephyrus]

IDOC GO BOOM! Yay!

 

[Cazzador]

I'm glad to see someone from the D.T. posting. It was getting kind of glummy here for a while. Just got my hopes up a little. We'll see what happens. Thank you Draconi, I think the Team is in good hands. It was good news on the day before my B-Day *)

 

[Guest]

There's a difference between hype and re-establishing a presence. It's not what was said that I paid attention to, rather all I wanted to hear was a statement, any statement, a "here we are, here we stand" moment.

( I understand that others may have different expectations )

 

[Guest]

Happy Birthday!