A parting of the ways

[startle]

..... You will be sorely missed, Grimm. Safe travels, and may the road always rise to meet you.

^^^^ This...

 

[AirmidCecht]

^^^^ This...

^^^ This.....

 

[kelmo]

I'll never forget the first day I told the team that I was going to start posting to the community. It was right around the time that we had shipped Samurai Empire, and I had been promoted to Character Lead. Literally everyone was telling me that I really needed to be prepared because there was a LOT of hostility towards the artists. I told them that maybe it was because none of the artists talked to them! LOL. Now, not a day goes by that I don't check in to see what's getting posted and to take part in this wonderful community.

-Grimm

*smiles* I wish you well. Thanks for taking the chance and getting to know us and letting us into your world.

 

[soulstoner]

Thank you for years of great Grimm & Best wishes always !

 

[Kylie Kinslayer]

Well **** me and the Swampie I rode in on..... Bad day just got worse.

Like everyone else, I hate to see you go. But know you will land on your feet somewhere else, no doubt at all about that.

Ohhhh and....

Hell get ingame and paint your masks!!!! b4 u leave....

/signed THIS^^^^^^ All three of yours are (and will remain) in a promient place in my house.

 

[MagicStar]

Cant we have mesanna place a statue of him in game somewhere?
At the very least a char statue like the vet reward but id prefer something better
Something he can design himself would be awesome

 

[Rupert Avery]

Cant we have mesanna place a statue of him in game somewhere?
At the very least a char statue like the vet reward but id prefer something better
Something he can design himself would be awesome

Sounds like a fitting tribute!

 

[Uriah Heep]

Heheh,or a Demon statue with his name, to remind me of all the times i died to him in Magincia invasion

 

[Adol]

Grimm news indeed; your artwork was one of the few things people were universally pleased and excited to see in game. Who ever comes after you may provide their own sense of joy to the game, but if they do it'll be because you helped people believe in the game again now. A pity then to see you go.

 

[Lady Silverbrook]

Everyone please remain calm and remember: change can often be a good thing. For all parties.

 

[Kylie Kinslayer]

change can often be a good thing. For all parties.

*refrains from political comments on how change isn't good*

With all respect, if it ain't broke don't fix it

 

[Promathia]

People need to remember, in this industry, you often move on to new projects. It only seems like we go through so many Dev's because of how long UO has been around.

 

[lucitus]

Farewell!

I see the end is near... ! Best wishes from me, but for me it is a very sad day!

 

[wilki24]

It really pains me to read this, man. You are an awesome artist and an awesome guy, and I really figured you'd be there until the day they turned off the lights. I guess things don't always work out the way we want them to, eh?

I just know you'll land on your feet somewhere spectacular, and whomever gets you is going to be very lucky! Good luck, and Godspeed Mr. Grimm.

P.S. Thanks again for the gong

 

[kelmo]

Bang a gong.

Hey Wilki. Good to see yer still kickin'.

 

[AirmidCecht]

It really pains me to read this, man. You are an awesome artist and an awesome guy, and I really figured you'd be there until the day they turned off the lights. I guess things don't always work out the way we want them to, eh?

I just know you'll land on your feet somewhere spectacular, and whomever gets you is going to be very lucky! Good luck, and Godspeed Mr. Grimm.

P.S. Thanks again for the gong

Where is your UO Legend tag???

Petra, we need you on isle 5 STAT!

 

[Kylie Kinslayer]

Where is your UO Legend tag???

Lawd knows he earned it

 

[kelmo]

*laughs* He is a legend.

 

[TheGrimmOmen]

Lawd knows he earned it

+10. You got that right.


-Grimm
(Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD)

 

[CryptisRavenous]

This is bull crap, man. Who's gonna keep the darkness!? I hope this doesn't turn into a unicorns, rainbows, faeries, and Lisa Frank stickers game now.

 

[Jade of Sonoma]

*laughs* He is a legend.

You, indeed, are a legend!
There should be a special monument in every shard with your name on it. You deserve that!

So many people gutted, that must be a consolation of sorts :/
Yours is the only Dev name I like to display at my house, I've always like your name hehe. Best of luck to you Sir, see, you're even bringing people out of the woodwork who don't normally comment.
Lucy

Same here, Leather Lucy!

It's because you talk to us that I discovered you are such a creative artist, TheGrimmOmen!
I wish I had always known about your work in this game. Obviously I have unknowingly enjoyed a great deal of your art and animations for many years but at least I have some keepsakes of your work to cherish and possibly more that might be something you produced! Like those Green Soul Stones maybe?

To read your message telling us now that you won't be with us any longer is very disappointing, although I don't quite understand what Mythic's Moving you to Virgina entails. What are you going to do there? I haven't read all the posts in this thread but will get to that later. This much I do know:


I would mail this to you in real life, but being part of the cyber world,
I am sending you the LUCKY FOUR LEAF CLOVER
which I found today -

Good luck, happiness, good health, prosperity,
and a long happy life
full of loving family, many close friends, good acquaintances,
and always doing what you love to do for a living!!

Sincerely,
Jade

 

[Leurocian]

I've gotten quite a few questions about this so I thought I'd just go ahead and let you know that my time as a UO dev is coming to an end. By the middle of this month, I will no longer be art lead for UO, and by Sept 27th, I will no longer be a part of the UO team. Mythic is moving my position to Virginia.

I wanted to let you all know that I feel very honored to have been a member of the UO development team serving, over the years, as an Environment Artist, Character Artist, Character Lead, Associate Art Director, Technical Artist, and finally, Lead CG Supervisor. More than that, I've been very fortunate to have been a part of this community.

I'll never forget the first day I told the team that I was going to start posting to the community. It was right around the time that we had shipped Samurai Empire, and I had been promoted to Character Lead. Literally everyone was telling me that I really needed to be prepared because there was a LOT of hostility towards the artists. I told them that maybe it was because none of the artists talked to them! LOL. Now, not a day goes by that I don't check in to see what's getting posted and to take part in this wonderful community.

I remember the first animated tile I ever made, and a lot of you still have those green soulstones in your houses.

I remember unleashing thunder chickens at Luna Bank on the test shards and laughing along with you guys as the corpses piled higher, and the battle raged for an hour!

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to sit and talk with so many of you at our player meet ups, and I fondly remember sitting at a table with a couple talking about UO - who, until the end of the conversation, didn't know I was a dev.

I remember working with dev legends such as Tact, Oaks, Hans, Karma, Sunsword, Wilki, Binki, and Troublemaker as well as us new bloods, Cathat, Grumpy, and others who never picked up a moniker. I still think of them as some of the finest devs I've ever worked with.

As a game developer, it's a rare opportunity to work on such an iconic project and with such a dedicated player community, and it is an opportunity that I am very grateful for.

I've spent close to a decade working on this game and building friendships, and I hope that those friendships and this wonderful game last for years to come.

Thank you all for years of great memories.

-Grimm

I want to say that it has been an absolute pleasure and honor working with you. You are Legend, Mr. Grimm.

Thank you for everything. I know one day we will probably work together again, and I look forward to that day.

Sweet water and light laughter until next...

Patrick "Leurocian" Malott

 

[Atrocitus]

Good luck and thanks for all you put into the game Grim.

Side note, Leurocian was my sea faring saint. Nice to see you pop in.

 

[AirmidCecht]

Read some nice endorsements for GrimmOmen so far
UOJournal.com | All the Ultima Online News That's Fit to Inscribe!

 

[Miri of Sonoma]

Sad times for Sosaria indeed *frowns* It is nice though to see his peers stop in and wish him well!

Grimm I wish you safe journeys wherever your path leads you and thank you for all you have contributed over the years. Strength and Honor!

 

[Parnoc]

'Tis a sad day indeed. You'll be missed terribly, Grimm. No words for the disappointment and sadness we feel right now. I just wish you the best and leave you with a neighborly Irish farewell, "When yer wearin' that kilt, may the wind at yer back niver be yer own"

 

[Lady Mal]

Not really surprised, but I am saddened. How many does that make now that were awesome with the players and left? I lost count at Odee.

You are an inspiration to all graphic artists, Grimm. I hope your career progresses to new heights and salaries. You certainly deserve it.

 

[Woodsman]

People need to remember, in this industry, you often move on to new projects. It only seems like we go through so many Dev's because of how long UO has been around.

We go through a lot of devs because the people upstairs don't understand how to manage MMORPGs.

When I last took a break from UO, UO had actual, dedicated community relations people and the classic website that actually made you want to play UO.

When I came back last year, UO had a crappy website, and had lost its dedicated community relations, and UO was surrounded by silence, with information from the producer(s) barely trickling out. I still shake my head at the decisions made to gut UO's community. Grimm was the only one who consistently spoke to the community, even though he didn't have to, and he alone on the UO team seemed to understand how important communications were in an MMORPG.

When I left, I played well over a dozen other MMORPGs and every single one of them had constant communications with players (customers as some call them). It's something that every MMORPG with the exception of UO, and to a lesser extent Dark Age of Camelot has.

Some people act like it's no big deal as long as they hire a replacement, and they are wrong. We're losing something a lot bigger than an artist or developer, we're losing something a lot bigger than the guy who was helping to build UO's future, we are losing an actual human being who spoke to us and with us, not at us, and not just because we had a problem to be resolved.

I don't know who made this decision, but it was clearly made by somebody who does not understand how to manage MMORPGs and who does not understand the importance of community.

The decision was made by somebody who views us as interchangeable numbers in a spreadsheet and not human beings and not as long term customers. Most likely another typical MBA/marketing type who somehow climbed up the ladder into a position of importance without actually having played the games they manage.

I cannot just accept this as a situation where if they replace Grimm, it's no harm, no foul, because decisions that hurt UO have been made too many times in the last 5 years by people who don't understand MMORPGs. These decisions are costing UO it's future just as surely as the lack of resources are.

It's very ironic that last year, UO formally fell underneath BioWare, because BioWare is doing everything they can to build and grow Star Wars: The Old Republic's community and to retain that community over the coming years. It's a damn shame that whoever made the decision to gut UO's community by getting rid of Grimm couldn't learn a lesson from Star Wars, the new kid on the block.

I have no doubt that the person who made this decision doesn't care about UO, will never see this thread, will never see the numerous positive things people are saying about Grimm, and probably sleeps quite soundly at night.

I also have no doubt that Grimm will do better elsewhere - every other competently managed MMORPG out there values communications with players, because good communications with players are key to making a good MMORPG and key to a good MMORPG community and key to helping an MMORPG thrive, even in the face of adversity.

 

[Luka Melehan]

I have been very fortunate, as a gamer and failed artist, to get to know folks in the feild. Through these folks, I have come to a greater understanding of the industry...which is daunting. But I have also, time and again, felt interest and encouragement from these folks, many times without them realizing it. I could list off some names, but whats important here is Grimm's name. Among other people and other factors in my life, you have made an impact. You played a part in my personal growth and I thank you.

 

[Lady Mal]

I used to collect GM Odee snowmen, now I am collecting things with both Draconi and Grimm. It seems really screwed up that when they finally consent to making new graphic items and not just recolored pixels that we lose him.

 

[Kelly O'Brian]

Thank you!


... We're following the piper
And we dance beneath the moon for him ...

 

[Lady Storm]

Wilki!!!!!! I mis you tooo !! Grimmm gunna miss u...... Someone at Mythic needs his head examined for this blunder...... Might I suguest a good head hunter?

 

[the 4th man]

Wherever you go, whatever you do.......just keep drawing......I know.
Best of luck, and thanks for the ride.

 

[FrejaSP]

Leurocian and Wilki good to see you here together with some other famed names I had not seen for years.
I hope we at least will see you all ingame sometimes.
Grimm, best wishes where you go. I hope you someday will be back with us.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

Ya know with all of the names that have popped up as Dev Legends (of which Grimm is absolutely one), it'd be interesting to see what would happen if that group of people started from scratch with their UO experience and developed a new MMO that followed the persistent world design of UO, skill based, isometric, up to date graphics, effects, and environment, and so forth.

Basically, if you took Grimm, Wilki, Leuro, Draconi, etc. and had them remake a new "UO" from square one... what would it look and be like?

 

[FrejaSP]

They would have same problem as all former devs, they all have a lot of visions but agree about what road is best for UO is impossible.

 

[WarderDragon]

Unreal.

 

[Crysta]

 

[Luka Melehan]

....... now I am collecting things with both Draconi and Grimm. It seems really screwed up that when they finally consent to making new graphic items and not just recolored pixels that we lose him.

I did too. But my house droppedwhile I was swamped in RL. Wish I had something..

 

[Cyrah]

I've gotten quite a few questions about this so I thought I'd just go ahead and let you know that my time as a UO dev is coming to an end. By the middle of this month, I will no longer be art lead for UO, and by Sept 27th, I will no longer be a part of the UO team. Mythic is moving my position to Virginia.

I wanted to let you all know that I feel very honored to have been a member of the UO development team serving, over the years, as an Environment Artist, Character Artist, Character Lead, Associate Art Director, Technical Artist, and finally, Lead CG Supervisor. More than that, I've been very fortunate to have been a part of this community.

I'll never forget the first day I told the team that I was going to start posting to the community. It was right around the time that we had shipped Samurai Empire, and I had been promoted to Character Lead. Literally everyone was telling me that I really needed to be prepared because there was a LOT of hostility towards the artists. I told them that maybe it was because none of the artists talked to them! LOL. Now, not a day goes by that I don't check in to see what's getting posted and to take part in this wonderful community.

I remember the first animated tile I ever made, and a lot of you still have those green soulstones in your houses.

I remember unleashing thunder chickens at Luna Bank on the test shards and laughing along with you guys as the corpses piled higher, and the battle raged for an hour!

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to sit and talk with so many of you at our player meet ups, and I fondly remember sitting at a table with a couple talking about UO - who, until the end of the conversation, didn't know I was a dev.

I remember working with dev legends such as Tact, Oaks, Hans, Karma, Sunsword, Wilki, Binki, and Troublemaker as well as us new bloods, Cathat, Grumpy, and others who never picked up a moniker. I still think of them as some of the finest devs I've ever worked with.

As a game developer, it's a rare opportunity to work on such an iconic project and with such a dedicated player community, and it is an opportunity that I am very grateful for.

I've spent close to a decade working on this game and building friendships, and I hope that those friendships and this wonderful game last for years to come.

Thank you all for years of great memories.

-Grimm

 

[Cyrah]

I honor thee Grimm. I always have and I always will.

 

[Serafi]

Grimm leaves too? That is not good news at all

Wish you all the best.

 

[Lady Mal]

And nothing from Mesanna or the devs to say goodbye to him after all the years of working together nags the little hairs on the back of my neck.

If they made a game together, I would love to know what it is and give it a try. ( yes that's a plea! ) His reputation for being great with the players is what remains forever. He should have been promoted for sticking with the game for so long. Do the loyal, actually helpful devs get vet rewards? They deserve them.

 

[Xalan Dementia]

And nothing from Mesanna or the devs to say goodbye to him after all the years of working together nags the little hairs on the back of my neck.

If they made a game together, I would love to know what it is and give it a try. ( yes that's a plea! ) His reputation for being great with the players is what remains forever. He should have been promoted for sticking with the game for so long. Do the loyal, actually helpful devs get vet rewards? They deserve them.

They might not be at liberty to talk about it publicly yet.

 

[Taylor]

I was born without an artistic bone in my body, so I stole from you instead to make a GO cog.

 

[Jhym]

Thank you all for years of great memories.

-Grimm

Wow, sorry to see you go, I felt that like CatHat and Draconi you were very willing to tell us what was going on. Ignoring all the conspiracy theories, I hope you are getting what you want out of the changes.

Congrats on a great run and lots of visible design for your portfolio

 

[Logrus]

JP,
Just wanted to chime in and say thanks for the work, the vision and the enablement of my visions. Thanks especially for Scalis, and all the icons. It was a pleasure working with you during my tenure with the game, and as a player I always looked forward to your new creations.

-L

(incidentally someone needs to pull that designer title there <--- )

 

[AirmidCecht]

JP,
Just wanted to chime in and say thanks for the work, the vision and the enablement of my visions. Thanks especially for Scalis, and all the icons. It was a pleasure working with you during my tenure with the game, and as a player I always looked forward to your new creations.

-L

(incidentally someone needs to pull that designer title there <--- )

There are no demotions here, only recognition of UO legends

 

[Poo]

JP,
Just wanted to chime in and say thanks for the work, the vision and the enablement of my visions. Thanks especially for Scalis, and all the icons. It was a pleasure working with you during my tenure with the game, and as a player I always looked forward to your new creations.

-L

(incidentally someone needs to pull that designer title there <--- )

huh?

and.... your no longer working for EA either?

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

huh?

and.... your no longer working for EA either?

Read THIS thread, Poo.

UO has lost many Devs in the last year.