An excellent overview of the new boating/fishing booster pack

[kelmo]

Here is our take on today's Townhall from the perspective of our members who attended the presentation.

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On Saturday 8/28/10, EA/Mythic/Bioware did a UO Townhall meeting in Northern VA at the Mythic HQ. It was shown concurrently on ustream and the audio was available through Whispering Rose Radio. Two key things were revealed at the TownHall.

#1 - UO (as well as Warhammer and DAOC) are shifting to a Booster-Pack type of deployment rather than full blown expansion packs. A booster pack is smaller than an expansion but there will be 2 of them per year. Each one will add substantial content and fix a number of more major bugs. With the rate of deployment, by the time players grow bored with one Booster, the next one will be on the near term horizon so that model helps "pull" players through to the next piece of content.

#2 - The first Booster pack for UO is due out in a couple of months and is called Adventure on the High Seas. As the name states, it will be all about ship combat and adventuring on the vast ocean areas of Sosaria. Currently, the ocean areas are devoid of life except for the occasional fisherman or rogue water elemental. This Booster will change that in a dramatic way. Here are the key features this content adds for players:

* Three new ships (plus a rowboat) that are much larger than the current ships. The Orc and Gargoyle model ships each mount 3 cannons on each side of the ship which the Tokuno ship is faster but only mounts two cannons per side. You will be able to store things in your hold, re-deed your ship when not in use (and you can only have 1 ship deployed at a time), color your ship using special paints and you will need to repair your ship (thus creating a market for most of the UO crafting skills). Ships also gain the ability to be steered by mouse rather than by ordering the tiller around.

* Two different cannon types and two different ammo types (round shot and grape shot). Cannons have to be cleaned, primed and loaded so having a team of people working the boat will mean much faster shot time and can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Additionally cannons take damage when fired (i.e. wear and tear) or when hit by enemy fire so they will need to be repaired.

* A floating island located south of Moonglow and north of Fire Island where vendors exist to give you quests and repair your ships.

* A new quest based around finding a special map that then leads you to an 'instance' of a magical island with cursed pirates and other baddies and, of course, cool loot. The premise behind it takes a queue from Pirates of the Caribbean in that you cannot find the island unless you are seeking it with the right clues (i.e. the map).

* A great deal of love for those players who enjoy fishing. There are new types of fish (including those only obtainable at max skill level and rare fish and even Lobster) and new things you can make with the fish. Those new things provide cooks with more recipes and provide players with more buff-food types (16 in all). And there are new fish you can mount and decorate your player housing with.

* There will be NPC boats you can attack and loot including Merchants, Pirates and Orcs.

* There will be Ship to Ship PvP where you can cripple the enemy ship, board it, kill the occupants and steal the items in their hold.

* There will be quests offered to track down "Dread Pirates" that are roaming the world which offer fame and fortune.

* There are new boss encounters. One of the bosses is Scalis and he seems to be a very tough but very straight up boss fight. The other boss fight was not described in much detail except to liken it to a champ spawn in that hordes of minions have to be cleared to reach the boss which will then be quite a fight.

* As a side bonus, bank and player housing storage will be increased by 20%

The Booster pack will cost $15. While no firm time lines were committed to, it should be released in the next 2-3 months with testing beginning in about a month.

As a side bonus, the dev team spoke about a 4th ship type being internally referred to as the Whale. That is an extremely large ship that will be persistent in the world and thus can be used as floating player housing. That ship will not be part of the launch of the Booster but is intended to be added shortly thereafter. It will be very rare and hard to obtain but will offer a unique housing option for UO. It will be so large you will not be able to bring it close to shore but instead will have to use a rowboat to get to and from it.

Link to original UHall thread

 

[kelmo]

Some interesting pics just appeared on UHall.

uƒEƒ‹ƒeƒBƒ} ƒIƒ“ƒ‰ƒCƒ“@–¢“¥‚Ìq˜Hvi‰¼Ìj”*•\

http://ultimaonline.jp/images/uohs/001.jpg
http://ultimaonline.jp/images/uohs/002.jpg
http://ultimaonline.jp/images/uohs/003.jpg
http://ultimaonline.jp/images/uohs/004.jpg
http://ultimaonline.jp/images/uohs/005.jpg

http://vboards.stratics.com/uhall/220856-ahs-new-pic-japan.html

 

[archite666]

Oh my lord...

Now if they fix taming and stealthing I might reactivate all my accounts!

 

[nightstalker22]

AWESOME!

Can't wait.

Admiral Nightstalker is to be feared on the high seas!

We pillage and plunder and loot to boot,
Beware all ye scurvies make haste your route;
The stalker is sailing the open seas,
Ridding the oceans of you, the disease!

*evil grin*

 

[kelmo]

Admiral? Better start smaller... *thinks cabin boy*

 

[FrejaSP]

Cool maybe we again will see Pirates on Siege, now we just need to be able to swim in the sea too.

Wonder if they are going to get rid of the key for the ships, now where they limit it to one boat slot.

It sound like it could be great fun.

 

[Wulf2k]

They're going to charge for these booster packs?

This does not please me.

Will future booster pack purchases include previous content, or will our account status become a checklist?

I hate to be "that guy", but this may be the thing that eventually loses me as a customer.

 

[Tjalle]

Ships also gain the ability to be steered by mouse rather than by ordering the tiller around.

:bowdown:

As a side bonus, the dev team spoke about a 4th ship type being internally referred to as the Whale. That is an extremely large ship that will be persistent in the world and thus can be used as floating player housing. That ship will not be part of the launch of the Booster but is intended to be added shortly thereafter. It will be very rare and hard to obtain but will offer a unique housing option for UO. It will be so large you will not be able to bring it close to shore but instead will have to use a rowboat to get to and from it.

Like to know a little more about this.

Even though they say it will be "very rare", with time more and more will be available.

Just hope it doesn´t end with a sea packed with these which will make it harder to navigate the seas and even perhaps prevent some SOS spots to be available.

Sounds interesting though...

 

[Hoffs]

They're going to charge for these booster packs?

This does not please me.

Will future booster pack purchases include previous content, or will our account status become a checklist?

I hate to be "that guy", but this may be the thing that eventually loses me as a customer.

I am sure that payment for each individual booster pack will enable you to access that particular content. So it's the checklist.

 

[Revvo]

:bowdown:



Like to know a little more about this.

Even though they say it will be "very rare", with time more and more will be available.

Just hope it doesn´t end with a sea packed with these which will make it harder to navigate the seas and even perhaps prevent some SOS spots to be available.

Sounds interesting though...

Don't worry even if everyone on Siege had one you would never see two on the same screen

 

[Black magick]

Hell yes! Pirating time! They need an instance where you actually attack and destroy a town. Like a champion spawn style gig.

 

[Kat]

They're going to charge for these booster packs?

This does not please me.

Will future booster pack purchases include previous content, or will our account status become a checklist?

I hate to be "that guy", but this may be the thing that eventually loses me as a customer.

My thoughts exactly. No way in hell I'm paying an additional 30 bucks per year when they won't lift a finger for Siege.

 

[Draxous]

Sounds like Darkfall, except in 2d.

I look forward to this.

 

[Draxous]

Just hope it doesn´t end with a sea packed with these which will make it harder to navigate the seas and even perhaps prevent some SOS spots to be available.

Sounds interesting though...

use your cannon and blow up the other ship... what's the problem? lol

 

[Mr.StinkyPants]

i just dont think i need to pay extra for ****ing bug fixes

 

[kelmo]

From what I have read the bug fixes happen whether you buy or not.

 

[HaHa]

This was asked for years ago, and I dont wont believe this one until it goes live.

Either way the concept of this is pretty cool and I will be reactivating an account if this turns out to be for real.

 

[Kael]

This actually sounds quite cool

 

[Petra Fyde]

People need to also take into account this post from Phoenix_Mythic

Bug fixes done as part of booster development are rolled out to everyone whether they buy the booster or not. In addition, there is also feature "spillover". For example: smooth boat movement will be rolled out to all players in the same client patch, and boats will move smoothly on everyone's screen, whether or not they purchase the booster. You won't be able to use the new ships if you don't buy it, but the classic ships will continue to be available to everyone and they will benefit from smooth motion and bug fixes. So, the entire game benefits, and those who purchase the booster benefit more.

With bug fix work, there is a sort of economy of scale as well. If the team spends a significant portion of its time intensely focused on a few systems, then there is synergy with both the development and testing cycles, so more work gets done with the same number of man-hours. __________________
--
Mike Moore
Systems Designer

And not miss noticing this bit:

* As a side bonus, bank and player housing storage will be increased by 20%

 

[kelmo]

Yup. Pretty cool stuff. Whether you buy or not.

 

[Raptor85]

Time to stock up on tricorn hats! I have to say those new ships are pretty sexy. Not crazy about the 2 expansions a year deal though...we all know what will happen with EA. Each one will make sure it has items/skills just a little bit stronger than all previous, so that the only way to remain competitive will be to have that expansion.

 

[N49ATV]

Dread Pirate hats with +10 archery!!!! I happen to have one

 

[Tjalle]

Just hope it doesn´t end with a sea packed with these which will make it harder to navigate the seas and even perhaps prevent some SOS spots to be available.

Sounds interesting though...

use your cannon and blow up the other ship... what's the problem? lol

Heh, true.

But tbh, I was thinking more prodo/Trammel wise. Cuz like Revvo said, chances that we´ll have any problems on Siege are slim.

But oh well, more info will come eventually...

 

[T'Challa]

mmm...lobster

 

[QueenZen]

Yup. Pretty cool stuff. Whether you buy or not.

I was thinking to deactivate my Hughes & etc. , now with this lil bit of new stuffs, possibly coming down the pike, I will wait & see, I guess.

I just put up my brand new, Moonglow Lookout Point^boat launching house, just in case I do buy this, and decide to sail from Moonglow, to new island of mystery south of Moonglow/ north of Fire, or wherever they gonna put it !

 

[Luka Melehan]

The last time I got Kelmo out on a boat he swore he would never go boating with me again....*sad*

 

[kelmo]

mmm...lobster

I really was waiting for that. *chuckles*

 

[Arden]

The pics you posted are those what the basic uo game looks like now?

 

[Keira]

OMG! I am soooo happy! This expansion oops booster will rock!

 

[T'Challa]

I really was waiting for that. *chuckles*

It's the only time I've ever posted it and not been instabanned...