"Classic," pre-cap AoS Shard?

[GalenKnighthawke]

I was just thinking....While I'm not so sure that I support the idea myself, I think it'd be worth considering to have what would basically be a "classic" AoS shard, without the caps that are currently in place on item properties.

Anyone remember when you could design your suit and your stats to pile on a single property, and you'd take, for example, a lack of good resists as a detriment, for the benefit?

Anyone remember, for example, 5/9 mages with nearly 100% LMC, but little else on their suits, so if you got close they had issues?

Wouldn't it be great to have a "classic AoS," pre-cap shard that didn't have those caps?

I honestly don't know the answer...I don't know if it's a good idea or not...I just figured it was a question that deserved intelligent, reasoned, and informed discussion. So I thought I'd throw it out there.

-Galen's player

 

[drinkbeerallday]

I just figured it was a question that deserved intelligent, reasoned, and informed discussion

you're on the wrong forum

 

[WarUltima]

Oh yea bring back the whole bless clothing that gives +10 to stat points per piece. After AoS I was running a straight 70 suit with + 70 str + 70dex and +90 int with 5/6 daggering. And btw there's no difference between 6fcr and 9fcr.

While the fun lasted, it was unbalanced as hell. It's as ******** as chaining unbreakable para blow, WoD AI archer, good old 4-sec unbreakable nerve strike, and todays dismount dreadmare/GD all kill. They are all very ******** to real pvpers.

I dont mind a TC with early-AoS rules tho.

 

[Viper09]

Eh, this has been brought up so much. But it wont happen. The closest you will get to a pre-AoS shard will and will always be Siege.

 

[kelmo]

Eh, this has been brought up so much. But it wont happen. The closest you will get to a pre-AoS shard will and will always be Siege.

*tips hat*

Almost all of us on Siege want is best for the game. There are some on Siege that wish for retro shards, but that would get boring.

Every real game changes. I can only play solitary so long...

 

[Cear Dallben Dragon]

I just figured it was a question that deserved intelligent, reasoned, and informed discussion

you're on the wrong forum

 

[archite666]

WOOOHOOOO!

SIEGE PERILOUS!! GIVE IT A TRY!!


Seriously, you might like it.

 

[Mistura]

Eh, this has been brought up so much. But it wont happen. The closest you will get to a pre-AoS shard will and will always be Siege.

Try reading the post before responding. He isn't requesting a pre-AOS shard.

 

[Sweeney]

You sure your name isn't drinkbeerallday?

 

[Petrify]

Why don't we add in pre-nerf Lightning strike, pre-nerf evasion, pre-nerf AI and pre-nerf WoD. Then we can all go around 1 hit K.Oing everyone.

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

There are some on Siege that wish for retro shards, but that would get boring.

So old UO was boring? Really?...la

 

[Kaleb]

So old UO was boring? Really?...la

I play old UO and its far from boring.

Viper please read threads before responding. I feel just that much more stupid now havin to read your reply.

Problem with Siege is majority of people like production style shards they would rather have tram in their game then to play with the siege rules if siege was set up like a production shard minus insurance,tram there would be alot more people there.

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

I play old UO and its far from boring.

I and many others agree. Sure some of the new content has added to the game, but at the same time, the old game was more based on player interaction than the game content, and why it was as popular as it was...la

 

[Maplestone]

I was just thinking....

You should know better than this

Personally, I'm against unique shards in general - they are great in theory, until you start adding up all the additional testing required, all the multitude of different interactions which need be considered, all the ruleset-specific bugs that will pop up.

Setting up a "classic" shard is a lot more work than simply turning it on. All the behind-the-scenes code for interacting with login servers, housing servers, etc need to be kept up to date. All the client patches over the years need to have corresponding server changes. It becomes a drag and distraction.

Seige (despite all its merits) is proof that once you introduce a different server, people expect full support for it - and it will become an added cost and a source of friction in the community.

 

[Draken-Korin]

If I were to ask if you if you were interested in a game that has events, spur of the moment, old school duels that you stepped into a gate and just simply SIGNED UP would you wonder where this UO utopia was???

Perhaps I told you these events would have 150 plus people with multiple duels taking place??? Would that draw you in you think???

How bout if I go on to tell you NO outside influences can affect the events taking place, would that work even more in its favor??

Oh how bout another event, off the top of my head mind you, that you and a couple hundred others are divided into 2 or 4 teams where you must work towards a common team oriented timely end???

Even better the events would not take an act of congress to make happen, sounding any better?

Oh never mind that would NEVER happen I must be losing my mind I guess. How completely boring that sounds something based on old school UO. So much better to have a game center around items and obtaining them than a functioning community that simply enjoys the game.

Dont tell me siege, the "vet" (LMAO) shard that the only thing the majority of people seem to tell you is "GO BACK TO TRAMMEL". That shard is completely and utterly empty for a reason, it is even more pathetic than the regular shards.

 

[Duskofdead]

Um.

Rather than playing a UO knockoff of Diablo 2, I'd rather have a classic shard period. You know, ..... leather, platemail, bone, studded and ringmail. And that's all.

I think you'd attract way more people to a fully classic shard than you would by making a shard classic for some expansion that was after most people had left UO because they didn't like the changes that were going on.

 

[Speedy Orkit]

Why the hell would it be AoS? Know what I remember about AoS? Rampant speed hacking, double strike pain spike dexers, using the server up exploit to get arties, etc. UO has stated many times they will not "Take a step backwards" with UO, (read: will continue to add new content without fixing the broken crap from publishes 3 years ago)

Don't hold your breath.

 

[Salty Pete]

No thanks.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

For those who missed the point of this post, let me spell it out....What's "classic" to one person is not so classic to another. And if we're going to build a shard with a different rules set, based around the concept of looking backward to an earlier point, what that point is becomes 100% arbitrary, subject to preference.

Pre-AoS? Pre-Trammel? Pre-Publish 16? Pre-ML (no elves, no talisman equipment slot, no jack-of-all-trades)?

Pretty much everyone who advocates for a classic shard mistakes their own preferences, and those of their immediate social circle, for some kind of objective criteria. Someone can say "but subscriptions were higher pre-Trammel," and then I can point out that this was because MMOs were a newer concept back then, that people were leaving as well as joining, and that EverQuest, which had no Felucca, was doing way better than UO was. I'm pretty sure it still is, in terms of subscriptions.

At the end of the day, the only criteria by which a pre-cap server has more merit than a pre-AoS or a pre-Trammel server (or, more importantly, the other way around!) are personal criteria. And those are individual, and arbitrary, and are subject to running into someone else's preferences.

-Galen's player

 

[Duskofdead]

Classic isn't classic if it refers to something that came out when UO was 7 or 8 years old.

Classic would refer to original UO in its first two years or so.

Someone asking for AoS or something as a "classic" shard is simply using a misnomer.

"What I think of nostalgically as my first version of UO" =/= "Classic UO" if you joined in 2005 or something.

 

[AesSedai]

- That might be why he put the 'air quotes' around classic: "Classic"

- Interesting idea. But as usual, when it comes to any pre-UO shard, I prefer a unified evolution of UO rather than seeing further fracturing of the already fractured gem of immortality into infinitely more unique shards.

Yet if they/we had hundreds of developers at their/our disposal then I'd say sure let's make a shard for every different idea out there (you think people want shard mergers often these days? Heh, I could see the whinging exponentially increase with the addition of several more different ruleset shards)... but so far manpower has been unable to realistically create code fast, efficiently enough to do that.

 

[Kaleb]

I and many others agree. Sure some of the new content has added to the game, but at the same time, the old game was more based on player interaction than the game content, and why it was as popular as it was...la

Many do agree I see it everyday. these people Loved UO these people got kicked in the teeth by EA 2x. once in 2k and most either quit or moved to siege, and again in 2004-2005 these people closed their accounts. These same people do not play tram rule servers and at least 60% just PvM strictly. Its about balance and player skill, items are meaningless in the overall picture of things. That was what made UO great thats what motivated people to run PRS's, and like that saying " If you build it, they will come". my only gripe is I didnt hear of it till like 6 months ago lol.

 

[Ender]

If they do this, they damn well better make a pre-AoS shard. Or pre-pub 16 more specifically.

 

[Sweeney]

They won't create a new shard unless they consolidate the less-used shards.

*Posted in another thread*
Do you all realize how much it costs to support a server with 5 mbps (higher or lower depending on how you view UO) ?

This is another pipe dream idea best left to the freesharders, it will obviously never happen with EA/Mythic.

 

[a drunk elf]

I've played UO since 1998. I've seen it go from the glory days to what is is now.

Production Shards are lonely and boring. There is no need to interact with other players.

Siege Perilous is okay, but there are too few players.

I do not currently have an open UO account.

Open a Pre-Trammel/Pre-AOS shard and I will active an account tomorrow.

 

[Viper09]

They won't create a new shard unless they consolidate the less-used shards.

That is true. I wish they would consolidate shards if there was some way to do it without pissing off a bunch of people who don't want to loose their houses.

If anyone can answer this: What is the average number of servers on other MMO's such as WoW and Warhammer? I assume it is a lot less then what we have for UO.

In this stage for UO and the amount of players, less servers (IMO) would be better.

 

[Multani]

The playerbase is only going to keep getting smaller and smaller.

The only way this game could have been saved atleast for a little while was a Pre AoS server.

Every new game that comes out is going to keep plucking away more and more members.

Darkfall should be a massive hit on the fel side. Not to mention all those players who were lost to Lord of the Rings / Warhammer / World Of Warcraft and the countless other games.

Ultima Online should have reached out to those players on freeshards long ago and finally given them what they desired.

 

[BloodstoneGL]

The playerbase is only going to keep getting smaller and smaller.

The only way this game could have been saved atleast for a little while was a Pre AoS server.

Every new game that comes out is going to keep plucking away more and more members.

Darkfall should be a massive hit on the fel side. Not to mention all those players who were lost to Lord of the Rings / Warhammer / World Of Warcraft and the countless other games.

Ultima Online should have reached out to those players on freeshards long ago and finally given them what they desired.

Amen

 

[Dalton4902]

Um.

Rather than playing a UO knockoff of Diablo 2, I'd rather have a classic shard period. You know, ..... leather, platemail, bone, studded and ringmail. And that's all.

I think you'd attract way more people to a fully classic shard than you would by making a shard classic for some expansion that was after most people had left UO because they didn't like the changes that were going on.

I concur, Dusk. Was alot nicer that way IMO.

 

[Mr Moosestache]

For some reason I thought the title was referring to a pre-AoS shard. Say Pub 16 or UO:R during C/O days. That would be, amazing. Won't happen. But I can guarantee there would be a TON of people returning to UO just to play that server.

 

[Old Man of UO]

For some reason I thought the title was referring to a pre-AoS shard. Say Pub 16 or UO:R during C/O days. That would be, amazing. Won't happen. But I can guarantee there would be a TON of people returning to UO just to play that server.

Taking a stab at numbers, I guess it would take at least 10,000 new subscribers to make a Pre-AOS shard work. NEW subscribers, not current subscribers who transfer to the new shard. You have to factor in the cost of the server hardware, Dev and Programmer time to re-write and maintain the code, GM to monitor, etc. Can you guarantee that many NEW subscribers?

Creating a new shard would take current subscribers away from the existing shards, reducing those populations. Eventually, the player base would become dissatisfied with the new shard and want what the other shards have... new armor, content, monsters, etc. The player base on the new shard would peak and level out or decline within a year.

A new shard with different rules is too hard and costly to maintain. It doesn't make financial sense. Creating new content to entertain the masses on current shards makes more sense to me, perhaps even starting to get away a bit from the item based game its become.

 

[SirZ]

Classic pre-AOS shard - it's a great idea! I for this!

 

[Kaleb]

To be honest UO:R was the best Expansion. If they did UP to UO:R pub 15 without tram it would rock or maby like tghe PRS i Play UO:R w/o tram with some current additions that were not unbalancing 1k-2k players on at all times. I think when someone Says Classic shard what they mean is the classic rule set, PreAOS combat/armor/weaps, no tram, no other land masses than Britannia/T2A (Although Classic UO with the landmasses could be cool IMHO)