B
BlackMagus
Guest
Unless a new player happens to be a defrosted time traveller straight from the 90s, I would say that the CC isnt good to suggest to him. rolleyes:
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Enhancing the New Player Experience
- Thread starter FishinFool
- Start date
- Watchers 6
Create a new character with the Enhanced Client, You start at Old Haven Docks and a lady talks you through walking, a menu system, how to loot a box and then gives you a sword to kill something.
Its a short little introduction and very nice, They just need to apply it to all noobie accounts, 2d and EC.
E
Evlar
Guest
Give them a "classic" shard option they can try, where they can witness the days when men were men and even some of the women sported beards! 
Sadly most suggestions in this thread is about how to make the game better for themselves, all veteran players or quit players, not truly new players. These aims are not compatible.
S
StifledArgument
Guest
I agree Chaos. Let's think in terms of what people really need to get their feet wet in this game.
Things to help new players.
1. The tutorial and Haven area skills gathering is great. I am sorry if this has been stated, but there needs to be beginner dungeons. No, I don't mean the legacy dungeons because they seem easy to all of us who have been playing awhile. With the spawn rate in these dungeons, it can quickly and easily become not friendly to new people.
So, in Haven area, build a small dungeon, where people can team up and do things together. Let them have the same type of things you have in legacy dungeons, for examples, ankhs, teleporters, fields, fire traps, ground traps, etc; If they are on the quest they cannot get rid of their young player status, and only those new players can go inside the dungeons. It needs to be realistic for them to know what it is like on their own and gain confidence on their own without being babysat.
Once they have completed that dungeon send them to a beginner dungeon in each land, flavored by the local creatures and decor, but slightly harder. Have these dungeons be in cities initially, so that going to get ressed (if no other way which at low levels is a mess because no one has the skills yet) is fairly easy and that if they need to access the bank etc; they can do so.
The last dungeon should be further out without dangerous spawn on the way to it, or perhaps a gate, but also with a wandering healer close but not too close so they understand how the world works if you don't have people with you.
2. Create tutorials on things other than the true basics. Give them a commands tutorial, that can tell them per type of npc what to do and have a fake vendor as well so they can practice. Give them insider information, like where people tend to congregate, how moongates work, the most dangerous places in the world where they shouldn't go until they are comfortable. A properties tutorial for crafters where it has a book that has the properties of each type of resource so that they know and don't have to go to a website to find out. An insurance tutorial that explains insurance, and that people should toggle auto renew as well.
3. In line with my last sentence of Point 2. The tutorials should create books for new players. This way they can reference it if they missed something and they don't get frustrated.
Just some thoughts.
Things to help new players.
1. The tutorial and Haven area skills gathering is great. I am sorry if this has been stated, but there needs to be beginner dungeons. No, I don't mean the legacy dungeons because they seem easy to all of us who have been playing awhile. With the spawn rate in these dungeons, it can quickly and easily become not friendly to new people.
So, in Haven area, build a small dungeon, where people can team up and do things together. Let them have the same type of things you have in legacy dungeons, for examples, ankhs, teleporters, fields, fire traps, ground traps, etc; If they are on the quest they cannot get rid of their young player status, and only those new players can go inside the dungeons. It needs to be realistic for them to know what it is like on their own and gain confidence on their own without being babysat.
Once they have completed that dungeon send them to a beginner dungeon in each land, flavored by the local creatures and decor, but slightly harder. Have these dungeons be in cities initially, so that going to get ressed (if no other way which at low levels is a mess because no one has the skills yet) is fairly easy and that if they need to access the bank etc; they can do so.
The last dungeon should be further out without dangerous spawn on the way to it, or perhaps a gate, but also with a wandering healer close but not too close so they understand how the world works if you don't have people with you.
2. Create tutorials on things other than the true basics. Give them a commands tutorial, that can tell them per type of npc what to do and have a fake vendor as well so they can practice. Give them insider information, like where people tend to congregate, how moongates work, the most dangerous places in the world where they shouldn't go until they are comfortable. A properties tutorial for crafters where it has a book that has the properties of each type of resource so that they know and don't have to go to a website to find out. An insurance tutorial that explains insurance, and that people should toggle auto renew as well.
3. In line with my last sentence of Point 2. The tutorials should create books for new players. This way they can reference it if they missed something and they don't get frustrated.
Just some thoughts.
D
Dannyboy
Guest
I thought I would add my two cents.
Give players a runebook with the the runes for the main dungeons, a moon gate and say Luna and brit bank. this could be as part of a quest, during this time the player could be told about the various methods of travelling and the skills needed to use them.
One of the charms of uo is it has so much to explore and find out, you can miss out on a lot of this if your unlucky and it can make you feel frustrated.
I really like the enhanced skill gain you get from the haven quests, but I think they could go further. Maybe the quests could carry on instead of stopping at 50 skill level.
So for 50-65 they would point the player towards a suitable location to hunt, Then a new location for 65-75 skill level such as despise, and so on. This would encourage the players to explore a little bit, hopefully be exposed to the player base and advanced their skills at the same time.
These quests could also take the time to explain about the 700 skill cap and stats, they could explain about complimentary skills such as anatomy and tactics and how they combine to make a more effective build for your basic warrior. They could even go as far to suggest an established template so a new player doesn't end up having to retrain something else later on.
Once they hit maybe 85 in their primary skill level, reward them with something like the virtue armour set though maybe not as powerful. Being blessed and all 50-60's, hci and dci for warriors and lrc for mages. You could make them need specific jewellery slots to be complete so they would be decent for new players, and not so useful for established players.
Some people might not like the idea of this and maybe for good reason. But I think some shards are so low on population that if something drastic isn't done they will just keep dwindling. I really think shard merging or even clustering like someone else suggested is worth a look at. This really could breathe new like into the community.. though it could also be the breaking point for some. So I think the community would need to be consulted first to see if it would actually help or hinder the majority.
Give players a runebook with the the runes for the main dungeons, a moon gate and say Luna and brit bank. this could be as part of a quest, during this time the player could be told about the various methods of travelling and the skills needed to use them.
One of the charms of uo is it has so much to explore and find out, you can miss out on a lot of this if your unlucky and it can make you feel frustrated.
I really like the enhanced skill gain you get from the haven quests, but I think they could go further. Maybe the quests could carry on instead of stopping at 50 skill level.
So for 50-65 they would point the player towards a suitable location to hunt, Then a new location for 65-75 skill level such as despise, and so on. This would encourage the players to explore a little bit, hopefully be exposed to the player base and advanced their skills at the same time.
These quests could also take the time to explain about the 700 skill cap and stats, they could explain about complimentary skills such as anatomy and tactics and how they combine to make a more effective build for your basic warrior. They could even go as far to suggest an established template so a new player doesn't end up having to retrain something else later on.
Once they hit maybe 85 in their primary skill level, reward them with something like the virtue armour set though maybe not as powerful. Being blessed and all 50-60's, hci and dci for warriors and lrc for mages. You could make them need specific jewellery slots to be complete so they would be decent for new players, and not so useful for established players.
Some people might not like the idea of this and maybe for good reason. But I think some shards are so low on population that if something drastic isn't done they will just keep dwindling. I really think shard merging or even clustering like someone else suggested is worth a look at. This really could breathe new like into the community.. though it could also be the breaking point for some. So I think the community would need to be consulted first to see if it would actually help or hinder the majority.
Here's an idea,
How about not having random hidden game mechanics like requiring 80 dex to parry and eval+anat = wrestling where it tells you absolutely none of this in the game. How about a description of all the skills somewhere and a list of recommended templates.
And, could we have the EC client's default setup to be a bit more natural, and make the players not have to spend 3 hours changing the settings to a playable mode.
How about not having random hidden game mechanics like requiring 80 dex to parry and eval+anat = wrestling where it tells you absolutely none of this in the game. How about a description of all the skills somewhere and a list of recommended templates.
And, could we have the EC client's default setup to be a bit more natural, and make the players not have to spend 3 hours changing the settings to a playable mode.
Those "random hidden game mechanics" are part of what makes UO so much fun. But a really good playguide which gives all that sort of information would be a good thing, either that or provide official links to Stratics and UO Guide. There are lots of template suggestions on Stratics in the professions forums, but newbies need to be provided links to that kind of information.
The problem with that though is that when you are just starting out, that kind of information really isn't even useful yet. New players need the absolute basics, such as how to interact with items and world objects, how to move, how to initiate combat, how to create macros, how to set up their desktop, the basics of crafting, how to chat, etc.
Yeah it's really fun to be elitist and alienate people
It has nothing to do with being elitist. It has to do with wanting to play an interesting game. I don't find MacDonald's MMO's like WoW where everything is spoon fed to you, and everyone ends up doing exactly the same things, and looking like one of a very few different classes of characters, where everyone in that class is exactly the same in every way, interesting.
UO doesn't need to be dumbed down, or have the spice taken out of it. What new players need is easy access to good basic information, and some simple, accessible ways of putting that information to use so they can learn the basics of the game quickly and easily. Then they need to be told where to find the more advanced information and encouraged to join with a group of players that can help guide them in their journeys and adventures.
WoW has more subscribers and a better new player experience
WoW has more subscribers and MacDonalds gets way more customers than my favourite Indian restaurant, but I can guarantee you the food at my favourite restaurant makes MacDonalds' food look like the garbage it is. However, I will grant you that the new player experience in WoW is better, and UO's needs to be improved.
In the HoC video, Cal seemed to currently favour the idea that the new 'new player area' was entirely for new players, with no interaction with the existing playerbase since there was too big a risk of scamming, tricking or other such anti-social behaviour. My instinctive response was 'that's the wrong way to go', but having slept on it and thought it over, I conclude my considered response is - that's the wrong way to go....
It's not UO. All of us, for the past 13 years, have appeared in a world where other folks knew better than us what to do and how to do it, we've all made the mistakes, trusted the wrong people, been scammed or conned or tricked ... and if you can't handle that and learn how to avoid it in future, this really isn't a game for you, and that is perfectly fine. If it will just make you bitter, paranoid and have no fun at all playing a game, don't play it. It's a game, not a prison sentence or a rite of passage. But for every one of those 'bad' experiences, we've all also met the people who helped us, taught us, adventured with us and in many cases became friends both in and out of the game. Cutting out that opportunity at the start of your playing time is not a balanced response to 'keeping people safe'.
Locking you away in a nursery until some arbitrary point where you're deemed able to cope with those "other players" is just infantilising new players. They are not infants - they are people who are new to the environment of UO, and the way to help and teach them isn't to give them a totally non-UO playground for a couple of days and then chuck them out into the real thing. The 'darker' side of how people behave is there, and isn't going away any time soon. Help people learn how to handle it, don't cover it up until they run headlong into the traps.
New players need clear reminders that some folks are not nice - they will be overwhelmed by the complexity of UO anyway and it's easy to forget 'common sense' when you're absorbed in something new. However, if you reckon it's all about 'community', then why begin the experience with 'the community isn't a safe place to be' as a signal? That 'community' of players is not just the source of the scams, it's also the best knowledge base, teacher and prevention system for avoiding getting caught by them in the first place, or recovering from them when they happen.
As a totally committed, full time Trammel player who'll never head back into Fel, even I can see there's such a thing as too much protection, and you seem to be headed down that route. With the best of intentions, sure, but it's still a road to something that simply isn't UO. Don't go there. Find ways to teach new players some things are stupid without treating them like children. People use terms like 'lure them into Fel' is because too many are actually scared to even visit - don't make the first thing new players see be a warning about not trusting the community.
New folks with an interest should be able to experience at least some of everything there is in the game so they can make up their own minds, not have the decision where and with who they can interact taken away from them 'for their own protection'. Most of all, don't take away the meeting and learning part of being a new player 'for their own good'. Let them decide what's for their own good, not you. Your job is giving them a world to play in, not filing off the rough edges and wrapping them in cotton wool for a day or two.
Most of all - help people to play UO, not show them a Disney version 'UO-lite' and then drop them in the full experience a day later. Nobody is helped by that. You'll either create paranoia or innocence levels verging on stupidity. Neither is useful. The huge amount of helpful, involved players who want to get people started on this game is one of our biggest assets - don't let fear make your decisons about using them for you.
(And Cal - if you seriously want less scamming, cheating, and other antisocial behaviour in UO, start enforcing the ToS - all those are covered in it. What's the huge step up in scam protection and prevention for all the playerbase? Is losing stuff to a liar 'better' or 'more acceptable' if you've been playing for a week, or a month, or a year? If you're against such activities, stamp down on them. They exist because they are not policed, hiding them from people's sight for a day or two until they can be hit by them later is not just pointless, it's outright irresponsible).
It's not UO. All of us, for the past 13 years, have appeared in a world where other folks knew better than us what to do and how to do it, we've all made the mistakes, trusted the wrong people, been scammed or conned or tricked ... and if you can't handle that and learn how to avoid it in future, this really isn't a game for you, and that is perfectly fine. If it will just make you bitter, paranoid and have no fun at all playing a game, don't play it. It's a game, not a prison sentence or a rite of passage. But for every one of those 'bad' experiences, we've all also met the people who helped us, taught us, adventured with us and in many cases became friends both in and out of the game. Cutting out that opportunity at the start of your playing time is not a balanced response to 'keeping people safe'.
Locking you away in a nursery until some arbitrary point where you're deemed able to cope with those "other players" is just infantilising new players. They are not infants - they are people who are new to the environment of UO, and the way to help and teach them isn't to give them a totally non-UO playground for a couple of days and then chuck them out into the real thing. The 'darker' side of how people behave is there, and isn't going away any time soon. Help people learn how to handle it, don't cover it up until they run headlong into the traps.
New players need clear reminders that some folks are not nice - they will be overwhelmed by the complexity of UO anyway and it's easy to forget 'common sense' when you're absorbed in something new. However, if you reckon it's all about 'community', then why begin the experience with 'the community isn't a safe place to be' as a signal? That 'community' of players is not just the source of the scams, it's also the best knowledge base, teacher and prevention system for avoiding getting caught by them in the first place, or recovering from them when they happen.
As a totally committed, full time Trammel player who'll never head back into Fel, even I can see there's such a thing as too much protection, and you seem to be headed down that route. With the best of intentions, sure, but it's still a road to something that simply isn't UO. Don't go there. Find ways to teach new players some things are stupid without treating them like children. People use terms like 'lure them into Fel' is because too many are actually scared to even visit - don't make the first thing new players see be a warning about not trusting the community.
New folks with an interest should be able to experience at least some of everything there is in the game so they can make up their own minds, not have the decision where and with who they can interact taken away from them 'for their own protection'. Most of all, don't take away the meeting and learning part of being a new player 'for their own good'. Let them decide what's for their own good, not you. Your job is giving them a world to play in, not filing off the rough edges and wrapping them in cotton wool for a day or two.
Most of all - help people to play UO, not show them a Disney version 'UO-lite' and then drop them in the full experience a day later. Nobody is helped by that. You'll either create paranoia or innocence levels verging on stupidity. Neither is useful. The huge amount of helpful, involved players who want to get people started on this game is one of our biggest assets - don't let fear make your decisons about using them for you.
(And Cal - if you seriously want less scamming, cheating, and other antisocial behaviour in UO, start enforcing the ToS - all those are covered in it. What's the huge step up in scam protection and prevention for all the playerbase? Is losing stuff to a liar 'better' or 'more acceptable' if you've been playing for a week, or a month, or a year? If you're against such activities, stamp down on them. They exist because they are not policed, hiding them from people's sight for a day or two until they can be hit by them later is not just pointless, it's outright irresponsible).
When Haven was creatred it was for new players only, for years. It was frustrating for ppl that were used to reach out a helping hand and it must have been weird for the new people as well. The whole thing was finally abandoned. l
Nowdays, people that started in Haven, stay there and use the bank, forge and stable and they are the best guys when it comes to look after the youngs as they have been there not too long ago and remember how it was and how it felt to start up. Among thoose who got help from older players, some will keep a fond memory of this and do the same for others in the future.
Nowdays, people that started in Haven, stay there and use the bank, forge and stable and they are the best guys when it comes to look after the youngs as they have been there not too long ago and remember how it was and how it felt to start up. Among thoose who got help from older players, some will keep a fond memory of this and do the same for others in the future.
Actually posted from me in another thread about the same thematic, but it fits really better here. (Suggestion there was to give new players 1 mill to play around with.):
Some ideas came to my mind for helping the new players experience. Imho 1 mill wont do good for that. New players would learn only two things that way:
1. You can spend 1 mill really fast for silly things within UO.
2. The fastest way to earn another million is to sell silly things to other new players.
Finally my ideas came to a point, where i thought: that would do it! The solution sounds too easy to not to spread it here. *g*
Change the young player status. (I mean ... who else needs to/wants to/should benefit from that status?)
- Dont let the young player status drop by accident. It should always be an active decision from a player.
- Give that status to every freshly created character. (If a vet dont want it, he can cancel it right away.)
- Limit all skills to a maximum of 75 as long as the young player status remains. (Sooner or later a player want to exceed to GM or higher and drop the young status.)
- Exclude youngs from too dangerous locations. (Fel, ML dungeons, Underwolrd/Abyss ... Mainly to avoid exploiting from Vets.)
- Reward youngs with items, that can only be used by youngs. Some ideas for such items:
Young spellbook: 100% LRC + all spells up to cirlce 6
young armour parts: self repair 5 + resists, maybe personally blessed
Young quiver: infinite arrows/bolts
Young charger of the fallen
Young houseplacement tool: Can place any classic house style up to 12*12 for free (Within usual placing limits aka 1 house per account and the need to find a proper place for placing)
Young bracelet of binding: teleports a young to his house or Haven at his decision
Bring back youthful treasure maps! (I had so much fun with them, when I was new.)
Let the questgives at haven reward youngs with young-rewards for the trained skill like a young-shield with 30 phys resist or a no-dachi with 30 phys resist from the samurai instructor. etc
Let a young chance his race at will or maybe limited to 4 times that he can discover the racial differences on his own.
Some ideas came to my mind for helping the new players experience. Imho 1 mill wont do good for that. New players would learn only two things that way:
1. You can spend 1 mill really fast for silly things within UO.
2. The fastest way to earn another million is to sell silly things to other new players.
Finally my ideas came to a point, where i thought: that would do it! The solution sounds too easy to not to spread it here. *g*
Change the young player status. (I mean ... who else needs to/wants to/should benefit from that status?)
- Dont let the young player status drop by accident. It should always be an active decision from a player.
- Give that status to every freshly created character. (If a vet dont want it, he can cancel it right away.)
- Limit all skills to a maximum of 75 as long as the young player status remains. (Sooner or later a player want to exceed to GM or higher and drop the young status.)
- Exclude youngs from too dangerous locations. (Fel, ML dungeons, Underwolrd/Abyss ... Mainly to avoid exploiting from Vets.)
- Reward youngs with items, that can only be used by youngs. Some ideas for such items:
Young spellbook: 100% LRC + all spells up to cirlce 6
young armour parts: self repair 5 + resists, maybe personally blessed
Young quiver: infinite arrows/bolts
Young charger of the fallen
Young houseplacement tool: Can place any classic house style up to 12*12 for free (Within usual placing limits aka 1 house per account and the need to find a proper place for placing)
Young bracelet of binding: teleports a young to his house or Haven at his decision
Bring back youthful treasure maps! (I had so much fun with them, when I was new.)
Let the questgives at haven reward youngs with young-rewards for the trained skill like a young-shield with 30 phys resist or a no-dachi with 30 phys resist from the samurai instructor. etc
Let a young chance his race at will or maybe limited to 4 times that he can discover the racial differences on his own.
D
Dannyboy
Guest
I really like this post and think your raise a lot of good points. I can appreciate where Cal is coming from wanting to isolate new players from scammers and the such. But yeah this is also preventing them from meeting the good helpful people.
I have played Ultima on and off for over 10 years, I started playing when I was about 15! Cal asked what was the clicking point for some people in the latest video...to as why they decided "yeah this is the game for me". I think for me a part of that was the community. When I first played there was no trammel and I had no idea how to play properly. So I got ganked a lot, as reds would frequently kill us newbies while we trained in the graveyard just outside of brit.
As frustrating as this was, for every red who was prepared to gank me, there was a smith prepared to make me new armour, there were players who would give me bandages and gold and then take me to places to hunt and learn how to start fending for myself.
UO still has this community spirit, despite all the changes. And I think it's an important part of the game, I think exposing new players to the community while having its risks, would be more beneficial than separating them.
I love this post!
W
Woodsman
Guest
Luna would just give them a bad impression of UO. A really bad impression.
This was brought up in another thread, but one of the things about Warcraft that makes people go "wow" is the first couple of Griffin flights they make around the continent. It really does whet their appetite for getting into those areas. You get a real sense for how vast it is.
A new UO player could really feel like there's not a lot to UO - it would be great to show them some of the interesting areas with a variety of terrains. I would almost say throw them on a rail of sorts and show them around Sosaria a bit.
I don't know what I think about recalling/runebooks either. It's very hard for a player to get a sense of the world when you are recalling around.
Since they are ditching Haven, it would be good to have them bring the new players in closer to say Britain. Ditch the whole island thing, that doesn't do a lot of good - they may have the moongate, but not everybody knows how to find it/use it. If they keep Magincia from becoming Luna 2, that might not be a bad starting point - it would be a way for them to see other players, houses, etc., but I still kind of favor moving them in closer to Britain. There's some good areas to the west of Britain that are relatively unused - stables, etc. that could be turned into a new player area. Would be fitting to have them close to Brit.
F
FishinFool
Guest
Its approaching 2.5 years since I posted this and nothing has been done.
The game has been left to rot by the owner and the few remaining players are simply picking at the corpse, dreaming of better days.
It really is over, although you might not see it yet. There are no new players and there won't be. Frankly, there wasn't when I posted this - was wishful thinking on my part.
A new client will not draw anyone back nor will dealing with the cheating.
The soul of the game died many years ago, we are left with merely a shadow of it's former self.
The game has been left to rot by the owner and the few remaining players are simply picking at the corpse, dreaming of better days.
It really is over, although you might not see it yet. There are no new players and there won't be. Frankly, there wasn't when I posted this - was wishful thinking on my part.
A new client will not draw anyone back nor will dealing with the cheating.
The soul of the game died many years ago, we are left with merely a shadow of it's former self.
J
[JD]
Guest
Here's my contribution to enriching the new player experience:
Go buy Rift for 50 bucks.
PVP, skill training and adventuring is fun again, Great Graphics, They advertise(because they HAVE something to advertise), dynamic content, responsive customer service, highly customizable character specializations in the spirit of UO but NOT uo...... I could go on forever.
UO has..... A guy who admits his product sucks compared to WOW. Great marketing strategy loser.
Go buy Rift for 50 bucks.
PVP, skill training and adventuring is fun again, Great Graphics, They advertise(because they HAVE something to advertise), dynamic content, responsive customer service, highly customizable character specializations in the spirit of UO but NOT uo...... I could go on forever.
UO has..... A guy who admits his product sucks compared to WOW. Great marketing strategy loser.
D
dogmeat
Guest
noooo, don't add more mindless automation to this game, how about you get off your lazy bum and go sit in haven like I, and others do and actually help new players when they spawn with whatever they need.
Thats what the foundation of UO was all about, players working with players. Adding more quests and stupid crap like that to this game is just going to make the new player experience feel like other games, boring and dull.
Thats what the foundation of UO was all about, players working with players. Adding more quests and stupid crap like that to this game is just going to make the new player experience feel like other games, boring and dull.
Hi,
I am a new player, started at the end of January 11'. I have responded to a few of these new player threads now and interestingly my opinion changes slightly as time goes on.
First, after my first week, I met a kind person who gave me a 70's LRC suit and 60k gold. I had around 50k or so in the bank already. I say this to give an idea of how fast or slow, depending on your perspective, one who played every day for about 3 or 4 hours can make money. Today I have in the neighborhood of 700k and an 8x10 house.
In my opinion, there is such a thing as being given too much. I mean money/items and information.
As far as money/items, the high resist LRC was very nice, but lower resists would have served just as well.
60k was very nice to help finance skill training and housing, but I was already beginning to get a handle on basic finances and feel confident I would still be where I am currently, financially speaking.
When it comes to information, learning to manipulate the various controls in ordinary game play would have been nice. I am still learning seemingly elementary interface mechanics. Just the other day someone was trying to teach me how to grow plants. I bought pots and she showed me how to fill them with dirt and then she was telling me to water the dirt. I couldn't figure out how to water the dirt. I accidentally double clicked on the pot and the little menu popped up...Ahhh. There are those who will point at this and say "see, we need a comprehensive such and such..." Another might say, " see, look at the wonderful Aha! moment."
I rather like those 'Aha' moments. I believe there is a sense of ownership to the knowledge gained from them.
The first dungeon I entered was despise. Someone made a gate for me to go there. I died there. It was fun except that when I died I was teleported to Britain healer shop and I didn't know how to get back to the dungeon. I had never been to Britain before either. It would have been much better had there been a healer outside the dungeon instead.
Some basic skill tutorial would be helpful. I mean the 700 cap thing, basic info about the benefits of GM'ing a given skill, and some info/suggestions on current basic templates that are actually useful in the game.
Speaking of skills, one poster suggested getting rid of herding/sheparding. Go suck an egg. I like this skill, It has been quite useful in training discord and taming. -but I digress.
A number of posts address questing as a way to teach or otherwise inform a new player on any number of subjects as well as giving the new player incentives in the form of items to help them along the way. Is this not similar to what another group of posts suggest with veterans helping new players with items, gold, and information?
I did the all of the mage quests in Haven. The items, for the most part, are pretty cool in that they are blessed and they are useful to a point.
I also did some heartwood crafting quests for bowcrafting. Honestly these were tedious. I wanted to do scribe quests, but I need tinkering to do them. It makes little sense to offer a scribe mage template to a new player that cannot have access to a scribe quest. In general the craft quests are cumbersome due to location and more than a little boring. Going from the Yew moongate to the Heartwood teleporter with pack horse in tow every time I want to do a quest got old really fast.
On new player interaction with quests or veteran players, I would humbly suggest that new players need your companionship far more than quests, your gold, suits, or other items.
Speaking of crafting, WTF is up with BODs? That is one bizarre system to try and figure out. I started to read about it, but became discouraged because it seemed so complicated. Really, who designed that thing? They ought to be shot. Unfortunately it appears that is the only way to get certain goodies associated with tailoring/blacksmithing.
P.S.
Peppered throughout this thread and others on this forum, there are some who claim that UO is dead, or dying, or has been dying, or why they don't play anymore, or what game we should be playing instead of this one.
Dude(s), If you hate UO so much why do you keep hanging around here? It's like someone breaking up with you and then they won't go away. UO isn't half as broken as you people are. Just leave already.
I am a new player, started at the end of January 11'. I have responded to a few of these new player threads now and interestingly my opinion changes slightly as time goes on.
First, after my first week, I met a kind person who gave me a 70's LRC suit and 60k gold. I had around 50k or so in the bank already. I say this to give an idea of how fast or slow, depending on your perspective, one who played every day for about 3 or 4 hours can make money. Today I have in the neighborhood of 700k and an 8x10 house.
In my opinion, there is such a thing as being given too much. I mean money/items and information.
As far as money/items, the high resist LRC was very nice, but lower resists would have served just as well.
60k was very nice to help finance skill training and housing, but I was already beginning to get a handle on basic finances and feel confident I would still be where I am currently, financially speaking.
When it comes to information, learning to manipulate the various controls in ordinary game play would have been nice. I am still learning seemingly elementary interface mechanics. Just the other day someone was trying to teach me how to grow plants. I bought pots and she showed me how to fill them with dirt and then she was telling me to water the dirt. I couldn't figure out how to water the dirt. I accidentally double clicked on the pot and the little menu popped up...Ahhh. There are those who will point at this and say "see, we need a comprehensive such and such..." Another might say, " see, look at the wonderful Aha! moment."
I rather like those 'Aha' moments. I believe there is a sense of ownership to the knowledge gained from them.
The first dungeon I entered was despise. Someone made a gate for me to go there. I died there. It was fun except that when I died I was teleported to Britain healer shop and I didn't know how to get back to the dungeon. I had never been to Britain before either. It would have been much better had there been a healer outside the dungeon instead.
Some basic skill tutorial would be helpful. I mean the 700 cap thing, basic info about the benefits of GM'ing a given skill, and some info/suggestions on current basic templates that are actually useful in the game.
Speaking of skills, one poster suggested getting rid of herding/sheparding. Go suck an egg. I like this skill, It has been quite useful in training discord and taming. -but I digress.
A number of posts address questing as a way to teach or otherwise inform a new player on any number of subjects as well as giving the new player incentives in the form of items to help them along the way. Is this not similar to what another group of posts suggest with veterans helping new players with items, gold, and information?
I did the all of the mage quests in Haven. The items, for the most part, are pretty cool in that they are blessed and they are useful to a point.
I also did some heartwood crafting quests for bowcrafting. Honestly these were tedious. I wanted to do scribe quests, but I need tinkering to do them. It makes little sense to offer a scribe mage template to a new player that cannot have access to a scribe quest. In general the craft quests are cumbersome due to location and more than a little boring. Going from the Yew moongate to the Heartwood teleporter with pack horse in tow every time I want to do a quest got old really fast.
On new player interaction with quests or veteran players, I would humbly suggest that new players need your companionship far more than quests, your gold, suits, or other items.
Speaking of crafting, WTF is up with BODs? That is one bizarre system to try and figure out. I started to read about it, but became discouraged because it seemed so complicated. Really, who designed that thing? They ought to be shot. Unfortunately it appears that is the only way to get certain goodies associated with tailoring/blacksmithing.
P.S.
Peppered throughout this thread and others on this forum, there are some who claim that UO is dead, or dying, or has been dying, or why they don't play anymore, or what game we should be playing instead of this one.
Dude(s), If you hate UO so much why do you keep hanging around here? It's like someone breaking up with you and then they won't go away. UO isn't half as broken as you people are. Just leave already.
Seriously.. want to enhance the new player experience... make it bannable offense for what a guild did to a brand new player on Napa... They talked him into renouncing young player status, put him in guild... took him to fel and killed him looted what little he had... made fun of him until he logged. Then they went to Luna bank to talk about the Epicness of it. I seriously doubt he will be back to play. This mentatlity has been around for a long time... and for it still to be happening is childish to say the least... this is a pvp guild... that prides itself on mass ganking crafters... lol.
G
georgemarvin2001
Guest
It's been a couple years since I posted here. My current thoughts:
1. LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD. New players need to be able to compete in a relatively short period of time. EVE, for instance, has a training system where the most essential skills only take a few hours to train to level 4, and 2 or 3 days to max out the skill, and a new player who buys the box gets an item that lets them train even faster for the first 30 days. There are a lot of less powerful but highly useful skills that each take a month or so for veteran players to train, but a 3 month old player with a lot of skills trained to level 4 can actually win a fight against somebody who has played for years and has most of those skills trained to level 5.
2. Make joining a guild pretty close to mandatory. Players who don't join a player-run guild would be automatically enrolled in an NPC guild that takes 10% of everything they make. Let guilds set their own tax rate and give incentives for recruiting new players. Veteran players can teach a new player more than any tutorial. In the beginning, UO was so successful because it was a social game, not a Diablo clone PvE or PvP game. It was a whole WORLD to explore and find your niche in, with treasure hunters, pirates, businessmen, con artists, thieves, miners, pickpockets, heroic warriors, tailors, armorers, rogues, house burglars, etc.; fighting probably wasn't even in the top 10 things that were pre-AOS Ultima. The secret to UO that the post-AOS dev crews have all forgotten is that it was NOT a PVP game. It was not a PVE game. it was a COMMUNITY.
3. Make a cross-shard help channel with one moderator. Hire interns or get some volunteers to moderate the chat channel 24/7, all they have to do is keep things civil and try to answer a few questions.
4. Give up the idea of bleeding new players for micro transactions.
5. Make a new box that gives them 60 days play time, an up-to-date game CD, a map of the world, a charger of the fallen, a power scroll of their choice, an advanced character token and a soulstone token for $29.99. Make it so that veteran players can use the play time key to add 60 days to their account and get the goodies, too.
6. Get rid of the crappy BOD system. Some idiot who played Diablo, not Ultima, came up with that idea.
7. Make weapons and armor simpler to understand, with just "Physical" and "Elemental" resists
8. Bring danger back. Get rid of item insurance as we know it. If a player dies with an insured item, it breaks and the player gets an amount of gold that is determined by its point value. Also, make the cost to insure a 10 million gold, 700 point item like 1 million, not just barely over 600 gold. Make items with scores under 200 points auto-insured. You can get rid of the faction stat losses, as the players will have to go back to the bank to re-equip.
9. Get rid of the Random Number Generated, massive, confusing item drops on everything. A high-end creature should drop ONE item. Mid-level creatures should sometimes drop one, and low-end monsters should usually just drop gold, with a slim chance of dropping a low-level item. The AOS system of most everything dropping 35 items that take so long to figure out whether anything is valuable, that most people don't even bother to loot them, is INSANE.
10. Let's admit it, the UO 2D client is outdated, and the SA client has some good features, but it looks like $##t warmed over and has some serious performance issues. We need a clean, new client that has the look and feel of the classic UO but with crisp, clean, scalable, high-definition graphics and all of the functionality of the SA client. From the reactions of people at E3, SWTOR is the average mission running game; people said it was just "kill 20 of this, kill 10 of that". Most of the reviewers seemed to think that it was yet another WOW clone, just set in space. BUT they all agreed that it had fantastic graphics. UO, on the other hand, has some of the best content available anywhere, but its graphics are stuck in the 20th century, and we're beginning the 2nd decade of the 21st.
Why can't UO get those great artists to spend a few days making some SA client graphics that don't look like something the dog threw up after eating a box of crayons and that don't have blinding bright lights that hurt your eyes for spell effects, and you can't even turn them off, if you're a spell caster?
These changes won't just help new players. They will help the whole community.
1. LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD. New players need to be able to compete in a relatively short period of time. EVE, for instance, has a training system where the most essential skills only take a few hours to train to level 4, and 2 or 3 days to max out the skill, and a new player who buys the box gets an item that lets them train even faster for the first 30 days. There are a lot of less powerful but highly useful skills that each take a month or so for veteran players to train, but a 3 month old player with a lot of skills trained to level 4 can actually win a fight against somebody who has played for years and has most of those skills trained to level 5.
2. Make joining a guild pretty close to mandatory. Players who don't join a player-run guild would be automatically enrolled in an NPC guild that takes 10% of everything they make. Let guilds set their own tax rate and give incentives for recruiting new players. Veteran players can teach a new player more than any tutorial. In the beginning, UO was so successful because it was a social game, not a Diablo clone PvE or PvP game. It was a whole WORLD to explore and find your niche in, with treasure hunters, pirates, businessmen, con artists, thieves, miners, pickpockets, heroic warriors, tailors, armorers, rogues, house burglars, etc.; fighting probably wasn't even in the top 10 things that were pre-AOS Ultima. The secret to UO that the post-AOS dev crews have all forgotten is that it was NOT a PVP game. It was not a PVE game. it was a COMMUNITY.
3. Make a cross-shard help channel with one moderator. Hire interns or get some volunteers to moderate the chat channel 24/7, all they have to do is keep things civil and try to answer a few questions.
4. Give up the idea of bleeding new players for micro transactions.
5. Make a new box that gives them 60 days play time, an up-to-date game CD, a map of the world, a charger of the fallen, a power scroll of their choice, an advanced character token and a soulstone token for $29.99. Make it so that veteran players can use the play time key to add 60 days to their account and get the goodies, too.
6. Get rid of the crappy BOD system. Some idiot who played Diablo, not Ultima, came up with that idea.
7. Make weapons and armor simpler to understand, with just "Physical" and "Elemental" resists
8. Bring danger back. Get rid of item insurance as we know it. If a player dies with an insured item, it breaks and the player gets an amount of gold that is determined by its point value. Also, make the cost to insure a 10 million gold, 700 point item like 1 million, not just barely over 600 gold. Make items with scores under 200 points auto-insured. You can get rid of the faction stat losses, as the players will have to go back to the bank to re-equip.
9. Get rid of the Random Number Generated, massive, confusing item drops on everything. A high-end creature should drop ONE item. Mid-level creatures should sometimes drop one, and low-end monsters should usually just drop gold, with a slim chance of dropping a low-level item. The AOS system of most everything dropping 35 items that take so long to figure out whether anything is valuable, that most people don't even bother to loot them, is INSANE.
10. Let's admit it, the UO 2D client is outdated, and the SA client has some good features, but it looks like $##t warmed over and has some serious performance issues. We need a clean, new client that has the look and feel of the classic UO but with crisp, clean, scalable, high-definition graphics and all of the functionality of the SA client. From the reactions of people at E3, SWTOR is the average mission running game; people said it was just "kill 20 of this, kill 10 of that". Most of the reviewers seemed to think that it was yet another WOW clone, just set in space. BUT they all agreed that it had fantastic graphics. UO, on the other hand, has some of the best content available anywhere, but its graphics are stuck in the 20th century, and we're beginning the 2nd decade of the 21st.
Why can't UO get those great artists to spend a few days making some SA client graphics that don't look like something the dog threw up after eating a box of crayons and that don't have blinding bright lights that hurt your eyes for spell effects, and you can't even turn them off, if you're a spell caster?
These changes won't just help new players. They will help the whole community.
S
Sindris
Guest
I think it is hilarious that people worry about attracting new players to a game that can only manage to hold on to a fraction of it's OLD players. UO is old. Really old by MMO standards. If UO was a cat it would be an old cat with patchy fur and a skin condition that makes it smell not quite right. People who remember it as a kitten will always love it, but no one meeting it for the first time are going to want to pet it, let alone take it home. This is a game for people who have played it for years. Even useless items are priced in the millions, its ugly, and the learning curve is just stupid for newbies to be expected to absorb.
But, if you insist... Give new players 50 million gold so they can buy a few ingots and some gear they will want to replace every week for the duration of their play time. Give them a house to start with, there is plenty of room for it. Dumb down the interface even more, most new MMO players are not going to bother with the archaic monstrosity that that has evolved into the UO user interface.
Honestly, I played UO for 13 years. I was thrall to the junk I had collected in that much time, which was considerable. Aside from being the MMO equivalent to an episode of "Hoarders" this game has relatively little to offer. I will always have fond memories of its early days, and the people who kept me playing for years on end, but please! Instead of trying to put more lipstick on this bloated pig, encourage EA to make a UO2.
But, if you insist... Give new players 50 million gold so they can buy a few ingots and some gear they will want to replace every week for the duration of their play time. Give them a house to start with, there is plenty of room for it. Dumb down the interface even more, most new MMO players are not going to bother with the archaic monstrosity that that has evolved into the UO user interface.
Honestly, I played UO for 13 years. I was thrall to the junk I had collected in that much time, which was considerable. Aside from being the MMO equivalent to an episode of "Hoarders" this game has relatively little to offer. I will always have fond memories of its early days, and the people who kept me playing for years on end, but please! Instead of trying to put more lipstick on this bloated pig, encourage EA to make a UO2.
Okay, here goes. Wall of text incoming:
I used to play in '97-'99 or so. I recently started a new account and started playing again. I have some ideas that might help the new player experience.
• Twinking needs to be curbed.
o I appreciate all the help veteran players give, but when you give me a million GP and a suit of armor with 70% physical resist, an awesome weapon, you take away my sense of achievement and accomplishment.... I need to earn things on my own and accomplish things on my own. You guys are great, but I'd rather you came with me and healed me while I worked on Swordsmanship, or helped me collect some leather and wool so I could train up my tailoring and make my own armor. Spend some time with me and let's have an adventure!
• Beginner quests should be removed.
o Lead me to the trainers like you are now and let me train up to 40, which is huge compared to what you can get out in Britannia at a normal city, but I don't need to get to 50 in the newbie area. That's too much, too fast; once again handing me something that I should earn out in the world. Don't take away my sense of accomplishment.
• Get rid of the escort quests, or at least reduce their availability.
o I know the economy on many shards is messed up (more on my ideas for that later), but in the starter zone you only really need to get about 2k of gold to train up all your skills that you need to 40. Once this happens a character should really get out into the real world and adventure.
• Move players out of Haven.
o There should come a point in time when a player should be encouraged to leave Haven. This place should not be a gathering place for veteran players or take the place of the main towns and cities of Britannia. On my favorite shard (LS) I either have to go to Haven or Luna to find anyone to talk to. Everything else is a ghost town. Get people out of Haven!
• Get an in-game guide in place.
o Do you need to know about blacksmithing? When you talk to the blacksmith trainer, an option should be for them to either hand you a book describing the skill in detail or have them speak the details to you. As much as I appreciate Stratics and the other websites available, you should be able to learn about your skills from the people who are training you in them. It’s not too much to ask; the text is already in place, it just needs to be added to the conversation trees. This just makes sense and will give new players some independence in the game to figure out their next move and make good career decisions for their characters.
• Give players a reason to visit placed in Britannia.
o This goes back to the Haven issue. Why does anyone need to even leave Haven? You can get up to GM in most crafting skills without ever leaving the island! You can get a good level of combat skill too! Who needs to see Minoc or buy a boat to get to Magincia? These wonderful towns are rotting out there, begging for visitors that never need to come. You could get people to go to them with VERY little effort. Here are a couple of ideas on that:
Get the next rank of skill in <Town Name> - You want to be a Journeyman Blacksmith? You need to head to Minoc to be trained and get to that next step. Want to get up to Master Mage? You have to get into Wind. This information needs to be readily available from trainers in game too.
Recipes need to be available at specific trainers only - You need to speak to the Mayor of Yew to get the recipe for a Composite Bow. You need to go to Magincia to get training in using special ore to craft magical weapons.
Reagents need to spawn where they are supposed to spawn - Black Pearls in the forest? Really? C'mon! Make this stuff spawn where it's supposed to spawn! Either you buy it at the magic store or you get on your horse and travel to the Fens of the Dead to get some Blood Moss!
• Give New Players a goal in life.
o I'm not talking about spoon feeding anyone, but I do think it would be nice to have that guy in Haven (the 'Ask me for Help' guy) give you some advice about your next step. A player should be able to approach him and find out more than where the trainer for his skills is located. He should be able to provide basic information and random advice. Examples:
'A Crafter might want to speak with the inn keeper about hiring a full time salesman for their wares.'
'I hear that the Dungeon Destard is an excellent place to test ones mettle and grow a reputation.'
'Rumor has it that strange animals and wondrous beast stalk the jungles to the south.'
'It is considered noble and proper to pay your respects to Lord British at the palace in Britain.'
'You wish to become a <warrior/mage/samurai/etc.> of renown? I would continue my journey in <Insert Town Name Here>.'
o That guy should also be available to the EM's. The Red Lantern thing looks like it's trash that someone discarded by the bank. At the very least, give them an NPC crier to use. New players have no idea that events are even happening!
• Get back to work on the EC.
o The EC is kind of cool. I like it, but it has a lot of problems that need to be worked on. Please get back to work on it. Also, get something in place to encourage people to use it. Most of the veteran players I have met are pretty down on it and don't support it. In fact they recommend that I not even use it! This has got to change and PDQ! As far as incentive goes, the tutorial is not satisfactory. The katana is useless if you are creating a fencer or macer and a couple of bandages or food and a healing potion are a weak reward when the economy is so skewed. There are also some interesting things in the tutorial that need to be fleshed out:
Gwen; who the heck is she? Is she the spirit of the long lost Gwenno? Is she Iolo's daughter or granddaughter? Will we meet her again? Use this mysterious character to get players moving forward and out of Haven!
Why am I on this dock again? I think a bit more of an introduction and background would be helpful and get a bit more immersion in place. The opening movie for the game is still the same one from 1997!
• Fix the economy.
o This one is important and basically a requirement. You need to get some of the gold out of circulation and balance things out so a player can get into the game and feel that their Bowcraft/Fletching skill is worth something at Journeyman level. Below is a very detailed list of ideas I have for Gold Sinks.
Gold Sinks:
Note to the Reader: All of these ideas are designed to move products through the economy, and grease the economic wheels to get things back on track and reduce hoarding. None are meant to penalize anyone, or nerf any specific class. I just identified them based on the natural progression of time on items.
• Expiration on reagents:
o Sulphurous Ash gets wet/damp.
o Black Pearls get cracked/chipped/damaged.
o Blood Moss, Nightshade, Ginseng, Garlic and Mandrake Rood can all get dry and moldy.
o Spider Silk is delicate and can tear or stick together.
Basically this is a use 'em or lose 'em approach, but if the timeframe is reasonable (weeks of real time) then this is justified. Realistically, how long could you keep a Nightshade plant alive and fresh in your backpack? It would prevent hoarding of reagents and get them back into the system. Also, other crafts could get recipes for items that extend the life of these reagents, but the items would naturally cost gold (another sink).
• Carpentry - Sealed Reagent Box
• Basket Weaving - Herbalists Satchel
• Tailoring - Mage's Belt (pouches for each reagent to keep them fresh).
Side Note: I think that it was a horrible design idea to introduce any armor upgrade that removed the requirement for reagents from the spell casting skills. This needs to be pulled back in order to keep magery and the other magical skills balanced.
• Death of pets/animals due to age:
o It's my understanding (I could be wrong here) that the PC's in Ultima Online are considered to be players from 'earth' just like the Avatar. This means that they have considered being from 'earth' just like the Avatar. This means that they have an extended life span compared to the normal Britannia. The native animals should be included in this. That would mean that animals like horses, llamas, etc. should only be living for a couple of months real time (game day = 2 hours; game year = 730 hours) so based on the normal life cycles, these creatures should be expiring after 18,250 real hours (25 years or so). Magical Beasts should have different, much longer life spans. A dragon or unicorn for instance should live for an indefinite period of time. Giant bugs, should actually live for a much shorter period of time based on the life cycle of insects.
This turnover would generate more revenue for tamers and also require players to buy more mounts and pack animals. Further, pack animals should have their weight limit reduced and mounts their speed the older they are. This would make them move even faster as players would want to get rid of old nags and buy young, fresh animals. Keep in mind that many pack animals get killed or lost anyway, so this wouldn't be a huge burden for most.
• Return the weight and increase the atrophy speed of gold:
o Gold is a heavy metal and it should still be heavy in Ultima Online. This would mean that a player can't carry as much (but still a good amount) from dungeons without magical transport or pack animals. As an add on to this, gold that is left on corpses or even the corpses themselves should atrophy faster so they don't lay around and are removed from the game until respawned.
• Wear and tear on equipment:
o Right now equipment does get worn down, but it is easily repairable and lasts a heck of a long time. Further, repair tickets have been introduced which mean you don't even have to know how to take care of your equipment. Equipment needs to be allowed to wear fully out and be removed from the game. I have a few ideas about how this should happen and the combinations should make either carrying a crafting skill on your character or having a 'mule' character attractive.
Repair needs to be done in the trade window, not via ticket. I think that a real person should be repairing, just like in the old days. Add a check box for 'repair only' on the trade window so that the equipment doesn't change hands unintentionally, but gold for payment/tips can.
Once a weapon or piece of armor gets below 50% durability, there should be a chance for 'critical failure' which could result in a magical property being lost or the item not working against that particular activity (i.e. - shield won't block attack, mace does no damage that attack, etc.). The farther the item slips below 50% durability, the higher the chance of a critical failure. Players would need to keep their gear in shape or suffer the consequences.
Once an item reaches 0% durability, it doesn't work (I think that's how it is now). The item can be repaired, but it would immediately lose a permanent 10% of its overall durability and has a 50% chance to lose a magical property if it's a magical item or some of its resistance or damage if it's a normal item.
Damaged/repaired equipment produces fewer raw materials when recycled or gold when sold than a new item would.
• Houses need to be maintained:
o The owner of a house should have a monthly amount of gold removed from their bank account for upkeep of their property (i.e. - the roof leaks, masonry starts to crack, furniture wears out, etc.) I would also like to see random events take place to the home owner, which would make things more interesting and challenging. A ghost could take up residence in your house, or it could become infested with giant rats or giant spiders. A fire could take place which destroys some of the items in your home. NPC Thieves or Monsters would target your home and lay siege to it if you have too large a hoard of treasure in it. These would be infrequent, but something more than logging on once a week to click on the sign should be required to maintain a home, otherwise it's just taking up space that more active players should have available to them.
Side Note: I would like to see different types of homes too. I like the idea of having a campsite (a tent/bedroll, one chest and a fire with a cook pot.) or maybe a hollowed out Yew Tree (just a 2 story tower that looks like a tree from the outside). I would even like it if some of the inns and taverns actually rented out the rooms they have so you don't have to find a spot to place a house. Just rent something!
• Food and drink go bad (or get better for alcohol):
o Pretty self explanatory, food becomes inedible and alcohol actually increases in value the older it is.
Side Note: Food should have a bit of a bigger effect on the game (well fed = noticeable stamina regeneration, slightly better skill gain, and stuff like that)....
I used to play in '97-'99 or so. I recently started a new account and started playing again. I have some ideas that might help the new player experience.
• Twinking needs to be curbed.
o I appreciate all the help veteran players give, but when you give me a million GP and a suit of armor with 70% physical resist, an awesome weapon, you take away my sense of achievement and accomplishment.... I need to earn things on my own and accomplish things on my own. You guys are great, but I'd rather you came with me and healed me while I worked on Swordsmanship, or helped me collect some leather and wool so I could train up my tailoring and make my own armor. Spend some time with me and let's have an adventure!
• Beginner quests should be removed.
o Lead me to the trainers like you are now and let me train up to 40, which is huge compared to what you can get out in Britannia at a normal city, but I don't need to get to 50 in the newbie area. That's too much, too fast; once again handing me something that I should earn out in the world. Don't take away my sense of accomplishment.
• Get rid of the escort quests, or at least reduce their availability.
o I know the economy on many shards is messed up (more on my ideas for that later), but in the starter zone you only really need to get about 2k of gold to train up all your skills that you need to 40. Once this happens a character should really get out into the real world and adventure.
• Move players out of Haven.
o There should come a point in time when a player should be encouraged to leave Haven. This place should not be a gathering place for veteran players or take the place of the main towns and cities of Britannia. On my favorite shard (LS) I either have to go to Haven or Luna to find anyone to talk to. Everything else is a ghost town. Get people out of Haven!
• Get an in-game guide in place.
o Do you need to know about blacksmithing? When you talk to the blacksmith trainer, an option should be for them to either hand you a book describing the skill in detail or have them speak the details to you. As much as I appreciate Stratics and the other websites available, you should be able to learn about your skills from the people who are training you in them. It’s not too much to ask; the text is already in place, it just needs to be added to the conversation trees. This just makes sense and will give new players some independence in the game to figure out their next move and make good career decisions for their characters.
• Give players a reason to visit placed in Britannia.
o This goes back to the Haven issue. Why does anyone need to even leave Haven? You can get up to GM in most crafting skills without ever leaving the island! You can get a good level of combat skill too! Who needs to see Minoc or buy a boat to get to Magincia? These wonderful towns are rotting out there, begging for visitors that never need to come. You could get people to go to them with VERY little effort. Here are a couple of ideas on that:
Get the next rank of skill in <Town Name> - You want to be a Journeyman Blacksmith? You need to head to Minoc to be trained and get to that next step. Want to get up to Master Mage? You have to get into Wind. This information needs to be readily available from trainers in game too.
Recipes need to be available at specific trainers only - You need to speak to the Mayor of Yew to get the recipe for a Composite Bow. You need to go to Magincia to get training in using special ore to craft magical weapons.
Reagents need to spawn where they are supposed to spawn - Black Pearls in the forest? Really? C'mon! Make this stuff spawn where it's supposed to spawn! Either you buy it at the magic store or you get on your horse and travel to the Fens of the Dead to get some Blood Moss!
• Give New Players a goal in life.
o I'm not talking about spoon feeding anyone, but I do think it would be nice to have that guy in Haven (the 'Ask me for Help' guy) give you some advice about your next step. A player should be able to approach him and find out more than where the trainer for his skills is located. He should be able to provide basic information and random advice. Examples:
'A Crafter might want to speak with the inn keeper about hiring a full time salesman for their wares.'
'I hear that the Dungeon Destard is an excellent place to test ones mettle and grow a reputation.'
'Rumor has it that strange animals and wondrous beast stalk the jungles to the south.'
'It is considered noble and proper to pay your respects to Lord British at the palace in Britain.'
'You wish to become a <warrior/mage/samurai/etc.> of renown? I would continue my journey in <Insert Town Name Here>.'
o That guy should also be available to the EM's. The Red Lantern thing looks like it's trash that someone discarded by the bank. At the very least, give them an NPC crier to use. New players have no idea that events are even happening!
• Get back to work on the EC.
o The EC is kind of cool. I like it, but it has a lot of problems that need to be worked on. Please get back to work on it. Also, get something in place to encourage people to use it. Most of the veteran players I have met are pretty down on it and don't support it. In fact they recommend that I not even use it! This has got to change and PDQ! As far as incentive goes, the tutorial is not satisfactory. The katana is useless if you are creating a fencer or macer and a couple of bandages or food and a healing potion are a weak reward when the economy is so skewed. There are also some interesting things in the tutorial that need to be fleshed out:
Gwen; who the heck is she? Is she the spirit of the long lost Gwenno? Is she Iolo's daughter or granddaughter? Will we meet her again? Use this mysterious character to get players moving forward and out of Haven!
Why am I on this dock again? I think a bit more of an introduction and background would be helpful and get a bit more immersion in place. The opening movie for the game is still the same one from 1997!
• Fix the economy.
o This one is important and basically a requirement. You need to get some of the gold out of circulation and balance things out so a player can get into the game and feel that their Bowcraft/Fletching skill is worth something at Journeyman level. Below is a very detailed list of ideas I have for Gold Sinks.
Gold Sinks:
Note to the Reader: All of these ideas are designed to move products through the economy, and grease the economic wheels to get things back on track and reduce hoarding. None are meant to penalize anyone, or nerf any specific class. I just identified them based on the natural progression of time on items.
• Expiration on reagents:
o Sulphurous Ash gets wet/damp.
o Black Pearls get cracked/chipped/damaged.
o Blood Moss, Nightshade, Ginseng, Garlic and Mandrake Rood can all get dry and moldy.
o Spider Silk is delicate and can tear or stick together.
Basically this is a use 'em or lose 'em approach, but if the timeframe is reasonable (weeks of real time) then this is justified. Realistically, how long could you keep a Nightshade plant alive and fresh in your backpack? It would prevent hoarding of reagents and get them back into the system. Also, other crafts could get recipes for items that extend the life of these reagents, but the items would naturally cost gold (another sink).
• Carpentry - Sealed Reagent Box
• Basket Weaving - Herbalists Satchel
• Tailoring - Mage's Belt (pouches for each reagent to keep them fresh).
Side Note: I think that it was a horrible design idea to introduce any armor upgrade that removed the requirement for reagents from the spell casting skills. This needs to be pulled back in order to keep magery and the other magical skills balanced.
• Death of pets/animals due to age:
o It's my understanding (I could be wrong here) that the PC's in Ultima Online are considered to be players from 'earth' just like the Avatar. This means that they have considered being from 'earth' just like the Avatar. This means that they have an extended life span compared to the normal Britannia. The native animals should be included in this. That would mean that animals like horses, llamas, etc. should only be living for a couple of months real time (game day = 2 hours; game year = 730 hours) so based on the normal life cycles, these creatures should be expiring after 18,250 real hours (25 years or so). Magical Beasts should have different, much longer life spans. A dragon or unicorn for instance should live for an indefinite period of time. Giant bugs, should actually live for a much shorter period of time based on the life cycle of insects.
This turnover would generate more revenue for tamers and also require players to buy more mounts and pack animals. Further, pack animals should have their weight limit reduced and mounts their speed the older they are. This would make them move even faster as players would want to get rid of old nags and buy young, fresh animals. Keep in mind that many pack animals get killed or lost anyway, so this wouldn't be a huge burden for most.
• Return the weight and increase the atrophy speed of gold:
o Gold is a heavy metal and it should still be heavy in Ultima Online. This would mean that a player can't carry as much (but still a good amount) from dungeons without magical transport or pack animals. As an add on to this, gold that is left on corpses or even the corpses themselves should atrophy faster so they don't lay around and are removed from the game until respawned.
• Wear and tear on equipment:
o Right now equipment does get worn down, but it is easily repairable and lasts a heck of a long time. Further, repair tickets have been introduced which mean you don't even have to know how to take care of your equipment. Equipment needs to be allowed to wear fully out and be removed from the game. I have a few ideas about how this should happen and the combinations should make either carrying a crafting skill on your character or having a 'mule' character attractive.
Repair needs to be done in the trade window, not via ticket. I think that a real person should be repairing, just like in the old days. Add a check box for 'repair only' on the trade window so that the equipment doesn't change hands unintentionally, but gold for payment/tips can.
Once a weapon or piece of armor gets below 50% durability, there should be a chance for 'critical failure' which could result in a magical property being lost or the item not working against that particular activity (i.e. - shield won't block attack, mace does no damage that attack, etc.). The farther the item slips below 50% durability, the higher the chance of a critical failure. Players would need to keep their gear in shape or suffer the consequences.
Once an item reaches 0% durability, it doesn't work (I think that's how it is now). The item can be repaired, but it would immediately lose a permanent 10% of its overall durability and has a 50% chance to lose a magical property if it's a magical item or some of its resistance or damage if it's a normal item.
Damaged/repaired equipment produces fewer raw materials when recycled or gold when sold than a new item would.
• Houses need to be maintained:
o The owner of a house should have a monthly amount of gold removed from their bank account for upkeep of their property (i.e. - the roof leaks, masonry starts to crack, furniture wears out, etc.) I would also like to see random events take place to the home owner, which would make things more interesting and challenging. A ghost could take up residence in your house, or it could become infested with giant rats or giant spiders. A fire could take place which destroys some of the items in your home. NPC Thieves or Monsters would target your home and lay siege to it if you have too large a hoard of treasure in it. These would be infrequent, but something more than logging on once a week to click on the sign should be required to maintain a home, otherwise it's just taking up space that more active players should have available to them.
Side Note: I would like to see different types of homes too. I like the idea of having a campsite (a tent/bedroll, one chest and a fire with a cook pot.) or maybe a hollowed out Yew Tree (just a 2 story tower that looks like a tree from the outside). I would even like it if some of the inns and taverns actually rented out the rooms they have so you don't have to find a spot to place a house. Just rent something!
• Food and drink go bad (or get better for alcohol):
o Pretty self explanatory, food becomes inedible and alcohol actually increases in value the older it is.
Side Note: Food should have a bit of a bigger effect on the game (well fed = noticeable stamina regeneration, slightly better skill gain, and stuff like that)....
J
Jonathan Baron
Guest
A lot of thoughtful, fresh ideas in the last few posts.
Fortunately, unless I'm misreading the news, our producer has little or no history with UO. This is a good thing as the best ideas in this thread have generally come from people either relatively new to UO or people who have returned to the game after many years.
Nothing can be done to restore the freshness of an online game for players who have run their course with it. No game has yet been created or can be created that can keep the bulk of its players happy for a decade or more. The best case is that they lose interest and leave quietly. Worst case they swear it was something the developer did that made them leave. It certainly feels that way but is never true. Every game has a player life cycle. No way around that.
Thus the future is new players. It is not one attempt after another to find a way to appease old ones. At some point the parent must yield to the child for life to go on.
There are legions of people playing thin pyramid scheme "casual" games now. Millions and millions of them. They'll be wanting something more. I don't buy the "How can you persuade WoW player to play UO?" argument. Who wants WoW players anyway? No, the future of this game is that vast multitude growing weary of Farmville.
The hardcore gamer MMO era ended long ago. My favorite MMOs have been dead a decade. Time to introduce a larger world to the best MMO left standing. Maybe, at last, we'll get some action in that direction now. There's no shortage of great ideas on how to accomplish exactly that right here in this thread.
The elders can tell their tales like depression era parents of MMOs when life was hard and the world was dangerous. It was a privilege to have witnessed that era. But that's past.
Fortunately, unless I'm misreading the news, our producer has little or no history with UO. This is a good thing as the best ideas in this thread have generally come from people either relatively new to UO or people who have returned to the game after many years.
Nothing can be done to restore the freshness of an online game for players who have run their course with it. No game has yet been created or can be created that can keep the bulk of its players happy for a decade or more. The best case is that they lose interest and leave quietly. Worst case they swear it was something the developer did that made them leave. It certainly feels that way but is never true. Every game has a player life cycle. No way around that.
Thus the future is new players. It is not one attempt after another to find a way to appease old ones. At some point the parent must yield to the child for life to go on.
There are legions of people playing thin pyramid scheme "casual" games now. Millions and millions of them. They'll be wanting something more. I don't buy the "How can you persuade WoW player to play UO?" argument. Who wants WoW players anyway? No, the future of this game is that vast multitude growing weary of Farmville.
The hardcore gamer MMO era ended long ago. My favorite MMOs have been dead a decade. Time to introduce a larger world to the best MMO left standing. Maybe, at last, we'll get some action in that direction now. There's no shortage of great ideas on how to accomplish exactly that right here in this thread.
The elders can tell their tales like depression era parents of MMOs when life was hard and the world was dangerous. It was a privilege to have witnessed that era. But that's past.
N
nynyve
Guest
Lighten up the interior of backpacks so that we can see what is in them would go a long way to improving the overall player experience.
I would like to add a couple of things to my ideas on what would enhance the new player experience:
- In game email and friends list - Most people keep track of their friends via ICQ. This is not acceptable. UO needs to have integrated communications so that you can find people to play with. For email, there is no need to even make it possible to send items; just text would be fine.
- Bring back the Councilors - I have seen several people (including myself) who have volunteered a couple of hours a week to help with this. If you are uncomfortable with having people do it for free, then pay them with in-game gold or items of some sort; I don't think free game time is necessary from the feedback that I have seen on these boards. Just make this happen so that new folks have an impartial resource to assist and guide them.
- Create more class templates (4 recommended skills at 30 each) and have players start in the area that makes sense for their chosen class - Have Samurai and Ninjas start out in Tokanu. Mages in Magincia and Bards in Britain. Tinkers should start out in Minoc... Stuff like that! Starter areas are important; they give a player a sense of 'home'.
- Buddy/Mentor System - Once a player is relatively settled on their class and they have played a few times, get some people together who know the game and have experience. These mentors can go out with the new player and help them find dungeons, give them pointers on where to go and basically hang out for a few more adventures as well as introduce the players around and maybe help them find a guild or something. These mentors could just have a flag turned on so that they are easily identifiable (maybe have them show as Orange or Purple when moused over or something). This should be a fully voluntary thing as it's game play.
W
Woodsman
Guest
I used to think this was because of the lawsuits, but BioWare has volunteers moderating their forums.
I think there is a need of a dungeon in New Haven. When beginners have raised their skills to 50, the NPC should tell them about the dungeon (entrance somewhere on the island but not to close to the city).
Objectives of the new dungeon :
1. Raising skills further
2. Getting better amor parts and better weapons
3. Making some money
4. Meeting other beginners so they can make teams (healing eachother, use of party, ...)
5. Challenging some basic non mage monsters (ettins, ogre, spiders, harpies, etc.)
6. Deeper in the dungeon : challenging monsters using magery (imps, gargoyles, orc mages,...
The dungeon already exists : Khaldun on the trammel facet is unused.
Objectives of the new dungeon :
1. Raising skills further
2. Getting better amor parts and better weapons
3. Making some money
4. Meeting other beginners so they can make teams (healing eachother, use of party, ...)
5. Challenging some basic non mage monsters (ettins, ogre, spiders, harpies, etc.)
6. Deeper in the dungeon : challenging monsters using magery (imps, gargoyles, orc mages,...
The dungeon already exists : Khaldun on the trammel facet is unused.
I returned to UO two weeks ago after leaving a month after the release of Trammel. I started playing back in beta and what I have returned to is quite overwhelming. I strongly agree with the focus on enhancing the new player experience and can appreciate the recommendations I've seen so far. It's good to see some of the core COMMUNITY trying to do their part after coming back from such a long break. The game still impresses me with its vastness; however there are things that definitely need to be addressed if putting the wind back in the sails of UO.
- The economy is out of control. Gold sinks like the ones mentioned above are a great idea. The huge, over inflated numbers demanded for items in player to player trade scare new players when they start with 1000 gold and some bottom tier gear.
- Fix the exploits and cheats. Seriously, I left the game 10 years ago and came back to the same/similar exploits still being used by the games more deviant players. It's not fair when a game can't protect its honest and loyal players from people essentially being able to print their own money. This is directly related to the economy issue. With companies like searchuo being able to offer such "rare" items on a whim, on any server, along with the knowledge that this game has longstanding loopholes, it has to make you wonder if EA is in cahoots with companies of that nature.
- Less NPC escort quests, and/or more informative interactions with NPCs in Trammel/bgeinner towns. New players need to be informed of things such as skill caps, both hard and soft (soft cap being maximum you can achieve with player earned points towards skills/stats;hard being maximum overall stat achievable with armor/item/potion/scroll/spell bonuses added in)
I absolutely support the idea of removing the ability to choose where a new player starts, and instead having the game choose the starting city for the player according to the skills chosen at the character creation page (Miners/smiths/tinker Minoc, Carpenter/archer/bowcrafter Yew, etc etc)
- Bring back a counselor type program, perhaps with established guilds of a certain amount of time being able to "squire" or sponsor new players (with a max capacity of pledges based on guild size, and the inability to squire character who already have a person in that guild). Have a device on all involved character(s) that keeps time of how long the new player(s) is within a certain range of said sponsor(s) and introduce a rewards system based on time that can benefit both the guild and the new player while promoting the UO spirit.
- It means nothing to own a house anymore. The trammel/fel need to be combined as a result of the introduction of Malas imo, or something to a similar effect. ***I must note that I absolutely LOVE that they put in a higher risk, higher rewards system with fel loot/mining/lumberjacking****
- Items have become confusing. Its no longer the simple "fortified silver katana of vanquishing" but rather stuff that sometimes leaves me staring because it's so frustrating to have to read 5 paragraphs for each item of the 50 that dropped off what i just killed. Cut back the number of items dropped from monster kills, and increase the value of those that are dropped. The stats/mechanics on items need to explained through NPC quest chains found in the regions available for starting players.
- Get rid of imbuing. Seriously. UO was a good song until Imbuing made it overproduced.
As I said, in the past few weeks I've rejoined the community I once loved when I was a kid. This game set the standard and to this day I stand behind it being my favorite game of all time. Let's do our part and keep fresh ideas coming.
**Bring back metal armor. Blacksmiths seem to only be useful for weapons. There's no reason leather armor should be offering the same protection/resist as metal armor. Why kill all the hard work they did changing ore spawns by making it not matter?
**The EC is awkward. Clean the paperdolls up a tad, add in a friends list, add in an item intensity indicator, implement a functional tab targeting system that can successfully cycle nearby targets you are able to attack
**Herding is not useless; it still works from stealth. This translates to the gm herder/hide/stealther owns destard whenever he/she feels like it.
**Item insurance is BS. Other Facets were created so pkers couldnt take loot. If an orc kills you and wants to rummage through your stuff to take your level 11 artifact, so be it. From when I originally played, it actually meant something to have a blessed item (i miss having a blessed katana of vanq and a bless 2h warhammer fort of vanq /sigh) The insurance system was overkill. If people wanna pvp or pk, it should still be viable to do so in your +3 armor deathrobe at rez, and if you don't wanna take the risk just stay out of Fel.
Im a nub all over again, so still getting used to the changes. I encourage others to update and post their concerns/opinions, as I plan to do the same. The more ideas we can throw out, the more chances we have at a salvaging hand grabbing one. Even if to reiterate someone else, voice yourself.
- The economy is out of control. Gold sinks like the ones mentioned above are a great idea. The huge, over inflated numbers demanded for items in player to player trade scare new players when they start with 1000 gold and some bottom tier gear.
- Fix the exploits and cheats. Seriously, I left the game 10 years ago and came back to the same/similar exploits still being used by the games more deviant players. It's not fair when a game can't protect its honest and loyal players from people essentially being able to print their own money. This is directly related to the economy issue. With companies like searchuo being able to offer such "rare" items on a whim, on any server, along with the knowledge that this game has longstanding loopholes, it has to make you wonder if EA is in cahoots with companies of that nature.
- Less NPC escort quests, and/or more informative interactions with NPCs in Trammel/bgeinner towns. New players need to be informed of things such as skill caps, both hard and soft (soft cap being maximum you can achieve with player earned points towards skills/stats;hard being maximum overall stat achievable with armor/item/potion/scroll/spell bonuses added in)
I absolutely support the idea of removing the ability to choose where a new player starts, and instead having the game choose the starting city for the player according to the skills chosen at the character creation page (Miners/smiths/tinker Minoc, Carpenter/archer/bowcrafter Yew, etc etc)
- Bring back a counselor type program, perhaps with established guilds of a certain amount of time being able to "squire" or sponsor new players (with a max capacity of pledges based on guild size, and the inability to squire character who already have a person in that guild). Have a device on all involved character(s) that keeps time of how long the new player(s) is within a certain range of said sponsor(s) and introduce a rewards system based on time that can benefit both the guild and the new player while promoting the UO spirit.
- It means nothing to own a house anymore. The trammel/fel need to be combined as a result of the introduction of Malas imo, or something to a similar effect. ***I must note that I absolutely LOVE that they put in a higher risk, higher rewards system with fel loot/mining/lumberjacking****
- Items have become confusing. Its no longer the simple "fortified silver katana of vanquishing" but rather stuff that sometimes leaves me staring because it's so frustrating to have to read 5 paragraphs for each item of the 50 that dropped off what i just killed. Cut back the number of items dropped from monster kills, and increase the value of those that are dropped. The stats/mechanics on items need to explained through NPC quest chains found in the regions available for starting players.
- Get rid of imbuing. Seriously. UO was a good song until Imbuing made it overproduced.
As I said, in the past few weeks I've rejoined the community I once loved when I was a kid. This game set the standard and to this day I stand behind it being my favorite game of all time. Let's do our part and keep fresh ideas coming.
**Bring back metal armor. Blacksmiths seem to only be useful for weapons. There's no reason leather armor should be offering the same protection/resist as metal armor. Why kill all the hard work they did changing ore spawns by making it not matter?
**The EC is awkward. Clean the paperdolls up a tad, add in a friends list, add in an item intensity indicator, implement a functional tab targeting system that can successfully cycle nearby targets you are able to attack
**Herding is not useless; it still works from stealth. This translates to the gm herder/hide/stealther owns destard whenever he/she feels like it.
**Item insurance is BS. Other Facets were created so pkers couldnt take loot. If an orc kills you and wants to rummage through your stuff to take your level 11 artifact, so be it. From when I originally played, it actually meant something to have a blessed item (i miss having a blessed katana of vanq and a bless 2h warhammer fort of vanq /sigh) The insurance system was overkill. If people wanna pvp or pk, it should still be viable to do so in your +3 armor deathrobe at rez, and if you don't wanna take the risk just stay out of Fel.
Im a nub all over again, so still getting used to the changes. I encourage others to update and post their concerns/opinions, as I plan to do the same. The more ideas we can throw out, the more chances we have at a salvaging hand grabbing one. Even if to reiterate someone else, voice yourself.
^^^ Signed! These are some great points! I don't necessarily think Imbuing needs to go, but it should get a bit more under control.
Now that I think about it, the metal armor thing is serious! I didn't notice really since I make tailors. Please investigate!
Now that I think about it, the metal armor thing is serious! I didn't notice really since I make tailors. Please investigate!
Im going to have to add that the UO store wasnt around when I last played. When I look at all the new abilities and modding and how the crafting system works, and I see the prices in the uo store it is CLEARLY gouging. Why charge so much for stuff for a game that is trying to revive its population? Keep pvm loot drops more powerful than 98% of anything craftable and stop trying to suck every last penny out of your last subscribers (who you have already abused enough. I'm comfortable saying this because I saw UO in its past and now, unfortunately, I'm trying to deal with its present.)
No new people will want to start the game when they find out not only are they gonna spends days, if not weeks, possibly months learning and perfecting their character templates in crafting and gaining skill only to be stuck with having to pay 10$ to skip the time of waiting to craft the nicest of items.
Stop the headsplitting, make it 2-3$. I understand the game needs funding to develop but the game is going about it the wrong way, and it's directly related to the impression new players will get.
No new people will want to start the game when they find out not only are they gonna spends days, if not weeks, possibly months learning and perfecting their character templates in crafting and gaining skill only to be stuck with having to pay 10$ to skip the time of waiting to craft the nicest of items.
Stop the headsplitting, make it 2-3$. I understand the game needs funding to develop but the game is going about it the wrong way, and it's directly related to the impression new players will get.
Hail, I haven't read any of this thread, but wanted to add something my son noticed.
He made a new character on Atlantic that was an archer, which means I cannot help him out much from Pac. Anyway, His character was an Elf so got a elven bow. This is all fine, except he could not hold it because of strength requirements. I of course could only help him by telling him to raise str by locking dex and raising lumberjacking.
My point is that when I started thirteen years ago I had a practice bow that I could yield from the start. If it is a problem to make a practice elven bow then at least make it out of ash so it includes lower requirements.
I bet there are other newbie weapons or default items given at the start that are pointless. Maybe there is a quest to get a lower requirements weapon, but giving a gift not useable is pointless.
-Lorax
He made a new character on Atlantic that was an archer, which means I cannot help him out much from Pac. Anyway, His character was an Elf so got a elven bow. This is all fine, except he could not hold it because of strength requirements. I of course could only help him by telling him to raise str by locking dex and raising lumberjacking.
My point is that when I started thirteen years ago I had a practice bow that I could yield from the start. If it is a problem to make a practice elven bow then at least make it out of ash so it includes lower requirements.
I bet there are other newbie weapons or default items given at the start that are pointless. Maybe there is a quest to get a lower requirements weapon, but giving a gift not useable is pointless.
-Lorax
P
pgib
Guest
1. put tooltips on items. On mouse over -> this is a X and you can use to do Y
2. same for npc. I am a X and i can do YWZ
3. create a decent map system, one that tells you where you are and where you can go from there.
4. throw the current quest system and all the quests in the trashcan and do something else because the UO quest system is the worst ever seen in any online-offline-godknowsline game. Ever.
2. same for npc. I am a X and i can do YWZ
3. create a decent map system, one that tells you where you are and where you can go from there.
4. throw the current quest system and all the quests in the trashcan and do something else because the UO quest system is the worst ever seen in any online-offline-godknowsline game. Ever.
B
blankawanli
Guest
Of course, you should practice more.
J
Jonathan Baron
Guest
This is the original design for New Haven from '99 or earlier...it was called Haven then. Yes it relies on volunteer helpers but its approach is more in line with what I've been reading here.
The whole idea of dropping gold on NPC heads....well...it was never meant to be. And on The Lifeboat (otherwise known as the Atlantic Shard) there is almost a defacto Counselor/Companion system in place that covers the inexplicable gaps such as not being able to get a mage spellbook in New Haven...or, rather, one that's not gimped. If folks have the gumption to ask for things they need they generally get them.
Alas, I cannot preserve the formatting of the original doc here and it's too large to attach.
Jonathan
------------------------------------
Haven
A city for the new player
Once a new player has completed the tutorial, they will be taken to Haven. Haven is a city where companions will teach new players “the ropes” of Ultima Online. Since all players exiting the tutorial will need to become comfortable with their new skills, Haven provides a safe venue where that can be done. When the players feel comfortable, they can choose to learn the more advanced features of the game.
In Haven, players will be able to find Companions. Companions are volunteer players who will spend their time in Haven helping new players. Companions will be in Haven to answer any questions a player might have.
In addition to Companions Haven will have smarter NPCs. These NPCs will be able to give clear directions, tell a player where the nearest companion is, and if the player is at the correct station, they will be able to give them instruction on how to use their skill. For instance, if you wish to learn how to blacksmith, the Haven blacksmith could provide you with tools, materials, and basic instructions.
Because Haven will be on an island, it will be cut off from the rest of Britannia. Only “young” players and companions will have access to the island.
Scope
Because of the interactivity available in Haven with companions, the scope of Haven will be much larger than that of the tutorial. Haven will be a “free time” area in which players will be able to progress at their own speed. Thus, advanced skills will be able to be learned in Haven, but the player will never feel rushed to learn them.
1. Introduction to and interaction with companions
2. Greater interaction with NPCs
3. Learning to use skills
4. Using tools of the trade
5. Social interaction
Where will Haven be?
Haven will be located at the mirrored version of Ocllo. Surrounding Ocllo will be teleportation tiles which will make Ocllo unreachable by the normal player. Using a preexisting site will save time and memory. Ocllo was selected because:
1. It is located on a low usage area server.
2. It has surrounding wilderness.
3. It is relatively easy to make accessible through only controlled means.
4. It is a large area, which will easily support 100 players or more at a time.
5. It has all the necessities of gameplay.
Introduction to and interaction with companions
When a player leaves the tutorial for the first time, a companion will be notified of the new arrival into Haven. The new player will arrive in a location which is representative of their main skill. Thus, if they have a 50 in cooking, they would be dropped off at the Haven Bakery. The companion would greet them, and offer to get them started on learning their skills, or just let them “browse” if that is their choice.
The companion program should be fully staffed at this point. The current program, as it stands now has 1065 trainees of which probably 900 will eventually graduate. By the time Haven goes live we should have 1,200-1500 active. The goal is to have a minimum of 4 active per shard each hour the game is up.
Greater interaction with NPCs
The NPCs of Haven will be unlike those on the regular shard. Each one will be scripted with responses more appropriate to new players. Although fiction and feel is a concern, teaching will be the biggest thrust of the new NPCs. Thus, these NPCs will actually give players commands such as “USE [DBL-CLICK ON] the hammer while standing near the forge and anvil.” These new NPCs will be friendlier and will speak directly to the players. Thus new players will not be confused by conversations with other new players.
New NPCs will:
• Use clear phrases that may break fiction, but will be able to be understood by newer players.
• Will be able to give clear directions to hotspots. (Blacksmith can tell players how to get to the bakery.)
• Will be able to locate the nearest companion.
• Will have all materials necessary for new players to learn skills, but will not give them more than they need.
• Will understand important catchphrases:
How + make + armor = “To make metal armor you will need to have metal ingots, a hammer…”
Learning to use skills and tools of the trade
Learning to use skills will be the main thrust of Haven. Therefore, a two-pronged approach will be used: NPCs, and companions. Below is a listing of skills and the locations where those skills will be taught by NPCs.
NPC tutorial scripts will have to be written for each skill to be taught.
Besides learning basic skills of their character, players will also be taught how to:
Access their account at the bank. (9)
Use a ship at the dock. (17)
Tools and materials will be provided by the NPCs, or the companions will have access to them. Either way, the players will never have to worry about not having what they need to learn their skills. However, the players will be able to garner all necessary material in the way they normally would.
Taste ID
1 Alchemist
Archery 19 Archery Range
Bowcraft / Fletching 19 Archery Range
Fletcher 19 Archery Range
Cooking 10 Bakery
Musicianship 9 Bards Hall
Blacksmith 13 Blacksmith
Item Identification 13 Blacksmith
Tinkering 6 Clock Maker
Fishing 17 Dock
Herding Farm House
Animal Lore Farm House
Animal Taming Farm House
Anatomy 15 Hospital
Forensic Evaluation 15 Hospital
Healing 15 Hospital
Peacemaking 18 Inn
Provocation 18 Inn
Evaluate Intelligence 1 Library
Inscription 1 Library
Alchemy 8 Mage Shop
Magery 8 Mage Shop
Cartography 11 Mapmaker
Mining Miner Cave
Spirit Speak 15 Morgue
Tailoring 12 Seamstress
Begging Street
Lockpicking 4 Thieves Guild
Poisoning 4 Thieves Guild
Remove Trap 4 Thieves Guild
Snooping 4 Thieves Guild
Stealing 4 Thieves Guild
Arms Lore 14 Weapon Trainer
Fencing 14 Weapon Trainer
Mace Fighting 14 Weapon Trainer
Parrying 14 Weapon Trainer
Swordsmanship 14 Weapon Trainer
Wrestling 14 Weapon Trainer
Camping 19 Woodsman Hut
Detecting Hidden 19 Woodsman Hut
Hiding 19 Woodsman Hut
Lumberjacking 19 Woodsman Hut
Tracking 19 Woodsman Hut
Veterinary 19 Woodsman Hut
Carpentry 5 Woodworker
Schedule
Retrofit buildings in Ocllo 4 weeks
Script Haven NPCs 5 weeks ( 1 week concurrent )
Write templates & scripts
Write dialogues
Submit dialogues for review to Marketing and CR
Cut off access to Ocllo 1 week
Add moongates to Haven that go to “real world” 1 week
These Moongates delete items with objVar = Haven
Train Volunteers in Haven 2 weeks
Test Time 3 weeks
Total Time 15 Weeks
Summary
Although the Haven project has a larger scope than the tutorial, because it uses current game mechanics, Haven will be a better introduction to the true game. The largest portion of the work for Haven will involve training the volunteers on the usage of Haven, retrofitting Ocllo, and scripting out the NPCs. Testing time will also be significant.
By the time a player emerges from Haven, they will know how to use all of their skills and they will be “as ready as can be” to emerge into mainstream UO.
The whole idea of dropping gold on NPC heads....well...it was never meant to be. And on The Lifeboat (otherwise known as the Atlantic Shard) there is almost a defacto Counselor/Companion system in place that covers the inexplicable gaps such as not being able to get a mage spellbook in New Haven...or, rather, one that's not gimped. If folks have the gumption to ask for things they need they generally get them.
Alas, I cannot preserve the formatting of the original doc here and it's too large to attach.
Jonathan
------------------------------------
Haven
A city for the new player
Once a new player has completed the tutorial, they will be taken to Haven. Haven is a city where companions will teach new players “the ropes” of Ultima Online. Since all players exiting the tutorial will need to become comfortable with their new skills, Haven provides a safe venue where that can be done. When the players feel comfortable, they can choose to learn the more advanced features of the game.
In Haven, players will be able to find Companions. Companions are volunteer players who will spend their time in Haven helping new players. Companions will be in Haven to answer any questions a player might have.
In addition to Companions Haven will have smarter NPCs. These NPCs will be able to give clear directions, tell a player where the nearest companion is, and if the player is at the correct station, they will be able to give them instruction on how to use their skill. For instance, if you wish to learn how to blacksmith, the Haven blacksmith could provide you with tools, materials, and basic instructions.
Because Haven will be on an island, it will be cut off from the rest of Britannia. Only “young” players and companions will have access to the island.
Scope
Because of the interactivity available in Haven with companions, the scope of Haven will be much larger than that of the tutorial. Haven will be a “free time” area in which players will be able to progress at their own speed. Thus, advanced skills will be able to be learned in Haven, but the player will never feel rushed to learn them.
1. Introduction to and interaction with companions
2. Greater interaction with NPCs
3. Learning to use skills
4. Using tools of the trade
5. Social interaction
Where will Haven be?
Haven will be located at the mirrored version of Ocllo. Surrounding Ocllo will be teleportation tiles which will make Ocllo unreachable by the normal player. Using a preexisting site will save time and memory. Ocllo was selected because:
1. It is located on a low usage area server.
2. It has surrounding wilderness.
3. It is relatively easy to make accessible through only controlled means.
4. It is a large area, which will easily support 100 players or more at a time.
5. It has all the necessities of gameplay.
Introduction to and interaction with companions
When a player leaves the tutorial for the first time, a companion will be notified of the new arrival into Haven. The new player will arrive in a location which is representative of their main skill. Thus, if they have a 50 in cooking, they would be dropped off at the Haven Bakery. The companion would greet them, and offer to get them started on learning their skills, or just let them “browse” if that is their choice.
The companion program should be fully staffed at this point. The current program, as it stands now has 1065 trainees of which probably 900 will eventually graduate. By the time Haven goes live we should have 1,200-1500 active. The goal is to have a minimum of 4 active per shard each hour the game is up.
Greater interaction with NPCs
The NPCs of Haven will be unlike those on the regular shard. Each one will be scripted with responses more appropriate to new players. Although fiction and feel is a concern, teaching will be the biggest thrust of the new NPCs. Thus, these NPCs will actually give players commands such as “USE [DBL-CLICK ON] the hammer while standing near the forge and anvil.” These new NPCs will be friendlier and will speak directly to the players. Thus new players will not be confused by conversations with other new players.
New NPCs will:
• Use clear phrases that may break fiction, but will be able to be understood by newer players.
• Will be able to give clear directions to hotspots. (Blacksmith can tell players how to get to the bakery.)
• Will be able to locate the nearest companion.
• Will have all materials necessary for new players to learn skills, but will not give them more than they need.
• Will understand important catchphrases:
How + make + armor = “To make metal armor you will need to have metal ingots, a hammer…”
Learning to use skills and tools of the trade
Learning to use skills will be the main thrust of Haven. Therefore, a two-pronged approach will be used: NPCs, and companions. Below is a listing of skills and the locations where those skills will be taught by NPCs.
NPC tutorial scripts will have to be written for each skill to be taught.
Besides learning basic skills of their character, players will also be taught how to:
Access their account at the bank. (9)
Use a ship at the dock. (17)
Tools and materials will be provided by the NPCs, or the companions will have access to them. Either way, the players will never have to worry about not having what they need to learn their skills. However, the players will be able to garner all necessary material in the way they normally would.
Taste ID
1 Alchemist
Archery 19 Archery Range
Bowcraft / Fletching 19 Archery Range
Fletcher 19 Archery Range
Cooking 10 Bakery
Musicianship 9 Bards Hall
Blacksmith 13 Blacksmith
Item Identification 13 Blacksmith
Tinkering 6 Clock Maker
Fishing 17 Dock
Herding Farm House
Animal Lore Farm House
Animal Taming Farm House
Anatomy 15 Hospital
Forensic Evaluation 15 Hospital
Healing 15 Hospital
Peacemaking 18 Inn
Provocation 18 Inn
Evaluate Intelligence 1 Library
Inscription 1 Library
Alchemy 8 Mage Shop
Magery 8 Mage Shop
Cartography 11 Mapmaker
Mining Miner Cave
Spirit Speak 15 Morgue
Tailoring 12 Seamstress
Begging Street
Lockpicking 4 Thieves Guild
Poisoning 4 Thieves Guild
Remove Trap 4 Thieves Guild
Snooping 4 Thieves Guild
Stealing 4 Thieves Guild
Arms Lore 14 Weapon Trainer
Fencing 14 Weapon Trainer
Mace Fighting 14 Weapon Trainer
Parrying 14 Weapon Trainer
Swordsmanship 14 Weapon Trainer
Wrestling 14 Weapon Trainer
Camping 19 Woodsman Hut
Detecting Hidden 19 Woodsman Hut
Hiding 19 Woodsman Hut
Lumberjacking 19 Woodsman Hut
Tracking 19 Woodsman Hut
Veterinary 19 Woodsman Hut
Carpentry 5 Woodworker
Schedule
Retrofit buildings in Ocllo 4 weeks
Script Haven NPCs 5 weeks ( 1 week concurrent )
Write templates & scripts
Write dialogues
Submit dialogues for review to Marketing and CR
Cut off access to Ocllo 1 week
Add moongates to Haven that go to “real world” 1 week
These Moongates delete items with objVar = Haven
Train Volunteers in Haven 2 weeks
Test Time 3 weeks
Total Time 15 Weeks
Summary
Although the Haven project has a larger scope than the tutorial, because it uses current game mechanics, Haven will be a better introduction to the true game. The largest portion of the work for Haven will involve training the volunteers on the usage of Haven, retrofitting Ocllo, and scripting out the NPCs. Testing time will also be significant.
By the time a player emerges from Haven, they will know how to use all of their skills and they will be “as ready as can be” to emerge into mainstream UO.
J
Jonathan Baron
Guest
There are many additional tooltips in the Pinco UI mods to the enhanced client and a much better map system, though with fewer features than you propose. It really does help with the whole New Haven hunt as it shows you where to find all those NPCs you need at first. Sir Helper is singularly unhelpful alas.
And, yes, in UO it's all Fed-Ex quests. That was a derisive term for pickup/delivery based quests coined in the 1980s for early MMOs but it lives on here. Problem is that genuine multiplayer quest attempts proved a real problem too.
I miss old Haven. I actually had a lot of fun there.
I wish they would have expanded it instead of destroying it.
I wish they would have expanded it instead of destroying it.
One Client. One UI
The Enhanced Client with a classic client graphics toggle.
The default settings on the Enhanced Client are wrong to begin with, try asking a pro who plays what settings they play with, it took me hours to configure the settings into a playable user friendly style. And it took me equally as long to talk through with my guild mates what settings to change to make the game playable and to make them play at a competitive standard.
I tell you the truth
The Enhanced Client with a classic client graphics toggle.
The default settings on the Enhanced Client are wrong to begin with, try asking a pro who plays what settings they play with, it took me hours to configure the settings into a playable user friendly style. And it took me equally as long to talk through with my guild mates what settings to change to make the game playable and to make them play at a competitive standard.
I tell you the truth
J
Jonathan Baron
Guest
Indeed, supporting two clients with already limited resources in a game in peril is startling.
In addition to informed default settings they should get with Pinco as so many of us rely on his UO mods to the EC to provide all manner of functionality.
Just the pet lore gump alone is a great example. Default: three pages of stats on animals with no hint of what they mean. In Pinco's you see all the stats on one page, each compared to max stats for the animal species and a reliable pet power score.
The very idea that you have to spend hours reading on another platform apart from the client to have any hope of grasping the bare basics of the game is absurd in 2012. Plus you have to find them on your own. Pinco's adds extended tool tips to so many things, from what various imbuing ingredients are used for to where you can find them to what enchanted apples do.
With Pinco's and the EC with smart defaults a new player would never attack a friend or guildmate by accident much less his own pet, would not need to know the archaic syntax of many verbal commands and, with one keystroke, heal the friend who has the lowest health.
In addition to informed default settings they should get with Pinco as so many of us rely on his UO mods to the EC to provide all manner of functionality.
Just the pet lore gump alone is a great example. Default: three pages of stats on animals with no hint of what they mean. In Pinco's you see all the stats on one page, each compared to max stats for the animal species and a reliable pet power score.
The very idea that you have to spend hours reading on another platform apart from the client to have any hope of grasping the bare basics of the game is absurd in 2012. Plus you have to find them on your own. Pinco's adds extended tool tips to so many things, from what various imbuing ingredients are used for to where you can find them to what enchanted apples do.
With Pinco's and the EC with smart defaults a new player would never attack a friend or guildmate by accident much less his own pet, would not need to know the archaic syntax of many verbal commands and, with one keystroke, heal the friend who has the lowest health.
S
Sevin0oo0
Guest
Since it's been posted several times now that the "Experience" is officially on-hold and this thread is destined to go the way of all well intentioned threads. I've read every post here, I bet the Devs have too, many very good ideas, if it's not enough to spur their imagination with a lot of good groundwork, it never will. I'll add a few notes while it's still a stickie
non-shared kills, and skill gains give points tradeable for blessed for <name> or no-drop items
1 soulstone built into Bank, easier information, starting AR>0
Lastly, Most games have "levels" but UO doesn't, why not use #'s instead of titles? Still open-ended, as current, but numbers before that. What skill is Adept? 60, 70, 50? see what I mean? don't make them leave the game to do 'research'.
long live the noob!
non-shared kills, and skill gains give points tradeable for blessed for <name> or no-drop items
1 soulstone built into Bank, easier information, starting AR>0
Lastly, Most games have "levels" but UO doesn't, why not use #'s instead of titles? Still open-ended, as current, but numbers before that. What skill is Adept? 60, 70, 50? see what I mean? don't make them leave the game to do 'research'.
long live the noob!
D
Don Alegro
Guest
Easy Fix to help newbs in game why not let them earn in haven only gold at 10 times the normal pay while they are new player char status this ways its only a limited time and not a lot of abuse can be had from it. Also allow them to place tents with like 2 boxs in it so they can store their stuff while they play in haven make them decay like the normal house decay 7 days after placement and send them warnings ever time they log in about house decay as it is only temp until they place a reg house
D
Don Alegro
Guest
Set up another town so people could have smalll vendor houses maybe 10x10 maybe even pay real cash to have it even like $1 a month so you can have it as an extra house and make a teleport from luna so people can go. Make small cobblestone streets that meander like an old village and the plot could be 7x7 to 10x10 maybe like 1000 spots. each shard could build its own village for sales and make the plots customizble with maybe only 500 lockdowns and max 5 vendors per house so people could design their house like the items they sell.
Let me put my words in here. This is the first time I have seen this thread, but for years I have been sort of a companion myself, never realizing there used to be official ones. I have spent about 7 years learning and helping others to get up to speed, or in whatever way I could. After a few requests by friends, I finally co-founded my own town to much more efficiently do what so many have been doing on their own. We set up a town in Chesapeake Malas to be sort of an after Haven training facility, named the "Oasis Project".
This town of Oasis consists in part, of Consulates where all participating towns can be represented and gather beside other town leaders for safe and convenient planning. Each has a secured consulate office to cooperate on plans to repel invasions, make treaties, or whatever. This was a design of the Nidaros leadership and is the first time such a thing has ever been seen, that I am aware of.
The rest of Oasis is for getting people up to speed, and is one of only two player run 'facilities' brought to Mesanna's eventual attention by Nimuaq of Europa. The other being the new player house in Europa built and operated by the wonderful lady, Minerva Foxglove.
I relied on my experience with over a hundred new or returning players to design the components of Oasis. It has a section with IN GAME INSTRUCTION BOOKS, more being written, that teach How To do things like use insurance, get resurrected and recover your items, use rune Book and so forth. These are things I have had to personally explain a hundred times to other people. It has secure storage to provide PATRON DONATED MATERIALS to residents that are unable to get them on their own. It has a GUILD HALL where all participating guilds are represented for new people to look over and select from. Each Guild gets a descriptive book and a bulletin board to sign up on to meet them. It has a building with all manner of EQUIPMENT to save players from having to buy and find floor space to place in their own house. This became quite a task with the advent of the Soul Forge. Oasis is constructing a CRAFTING HALL with samples of what each craft can do and instructions on how to begin. Oasis keeps a LIST OF RETURNING PLAYERS that we come across, to help others know if they have returned, and to find them easier. There is a LIST OF MINI CLASSES for new people, where an instruction book would be insufficient. Things like special weapon attacks are reserved for class. There are house teleporters to REMOTE TRAINING CENTERS which Oasis supporters have set up elsewhere in the realm.
Having dealt with me personally over the years, guilds have been sending new people to Oasis to get them 'up to speed' a bit and to get an overall understanding of life in the realm. The main thing about Oasis however, is that In its first 5 weeks 24 new or returning players, mostly on trial accounts, have been quite pleased, felt the community inherent in this world, and all have said they decided to stay. I have met up to 4 players a day in Haven who were new or returning. And I have not spent the whole day standing in the town square. If there is some obvious way to come to a place like Oasis from Haven, that anyone can easily find and use, then we won't accidentally run across people wandering aimlessly through the countryside having no idea what to do, and giving up.
The town is operational, but I cannot man it alone. Others have been a great help, and message boards and schedules need to be set up. Even if we cannot man the station 24 hours a day, messages can be left to find a time. I admit this is the only real weakness we have, finding warm bodies. Had such a place been here before, that might not be a problem now. After all, that is exactly the problem Oasis was built to help alleviate. Two of the towns 'trainees' have set up houses in Oasis and are helping to keep it going! I'd say this thing has shown results.
If you are in Chesapeake, I'd appreciate your time. It' the only thing I am limited in. And if you are in Europa, find the New Players House run by Minerva Foxglove. She has been working much too hard for years, and her friends have done a tremendous job, but we always need more time. If you want the streets to have people in them, donate some time to make people feel the old UO cornerstone of community. Something no one else really has. 100% of the returning people have said they miss the community, they miss the housing, they miss the chance to do anything, any time, anywhere. And all other places were 'hollow' somehow.
You speak of plans to keep players. We have come pretty close by using one of the classic methods you reminded us of. Talk to the people.
This town of Oasis consists in part, of Consulates where all participating towns can be represented and gather beside other town leaders for safe and convenient planning. Each has a secured consulate office to cooperate on plans to repel invasions, make treaties, or whatever. This was a design of the Nidaros leadership and is the first time such a thing has ever been seen, that I am aware of.
The rest of Oasis is for getting people up to speed, and is one of only two player run 'facilities' brought to Mesanna's eventual attention by Nimuaq of Europa. The other being the new player house in Europa built and operated by the wonderful lady, Minerva Foxglove.
I relied on my experience with over a hundred new or returning players to design the components of Oasis. It has a section with IN GAME INSTRUCTION BOOKS, more being written, that teach How To do things like use insurance, get resurrected and recover your items, use rune Book and so forth. These are things I have had to personally explain a hundred times to other people. It has secure storage to provide PATRON DONATED MATERIALS to residents that are unable to get them on their own. It has a GUILD HALL where all participating guilds are represented for new people to look over and select from. Each Guild gets a descriptive book and a bulletin board to sign up on to meet them. It has a building with all manner of EQUIPMENT to save players from having to buy and find floor space to place in their own house. This became quite a task with the advent of the Soul Forge. Oasis is constructing a CRAFTING HALL with samples of what each craft can do and instructions on how to begin. Oasis keeps a LIST OF RETURNING PLAYERS that we come across, to help others know if they have returned, and to find them easier. There is a LIST OF MINI CLASSES for new people, where an instruction book would be insufficient. Things like special weapon attacks are reserved for class. There are house teleporters to REMOTE TRAINING CENTERS which Oasis supporters have set up elsewhere in the realm.
Having dealt with me personally over the years, guilds have been sending new people to Oasis to get them 'up to speed' a bit and to get an overall understanding of life in the realm. The main thing about Oasis however, is that In its first 5 weeks 24 new or returning players, mostly on trial accounts, have been quite pleased, felt the community inherent in this world, and all have said they decided to stay. I have met up to 4 players a day in Haven who were new or returning. And I have not spent the whole day standing in the town square. If there is some obvious way to come to a place like Oasis from Haven, that anyone can easily find and use, then we won't accidentally run across people wandering aimlessly through the countryside having no idea what to do, and giving up.
The town is operational, but I cannot man it alone. Others have been a great help, and message boards and schedules need to be set up. Even if we cannot man the station 24 hours a day, messages can be left to find a time. I admit this is the only real weakness we have, finding warm bodies. Had such a place been here before, that might not be a problem now. After all, that is exactly the problem Oasis was built to help alleviate. Two of the towns 'trainees' have set up houses in Oasis and are helping to keep it going! I'd say this thing has shown results.
If you are in Chesapeake, I'd appreciate your time. It' the only thing I am limited in. And if you are in Europa, find the New Players House run by Minerva Foxglove. She has been working much too hard for years, and her friends have done a tremendous job, but we always need more time. If you want the streets to have people in them, donate some time to make people feel the old UO cornerstone of community. Something no one else really has. 100% of the returning people have said they miss the community, they miss the housing, they miss the chance to do anything, any time, anywhere. And all other places were 'hollow' somehow.
You speak of plans to keep players. We have come pretty close by using one of the classic methods you reminded us of. Talk to the people.