Expansion Idea -Ultima Online: Reign of Kings

[Coldren]

** LONG THREAD: TLDR Version – New UO Expansion idea that builds upon player tools and communities already in place rather than new lands, skills, or races. It’s an expansion that’s sole purpose is to give tools to allow the players to provide the content, conflict, and creativity. ***

With the launch of Stygian Abyss now well under way, and with the recent interview at MMORPG.com with Draconi about where they hope to bring UO in the future, I thought of an idea for what I think would make a great expansion to UO.

It wouldn’t add land.
It wouldn’t add a race.
It wouldn’t add new abilities.

It would be a refinement of the world which has already been created. It would take existing ideas and concepts unique to UO to a whole new level. It’d mean some major alterations to existing systems, and if you read the ideas I will put forth, you’ll understand why it’d be an expansion pack unto itself.

This is a BIG idea, broad and scope, with a degree of difficulty that I don’t think has been accomplished by any MMO. I have no illusion about the possibility of any of this being done – It’s practically 0. But if even a small fraction of these ideas were implemented, I think it would be a boon to UO, and another feature that UO can lay claim to that no other MMO offers.

So, for your edification, and without further ado, I give you..

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Ultima Online: Reign of Kings
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“Noble citizens of Sosaria! Heed my call!

The width and breadth of Sosaria has been explored, from hidden lands of Malas, to the ominous depths of the Abyss. For an age, the fate of the citizens of Sosaria has been manipulated by dark hands with hidden agendas – The Guardian, Mondain, Minax, The Shadow Lords, the Crimson and Platinum Dragons. But the time the fates have allotted them is fast falling to shadow. It is time the Champions of Virtue rise to seize control of the lands, and usher in a new era of peace and prosperity!

But be warned! The power to shape the world will not go unchallenged! New forces will rise to usurp control from those who would guide us by the light of the Virtues!

And in time, you may find that the most sinister and diabolical hand does not belong to an unseen foe, but is seen wherever we gaze into a mirror...”

- Dawn


Features:

Allegiance System
Nobility System
Auction Houses
City Invasions

 

[Coldren]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Regin of Kings

**Allegiance System – In any war, lines must be drawn, and allegiances must be chosen. This is the heart and soul of the expansion. It should be noted first and foremost that this system is 100% optional to partake in.

With the introduction of the loyalty system in Stygian Abyss, a new mechanic has been made available to further define those lines. Each major city in the lands Trammel and Felucca will have a reputation system similar to that of the Gargoyle Royal City. Guilds will also have a similar capability, as explained below.

How it works:

As stated, each city has its own loyalty that players can increase their standing with. To begin the journey, a player talks to an NPC to begin working towards citizenship and nobility for that city. Players can attain the highest loyalty with every city, however, they can only declare allegiance and gain loyalty one city at a time, and they can only change allegiance once after a certain period of time, say, three weeks. Think of this as a twist on the existing factions system. Expect it to have larger values of maximum standing, and take a great deal of time to “complete”. It will be accomplished in one of two ways for all cities, and a unique third way for Felucca cities:

1) Fighting monsters in designated Anti-Virtue dungeon associated with the city. Each Anti-Virtue dungeon will have it’s monsters added to it (and some taken away) to fit a theme according to the virtues (See http://www.uoguide.com/Virtues for reference). For example, in Shame, NPC’s with names like “Dishonrable Thief/Mage/Warrior”, or “Cowardly Dragon/Wyvern” can be added that would give loyalty gains above and beyond what normal monsters exist in that dungeon. This would only be in namesake and for loyalty gains – they’d be no different from their common counterparts. Felucca Anti-Virtue dungeons would give double the reputation for their respective cities, but not their Trammel counterparts.

2) Completing repeatable quests and donations of resources, craftable goods, or gold. This would be like the Heartwood quests, where NPC’s will have certain resources or items will need to be turned in. This would include quests for all major trades and resources consisting of both raw materials and finished goods (Reagents, Ingots, Wood, Imbuing materials, tools, spell books, etc.)

HOWEVER, to prevent from scripting (And for another reason- The Nobility System), you can only do so many of these quests per day per character per NPC, and the resources need to be dynamic and always changing, varying within the theme. The number should be ample enough for a regular player, but not so large that scripters would gain an advantage. NPC’s who take blacksmithing equipment need to rotate what item they want – Longswords one day, katanas the next, then chain helms, etc. The same theory with alchemists, scribes, tinkers, carpenters, imbuners, tailors, and cooks. And there will also be a cap on how much gold a city will accept in donations per day.

3) PvP Combat – Killing players who swear allegiance to an opposing city (More on this later) will also give loyalty gains based on the victim's total skill points, with diminishing returns to help prevent abusing the system and to deter hunting newer characters or players. In Felucca, killing players who have sworn allegiance to your own city will cause you to lose loyalty. If your loyalty rating drops to 0 or lower, your allegiance is removed entirely, and you will not be able to swear allegiance to that city again for a set period of time.

Guilds will also be able to declare allegiance in the same way characters do. However, if a guild swears allegiance to a city, it will only gain allegiance if members also swear allegiance to the same city. For each point individual players gain in allegiance, the guild will earn a fraction of that, say half. Also, if a guild member has attained the highest loyalty rating, any actions taken to gain loyalty will still contribute to the guild’s loyalty pool at the same rate.

The final part, I’m not sure if it should be Felucca only, or if Trammel should be included. Each city can declare war on any 2 other cities. No city can be at war with more than 2 other cities. Think of it as a pie, where each slice represents a city. The only ones you are at war with are the two adjacent to your slice. This prevents everyone from declaring war on one city. Killing members who swear allegiance to any other city will not be able to be engaged in combat (In Tram, but the same Free-For-All is possible in Felucca), and will not gain you any loyalty rating. Also, while you can travel to a city you are at war with, the NPC’s will not do business with you, you can’t access the bank, and the healers will not resurrect you. This is open for discussion, but it should at the very least be implemented in Felucca.

Rewards:

- Access to the Nobility System (More Below)

- Access to NPC’s that sell items and equipment specific to each city. This will largely be “fluff” items. By that I mean non-essential items, such as decorative clothing, housing decorations, mounts, or weapons and armor with a slightly different item model than their counterparts that can be imbued (For example, a city might have a longsword that has a different hilt and blade in appearance, but it would have the same special abilities, damage, and speed as a regular longsword). ***All usable and equippable items are only usable so long as you swear allegiance to that city. Decorations are excluded .***

- Decreased vendor and NPC charges for various services, such as pet resurrection, auction house fees, repair fees, training fees, and city-specific items and equipment.

- Guilds will be able to have a guild crest created and displayed in the cities town hall or counselor building. Members will also receive a further guild discount on top of their individual discounts by a small amount.

 

[Coldren]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Regin of Kings

**The Nobility System - Kings rule their lands, but they can’t do it alone. Players who raise their loyalty rating for their city will become eligible to take part in maintaining how the city is run.

How it Works:

1) Loyalty ratings work like the Gargoyle city. The ranks are:

Enemy – Only applies to cities at war with one another. See above.
Neutral – No penalties, all players are inherently neutral.
Friend – Access to the city auction house (More on this later).
Citizen – Access to all city-specific NPCS, vendors, and services.
Noble – Access to all NPCS, vendors, and services, at a discounted rate, as well as special items and services only available to the nobility. They are also eligible to be elected to the City Council.

2) Elections – Once every set period of time (Thinking 2-4 months), the city will hold City Council elections. Players with a loyalty rating of Citizen or higher can cast 1 vote for players eligible for the City Council, and cannot vote for themselves. Any character can vote in any city they have currently sworn allegiance to, but they can only cast 1 vote per account.

3) City Council – The City council, after being elected, is tasked with running the city. The council consists of at most 15 members (Account unique). After elections are complete, they will have a set period of time where the members of the council elect a Council Leader, again, voting not for themselves. Once a Council Leader is elected, he appoints 2 senior council members - Senator of War and Senator of Commerce.

In the event that no one votes, or not enough members are available, the slots will be filled according to Loyalty rating. In the event of a tie in Loyalty rating, one is chosen at random. Council members not appointed or elected as Council Leader will have no major role, but will gain title and access to unique items and services available only to sitting members of council.

4) Council Roles:

A)Council Leader – Appoints senior council members. They also list what cities are eligible to declare war on, and what range taxes will extend to. They also have access to a unique bank box that holds an additional 25 items for the duration of their rule, and receive a small fraction of the tax revenue.

B) Senator of War – Selects what cities from the list given by the Council Leader are given a declaration of war on a first come, first serve basis. In the event that cities chosen by the Council Leader are not eligible, the Senator can select from the list of eligible cities at his discretion . They can also negotiate with other cities Senators of War for temporary cease fires, where the state of war is suspended. They also decide what weapons and armor they want to collect for a unique collection quest that gains players loyalty, beyond the NPC based ones above. Also receives a special War horse usable for the duration of their rule.

C) Senator of Commerce – Decides the taxation rate for services within the range specified by the Council Leader. They also decide what resources they want to collect for a unique collection quest that gains players loyalty, beyond the NPC based ones above. Also are not charged for any services (pet resurrection, auction house fees, taxes) as well as an even higher discount for items unique to the city council for the duration of their rule.

5) Taxes – Purchasing goods and services provided by NPC’s will have a small tax added on to them. Buying from any NPC, using the auction house, pet resurrections, anything you pay for in the city will be taxed. The tax percentage will have a maximum value to help prevent abuse. Taxes will also vary depending on loyalty rating.

Rewards:

- Access to rewards specific to your city and standing within the loyalty system. Most items will be available to everyone who is a Citizen, but there will be even more unique items and decorations available only to Nobles, and additional items available to sitting members of the City Council.

- Members with a standing of Friend or higher receive access to the city Auction House with no Usage Fee.

 

[Coldren]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Regin of Kings

** City Auction Houses – Commerce plays a major role in the life of any citizen of Sosaria. As the Reign of Kings approaches, each city has been tasked with raising their own Auction House to ensure the centralization and protection of goods for their cities.

How it Works:

- Each city will have its own auction house.

- These auction houses will NEVER, EVER be linked.

- If you do not have a loyalty rating of Friend or higher with the city, a “Usage Fee” is applied. This is a small percentage of the sales price of any item you purchase collected by the NPC. It’s a pure gold sink.

- A fee to put up an item up for sale is applied based on the asking price, how long you want the item to be placed on the auction house, with a maximum duration of 1 week. The idea behind this is to make goods available in one place, easily found, but still make player vendors a viable option. Plus, it’s a good gold sink!

Auction houses are not only a largely requested feature, but they also add to the sense of community in UO. By not linking them together, players will travel to places they don’t normally go to, encouraging interaction and communication.

 

[Coldren]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Regin of Kings

** City Invasions – The war doesn’t take place only outside the city walls. Those who oppose the virtues are going to bring the war right to your doorstep!

How it Works:

At random times, NPC invasion forces will attack a random city. In these attacks, any NPC has a chance of being killed. AH NPCS, vendors, stable masters, healers, etc. To let an attack go unchallenged may leave these NPC’s unavailable to your city for an extended period of time. (Though in the case of an AH NPC, items will be returned to the player if killed, and a portion of any fees refunded, but not all… I imagine this NPC will be the hardest to kill, because making him easily killable, it could be a major annoyance to those who put up a lot of items.)

What determines an NPC invasion is:
1) The number of active players and guilds with an allegiance to the city. The higher the population, the more likely it is to be invaded.

2) The life expectancy of an NPC is based on the donations made by players to the Senator of War and Senator of Commerce’s quests and the taxes made. The higher the quality of items and resources the senators chose for the quest, the tougher the good NPC’s are.

3) The strength and duration of NPC invaders is also based on active players and guilds with allegiance to the city.

4) Values are calculated based on the previous election cycle’s numbers. So it’s based on the items collected and taxes set by the previous council, and the numbers of active players/guilds at that time

Rewards:

- City pride! A reason for PvE’ers to fight, for crafters to donate, and for players to form relations with other guilds and cities they normally wouldn’t. Or Community, if you will.

- Preserves NPC’s for all to access.

- Monsters killed will give higher-than-normal loyalty.

 

[Coldren]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Regin of Kings

Whew.. that about wraps it up! Thanks for reading this far. These are only 4 systems, but they are major changes to fundamental ways we play UO. It lets players drive conflict in a way that hasn’t been done before, and encourages players to interact in ways that haven’t been needed for a long time.

Comments and criticism welcome. And please, if any Dev even looks at this, can we get a *Nod* from you? Not even a comment! Just want to know it’s been read.

 

[Lost-Soul]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Regin of Kings

Sounds like you should just go play WoW instead.

 

[Coldren]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Regin of Kings

Sounds like you should just go play WoW instead.

The only thing close to WoW any of this has is Loyalty (reputations), and WoW doesn't really give players any control of the world based on Reputation. Just access to overpowered items that normally you have to raid to get equivalent items for. If you had read the details, you'd have seen some distinct differences.

And since you brought WoW into this, guess where the whole Gargoyle Loyalty idea probably came from?

 

[It Lives]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Regin of Kings

I agree that the team needs to TLC our game.

 

[Coldren]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Regin of Kings

I agree that the team needs to TLC our game, just not your way.

Would you mind expanding on this? Other than "No, that's not what this needs", perhaps why you don't like some of these ideas? Some flaws in the system you can point out?

[Edit] Ignore if this is no longer relevant after your edit. But by all means, feedback is good for the soul.

 

[phantus]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Reign of Kings

Criticism - I want shard-wide auction houses. I don't give 2 $%^@ if someone thinks it's too WoWish. Good ideas are good ideas.

 

[It Lives]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Reign of Kings

The auction house idea, too much room for exploiting.

Same for the kings ruling Idea, everyone wants to be king.(Don't we call it factions already).

The Invasion Idea is exploitable in the same manner as the other two ideas.


Multiple accounts, large guilds and those who have unlimited resources are what these ideas would revolve around.

We have systems now, that need work first.

 

[hawkeye_pike]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Reign of Kings

Working on a concept for community features. Stay tuned...

 

[Coldren]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Reign of Kings

Criticism - I want shard-wide auction houses. I don't give 2 $%^@ if someone thinks it's too WoWish. Good ideas are good ideas.

The fact that WoW links them had nothing to do with the idea. It was about giving each city it's own unique culture and economy - Something to help differentiate one city from another.

If you look at the picture as a whole, think of it like this as a possible scenario.

One player tends to only put his goods up for sale on one AH for whatever reason. Time, availability, whatever. Now, let's also say his prices are the best.

What happens when the city he did this is invaded? Will you help defend the city just to be sure then NPC vendor doesn't get killed there, giving you access to goods at a cheaper price? Are you going to work on gaining allegiance to make the cheaper goods a little bit cheaper? Find out where this guys Player Vendor is, if he has one?

Then there's the gold sink issue. By not linking them, you may get charged more at one AH than the other.

It's a matter of function why I don't think they should be linked.

 

[Cetric]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Reign of Kings

I like the allegiance idea. Bring back guilds like the moonglow militia, etc. guilds that were ocne roleplay guilds but based off the guarding and running of a city.

 

[Coldren]

Re: [Expansion Idea] Ultima Online: Reign of Kings

The auction house idea, too much room for exploiting.

May I ask how? Buy low, sell high is the only exploit I can think of, and already happens now with Player Run vendors. And AH fees are tied to Loyalty rating, which is an added barrier.

Same for the kings ruling Idea, everyone wants to be king.(Don't we call it factions already).

Factions aren't Democratic. And think what it takes to be "King". Politics, lobbying, getting to know people. Could large guilds hold sway over all cities? I suppose, but you'd need a lot of accounts and remember, 1 account, 1 vote for only 1 city.

And who doesn't want to be king? It's good to be the king! Something to strive for that's based on your involvement with the community that realistically, not many will achieve. A true rare!

The Invasion Idea is exploitable in the same manner as the other two ideas.

Invasions are random, but influenced by on population and active members. You only gain city loyalty for the city being invaded, if that's the one you swore allegiance to. How do you see this being perverted?

Multiple accounts, large guilds and those who have unlimited resources are what these ideas would revolve around.

Like now with Champ spawns, Luna vendors, and faction guilds?

Please continue. You're giving good feedback. No problem with you not liking the idea, but I enjoy discussing the flaws in the idea itself.