First impression

[Uvtha]

delete, doesn't matter.

 

[Smoot]

my first experience in Eadon:

i ran into the brick temple thing, fell off a wall and got stuck. i recalled back to luna.

dont go here:
it is trap

 

[OREOGL]

I decided to not run around Eodon until release to it would still be fresh, and I have now gotten a chance to do so... How do I put this kindly... nope, cant: Eodon is hideous. It looks like a half assed private shard.

I took a step in during testing just ot get a look at it, and I was like "oh well they haven't done the world building yet, this is just the foundation." Nope. It's either nothing or the same plant x1000 one next to the other.
The 2-3 trees with an invisible border in front of a wide-open field as the map boundaries. WHY. Why not just make trees so dense you can't pass them so it makes sense??! I just don't understand it. It looks SO terrible.

Couple areas around the gate are OK, but out further it is really rough looking.

What happened to the people who did the world building on the last 3 expansions? They were all very well done. This is just... god, really bad. I hope more work is planned.

This is why testing and input is needed before release.

Sticking your head in the sand and hoping for the best isn't much of a contribution.

We are all aware of the resources this game has and if we want to make it better we need to contribute our time and provide feedback.

If you don't want to do that, then I don't see much of reason that you should be complaining at all.

 

[Dot_Warner]

Give them time, Eodon isn't done yet...

 

[Uriah Heep]

This is why testing and input is needed before release.

Sticking your head in the sand and hoping for the best isn't much of a contribution.

We are all aware of the resources this game has and if we want to make it better we need to contribute our time and provide feedback.

If you don't want to do that, then I don't see much of reason that you should be complaining at all.

I understand the limited resources we have. And I have been playing with the turtle But, in all honesty, the thing that strikes me most is that this is 18th anny...and on the anny plates they could only find like 8 or so newsworthy events to label them with...

Ssince the new peoples of Eodon take as long to slay as some bosses, and have little to no loot, I figure that will be a bust.

Since the Turtle has little to no loot other than the desired book...and doesn't drop any kind of scrolls during the spawn (SoT, SoA, PS) I figure it will be abandoned after being farmed heavily for a month.

I feel for our team, we always ride them hard. But somehow, this feels more like a booster pack.

 

[Merlin]

my first experience in Eadon:

i ran into the brick temple thing, fell off a wall and got stuck. i recalled back to luna.

dont go here:
it is trap

View attachment 37597

 

[Kyronix]

I decided to not run around Eodon until release to it would still be fresh, and I have now gotten a chance to do so... How do I put this kindly... nope, cant: Eodon is hideous. It looks like a half assed private shard.

I took a step in during testing just ot get a look at it, and I was like "oh well they haven't done the world building yet, this is just the foundation." Nope. It's either nothing or the same plant x1000 one next to the other.
The 2-3 trees with an invisible border in front of a wide-open field as the map boundaries. WHY. Why not just make trees so dense you can't pass them so it makes sense??! I just don't understand it. It looks SO terrible.

Couple areas around the gate are OK, but out further it is really rough looking.

What happened to the people who did the world building on the last 3 expansions? They were all very well done. This is just... god, really bad. I hope more work is planned.

Thank you for the thoughtful and constructive feedback.

 

[Capt. Lucky]

Thank you for the thoughtful and constructive feedback.

That's a classy guy.

 

[Capt. Lucky]

With the resources available to them I was rather surprised they even attempted something of this magnitude. I'm pretty sure what we see is what we'll get. I'm sure they'll fix some coding bugs about being stuck and what not but I wouldn't be waiting on any major revamp. Go there, do you masteries or whatever you gotta do and never go back

 

[OREOGL]

First of all, people did actually mention the lack of plant deco, they said they were world building still, and said they didn't want to add more jungle stuff because it would make you rubber band, that of course ignores that fact that there are only a handful of item that aren't runthrough. There are like 8 different ferns alone for example that don't stop your movement, and dozens of other jungle appropiate plants.

Secondly, visuals don't need testing. You should be able to look at something, and see it looks bad compared to the rest of the game. The only "testing" that needs to be done is to look at it. Looking at pictures would be testing enough.

Third of all, we are paying customers, not play testers. It's cool we get to test it, and a good idea to allow us to do so... but it's not our responsibility to find issues with the product.

Since when do visuals not require testing? Have you ever tested something? There's a great deal of effort in reporting graphics and the glitches with them I.e. Falling through it, getting stuck, wrong coding, bad tiles, etc.

they said they didn't want to add more impassable objects, and there is still work to be done I.e. No draw tiles or blacking through one of the waterfalls etc. but to disregard that they were still building and immediately start complaining about it doesn't say much for that individual.

Finally, I can't think of any games that haven't gone through some type of player testing prior to release along with expansions etc. So while it may not be our "responsibility", why would you not take advantage of improving the game instead of complaining about it?


I think most people agree it's better to be proactive than reactive.

 

[OREOGL]

I understand the limited resources we have. And I have been playing with the turtle But, in all honesty, the thing that strikes me most is that this is 18th anny...and on the anny plates they could only find like 8 or so newsworthy events to label them with...

Ssince the new peoples of Eodon take as long to slay as some bosses, and have little to no loot, I figure that will be a bust.

Since the Turtle has little to no loot other than the desired book...and doesn't drop any kind of scrolls during the spawn (SoT, SoA, PS) I figure it will be abandoned after being farmed heavily for a month.

I feel for our team, we always ride them hard. But somehow, this feels more like a booster pack.

They released possibly the last expansion of the game and you're worried about wording on a plate?

Okay.

 

[Capt. Lucky]

my first experience in Eadon:

i ran into the brick temple thing, fell off a wall and got stuck. i recalled back to luna.

dont go here:
it is trap

View attachment 37597

Tell me helicopters don't land there

 

[It Lives]

I have to agree that the new land needs some love (world smoothing)..... details that would give the new area some character. Some interactive features like gates/ hidden areas to find, maybe an player outpost with a bank and some shops.... filler to hide the glaring baldness.

 

[Slayvite]

Tell me helicopters don't land there

Helicopters no, hot air balloons......that's a different story

 

[Uriah Heep]

They released possibly the last expansion of the game and you're worried about wording on a plate?

Okay.

LOL. We've been saying that since AoS completely changed UO forever...

 

[Cetric]

LOL. We've been saying that since AoS completely changed UO forever...

Hey aos made sense, necromancers and paladins and such.

Now we play a game with cannons and knights, ninjas and samarai, robot mechanical thingys, gargoyles, dinosaurs, asian tigers, banana throwing monkeys and now super sized sea turtles as powerful as the legendary dragon.

 

[OREOGL]

My complaints were 100% aesthetic. That requires no testing. All you do it look at it. As I said about the no pass items there are TONS of passable ones they chose not to use.
If it's live I would at least expect the world building to be done, that seems like a basic to me.

As for player testing I agree, and I DID test things out, and offered feedback, so no need to yell at me about it. My point is that its not our JOB to do it, and if people want to criticize or critique the game without having tested the new addition they are perfectly justifiable. Everyone pays for the game, and not everyone has time, or cares to spend their limited time testing something rather than having fun. It's not unreasonable.

How did you test something you chose not to look around in until the release?

All in all, your approach was terrible.
If it was the least bit constructive I would understand, but you took the opportunity to stand up on the soap box and complain because you don't like the aesthetics.

As far as paying to play, money should never take the place of common curtesy.

 

[OREOGL]

LOL. We've been saying that since AoS completely changed UO forever...

Judge the distance between this expansion and the last (5 years). Sure the game may be around but I'm not confident it will see another expansion.

But I digress, the point was if your biggest concern was some writing on a plate, things must be okay.

 

[Fingers]

Helicopters no, hot air balloons......that's a different story

Drone landings! Big UO Bro is watching......

 

[The Craftsman]

Now we play a game with cannons and knights, ninjas and samarai, robot mechanical thingys, gargoyles, dinosaurs, asian tigers, banana throwing monkeys and now super sized sea turtles as powerful as the legendary dragon.

When you put it that way it really makes you realise that UO is barely recognisable as UO any more. What the hell happened to our game? How was this allowed to happen?

 

[Kyronix]

Hey, maybe I was being a bit a of a ****, I can admit that, but honestly... do you think this area looks ready/polished compared to Ilsh or Makato Stygian Abyss, or even t2a or the old lands? I honestly don't see how you can. It looks very rough even compared to Malas.

If your post was anything other than an opportunity for some passive aggression (I understand, being a developer is a pain in the ass and customers are often dickheads) I'll offer some more precise criticism...

Instead of using 2-3 trees in front of a flat field of grass as a border fill that grass area in with mountains, trees... whatever, and don't have an invisible wall, have a wall of unpassable vegetation. Invisible walls are a huge immersion killer, as are the vast completely clear spaces 10 tiles beyond them that are clearly just unedited land filling up the radar map space when you get near the border.

Look at your swamps. They are very dull. Take a look at the swamps in the old lands, better yet take a look at the swamps in Makato, those areas are excellent.

There are many areas that have serious repetition problems the pyramid area is culprit one. Its just looks like a paint bucket drop of morning glories with no rhyme or reason with a handful of palm trees tossed in randomly. The gardens outside of one of the tribes are another, albeit much smaller example. It's all one art piece dropped side by side by side by side on the "farm" tiles then moves on to the next farm tiles with the same method. Look at the farm tiles in Occlo, and mainland Skara Brae, see how they break up the space and use multiple pieces of art.

More than anything, many areas are just completely empty. The areas bordering water are big culprits here. The land is flat, there are no rocks (the kind you can walk over) there are no mushrooms, no grasses, no bumps or hills, just...flat grass. MANY areas are like that, like... 30% of the map is just empty open space with zero purpose or decoration. Is this land set aside for housing? Even so... you have produced many other examples of areas set aside for housing that doesn't look like green acres. Heck even Malas is much more decorated, and it's easily the least decorated facet in the game.
Take the time to go in and fill up these places. Put in little tribal alters or something if the land has no use other than to be a space between here and there. Give people a reason to look around, even if its just nicely placed plants.

Most of the waterfalls have map dirt poking out of them. Some are much worse than others.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, and 99% of it is "Go look at the rest of the game...make it look like that."

This is all CC to clarify.

Unrelated to visuals, the carpet in the bar stage are on the overhead map, but not on the floor, although they do sometimes flicker in and out while you run around.

Some of the tribal chieftains don't leave bodies. I don't know if that's part of something or not.

Considering that I pull double duty as both world builder and designer I'm satisfied with the way the Valley turned out. That's not to say that I think it's perfect, and I agree with many of the points you brought up. The Valley is a constant work and progress and as time goes on the hope is to expand and polish it even further.

I think your initial characterization was completely out of line, and as someone who prides them self on being able to have a constructive exchange of ideas and criticisms it's unfortunate that's the tone by which you chose to offer feedback.

That all being said, thanks again for the feedback. Good or bad, it's the only way we can improve.

 

[DifferenceDifference]

This is the only way? Oh.

 

[OREOGL]

I tested the masteries, and I wrote up my findings, and suggestions, and tagged dev members when doing so in hopes it would be read. Didn't need to go to Eodon to do so. I didn't test EVERYTHING... I have other stuff to do.


I offered the only bits of constructive criticism I could think of, make the boundaries trees instead of an invisible wall and fill in the empty places with no rubberbanding vegetation/rocks/trees. What more can you say? I could take screenshots of places in Makato, or in Ilsh, but it's not like they aren't aware of those places, and how the game should look.



My comment about being a paying customer was not about my criticism per say, it was aimed at the notion that it's our obligation to test things and our responsibility to make sure everything is working as it should be, and that only those who did so have a right to make a comment about it. It's not our job, and as customers we have the right to make any comment we want about the service we pay for, right or wrong. We are players/customers not the games QA staff.

As I said it's good that they DO have such testing, and it's good that players DO participate in that testing, but in the end... it's not our job, and you shouldn't bash people for not doing it. Like I said, not everyone wants to use their potentially limited free time testing a game.

As for my being courteous... it's true I may have been a bit pointed in my criticism, but as an artist aesthetics are very important to me, so I get a bit heated when they put out work that is so much worse than the work put out in the past, to the level that it seems like they aren't even making an effort to use past examples as guidelines.

Look, I'm not going to beat a dead horse, I'm sure you're able to recognize how your initial post was. If you're satisfied with how you presented yourself, then so be it.

There is no responsibility or obligation to do anything. But,
it seems you are familiar with the aesthetics, perhaps you can help point them in the right direction on how the looks can be improved now that you have had the chance to look around.

 

[jackdeth10]

that isn't an invisible wall.. that is a force field, you are all now prisoners of the kilrathi empire. sorry couldn't resist using the U7 reference

 

[Cyrah]

For such an empty land it is so laggy. Why?

 

[Theron]

Look you want the guy's head on a spike here ya go. Sorry, but I just couldn't resist after getting this while trick or treating.

 

[Theron]

I don't. I generally like him as far as I can tell, and think he's a good, and talented guy.

I was just joking, don't take it seriously in any way. I just felt it would be a wasted opportunity if I didn't post it since I got the "Treat"

 

[whiterabbit]

so far beees not to bads

 

[Goodmann]

Considering that I pull double duty as both world builder and designer I'm satisfied with the way the Valley turned out. That's not to say that I think it's perfect, and I agree with many of the points you brought up. The Valley is a constant work and progress and as time goes on the hope is to expand and polish it even further.

I think your initial characterization was completely out of line, and as someone who prides them self on being able to have a constructive exchange of ideas and criticisms it's unfortunate that's the tone by which you chose to offer feedback.

That all being said, thanks again for the feedback. Good or bad, it's the only way we can improve.

awesome everything! congrats to you and the team

 

[Dot_Warner]

that isn't an invisible wall.. that is a force field, you are all now prisoners of the kilrathi empire. sorry couldn't resist using the U7 reference

Kotl, we're prisoners of the Kotl... The Kilrathi are still fighting the Juka in Ilshenar

 

[Victim of Siege]

I like it so far, i do kinda hate that i get a random boss that is sometimes one that nobody wants to do anymore on the quest though. the only thing i would like is to have to moongate for the valley added to the Crystal portal.

 

[MissEcho]

Worst thing in my opinion is not being able to recall in, mark runes and get where you want to go without having to spend forever crossing bridges, and all that crap. If you don't have teleport it is even worse.

So tired of having places we cant recall to. If I want to go and farm some dinosaurs I don't wanna have to run miles through all the laggy villages and over bridges etc to get there. Sure the first time you wanna go somewhere it is ok, the second time hmmm... the 20th time forget it, will go fight somewhere I can recall to.

It is the same reason you rarely see people in Ilshenar, and the only reason the Stygian Abyss has people in it is that you HAVE to go there to get most of the essences required for imbuing. If not for that people wouldn't farm there either. Sure we all go to those places sometimes but the most gone to places are those you can access easily.

Please change it so we can mark runes in Eodon. I went first thing this morning in the hope of getting up some marks for my rune library. Wasted effort. Everything that is there will be a rune to a moongate, so 'tigers' ----- moongate (pick eodon and run around til you find em), dinosaurs ---- moongate (pick eodon and run around til you find em), shadowguard ---- you get it ---- moongate (pick eodon and run around til you find it).

Please let us MARK.

 

[Cyrah]

At the Ls meet up I was told yes I can have a large floor on my existing keep. Best I can do is connect the skinny rooms of the third floor and center. Why did you say I could?

Maybe Mr K. you could post more pics of what beta people did with keeps. Please.

 

[Gamer_Goblin]

Worst thing in my opinion is not being able to recall in, mark runes and get where you want to go without having to spend forever crossing bridges, and all that crap. If you don't have teleport it is even worse.

So tired of having places we cant recall to. If I want to go and farm some dinosaurs I don't wanna have to run miles through all the laggy villages and over bridges etc to get there. Sure the first time you wanna go somewhere it is ok, the second time hmmm... the 20th time forget it, will go fight somewhere I can recall to.

It is the same reason you rarely see people in Ilshenar, and the only reason the Stygian Abyss has people in it is that you HAVE to go there to get most of the essences required for imbuing. If not for that people wouldn't farm there either. Sure we all go to those places sometimes but the most gone to places are those you can access easily.

Please change it so we can mark runes in Eodon. I went first thing this morning in the hope of getting up some marks for my rune library. Wasted effort. Everything that is there will be a rune to a moongate, so 'tigers' ----- moongate (pick eodon and run around til you find em), dinosaurs ---- moongate (pick eodon and run around til you find em), shadowguard ---- you get it ---- moongate (pick eodon and run around til you find it).

Please let us MARK.

Marking is something that sets UO apart too. I really like it and to always get new stuff you can't mark makes me a sad panda.

 

[MissEcho]

Marking is something that sets UO apart too. I really like it and to always get new stuff you can't mark makes me a sad panda.

Does more than make me sad, it drives me NUTS. I am already 'over' the running around there. It is what puts me off the whole place completely. All the unnecessary 'travelling time' is something I really hate. It is why I ended up quitting wow, used to pee me off completely the getting on a horse and riding for 10 mins to get where you wanted, and they when I could fly, the flying 3-5 mins every single time you wanted to do something resulted in me just not wanting to bother at all so I ended up quitting. Life is too short to bugger around 'travelling' in a pc game. As far as I am concerned once you have traversed an area ONCE on foot you should be able to recall to it.

At least with the Sygian Abyss the two houses, one on the east side and one on the west side on our shard have teleporters to them from Luna so at least you don't have to run in from the Underworld and/or Tomb of Kings. EVERY SINGLE PERSON on our shard uses those teleporters to access the SA which tells you that people do NOT want to have to run miles. On atlantic everyone who knows about the house that has the Navry Hole in it uses that too. Again, people HATE walking when they can get there quicker. It would be so MUCH better if they changed it and allowed people to mark runes and recall in and out as they wish. If it wasn't for the teleporters I would go there even LESS than I do now. It is why I sell every single Ilshenar Tmap I get too. Don't wanna waste time dragging a GD miles across land to fight stuff I can fight elswehere by recall.

Being able to mark in Eodon would improve the place 100%. I doubt I will go there much after I get one of any item I need as I don't farm where I can't recall. Better things to do. It is also a shame for new players who want to 'fight' stuff. Every time they do this it is one less Marked spot in a rune library for future players to 'know' about. As it is now a lot of the stuff in Ilsh and SA doesnt get used as you can't recall to it. Stuff like the serpentine dragon etc. If you can't mark it it isn't used anywhere near the same amount as stuff people can recall to.

So since Ilshenar it seems the devs are hell bent on making it so we have to 'travel' on foot every where we wanna go. Islhenar, SA, Blackthorns, Underworld, Tomb of Kings, Despise, Wrong dungeon, now Eodon. Gee they really stuffed up letting us recall into shame, that must of been a mistake.

I for one HATE it.

 

[Hannes Erich]

I like the new facet. I haven't explored the whole thing yet, but as a fan of the Ultima series, including Savage Empire, I think the team hit the nail on the head. Thank you for continuing to draw from OSI's original, eccentric fantasy universe. Say no to Pandas. I hope you take the Myrmidex plot all the way, and I hope this means "Martian Dreams" are eventually coming.

Feedback
- I agree with some others (including Kyronix himself) there's extreme repetition of some environmental assets. Not as bothered about it after Kyronix said Eodon is still a work in progress. I get that Broadsword's not a huge studio. Obviously, some portion of the playerbase hasn't adapted to that yet. Anyway, I look forward to seeing the improvements.

- Someone suggested using dense jungle for invisible boundaries, as opposed to open fields. It's probably a little late to be chiming in about that, but I agree, and it would have been a great suggestion earlier in development.

- I don't mind traveling, but I'd still suggest some alternative entrances be built over time. Recalling in may be gratuitous for a facet that exists because of [SPOILERS]. Maybe we could help the Time Lord discover a recipe for a magic device that creates temporary time gates. It could be bound to a marked rune or dev-selected locations throughout the valley. Good story potential, maybe. Good luck coding it.

- At the risk of offending some delicate sensibilities, I've gotta say, the Valley of Eodon already looks pretty fracking sweet in the EC. I also really dig the structures I've stumbled across so far, temples and such, but those probably look the same in the CC. Looks awesome!

- I noticed the aforementioned lag, but I understand that's already getting an improvement during the next maintenance cycle.

 

[WootSauce]

Considering that I pull double duty as both world builder and designer I'm satisfied with the way the Valley turned out. That's not to say that I think it's perfect, and I agree with many of the points you brought up. The Valley is a constant work and progress and as time goes on the hope is to expand and polish it even further.

I think your initial characterization was completely out of line, and as someone who prides them self on being able to have a constructive exchange of ideas and criticisms it's unfortunate that's the tone by which you chose to offer feedback.

That all being said, thanks again for the feedback. Good or bad, it's the only way we can improve.

Okay buddy. Here is the thing, from my humble opinion...

I'm not going to touch any of the - good lord knows how many new masteries and the fact that you missed making them usable without some nonsense book requirement. The expansion consists of a new landmass which has no housing, and the only usable content drops on one boss that by all accounts thus far takes 5 or so hours to complete - with a party. I dunno man - congrats on being both the "world builder and designer" but when you take a ****, it still smells like ****.

 

[Kojak]

the reason they want to make us run everywhere is because they have World of Warcraft envy and think if they make UO more like WoW, then they'll start getting WoW bucks

not being able to mark = noone goes there after a while - just look at ilshenar - empty and a waste

 

[Theron]

the reason they want to make us run everywhere is because they have World of Warcraft envy and think if they make UO more like WoW, then they'll start getting WoW bucks

not being able to mark = noone goes there after a while - just look at ilshenar - empty and a waste

Have to agree on that one, not being able to mark certainly avoids camping but it also makes me not go there often.

 

[Sir_Bolo]

I actually like the looks of the temple overgrown with morning glories. I guess that Kyronix was going for an Angkor Wat or lost Maya pyramid feeling.

I just have one request for that area: is it possible to turn all those plants into static items? Loading so many dynamic objects really slows down the terrain update in the EC. Thanks!

 

[Conleth]

I imagine that area to be an old...Aztec like...South American jungle pyramid where heads would roll and beating hearts would be ripped from sacrificial chests!
lol But maybe that's just me!

 

[MissEcho]

I actually like the looks of the temple overgrown with morning glories. I guess that Kyronix was going for an Angkor Wat or lost Maya pyramid feeling.

I just have one request for that area: is it possible to turn all those plants into static items? Loading so many dynamic objects really slows down the terrain update in the EC. Thanks!

I can't go NEAR that thing, the minute I do the LAG kills me, the whole client just shudders to a halt. It is like supreme SLOW MOTION as I wait for all the vines to load line by line. @Kyronix does anyoen on the dev team actually load up the EC, and run past this joint? And if you do, do you live more than 5 mins from a server location? The best ping I get to my home shard is around 58ms and this thing kills the client every time. Pleaae either make the plants static or get rid of them. There is NO Need for this kinda laggy load on the server.

 

[ZippyTwitch]

As far as Ilsh goes. I still go there quite often. I love hunting paragons. So saying no one goes there is incorrect. I like the new land. If any of you haven't tried Shadowguard yet you should. But be warned. When you finally get access to the roof. Bring a large group and be prepared to die a lot and be there for atleast 2 hours. We completed the roof tonight and it was fun. I wouldn't recommend bringing more than 3 people to complete any of the other instances though. The spawn will get out of hand. The new tigers(which are not Asian) should be rideable and we should beable to use a taxidermy kit on them. The shardbound feature for certain items is great imo and should be put on everything. Tired of seeing everything for sale on Atlantic and nothing on other shards.

 

[FrejaSP]

At the Ls meet up I was told yes I can have a large floor on my existing keep. Best I can do is connect the skinny rooms of the third floor and center. Why did you say I could?

Maybe Mr K. you could post more pics of what beta people did with keeps. Please.

I know many keep owners are disappoined at first, but I do believe you can make a 4th floor. Sure it may end up looking like a cube, but you still get more room.
Also connecting the roof and towers with floor tiles and plave floor tiles on roof and towers, then raise it to over the short walls on roof and tower and you have a 24x24 roof

 

[FrejaSP]

I like the new facet. I haven't explored the whole thing yet, but as a fan of the Ultima series, including Savage Empire, I think the team hit the nail on the head. Thank you for continuing to draw from OSI's original, eccentric fantasy universe. Say no to Pandas. I hope you take the Myrmidex plot all the way, and I hope this means "Martian Dreams" are eventually coming.

I never played old Ultima serie but I really like, they are using them to add new stuff to UO and this way keeping the game Ultima. I too love the new stuff.

Feedback
- I agree with some others (including Kyronix himself) there's extreme repetition of some environmental assets. Not as bothered about it after Kyronix said Eodon is still a work in progress. I get that Broadsword's not a huge studio. Obviously, some portion of the playerbase hasn't adapted to that yet. Anyway, I look forward to seeing the improvements.

I agree with this. We may only have a small group of Devs but they burn for this game and like us, they want to keep it alive. I believe they did the right thing, inviting a large group of players as tester in the focus group and then all to help test it on TC before it was all done. This way, we the players could help the devs getting this new stuff ready. Testing is a very important part and very time eating. If Devs should had done it all them self, I'm not sure we had got so much new stuff as we did.
Some may say, why should I be a tester, when I pay for the game. Here is how I feel, I love this game, I want to keep it alive, so hours used as tester is a help to keep the game I love. If my UO world, I will be homeless. We did get payment, we got TOL for our work, also the ones who choose not to help with testing on TC. Hope they will help now and report issues in a respectful way.

- Someone suggested using dense jungle for invisible boundaries, as opposed to open fields. It's probably a little late to be chiming in about that, but I agree, and it would have been a great suggestion earlier in development.

It's so easy to come after the release and tell what they dislike. Now UO players never agreed about, what is good for UO. People don't want the same, so hard to make all happy. Just take the pics we had seen of Castle designs, they are all far away from what I am doing with mine, but that do not mean my design is better or theirs are. We just don't want the same. Even when Devs do their best to add cool stuff to the game, some will say, that's not the way want it. That's a part of being human, we have our own opinion

- I don't mind traveling, but I'd still suggest some alternative entrances be built over time. Recalling in may be gratuitous for a facet that exists because of [SPOILERS]. Maybe we could help the Time Lord discover a recipe for a magic device that creates temporary time gates. It could be bound to a marked rune or dev-selected locations throughout the valley. Good story potential, maybe. Good luck coding it.

I too would love at least a few more public gates, as a Siege player, I can't even recall out.

- At the risk of offending some delicate sensibilities, I've gotta say, the Valley of Eodon already looks pretty fracking sweet in the EC. I also really dig the structures I've stumbled across so far, temples and such, but those probably look the same in the CC. Looks awesome!

I too feel they did an amazing job, sure there may be room for improvement, but there will always be.

First impression is a wierd thing, love at first sight don't mean it will last. Sometimes you need to learn to know someone or something to love it.

 

[Spock's Beard]

I've been out of town and only rarely popping onto the forum here to look around lately, but when I was running around on TC before I didn't think Eodon looked especially bad or anything. Looking forward to getting on later tonight finally and having a proper look around.

Does whatchamacallit really take like five hours to do or whatever?

 

[MalagAste]

I've been out of town and only rarely popping onto the forum here to look around lately, but when I was running around on TC before I didn't think Eodon looked especially bad or anything. Looking forward to getting on later tonight finally and having a proper look around.

Does whatchamacallit really take like five hours to do or whatever?

Yes, shadowguard takes FOREVER. So if you plan to do it plan on taking all day/night.

 

[Hannes Erich]

Thanks for adding some good points @FrejaSP .

Hard to say this without coming off like I'm giving Broadsword a back-handed compliment (not my intention), but when I decided to pick up UO again, mostly because of the expansion, I decided to judge the state of the game based on what I know to be its current realities.

That especially includes things like its age, studio size and studio resources. This has less to do with lowering UO's standards, and more to do with prioritizing the studio's limited resources. UO has entered a different phase of life.

Gone are the days when large-staffed, "triple A" development studios helmed UO. I get the impression that Broadsword probably has the development resources nowadays (financial and manpower) of a healthy indie studio.

I think that should be a standard consideration for anyone among UO's playerbase by now; everything we compliment or criticize should be judged through that lens.

Broadsword couldn't get away with calling themselves an indie studio; but for all intents and purposes, it sounds like they're operating under a small studio's realities (including budget).

But this is great news for fans of good system mechanics and gameplay. Indie studios like Spiderweb Software (Avernum), Soldak Entertainment (Din's Curse) and Basilisk Games (Eschalon) have been trucking along for years and years, owing to fan loyalty, and people who show up for gameplay systems. Those kinds of fans aren't fickle. Until EA ponies up for a full 3D client ( ), they should be Broadsword's priority from here on out.