From Europa to ?

[Slayvite]

Howdy y'all.
At the weekend im making the big move from the UK to Oklahoma to live.
Now i know Europa is playable but with the time difference i seem to be on alot on my own.
Which would be the best shard to move to from the SW States?

 

[Basara]

Even though it's a "West Coast" shard, the name of "Lake Austin" has resulted in a lot of Texas and Oklahoma residents, much like how Drach probably has a higher percentage of German players from its name, than Europa.

It's a low-population shard, but many of the players will be operating in the same time zone as you, unlike the East Coast shards, and the rest of the West Coast shards.

We're also friendly (well, those of us outside Fel are), and if you can get used to some crazy prices on the shard, compared to elsewhere (some things cost 10% as much, others 10 times as much, than compared to Atlantic), it's a decent community.

We also just had huge areas of real estate open up, after 8 years of many house site (including the area just outside the south Vesper bridge) being throttled by 250 small stone towers that were remaining from an aborted promotion from the shard founding in late 2002, in which only about 50 of 300 free towers were actually given out.

 

[Slayvite]

Does Lake Austin have an RP community?

 

[WarderDragon]

Baja.

Not the largest shard but we have a mature and active community of RPers and PvPers.

The Roleplayers Alliance (the BRPA) is second to none with several guilds ranging from the militaristic Town Guard to the up and coming 'Pirate Armada' (Name TBA). Knighthoods. Mage Socities. Assassin Conclaves.

We are small but growing and seek talented roleplayers to add to this community.

Baja has Event Moderators who have managed to instill a sense of intrigue and RPvP Conflict into the Arc. We have had a series of realistic and ongoing stories of late that pit player versus player - IC and in PvP / PvM Scenarios - based around various philosophical issues that face Britannia. We are in an interim period as the EMs begin the next Arc. But you should see much more in December as Seppo unveils the new PvP Regiment and Crysania continues the Black Dragon Storyline.

Interestingly most RPers on Baja are East Coast. PvPers are West Coast.

Should you have questions or wish a tour shoot me a Private Message. I should be back later this evening.

You can find out more about the Baja Roleplayers Alliance by visiting the link in my signature.

 

[Sevin0oo0]

check pm's.

 

[Tazar]

If you like a larger Shard with near constant activity, Atlantic is the way to go. Atlantic has a very healthy RP community. For more information, you can follow these two links to the Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards and Forums.

Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards :: Home
Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards :: Index

There are a lot of great people on Atlantic that can help get you going there. I am just down the road a ways in Texas, but I am in OKC pretty regularly due to work. I think you'll find it a nice low ping to Atlantic.

 

[Obsidian]

I would make the move, get your high speed internet installed, and then check your ping to the east and west coast servers. Then I would narrow down to the faster pool of servers and make a decision.

Good luck on the move!

-OBSIDIAN-

 

[Cloak&Dagger]

Mostly Agree with Obsidian, but if you are less concerned about connection speed and something else (such as rp) is the main driving factor, then Personally I would Say atl although I have not seen any RP type EM run events as has been suggested by others happens on Baja. Baja is one of the few shards I have never tried so Can not offer any information on that one.

Atl and Napa are the two shards I prefer to play, napa was where I began but Atl is the most active.

 

[Xanth de Orlig]

Baja has a great player base, and an ever growing RP community.

With today's internet connections, you should be good at about any NA shard I'd think ...

I'm in CO and play Baja, have no issues with lag ... though when I hop on ATL connection is about the same.

I might suggest checking out a few of the shards, see the sights and meet some folks ... the best opinion you can have would be yer own I'd say.

As I play Baja, of course I could list reasons why we are the best ;-) ... as could others for their homes I assume ...

If you are looking for RP, then you should def. tour some of the heavier RP communities in each shard, and see what suits you.

Good luck with the move!
And if you end up on Baja, drop me a line, know of a few nice house locations, that I can't bear to let sit vacant .. though can't allow my self to start new accts just for the houses ;-)

 

[Mairut]

If you like a larger Shard with near constant activity, Atlantic is the way to go. Atlantic has a very healthy RP community. For more information, you can follow these two links to the Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards and Forums.

Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards :: Home
Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards :: Index

There are a lot of great people on Atlantic that can help get you going there. I am just down the road a ways in Texas, but I am in OKC pretty regularly due to work. I think you'll find it a nice low ping to Atlantic.

This... I live in NW Arkansas and don't have any problems with ping to Atl.

What part of Oklahoma are you moving to?

 

[Skrag]

Forget everything but Atlantic. An hour or two timezone difference or a minor difference in ping are nothing compared to the difference between a populated shard like Atlantic and a ghost-town like Lake Austin or whatever.

 

[Obsidian]

It just depends what you want to do. I like playing both Atlantic and Origin... the two extremes of the spectrum. Atlantic is always busy and has an active economy where almost everything is for sale somewhere. I like Origin for the quiet atmosphere. I can play solo and never have to share with others. But the downside is there are way fewer items for sale which makes building suits harder. Every other shard fits somewhere in the middle. Just depends on what playstyle you want.

But either way, check your ping. If you are pinging 30ms to one coast and 120ms to the other, I'd definitely look at the shards with a faster ping first. If both coasts are about 70ms, which is likely in the center of the US, then any US shard will be fine. I ping 20ms to Atlantic (I live in VA) and about 100ms to Origin.

-OBSIDIAN-

 

[Noble Beast]

First, I would like to say "Welcome to the States, Slayvite."
Second, I will shamelessly plug & my own TownShip on Baja: *cheeky grin*.

HearthFire Haven TownShip is a band of Mercenary Rogues. We have Sphinxes, elves & other fae, humans (werewolf & once-wolves), and a few others that we are ironing out. Our play-style is primarily Spawning, Peerless, Resource Gathering, Shard Storyline Maintenance, and a quarter of us rp (even within those groups that do not). All of this keeps us very busy! And Baja has at least six other townships.

In my opinion, the best times to check us out are the following:
Monday night Local Tavern Night at the Golden Brew Tavern 6pmPST (8pm Central)
Tuesday night All Shards Tavern Night at the Dragon's Breath Tavern 6pm PST (8pm Central) We also share this event with Chesapeake Shard.
Sunday night BRPA Taming Hour at the MoonGlow Zoo 8pm PST(10pm Central).
And I would like to personally invite you to HearthFire Haven TownShip's Grand Opening & Fall Feast on November 30th 6pm PST (10pm Central).

Check out all of the Shards that are posted & you will surely find a good fit for you. I wish you luck & good fortune in your quest. Keep us posted! *smiles warmly*

 

[Elden of Baja]

I wouldn't know much about RP on baja, but from the chatter going on in global chat EVERY DAY from royal guards, and em's and such, I'd say that trammel is pretty active!!


PvP is entirely 2 sided these days. You're either Cartel/One of Their Allies, or you are K^R and uhh.... we are allied to ourselves.

GL Finding a home.

 

[jaashua]

I'm leaving Baja in the next day to probably Great Lakes....but might go with Atl or Pac.

It pains me, because I have a long history with Baja going back to the beginning. The problem is, I'm a hardcore casual player and it's too hard to find things to buy on Baja and to find action late at night. I reactivated not too long ago and was able to place a house one screen from a moongate. That doesn't feel right.

Atlantic is great because it feels like UO back in the early days when the servers were all bustling. But it's actually too crowded for me. The economy has just way too much churn and you got some large guilds that could control certain spawns.

Great Lakes looks like a good compromise. A vibrant economy and the second highest player base. Pacific is supposedly well populated, but searching sites for things I'd like to buy on Pacific turns up few results compared to GL and Atl.

We'll see. I'm still deciding. There is a small, but very intense base of players on Baja. If I were more full time than I am, I'd probably stay.

 

[Brytt]

Baja has a fantastic RP community!

The Golden Brew Players have started editing scripts for their next play. Perhaps UO's most famous theater troupe, the Players, under the direction of Kita Talith, will be performing for the 13th Anniversary of the Kingdom of Dawn in early 2011. Public auditions will be held.

We also have an active nunnery, distillery and, of course, the Golden Brew Tavern itself.

That's just us. There are many other RP guilds. As Warder says, we're not the largest community but we have some things nobody else does. Give Baja a try! We'd be glad to give you the tour.

Contact me anytime.
29827012 - ICQ.

 

[Shanna]

Lake Austin doesn't have a large roleplaying community. Or a 'large' anything for that matter. So, it might not be what you're looking for in a shard. But if you want a friendly community where everyone pretty much knows everyone else, please check us out.

As far as any other shards go, I'd suggest you check Catskills out as well. It has a large RP community and tends to be active all the time. Active Fel scene too.

If you have any questions or need any help, pm me. Good luck on your search.

 

[Snakeman]

Personally I would make a new chara on each shard that catches your eye then go from there. See who's friendly & whats going on that you like there. I have always said, bigger is not better when it comes to UO