Hi Enderz, welcome back to the game I hope you decide to stay a while and make it fun in your own way. Here is my take from the standpoint of a hard core role player on a lower populous shard (Catskills) that had been away from the game for 8 years prior to my return in 2010.
1) One reason I left last time was loot and items had so many affixes that it started to feel like a jumbled mess to me. Some bad affixes making them non repairable or able to be fortified. Is this still the case?
This took me a lonnnnnng time to half-way figure out and I'll be honest, I am still in the process of it. I rely mostly on friends that really have an interest for numbers --- I stick to the simple things in crafting and find it just fine. I HATEDDDDDDDDD math in school soooo when you tell me I need calculators and spreadsheets my instant reaction is, SAY WHUT??! AWWW HELL NAH! So I leave it to my friends that really like to get in the details. Along the way, I continue to learn more and more about it piece by piece. Its certainly not a bad thing to rely on some close friends for these lessons. That being said... some items do still have bad "combinations" of properties, but guess what? You can break those down into ingredients that are re-useable in other ways. There are items in the game that have the "Brittle" (and some other traits) property on them that cannot be repaired and cannot be fortified. I find that a good addition actually because once that item is gone, it make you have to go out there hunt and find something new. It makes you less lazy!
2) I prolly want to get a house at some point. Another turn off was ghost servers. The kind where the whole countryside had as many houses as UO did circa 2004 yet the server felt dead. Is this still the case?
Plenty of space all over Catskills and I am sure its the same on other servers. The role playing towns, if you choose a plot nearby, will be hubs for folks to be near. My suggestion (whether you role play or not) is to place something near the more active RP towns. Pick a shard that suits your needs best, research a bit about the areas (post on the forums for the shards), create a newbie and visit Luna see how much activity you see there. Remember you get 1 house per account across all shards, with the exception of Siege Perilous I believe.
3) Is UO thinking of going f2p anytime soonish? Lot's of great business models now use it now.
Frankly I wouldn't want it to. This is a very old game that relies heavily on the patronage of its subscribers. If it was a technically advanced game (graphics, game engines, etc) I wouldn't mind it, but its not. Soooo I would gladly give my money for the fun I get out of it.
4) My favorite times were had on my tamer. Love to hunt paragons. Use resists of my pets against monsters weak to them. Last time I played Greater Dragons were the last new tameable worth anything. Any new tameables released since then worth taking hunting?
My main PvM character is a Tamer Spellweaving Mage. I love her... there is nothing I cannot do with her. No new pets, unfortunately. BUT I do love my GD! Most of the bigger spawns are meant to be done by groups of folks, so have a tamer in there is almost always a good thing. I've never ever been turned down to join a group or anything because I am a tamer.
5) In your opinion, what has been the best change to Ultima Online in the last 3 years? What change have you liked the least?
Even though itemization is a pancake to get a grasp over, I think its been the best change in the game period. I am a big fan of the customization it has provided all of my characters. I also think Stygian Abyss and the High Seas were great additions to the game. The addition of the Event Managers program was also a huge huge plus for me, even though I believe things in that area need to be standardized.
As a negative. I think New Magincia and the way that was done was a negative for me. I would have liked to see it be done more like Luna, where houses are placed randomly not in predesigned areas. And would have liked to see the town's own buildings be more around the player houses and not just isolated around the dock areas. Like an intertwined configuration of player AND NPC buildings. I also think they could have done a lot more with High Seas, but they could always expand that later. I
ABSOLUTELY HATE the 1 house per account ACROSS ALL SHARDS limitation. I think the servers would self-balance if we were encouraged to play more than 1 shard.
Hope this helps! If you want to chat further, PM me or add me to ICQ 608083009!
Pandy
