I see UO heading towards a new "Golden Age"

[hawkeye_pike]

I know, from what I have experienced an read, that UO hasn't changed for the better in the years roundabout between AoS and 2007. While many additions had added to the gaming experience, several changes to the game had harmed UO and changed it to the worse.

I now see what's happening to UO from 2007 until now, and what I see is good!

• Great and challenging events and adventures are hosted by the UO-Team.
• Fantastic EMs were introduced, and there is a chance we may get Counselors again in the future.
• Several bugs and exploits are finally addressed one by one, and diminished.
• The game is enhanced with new fantastic features. (The developers really haver very good ideas here!)
• The game is slowly but steadily balanced.
• It finally seems like we'll be getting a better game client with SA.
• Support issues are being addressed.

It is still a long way to go, but to my opinion the game developers have tread the right path and are advancing into the right direction. Maybe things cannot be changed as fast as we - the player base - would hope for, but some of these changes have a lot of impact and have to be tested and implemented thoroughly. Rather test a few months more, than rush into a change and being forced to revert it due to a little mistake.

If the developers continue on that path, I am very confident that UO will become more popular again in the future. I guess, a Pirate and Seafaring Expansion would help to attract lots of new players, too.

Keep going!

P.S.: The announcement of publish 58 motivated me to make this posting.

 

[AesSedai]

- Well said.

... and speaking of pirates, I think of something Chrissay recently said... sure, she was allegedly just having fun (but I remember my first Gamebryo engine experience, the one SA is using, was Sid Meier's Pirates!, hehe). So to this thread, and to all of UO (Team & community alike), I offer one of my favorite cakes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RthZgszykLs

 

[Chad Sexington]

I disagree.

UO has been going on a downward slope for years. At best, EA can slow how fast UO falls. Maybe even for years and years. It either goes down fast or it goes down slow.

Either way, I'll have fun until it dies.

 

[Madrid]

I agree Hawkeye! I have issues with certain aspects of the game but since returning two years ago I've seen alot of positive changes and great additions.
I can't wait for Stygian Abyss and the new client.

Ultima is home and always will be.

Onward forward!

 

[Chad Sexington]

You guys are a lot more optimistic than I.

I click my heels as much as the next guy but... I must be wearing the wrong shoes.

 

[Harlequin]

I disagree about things not getting better after AOS. I mean how could things not get better after AOS? There was no where left to go but up

Honestly, though, some of the expansions and new content after AOS was quite good. Even AOS was a pretty good idea imho, with the intro of chiv/necro/item properties/doom and dare I say it, Luna. It's just that the servers kept crashing/reverting for weeks.

And I agree, things really are looking up. I mean, a 10 year old grand daddy of MMOs, they should keep it alive forever, it's like a monument!

Besides, the gaming sector is expecting very good sales this year as people cut back on more expensive entertainment.

 

[Mythic]

Now I would hope that the increase in Player base on my homeshard is the result of a general population increase throughout the game and not other folks moving to more populated areas. But I have noticed a substantial increase in new players since a year ago. When I first started in late 2000 skills where very very hard to train, I mean hours upon hours of boring training. Now my last charector that I got serious about Skilling up took me 3 days to get to a very respectable level, 3 DAYS!. The ease at witch someone can become competitive I believe has helped a great deal.

Does anyone else agree that the player base has increased by a good margin.
Give us some dammed shelf presence and advertising. UO is an outstanding game even with its issues, us vets need some fresh meat please.

 

[Arch Magus]

These new clients scare me..

 

[Nyte Doombringer]

Well I returned back to UO this wkend to re-activate my houses and I have to say I have seen so many people on the Europa shard. I was shocked. People everywhere and people doing stuff. I am going to stay around for awhile.
If these guys would get the KR client worked out or even hey why not create a new 3d UO client like Warhammer, hmm thats idea. LOL
Either way it looks like something good is going on here now.

 

[Bara]

UO headed into a new Golden Age the moment my friends and I reactivated our accounts!

joking... joking

Seriously though, I believe you are correct sir. There seem to be people working on the game who genuinely love it. I don't expect it to ever be a massive, hugely popular game (unless a sequal comes out-but that's essentially a different game), but at the same time, I think the game is improving nicely and hope it continues.

 

[Farscape]

I know, from what I have experienced an read, that UO hasn't changed for the better in the years roundabout between AoS and 2007. While many additions had added to the gaming experience, several changes to the game had harmed UO and changed it to the worse.

I now see what's happening to UO from 2007 until now, and what I see is good!

• Great and challenging events and adventures are hosted by the UO-Team.
• Fantastic EMs were introduced, and there is a chance we may get Counselors again in the future.
• Several bugs and exploits are finally addressed one by one, and diminished.
• The game is enhanced with new fantastic features. (The developers really haver very good ideas here!)
• The game is slowly but steadily balanced.
• It finally seems like we'll be getting a better game client with SA.
• Support issues are being addressed.

It is still a long way to go, but to my opinion the game developers have tread the right path and are advancing into the right direction. Maybe things cannot be changed as fast as we - the player base - would hope for, but some of these changes have a lot of impact and have to be tested and implemented thoroughly. Rather test a few months more, than rush into a change and being forced to revert it due to a little mistake.

If the developers continue on that path, I am very confident that UO will become more popular again in the future. I guess, a Pirate and Seafaring Expansion would help to attract lots of new players, too.

Keep going!

P.S.: The announcement of publish 58 motivated me to make this posting.

All the patches in the world publishes and the such do nothing but anger me when cheats and scripters rule the shards so when they are totally removed this game will be balanced!

 

[Ravensgard Dragon]

I came back to Europa last weekend (On my yearly UO visit) and was surprised over the number of people that were around, even in ol' Britannia. We were told that alot of players had returned and did even hook up with a couple that wanted us to breathe life in our guild. Coming straight from Lotro, I had a great time all Saturday evening in Destard of all places. I logged back in yesterday, met some old friends and was invited to a champ spawn hunt. Again, alot of people around. I will hang for this week and check this out for sure.

 

[Violence]

- But.. the Events are still Item Hunts?

- How are the EMs fantastic? Please do tell.. I am not being ironic or anything.

- The bugs and exploits being?.. With time-tables please, to help me make my point. Otherwise don't just generalize and pretend it's hard work on the part of the Devs. For instance where's the log about fixing Speedhack? Or wasn't that what you meant by your generalization?

- Features that have been missing or neglected, and have been suggested and requested by players again and again in the past are now suddenly the Devs' ideas? If anything, their reaction to certain things including Potion Timers -which is far from a complete step itself- has been incredibly slow.

I'll give them cheers for the Support improvement and balancing the game even as slowly as they are.

And as far as I see SA's just KR with Legacy graphics. Or if you're too optimistic; 2D with higher resolution and the same character art as KR which most people hate. So what's with the hype? Unless you're talking about interface improvements which could easily be given to KR as it is now. Again... What's the big deal?

Didn't they say they'll even REDUCE animation quality or something so some players can enjoy UO on, oh I don't know, their Pentium 1 with on-board graphics card?

But congrats on being so optimistic!

 

[Gwendar-SP]

Them finally addressing the abuse of free trial accounts is a big step forward. I am still closer to closing my 12 accounts than I have been since I started playing over 8 years ago.

Blessed uber spellbooks on siege - all previous spellbooks with properties either came unblessed or became so.

The current event that has been running since October that makes it dangerous to go to any faction town.

The uber items that faction pks can get.

There really shouldn't be special advantages given to a group of players that aren't available to others. This was the logic for removing the blessed sammy helm and ember legs, the blessed quiver, cbd on doom arti - hats with properties - luck robes - pads. It is also why we fought so hard to get the siege bless for all instead of the pbd for only those whith a character on siege when the pbd came out.

 

[Stupid Miner]

Ok, I have to admit... the past 3 months alone have been better than some previous years.

We got EMs, and we got the best of them on LS . We got to design WBB. We've had the start of them EM events. We have weddings going on, and the valentine's gifts were amazing! (well at least for those of us who don't want to spam others with them). It's been tons of fun, with any luck we'll get back to doing seasonal festivals on LS too!

 

[Old Man of UO]

And I've seen more people at the Champ spawns in TRAMMEL side, not just Felucca, then I've seen in about 2 years. I even see more people bank sitting, and what really surprised me is that I see more people taming cu sidhes to work the champ spawns.

I agree, more people are coming back for the new content and EM events. Now if we can just revive the old dungeons with something more than just the virtue drops.

 

[CatLord]

Number of new characters showing up on Catskills-
(characters that got trained up)


Second Semester 2008:
- close to 350.

January/February 2009:
- close to 120.


Good numbers...

 

[DevilsOwn]

Ok, I have to admit... the past 3 months alone have been better than some previous years.

We got EMs, and we got the best of them on Legends . We got to design WBB. We've had the start of them EM events. We have weddings going on, and the valentine's gifts were amazing! (well at least for those of us who don't want to spam others with them). It's been tons of fun, with any luck we'll get back to doing seasonal festivals on LS too!

fixed that for ya

 

[Lord Drakelord]

Been playing since UO R, only missed a month recently when I lost internet, but my account was still paid for during that period as I did not wish to lose my tower. My only problems with UO has been the 3rd dawn and the KR, other then that I have liked all that I have seen and will be here till they turn off 2d.

 

[deadite]

It's no secret that UO got way off track several times during it's lifespan.

But right now we have a really great team. I think our current devs are some of the best we've ever had... I just wish we had more of them.

I am really reserving my opinion on the future of UO until SA comes out. Then I think we will all have a clearer picture.

 

[canary]

I think the current team has some good ideas, but it's really pushing it to signal UO is going to have a new golden age...

The graphics are still a sore point with getting new players. The art for KR is a joke when compared to things even made in 2003.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Over-optimism is always dangerous. Not just in UO, but always.

Having said that, there are more positive signs than negative ones.

It's a nice time.

I think the rank-and-file players have been ahead of message board residents like us on this issue. Basically I've seen more people in-game for some time now; it's only just starting to be acknowledged by the boards.

-Galen's player

 

[Cetric]

Get back to me when they take speedhacking out finally.

 

[Dragonchilde]

- But.. the Events are still Item Hunts?

- How are the EMs fantastic? Please do tell.. I am not being ironic or anything.

Here on Chesapeake, our EM has been amazing. Tailspin has worked overtime providing little events that add a lot of flavor (including one event that only myself and two or three others witnessed, but it was so much fun!)

Our Festival events only involved one item hunt, and it was player-sponsored. The EM events were a PvP tournament, and a storytelling contest... we had a blast! Our event ran a solid seven hours, and included constant player-sponsored events, and participation by several EMs. It was FUN.

Did everyone get tons of fancy items they can sell for millions? No. But did they work hard to make it an enjoyable experience for all? Absolutely.

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

I'd love to see UO return to it's former glory...but it won't happen.

We are seeing an influx of old timers right now that left for greener pastures (EQ, WoW, etc.). They played these games, reached the top...since they are linear progressions, and they looked around and realized that UO was non-linear, and got all nostalgic.

But there will be another fancy-graphic EQ clone soon enough that will draw all the WoW players away, and sadly, many of the returned UO players as well.

UO just cannot draw new players because it is 11 years old. How many 11 year old games you you see in the local game store that you want to buy and play??

The only way UO is going to be a contender again is if EA creates a new client that is graphically equal to modern games. SA is not going to be that client unfortunately.

But with all that said, I am really happy to see EA committing to UO and providing new content. Those of us that have remain with UO for years, or those that have recently joined up and did not judge the game solely on it's graphics are getting some nice new additions. I am looking forward to SA, and I hope there are expansions to follow. And a classic pre UO:ren shard!!

 

[ColterDC]

Let's sum up UO at the moment for a Vet who doesn't play the merchant game....what's there to do?

PvM = Doom or Peerless. The high end PvM in UO is absolutely horrible, evidenced by the fact that it can be soloed. If you have a group of more than 3 people there is literally nothing in UO that cannot be completed in under 10 minutes. That gets old really fast.

PvP = Go to cheater land and fight people who run 3 times as fast as you and have inhuman abilities such as never getting stuck on anything and instantly cure and heal faster than is humanly possible.... That gets old really fast.


UO is boring and all of the "end game" sucks.

 

[Phaen Grey]

I've been happy with the developments over the past 2 years, and look forward to what we've been told to expect in the future. Its been a bumpy year with the move and other changes but the Dev Team seems still on track with the commitments they outlined. There are some issues that need resolving but nothing will ever be perfect, and we all won't be pleased all the time; its the nature of the beast.

 

[mycenaen]

The revival of the faction system was a good move. I would say it was the latest in a long series of changes that started from the changes to the Doom drop system. The point I think that the developers grasped correctly was to lower the barriers to entry to PvP.

Speaking from personal experience, my home shard has seen quite a dramatic increase in the amount of PvP activity that is ongoing, simply because new players can pick up the requisite faction artifacts and fill out the rest of the suit (with the help of guildmates) with significantly less effort than before.

So too were the changes to skill leveling brought about by the Scrolls of Transcedence, which to me was basically an implicit acknowledgment that repetitive motions to bring about skill increases was not the most fun of all experiences for all of us.

Having said that, I think that the PvM front still needs to improve. The point has been explored (and deplored) in other MMOs as well, that a constantly "bigger" boss had to always be cooked up because the sense of achievement in PvM was essentially a linear progression defined by what you can kill and what you can't.

I would say that the key to invigorating PvM would be to ensure that every monster still retained some form of challenge. For example, it is simply the case now that most, if not all, of the peerless and doom bosses can be met now with the same 2 templates: a vampire warrior, or a tamer. (or groups of these)

How about making low-level monsters challenging in a way that doesn't just test the players' ability to "take damage until the boss dies". I guess I'm talking about improvements to AI, but I can already imagine that, for example, spell-casting monsters that cast wall of stone to cut you off and kill you might be more fun and interesting for players who would like some form of variety from the monsters rather than "this monster hits harder than this monster".

Other forms of AI improvement might include adding distinguishing features to pets. For example, dragons could come in varieties that cast different groups of spells (cold-based, fire-based, energy-based, for example), and even breathe lightning, or breathe poison (red, blue, green dragons from D&D, anyone?).

Also, treasure would have to more evenly distributed throughout the lands to induce people to visit them once again. As someone else has suggested in Uhall before, they need not be power loot, but could be just useful items that could either be turned in, or used in some way or other (sorry for being vague in this last part, but it's 6am and my class is starting in 2 hours and I haven't slept @_@)