In concept - Virtue vs Vice

[Mesanna]

Greetings everyone,
We would like to share with you an “In Concept” design for the future of the Faction system within Ultima Online. Please remember that while everything you see here is “In Concept” at this stage, it represents the direction we are aiming to go. We look forward to hearing your constructive feedback!


What are our high level goals for this new system?

1. Provide an objective based PvP experience.

2. Offer a sufficient level of gear that allows playing multiple shards to find the fight on whichever shard it may be occurring on.

3. Provide appropriate rewards to incentivize group efforts while engaging the system.

4. Incorporate Ultima’s Virtues as the basis for participating.

What will happen to the current faction system?

1. All aspects of the current faction system will be removed.

2. All currently existing faction artifacts will be allowed to expire via the “Moonbound” property.

3. All faction vendors and faction NPCs will be removed.

4. Town stones and faction bases will be removed.

How will Virtue & Vice work?

1. There are two opposing sides, one representing “Virtue” and one representing “Vice”

2. Each side will have an encampment located somewhere in the overworld where they can get limited amounts of gear similar to old faction gear for free, with additional gear being available for purchase. Each side will also get a mount. These encampments will only be accessible by members of its respective team.

3. Gear will be functionally useful in Felucca only.

4. If a guild participates in Virtue & Vice all members of that guild are automatically enrolled.

5. A single account can only affiliate with one team at a time. You may join multiple characters, but all account characters must be on the same team.

6. The system will track the number of players logged in to each team, when a threshold is met a battle will begin.

How do battles work?

1. At the beginning of each battle a random shrine that hasn’t already been featured in a battle will be chosen.

2. Players on each team will be notified that a shrine has been identified for battle.

3. Battles are objective based on the following:

a. When only 1 team is present in the vicinity of a shrine that team will begin claiming the shrine.

b. If at any time a living member of the opposing team is present in the vicinity of the shrine claiming will cease.

c. Visual cues at the shrine will indicate which team is currently claiming points for that shrine.

d. When resurrected in battle players will receive a “wounded” debuff that provides a damage modifier to incoming damage.

e. If a team reaches a victory threshold for holding the shrine they will be declared victors of that battle.

f. Following a battle there will be a cool down before the system checks to see if the population threshold has been met to begin another battle.

What happens after a battle has concluded?

1. Each shrine that is claimed will give a buff to the members of the team who claim it, while providing a lesser consolation buff to the losing team.

a. After all eight shrines have been cycled through for battle, the team with the most shrines will receive rewards.

2. In the event of a 4-4 tie, the Chaos shrine will be the tie breaker.



Some Player Generated FAQ (Thanks to Tina Small for putting together the base of this list)



Q: How will you put your character into Virtue & Vice?

A: Recruitment NPCs will be available in each of the Feluccan cities.



Q: How will you take characters out of Virtue & Vice and how long will it take to leave? How long will it take to re-join?

A: You can leave instantly at any time using a speech command, it will take 7 days to rejoin. If you shard transfer you will immediately be allowed to rejoin on your destination shard.



Q: How will you know who else is enrolled in Virtue & Vice?

A: There will be a team roster and each team will have their own visual style.



Q: Will there be any kind of structure to Virtue & Vice so that individual characters are perceived as being part of a team? If yes, what does that structure look like?

A: There won’t be any ranks like factions, but working as a team will provide for a greater chance of victory.



Q: If there is no structure to Virtue & Vice and you fight any and all other members of this arrangement on an individual basis, what incentives will people have for participating in it other than presumably just being able to PvP anywhere in the game?

A: There will be objectives that when completed will give rewards. The functionality of Virtue & Vice will be restricted to Felucca.



Q: Will it still be possible to set up guilds to war each other?

A: Yes, Guilds will still be able to war each other as they do now.



Q: If yes, will membership in Virtue & Vice affect how "guild war" kills are counted, i.e., which arrangement/system will take precedence in counting a kill that involves two characters in opposing guilds who also happen to belong to this arrangement?

A: They will work independently of each other.



Q: Will "young" characters be able to join this arrangement?

A: No.



Q: If there are any "teams" to Virtue & Vice, will all your characters on an account on the same shard have to join the same side or stay neutral, or can you have characters on the same account on different "teams" on the same shard?

A: You may only join 1 team per account. You can join multiple characters, but they must all be on the same team.



Q: Will there be anything similar to faction strongholds or bases, or just sign-up/quit stone(s)?

A: Nothing quite as large – think a smaller encampment.



Q: While you're in Virtue & Vice, can other characters in Virtue & Vice heal or rez your character or your pet? Can your guildmates or alliance mates heal or rez your character or pet?

A: When joining Virtue & Vice a guild must be all in. In Felucca if your guild or alliance mates are part of the same team, they will be able to heal and rez both you and your pets.



Q: Can you steal from a character who also belongs to this arrangement while both are outside of Felucca?

A: No.



Q: Will there be anything like the faction 20-minute skill loss period after your character dies to another character that is in Virtue & Vice?

A: There won’t be any stat loss, but continued death will result in a “Wounded” debuff where incoming damage is modified. Attacking one’s own team members will result in a “Traitor” debuff that will have dire negative effects on stats and skills.



Q: Will a character under Virtue & Vice be able to participate in the Trammel and Siege town election system, including taking advantage of town buffs?

A: Yes, so long as they are eligible under the requirements of that system.



Q: Are all kills made by members of Virtue & Vice of other members of Virtue & Vice considered "legal" and not reportable as murders?

A: Yes.



Q: Will you be able to use traps outside Felucca to kill/injure other members of Virtue & Vice? Will you be able to remove such traps?

A: We are still discussing the implementation of any traps within the system.



Q: Will Virtue & Vice add any new kinds of craftables?

A: Not at this time.



Q: What will be the consequences for non-members of Virtue & Vice who assist in kills or kill-attempts made by members of Virtue & Vice?

A: They will flag according to current flagging mechanics.



Q: Will there be any kind of ranking system, shard-wide leaders of any type, voting periods, etc.?

A: Not at this time.



Q: Will there be a leaderboard of any sort to keep track of who has made the most kills?

A: Yes.



Q: Will joining Virtue & Vice grant you any sort of special abilities or access to special items?

A: Yes, you will have access to gear (similar to current faction gear) that will only work in Felucca. These items will not be ephemeral, however will take extreme damage in Trammel.



Q: Are there plans for the designers/developers and the EMs to create special events built around Virtue & Vice?

A: Not at this time, but you never know


Q: What will happen to the faction strongholds, sigil posts and town stones?

A: They will be removed.



Q: Will there be any kind of replacement for faction vendors, especially of the reagent and bottle type?

A: Yes, they will be located within the encampments for each team.



Q: Will the team make sure that NPC pricing in faction towns is not left at an artificially high or low level after the faction system is disabled?

A: Everything related to the current faction system will be removed and returned to its normal operating state.



Q: What will happen to existing faction war horses? Will there be any point in trying to keep them if you won't be able to actually ride them anymore or be able to rez them with bandages without vet skill?

A: Each team will have their own mounts to utilize. Current mounts will be removed.


Q: Will faction silver continue to have a use? What about faction trap deeds, faction trap removal kits, faction robes, faction-hued clothing and weapons, faction artifacts, faction consumables? Will these get stuck in containers and backpacks or on paperdolls and mannequins after the faction system is turned off?

A: Current faction gear will expire normally. Silver will continue to have a use, the extent of which is still in concept. Anything available in Factions as far as consumables will be available in Virtue & Vice.

Q: What about Siege & Mugen?

A: On Siege Perilous & Mugen opposing members of Virtue & Vice will be able to engage in combat anywhere. Initial gear will also be provided while additional gear will be available for purchase.

 

[Mesanna]

For those that do not want to post here you can always email us at http://www.uo.com/contact and I will make sure the team reads every email that is contructive. I will state this now, any posts or emailst that we get that are not constructive will be deleted and/or removed.

The UO Team looks forward to exchanging ideas on this system.

Let the Fireworks begin!!! Happy 4th of July everyone.

UO Team

 

[Viper09]

Looks interesting. I do like that it is scaled down to only two groups. From what I am reading it looks as if combat will only be open in fel. If this is true, I hope it can be opened to all facets.

 

[Winker]

Looks like a good start, I will need a few days to mul this over

 

[Varrius]

They should make this also happen in Ilsh along with making it so people across all servers can fight each other in Ilsh. Maybe add some kind of incentive to go there too. Have the champ spawns there drop items that have faction mods for everyone to use.

Also there should be three sides not just two.

And, is there anyway Mesanna can change the color of her text? Black on black is difficult to read.

 

[Tjalle]

How will this "whole guild must join"thing work?

Can any member of a guild join and thereby drag the entire guild into the system or must the Guild Master join if the whole guild wants to participate?
I hope it takes a Guild Master to do it to prevent any possible griefing tactics.

 

[Promathia]

1. Can you change the font color of the original post?
2. Is wounded a modified stat loss? IE Like , the more you die and you get "wounded" you take MORE damage?
3. Should be a third side

 

[virtualhabitat]

Q: Will there be any kind of replacement for faction vendors, especially of the reagent and bottle type?

A: Yes, they will be located within the encampments for each team.

With regard to reagent and bottle vendors, is it possible to have access to our bank box within the encampments? Or, alternatively, can they be placed in select towns near or inside a bank?

I ask because bottles and reagents are heavy items.

 

[Tina Small]

Will there be any formal role for thieves in this system? Am anxious to hear about traps. I also think there would be better participation with three sides or four. If two guilds you cannot stand get into this on opposing sides some guilds may just stay out of it rather than being perceived as being allied with either guild. Or if you want to be virtuous but a guild you don't like has already picked "virtue" you may just stay out. I'd really see more sides than just two and something with more complexity th
an just good or evil.

 

[Garrett.]

Faction Horses will stay yes/no?

If yes, then how will the coloured mounts be made available in the game?

 

[Petra Fyde]

They should make this also happen in Ilsh along with making it so people across all servers can fight each other in Ilsh. Maybe add some kind of incentive to go there too. Have the champ spawns there drop items that have faction mods for everyone to use.

Also there should be three sides not just two.

And, is there anyway Mesanna can change the color of her text? Black on black is difficult to read.

I will remove the formatting, which will put it in default colour for each board theme

 

[Promathia]

Faction Horses will stay yes/no?

If yes, then how will the coloured mounts be made available in the game?

That is already answered in the OP. Current faction horses are removed + Vice/Virtue get new mounts.

 

[FrejaSP]

Will we again see overpowered Virtue & Vice gear, that can be used vs non Virtue & Vice and will hurt the community on Siege and hurt the way PvP'ers depent of crafters.
I'm really worried, Siege almost died last faction items was overpowered vs crafted items, it splitted the shard in 2 groups, and the non faction group gave up PvP'ing, gave up fighting back when attacked of red faction players.
I'm not sure this will be good for Siege if we are getting this nw Virtue & Vice items.

 

[Garrett.]

That is already answered in the OP. Current faction horses are removed + Vice/Virtue get new mounts.

Yep can see that now the text is white on black

 

[Mervyn]

The main concern here as with the current faction system is non virtue and vice players interfering with play. The normal flagging issues still applying still doesn't address any issues when most fel guilds have all red characters anyway.

For example, our Guild of Red players in Vice, trying to hold a shrine while A guild of Virtue players + Blues attack us, I hope one hit of an apposing team is not enough to give a character a "wounded" debuff if killed by predominantly non virtue vice players.

 

[Tina Small]

Can you please clarify how you will participate in this system if you do not want to leave your current guild? I imagine that participation will work the same as it does today with factions, that is:

• You can join with a character that does not belong to a guild.
• When a guild leader character joins a side, every character in the guild who does not already have a character on the same account in the opposing side is also added to the side that the guild leader joined. Characters in the guild who already have a character on the same account in the opposing side are supposed to be dropped from the guild. (This seems to be bugged and people have abused the "guild leader joins the whole guild to a side" mechanic as a way to get characters on the same account and shard into opposing sides in factions.)
• If you want to have a character join a guild that already belongs to one side in this system, you must first go to Fel and join that side of the system (if able to do so with characters on that account, i.e., no other characters on that account on that shard belong to the other side) and then be added to the guild.
• If you want to drop out of this system and are not the guild leader, you must drop out of the guild your character belongs to and then leave with the appropriate speech command.
• If you drop out of the system using a guild leader character, every character in the guild is simultaneously dropped out of the system.

So, will things work as above with this new system? Also, can a guild leader join their guild to the system if the guild is allied with another guild that has joined the other side in the system? Can a guild leader join the system if the guild is allied with another guild that is not involved in the system at all? What if the guild leader of the guild that formed the alliance joins the system--does that cause every other guild in the alliance to also join the system? A few years ago, we had to remove our faction guilds from alliances with non-faction guilds, so I would assume that most guilds that were in factions already and want to join this new system won't have problems with existing alliances unless their alliance mates want to go in a different direction with this system, perhaps for role-playing purposes or because of shard politics. (Another reason to allow more sides than two in this system to give more flexibility to existing alliances that want to enter the system!)

While in Fel, will you be able to trade pets, rez, or perform any other beneficial acts on characters that belong to the other side in the system or if they belong to any side in the system but your character does not? Will there be any "beneficial acts" restrictions with respect to members of this system while they are outside of Felucca? How will "beneficial acts" restrictions (if any) work on Siege and Mugen in facets other than Felucca?
How will you see the team roster? Will it be available for viewing while not logged into the game? How long will inactive team members show up on the team roster? In which order will team members be listed and will you be able to see any additional information about them such as their guild membership, skills, etc.?

If you join the "Vice" side of this system, will your character still be able to work on and benefit from the existing virtue system? If you join the "Virtue" side of this system, will your character still be able to work on and benefit from the existing virtue system? Will joining the "Vice" side of the system affect your character's karma, e.g., will it be a bad thing to do if your character uses chivalry? Will joining the "Virtue" side of the system make sense for negative-karma characters?

That's all I can think of for questions at the moment. I'm sure I'll have more later. Thank you for putting out these "in-concept" notes and giving us a chance to mull them over!

 

[Winter]

I don't know if it is possible, but If there is one thing I would ask for it is a common area for all shards to participate in the Virtue vs Vice. We used to be able to copy characters to TC, why not copy them to the V. vs V. shard? Now those would be epic fights.

 

[Tina Small]

More questions:

Are there any plans to automatically opt existing characters/guilds that are in factions into one side or the other of this new system, e.g., Minax and SL go into Vice and TB/COM go into Virtue?

What will happen to Castle British in Felucca? Is it actually going to be removed? If not, can you make sure that the portcullises can't be manipulated by players and locked up? (I think Castle British in Trammel on Origin still has its portcullis locked in the down position! Would hate to see that happen elsewhere as factions is removed.)

Are you actually going to remove the Yew crypts in Felucca or will they just end up like the crypts in Trammel? Don't forget about removing SL's secret room on some shards! Also, what will you put where the Minax base was?

Do you have any ideas yet on where you will put the two encampments? Will they be in towns or out in the wilderness?

How big is the area around each shrine that will be considered a battle ground? What happens to any housing in that area? Will future housing around the shrines be restricted in any way?

What's involved in "claiming" a shrine? Fighting monster spawn or something else?

 

[Uvtha]

No new faction artifacts on siege... please.

 

[Tina Small]

Will each shrine have its own associated buff for the victors and consolation buff for the losers?

How often will you send out the notice that a battle is beginning and what will the notice look like?

Will there be any kind of chat system for each side in the system?

 

[Adrianas]

I notice that Faction Thieves is not addressed at all. Is there a plan for them in this new setup?

 

[Lythos-]

I would like more info on the free armor. Please remember most of the faction arties are outdated due to reforging!

Also can I get an update on chaos/order that was being considered a long time ago?

 

[Voodoo Bad Mojo]

while this sounds fun, and im a player who has been doing factions across most shards since it started, it seems like there is gonna be something missing from it.

i think what its maybe gonna be missing is the Camaraderie that you get from the current system.
knowing whos on my team and spending house fighting side by side and defending the base.

just dosnt sound like this new system will have that.

granted, we havnt had the population to do this like the days of old.

you know what this sounds like to me is the Black Ops mini game where you hold the area.
when a enemy comes in you have to kill him and your 'hold' on that area stops.

so ya, sounds exactly like that.

but, could be fun, im looking forward to trying it.

what i DONT LIKE.
why do i have to loose my horse?
ive had it for years and years and years.
ive fully trained it and i use it daily.
why do i have to loose my war horse because your killing the system?

im sure you can just turn off the faction part and leave the war horses the way they are..... call it a little perk for anyone who has one and was playing factins.... a living memorial to the old system.

to have to loose my trusty steed after all these years rubs me wrong, and im really hoping you will look into this before you kill them.

another thing.
a lot of people spent a lot of time making trap removers and thieves for factions.
and that was 1/2 the work of factions.
so now all those skill bases are out.
thats a lot of people to loose.

there are people in my guild and ALL they do for the guild is steal sigs and or remove traps.
they dont wanna fight.
they wanna steal.
so now they are gonna be out of work.
and that is sad.

you may wanna look at incorporating them in this new system some how.
give them some stealables that show up at the alters that have to be stolen and held while the fight is ongoing or moved or something.
and all those house making trap removers...... wasted!
ugghhhhhh!

but i do like that you are trying to breath some life into a dead system and i think if you can smooth over some of the problems pointed out by the people here we can make a honest go of this.

i think the BIGGEST concern i have is griefers.
we see them now in the current factions and i can see this blowing up real bad in the new system.

now with no bases to keep blues out they can run around at the shrines and pk people who are doing the new system.

be interesting.

sad, though.
maybe fun years and time well wasted on that old system.

again, consider letting us keep old trap deeds and trap removal kits and player made faction weapons as deco and especially our war horses.
that will smooth out a lot of ruffled feathers i think.

 

[Gorbs]

Is enrollment in this system going to be considered consensual pvp at all times in Fel? To be more blunt, if I'm on the Virtue side will all the Vice siders be orange to me in Fel?

Here are my suggestions for the system:
1. The shrine / battle sites need a perimeter where everything inside is considered to be the battle zone. While a battle is in play there should be no murder counts obtainable where either an attacker or the player being attacked is within that zone.
2. This needs to be called Naughty v. Nice at Christmas time.
3. Victorious team in battle should gain one full bubble of the virtue for that shrine. There might be implications for red players and ability to use virtues tied into this.

 

[Sir Morder]

I am mostly concerned with "old" faction gear that is evil/hero dyed and usable by everyone. Items that are "prepatch" and considered rare. Items that have been around almost as long as I have. I would NOT like to see these items removed! And what about post patch items that have been faction dyed? Are these to be removed also? Higher end items like conjurors grabs/ crytalline rings etc that are faction dyed will just go poof?! I'm not liking the use of the "removed" word in this thread!!

 

[PJay]

I like what i hear so far however I'm finding it difficult to see the current issues not being repeated to which Mervyn has already voiced his concern.

As for the wounded status i would like to see some kind of tier system which would scale each time you die the amount of damage output you could inflict eventually maybe to the minimum where you cannot inflict damage at all and maybe forced to walk because you cant get on your mount. But will there be a timer on the wounded status before its removed or after the battle?

How would stealth chars feature in capping the shrines its very difficult for ordinary chars to be able to find and remove them from the area in question and so could mean it ends in a who has to goto bed first competition rather than a battle.

I would rather not see a leader board for players its just something which someone will abuse like the old faction tables. If theres a record to state your the best on your shard you can be sure someone will be clever enough to manipulate the system to get themselves to the top and more that likely would not contribute to the systems aim of creating pvp.

How would scaling for the teams work? Could potentially 100 people sign up to virtue and 10 people to vice? This would more than likely break the system immediately.

I shall still be thinking of things but im so glad we've some idea of the steps in concept to fix a somewhat overdue retirement of a system.

 

[Acid Rain]

I'm fairly sure anything would be better then the current state of factions, so I'd welcome any changes. I can see why Mesanna favors 2 factions, its kinda like a throw back to chaos & order which many old school folks liked. It may bring together larger crowds for bigger battles. Not having played factions in a couple years I'm not sure how many players still play factions, maybe it would be better to have more teams. I'll leave that input for others more in tune with the current system.

My main problem w/ factions has been the 'extra' things factioneers use in their highly competitive nature(non-UO sanctioned stuff) which sadly will probably never get fixed. I can say on Atlantic most faction folks partake in this activity to some degree. Makes it hard, if not impossible, for the average joe to keep up & turns off many folks just wanting to try factions.

From what I've read it looks very interesting & I'm just glad the team is trying to work on something new.
TY guys & gals.

 

[FSP!-SL]

same here, yea on siege shard only! there is evil or hero dyed gear, they need to all be wearable , orbe undyed

 

[FSP!-SL]

what about killing someone that are in the same team?

 

[kelmo]

Having actually read the original post FSP, I can answer that. It will be very bad to kill your team mate.

 

[HoldenCaulfield]

Hi,

Can we please get a list of what is "too broken" to be fixed in the current faction system that it will be completely ditched? That excuse seems meaningless without some data behind it and unacceptable.

Second, I think this new system can easily be abused by folks with many accounts just joining their junk characters in the side they are against to make it look the even numbers are online by dual clients. I also don't like the idea of only having a two party system. Guilds already defend themselves at champ spawns, this system seems it will do little other than be a glorified version of the arena which never gets used.

Thanks,
Holden

 

[Uvtha]

another thing.
a lot of people spent a lot of time making trap removers and thieves for factions.
and that was 1/2 the work of factions.
so now all those skill bases are out.
thats a lot of people to loose.

there are people in my guild and ALL they do for the guild is steal sigs and or remove traps.
they dont wanna fight.
they wanna steal.
so now they are gonna be out of work.
and that is sad.

you may wanna look at incorporating them in this new system some how.
give them some stealables that show up at the alters that have to be stolen and held while the fight is ongoing or moved or something.
and all those house making trap removers...... wasted!
ugghhhhhh!

Indeed... that was the first thing that popped into my head after reading this over. Sad thief nerf.

 

[TheDrAJ]

Will we again see overpowered Virtue & Vice gear, that can be used vs non Virtue & Vice and will hurt the community on Siege and hurt the way PvP'ers depent of crafters.
I'm really worried, Siege almost died last faction items was overpowered vs crafted items, it splitted the shard in 2 groups, and the non faction group gave up PvP'ing, gave up fighting back when attacked of red faction players.
I'm not sure this will be good for Siege if we are getting this nw Virtue & Vice items.

I agree with all of her statements.

I notice their was no mention of innocents in Mesanna's comments (ie non participants of this system).

I think on Siege virtue and vice gear is a form of insurance or has the potential for abuse.
I think any system that gives an advantage to these players over the non participants will kill the shard again.

 

[Tina Small]

Can you please elaborate on what the statements quoted below mean with regard to "gear"? For some reason, I'm getting the impression that participants will get to pick basic armor sets for free based on which side they're on, with additional items available for a cost, but that there may not be much flexibility in what your character's final appearance is because you say "each team will have their own visual style."

If that is going to be the case, can you please give us some kind of an idea now of what kind of look you're going for and what properties will be on the gear, and whether or not there will be different sets for different types of characters?

2. Each side will have an encampment located somewhere in the overworld where they can get limited amounts of gear similar to old faction gear for free, with additional gear being available for purchase. Each side will also get a mount. These encampments will only be accessible by members of its respective team.

3. Gear will be functionally useful in Felucca only.

Q: How will you know who else is enrolled in Virtue & Vice?

A: There will be a team roster and each team will have their own visual style.

Q: Will joining Virtue & Vice grant you any sort of special abilities or access to special items?

A: Yes, you will have access to gear (similar to current faction gear) that will only work in Felucca. These items will not be ephemeral, however will take extreme damage in Trammel.

Q: Will faction silver continue to have a use? What about faction trap deeds, faction trap removal kits, faction robes, faction-hued clothing and weapons, faction artifacts, faction consumables? Will these get stuck in containers and backpacks or on paperdolls and mannequins after the faction system is turned off?

A: Current faction gear will expire normally. Silver will continue to have a use, the extent of which is still in concept. Anything available in Factions as far as consumables will be available in Virtue & Vice.

Q: What about Siege & Mugen?

A: On Siege Perilous & Mugen opposing members of Virtue & Vice will be able to engage in combat anywhere. Initial gear will also be provided while additional gear will be available for purchase.

 

[Kojak]

since they completely killed factions by making the armor so expensive during the last overhaul they had to do something - hehe (there basically was no factions after that publish)

 

[Flutter]

.....
Q: What will happen to the faction strongholds, sigil posts and town stones?

A: They will be removed.
.......

This would be a real shame. It's part of our game history. I'd be sad to see it just simply erased.

 

[yars]

I'd like to see it encompass the entire world like chaos and order,maybe make some "holy ground " spots where no fighting can take place,ilshenar,malas,tokuno, and abyss should be battle grounds.

 

[T R U]

HI, I like the idea of a new system. That being said I would like to point out that many people of the Siege based shards, have spent years in the system and have hued most of their items to slow item loss due to looting after death. All four of my accounts are in factions there, thus all my gear is evil hued. This does include many items either to expensive to replace or do not spawn any more. Please provide a way to remove the hue. If you do not I fear I will lose most of my gear as well as opponents who will be suffering the same losses. The next issue is going to be numbers of players in the system. Sp does not have the player base for such a system. NOthing will happen and no battles ill be fought. Please explain how these issues will be dealt with. If things remain unchanged I fear those of us who remain faithful to this game will finally be pushed out! TY.

 

[Shamus Turlough]

This concept is on the whole very promising. I too would like to see it developed more before I completely pass judgement, but the framework looks great!

 

[Ox AO]

let me get this straight people from all shards will fight in a playing area? So, if I kill someone from Yamato shard or Siege I can loot their body and take their items back with me?

Or will the items you can use based only around this new system?

 

[Uvtha]

let me get this straight people from all shards will fight in a playing area? So, if I kill someone from Yamato shard or Siege I can loot their body and take their items back with me?

Or will the items you can use based only around this new system?

I think she meant that the ease of getting gear via this system will allow you to have a pvp ready character on multiple shards, not that shards would be in a group area. So if there is no combat that night on your home shard you can log onto another and still pvp.

 

[Goldberg-Chessy]

This would be a real shame. It's part of our game history. I'd be sad to see it just simply erased.

Everything is part of our game history.

You cant try to move forward without change. And if I recall correctly there were no factions at the start of UO history so what exactly are we talking about here? Historically speaking that is...

 

[Goldberg-Chessy]

The main concern here as with the current faction system is non virtue and vice players interfering with play. The normal flagging issues still applying still doesn't address any issues when most fel guilds have all red characters anyway.

For example, our Guild of Red players in Vice, trying to hold a shrine while A guild of Virtue players + Blues attack us, I hope one hit of an apposing team is not enough to give a character a "wounded" debuff if killed by predominantly non virtue vice players.

Its Felucca bud. Interference is part of the gameplay and always has been. If you are an experienced pvper it is not a big issue.

There is no way possible to change that. Are you going to tell me that blue Virtue/Vice players wont be messing with non participating players by walling and fielding? Of course not because they will. If your Vice guild is hanging at the gate and some of your reds decide to pk non participating blues your blues will be helping with walls and heals, etc...

Wouldn't be right if you could do that but never have your special little group fighting messed with.

 

[hen]

I know the fate of the strongholds isn't the most important thing about the new pvp system but It wouldn't do any harm to leave them there as monuments to the faction wars.
How about a single dragon spawn in the Minax fortress above Destard, as eveywhere else has a dragon/ greater dragon spawn?
Maybe something else spawning in the crypts and that ugly mages place at the southern tip of Moonglow.

I also think faction warhorses need to be thought about and, as other people have mentioned, a use for the non-pvp faction characters such as crafters and rogues.

 

[Basara]

Will the "Traitor" situation only apply when a battle is active?

Will you be able to issue counts if killed by a team member outside battles/outside battle zones?

 

[Lord Frodo]

Greetings everyone,
We would like to share with you an “In Concept” design for the future of the Faction system within Ultima Online. Please remember that while everything you see here is “In Concept” at this stage, it represents the direction we are aiming to go. We look forward to hearing your constructive feedback!


What are our high level goals for this new system?

1. Provide an objective based PvP experience.

2. Offer a sufficient level of gear that allows playing multiple shards to find the fight on whichever shard it may be occurring on.

3. Provide appropriate rewards to incentivize group efforts while engaging the system.

How will Virtue & Vice work?

3. Gear will be functionally useful in Felucca only.

How do battles work?

2. Players on each team will be notified that a shrine has been identified for battle.

What happens after a battle has concluded?

1. Each shrine that is claimed will give a buff to the members of the team who claim it, while providing a lesser consolation buff to the losing team.

I like the idea of people getting a starter set so they can PvP on other shards.

1. Will this gear be like the old Faction Arties?
2. Is there any way to make this gear only function around the Battle Shrines only?
3. What are these Buffs and how long do they last?
4. I there anyway to make it where these Buffs only work around the Battle Shrines?
5. Reason for #2 and #4 is depending on the Gear and Buffs these will be used just like the old system and should NOT BE ALLOWED AT CHAMP SPAWNS and should be usefull only when a Battle is ongoing or PEOPLE WILL FIND A WAY TO ABUSE THIS SYYTEM TOO. One group of players could do this with no problem using multi accounts. Main Account on one side and 2nd Account on the other side. Most UO Players have more than one account and with dual client this will be done.

 

[Lythos-]

I'd like to see it encompass the entire world like chaos and order,maybe make some "holy ground " spots where no fighting can take place,ilshenar,malas,tokuno, and abyss should be battle grounds.

YES! This virtue/vice seems to be the child of chaos/order and factions. It wouldn't hurt to let blue characters active in virtue/vice fight in all lands. Also I would like to see a kill/death mouse over counter instead of a leaderboard.

All in all we need to see if this free armor is decent enough to have a character on multiple shards.

 

[Lord Frodo]

Greetings everyone,
We would like to share with you an “In Concept” design for the future of the Faction system within Ultima Online. Please remember that while everything you see here is “In Concept” at this stage, it represents the direction we are aiming to go. We look forward to hearing your constructive feedback!

1. This should be posted onUO.com with a link to this thread.
2. This should be on the Log-in page to UO. Not all UO Players are UOStratic users and EVERYBODY should have thier input heard on this matter.

 

[Flutter]

Everything is part of our game history.

You cant try to move forward without change. And if I recall correctly there were no factions at the start of UO history so what exactly are we talking about here? Historically speaking that is...

You do like to argue for the sake of arguing don't you...

 

[Voodoo Bad Mojo]

This would be a real shame. It's part of our game history. I'd be sad to see it just simply erased.

what they should do is give everyone who is in factions a sigil stone with a sigil on top of it that we can put in our houses to remind us of what we killed 10 years doing, haha

is it corrupted yet.... how about now..... how about now?