It is time to begin wrapping up loose ends and move on to a new story

[Guest]

On April 4th we will be celebrating the 2nd anniversary of the current UO storyline. Wait, what? Two years of the same thing? That can't be right!

Oh but it is.The current story has been going on for 2 years now and has countless branches which don't seem to interconnect except in the most subtle of ways. This has led players to become disenfranchised from the story and just view each new event as "some monsters to kill". Here is some of the plot lines I can recall:

- Ricardo Being Executed
- Something dwelling under the abandoned City of Mistas
- Time rifts throughout Britannia and the appearance of the Time Lord
- Magincia being invaded, destroyed and evacuated
- That guy we defeated in the dungeon and Kingdom Reborn being announced (is that even active anymore or did it just end because we found out it was just about a new client?)
- Blackrock and Blackrock elementals spawning all over
- Britain Sewers maze
- All that stuff we learned about the Armageddon spell
- Book of Truth
- Candle of Love
- Ophidian Invasions (this may have been resolved, I'm not sure)

It is just one new thing after another, never tying into the old. No moments of discovery connecting things together. One of the biggest issues is there hasn't been even a hint at who is the main villain behind all this. Draconi has already mentioned that there is someone orchestrating all these events. Well that is quite obvious, how else would Daemon Berserkers be re-appearing all the time?

There needs some major pruning of what has become an overgrown tree of plot lines. Even if it is just a series of BNN articles. And this entire story should be wrapped up as soon as possible, so something fresh can begin and bring back the excitement we all had when Inu was first introduced. It is literally impossible to sum up what is going on because we still don't know after two years.

 

[Guest]

Doom! Doom I tell you!

Oh wait ... no, this is all about a different dungeon.

(then again ... perhaps there is no cake)

*wanders off to talk to my rune beetle*

 

[Guest]

...

The main bad guy is....


...



..




...





..





SPOILER ALERT!!!!






...





...




...


...Robert Jordan.

How else can we account for all of the dangling plotlines?

 

[imported_Sarphus]

I think the thing delaying the end of all these plot lines is the SA release.

Since SA got delayed, they had to float the story for a while.

 

[imported_dexdash]

Robert Jordan Died and left the scrite to be written and finnished by some other writers looks to be the best book yet

 

[Guest]

...

Oddly enough, I've found more enjoyment in the "side" events than the central one.

 

[Guest]

The Guardian! Maybe.

I think he's the one who talks to us blackrock infested people ;[

 

[Guest]

Oh, be patient! It is better than the event culminates late rather than never. The developers had planned on Stygian Abyss being released sometime in the summer of last year, but stuff happens as it always does.

On the other hand, it would be nice to see a more complete and fleshed out storyline, rather than some event every few months that leaves us without a clue what just happened. What is the Royal Britannian Council's response to this? Where are the troops? What is the Mage Council doing, except hiding and waiting for us adventurers to take care of it all.

There are also alot of loose ends that it would be nice to see answered, that go back way beyond this current storyline. Where is Dawn? Where did Exodus disappear off too (I have a theory that he might have some involvement, considering that he was a time traveller and wished to become the Guardian)? The Council of Mages announced that they were going to try to summon the Avatar (part of the faction lore), so how is that plan going? Are we going to see the Meer or Gargoyles give us misguided heroes a hand?

 

[simonovsk]

I second that.

As someone who returned to the game 8 months ago, I would be incapable of summing up the story we're involoved in. It's all very messy, and I like the idea of developping it through BNN news to make it all come together a bit...

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

There are also alot of loose ends that it would be nice to see answered, that go back way beyond this current storyline. Where is Dawn? Where did Exodus disappear off too

[/ QUOTE ]
Those are loose ends after the story has concluded. I am talking about the many plot lines that go off in all different directions without coming to a conclusion.

If the Inu story got side-lined by Stygain Abyss than the story should have been tactfully put on hold as well. Then a completely new story could be started and ended before returning to Inu when Stygain Abyss has a firm release date.

 

[Larisa]

<blockquote><hr>

The Guardian! Maybe.

I think he's the one who talks to us blackrock infested people ;[

[/ QUOTE ]

INFESTED???

I am NOT Infested....*swats flies away*

 

[Pfloyd]

We can't go back now we have to move forward and that means....the Bell

 

[Guest]

Infested sounds dirtier. I prefer it!

And yes you are!

 

[Larisa]

HA lol yeah I like I like infested better meself....*grins*

YEAH what about the bell?? I WANNA BELL!!!!!

 

[GarthGrey]

<blockquote><hr>

HA lol yeah I like I like infested better meself....*grins*

YEAH what about the bell?? I WANNA BELL!!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

*hands you a Rehued, umm, something or another*

 

[Larisa]

Hey now, the Books of Truth were unique! And the Candles were totally awesome! I have the complete set..both hearts, both tears, both pens, runebook to all Candle of Love Event locations, The prisoners Journal, Book of Truth? and all three candles I managed to get.

I have the note from Ricardo I copied from the books he left in the taverns.....I have enjoyed this whole event...snake skins, journals, rations, order, rat coins, berserker scythe's.

NOW I have more to add to the whole event scenerio collection...threads, plane shield and sword cloak....I LOVE IT!!!! Wisp Chests...blackrock.....rubble...WOW just...WOW all those little bits of history....

Sorry I'm rambling but I am TOTALLY digging this event

 

[imported_GalenKnighthawke]

Umm.....If you've been to Moonglow, or read your own UO GUide's fine article on the blackrock detector, you'd see that the Time Lord and the Shadowlords (at least one of them) have both been spotted in the present event.

Is this thing neatly tied together? Nope.

Is it disparate threads hanging, having nothing to do with one another?

No.

Look at it this way. It ain't Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any other Joss Whedon work. It does, however, appear to be better put-together than the popular Lost, or the "classic" Land of the Lost. And certainly makes more sense than Twin Peaks.

-Galen's player

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

I think the thing delaying the end of all these plot lines is the SA release.

Since SA got delayed, they had to float the story for a while.

[/ QUOTE ]

SA=Vaporware

 

[Guest]

You know, JC ... you've also posted something to squash certain arguments. To wit: "There's no storyline, no events, nothing happening" If you can post all those items that are in a seeming storyline of **something** then what are folks who make those statements griping about?

Could Stygian Abyss - whereever it is - be the tie-off of some of this? Speculation, wild guess ... but makes for some mental exercise.

 

[imported_GalenKnighthawke]

One thing I have to add is that I agree there's too many loose ends. And not enough has been explained.

I just don't think its as "bad" as JC does, and I do want it to continue...I want to see how it turns out.

-Galen's player

 

[imported_Lord GOD(GOD)]

It feels strange to say it but I agree with Link.

 

[Guest]

I dont think the guardian should exist in Ultima Online.... but i suppose its possible.

however i would like to see the stranger become the avatar.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

I think the thing delaying the end of all these plot lines is the SA release.

Since SA got delayed, they had to float the story for a while.

[/ QUOTE ]You actually still believe SA is still coming out.....

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>


Look at it this way. It ain't Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any other Joss Whedon work. It does, however, appear to be better put-together than the popular Lost, or the "classic" Land of the Lost. And certainly makes more sense than Twin Peaks.

-Galen's player

[/ QUOTE ]


Holy cow! Land of the Lost reference.

Now I feel old.


*goes off singing "The Land of the LLOOOOSTTTTT*

 

[imported_Sarphus]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

I think the thing delaying the end of all these plot lines is the SA release.

Since SA got delayed, they had to float the story for a while.

[/ QUOTE ]You actually still believe SA is still coming out.....

[/ QUOTE ]

and it will

call me neive now... you probably will forget all about it when SA is released, though.

 

[imported_Coppelia]

Resolve the cliffhangers!

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

I dont think the guardian should exist in Ultima Online.... but i suppose its possible.

however i would like to see the stranger become the avatar.

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with you, in theory. The Avatar never emerged within the lands of Sosaria, and without the Avatar the Guardian cannot exist.

On the other hand, the Avatar/Guardian does exist in the Ultima Universe, and while I could not fathom a purpose for doing so, its concievable that the Guardian might be able to enter the gems from "True Britannia."

 

[Otis Firefly]

the end of the uo beta had the guardian in britannia...and destroyed sosaria i believe

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

the end of the uo beta had the guardian in britannia...and destroyed sosaria i believe

[/ QUOTE ]

*Nods*

It doesn't necessarily mean that its canon, but it certainly opens up the possibility. The beta shard has previously been used in Ultima Online lore as an example of a shard that was corrupted and eventually consumed completely by darkness. I almost wonder if the developers are merging "The Followers of Armageddon" with "The Fellowship"?

The Guardian is just one possibility, though. We still have the Shadowlords, and they are full villians in their own right. I am not sure what happened to Minax, but she may very well still be alive. Exodus never was defeated, he just simply disappeared. Or, for all we know, it could be all of the above.

 

[Guest]

- Ricardo Being Executed

For allegedly causing the war against the Ophidians by stealing the Scion from them

- Something dwelling under the abandoned City of Mistas

This as well as the Daemon found in the Fan Dancer Dojo (I think) are simply clues towards the Shadowlords, servants acting up and pointing us in the right direction (by denying working for Minax for instance)

- Time rifts throughout Britannia and the appearance of the Time Lord

The Time Lord is an all around good guy, he pops up when things really hit the fan. No surprise here.

- Magincia being invaded, destroyed and evacuated

This is a historical Ultima event, the destruction of Magincia for its Pride. Has nothing to do with the bigger storyline really, unless you wanna think the Shadowlords were behind it too.

- That guy we defeated in the dungeon and Kingdom Reborn being announced (is that even active anymore or did it just end because we found out it was just about a new client?)

Can't remember, probably just a quick publicity stunt.

- Blackrock and Blackrock elementals spawning all over

Blackrock is supposed to exist in Britannia all the time, not just suddenly appear as it has now. So having blackrock is the norm, not having it is weird. Anyway, the main catalyst event for this was the destruction of the blackrock doodad under Terathan Keep, which spread little shards of BR all over the place. Suppose that caused further reactions in Blackrock all over the place and thus more pieces cropped up closer to the surface?

- Britain Sewers maze

Can't remember this portion at all

- All that stuff we learned about the Armageddon spell

Again this is just history stuff from the single player Ultimas. Armageddon is a classic element and since not everyone has played other Ultimas, it needs some fleshing out.

- Book of Truth

Truth being the opposite of Falsehood, obviously Faulinei was behind this one. First the Book of Truth was stolen, and when it was recovered, the Lycaeum was attacked by Dark Wisps. Noticed who's fighting alongside the Shadowlords in the alternate Moonglow now? Yeah, Dark Wisps.

- Candle of Love

In a logical progression from the Book of Truth, Astaroth, Shadowlord of Hatred puts out the Candle Of Love. At this point we can deduct the Shadowlords are after all three, Book of Truth, Candle of Love, Bell of Courage. The question is, why? It may be worth noting that those three items were used in Ultima IV to enter the Stygian Abyss...

- Ophidian Invasions (this may have been resolved, I'm not sure)

The way the story went was that Ricardo stole the Artificed Scion from the Ophidians, causing them to get rather annoyed and attack Human settlements. Wether or not this has some larger meaning, can't say.

Hope some of that helps. It's really not all that hard to understand, and not every piece needs to fit perfectly into the scheme for it to be enjoyable - just like not every happening in RL connects to each other. Why would you assume that all these events are tied to the same plot somehow? They've happened during two years. If Inu is spouting nonsense in some city, it doesn't mean that Haven blowing up has anything to do with it, and so on.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

I thought it was pretty clear by now that the main villains are the Shadowlords...

[/ QUOTE ]
Before last weekend there was no appearance from the Shadowlords. Just because they appear now does not make them the main villain. A large story like this should have had a villain reveal a long time ago unless this thing is supposed to go on for 10 years.

 

[Gildar]

More in-game access to knowledge of what exactly is going on, and some resolutions in some areas perhaps, but I think continuing the same story is appropriate and best.

 

[Sir_Bolo]

The Shadowlords were explicitely behind the Book of Truth and Candle of Love events, already one year ago.
They only appeared in-game now because they didn't have physical access to Britannia until Kronos ripped apart the fabric of time...

 

[imported_Sarphus]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

I thought it was pretty clear by now that the main villains are the Shadowlords...

[/ QUOTE ]
Before last weekend there was no appearance from the Shadowlords. Just because they appear now does not make them the main villain. A large story like this should have had a villain reveal a long time ago unless this thing is supposed to go on for 10 years.

[/ QUOTE ]

They have shadow in their name... perhaps they're sneaky and didn't want to be revealed. I think it makes plenty of sense for the shadowlords not to be revealed as a villian until now.

Also, it still makes sense that there could be a bigger, badder villian than the SL.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

On April 4th we will be celebrating the 2nd anniversary of the current UO storyline. Wait, what? Two years of the same thing? That can't be right!

Oh but it is.The current story has been going on for 2 years now and has countless branches which don't seem to interconnect except in the most subtle of ways. This has led players to become disenfranchised from the story and just view each new event as "some monsters to kill". Here is some of the plot lines I can recall:

- Ricardo Being Executed
- Something dwelling under the abandoned City of Mistas
- Time rifts throughout Britannia and the appearance of the Time Lord
- Magincia being invaded, destroyed and evacuated
- That guy we defeated in the dungeon and Kingdom Reborn being announced (is that even active anymore or did it just end because we found out it was just about a new client?)
- Blackrock and Blackrock elementals spawning all over
- Britain Sewers maze
- All that stuff we learned about the Armageddon spell
- Book of Truth
- Candle of Love
- Ophidian Invasions (this may have been resolved, I'm not sure)

It is just one new thing after another, never tying into the old. No moments of discovery connecting things together. One of the biggest issues is there hasn't been even a hint at who is the main villain behind all this. Draconi has already mentioned that there is someone orchestrating all these events. Well that is quite obvious, how else would Daemon Berserkers be re-appearing all the time?

There needs some major pruning of what has become an overgrown tree of plot lines. Even if it is just a series of BNN articles. And this entire story should be wrapped up as soon as possible, so something fresh can begin and bring back the excitement we all had when Inu was first introduced. It is literally impossible to sum up what is going on because we still don't know after two years.

[/ QUOTE ]*gets out his shears*

No, seriously, let's organize and prune.

*** SPOILERS ***

Q: How can the events over the last two years be organized?
A: I'd divide it into four sections:
<ul>[*]KR Announcement plotline[*]Old plotline, setup for major world changes for KR[*]New plotline[*]Filler[/list]
You can consider a new plotline started *now* (though I'll include the events of Magincia.) The old plotline basically supported major worldbuilding changes (Haven, Blood Dungeon, etc), and was split between many different peoples' efforts - hence multiple story branches and differing events.

The new live events team is a subset of the live design team, and we've established a unified goal around this event arc, featuring one final epic event at the end in a few months.

Now, admittedly, the new plotline is very much related to the old one, just as most previous arcs had some influence from the past ones. The old plotline can be considered backstory for this one.

A key difference in our production will be maintaining a single thread to the plotline, and tying up loose ends from last year. I believe there'll still be a lot of freedom and fun in the event, even if it's more linear, with coming changes to certain game systems.

Meanwhile, for those looking for the overarching "hand" that's been causing all the chaos of last year, they're here. Kronos unleashed them. More info soon. Everything else can be seen as their machinations from afar, or their followers'.

Part of the goal for the Live Events page on uo.com is to actually organize this sort of information and make it easy for players to jump into the events without reading half a book's worth of fiction and forum posts. Stay tuned!

Q: Will previous events have influence on the new plotline?
A: Yes. In fact, as mentioned above, the current plotline will at the least tie together everything but the filler events, and it'll do it pretty quickly.

Q: When is the next "major" content addition for the event arc?
A: Publish 52

Q: Will anything be happening until Pub 52?
A: Yes, the rift in Moonglow will continue to present problems and opportunities. Expect weekly or bi-weekly changes.

 

[utilitron]

Q: What percentage, if any, were the filler content tests of future changes and new game systems?

 

[imported_Vyrquenox]

and for god sakes will someone just kill nystul in haven and rez him? He's been moaning there for ... how long?

 

[R Traveler]

<blockquote><hr>

Q: When is the next "major" content addition for the event arc?
A: Publish 52

[/ QUOTE ] We have so many publishes to go... still publish 45 on TC

 

[Guest]

shots I thought we were at 51 oh well glad not home to check

 

[Sir_Bolo]

<blockquote><hr>

A key difference in our production will be maintaining a single thread to the plotline, and tying up loose ends from last year.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey Drac,
exactly how far back in time will you try to go when tying up loose end?
After all, we got hints that the Shadowlords were "the evil guys behind the scenes" when the moongates to Malas opened in 2003, and even when the moongates to Ilshenar opened in 2001...

Plenty of other "loose ends" in the history of UO also, like Exodus in Ilshenar or Minax in Tokuno...

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

shots I thought we were at 51 oh well glad not home to check

[/ QUOTE ]
Pretty sure we are on publish 51 right now. Jeremy doesn't number them or I'd provide reference. I wish she would.

 

[imported_Sarphus]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

shots I thought we were at 51 oh well glad not home to check

[/ QUOTE ]
Pretty sure we are on publish 51 right now. Jeremy doesn't number them or I'd provide reference. I wish she would.

[/ QUOTE ]

we are.

52 is the next publish, which will contain event turnin, housing changes, collapse of the burning player houses, etc.

I think 52 is going to be a pretty major publish.

I believe it also contains faction changes.

 

[Guest]

The confusion in the publish numbering stems from Publish 49. There was only one change, so it shouldn't have been a numbered publish. But it is and we are currently looking forward to number 52.

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

Q: What percentage, if any, were the filler content tests of future changes and new game systems?

[/ QUOTE ]Probably a large percentage

 

[R Traveler]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

shots I thought we were at 51 oh well glad not home to check

[/ QUOTE ]
Pretty sure we are on publish 51 right now. Jeremy doesn't number them or I'd provide reference. I wish she would.

[/ QUOTE ] Just read help window about current publish number after loggin to TC

 

[imported_Sarphus]

<blockquote><hr>

The confusion in the publish numbering stems from Publish 49. There was only one change, so it shouldn't have been a numbered publish. But it is and we are currently looking forward to number 52.

[/ QUOTE ]

Surely we're in good shape if you are complaining about this...

who cares what number the publish was. The numbers are just there to index changes being made. If there's only one change, there's only one change.

I do believe this is the first time I've seen anyone complain about pub 49 LOL

 

[Guest]

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

<blockquote><hr>

shots I thought we were at 51 oh well glad not home to check

[/ QUOTE ]
Pretty sure we are on publish 51 right now. Jeremy doesn't number them or I'd provide reference. I wish she would.

[/ QUOTE ] Just read help window about current publish number after loggin to TC

[/ QUOTE ]
The test center information is way off.

 

[RaDian FlGith]

<blockquote><hr>

Could Stygian Abyss - whereever it is - be the tie-off of some of this? Speculation, wild guess ... but makes for some mental exercise.

[/ QUOTE ]Could it? Sure. But it would be the first time since UO:T2A that the introduction of an expansion pack was actually handled in-game with something that explained it.

Which is to say: I doubt it.

I expect when the next expansion (I almost can't say that without laughing) hits that it'll be like Mondain's Legacy (here's some new dungeons and a "gate", enjoy), Tokuno (hey, the moongates lead to new islands we've never ever heard of before), Malas (here's some marginal out of game fiction, in-game, look, new destination on the gates!), and Ilshenar (woo, woo... buy a client, have an area to play whose history is never really revealed, and when the first history is inconvenient, it's just replaced).

Okay, I guess UO:LBR had an "intro" of sorts because it was technically introduced during the whole scenarios stuff, giving 2D access to Ilshenar, at the same dropping the Juka and Meer into the previously before unseen central area (using a technique that they finally figured out how to do after years of me and people like me telling them exactly how they could accomplish map updates). But had they not spent so much money on McFarlane's subpar creatures, we probably wouldn't have had that either.

At any rate -- I don't see SA coming out, and like it or not, JC's right... this plot is older and more twisted than stale pretzels from a carnival booth. It really needs a conclusion of sorts.

But then, my biggest peeve with this whole thing is that EA STILL hasn't learned how to convey fiction IN GAME. I mean, seriously. They had some people who knew how to do it at one point. The group that put Khaldun together (before they figured out how to do map updates, btw) dropped a HELL of a lot of fiction into that area... so much so that people tried forever to find the second level, to find ways to use the various puzzles, and so forth.

Khaldun's biggest let down is that they didn't continue that legacy. Puzzled floor tiles in Khaldun (that, as far as I know, probably don't even work anymore, much like everything else that was cool in Khaldun) could have just one day worked and beamed someone to some unheard of area in the dungeon, and wham, further fiction.

But worse than Khaldun not expanding is that Khaldun's Legacy (which was far better than Mondain's) ALSO died. Gone are the days of compelling stuff appearing IN GAME. There are so many avenues that could handle stuff in-game, from NPCs to town cryers to specially posted bulletin boards, to books, to hell, they could put in a randomly clickable gravestone that brought up an inscription that hinted at something.

Instead, fiction these days comes from people who shouldn't be writing ingredients on cereal boxes, a slathering of "here's some monsters to kill," and developer posts on flipping UO Stratics that amount to "no, really, there's deeper meaning to this..."

My grandmother and box of Crayola Crayons could do better with UO's fiction.

 

[Guest]

You're in a bit of a glass-is-half-empty-sort of mood aren't you

What are the three artifacts needed to enter the Abyss? Book of truth, Candle of Love, Bell of Courage. Hmm ... 2 or the 3 have curiously made an appearance. The shadowlords are on the move ... hmm, they were major adversaries in Ultima games that centered around the SA.

Why test out a mass of new quest-tiggers in the Candle of Love event? Why completely reshape the island around Haven? Why script sophisticated NPC wandering behavior into a decorative mouse? I may over-do trying to weave everything together sometimes (and goodness knows the devs have let us run wild with our imaginations), but I still think it adds up to a lot of ambition.

Now obviously KR's birthing pains as well as EA's internal reorganizations and struggles have thrown a lot of chaos into the mix. I too have my cynical moments. There are few things as chilling as silence. But in the end I've decided I would rather dream a better dream.