New IDOC Rules

[Lieutenant Dan!]

Easiest way to stop it all is for the sign to not even advise the house is idoc. Should just be emails sent to the owner of the account at each stage of the decay process, and then it falls. Absolutely no need for the sign to advertise it, let it fall and let those who stumble across it get the spoils. Any soul stones in the house should be auto deposited in the bank.

Cant script something if you don't know it is gonna happen.

But I know the vultures would hate this idea lol. Just tossing it out there.

Best idea to date! If we're talking about stopping the scripters at idocs this will do it.
I'm all for it and to make sure historical items dont just decay, maybe they could adjust the decay timer on all the items from the idoc to 7 days. Someone is sure to stumble upon them by then. After the 7 days is up send them to the Cavern of Discarded wich will surely turn into a hot spot.
Probably the best part about this idea is it would be the easiest to code and have the most dramatic effect in a positive way (for NON-scripters)

 

[celticus]

Otay mez hab un dumb idea. Hab juzt uh percentage ub da lewt go to duh dumpz er maybe eben ork fortz. Den juzt kind hab uh bank sed ub so id spawns trewout da day insted ub all at wunz. Soo ip 5 houzez fall on yooz shard. Maybe 10% ub da lewt spawnz in 3 er 4 dipperent locashunz. . Sumtin frum da furzt houze dat fallz fur da day cood still b randumly poppin sumware witin da necktz 24 hourz. 90% den juzt gitz deleded. % cood b changed eider way. Da idea iz alredy in da game how da garbage canz werk. Soo ebery idoc iz juzt uh giant trazh barrel insted ub uh free fur all.
Houze plazerz wood still wanna sit der n skript fur der houze spotz ip datz eben uh ting anymur. Sum nize idemz wood still make id to da dump sumware. Add da ork fortz to uh dump sed ub n eben da newezt ub playerz cood fight der n still hab uh chanze fur sumtin awezum ta pop ub on da ground in frunt ub dem.
Mez pozertib lodda hummiez wun like da idea ub gewd idemz decayin. But sounz bedder ta me vz all da skribterz hordin id all wit nerg chanze fur enywun elze ta git anything.

*for those who cant figure out goblin talk. Idocs become trash barrels basically. Have a certain percentage of all the loot "spawn" in dumps or orc forts throughout the day. Not all at once. Lot of items will end up being deleted but a much better chance of people getting items being random instead of who runs the best script. Also not mentioned above. The massive amounts of ingots and boards making mining and lumberjacking completely pointless could be deleted making some of the gathering skills useful once again?*

Anyhoo Girkle fur any ub yooz dat spent da time ta read diz bewk. Mite b uh dumb idea bud itz sumtin dipperent ta tink aboot!!

I appreciate the english version, easier to read. This also is a good idea, except the deleting part. It would be a lot easier to to this. Dump all items from idocs to an area that would be a little hard to have rights to, maybe with hard mobs, and then access the dump idoc item pool, and get like one item at a time, perhaps random rather than our choice, after defeating the boss. They could even make Khal Ankur that area? You have to defeat all 4 levels of crap to get there first, then defeat the boss. Make it Tram and Fel, or tram only. Something like that. Easier fix than gutting present code skeleton, and no need for more advanced and time and money consuming coding. Who knows? this may be doable "some day". It will be good for the game. At the same time hard to say that the shining part of a community is how they dispose of the dead and create a culture of vultures right? But its something.
It is sad also that DEVS dont or hardly ever look in here at the stratics. They could learn a wealth of ideas to make UO shine from many aspects, not just IDOCS.
This is not just a bunch of disgruntled vets, it is a bunch of vets and hopefully new people that both love the game, and have unimpeded speech, with brilliant ideas!
I think our words here fall on the ground mostly.
I hope some one of us with access to the uo board puts a link to these posts! Or bring up this subject there!

 

[MalagAste]

I appreciate the english version, easier to read. This also is a good idea, except the deleting part. It would be a lot easier to to this. Dump all items from idocs to an area that would be a little hard to have rights to, maybe with hard mobs, and then access the dump idoc item pool, and get like one item at a time, perhaps random rather than our choice, after defeating the boss. They could even make Khal Ankur that area? You have to defeat all 4 levels of crap to get there first, then defeat the boss. Make it Tram and Fel, or tram only. Something like that. Easier fix than gutting present code skeleton, and no need for more advanced and time and money consuming coding. Who knows? this may be doable "some day". It will be good for the game. At the same time hard to say that the shining part of a community is how they dispose of the dead and create a culture of vultures right? But its something.
It is sad also that DEVS dont or hardly ever look in here at the stratics. They could learn a wealth of ideas to make UO shine from many aspects, not just IDOCS.
This is not just a bunch of disgruntled vets, it is a bunch of vets and hopefully new people that both love the game, and have unimpeded speech, with brilliant ideas!
I think our words here fall on the ground mostly.
I hope some one of us with access to the uo board puts a link to these posts! Or bring up this subject there!

Scripters would learn where this is and script that...

I like the just not have the house sign say a thing .... though I think the "loot" there should wait only a couple days and be deleted... IMO someone IS going to notice it... most likely their closest neighbors...

People they used to know... that sort of thing.

As for DEVs not reading here trust me they do... I hear about it... Especially when I do something like call them LAZY... Trust me I hear... so yes they read this.

I still refuse to post on their "official" forums... if I can't speak my mind forget it. I'm not buttering up how I feel. And lately how I feel about UO is not very good.

Pretty fed up with all the grinding, grinding, grinding to get a slim chance to get something. Fed up with having UO feel more and more like work and less and less like the community I once loved so dearly...

 

[celticus]

Scripters would learn where this is and script that...

I like the just not have the house sign say a thing .... though I think the "loot" there should wait only a couple days and be deleted... IMO someone IS going to notice it... most likely their closest neighbors...

People they used to know... that sort of thing.

As for DEVs not reading here trust me they do... I hear about it... Especially when I do something like call them LAZY... Trust me I hear... so yes they read this.

I still refuse to post on their "official" forums... if I can't speak my mind forget it. I'm not buttering up how I feel. And lately how I feel about UO is not very good.

Pretty fed up with all the grinding, grinding, grinding to get a slim chance to get something. Fed up with having UO feel more and more like work and less and less like the community I once loved so dearly...

Aahh Malag, you know you still love the community, and the game. Your points are golden. There some dip***ts in all shards but the majority are good people, there for the fun.
But imagine you just defeated Khal, after all the toil and grind, and now in your back pack you have drop of an EM item, or one of the 100 M Shiny Cloaks from the Roof or Roof items that idoced out? Wowie..lol. It was worth the effort. There would be a huge allure to do the Khal, or other spawn they would choose. And NOT in Fel only, so as not to give the PVP all the advantage and lead to new gripes and hate talks etc. It should be there for everyone, if it happens. Looking for ideas to further push this game forward, this may be one. Who knows.

 

[Merth]

Great ideas but I disagree with putting the item on tougher mobs. Just make it completely random. Even if its a skelli or a turkey or a succubus. Doesnt really matter gives everyone an opportunity to get something cool by playing the game. Or just delete everything when the house falls. Randomly drop the items in active houses. However I have to agree the best Ive heard is just stop announcing on house signs. This is how scriptors and idoc guilds (still a thing?) find and camp them.

 

[MalagAste]

Aahh Malag, you know you still love the community, and the game. Your points are golden. There some dip***ts in all shards but the majority are good people, there for the fun.
But imagine you just defeated Khal, after all the toil and grind, and now in your back pack you have drop of an EM item, or one of the 100 M Shiny Cloaks from the Roof or Roof items that idoced out? Wowie..lol. It was worth the effort. There would be a huge allure to do the Khal, or other spawn they would choose. And NOT in Fel only, so as not to give the PVP all the advantage and lead to new gripes and hate talks etc. It should be there for everyone, if it happens. Looking for ideas to further push this game forward, this may be one. Who knows.

As a Governor I did Trade Deals for ages just to build the coffers of my city.... Did them daily, weekly and monthly after a while but then they got tedious and again started to feel like work... so I quit doing it.

 

[jack flash uk]

why cant the devs just turn up at a few idocs and bann al the accounts assocaited with said caught red handed - lifetime ban

Mesanna visited some Atl idocs I showed her, The white tigers and llama bots zoomed in straight lines, hid and stayed hidden for ages. There is not an attended player on this planet that plays that way. All attended idocers recall home to check their loot.

She did sod all

I send her screenshots (over 60) I gave her times and player names. reported the many, many llamas and cats and dogs.

she did nothing

In fact, she no longer even replies as it surely means she would have to do something. And it appears she hates that.

I take it that scripting is now legal. If only scripts run on EC to level the playing field

I even asked her to explain to me how the idoc script site has not been challenged.
Then again they do sod all about Avatar and that site is taking the absolute PISS and has been doing so for as long as I can remember

Pathetic

 

[Polaris75]

My post from yesterday that I deleted:

I deleted again... sorry... don't want to spoil the fun for everyone.

Some of you read it... and all of you know it.

 

[Polaris75]

The devs made the wrong choice long ago.... and over 85% of the player base has quit because of usually IDOC woes. It's depressing when you learn the sad truth. Now... the devs are stuck between a rock and a hard place because if they ban their accounts... Ultima is going to lose 30% of it's income overnight.

I say... ban em. Let the game close if it must be... but BAN them. I've been saying it for years and nadda. They did make the houses private 3-4 years ago... but it wasn't enough as the person above stated... their bots just run in and hold metal chests. Watch from now on... you won't see 1 single "Miasma" chest at a single IDOC. Now you know why. They pick up / hold the metal chests and a bot axes the wooden chests while script bots loot their "lists" of 100 items from the ground. If the item is not on their list.... well.... that's the trash you and I are getting from IDOCs. Yes... we all get lucky... but do you have their Luna mansions? No you don't.

 

[ShriNayne]

I would rather the game closed from tackling scripters, dupers, or whatever kind of cheats than closed because numbers dwindled due to people getting sick of competing with those cheats. Other games have had these problems, other games have tackled these problems because the players would not stand for it, every time we turn a blind eye to cheating we are just helping them. Every time they made a change that helped scripters, the honest players warned them what would happen but they never listen and they never admit to making a mistake, ever. Everything is clearly working just as they intended...

 

[GarthGrey]

Ugghhh, don't even get me started on this one......it's not just an Atlantic issue.

 

[Keith of Sonoma]

I would rather the game closed from tackling scripters, dupers, or whatever kind of cheats than closed because numbers dwindled due to people getting sick of competing with those cheats. Other games have had these problems, other games have tackled these problems because the players would not stand for it, every time we turn a blind eye to cheating we are just helping them. Every time they made a change that helped scripters, the honest players warned them what would happen but they never listen and they never admit to making a mistake, ever. Everything is clearly working just as they intended...

I agree 100%. By not doing anything @Mesanna @Bleak @Kyronix are showing they ZERO integrity. The same with @Mesanna and RMT's. I have sent her PROOF, and she still hasn't done anything!

 

[Keith of Sonoma]

The same with @Mesanna and RMT's. I have sent her PROOF, and she still hasn't done anything!

At least 3 other people I know have sent her proof as well!

 

[ShriNayne]

I don't think anything will be done while those people are paying for plenty of accounts, other game developers must look at what goes on here and laugh or cry....

 

[Izzy MBC]

I don't think anything will be done while those people are paying for plenty of accounts, other game developers must look at what goes on here and laugh or cry....

I just find it all unbelievable. I stopped playing PS2 because well-paying players who also cheat/exploit don't get banned.

I realise the last thing a games development company wants is their product to fail because they have to kick tonnes of paying but unscrupulous customers, but it seems to equate to them taking player bribes to bypass the TOS/ruleset though, it's so unethical it's disheartening.

I realise their livelihoods are based on the success of the product, but how it can be a virtuous success if cheaters are running around destroying community moral because the authorities are being paid off.

It's easier said than done, granted, especially after investing years just to bring an MMO product to the market, but I'd like to believe I'd stand by my principles and take a hard line with this. (If the product can't survive as a result of maintaining order then it might be you miscalculated the gap in the market, but that's a whole other topic)

I accept it probably means the death knell tolling for UO should they suddenly assume some noble principles now... but at least the final weeks will be driven by a playerbase that's arguably more noble and genuine. I digress.

Edit: Just so I'm not totally off-topic, IDOC's, hmmm, yes, interesting discussion *Nods*

 

[SwordofExcalibur]

I spent exactly 7 hours waiting on an IDOC Northwest of Yew, once, when I returned last year, so I could get an 18x18 plot because I didn't have a large house at the time, as a returning player.

I could not compete, to save my life, with the three people there who were camping also, because I could not gather any items enough with how fast they were going. I also could not place a house fast enough either lol.

I have no problem admitting I was outmatched, but whether they were scripting or not, I don't know, I could only speculate.

But that was NOT FUN whatsoever lol. However, I suppose if you have game experience and the tools, you could possibly have fun with it.

I just really don't care for IDOCs anyway. I don't get a thrill out of sitting around idly for the chance and the risk of items that I could just farm over time myself. And I'm not a rare's or artie's fan of EM events and old, forgotten, pre-patch stuff.

IDOCing seems to be a 1% of the population with successful ventures on the whole thing. More power to 'em. But I don't grasp the thrill or the enjoyment out of it whatsoever lol. But hey, props to niche gaming. I do understand niche gaming.

 

[Keith of Sonoma]

I’ve done basically the same thing as Keith and I can tell you first hand that nothing is done about it. You can page until you’re blue in the face and nothing is done about it. You can send screenshots. You can talk to Mesanna directly. Nothing is done and the same 8-10 players are allowed to run roughshod over the rest of the IDOCing community so that they can continue to run xx # of paid accounts and sell gold for cash from their script looting

Well said!

Heck, take a look at a "certain" forum, the names and ICQ's/Discords of the players selling gold for $$$ on it would amaze/sadden/surprise/shock you. Or maybe it wouldn't. Not coincidentally, in my opinion, a lot of those SAME names post on a "certain" scripting site. And yes, A LOT of them post here on Stratics as well.

As always, just my opinion of course.