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[News] As Posted on UO Hall - A Letter from Live

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Guest

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<CENTER>A Letter from Live</CENTER>

Hello everybody! On behalf of the newly formed Live Design team, I’d like to take a moment to introduce ourselves and our goals for UO.

The Team
Allow me to present our newest designer: Adida. She joins us from the world of Game Masters, where she served most diligently and skillfully before relocating with our group to become a designer. Even in the short time we’ve worked together we’ve managed to accomplish a lot, and I’m looking more and more forward to what she can do!

For myself, I started out as a junior designer on UO back in 2005, right after the release of Mondain’s Legacy. Since then, I’ve been bouncing back and forth between groups as needed, and also contributed some of the larger systems for the live events. You may remember me from such disasters as “The Ophidian Invasion,” “The Destruction of Haven,” and the “The Fall of Magincia.”

We’re relatively new, but growing! We also have the advantage of having old friends like Leurocian around (who have their own responsibilities now), and in the grand tradition of Ando and Mesanna, you’ll probably be seeing some new faces from the production staff appearing on test centers.

In short, having a chance to actually work fulltime on the live side of things is an exciting and daunting prospect. So without further ado, here’s what we’re up to:

The Mission
Our mission is to provide UO with the greatest content and gameplay publishes possible. This means Bug Fixes. Balances. Enhancements. New Content. It means delivering a plot arc the likes you’ve never seen, with a dedicated events team who’re passionate about not only UO’s history, but Ultima’s itself.

Those are pretty direct statements, so let’s explore their impact:

<UL> <LI>Bug Fixes, Balances: UO is a brilliant world, thanks to both our fervent community and the years of development the team has given her. UO is also complex: we need to fix the bugs. We have longstanding issues and completely new problems that pop up on a weekly basis. Critical issues that interfere with your enjoyment of UO are as intolerable to our team as they are to you.

Just to be clear: our focus is server bugs, not client. While larger systems will take some time, there’re things that need to change immediately – which leads us to our next topic.</LI>[/list] <UL> <LI>Cheating: We hate it as much as you do. We can’t disclose our plans or methods, but be assured that removing exploits and keeping the game fair is a top priority for the Live team. As far as the cheaters themselves? Some of you may know what I can do with a lit match and some blackrock. Expect burned out shells where treasure vaults of ill-gotten gains were once held. Allow me to reiterate: <FONT color=brown>cheating will not be tolerated.</FONT>

Please report anything you see through the in-game petitioning system, and larger issues to Jeremy through the Feedback system on the Herald.</LI>[/list] <UL> <LI>New Content: UO thrives on new content. Britannia was designed as a world, and everything we add to it, permanent or no, leads it further along that path. We’re not only excited about the coming event arcs, but also just the fun, interesting things we can do.

This Valentine’s Day was the first project we all had an opportunity to work together on, and we think you’ll be pleased with the results. Having a live events team again is, I believe, one of the strongest parts of our initiative. After all, Adida can’t wait to show you the surprises she’s prepared for you!</LI>[/list]So in closing, I just want to say how happy I am to have been extended this new opportunity on UO: the game I love. Being able to work with people like Leurocian, Mesanna, Adida, and all the new people I’ve met here is an honor, and I can’t wait for you to get to know them better too.


Yours,

Tim “Draconi” Cotten
UO Live Lead Designer
 
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