On a positive note~

[Lady Storm]

Lately the posts on this forum have been so full of doom and gloom I was getting so uptight I wanted to do something to cheer you up and possibly answer your questions about UO.

Shard news:
On origin have seen and talked to 3 new players! Add to this a populated luna bank (more then 6 players).

Baja just got a new resident player returning from hiatus and saw 1 new player running around with a newbie tag.

Napa this week had 2 new players add that with the 4 from last month seems like the population on this shard is getting new blood. We also have a few returning players from the past who have started blend in nicely!

Atlantic as usual a hot house of players and not without its new arivals. A very busy place.

Chessy has a few returning players from duty this week, please welcome them back with a smile. Was in New Haven and saw 5 newbies! excelent news....

Catskills had a few old salts return to the game from a few years hiatus and were back to complaining about the spawn rate in new dungeons..... welcome back and good luck.

Siege P. has been a quiet place for a bit but with the addition of a few returning players it might spice it back up... we shall keep our eyes and ears open.

Oceania with the return of playablilty for most the shard is back up and running. Some are still having lag issues, but its much better. Saw 1 new player on shard. Hope all our friends in Queensland are ok and safe. Keep dry mate! Heard it was 108 in Sydney!

Hokuto was as usual a hustle and bustle. I am still looking for room for a bigger house, the shard is stuffed!

Many shards are finding a few new players and returning vets. We also have to remember many of our fellow players suffered job loss and had to curb spending. UO is a luxury, but as new jobs are gotten many will return. Just give them time.

We also have service men and women who play UO. When deployed to Iraq or Afganistan UO is not the first thing on their minds. They cant play the game. We hope all come home safe and healthy.

If I missed your shard and you have good news tell us here on the forum! The stratics forum is not just for your complaints. You see something fantastic tell us all....
EM's are doing wonders for shard moral!

Now I know many of you feel like UO is at its last straw but your very much wrong.

We just got new servers which should show you they are not going to shelf UO anytime soon. As was pointed out Bio/Mythic just merged. Those of you who have had your company do the same will understand the procedure and time needed to complete this.

We got new servers! Yipeee!!

Why update us if they were going to pull the plug?? And on the subject of the servers and the down time the game has had of late... its normal. It happened the last time we got new servers, so its nothing new. Lag and servers going down happens every time when have gotten new servers for those of you who didnt know it.

As for the State of the Game you all are waiting for that you penned for mid January.....
Heard Cal had a mis step filming it... hope he gets better soon.
But Come on guys wake up from your dream world, Its been snowing like in the artic!
.... Think, I mean did you think they lived at Mythic studios??
WHO has been home from school alot lately? Not to mention some Parents!
Snow has for the most part been hampering people getting to work, you think the Dev team is any more powerfull then the rest of you??
I got news for you they are human and live just as you do. I wont make excuses up but think with logic.
With new servers that take babysitting, down to the weather being a putz and then illness to boot and you expect a timetable to be kept??

Like Us they work a 8 hour day give or take overtime for breakdowns and deadline's in productions. Familys get ill, it is flu season. Progress reports, paperwork, are part and parcel in Mythic too.. you cant escape it. EA is a normal company so there is tons of normal office things that need doing, meetings etc. Being late for a progress report can and does happen in the real corporate world.
Yes I know they have had this issue of a "classic shard" beating down apon them from you for ages. You have brow beat it into their head so much you feel they owe you. And you want that YES or NO answer NOW......... well jr temper tantrums will get you the same as it did when you were 3. Emotions aside, the making of this shard from scratch is not something you can do on a weekend and serve it up to you on a silver platter. Draconi saw the original workbook and beleave you me it was not a tiny work of art. Cal and the dev could modify a shard but the time and money to do so might not be in the budget. All things can and do need time to add up to get a reasonable answer if it can be done.

God did you forget MURPHY??? Whats his law??

WHAT CAN GO WRONG WILL GO WRONG

Its the first rule of the universe! The Dev are not imune to this law.

Also I for one would love to see more mini publishes like High Seas... (remember the idea of Farming) This takes alot of real life people hours to do.

As for the Ghost houses issue.. Many of you have turned in locations of these houses and expected them to automaticly drop days later... it dont work that way. Mesanna would need to explain this time needed but I have strong suspicions its a gathering of information and double checking and then one mass deletion coming. I for one would want them to do a conformation check before they drop the houses.
Now I do know some of you have openly admitted you have placed some of these homes. This is cheating UO of funds for these houses you have up still. You knew it was a bug and exploited it. Many of you know its wrong to keep them. Fix it. Do the right thing.


P.S. EA hasnt supported UO for years now, It was handed over to Mythic. Bio-Mythic supports UO. EA is only UO's parent company. The CSR 's for EA are in Austin Tx. it would be hard for one to go tell a GM you need help outside a internal e mail. Just remember honey gets you places that sour grapes dont when you talk to one. They are people too.

Have a good day guys n gals!

 

[Vlaude]

This positive(!) public service announcement has been brought to you by Lady Storm, Chairwoman of ... oh well wait a minute I meant Director of ... oh, hmm, no that's not it either, Vice President of ... oh darn give me a minute here. Oh yeah, Lady Storm is just a normal poster with a lot of extra time on her hands. Thanks Lady Storm

 

[old gypsy]

It was a good announcement -- very upbeat. Thanks, Lady Storm.

P.S. I haven't given up on the idea of a farming "booster" someday.

 

[Ender]

As for the State of the Game you all are waiting for that you penned for mid January.....
Heard Cal had a mis step filming it... hope he gets better soon.
But Come on guys wake up from your dream world, Its been snowing like in the artic!
.... Think, I mean did you think they lived at Mythic studios??
WHO has been home from school alot lately? Not to mention some Parents!
Snow has for the most part been hampering people getting to work, you think the Dev team is any more powerfull then the rest of you??
I got news for you they are human and live just as you do. I wont make excuses up but think with logic.
With new servers that take babysitting, down to the weather being a putz and then illness to boot and you expect a timetable to be kept??

Like Us they work a 8 hour day give or take overtime for breakdowns and deadline's in productions. Familys get ill, it is flu season. Progress reports, paperwork, are part and parcel in Mythic too.. you cant escape it. EA is a normal company so there is tons of normal office things that need doing, meetings etc. Being late for a progress report can and does happen in the real corporate world.
Yes I know they have had this issue of a "classic shard" beating down apon them from you for ages. You have brow beat it into their head so much you feel they owe you. And you want that YES or NO answer NOW......... well jr temper tantrums will get you the same as it did when you were 3. Emotions aside, the making of this shard from scratch is not something you can do on a weekend and serve it up to you on a silver platter. Draconi saw the original workbook and beleave you me it was not a tiny work of art. Cal and the dev could modify a shard but the time and money to do so might not be in the budget. All things can and do need time to add up to get a reasonable answer if it can be done.

God did you forget MURPHY??? Whats his law??

WHAT CAN GO WRONG WILL GO WRONG

Its the first rule of the universe! The Dev are not imune to this law.

Somehow other businesses (the ones that give a damn) tend to make deadlines most of the time. Or even part of the time. Not the case for our devs.

Cal had a foot injury filming. He could have filmed it sitting down. Which, as we all know, doesn't put much strain on your feet.

The snow was about 2 weeks after their original (was it even the original deadline? I thought it was delayed once already) deadline, so it shouldn't have been a factor.

The answer to the old question "Is there going to be a classic shard?" can be given simply, either "yes" or "no," they simply need to GIVE the answer.

I do believe there's not a whole lot that can go wrong while filming a video about a video game, especially not enough to delay it repeatedly.

 

[kelmo]

*smiles* What it was. What it is. What it shall be... *tips hat*

 

[canary]

I think its is kinda sad how some people here will play apologist about every thing they can.

These are the same people that during a murder trial would say that someone probably accidentally fell on a knife instead of being stabbed with one.

As an aside, I can just imagine how awesome picking one of these many excuses at work if I wasn't doing my job would go over. LOL

 

[kelmo]

How do you think those people feel about you? About your point of view?

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

"Murphys Law" is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules ...

and the vid is "supposedly" IN edit ... so ... limpy ain't got no alibi's THERE .. Okay?

you expect a timetable to be kept??

Yes dear ...THAT IS THE POINT of creating time/dead lines ...
>especially the bit about embedding a fricking PLAN B (aka "what if ...")<
Particularly with an eye towards murphys guidelines ... ya see ...
*ahem*
Positive ... positive ...
nope ...
can't get there until some prior "mile markers" get posted ...
basic survival reflex ... and a good one ...
when in white out communication conditions ...
conserve resources until a reliable direction can be assessed
else burn your bacon walking in circles

Dancing however ...

 

[canary]

How do you think those people feel about you? About your point of view?

If I offered some excuse every time something went wrong?

Not very highly.

Kinda where we are at right now. Most of us are sick of the excuses.

 

[kelmo]

Let's be clear here. Who are you accusing of being someone with an excuse? Lady Storm? Me? Both? Every other poster the responds in any positive manner?

*smiles*

 

[Uvtha]

Just because reality doesn't live up to an expectations does not necessarily mean that the people that offer the explanations (or don't similarly decry them) that evoke the displeasure are making "excuses".

i.e.

Motorist: "You there! Move that fallen tree out of the road I have places to go!"
Road worker: "I don't have the tools to do so sir, you'll have to wait until those tools arrive."
Motorist: "Don't give me your excuses!"

Not an excuse, just an explanation of the particulars surrounding the object of your ire.

And a further response...

Motorist 2: "That makes sense, the man cant move the tree with his bare hands..."

Is not an "apologist" statement.

 

[Ender]

The devs and anyone else that endlessly apologizes for them and kisses their ass.

 

[Ganondorf00]

Is it just me or thinking that 6 players at a bank being positive as in a "populated bank" makes me sad ? You wanted to be positive, yet this is depressing. Merge the shards already.

I think they refer to Cal or the devteam in general when talking about excuses after excuses for missing deadlines. Then there's some players here (i don't want to call them fanboys) that try to justify that behaviour, while it can clearly not be tolerated and is one of the reasons the shards are deserted. Together with unfixed bugs and only short term planning with released expansions that ruined the game in the long run, that's why a classic shard makes double sense in order to prolong this game's life.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Without reference to any particular poster (including Lady Storm) or any particular post (including this one).

That there is positive news and are positive signs is as-undeniable as that there is negative news and are negative signs.

One of the many problems with the culture here on Stratics is the way most people seem to isolate one camp (cheer-leader on one side, doom-sayer on the other) and hitch themselves to it. As I recall it was similar on the old UO.com boards. This oddity is as hurtful to honest analysis as it is to community.

While both sides have been guilty at one time or another, of late the negative side definitely has the edge. This makes sense, I suppose, as while the positive signs are out there to be sure, the negative ones outweigh them in importance if not in amount. However, when you think about it, posts such as Lady Storm's shouldn't be seen as particularly fanciful. Technically it's no less fanciful than a post that focuses solely on the negative and insults the devs.

Neither day nor night can be honestly ignored.

-Galen's player

 

[phantus]

Thank you for your post Lady Storm. I'm not as optimistic about UO's future but I do believe that those who are happy have a right to be so. I have plan to make a positive post of a different nature soon but it's difficult to get it started as I'm one of the current negative nannys right now.

 

[Llewen]

How do I feel about UO in general? Well, I have over six feet of snow in my front yard, another storm headed my way, and I'm sick of shovelling. However, I have some terrific neighbours who have been faithfully blowing out my driveway. I may be suffering from a case of the winter blahs, but I have nothing to complain about.

About UO? Well, I don't like the trend toward selling in game goodies on in the game codes store. I don't like that at all, but overall, I'm fairly upbeat about UO. I don't know what the actual numbers are, but if in game activity is any indication, the High Seas Booster was a success, and not just a small success.

I see lots of people in game, I see old faces, and plenty of returning characters. I haven't seen all that many new players recently on Catskills, but that could simply be because I haven't been looking in the right places.

I think we have all been living through a fairly nasty economic recession for the past few years. I think many of our home nations have been involved in some costly wars, costly in terms of economics, and costly in terms of lives lost. I think it's easy to feel negative about a lot of things, and UO happens to be an easy target. But honestly, I think UO has actually done pretty well, especially considering the external currents that have been washing around it.

For as long as I've been frequenting forums for any MMO I've ever participated in, I've been reading doom and gloom predictions and the squawkings of plenty of Chicken Littles. And I don't think they are any more true now than they typically are, and in fact, I think they are probably less true now than they have been at other times in the history of UO.

 

[Lady Storm]

Thank you Llewen as you said it best about the doom chickens with the sky falling.

Each year of my 14 years in UO I cant tell you how many people said UO is failing run for your life! Its how I got quite a few accounts! The retoric got to the owners finally, the pounding of the END IS NEAR made it so hostle to them they left never to return.

The Recient posts here I would call Cabin fever...... some for all the snow and bad weather thats got them traped where UO is the only choice to talk down on. Others... well many here have been waiting so long for answers they have no idea they are snapping peoples heads off for no reason.

Cal and the dev do have deadlines to the company, and they did say they would have an answer for the classic shard by the end of the year. The Dev did make a video... its being edited.
I do have a what if for you to ponder. If its NO Are you going to pound your fists and stomp your feet threaten the dog and kids if they dotn bug you while your so mad??
threaten to pull your account and walk off like a little kid who is havign a tantrum for not getting that second cookie??

OR

Yes, but it will take over a year to develope... Will you then pick at the sores you made on their hide to get data on how its going every week???

Do you understand you have been so wraped up in how this effects you that you forget the rest of us sitting here that get blasted at every turn.
I would love to see this shard to be made... if you remember it was I who mentioned the original data that made UO. Draconi even saw it so I have a creditable person who said it did exist. Its distroyed but it was there.

Kelmo and the rest of you who posted Thank you.

Now dont get me wrong I am one of the most fair moms out there I do listen to both sides and weigh out the evidence. I have owned a company and run into situations where deadlines were crossed due to extenuating reasons that are valid. I beleave that Cal and the Dev are not trying to hide behind their offices doors. Someone posted they have the patience of Job from playing UO.... same here and then some. Sooner or later they will tell us. I have all the time in th world to wait......

 

[hawkeye_pike]

Out of curiosity:
What you call "new players" are probably "returning players", am I right?
Because I haven't seen a single really new player during the past years.

 

[Petra Fyde]

I read this, and out of curiosity I put in the search criteria "new to ultima" include the inverted commas and try it yourself. You may be surprised.

 

[Harlequin]

I read this, and out of curiosity I put in the search criteria "new to ultima" include the inverted commas and try it yourself. You may be surprised.

Also, there are a lot of player run shards out there, eh?

 

[Llewen]

Out of curiosity:
What you call "new players" are probably "returning players", am I right?
Because I haven't seen a single really new player during the past years.

I haven't seen any truly new players recently, but I have seen them in the recent past.

You are a special case Hawkeye. You have a very specialized interest in UO, an interest that goes back to the early roots of pen and paper rpg's, but sadly I think that era is passing. I think from your perspective something is dying, but it isn't the game itself, it is just an aspect of the game.

I think the days of unscripted, improv role playing, have just about passed, or maybe they are just in a dying cycle, and some day they will return. Sadly though, if I understand correctly, that is your interest in UO, so I think for you, an important aspect of the game has died.

The game itself isn't dying, but the culture of gaming in which UO exists has changed.

 

[Petra Fyde]

I think I was unclear - the search criteria wasn't for google, it was for here, Stratics boards.

 

[Harlequin]

I think I was unclear - the search criteria wasn't for google, it was for here, Stratics boards.

Erm, I think you better spell it out for me, I redid my google to

- "new to ultima" site:stratics.com

Seeing a lot less newbie posts. Lotsa classic shard ones though lol

 

[Lord Chaos]

I think she meant searching on the forums themselves.

 

[BajaElladan]

Hail Folks,

I have seen new and returning Players over the last several months. Sadly I have also still seen departing Players and fallen Castles.

However, my attitude, at least for today, hehe, is let us Rejoice Sosaria Endures and let each of us seek the many, or the One, ways we may most enjoy our Shard(s) and our Community!

I doubt any of us who were born or transported to Sosaria 13 or more years ago ever expected to still be here. I hoped for it, but even I never truly expected it.

I love Sosaria, or Britannia as some call it. I have loved it from the first moment the Chest opened and the Intro Played. I Love Baja where I landed shortly after it opened, even as I loved it back in 1997.

If UO ever does "cease," I fully expect we will still be able to discuss and lament its passing, here on Stratics. Until then, Play On, Enjoy, Rejoice, and Have Fun!

The rest of you, Just Shush!!!

Elladan of Baja

 

[old gypsy]

I doubt any of us who were born or transported to Sosaria 13 or more years ago ever expected to still be here. I hoped for it, but even I never truly expected it.

I love Sosaria, or Britannia as some call it. I have loved it from the first moment the Chest opened and the Intro Played....

If UO ever does "cease," I fully expect we will still be able to discuss and lament its passing, here on Stratics. Until then, Play On, Enjoy, Rejoice, and Have Fun!

Elladan of Baja

Yes.

 

[Llewen]

I just thought I'd share something that tells me more about the condition of the game than anything in this thread.

A friend of mine is selling a couple of his accounts. He almost screwed up and sold a house he didn't intend to with the account. His remark? "...it sold quicker than I thought." It sold so fast that he didn't get a chance to sort it out as he intended to before he sold it.

That tells me more about the state of UO than anything in this thread...

 

[MalagAste]

I see the occasional new person/returnee myself... but what I see more of is clear signs that things are NOT good.

Negativity, unrest, bad CS, and more IDOC's that I can count...

So while you see some things as Positive I'm seeing more negatives.....

Oh and I know full well about new folk I help them all the time... but more often than not the people grow frustrated and quit again.. often because of the same reasons they sighted for leaving.

 

[Zosimus]

Baja just got a new resident player returning from hiatus and saw 1 new player running around with a newbie tag

.


Sorry to ruin your postive but that was me on a trial account as the "NEW" player. I was sorting stuff through 4 accounts that I am selling to a site. I just used the trial account to put personal pixel items in to never see light of day again in the game.

The 4 accounts were sold this morning but they wanted the items more then the accounts since I had a total of 800 mil alone in gold on many shards and one account full of 120 PS.

 

[canary]

I really, really would love it if someone introduced Lady Storm to a spellcheck feature for her computer.

BTW, quick lesson. A '...' is called an ellipsis. When you use them, as a rule they should only be three periods in number. Not four. Not five. Not nine.

 

[kelmo]

Some folks color out side the lines..... on purpose. *winks*

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

I really, really would love it if someone introduced Lady Storm to a spellcheck feature for her computer.

BTW, quick lesson. A '...' is called an ellipsis. When you use them, as a rule they should only be three periods in number. Not four. Not five. Not nine.

Indeed sirrah "..." is indeed an ellipsis ...


............ is a "sticky key"

 

[Restroom Cowboy]

Thanks Storm...good stuff.

 

[AirmidCecht]

HI!

HAPPY THOUGHTS

Thanks Lady Storm!

 

[Lady Storm]

Dear sweet Canary the reason my spell checker is not working is my brain.... I had a stroke and it sometimes effects how and what I type.... If I get in a great deal of hurry to get out an idea before my head forgets it I can loose words... add or subtract letters I didnt want to do or just plain make a mess of my thoughts!! Then I got 10 fingers that think they are the boss and refuse to type what I send to them.... I"D LOVE a Spell checker in here!!!!! Only thing is ... would my fingers let me heheh

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Dear sweet Canary the reason my spell checker is not working is my brain.... I had a stroke and it sometimes effects how and what I type.... If I get in a great deal of hurry to get out an idea before my head forgets it I can loose words... add or subtract letters I didnt want to do or just plain make a mess of my thoughts!! Then I got 10 fingers that think they are the boss and refuse to type what I send to them.... I"D LOVE a Spell checker in here!!!!! Only thing is ... would my fingers let me heheh

Do not distress Lady Storm, often...too often...the locals attack the messenger rather than the message. This is a result of fear, and hate.

Instead of listening to what you have to say, they attack your delivery, because it is impossible to assail your position.

Your optimism is admirible, if not misguided...but even those that would sing the praises of the current trend, still malign those they do not understand.

Sadly, it is common.

 

[aoLOLita]

"...something to cheer you up..."

And that you did, Milady Storm

 

[Harlequin]

Dear sweet Canary the reason my spell checker is not working is my brain.... I had a stroke and it sometimes effects how and what I type.... If I get in a great deal of hurry to get out an idea before my head forgets it I can loose words... add or subtract letters I didnt want to do or just plain make a mess of my thoughts!! Then I got 10 fingers that think they are the boss and refuse to type what I send to them.... I"D LOVE a Spell checker in here!!!!! Only thing is ... would my fingers let me heheh

I'd never had a stroke, and I do the exact same things all the time. I win!!

 

[Llewen]

I"D LOVE a Spell checker in here!!!!! Only thing is ...

This isn't a criticism. But if you use the Firefox web browser there is actually a spell checker addon. I love it. It makes me look ever so much smarter than I truly am...

 

[QueenZen]

Some folks color out side the lines..... on purpose. *winks*

*laughs*

That be.................................. me !

I know it is supposed to be only 3 ! Only 3 is just boring............ !

Mine are more [and ^or more] on purpose.
Perhaps I am *pondering my own ponderances*....or not !
Perhaps I do more...just to see whom it upsets psychologically, like I am pushin their buttons and they don't even know it ! lol

And when I was a little girl I loved coloring OUTSIDE the lines,
just cuz I COULD DO SO ! VanGogh the artist thought outside of the artists box of acceptable art in his day, and became a famous artist albeit slightly nuts ! lol

When I had my kids I taught them to color outside of the lines,
to think outside of the socital conformity BOX ................
and I also taught them to color INSIDE the lines to,
to try obey 'THE RULES' so as not to land in some cellblock some day !

This gave them free thinking minds to think outside of any societal boxes, and it gave them a lot of...diversity for viewing the world and it's people, in many ways ! LOL

.......................... Etc. ! lol................but then I am slightly nuts, too !

On a positive note, I posted the other day thanking whomever created designed and added to game them new UO dolphin rugs as vet rewards.
I am very happy with mine although said...post was ignored.

 

[QueenZen]

Dear sweet Canary the reason my spell checker is not working is my brain.... I had a stroke and it sometimes effects how and what I type.... If I get in a great deal of hurry to get out an idea before my head forgets it I can loose words... add or subtract letters I didnt want to do or just plain make a mess of my thoughts!! Then I got 10 fingers that think they are the boss and refuse to type what I send to them.... I"D LOVE a Spell checker in here!!!!! Only thing is ... would my fingers let me heheh

Lady Storm do not worry about it. IF the world was full of perfected peoples, the world would be PERFECT !
Since it has not been perfectly perfected since no one is perfect yet in centuries of us all................



WHO CARES who even should care ? We are what we ARE and that makes the world a wonderous weirdo place for us all to choose to try to enjoy each other, flaws and all ! *hugs*

BTW have ye seen the dolphin rugs ? They are, really pretty !

 

[Old Man of UO]

Whenever I need a UO Happy thought, I just go back to the Dance Thread... best ever posting on UHALL!

 

[QueenZen]

LOL Put em all in some glow in the dark, neon dance suits, singing pump that body, and they all could become the next SuperBowl hit, half time show !

 

[Coppelia]

When I started to read "I've seen 3 new players" I laughed. Seriously, you must be really depressed. I understand it's hard to see people leave, but there's a moment you must accept it and stop holding dozens of accounts. That's a worrying retention problem.

Have fun with the players still ingame, and stop counting them. The negativity on these boards are representative of the state of the game : there's a lot of problems. I can't say if it has a real impact on the new players arrival or on the devs choices, but it's more a consequence of a problematic situation than a cause.

The fact that you feel the need to justify yourself and use such ridiculous examples without even understanding why it's ridiculous, that means that you sure are deeply passioned but you also have doubts/fears that you try to cover or deny. You seem to take personally any criticism to UO, as if they were criticizing implicitly the fact that you play and love UO.
You see doom and gloom threads while absolutely no thread said something like "UO is dead" or "UO will die in X months". All the thread that seem to hurt you (and Petra Fyde too) are about finding solutions for it to solves real issues and make the game healthier. For example YOU see negativity in the demand of shard merges. The players asking that are seeing it as a good thing.

It looks like you don't understand EA's decisions and are trying to find an explanation for yourself while, as a mechanism of defense, you're pretending it's for the others. I take the time to reply because I took part in the criticisms and in no way I wanted to hurt you. I feel sorry for you and I'd like to warn you that you have the head on the handlebars and take things too seriously. I stopped playing because I decided that EA took the step too far in my opinion, but when I was playing, the negativity of the forums wouldn't affect me, because I knew why I was playing.
For a comparison, I wasn't affected by the negativity brought by North American players upon Aion at its launch, as for me their problem wasn't one. Aion didn't work well in NA, it's a fact and I didn't take it badly. And that's why in my opinion you should look around you. Look other games, how their work, how their communities work. You'll understand why speaking about 3 new players as a proof everything goes well is ridiculous. I'm not saying other games are better and you should play them rather than UO. I'm saying you should see them and you'll know why you love UO, what is acceptable and what is total bs.

Also for all the players in the same case, I know it hurts but you have to think about it : UO is the longest time running MMORPG, and UO will tell if it's possible to run a MMORPG forever like another hobby or if it's a timed product and will have to end at some time like products of an era. We have a very short vision of the lifetime of MMOs.
If it's still up, that's because it still earns money, EA being swift when it comes to shutting down a product that's not working. But you have to think, what if it doesn't earn enough money and EA decides to shut down servers, with all your characters, stuff and leaving you with only your memories. It can happen. So instead of denying the possibility, remember it and make UO worth your time, play it all you can so if it stops, you'll say "well that was a great time" and not "omg it's the end of my world, it's because of mean players, and now I can't do anything else, I'm lost!"
Maybe it can be compared to love : when you say that you can't live without the other, you're stuck in the bad passion (magna pathe). To build a balanced love, you have to understand that you can live without but prefer to be with him/her (philia) and that you become better when with the other (storge). There are some similarities : once you know you could very well stop playing UO, you know why you love it and you'll enjoy it more, without becoming mad when someone says bad thing about it.


TLDR: Your "positive" note is very depressing.

 

[Viquire]

I get the feeling they are preparing us for something.

I sometimes wonder if they know what it is.

The game content and quality is cyclitic. We just had some pretty big mechanical missteps over the last two releases. Its still a great game, Ive logged in a couple of times recently to pursue the latest invasion, seems pretty okay to me.

 

[old gypsy]

Whenever I need a UO Happy thought, I just go back to the Dance Thread... best ever posting on UHALL!

You, sir, have a wonderful attitude!

 

[Woodsman]

There are some similarities : once you know you could very well stop playing UO, you know why you love it and you'll enjoy it more, without becoming mad when someone says bad thing about it.

This was me. The first time I walked away from UO, it was tough. I needed to for several reasons, including the fact that I was not happy with some changes and that I found myself paying for several accounts (mine and some friends who had quit before me) when I was not even logging in for months at a time. Financially that was dumb as hell. I kept telling myself that EA would see the light and change this and do that, and I would come back and be happy and glad that I spent all that money keeping my accounts open and keeping some houses. My wife called me on it - she asked me why I was spending over a $1,000 a year on something I wasn't playing. She never said anything about it when I was playing, but there I was spending that much and not even playing.

I eventually came back and enjoyed myself for that time. The next time, it was easy to walk away, because I knew that things would still be there - my accounts, everything on my characters and in their bank boxes. The only regret I have about any of the times I walked away was that I kept paying for accounts that I wasn't playing for far too long - that $1,000+ I spent on keeping accounts open for a year would have been handy a few years later. I also have a small regret that I let my main house IDOC. I lost some unique things that I wished I still had. I know that people got them, and if I were willing to spend the time, I might even be able to get a few items back, but I don't feel like I need to.

Losing those things freed me up to walk away again in the future. As a matter of fact, I'm actually preparing my accounts for the next time I stop playing, and I may even sell some accounts off, because in the past I really didn't prepare things. I thought I would only stick around a few weeks this time around, but I may go longer, since I'm curious to see what the next few months bring. I like the EC, I like the fact that I could place a couple of towers in some really good locations near Britain and Skara Brae in Tram and even found a keep-sized spot in Fel that I'm considering. I know that's not a good sign, but oh well.

As you said, and as experience has shown with other EA titles, when it stops making money, it's done, and EA will pull the plug. The last time I walked away, it could have easily been for good if EA had pulled the plug, and I'm okay with that.

Obviously I still love UO, I just dropped well over $100 re-activating old accounts and going through their characters and bank boxes as well as a few account upgrades. Some of that I will get back if I sell some of the old accounts from the '90s that weren't my originals, but even if I don't get it back or if I swap them for in-game gold, I've enjoyed going through stuff and starting over when it comes to housing.

In the past, I was very harsh on the devs, on EA, etc. Since that time, I've experienced corporate America to the fullest, and now I have nothing bad to really say about the devs. I have plenty of bad things to say about EA, but those are the same bad things everybody has been saying since 1997

That's why I made a new account on Stratics, because I'm not the same person I was several years ago. I didn't want to come back under my old Stratics account and have people look at my post history and see me unloading on devs several years ago.

I see people bashing the devs, and they really don't stop and think that if the devs could have their way, they would have several times the budget and staff numbers they do, and they would probably be working on doing things that we would all like. I have a very good idea of the kind of environment they have to operate under and they have my deepest sympathies.

If you want a positive sign, I just saw these messages from Malbolger on LS:
"Hello, how do I get off of haven island"
"Sorry, I haven't been on UO since LBR"

I've now directly seen 4-5 people who have recently come back to LS in the past few weeks (including myself). I don't take that as a really positive sign though - vets return in waves it seems. With all of the crazy weather we've had in large parts of the US, along with High Seas, it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of people returned recently.

 

[Lady Storm]

Thank you Woodsman for your addition to this thread.
Each of us plays UO in their own way. I am glad you have found the way that fits your life.

Old man of UO - I love it!!
That is so cute.


Well as for counting players.... When I see real new players or returning ones who are completely lost and cant find their way out of a paper bag much less off Haven island I get a little happy thought of how it was when I started UO.

I thank the day my sneeky nephew asked me to fish for him while he was at boot camp for the marines. It was beta testing that hooked me on the game. I had played the box versions for years and knew the world well.
I know why alot of you want the classic shard, hell any one who played beta UO would jump at the chance to try it all over again.

14 years ago life for us all was vastly different, I have to laugh at the thought of someting my son said to me back then. He was in a mood that had him tell me how I had all the things he grew up with and took for granted as his right. I was playing UO. Something he thougth a mom of my years should stop. He touted the things like video games vcr's cell phones and such that had me laughing so much. I had to explain to him when I was 16 we had had color tv only a few years most tvs owned were black and white. My sterio played in 4 speeds 16 33 45 78.... my first portable radio was the size of a shoe box. We had 5 channels on tv and that included the pbs ones. The popcorn was made in a old pot with a lid on the stove. Going ot the movies wasa grand occasion and you were on yoru best behavior. We didnt have microwaves vcr's cd's ipods and cell phones. Mp3s and that is all new. When I grew up you respected your elders, had maners, and cherrished your family. 14 years ago UO was a different game then the UO we play today.

I log in UO and the language used in chat would turn the air blue for my mother much less my grandmother! 14 years ago a GM would have tossed those same players in jail3 for a day or 3 and then given them a stern warning about the TOS and ROC. Their account would suffer a mark for the trouble caused and warned about a banning for mroe of such actions.

Today UO cant aford that and the players out there know it and are getting away with murder as we have no real GM's to keep the rules WE had to adhear to.

When they came out with T2A I heard players crying ill quit... many did. I heard the chicken littles lementing to the sky falling and UO being on the way out....
LBR same thing, infact each and every publish we got the same thing over and over form different players some threatning to quit if it came to be, others trying the doom and gloom to the point it was depressing to be around them. From my 8 original accounts up to what I got now 53 accounts from all that mess over the years due infact to people taking to heart what was said about the health of UO.

Yes UO has lost a great deal of players and many of you know this fact so well. My message of seeing new players and returning vets is upbeat because no one needs to be depressed anymore then they feel from RL. UO is a haven to get away from the real life hell we all have seen and felt this last years.

It made me giggle to hear that someone didnt know how to get off haven island.....

I miss the days of How may I help thee? Safe Journys to thee! Even if they didnt let me have slippers on my feet.

Sit back sip your coffee/tea /soda and relax UO is to get away for a short time from the RAT RACE. When the Dev is ready we will get the news... good or bad.

I still think in UO terms when out an about town.... UO is a good place, WE make it a good place.

Could you imagine an army of those Dancing Skellies all with blinking lights cha chaing through Britain?? or even better all the guards doing line dancing around town... oh the things that make me giggle to imagine..... try it some time that smile you hide is beautiful.

 

[Evlar]

I"D LOVE a Spell checker in here!!!!! Only thing is ...

This isn't a criticism. But if you use the Firefox web browser there is actually a spell checker addon. I love it. It makes me look ever so much smarter than I truly am...

Firefox has it, but so does Opera browser, which I've always preferred.

 

[Lady Storm]

If only I was that bright to get it sugar. I have trouble these days and I get confused easy. Strokes suck!