Pre-AoS Ultima Online Server

[Wallenstein]

Before I begin, I know this topic has been discussed millions of times.

I remember a while ago in 2006 (I believe?) reading a question on the Stratics forums that was asked to Darkscribe about whether a Pre-AoS server would be added to Ultima Online. Darkscribe's response was, "It's all on the table". Obviously I don't have a link to the post since the old Stratics forums don't exist anymore.

But now seeing as DarkScribe has stepped away from Ultima Online since that remark was made, has a single EA representative made a public announcement about adding a Pre-AoS server? I can't find anything at all other than posts by Stratics members and mods..

I'm taking it that no announcement is better than a "no, one will not be added" comment by an EA rep... but then again, keeping the answer to the question hidden is driving people away with doubt and forcing them to move onto other games or cancel their plans to possibly re-subscribe to UO.

UO, since DarkScribe's comment, has come out with a new expansion and completely revamped their 3D client.. but no word on any Pre-AoS server has been mentioned. Unfortunately it's literally impossible to talk, email, or communicate in any way with an official Ultima Online Development Team representative since UO doesn't have any official forums whatsoever with staffed mods and doesn't bother to personally respond to customers' inquiries via e-mail (predefined responses ftw).

What does one have to do to get the attention of someone who can say something about whether the hell a Pre-AoS server is going to be added or not? The waiting game is getting crazy. Say yes or no and put us at ease.. even just a simple "We're debating adding one" would suffice. seriously.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

*Rubs the magic lamp to no avail.*

You are not alone my padawan. Just think how the dev team would feel if a retro shard became more popular than the dooky game we now call UO. We couldnt have that now could we?

 

[Vesta]

Oh, I agree that an EA run "old Skool" shard would be great. For whatever reason (laziness, perhaps) the Dev's will not give us one.

They already have a seperate server. Just wipe siege and make it the classic shard.

 

[Sunrise]

I agree with you. In so many ways but seriously now..all you are doing is

The devs have made it clear with customer service and the game and everything. If you don't like it, theres the door. Hate to say that but its true. So in a nut shell we all have to deal with this. Stinks aye. But still...

 

[Vesta]

poor cow. beating it in the rectum. That is just not right.

oh wait, is that supposed to be a horse? LoL

 

[Chad Sexington]

I would be interested in this.

But...

It will never happen.

 

[Orvago]

Oh my! This thread isn't locked!
Stay civil, no speaking of illegal free shards and it might just stay that way.






For the record, it was stated that the reasoning that the "old ways" could not be brought back is simply because the "data" has changed so much, changing through so many hands, that barring the use of a Tardis, it would be near impossible to restore the servers to exactly how it was before AoS, for example.

 

[archite666]

Siege Perilous dude, If you want a shard with rules close to the classic shard, go siege perilous!

 

[kennykilleduo]

Oh my! This thread isn't locked!
Stay civil, no speaking of illegal free shards and it might just stay that way.






For the record, it was stated that the reasoning that the "old ways" could not be brought back is simply because the "data" has changed so much, changing through so many hands, that barring the use of a Tardis, it would be near impossible to restore the servers to exactly how it was before AoS, for example.

That was in Aaron “Darkscribe” Cohen days we are now in EA MYthic days , yet another attempt at what players want squashed , Because some people want us to believe , A video game company cant do this....

Nice try though..

 

[kennykilleduo]

Since many players would like to see it and some dont like it , some say it would serve no purpose ( I say look at thread in my siggy)..

Anyway what about a shard that has Doom blocked off , champ spawns turned off , no insurance , the same crafting system? How hard could this be?

It would serve as a LESS item based shard , thieves would be able to have fun , yet it wouldnt be the shard we cant talk about , but an alternative one ( Dont tell me to go to siege)

 

[Azureal]

So a pre-AoS shard.

Like everyelse asks for atleast once a week?

 

[Doomsday Dragon]

So a pre-AoS shard.

Like everyelse asks for atleast once a week?

No what he talking about is a modern shard exactly like siege only not as crappy. Basically like what the game would have been today if it followed it's original path vs introducing artifacts and all that.

 

[Kiminality]

That was in Aaron “Darkscribe” Cohen days we are now in EA MYthic days , yet another attempt at what players want squashed , Because some people want us to believe , A video game company cant do this....

Nice try though..

I don't quite get what you're saying there...

 

[Chad Sexington]

Sounds good.

 

[Joyous2K]

Since many players would like to see it and some dont like it , some say it would serve no purpose ( I say look at thread in my siggy)..

Anyway what about a shard that has Doom blocked off , champ spawns turned off , no insurance , the same crafting system? How hard could this be?

It would serve as a LESS item based shard , thieves would be able to have fun , yet it wouldnt be the shard we cant talk about , but an alternative one ( Dont tell me to go to siege)

I said no, just because I feel all shards were created equal and that we hold this to be self evident.

The items are needed by the company bc that is what keeps people running the treadmill. They can phase that stuff out on all shards, but it's not good business practice.

It's so easy this way. When people start getting enough CCs and items. They can just release Anvil's Apron that is a CC with additional mods. It falls in a new area that you need to pay to get to. So that is how it goes.

If everyone just ran around in GM plate, there would be nothing EA could do to pick off extra moneys. It would also remove a lot of their choices.

I agree that most everything is pointlessly overcomplicated, but it should be that way for everyone. It's too difficult to maintain even slight differences in coding.

Also, these items fill huge gaps in a person's suit.

But basically, all shards should be the same. It's easier management and besides that, it's the same game.

 

[FarukAlazar]

I thought this was about something else entirely

 

[Lariat]

I thought this was about something else entirely

No cloth diapers?

 

[Flora Green]

I thought this was about something else entirely

Either both of our minds were in the gutter or you were thinking of cross-sharding, too.

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

I don't quite get what you're saying there...

doesn't realize that:
"For the record, it was stated that the reasoning that the "old ways" could not be brought back is simply because the "data" has changed so much, changing through so many hands, that barring the use of a Tardis, it would be near impossible to restore the servers to exactly how it was before AoS, for example. "

STILL applies.
will apply tommorrow ... the day after ... the month after ... the year after ... the decade after ... after the servers DO shut down ...
barring the use of a Tardis, it would be near impossible to restore the servers to exactly how it was before AoS.

Same goes for the operating systems the old UO ran under, win98, win95 ... gone ... no longer supported.

Wanna know how to quash a good idea?

NO ! what is needed is a way to "quash" A Bad Idea ...one that raises from the dead carcus of the dead horse that has been beaten to dust ... again and again and again and again ... yet ... here it is again ...*sigh* Oh! the Humanity!

The prom queen won't change her mind, lo these many years past ... and go back, in your imaginary tardis(closet), and re-write history ... cause:"Hey I gottan ideer"
is only a Good ideer
in
theory
in
your
own
mind.

close the closet door and log off the internet ...
We'll find you when the time comes ...
maybe even give you a gump on the login screen ...

 

[Tom Bombadil]

NO ! what is needed is a way to "quash" A Bad Idea ...one that raises from the dead carcus of the dead horse that has been beaten to dust ... again and again and again and again ... yet ... here it is again ...*sigh* Oh! the Humanity!

The prom queen won't change her mind, lo these many years past ... and go back, in your imaginary tardis(closet), and re-write history ... cause:"Hey I gottan ideer"
is only a Good ideer
in
theory
in
your
own
mind.

close the closet door and log off the internet ...
We'll find you when the time comes ...
maybe even give you a gump on the login screen ...

Wow, theres a lot of haters out there, pun intended. I can only imagine how hard it would be for seasoned developers to create a retro shard. I mean, come on, its not like there are any out there that have been developed by the casual coder. /sarcasm off.

Why would our player base be opposed to something that would not effect them in the least? I think the naysayers are scared the classic shard would be a big success. If there is something else to it, i would love to entertain a response.

 

[Raider Red]

I thought this was about something else entirely

you are not the only one.

 

[Doomsday Dragon]

I said no, just because I feel all shards were created equal and that we hold this to be self evident.

The items are needed by the company bc that is what keeps people running the treadmill. They can phase that stuff out on all shards, but it's not good business practice.

It's so easy this way. When people start getting enough CCs and items. They can just release Anvil's Apron that is a CC with additional mods. It falls in a new area that you need to pay to get to. So that is how it goes.

If everyone just ran around in GM plate, there would be nothing EA could do to pick off extra moneys. It would also remove a lot of their choices.

I agree that most everything is pointlessly overcomplicated, but it should be that way for everyone. It's too difficult to maintain even slight differences in coding.

Also, these items fill huge gaps in a person's suit.

But basically, all shards should be the same. It's easier management and besides that, it's the same game.

But this just isn't true...

We already have shards with variety such as siege and mugen. Origin is not equal either because it is a live test if you want to get technical about things.

What I would like to see is more variety to choose from. Who says EA is going to lose out on item sales because we have a new shard with added variety when all the other shards still exist? The only thing that would happen is a gain in profit from the new players and returning players who want to play something new or different from what is currently offered.

I never saw the point in not opening more shards with different types of game play on them. No transfers in or out. It just makes sense to offer more than your standard cluster of shards. They started with siege and then stopped.

 

[Kiminality]

Why would our player base be opposed to something that would not effect them in the least? I think the naysayers are scared the classic shard would be a big success. If there is something else to it, i would love to entertain a response.

I'd be positively filled with glee, if a classic shard was created, and quelled the constant dead-horse beating, and whining about how the "good old days" were better... And so on...

However, the era you're all hoping to recapture is in the past, for a rather good reason.
I, personally, would really rather the developers' time was spent on things that aren't a shard that'll end up making Siege look bustling.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I'd be positively filled with glee, if a classic shard was created, and quelled the constant dead-horse beating, and whining about how the "good old days" were better... And so on...

I can agree that certain aspects of the past were not as attractive to some, but for PvP it was, IMHO, a lot better. For one, items were not an issue, no insurance and you could be competitive with GM made armor(unlike today where it takes millions to be on the same level).

However, the era you're all hoping to recapture is in the past, for a rather good reason.
I, personally, would really rather the developers' time was spent on things that aren't a shard that'll end up making Siege look bustling.

Like Kingdom Reborn? I'm glad they spent usefull time developing that upgrade. Worked out well eh?

 

[D'Amavir]

Personally, the single worst thing that has been done to UO can be described in two words...item based. Today, if you don't have the weapon, armor or jewel of the day, you can't compete.

Can't the developers add content to the game without making it all about having more and more powerful items? I long for a UO that allows a blacksmith character to make a living supplying exceptional quality weapons and armor, a tailor to make a living supplying exceptional quality armor and a tinker to make a living supplying exceptional quality items. Go ahead and add items for loot so that pvm can have a reward beyond gold. But don't make the characters so reliant on items from increasingly powerful creatures.

Will it happen? Nope. But its good to dream.

 

[Joyous2K]

But this just isn't true...

We already have shards with variety such as siege and mugen. Origin is not equal either because it is a live test if you want to get technical about things.

What I would like to see is more variety to choose from. Who says EA is going to lose out on item sales because we have a new shard with added variety when all the other shards still exist? The only thing that would happen is a gain in profit from the new players and returning players who want to play something new or different from what is currently offered.

I never saw the point in not opening more shards with different types of game play on them. No transfers in or out. It just makes sense to offer more than your standard cluster of shards. They started with siege and then stopped.

I am going to have to disagree with most of what you said and here's why:

Every single tiny thing the devleopment team tries to do, it backfires. They do some patch and llamas disappear. They do some update and Curse fouls up the resists. They add a single character called "a stranger" and it crashes entire shards. I mean, come on. They add Comptrollers and they spawn under houses for half the time they are available. Something recently changed how pets target ("cannot be seen"). The whole thing seems tied together by a weak piece of wire.

So now, you want to make more diverse shards. Some with no special items, some with some special items, some with something else. Is that right? More sandboxes or something like that? They can't even find houses that they are in control of. Multiple unique shards? It is impossible.

They are already maintaining two clients (KR hardly, but for this point, we'll assume it is), two retro shards (Siege, and I guess Mugen), their live test shard (Origin) is terrible at testing things and catching mistakes.

BEsides that, the shards are empty. So what, we'll open 3 or 4 new shards that have unique rulesets and spread the subs out even further? It makes no sense. It made sense a few years ago to have as many shards as they have now when there was a bustling population and UO was on the grow. Do all these shards make sense now? They had to PANDER on Siege back then I guess, but there is certainly no need to do something like that now. It's a single game. It's not supposed to be 15 different games with different rulesets all called Ultima Online.

It is an item game now. Items keep people playing, running around in circles and paying. I hate it too, but that is the game. Calculate this, add that, square root another thing and check your skill against the base resist. To me, it feels as if its falling in on itself because of how overly complicated they made it. Name something (a change, new content, anything) that occurred smoothly this year.

UO today is not the way it was originally, and not the way I would do it if I knew how to create MMORPGs. But UO 2008 - Year of Events is where we are. Still no.

 

[Orvago]

Retro Shard Threads Merged...

Retro Shard Threads have not been allowed for many years. I have taken it upon myself to give one a chance to prove itself with all the new moderating features, moderating such a thread shouldn't be a godly feat anymore... shouldn't...


The poll on this thread belonged to the... new thread... which was just merged with this one..
This was the OP for the Poll:

Since many players would like to see it and some dont like it , some say it would serve no purpose ( I say look at thread in my siggy)..

Anyway what about a shard that has Doom blocked off , champ spawns turned off , no insurance , the same crafting system? How hard could this be?

It would serve as a LESS item based shard , thieves would be able to have fun , yet it wouldnt be the shard we cant talk about , but an alternative one ( Dont tell me to go to siege)

 

[butthead owns]

xsharding is what is killing up and makeing insane prices sky rocket due to fact on some shard gm hold event and on other shard they dont this is why so many new player cry and cry they cant aford but want these items they shld just stop x shard but reason they wont is they make money from people buying the tokens so inturn they will probaly never make that shard

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

It'll never happen. Pipe dream. Sorry. Move on...la