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Sevin0oo0
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Now I know who sent in a Sudiva story
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I sent in TEH WINNINGZ ONE... which ever one wins! Just give me the prizes, and we'll say no more about being a horrible harpsichord tease eh...?Now I know who sent in a Sudiva story
Let me see:
Does that cover them??
And yes Harpsichord... Totally awesome! Wondering now if it comes with new music... if you can put gears in it... (if so I wish now I could remove gears from my musicbox!) Or if you can get sheet music for it from a vendor... or if I can put my own MP3 type music in it.... that would be neat... AT any rate they are beautiful!
- Europa Gold (Rare)
- Luna White
- Some totally new orange color me thinks (Liking it! Perhaps it'll be a new pigment color for the next publish on Clean up items)
- Same sort of blue as the SoA looks like
- Perhaps this is a polished Iron?
- Polished Bronze
- Very nice pink blue I wish I could dye cloth!
- Pinkish/purple again wish I could dye cloth!
- Lime Green same color as an unused Commodity deed
- SoT pink
Does that cover them??
And yes Harpsichord... Totally awesome! Wondering now if it comes with new music... if you can put gears in it... (if so I wish now I could remove gears from my musicbox!) Or if you can get sheet music for it from a vendor... or if I can put my own MP3 type music in it.... that would be neat... AT any rate they are beautiful!
kelmo
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How about if Trammel does not exist? Can I wear faction artifacts in Malas?
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lol
kelmo.I'd love to see what the next set of vet rewards has in store.
Please more like this to give us things to look forward to Mesanna
Why don't you guys actually make some stuff we can USE and not look at!
That was my guess
Would't Lifespan and Ephemeral have nearly the same effect. I see little need to have another type of mod. Why not just use ephemeral? As for the moonbound mod, I like the concept. Does it mean your armor falls off outside of Fel?
Awesome stuff!! I am loving the Harpsichords!! 
Seems as if I was right in my posts in last weeks Sneek Peek (Pokes out tounge to all the doomsayers). I believe some peeps have humble pie to eat eh!!
I'm also loving the idea of the sneek peeks every friday, please keep this up Mesanna! We appricate it and now I'm looking forward to what (I hope) will be hinted at next week!!
Seems as if I was right in my posts in last weeks Sneek Peek (Pokes out tounge to all the doomsayers). I believe some peeps have humble pie to eat eh!!I'm also loving the idea of the sneek peeks every friday, please keep this up Mesanna! We appricate it and now I'm looking forward to what (I hope) will be hinted at next week!!
T
Takeamada
Guest
They are very nice, being a Deco / Home Builder/ Role player, I am happy to see something like this come are way. My hats off to the artisan who made it. My only regret is, if it's the 15th year Anniversary Gift and you have to have played that many years to get one, I just hope they are around in 9 years so I can get one.
My guess is it'll be like the previous anniversary tickets where we will have a choice of gifts. I don't believe they are intended as Veteran Rewards as Mesanna said gifts.
Question.
I only see the art designed with a SOUTH --> NORTH orientation.
I hope that, for better placeability, the pianos will be turnable in all 4 different orientations.......... that is, with the keyboard facing NORTH, EAST OR WEST just as well besides the SOUTH one displayed in the pic.
Nice gift, by the way........
I think ephemeral is so mishmashed into the durability of the item, and the way it decays it'll decay much faster than the devs intend for an item to; especially because most pvp'ers pvp 25 hours a day >.>
Did I miss something where they fixed factions?Awesome stuff!! I am loving the Harpsichords!!
I'm also loving the idea of the sneek peeks every friday, please keep this up Mesanna! We appricate it and now I'm looking forward to what (I hope) will be hinted at next week!!
@ O'Brien - I didnt know that factions were broken tbh. While I spend alot of time in Fel doing my thing as it were... I have never bothered with factions and probably never will. The only thing I've seen that has 'broken' factions was the faction arties and if thats the case then yes you've missed the big hint in the image in the first post.
S
Sevin0oo0
Guest
interesting to see a "Lifespan" tag
Moonbound: Indestructible is that 2 separate tags, meaning there could be others on the suffix?
Moonbound: Indestructible is that 2 separate tags, meaning there could be others on the suffix?
No, they released pretty pictures of pixelcrack to distract the sheeple from the real issues. As usual.
Larisa
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OMG it's beautiful....even with the grass
Now I must re-model my music room..I'm so EXCITED!
Yes I knew where the grass was from.. anyway
They just... pop too much.. too.. sharp. How to explain it..
It feels like someone cut a piece of furniture out from a picture in a current day magazine, then pasted it into a picture in another magazine from the 80s that just happened to be taken in approximately the same angle and lighting. A lot of the more recent art feels like this. Mind you I don't mean to say the art is bad at all.. its beautifully done. It just doesnt feel like it quite fits is all.
M
Muu Bin
Guest
It's a coffin for a fat person?
Only one question, as I think this is a super addition to the game...
Two facings? Please say yes.
Two facings? Please say yes.
T
Takeamada
Guest
Well if that be the case, Awesome!!!!!! Is it me or dose the artwork over the last few months seem to be getting better and better?
T
Takeamada
Guest
Oh yeah, that would be awesome, unlike the Rustic Benches which only face two ways, whats up with that anyways?
It's the shading, a lot of the newer stuff looks smooth shaded from a point light source and has baked on shadow areas, the older stuff looks like it was shaded flat for the most part, makes the newer stuff look really weird without night sight especially as they tend to not look right with torches/lanterns nearby. (shadows on the object going the wrong way, wrong side lit, etc...)
I also have a feeling that its got something to do with the resolution at which the art was created. I'm sure its quite a bit higher than 15+ years ago. Makes things look odd. The art for stuff is good, just doesn't fit right.
I am looking for a reason to be excited about Ultima's future so I can convince myself after 13 years to not cancel my accounts as I rarely play the game. Most of my longtime friends have left or they play so rarely its like ships sailing at sea bumping into one another. I have been witness to countless developer ideas and notions that make utterly no sense whatsoever, more than any online game I play.
UO would have benefited from some major press with something substantial as it reached its 15 year anniversary, although as the date looms closer I'm seeing this is not the case. It is not that I appreciate a developer for once showing their paying player base something, but... it just feels lacking. If I had to place bets, I would say that the 15 year milestone will be a mere blip on the gaming radar, both in and out of game.
I'm glad that they have suspended work on something truly needed and important like a complete art resolution update that might, you know, entice players to check UO out again or dip their feet for the first time so that players can get harpsichords.
Utterly, utterly baffled, as usual, by their decision making. By the way, it has been over a year and a half now since the resolution update was mentioned as being worked. If there were indeed dedicated resources to this, it would have actually been finished long ago. Ask any computer artist (aside from Grimm, of course), ask Ra'Dian Fl'Gith, heck please feel free to ask my boyfriend, he is a computer artist and graphics designer (who yes, mostly teases me about subscribing to 'That Ugly Game', aka Ultima Online). Work should not have to grind to a screeching halt for months because a ship needs drawn or a harpsichord/ vase/ shrub is designed. It is ridiculous, and it is obvious the art team is very, very, very small.
I am glad that there are players who gush over a single piece of art or information as if its gold. That is great if it works for you. I've also noticed however that those who do have rarely (if ever) went outside the game of Ultima Online to see how the other half lives. It is really a wonderful place, where, while still not perfect, has developers who listen to their players, create substantial content, and post decently on their actual company forums (which UO fails to even have). I have played several onlines, and none of them have had the lack of ongoing content and communication while displaying an all around utter incompetence that the UO team has shown. These are strong words, but in my experience, very true.
People's long term addiction to UO ("hey I have a decade worth of stuff at my house"!) as well as hoping that UO will one day return to its glory serves it well on keeping people on forking over their money monthly. If anyone actually thinks this game is on anything but right about maintenance mode they are deluding themselves. The team is, and has been for some time, a skeleton crew. There are much more dedicated developers and resources in F2P games currently (and sadly). Personally, I'm actually won over anymore by the F2P games that exist on the market now much more than I am by Ultima, and I pay EA monthly as opposed to incremental when I enjoy a part of the game and want to support it. As I look at the track record of the UO team since 2007 or so, however, I come to the decision that it's really no longer worth it.
And, to wrap up my pessimistic outlook currently on the state of all things UO...
To the producer, Jeff: I am tired of hearing about how you played Diablo III andf how awesome it was. I am over how you will be cloistering yourself home all weekend to oplay (insert some game). I am so done with hearing about how every other game is important to you as opposed to the one that should matter.
Yet, there seems so very, very little dedication to the game you yourself are paid to care for, to run and to nurture its best interests. That, to me, is exceptionally telling on where priorities exist at Ultima Online.
UO would have benefited from some major press with something substantial as it reached its 15 year anniversary, although as the date looms closer I'm seeing this is not the case. It is not that I appreciate a developer for once showing their paying player base something, but... it just feels lacking. If I had to place bets, I would say that the 15 year milestone will be a mere blip on the gaming radar, both in and out of game.
I'm glad that they have suspended work on something truly needed and important like a complete art resolution update that might, you know, entice players to check UO out again or dip their feet for the first time so that players can get harpsichords.
Utterly, utterly baffled, as usual, by their decision making. By the way, it has been over a year and a half now since the resolution update was mentioned as being worked. If there were indeed dedicated resources to this, it would have actually been finished long ago. Ask any computer artist (aside from Grimm, of course), ask Ra'Dian Fl'Gith, heck please feel free to ask my boyfriend, he is a computer artist and graphics designer (who yes, mostly teases me about subscribing to 'That Ugly Game', aka Ultima Online). Work should not have to grind to a screeching halt for months because a ship needs drawn or a harpsichord/ vase/ shrub is designed. It is ridiculous, and it is obvious the art team is very, very, very small.
I am glad that there are players who gush over a single piece of art or information as if its gold. That is great if it works for you. I've also noticed however that those who do have rarely (if ever) went outside the game of Ultima Online to see how the other half lives. It is really a wonderful place, where, while still not perfect, has developers who listen to their players, create substantial content, and post decently on their actual company forums (which UO fails to even have). I have played several onlines, and none of them have had the lack of ongoing content and communication while displaying an all around utter incompetence that the UO team has shown. These are strong words, but in my experience, very true.
People's long term addiction to UO ("hey I have a decade worth of stuff at my house"!) as well as hoping that UO will one day return to its glory serves it well on keeping people on forking over their money monthly. If anyone actually thinks this game is on anything but right about maintenance mode they are deluding themselves. The team is, and has been for some time, a skeleton crew. There are much more dedicated developers and resources in F2P games currently (and sadly). Personally, I'm actually won over anymore by the F2P games that exist on the market now much more than I am by Ultima, and I pay EA monthly as opposed to incremental when I enjoy a part of the game and want to support it. As I look at the track record of the UO team since 2007 or so, however, I come to the decision that it's really no longer worth it.
And, to wrap up my pessimistic outlook currently on the state of all things UO...
To the producer, Jeff: I am tired of hearing about how you played Diablo III andf how awesome it was. I am over how you will be cloistering yourself home all weekend to oplay (insert some game). I am so done with hearing about how every other game is important to you as opposed to the one that should matter.
Yet, there seems so very, very little dedication to the game you yourself are paid to care for, to run and to nurture its best interests. That, to me, is exceptionally telling on where priorities exist at Ultima Online.
Are you anhedonic? It's an anniversary gift for Christ's sake.
Apologies, though really after countless threads the past few months about any future for UO as well as almost complete developer silence I would hope more for UO's future than a harpsichord. I am merely one player of many who questions if they have indeed outgrown this game.
As an aside, thank you for the personal attack against me. Charming.
As an aside, thank you for the personal attack against me. Charming.
Here is what I can see and tell about the state of UO in the past year...
In-game in the past say month or two I've actually seen an increase in player activity and new players.... returning players as well....
However..... that said I will add this... my own bit of knowledge about the playerbase. For the last 4 or 5 years while posting here on these forums and playing I have also collected and posted the eggs from the Dragon Cave along with my Sig. At the start I always had to at some point "hide" my eggs in a cloud because they were getting FAR too many Views too fast... After a couple of years I no longer usually needed to do that But I was still getting as many as 1500 Unique views. Things have gone great collecting and getting views for my eggs then for the last year or two until just since this forum was "revamped". Since then I no longer get even 500 unique views. I have to wonder is that because the revamp has somehow changed the way views are counted here??????? Or as I suspect is that because we are now a VERY small community because so many who used to even show up to view the forums still holding on hope that UO will shine again just stopped dropping by.
I suspect several things have factored in.... but I will say this for sure... the revamp of the billing system has caused many to just quit. They because EXTREMELY frustrated with trying to wade through it and just QUIT. Especially after they realize that it's taken then months to reactivate and now that they still CAN'T because they can't figure out not only how to get to the billing but they can't find how the (*&)(*&(*& to call EA... They have quit entirely. Many without a word.
Now the few that have asked me I've been able to direct either to how to contact EA or how to wade through the nightmare that is the new billing system.... but many can not and could not get to old beloved accounts they had long ago. Many have tried to reactivate but can Not....
I'm at this point actually afraid that some old friends might return and may desire to get their old accounts back that many of the rest of us have been holding for ages but we won't be able to give them the accounts back.
I myself still love and adore UO... but I've never gone anywhere else. I looked at a few other games but to me they all had the same Fatal Flaw.... They were not UO..... I could not do 1/2 of the things I could do in UO. And 95% of them gave you your own "room" to go to to keep your things..... but not one soul could ever "see" or visit you in your "room". BORING. There was no home ownership.... and the entire game is based on doing quests and raising your "level" but limited very limited to what class and race you were.... every character that class that race looked 100% identical at that level because that's the "gear" you had to have when you reach that.... and once you get to the "top"... well..... it's end game.
In UO there is no "end game".... there is always someone to RP with. You have built a town a community where defending/protecting it from "evil" is the game. Who cares what gift I get for the anniversary I have a town to run. In UO you can build an auction house and run it from week to week..... build a chicken fight club and have fights each week... IT IS THE COMMUNITY..... which makes the game... Not what's in it or what the DEV's are adding or doing those things only "add" to the fun.... or give other means to incorporate new ideas into the community. THAT is what many have forgotten. Who cares what they are doing.... You know go participate in the gathering of your goods... Help the Gargoyles of Ter Mur and Ver Lor Reg but remember the community.
Sadly though the DEV's have also forgotten that the game is about community... Yes seeing folk defend the void pool is great and all but that novelty will soon wear thin if there isn't some real reason behind it. Items that do not last aren't it. Taking and killing factions to the point where folk have quit caring about them in droves hasn't helped. Factions gave something to defend.... pitted group against group for years... divide and conquer... Giving us things in which to build our community and create our own world to defend or attempt to conquer is more fun. Someone said PvP is what has built this community and drives it... it is the heart of the game... perhaps.... I think that community is... years ago it was about gathering together to defend what was yours from others who sought to take that away... now the game is about gathering up the greatest new pixel crack and seeing how many billions of gold you can get out of it so you can make a buck selling gold... or seeing how many billions in pixels you have...
Don't get me wrong I love the new harpsichord... however I'm hoping that the return of faction artifacts will bring back something... and that perhaps we can rebuild the RP community in such a way as to return the "conflict" that has been soooo lacking in the last few months and give good a reason to live once again. Not just to play out the latest EM Event get the latest piece of pixel crack and pawn it.
In-game in the past say month or two I've actually seen an increase in player activity and new players.... returning players as well....
However..... that said I will add this... my own bit of knowledge about the playerbase. For the last 4 or 5 years while posting here on these forums and playing I have also collected and posted the eggs from the Dragon Cave along with my Sig. At the start I always had to at some point "hide" my eggs in a cloud because they were getting FAR too many Views too fast... After a couple of years I no longer usually needed to do that But I was still getting as many as 1500 Unique views. Things have gone great collecting and getting views for my eggs then for the last year or two until just since this forum was "revamped". Since then I no longer get even 500 unique views. I have to wonder is that because the revamp has somehow changed the way views are counted here??????? Or as I suspect is that because we are now a VERY small community because so many who used to even show up to view the forums still holding on hope that UO will shine again just stopped dropping by.
I suspect several things have factored in.... but I will say this for sure... the revamp of the billing system has caused many to just quit. They because EXTREMELY frustrated with trying to wade through it and just QUIT. Especially after they realize that it's taken then months to reactivate and now that they still CAN'T because they can't figure out not only how to get to the billing but they can't find how the (*&)(*&(*& to call EA... They have quit entirely. Many without a word.
Now the few that have asked me I've been able to direct either to how to contact EA or how to wade through the nightmare that is the new billing system.... but many can not and could not get to old beloved accounts they had long ago. Many have tried to reactivate but can Not....
I'm at this point actually afraid that some old friends might return and may desire to get their old accounts back that many of the rest of us have been holding for ages but we won't be able to give them the accounts back.
I myself still love and adore UO... but I've never gone anywhere else. I looked at a few other games but to me they all had the same Fatal Flaw.... They were not UO..... I could not do 1/2 of the things I could do in UO. And 95% of them gave you your own "room" to go to to keep your things..... but not one soul could ever "see" or visit you in your "room". BORING. There was no home ownership.... and the entire game is based on doing quests and raising your "level" but limited very limited to what class and race you were.... every character that class that race looked 100% identical at that level because that's the "gear" you had to have when you reach that.... and once you get to the "top"... well..... it's end game.
In UO there is no "end game".... there is always someone to RP with. You have built a town a community where defending/protecting it from "evil" is the game. Who cares what gift I get for the anniversary I have a town to run. In UO you can build an auction house and run it from week to week..... build a chicken fight club and have fights each week... IT IS THE COMMUNITY..... which makes the game... Not what's in it or what the DEV's are adding or doing those things only "add" to the fun.... or give other means to incorporate new ideas into the community. THAT is what many have forgotten. Who cares what they are doing.... You know go participate in the gathering of your goods... Help the Gargoyles of Ter Mur and Ver Lor Reg but remember the community.
Sadly though the DEV's have also forgotten that the game is about community... Yes seeing folk defend the void pool is great and all but that novelty will soon wear thin if there isn't some real reason behind it. Items that do not last aren't it. Taking and killing factions to the point where folk have quit caring about them in droves hasn't helped. Factions gave something to defend.... pitted group against group for years... divide and conquer... Giving us things in which to build our community and create our own world to defend or attempt to conquer is more fun. Someone said PvP is what has built this community and drives it... it is the heart of the game... perhaps.... I think that community is... years ago it was about gathering together to defend what was yours from others who sought to take that away... now the game is about gathering up the greatest new pixel crack and seeing how many billions of gold you can get out of it so you can make a buck selling gold... or seeing how many billions in pixels you have...
Don't get me wrong I love the new harpsichord... however I'm hoping that the return of faction artifacts will bring back something... and that perhaps we can rebuild the RP community in such a way as to return the "conflict" that has been soooo lacking in the last few months and give good a reason to live once again. Not just to play out the latest EM Event get the latest piece of pixel crack and pawn it.
I am guessing these are the 15 year game anniversary items that will be rewarded to all players and not the 15th year anniversary player items. Only reason I say that is because are any player anniversary items come in "rare" colors? Normally you get to choose exactly what you want and not have a random component.
Just my 2 cents as some of the replies seems to suggest these are for the 15th year players only
BG
Just my 2 cents as some of the replies seems to suggest these are for the 15th year players only
BG
Does Siege even have a Trammel moon?
LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE !!!!
Medieval zip guns.... cannon on a stick.
bah goblins no kins play dem tings. wees only gots (3) trees finners
ozog
ozog
Best post I've read all year your 100% correct in what you said and believe me when I tell you your not alone in your sentiments about the current state UO, the future of UO and the total mismanagement of UO.I am looking for a reason to be excited about Ultima's future so I can convince myself after 13 years to not cancel my accounts as I rarely play the game. Most of my longtime friends have left or they play so rarely its like ships sailing at sea bumping into one another. I have been witness to countless developer ideas and notions that make utterly no sense whatsoever, more than any online game I play.
UO would have benefited from some major press with something substantial as it reached its 15 year anniversary, although as the date looms closer I'm seeing this is not the case. It is not that I appreciate a developer for once showing their paying player base something, but... it just feels lacking. If I had to place bets, I would say that the 15 year milestone will be a mere blip on the gaming radar, both in and out of game.
I'm glad that they have suspended work on something truly needed and important like a complete art resolution update that might, you know, entice players to check UO out again or dip their feet for the first time so that players can get harpsichords.
Utterly, utterly baffled, as usual, by their decision making. By the way, it has been over a year and a half now since the resolution update was mentioned as being worked. If there were indeed dedicated resources to this, it would have actually been finished long ago. Ask any computer artist (aside from Grimm, of course), ask Ra'Dian Fl'Gith, heck please feel free to ask my boyfriend, he is a computer artist and graphics designer (who yes, mostly teases me about subscribing to 'That Ugly Game', aka Ultima Online). Work should not have to grind to a screeching halt for months because a ship needs drawn or a harpsichord/ vase/ shrub is designed. It is ridiculous, and it is obvious the art team is very, very, very small.
I am glad that there are players who gush over a single piece of art or information as if its gold. That is great if it works for you. I've also noticed however that those who do have rarely (if ever) went outside the game of Ultima Online to see how the other half lives. It is really a wonderful place, where, while still not perfect, has developers who listen to their players, create substantial content, and post decently on their actual company forums (which UO fails to even have). I have played several onlines, and none of them have had the lack of ongoing content and communication while displaying an all around utter incompetence that the UO team has shown. These are strong words, but in my experience, very true.
People's long term addiction to UO ("hey I have a decade worth of stuff at my house"!) as well as hoping that UO will one day return to its glory serves it well on keeping people on forking over their money monthly. If anyone actually thinks this game is on anything but right about maintenance mode they are deluding themselves. The team is, and has been for some time, a skeleton crew. There are much more dedicated developers and resources in F2P games currently (and sadly). Personally, I'm actually won over anymore by the F2P games that exist on the market now much more than I am by Ultima, and I pay EA monthly as opposed to incremental when I enjoy a part of the game and want to support it. As I look at the track record of the UO team since 2007 or so, however, I come to the decision that it's really no longer worth it.
And, to wrap up my pessimistic outlook currently on the state of all things UO...
To the producer, Jeff: I am tired of hearing about how you played Diablo III andf how awesome it was. I am over how you will be cloistering yourself home all weekend to oplay (insert some game). I am so done with hearing about how every other game is important to you as opposed to the one that should matter.
Yet, there seems so very, very little dedication to the game you yourself are paid to care for, to run and to nurture its best interests. That, to me, is exceptionally telling on where priorities exist at Ultima Online.
The putting of the high resolution graphics on the back burner in favor of a story arc speaks volumes about UO's future and the decision making of the current team.
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Agreed. It shows they realize there are people out here that prefer the CC over the EC and they are doing things at this time to try and appease both sides of the EC/CC debate.
There's nothing to debate. The UO playerbase is declining and in a state of attrition. There are no new players joining Ultima Online and there won't ever be with graphics from Ultima 7: The Black Gate circa 1992. We got graphics that are essentially 20 years old.
We had in the past players wanting the CC not to change and where are those people now? The're obviously not in UO as the playerbase continues to decline. Where are all these CC users? They demanded the CC not change and ended up quitting UO anyway and started playing other games and all the while Ultima Online is unable to get new players because any kid that looks at UO would just laugh at it.
It's einsteins theory of insanity at work in full display and you are obviously a suppoter.
To qoute my Signature which was from stratics member Jonathan Baron "Continued support of the Classic Client is UO's mortal wound" because UO will never be able to attract new players with it which is essential to the viability of any business.
I'd rather see every CC player disappear and up and quit and then have UO move forward with the EC or some other type of GUI high resolution graphic form so that it might actually have a chance to grow rather continue the state of attrition which will eventually lead to it's demise.
*steps forward from the crowd, and raises hand.*
I think there are a lot more than us than you think. I thought the last I read, 50% of the playerbase was still using CC. Or has that changed? Maybe we should have a poll asking what percentage of playtime is spent on CC.
It's not so much not wanting CC to change. It's that we just haven't seen enough changes that really improve upon it to convince us to switch. And a lot of people use a combination of CC and EC because each has their strengths and weaknesses.
Woodsman could be right in that many accounts are being paid for but they just aren't logging. From my firsthand experience what I've seen in game over the last 6-12 months there are much fewer players perhaps people are still paying for their accounts while they play Diablo III, Skyrim or some other game and UO's bottom line hasn't been diminished. I've closed 3 out of my 4 accounts and consilidated all my "stuffs".
Regardless of how many CC/EC users there are there needs to be a realistic look at the future. Hell I'm no fan of the EC. The EC to me is nothing but the CC with an updated GUI. What CC users have against the EC is really hard to understand because they're essentially the same thing. The graphics of the EC are right out of the CC and are horrible.
Regardless of how many players are playing the EC or the CC Ultima Online is not going to be attracting new players the way the EC Client or the CC looks. EC client was made to appease the CC users and get them to transition but it appears nothing will ever do that and in the interim UO is unable to attract new players because the EC looks like hell with low resolution graphics imported from the CC.
I will continue to debate the notion that existing players or returning players would refuse to join simply on the basis of graphics. I just don't agree. To me, I believe it's more about how UO is as a game, a grid-based, RNG controlled, 2D program. Why would anyone who is serious about PvP continue to play a non-3D game? Why would anyone serious about PvP continue to play a game in which RNG controls hit chance rather than player skill? Why would anyone who PvMs want to settle for the limited quest system UO has, a quest system that is hardly ever upgraded. We have a dozen or more new mobs added every dungeon re-vamp and absolutely zero quests related to those changes. No Kill 10 Dazzled Harpies, no Slay Cora, nothing. Why would a PvMer settle for mobs that are made harder chiefly by increasing the base movement speed, resists, or hit points, rather than adding strategic special moves? Creating a player environment in which the individual is only encouraged to exploit the system such as locking or dragging excess mobs away in order to focus?
To me, the graphics of the CC are one of the few reasons UO is appealing over other MMOs. "Classic" will never go out of style, and unlike player housing, which is often cited as a perk, the style remains unique in this genre. The problem is the way the game runs, the lack of content integration regarding an outdated quest system, and the fact 3D content creates a user challenge 2D games aren't capable of producing. I'm not sure how the CC/EC client can improve, but having two clients at once is also a drag. The majority still plays the CC and the EC doesn't improve upon any of the core issues because of limitations set by the CC.
Engineering problems galore. Graphics? Not as much, in my opinion.
Pixel crack as a piano?
They are giving the most broken class (gargoyles) the ability to have faction mace and shields? Like they needed them?
Does anyone really believe they know what their doing anymore?
Your all cheering LOL!
People really believe pixel crack will bring in more players? LOL! Please PLEASE cite an example where this worked.
UO has quickly become a game where i had 6 accounts but now i ask myself why I pay for 1.
They are giving the most broken class (gargoyles) the ability to have faction mace and shields? Like they needed them?
Does anyone really believe they know what their doing anymore?
Your all cheering LOL!
People really believe pixel crack will bring in more players? LOL! Please PLEASE cite an example where this worked.
UO has quickly become a game where i had 6 accounts but now i ask myself why I pay for 1.
I respectfully disagree that graphics should be highest priority on the list of improvements. UO can never compete with modern games on that front. But it doesn't have to. Take the things that make UO unique, and run with it. Fix bugs and broken systems (like the current producer stated would be done.)
In any case, I'm not a programmer, but it seems like 1 full-time person on staff programming for this game could have accomplished much more than the current team accomplishes. To me, it seems like there's a lot of on-the-clock goofing off and facebooking going on over there and UO headquarters. Heck, in a thread in grimm's corner folks ooo'd and aaahh'd at screenshots of some of nice things existing only on freeshards.
If one player could sum up how hundreds perhaps thousands of past and present Ultima Online players have felt, you may have done it.I am looking for a reason to be excited about Ultima's future so I can convince myself after 13 years to not cancel my accounts as I rarely play the game. Most of my longtime friends have left or they play so rarely its like ships sailing at sea bumping into one another. I have been witness to countless developer ideas and notions that make utterly no sense whatsoever, more than any online game I play.
UO would have benefited from some major press with something substantial as it reached its 15 year anniversary, although as the date looms closer I'm seeing this is not the case. It is not that I appreciate a developer for once showing their paying player base something, but... it just feels lacking. If I had to place bets, I would say that the 15 year milestone will be a mere blip on the gaming radar, both in and out of game.
I'm glad that they have suspended work on something truly needed and important like a complete art resolution update that might, you know, entice players to check UO out again or dip their feet for the first time so that players can get harpsichords.
Utterly, utterly baffled, as usual, by their decision making. By the way, it has been over a year and a half now since the resolution update was mentioned as being worked. If there were indeed dedicated resources to this, it would have actually been finished long ago. Ask any computer artist (aside from Grimm, of course), ask Ra'Dian Fl'Gith, heck please feel free to ask my boyfriend, he is a computer artist and graphics designer (who yes, mostly teases me about subscribing to 'That Ugly Game', aka Ultima Online). Work should not have to grind to a screeching halt for months because a ship needs drawn or a harpsichord/ vase/ shrub is designed. It is ridiculous, and it is obvious the art team is very, very, very small.
I am glad that there are players who gush over a single piece of art or information as if its gold. That is great if it works for you. I've also noticed however that those who do have rarely (if ever) went outside the game of Ultima Online to see how the other half lives. It is really a wonderful place, where, while still not perfect, has developers who listen to their players, create substantial content, and post decently on their actual company forums (which UO fails to even have). I have played several onlines, and none of them have had the lack of ongoing content and communication while displaying an all around utter incompetence that the UO team has shown. These are strong words, but in my experience, very true.
People's long term addiction to UO ("hey I have a decade worth of stuff at my house"!) as well as hoping that UO will one day return to its glory serves it well on keeping people on forking over their money monthly. If anyone actually thinks this game is on anything but right about maintenance mode they are deluding themselves. The team is, and has been for some time, a skeleton crew. There are much more dedicated developers and resources in F2P games currently (and sadly). Personally, I'm actually won over anymore by the F2P games that exist on the market now much more than I am by Ultima, and I pay EA monthly as opposed to incremental when I enjoy a part of the game and want to support it. As I look at the track record of the UO team since 2007 or so, however, I come to the decision that it's really no longer worth it.
And, to wrap up my pessimistic outlook currently on the state of all things UO...
To the producer, Jeff: I am tired of hearing about how you played Diablo III andf how awesome it was. I am over how you will be cloistering yourself home all weekend to oplay (insert some game). I am so done with hearing about how every other game is important to you as opposed to the one that should matter.
Yet, there seems so very, very little dedication to the game you yourself are paid to care for, to run and to nurture its best interests. That, to me, is exceptionally telling on where priorities exist at Ultima Online.
Disagree all you want.
UO is not bustling and there isn't influx of returning players and let alone new players who've never seen or heard of UO. Let's keep doing what we've been doing expecting a different result = Einstein's Theory of Insanity.
W
Woodsman
Guest
Polls mean nothing - Stratics is read by a very small number of people. I look at how many people are reading Stratics when I get on, and God help UO if that's the majority of players.
My only beef with the CC is that it's not bringing in a lot of new people. Like JC or somebody else said, if it was bringing in thousands of new players every month and getting people to look at UO, I'd be the first in line to say ditch the EC and just focus on the CC. I may have played many other games, I may upgrade my computer pretty often, but if I thought the CC would keep UO alive until the 20th anniversary, I'd go back and start using it. It would annoy the hell out of me unless they somehow fixed it to have a high resolution or take advantage of even just a 20" or 23" display, but I have plenty of old games that I still play, so it's not that much of a problem.
This is a huge problem - not enough was done to get CC users to switch. The 3D client had the problem of losing a lot of people in a very quick time frame to other games or going off with Richard Garriott and it had wishy-washy management. A bit of trivia, the lead designer for Third Dawn is the 2nd or 3rd person in charge of The Elder Scrolls Online. KR by all accounts was released too early. There was a good post on Stratics about how KR should have been released simultaneously with Stygian Abyss.
This graphics upgrade that they've moved to the side (and hopefully haven't canceled) is supposed to be both a higher resolution version of the CC graphics, but also "improved" in some way. I don't know the exact wording, but Grimm said it wasn't going to be as much of a difference as say the KR graphics, but that it would look really good.
Maybe for the 15th Anniversary they can take the CC interface and do a skin of it for the EC