Sosaria the Ever Changing

[RaDian FlGith]

I was talking with a friend tonight along one of our usual, "If I ran Ultima Online..." dream-fests -- we've all had them -- and I started thinking of a couple of things that would be very nice to do, would not take a lot of effort, and in fact, could be spearheaded by cooperation with the various EMs of the shard.

First, specifically for the EMs, I was thinking it would be nice if the Developers could add say with every publish just a small new dungeon area that the EMs could use. They could vary in size each publish, and they don't have to be anything other than geomorphs... blank slates that the EMs could use in their events. There's an awful lot of empty space there on the maps, and as EM events continue, we start to see some of the same spots over and over again. I think it would be a fresh change of pace to just give them somewhere new to play. Again, one area a publish, nothing humongous, just three or four rooms, some hallways, and let the EMs take it from there. Creative EMs might link them together as part of a plotline, others creative visions might use them as underground places led to by over-world "entrances." Who knows... but to do so wouldn't take much.

Second, and something I've seriously been thinking about since I'm anxious to see New Magincia. Most of the cities we live in haven't physically changed in 13 years. What I propose is allowing the EMs to submit game-wide proposals for a changed area. Again, I'm not looking to implement huge, gigantic changes. Maybe one month, it's the construction of a reinforcing wall along Britain's coast that maybe continues to take shape over the next several patches. Maybe it's the appearance of a new building in Paws. Or a new room in Despise that wasn't there before (with a couple of new creatures). Just small, unannounced, but terrain altering changes. Again nothing that would take days and days to implement, but instead minor changes in the world. Consider that over the course of a year, you'd start seeing things you had never seen before, and people coming back to the game would notice, "Wait, that wasn't there before."

These two things alone could breath continual life into the world... making it more dynamic.

 

[Merion]

1. There are more than enough abandoned caves and structures in the game that have no real use at the moment, that the EMs can play with. So I really don't see a need for this.

2. Interesting, but unlike many people, I don' like differences between shard very much. I would hate to log onto, say sonoma, and britain looks totally different from the one on my home shard. If it were coordinated across shards, I would be in favor of the idea.

 

[RaDian FlGith]

1. There are more than enough abandoned caves and structures in the game that have no real use at the moment, that the EMs can play with. So I really don't see a need for this.

Well, not sure what shard you're on, but on ours, we're starting to run out of places that we haven't been. Yeah, it really comes down to decoration and such to turn it into a "new" place, but it also then means that nothing an EM does in a particular spot can ever become "permanent" for more long-term events.

2. Interesting, but unlike many people, I don' like differences between shard very much. I would hate to log onto, say sonoma, and britain looks totally different from the one on my home shard. If it were coordinated across shards, I would be in favor of the idea.

Let me clarify this a little... I'm not suggesting that it would be different between shards. Whatever changes were made (in fact, both this and my other idea) would be something published out to the client, and would affect all shards. Basically what I'm saying is that say, Britain, which has been that way since the game went live in 1997, the only change being in 1998 when they opened the passage to the lost lands. In the meantime, that city's been besieged several times. The example I used while talking to my friend was that I'd like to see Britain a little more like the Ultima IX Britain (not a clone mind you, just an architectural example)... UIX's Britain was more walled in, like it had been built to be a little more defensive.

I'm also not asking for wide-sweeping, huge changes, but rather that with each publish that goes out, so too does something small but noticeable change in the world. Like I say, this would be in a publish/patch, so everyone would see it. But like I say, one publish, maybe it's that a wall is erected by the bridge near the warrior's guild in Britain, and a couple of watch-towers put up on either side to allow guards to watch/defend that particular entrance. Maybe another publish, a new room appears (or maybe a secret door is put in) that leads to a small room in Deceit that holds a slightly altered creature. Maybe another publish puts a new cave into the side of Cove's mountains there, or a ladder leads up to a small mining trail that's been carved in the side. Maybe it's a matter of a wooden bridge being upgraded to stone, or small change in a river, or whatever. Again, nothing huge in each publish, but stuff that over time adds up to the collective world around us growing, breathing, changing, and evolving. For all of us.

I simply suggested the EMs for this idea, as they might be able to collectively make small suggestions, put something together in an art program, and submit it to the team who could then more easily implement it.

At any rate, I imagine they have a world-building tool, and for an experienced user, a couple of hours per patch would add something small in that would help the world change.

 

[Merion]

1. I play on Drachenfels. It seems EMs on other shard do a lot more exicting stuff...

2. Small changes over time, going along with a little bit of story, maybe an EM event (gathering stone for that wall!?) - i really like that!

 

[RaDian FlGith]

1. I play on Drachenfels. It seems EMs on other shard do a lot more exicting stuff...

I'm sorry to hear that... We are definitely blessed with a couple of great EMs here on Great Lakes.

2. Small changes over time, going along with a little bit of story, maybe an EM event (gathering stone for that wall!?) - i really like that!

Oh, absolutely. If Mythic let the EMs know a week or two in advance what was coming, they could certainly work whatever it was into their plotlines. Gathering stone for a wall, maybe having people mine in a tunnel, or investigating Deceit for something (and then a week later going back and seeing, woah, wait, that wasn't here before). Literally there's a million ideas that could be executed, and it wouldn't have to be time intensive at all.

That's the one thing that UO has over most other MMOs... it's a lot more vibrant. Personally, I think this is an aspect of their ability to easily update the map via patches that hasn't been used.

 

[MalagAste]

I agree Ra...

Something I'd like is for one of the DEV's to take some input on things that need "Fixed"... Submissions via some screen shots perhaps of things like missing tiles in various cities...

Holes that need patching here and there, I personally know of at least a dozen such "holes" throughout the lands...

Also it would be nice if they randomly chose a town to "improve" from time to time... I know it wasn't that long ago someone suggested that Vesper be blessed with a stables... they even went so far as to suggest where it could be placed... but nothing was ever done... I think it would be nice to give Vesper a stable... Just as much as I'd like Yew to have a dock...

What I wouldn't give to see the current map and dungeons added to rather than see a massive new land...

I'd like it very much if many of the current things could be "updated".... T-Maps, MIB's, old forgotten dungeons, cities... buildings... Fairgrounds...


Merion,

Sorry but I must disagree... I LOVE the subtle differences in shards... It's what makes my home my home... since the shattering there should be many differences between them based on the "participation" of the shard be it good or bad... I'd like to see more community driven changes put in... The more a shard participates and puts into something the more their reward should be..... be it for evil or good...

In my opinion community is dying and the "Gimme gimme" crowd is sucking the life out of the shards... No one wants to do anything if they don't "Get" something for themselves... I'd like to see people working together to get things for the whole of the shard, both in Tram and FEL.....

I'd like to see what can be added to Fel that might get folk to "fight" to get for the community... What if there were no NPC's in Fel unless the town was under the control of a specific faction??? No bankers... no NPCs to buy your things... no NPCs to sell you anything... No healers to rez... controlling the town sigils would bring on a WHOLE new meaning...

Just a thought...

Course with everyone talking about a "Classic" shard.. what I'd prefer is to have shards that are geared more to playstyles... Shards geared to PvP, PvM, RP... and such... where the EM's of those shards would dedicate and devote their time to the "theme" of the shard.

PvP shards would get more tournaments..... more events that bring reason to the slaughter... such as the control of areas..... guilds holding cities would be able to "afford" more fortifications if the worked on it and protected their "miners" and "craftsmen" so they can gather the needed items to build a fort... put more reason to the fight... and the guild/faction...

PvM shards would get more organized hunts.... the monsters there would have more bite... Organized hunts would be geared more to the "thrill" of victory... and the hunt... as well the hunters would be awarded more trophies for their fight... the challenge would be increased...

RP shards would be geared more for the guilds that participate.... EMs there would work with the guilds to provide more assistance to plots and stories... Helping both Evil and good... if it's giving Evil a "horde" to help command and invade a city... rouges would be able to try to stop a caravan of supplies from one city to another... but jail would be a real threat... consequence would be real... Sales of weapons, armor, ore, ingots, leather would all be done by players... Gardeners or gatherers would supply reagents, cloth, wood and such... people would sell their own wares...

But that's just a dream of mine.

I personally would like to see a return of community..... more input and involvement from players into the environment... and yes... those shards with lower populations would certainly have more difficulty.. but they in turn would also have more input than a larger shard .... on an individual level.

 

[Czernobog]

Great idea.

 

[northwoodschopper]

Hometown:
I have an idea where a player can choose to select an NPC town as their 'hometown', which would give the player access to some unique perks available only in their hometown.
Some ideas for perks:
NPC town residents would greet and bow to players that declare the town as their hometown
NPC prices would be discounted for town residents
town bank would offer an additional bank box only available for that town
stablemasters would offer a couple extra stale slots only available in that town
slight skill gain/success increase to skills while in town
slightly faster health/mana/stamina regeneration while in town limits
you know, a bunch of small things that make the town feel like a hometown.

Town Donations:
I also have an idea where towns would be set up like the library/museum, where the mayor NPC of the town would accept donations of resources and gold to improve the appearance of the town, as well as increase perks inside town. Also, players can engage in quests in-town which would be like the loyalty system, which would add to the donation pool too. There would be a number of piers to achieve.
Towns that have a healthy donation pool would appear prosperous, and have more services and goods available, as well as have nicer decorations, like flowers, fountains, and better dressed npcs, like nobles and merchants.
Towns with little or no donations would appear destitute, lacking services and limited goods, with garbage and dead plants defacing the landscape, and npcs dressed like beggers and thieves.

These would tie in together, hometown and town donations. As donations would better your hometown, it may bring a little bit of community back to each town. Donation decay would relate directly to how many players declare a town as their hometown -- towns with a few player residents would keep their piers and services easier than a town that has a large number of players declaring it their hometown (think Luna). or maybe the tiers would be directly proportional to how many residents. Either way, this would be a bit of a deterrent from having too many just select the most populous town.

I also think the donation system should be a part of scenarios, especially city sieges and invasions. donations would improve defenses and services available to those in the scenario. like with enough donations, those fighting in the invasion zone would receive an area buff of regeneration and stat increase.

This would give a sense of a changing world, as towns shift from prosperous to desolate and vice versa depending on the players.

 

[BajaElladan]

Hail Folks,

Since very shortly after Launch I have roamed these lands. Trammel was pretty much the same lands merely a better ruleset. Ilshenar and the Lost Lands came along. Malas, Tokuno, and now Ter Mur.

Additions of land is one thing. However, there was great constancy in our original land (Felucca/Trammel). Other than the story arc destruction of Magincia and some minor fortifications left in Cove following the Dread Warhorse event, the basic lands of Sosaria have remained unchanged. Ah yes, the unnecessary destruction and replacement of Haven. Let us not omit that.

Initial "bank renovation" of Baja wasn't so bad. Sadly once that door was opened the "Powers that Be," lost all reason and began desecrating West Britain, and the Skara FaireGrounds and one cringes in speculating what new horror may soon spring from the minds of Devs or EM's.

Minor changes to our original world were one thing. Additional lands a similar thing. But remodeling our original lands and towns, to me, in my view, is a huge mistake. Folks have departed and some do return. Overcoming the myriad of other changes is challenge enough without having to adjust to wholesale remaking of the land and towns of their infancy.

I understand the constancy of change. I also thank God for the National Register of Historic Places in the united States. Not all change is for the better.

Change little, and only after great thought and consideration. For at its most basic, for many Players, that part of our world unchanged is a MAJOR reason why we stay, Play, and Pay!

Elladan of Baja

 

[RaDian FlGith]

Minor changes to our original world were one thing. Additional lands a similar thing. But remodeling our original lands and towns, to me, in my view, is a huge mistake. Folks have departed and some do return. Overcoming the myriad of other changes is challenge enough without having to adjust to wholesale remaking of the land and towns of their infancy.

...

Change little, and only after great thought and consideration. For at its most basic, for many Players, that part of our world unchanged is a MAJOR reason why we stay, Play, and Pay!

I would have to say that part of the reason the majority of the cities in UO go untouched is because they never change. Since they never change, for most, there's no reason to venture out to them to see what's different -- because nothing is.

I certainly wouldn't advocate a huge, gigantic, wide-sweeping change that moved NPCs willy nilly all over the place, but if a few NPCs changed shops over the course of a year because something was going on in the world, I don't think there'd be much by the way of complaining. A lot of, "Woah, what's that?" but not a lot of complaining.

And those who go and return... well, they left because they were bored in most cases. If they were to come back and some (not all) of their "familiar" landscape had changed, it might just encourage them to go out into the world and see what else had changed.

In my opinion, this kind of change is a very needed thing, and has many more ups than downs to it.

 

[Assia Penryn]

Something I've always dreamed about...

I'd really love to see the NPC towns become dynamic. The more trade that occurs between npcs/players, the more banking done in the town, etc...the more perks the town gets to represent the town's increase in wealth. This system would be similar to the zoo with a decay system built into place.

Some of these perks might be...
*Decorative perks like flowers, decorations, banners, benches etc. These get more abundant or increase as the city becomes wealthier.
*Quests might pop up asking players to do tasks like acquiring items the town might need or running trade contracts to other towns etc.
*Special merchant NPCs who have heard the city's wealth might show up selling some special deco items (gold sink!)
*Perhaps at the top tier a festival is held to celebrate with some special npcs selling "____ is the best city" t-shirts or other city memorabilia that is unique to that city. Small festival type games could spawn over the city like decorated archery ranges, a stage, npcs that spawn as festival goers, etc.

If a town isn't used and goes negative then we start seeing the effects in game in an opposite tier.
*Decorations pop up indicating the city becoming more run down... worn roads, buildings beginning to fall apart, rats beginning to spawn in greater abundance, plants beginning to wither etc
*Perhaps at a certain point dealing with the NPCs gives a chance to get a 'disease' with a random 'negative' to represent the effects. There will be a quest npc that gives you items to gather to get a cure to the disease.
*Seedy individuals could arrive selling blackmarket deco items.
*Perhaps at the lowest tier a rebellion happens as the town can't afford the guards anymore and we get spawns of rebels, thieves, brigands, etc

I could probably fill up a few pages of all the details and the ideas I've thought of for quests, etc (I've really thought about this for awhile). Most people I know, have a favorite city they go to for their banking, stabling, etc needs and it would be nice to see your loyalty pay off. As an rper, this would be fantastic for those who rp a NPC city as a home. It would give folks pride and also the ability to effect the world around them for entertainment purposes. Perhaps with a gain/time limit set.. buying/selling, banking, stabling, doing quests can also earn players loyalty (that decays, but slowly)to the city which can earn them nifty titles to use with the new title system "Resident of ___", etc - perhaps even basic nobility titles at high levels.

The possibilities are endless, but I've dreamed about it a long time. Folks complain about the Britain/Luna a lot. This would give everyone a way to make a difference. Those who want Luna to thrive would have to work for it and those who want Britain could work to improving the town to bring more people over. If those who want Luna to stay wealthy and safe (banksitters, house owners, etc) don't make the effort than Luna could fall into decay. Now keep in mind the decorations for 'tier' effects, items sold should reflect the base nature/history of the town itself.. for example Umbra wouldn't have daisies springing up, but other things more sinister in nature for its positive tiers... the depth possibilities could be truly mind-blowing. We all live on different shards which should have vastly different landscapes, history, etc... its time we had a chance to 'build' our world for ourselves.

I wish I lived in VA </tear>

 

[northwoodschopper]

The rambling idea I pitched earlier sort of supports an ever-changing sosaria which the players can have a direct influence, though to a subtle, novel scale. it would be interesting to see which cities thrive or degenerate on different shards, or how generous players are in general...maybe many declare Luna as their hometown, yet decide not to support/donate to it, resulting in an appearance of a slum.

maybe the devs can implement a sort of voting and donation system for civil improvements kingdom-wide. like for instance, when new magincia is rebuilt, it's done in steps, where there is a royal decree about which structures and styles to build, and the players vote. once voted upon, a donation pool opens to expediate and expand the construction. with this, every shard will rebuild magincia, but they will vary differently in construction and services depending on the players' committment. maybe some will rebuild it to it's former glory, and some will rebuilt it to a more humble state. maybe some shards will show enough committment to have it rebuilt swiftly, while others the construction lags behind or is underfunded, resulting in poor quality.