For the benefit of people who don't have/want a Facebook account, below is a copy of information that was posted Thursday, 5/14/2009, on the UO page on Facebook.com.
Stygian Abyss FAQ
Thu 8:19am
Do I need the SA client to get to the Stygian Abyss content?
No, the content is supported by both the classic client (2d) and the new SA client. You will be able to use the classic client to explore the Stygian Abyss.
Will the expansion be digital distribution only?
Yes. At this time the expansion and the client will be through digital distribution only.
Will current Kingdom Reborn users have to do a completely new installation for the new client?
So much has changed with the new client that even if we allowed you to patch up from KR, it would basically be patching the entire thing. I do have some good news though. The new client uses a completely new patching system that is far superior to its predecessor.
• Patches are no longer incremental. This means you won’t have to download every single patch that has been released since you installed the game. The patcher will only download updates to each file once when you run it.
• The patching system is built from the ground up to work with our data format. This will result in much smaller patches than what we are used to.
• The patcher can actually download the entire game from the UO Patch Server. The installer for the new client will be small, around 20 megabytes. When you run the patcher for the first time, it will download the rest of the game files.
Will we be able to transfer our macros from KR to the SA client?
This is on our list of features we would like to get in before the client launches. Although there are minor differences between the KR and new client settings formats, the new client saves and loads the settings files from a different folder on the user’s computer. This is to allow players to maintain their KR client settings when we enter various stages of testing for the new client.
Are there significant changes in how SA handles macros vs KR? Will there be any pass to unify the way SA and 2D clients handle macros so make it easier for people to convert?
This is still a work in progress. So far, we’ve added a legacy targeting mode which makes the new client perform much more like the “2D client” in terms of the way players choose to attack other mobs. We’ve also made a special category in the actions window for the “2d client” targeting actions that users of the classic client are used to.
Will the SA client be taking advantage of the higher resolution art, or will that cause too much latency?
This is something both the engineering and art teams spent a great deal of time investigating. There are many reasons why we decided not to increase the resolution of the art.
For one, there are over 16000 pieces of environment art in the game. Recreating all this art in a higher resolution is well beyond the scope of this project. The legacy environment art looks great and everyone is familiar with it, so we decided to stick with it.
Animations are a different story. We certainly have the capability of rendering our animations in a higher resolution. Unfortunately, due to the fact that our animations are 2d, most machines can not handle the increase in data traffic being sent to the graphics card. You may recall players claiming that the Kingdom Reborn made graphics cards "smoke". We are hoping that by reducing the animation sizes by almost 30%, we will alleviate this problem on most systems.
We are dedicated to providing the players with the highest quality art possible, but at the same time, performance is our number one priority. The last thing you want is for the game to freeze up on you while you are being chased by an Ogre Lord.
Are Gargoyle slayer weapons going to be useful against player Gargoyles in PvP?
No
I am curious about the gargoyle racial ability to fly as fast as a galloping horse as stated in the SA part of UO herald. Will this ability be dismountable?
Yes and there will be a “take off” delay added similar to Ethy mounts or chargers of the fallen.
Will flying be possible in felucca or just in the new areas introduced with SA?
Er, yes, yes they can fly anywhere.
Flying lets the Gargoyles move at mounted speed, and also access special areas that would normally be impassable to the earthbound creatures.
Ter Mur will contain most of those special areas, but the other facets will have a few as well.
Regardless, Gargoyle can *fly* at any time, as far as movement speed goes
Will there be new crafting additions in the Stygian Abyss expansion other than Imbuing?
Yes. We have added new craftable furniture, house addons (such as a soulforge for Imbuing), weapons, armor, and other miscellaneous items (such as a musical instrument, a container, a painting, a sculpture, two different types of mirrors, etc.)
We’ve also extended the crafting system functionality for Masonry to allow for creating exceptional weapons and armor as well as enhancing or repairing them. We have created runic mallet and chisels, same colors and properties as their Blacksmithing counterparts. How players can acquire these new runic tools is still to be determined.
Glassblowing will have a couple weapons that can be crafted by players. They can also be exceptionally crafted and repaired
We are also currently working on an item alteration feature for some of the crafting menus that will allow a player to take Human or Elf weapons and armor and alter them into their Gargoyle equivalents.
Gargoyles, under SA ,will have a slight skill advantage in Imbuing. So I assume Humans and Elves will be able to use this new skill. Does the same apply with Mysticism and Throwing ?
Gargoyles receive racial bonuses to Imbuing, Mysticism, and Throwing.
Master Artisan
A strong cultural emphasis on art and craftsmanship grants the Gargoyles an increased chance to imbue, enhance, and unravel magical items.
Deadly Aim
All Gargoyles are trained from childhood in the skill of Throwing, giving them a basic competence with missile weapons.
Mystic Insight
Gargoyles have an intuitive understanding of Mysticism, allowing them to cast basic Mysticism spells without further training.
Humans and Elves will be able to use Imbuing and Mysticism, but will not be able to use Throwing weapons.
Gargoyles will not be able to use Archery weapons.
Where can I sign up for the beta?
http://www.uoherald.com/beta/index.php
Stygian Abyss FAQ
Thu 8:19am
Do I need the SA client to get to the Stygian Abyss content?
No, the content is supported by both the classic client (2d) and the new SA client. You will be able to use the classic client to explore the Stygian Abyss.
Will the expansion be digital distribution only?
Yes. At this time the expansion and the client will be through digital distribution only.
Will current Kingdom Reborn users have to do a completely new installation for the new client?
So much has changed with the new client that even if we allowed you to patch up from KR, it would basically be patching the entire thing. I do have some good news though. The new client uses a completely new patching system that is far superior to its predecessor.
• Patches are no longer incremental. This means you won’t have to download every single patch that has been released since you installed the game. The patcher will only download updates to each file once when you run it.
• The patching system is built from the ground up to work with our data format. This will result in much smaller patches than what we are used to.
• The patcher can actually download the entire game from the UO Patch Server. The installer for the new client will be small, around 20 megabytes. When you run the patcher for the first time, it will download the rest of the game files.
Will we be able to transfer our macros from KR to the SA client?
This is on our list of features we would like to get in before the client launches. Although there are minor differences between the KR and new client settings formats, the new client saves and loads the settings files from a different folder on the user’s computer. This is to allow players to maintain their KR client settings when we enter various stages of testing for the new client.
Are there significant changes in how SA handles macros vs KR? Will there be any pass to unify the way SA and 2D clients handle macros so make it easier for people to convert?
This is still a work in progress. So far, we’ve added a legacy targeting mode which makes the new client perform much more like the “2D client” in terms of the way players choose to attack other mobs. We’ve also made a special category in the actions window for the “2d client” targeting actions that users of the classic client are used to.
Will the SA client be taking advantage of the higher resolution art, or will that cause too much latency?
This is something both the engineering and art teams spent a great deal of time investigating. There are many reasons why we decided not to increase the resolution of the art.
For one, there are over 16000 pieces of environment art in the game. Recreating all this art in a higher resolution is well beyond the scope of this project. The legacy environment art looks great and everyone is familiar with it, so we decided to stick with it.
Animations are a different story. We certainly have the capability of rendering our animations in a higher resolution. Unfortunately, due to the fact that our animations are 2d, most machines can not handle the increase in data traffic being sent to the graphics card. You may recall players claiming that the Kingdom Reborn made graphics cards "smoke". We are hoping that by reducing the animation sizes by almost 30%, we will alleviate this problem on most systems.
We are dedicated to providing the players with the highest quality art possible, but at the same time, performance is our number one priority. The last thing you want is for the game to freeze up on you while you are being chased by an Ogre Lord.
Are Gargoyle slayer weapons going to be useful against player Gargoyles in PvP?
No
I am curious about the gargoyle racial ability to fly as fast as a galloping horse as stated in the SA part of UO herald. Will this ability be dismountable?
Yes and there will be a “take off” delay added similar to Ethy mounts or chargers of the fallen.
Will flying be possible in felucca or just in the new areas introduced with SA?
Er, yes, yes they can fly anywhere.
Flying lets the Gargoyles move at mounted speed, and also access special areas that would normally be impassable to the earthbound creatures.
Ter Mur will contain most of those special areas, but the other facets will have a few as well.
Regardless, Gargoyle can *fly* at any time, as far as movement speed goes
Will there be new crafting additions in the Stygian Abyss expansion other than Imbuing?
Yes. We have added new craftable furniture, house addons (such as a soulforge for Imbuing), weapons, armor, and other miscellaneous items (such as a musical instrument, a container, a painting, a sculpture, two different types of mirrors, etc.)
We’ve also extended the crafting system functionality for Masonry to allow for creating exceptional weapons and armor as well as enhancing or repairing them. We have created runic mallet and chisels, same colors and properties as their Blacksmithing counterparts. How players can acquire these new runic tools is still to be determined.
Glassblowing will have a couple weapons that can be crafted by players. They can also be exceptionally crafted and repaired
We are also currently working on an item alteration feature for some of the crafting menus that will allow a player to take Human or Elf weapons and armor and alter them into their Gargoyle equivalents.
Gargoyles, under SA ,will have a slight skill advantage in Imbuing. So I assume Humans and Elves will be able to use this new skill. Does the same apply with Mysticism and Throwing ?
Gargoyles receive racial bonuses to Imbuing, Mysticism, and Throwing.
Master Artisan
A strong cultural emphasis on art and craftsmanship grants the Gargoyles an increased chance to imbue, enhance, and unravel magical items.
Deadly Aim
All Gargoyles are trained from childhood in the skill of Throwing, giving them a basic competence with missile weapons.
Mystic Insight
Gargoyles have an intuitive understanding of Mysticism, allowing them to cast basic Mysticism spells without further training.
Humans and Elves will be able to use Imbuing and Mysticism, but will not be able to use Throwing weapons.
Gargoyles will not be able to use Archery weapons.
Where can I sign up for the beta?
http://www.uoherald.com/beta/index.php