well, seems the "Grand scale" type of events pose too many problems at this time (champs)
but
A guild or a "pick-up" Group or >party< might be able to benefit from a programmable / "hire able" NPC
Party up and One member of the group, could go about hiring NPCs with sets of instructions and dialogues and clues and such
and custom cut a quest, a mystery, a check point on a cross country cattle drive, directions to a gathering, telling of a tale to (with party as actors) a theater of patrons, passerby's, ..... youtube ..... program an npc plant/shill for a magic show, responds to the Cue: any volunteers?
hehe! hire one to fight with your Herald in the street Chic Fight!!
hehehe Origin by the bank (true story) still "test" ... PC bought two fighters and had a round robin slap fight working "Wrestling"
*shrugs* anyways, I observed aloud: which one is moe and which one is curely?
My name is larry and this is my other brother Larry and this my older brother Lairy poke slap punch kick ow! ... etc
bots to stand in for a missing guildie member (stand in for a murder scene in tram, some great gags >as< PCs ... or a wider stage in the street theater tradition)
or channel him "from beyond "... My master hath charged me to speak to you three alone, his message is this ...
Not a "bad" area for UO to try and improve on .. atm >no-one< has a programmable interactive NPC to "craft/connive/contrive with"
"follow you" or "go forward and be dumb" ... yeah FPS type bots ... this could be More ...
the advance could be in the amount of instructions you could "if_then" into them ... develop a UO npc class of Programmable AI and the tools and interface to go/use with it.
and as for "customizing" the npcs "appearance ..." there's your "on Que" zombie scene rounding the corner of the mountain ... Brainzzzz!
summon the Grey Speaking Wyvern of the mountains to fight along side your small band.
Perfect time to start working with the concept too ...
population is down, right? PLENTY of room for small groups to try and build battle field re-enactments ...
IF it "catches on" ... becomes neat, coool, howed didja do THAT?
Population IS down .. right? should be able to >simulate< what it could be like to command a flank of archers ... yes?
Not a "new idea" either ... I remember a guy bought up like 20 Npc "fighters" and gated them to the top of a building at brit GY
Daisy chained them with the follow target command and Conga line! ... Hilarious! had three guild mates join up and set up a platoon size marching formation ...
marched right by brit bank ... and the >real crowd< ROARED ... really ... a riot broke out ... some one would lightening bolt one of the hirelings, guards were called, people were whacked ... went on for hours!
good times.
population is down, right? PLENTY of room for small groups to try and build battle field re-enactments ...
IF it "catches on" ... becomes neat, coool, howed didja do THAT?
IF it "catches on" >People will come<
if don't? the Dwindling pop will have a new resource to keep themselves entertained with ...
A workable idea ...