The direction of UO from the franchise producer

[Woodsman]

As much as I dislike social networking, twitter is worth following, or at least have it going on your phone. I treat it like RSS - I have an RSS reader for UO Herald's RSS, UO2.Stratics.com's RSS, UO Journal's RSS, and a lot of other sites, so it makes sense to have a Twitter app and follow other people. And by the way the RSS feed for Stratics is seriously worth following. They catch a lot of EM stuff on there.

Anyways this was just posted:

Twitter

rlakies Ray Lakies
@Jeff_skalski Whats your plans for Ultima online? Will EA invest and make the game a hit again? or is the 2D where its at forever?
16 hours ago

Jeff_Skalski Jeff Skalski
@rlakies Continue to grow the game by revitalizing old areas forgotten, add new things to keep players happy & crush as many bugs as we can.
31 minutes ago

I know it's following what Cal did, but that's good. Bugs and fixing up old areas is always good.

I do think they need to talk about new player stuff since that seems to be dominating the time of the Camelot devs these days. And graphics.

Hells yes, the question I was going to ask was not only asked by somebody else, but answered!!!

TheUOJournal UO Journal
@Jeff_Skalski @rlakies Does that include the high resolution artwork update?
10 minutes ago

Jeff_Skalski Jeff Skalski
@TheUOJournal @rlakies I think high resolution artwork would make players happy, right?
3 minutes ago

I hate waiting.

 

[Storm]

Thanks woodsman

 

[Tina Small]

It would help to know if "continue to grow the game" means (1) increase the number of subscribers, or (2) add more content. Just based on what else he said, I'm leaning towards the latter, as there is no no mention of doing anything explicitly designed to draw back old players or attract new ones. It sounds to me like EA just wants to try to hang onto as much of the dwindling player base as they can by keeping us distracted with more opportunities to collect junk for the next cleanup event.

Some of the most entertaining times I've had while playing UO were spent playing as part of a team in Fel either trying to hold onto a batch of sigils and corrupt them or get them back again. There was absolutely nothing involved in the process that smacked of getting anything as a reward other than a few days of bragging rights for your team. No one cared about faction artifacts and the number of kill points the top faction player on the shard had was in the hundreds, not the hundreds of millions. I so wish that activities like that would become popular in UO again, instead of just having more and more pixelated items thrown at us. I guess those days are probably gone now though and it's time to move onto another game to find anything like them once again. I highly doubt the UO team has any plans to try to tackle a faction revamp and give us any kind of complex system for many types of players/characters to work together as a team to outwit and outfight other teams of players/characters.

 

[KingHen]

Thanks for sharing, here is to hoping...

 

[Aurelius]

I quite liked his earlier response about Lords of Ultima too...


"LoU is actually operated by a completely different group. Not much of an Ultima game in my book. Wish I could go back in time."

 

[Sevin0oo0]

isn't it about time for the next xpac?

 

[Woodsman]

It would help to know if "continue to grow the game" means (1) increase the number of subscribers, or (2) add more content. Just based on what else he said, I'm leaning towards the latter, as there is no no mention of doing anything explicitly designed to draw back old players or attract new ones. It sounds to me like EA just wants to try to hang onto as much of the dwindling player base as they can by keeping us distracted with more opportunities to collect junk for the next cleanup event.

I agree with you that some of the wording definitely leans towards making old players happy, but if that was the sole effort of UO these days, they would not be putting the art team on high resolution graphics, they would have them cranking out pixel crack for UO game codes full-time.

I so wish that activities like that would become popular in UO again, instead of just having more and more pixelated items thrown at us.

Me too. My most favorite times were the huge fights or a lot of people working together, but a lot of those people are long gone. Every now and then you get a flash of it, like with the Virtue Bane stuff - I saw a lot of people working together during the fight. Sure, the pixel hoarders were there looking for the EM items to throw up on their vendors, but there were a lot of people working together. I sometimes wish they would group the EMs have them do large events on the more populated shards. It's a lot of work for two EMs do do an event with a few dozen people, they would need a half a dozen EMs to really get things going.

People do need to follow the Stratics RSS feed and follow the EM events, there are plenty out there on different shards.

If EA started hiring people for UO, I'd be a lot happier and feel a lot better.

 

[HD2300]

Not sure if it is stating the obvious but the questions in the OP werent answered.

Doesnt seem that anyone since the migration, including Grimm has said the EC art upgrades are still happening and when. Besides it has never even been clear what the EC art upgrades would entail. If it is just improving a couple of graphics a little bit, realistically is not going to bring back even 200 players.

Graphic updates for the Classic client and increasing the display resolution would make far more players happy, as more players use the Classic client.

Art-wise UO has been on the wrong track for the last 5 years with the KR client and EC. Neither has been accepted, mainly because of quality including art issues. It should have been Real 3D not "2.5D".

 

[Woodsman]

Doesnt seem that anyone since the migration, including Grimm has said the EC art upgrades are still happening and when.

I think you know exactly what he was saying, but for the people for whom English is not their first language and where it would be confusing, Skalski is saying that it's going to happen since that would make players happy. It's like asking somebody if the water is deep and them responding that it's over their head.

Besides it has never even been clear what the EC art upgrades would entail. If it is just improving a couple of graphics a little bit, realistically is not going to bring back even 200 players.

Cal said high resolution back when it was announced, Skalski was specifically asked about high resolution and did not dispute it. What else beyond that, who knows, but updating UO to take advantage of typical computer displays made in the last 5 years is a huge improvement. Bigger than the "Big Window" client back in 1999.

Graphic updates for the Classic client and increasing the display resolution would make far more players happy, as more players use the Classic client.

Art-wise UO has been on the wrong track for the last 5 years with the KR client and EC. Neither has been accepted, mainly because of quality including art issues. It should have been Real 3D not "2.5D".

As much as I agree with you, you answered your own question. Besides, as it's been argued many times, the CC is not going to draw in new players with its interface, and overhauling the CC would make it, well not the CC, which would upset many. The biggest problem is ultimately still the tile system anyways. Until they ditch the tile system, we just have to live with it.

Come to think of it you could get on Twitter and directly ask him any questions you have. The questions I have probably wouldn't get answered, but you may have some he would answer.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

So far, so good.

Many thanks, Woodsman, for keeping us informed.

Perhaps Stratics can start some way to start reporting on this guy's Twitter feeds the same way that it reports on the Herald's feeds?

-Galen's player

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

There were more tweets regarding UO graphics last night. Looks like the nail in the coffin for a 3D update...

Message to the new producer:

rlakies: @Jeff_Skalski Does that mean 3d system that works? You just made me sign up to UO again sir!

From the new producer:

Jeff_Skalski: @rlakies Highres art & 3D r2 differnt things. As 4 LoL I've playd it. Not my type of game but huge respect 4what Riot has done n that space.

Wish he'd log on here and spill a bit about the potential update

 

[Pinco]

There were more tweets regarding UO graphics last night. Looks like the nail in the coffin for a 3D update...

Message to the new producer:


From the new producer:



Wish he'd log on here and spill a bit about the potential update

probably they take a beggar painter from the road and ask him to draw few textures for a meal (the top amount EA can afford for UO)

 

[Madrid]

So let em get this right...Woodsman is now the intermediary between the producer and the UO Community!?

I mean where the hell is the producer and the official announcement we even have a new producer?

This has been the worst year for UO in terms of content and communication from the powers that be about the game.

There was what? One video?

Other than that there is virtually ZERO communication about the "ongoings" of the game.

At least when there was a 5 on Friday you knew someone was working on the game and there was someone doing "something" even if it was answering 5 questions that everyone already knew the answer to.

If there is a new producer where the hell is he and why isn't there some formal announcement from him and his vision for UO?

Madness the way this game has been run especially the last 12 months.

 

[Kayne]

Whilst I thank Woodsman for the updates and some answers this whole situation is well beyond a joke. The so called new producer has made a single post. No producers letter and no real official notice we even have a new one - let alone that our old one left.

Communication has gone to pot and I'm not even talking about devs posting. UO Herald should have this kind of thing it should have all the various other things. If japan can do it then so can the US, but then in saying that it seems as though the Japanese team actually cares about their players.

 

[jskalski]

I'm right here Madrid. Expect something more formal in a few weeks.

 

[Kayne]

Jeff no offence meant here but in a few weeks your player base (yes its yours now) will be even more disillusioned than they already are. We have a serious lack of communication the UO Herald website is basically pointless as all the information is outdated/missing.

We have bugs all over the place since the last patch, the clean up is buggy. The virtue changes are appalling. We need direction and focus and we need to feel that our producer and EA in general actually care that we keep paying for abysmal customer service

EDIT - And why is it we have to rely on Woodsman for this info that you could be posting instead?

 

[Mirt]

Its nice to see that your here posting and listening to us gripe. Remember that we tend to complain but it’s only because most of us love UO and many of us love all the Ultima franchises. PS thank you for adding more of the virtue things.

 

[Vlaude]

I'm right here Madrid. Expect something more formal in a few weeks.

Greetings!

Congratulations on taking over as producer for the Ultima franchise (including UO). I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say on many things related to UO and have many questions. Hope to hear more soon!

 

[Pinco]

EDIT - And why is it we have to rely on Woodsman for this info that you could be posting instead?

this is easy: devs has no time to spend in the forum, they have something better to do ...

 

[Aurelius]

With a little luck, one of the things our new Producer is working on is getting a proper community rep to talk to ALL of the community. Then we could start seeing regular updates and info from someone who understands the subject they are writing about, worded in comprehensible English. The guys they have at the moment try, but so often stuff we see is more like a badly translated version of a dashed off note in some third language, or makes comments that seem inocuous if you read them without knowing the impacts on UO but are potentially game-changing for some playstyles.

Then maybe the Devs could go back to just chatting and info gathering with us here and on other forums rather than becoming 'official spokespersons', which really isn't what they are meant to do or are trained to be. We would appreciate the contact with them, and they can get a lot from directly talking with the players. Even the less polite or literate ones....

 

[LiquidSolidity]

I'm right here Madrid. Expect something more formal in a few weeks.

1/10 for customer service. Not meaning to be rude but fobbing us off with "in a few weeks" isn't what your paying customers want to hear.

 

[Aurelius]

1/10 for customer service. Not meaning to be rude but fobbing us off with "in a few weeks" isn't what your paying customers want to hear.

There's some truth to that, but for me, I'd rather get something accurate and genuine in 'a few weeks' from a guy who is right now new to the post than get an off-the-cuff response that can't be achieved, lacks proper thought, and doesn't have the planning and resourcing to actually be more than a spin-heavy set of platitudes.

Now if what we get in 'a few weeks' turns out to be as weak as much of the stuff we've been fed in the past, I'll be right there raising hell and saying exactly what I reckon of the EA 'management' (or 'mismanagement') of the game, but for now, I'll give them a chance to sort out what they are doing. After 14 years, I can stand a few more weeks IF the result is worth the wait....

 

[lucitus]

I also hope some Love in general is comming for the new client. I for myself want more performance, but that does include high res

 

[Nok]

See there is Jeff right there.

Just my opinion, but let's cut him some slack. It hasn't been that long. He has informally dropped in on community forums & social networks for some quick hellos and acknowledged he's the producer. Behind the scenes he's been reaching out and getting to know people. And probably spending a lot of time with the team getting a handle on the in's & out's of UO.

When he's ready and has something prepared, I'm sure we will all hear from him.

 

[jskalski]

None taken Kayne. As you can imagine I stepped right into the middle of this account migration and pub 72 getting ready to go out the door. A lot of things to get my head wrapped around and a lot to learn and listen too. Rest assure Mesanna and the team have a plan they are executing on. I hear everyone from Stratics and the other UO forums that the communication level has been poor. It's one of several items I'll be discussing with our Community team as we work on ways we can improve that for everyone.

As for the Woodsman comment, he just knows that data because he either asked me directly or he follows my twitter feed, which btw is the quickest way to get in touch with me if you ever have a question. =)

- Jeff

p.s. Thanks Nok for the previous post.

 

[Elric_Soban]

As for the Woodsman comment, he just knows that data because he either asked me directly or he follows my twitter feed, which btw is the quickest way to get in touch with me if you ever have a question. =)

Maybe you should do the bulk of your communicating with the community right HERE.. on the COMMUNITY forums? Twitter? Are you kidding me?

BTW, welcome to UO. PvP is an item-based joke, the economy is in shambles, scripting is rampant(thanks, 2D) and you've got 2 seperate clients to support. Good luck!

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Maybe you should do the bulk of your communicating with the community right HERE.. on the COMMUNITY forums? Twitter? Are you kidding me?

BTW, welcome to UO. PvP is an item-based joke, the economy is in shambles, scripting is rampant(thanks, 2D) and you've got 2 seperate clients to support. Good luck!

Two clients to support is a fact; the rest of your post is analyses, or worse yet opinion, presented as fact. As just one example: people have been saying the economy is "broken" or "in shambles" for 10 or so years, and every time they say it the definition of the relevant terms is at least slightly different.

So......Yeah.

One disadvantage of the Producer finally posting here is the ever-present possibility that he will mistake Stratics posters for UO players at large, rather than the small, angry, opinionated, and eager-to-over-extrapolate subset that we are.

-Galen's player

 

[Silverbrook]

None taken Kayne. As you can imagine I stepped right into the middle of this account migration and pub 72 getting ready to go out the door. A lot of things to get my head wrapped around and a lot to learn and listen too. Rest assure Mesanna and the team have a plan they are executing on. I hear everyone from Stratics and the other UO forums that the communication level has been poor. It's one of several items I'll be discussing with our Community team as we work on ways we can improve that for everyone.

As for the Woodsman comment, he just knows that data because he either asked me directly or he follows my twitter feed, which btw is the quickest way to get in touch with me if you ever have a question. =)

- Jeff

p.s. Thanks Nok for the previous post.

I have no doubt that UO was, uhm... unprepared for Cal's departure.

That said, a little note (like the one you left above, now) would have went a long way in terms of this communication issue you so note.

Most people are not asking for hours of your time. They just want the team (including yourself) to be aware and recognize things. A little 'We are aware of it' goes a long way in terms of placating your players. A little 2 minute introduction would have worked wonders instead of hearing it through other, unofficial channels.

BTW, welcome.

 

[HD2300]

imo inaction as opposed to lack of communication has had a greater impact on subscription numbers now versus subscription numbers two years ago. LOL at anyone who thinks that people quit a game because of lack of communication. 'Urggh I'm quitting this game because we dont have a community manager that posts in the forums', LMAO.

Lack of new content, yes. Lack of communication, no. Actually there has been a lot of pom pom waving communications. A Lot. And just look where we are now. But hey thats just my opinion.

Hey I'm buying Diable III not because it has great graphics and content, but because Blizzard post a lot on their game forums. HaHaHa. Just hoping history doesnt repeat.

 

[Tanivar]

Jeff

If you decide to switch to a single client, please note the percentages of players who use the CC and who use the EC.

Word out here has it that the vast majority are using the Classic Client. Check the offical numbers on your end of things before making any changes.

I use the Classic Client over the Exasperating Client because even with less features, it's a much nicer client. I have both installed and updated because the EC has some good features among the bad.

My 2 gold pieces.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

Or they can take into account that the EC gives them MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH more room for expansion on a technological scale than the 2d client.

The 2d client may have its supporters, but it's NEVER going to expand the game again. It's simply too far out of date. It's 800x600 living in a 1080p world... (or VHS living in a Blu-Ray world). The "tile-based" system that the 2d client uses has, is, and will be a HUGE anchor weight on the EC's ability to really grow (and thus UO's ability to really grow) until the day the 2d client is shut down.

Right now, the smart move is to retain support for the 2d client to keep it running while it still has a player base, but focus client development on the EC first with the graphics updates, then continual bug squashing and optimization, then features both in the UI (see: Pinco's UI and modders' work in general) and in the world environment (lighting effects, weather effects, etc).

 

[canary]

Okay, boys.

First off you are both pretty.

Secondly, neither client has received any love in pretty much literal years, so for both clients it is currently a non issue.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

neither client has received any love in pretty much literal years

And that's a problem, especially with every new client they have released from Third Dawn forward... get it about 75% or so done, throw it out there and then ignore it for the next project. Of course this has been a UO staple for ingame systems and content as well. What was the lagtime between the last virtue added in before Honesty and Pub 72?

Plus the Graphics Update being in the works makes it an issue in my book... I'm eagerly awaiting to see how it all pans out.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

...

Or they can take into account that the EC gives them MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH more room for expansion on a technological scale than the 2d client.

The 2d client may have its supporters, but it's NEVER going to expand the game again. It's simply too far out of date. It's 800x600 living in a 1080p world... (or VHS living in a Blu-Ray world). The "tile-based" system that the 2d client uses has, is, and will be a HUGE anchor weight on the EC's ability to really grow (and thus UO's ability to really grow) until the day the 2d client is shut down.

Right now, the smart move is to retain support for the 2d client to keep it running while it still has a player base, but focus client development on the EC first with the graphics updates, then continual bug squashing and optimization, then features both in the UI (see: Pinco's UI and modders' work in general) and in the world environment (lighting effects, weather effects, etc).

My thoughts are similar. As a 2d user (is it not telling that I typed "1d" at first and almost left it as is?) I fear that one day the next OS upgrade will simply make it not run at all.

However, a lot depends on exactly how many people use the EC.

If it's say 20% the development might barely be worth it.

If it's say less than 10%?

5%?

From a business perspective it would be hard to justify working on it even with the possibility of one day 2d just not working at all!

I really have no way of knowing, and none of us do, how many of us actually use the EC. There was a weak method with the KR client but i can't vouch for it and it used the old chat system, which is gone now anyway. All we can really know is that those who use it like it a lot, but the same is true for the CC and was so even for Third Dawn.

But assuming enough players use it to justify the work?

Then, even as a 2d player, I think the priority should be getting the EC into working order.

With a very close second being content, especially finishing out existing systems (Virtues) and adding content to existing areas (old dungeons) and in-game storylines (EMs and global ones both).

As a CC player I am more than content to deal with placeholder art, if the tradeoff is that one day we might have a workable EC. I love the 2d artwork we get on occasion but I totally understand why we maybe shouldn't get much, if any, more of it.

From the hints we've seen from the Producer's Twitter feed I almost wonder if they aren't going the route of "radically change the CC, add more functionality and better art, and have only one client."

I am in no way qualified to even guess if that's a viable approach or not.

-Galen's player

 

[Ludes]

I have to agree with Dermott here..
While the CC has many loyal users it is a dead end for Ultima Online.

As long as people refuse to embrace a client written after 1997 we'll never see a true client upgrade.

The CC client is just too old now, Just check out LOTRO and see what could be done if people would let go of the Classic Client.

Writing for two clients and making things work in both can't be helping the game any.

People that scream "I'll Quit!" if the CC gets retired are doing more to hurt this game than all other obstacles combined.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

I almost wonder if they aren't going the route of "radically change the CC, add more functionality and better art, and have only one client."

Wouldn't that effectively be KR/EC? Either way, if they DID change the 2d client in this way, the exact same people would be raising holy hell about it, claiming "it sucks", that they're going to quit, etc.

The people who are most vocal about the 2d client are the ones who DON'T want anything to change, regardless of what the effect on the game as a whole may be.

 

[canary]

Well this thread is totally going into another direction, but...

I'm exclusively a CC user. Though if they could actually present a nicer client, I'd gladly use it.

Currently, the EC is not this. I could make a long, long post about why I dislike the EC, but in the end it really is just easier to say 'I like the CC better when presented with both current options'.

 

[Dakkon Blackblade]

I have to agree with Dermott here..
While the CC has many loyal users it is a dead end for Ultima Online.

I agree as well, I left UO when KR was cancelled and I will not come back to the game, until either it is reinstated or the art update resembles KR or better. Sure not everyone liked it but you could say that about many of the clients that have existed at some point.

All I can say is if the subscribers of the game want new people, they have to be willing to accept changes that would make the game appealing to modern day gamers, if it wasn't for the loyal diehard subscribers who have played for a long time, this game would have gone under a long time ago because it doesn't seem to pull many new players in.

 

[Evlar]

imo inaction as opposed to lack of communication has had a greater impact on subscription numbers now versus subscription numbers two years ago. LOL at anyone who thinks that people quit a game because of lack of communication. 'Urggh I'm quitting this game because we dont have a community manager that posts in the forums', LMAO.

Lack of new content, yes. Lack of communication, no. Actually there has been a lot of pom pom waving communications. A Lot. And just look where we are now. But hey thats just my opinion.

Hey I'm buying Diable III not because it has great graphics and content, but because Blizzard post a lot on their game forums. HaHaHa. Just hoping history doesnt repeat.

Lack of new content... not necessarily.

Lack of finished content... most likely.

There's only so many times you can slap lipstick on a pig...

I'd hazard a guess that continued "new" content never getting finished properly, which is poorly realised and released to begin with, is more off-putting to people than no new content at all.

Might be a good opportunity for the new producer of UO to take a long, hard look at the game and EA's policy regarding the boosters.

Would it not be better to retain and generate more customers with something that works, rather than introducing yet more problems with "new" content?

 

[Kayne]

See there is Jeff right there.

Just my opinion, but let's cut him some slack. It hasn't been that long. He has informally dropped in on community forums & social networks for some quick hellos and acknowledged he's the producer.

I've cut EA in general lots of slack. I cut them slack when some of my closest friends in UO and my guilds founding members left virtually at the same time and have never returned because they were disillusioned with the state of UO just after the KR client made its debut.

I don't want to continue seeing members of this community (thats all of you I'm talking to) and my friends quit and disappear into the ether because a lack of a note on UO Herald (where this stuff is supposed to be posted) saying that we have a new producer and he will be along to introduce himself in a couple of weeks.
Or because UO seems to travel down a path that clearly a majority are unhappy about but still we play because we hope that will change and because we enjoy the game still.

None taken Kayne. As you can imagine I stepped right into the middle of this account migration and pub 72 getting ready to go out the door. A lot of things to get my head wrapped around and a lot to learn and listen too. Rest assure Mesanna and the team have a plan they are executing on. I hear everyone from Stratics and the other UO forums that the communication level has been poor. It's one of several items I'll be discussing with our Community team as we work on ways we can improve that for everyone.

As for the Woodsman comment, he just knows that data because he either asked me directly or he follows my twitter feed, which btw is the quickest way to get in touch with me if you ever have a question. =)

- Jeff

p.s. Thanks Nok for the previous post.

Jeff thank you for the reply, much appreciated, my tone may not have come across very well but like many others I am passionate about UO and I want it to be better.
I fully appreciate the situation you were dropped into regarding the migration etc but you have a community team who could have told us that you were around and to expect a post on herald from you in a week or two not waited until Woodsman managed to find you out.

Fantastic news that the community stuff is something you wish to improve on as that is badly needed as a starting point. Probably something you will find shuts lots of us up so well worth the time

Not all of us are users of twitter (or regular users) Also as this for all intents and purposes is the place for the UO community to congregate then we shouldn't have to find you on Twitter to get answers.
On that note please consider bringing back the Five On Friday as it was well worth the time of the community team to answer our questions in that way.

imo inaction as opposed to lack of communication has had a greater impact on subscription numbers now versus subscription numbers two years ago. LOL at anyone who thinks that people quit a game because of lack of communication. 'Urggh I'm quitting this game because we dont have a community manager that posts in the forums', LMAO.

Lack of new content, yes. Lack of communication, no. Actually there has been a lot of pom pom waving communications. A Lot. And just look where we are now. But hey thats just my opinion.

Hey I'm buying Diable III not because it has great graphics and content, but because Blizzard post a lot on their game forums. HaHaHa. Just hoping history doesnt repeat.

HD2300 so Stygian Abyss wasn't a huge load of new content?
the High Seas Booster wasn't a whole heap more new content?
The compassion dyes were technically new content.
There have been EM events which include new content though not necessarily in the form of items.
Events.
Magincia plots for vendors and pet brokers were all new content too.
Lets not forget a use for Honesty (even if the new decay rates etc make the whole virtue system useless)
The 14th Anni stuff has a few new items.

By my reckoning thats a whole lot of new content and work for the dev team and thats without knowing what else they have been working on for future publishes.

Also people do actually quit when it seems the people who make the game and support it actually seem not to care what they do and what their community think and especially when the support lacks as badly as EA customer support does. Just look at the recent spate of quitting due to the migration balls-up

 

[Rupert Avery]

Maybe you should do the bulk of your communicating with the community right HERE.. on the COMMUNITY forums? Twitter? Are you kidding me?

BTW, welcome to UO. PvP is an item-based joke, the economy is in shambles, scripting is rampant(thanks, 2D) and you've got 2 seperate clients to support. Good luck!

He hasn't been doing his community building on twitter just some of us have twitter and happen to pick up on what he says, and then copy it over to here... officially he hasn't announced he is the producer, Woodsman i think it was let it slip. and he unofficially said hello like Nok said.

Give the guy a chance to start. I know when managers at my work change over they have a few weeks to hand over from other managers and get to know what they are doing.

he didn't have to post at all yet.

But the convo's I have had with him on Twitter make me come to the conclusion that Jeff is a top guy who likes UO as well as many other games and will do the best he can to help us as his customers

 

[Woodsman]

LOL at anyone who thinks that people quit a game because of lack of communication. 'Urggh I'm quitting this game because we dont have a community manager that posts in the forums', LMAO.

Last month EA put the Mythic games through this account migration thing. Maybe you heard about some of the problems. You may not have if you only read the UO Herald or accounts.eamythic.com, because according to those sites, everything was hunky dory and self-explanatory.

Or maybe you were smart enough to figure out that the tutorials for this process were posted on a Wiki. the Dark Age of Camelot wiki.

People did quit because they were getting ignored by EA and not being told anything. If you think otherwise, start reading through threads made since the middle of August with the word "account" in them.

If you think that communication doesn't matter, then somebody should tell Blizzard that the millions they spend on the community team is wasted or that EA is wasting millions on SWTOR.com and their community teams and flying their developers around telling bloggers what banthas like to eat or what kind of underwear smugglers wear.

 

[Woodsman]

One disadvantage of the Producer finally posting here is the ever-present possibility that he will mistake Stratics posters for UO players at large, rather than the small, angry, opinionated, and eager-to-over-extrapolate subset that we are.

Maybe it's best he sticks to Twitter So far nobody is asking him much on there.

He hasn't been doing his community building on twitter just some of us have twitter and happen to pick up on what he says, and then copy it over to here... officially he hasn't announced he is the producer, Woodsman i think it was let it slip. and he unofficially said hello like Nok said.

Yeah for those complaining, you don't even need to be on Twitter. It's easy to keep Twitter for Jeff_Skalski bookmarked on any browser. I don't even post on Twitter, but have an account to follow people and companies.

As for whether he is the producer of UO, he isn't from what I can see, but he's over the UO team, and that makes him the most responsible person within reach. At least until EA makes him stop posting about Ultima stuff on Twitter. I can see that happening.

 

[jskalski]

Jeff

If you decide to switch to a single client, please note the percentages of players who use the CC and who use the EC.

Word out here has it that the vast majority are using the Classic Client. Check the offical numbers on your end of things before making any changes.

I use the Classic Client over the Exasperating Client because even with less features, it's a much nicer client. I have both installed and updated because the EC has some good features among the bad.

My 2 gold pieces.

No plans Tanivar to jettison one of the clients. At this point, we're married to both for life.

- Jeff

 

[Larisa]

No plans Tanivar to jettison one of the clients. At this point, we're married to both for life.

- Jeff

I love you!

While the EC is good, and I know ppl have said you can use the *legacy* option to make the backpacks look like backpacks and what not...the CC is one of the many reasons I came back to UO after almost 4 years.

I played and still play a completely immersive 3D game, but they are all the same..same hotkey bars, same slotted backpacks, same same same!

And while, in my opinion anyway, I think *most* of the graphics in the EC are... not to my liking there are quite a few who are 100% hard core EC players.

I am VERY glad that there is no plan EVER AT ALL To abolish the CC. It is a major part of what makes UO..UO...to me anyway.

And I'm very glad that you have come here to chat with us, I am sure you are VERY busy, so thank you, I am glad to have you around

 

[Kayne]

I played and still play a completely immersive 3D game, but they are all the same..same hotkey bars, same slotted backpacks, same same same!

And while, in my opinion anyway, I think *most* of the graphics in the EC are... not to my liking there are quite a few who are 100% hard core EC players.

. It is a major part of what makes UO..UO...to me anyway.

And I'm very glad that you have come here to chat with us, I am sure you are VERY busy, so thank you, I am glad to have you around

What she said

 

[Ludes]

While I do have personal feelings about Ultima as a whole.. the embracing of new clients.. etc..

I do think it's pretty cool that they do seem to feel the game is important enough to not abandon people that either can't or won't upgrade. I have quite a few friends that only use CC, I'd hate to see them go.

And where are all the people that played in the 90's and early 2000's when we had no dev input at all? I remember when a Gm or Councillor (sp?) was as close as you ever got to the actual people that ran the game.. (except for seeing some of them in-game).

It's great the level of input and interaction we have now with the dev's and producer..
relatively speaking.


BTW.. jskalski.. welcome to UO, wouldn't want to be ya, but good luck and keep your chin up! I feel comfortable saying "Most" of us are behind you all the way.

 

[Taylor]

Since you're reading this thread, welcome to Stratics, Jeff. Please let us know how we can accommodate you. As you doubtless know, as a network, we are fiercely loyal to the Ultima franchise. We are hopeful vis-a-vis your contribution and rooting for your success.

We're on your team, so let us know if you need support.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

There was rarely a time when there was NO dev input even as far back as T2A. As an example during that time, a dev by the name of Pandemonium made himself stand out by being a dev that actually worked with players, created test clients and sought feedback on them, and even took up player ideas and at least tested them out. Granted most of the dev-player communication during then was the House of Commons chats, there almost always seemed to be one or two devs that made themselves available.

However, I think we REALLY got spoiled (yes I'll use that term) with Draconi and team. That was probably the time when we had the most devs being open and communicative with the playerbase including some who came directly from the base itself (Wilki, Sakkarah for a couple). Between posts here, 5 on Friday, Town Halls, a consistent batch of ingame fiction and events, publicly going after exploiters (house burnings), and so on, we got used to a higher level of communication. That level dropped noticeably after Jeremy left, 5 on Friday was ended, and the Ask A Dev board here was a flash in the pan and now sits almost forgotten.

It'd be nice to see a more communicative team again, that's for certain.

 

[HD2300]

LOL at anyone who thinks that people quit a game because of lack of communication. 'Urggh I'm quitting this game because we dont have a community manager that posts in the forums', LMAO.

Last month EA put the Mythic games through this account migration thing. Maybe you heard about some of the problems. You may not have if you only read the UO Herald or accounts.eamythic.com, because according to those sites, everything was hunky dory and self-explanatory.

Or maybe you were smart enough to figure out that the tutorials for this process were posted on a Wiki. the Dark Age of Camelot wiki.

What is the root cause of the decline? Inaction not communications is the issue. This migration thing had been going on for 9 months. During this 9 months if there had been more action versus inaction in the planning, development and testing side of things, the PR/damage control/communications wouldnt have been necessary. Which includes anytime during that 9 months, someone maybe thinking hey maybe its a good idea to spend 1 hour to write up a tutorial and email and post it first.

I think we have very clearly seen in the last 2 years, inaction and lots of PR doesnt work. From my perspective, there has been a lot of PR not directly from EA full time staff but through other parties, and it hasnt worked.

Again what is the root cause for people leaving during the last 2 years? It isnt because there isnt a EA full time staff posting on the forums say once a week, as there has been a lot of PR from the community and EMs happening anyway.