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(Player Event) The Peerage of Siege Perilous: [SPHS] Interviews Shalimar, One of Siege's First Citizens

Silent Singer

Certifiable
Stratics Veteran
UNLEASHED
The Siege Perilous Historical Society is pleased to announce the next installment in our Peerage Interviews. Today Shalimar, survivor of the shard's very first server wipe, takes a moment to talk about Siege's earliest days and assisting new players.

shalimar-cropped.jpg

[SPHS]: What was your first experience with Ultima Online?

Shalimar:
I worked from home doing accounts for the family business, so, to ease the monotony I began to play the Ultima single player series. Whenever I was shopping I'd look to see if a new Ultima game had been released. I picked up the (MMORPG) not really having a clue that 'real people' players would also be in this game and that I could interact with others in real time. When I realised what this game actually was, I was fascinated. If memory serves, Atlantic and Pacific shards were the first to appear, and a new shard popped up on the server list every few days, so I'd log into them as they appeared, always wanting to head for Trinsic (no idea why). I finally decided on Catskills, and played there on and off until there was news of a shard which would be called Siege Perilous that would continue with one ruleset, while the other shards were going to be split into two facets as a lot of players had complained they would like to simply kill monsters and not players (Trammel came to those shards).

[SPHS]: What brought you to Siege? How long have you played here, and how frequently do you play now?

Shalimar: I came to Siege Perilous when it was being tested as I liked and was used to the idea we could all be attacked out of town (and Trammel would change that) and on the 1st day I remember being at WBB sandwiched between a multitude of other characters, lag was awful and moving a few steps seemed to take an age, so I didn't think it was playable. We'd lose connection more often than we were in-game, but persevered and the lag cleared a little so we could move around a bit better. Guilds came from other shards and made their home on SP, a lot of them doing very well. After SP test had been up for a couple of weeks we thought that the test shard would become the real one, so those players who had accumulated gold and houses etc., were not happy when the shard was wiped as they expected to keep what they had before. The rumour was that there had been gold duping so a decision was made to wipe. A lot of players didn't return after that, but the shard was still very busy...and more playable with regard to being able to move around a bit faster. Since I returned a couple of months ago I play everyday whenever I have some free time.

[SPHS] As someone who was on the shard in its first few weeks, what did you do to establish yourself (farm gold, place a house, etc)?

Shalimar: As long as I had something to wear and a halberd I was fine and looked forward to getting a silver sword so I could have a go at killing the Liches. I’d kill the random town spawns and when I thought I could tackle them I went to find gazers south of Brit, which would often kill me because I hadn’t any resist yet. Over in Vesper the random spawn was Trolls, so I preferred to go for things like that at first. I had no desire to own a house in the beginning, instead, I was quite happy to hand over the small amounts of gold I accumulated every week or so, to the guild I was in (the Yew one) so we could have a guild house. When out in a group we’d stand close and x-heal each other with bandies, and go to Reaper valley in Minoc to gain some resist. We would mainly try to get our skills up while trying to avoid dying too much. One day, someone was selling a horse and I’d wanted one for a while, so that was really the first (luxury) item I ever bought. As well as our bank storage, we could also store things on a pack horse and stable it.


[SPHS] Who were some of the biggest personalities on the Siege Perilous in its first few years? Are there any that still stand out in your memory as being particularly helpful, or villainous, or entertaining?

Shalimar: Gosh, where to start…

Shalimar: Helpful: Sarai & Jem Fire. Sarai loaned me a white dress and white lantern (which were very rare then) for a wedding (I was the bride). The wedding took place in a tower just off the back road from Brit to Safe Haven. Counsellor Elsebethe was also there (counsellors would engrave rings in those days and attend a player event if they knew about it). This road was often travelled by pk’s in large numbers so I was dreading them coming past and seeing us and losing Sarai’s dress and lantern. We got through it as fast as possible without having to fight and I returned Sarai’s possessions the next day…Sarai was a big hugger, and sort of a mother figure to anyone she met. Jem Fire ‘I think’ became the 1st gm tailor on Siege, and the person to become the 1st gm smith was going to be between Pyrite and (insert name), with both players being supplied with ingots by their supporters in the final part of the race to be 1st. I don’t remember which one got there first. Pony Express would gate me to show places I hadn’t been to and was just very helpful. Hobbes/Cal, had a small house on Magincia beach and we’d go there a lot to buy new armour from him, he made my 1st valorite armour which took weeks to get enough ingots to make, and when I started my own smith/miner he friended me to his mining house in Trinsic.

Shalimar: Villainous: I think Herog for me. He role-played a vampire type and spoke very politely, but I always got the impression he was ready to go for my throat, a proper Dracula.

Shalimar: Entertaining: Both of these guilds were also villainous but because they always stayed ‘in character’ they were equally entertaining, Shadowclan and UDL. Tyrone Rugan who was a red pirate and reds weren’t allowed to come to town in those days or they’d get guard whacked, but Tyrone came anyway. We had Hero & Evil and Evil would be red out of town and blue in town, but sometimes forgot they would go red and get ambushed by blues just at the town outskirts (entertaining as well as villainous on the part of the blue gankers)

[SPHS]: In the last month, what did you spend the majority of your game time doing?

Shalimar: I was gone for 6 years and there has been a lot of new content so in-between running NEW I have been modifying the NEW guildhouse (with stone building) and making it public so we can try to help EJ players and attempting to get up to par with the new stuff such as masteries and pet skills etc., though I still have lots to learn and re-learn.

[SPHS] How much time do you spend in game these days? When you aren't helping new players, what activity do you enjoy most?

Shalimar: I have spent a lot of time on my crafter, since NEW isn’t as busy these days and the new players we have right now are doing really well. Apart from going through the initial routine with them they only have the occasional question from time to time, and my crafter can see in chat if there are any new folk who want to join NEW. The crafter has been modifying an Ice castle since I now know what to do with stone. Shalimar is training archery again (4th time)

Shalimar: I also have some good emissaries who are on when I’m not. Magical, who rescued the guild when the last of the emissaries I left in charge dumped it on her. A relative newcomer to Siege, Zugt the toothy orc and Tanager’s alt.


[SPHS]: To date, what has been your best day on Siege?

Shalimar: I couldn't pick a best day, there have been so many over the years, from experiences I had with the guilds I was a part of to individual players, lots of days I could say matched each other for 'best'.


[SPHS]: Which players do you interact with the most?

Shalimar: New players would be the ones I come in contact with the most.


[SPHS]: Are you in a guild, and if so, how many other players are in it? What guilds were you in before this one?

Shalimar: I am in NEW guild and the numbers vary from month to month as a new player is expected to train his/her character and get to know other players in their 1st month of playing on SP, with the hope the player will find a guild he/she would 'fit' into, or start a guild, as going solo isn't really a good thing to do here. When I started on Siege, my character name was Tamara and, at that time, we would have random monsters spawn in each town. I was trying to get my warrior skills up in Brit one day (just fighting lizards) when a player came by and started to chat. His name was Valdor. He said he was in a guild based in Yew and would I like to go meet the gm (she was a Japanese lady), so I went with him and joined a guild called '1st' They named me (Honey Bee). I stayed with that guild although I preferred spending my time around the Brit/Trinsic areas, (always got lost in Yew) collecting gold and passing it on to help us get a guildhouse (most of us would carry a bedroll and kindling and log out wherever we were at that time). I made a lot of friends in Britain and my guild knew that I wanted to hunt with my new pals, so they didn't have a problem with me leaving. I used to hang around with players nobody would remember now, Sgt Pepper, Leora, Buggs, Scaramouche etc. etc., and we started a guild called ATF, I stayed in that one until joining VvV (I still have that guildstone) with Talnorr Renn and Lord Da-Evil/Bronte using my Cleopatra character. I then became gm of NEW around 2003.

New-GH-cropped.jpg
Above: Shalimar's Keep just east of Britain.

[SPHS]: What was the original NEW guild like, and what caused it to end?

Shalimar: The original NEW was started in 2000 by Luxor of LoV as he thought some players needed help getting established on Siege. He kept it running for about a year with donations from other players, but when power hour was introduced it became pretty easy to get your skills up so the guild wasn't very active. When RoT was introduced there was a need for NEW guild again, but Luxor had either quit or was quitting so Freja took it over in 2002 with a few others using the same account (only a gm could guild someone in those days, so the account was shared which meant 1 player didn't have to be on all the time to guild someone). Freja took a break in 2003 and that's when Shalimar stepped in. Shalimar was on an extended break late 2012 (rl reasons) and I really expected one of the emissaries I had left in charge to take over the guild, but that didn't happen. I had been paying 4 accounts all the time and decided to log in one day in July of this year, finding a great big dragon outside the house with Shalimar's name on it, so I asked in gen chat if anyone knew what it was and players came to the house to tell me why it was there.

[SPHS]: What were the biggest challenges to running NEW before? What was your best experience helping, and what would you like to see more of on Siege that would facilitate the new player experience?

Shalimar: It was sometimes hard to convince new players that pk's wouldn't always be waiting around every corner as soon as they stepped out of town, and if they were killed by a player to wait and see what happened next (rp, chat, res, help, no chat...whatever) as this way they would get to know other playstyles and either play along or avoid. As time went on, most players were here because they were fed up with production shards and decided to try Siege before quitting the game. Thankfully a lot stayed here, but because they were so used to choosing to fight players, it was something new when they were freely attacked and some couldn't cope with that, so trying to get them to give it some time before quitting was a challenge sometimes. No single best experience, hundreds of them, when I see players still here years after they were in NEW are my best experiences. As for the new player experience, I have said before I'd like them to have a little time to get skills up so they have a chance to fight back, though having said that, 4 NEW players did manage to take down a pk who continuously went after them, and they all felt they had achieved something.

[SPHS]: What is different about running NEW now? In general, what has been the most noticeable change to Siege since you were active before?

Shalimar: There's not many differences in running NEW apart from guilding EJ players. I realize they are playing the game free, but I would like to be able to allow them to log out in the house without being booted on log in, and maybe have the ability to access a few items they may need if there's no one around.

[SPHS]: If you could pick one player who is no longer on the shard that you could return, who would it be and why?

Shalimar: Without a doubt...Freja. I know that she loves this game and although she has made mistakes in the past, as I have, as we all have, Freja is all about giving a second chance to everyone, and she does enjoy her evilish side. We don't always agree but she is my oldest friend on Siege. I like her a lot.

[SPHS] Have you kept in touch with Freja? Do you think there is a chance your return might encourage her to return as well?

Shalimar: I had a long chat via ICQ with Freja the day after I came back as I’d heard she wasn’t playing. She logged in that day and the following day. I’ve talked to her a couple of times since then and I know she’s been playing another game that’s piqued her interest. If she comes back, she’ll do it because she wants to, not because of any other player.


[SPHS]: If you could permanently REMOVE one anything (activity / item / player / encounter / mechanic) from the shard, what would it be and why?

Shalimar: Booting an EJ player from their guildhouse (game mechanic) because it's just rude,and not at all welcoming.


[SPHS]: If you could permanently ADD one anything (activity / item / player / encounter / mechanic) from the shard, what would it be and why?

Shalimar: Access to a few guild items for EJ players (game mechanic) which they can take without someone else having to get it for them, from a secured chest.

[SPHS]: Who is your nemesis, and why is it Malloc?

Shalimar: My nemesis was never a player. My nemesis used to be never having enough full spellbooks to hand out to new players especially if we had several join the guild and wanting to train magery right away, so sometimes I'd give them a few spells and a wand to get their gains on fizzles while I did the dreaded filling of books for them, I got wise in the end and asked other players to donate spellbooks, I was often on Stratics or ICQ asking for something for NEW, and was never ever refused.

[SPHS]: You are dropped into an IDOC brawl and have time to grab one item. What item would you wish to grab above anything else?

Shalimar: I don't do IDOCs but if I did I'd just grab the item/s closest to me, because if you shuffle around trying to choose the best stuff I'd imagine someone else would have already taken it.


[SPHS]: What do you use your Siege bless on the most?

Shalimar: When I remember to use it, I bless a bow.

[SPHS] Since your return, what are some of the new features / content of the game that you have been pleased to discover? Are there any changes that you believe aren't a good fit for Siege Perilous due to its unique ruleset?

Shalimar: I was moving a chest to the front of a castle, to the little entrance part between two doors, and dropped it in the courtyard while I opened the door and had ‘I wish to secure this’ typed out, accidentally targeted the chest before picking it up and it locked right there on the grass. I was happy to discover that previously unusable areas of castles could finally be used. I don’t know if I like the new pet system yet as I haven’t used my taming skills in years.

Shalimar: As for changes to Siege that aren’t a good fit, I gave up on thinking about that when we got AoS…what will be will be.

[SPHS]: If you could give one piece of advice to new or returning players to Siege, what would it be?

Shalimar: To the new player: don't try to go it alone, make some friends and have fun, dying isn't real here so dust off and go on. To the returning player: When you log in and think 'it's too quiet here'...then you log out again because 'it's too quiet there'...you have added to the reason 'it's too quiet there', so stay and be a + 1 for Siege.
 

Magical

Visitor
Great interview Shal. This is my first attempt at posting on Stratics but I wanted to say how great that was. Also, thanks for the very honorable mention of your Emmy's.
 
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