To those that are unhappy with UO....

[Kylie Kinslayer]

First this is not a troll, I am asking in earnest.

Reading the boards, hearing some folks in game, I have found there are those that always seem to be unhappy with UO as a whole. I don't mean the ones who find a thing here or there that makes them unhappy with that certain aspect. But, there seems to be CHRONIC unhappiness by a good bit of folks. These are the ones who gripe and complain about any and almost everything that goes on, or what the Dev's do. My question is, what keeps you in the game you are SO obviously unhappy with? And again, I am not saying your viewpoint is wrong, or that you are wrong for staying. Just wondering what it is that keeps you hanging in there is all. Is it the hope that things will one day change?

 

[Uriah Heep]

Like so many others here, I personally have a few friends that I still hang out with. Most of them have left, but the ones that stayed keep me.
That, and the memory of what was, and the concept of what could be, and the hope for it to come to pass...

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

My question is, what keeps you in the game you are SO obviously unhappy with?

Nothing. I quit years ago...la

 

[Hobo Sapien]

Nothing. I quit years ago...la

Maybe but still haven't moved on have we.............

 

[Ezekiel Zane]

Nothing. I quit years ago...la

Ah but you want to come back don't ya. Ha

 

[pgib]

Five months of paid subscription.

 

[jack flash uk]

Nothing. I quit years ago...la

NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Rico not today

GAHHHHHHH KILL RICO!!!!!!

 

[Larisa]

In my opinion...everyone has to complain about something..it's human nature. From what I've seen in so many aspects of life, if you complain about something loudly, it means you care about it. How many Vets are here...10, 12, 14 years later....that are still complaining about something? Yet they are still here.

Maybe *Complain* isn't a good word..maybe frustration...to see something that someone loves so much not get the attention it deserves or they think it deserves.

I love my daughters, yet I get frusterated all the time with them because I know in my heart that they can do so much better...UO is the same way for alot of people.

The devs do the best that they can, and every day they and The whole team are taking great strides to make it even better....but you can't make everyone happy, they can just do their best.

 

[Tina Small]

The reason I am still kinda lurking is I keep hoping to see some signs that someday UO will return to being a simpler game that almost anyone can sit down and enjoy with friends for an hour or two a few times a week. Not some soul-leeching experience that ends up feeling more like a job than simple entertainment.

I really hate what UO seems to have become for so many people, i.e., a competition to see who can amass the biggest fortune. I even tried Siege, hoping that maybe it would be different there. But in the end, even Siege seems to be somewhat infected with the same sickness that seems to plague the rest of the game. I found that the only reason I had to play there was to focus my game play around being a merchant. After a while it really felt like nothing more than a job that I actually paid someone else for the ability to be able to perform and that could be yanked away from me without a second's notice and with nothing to show for it in the long run but an emptier bank account than I started with.

There have been times when I've thought about dabbling in role playing. It would have made perfect sense to do that on Baja, where I once truly enjoyed playing. Any more, if you go by what you see on the Baja forum, Baja seems to be a role player's paradise. However, not being a long-time player, still more or less a newb in the eyes of many on Baja, and having no real claim on its history (I was always just a Malas "trailer park trash" kinda player I guess), that idea didn't go very far. After asking a few questions about player-run towns a year or so ago and getting the impression that I was out of line asking about them since I wasn't one of Baja's original players, I gave up on Baja. It really hurt to know that the few years when I was active there meant nothing in comparison to people who had been there originally, left for many years, and then came back again when the EM program started up again. My little group of friends who had so enjoyed our simple fun on Baja for a few years and who might possibly have returned in force if we could have "earned" a town plaque were unworthy of consideration as true Baja residents simply because our pedigree was lacking. Yes, we could have survived without a town plaque, but I don't think we could have survived feeling like many of Baja's most vocal residents thought we were just upstarts who didn't deserve to play there.

Yeah, maybe I could have tried to get involved with roleplaying on another shard, but after what happened on Baja, I just didn't have the stomach for it. Didn't really want someone else to act like I was an intruder.

Sorry for the disjointedness of this post, Kyle. You asked and this was the best I could come up with.

 

[Mervyn]

More people play World of Warcraft than UO.

Enough said tbh,


The reason why people are so unhappy is because the population of the players is constantly dipping down and down and all the devs do is release more pixel cracks and make the game more complex with complex game mechanics that alienate new players.

I can't remember the last time i even saw a young player, and when i did, he wasn't actually a new players, just a new account.

At least with world of warcraft you don't have to download third party programs to make macros and you don't have to use one client to play a dexxer and another client to play a mage in order to compete.

FAIL

 

[Uvtha]

Im sure most people like the game fine, but generally when you come to a message board you come with a question or complaint, not to soliloquise on the greatness.

 

[Vyal]

I can't remember the last time i even saw a young player, and when i did, he wasn't actually a new players, just a new account.

I saw a LEGIT new player a week ago but the poor guy didn't speak english & had no clue what he was doing. I tried using babblefish to communicate with him but I had no idea what he was saying to me so I guess he wandered around a little bit then died never to be seen again.....

 

[MalagAste]

Love of the Game, Frustration because so many friends leave and you know exactly why they do... They are sick of the cheating, they complain nothing ever gets done about it, bad graphics, everyone they know has left, they are tired of the bugs, they miss "the old days".... and just can't get those back... so on and so forth...

I stay because I love the game. I stay because there is NOTHING else that even comes close to UO...

I love design and deco.... and RP.

However I get frustrated when things are put in play that block or destroy some of that... when I see yet another friend leave for the same old
reasons.... I could go on and on but why bother... I agree with my friends you can keep telling them about what needs fixing but won't do any good.

 

[Sevin0oo0]

Just wondering what it is that keeps you hanging in there is all.

I won't say what all i think, being branded 'detrimental to the community', but there ARE still things I enjoy in UO, as they currently stand. I started just after Tram, so I am literally a trammie baby, and that has been non-stop for quite a few years now. For those years, and money spent, I'd like to collect a little of it back, vs decay or just throwing it all away, and I'll use it towards a new game, kinda like changing shards, except my new shard will be a different game. I do the 6mth thing so there's some unknown amount of time left, just trying to maximize my yield, and biding my time until all's sold.

 

[phantus]

13 years of vested interest in a game that has been falling behind for the last 10. Not meeting current MMO expectations and the perception the company that runs the game not only doesn't understand it but doesn't give a damn. I believe the developers(not producers) truly care about the game but that is not enough.

The player base is overwhelmingly PvE yet the game itself is based upon PvP mechanics. They need to be separate.

The most important thing ties to the 13+ years. I have lots of stuff and houses and grandfathers accounts and those things are hard to give up.

I continue to see the game slide and the direction is completely unknown. I fail to understand how imbuing and reforging are going to keep me wanting to play short of PvP. I used to play to get stuff. Now I make whatever I want and once I have a perfect suit the only thing to do is make another. There is little originality to the game and the game barely resembles the Ultima franchise that drew me into in the first place.

Plus I like to argue

 

[Vyal]

Plus I like to argue

I think thats the best part of UO , rofl..

 

[Capn Kranky]

I'm in agreement with Tina to an extent. UO has gone far beyond a game that one can pick up and do low-end to some moderate hunting without having all sorts of complex gear.

Truly new players can be so easily overwhelmed by the assortment of items, properties and whatnot that it is many times too daunting and they go elsewhere in sheer frustration. My son tried twice - 5 years apart ... did pretty well until he hit the "gotta have gear" wall, got frustrated and left.

Me, I've not played for several months now ... I killed off the last of the accounts shortly after the account management stuff was worked over. I wait to see what things develop as I contemplate my next foray into an MMORPG arena.

 

[Uvtha]

I'm in agreement with Tina to an extent. UO has gone far beyond a game that one can pick up and do low-end to some moderate hunting without having all sorts of complex gear.

Nonsense. Anything below champs/peerless etc can be done fairly easily with simple gear with almost any template you wanna use.

 

[Redxpanda]

Nothing. I quit years ago...la

Ayeeee!

What a blast from the past

 

[PitrGri]

My question is, what keeps you in the game you are SO obviously unhappy with? And again, I am not saying your viewpoint is wrong, or that you are wrong for staying. Just wondering what it is that keeps you hanging in there is all. Is it the hope that things will one day change?

I dont argue or post replies to the usual crowd of bullies anymore... I dont wait for change either... I act.

How to avoid the usual shard bullies that claim they dont cheat when they pvp and use numbers (crying for help in Vent ) when things go badly on a one on one?
- Create a supply line from another shard and have fun with the Transfer Shields.

How to avoid the elders grip on the RP scene?
- Create a new way to allow guilds to become town protectors, thus having a rp area based on equality, we skipped the need to have an ok from players so we could have fun rping... like we did on Catskills with the RBG guild, even if the EMs and Messana came to tell us what to do... neither could force us to change.


How to avoid buying dupes or helping players to have some profit based on UO?
- We are self sufficient.


Bottom line... dont cry, dont argue, dont get into petty arguments... even if the loudest voices on these boards do seem to be closer to the devs than the average joe... but the old inside information that gave the edge on events (pre em system)... seems to have vanished... or at least grew silent..


If you want things done... do it.

 

[PitrGri]

On the bright side... this year we got 17 new players on Catskills... (so far)... so things arent that dire...

 

[Madrid]

The only thing keeping me in the game right now is my treasure trove of items and my Castle. I've already loaded up Beetles and dropped 3 of 4 accounts which included one 18X18, 1 Castle and 1 Keep. If UO had a 'portable hole' I would probably drop everything inside and sell the castle. Maybe just maybe by some miracle UOKR will be made an option or some high resolution graphics will be incorporated and I could end up playing more again.

UO is the only MMORPG I've ever really played. My loyalties have always been to the Avatar.

I'm not into the WoW and the EQ 3D type games. The only other games in recent memory I've enjoyed are Titan Quest and Dynasty Warriors.

Titan Quest is what UO should look like and that's what I was anticipating when they announced the SA client. Instead the graphics got worse.

The graphics, or lack of, is where I take issue with the game.

I returned to UO after a long hiatus by browsing the UO wiki page where I saw screenshots of UOKR..very nice screenshots. I came back because of those high resolution graphics and loved it. Two years later they pulled the plug on UOKR.

Someone explain to me how the eff a game take 3 stepsbackwards in terms of resolution? Mindblowing...

How do you expect to attract new players to keep the game solvent with graphics circa 1997?

If the game isn't going to be like Titan Quest at least get something near the vacinity like we had with UOKR.

6 months ago they announced they were working on high resolution and still the look and feel of the game hasn't changed one iota.

15 years ago those graphics were okay. Today it's not acceptable and certainly not going to draw in any new players.

UO is suffering from atrition there's not a doubt in my mind about it.

The only thing keeping me in the game right now is my laziness to pack up more beetles with items and park them in Luna.

I expect more from UO and want more for UO. This great game, the first real MMORPG, the mother of all could be so much better than it is right now in so many ways.

It's frustrating to see such a great game get ignored and pretty much be left to wither and die.

 

[Woodsman]

Just wondering what it is that keeps you hanging in there is all. Is it the hope that things will one day change?

A lot of people are hoping that one day BioWare will wake up and do something with UO. Not a new game or anything, because if people wanted a new game, they would have already went to one of the dozens of other MMOs out there.

It's frustrating because the communications between BioWare and UO players can be so incredibly lacking.

And I'm saying BioWare because last year BioWare executives said they were fully in charge of UO and they laughed at the idea that EA was screwing with UO. They claimed full responsibility for UO and said EA didn't dictate to them.

We're in the middle of the same pattern we've been going through for years - we'll get some vague communications about the future, we see some work being done, then silence.

Meanwhile, every other mainstream MMO out there is doing everything they can to talk to their players about their future plans, giving plenty of specifics, etc. Hell, BioWare says more about games that aren't even released yet than they have about UO.

I don't know when people are hoping that things are going to change. If they aren't going to change under BioWare, they aren't going to change. We'll get the higher resolution graphics, we'll get events, we'll get bug fixes, but I don't see much beyond that. I wish I was wrong.

 

[Capn Kranky]

PvP? I was not into that, but he was interested and the gear he had available was woefully underspec ... and the nice PvP blokes were not willing to guide/assist him in obtaining better. Oh well.

 

[Raptor85]

Nonsense. Anything below champs/peerless etc can be done fairly easily with simple gear with almost any template you wanna use.

while true, the problem with this is now you get to run around soloing ettins and ogres for a few hundred gold, sure that's "something to do" but the part of the game your'e allowed to be in at that point is utterly barren and devoid of life, you may as well fire up diablo2 at that point, it's free and at least you could play online and see people now and then. If you don't have the "gotta have" gear you're either left behind on guild activities, or you're essentially useless there. No, if you want to actually play with other pepole in current UO the item grind is forced, especially for PVP players like myself it was insane having to grind mobs for hours on end just to keep gear for myself to use that was actually considered crap by most others (i didnt have the patience to continually grind for the super high end stuff). It was just feeling way too much like work keeping myself equipped to fight, spending hour after hour grinding brainless mobs with 5 browser windows and a spreadsheet open just so I can find out which items are worth keeping, and of course a few hours matching stats on suit pieces so that I could get the required full 70's suit with all the stats i need to survive. From AOS on I've hated the item system but been able to put up with it to varying levels to try and keep playing the parts of the game I enjoy, but they keep taking more and more of those parts away, and forcing more and more PVM to be able to compete, it finally got the the point where all the fun was gone and the game felt more like a job that I had to pay to work at. Why do I stick around here? History with the game mostly, while I hate current gameplay UO and Ultima itself is a series i've played for the majority of my life, and attachment to the community (siege's community, what's left of it at least, is ). There's also the vague hope that one year the UO producer, whoever it currently may be, might grow a clue and actually take a look at why so much of UO's older playerbase has left instead of constantly pushing in the wrong direction and appeasing the remaining, but shrinking rapidly, group of players with shiny trinkets.

 

[Uvtha]

while true, the problem with this is now you get to run around soloing ettins and ogres for a few hundred gold, sure that's "something to do" but the part of the game your'e allowed to be in at that point is utterly barren and devoid of life, you may as well fire up diablo2 at that point, it's free and at least you could play online and see people now and then. If you don't have the "gotta have" gear you're either left behind on guild activities, or you're essentially useless there. No, if you want to actually play with other pepole in current UO the item grind is forced, especially for PVP players like myself it was insane having to grind mobs for hours on end just to keep gear for myself to use that was actually considered crap by most others (i didnt have the patience to continually grind for the super high end stuff). It was just feeling way too much like work keeping myself equipped to fight, spending hour after hour grinding brainless mobs with 5 browser windows and a spreadsheet open just so I can find out which items are worth keeping, and of course a few hours matching stats on suit pieces so that I could get the required full 70's suit with all the stats i need to survive. From AOS on I've hated the item system but been able to put up with it to varying levels to try and keep playing the parts of the game I enjoy, but they keep taking more and more of those parts away, and forcing more and more PVM to be able to compete, it finally got the the point where all the fun was gone and the game felt more like a job that I had to pay to work at. Why do I stick around here? History with the game mostly, while I hate current gameplay UO and Ultima itself is a series i've played for the majority of my life, and attachment to the community (siege's community, what's left of it at least, is ). There's also the vague hope that one year the UO producer, whoever it currently may be, might grow a clue and actually take a look at why so much of UO's older playerbase has left instead of constantly pushing in the wrong direction and appeasing the remaining, but shrinking rapidly, group of players with shiny trinkets.

WALLOTEXT! Anyway, you can do fairly high level stuff, and highest level stuff if grouping with crappy gear. I've been soloing all kinds of stuff, up to the occasional grizzle with a tamer, and crap armor. My sampire with also very moderate gear can solo most of a spawn, and just needs help of one other person for bosses.
Its not hard or a grind to get a suit that can handle most monsters solo with difficulty, and if yo group you can get by with mediocre gear anywhere and still be a contributing party member.

This is especially true for bards and tamers and ev/ee spamming mages.

 

[Roland']

First this is not a troll, I am asking in earnest.

Reading the boards, hearing some folks in game, I have found there are those that always seem to be unhappy with UO as a whole. I don't mean the ones who find a thing here or there that makes them unhappy with that certain aspect. But, there seems to be CHRONIC unhappiness by a good bit of folks. These are the ones who gripe and complain about any and almost everything that goes on, or what the Dev's do. My question is, what keeps you in the game you are SO obviously unhappy with? And again, I am not saying your viewpoint is wrong, or that you are wrong for staying. Just wondering what it is that keeps you hanging in there is all. Is it the hope that things will one day change?

you miss understand. it is not uo but ea the company that runs the game that is the problem. every ea game i play has terrible bugs that do not get fixed and even worse customer support. even tor is suffering from these problems.

 

[Zosimus]

Basically.......

[youtube]pPXM7i0dv30[/youtube]

 

[Jirel of Joiry]

First this is not a troll, I am asking in earnest.

Reading the boards, hearing some folks in game, I have found there are those that always seem to be unhappy with UO as a whole. I don't mean the ones who find a thing here or there that makes them unhappy with that certain aspect. But, there seems to be CHRONIC unhappiness by a good bit of folks. These are the ones who gripe and complain about any and almost everything that goes on, or what the Dev's do. My question is, what keeps you in the game you are SO obviously unhappy with? And again, I am not saying your viewpoint is wrong, or that you are wrong for staying. Just wondering what it is that keeps you hanging in there is all. Is it the hope that things will one day change?

I DO keep hoping for change, but the change I'd like to see never comes.

I'd like to see actual accountability and consequences for players actions.

As things stand now there is no accountability or onsequences. Hack someone's account, steal their pixels and castle, delete all their characters, and then besmurch their reputation and good name. What consequences does the hacker face....NOTHING! He dances off into the sunset and transfers to another shard. He dances off with 200 mil that he was paid for the castle. IMHO what should have happened is his accounts should have been banned and his possesions given to the person who's account he hacked and destroyed.

What is sadder still is that perma-banning means NOTHING. In my 11 years of UO I have heard over and over; guy gets perma-banned then the next day he's back on a new account.

Its sad, as I've been saying for a while now: It feels like the monkeys are running the zoo and we're all getting hit with the flying poo.

Until there is accountability for player behavior I feel UO will never improve

 

[DenAlton036]

Im sure most people like the game fine, but generally when you come to a message board you come with a question or complaint, not to soliloquise on the greatness.

exactly right

 

[Surgeries]

Plus I like to argue

Nuh-Uh!!!

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

Maybe but still haven't moved on have we.............

Nope I haven't moved on. I continue to wane for the glory days of UO and check the site from time to time, and even pipe in on some topics.

Would I come back if certain things changed? Probably.

Has anything sparked interest enough to consider coming back? Nope...la

 

[lucitus]

For me the main fact are the memories, the good old times, also the amount of time spent in UO was huge.

Today iam unhappy with the whole game because i log on and dont know what todo, nothing is worth to fight and PvP isnt there and when iam crashing or see people who are not there on screen iam frustrated. 2d is no option and third dawn client is long time disabled. But iam not the only one many have left also one of my best friends.

You cant say it is the one thing i dont like, it is the whole development of UO, less players, less business ingame, less graphics, less stability, less artwork, less expansions, less boosters, less less less, that alls sums up into unhappieness.

 

[Vyal]

Why is this not in the rants forum, hate seeing this on Uhall..

 

[Woodsman]

You cant say it is the one thing i dont like, it is the whole development of UO, less players, less business ingame, less graphics, less stability, less artwork, less expansions, less boosters, less less less, that alls sums up into unhappieness.

I really thought things would change last year after BioWare publicly started claiming UO as being under their complete control and stating that EA had nothing to do with the decisions made about UO. But while UO has advanced a bit, and Camelot as well, in the end, UO, Camelot, and Warhammer are still being treated about the same as they were a year or two ago.

Nobody wants to talk about the really big picture of UO because it's some kind of huge secret that could jeopardize EA's future or something. Meanwhile, I just got another email from Star Wars: The Old Republic, and from EVE Online, talking about their upcoming major plans.

Some people made the claim early last year that there will be a new UO game and that we just need to wait for it, but that completely overlooks the fact that if we wanted to play a new MMO where we are starting new, we would have already moved on to other MMOs. There are a lot of people who have played off and on since 1997 and who come back to UO for a reason. A new game has no real incentive to draw us since we prefer certain things about UO that few companies seem interested in replicating.

I had a lot of hope for Jeff Skalski's plans, but we're right back in the same rut. If he reads this and wants to respond, great! But please Jeff, do not give us vague "we have exciting things planned for UO types of statements, because we don't care about vague anymore.

I am going to stick it out through the 15th anniversary, but after IDOCing yesterday, this weekend I'll be going through my houses and clearing a lot of things out - turning them in for points, unraveling, etc. and basically putting myself in the position of being able to bank everything and drop my houses if I need to.

 

[popps]

First this is not a troll, I am asking in earnest.

Reading the boards, hearing some folks in game, I have found there are those that always seem to be unhappy with UO as a whole. I don't mean the ones who find a thing here or there that makes them unhappy with that certain aspect. But, there seems to be CHRONIC unhappiness by a good bit of folks. These are the ones who gripe and complain about any and almost everything that goes on, or what the Dev's do. My question is, what keeps you in the game you are SO obviously unhappy with? And again, I am not saying your viewpoint is wrong, or that you are wrong for staying. Just wondering what it is that keeps you hanging in there is all. Is it the hope that things will one day change?

Of course each one is different and may have different opinions and ways to express them but personally, I do not see negatively the expression of criticism about anything.

To my thinking, the worst attitude is not criticism but ignoring.

If I criticize anything, by doing that, I show that I care for it to the point that I voice up in the hope that things get changed for what I think, whether right or wrong in my thinking, is the better.

When I could not care less about something, I just would ignore the issue and say nothing about it. If I do not care about anything why would I spend my time about discussing it ?

So, at least in my view, criticizing does not mean despising but it means instead caring for something to the point of wanting it changed for the better (to one's own personal opinion of course). Ignoring is far worse as far as negativeness goes, IMHO.

 

[nynyve]

My houses. If I didn't have those, nothing would induce me to to play.

 

[goldenpower]

My question is, what keeps you in the game you are SO obviously unhappy with?

probably not much considering people who are unhappy with the game are usually aren't far from unsubscribing. the last thing that keeps people around is usually friends and enemies.

it's obvious isn't it?

 

[Woodsman]

My houses. If I didn't have those, nothing would induce me to to play.

This is one of the top ways that UO still keeps people and why it is still memorable to many who have played and moved on. Everybody talks about it being first or they talk about it being somewhat of a sandbox, but UO has done housing in a way that nobody else has really attempted.

That's why I shake my head when anybody proposes to radically alter housing. Screwing with housing would be one of the fastest ways to kill it off.

There are a lot of people who may not log in anymore, but who still pay their monthly fees to keep their house(s).

 

[nynyve]

Duolicate post

Just ignore this

 

[Carharrt]

Doesn`t matter what game you play,just read general discussion in the forums. There is always a vocal minority that cries foul with every decision a games god aweful,non caring,non listening devs make. I`ve played several games and still do,it is the same everywhere. Even in WoW.

For me,I got over myself and came back to UO with a new attitude of Just play the damn game and be happy its still online.

Worked wonders for me. Alot less stress and aggravation.

 

[Mervyn]

There is always a vocal minority that cries foul with every decision a games god aweful,non caring,non listening devs make.[/I]

I find devs, listen to the majority too much, and fail to realise that the majority know jack sh*t, they should listen to just a select few elite. Listening to the majority caused trammel.

Luckily i'm the latter.

 

[Carharrt]

I find devs, listen to the majority too much, and fail to realise that the majority know jack sh*t, they should listen to just a select few elite. Listening to the majority caused trammel.

Luckily i'm the latter.

I only say minority because the majority does not post here or even use the forums. Therefore the devs info they are gathering is already skewed since the majority is left out of the discussion. Thats why log in polls should be their best way of gathering info. Now with the new account system,the old arguement of well people with 50 accounts can have an influence! is not valid anymore.

But, I don`t let things bother me anymore. I play, I have fun and am happy with the game and happy it is still here to enjoy. If people truly do love UO,they should be happy it has lasted this long and is still being supported (and improved AND revamped)as well.

Whats this Trammel you speak of?

 

[pgib]

Sincerely i don't know who devs listen to but i'm certain it's not players. Two things makes me so sure: the eggnog fix and the arenas.

 

[PitrGri]

Well... the devs just removed the last reason many players used to come back to UO... the items they got during their gameplay across the years.

From now on... only paying costumers have the right to own a house...

How many will not even think twice about not installing uo knowing their homes are gone and all they gathered is gone... feeling that bitter taste of wasted time...

Yet, it is the devs choice to act based on the information they have... sad but true.

 

[PitrGri]

Thats why log in polls should be their best way of gathering info.

Exactly right...

 

[Woodsman]

Well... the devs just removed the last reason many players used to come back to UO... the items they got during their gameplay across the years.

From now on... only paying costumers have the right to own a house...

How many will not even think twice about not installing uo knowing their homes are gone and all they gathered is gone... feeling that bitter taste of wasted time...

Wait, what?

When has it ever been that nonpaying customers should have the right to own a house?

The last time I took a break, my houses fell. When did they change it so that your houses didn't fall if you stopped paying?

 

[Anakena]

I saw a LEGIT new player a week ago but the poor guy didn't speak english & had no clue what he was doing. I tried using babblefish to communicate with him but I had no idea what he was saying to me so I guess he wandered around a little bit then died never to be seen again.....

I think this is a big part of the problem. Population is the result of a balance between new players/returning players and those leaving. If you fail at keeping the new players you are on a bad track.

When you are new to a game, you accept of course you don't know anything and need training, but after some time, even if it is foolish, you want to have a look outside the safe zone. In the past it wasn't a problem as you meet a lot of people in the wilderness, but now it is empty. I often see real [young] players a britain bank on Europa, but they have no clue at all what to do, where to go, ...

Hence I think New Haven should be improved, so that new players do not feel the need to look elsewhere too early. They need a place where they would learn how to fight some basic critters without magery (ettins, orcs, ogres, harpies, spiders, etc...), where they can train skills above 50, where they can loot some better armors, where they can make some money. It is why some places like Crossroads were so popular in the early UO days.

Once they are better trained and equiped, they will want to make their first dungeon crawl. What about using the Khaldun trammel dungeon and populating it with some stronger monsters and have an entrance somewhere on New haven island?

 

[pgib]

Let's say that UO gets updated graphics and advertisment so that we get new players (otherwise we're talking about something that will never happen).

Even if it looked good, we could write a book about how to make new players feel comfortable with a game and UO would break every single statement of that essay.

One of the weirdest thing is that considering new players, the game is not up to date with itself: every bit of equipment you can get as a starting player via npc interaction is total crap compared to what any player can craft for free if asked to.

So a nice thing new haven could have would be a place where to put player vendors that sells stuff with a low price limit (like 1000gp max).

Then there is the quest system which is abysmal in every possible way. And the environment interactivity: for example, how do you know in game that there are dungeons? And what is the purpose of entering one of those places? There's no reason: there's nothing you can find in a dungeon that you can't have faster and cheaper by some other mean.

Even a game that is entirely fictional and has no purpose must obey logic. UO doesn't.

 

[Warpig Inc]

Your not going to find a new player here on UHall to comment. If they came to UHall first they most likely never started to play. New players have their plates full having to much damn fun playing the game.

Now once they are a Vet and start to see the game mechanics WTF. Find the rude guy recalling in at a house or backwoods bank (one that recalls under the floors of the Papua bank floor comes to mind) all day everyday. Find out when in a cave what him and his three buddies are up to when you are trying to have a relaxing day mining. Feeling your ready for the next level and get into the PVP world. Well that is a long one from ingame point. Not mentioning the shortbus glass licking helmet wearing out of game for FTW BS.


The day they stop releasing on our world unfinnish, little though or knowing what we do with their product upgrades. Know and see the hacks and scripts that suck the fun out of the game. Monitor the public in game goings at the banks, chat or latest player gathered hotspot. Then there will be less squeeky wheels on UHall. they will be logged into UO getting their money's worth feeling.

I for one would be driven to UHall more and more looking for a voice or hope (see "Ask the Devs" thread last date). Amazing how I found half my computer time spent on UHall leading to half as many active accounts. Sure THEY have good reason not to speak on UHall. Dorthy never seen behind the drapes, and the man there just did what was needed. The end story would lack the drama.