NEWS Ultima Online 23rd Anniversary Livestream & Major Announcement!

[Stinky Pete]

I don't want to but have we not been paying attention to what we are being told? They put in a new way for them to make quests and "treasures of" events, the new system doesn't require a publish. The devs have to manually log in and make the quest with the new tools that they made, which is why they are doing staggered releases. I can't blame them for not wanting to do that 20 something times in one day. If you don't like these events that they have been doing the last 2 months or so, you are really not going to like what is to come because I predict these type of events being rolled out monthly for the foreseeable future as they work on building the new shard. So all in all, I expect a lot more content to come, but I understand that the content will likely be limited to the type of events that can be created using the new tools.

 

[Deimos]

I really don't know why they even bother having forums, or soliciting feedback, to be honest

Of all the most requested features for the past, what? 15-20 years, very few, if any have been implemented in that time.

Features or changes that have never even been posted about, seem to get added and that really seems to do the opposite of whatever their intention is, it drives players away, it doesn't draw them in.

It's like they want to purposely self-sabotage the game so it does eventually get canned.

The only ones that seem get implemented are those which can be sold in the UO Store and heck, even those tiny releases seem to take months to create.

 

[Thrakkar]

So much negativity in this thread.
I for one like it. It is like Seasons in Diablo 3. And to be honest, if there wouldn't be Seasons in D3 I wouldn't be playing it anymore. Non-season I have a character of every class I like (so to speak) fully maxed out. Kinda pointless and boring. But every time a season starts, all my friends are online and we're all having a blast starting with a complete noob and no gold & item filled stash for backup. After 2-3 weeks, when then the real grind starts again, I'm done again with D3. But those 2-3 Weeks, really fun. Just like on your first day, you played it. At least for me.

I can see the same here. I'm really fed up with my prod characters. Been there, done that. That's why I stopped playing UO.
But with this legacy shard it is a whole new perspective and I'm definitely going to create a character there once it goes live. Worst thing, that can happen is, that I loose interest after a few days.
And I really like that they said, that with this new shard they can make really bold decisions and change things, which they wouldn't dare on a prod shard. The bolder the better from my point of view.

 

[elster]

I'm into the idea of a new shard, but did they really say it's going to be deleted after a year or are some people interpreting something wrong here? Can someone explain that part to me?

 

[DJAd]

did they really say it's going to be deleted after a year or are some people interpreting something wrong here?

This is also how I read it. Seems a bit strange to me though I have to agree.

"At the conclusion of each season of Ultima Online: New Legacy the world will end in a cataclysmic event and will be reborn with fresh adventures to be had and a new legacy to be forged!"

 

[(Taler)]

I'm into the idea of a new shard, but did they really say it's going to be deleted after a year or are some people interpreting something wrong here? Can someone explain that part to me?

Yes you will have to start again, but like other games that do stuff like this, there will probably be things to earn like titles and such that carry over. There will probably be content/story changes when it starts over as well.

Also they said you can move the character to a regular shard at the end.

 

[Sweetpeez]

So much negativity in this thread.
I for one like it. It is like Seasons in Diablo 3. And to be honest, if there wouldn't be Seasons in D3 I wouldn't be playing it anymore. Non-season I have a character of every class I like (so to speak) fully maxed out. Kinda pointless and boring. But every time a season starts, all my friends are online and we're all having a blast starting with a complete noob and no gold & item filled stash for backup. After 2-3 weeks, when then the real grind starts again, I'm done again with D3. But those 2-3 Weeks, really fun. Just like on your first day, you played it. At least for me.

I can see the same here. I'm really fed up with my prod characters. Been there, done that. That's why I stopped playing UO.
But with this legacy shard it is a whole new perspective and I'm definitely going to create a character there once it goes live. Worst thing, that can happen is, that I loose interest after a few days.
And I really like that they said, that with this new shard they can make really bold decisions and change things, which they wouldn't dare on a prod shard. The bolder the better from my point of view.

Datz part ob da problem weez habin wif dis idea - demz doozin all diz wurk fur hummiez to play fur uh few weekz den quit. Demz needz to dooz something to git hummiez to stay. Dun nooz wut dat iz but dat aint meez job either.

 

[Keven2002]

After 2-3 weeks, when then the real grind starts again, I'm done again with D3. But those 2-3 Weeks, really fun. Just like on your first day, you played it. At least for me.

You talk about all the negativity and you pretty much gave the reason for it in the next sentence. The Devs built up the suspense and hyped up this MAJOR announcement for 6 months and then basically told us their idea is to focus all their attention going forward on a new shard that is still in the idea phase (won't be available for a while and not a whole lot of concrete plans for it) that essentially will be played by people for 2-3 weeks before they quit and wait 11 months for the next season.... To paraphrase; the Devs are going to spend a year + to develop something that most people will either not play at all or play for less than a month before they quit playing it. And you can't see why people who play prod shards would be unhappy about that??

Darn @Sweetpeez !! Beat me to the response by 2min!!

 

[Uriah Heep]

The big announcement... The devs had an idea! lol

Sorry, it was there, had to do it

 

[railshot]

I guess I am still confused how will this shard be any different than uoforever the free shard??

On this one you get to lose all your stuff once a year.

 

[railshot]

Im not sure how that is even possible for someone in the tech industry.

I had the same reaction as when they announced that due to the quarantine they have to suspend development. If there is an industry where work from home is common and accepted, this is it. I worked for outfits bigger than this team that had no physical office at all.

 

[Thrakkar]

You talk about all the negativity and you pretty much gave the reason for it in the next sentence. The Devs built up the suspense and hyped up this MAJOR announcement for 6 months and then basically told us their idea is to focus all their attention going forward on a new shard that is still in the idea phase (won't be available for a while and not a whole lot of concrete plans for it) that essentially will be played by people for 2-3 weeks before they quit and wait 11 months for the next season.... To paraphrase; the Devs are going to spend a year + to develop something that most people will either not play at all or play for less than a month before they quit playing it. And you can't see why people who play prod shards would be unhappy about that??

Darn @Sweetpeez !! Beat me to the response by 2min!!

It was an example, of how it is for me in D3. There are way more people playing a season from day 1 to the last day. Also it does not mean, that it would be the same for me in UO or that all other people will keep it like that. It's probably a good idea to not draw conclusions or toss around some assumptions because of my personal example from a completely different game. Besides, right now nothing is set in stone nor has anyone ever played it.

I don't have the time to play all the games I would like to play. So yeah, if something sparks more interest I might move one to the next game. I don't have a problem with that. Should you have a problem with that, I don't mind.

If I'd have to interpret the subtext of your reply, you'd probably have no people play that shard instead of ones, who might not play the full lifecycle of that shard. If that's true, then I find it kinda sad. Because that's still people, who support this game, even if not as long as others...

On a side note, I don't know anything about this hype, they built up. I heard it the first time during the livestream. So I can't really say much about that.

 

[Tina Small]

I'm into the idea of a new shard, but did they really say it's going to be deleted after a year or are some people interpreting something wrong here? Can someone explain that part to me?

From what I understand, you'll be able to move your character(s) and items from that shard to other shard(s) before the "season" ends. It really sounds to me as if this new shard is intended to be a place where people can get new characters started in an environment that provides more of an equal footing to everyone. Some of the things I read about: No one will be able to bring in items from elsewhere; no one will be have vet rewards to use; housing might be more restricted; PvP might be available shard wide but probably only on a opt-in basis; skill training will be different. I vaguely remember Kyronix talking a few years back about changing Haven to a place for just new characters to get started. I kind of think this is a glorified version of this.

This idea of a new shard for building up new characters isn't what I was expecting for an announcement either. But the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. I have friends who have tried to come back to UO and just didn't make it because they felt so overwhelmingly behind everyone else already playing. Will it be a success? I don't know. But I do know that at this point, I'm just glad we still have a dev team, no one's been lost from it, and they are willing to stick their necks out and try something different. I have never been one of Mesanna's greatest fans. But I have to believe that she's probably spent a fair amount of time doing what she can to speak up for UO and its players with both Broadsword and EA and arguing that the game should be allowed to continue and now, to try something new.

I think we all should be glad that yesterday's announcement was about trying something new. We are very fortunate that it wasn't, instead, an announcement that things are being curtailed or, worse, being shut down. With as awful as this year has been in so many respects, who would have been surprised at that? Not many of us, I think. So let's count our blessings and let's get ready to give the dev team lots of good, constructive feedback so this project is a rousing success.

 

[Melchiah]

Sounds really interesting whichever way it goes - won’t be all things to all people, but until we know more about rule sets, item properties, skills and training, etc., it’s fairly major speculation. But at least it’s something. Hell, if Europa gets some fresh blood out of it, then yes please!

I can’t deny that I am slightly concerned for the usual shards though. I hope that some of the lessons learned on the new shard can be applied retrospectively, as my fear is the sunset cycle for existing shards, or a repurposing of those resources. Having played a few browser games that have gone into the 4-week unlockable cycle (Simpsons: Tapped Out for an EA example), it’s turned into even more of a grind than before.

 

[Thrakkar]

I vaguely remember Kyronix talking a few years back about changing Haven to a place for just new characters to get started. I kind of think this is a glorified version of this.

I see that different. I think, this shard is for people, for which the journey is the reward.

Personally I enjoy a game, where I have goals. In a singleplayer game that is usually the main plot. In a multiplayer game I usually set my own goals. UO gave me plenty goals for more than 72 months. So with my prod characters I either have no goals anymore or certain goals are that tedious to reach, that at some point it doesn't feel fun or like a game anymore. The latter I usually don't pursue. Bottom line, on prod shards I've got nothing to pursue anymore. I also don't want to delete those chars and start over. But with such a new shard, I don't have those issues.

What I would love to see is, that they would manage to build a world, where lesser skilled characters are more enjoyable to play as on prod shards. For me on prod there is much of a too hard cut from "leveling" a char and endgame. That should be much more seamless. Ideally from 10 to 100 skillpoints. That would make the journey so much more worthwile.

So yeah, for me it is all about the journey. And the best thing about this shard is, once a season ends, a new one will start.
Crossing my fingers, that they can and will deliver. If they do, who knows, how long I might stay...

 

[Pawain]

The Trailer has a lot of things that look like what is in Diablo. Pop up NPC screens. Achievements, Rewards, Learder bords in Statue form. etc.

They may incorporate a screen like D3 has so you can see your progress and others.

 

[Spartan]

lol I don't get it. New shard that does what? ok I'll be patient.

Think of it as a new grind only on a MUCH larger scale than anything else.

 

[croy6325]

IMHO, keep the ideas they said.....new shard, one map, old school style, and just scrap the idea of wiping it every year. Just give us the old school sandbox we have been asking for and they would bring in a ton of ppl that play the freeshards.

 

[Lord Arm]

a new shard? it will get wiped every year or so? chars will be able to transfer to other shards will their stuff just before shard wipe? i have a lot of questions and i dont see them answering until it already developed. i also dont have faith i will like. a lot of questions did not get answered.
how will this bring more people to play? all i see happening is some will go there and play, making other shards have even less people to play with, so others may leave because no one to play with lol.
there are reasons why i will never play free shards. main one is they can wipe the shard at anytime.
in some ways i dont care about this new shard but im worried the devs will give advantages to this new shard and screw over the people on other shards. i would be leaving. if they give out server births, im gone. there alot more would like to say but dont know enough. i just dont know of anyone that asked for this. i just dont like the idea of the chars transferring off with who knows what and what it will do to the economy to various shards. i wouldnt care if they could only transfer a built-up naked char. i also hope the 2 clients and others shards dont get neglected because of all the work that will be put into this new shard idea. the devs say they want to give the old feeling of uo, then they should of made a pre aos shard which alot asked for, not me though lol. i think we need to do a poll to see how many like or dislike this idea before its too late. too late lol.

 

[Pawain]

a new shard? it will get wiped every year or so? chars will be able to transfer to other shards will their stuff just before shard wipe? i have a lot of questions and i dont see them answering until it already developed. i also dont have faith i will like. a lot of questions did not get answered.
how will this bring more people to play? all i see happening is some will go there and play, making other shards have even less people to play with, so others may leave because no one to play with lol.
there are reasons why i will never play free shards. main one is they can wipe the shard at anytime.
in some ways i dont care about this new shard but im worried the devs will give advantages to this new shard and screw over the people on other shards. i would be leaving. if they give out server births, im gone. there alot more would like to say but dont know enough. i just dont know of anyone that asked for this. i just dont like the idea of the chars transferring off with who knows what and what it will do to the economy to various shards. i wouldnt care if they could only transfer a built-up naked char. i also hope the 2 clients and others shards dont get neglected because of all the work that will be put into this new shard idea. the devs say they want to give the old feeling of uo, then they should of made a pre aos shard which alot asked for, not me though lol. i think we need to do a poll to see how many like or dislike this idea before its too late. too late lol.

They answered my question and put it in the newsletter. Maybe you are not asking in the correct place.
I didn't ask in bold tho. UO - NLS Newsletter #1

 

[Lore]

ONE shard....one new shard.....because that's going to help all the other shards become more populated?

I remember when they created Origin...I left Napa and never went back...

*sighs*

It sounds amazing....it really does....but what about the existing shards?

I don't care about those shards, personally. Ya'll cheat, dup, scam, parasite off real money on top of the official sub, run multiple accounts at once to play instead of playing with people, and have amassed an obscene amount of in game currency that had 0 regard to the impact of it on the players you're now asking them to try to entice? L O L

 

[ShriNayne]

Are they making a new client? If not then they are still using the CC and there will still be cheating/scripting, I'm not seeing how this new shard will be cheat free, please explain.

 

[Johnny Black]

They will make you buy everything on the ingame store!!
Ethereal Mount (Need to Buy)
Houses (You need to buy the same way that you have to buy on SOTA)
If you think about, they will still offer the Pay to Win but because this is a new server, there is no 3rd part websites selling anything or duped items or anything, so UO/BS will make 100% of the money and than after 1 year, when you need to transfer the deco or whatever that you had for a year, you will need to buy the 8th slot expansion and the extra storage expansion to hold all that crap and than they erase everything from the new shard and you start all over again!!!!!! Win Win for them.

 

[jack flash uk]

Datz part ob da problem weez habin wif dis idea - demz doozin all diz wurk fur hummiez to play fur uh few weekz den quit. Demz needz to dooz something to git hummiez to stay. Dun nooz wut dat iz but dat aint meez job either.

It would be helpful if you would actually act like an adult, maybe people would actually care what you are typing

 

[croy6325]

It would be helpful if you would actually act like an adult, maybe people would actually care what you are typing

no need to be a jerk. he roleplays in and outside of the game. if u dont like his style, then move on

 

[jack flash uk]

no need to be a jerk. he roleplays in and outside of the game. if u dont like his style, then move on

You know what I get that, but it is ridiculous here don't you think?

 

[Thrakkar]

They will make you buy everything on the ingame store!!
Ethereal Mount (Need to Buy)
Houses (You need to buy the same way that you have to buy on SOTA)

Is that some secret insider information noone else knows than you?
Or are you just preaching the end of the world?

Win Win for them.

At the end of the day they're still running a company and someone has to pay the bills.
So why wouldn't they have it more profitable for them?

 

[croy6325]

You know what I get that, but it is ridiculous here don't you think?

to each their own, its not my thing, but i respect it. he has done it for years and hasn't broken character, its kinda impressive

 

[MissEcho]

You only have to go and read the comments on the You Tube vidoe live stream to see the level of 'new/returning' player interest this is gonna have. Some of em pull no punches and are pretty funny.

Sad thing is they are spot on

Sadder still was the totally unprofessional display we witnessed. I mean the comments about that are also pretty much on the money and it is embarrassing.

Never used Skype? These are tech people for goodness sake, ya know the ones that produce a MMP RPG. Haven't they been working from home like the rest of the world for the past 6 mths? How?... with string and tin cans? Telegrams? Post? My question is do they want nostalgia that bad they are first time using 2003 Skype? Especially when all the kewl kids have progressed to 2013 Zoom? Ya gotta laugh.

What is sadder is that for years I have played this game, defended it, tried to boost it up to get friends to play but now I am at the point where as a player I cannot continue to do that. That is what is the saddest thing as this game has always had the potential to be the best, but performances as witnessed on that live stream makes me realise we don't have the talent.

 

[Deimos]

a new shard? it will get wiped every year or so? chars will be able to transfer to other shards will their stuff just before shard wipe?

Given their track record, I can just see how this will go.
2 days before shard wipe, the character transfer system breaks due to overload, they can't turn off the shard wipe because (Insert the usual "We deleted the tools! We don't have the code!" excuse).
The shard is wiped, hundreds of players lose their characters
2 days later the transfer is fixed, we get a cookie cutter apology on uo.com and they offer us compensation in the form of rehued sandals. lol

 

[petemage]

You only have to go and read the comments on the You Tube vidoe live stream to see the level of 'new/returning' player interest this is gonna have. Some of em pull no punches and are pretty funny.

Sad thing is they are spot on

Sadder still was the totally unprofessional display we witnessed. I mean the comments about that are also pretty much on the money and it is embarrassing.

Never used Skype? These are tech people for goodness sake, ya know the ones that produce a MMP RPG. Haven't they been working from home like the rest of the world for the past 6 mths? How?... with string and tin cans? Telegrams? Post? My question is do they want nostalgia that bad they are first time using 2003 Skype? Especially when all the kewl kids have progressed to 2013 Zoom? Ya gotta laugh.

What is sadder is that for years I have played this game, defended it, tried to boost it up to get friends to play but now I am at the point where as a player I cannot continue to do that. That is what is the saddest thing as this game has always had the potential to be the best, but performances as witnessed on that live stream makes me realise we don't have the talent.

It is what it is. It only hurts when they ruin parts of the game that players enjoyed.

As long as they work on their own trash (refinements, eodon, etc.), I can freely ignore it.

At least they are not going to revamp more dungeons or peerless! God knows what sensational grind Kyronix would come up with for those.

 

[Lore]

Are they making a new client? If not then they are still using the CC and there will still be cheating/scripting, I'm not seeing how this new shard will be cheat free, please explain.

That's a scarecrow. Show me where someone said cheat free. You made up something someone said and argued with it. At least I didn't say it. I'm not reading through 4 pages of posts again.

It probably won't be cheat free, but it will be wiped every season.

 

[celticus]

Oh. My. God.

This is the Dev team that controls UO?? WTF!!! They can't even use Skype. Just wow.

No. It was the choice of skype itself that f*kd them. That was not the best choice for teleconferencing. There are so many other tele programs they could have chosen, even for a tiny price-charge.

 

[celticus]

Here is one massive downside to their limited time shard... if I don't join within the first week or two I'm at a SEVERE disadvantage for the rest of the time it's active (before it shatters aka wiped) and let's just say it's a year period that it's active... well if we are 6 months into it then I'm definitely not going to start playing the shard at that point.

I understand the whole issue with new players trying to come up playing against people that have been around 23 years (playing) but personally I put those years in (and avoided being banned/trashing my account) to be established. I'm not going to go play a shard that gets wiped every X months to start over. Honestly if I wanted this then I'd just go play test center 1 where I can set my skills right away and go do whatever I wanted out the gates until it's wiped.

Take it easy. Its a new concept. Also starting with a healthier economy, and relying hopefully on skill sets that you develop/have, rather than the uber gear accumulated over xx years. Also at the end you may be able to carry some of your "new shard" gear vs accomplishments to your prodo shard, maybe with some benefits.
I kind of think we need to have an open mind and see what the "Legacy" will be like, and not kill the idea before it is born.
Also I bet the "Avatar" guy will not be present as much.

 

[Lord Nabin]

No. It was the choice of skype itself that f*kd them. That was not the best choice for teleconferencing. There are so many other tele programs they could have chosen, even for a tiny price-charge.

I totally agree with this.

 

[Jasoninator]

You only have to go and read the comments on the You Tube vidoe live stream to see the level of 'new/returning' player interest this is gonna have. Some of em pull no punches and are pretty funny.

Sad thing is they are spot on

Sadder still was the totally unprofessional display we witnessed. I mean the comments about that are also pretty much on the money and it is embarrassing.

Never used Skype? These are tech people for goodness sake, ya know the ones that produce a MMP RPG. Haven't they been working from home like the rest of the world for the past 6 mths? How?... with string and tin cans? Telegrams? Post? My question is do they want nostalgia that bad they are first time using 2003 Skype? Especially when all the kewl kids have progressed to 2013 Zoom? Ya gotta laugh.

What is sadder is that for years I have played this game, defended it, tried to boost it up to get friends to play but now I am at the point where as a player I cannot continue to do that. That is what is the saddest thing as this game has always had the potential to be the best, but performances as witnessed on that live stream makes me realise we don't have the talent.

You know what though I am the opposite for years that I have played this game I have done nothing to defend it, I would discourage friends from returning to play but now I am at the point where I am willing to defend the game again and I am finally pushing my friends to come back and play. I can respect that the dev's are willing to finally try something different. Infact I got quite a few former guildmates on board already.

 

[Schatzi]

Well, I have no words. ( Well a few) So the few developers we have spent and wasted their time and resources for:
1. Another shard!?!? The shards we have now are 50% or more empty.
2.which is actually a glorified test center I.e. a lot of work then wiped.
3.Do not see how this will bring lots of new and returning players to UO. Unless it’s going to FTP and
I highly doubt that.
I‘ve been playing since beta and this has got to be the lamest thing I have heard of for UO. Some
might say Publish 16 was, others Trammel but this!?!?!? This is just plain useless.
I see this going the route of Origin only worse. At least on Origin you don’t get wiped every year.
Maybe I’m missing something but what a huge disappointment that broadcast was.
I guess I thought it would be something to draw more returning and new players to the shards we have.
Oh well, looks like 2020 struck again

 

[Promathia]

3.Do not see how this will bring lots of new and returning players to UO. Unless it’s going to FTP and
I highly doubt that.

Endless Journey – Ultima Online

uo.com

 

[celticus]

Well, I have no words. ( Well a few) So the few developers we have spent and wasted their time and resources for:
1. Another shard!?!? The shards we have now are 50% or more empty.
2.which is actually a glorified test center I.e. a lot of work then wiped.
3.Do not see how this will bring lots of new and returning players to UO. Unless it’s going to FTP and
I highly doubt that.
I‘ve been playing since beta and this has got to be the lamest thing I have heard of for UO. Some
might say Publish 16 was, others Trammel but this!?!?!? This is just plain useless.
I see this going the route of Origin only worse. At least on Origin you don’t get wiped every year.
Maybe I’m missing something but what a huge disappointment that broadcast was.
I guess I thought it would be something to draw more returning and new players to the shards we have.
Oh well, looks like 2020 struck again

Well. it looks that you don't give them any credit for anything, regardless of what they may try?
We have discussed bringing back oldish content, and new type of play and "old" mechanics for long time, just look at the threads here from the past. As they mentioned it is very hard to actually bring the old pre-T2A stuff back. So this is a compromise.
They have not even implemented anything and they are already dead wrong without even getting a glimpse of at least the beta product?
The wipe at the end of the season is very welcome by many of the players. It is one way to ensure a "healthy" economy. Everyone starts at ground zero, all is equal. No monguls of plats, or mega items. It will hopefully gamepay with minimal to no corruption.
Lots of people are comfortable with this, and these are the people who play just for the fun of it. The profiteers will be not so happy, but they will still be able to sell some goods, some of them anyways. But for the majority of people who play just for fun, it will be fine.
Also at the end of the season, as it sounds you may be able to get some trinkets to the precious production shards. Sounds that whatever you bring back will be shard bound at the shard you land.
Wipable play shard other than TC1, is a new concept, and will have nothing to do with prodo shards or TC1 itself.
I would encourage to stifle all the negativity before we know what it will be like. Then you can let it rip.
I would say just lets wait and see.

 

[Thrakkar]

Well. it looks that you don't give them any credit for anything, regardless of what they may try?
We have discussed bringing back oldish content, and new type of play and "old" mechanics for long time, just look at the threads here from the past. As they mentioned it is very hard to actually bring the old pre-T2A stuff back. So this is a compromise.
They have not even implemented anything and they are already dead wrong without even getting a glimpse of at least the beta product?
The wipe at the end of the season is very welcome by many of the players. It is one way to ensure a "healthy" economy. Everyone starts at ground zero, all is equal. No monguls of plats, or mega items. It will hopefully gamepay with minimal to no corruption.
Lots of people are comfortable with this, and these are the people who play just for the fun of it. The profiteers will be not so happy, but they will still be able to sell some goods, some of them anyways. But for the majority of people who play just for fun, it will be fine.
Also at the end of the season, as it sounds you may be able to get some trinkets to the precious production shards. Sounds that whatever you bring back will be shard bound at the shard you land.
Wipable play shard other than TC1, is a new concept, and will have nothing to do with prodo shards or TC1 itself.
I would encourage to stifle all the negativity before we know what it will be like. Then you can let it rip.
I would say just lets wait and see.

Amen!
Good to hear, that other people also like this concept or at least want to give it a fair chance.

 

[Keven2002]

Amen!
Good to hear, that other people also like this concept or at least want to give it a fair chance.

I'm all for new ideas and even though this new shard likely isn't for me, I'm not against the idea if they don't forget about live shards (which I have the feeling the live shards will be set on the back burner if I'm reading in between the lines).

That said, you can't ignore the skepticism people have when this very finite team's (only a 6 person Dev team) major announcement to bring UO the largest audience ever was to create another new shard (when over half the shards now are pretty dead) that is still in the idea phase AND will be their focus going forward.

Said differently, this understaffed team which seems to have trouble even fixing current/ongoing issues, is going to focus on something over the next year which is essentially something that could potentially leech people from live shards (further decreasing those populations) to play a temporary shard that all progress eventually gets wiped in an attempt to gain new subscriptions (while also allowing EJ accounts).... all while admitting that "some people are going to cheat and it just is what it is, we can't stop that".

So again, I hope I'm wrong and I do hope it brings more subscriptions but given the track record of what we have seen from this team over the years (and especially in the past 6 months and during the live stream), I do not have a whole lot of confidence of them being able to develop this MAJOR idea (the way the people want) while also providing enough attention to live shards (which is where it impacts me).

 

[Thrakkar]

That said, you can't ignore the skepticism people have when this very finite team's (only a 6 person Dev team) major announcement to bring UO the largest audience ever was to create another new shard (when over half the shards now are pretty dead) that is still in the idea phase AND will be their focus going forward.

Said differently, this understaffed team which seems to have trouble even fixing current/ongoing issues, is going to focus on something over the next year which is essentially something that could potentially leech people from live shards (further decreasing those populations)

Since it is a single shard, it is going to channel everyone, regardless of which prod shard his/her main shard is, into that one single legacy shard. That doesn't sound bad to me.
Granted, if you aren't from the US or don't have a good connection to it, you'll probably not going to play there. But then on the other hand it most likely won't affect the population of shards where such people normally play.
And of course people have to want to go there. The more the better. I don't see why you wouldn't want to go there, even if just for a week or two, just to give it a try. Maybe because people are so attached to all its wealth on prod shard?

to play a temporary shard that all progress eventually gets wiped

Why is it a temporary shard? Isn't it meant to stay?
And about the wipes, actually I find it quite refreshing to start over on a regular basis. Plus it is not wiped for good. You can transfer off your character with items, once a season finishes.

I do not have a whole lot of confidence of them being able to develop this MAJOR idea (the way the people want) while also providing enough attention to live shards (which is where it impacts me).

FYI, I haven't played for 2-3 years now and back then I didn't have any major issues/complaints, which would have to be fixed/changed, except maybe some major system overhauls, which just aren't possible on a prod shard (but would very well be possible on that new legacy shard).

That said, what attention do live shards need?
If I got it correctly, they finished developing all the required tools to quickly & easily produce content on prod shards. So that base is covered.

 

[celticus]

I'm all for new ideas and even though this new shard likely isn't for me, I'm not against the idea if they don't forget about live shards (which I have the feeling the live shards will be set on the back burner if I'm reading in between the lines).

That said, you can't ignore the skepticism people have when this very finite team's (only a 6 person Dev team) major announcement to bring UO the largest audience ever was to create another new shard (when over half the shards now are pretty dead) that is still in the idea phase AND will be their focus going forward.

Said differently, this understaffed team which seems to have trouble even fixing current/ongoing issues, is going to focus on something over the next year which is essentially something that could potentially leech people from live shards (further decreasing those populations) to play a temporary shard that all progress eventually gets wiped in an attempt to gain new subscriptions (while also allowing EJ accounts).... all while admitting that "some people are going to cheat and it just is what it is, we can't stop that".

So again, I hope I'm wrong and I do hope it brings more subscriptions but given the track record of what we have seen from this team over the years (and especially in the past 6 months and during the live stream), I do not have a whole lot of confidence of them being able to develop this MAJOR idea (the way the people want) while also providing enough attention to live shards (which is where it impacts me).

Yep.
And not very sure they are too much undestaffed. My son who is a college student made a private server with some ideas and things. One alone person. No one to help him. Then he started adding things on the code here and there and tweaking etc. This is not what he does for a living, he was too busy in RL to complete that project. So he gave it up for his RL stuff, studies etc. Took him a few weeks to set that up part time.
They have what 6 people? That supposedly do this for a living. It is not that hard to do for SIX people that are committed to this job. I assume that these 6 people all have a go at the code, and no code goes out without the project manager's approval (Mrs Armstrong, who must be pretty familiar with the code over the years), so there are at least 3 coders including her, and the two graphics folks, and her hubby who is the QA person.
What has been a problem is ideological resistance to implement some things, not lack of staff. And it is all the Devs ideas about how things should be in game vs what (some or many) players would like. Correcting mistakes, and goof-ups and mis-coding, and bugs I agree there is some of that but not too overwhelming and sooner or sadly later they get around to it.
Also as a major established "legal" corporation, they are obliged to disclose their staff and what they mostly do. So when you hear "other" UO spin-offs state they have 20 staff etc, take it with a little grain of salt for many reasons. One of them is that they can do and say what they want, since they live on the edge, and the dread that one day, EA-BS may come after them for copywrite violation etc.

 

[Schatzi]

Endless Journey does

Endless Journey – Ultima Online

uo.com

Endless Journey does not give you the full Ultima Online experience.
I have been a UO fan since day one and there has been a lot of awesome content added i.e. High Seas,
Eodon, Stygian Abyss and so on. All I am saying is that the way they hyped this news up it is disappointing to
say the least. And I am done with this conversation as there will always be different opinions. I hope
this new shard is what the developers hope it will be, as it would be a shame to have wasted all that talent
on something that was wasted.
Have a great day!!

 

[Uriah Heep]

I'm all for new ideas and even though this new shard likely isn't for me, I'm not against the idea if they don't forget about live shards (which I have the feeling the live shards will be set on the back burner if I'm reading in between the lines).

That said, you can't ignore the skepticism people have when this very finite team's (only a 6 person Dev team) major announcement to bring UO the largest audience ever was to create another new shard (when over half the shards now are pretty dead) that is still in the idea phase AND will be their focus going forward.

They have alreeady proven that they will continue to get paid, without doing anything or adding new content, running on EM stuff only. They aren't a bit scared to let the live shards hang in limbo, lol, that experiment is over and proven to work for them.

 

[Melchiah]

Hell, I could be an EJ player on the new shard, set up a guild of crafters, sit at Brit Forge every day and have a whale of a time. That’s what used to do it for me, and more than likely still would. Make crafted armour not über, but competitive, and the demand for that side of the game should grow. Of course, if this isn’t coupled with some sort of Imbuing or Crafting Prodo-shard effort, you might be pissing in the wind. But - you might have snared some of those players for the season that would never have been there in the first place.

Shove your Malas, Tokyo, Eodon, Ilshenar and wherever else. I’ll take a sense of community, even if it’s for a few players over a few weeks over most of the barren wasteland we have now. That feeling of being tipped 100g for doing repairs? Tell me that nostalgia, or saving up enough for a rare ore heavy archer or plate suit, isn’t worth a try?

 

[Keven2002]

Since it is a single shard, it is going to channel everyone, regardless of which prod shard his/her main shard is, into that one single legacy shard. That doesn't sound bad to me.
Granted, if you aren't from the US or don't have a good connection to it, you'll probably not going to play there. But then on the other hand it most likely won't affect the population of shards where such people normally play.
And of course people have to want to go there. The more the better. I don't see why you wouldn't want to go there, even if just for a week or two, just to give it a try.

I say the following with no ill-will. As you have admitted already, you haven't played in the past few years and likely haven't been up to speed on the ongoing issues in UO. But you also seem to contradict yourself in your own post. A single shard that will channel everyone... well not the EU players due to connection and not the established players who have no desire to start continuously start over ever X months.... so it's not really channeling everyone and really only a smaller subset (not anywhere close to the biggest audience ever).

My point was simply that one of UO's biggest known problems is population. Out of the 25+ shards the only real populations are concentrated into like 3-4. That being the case, the Devs solution to this issue was create another new shard that will most certainly thin out the populations of some of those already low population shards (at least temporarily). For those that play low pop shards, the Devs are basically saying the solution to your low pop is to create a new shard for people from your shard to focus on.... makes sense right?

Why is it a temporary shard? Isn't it meant to stay?
And about the wipes, actually I find it quite refreshing to start over on a regular basis. Plus it is not wiped for good. You can transfer off your character with items, once a season finishes.

Again you kind of contradict yourself here too... but yea it's 100% temporary in that after every X months a cataclysmic event wipes out the shards (wipes the shard) and people have to transfer off (aka the shard is seasonal). So the guild house or town you established etc are all wiped and you will not be given that same setup on your new shard (you are only bringing certain items and your character). It will depend how "classic" the shard will be but I've already written on different posts about transferring from a classic style shard to a live shard and how unbalanced it will be so I won't go in depth there but long story short you are very likely transferring over from Legacy at a disadvantage.

It's great you find it refreshing to start all over, but given you have already admitted that you would only play 2-3 weeks before going elsewhere and waiting for the next season... I don't think that's what the Devs are looking for. That also being said, you can feel free to "start fresh" on any live shard today... nothing stopping you from doing that now. At least by doing that, when you come back in X months all your progress is saved.

That said, what attention do live shards need?
If I got it correctly, they finished developing all the required tools to quickly & easily produce content on prod shards. So that base is covered.

Live shards need attention for content and bug fixes. Again you said it yourself, you haven't played in years. Why not? Was it because there was just so much content that you just couldn't take doing it all and became overwhelmed and quit? Likely not... if it's like a majority of others who have quit (myself included) it's because the content is stale and boring. Recycling the same "Treasure Of" content will only go so far... if that's the only thing to do every other month then people on the live shards are going to quit because it's the same old recycled things to do. That's what the new tool will do. When it comes to actual new content & storyline (like the recent High Seas story last year where the Triton was created) that won't be done. Again I don't expect you to understand since you haven't played in years and seem to only play a couple weeks at a time but for those of us that actually pay to play the game that becomes very boring after the 3rd or 4th straight iteration in a row.

 

[Dragkarah]

Except that it isn't. Like I said, you didn't listen too closely to the webcast because they covered how PvP will be different.

You rushed to judgment because you told yourself and everyone else you were going to hate it with your persistent hateful and negative attitude. You literally use the word hatred to describe UO.

She heard what she wanted to hear... That there is a Vice/Virtue pvp system. That made her mad that they may have spent 10 mins of dev time on something she doesn't want.

Every threat on here she complains about PvP cheating.... Its funny because the PvP cheats were worse when she claims to have PvP'd. They had true speedhacks back then that actually altered the packets and would make people jump screens... Those havent functioned in the last 20 years.

In the last 20 years the ONLY game breaking script people run thats not replicable by good playing ability was the pot gunner that never missed.

 

[Dragkarah]

Are they making a new client? If not then they are still using the CC and there will still be cheating/scripting, I'm not seeing how this new shard will be cheat free, please explain.

Every game has bots. Every game has scripts.
New client wont solve that. EC didnt solve that. EC wouldnt solve it if CC was disabled

 

[Arcus]

Like I said in an earlier post this is not for me, I will at least try it but to be honest I have my doubts that this will ever see the light of day.