NEWS [UO.Com] Ask & Answer No. 15

[UO News]

From the Devs
2013 Feb 11 17:08 GMT
We have another Ask and Answer for you and this one is full of great ideas that will help us to make Ultima Online even better. So go to your favorite fan site and submit those questions and ideas. We may even feature yours next week!


Ultima Online Bibliothek

Why is such a huge amount karma granted when choosing the "nice" option to fight Exodus? Participating two or three times in the fight easily capped my karma. Zero to 20k took years, 20k to 32k was done in minutes. That really cheapens the continuous dedication of being "kind". (Pcuvush)

Kyronix: I think the ship on karma/fame sailed when you were able to get double gains from battling creatures in Fel. The intent with the exodus encounter was to give a quick and dirty way to swing your karma one way or the other since all we’re really talking about is a cosmetic title anyway. One thing I would love to tackle is the idea of making fame and karma more of a personal choice with real consequences more than just a cosmetic title. Am I saying this is on the horizon? No, but it would be something nice to put some work into if we ever get the chance.


Using the Classic Client it often happens that the current target is changed, because another enemy is closer than the one that was attacked before. This may happen due to a monster fleeing or an already injured monster being not fast enough to close up. The "New Targeting System" is not disabled. Such behaviour makes it difficult to apply special moves in a controlled way or honoring opponents before hurting them. (Pcuvush)

Bleak: We will look to fix this issue in the future. Providing more details on reproducing this issue will help to resolve it more quickly.



UO Forums

I was curious about certain items becoming stackable:
small pieces of blackrock
messes of small fish
And why certain potions in bottle give the message "you do not know what this is" and will not combine the bottles with kegs of the same type. (Kahlan)

Kyronix: When time allows we can make additional items stackable, messes of small fish and blackrock being just a few on a long list.


Has it ever been discussed to offer a way to purchase veteran account status for newer accounts? If so, is it something being considered and to what extent? Spending say $100 to make a new account 5 years old might be worth while to some individuals. Or, say, $500 for 10 years. Just spit-balling prices but you get the point. (Quintus Batiatus)

Mesanna: We have discussed this several times due to the fact we want all players to be equal but we also want to honor our Vets, the people that have stayed with us for so long. So yes we are still kicking this subject around.


Would it be possible to somehow have a character switching feature? Possibly one that is grayed out or unavailable unless you are in your house and hadnt been in a fight in the allotted time. A Switch Characters drop down menu in essence, would be very nice! (Quintus Batiatus)

Phoenix: We have researched a feature such as this in the past. While we all agree it is a great idea, we don’t have time for it on our schedule in the near future.


DEVS: Some questions regarding Davy's Locker vet reward
Hello all -
I've noticed a few things about my shiny new 8th year vet reward that I'm hoping the dev team will address:
1. Why is there no option to sort the maps? Either something like the BOD book filter, or (even better) a feature that would allow us to sort ascending/descending for each column, exactly like you'd see in an excel spreadsheet
2. Are you aware of the error with map coordinate display? Often, the East portion of map coordinates is displayed incorrectly by the reward as West
3. Why did you dumb down the coordinates displayed for decoded treasure maps? Any chance you could have them display the entire DDMM format?
4. Can you add the ability to drop maps onto the table. Don't remove the 'add maps' button, please, but it would be nice if the table worked the same way as BOD books, for example. Fairly minor, but I always find myself dropping maps on it!
5. Is it possible to have the map display the pin location without removing it from the table, or is that too problematic?
Thanks! (Magister_Returns)

Phoenix: We do agree that the usability and interface for the Locker can be better. We have it added to our list to address in the future.



UO Stratics

Will there be any plans to extend trophies to all types of "Big Fish"? I got a Big Fish Yellowtail Barracuda, now i have been fishing for years but this is my first big fish i have ever gotten. I was very disapointed that i could not mount this fish for display above my home of the hearth fire. (cdavbar)

Kyronix: Right now there is only one type of art for the big fish trophy, so if it’s a case of just wanting to be able to name the same art based on your catch, that is a much easier thing to do then make trophy art for all the different fish types.

Mesanna: I will add this to the massive list of art we want =)


Q: Is there any chance we'll see the list of herdable creatures expanded beyond merely tameable types? Some observations:
- Firesteeds cannot be herded, although you can try, even at GM Herding. Are they meant to be herdable or not?- Of followers, only the tamed variety can be herded. Summons and reanimates would be great additions to the list of herdables, allowing a shepherd to have greater control over their own creatures. A good investment of skill points. Make it a GM bonus ability, perhaps.- Most monsters would be another great addition to herding. I can herd a greater dragon, but not something far weaker such as a daemon, elemental or the like. Peerless and such would be off-limits, but there really are a lot of in-between creatures that could make the profession of Shepherd much more flexible.
Can we get some more Herding enabled in the Abyss? There is next to nothing that can be herded, an enormous oversight as just about everyone else got thrown a bone with the expansion. Also, I don't care if they can be tamed or not. Animals that run in groups should be herdable. And yes, I'm serious.(Fink)
Could we do something with herding? I mean, ya it's great for Bo Peep RP's but in the real game of killing monsters and players, it has no benefit... Here's a thought, make it viable for tamers:For every X points of Herding you have, your pack instinct pets (I.e. your "herd") get a +Y% boost over their normal pack instinct bonus...just a suggestion (Boomers)

Phoenix: Right now we don’t have any plans to adjust creature herding values, but we will certainly take note of these suggestions and add them to our backlog.

Mesanna: We love to hear everyone’s ideas so please keep them coming.


Assassin Honed weapons - There should be more interest in these great weapons, but unfortunately most people agree that suffering from a lower weight intensity (450 instead of 500) AND the inability to enhance make these pointless items.Why not allow them to be enhanced? Keep the lower intensity as an offset. Breathe some interest back in these! (Jynxx)
I would like to know if there are any plans to look at Assassin Honed weapons at all. For the difficulty it takes to get the weapon you actually want, they should at least be useable. It would be nice if they could be reforged and enhanced, then I could see them being worth the effort it takes to get them, currently I have trouble giving away some of them. Also I would love to see some actual numbers on them, and a better description than what we got in the pub 74 notes:
New Item Property: Assassin Honed (found on items in the treasure room) – A successful hit with a weapon will provide additional bonus damage based on the attacker facing the same direction as the target. The percentage of the damage is based on the weapons original swing speed. Ranged weapons have a 50% chance to proc.
I love the concept, it makes positioning while melee fighting important, however I'm not sure wether it is the 450 imbuing cap and the fact that they cant be enchanced that makes them less desireable. A positive spin would be potentially when the weapon rebalance happens, some more of the assassin honed weapons may become popular.
Currently it seems that this post is the extent of player understanding of the property:
Assassin Honed. | Stratics: A Career Path in Gaming Thank You. (Mentiras)

Bleak: There are no current plans to allow these weapons to be reforged but we will look into allowing Assassin Honed weapons to be enhanced. The damage bonus scales based on the original weapon speed were 2 second weapons can receive up to a 73% damage bonus while 4 seconds weapons can receive up to a 33% damage bonus when triggered. The damage bonus is subject to the 300% damage cap.


Would it be remotely possible to have some sort of Exodus life bar, or on screen timer message, pop up when a group trying to place Summoning Altar is not allowed? Then the group waiting can know if Exodus is still alive, and when he dies, or how many minutes until the altar can be placed.The not knowing if Exodus just went below 60%, or he died 9 minutes ago, really leaves players up in arms about what they should do, wait or find another adventure for a while.Since UO has so many various messages pop up on screen, seems like a countdown timer wouldn't be difficult to program. (think of the 5,4,3,2,1 minute Compassion Escort messages for example) (madmischlers)

Kyronix: We do not have time this upcoming publish to addresss this but we will add it to the next publish. We can add a feature to the zealot NPC outside of Exodus’ lair…maybe a crystal ball that shows Exodus’ health/time till respawn.

Continue reading...

 

[Petra Fyde]

Karma affects both chivalry and necromancy spells, plus it's not a great idea to forget your thief has negative karma when wandering into areas such as Lakeshire

 

[Basara]

Most of the effect of Karma on Chivalry got nerfed out of existence when they redid a number of the spells to be based on SKILL LEVEL, instead of Karma as they were when originally designed. This includes most of the combat boosters from the spell set.

I'm not sure if any of the Necro stuff got changed (though IMO the Chivalry stuff should have been left alone, and the Necro stuff be based on skill more than karma, as Necro spells change your karma from being cast, and are part of PvM templates that would result in most necros being Glorious Lords if it weren't for karma locks)

 

[Kyronix]

I was under the impression that the amount and character of your karma has an effect on many of the chivalry spells. And the amount of good karma you've stacked up certainly can alter your experience doing some of the champion spawns. Your character's karma also affects his or her experience in the revamped Despise.

Karma affects both chivalry and necromancy spells, plus it's not a great idea to forget your thief has negative karma when wandering into areas such as Lakeshire

This is true. Although, when playing my pally I don't think I ever really "felt" the results of having higher karma and it's effect on my various spells. As for Champion spawns, that is a good point. Nothing like having your karma swing the wrong way when doing your first Oaks and all of sudden your getting whooped (thankfully someone told me NOT to kill everything in sight hehe). Despise is another example, if you wanted to experience the other side of the fight Exodus would be a good way to quickly swing your karma one way or the other.

 

[CovenantX]

If you go negative karma now with Chivalry, it really only seems to affect the Duration of chivalry spells & Remove Curse.

 

[ShadowTrauma]

Overall a pretty good Ask and Answer, I certainly appreciate the Assassin honed question. Even just allowing them to be enhanced will help most of the wood weapons which is a great thing, the metal weapons will obviously not benefit as much, but maybe sometime in the future we will get around to having better, and more equal enhance bonuses...

 

[Mentiras]

Like ShadowTrauma said it will make the wood weapons much more desireable, but the metal weapons will still be just a collection item. Possibly consider allowing assassin honed metal weapons to have a 500 imbue cap then?

 

[startle]

..... So go to your favorite fan site and submit those questions and ideas....

Favorite fan site?

 

[Basara]

Hmmm...so is most of the karma-related information on this page on Stratics now out of date? http://uo2.stratics.com/skill-guides/skills-and-professions/chivalry

Publish 71 was when it happened, about 18 months ago. The data on that page seems to reflect the current status. Prior to Pub 71, only casting success was skill-based, and most of the variables (if there WERE variables) were karma-based - and almost totally related to success chance/amount or duration.

Divine Fury now scales from a combination of skill & karma, and isn't treated like a total refresh anymore. the DCI penalty & DI bonus were originally a flat 10%.
EoO damage scales with skill, instead of being a fixed value (effectively multiplied existing DI by 150%, prior to changes), and duration is based on a combination of skill & karma instead of karma alone.
Remove Curse became a factor of skill and karma (and number of curses), instead of just karma.
Consecrate Weapon became skill-based, and not 100% effective until 80 Chivalry skill. Not sure if duration is still karma based or not. The bonus to DI did not exist before the change, and the spell was always 100% effective when cast.

Not 100% sure on the other spells.

These changes were meant as part of a PvP balance, that just screwed PvM Chivalry users that weren't already negative karma. This was because the changes actually increased the benefit of using Chivalry for some negative karma users, while nerfing it for all the positive karma users that had less than GM Chivalry.

 

[NuSair]

I wouldn't call karma cosmetic in UO, the title maybe, but there are other effects (Sacrifice virtue as well, iirc)

 

[Radugast]

Has it ever been discussed to offer a way to purchase veteran account status for newer accounts? If so, is it something being considered and to what extent? Spending say $100 to make a new account 5 years old might be worth while to some individuals. Or, say, $500 for 10 years. Just spit-balling prices but you get the point. (Quintus Batiatus)

Why dont you just alow people to purchase lost time to their account only to the extent of its true age? You shouldnt be able to take an account that you started a year ago and add 10 years to it. But adding 10 years to an account that you started say 15 years ago seems logical.

Will there be any plans to extend trophies to all types of "Big Fish"? I got a Big Fish Yellowtail Barracuda, now i have been fishing for years but this is my first big fish i have ever gotten. I was very disapointed that i could not mount this fish for display above my home of the hearth fire. (cdavbar)

Kryonix, I think what he is saying; You have trophy art for all the legendary/magical fish except two styles, the Yellowtail Barracuda graffic and Rainbow Fish.

 

[MalagAste]

Why dont you just alow people to purchase lost time to their account only to the extent of its true age? You shouldnt be able to take an account that you started a year ago and add 10 years to it. But adding 10 years to an account that you started say 15 years ago seems logical.


Kryonix, I think what he is saying; You have trophy art for all the legendary/magical fish except two styles, the Yellowtail Barracuda graffic and Rainbow Fish.

Seems logical to you but I know a BUNCH of folk who would have an older account but can't get it back because it's lost in limbo somewhere... They no longer know the passwords, or don't have that email address anymore.... etc... and can't remember the account name..... or whatever problem along with EA can't find their account... So they have had to start all over and would VERY much like to have the years they lost back.....

 

[Radugast]

Seems logical to you but I know a BUNCH of folk who would have an older account but can't get it back because it's lost in limbo somewhere... They no longer know the passwords, or don't have that email address anymore.... etc... and can't remember the account name..... or whatever problem along with EA can't find their account... So they have had to start all over and would VERY much like to have the years they lost back.....

In that case just sell all the "Veteran Rewards" in the Origin store!? The only benefit for being a veteran is you get the items for free in due time, will that be enough?

 

[Viper09]

Along with selling the items I think they should just remove age restrictions on selecting the rewards already, or at least slim it down immensely into 2 or 3 year sections.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

This is true. Although, when playing my pally I don't think I ever really "felt" the results of having higher karma and it's effect on my various spells.

I have felt it.

It's noticeable, to a degree even now, though now less so.

-Galen's player

 

[G.v.P]

Using the Classic Client it often happens that the current target is changed, because another enemy is closer than the one that was attacked before. This may happen due to a monster fleeing or an already injured monster being not fast enough to close up. The "New Targeting System" is not disabled. Such behaviour makes it difficult to apply special moves in a controlled way or honoring opponents before hurting them. (Pcuvush)

Bleak: We will look to fix this issue in the future. Providing more details on reproducing this issue will help to resolve it more quickly.

Not sure if I'm reading this right, but stuff like hit spell proc will make you lose all other targets in queue.

 

[KLOMP]

Hand up if you forgot "assassin honed" even existed. Another new item property doomed to obscurity because the devs "carefully balanced" it into oblivion.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

This is true. Although, when playing my pally I don't think I ever really "felt" the results of having higher karma and it's effect on my various spells. As for Champion spawns, that is a good point. Nothing like having your karma swing the wrong way when doing your first Oaks and all of sudden your getting whooped (thankfully someone told me NOT to kill everything in sight hehe). Despise is another example, if you wanted to experience the other side of the fight Exodus would be a good way to quickly swing your karma one way or the other.

And I should add: Feeling it, but Karma, but lack of Karma not making Chiv entirely useless, arguably is where it should be.

-Galen's player

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Hand up if you forgot "assassin honed" even existed. Another new item property doomed to obscurity because the devs "carefully balanced" it into oblivion.

I'll keep my hand down. I remembered it existed just have no actual use for it.

It seems to be a niche property, and I am not in that niche. Difficult to determine which way you and your opponent are standing relative to each other.

-Galen's player

 

[Arcades]

Regarding the Assassin's Edge weapons, why is the damage increase GREATER for 2 sec weapons, than for slower swinging 4 sec weapons? Isnt this totally counter intuitive? Sometimes you gotta get rid of these hard caps for damage, c'mon let them go beyond the 300% damage cap plz, they are already at a disadvantage in regards to how rare and how long it takes to get the weapon you want, then the 450 imbue weight.

 

[swroberts]

Ah Herding question....Really?

 

[Logrus]

These changes were meant as part of a PvP balance, that just screwed PvM Chivalry users that weren't already negative karma. This was because the changes actually increased the benefit of using Chivalry for some negative karma users, while nerfing it for all the positive karma users that had less than GM Chivalry.

Chivalry changes were not part of a PvP balance. They were in the same publish as some other changes as a combat balance in general.

Originally Divine Fury was 10 Hit Chance 10 Swing Speed 20 Damage - 20 DCI.
The range now I believe is 15 HCI / SSI 20 DI and -10 DCI (Karma + Skill Scale)

The Abilities were changed from an On/Off all or nothing state to Scale depending on Skill or Skill and Karma.
The comparison pre-change to post change puts 100% effectiveness at around 85 Skill. 85 Skill being about the 100% Success Chance skill requirement to be guaranteed to cast the highest level Chiv spell without fail (Noble Sacrifice).

Beyond 85 Skill, most abilities scale upwards of their previous capabilities.

The ONLY PvP centric change to chivalry was allowing EoO to function against players.

Edit: Necro had a minor change to Poison Strike allowing a Small chance to poison if the character had high poisoning.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Ah Herding question....Really?

There will be questions and answers that do not interest you or your group of friends.

There is, shockingly enough, nothing inherently wrong with that.

If I challenged the import of every question and answer that wasn't personally relevant to me I'd have about 3 times more posts than I do.

-Galen's player

 

[Adol]

There will be questions and answers that do not interest you or your group of friends.

There is, shockingly enough, nothing inherently wrong with that.

If I challenged the import of every question and answer that wasn't personally relevant to me I'd have about 3 times more posts than I do.

-Galen's player

Plus the only way skills that currently don't have any use in game will be improved, and thus give everyone more toys to play with, is if people ask about them and offer suggestions for how they could work. There's also recent precedence for this, namely the previously useless for 15 years Forensic Evaluation being merged into involvement in the new Honesty virtue...

Regarding fish, yes it's correct that there's two missing fish models for the trophies; the reason it's an issue can be seen in the image here

Fish have two different "facings" when caught, and it's random which you get. The advantage of a Trophy Fish is that it will always face South or West when mounted (head to left of Trophy) so allows you to neatly decorate. However with the remaining two fish types (bottom row, right hand side) if I were to catch say a larger Zombie Fish (green long fish) that spawned in the West-East layout, it couldn't sit where I've squeezed it in on the wall there... Besides which, trophies just feel more "prize winning", and having unmounted fish next to mounted ruins the overall effect visually, even when they can fit into the jigsaw display.

What we REALLY need though is a way for the new Advanced Tinkers to add mechanical magical components to a fish and... no wait, it was about to be a joke, but now I have a really serious idea! Advanced Tinkers can turn Fish Trophies into "Singing Fish Trophies", which allows home owners to set a particular Ultima Online tune for their home, so people visiting hear that soundtrack, just like they hear a set tune when they visit a city. Imagine it!

Singing Black Marlin: 180 Stones
Now Singing: Battle On Stones
Caught By: X
Date: XXX

Yes, we already have Music Boxes and Harpsichords, give them priority over the background Fish Serenade so people can continue to roleplay and choose their mood (you naughty roleplayers you)... but this would be a fun way to set a general theme for the overall home, or player run villages, as well as giving more utility to Advanced Tinkers and Fisherpeople a way to sell trophies people mostly don't tend to buy.

 

[cazador]

I wonder how many people even have herding at this point..valid question I say

 

[virtualhabitat]

Herding Ideas:

One idea for herding would be to add stable slots for tamers and non-tamers alike. Two, or even four, extra stable slots would give a nice boost for herding. Extra stable slots is something folks have been asking for for some time.

Herding could also be used to increase pet slot by one, for a total of six, for those with animal lore and animal taming. This might be viewed as unbalancing at first, but consider that any tamer template would have to add 100 real skill points to achieve this. It is not possible to have herding skill points on any item in the game that I am aware of.

Another idea, and my personal favorite, those with both GM or higher animal lore and GM herding would not be attacked by creatures actively being herded unless the creature is attacked by the herder first. For example, If I were herding a frenzied ostard, it would not attack me while it was being herded unless I attacked it first.

 

[virtualhabitat]

I wonder how many people even have herding at this point..valid question I say

I have herding on two characters on two different accounts.

 

[Picus at the office]

I wonder how many people even have herding at this point..valid question I say

I have a epic herder who I used for the old faction days when people would tame dragons/etc and release them in a base to either guard sigils or screw with other people. It was rather funny to herd them all up into a corner or out of the base while the enemy was looking dumbfounded.

 

[cazador]

I have a epic herder who I used for the old faction days when people would tame dragons/etc and release them in a base to either guard sigils or screw with other people. It was rather funny to herd them all up into a corner or out of the base while the enemy was looking dumbfounded.

Yea those were fun days herding at the cross roads heh

 

[Kojak]

What we REALLY need though is a way for the new Advanced Tinkers to add mechanical magical components to a fish and... no wait, it was about to be a joke, but now I have a really serious idea! Advanced Tinkers can turn Fish Trophies into "Singing Fish Trophies",

 

[Adol]

I wonder how many people even have herding at this point..valid question I say

Now? A few... I've seen people herding the Oaks spawn is it, the one with Kirin; it was especially useful when the Bloody Sashes were spawning during Halloween, as people would herd all the positive karma mobs onto the incredibly hard Ancient Hell Hounds and quickly kill them.

If Herding were fun and useful again in general? Ahh there's the rub! That's the aim surely, to make it so. Personally I'd like to see Magincia become the home of meaningful shepherds, rather than the base of trading and greed it currently is... You could be one in classic Ultima, and it was that variety of roles that helped make those games magical; I hope to see UO capture that magic too.

Also yay singing magic fish! I'd love the old Occlo tune for my home, but maybe they could compose a really cheesy "Musak" monstrosity for full fish fidelity!

 

[AxiamInc]

Has it ever been discussed to offer a way to purchase veteran account status for newer accounts? If so, is it something being considered and to what extent? Spending say $100 to make a new account 5 years old might be worth while to some individuals. Or, say, $500 for 10 years. Just spit-balling prices but you get the point. (Quintus Batiatus)

Mesanna: We have discussed this several times due to the fact we want all players to be equal but we also want to honor our Vets, the people that have stayed with us for so long. So yes we are still kicking this subject around.

Continue reading...

This something that has come up a fair amount between many friends of mine. We've spit balled quite a few ideas back and forth. Some of them are horrible, some not so bad, and I think the general consensus has been that some sort of token from the store would be a good route to go.

Something along the lines of:

Offering 6 month aging token for $X.
Or a year token for $XX.

Definitely something many of us would like to see.

 

[Merus]

This something that has come up a fair amount between many friends of mine. We've spit balled quite a few ideas back and forth. Some of them are horrible, some not so bad, and I think the general consensus has been that some sort of token from the store would be a good route to go.

Something along the lines of:

Offering 6 month aging token for $X.
Or a year token for $XX.

Definitely something many of us would like to see.

I like the idea of the token, but also agree with the idea that no account should be able to exceed its age based on actual start date. This would enable folks who have taken breaks from UO when perhaps money was tight or RL situations did not make it realistic to play the ability to catchup those lost months. But it also prevents folks (particularly those associated with illegal sites) from starting up a bunch of brand new accounts and aging the up.

 

[Basara]

Chivalry changes were not part of a PvP balance. They were in the same publish as some other changes as a combat balance in general.

Except that it was being sold to many people as a PvP balance when it wasn't.There were a lot of people screaming in the weeks after because it was just a general balance that had little effect on PvP.

And, that while meant as a means to get people to take Chivalry higher, it had the opposite effect of causing more people to drop it in favor of Necromancy, and make people less likely to play positive karma templates in general.

Ironically, my characters all had 85+ Chivalry as a matter of principle, and that hasn't changed (except for the Chiv/Mage that was replacing Chiv and Med with Mysticism and Focus already, by that point).

 

[Lord Frodo]

This something that has come up a fair amount between many friends of mine. We've spit balled quite a few ideas back and forth. Some of them are horrible, some not so bad, and I think the general consensus has been that some sort of token from the store would be a good route to go.

Something along the lines of:

Offering 6 month aging token for $X.
Or a year token for $XX.

Definitely something many of us would like to see.

IMHO your account should age at the time you apply a code to it. Apply a 6 mo code and your account ages 6 mo so if you want to age your account and hope UO is still around then i say go for it. Let them buy 20 six mo codes and apply them to the same account and now you have a 10 yr account. I have been here almost 15 yrs and it WOUND NOT bother me one bit. Lets face it UO needs all the help it can get and if I payed for 10 yrs I sure would play for 10 yrs. And for the older accounts who cares if your age is 20 yrs, like that alone is going to make someone the L33Test player there is. Don't need tokens, just let us pay our subs as far as we want and age our accounts at the same time.

 

[virtualhabitat]

IMHO your account should age at the time you apply a code to it. Apply a 6 mo code and your account ages 6 mo so if you want to age your account and hope UO is still around then i say go for it. Let them buy 20 six mo codes and apply them to the same account and now you have a 10 yr account. I have been here almost 15 yrs and it WOUND NOT bother me one bit. Lets face it UO needs all the help it can get and if I payed for 10 yrs I sure would play for 10 yrs. And for the older accounts who cares if your age is 20 yrs, like that alone is going to make someone the L33Test player there is. Don't need tokens, just let us pay our subs as far as we want and age our accounts at the same time.

This idea is actually pretty good. As long as the player understands that at any time in the future UO may end service and there would be no refunds.

 

[Lord Frodo]

This idea is actually pretty good. As long as the player understands that at any time in the future UO may end service and there would be no refunds.

YEP You take your chance and hope you win.

 

[Basara]

I like 2 options:

1. The "add 6 months" tokens (can use multiples) for newer accounts.
2. A "make this account as old as it should be" token that will take any existing account that (due to time not payed for) is showing under it's maximum possible age, to become its current maximum age (though going unpaid after that point would start the process of lost age all over again).

 

[cdavbar]

I like 2 options:
2. A "make this account as old as it should be" token that will take any existing account that (due to time not payed for) is showing under it's maximum possible age, to become its current maximum age (though going unpaid after that point would start the process of lost age all over again).

 

[Acid Rain]

Has it ever been discussed to offer a way to purchase veteran account status for newer accounts? If so, is it something being considered and to what extent? Spending say $100 to make a new account 5 years old might be worth while to some individuals. Or, say, $500 for 10 years. Just spit-balling prices but you get the point. (Quintus Batiatus)

Mesanna: We have discussed this several times due to the fact we want all players to be equal but we also want to honor our Vets, the people that have stayed with us for so long. So yes we are still kicking this subject around.

Since the squeaky wheel almost always gets oil in UO, please realize this wheel is going to be the LOUDEST b/c younger subs grossly outnumber older ones. Please keep "kicking this subject around" & keep it in the dirt where it belongs.

Many of the old players (I said many not all) lost their accounts cause of ToS violations. I see vet rewards as not only age related BUT proving you've been a positive influence on the UO Community as a whole. It shows you haven't been running tons of scripts, 3rd p progs, duping, or in general being an ass to other players (griefing, name calling, racial slurs, etc,...).

Selling "Age Tokens" destroys the burden of playing this game fairly and consistently over the years, and yes indeed.... it IS a burden at times. I see a majority of these proposed tokens in the hands of dupers, scripters & others who illegally made tons of gold then hand these tokens over to their 'safe' unlinked accounts. If you want vet rewards pay for your account/s and don't break the rules, its pretty simple. Changing the method of obtaining these rewards & they're NO LONGER VET REWARDS. Its a shame so many players don't understand this but desire has a way of clouding judgement.

On a side note, how come turning in old charged armor/clothing gives good clean-up points yet turning in old weapons with charges gives single digit points (1-4). Can weapons w/ charges get the equivalent points that armor/clothing does ? Its basically the same thing. Ty

 

[DerekL]

Many of the old players (I said many not all) lost their accounts cause of ToS violations. I see vet rewards as not only age related BUT proving you've been a positive influence on the UO Community as a whole. It shows you haven't been running tons of scripts, 3rd p progs, duping, or in general being an ass to other players (griefing, name calling, racial slurs, etc,...).

Selling "Age Tokens" destroys the burden of playing this game fairly and consistently over the years, and yes indeed.... it IS a burden at times. I see a majority of these proposed tokens in the hands of dupers, scripters & others who illegally made tons of gold then hand these tokens over to their 'safe' unlinked accounts. If you want vet rewards pay for your account/s and don't break the rules, its pretty simple. Changing the method of obtaining these rewards & they're NO LONGER VET REWARDS. Its a shame so many players don't understand this but desire has a way of clouding judgement.

Overgeneralize much?

 

[Lord Frodo]

Since the squeaky wheel almost always gets oil in UO, please realize this wheel is going to be the LOUDEST b/c younger subs grossly outnumber older ones. Please keep "kicking this subject around" & keep it in the dirt where it belongs.

Many of the old players (I said many not all) lost their accounts cause of ToS violations. I see vet rewards as not only age related BUT proving you've been a positive influence on the UO Community as a whole. It shows you haven't been running tons of scripts, 3rd p progs, duping, or in general being an ass to other players (griefing, name calling, racial slurs, etc,...).

Selling "Age Tokens" destroys the burden of playing this game fairly and consistently over the years, and yes indeed.... it IS a burden at times. I see a majority of these proposed tokens in the hands of dupers, scripters & others who illegally made tons of gold then hand these tokens over to their 'safe' unlinked accounts. If you want vet rewards pay for your account/s and don't break the rules, its pretty simple. Changing the method of obtaining these rewards & they're NO LONGER VET REWARDS. Its a shame so many players don't understand this but desire has a way of clouding judgement.

On a side note, how come turning in old charged armor/clothing gives good clean-up points yet turning in old weapons with charges gives single digit points (1-4). Can weapons w/ charges get the equivalent points that armor/clothing does ? Its basically the same thing. Ty

What do you consider "younger subs"? I know a lot of the current "older subs" would prob. like to bring thier younger accounts up to the age of thier oldest account. I also like the positive influence remark, just because you have been here does not mean you have had a positive influence. It just means you have paid your subs. There are a lot more older vets around then you are saying. I know 6 on Baja alone that have shard transfer shields and we are one of the smaller shards.

As you state that it is the younger subs that are asking for this you need to consider a few thing.

1. How many younger subs may leave because of this? IMHO We cant afford to lose to many more subs.
2. How much money could UO make off of this? UO could always use the extra cash.
3. At this stage of UO what harm could this really do to UO? IMHO NONE
4. How many players/subs could we gain with this? Returning Vets, older vets opening up more accounts, people that played 1-3 yrs that quit because of this.
5. UO needs young, stronger blood if it wants to survive. IMHO give it to them.

If you want vet rewards pay for your account/s and don't break the rules, its pretty simple.

I always like hear this. The only thing I have to this is Are you really that vain or do you just like showing off to other people. I have been here for 15 yrs and I would love to be here another 15 and if it means giving a little salty UO blood to some younger players to keep them alive then please UO take all the old salty blood you need and please stop listening to all these vain nose thumbing vets.

Younger player "That's a nice reward. Sure wish I could get one."
Older vain nose thumbing vets. "If you want vet rewards pay for your account/s and don't break the rules, its pretty simple."
Older vain nose thumbing vets as they walk away and thinks now that's is a way to prove you've been a positive influence on the UO Community as a whole. LOL Dang NOOB wanting what I have.

 

[cazador]

Why make it difficult with age tokens etc etc..just add the most sought after vet rewards to the origin store as [Replica] with no age restriction ..

Shard Shield- instead of a token once a month you get one every 2 months

All ethereals with different hues

Teleporters (with charges) holds less

Davy locker holds less of whatever it holds

Garden shed has only 75/75 lockdowns available

So on and so forth

 

[Lord Lew]

What do you consider "younger subs"? I know a lot of the current "older subs" would prob. like to bring thier younger accounts up to the age of thier oldest account. I also like the positive influence remark, just because you have been here does not mean you have had a positive influence. It just means you have paid your subs. There are a lot more older vets around then you are saying. I know 6 on Baja alone that have shard transfer shields and we are one of the smaller shards.

As you state that it is the younger subs that are asking for this you need to consider a few thing.

1. How many younger subs may leave because of this? IMHO We cant afford to lose to many more subs.
2. How much money could UO make off of this? UO could always use the extra cash.
3. At this stage of UO what harm could this really do to UO? IMHO NONE
4. How many players/subs could we gain with this? Returning Vets, older vets opening up more accounts, people that played 1-3 yrs that quit because of this.
5. UO needs young, stronger blood if it wants to survive. IMHO give it to them.

I always like hear this. The only thing I have to this is Are you really that vain or do you just like showing off to other people. I have been here for 15 yrs and I would love to be here another 15 and if it means giving a little salty UO blood to some younger players to keep them alive then please UO take all the old salty blood you need and please stop listening to all these vain nose thumbing vets.

Younger player "That's a nice reward. Sure wish I could get one."
Older vain nose thumbing vets. "If you want vet rewards pay for your account/s and don't break the rules, its pretty simple."
Older vain nose thumbing vets as they walk away and thinks now that's is a way to prove you've been a positive influence on the UO Community as a whole. LOL Dang NOOB wanting what I have.

I so despise posters like this, instead of having a rational point for point argument, you result to name calling and insults.

I am torn on the issue, have feelings on both sides. Being a 13 year player, it would be nice to purchase the two years between when I left during Beta, and when I returned to Sosaria. However being able to buy my account up to that point would disenfranchise those players who did not leave, and are part in parcel the reason UO is 15 years old o begin with.

So I offer a middle ground. The top two rewards are the shields and the garden shed, neither of which should be able to obtain easily. New money and retaining player base is always a god idea to keep our world alive and with new content. So maybe a system to buy up years, at a substantial cost, but only to a set number of years could be implemented. This would allow interested parties to age their accounts and give them access to some higher level vet rewards without fully negating the vets that stayed the course. It would also encourage the newer players to stick sound as the shard shield and garden shed would be somewhat in reach, the proverbial dangling carrot the Devs love so much, Now as far as the end point of the buy up program, that will be the sticking point, and the Devs will have to consider making new rewards that keep the older vets interested as well.

So toss out some ideas and constructive criticism and put an end to the juvenile name calling and insults.

I think a fair buy up range would be 11-13 years, there are no game changing rewards up to that point, and put the best rewards in feasible reach.

Just my two cents..
Lew

 

[DerekL]

disenfranchise

That word, it does not mean what you think it does.

 

[Lord Lew]

That word, it does not mean what you think it does.

True if your using it in context of politics, but I am not. I guess I could have used another word, but that one came to mind. It has dual meanings, and in its context fits for me, so I will leave it.

 

[Acid Rain]

DerekL, the drama being created is entirely from young subs wanting what old vets have. If I spoke to generalized for you to follow please comment on specifics and I will answer concisely.

Frodo, your statement of a given means nothing. Of course older subs would like their young accounts brought up to the age of their oldest account, who wouldn't? But these young accounts are just that... young accounts. If you have played this game any length of time your quite aware of certain banned dupers from certain websites that purchase any/all old accounts they can find, some of which post on these boards. However, YES... the majority of the old vets have proven themselves a positive influence on the UO community as a whole. Tell the vet account mods that run these boards they're meaningless other then having paid their subs or the virtual family of players that hosts events and give untold millions to the charity of new players, again many of the vets. I'm sorry this bothers you.

1) I don't think young players leave b/c they cant have older vet rewards & you have ZERO facts on this.
2) UO could sell 100 extra skill points, 5 point greater dragons, or +5 stat bonus tokens. There are many things UO could sell to make a buck. Just because you can make money off it doesn't make it good for the game. Your point is moot.
3)

At this stage of UO

?? What stage do you believe UO is in that it must sell its vet rewards? You are trying to justify a desire to have what simply isn't deserved, getting vet rewards w/o being a vet.
Your last two points have absolutely no way to prove or disprove, there are no facts concerning them available and are 100% pure unfounded conjecture. Comment isn't deserved.

You mention(grammar police?)

I always like hear this.
"If you want vet rewards pay for your account/s and don't break the rules, its pretty simple."

and allude that its been said often in an attempt to belittle the principle. Ive never seen this comment on this website (not that I couldn't have missed it) but I'm fairly certain its an understood ideology amongst those not looking to obtain items undeserving. Your attempt to lessen the truth of this statement is amateur at best. Please try harder :loser:

You act like the fate of UO hinges on vet rewards I suggest you are the vain one and completely out of touch with the reality of this game Sir.
This would be a non-issue if not for the face of envy rearing its ugly head
No one was thumbing anything at you, simply stating the facts. Deal with it.
In classic debate you know you've won when the opposition resorts to name-calling in lieu of debate.
And no, I didn't expect you to read this Frodo. Your already blinded by desire.

 

[cdavbar]

On a side note, how come turning in old charged armor/clothing gives good clean-up points yet turning in old weapons with charges gives single digit points (1-4). Can weapons w/ charges get the equivalent points that armor/clothing does ? Its basically the same thing. Ty

It is not the same thing. Old charged clothing/armor/jewels cannot be gotten anymore. Hence why they are worth so much more.

 

[Acid Rain]

My apologies for not being clear, when I said

"old weapons with charges"

I was referring to weapons with clumsy, curse, feeblemind, mana drain, paralyze, etc,... These weapons were the counterparts to the old armor/clothing/jewelry with charges & spawned during the exact same time frame. They were discontinued at the exact same time as well. These charge specific weapons never spawned w/ the same charges of current weapons (ie, fireball, lightning, or any hit area effects) and are easily distinguishable from current weapons with spell damage.

 

[Cycloknight]

I would make the Veteran status scale off of how much game-time you have paid for. If you've paid for 6 months of game-time, you get a 6 month veteran status. 59.99 per 6 months is the going rate.