NEWS [UO.Com] Greenlite UO on Steam

[Dol'Gorath]

What happened to classic being defined as pre-UOR? Has enough time passed to where pre-AOS is now the standard for the "classic" era?

There's two mainstream versions of what classifies a classic UO. One of them is T2A and the other, is Publish 15 with runics removed. Arguably UO's peak was Publish 15 which was only hindered because runics existed at the time, but the way BODs were setup during Publish 15 was that anything over a bronze runic was very rare and you'd likely never see anything above gold more than once a year if that. Plus during Publish 15 items were not permanent so even that overpowered runic would start to lose some of it's attack power after 10 or so repairs till it became useless and needed replacing.

I'd want a Publish 15 ruleset without the BOD system and all future content added in but moded to work under the old combat system...so more like classic-modern hybrid I suppose.

 

[Thrakkar]

i think your thinking of "battlegroups" yeah theres maybe 10 or 20. i had forgotten about those. which is a good point actually. altho wow has a ton of servers, becuase they are linked for instanced pvp / dungeon, its alot easier to find a group or battleground than if it was just pulling from your own server.

You also forgot connected realms, which is an effective merge. And they're constantly connecting empty realms, since they went from 12 mio players down to 7 mio. So the 300+ servers are just a facade...

 

[kelmo]

I suspect that WoW "servers" were designed to be flexible with that in mind.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

There's two mainstream versions of what classifies a classic UO.

Everyone should stop reading right there. There only are individual players' preferences, some of which happen to overlap, but a shocking amount do not. The free shards that seek to implement a model close to the one you describe also offer additional services and content, and their own self-reported numbers do not strike me as large by any standard.

It grows tiring having to address this same topic, year after year, when there basically is no reality to support the notion that this even could be a good idea. Or, even, that there's anything close to uniformity among those who propose the notion.

I guess that's the idea, though, to keep repeating something until those who point out the obvious reality to you simply are worn down and stop responding. It's very close to working in my case. But just because I and others stop responding doesn't mean you're right on any kind of merit. It just means that fact, sadly, can never counter faith. And that boring things like research cannot overcome definitive assertions.

-Galen's player

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

I think, before UO is made available on Steam, it should go free-to-play, there should be massive shard consolidation into two custom rules servers (see my 20 page attachment for what rules sets these servers should have, incorporating power scrolls and "new" leathers but no runics, and artifacts from AoS but no AoS item properties), and we should all use a newly-designed client.

Did I any miss trite and hackneyed premise in there? Probably, there have been so many.

-Galen's player

EDIT: In case anyone missed it, and I really hope you didn't as I was not subtle, this post was satire.

 

[Wenchkin]

I see the Steam move as some great advertising, so it got my vote

I am concerned that the current account management page and Origin site might be a real barrier if they aren't revamped before UO goes live on Steam. You want everything looking it's best before you start such a big marketing effort, otherwise potential customers may not return after that bad first impression. If they can't even get their account going, that customer might be lost entirely

I suspect few new players will like the subscription price. The community here may well support our subscriptions, but outside UO, £9.99 can get a lot of gaming fun each month if you go elsewhere. UO is not on an island, it has to compete with other games and payment models. If FTP is off the cards, there are other options: reduce the sub price a bit instead. Add other store items.

When players are regularly paying every third month and visiting your game, a modest drop in price could convert them to monthly subscribers and regular game activity. Instead of this tiny niche community that seem like it's a status symbol to pay more and play solo. Some shards are quiet enough that returning players hop to Atlantic instead of their old home. It will only get harder to reverse that decline if we stick to a high sub price.

I know some hate these topics being raised, and I'm sorry, but I don't agree with the idea of not discussing a problem and hoping it fixes itself. It won't, and it hasn't so far. The Steam launch would be a fantastic time to tweak the subs and maximise the advertising success, which is why these points are raised in this thread. I don't think UO will do as well with a high sub and dodgy account management site. If this Steam deal doesn't work out, what is plan B? We need to present the best game possible to give us the best outcome.

It seems like Broadsword will have some time to get the game ready if it gets the greenlight, so fingers crossed there's a surprise when it launches

Wenchy

 

[Smoot]

I think, before UO is made available on Steam, it should go free-to-play, there should be massive shard consolidation into two custom rules servers (see my 20 page attachment for what rules sets these servers should have, incorporating power scrolls and "new" leathers but no runics, and artifacts from AoS but no AoS item properties), and we should all use a newly-designed client.

Did I any trite and hackneyed premise in there? Probably, there have been so many.

-Galen's player

wow this is the best post ive seen in the entire thread. if that actually happened, UO would be a perfect steam game.

 

[Viper09]

I think, before UO is made available on Steam, it should go free-to-play, there should be massive shard consolidation into two custom rules servers (see my 20 page attachment for what rules sets these servers should have, incorporating power scrolls and "new" leathers but no runics, and artifacts from AoS but no AoS item properties), and we should all use a newly-designed client.

Did I any trite and hackneyed premise in there? Probably, there have been so many.

-Galen's player

Are you suggesting only two servers? Or do you mean two per region?
But, while I like the idea of shard consolidation, I fear that would drive away a huge chunk of the existing player base. Shard consolidation would mean removing all existing housing, unique locations, etc.

 

[Aran]

If the shards merge, I bet 3/4 of the current playerbase quits.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Are you suggesting only two servers? Or do you mean two per region?
But, while I like the idea of shard consolidation, I fear that would drive away a huge chunk of the existing player base. Shard consolidation would mean removing all existing housing, unique locations, etc.

I'm hoping you realized that my post was satirical. I think what I "suggested" would be a dumb, dumb, idea. The post was intended to squeeze several dumb ideas, which I think are related, into one post.

-Galen's player

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

If the shards merge, I bet 3/4 of the current playerbase quits.

At minimum. For some reason some player insist that this means those players who would quit are "selfish," a judgement which is a pathetic attempt to disguise the fact that some people over-estimate the importance of their own preferences.

-Galen's player

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

wow this is the best post ive seen in the entire thread. if that actually happened, UO would be a perfect steam game.

I'm hoping you realized that my post was satirical. I think what I "suggested" would be a dumb, dumb, idea. The post was intended to squeeze several dumb ideas, which I think are related, into one post.

-Galen's player

 

[Petra Fyde]

Are you suggesting only two servers? Or do you mean two per region?
But, while I like the idea of shard consolidation, I fear that would drive away a huge chunk of the existing player base. Shard consolidation would mean removing all existing housing, unique locations, etc.

Have you not read enough of Galen's posts to recognise galloping sarcasm when you read it?

hehe and Galen posted while I typed this time. I think this one has gone as far down the flame fest trail as it can.