NEWS [UO.Com] Official Notice

[Lord Lew]

*runs into the room*

The sky is falling! The Sky is falling!

*runs out laughing*

 

[Uriah Heep]

People don't want to put this much effort into playing something anymore. They want something they can play while waiting to pick up the kids, or while waiting to catch their next bus or plane.... Or something like that. And the EM events which is ALL that is going on of late are geared toward high end characters. New players don't have the money to fund the 20+ deaths they are going to have at the EM event and quickly lose interest and leave. They want to make money but the only way to turn a true profit in the game is to attend events they can't do...... solo bosses they aren't skilled enough to solo..... or buy the gold from a 3rd party. something most new players aren't going to do. Again something that's going to be a HUGE turn off.

This. Well as much as several other factors. The vets and devs (me included) have got to get off the "You must work hard to create decent characters" and "It took us years to GM magery" and all that. My dad walked 3 miles to school, uphill both ways...
You get the drift.

We did it back then, because we were breaking ground, part of a grand experiment, something new and unique and beautiful. Remember the music and the chest opening? It still gives me a tingle on the back of my neck (now we have this big splash screen thingy with month old news on it, not very exciting at all). That was mystery, intrigue, adventure. Remember not being sure what you were gonna do when you logged in...now ya do. You're gonna do a champ spawn or one of the bosses, cause nothing else is worth doing. Said it before, say it again, when you get better loot from Devious maps than you do Diabolical, even the T hunter gets retired. A true new player doesn't have much chance of advancing without someone supplying him with gold...he can't do destart, wrong, shame...so he does what? kill Ogres and Orcs for 100 gps to save up for that 500K suit or weapon?

No one is gonna work anywhere near as hard as before, there really are too many games to choose from now. Very few people are interested anymore in world building, they want to log into a game, play a bit, log out. Sure skill gains are fairly fast now with golem training and stuff...not very exciting tho. I don't know what the answer is, if I did I'm sure I would be better off than I am now.

 

[popps]

EA collects the funds and provids a portion of the game profets to cover operations.

It would be interesting to know, as a ultima Online player who cares for the longevity of the game and its well being, what is the portion of the revenues which UO generates that goes back INTO the game these days for its enhancements and well being, and what is the portion that goes elsewhere.......

As an Ultima Online player who would like the game to thrive, at this point of UO's life I would like to see as closest as to 100% of the revenues which UO generates, going back into UO as an investment towards its future (like to work on a brand new expansion which might bring much needed new advertisement and enlargement of the player base......) then, when things get better and UO becomes more solid, financially, the portion that goes reinvested into UO could get reduced, thus increasing that which goes elsewhere.....

 

[popps]

A true new player doesn't have much chance of advancing without someone supplying him with gold...he can't do destart, wrong, shame...so he does what? kill Ogres and Orcs for 100 gps to save up for that 500K suit or weapon?

Well, that is not entirely so IF, a new or returning character takes advantage of all of the cheap and easy to get new Legacy dungeons items....

Sure, they are cursed, not repairable and all that but they allow to hunt much tougher monsters which back in the days new characters were not able to, not right away....

Have we already forgotten how back in the days a newbie character could die from a mongbat ?

Soon the new items will be available also onland and elsewhere besides the Legacy Dungeons making it even easier for any brand new character to get fit with top properties and high resistances and should one die, no big deal, just have a little hiding and some stealth on the character and go back to retrieve the items from the corpse....

Not to mention that today is way easier to increase skills thanking to Alacrity Scrolls and Scrolls of Transcendency not to mention skill items or advanced character tokens.....
The same day that a player creates a mage character, for example, with the new haven accelerated gains Quests one can get to 50 magery shortly then, with 30 magery on ring/bracelet (they can be found cheap on most vendors, no need for an imbuer) and a spellbook and a weapon with magery on a brand new character can enjoy the use of 100 GM magery from day 1 !!!

That's some change as to what we had back in the days, ain't it ?

So, it IS way easier now and way much faster now for new or returning players to "catch up" and be able to start fighting interesting stuff....
Sure, they won't be able to solo a Champion Spawn or a Peerless Boss on day 1 but that would be a bit too much to pretend, woulnd't it ?

So, I think that the game has done a whole lot to come forward to make for a new character the involvement into the game faster and easier.......then, from then on for fine tuning and bettering of one's own abilities there is work to do to get better items, increase one's own skills and fighting abilities and tecniques but that's understandable given the depth of UO and the many many many things it offers to game play.....

No one is gonna work anywhere near as hard as before, there really are too many games to choose from now. Very few people are interested anymore in world building, they want to log into a game, play a bit, log out. Sure skill gains are fairly fast now with golem training and stuff...not very exciting tho. I don't know what the answer is, if I did I'm sure I would be better off than I am now.

Well, I think there is games for a quickie while waiting at the airport for a flight boarding and then there is games for a fuller immersion in a 2 or 3 hours playing immersion..... The wonderfull thing is, that Ultima Online can offer both !!
If I only have a short time, I may decide to spend it just for my BODs' run or to gather some imbuing ingredients or to mine or chop..... If I have a full couple of hours I can spend them into some treasure hunting, some Bosses' hunting or even some PvP or any of the tons of other activities this wonderfull game allows me to do .....

The beauty of Ultima Online is that however one feels to play it on that day, one can, a quick log in or an extensive session. Other games do not offer this flexibility.....

I think that Ultima Online has still a LOT to offer even in today's arena of online multiplayer games, I just think that the game is not enough spoken of, nor known to new generations of game players.....

It took it 17 years to make Ultima Online the game that it is, with its depth and tons of things that can be done in it, adding something new every year after every year after every year,..... and this, I think, is what makes it stand up in comparison with many other games out there, even with its outdated graphics.....

 

[Flagg]

I'm guessing the previous time UO got any cash flow directed ' from' EA 'to' UO (as opposed to other way around) was around Stygian Abbyss and initial push for EC. Ever since then, UO has seen none of the profits it makes. EA takes the profits and pays the bills. I bet the tiny trickle of cash of insane profit marigin that our sub fees make is used to fund stuff like..I don't know.. three seconds of CGI for the new Battlefield 4 trailer and so on.

I was extremely disappointed to learn Broadsword seems to be headed by the old Mythic boss Rob Denton. Among game devs and former Mythic staff, his is an extremely tarnished reputation of a greedy backstabber who betrays his friends and destroys his IPs happily enough if the price is right. Once Mythic sold out to EA, he stopped making or playing video games and began making&playing corporate power games instead. Among ex-Mythic people,he is even more despised than Jeff Hickman. I'm not sure how easy it is to be more despised than Jeff Hickman among former Mythic people.

So, Broadsword is headed by guy who used to co-found Mythic,betrayed the other co-founder and played key part in it's downfall. He was head of Mythic when they developed DAoC. Do you find it difficult to wonder where his loyalties and heart, such as they are, rest?:l I always assumed creation of Broadsword would mean UO could step up and finally be main focus of attention and efforts as it deserves.

If you are in the mood for some sort of a voyeristic glance at ugly side of one game dev Studio, this recent reddit thread makes a pretty good place to start at I think:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/26t5q6/mythic_being_shut_down/

ctrl-F search for " rant by a former Mythic producer "


Ofc everything in that thread (and my words too, for that matter) benefits from grains of salt. But I think salt grains are mandatory if you ever feel curious about reality behind press releases and suches. Angry rant of the former producer is very consistent with words of e"EA louse" though.

 

[Goldberg-Chessy]

The boss has just announced that it's business as usual - so quit with the sky is falling marlarky, it's boring - thanks....

The boss also personally told me in multiple emails a few months ago that she would compensate me for a serious account issue I had.
When after the first month nothing happened I emailed the boss and she had absolutely no recollection of who I was or what my issue was. I then reminded her and forwarded her our correspondence and she said she had forgotten because of the Broadsword changeover and she was too busy. I understood that.
So she again said she would look into it and asked me what type of ingame compensation I would like. So I sent her some pretty crazy ideas(the craziest being a glacial Cu on Atlantic lol)but also made it completely clear that I was half kidding as she did ask me for the ideas.
After two more weeks of nothing I messaged her and she then said that because she was still busy and my ideas were crazy and I was frustrated at being forgotten she was going to "step away" for a little bit then address it.
To this date she has addressed nothing and not messaged me back.
The funniest part though was that when she had told me the second time that she was still very busy I pointed out to her a message that she had left a couple days earlier right here on Stratics telling Deca to contact her for help fixing an ingame issue. She had no response to that.

I have all of the email correspondence between us in case anyone thinks I am making this up but I would never post it anywhere because I don't think that would be right.
I had always respected Mesanna in the past and lord knows I have been bashed for years on these boards for always backing up EA and the devs when people constantly complained about website issues and ingamne mechanics issues. But I have now completely just lost faith in Mesanna (so what, she wont notice anyways lol)and really just don't care that much about the game anymore. I have never taken a break in playing for 15 years and I still play it but just not as much and I no longer have expectations.

My point in bringing up this long, rambling story is that in the past I would have come into this post and backed Mesanna and the game 100% but now I am not so sure and that is kinda sad to me.

 

[Lady Storm]

Well to answer that Popps is a guessing situation.
You see most business stratigy is the product makes set amount of capitol, this is divided by opperation costs first.
This is the every day cost of employees, utilitys(internet, phone, dwp, gas etc), property/storefront rent and the like.
The second is your stock holders, most businesses dont have these but is called the stores share.
This is for merchandice for running the business, most times this is a nice size chunk after the every day cost run.
Then you got the profet.
This table is usualy employees is 1/4, stock 1/4, store 1/4, owners profet 1/4.
But this is usual for a small company few employees etc... EA is a whole other ball game..
I have over the years kept a eye on the stock and its shareholders portion... as with the big power companys the table for them is very lop sided in favor of the shareholders.
Many would say this is normal, but the shareholders of late tend to milk a company dry demanding more profet each quarter. this is fine if the market was "sky is the limit" in incoming revenue...
Not to mention the CEO, CFO and all the other top rank exe's pay... this is in the millions of dollars per year.
Ok I seriously digress here but you get the point of how it is.
At this rate I think UO brings in somewhere near 1.75 to 2 mill a month in sales.
That is subs, and the UO store.
Operating cost including wages of employees (dev and staff may be under Broadsword but the funds gotten from EA for the game is in this #.
So I think EA pockets roughly 1 to 1.5 mill a month. (this is a very lowball number based on the argument of how many paying subs we have.)
Thats not alot in the grand scheme of the gaming world but it's not chump change ether.
OH and add in DoAC costs in that as I would hazzard to guess EA lumps us together.
Originally UO was the Golden Cash Cow.
These days......
UO is that grand old lady Jersey Cow who still gives good milk and thick lucious cream.
We just need to get the gamers back on the good stuff and off that non-fat junk the F2P are spooning out.
It may taste nice but the end results is milking the player for more $ then they know and getting alot less in the bargan.

 

[old gypsy]

Basically, none of us here really know much (if anything) about the inner workings of EA. Even if we did, I doubt it would have much affect on EA's business decisions.

 

[popps]

Well to answer that Popps is a guessing situation.
You see most business stratigy is the product makes set amount of capitol, this is divided by opperation costs first.
This is the every day cost of employees, utilitys(internet, phone, dwp, gas etc), property/storefront rent and the like.
The second is your stock holders, most businesses dont have these but is called the stores share.
This is for merchandice for running the business, most times this is a nice size chunk after the every day cost run.
Then you got the profet.
This table is usualy employees is 1/4, stock 1/4, store 1/4, owners profet 1/4.
But this is usual for a small company few employees etc... EA is a whole other ball game..
I have over the years kept a eye on the stock and its shareholders portion... as with the big power companys the table for them is very lop sided in favor of the shareholders.
Many would say this is normal, but the shareholders of late tend to milk a company dry demanding more profet each quarter. this is fine if the market was "sky is the limit" in incoming revenue...
Not to mention the CEO, CFO and all the other top rank exe's pay... this is in the millions of dollars per year.
Ok I seriously digress here but you get the point of how it is.
At this rate I think UO brings in somewhere near 1.75 to 2 mill a month in sales.
That is subs, and the UO store.
Operating cost including wages of employees (dev and staff may be under Broadsword but the funds gotten from EA for the game is in this #.
So I think EA pockets roughly 1 to 1.5 mill a month. (this is a very lowball number based on the argument of how many paying subs we have.)
Thats not alot in the grand scheme of the gaming world but it's not chump change ether.
OH and add in DoAC costs in that as I would hazzard to guess EA lumps us together.
Originally UO was the Golden Cash Cow.
These days......
UO is that grand old lady Jersey Cow who still gives good milk and thick lucious cream.
We just need to get the gamers back on the good stuff and off that non-fat junk the F2P are spooning out.
It may taste nice but the end results is milking the player for more $ then they know and getting alot less in the bargan.

Not sure if I understood it right, but from your analysis I seem to understand that we, the players of Ultima Online who actually keep the boat sailing thanking to our monthly subscriptions and codes we purchase, only see a fraction of the revenues that we make available for Ultima Online get back into the game in the form of resources made available for enhancements to the game (adding new content, a brand new expansion and all that...).

Unless I understood it wrong, if it is so, it kinda upsets me.....

I would like to see MORE resources invested into UO, not less, because it is the resources which make it possible to enhance the game which is necessary to attract more players.....

I mean, WE the players make these resources available through our payments but then we do not see come back into UO, the game for which we make them available, enough to make it possible to see the enhancements we would like to see for Ultima Online come true, and we must stick playing a game which "could" get better (and so get more players) if more resources were made available for its enhancements ?

 

[popps]

Basically, none of us here really know much (if anything) about the inner workings of EA. Even if we did, I doubt it would have much affect on EA's business decisions.

But the problem is, that if the current Ultima Online players who maintain the game afloat with their monthly subscriptions and codes purchaees, get tired of not seeing major enhancements to Ultima Online, they might decide to stop funding a game that is neglected in terms of major enhancements...

I wonder if there is anyone who might speak up in the interest of Ultima Online so as to make it possible that the portion of revenues which are re-invested into UO to pay for major enhancements, can possibly be considerably increased at least momentarily, until more players might be attracted to it thanking to these major enhancements......

 

[The Old Man]

What you have to remember Popps is that the purpose of UO isnt to provide you and me with a great game to play, it's to provide the shareholders with an income.

 

[startle]

It seems to me that there is a lot of second guessing and hearsay going on in here.

.... If you are in the mood for some sort of a voyeristic glance at ugly side of one game dev Studio, this recent reddit thread makes a pretty good place to start at I think:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/26t5q6/mythic_being_shut_down/

The link above is from an obviously biased ex-employee and you are asking us to take them as seriously as you do. It's all hearsay to begin with, and certainly not constructive reading for anyone involved - and especially for Rob Denton (who is the head of the company responsible for our beloved UO).

None of us have any idea what the future might hold for UO, but I think it's much easier and less stressful to see our glass as half FULL, not half empty.

We'll all know what's coming when it comes. Until then, I'll just keep playing and enjoying what we have, while wishing Broadsword and the Dev's all the best.

 

[Tina Small]

Nice "eulogy" for the Mythic people by Mark Jacobs here: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ic-boss-eulogises-the-fallen-warhammer-studio .

Also, there was a post or two on the forum for the Dungeon Keeper mobile game saying that an EA representative confirmed to someone that another team is going to take it over. No such news, however, for the Ultima Forever mobile game. And there is an article on the ultimacodex.com site speculating that perhaps Mythic was getting set to either start working afresh on Ultima Forever or maybe another game in the last month or two and that the shutdown was therefore a bit of a surprise: http://ultimacodex.com/2014/05/was-...-development-on-ultima-forever-or-its-sequel/ .

Sad, stressful days for the people involved and their families. Here's hoping they all land on their feet and can quickly move on to better opportunities.

 

[popps]

What you have to remember Popps is that the purpose of UO isnt to provide you and me with a great game to play, it's to provide the shareholders with an income.

Well, as I see it, when the resources are abundant then it makes sense to me to increase the portion that does not get reinvested into the game and that goes elsewhere BUT, when the resources are scarce (as they are now...), then I think that they should be mostly diverted towards the game so as to invest into increasing the players base and thus the resources at a later time...

It is the game that produces them, but if investments lack, then the game shrinks and then shrinks and then shrinks some more until it becomes incapable of producing resources to even continue existing.....

 

[hen]

So what happened to Jeff Skalski?

 

[The Zog historian]

Well, as I see it, when the resources are abundant then it makes sense to me to increase the portion that does not get reinvested into the game and that goes elsewhere BUT, when the resources are scarce (as they are now...), then I think that they should be mostly diverted towards the game so as to invest into increasing the players base and thus the resources at a later time...

It is the game that produces them, but if investments lack, then the game shrinks and then shrinks and then shrinks some more until it becomes incapable of producing resources to even continue existing.....

It is common for an entertainment company to use profits from one source to finance another project. If you don't like the current situation at EA, you're free to buy a significant amount of stock to get your choice of person on the EA Board of Directors.

 

[Picus of Napa]

So what happened to Jeff Skalski?

Who cares, he never came out to play anyway.

 

[startle]

It is common for an entertainment company to use profits from one source to finance another project. If you don't like the current situation at EA, you're free to buy a significant amount of stock to get your choice of person on the EA Board of Directors.

In other words: " I have more money than you do, so cease and desist or I'll have you removed "....

 

[Lady Storm]

If I remember correctly Jeff works for EA out of Bio's office and oversaw Mythic. Now I could be wrong...
As for Popps question....
Yes popps they dont give a rats behind on what has been developed as long as its making the shareholders more.. its business.
It may sound harsh and in a way its against all we were taught in school but these days its not about quality but how much can i get off my 2 cents invested.
This is why the comercial about coal and fracking for gas came about... the company's invested in the profets as the comercial tells you is the main draw. You see many holders of stock in these companys are your pention and 401k's. They dotn care if the toxic smoke will kill you but how much $$ they can rake in doing it to please the investors who hold the shares and of course the top exes who get such perks as private jets and million dollar pay checks to live on a month.

So yes They do not give more then absolutly have to to the game that makes that money.
EA looses ground in the market and employees get the axe, the stockholders demand more profet the axe again comes out and more goes to the trash heap.
EA is like the rest, out to make moeny for its stockholders.

Let's face it the days of getting good quality and reliablity from any company is long gone. You and I are an end to a means for them.

 

[MalagAste]

@ Popps You are forgetting one HUGE thing about saying they can go to the newly redone dungeons.... much of that crap will say "Styngian Abyss".... So they can't even equip most that stuff until they chuck out more money to upgrade to SA...... and honestly if they are just coming back to see things..... they aren't going to do that.

And I agree with Lady Storm... EA is out to make a buck and they don't really care how and they are not in the least bit concerned about being ranked THE #1 WORST company 2 years running..... they just don't care.. As long as they continue to get there million dollar pay they could care less.

 

[The Zog historian]

In other words: " I have more money than you do, so cease and desist or I'll have you removed "....

Or at least interested enough to put forward enough money as someone who may have more money but isn't that interested. Shareholder activism with EA is going to be about increasing returns to shareholders, not getting revenues from a minor game reinvested only into that game.

 

[hen]

So what happened to Jeff Skalski?

Just to clarify my question, is Jeff Skalski still head of Ultima Franchise?

 

[Tina Small]

Just to clarify my question, is Jeff Skalski still head of Ultima Franchise?

From what I noticed on Twitter, the title Jeff used with his name changed to "Senior Producer" sometime in the last half of 2013 when the first announcements about the mobile version of Dungeon Keeper were made. I believe Carrie Gouskos, who used to be the producer for Warhammer, took over as the producer for Ultima Forever about that time, replacing Chris Ondrus. (I think Chris Ondrus is one of the people at the new company working with Supreem, Logrus, and some other former UO devs to develop "Shards Online.")

 

[Schatzi]

@ Popps "Have we already forgotten how back in the days a newbie character could die from a mongbat ?"
That was almost 17 years ago, hell most of us are a lot older and can barely remember what we had for breakfast

 

[kelmo]

Some of you folks make my head hurt sometimes...

 

[popps]

Let's face it the days of getting good quality and reliablity from any company is long gone. You and I are an end to a means for them.

I am probably stupid, but I really fail to understand why, considered the current status of Ultima Online and assuming that it still has potential (considered its depth and uniqueness as compared to other games...) to increase it players base and thus the revenues it can generate in a mid and long term, why most if not all of the current resources it generates through players' monthly subscriptions and purchased codes, are not re-invested into the game to enhance it to a level where it could increase its player base and thus the revenues it can generate ?

If the game dies for lack of sufficient enhancements needed to increase its player base, then NO revenues will any longer come from it, eventually. It would be the end of any income from UO, wouldn't it ? What good would this be for anyone ? I do not understand.....

 

[Uriah Heep]

Some of you folks make my head hurt sometimes...

*hides inside a Yew tree*

 

[Aran]

Some of you folks make my head hurt sometimes...

Well, as you know, that's what I generally aim for.

 

[Lord Damascus]

Would be nice to actually hear something from them sooner rather than later.. i mean.. its been 4 months now since Broadsword took the reigns. Have we actually heard anything from them yet? regarding; Development/Implementation/Goals/Ideas etc?

Be good to hear what -they- have to say for themselves instead of short sharp statements on uo.com...

Lord Damascus
English Dude [-TN-]
Top Notch

 

[Han Telemnar]

I made the tough choice a few months ago and closed my UO account with EA...well it wasn't that tough considering how much this game has become about greed.

I recently heard about Broadsword taking over. This raised my curiosity. I am sure like most here, I am not a fan of what EA did with UO. With that said, I reinstated my balls-old account to help support Broadsword's efforts. I hope they take UO and run with its potential. I rather put my money where my mouth is. Besides, what's a 40$ for at least a stroll around memory lane at the very least.

One of the funny things is I decided to only load EC this time around. I have chosen to completely give up CC for the next 3 moths of play time. So far, I haven't missed it, other than some nostalgia.

 

[Lady Storm]

Kelmo dear...here have a few excedrin. It should help.
Popps I understand so I will break it down for you in simpler terms.
in 1950 a company made a product that would last.. it was called a Timex.
This watch was said to take a licking and still keep on ticking... meaning it was reliable and worth your hard earned moeny.
The company grew by leaps and bounds...
One major drawback to the company, it was too reliable.
The watch that build the company would soon kill it.
They didnt break, or get dammaged easy.
To the accountants this was horrid... soon the market would bottom out as everyone would own a watch that wouldnt break easy.
They had to do something!
Jobs were to be lost the company would have to close its doors....
In todays market there is safeguards used to stop this.
Nothing is made to last. I bet you noticed things that you use to buy now dont keep the same longevity as they use to.
If nothing broke or wore out business would soon die.
Progress would stop.
EA opperates on the buy, strip, and kill method of aquisition in the game industry.
UO survived this long because we did make major money but it didnt stop EA from taking Origin Systems and tearing it apart and stripping the people and good work and throwing out the bath water after with the Creator and his minions who wondered what the hell just happened.
EA has done this to countless companys both in the online and box catagories.
We survived because we still gave them income that was decient...
Not alot mind you as some titles they have served up to gross the billions in market dollars to keep their owners happy.
Lets face it, EA handed us to Braodsword as we no longer make enough for them to hold us in high reguards.
I cant speak for Broadsword, but I have hopes they want to make UO back to its former glory in players and new content.
But as for EA... no popps they care less then a fig about our game or its upkeep.
We filled in a money gap that got them other means to make more money thats the games job.
To make them money.

 

[popps]

One of the funny things is I decided to only load EC this time around. I have chosen to completely give up CC for the next 3 moths of play time. So far, I haven't missed it, other than some nostalgia.

Did you also load Pinco's UIs with the Enhanced Client ? To many EC players they make a whole world of difference in terms of enjoying that client and game play overall.....

 

[popps]

Kelmo dear...here have a few excedrin. It should help.
Popps I understand so I will break it down for you in simpler terms.
in 1950 a company made a product that would last.. it was called a Timex.
This watch was said to take a licking and still keep on ticking... meaning it was reliable and worth your hard earned moeny.
The company grew by leaps and bounds...
One major drawback to the company, it was too reliable.
The watch that build the company would soon kill it.
They didnt break, or get dammaged easy.
To the accountants this was horrid... soon the market would bottom out as everyone would own a watch that wouldnt break easy.
They had to do something!
Jobs were to be lost the company would have to close its doors....
In todays market there is safeguards used to stop this.
Nothing is made to last. I bet you noticed things that you use to buy now dont keep the same longevity as they use to.
If nothing broke or wore out business would soon die.
Progress would stop.
EA opperates on the buy, strip, and kill method of aquisition in the game industry.
UO survived this long because we did make major money but it didnt stop EA from taking Origin Systems and tearing it apart and stripping the people and good work and throwing out the bath water after with the Creator and his minions who wondered what the hell just happened.
EA has done this to countless companys both in the online and box catagories.
We survived because we still gave them income that was decient...
Not alot mind you as some titles they have served up to gross the billions in market dollars to keep their owners happy.
Lets face it, EA handed us to Braodsword as we no longer make enough for them to hold us in high reguards.
I cant speak for Broadsword, but I have hopes they want to make UO back to its former glory in players and new content.
But as for EA... no popps they care less then a fig about our game or its upkeep.
We filled in a money gap that got them other means to make more money thats the games job.
To make them money.

Well, got it.

Only thing, I do not want to play other games nor be forced to play other games one way or the other (move on from the old product to the new product...) ....... I want to play Ultima Online......

If I, as a consumer, was wanted to play other games rather than Ultima Online (move on from the old product to a new one...), instead of bringing Ultima Online to a point where it becomes an unplayable game for me, why the market simply does not make better games then Ultima Online so that I am actually "willing" to move on, rather then feel as if I have no other option left ?

The thing is, that I hardly think that any new game can reach the same depth and complexity of UO which was reached over in 17 years, just with a development of 2 or 3 years and even a large team of developers....

Results are achieved with "manpower" hours and if we add up all manpower hours which were put into Ultima Online over a 17 years period, then we can see how much work it would be for any new game that comes anew into the market to shrink all that 17 years manpower hours into just a few years of development.....

 

[The Zog historian]

Kelmo dear...here have a few excedrin. It should help.
Popps I understand so I will break it down for you in simpler terms.
in 1950 a company made a product that would last.. it was called a Timex.
This watch was said to take a licking and still keep on ticking... meaning it was reliable and worth your hard earned moeny.
The company grew by leaps and bounds...
One major drawback to the company, it was too reliable.
The watch that build the company would soon kill it.
They didnt break, or get dammaged easy.
To the accountants this was horrid... soon the market would bottom out as everyone would own a watch that wouldnt break easy.
They had to do something!
Jobs were to be lost the company would have to close its doors....
In todays market there is safeguards used to stop this.
Nothing is made to last. I bet you noticed things that you use to buy now dont keep the same longevity as they use to.
If nothing broke or wore out business would soon die.
Progress would stop.
EA opperates on the buy, strip, and kill method of aquisition in the game industry.
UO survived this long because we did make major money but it didnt stop EA from taking Origin Systems and tearing it apart and stripping the people and good work and throwing out the bath water after with the Creator and his minions who wondered what the hell just happened.
EA has done this to countless companys both in the online and box catagories.
We survived because we still gave them income that was decient...
Not alot mind you as some titles they have served up to gross the billions in market dollars to keep their owners happy.
Lets face it, EA handed us to Braodsword as we no longer make enough for them to hold us in high reguards.
I cant speak for Broadsword, but I have hopes they want to make UO back to its former glory in players and new content.
But as for EA... no popps they care less then a fig about our game or its upkeep.
We filled in a money gap that got them other means to make more money thats the games job.
To make them money.

Historical product development and prices are something of a hobby of mine, as are timepieces. Without getting into too much of a drawn-out discussion, and nothing personal, "planned obsolescence" is far from the "evil corporate conspiracy" intentional design many people believe it is. I don't know where you heard that about Timex, but it's rather implausible. The country had a population of about 150 million in 1950, and even if Timex had the sheer ability to manufacture 1 million watches per year (unheard-of then) and saturate the entire adult population in a decade, they could not have expected to sell all they produced. A Timex in the 1950s cost at least $10 (roughly $100 in today's dollars), more affordable than a lot of other watches of the time, but that was still not the kind of sum most people could throw around. It would have taken a very long time, not "soon," for everyone who wanted a Timex to own one. Now consider the typical employment opportunities then for someone in his late teens, e.g. a soda jerker or stockboy for 75 cents an hour. That was not too bad an amount of labor to buy a watch. Today, though, a young man could work at a fast food joint, Best Buy or a call center for at least that much, then use the wages of fewer working hours to buy an inexpensive, reliable, even stylish watch that will also last. Also, a reliable Timex in the 1950s still needed its automatic movement cleaned, oiled and adjusted periodically -- oh yes, and someone doing it himself could easily goof on the gaskets, negating any water resistance. Keeping good time meant plus or minus a few minutes a day, with a morning routine of winding and setting time.

Once Timex became the most popular watch brand, it wasn't worried about everyone having a watch. It didn't make its watches less reliable, rather, it embarked on a new advertising program like with the Cavatina, such an affordable watch that a woman could afford to have several. Today it's the same for both genders, with many different styles and purposes. When was the last time you had a watch break, and how? My last to die was because I dropped it, shocking that Orient's automatic movement just enough that it would stop in a certain position. I thought of taking it to a repair shop, assuming I could find someone who could work with the Japanese parts, and someone who wouldn't charge more than to buy a new watch. I decided not to bother.

I have friends who, like me, weren't around in the mid-20th century, but unlike me, they have rather romantic notions of "durable" things from several decades ago. Even assuming greater reliability of washing machines and dryers, the appliance repairman is not a recently emerged occupation. The Maytag Repairman wouldn't have been a marketing point otherwise. For a washer and dryer set that cost $400 or $500 in the 1950s, I'd have certainly expected great reliability, but they still did indeed need repairs, requiring $20 here and there until a final, irreparable breakdown. Today's washing machines have estimated lifetimes, depending on the source, ranging from 10 to 14 years. That's not a lot of money per year of use, particularly with our overall superior incomes today (including adjusting for inflation). Many husbands in the 1950s tried saving a few bucks by attempting to repair toasters themselves, rather than spending $20 on a new one. Today's models are far safer, more efficient, and easily replaced -- inexpensively replaced -- the same day one dies, rather than waiting a week or two for a shop to do repairs. If a dishwasher today lasts 10 years, isn't $50 to $100 a year worth it to most families for the convenience of automatic dishwashing? But in the 1950s, a dishwasher approaching $200 was quite an investment, even if it lasted 10 years. It's readily observed that today's dishwashers aren't as good, but that's because of government regulations on water and energy usage, and prohibitions on phosphates.

Were cars more reliable 5o or 60 years ago, as one of my older friends maintains? If so, why where there definitely auto mechanics in the 1950s? Why would anyone in the 1960s or 1970s have bothered to buy a new car instead of staying with a "more reliable" older model, and why wouldn't older cars carry a huge premium for reliability? The first Toyota cars were infamously bad, like Korean cars until recent years, and today it's the reverse. Even if reliability were better years ago, I'd still prefer mine today, not just because of superior handling and fuel efficiency, but because I don't need to tinker with a carburetor or pay someone for a tune-up. When most any car today needs repairs, the better availability of parts (thanks to regular deliveries across the country and sometimes from around the world) typically means speedier repairs. Reliability then versus today is debatable, but nonetheless today we can better afford repairs and replacements.

Today's computers and electronics are obviously cheaper, even without the technological advances, and just as importantly, they're far superior in longevity. I'll probably jinx myself by mentioning how much more reliable hard drives are compared to just 10 years ago, and especially 20 years ago. Backing up is no longer about having enough floppies on hand, but buying a single unit of external storage (whether a hard drive or flash memory) that's big enough, and concerns about storage failing is not like the constant worry of "bit rot" on floppies that might cost a dollar each. The first time I dropped a 5.25" floppy, it fell out of its sleeve onto pavement, and it got enough dirt on the exposed surface to ruin the entire disk. There's very little worry about dropping that SD card when trying to put it in a camera.

All in all, I'm glad we have what we have today: perhaps less reliable (debatable), but cheaper overall and cheaper to replace. It's not so much that a company fears market saturation and designs things not to last, but that a company will continually improve on products -- or die. Many of us get a new car because we want something newer with more features, not because the old model died from intentionally inferior design. Tablet sales have been reported as shrinking for Q1 2014, on top of PC sales already declining. The market saturation could result in something akin to what happened in 1982, when so many video game companies went under. Technology is only part of the overall economy, though, and it would eventually recover as the best players sort things out. Consumers still "win" whatever happens, by getting a lot of value for less money.

As far as EA's practices, don't look to me to defend them as a success story. As a general principle, however, a corporate acquisition is because one company sees another that isn't (the acquirer believes) being efficient: the devourer will take out the best parts, selling or writing off the rest. Even by that standard, whether EA has done it successfully is another story. But as another general principle, no entertainment company counts on people being happy with the same old thing. As far as UO, who in 1997 could have expected the game to last this long? I'm pleased it has, but I can't count on it going forever.

 

[The Zog historian]

Well, got it.

Only thing, I do not want to play other games nor be forced to play other games one way or the other (move on from the old product to the new product...) ....... I want to play Ultima Online......

If I, as a consumer, was wanted to play other games rather than Ultima Online (move on from the old product to a new one...), instead of bringing Ultima Online to a point where it becomes an unplayable game for me, why the market simply does not make better games then Ultima Online so that I am actually "willing" to move on, rather then feel as if I have no other option left ?

The thing is, that I hardly think that any new game can reach the same depth and complexity of UO which was reached over in 17 years, just with a development of 2 or 3 years and even a large team of developers....

Results are achieved with "manpower" hours and if we add up all manpower hours which were put into Ultima Online over a 17 years period, then we can see how much work it would be for any new game that comes anew into the market to shrink all that 17 years manpower hours into just a few years of development.....

"Better games" is too subjective. The mega numbers for WoW and Diablo III don't indicate that either is "better" than UO by any objective standard, but that people like them better. UO is very unique with its range of playstyles and available things to do, and it's attracted and maintained a small minority of gamers. It's not for everybody. Some people want FPS, others want level-based games with clearly defined paths to the boss monster. Not many want to make a smith or tailor, let alone imbue and create custom suits. We'll see someday how that new game is, but as UO is now, it's evolved into a niche fantasy land that may be a bit too complicated for what most people seek.

 

[popps]

But as another general principle, no entertainment company counts on people being happy with the same old thing.

But should it happen that people are happy playing the same old thing, is it a good thing or a bad thing if I may ask?

 

[The Zog historian]

But should it happen that people are happy playing the same old thing, is it a good thing or a bad thing if I may ask?

One of the first things I learned as an economics student is to call individual preferences neither "good" nor "bad."

 

[MalagAste]

I bought my current watch... Yes it's a Timex. The year I started at my present job. That was about 10 years ago... it's still ticking and I haven't had to change the battery yet. Now I have had to replace the band twice. It's an expedition so it's supposed to be safe to 100M..... not that I've ever gone 100M underwater. The reason I buy this particular brand is because it has a CLOTH band.. with Velcro. So my skin won't destroy the watch by eatting the metal as it tends to do with most other watches. OR the Metal eats my skin... either way it's not cool. But it's a wonderful watch. Wouldn't dream of owning anything else. I still have one that I had at my previous job.... It's probably 15 or 16 years old... and last I looked still ticking,.. digitally speaking.

It's really an awesome watch I can take the band off and throw it in the wash as well... keeps it nice and clean that way.

Fact is it does everything I bought it for... I don't need it to improve because it already has everything I need.

UO however I bought with the understanding that it would evolve and improve. Lately it fails to do what I paid for. I'm starting to get rather annoyed by that.

 

[TandaBSK]

@Longtooths
UO already has become a legacy/inheritance of sorts, My kids (began playing at 12) got me playing, they left, I stayed, one is back, granddaughter too, sibling plays. At one time sister n law (both sides) various nephews. It still is a topic of discussion at some family gatherings, even for those who can't see themselves ever coming back to it. There are curiosities about what changed, who is still around and the like.

In addition to my biological family there are a whole host of friends in this world I've known for over a decade. I do enjoy the fact I can decide what I'm doing based on my mood at the time. If I want to spend a lazy evening just fishing I can alone or with a friend or two. Or we can rally as many as we can muster and go attempt to kill whatever strikes our fancy, and you can more or less pick HOW long you'll be involved in such by what you decide to tackle.

@MalagAste you're becoming a grouchy Drow! We love you any how, and there are some valid points in it being a difficult place for new players or returning players to come into. There are still some who will devote what they can to helping those who need it, but it would be grand if there was some in game interface to allow folks to either learn a new or catch up on the 5+ years they've been away from game.

Greed is a human condition, nothing anyone is going to do to change that. I had a friend who use to ask me all the time what keeps a plane in the air... and my first thoughts were always the aerodynamics of what enables flight... but it comes down to something much more fundamental... MONEY. Sadly even in fantasy worlds an economy revolves around some form of currency even if it is barter & trade. Whether you serve the gold and it is master or it serves you IS within your control. In UO in the end it's just pixels, and we maybe very fond of the pixels we rent it's their owners and stories that will stay with us. Even though gone from game more than 10 years there are still people I remember dying with because we were foolish and unskilled, customers I talked with daily or weekly. Only Alzheimer, senility or death can take that away from me.

Fret less about what is NOT within your control, enjoy what is and what is now. MASH Quote from Sidney "Pull down your pants and slide on the ice" (I think that's pretty close)

 

[Lady Storm]

Over the years I have had the pure delight of meeting people from all over the world in UO.
Even without seeing them face to face I called many my friend.
Those I truly miss after they left the game have become good memorys.
UO linguistics has entered my thinking and talk, even other games I use UO terms which flabergas the players there.
If good times and friendship made in UO was world wide, I doubt outside a game would any war... hey in the game you can rez!
Mal has been a grouchy Drow for a long time ..where you been not to notice? hehe Luv ya Mal
I am willing to give the Broadsword people and the Dev time to work us out.
This isnt a pass for EA, meaning I dont trust them as far as I can toss a 10 ton elephant.
In the last 17 years I have given the game alot of my time...
I find I am giving less and less these days.. not because I dont have the time or the will.
I find that talking to ones friends makes the game time fly.
Other day on Pac.. I thougth it would be a few mintues to do a few things ... I got ot talking to friends...it ended up being 2 hours!
I miss the players who talked to eachother... ether at the bank or now in chat...
Many shards the chat has gone quiet... you see few and they are not in the mood to talk or even answer you.. its sad.
On Napa after we lost EM Mystique the chat slowed to a trickle, then none at all. I miss our early morning hello's.
Funny how a good EM can keep a shard feeling warm and welcome... She was a good friend to the players of Napa.
My son joked the other day when I told him of the hopes the addition of Steam to UO..player wise.
He was saying ..Good! I hope it gets so full I can sell off all the collectables you have Muhahahahhaa....
I know people dont have the time like they did in 1997.. we all have grown in ways that limit play.
Many things in the world have changed.. some not to the better.
Zog I grew up watching the Timex comercials back when tv tubes were round....and black and white(blakc was more brown to my young eyes)
My first dive watch was a Timex, ah how time flys...
Suits, watches, and machines were touted to have a longevity for the smart business owner... and how well the auto was built to last the test of time...
Pride in ones work and craftmanship. Yes I do know thats not the status norm today..but those items we see as the rich mans purchases are those very same items that are crafted to perfection and have a life of use. Rolls Royce, Rolex and with that comes the high price tag.
(bought a rolex for hubbys birthday... he liked his timex better... go figure)
EA is run by business people, not people like us.
Popps I concur that it is a wise game keeper who builds up his creation for all to enjoy...
But I have been out in that harsh world of money grubbing business peole as a business owner.
It's a shark filled blood bath just waiting for one cut to slice you up and devower you.
EA has been out for profet at the cost of its product, not that they didnt pour moeny in games at first...
They want the money... period

 

[Lord Nabin]

Enough said by everyone.

Ok let's get back on track.

New player Event

First person to capture one of these :mylittlepony: in game and drop it by my house in Luna on Atlantic gets a special unique prize.

Ready, Set, Go!

 

[Lady Storm]

Keep out of my stable Nabin.....

 

[TandaBSK]

@Lady Storm, I usually poke at MalagAste in vent, just couldn't resist one time here. We've known each other ages.
Nabin, you have a good point there, I like our EM events, death robes and all, but with the frustration I hear in Vent during them from Vet players sometimes, I can see where if you're new and not yet well versed or skilled in the game it would be nothing more than frustration.

@Lord Nabin; Can we as Governor's do anything to help this? I'm not entirely sure there is a way to adequately announce or reach those working skills to allow them to participate. I'd love to see what could be done. Not just NEW players as in brand new to the game, but returning players or those working up a new character (the old fashioned way). Was a time guilds were active an strong enough to bring up new players. Even that's getting harder to accomplish.

 

[Lady Storm]

I have given up going to the EM events..
If I want something from them I buy it..Nabin knows I do hehe
The fustration of even seasoned players about the drops are getting to the point of tossing hands in the air and walking off.
It's one thing if they played the shard regularly... but most who get the drops are there only for the events and nothing more.
But to fiddle with that too raises problems.
I do not envy the Dev on this.
What do you change?
Who do you alienate?
Outside of stopping the Events ... I see a very hard road to fix in this one.

 

[Elric_Soban]

Indeed. They can call doom a hundreds times over, or even just once a year, and when it does end they will try to claim they knew it all along, regardless of their poor accuracy rate

"Even a broken clock is correct twice a day."

On the other side of the coin, no company in the world would give much (if any) notice about shutting down a subscription MMO, particularly one with a game code store that sells in-game items, as well as time codes. Yesssss... that's riiight... keep buying those 6 month codes... heh heh heh....

What actually wouldn't surprise me would be if they announced that they'll be allowing people to 'buy out' their subscription in the game, kind of like what City of Heroes did. A one-time payment of $200 or so and you no longer need to pay a subscription. Then, 2 months later... the servers suddenly go down and never come back up.

 

[Adol]

I'm going no where. I looked at Mr Garriot's offering - it's too rich for my pocket.
Besides, I still enjoy UO daily, I'm not looking for new pastures.

Just a quick comment on this; I'm a backer of Shroud of the Avatar, and I have to say a critic of the model because this is the impression it gives; I've been unable to interest friends because the up front investment costs can look insane... but the actual game, and most of the content will be released for the normal price of an AAA title, and once you're in, you're in there's no monthly sub. I just wish they'd spend more time showing the post-launch players what they would have too, instead of what we get for funding it's development. You will get houses, and pets, and stuff and won't have to beggar yourself to do so. I just can't tell you precisely what!

As for Ultima and Mythic... well, both Ultima Forever to some extent, and the relaunched Dungeon Keeper (Bullfrog) to a disastrous extent were market failures; EA will never ever give up the intellectual property however as they can always return to it later and milk it another time with a different development studio, when it thinks we've forgotten/got nostalgic enough for it again. What's happened with UO is that Broadsword have brought the rights to the game, but not as such the rights to the Ultima "World"; Richard Garriott owns a few personal trademarks (Mostly Lord British), but EA owns the concept of "Britannia" "Blackthorn" etc now (which is why our dark lord over in Shroud is now Darkstarr instead) and that's money in the bank for them. I assume Broadsword has some sort of licensing agreement for those concepts, but development and staffing issues now belong to Broadsword. I wish we had a much larger support base, but at least it's out of EA's hands when to drop the hammer on the game. So it isn't disappearing yet!

 

[popps]

Just a quick comment on this; I'm a backer of Shroud of the Avatar, and I have to say a critic of the model because this is the impression it gives; I've been unable to interest friends because the up front investment costs can look insane... but the actual game, and most of the content will be released for the normal price of an AAA title, and once you're in, you're in there's no monthly sub. I just wish they'd spend more time showing the post-launch players what they would have too, instead of what we get for funding it's development. You will get houses, and pets, and stuff and won't have to beggar yourself to do so. I just can't tell you precisely what!

Well, I have been looking at SotA and I am not sure much whether a non backer will actually have much chances to get a House in the game when it is released....

I mean, my understanding is that possibly there will be enough Houses for the backers and hopefully a few more for some players who will buy them at the store.

My concern and guess is that houses lots will be in short supply as compared to the number of players, backers or non backers who will want a house in the game so, I am concerned that many players will remain without a house in SotA and who knows for how long.....

Not only that, it is unclear to me how much the lack of housing capacity and all it means will limit the game of a player and the ability to compete with fellow players in the game...

I have also heard of the possibility of rooms to rent but that is also a very grey area at least for me as there is way too many unclear things about it as in regards whether rooms' renters will have coded rights about their rented rooms and all that they will contain....

Bottom line is, as of now this game as too many unclear things which I could not understand well and thus, I am unable to decide on investing consistent amounts of money on it.

Also, I asked myself how much I could be interested in spending for this game and if I wanted decent size lot plus a mount, a vendor, some crafters items and other things like maybe a boat which could help progress better at launch, I think I would need to spend around 700+ dollars which, even if I do not buy anything else after that, would mean at 10 $ a month, about 6 years worth of time of a 10 $/month subscription....
So I thought to myself, what if when the game is launched I do not really like it and I stop playing it way before these 6 years ? I would have lost my money.....
Also, I may well be wrong, but I think I read somewhere that if I do not play my account for some time (think 5 months), my account would loose the House lot which would come up for other players to take it... I did not like the idea of spending quite a lot of money for a House which I could then loose if I could not play, for whatever reason, for a given amount of time.
So I asked myself whether I wanted to spend so much of my money in the hope that I will like the game and keep playing it for at least 6 years, and I decided it was not for me.....