UO is a Sunk Ship

[temu]

Merge all the shards!

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Yeah.. bashing Flutter will surely win you lots of friends here..(sarcasm)

Honestly, more people should take on Flutter and not be intimidated by her popularity and as-popular friend group.

Sometimes Stratics too-closely resembles the high school from the 80s film Heathers.

-Galen's player

 

[aoLOLita]

Ahhhh - the proverbial "Rats leaving a sinking ship!"

Does that mean there will be new and shiny baubles littering the Cavern's floor

Like Life itself, I'll choose to stick around till the end I have far too much curiosity about what could - and may - be possible

Sorry to see you go! Many slip away unknowingly but when the active players depart, it does bring home the fact that UO's player bas is slowly dwindling away ...

 

[Cirno]

Sometimes Stratics too-closely resembles the high school from the 80s film Heathers.

I think murdering popular posters would fall under "detrimental to community", so you'd probably get infracted...
>.>
<.<

*needs to dig out the Heathers DVD, now*

 

[Trebr Drab]

Ignore activated..... Ahhhhhhhhhh.

*shakes head*

 

[Kayne]

:lol @ trebr.

Kranky there is more than pixel crack just gone into pub 73. I have my reservations about the new shame but I'm holding onto them until I see the final thing

 

[Viquire]

We are a long way from dead. Thanks for the monte python reference. That was good for a laugh.

Nothing is perfect, but some things are hopeful. I posted my thoughts here and you are free to flame away.

Devs are giving out information and people are responding, that is good in and of itself. Whether they are taking feedback and player ideas into account or to what extent is something we will have to wait and see on.

 

[Goldberg-Chessy]

Not sure what your deal is with Flutter but she is allowed her opinion just as much as you. She has done many great things for UO and the community. Oh there may be some that doesn't like her for her pvp but thats life. She gives more then most know. There is not enough time for me to type all she has done.

Yeah.. bashing Flutter will surely win you lots of friends here..(sarcasm)

Uhh, get some rl friends and maybe you wont be worried about them here? ... (for real. no sarcasm)

In one Uo bashing post Flutter says - "I would like to try to get down to one account" and "UO has been over for quite some time"

Then later on she replies - "I haven't mentioned closing any accounts down"

Which is it darling? Quite remarkable.

If you think that repeatedly posting negative bs about the game on the boards isnt harmful to its overall health you are an idiot. Can we sound a little more vindictive?

Everyone has the right to say what they feel, including myself

I obviously enjoy pointing out people who are sadly now only on these boards to try and sink this game. Whether they know what they are doing or not. Whatever good they may have done in the past is irrelevant to me. Keep your history lessons to yourself.

 

[Smiley Gladhands]

I kinda skimmed over the second page of posts.

It sucks to see Link go. He was a quality player and has done a lot for this game. Hopefully you don't give your stuff away and reconsider.

For me, this game is still fun as hell.

We have:
-EM Events that are extremely fun and cause massive amounts of death. There are also some other creative ones.

-A SHARD OF THE DEAD.......play it now...it's a blast.

-they are revamping shame which I've seen tons of posts from players on these forums asking for additional stuff to the old dungeons.

-High sea's came out about a year ago and I personally enjoy it...I remember the fun fights at the felucca doc. We were sitting there and we went "wtf?"...some girl was firing a cannon at our boat and then a huge boat war went on with cannon's, casting etc. Shinobi was there and you have to admit Shin...that was a fun battle lol.

If people want to leave its up to them. Find something that makes you happy. I still enjoy the game. Mesanna, the EM's, and the developers are still making this game fun imo.

PS: Link if you still have the wood curls I sold you a long time ago, you should sell them back to me.

 

[ACB1961]

I'm glad I was reading old posts this morning.

Is UO dead?

All things end...

It is my opinion as a uo player this is the best game ever made in the world. I've played many many other games over the past years. I played video games so old no one has ever heard of them. The first game was a cursor that came across the top of a screen and dropped x's onto other letters at the bottom of the screen.

When I left a copy of it at delta force at fort bragg it completely shut the place down. The lt commander made me personally come back and destroy it. This was sooo long before trs 80s and atari computers. This was truly the first computer game ANYONE had ever seen that i've ever known.

Anyway, my point is I've seen better graphics. You can find that most anywhere you want to look. I've seen better monsters, I've seen better pvp. So, why am I still here?

I'm still here because theres never been anything like this. You can do literally 100 different things in a day. Most games are pretty one-dimensional. You can kill things, you can kill people, you can stand around and talk, you might be able to craft a few things.

UO is so much more than this. 14 years ago I killed something and got some oil for a lamp. I still have it! Seriously, there are things I had here longer than I went to school. The floors of my original keep feel solid to me when I walk on them. I've played this game ALL of my adult life. You'll find the people saying uo is dead don't really play uo. Sure, subscribers are down. But, their is a core community in uo that will never leave.

One day they will turn this off, and it will be have been the greatest game their will ever be. This game changed our lives (for some of us).

People are always looking for more, in their lives, in their spouses, in their jobs. Its just a sad empty search. Learn to enjoy the things you have here, now because all of this will one day pass away. We ourselves will pass away... If you want joy go out and spead some joy yourself to someone. There are still new players that need help.

Plus, think about all the new content we've been given. Its really sort of wonderful if you actually play uo. And, if you don't play uo why are you really here anyway?

Its like the old gods. They became gods for power, control, an advantage. When the importance and power ended they all left. The only thing we have to offer in uo, is playing uo. Its wonderful, go out and enjoy it today.

 

[MikevonHammer]

I for one think that UO can still stick around. I'n surprised it hasn't gone free to play, or at least a part of it.
I have a 12 year old son, he liked World of warcraft. Last year I re-opened one of my UO accounts and let him start a new toom on a server I didn't play on.
Guess what. He loved it. He said UO was so much better then WOW, that the world is yours to roam and explore. That the risks were more dangerous in UO, etc, etc. He loved it. I tell WOW players all the time, that they have no clue what real Pvper is, what real ganking/griefing is. I tell them to try that in UO. I started plying Uo in 1999, I almost quit in the first month due to all the pkers.
I will say this, with Pkers, people were "forced" to group and build alliences. To protect themselves while roaming. It added an edge to the game, that nothing since has been able to capture. As I wasn't good at Pvper, I was happy to see trammel. I didn't need the hassle of being killed by players, as my thing was crafting.
I do agree, however, that trammel was what harmed UO the most. Why they didn't do PvPer areas, or a switch [like in wow], I dunno.
As for expansions, why add land mass. I think it would be better to add content, like new levels to some of the existing dungeons, or some new beast to the seas. VS a new land mass that would only see a small handful of players.

 

[Ned888]

I think this boils down to a couple of things:

Flutter makes valuable posts, Ahu does too. You don't have to like them, but be respectful for crying out loud. Rude!

Everyone's posts are their own opinions, this board would be crap without all of them combined into a discussion. the issue is that some don't discuss, they dismiss and belittle. Again, Rude! Our value is directly derived from the content you offer to your fellow players, so simmer down!

Finally, I firmly believe that JC's issue is a direct result of the 'communications cycle' that Petra referenced. It sucks and it leads lots of people to feel like there is no one in there working on the game. It's just a fact. Sure some stuff has rolled out, but none of it was huge until 73 was posted and then all the jaws were flapping. Well, they could have flapped a bit earlier and kept some hope going for the players.

We all know the game is old, but we still love it and sometimes it's helpful to hear that someone else does too. Especially if it's someone who works on the game.

Break the cycle!

 

[Sean]

/agreed Galen & ACB1961

 

[Goldberg-Chessy]

I think this boils down to a couple of things:

Flutter makes valuable posts, Ahu does too. You don't have to like them, but be respectful for crying out loud. Rude!

Everyone's posts are their own opinions, this board would be crap without all of them combined into a discussion. the issue is that some don't discuss, they dismiss and belittle. Again, Rude! Our value is directly derived from the content you offer to your fellow players, so simmer down!

Finally, I firmly believe that JC's issue is a direct result of the 'communications cycle' that Petra referenced. It sucks and it leads lots of people to feel like there is no one in there working on the game. It's just a fact. Sure some stuff has rolled out, but none of it was huge until 73 was posted and then all the jaws were flapping. Well, they could have flapped a bit earlier and kept some hope going for the players.

We all know the game is old, but we still love it and sometimes it's helpful to hear that someone else does too. Especially if it's someone who works on the game.

Break the cycle!

"I would like to try to get down to one account" and "UO has been over for quite some time"

Those are Flutter's words in this very post.

What were you saying about "Our value is directly derived from the content you offer to your fellow players, so simmer down!" I'm sorry, what content is Flutter adding here?
Keep your popularity contest to yourself please if you arent going to make any sense.

IMO Flutter currently adds nothing to this board except anti UO nonsense. Call me rude for telling the truth. If you think I care about your feelings you are wrong, sorry.

I personally havent added much game content info to this board lately but I will be damned if I am gonna come here to do nothing other then bash the game. And thats pretty much all you see here lately.

I am certainly not a UO cheerleader but it still bothers me that so many people feel so cheated and vindictive that they now have to try and sink the game on the games own boards.
Half of the people bashing here admit that they dont even play anymore. Truly sad lol.

The funniest part is that the game is still as great as ever. I guess A.D.D. is more common then I thought and everyone just cant handle it.
Maybe if some of these peeps worried less about their characters fashion or their houses decos they would realize that the game still has a ton to offer.

 

[Theo_GL]

I'll have to say this is one of most drama free and constructive threads on the state of UO that we've seen on UHall in some time.

First - Thanks JC for your contributions. It is crazy to me that the 'fan' sites are all 10x better than the actual UO site. I remember when I first came to play UO 9 years+ ago, I went to the actual UO site and half the stuff I read was wrong. Finally I found stratics and actually learned the rules of the game by combing through posts and message boards. It is the #1 failure in making it easy for players to get immersed.

I agree with others that UO is at a low point. Even the die hards in my guild are gone. Many because the game has become tedious instead of fun. I think one of the biggest mistakes of the development team has been adding systems that require enormous amounts of time to accomplish goals. The initial intent was likely trying to give players 'something to do' but it has turned into mini jobs for people. Take the latest virtue stuff - I have YET to see a honesty turn in item in the game. Do I really want to spend hours on end wandering the map trying to find these things? Its an insane investment in time to save what - 10% from NPCs? Its just not worth the effort. All the time and effort the dev team put into developing this is complete failure because you produced a system that is not going to be used. How about community collections? Turn in 50,000 sheilds for mace and shield glasses. Come on - I did this by hand - once. Once. I'd love a pair on the 3-4 shards I play but it isn't worth the raw gold and I'll never do that again. It is a waste of my time. Just way too many systems that are jobs and NOT FUN.

Yes there are plenty of things like a better client and better graphics that UO needs, but I think one of the overall mistakes is by trying to make the gameplay have many options - they have made it too damn complex. Even vets comming back after a year or two need a couple hour primer on all the 'new' stuff like imbuing, fishing, the SA expansion, blah blah blah. Instead of making systems so complex, I think they should have added better 'gameplay' things like additional dungeons and encounters (see the latest dungeon revamp as a good idea) and tried to streamline the complexity. You seriously need to do heavy math to put a character template and armor together.

You know why imbuing/crafting is like dead? Its so complex you need to basically make an entire suit together for someone using millions of resources. Who is going to take an hour of time to sit with a newby and give them 2mil+ in resources and PoF to make a suit of armor they can use? Its crazy. The whole 5 types of damage spread to armor has made suit making a pain from the start. Yes imbuing helps but it doesn't take away from the effort. It takes me at least 30 min with a spreadsheet to put together a 70's suit with special mods. As soon as you mix in one artifact - you have to rebuild the whole suit. Why can't armor be like Diablo - 'Armor + 10, Armor + 20' etc? The mods can be all over the board for the rest of the stuff - but the base armor resists has made armor crafting insane.

This goes for the rest of the game - you have things like HCI, DCI, Mana regen and all kinds of other mods that have rules and caps that are not explained nor does the status bar total these up. It seems that the Devs continue to add complexity to address issues or give additional options but the ability for players to 'manage' all these options/mods makes a learning curve way way too steep for new players.

Thus, we are in our current situtation - a game populated by long time hard core players and RARELY any new players. If we do get a new player - they are gone in a month as it is not worth the 'effort' to get to a level they can play with others.

We used to help out new players but honesly I have so many 'uo tasks' to do myself and the curve is so steep - it doesn't seem worth it anymore. I won't do more than giving away a 100% lrc suit to a new player or providing a spellbook etc.

If the Devs want this game to survive - they should IGNORE the current player base who wants and whines for existing complexity and focus on the target audience - new players to revive the game. Lets start removing some of the complexity from the game to make it easier to consume. You still have plenty of freedom of what you want to do and choices of skills - but lets get rid of or change systems that require dozens of hours of chores, unneeded complexity like armor resist etc.

I really think we should have a permenant NEW PLAYER server where you can build skills quickly, gain experience that is staffed with full time EM help and help people skill up with LIMITED dungeons/ruleset. After 120 hours of free time the character is locked and can be copied (1 time) to another shard. This would provide one area with all new players where people could learn with guided help and then xfer to a normal shard once they start paying. This 'free' shard can be used to promote the game and get players hooked into the game. Give each player an all 60's armor set or an lrc suit (brittle) to start. Get them immersed and playing the game instead of dying to mongbats and looking hopelessly for a vendor with newby armor.

 

[longshanks]

"I would like to try to get down to one account" and "UO has been over for quite some time"

Those are Flutter's words in this very post.

What were you saying about "Our value is directly derived from the content you offer to your fellow players, so simmer down!" I'm sorry, what content is Flutter adding here?
Keep your popularity contest to yourself please if you arent going to make any sense.

IMO Flutter currently adds nothing to this board except anti UO nonsense. Call me rude for telling the truth. If you think I care about your feelings you are wrong, sorry.

I personally havent added much game content info to this board lately but I will be damned if I am gonna come here to do nothing other then bash the game. And thats pretty much all you see here lately.

I am certainly not a UO cheerleader but it still bothers me that so many people feel so cheated and vindictive that they now have to try and sink the game on the games own boards.
Half of the people bashing here admit that they dont even play anymore. Truly sad lol.

The funniest part is that the game is still as great as ever. I guess A.D.D. is more common then I thought and everyone just cant handle it.
Maybe if some of these peeps worried less about their characters fashion or their houses decos they would realize that the game still has a ton to offer.

LIKE KILLNG THE S^E GUILD ON CHESSY AND HAVING THEM CRY NUMBERS... THATS A RIOT

j/k goldie.

 

[Ned888]

"I would like to try to get down to one account" and "UO has been over for quite some time"

Those are Flutter's words in this very post.

What were you saying about "Our value is directly derived from the content you offer to your fellow players, so simmer down!" I'm sorry, what content is Flutter adding here?
Keep your popularity contest to yourself please if you arent going to make any sense.

IMO Flutter currently adds nothing to this board except anti UO nonsense. Call me rude for telling the truth. If you think I care about your feelings you are wrong, sorry.

I personally havent added much game content info to this board lately but I will be damned if I am gonna come here to do nothing other then bash the game. And thats pretty much all you see here lately.

I am certainly not a UO cheerleader but it still bothers me that so many people feel so cheated and vindictive that they now have to try and sink the game on the games own boards.
Half of the people bashing here admit that they dont even play anymore. Truly sad lol.

The funniest part is that the game is still as great as ever. I guess A.D.D. is more common then I thought and everyone just cant handle it.
Maybe if some of these peeps worried less about their characters fashion or their houses decos they would realize that the game still has a ton to offer.

Flutter was most likely commenting on what the OP said. I highlighted the most valuable part of your post. It pretty much says it all.

As far as UO being a sinking ship; I don't remember ever saying that. I did offer suggestions on how to improve it and what I feel are the most significant issues currently facing the game. I make an attempt to offer solutions and observations when I can. I don't frequently tear appart another persons posts to make my point. It's not worth it.

Someone earlier posted something that I completely agree with: The Dev Team needs to shift focus from existing players to finding and securing new players. I say it all the time; everyone who has been here an extended period of time has become very comfortable with the state of the game and their mounds of garbage. They threaten to quit at the hint of that mound being threatened. It's ridiculous, but there it is.

 

[Goldberg-Chessy]

"I would like to try to get down to one account" and "UO has been over for quite some time"

Those are Flutter's words in this very post.

What were you saying about "Our value is directly derived from the content you offer to your fellow players, so simmer down!" I'm sorry, what content is Flutter adding here?
Keep your popularity contest to yourself please if you arent going to make any sense.

IMO Flutter currently adds nothing to this board except anti UO nonsense. Call me rude for telling the truth. If you think I care about your feelings you are wrong, sorry.

I personally havent added much game content info to this board lately but I will be damned if I am gonna come here to do nothing other then bash the game. And thats pretty much all you see here lately.

I am certainly not a UO cheerleader but it still bothers me that so many people feel so cheated and vindictive that they now have to try and sink the game on the games own boards.
Half of the people bashing here admit that they dont even play anymore. Truly sad lol.

The funniest part is that the game is still as great as ever. I guess A.D.D. is more common then I thought and everyone just cant handle it.
Maybe if some of these peeps worried less about their characters fashion or their houses decos they would realize that the game still has a ton to offer.

Flutter was most likely commenting on what the OP said. I highlighted the most valuable part of your post. It pretty much says it all.

As far as UO being a sinking ship; I don't remember ever saying that. I did offer suggestions on how to improve it and what I feel are the most significant issues currently facing the game. I make an attempt to offer solutions and observations when I can. I don't frequently tear appart another persons posts to make my point. It's not worth it.

Someone earlier posted something that I completely agree with: The Dev Team needs to shift focus from existing players to finding and securing new players. I say it all the time; everyone who has been here an extended period of time has become very comfortable with the state of the game and their mounds of garbage. They threaten to quit at the hint of that mound being threatened. It's ridiculous, but there it is.

You just dont get it Ned

My bad. I must have also mis-read the other dozen or so times that Flutter has bashed UO in general lately. She was also most likely just following the OP then I guess.

Its all good though.

Keep up the constructive input here. Its exactly what the game needs most from its vets. Good thing most of the vets here arent continually whining that they feel cheated and let down. That would be bad for the game I think. No?
I mean its not like there are still a ton of vets here because they got so much from the game in the past. What have you done for me today?

Peace out

 

[Korik Bloodguard]

My 2 cents. (Its not really worth that much)

UO has been over for quite some time. We haven't had a quality expansion since the good chunk of the dev team got laid off. We get little to no updates, nobody asks us what we want anymore. There's no communication except for a few people who have people like Mesanna on ICQ.
GrimmOmen is the only one who talks to us any more on any sort of user-level, and while he's a fantastic artist and very good at his job, I don't feel like his opinions mean much at those early morning "what are we going to do today" meetings at UO HQ.

Everything we have "gotten" for the game lately has been new art. No new systems, landmasses, or things to do.
When someone complains about how things are you will get a dozen or so people "happy with what they give us" or "glad we got anything". Easily quieted people who are thrilled to get a new item in their backpacks. No offense intended to those people, I just expect more because the game used to BE more.

You may not like a person, or agree with the things they say, the way they play, or any of that. However, when someone like JC calls it quits after literally years of supporting the game (so much so he runs a fantsite and wiki) that says something. Loud and clear to me. Sadly I don't think the people who really matter are hearing it.

I would like to try to get down to one account. I have accounts up that I don't play just for the houses. You have to ask yourself why you're doing something like that.

Why aren't we getting updates? Why aren't we getting expansions? Do we just not have the manpower to put into it anymore?
Most of all why don't we have the conversations. Devs coming to ask us what WE think would be fun.
I used to be one of the biggest UO cheerleaders of all time. They've taken the wind out of my sails. I'm just drifting now.



Sorry. Here's a funny colored dye.

Great post.

And to others: Flutter, like JC, HAS been one of the biggest UO cheerleaders around. It is worth listening to people like them because they are actually informed. So many blind circlejerking people like Arimid and Galen are missing the point and just distracting you from the important points made by people who actually have had their fingers on the pulse of this game for so many years.

 

[Shiznit Bo'Bourbon]

Man some of you people are just waking up for the first time and going "Hey it's almost 2012 and... and... I don't think UO is a first-tier commercial MMO anymore!" Which you should have figured out when Mondain's Legacy was download-only back in like 2005.

I just don't care for all the ARGLEBARGLE DOOOOM crap any more than I do the cheerleading. Old game is old and kind of decrepit. I don't care, I still like it. It's amazing that it's still around considering that things like Star Wars Galaxies (Raph Koster's next MMO after designing UO) and Tabula Rasa (Lord British's next MMO) have already gone into their graves.

Like it or lump it. Some of you kids have been laboring under the delusion that someone was going to flip a switch and suddenly it would be 2002 again and there would be UO boxes on every shelf or something.

 

[Kiminality]

Great post.

And to others: Flutter, like JC, HAS been one of the biggest UO cheerleaders around. It is worth listening to people like them because they are actually informed. So many blind circlejerking people like Arimid and Galen are missing the point and just distracting you from the important points made by people who actually have had their fingers on the pulse of this game for so many years.

Flutter and JC were both pretty positive about the game.
Then, a couple of months after they started posting about PvP and getting involved in it, they both went through a drastic change in position.
This doesn't suggest they had their finger on -the- pulse of the game.
They had their fingers on -a- pulse of the game, and by changing how they played the game, they saw the game differently.
Who's wrong?
No one but you, for holding them up as having better opinions on the game than anyone else.
Flutter and JC aren't wrong, and neither are Airmid or Galen. They make different choices in this game of many choices, and things take on different meanings.

 

[Tina Small]

After taking a three month break from the game last year, I've slowly reopened accounts once again until I now have nine accounts open. But every day I find myself asking why bother paying for them any more.

Yes, we got news late last week of what looks to be a very promising publish to the regular shards in the near future. But where is the community representative for UO? Where is his boss? Why have neither of these two people even posted once on these forums? And why does Jeff seem to be avoiding us? And in the last year or so, what has changed with UO's status with Bioware so that getting a producer's letter with any kind of hints about the game's future seems to require an Act of Congress to make it happen? And why was the official website for UO abandoned earlier this year? And why is MyUO still offline?

I read things like transcripts of the quarterly conference calls EA executives host for industry analysts that track EA on behalf of investors and find myself wondering where UO fits into the picture for them. The EA executives talk about the company having three objectives for this fiscal year (that started April 1, 2011): "Drive our key brands further." "Transform EA into a platform company." "Prioritize and invest deeply in talent."

They've also dropped a lot of hints about scaling down on some of their properties and really concentrating on their most important dozen intellectual properties to broaden the places and ways you play those properties (e.g., Android iOS, Facebook, PC, console; US, international; micro-transaction, packaged goods and add models). There's been lots of talk about branding. John Riccitiello, EA's CEO, said at last Thursday's call, "Branded development teams have taken full cross-platform responsibility for the brands they lead." And, "I don't recall a stronger team at EA or one more energized by the opportunity in front of us."

EA recently came out with Sims Social on Facebook and it is doing really well. However, Mr. Riccitiello also said at last week's call, "...there are a couple of properties we think have got enormous potential against that mass demographic that is on Facebook and other demographics, especially when you look deeper into our portfolio and also look at Playfish portfolio and in particular the PopCap portfolio. ....[C]ore games when they monetize well on Facebook, they might have a fourth or thereabouts of the traffic. A lot of times they will have four times the ARPU if not more. And ultimately Facebook is a business of finding your whales and harvesting them in many ways. We think we've got IP that will do really, really well there and you'll see more from us on that front over the course of -- you know, frankly, every quarter we are going to give you an update on something. This past quarter was Sims Social. We have got some major launches in each quarter moving forward. But we don't point to them in advance...."

So where the heck does UO fit into those corporate goals? Yes, we know it has a 15 year anniversary looming on the horizon. And supposedly there is now someone who oversees the "Ultima franchise." And yet, he has seemed reluctant to say or do anything at all in any kind of official capacity that actually links him to UO. The same goes for the people on the community team, Rowland Cox and Kai Schober. They post publish and patch notes and various announcements, a few pictures or videos on the UO Facebook page, but they don't interact with us on any forums or on Facebook and many times the announcements they make seem to have been done hurriedly or are just a copy of something that was posted for WHO or DAoC.

And I don't even want to bring it up, but looming out there somewhere, is also the possibility (who knows how large or how small) of yet another Ultima game that our producer (if indeed it is Jeff and not some as-yet-unidentified person who reports to him) will presumably also be reponsible for, along with the UltimaForever project, Lord of Ultima, and possibly some other secret Ultima project (that may or may not involve Facebook and may be that IP that Mr. Riccitiello hinted they think may do really, really well on Facebook).

I am happy that we still seem to have some sort of a design/development/engineering team left for UO. But what happened to the rest of the team?? Why can I not shake the feeling that the neglect of aspects of UO that are visible to the outside world means UO as we know it won't be around for that much longer and that most of the work the designers, developers, and engineers are doing may actually be just testing out new concepts for another version of UO or another Ultima game or maybe even a completely different game?

I am having a really terrible time anymore, pretty much since after SA came out, feeling like UO really has much of a future left and that we aren't all just being strung along and fed little tidbits here and there to keep us paying and playing until the time comes to dump us because EA is ready to go after bigger and better markets.

I apologize if anyone finds this offensive. But it's the way I feel about UO right now. Something just doesn't feel right to me about it anymore and I'm having a really hard time shaking the feeling that we're just being "used" as guinea pigs/cash cows (take your pick) and that EA as a company really has little interest in keeping us as truly contented customers. I get the feeling that they know many of us are horribly addicted to UO (some are probably astounded that people have actually played the same game for 14+ years) and will take all kinds of neglect and abuse from the company and each other just as long as EA keeps the servers up and running and throws us some shiny new pixel crack every once in a while.

So yes, that's how I feel right now. Maybe it is time to just dump it all and walk away. I'm sure EA will do just fine without the $1,000 to $1,500 a year I pay them to enjoy playing UO and I can certainly find other ways to use them money. I don't expect to be made privy to all of EA's plans. However, I'm tired of feeling like they think I'm an idiot and have completely forgotten about all of the old producer's vague promises and inuendos of big changes and fixes during the last two years; slipshod boosters and overpriced theme packs; a mostly-abandoned official website; and that I can be bedazzled and distracted by talk of graphics changes (for a client I can't even get to run correctly on my computer) and publish notes while the community folks and the publisher STILL act like they're afraid to have any kind of connection with UO for fear it might tarnish their career.

 

[Storm]

after the changes happening now I am thinking on reopening some of mine

 

[Megilhir]

1965: I learned to play Chess.
1970: I began playing Avalon Hill wargames.
1972: Read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.
1978: read the newly released Silmarillion, J.R.R.’s son Chris published.
1980: Entered University and began playing D & D.
1981: Airborne qualified and began US Military real and virtual simulations and combat.
1990: Bought massive 386 and began playing various computer games.
1999: Subscribed to UO and never unsubscribed.
2000: Subscribed to EQ I.
2004: Subscribed to EQ II.
2004: Subscribed to a new MMO – WoW and dropped EQ II, keep UO.
2007: Subscribed to LoTRo – 2 months later bought a lifetime membership for $300. Dropped Wow. Kept UO.

So you may question what all this means? I have approached whichever the current powers that be were in control of UO numerous times with resumes’ and suggestions (Guess where the concept of Imbuing came from? Myself and a few others – great minds and all that…)

Point being – EA does not want to invest in what appears to be a dwindling market. That is solid business acumen. The lack of vision is precisely that; lack of vision. By not seeing beyond the box in a reasonable and executable manner of innovation within limitations and constraints EA has relegated UO to a fading platform.

I am not so bold as to predict when UO will close, or even that it shall. But I know for a fact that I have extensive experience in simulations, reality and fantasy based, and that I never once received a reply other than a few of my ideas being implemented during my 14 year association with UO.

Folks, ideas aren’t free and businesses pay disproportionate salaries for them. Review my legacy of posts for a perspective. Why do Beta testing or give away free milk?

After retiring from the military I began employment as an Instructional Systems Designer and am recognized as the most creative in the midwestern region. I even presented an option that would have taken me south of my north-of $100K annual salary. Do what you love and so forth. And still EA never replied.

Unless they (whomever "they" are at the moment) care to hire quality people to pursue visionary and (most importantly) realistic objectives that engage the market demographics the platform will maintain subpar appeal and performance. Even the business model is flawed.

But no matter. I accept UO as it is and when the plug is pulled so shall die my two accounts.

UO is dead. Long live UO.

Respectfully,
Megilhir

 

[Flutter]

I just noticed some are still attacking my posts and position on UO.

I've been unhappy with the game since leurocian and draconi left. This is no secret.
Except for Grimm, I question if anyone working on the game really loves it like those of us who've played for so long.

I feel that if we don't speak up and say what we are unhappy about it doesn't have a chance of being fixed.

I feel like a dev team that asks our opinions on things shows that they care what we think, even if they don't always follow through with what "we" want.

I feel like a dev team that communicates with us (no, not just me) directly is more in touch with what it's like to be a player instead of a developer.

I feel like taking UO off the shelves in stores was HUGE mistake.

I feel like not having any real expansion in years is a HUGE mistake.

I do not "bash" the game. I love the game. That's why I still play it. If I didn't enjoy playing I would quit.

I feel like if people don't speak up they have no excuse. I feel like (as I said earlier) when people like JC make a post like he did, we should listen to it. People like JC who have devoted many years of their lives to supporting the game. His kind of support included advertising his site, and in so doing advertising our game for years. When that kind of dedication ends, people should pay attention.

I've beta tested many expansions and patches. I was one of the people they brought to green acres to try to crash the shard with the AOS expansion by building the biggest and best houses we possibly could, just to make sure the servers could take it. I've supported, tested, participated, and generally tried to help as best I could for over a decade. If now I feel that there is something wrong I am going to say so. If I didn't I would be doing this game, and people who play it, a disservice.

I'm sorry if certain people get angry because of my posts. You should realize, though, that my opinions come from a place of love for UO. It's because I care. It's because "good enough" isn't good enough.

So, lash out at me for being a "stratics favorite" or "one of the cool kids" or "popular" or whatever else you can come up with. Truth is I am just a regular person, playing UO, and posting my opinions about what I think need to be done to make UO better for everyone.

 

[Mervyn]

I feel like a dev team that asks our opinions on things shows that they care what we think, even if they don't always follow through with what "we" want.

I feel like a dev team that communicates with us (no, not just me) directly is more in touch with what it's like to be a player instead of a developer.

Devs should listen to the majority of players less, and just a select few elite more, It's following popular demand that got the game in the state it is now.

 

[RaDian FlGith]

Anyone else find it creepy when someone quits and spends a lot of time and energy in essence attempting to convince us we should quit too?

We've had a little mini-trend of these posts. JC, Ra'Dian, the UO travelogue guy.....

Never tried to convince anyone to quit.

Nice try though.

Always love coming back into threads and seeing tidbits I missed the first time through.

 

[Megilhir]

Hmmmm,

Flutter I notice that you joined Uhall a few months after me and have a very similar location....?

To those wondering, I am not Flutter. My avatar displays me and Feanor, though I do enjoy the sig the poster uses.

 

[Flutter]

Hmmmm,

Flutter I notice that you joined Uhall a few months after me and have a very similar location....?

To those wondering, I am not Flutter. My avatar displays me and Feanor, though I do enjoy the sig the poster uses.

lol
Don't worry I don't think anyone thinks you are me... or I am you.
I registered here after they chased us off of the MYUO boards, whenever that was. (I have no concept of time) I think the date shown here might be wrong because they lost the stratics server at one point and switched to vboards a while ago.

 

[Ultimaholic]

Devs should listen to the majority of players less, and just a select few elite more, It's following popular demand that got the game in the state it is now.

LOL ummm yea NO

I, like others have played this game from almost the beginning (99) too. My opinions are of equal weight as any elite rolleyes: payer`s. So enough of this crap and just roll out a log in poll. Since accounts are linked now.... no worries about someone with 57 accounts saying the same thing and trying to influence things anymore.

Saying one persons opinion is more valued than anothers is just plain ignorant. I don`t care what ppl have done inside or outside the game... I`ve supported it too....with my monthly payment to EA. So enough with the hi horse garbage....... my CC gets billed monthly just like theirs.

 

[Goldberg-Chessy]

My 2 cents. (Its not really worth that much)

UO has been over for quite some time. We haven't had a quality expansion since the good chunk of the dev team got laid off. We get little to no updates, nobody asks us what we want anymore. There's no communication except for a few people who have people like Mesanna on ICQ.
GrimmOmen is the only one who talks to us any more on any sort of user-level, and while he's a fantastic artist and very good at his job, I don't feel like his opinions mean much at those early morning "what are we going to do today" meetings at UO HQ.

Everything we have "gotten" for the game lately has been new art. No new systems, landmasses, or things to do.
When someone complains about how things are you will get a dozen or so people "happy with what they give us" or "glad we got anything". Easily quieted people who are thrilled to get a new item in their backpacks. No offense intended to those people, I just expect more because the game used to BE more.

You may not like a person, or agree with the things they say, the way they play, or any of that. However, when someone like JC calls it quits after literally years of supporting the game (so much so he runs a fantsite and wiki) that says something. Loud and clear to me. Sadly I don't think the people who really matter are hearing it.

I would like to try to get down to one account. I have accounts up that I don't play just for the houses. You have to ask yourself why you're doing something like that.

Why aren't we getting updates? Why aren't we getting expansions? Do we just not have the manpower to put into it anymore?
Most of all why don't we have the conversations. Devs coming to ask us what WE think would be fun.
I used to be one of the biggest UO cheerleaders of all time. They've taken the wind out of my sails. I'm just drifting now.



Sorry. Here's a funny colored dye.

Great post.

And to others: Flutter, like JC, HAS been one of the biggest UO cheerleaders around. It is worth listening to people like them because they are actually informed. So many blind circlejerking people like Arimid and Galen are missing the point and just distracting you from the important points made by people who actually have had their fingers on the pulse of this game for so many years.

Please spare me the history lesson. As I mentioned earlier I do not care about what someone contributed in the past, no matter how great. We all contributed in the past.

Bottom line is that now Flutter, and many other people here, are directly trying to contribute to UO's downfall by bashing it and saying things like UO is dead(Flutters words in this post. No way to deny their meaning)
If they dont understand what their words mean and it is unintentional, so be it.

I have immense respect for JC but I take offense at anyone else that wants to use the games own boards to say the game is dead & denounce the game in general.
They most certainly have earned the right to voice any opinion they want and I most certainly have the right to disagree with it if I think it is nothing more then a petty personal grievance. The game is not dead last time I checked so why say it is? It may be dead to you but there is a big difference in the two.

You feel personally upset & hurt that the game isnt going in your direction? Thats just plain silly and maybe you are the one with the addiction issue? I have played the game since 1997 and never once have I known or needed to know the name of 1 employee. Kinda scary that other people are so up to date on game employees IMO.

 

[Flutter]

How is saying UO is dead "bashing" the game?
In no way did JC or I "denounce" the game.

For someone who "doesn't care what anyone else thinks" you sure are posting a lot about it.
No one posting on these boards is "directly trying to contribute to UO's downfall". To say so is ignorant.

 

[Hunters' Moon]

Devs should listen to the majority of players less, and just a select few elite more, It's following popular demand that got the game in the state it is now.

Who gets to decide which player(s) are considered "elite"? I know that the pvper's consider themselves the 'best players' in UO. We all have our own opinions on that which I will not bring up at this time. So yeah,who gets to decide who is "elite"?

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

Never tried to convince anyone to quit.

Nice try though.

Always love coming back into threads and seeing tidbits I missed the first time through.

Your posts on this matter make comparatively little sense save as an argument for why others should quit.

They are, for example, phrased objectively, not as your preferences and showing how the game no longer meets them. Your language makes it rather clear that you weren't only writing about things that could reasonably be described as objective, such as poor customer service or the account system (which is little else but snazzy-looking and if it has decent functionality I've missed it). (Having said that I didn't have the horror stories some did, but still.) You were also clearly writing about content you didn't like. "Unmitigated disaster" is not the same things as, "you know what, there's just too many ****ing negatives for me, I'm out."

Same with JC's. And the others I mentioned.

I explained all this quite adequately in my post.

As to you missing my post at first? Well I can't help that.

I surely did not hide it.

-Galen's player

 

[kelmo]

[YOUTUBE]ZjZ8Kpt1hSk[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Zosimus]

I see so many wrongs in this thread and it's almost like somebody got a solid.





* I feel like I am watching a bad youtube of Athene*

 

[Gowron]

If anyone truly thinks High Seas sucked, well, I can bet you they didn't play it to the max.

It seems to have received a rebirth lately on our shard. Of course, for those seeking the pixel crack, well, they'll never be satisfied.

UO is far from sunk. Can it be better? Heck, yeah. However, I have a feeling that what I think would be better, would be someone else's battle cry for further decline of the game.

 

[Shiznit Bo'Bourbon]

We got a content patch with actual content and for once it DIDN'T cost $9.99 or some nickel-and-dime crap like that. By that measure we're better off than we've been in a year at least. I'm sorry if some of you are SO BUTTHURT that there isn't a community monkey to come post on Stratics and tell the 15 people who post here that they're special snowflakes.

 

[RaDian FlGith]

Your posts on this matter make comparatively little sense save as an argument for why others should quit.

As usual, you insert your own opinion into the arguments of others.

They are, for example, phrased objectively, not as your preferences and showing how the game no longer meets them. Your language makes it rather clear that you weren't only writing about things that could reasonably be described as objective, such as poor customer service or the account system (which is little else but snazzy-looking and if it has decent functionality I've missed it). (Having said that I didn't have the horror stories some did, but still.) You were also clearly writing about content you didn't like. "Unmitigated disaster" is not the same things as, "you know what, there's just too many ****ing negatives for me, I'm out."

Since I'm fully aware of what I wrote, and you seem to be putting your own special little spin on it, feel free to take it how you wish. However, given that I have, indeed, commented specifically in multiple places that due to the account system being in the state that it was in, I was on my way out the door. That pretty much says what I feel is wrong with the system at present. IE: I'd love to give them money but presently can't.

I'm not quite sure how you manage to dig far too deeply into things that displease you, but I've come to understand that's how you function. Fair enough.

As to you missing my post at first? Well I can't help that.

I surely did not hide it.

Never said you did. My statement was exactly at face value. I love coming back in and finding stuff I missed the first time through. I suppose there's some additional meaning there that I've missed, but since I speak at face value, I'm not going to bother looking for additional meaning in what I post.

 

[EvilPixieWorks]

Someone is beating a dead horse again.

For one… I don’t know why this hasn’t been moved to “Rants”.

You guys know something? When I started to play UO… 11 years ago, it was not very long after Tram came to be. I couldn’t understand why there always seamed to be a small group of players hanging around the Moonglow (Atlantic) Tram bank… complaining endlessly about Tram. I would ask them “If you hate Tram so much… why not swear off ever coming here?” It was an honest question. If you hate something so much… why not boycott it. Not continually come, hang around and complain. It's like saying… “I hate McDonalds because their food tastes like it's made with real clowns” while you are chowing down on a Big Mac. 11 years… and the same old people still can't get over a 14 year old game changing.

I am a very long time Ultima player. Much longer then 11 years. I fell in love with Ultima 4… way back in the day. Black and white, on a Commodore 64… captivated. It was the most brilliant computer game of the day, as far as I saw it. Then Ultima 5 came out… a little better. Ultima 6… and then Ultima 7. I was totally in love. I honestly could never even estimate how many silly hours of my life were wasted playing that game. I’m honestly unsure if I played Ultima 8… life was a little too busy. I remember one, it may have been 9… that was first person and it sucked to no end… money wasted, as far as I saw it. Then… a new Ultima came out and it was said to be the best of the lot. Only… it was an online game. This, back when it wasn’t so common to have high-speed internet… and dial-up just blocked your phone-line. I almost bought it… before I saw warnings that Ultima Online was a world of murderers, criminals, and horror… all thanks to players. This was not the Ultima I grew up knowing. And I’m sure I was not alone… and many of our kind either turned the box back to the shelf or bought it and walked away after a few weeks. This is the original betrayal Richard Garret. He AND his original team were the best in the business… taking something so new and wonderful in computer gaming and making it a world of adventure, exploration, and virtue… and making Ultima 10: Murdererland.

No matter what you old timers think… Richard Garret sold out. No one put a gun to his head and made him cash the enormous check. EA mismanages the game… we know, we know. Nothing new. Frankly, I will never understand the mentality that an unadvertised game will spawn new players… magically, I guess. No matter what… the game has to change to roll with the punches of the gaming community. It's not even a new thing that the game staff is “distracted”. They have actively tried to sabotage the game in the past. 2 times, trying to re-write the whole UO system to a different game… and both failed quickly. I strongly agree they need to get with it… get on our side. But the problem is, we little people can do nothing to effectively “throw water in their faces”. I love the game for the community… for the friendships… for the distraction from real life problems… it keeps me sane. If you’ve hung in all these years… I don’t see why you are still banging your head on the wall. Love it or go in peace. It's that simple. It's US, all of us players, that make the true UO heart pump. Not the staff. Now… if they realized that, we would be much better off.

Not that the player world is peaceful and without it's hardships, mind you. We loose good friends to the reaper… or they move on with their lives and more power to them. Sometimes those friends come back. It also sucks our outlets become lands of power-addition and snobbery… but that happens in any kind of group or large club. Frankly, I have loved UO-Guide for awhile… and considered it a great asset. Sure as heck easier to find information on that site then here! hehe. I hope other staff takes up the slack… because building it and maintaining it took a lot of heart and soul and I would hate to see it all go to waist. So… thank you.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Now log in and have some fun.

 

[Tina Small]

I'm sorry if some of you are SO BUTTHURT that there isn't a community monkey to come post on Stratics and tell the 15 people who post here that they're special snowflakes.

On the EA Jobs website, there is a brief description of the role of a Community Manager:

The Community Manager is responsible for planning and executing a strategy for day to day communications. Key responsibilities include: disseminating updates through all available channels including forums, official EA territory community teams, fan sites, websites and in-game, deciding appropriate channels and timing on a case-by-case basis; managing the relationship with and providing information and direction to EA territory community managers to ensure a unified flow of information to the community; community opinion and feedback gathering through forum monitoring, polls; manage the whole community dialogue through forums and other available tools; monitoring the community and providing input and recommendations to Marketing and Development on existing and new player offerings; planning and executing player programs including events and organized play in close cooperation with the marketing team and EA territory teams; communication with EA stakeholders about community features​

You can find the source of this information here: https://jobs.ea.com/roles/specialty/?id=a1R500000004CDTEA2

And a Producer's role at EA is summarized as follows:

An EA Producer lead the production team to the timely creation of a product line that is marketable by EA, with a strong emphasis on strategy elements, replay ability, entertainment value, and effective use of hardware and software interfaces. Key responsibilities include: provide leadership on PC and Videogame market trends, patterns and customer requirements, both in the US and markets abroad. Be able to use this knowledge to develop new and innovative products for the videogame and personal computer mediums; Supervise project design and development to maintain state of the art gameplay in current and future interactive experience design and development; identify, contact and negotiate inclusion of potential external licensors or service providers that add to the marketability, realism and entertainment value of the product. Draft deal points as the basis for contracts prepared by Legal/Business Affairs, interface with Legal/Business Affairs as needed, and serve as the key contact person for that licensor; effectively manage, schedule and track Production team, to achieve identified and quantifiable goals; with concentration on the day to day management of any Associate or Assistant Producer(s); effectively plan and manage the budget for the production team; maintain and enhance creative relationships with inside and outside developers; own and direct the activities of other product elements, such as Marketing, Legal, Public Relations and Operations activities, with the software and its development to ensure consistency, quality and timely implementation; accept responsibility for and direct the Production group's prospecting process that identifies and develops product concepts which exploit targeted opportunities; assure that products display and personify EA quality and performance; initiate, foster and maintain positive working relationships with internal and external organizations critical to both current and future development process.​

Source: https://jobs.ea.com/roles/specialty/?id=a1R500000004CDjEAM

It's hard to tell these days whether either of these roles is being filled or will ever again be filled on more than a part-time basis for UO.

Perhaps you are comfortable with this state of affairs.

I'm not.

 

[HD2300]

The terrain "hi-res" art update was only 1% of all terrain tiles. Not even a toggle for KR art. Art-wise imo it is all over.

 

[Ultimaholic]

What I think the UO SUX crowd isn`t grasping is.....we aren`t playing WOW. UO doesn`t have unlimited resources and ppl and money. It has a few ppl who work hard on it. There isn`t an over abundance of ppl to be able to pull one off of something just to come here an appease a vocal minority.

This is a small sandbox game and we do get communication from the devs. Might not be to some ppl`s super mmorpg expectations,but its good nuff for me. Games still fun,it gets regular updates,got EM`s ingame further helping to mix things up. The list goes on and on (shard of the dead).

If your unhappy with it....leave? Pirty simple. Nothing they do will please most of you anyways. Get over it... the games 14 years old and is at the bottom of the priority pile for EA.... as it should be. Just be glad its still earning enuff to justify keeping the lights on. Thats the only reason its still here so be happy with what we have and what we get.

I swear,some of you need to step down off the soap box and go outside for awhile, breath....its just a game! (one game in a looooooooooooooooooooooong list of EA games)

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

You are amazingly consistent: you rarely fail to convey the impression that you only read the portions of the post you specifically respond to.

*shrugs* Oh well.

-Galen's player

As usual, you insert your own opinion into the arguments of others.

Since I'm fully aware of what I wrote, and you seem to be putting your own special little spin on it, feel free to take it how you wish. However, given that I have, indeed, commented specifically in multiple places that due to the account system being in the state that it was in, I was on my way out the door. That pretty much says what I feel is wrong with the system at present. IE: I'd love to give them money but presently can't.

I'm not quite sure how you manage to dig far too deeply into things that displease you, but I've come to understand that's how you function. Fair enough.

Never said you did. My statement was exactly at face value. I love coming back in and finding stuff I missed the first time through. I suppose there's some additional meaning there that I've missed, but since I speak at face value, I'm not going to bother looking for additional meaning in what I post.

 

[Black Sun]

Ok, this thread has gone past productive.
This time I'm closing it and leaving it that way.