What do you think UO needs to keep new players?

[Masuri]

Create a new character and train him up a bit . . . Write down everything you find annoying or boring, and all the possible improvements that come into your mind . . . I actually plan to do mentioned steps just for fun. For that purpose I'll probably use simple GM-crafted leather armor, no runics, no artifacts.[/I]

Hawkeye, I recently did this myself, when debating switching to a bigger server, since mine is dead dead dead. And I was a lot more motivated than just toying around, and I still found myself thinking, jesus this really sucks, maybe I'll stay on my empty shard after all, or just xfer or buy gold - hence my post way up above with my suggestions. If I can recommend.. don't use GM-crafted stuff in your experiment. A real noob has no access to that. Limit yourself to the trash picked up at New Haven. Go with a truly fresh character with skills a noob is likely to pick. Try magery with nothing but 30 of each reg. It's a bloody joke. (By the way, you'll get torn up in the anti-virtue dungeons, as a true noob in rags with no skills. Gone are the days when you'd dive right into Despise, those mobs are too hard for lowbies. You'll be killing skellies in NH for a long time before you can leave.)

 

[GhostfaceSP]

haha

Im just saying you wont get any new players unless you put it on the market as a brand new game, instead of building on a game that have been running for 10 years where all the old players (including myself) got advantages that others cannot get without buying and old account.

UO is a money machine with the addition of uogamecodes that makes extra money.
If EA does not Advertise it as a new game with fresh servers, then you wont get 1 new player.

All I can say is...enjoy it while you can.
When the money stops flowing in you will be forced to play on a free server which might even be of higher standard :gun: And then I can do the "told you so" dance

wake up

 

[GhostfaceSP]

I hope you understand that less than 25% of the player base plays in "Fel Ruleset Lands" and far less than that plays on Siege Rules servers...

Following your suggestions would drop the paid subscriptions by at least 75 to 85% within a month...

I hope you pursue a career other than business or finance!

Infact I make all my money on trade RL.

And if you did read my posts you would see it was 5$ per char and per house.
1 char and 1 house = 10$ (as if anyone would be satisfied with that)

This was ment as addiotional to shutting all servers down and making a totally new UO game (a new beginning) advertising it as a new game.

How can this be less profit than today??
And siege is what made the game so actrative 10 years ago.
Since the day trammel was added people got bored and left the game.
You have to get some pain to get some joy.

 

[Connor_Graham]

How can this be less profit than today??

It would be less profit because 75% of the people that are paying now would quit the game and no longer pay anything. You wouldn't make the same revenue from a very small fraction of the playerbase, if Mythic didn't shut UO down immediately.

Your playstyle is the minority. It's time to face facts and quit the self delusion bit.

 

[Masuri]

And siege is what made the game so actrative 10 years ago.
Since the day trammel was added people got bored and left the game.
You have to get some pain to get some joy.

Not true, not true, not true. Look up the spike in subs after Trammel launched and stop rewriting history to suit your own vanity.

It would be less profit because 75% of the people that are paying now would quit the game and no longer pay anything. You wouldn't make the same revenue from a very small fraction of the playerbase, if Mythic didn't shut UO down immediately.

I think his plan - minus the stuff about turning UO into a pre-Trammel wolves-vs-sheep disaster - isn't so terrible in general. This game doesn't cost very much to keep going. EA might refuse to make a new game that isn't going to make huge money, but keeping one going that still pulls in a profit and doesn't cost much in people or money, isn't beyond them. Goodness AC is still making money and doing monthly pushes with under 15k people or whatever it is now. GW sold more copies than any MMO beside WoW and doesn't charge a fee at all. Lots of pricing models out there. I'd charge by the house too.

 

[Blackadder]

The generation of game players coming through now are from the "I want it all now or i will get bored and find something else " brigade.
This is why as already said the new people who do try UO, give up within a month when they see the ridiculous luna prices and see how long it will take to train a char up.
So some obvious things to do is up the starting items, i mean 1k gold buys you 3 skills to 30 if your lucky enough to have worked out how to do it, this needs to be at least 50k to buy some decent armour.
You should be allowed to have 1 char who starts with at least 70 in either a warrior skill or magery skill, this would give them something to start earning some gold with.
I personaly only play in 2d and would hate it if i had to play with any of the sea sickening 3d clients that are about, but thats just my opinion.My point is either fix the 3d so it runs smoothly and doesnt make you feel sick or stick with what we have and promote it.

And before anyone starts shouting newbie, i have played on and off for 8ish years .
People suggesting companions or something like that are correct.
When i first started i was lucky enough to get chatting to a guy from the US who helped me with armour and pointed me in the direction of what skills to gain and how.
He also did loads of level 1 treasure maps with me and my wife.
We would all board his boat and make our way to the treasure spot using the sextent, we would set up around the spot and he would start digging, my wife and myself waiting in scared anticipation at what might spawn, (usualy 1 skelly and a mongbat), then excitement at what was inside the chest, sigh those were the days.
The point is with his help we became addicted and learnt as we went along.
We still keep in contact and i consider him a good friend.
Something UO is lacking right now.
The economy is crazy, a guy was at brit bank shouting his cleaver was for sale, i asked him how much, his answer 15 million.
Once i had picked myself up i asked how he warrented such a price, his answer was "15 mill is nothing in this game and some mug will buy it"
Well even after my 8 years on and off playing i only have 2 small houses on 2 accounts and about 6mill collectively between my chars, and a ton of old junk cluttering up my houses ;-)
UO needs help to gain new players and Help those new players get a grip with the game and become addicted.
One thing most will agree on is that UO is very addictive.

 

[hawkeye_pike]

So some obvious things to do is up the starting items, i mean 1k gold buys you 3 skills to 30 if your lucky enough to have worked out how to do it, this needs to be at least 50k to buy some decent armour.

That is true. Either the amount gold on each account and character has to be cut by 90%, or the newbies have to get at least 10 times of what they are getting now. (I'd prefer removing gold from the game though.)

You should be allowed to have 1 char who starts with at least 70 in either a warrior skill or magery skill, this would give them something to start earning some gold with.

I agree. Either give characters with very low skill something exciting and challenging to do, or allow them a higher starting skill. (I'd prefer the first.)

I personaly only play in 2d and would hate it if i had to play with any of the sea sickening 3d clients that are about, but thats just my opinion.My point is either fix the 3d so it runs smoothly and doesnt make you feel sick or stick with what we have and promote it.

Having the 2D client is something very unique in the gaming world. It allows people to run UO on an old computer. 2D could remain as long as enough people are using it. However, a good 3D client is a must!

People suggesting companions or something like that are correct.
When i first started i was lucky enough to get chatting to a guy from the US who helped me with armour and pointed me in the direction of what skills to gain and how.
The point is with his help we became addicted and learnt as we went along.
We still keep in contact and i consider him a good friend.
Something UO is lacking right now.

We have hopes to get the Counselor program back somewhen in 2009. And I know lots of players who are willing to take care of newbies. And, with lots of newbies joining, there will automatically be more companions around. It is boring if you're the only newbie training in New Haven, but it would be more fun if you'd have the company of equal players.

The economy is crazy, a guy was at brit bank shouting his cleaver was for sale, i asked him how much, his answer 15 million.
Once i had picked myself up i asked how he warrented such a price, his answer was "15 mill is nothing in this game and some mug will buy it"

I'd rather equip myself with an NPC dagger than paying that much for a stupid weapon.

Why are people so crazy about items?
Because the low and medium level content is boring and not very versatile, and everybody wants the challenge to "solo" the hardest creatures. Improve the low and medium level content and people will care less about uber items.

 

[Sargon]

UO needs to return to its former glory. No I'm not talking about PvP and Pre-UOR, but instead the player economy. There was a time when players relied on other players. Weapons and armor were frequently lost and required replacement by a blacksmith or tailor. Blacksmiths bought ingots from miners and turned them for a profit while standing at the forge in Britain. The economy was bustling and there was a great deal of interaction between almost all the players.

Now I have no need or reason to deal with other players and it feels more like a single player game that just happens to have other people playing. I feel that the dev team needs to find a way to recapture a sense of camaraderie and community. Stop trying to emulate other games by adding new quests, item properties, and races. Instead, embrace the community, be creative, and find some way to bring players back together. Do something to rejuvinate the economy, empower the players, and set UO apart from the other games on the market.

Can't be fixed. The things that kept the economy strong back in the day were pk's (ill explain) and the fact that crafting skills were VERY hard to raise.

I understand your reasoning, but I don't buy the idea that the economy "can't be fixed". It would be accurate to say that it can't be returned to its previous state, but that doesn't mean that brand new ideas couldn't fix the current economy. If I wanted to sit down for a day and think about creative ways to solve the problems, I'm sure I could come up with a whole list of ideas... but since I already have a full-time job and I'm not employed by EA, I will leave that up to them. I'm just saying that there are surely things that could be done to bring a little bit of player interaction back to the game.

 

[sapphirediablo11]

Shorter wait times and having someone there to help, Some people wait 4 hours to get a canned response that doesn't answer their question, they don't even apear before you anymore, or try to talk with you... (you might get one person every 40 reports :| )

Bring back seers, and all those good things, i mean who didn't love the golden doe, tormented soul, ect...

Make things accessable to everyone, (gets a flame shield prepared for this one...) Alot of people left the game, because they couldn't get many things, because they are RPers, and not PvPers, or PvE ers... even if the tasks to get those things was harder in tram, then in fel, (since fel there are people that just camp there until someone starts and then they gank you, rinse repeat) but if your a new player with your new serpents fang, and you go with a bunch of others you have 0% chance of even getting close, feeling dismayed they leave.

Free beer day :O

Random events, just now and then BAM! something happens, if you weren't there then to bad, but maybe tomorrow something better will happen.

More unique looks to items, just changing the hue is great and all for having a colourful sac... but people like having a bunch of random items.

Lastly, player run towns, no not factions, but like Tel Ruid, or Rivendale, and so on, People love to be able to get involved and have a blast, but now its all about the none stop harvesting of whatever there is no fun left for those, and everything special about them, is destroyed :| (other than historical value.)

Sorry aboot bad grammar, and spelling

Have a good one all

 

[Korso]

You can't expect new players to play on new accounts when old accounts get more skill points and perks like free etheral mounts. New players figure out the imbalances quickly and either buy a quitting player's old account or just give up. Add to that the already mentioned problems with the gold inflation and you have an enviroment where the willing RMT newb stays and the unwilling RMT newb quits.

If they are serious about having a new player join the game and actually want to stay they have to start erasing the character imbalances. You simply can not expect new players to play with gimped characters. Give everyone the same chances or give up on having new players.

If that is the route they want to take there is a way to get some more paying customers..... There are thousands of players playing free shards right now. If they want those players back they should give them the same game: Pre-AoS shards.

nicely said.

 

[GhostfaceSP]

It won't happen. Focus on keeping the old members.
New players will just buy a used account anyways. (thats why you can buy name change tokens)

or....Total makeover of the game (still 2d).

 

[Loqucious]

The game needs the simplicity of the old days. It will never compete graphically so it has to gain it's share with people who just want to log on and have some quick fun, or be a game that allows for a lot of imagination as in the old days.

 

[Amren]

I think the problem is there is not a lot to do right away.

Soon as you leave the starting areas, you are thrown in to the world with no idea on what you should be doing next. Games like WoW lead you through the story line from one area to the next. I know UO is a sandbox, but even still there should be some structure to the game play. Some people like completing a lot of quests as apposed to trying to make their own fun.

New players hear things like "you can own a house and boat in UO" but what they don't realize it's next to impossible to get it in a reasonable about of time with out endless farming. Kind of sad since UO uses the housing system as a selling feature.

 

[Maplestone]

The trouble with defining the new player experience that we each have our own idea of what the endgame is and how fast we want to get there.

Personally I got hooked just wandering around old Haven for a full month - not even daring to cross over the moongate - for that time, sparring ettins on foot was my ultimate challenge for much of that time. The me of then would have been happy with a sparsely populated dungeon under New Haven and a few (meaningful) hints as to how to understand item properties. It was the collector's quest that eventually lured me into expanding my horizons (although at the time, it led me straight into the middle of an invasion that greatly confused me).

 

[sapphirediablo11]

Well i know this idea kindof died but i drooled over it when i first saw it, so with a bit of revampin' i think it would help alot..
Ultima Online Two :^O
Gets shield up incase of :|

 

[Nexus]

Well i know this idea kindof died but i drooled over it when i first saw it, so with a bit of revampin' i think it would help alot..
Ultima Online Two :^O
Gets shield up incase of :|

Doubt you'd get flamed for that...Many of us would have rather there had been a UO2 instead of AoS or even LBR.

 

[Warrior of Time]

Sitting down with a person that have never played UO before and watching them go through New Haven helps find a number of things out. Lets face it Marketing, and most incentives don't help since they are here.

First impressions count in a game just like in real life. These people want to GO. Keep that fire burning in them is what will get them to stay.

A good example is you make a paladin. WHY drop him in the middle of town with a lot of questions as to What Now? Drop a paladin in with the paladin trainer. Let it be the questor to start him. Not some guy the is a street director. Also where is the shrine that they had to learn how to use befor being sent out to learn what they are going to be able to do in UO.

They are new treat them like it. They have no need at that point to do anything but learn the basics.


Change what they start with in the way of resist. No need them die the first day and no way to get new armor and weapons. And that brings us to the next part. NPC weapons and armor needs to cost less and be more realistic in the way of resist and damage. The game has changed and the NPC things didn't. Fact is they are going to die and may end up with no way to keep the things they need if they have no one to help keep them going.

Put a realistic starters dungeon in New Haven. The deeper you go the harder the things get. That way they can get more money if they do nothing more than kill bats to get it.

How may people want to be a mage when they start and no way to keep the dream alive when everyone else has a full set of 0% regs armor. Spell book and spells are only part of the mages needs. Start them with 1 lower regs part of armor. If it has Low resist whay one of us would want it. Let the NPC sell one. [Exact thing they started with.] That way they will not be able to buy a set of ) regs armor. They are not going to cast the spells very well let the lower regs item be the only reason they fail on the first circle of spells.

Getting skills up and running are a must. Make gains really fast the first 60 points then taper off. Don't make them feel their gains are stuck. I am sure all the GM out there remember that reason to call you. I do.

We need to give the game what it needs starting with Day One.

Don't expect them to start off as a power player. Most will only play a short times when they have time, and then if they liked First Day. Maybe even the first week if they liked first day.

Keep the fire burning. Not the people that have been in UO for years complaints kill it.

 

[Kaleb]

Delete The current AOS systems go back to when it was better more balanced and fun.

 

[Maplestone]

I have mixed feelings about dropping paladins on the paladin trainer. I know that it's important for a new player to get a sense of accomplishment quickly. But I also think its important for them to see a variety of skills and experiences - to realize quickly that UO is not a class-based system. In fact, having a person choose whether to start as a paladin or a mage or a craftsman is probably a mistake. I might instead start with a blank skillless character and let them make that choice of path in New Haven.

I do agree that New Haven needs a dungeon. I'm really curious what they had in mind for the undeveloped areas.

 

[Warrior of Time]

I may be mistaken but if you don't use the paladin templet you don't have the armor.

I was thinking that the templets gave you more than just a weapon.

As for the accomplishment part. I think the main questor will provide it. They can always pick the custom choice when they make the char and drop it into the middle of the street.