Why new people wont play Ultima Online

[Philly]

Since Atlantic shard has stopped saving properly at the 2 min warning and reverting everyday from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours I have been testing out other shards.
I have found that almost all people or at least the ones that say anything are mean and rude to a person they think is new.
I am always in help chat on Atlantic and help as many as I can but I can't help everyone and only able to play late in the evening.
I have dreamed of this game becoming big again. But what they get upon entering it is scary indeed. Tonight I wont name the shard I asked a simple question and was the worse as to date. I was ripped to shreds with pure hatred.
Sadly I see a lot of new players honestly seeking help get treated this way.
I know I cant change the way people behave and sometimes I lose it myself. But I am asking if you can help a person please do. Treat others as you want to be treated.
I'm not saying give all your stuff away. Provide a gate, rezz, a book, extra set of armor or 10k gold. Anything is better than nothing or a put down.
Come on people.
I know there are good people out there I have seen and met them. A lot more like that would be nice. Remember this is our game and it wont survive forever with no new blood. We now have empty house spots on Atlantic and a couple of them dropping daily.
I love Ultima Online and hope its here for a long time to come.

 

[King Greg]

What was my favorite quote From Cracked.com's article about the biggest **** moves in online gaming.

"Garriott wanted to find out what MMORPG players were like, and they killed him just to see if they could."

 

[DJAd]

I think there far far more reasons why new people won't play Ultima Online.

1. You have to pay (thats even if you can get past the account management shambles).
2. Its waaaaay to complicated.
3. It looks so old and dated.
4. People login to some shards and think its dead already as there are more NPCs about than players.

 

[Parnoc]

I think there far far more reasons why new people won't play Ultima Online.

1. You have to pay (thats even if you can get past the account management shambles).
2. Its waaaaay to complicated.
3. It looks so old and dated.
4. People login to some shards and think its dead already as there are more NPCs about than players.

This --- but to add to it, they get on general chat and say "Is this shard always this dead?" Instantly, we will defend our shard and to some of the new ones they interpret that as being rude when it was their comment without even looking around the shard or simply just saying "Hi (name of shard)" that created the terse reply.

 

[hen]

I used Drachenfels general chat to get help with my German homework this morning! The folks there are generally very friendly and helpful.

 

[Mata]

What was my favorite quote From Cracked.com's article about the biggest **** moves in online gaming.

"Garriott wanted to find out what MMORPG players were like, and they killed him just to see if they could."

... and they do it again and again... :/

Spoiler

Lord British dies | Shroud of the Avatar Forum

 

[Mata]

Remember this is our game and it wont survive forever with no new blood.

2. Its waaaaay to complicated.

I have always tried to bring new people UO closer ... unfortunately without success at the present time.

 

[Bobar]

Visit Europa Brit bank around 6pm any day. The meeting held there is for the express purpose of helpiing new players and returnees. . Like all shards we have our portion of players we could do without but not everyone is tarred with the same brush. These players are important to the survival of UO and our meetings are Europa's way of demonstrating that we recognise this.

 

[MalagAste]

Since Atlantic shard has stopped saving properly at the 2 min warning and reverting everyday from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours I have been testing out other shards.
I have found that almost all people or at least the ones that say anything are mean and rude to a person they think is new.
I am always in help chat on Atlantic and help as many as I can but I can't help everyone and only able to play late in the evening.
I have dreamed of this game becoming big again. But what they get upon entering it is scary indeed. Tonight I wont name the shard I asked a simple question and was the worse as to date. I was ripped to shreds with pure hatred.
Sadly I see a lot of new players honestly seeking help get treated this way.
I know I cant change the way people behave and sometimes I lose it myself. But I am asking if you can help a person please do. Treat others as you want to be treated.
I'm not saying give all your stuff away. Provide a gate, rezz, a book, extra set of armor or 10k gold. Anything is better than nothing or a put down.
Come on people.
I know there are good people out there I have seen and met them. A lot more like that would be nice. Remember this is our game and it wont survive forever with no new blood. We now have empty house spots on Atlantic and a couple of them dropping daily.
I love Ultima Online and hope its here for a long time to come.

I don't doubt it. People are awful because they think there is 100% anonymity and no accountability.

 

[Uvtha]

Since Atlantic shard has stopped saving properly at the 2 min warning and reverting everyday from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours I have been testing out other shards.
I have found that almost all people or at least the ones that say anything are mean and rude to a person they think is new.
I am always in help chat on Atlantic and help as many as I can but I can't help everyone and only able to play late in the evening.
I have dreamed of this game becoming big again. But what they get upon entering it is scary indeed. Tonight I wont name the shard I asked a simple question and was the worse as to date. I was ripped to shreds with pure hatred.
Sadly I see a lot of new players honestly seeking help get treated this way.
I know I cant change the way people behave and sometimes I lose it myself. But I am asking if you can help a person please do. Treat others as you want to be treated.
I'm not saying give all your stuff away. Provide a gate, rezz, a book, extra set of armor or 10k gold. Anything is better than nothing or a put down.
Come on people.
I know there are good people out there I have seen and met them. A lot more like that would be nice. Remember this is our game and it wont survive forever with no new blood. We now have empty house spots on Atlantic and a couple of them dropping daily.
I love Ultima Online and hope its here for a long time to come.

New people won't play UO because of the graphics + the subscription. I have plenty of first-hand anecdotes. Every online game is full of trolls and jerks,

 

[Deep Ellum Dan]

I play Atlantic and glad I have never seen or heard of anyone treating new players this way which would almost lead me to find this post incorrect.

 

[Merlin]

I have tried to make the hard sell to a couple of friends who are really into other MMORPG's. They will usually be interested in it based on the way I describe it to them, but then they see. After that the first thing out of their mouths is always "THOSE 2D GRAPHICS ARE A COMPLETE JOKE". And they usually completely shut out any other response I try to make about why you can over look the graphics.

However, the reason why new players who do come to Ultima Online and won't stay is because it takes too much time upfront to invest into the game. Let's face it, if you're a gamer that goes from one title to the next, then chances are UO isn't for you. You need to be able to make a semi-decent commitment upfront just to be able to get a general grasp of gameplay, template builds and what is out there to do. And the best way to do that is human interaction, which as the OP noted, can sometimes be crude.

 

[Deep Ellum Dan]

Didnt we used to have a new player helper thing back in the day? Like someone would assist you after logging in? A built in system?

 

[Picus at the office]

If you want to know why people won't stick past the first month try writing a "how to guide".

Quickly it will explain in harsh detail how complex this game is and, sadly, highlights the fact that the "team" hasn't bothered to attempt at making the game more user friendly. If they can't make it more user friendly they could spend a week making a play guide but, again sadly, they either can't, won't or don't know the details needed to do such. It's funny that something so simple has been left to the community to do, without much success, when we still pay a rather high monthly fee. As other threads have said this fee is for something other than keeping the lights on be it new/revamped content or trying to see growth in the game.

 

[Uvtha]

I have tried to make the hard sell to a couple of friends who are really into other MMORPG's. They will usually be interested in it based on the way I describe it to them, but then they see. After that the first thing out of their mouths is always "THOSE 2D GRAPHICS ARE A COMPLETE JOKE". And they usually completely shut out any other response I try to make about why you can over look the graphics.

This exactly. I work with a bunch of younger guys, and I play diablo, and other games with them, and they relentlessly mock me about playing UO, heh.

 

[Merlin]

This exactly. I work with a bunch of younger guys, and I play diablo, and other games with them, and they relentlessly mock me about playing UO, heh.

I get similar treatment in my work office. They acknowledge that it's the grandfather of modern MMO's, but they just don't take it seriously that this is still a lively game that many people are passionate about. Obviously, I laugh it off when I get flak about it, but it's a shame that some of these folks won't even give it a chance and log in to see for themselves.

 

[Gameboy]

I do personally feel that this game is like a hidden gem of the mmo world.

 

[MalagAste]

I try to tell them that UO is the Ultimate challenge. If you can "make it" in UO and learn all that there is in less than a month I'd be super surprised. It is the game if you want a challenge, if you are tired of playing the same old game all the time... if community and friendship is your thing...

Honestly UO is so full of things to do that it would take you years to "do everything" in the game... which I keep telling people. But there is NO fast track... sure you can buy up skill with a token... but to learn to actually play those skills... and most important of all that I tell my co-workers and friends... You don't "win" at UO. There is no "end game"... it never stops unless you do. It's 100% dependent on what YOU set for goals... what you believe "end game" is... and to me there isn't one.

Over the years I've had dozens of "goals" in this game. Finish working up all 5 of my characters to 7x GM.... well you know how long that lasted.... then it was finish the templates of all 7 characters on my account... well I've never done that on any of my accounts... then it became recently (2 or 3 years now)... Make a fully functional character (mostly tamer) on EVERY shard. Well I haven't gotten too far with that one either. But through it all I have enjoyed the friendships.

UO is a hard sell because it's a hard game.

As for a "new player" experience there is a lame excuse for one if you create a character in the EC. (not gargoyle)... If you do you get a slight tutorial. Sadly the tutorial that we used to get if we started a new ninja or samurai was better.

But yes... getting past the graphics is huge for most modern gamers.

 

[OREOGL]

People do not play UO because of the gaming market.

Various titles pump X amount of games out that fits what people want regardless if it is graphics, gameplay, etc.

Why should they opt for UO when there's always a carrot dangling in front of their face?

We don't even advertise etc or cater to entertain new players.

It's more of the how long can we keep this ship afloat with minimal input.

 

[Deep Ellum Dan]

I still feel that us s players could help a lot in advertising by word of mouth, Facebook, etc... When is the last time anyone has posted to say Facebook to try and get their friends at least try the 14 day free trial? I tell everyone that I will help them out in game to get started. This game is not for everyone but there are a lot of people like us put there that this game is for.

 

[MalagAste]

Honestly they need to update things so new players don't have to pay for an account by buying SA and 30 days, plus HIgh Seas, and the other 3.... it's insane.

 

[Merlin]

I still feel that us s players could help a lot in advertising by word of mouth, Facebook, etc... When is the last time anyone has posted to say Facebook to try and get their friends at least try the 14 day free trial? I tell everyone that I will help them out in game to get started. This game is not for everyone but there are a lot of people like us put there that this game is for.

UO themselves should put out some type of post specifically for the purpose of asking others to share. Something that would have links and necessary information for getting a trial account set up and what not.

 

[TimberWolf]

Either Bonnie is totally incompetent, ( and I dont believe she is)... or she knows the practical problems of the account payments system, the game purchase system. She know she could generate huge sums of money and hurt dupers significantly by selling gold. But she also knows that not a single penny raised goes into broadswords or UO's coffers....it goes into EA's and they decide to continue to moderately fund the game and keep 100% of the profits.
If the question was ...shut down 6 shards and that would add 2 developers to the team...I think she would do that. But there is no pay off now...Ea would take the cost reduction....and continue to moderately fund UO. There is no end game where we the player base win! EA isnt going to turn to anyone and say....here ya go, there is 100% of the revenue and there is 100%of the costs.....you have the reigns see if you can quadruple the player base in the next year! There is probably 20 regular posters on these forums capable of quadrupling the player base in a year or two. But it isnt going to happen because that isnt how big business works.
I dont even think you can change Ea's mind on any of this..... UO is a joke as it now stands...a bad one, but it is EA's joke and it is the oldest running mmo in the world and that has value.

When ever it stops breaking even they simply reduce funding and cut another position, until ultimately it just ends. I think right now what we are witnessing is that prolonged period of hanging on ...life support

Grumpy, disgruntled posters arent hurting UO. I am probably one of the most critical players ( ie biggest ****) on these forums ....but in game I am one of the most generous people you will meet on any shard.especial to new and returning players..your argument is flawed and broken.....we are not the problem with UO. Burnt out Dev's that should quit or be fired arent even the problem ( well they are part of the problem) ....

The problem is greed and big business, and bureaucracy, and nothing on these forums is going to change that!

 

[Philly]

Didnt we used to have a new player helper thing back in the day? Like someone would assist you after logging in? A built in system?

We use to have helpers in the game before the "AOL Shard" that doesn't exsist anymore filed a law suit saying we discriminated against them by providing free accounts as a form of payment to them and they didn't get that on AOL so we lost all of our help. I don't recall what the helpers were called and I'm sure some of you will make specific corrections to this as I don't recall "exact" details.

 

[Philly]

Parnoc understands what I'm saying. I know it's old 2D all that stuff but if your new well read his post and that's sad to be treated that way.

 

[Uvtha]

I dont even think you can change Ea's mind on any of this..... UO is a joke as it now stands...a bad one, but it is EA's joke and it is the oldest running mmo in the world and that has value.

IS that of value, though? Why does that have value? I don't think the fact impresses anyone outside of people who play UO.

I don't think it's anyone's "fault" that UO isn't a big runaway success in 2016. There are literally hundreds of new games that look better, and play better, and simply employ better technology. The quality of content, of course, is subjective, but really, there's no reason to expect a game made in 1997 to be active and popular. Even the market for much more popular and well thought of games like Diablo 2 or the Baldurs gate series is limited.

The problem is greed and big business, and bureaucracy, and nothing on these forums is going to change that!

I think the problem is that it's an outdated game in every technical aspect. Most people don't like to play old, out of date games, simple as that. I feel like I like old games more than most, but I find many of them completely frustrating because of the gameplay issues caused by the periods technical restraints.

Could UO get more players? Sure... but is there an untapped niche market out there so large that it could make UO even a second-tier player in the 2016 mmo market? I really don't think so.

The only thing that will get UO numbers up substantially is going f2p, and it seems the majority is against that. So, I think UO just is what it is.

 

[Zuckuss]

What was my favorite quote From Cracked.com's article about the biggest **** moves in online gaming.

"Garriott wanted to find out what MMORPG players were like, and they killed him just to see if they could."

Ahh yes, but there were another hundred people standing there who didn't try to kill him. Depends on how you look at it.

 

[Mina_Lino]

I've tried to introduce new players to UO...but the graphics are very 90-ties.

I'm used to it...and it has it's charm.

People have to get used to it.


Biggest problem is the logging in...I needed someone to guide me through it when i came back.
They really need to make it a lot more simple...just like you login into all other online games.
(just email and pass to log into the site and the game)

UO is not really being adverticed for...so getting new players if you're not adverticing is kinda hard.

I try to be as helpful as i can to new players (young) by providing them free ponies.
(also got a vendor in magincia that sells ponies for 100gp wich is a better price then buying them from a stablemaster)

Seen some cheap LRC suits out there for 6k.

Full spellbooks however...are a bit expensive.
But i remember walking around with my spellbooks...collection scrolls from monsters and filling my spellbook that way.
I remember i worked HARD to place my first small tower in the jungle near Trinsic.

The price of UO...it's better if you go for 6 months sub...but of course not everyone has a mastercard/visa
Not saying to should be free to play...but the monthly fee would be nice if it was a little lower.

I'm going to be honest...i've done freeshards.
Had fun...but F2P also attracts the lowest of the lowest scum.
It's hard to "punnish" someone when they can just dodge the banhammer by closing one account and opening an other...all for free.

 

[Uvtha]

I'm going to be honest...i've done freeshards.
Had fun...but F2P also attracts the lowest of the lowest scum.
It's hard to "punnish" someone when they can just dodge the banhammer by closing one account and opening an other...all for free.

I dunno, I've played f2p games where the people were just fine, pretty much the same as any other online community, good, bad and ugly. As for punishment, UO doesn't punish anyone for anything anyway, so it shouldb;t be an issue.

Really though, like it or not that's the only way UO gets a lot of new players. You either have to deal with a slowly dying game, or deal with any potentially yucky people that may join. Both have pros and cons I'd imagine.

 

[TimberWolf]

IS that of value, though? Why does that have value? I don't think the fact impresses anyone outside of people who play UO.

I think there is value there, I use to attend gaming launches, conventions, and event, and have made some contacts in gaming over the years. Whenever I bump into one and they ask what I am playing, I always add UO to the list. Then we spend 10-20 mins talking about their UO experience. Without exception they are all very impressed to hear UO still lives as a commercial product.

I don't think it's anyone's "fault" that UO isn't a big runaway success in 2016. There are literally hundreds of new games that look better, and play better, and simply employ better technology. The quality of content, of course, is subjective, but really, there's no reason to expect a game made in 1997 to be active and popular. Even the market for much more popular and well thought of games like Diablo 2 or the Baldurs gate series is limited.
UO has held up much better then Balders gate and I think Diablo 3 stole Diablo 2's thunder. If UO ever brought out a stand alone sequel to UO ... who knows.


I think the problem is that it's an outdated game in every technical aspect. Most people don't like to play old, out of date games, simple as that. I feel like I like old games more than most, but I find many of them completely frustrating because of the gameplay issues caused by the periods technical restraints.

Actually there is a couple very successful companies that make way more money then broadsword does by selling very old games that have been adapted to play on new hardware.

Could UO get more players? Sure... but is there an untapped niche market out there so large that it could make UO even a second-tier player in the 2016 mmo market? I really don't think so.

The only thing that will get UO numbers up substantially is going f2p, and it seems the majority is against that. So, I think UO just is what it is.

A F2P model that funneled a majority of the profits back into UO could shake up the MMO market. But EA seemingly isnt interested in that.....

 

[Mina_Lino]

I dunno, I've played f2p games where the people were just fine, pretty much the same as any other online community, good, bad and ugly. As for punishment, UO doesn't punish anyone for anything anyway, so it shouldb;t be an issue.

Really though, like it or not that's the only way UO gets a lot of new players. You either have to deal with a slowly dying game, or deal with any potentially yucky people that may join. Both have pros and cons I'd imagine.

Ow i'm not just talking about UO tho.

I've also played AION when you still needed a sub...as soon as it became F2P it all went down the hill and became "pay2win"
Also played Elder Scrolls...they had to make it F2P cause somehow it was dieing...(great graphics, but somehow it was very hard to get in touch with other players)

I do like that general chat in UO.

 

[Mina_Lino]

I do have to say...deco-ing in UO...there's no game that can quite beat that.
Along with house costumising.

And growing plants , incubating chicken/turtle eggs , making your own liquor..

New players and old returning players are always welcome at the gypsy tavern

If this doesn't convince people to play...i don't know what will...

 

[Cymidei]

I disagree with y'all here is why. Minecraft has the worst graphics ever...yet is the hottest game out right now with all the kiddies! UO's graphics are 2d graphics are lovely by comparison so what is the difference? Minecraft is simple enough that a 5 year old can play it without having to read Stratics, yet complex enough that a 30+ year old can be completely engrossed it it's complexities and feel creatively fulfilled building stuff, scripting plug-ins, and making machines.

Today's kiddy gamers, have zero attention span and won't READ to figure anything out. They would be completely confused starting out in Britain for example on a multiplayer server and wouldn't know what to do next. One has to have a new player spawn in a shoe box with one way out because otherwise they are too dumb to figure out what to do next. Most Minecraft kiddies, play mini-game style games and like stuff like paintball, hunger games, PVP Walls, Last Man Standing, King of the Hill with simple to understand objectives. The kids would be completely bewildered by Ultima Online.

Think about how this game was designed...like for example...my pet peeve cannons on ships. Think about all the steps and items you need just to fire a fricking cannon. Now imagine you are a new player/kid who just wants to fight pirates. Wouldn't you be frustrated with all the materials, steps, and mechanics of that? Not to mention the boat commands and needing help to do it all? Give us a break! Why can't the cannons just autofire if something is at range once you place them. Not to mention, you have to know how to read coordinates and maps to figure out where the pirates are...sheesh. You expect anyone under 30 without a full grown frontal lobe to do all that?

So what to do? Make some fun, easy PVP/PVE stuff with simple objectives and rewards that can be played across the servers. PVP trumps PVE for challenge and replay-ability. BOOM! Everyone including old time UO players and new customers would have more fun. Get this game on Youtube and new players would give it a shot. Those of us who love this complex old game will still love it and know it's secrets and you will get the kids to play it and do something long enough to give it a chance.

Watch this for hilarity and to understand what a game has to do to get new players:

 

[Aran]

We use to have helpers in the game before the "AOL Shard" that doesn't exsist anymore filed a law suit saying we discriminated against them by providing free accounts as a form of payment to them and they didn't get that on AOL so we lost all of our help. I don't recall what the helpers were called and I'm sure some of you will make specific corrections to this as I don't recall "exact" details.

What? Legends is right there. They just dropped the AOL out of the name

 

[Hannes Erich]

I wouldn't be opposed to any of that @Cymidei, but it raises a question that I'd like you to take your time and think about. Given the studio's limited resources, would you rather see them develop toward the game's weaknesses, or its strengths? Complex RPGs with lots of systems and crafting are a niche, but they're a loyal niche that will never die. Din's Curse is still my favorite (non-MMO) ARPG dungeon crawler for instance, even though I have newer AAA dungeon crawlers installed. Google that and have a look at its graphics. When you design for the lowest common denominator (very young or casual adult gamers), you are spending resources on a very flighty audience.

 

[Cymidei]

I wouldn't be opposed to any of that @Cymidei, but it raises a question that I'd like you to take your time and think about. Given the studio's limited resources, would you rather see them develop toward the game's weaknesses, or its strengths? Complex RPGs with lots of systems and crafting are a niche, but they're a loyal niche that will never die. Din's Curse is still my favorite (non-MMO) ARPG dungeon crawler for instance, even though I have newer AAA dungeon crawlers installed. Google that and have a look at its graphics. When you design for the lowest common denominator (very young or casual adult gamers), you are spending resources on a very flighty audience.

That's very true Hannes! I have no desire to see them waste time and resources to turn UO into a garbage dungeon crawl or Iphone game. What I would like to see are rewarding, and fun things implemented that would engage new/old players.

Something as simple as a KIT-PVP battleground, or Last Man standing challenge across servers that gives account level rewards would be a boon. There are so many proven ideas out there that could be done to spice things up and keep it within the spirit of the game.

 

[Lady Storm]

Over the years I estimate I have given out about 100 mill to new and returning players.. Suit of armor. Spell books and more. I have even taught a few of them for hours to get them up to speed.
See that's the issue... Most of us have been in UO for years... We learned to do things on the fast track...
A new player while yes they have a very short attention span if any at all at time its feels... get frustrated and walk off.
Some look at a shard and see nothing...not a soul to play with... not that players are not on.. but you cant see them.
Luna is at fault as is chat.... think about it. We use to sit at Britain bank. It was UO's living room.
It's gone now..
Lost to the changes in UO. We changed too. The biggest change is how many games there are to choose from.
In '97 there was not much... we had time to play. Today the market is flooded with games and its a real nightmare to get 15 minutes to play with how life too has changed.
I for one miss the players who have come and gone from our game... Many have gone on to the happy hunting grounds.. and others are lost on the freeway of life...
** long ago it was said "one day paper will be a thing of the past ..printers will not be needed, we will save so many trees" that same visionary said he was wrong. We use more paper then we did before all this automation and computing started taking off.
The world has changed, we have changed.

 

[Angel of Sonoma]

I disagree with y'all here is why. Minecraft has the worst graphics ever...yet is the hottest game out right now with all the kiddies! UO's graphics are 2d graphics are lovely by comparison so what is the difference? Minecraft is simple enough that a 5 year old can play it without having to read Stratics, yet complex enough that a 30+ year old can be completely engrossed it it's complexities and feel creatively fulfilled building stuff, scripting plug-ins, and making machines.

Today's kiddy gamers, have zero attention span and won't READ to figure anything out. ..

today's kiddy gamers most certainly DO read. they search the internet to find all the 'glitches' (read cheats) in the game they are playing. i hear my teenage son and his buddies on xbox live doing this all the time.

i absolutely agree about Minecraft. the graphics are horrible. some of the worst graphics i've ever seen. but the game has skyrocketed in popularity.

i tried to get my kids to play uo. my son will play on occasion but he hasn't taken the time to discover the intricacies of the game. he'd rather play shoot 'em up games on xbox. imo i would love to see a modified version of uo developed for the xbox or playstation. instead of the full blown client, make it a fel based pvp version. draw in some of the console players. maybe this would be a stepping stone to bring more players to the full client based version of the game.

 

[Hannes Erich]

@Cymidei I think the Void Pool is an example of pretty fun bite-sized content, but I will always be SO sad that they ruined a great pre-existing dungeon for new characters (same with Despise). It's especially awkward that large swaths of Covetous are empty even during the event, so you can tell it was a shoehorn. They should have put it into its own space.

Nothing against PvP content at all, but social content and game mechanics can be cooperative as well as competitive. We don't have too many examples of special replayable events for either, but co-op games are huge these past few years. From 4-person co-op ARPGs like Torchlight 2 and Dungeon Defenders, to 3D games like Left For Dead 2 and Warframe, co-op is actually bigger than PvP games right now. Pure PvP titles like Forge (RIP), Strike Vector, and Heavy Gear Assault mostly fly under the radar these days before being shut down entirely.

 

[Jynxx]

Didnt we used to have a new player helper thing back in the day? Like someone would assist you after logging in? A built in system?

It was called the Companion program and I was involved with it for a few years.

Originally Haven was strictly limited to new players so they could learn the basics of the game without being taken advantage of by vets. Companions could port there to assist and teach without being bothered.

Companions could also receive notices when new players logged in, in addition to generating a detailed list of how many were online at any given time. They could teleport directly to them and assist.

The program was removed after the Counselor lawsuit. It didn't need to be since the Companions were not part of the litigation (Counselors sued because they were required to work a specific number of hours each week while the Companions were strictly volunteers and helped whenever they felt like it).

The fact is Bonnie hated the Companion program. She's made negative comments about it in the past, calling it a mistake and such. I guess the few Companions that took advantage of their powers really rubbed her the wrong way and she automatically assumed everyone was abusing their powers. I never did get to say thanks to @Mesanna for lumping the Companions who dedicated a large part of their playing time to help retain more paying customers for the game with the few who didn't.

Eventually Haven was replaced with New Haven and the Companion program was replaced with a nauseating number of NPCs that are supposed to guide the new players.


Worked out great, didn't it?

 

[Cymidei]

today's kiddy gamers most certainly DO read. they search the internet to find all the 'glitches' (read cheats) in the game they are playing. i hear my teenage son and his buddies on xbox live doing this all the time.

Yep! They do read a certain amount of internet content for cheats but kids despise the TEXTBOOK approach and love Youtube and nuggets of info.

 

[Uvtha]

Ow i'm not just talking about UO tho.

I've also played AION when you still needed a sub...as soon as it became F2P it all went down the hill and became "pay2win"
Also played Elder Scrolls...they had to make it F2P cause somehow it was dieing...(great graphics, but somehow it was very hard to get in touch with other players)

I do like that general chat in UO.

Obviously you can do anything the right way or the wrong way. All I'm saying is that it's not inherently a bad thing.

 

[Cymidei]

It was called the Companion program and I was involved with it for a few years.

Originally Haven was strictly limited to new players so they could learn the basics of the game without being taken advantage of by vets. Companions could port there to assist and teach without being bothered. Eventually Haven was replaced with New Haven and the Companion program was replaced with a nauseating number of NPCs that are supposed to guide the new players. Worked out great, didn't it?

I'd argue that a game that is so complex for a new player that it requires a personal tutor or army of NPC's to help you is a bit flawed. I do like how they redid New Haven though. Everyone hates tutorials, and long reads and most of us just want to jump in and play our games. An improvement in design would be to make fun, easy stuff people can do to get involved with UO without needing all that. Another issue that will have to be addressed is finding people to play with and getting groups, especially on depopulated servers. Think of the new player situation, where you just don't know everyone plays on Atlantic and picked a server where you have a better connection and find no one to play with, bummer huh.

If they could make an EVENT server, or Kit-PVP server which gave Account level rewards ... it would be great! Imagine if they had a server, you log into it, choose a template, get a kit of gear...go to an EM Event, PVE challenge, or PVP with a whole bunch of people from your region (U.S/Europe/Asia) and get stuff on your home server for doing it. Choose a reward using the existing token system, redeem it on your home shard. I think this approach would be extra cool for EM's because they could make sets, maps, make monsters, extra creative stuff, etc. without putting it on a production server.

 

[Uvtha]

A F2P model that funneled a majority of the profits back into UO could shake up the MMO market. But EA seemingly isnt interested in that.....

I doubt it would shake anything up. I don't imagine UO would be any successful than any of the other dozens of f2p or one-time purchase MMOs out there. Probably less than most because of being outdated. Honestly UO is probably at the butt end of the EA depth chart, I doubt anyone outside of BS knows anything about it, or how things are going in game. From their point of view (which I suspect resides 100% on a end of year balance sheet) there's no reason to change the pricing model if the current model is profitable. Once that starts trending down hard I imagine the peeps at broadsword will either move to make it f2p or they will stop working on it altogether.

 

[Uvtha]

I'd argue that a game that is so complex for a new player that it requires a personal tutor or army of NPC's to help you is a bit flawed.

I would personally agree, but I honestly don't think that's the case here. Most of the "complexity" in this game (ie the parts that are at least a BIT obtuse) like high-end crafting and high-end templates, generally "end game" kind of stuff, and new players really don't need to know that.

God knows this game needs more official documentation, but honestly most of it is pretty straight forward.

 

[Uvtha]

Think about how this game was designed...like for example...my pet peeve cannons on ships. Think about all the steps and items you need just to fire a fricking cannon. Now imagine you are a new player/kid who just wants to fight pirates. Wouldn't you be frustrated with all the materials, steps, and mechanics of that? Not to mention the boat commands and needing help to do it all? Give us a break! Why can't the cannons just autofire if something is at range once you place them. Not to mention, you have to know how to read coordinates and maps to figure out where the pirates are...sheesh. You expect anyone under 30 without a full grown frontal lobe to do all that?

Yeah, that was just poor, unnecessarily cluttered design. The exact same kind of horrible design direction that brought us refinements. If the same person or group of people were not responsible for both systems I would be shocked to say the least. Those two aren't even the only examples, just the most glaring.

 

[Jirel of Joiry]

I don't doubt it. People are awful because they think there is 100% anonymity and no accountability.

This is the God's HONEST truth right here! Go google any internet harassment, bullying, or stalking case it always , ALWAYS comes down to this right here. Take this case for example:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Megan_Meier

Make sure and read the cited pages. The adult woman who was responsible for the fake Myspace , thought what she was doing was fine because it was the internet and she was anonymous. Its sick. The real truth is you ARE NOT anonymous on the internet, this from a Professor of computer science and a friend that recently got his Masters in IT security. Let's not forget "Big Brother" is always watching you. So be careful because your crap can come home to roost.

 

[Jirel of Joiry]

We use to have helpers in the game before the "AOL Shard" that doesn't exsist anymore filed a law suit saying we discriminated against them by providing free accounts as a form of payment to them and they didn't get that on AOL so we lost all of our help. I don't recall what the helpers were called and I'm sure some of you will make specific corrections to this as I don't recall "exact" details.

Legends. It still exists. It was AOL Legends, but now its just Legends. I play there.

 

[Jirel of Joiry]

Okay if its all about the graphics then PLEASE explain why Mine Crack...err...Mine Crap...sorry Mine Craft is so popular?
Those graphics are kinda weird and sorta ugly. I mean Super Mario Bros. looked great in 8 bit, but Mine Craft, yuck.

 

[Duncan Drake]

I see another problem. For many of us Ultima online was part of our lives for many many years. We associate lots of memories with this game.

When I started playing uo back in 1997 the graphics were ok. And there is possibly some nostalgic attitude. A new player wont likely think this way. The same goes for the game itself. Its a game that's far away from perfection ( in modern term) but the potential and complexity it has established in this long time is nearly endless and no damn game in these 18 years since release of uo could compete with this ultimate complexity. But exactly this is the next thing newplayers will barely be able to handle.

The worst way broadsword could go for is to cut this complexity in favor for new players. If that would be the case many many existing players (incl. me) would probably leave.

The goal should be to specifically aim for returning players and to maintain the present player base. A very very very big fault is giving existing players the feeling to be left alone and to implement changes noone understands. Also a solid communication about gameplay changes is necessary so we all can play this great game for several more years.