Here is a list of reasons why the Oceania Shard should be renamed Detroit:
1. No one lives there anymore.
2. All the shoppes are empty, and the ones that do actually have any inventory charge outrageous prices.
3. Most places where you would build something are nothing but dirt plots.
4. More and more people are fleeing.
5. The people that are living there are divided into 2 classes: those that have it all and those that have nothing.
6. The only thing people do there is fight and kill each other, then loot and steal.
7. All the really nice homes are private.
8. A small number of people own all the prime real estate.
9. There is no industry and no jobs for anyone to do.
In answer to #1: There are people living on Oceania, it has plenty of housing space though.
#2. Outrageous comapred to which shard? Have you ever had to fork out 30k-50k just for a plain no-slayer mods 64 spell book? Well, I have, and on some of the biggest US shards. The same thing over here would sell for 3k-5k!
#3. Agreed on this one, I think a lot of people have no concept of how they want to deco their house, or have no concept of how to rake in gold to do it from hunting. It's quite easy if you have near-GM characters on any shard, most don't have either the time or inclination to sit there for hours whacking away at and collecting gold-dropping monsters.
#4. I have noticed some people are moving to other shards, but if it is because they want something better to them, then I'm actually all for that.
#5. This should be reworded as: The people who actually know how to get their crafter to legendary levels, and the people who get a life and occasionally have time to play UO.
#6. Did you visit the Fel facet on your visit? Trammel is a much nicer place.
#7. Well, maybe they're still working out the decoration for their home, or perhaps they just want it for friends and guildmates. I'll be perfectly honest, my Luna place at least is public, has been customaized, and I have trouble just figuring out where to put deco right now, so it's a bit sparse-looking apart from secure containers and the odd vet reward, but you know what? I like it that way, and it's totally my choice. if you don't like that, visit someplace that has decorations.
#8. By prime real estate, you mean Luna and vendor houses? If you wanted to put a vendor up to sell items, do ask around, as I know there are people who will gladly give you a vendor spot in Luna on Oceania.
#9. Industry? Jobs? This is sounding a lot like Real Life. Are you sure you're playing a video game or are you deluding yourself into thinking this is a real-world model?
Seriously, though, please do ask around if you actually want anything on Oceania. I would be more than happy to sell you anything which I do actually have to sell, if I don't have it I will let you know and be sure to try and find someone who does have it.
