I'm one of those (I'm sure many) players that has been gone yet never left. In other words, my accounts are and have been active all along, played since the beginning, and I still log on every day even if it's only to feed my fish. But I haven't actively played & participated in a real long time other than very occasional and brief bouts of enthusiasm. But when I do get onto one of those kicks and do anything that involves leaving my house, I feel lost. People are wearing things and going places and doing things that I can't comprehend. The feeling is worse than being a noob--more like being an alien. I feel like an outsider in my own world.
When I do get to play, I am usually looking forward to doing those things that I remember from back in the day. I go fish up MIB's, or go dig up treasure chests. When I want to re-up a character's fame I go kill demons in Wind. If I ever do want to try something "new" (meaning new for me, not necessarily new to the game), I feel so lost and don't know where to go for info. When I look at vendors, I see items on there that are completely foreign to me. When I try looking online for information, I never find any comprehensive sources, everything's written in a way that assumes the reader already knows at least something about the topic, not at a basic enough level for someone who truly has no idea what it is.
So am I thinking of "returning" for the new expansion? I wish I could but with such limited playtime available to me, I'm not sure if I can handle all the new content along with having to learn a new client all at the same time. When I do get time to play, I need to be able to jump right in and play the way I always knew. My reasons for not as much playtime haven't changed, I've got my hands full with real life and now I even have a baby on the way in a couple of months, I wish I had more time to play because I miss it a lot.
Having said that, I totally agree with the need for a new client. I love UO and want it to thrive and I accept that technological advances are the best way to ensure that. I also agree that sometimes moving forward technologically means having to step outside the comfort zone, and growing up sometimes means leaving behind some of those things that were very sentimental to us.
I'll probably keep doing what I do, taking care of my fish & plants, perhaps drop down to just one account and EA will still have at least one of my subscriptions for at least the forseeable future. But it has moved on without me--I can never truly "return."
Btw, the baby on the way is, in a way, thanks to UO--my husband and I first met in UO, had an in-game wedding 11 years ago next month, and married in real life almost 7 years ago! So UO will always have a place in my heart no matter what.
