Worried about my shard...

[Rocklin]

Tonight I decided to go museum hunting on several different shards to see how people have build their museums and what they had. I logged in and out on various alts. and noticed something alarming. Every server had TONS of people on it compared to mine. Right now on Sonoma there is about eight people at the Luna bank. Compared to Pacific, Atlantic, Catskills, Chessy, Baja and many others, my server appeared to be a ghost town. Granted there may be more people out hunting and Luna city is not a litmus test for server population, but I am kinda worried.

 

[Sweeney]

What's your point? Do something about it.

 

[Rocklin]

What's your point? Do something about it.

My point is that my server which once had a healthy population seems to be fading. I have recently returned and I would like to see and game with more people. I don't want to leave my server, but the amount of people playing borders on an inactive server. I can see us going in the first round if there were to be cuts.

 

[Viper09]

My point is that my server which once had a healthy population seems to be fading. I have recently returned and I would like to see and game with more people. I don't want to leave my server, but the amount of people playing borders on an inactive server. I can see us going in the first round if there were to be cuts.

I can kind of understand that.
Sonoma is pretty empty at times. Sometimes I really consider moving over to another shard but I don't really want to leave my server.

 

[Dor of Sonoma]

Tonight I decided to go museum hunting on several different shards to see how people have build their museums and what they had. I logged in and out on various alts. and noticed something alarming. Every server had TONS of people on it compared to mine. Right now on Sonoma there is about eight people at the Luna bank. Compared to Pacific, Atlantic, Catskills, Chessy, Baja and many others, my server appeared to be a ghost town. Granted there may be more people out hunting and Luna city is not a litmus test for server population, but I am kinda worried.

Perhaps Sonoma players exhibit better taste?

*grins*

I have been playing daily again for awhile now - and I can assure you that I am one of the people who is not in Luna.

Oh, and in other news...one of my unknown characters was player-killed last week, well off the beaten track in Felucca. I actually found it heartening!

 

[Omnius]

pacific is one of the less populated shards these days. it was once the most populated shard in UO and is now a hollow shell of a shard. Housing space actually open in numerous areas, it reminds me more of drachenfels or catskills than the rival of atlantic and europa.

 

[WarUltima]

My point is that my server which once had a healthy population seems to be fading. I have recently returned and I would like to see and game with more people. I don't want to leave my server, but the amount of people playing borders on an inactive server. I can see us going in the first round if there were to be cuts.

The guild formation plays a big part. The 2nd biggest PvP guild is about 1/3 in character count compare to the zergiest PvP guild which also is now officially the biggest guild on sonoma. They are one of those huge guilds that exploit faction + nonfaction alliance. And they already surpassed PAS's total char counts and PAS has been the biggest guild on Sonoma for MANY years. This translates to zerging style PvP and the facts that they have houses near each and every single dungeon entrance, minax, SL base entrance and over half of the houses in yew also belong to them. They are not really PvP capable, thus they dont fight even number. They hide in house until they have all the zerglings called in ready to go. And when they get killed they NEVER come back and will NEVER leave the house again.

When the blue trammie gate hoggers can put up better PvP actions and excitements than the biggest zerging PvP-ish guild, the more PvP oriented crowd gets irritated and started to shard hopping. "We rather be playing here and there than sitting outside their houses fighting with 12 dismount stealthers that never leave the house..." Lowers the PvP population.

And there's also a new game called Darkfall, which many are trying out ATM. We should be ok after awhile when all the new game hype get cooled down for a bit.

 

[EDA_GL]

If you can keep up with all the new-comers to GL....feel free to join up here.
You might consider a move next door to the game server.....with a direct T3 line connected to it. Then you MIGHT have a chance of keeping up

 

[Vyal]

If you go on Legends and spam I sent you and that you need gold for a new start ...
I bet you would wrack up alot of gold

 

[MissEcho]

Tonight I decided to go museum hunting on several different shards to see how people have build their museums and what they had. I logged in and out on various alts. and noticed something alarming. Every server had TONS of people on it compared to mine. Right now on Sonoma there is about eight people at the Luna bank. Compared to Pacific, Atlantic, Catskills, Chessy, Baja and many others, my server appeared to be a ghost town. Granted there may be more people out hunting and Luna city is not a litmus test for server population, but I am kinda worried.

Hehe well if it makes you feel any better come to my Castle Museum (Witchwood Castle) on Oceania, a rune to the location is located on the podium in my shop shown here: Emporium Luna - Oceania. (create a char with SJ or Magery so you can recall.

Once you return to Sonoma I am sure you will feel like you are heading back to a metropolis in comparison to Oceania.

 

[BajaElladan]

Hail Folks,

I am No Friend to those who constantly seek to lure players from their home shards to another shard.

I have characters on several shards for a variety of purposes.

However, Baja is my home shard. It has been for over 11 years. Geographically, I currently live in the Greal Lakes/Catskills region in real life. Yet I met a friend on Baja and I put down roots which have grown deep and wide.

I am opposed to shard closing or shard merging in general, and am obviously vehemently opposed to any thought of altering Baja.

To the original poster I have two recommendations:

1) travel your shard widely at various times and find the players on your shard (they may be far more than you know)

2) take steps to make your shard its very best

If you build it, they almost certainly will come.

Lastly, if our "home" shard becomes something less than we may abide...then considering a move elsewhere may be your only other choice.

I wish all players well on every shard, and during your server maintenance come visit Baja...the Sosarian Shangra La

Elladan of Baja

 

[Lord Drakelord]

I don't bank in Luna. Normally I am on most most morning till noon or later and also a bit in the evening.

Tonight I decided to go museum hunting

did you see PAS's?

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

I am No Friend to those who constantly seek to lure players from their home shards to another shard.

Move to Siege...la

 

[Turdnugget]

Empty Shard = better scroll farming =)

 

[Canucklehead73]

Well I havent been playing much lately, house renos, I think Sonoma is actually picking up a few players as well as getting some returnees...

8 ppl is a slow day in luna for sure, bur I think it's getting better, i have seen nights where im surprised at how many ppl are at the bank!

 

[LdyHawke]

I think it just depends on where you go. I've been playing on Sonoma for over 10 years now, and while the population has gone down, I don't think it's enough to get you worried. Granted, I just wasn't "getting out much". For the past couple years, I found myself logging in to do a little vendor restocking and a little shopping, and not much else. Recently, a friend and I got into doing Ilshenar champion spawns (first timers!), and are now playing for at least a couple hours everyday. And the best part about it is that we've found a community of players that we no longer thought existed. This group of players, comprised by a guild and bunch of their friends, took us under their wing and put up with our inexperience (and subsequent deaths), and we're now happy to call them friends. Everynight we can find enough of them on to easily take out champions, and we're having a blast. I haven't had this much fun in UO in years. After 10 years of UO, I have finally found the wonderful community that Sonoma has always prided itself on. Sonoma is my home, and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon!

P.S. Thanks to KHV and friends for helping me to find what I've been missing for so long! You guys rock!

 

[Shantia]

Mmm, i'd have to say baja is another one of those ghost town shards. Maybe everyones in fel? LOL. Housing has opened up a lot tho..seeing a lot more keeps/castles, huge areas with lots of room for 18x18s...(nice thing for me, yayyyy side by side houses!) Even the vendors in luna dont restock very often.

 

[Lord Sir Scott]

People are on sonoma they are just all doing there own thing... Notice We have a lot of Events but no Events to gather peoples and folks togther.....

Alltho there are a lot of groups doing different things a lot of it never gets on a Stratics calender so folks know where and when people are at different places...
Also if you want to meet the population i highly recomend you apply for shard reporter...
We dont have one except we get reports from a reporter who is currently donating his time to come to our shard and report...

Getting population is hard as as of this moment i know of at least three big guilds that are currently always on alts on other shards. people are always coming and going becuse of shard transfers and event item importing ect....


Population = Dedication.

 

[ColterDC]

My point is that my server which once had a healthy population seems to be fading.

It's not just your server buddy, it's the entire game.

UO is on a downhill slide and no crappy expansion or pixel crack is going to save it.

 

[Noti(Caci)]

My suggestion to you.
Buy char tranfer tokens form online shop and move to
Atlantic shard.Atlantic is still well populated.

 

[Sorcha of Sonoma]

Tonight I decided to go museum hunting on several different shards to see how people have build their museums and what they had. I logged in and out on various alts. and noticed something alarming. Every server had TONS of people on it compared to mine. Right now on Sonoma there is about eight people at the Luna bank. Compared to Pacific, Atlantic, Catskills, Chessy, Baja and many others, my server appeared to be a ghost town. Granted there may be more people out hunting and Luna city is not a litmus test for server population, but I am kinda worried.

Perhaps Sonoma players exhibit better taste?

*grins*

I have been playing daily again for awhile now - and I can assure you that I am one of the people who is not in Luna.

Oh, and in other news...one of my unknown characters was player-killed last week, well off the beaten track in Felucca. I actually found it heartening!

In the last week Ugluk picked up a count, Yerrom got PK'd in Glow (Somebody didn't like a crate thief - was a member of COP), Argond Earandir has scored 6 virtue armor pieces in Shame (2 in Tram, 4 in Fel) as well as 600 Silver, and Sandoval scored his first ever PS (110 Provoke he didn't need of course!)

Oh and in a quick foray into Fell Destard Sandy also scored a 1.0 Cartography SOT.

And yet I didn;t see anybody I knew, other than two tamers doing the Ilsh Oaks spawn that I tag team that spawn with on Sandy (Legendary Provoke / Music for the Bard that provoked Lich Lords on Jou'nar as a Journeyman Bard during the Trinny Invasion LOL)

Oh and I stopped at the Y on 3 characters.

I think there is just too much to do ATM on Sonoma LOL.

 

[Dor of Sonoma]

In the last week Ugluk picked up a count, Yerrom got PK'd in Glow (Somebody didn't like a crate thief - was a member of COP), Argond Earandir has scored 6 virtue armor pieces in Shame (2 in Tram, 4 in Fel) as well as 600 Silver, and Sandoval scored his first ever PS (110 Provoke he didn't need of course!)

Oh and in a quick foray into Fell Destard Sandy also scored a 1.0 Cartography SOT.

And yet I didn;t see anybody I knew, other than two tamers doing the Ilsh Oaks spawn that I tag team that spawn with on Sandy (Legendary Provoke / Music for the Bard that provoked Lich Lords on Jou'nar as a Journeyman Bard during the Trinny Invasion LOL)

Oh and I stopped at the Y on 3 characters.

I think there is just too much to do ATM on Sonoma LOL.

I remember Sandoval's contribution during the original Invasion of Trinsic

In other news, Storytelling is back on at the Y this Friday eve (7:00pm Pacific time)

 

[QueenZen]

hey Dor, ya still conveniently located by the cemetary fel side on Sonoma ?

Well tis nice to possibly be pkd by a cemetary and I think I still have a chr. over there somewhere fel side, that attended the Y and other events there on Sonoma.

As for shards I play on Siege and Chesapeake, also depends sometimes on the times we may get to be online. I can be on Chesapeake and find NO ONE at all but oft times there I am on very early in the morn and lots of the folks I know there are on in the evenings, so meh they are there just oft not when I am. Otherwise I could say Chesapeake seems or is *empty* too.

Ditto for Siege unless I am on, later, I won't see a soul somedays there either yet if I manage to attend some player run event held in the evenings, one is delightfully surprised by how many folks we DO see. And if EA UO started closing down lower populated shards, relocating customers to other shards aside from being a mess to DO, which I do not see them doing, they then would be admitting a *decline* in revenue... I do not see them doing that either.

Although there may be a decline in general regarding populations of players, compared to years ago in UO on any shard. It is a pretty old game those of us that like it still .. remain on some shard/s somewhere.

If ya on Sonoma maybe hosting some events and in *prime time* regularly there *like story nite at the Y* and other events there and player run events, more so that any ea held event at times, tends to build community up too, giving everyone somewhere to GO all at the same time, on some regular basis weekly bi monthly etc. Just takes time and work ie commitment, to build those up on any shards, and to repeat em to get a flow going again of persons attending.

 

[Lady Katherine]

Part of the problem is that realms are so vast and varied that even a large population can go undiscovered in all the space unless it is Luna. I have wandered all over Ilshenar for over an hour without seeing another person, even in likely places. Combine that with available time for many people and it would indeed look like the realm is empty.

Rocklin, if you are still touring shards to look at museums, I would love to show you Chesapeake's. We have a number of really nice ones.

 

[Dor of Sonoma]

Part of the problem is that realms are so vast and varied that even a large population can go undiscovered in all the space unless it is Luna. I have wandered all over Ilshenar for over an hour without seeing another person, even in likely places. Combine that with available time for many people and it would indeed look like the realm is empty.

Rocklin, if you are still touring shards to look at museums, I would love to show you Chesapeake's. We have a number of really nice ones.

That is a very valid point!

With each expansion containing more land mass that has been added, the playerbase has become further diluted...until now, it is stretched quite thin - and holes in the fabric (available house spots) become glaringly apparent. When you add to that the prevalance of hiding and stealthing, the world can appear empty indeed!

QueenZen: Aye, we remain at the same location - and your character should still be slumbering either in the Guesthouse, or at the guild tower. *grins* You are in good company there! I hope that we never, ever have to wipe the Friends' list on the Guesthouse - that is such an historical read! Give it a look, the next time you log in.

 

[Widow Maker]

We are killing COP every night in various locations. Not an issue with my group.