You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is it?

[popps]

I have noticed, recently, quite a number of players from older years coming back to UO.

It looks like, after playing other games, that a number of players are showing interest again in the game which once they enjoyed playing, Ultima Onlline.

This thread is about those players who, since they came here to browse UHall, have again an interest in Ultima Online and are thinking over playing it again but something is holding them back from actually doing the step of reactivating their account.

The question is, what are your reasons that are holding you back and not yet making that step to reactivate your account or start a new one and play again Ultima Online ?

Perhaps, those problems could be reasonably addressed and the Developers could help you out making that final decision to come back to play Ultima Online.....

So, what is holding you back to make that final decision and play Ultima Online again ?

Please, let's not make this thread yet another one about a Classic Shard. If the lack of a Classic Shard is what is holding you back from returning to UO say it as an important piece of information to the Developers but let's not change the thread into a sole debate about a Classic Shard, we've had those already.

Please Mods, keep an eye over this to avoid the topic of the thread be turned upside down. Thanks.

 

[Babble]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

UO in its current stage is not worth the subscription money for me.
Ok for a trial account to drop by and have fun, but for make me a paying customer they would need to step up in events, publishes and service.

My comparisson for UO is WOW as the subscription fee is the same. I dabble a bit in wow for now and then see what UO freeshards offer again, with occasional visits from trial accounts to EA UO.

 

[Beer_Cayse]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

I closed the final account on 31 Oct 2010. Reasons for retiring are as Babble notes ... plus my sig.

 

[copycon]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

No interest beyond the possibility of a Classic Shard introduction.

I refuse to buy into the "renew account to show support" mentality also because of clear disregard and open admission that public opinion has no bearing on the decision.

 

[Tanivar]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

The billing info on my accounts was removed and remains so over the effects on the game of AOS and recently High Seas. Cal has put off giving us an answer so I have put off restoring billing info. One account ran out last week, the other will in about two months.

 

[Fernadious]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

I gave myself summer 2011 to see if i'll terminate my last active account :| So far it seems i will. i really hope they do something good that will keep the playerbase. Not good so far...

 

[Dicimiie]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

For me to resubscribe, there would need to be a shard with Age of Shadows (or Age of Itemization) removed. Go back to the days of Vanquish weapons, and you've got my money again.

 

[Tina Small]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

I have a couple of accounts that will expire over the coming months, so technically I could still play UO if I wanted to. But I find I have no desire to do so. Logged in on two accounts a couple of weeks ago to collect the holiday gift tickets, asked myself why I was wasting the time, and haven't bothered to log in to collect the tickets on the other open accounts.

UO seems to have become for me nothing more than a poorly run, poorly maintained "pixel chase," paying good money to acquire pixels that belong to someone else (EA).

I never got very good at PvP. Tried and decided my reflexes weren't good enough and I just wasn't interested in the constant struggle and cost to acquire the items needed to be competitive. However, up until the point that faction gear was added a couple of years ago, I truly enjoyed the teamwork and challenge of building up and then playing my faction thief/trap remover/tracker/detector characters on several of the North American shards.

Faction gear, in my opinion, tainted factions by incorporating it into UO's "item chase." And now, with the most recent publish, someone on the dev team decided to make it impossible for blue characters in Fel to detect other blue characters. I've got no desire to have "red" characters, especially ones that have to become red artificially because they have no offensive capabilities. So now the one last remaining part of factions that I hoped would someday become appealing again if faction gear went out the window is, as far as I'm concerned, hopelessly ruined.

I'm not interested in playing UO to temporarily amass pixel possessions. If the subscription cost dropped a bit, I might play it again sporadically for teamwork, challenge and comraderie, but think those ideas have pretty much gone out the window for UO. Everything in UO, even roleplaying and EM events, seems to be all about acquiring the latest new thing these days and that activity has almost zero interest for me these days.

 

[RavenWinterHawk]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

When you have to search and ask others for things to do you know the game is dying for you. That is where I am.

I made more gold then I need. Vending and merchant novelty is wearing off.


High Seas is a good addition. Stygain is a good addition. Where they killed UO is by giving rewards. You fight, you get an item. I can tell you there is nothing in this game I cant buy or trade for. It is easier. All you have to do is wait 1 month.

Stygain was killed by making the ingredients easy to get elsewhere. Im not kidding you when I tell you I made 200 million gold by crushing glass and selling it. Was that good for the game. It was more fun to me collecting it at the Caverns of D rather then standing there. When the comment is made well go do that... you know the game is losing ground.

High Seas is fun. 3 week later the Cache of liqour is everywhere. The 110 fishing scrolls are everywhere. 250k for the rare fish trophies. The path of this game is just wrong.


10 years ago... going to the Undead City and surviving to make 30k had value.

So Im not thinking of returning to UO I am preparing to leave it.

If they don't bring back the value of exploration via randomization or pop up events... what good is it.

PvP Ive killed and Ive died. You know what it just ends with us rezzing in 2 minutes.

Factions is to dang big. Order and Chaos was fine. Two sides.

I would recommend stop making things so dang complicated and focus on game play and exploration.

Beef up the exploration of the world not the hit-points of the monsters.

 

[Dicimiie]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

When you have to search and ask others for things to do you know the game is dying for you. That is where I am.

I made more gold then I need. Vending and merchant novelty is wearing off.


High Seas is a good addition. Stygain is a good addition. Where they killed UO is by giving rewards. You fight, you get an item. I can tell you there is nothing in this game I cant buy or trade for. It is easier. All you have to do is wait 1 month.

Stygain was killed by making the ingredients easy to get elsewhere. Im not kidding you when I tell you I made 200 million gold by crushing glass and selling it. Was that good for the game. It was more fun to me collecting it at the Caverns of D rather then standing there. When the comment is made well go do that... you know the game is losing ground.

High Seas is fun. 3 week later the Cache of liqour is everywhere. The 110 fishing scrolls are everywhere. 250k for the rare fish trophies. The path of this game is just wrong.


10 years ago... going to the Undead City and surviving to make 30k had value.

So Im not thinking of returning to UO I am preparing to leave it.

If they don't bring back the value of exploration via randomization or pop up events... what good is it.

PvP Ive killed and Ive died. You know what it just ends with us rezzing in 2 minutes.

Factions is to dang big. Order and Chaos was fine. Two sides.

I would recommend stop making things so dang complicated and focus on game play and exploration.

Beef up the exploration of the world not the hit-points of the monsters.

This is a great post. Pretty much every other game out there is item-based. What's the sense in being just another game in a long list of "I need this item" games (and one with less than ideal visual appeal, no less). To make matters worse, for me UO has the best gameplay out there. The skill system without classes is rare if not unique. The skill system is relatively fluid, and freedom to be whatever combo you want to be is a very big plus.

This game should be more "event-driven" or "exploration-driven." There should pretty much always be some sort of an event going on to make the players feel like what they're doing means something.

 

[seapup]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Before renewing I think what should be done is go back to the very beggining of UO and play that way,when we had to work hard to get gains and make money.Today all you have is cheaters, spammers, scammers and people that think pancakes in general chat will help us alot.

Get rid of the crap that is going on today with these hacks and scriptors, and maybe just maybe you will start getting alot more older vets come back into the game.

 

[Evlar]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

I share many of the same reasons Tina Small has already mentioned in post #8.

The game simply doesn't feel the same. The quality of the game itself or the player base.

I never really liked what followed AoS, but persevered up until early 2010, by which time I'd pretty much lost interest completely. Although I'd grown accustomed to the item-centric nature of the game, I just got more and more bored with the main emphasis and interest of the majority of players, being the acquisition of items.

I tried moving shards, from Great Lakes to Europa and even though there were some great folk on Europa, I couldn't rekindle my interest. It was too far gone. When playing a "game" began to feel like more of a chore, it was time to quit.

That's probably why I've been so strongly in support of a "classic" option.

Sure, I appreciate that you can't turn the clock back. It wouldn't be the same. Times change, people change. But if it could recapture just a small part of the essence, the simplicity of gameplay that was so addictive and interactive, then I would be back without question.

Much as I would love to see "classic", I simply don't think it will happen, though I'm happy to be proven wrong. I do think there's enough niche interest, but I doubt it's enough for EA to consider seriously.

The question I often ponder though...

Did I fall out of touch with the game, or did the game fall out of touch with me?

 

[Shh!]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

When you have to search and ask others for things to do you know the game is dying for you. That is where I am.

I made more gold then I need. Vending and merchant novelty is wearing off.


High Seas is a good addition. Stygain is a good addition. Where they killed UO is by giving rewards. You fight, you get an item. I can tell you there is nothing in this game I cant buy or trade for. It is easier. All you have to do is wait 1 month.

Stygain was killed by making the ingredients easy to get elsewhere. Im not kidding you when I tell you I made 200 million gold by crushing glass and selling it. Was that good for the game. It was more fun to me collecting it at the Caverns of D rather then standing there. When the comment is made well go do that... you know the game is losing ground.

High Seas is fun. 3 week later the Cache of liqour is everywhere. The 110 fishing scrolls are everywhere. 250k for the rare fish trophies. The path of this game is just wrong.


10 years ago... going to the Undead City and surviving to make 30k had value.

So Im not thinking of returning to UO I am preparing to leave it.

If they don't bring back the value of exploration via randomization or pop up events... what good is it.

PvP Ive killed and Ive died. You know what it just ends with us rezzing in 2 minutes.

Factions is to dang big. Order and Chaos was fine. Two sides.

I would recommend stop making things so dang complicated and focus on game play and exploration.

Beef up the exploration of the world not the hit-points of the monsters.

This is why I quit prodo and moved to Siege. On Siege, items still have some meaning because you can't insure them. It's not perfect but it does remove some of the "Monty Hall" aspect of the game where everybody has everything. I'm sure it will eventually get old too (as all things do) but it has prolonged my interest in UO for a few more years.

 

[Hanokh1967]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

I have one of 5 possible accounts active. A pre-AoS shard is a must to get me to return. If Cal's video is anything other than an intro to the new classic shard then the last account will be cancelled also.

It would be nice to have a community manager again, some dev interaction would be nice, I don't think the team and I ever agreed on much of anything but at least in those days the devs actually posted on the forums.

For lack of a better word, Cal seems like a "lightweight" compared to the other developers in charge of a supposedly AAA MMO.

 

[Aragon100]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Open up a pre-AoS shard and i be there.

 

[aarons6]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

i still play but not every month.. i go for a bit then take a couple month break..

the reasons are several things that stack up.
1) too many repetitions.. click, click, click, drag, drag, drag, kill, kill, kill... gets boring for me. plus it makes my wrist hurt.. that nice macro program that you cant use should be approved or they should make one that does about the same thing but cant be used to cheat.
2) NONE the GMs seem to know what is going on.. do this, risk banned.. ive been banned for some of the most stupidest things and it makes me mad knowing that i am paying to play. they really need to get together and make some guide book they have to follow..
3) the price is a bit expensive.. this game is at most a 4.99 a month game..
4) insurance and loss of items bugs.. really? it should be impossible to lose an item in this game.. the last time i played i died and lost over half my suit, including blessed items. i paged but got the cant replace lost items speech.. once again, im paying to play.

 

[MrWilliams]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

I find that every few years I'll come back and reactivate my account in an attempt to experience some of the magic that was there Pre Aos, however, after about an hour or too I soon realise why I left. The shards are empty now, the community is fragmented and the game is obsessed with item collection. The only thing that would bring me back would be a shard with a drastically reduced land mass and Pre-Aos game mehcanics (take your pick I like em all).

 

[kulder]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

(So Im not thinking of returning to UO I am preparing to leave it.)
This
I have dropped 4 accts in the last year the youngest was 9 years,
I have my original acct left it will stay open till someone turns out the lights as for playing I log on every few days just to say hey to my friends

I have decided that at my age that there are more important things I should be doing, and the money I am saving will make my other hobby a little easier, Eleanor anyone

 

[Morgana LeFay (PoV)]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

As a lot of other posters in this thread have already said...I would only come back if there was a no AoS option (and in my case, no Trammel). As Tina points out, UO today has turned into item collecting rather than a sandbox. If I want that kind of gameplay, I will join up with WoW (which I refuse to do).

 

[Zosimus]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Two accounts closed and two still open but never play them. Accidently paid a year on those 2 so they run out in June. Pre-Aos shard will be the factor if I stay or go. Basically the same reason as above posters. Also closed 2 warhammer accounts. Either UO goes to a F2P model or classic shard will keep me here in UO. I do agree that the game now with aarons6 about the $4.99 comment I said what i would do about my warhammer accounts in another post so here it is mythic

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[Dorset]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

I've played UO since my school days in 99, for me to come back it would have to resemble something like it was then.
Not saying it has to be classic, but at least something along the same game style of risk v reward.

I have tried several times to get back into UO but its faaaaaaaaaaar too item based for me now.
Im just not to keen on all the fancy items like custom housing,arties and fancy pets! (many more)

Whats wrong with pick up sword,armour go bash? Pick up regs, stick me magic hat on and cast away?
For me i just want to login and get straight into the things i enjoy. I dont want to begin the grind for the perfect item or grind on a spawn.

If i could say one thing to the DEVS it would be 'Keep it simple' .

Good thread and enjoying the read so far,

Thumbs up!

 

[Walkerboh77]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

the biggest problem that causes me to leave is the cheating...the scripts and the hacks

these have been going on for years and the same things are present every time i come back....

until the devs get off their butts and do something about it...this game is dead to me



and i don't know if it's currently the same way...but i've paged a GM a dozen or so times in the last 7 or so years for various things....and never once was it responded to...not once

 

[Kaleb]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

The game is simply not the game I fell in love with back in 98, AOS not so much the addition but the total change in item, skill, combat mechanics, speed hacking, scripts, expliots, dupes, super inflated economy on top of having to explain game mechanics to GM's. Early 2010 we heard that a Classic shard was on the table and we would hear more by the End of 2010 I kept my last 2 accounts open and patched current so I can start the second I hear its in beta, on test, or live only to see it not happen not even a update. I set my accounts to expire at the end of this billing period. Which really I haven't played(on EA) in the last couple years. For now I have my classic UO. and in this economy $30+ a month can go a long way. Until there is a Classic, Sometime Pre aos no trammel choice I will not help fund a world I do not enjoy.

 

[Gandie]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Pre AoS shard with some twist to it.

Overall the game has just gone in the wrong direction for me the last couple of years, and the last year i just didn't have any desire to log in.

Its a shame, UO is something so unique in the MMO world, its just on the wrong path for me.

 

[Morloch]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

I have 3 accounts currently active, but I'm about to close 2 and mothball the other (leave it open just to keep the storage) eventually, I will likely hoard the top items I want to keep and close that one too.

I returned after a 3-4 year break about a year ago and enjoyed it for a while, but the last couple of months have hardly logged on.

There are a number of issues in my mind:

1. I've pretty much been everywhere / done everything that a casual player can solo and I'm far too casual to form regular group / guild associations to do the rest - The lack of players make random PUGs for this stuff practically impossible.

2. It has definitely become an item grab. I'm guilty of it too, and it's fine as long as it's only part of the game, but for me it has become the only thing left - and that's sad.

3. I log on, think 'what shall I do', can't think of anything that will be interesting and will not take me over an hour of prep.

4. People.... When I first started playing (2000), you couldn't walk 5 yards without passing half a dozen other people anywhere on the shard - I used to relish those random encounters, when someone would just start talking to you out of the blue - made some good friends that way. I idoc a bit these days and can wander the entirity of a shard, relatively full of houses and not see another human player during peak times (or at least no more than 2-3) anywhere other than Luna.

5. EA / Devs / GM's / the people running the game.... Seems to be a very small cadre of moderately capable and dedicated people working with little or no resource and having to fight for every little thing they can give us. I applaud the efforts and successes, but put simply, it isn't enough - This latest mini expansion for instance - fun for 5 minutes but not much longer...
To be anywhere near exciting constantly, a lot more investment is needed.

6. Vendors - this game needs a major overhaul of the player vendor system - there are dozens of different ways it could be done succesfully - the current method simply isn't one of them.

7. Interface - The old interface has the best graphics, but I have a 26" monitor (IE tiny viewing window) and the tools needed to make the game playable are falling by the wayside (I used to use the UOAM a lot but UOA has stopped passing object co-ordinates, such as houses, to it now - big frustration). The new interface is frankly rubbish graphically and barely passes muster on functionality.

There are lots of other minor irritations - bugs, glitches, exploiters, economy, etc but none are as significant as those I've listed above.

So - since I can't see all (or even any) of my problems getting sorted in the near future, I doubt I'll be around much longer....

 

[copycon]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

1. I've pretty much been everywhere / done everything that a casual player can solo and I'm far too casual to form regular group / guild associations to do the rest - The lack of players make random PUGs for this stuff practically impossible.

I'd like to ask, why did you join and intend to play an MMO game only for the single player content? Or at least, if you intend to continue playing for only the content that you can play solo, why do you expect more? I'm not trying to flame you, but I am truly curious. Don't you think the montony of only playing solo has something to do with how you feel about UO in general?

2. It has definitely become an item grab. I'm guilty of it too, and it's fine as long as it's only part of the game, but for me it has become the only thing left - and that's sad.

Yes it is.

4. People.... When I first started playing (2000), you couldn't walk 5 yards without passing half a dozen other people anywhere on the shard - I used to relish those random encounters, when someone would just start talking to you out of the blue - made some good friends that way. I idoc a bit these days and can wander the entirity of a shard, relatively full of houses and not see another human player during peak times (or at least no more than 2-3) anywhere other than Luna.

As you said before, you want solo content, but you enjoy random encounters with others? I'm still confused. Is this specific to town encounters? Or do you also want random encounters with others during PvM? If the latter, wouldn't you get annoyed with lack of equal loot, or that "uber" loot that you didn't get because the other person was there? Please explain. I'd like to hear.

6. Vendors - this game needs a major overhaul of the player vendor system - there are dozens of different ways it could be done succesfully - the current method simply isn't one of them.

I have not played for quite some time, but I am curious to know what has changed, if anything? Or, if nothing has changed, what is the problem with the system and why does it need change?

7. Interface - The old interface has the best graphics, but I have a 26" monitor (IE tiny viewing window) and the tools needed to make the game playable are falling by the wayside (I used to use the UOAM a lot but UOA has stopped passing object co-ordinates, such as houses, to it now - big frustration). The new interface is frankly rubbish graphically and barely passes muster on functionality.

Agreed. The client is severely outdated. Its a miracle that it even continues to function on a modern operating system 10+ years later.

 

[LordDrago]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

I had left UO for a while, but came back a couple of years ago. Never found another game as good as UO.

I play on Chessie, and when I came back, i was playing solo, hunting like I always did before. Then, I started fighting at Humility spawn in Ilsh. There seemd to be a regular core crowd there, and a few of us solo players popping in every so often.

After a bit, I was invited to join a guild. These players seemed to enjoy playing together, and appeared to have a "community" feel about them. I joined up, and have been in teh guild ever since.

I still solo quite a bit, but also, at almost all times of day, can call out in guild or alliance chat and find someone on who doesn't mind me tagging along. We fight pirates, champs, hunt resources, quest for items to help someone complete a suit, etc.

I don't have any elite characters. As a matter of fact, I don't think any of them are complete as I don't train just to complete a character, I enjoy the journey of creating a character. Mt friends in game help me along the way, and I try to help them as best I can.

Perhaps I am just lucky (not ingame - still don't have a crimson cinture ) to have met up with the people I have since returning, as I can have fun with them fighting, attedding events, chatting, etc.

So for me, it is the group I am with that makes UO...UO, and a game worth spending time and money on. It's never been about what Ihave, but who i am with that matters most to me.


Just my two cents.

 

[virindiER]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

EA Games UO has become just another gear-based, theme park EQ trash game. There's nothing special about it anymore. If I'm gonna play theme park trash where I'm scripted and guided on having fun I'll just go to WOW where all the systems are better.

For now I'll keep playing free shards, where I create my own fun and monetary profit for stockholders is not the bottom line of features, until another epic sandbox mmo comes out.

 

[Morloch]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

I'd like to ask, why did you join and intend to play an MMO game only for the single player content? Or at least, if you intend to continue playing for only the content that you can play solo, why do you expect more? I'm not trying to flame you, but I am truly curious. Don't you think the montony of only playing solo has something to do with how you feel about UO in general?

First, it's true, I do like solo play, but not exclusively.
Back when I started playing MMO's, I had a LOT more time to do so - now I have a good career, kids, etc which all eat into that time.
The problem with most MMO's that are suffering from a lack of players (as I believe UO is) is that the majority (not all) of players left who form guilds, regular groups, etc are reasonably 'hard core' gamers who tend to expect reasonable commitment from members - I don't really have time to give that level and if I was coming to UO afresh, I probably wouldn't have bothered. A significant element of the reasoning for returning to UO and not something else was (possibly rose tinted) memories.

As you said before, you want solo content, but you enjoy random encounters with others? I'm still confused. Is this specific to town encounters? Or do you also want random encounters with others during PvM? If the latter, wouldn't you get annoyed with lack of equal loot, or that "uber" loot that you didn't get because the other person was there? Please explain. I'd like to hear.

Actually, I want both. The freedom to play solo (and it still be interesting)when I only have an hour to spare and the option to join 'random' groups of people doing similar things to me when I have the time to do it. With high poulation MMO's the latter is very possible - I'm afraid with UO it's now rare.
The lack of equal or Uber loot doesn't massively bother me - as I said in my previous post, the 'item grab' has become very tired and whilst it currently is, it shouldn't be the most important aspect.

I have not played for quite some time, but I am curious to know what has changed, if anything? Or, if nothing has changed, what is the problem with the system and why does it need change?

Little has changed with the system, but the world changed around it and exploitation of the current system has been facilitated by a mixture of lack of functionality, desire for the functionality and a lack of ability by the 'authorities' to curb abuse.
Specifically, Luna came along, facilitating a pseudo central market, which scripters then abused by setting up a 3rd party vendor search system which largely only encompasses Luna - this then had the net effect of massively allowing the prices in Luna to inflate, whilst the remaining prices deflated drastically - Human nature did the rest (IE lazyness in combination with very freely available gold).
I believe the only viable solution now would be to insert a system in-game that balences the opportunity for vendors, IE an auction house or a market explorer (a la DAoC), or many of the various other options that have been suggested over time on this forum.

 

[RavenWinterHawk]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

This might sound strange but after acquiring everything by vending. Lots of gold to buy stuff. And by not having the desire to own anything first. All the items I can get. That has no appeal.


I have no Uber charactures. I don't by uber items. My templates arent maxed. I dont know what a SAMpire really is or why I would want it.


I just want to explore and find things that can't be spelled out. Quests are painfully boring. Champ spawns are numbing. Killing monsters is pointless. Seriously, they have little value.

The world is just stale. A new player should find adventure in exploring not having to page through a bizzillion spreadsheets to understand what does what and why.

EA has to get the game back on track... they will be running out of colors to make hair day and cloth to satisfy us. What will they do next?

 

[copycon]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

First, it's true, I do like solo play, but not exclusively.
Back when I started playing MMO's, I had a LOT more time to do so - now I have a good career, kids, etc which all eat into that time.
The problem with most MMO's that are suffering from a lack of players (as I believe UO is) is that the majority (not all) of players left who form guilds, regular groups, etc are reasonably 'hard core' gamers who tend to expect reasonable commitment from members - I don't really have time to give that level and if I was coming to UO afresh, I probably wouldn't have bothered. A significant element of the reasoning for returning to UO and not something else was (possibly rose tinted) memories.

Thanks for answering. I thought that you might take the question the wrong way, but I appreciate that you didn't.

Little has changed with the system, but the world changed around it and exploitation of the current system has been facilitated by a mixture of lack of functionality, desire for the functionality and a lack of ability by the 'authorities' to curb abuse.
Specifically, Luna came along, facilitating a pseudo central market, which scripters then abused by setting up a 3rd party vendor search system which largely only encompasses Luna - this then had the net effect of massively allowing the prices in Luna to inflate, whilst the remaining prices deflated drastically - Human nature did the rest (IE lazyness in combination with very freely available gold).
I believe the only viable solution now would be to insert a system in-game that balences the opportunity for vendors, IE an auction house or a market explorer (a la DAoC), or many of the various other options that have been suggested over time on this forum.

Interesting... I wasn't aware that Luna had this kind of impact having not seen it. Thanks for answering (again).

 

[Beer_Cayse]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

You and Morloch had a good convo going so I waited things out to toss another couple gp into this thread.

Like Morloch, I played mainly solo on LA for the about the same reasons. I rarely had more than an hour or 2 to spend during the weekdays and weekends slightly more. Thus I felt unable to meet guild requirements of time, etc.

However, if I was soloing and someone needed help or some folks were doing a spontaneous hunt ... I was there for as much as I could do. An example is one night an auction I was going to didn't go off due to RL happenings. One of the auction folks has a T-hunter and wished to do some level 5 (or mebbe 6) maps with a group. Pffft ... nuff sed ... I was there. Had ball even tho AWs nailed me every time and a rookie player that was with us got to see some good battles.

As for Luna, Morloch had it right ... and I always went out of my way to shop outside of Luna. I felt that I could get the same (or very close) items for lots less if I traveled around. When an all-70s Barbed outfit was going for 1.5mil or more in Luna I landed one for 400K outside Tram Destard. That convinced me I was in the right and that armor is still on my Paladin (in retirement) and waiting to be useful once more.

I really hope EA will give a pre-AOS shard a chance. I firmly believe that the majority of AOS tolled the death knell for much of the UO I actually loved.

Thank you (and the rest of the folks in this thread) for asking the right questions, for keeping it civil and most of all for allowing me to realize I am not alone in how I feel.

 

[HD2300]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Here is my opinion. It boils down to

Time vs. Reward

I am being sufficiently rewarded for my time invested in playing UO. Can I justify that this time spent is wise, or am I better off spending my time investing it in another game. Is UO the game that I would get maximum enjoyment for my time, both in the short and long term, or would I get it in another game?

Is UO turning into another (failed) Mythic 2 or 3 factions non consentual PvP game? So if it seems that all UO is doing is mainly focusing on PvP systems and shards, nerfing my rewards with faction arties and imbueing, as a PvEer maybe I should be spending my time playing XYZ online. And what is the point of investing my time in UO, if in 2 years time, UO will shut down because all the PvEers will leave?

 

[Ox AO]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Up until today I would of suggested to come back and play UO.



But today you can buy an uber making device to make all the best items in the game. No need for the game mechanics, no need for spending hours farming, no need to buy and sell items for this.

None of that is needed. All you have to do is goto uogamecodes.com and get your very own uber making device and everyone can make the best items in the game.

So act now!

All this can be yours for only $10!
So get yours today!

 

[Clx-]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Well this was a nice read, with some really good posts.

Will contribute when I've got the time!

 

[ilot]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

- Monthly fee too high for the age of the game

- Landmass way too big for the current population...either remove some landmass or some server to reduce the span of people

- Everything cost millions of gold, many duped item around, overpowered item no longer acquirable make the game unbalanced for new player.

- Vet reward taking 10 years (WTF???) to get...are you serious??? If at least year were buyable or something...take 4 years to get 720 skills points wich is ridiculous (this is why there is no new player and wont be any, pixel crack are ok as vet reward, not more)

- Meeting player that fit your playstyle and hourstyle(?) are hard to find when you are new.

- Years long bug that will never get fixed because too busy releaseing new bugged content...

I have tryed to comeback 2-3 times in the past with the welcome back event but like someone said, i was logging, thinking what can i do fun withouth the need of a script (10 millions to clicks) and that dosent take 2 hours...logging out.

 

[Ox AO]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Beef up the exploration of the world not the hit-points of the monsters.

I couldn't disagree more.

Exploring the grounds of UO?
Yeah i could do that in about 3 days then I am done with the game I can play another game now.


You need a goal in the game not someplace new to view for a minute.
That is why things should be complicated so you have to study and figure out what is it you want to do and do it.

The Mechanics of the game need to change in my opinion.
I HATE these EA driven events it is all backwards to how the game should evolve.

The game should evolve for what the players actually do in the game not what EA thinks they should do. In other words they need to back off and let players actually make the game.

Of course it takes programing but that programing needs to be partly in game. kinda like an open source game.

We have housing that can be built in game. Why not dungeons and other locations?

EA could rent out sections of land in the game for people to build their own environment they can run the game as a GM in their land.

Allow the 'player GM' to do anything including making any items or building but when everyone leaves the items go poof. But to attract an audience the Player GM can given specified items (part of the price for the land) or he can add his own items and can give those out anyway he wants.

Give the player GM every tool possible including scripts in this world he has created.
make it complicated we will figure it out trust me.

it will not effect the rest of the game because all items get poofed on return except for the specific items that are given out. Allow us to save these worlds in some sort of data base and call them up when we like.

Example of a world created by a player GM:
Gates when entered will turn you into a lich lord or slasher in all fel territory. Or great items can be found on the ground with puzzles that can be created and solved in order to move to the next room. The world created is up to the Player GM.

 

[Chardonnay]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

I have noticed, recently, quite a number of players from older years coming back to UO.

It looks like, after playing other games, that a number of players are showing interest again in the game which once they enjoyed playing, Ultima Onlline.

This thread is about those players who, since they came here to browse UHall, have again an interest in Ultima Online and are thinking over playing it again but something is holding them back from actually doing the step of reactivating their account.

The question is, what are your reasons that are holding you back and not yet making that step to reactivate your account or start a new one and play again Ultima Online ?

Perhaps, those problems could be reasonably addressed and the Developers could help you out making that final decision to come back to play Ultima Online.....

So, what is holding you back to make that final decision and play Ultima Online again ?

Please, let's not make this thread yet another one about a Classic Shard. If the lack of a Classic Shard is what is holding you back from returning to UO say it as an important piece of information to the Developers but let's not change the thread into a sole debate about a Classic Shard, we've had those already.

Please Mods, keep an eye over this to avoid the topic of the thread be turned upside down. Thanks.

Customer Service...

Horribad Devs...

 

[Cetric]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Up until today I would of suggested to come back and play UO.



But today you can buy an uber making device to make all the best items in the game. No need for the game mechanics, no need for spending hours farming, no need to buy and sell items for this.

None of that is needed. All you have to do is goto uogamecodes.com and get your very own uber making device and everyone can make the best items in the game.

So act now!

All this can be yours for only $10!
So get yours today!

This couldn't be more ignorant.


but the rest of the thread is nice.

 

[Tanivar]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Here is my opinion. It boils down to

Time vs. Reward

The intended reward is your having fun.

Don't be so focused on the AoS taint.rolleyes:

 

[Ox AO]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Up until today I would of suggested to come back and play UO.



But today you can buy an uber making device to make all the best items in the game. No need for the game mechanics, no need for spending hours farming, no need to buy and sell items for this.

None of that is needed. All you have to do is goto uogamecodes.com and get your very own uber making device and everyone can make the best items in the game.

So act now!

All this can be yours for only $10!
So get yours today!

This couldn't be more ignorant.


but the rest of the thread is nice.

"Don't understand the outrage i guess - any pics of the abyssal hair dye tho?" - Cetric GL


What is interesting is you ask a question but you don't want to know.

Then you come here and state how ignorant something you don't want to understand is.

 

[HD2300]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

The intended reward is your having fun.

Don't be so focused on the AoS taint.rolleyes:

Yes you have fun now in less than 1 minute.
1. Pick any shard. 2. Form a guild. 3. Rules are NPC items only and no insurance and whatever else you want. Abracadabra. A 1998 shard in less than 1 minute.

 

[Babble]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Yes you have fun now in less than 1 minute.
1. Pick any shard. 2. Form a guild. 3. Rules are NPC items only and no insurance and whatever else you want. Abracadabra. A 1998 shard in less than 1 minute.

*coughs*
Rent a shard as cheap as $20 a month, set up your own rules and keep ea out of the loop

 

[HD2300]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

*coughs*
Rent a shard as cheap as $20 a month, set up your own rules and keep ea out of the loop

... but but but there are many thousands, no tens of thousands who will Pay To Play a 1998 EA shard. Really.

Babble do you have link for the triple revenue for LOTRO since going F2P? Im interested in how many more players they have since F2P.

 

[Babble]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Turbine: LotRO revenue tripled since going F2P | Massively

Lord of the Rings Online's future is so bright, it's wearing shades these days. At least, according to a new interview at TTH, where LotRO's Kate Paiz and Adam Mersky opened up about the success of the free-to-play conversion. Turbine has seen LotRO's profits triple since F2P along with a huge influx of new players, and that spells good news for the future of the game.

 

[HD2300]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Turbine: LotRO revenue tripled since going F2P | Massively

Lord of the Rings Online's future is so bright, it's wearing shades these days. At least, according to a new interview at TTH, where LotRO's Kate Paiz and Adam Mersky opened up about the success of the free-to-play conversion. Turbine has seen LotRO's profits triple since F2P along with a huge influx of new players, and that spells good news for the future of the game.

UO goes F2P -> Triple profit -> Triple Size of Dev Team -> Triple Amount of New Content -> At least Triple the number of players

 

[Zero]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

People,

I miss this game like nothing else on earth. I wish it was 2002 again, or whatever it was when i first played UO. I've never found anything i like as much, and i play A LOT of games.

For me the game is also stale. It's become to complicated too get back into. Too little reward or exitement to do anything.

I quit about 3 years back, and try to come back every year. But then i just walk around the world a bit. Listen to the music, see the sights. And it's like walking in the past. It's actually really heavy, so many memories. You guys know what i mean.

It's also really weird but good, finding this thread on the one day i logged in again.

Loggin in on Stratics i got a message: your password is 941 days old... please renew. heheh.

Godspeed to you all.

 

[Kael]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Like many I yearn for the days of a real community in UO...sadly until another option comes forth ( some form of classic shard) most won't log back in and renew their accounts

 

[Blesh]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

UO in its current stage is not worth the subscription money for me.
Ok for a trial account to drop by and have fun, but for make me a paying customer they would need to step up in events, publishes and service.

My comparisson for UO is WOW as the subscription fee is the same. I dabble a bit in wow for now and then see what UO freeshards offer again, with occasional visits from trial accounts to EA UO.

This sums it up nicely for me. Except the freeshards. I don't visit those.

Thanks Babble.

 

[popps]

Re: You are thinking of returning to Ultima Online but "something" holds you: what is

Like many I yearn for the days of a real community in UO...sadly until another option comes forth ( some form of classic shard) most won't log back in and renew their accounts

I, as many others, also miss very much the perception of a Community that I remember was in Ultima Online time back.

Personally, I think the reason this has been lost is because of changes to the game that made players be capable of being more self sufficient and need much less to rely on others.

Back then we had 5 character slots on a given shard and there were no soulstones to swap skills on and off.

With so many skills and only 5 characters clearly with 1 account it was not possible to handle all processes and activities in UO.

Players had to rely on others, eventually, for some of their needs.

So, I think, if we ever want to go back to promoting Communities it is necessary to find a way that players no longer can be self sufficient in all of their needs.

We cannot reduce the characters' slots though, and neither can we take Soulstones away from people who often spent money to buy them.

So, how to solve the issue then ?

I think that perhaps introducing lengthy and complex crafting processes might be a way.
Like it was done for the Galleons where all processes related to cannons, their loading and firing were rather complex that a sole player might have trouble handling everything.

Sure, a lot of people complained, but we cannot have the cake and eat it too, if we want Community back we also need to have reasons to seek out for fellow players to cohoperate with.....