|
↓ Main Menu ↓
» Home
» Forums
» Advertise
↓ UOPG Services ↓
» UO Sales & Service
» UO Gold
» UO Gametime
» Tokens and Gifts
» Character Gifts/Tokens/Codes
» Used Accounts
» Buy UO Houses
» UO Assist
↓ Navigation ↓
» News Archives
» NWNPowerGamers
» Stories
» UO Craft
» UOPG Email
↓ Community ↓
» Forum
» FAQ
» CPU Tech Help
» Essays
↓ Stats/Skills ↓
» Champion Spawn Guide
» Stats Guide
» Skill Guide
» Guaranteed Gain System
» 8x8 Essay
↓ Strategy ↓
» Character Guide
» Player vs Monster
» Player vs Player
» Special Moves
↓ Information ↓
» Armor Guide
» Bug Awareness
» Files
» Tricks
|
 |
August 2001 News:
|
^ top-So that's why Siege is changing...
[Nieves] August 31 - 10:29 PM EDT | The new SP changes being put into effect were DEMANDED by Korean players who wanted their game with a harder edge. They are opening a new SP server in Korea in Sept. Because they couldnt keep track of 3 codes bases, they changed SP to have the same hard edged rules as the Korean hard shard. This way they have the same 2 codebases as they do now and Korea gets its tougher rules and more violent shard.
How much you want to bet the Korean folks complained about this for a shorter amount of time than the American folks complained about bringing back precasting.
I understand that breaking into the Korean market is a good thing for OSI, but dont't make them feel more important than the American Market. We started it for OSI. And we have stuck with Ultima Online throughout all the bad times.
Adding RoT back to Siege is a good thing, but this kind of disappoints me.
Either way, we get Siege back as the hard shard...and Korea gets a Siege shard of their own.
Now, do we get to play on that shard? Or is it going to be like Legends?
UPDATE: [...]going to be like legends. No americans allowed.
Isn't that special?
Hasta. |
^ top-Will it happen?
[Nieves] August 31 - 9:36 PM EDT | Just as a quick update, we believe that the connectivity issue regarding the Veteran Rewards server has been resolved, and the fix is in the testing stages. We hope to be able to continue re-activating the system on the UO shards very soon, and will notify the players once the new schedule is determined.
Hmmm...Watts...you might have lost the bet after all...
Hasta. |
^ top-Blizzard is making an MMORPG
[Nieves] August 31 - 8:33 PM EDT | Don't believe me? Ask Redrum.
Who says we don't break em before anyone does?
::hands Redrum a bag of chips, and a 6 pack of coke...you just noticed a video in a black case underneath the 6pack as red puts it behind him::
Hasta. |
^ top-Looking away from UO for a moment.
[Eric] August 31 - 1:28 PM EDT | Today, I came across Atriarch. The word was out that they're now accepting beta applications, so I figured "what the hell, I'll check it out." Let me highlight some aspects of the game that I found interesting.
What kind of game is Atriarch?
Atriarch is a strategic role-playing game currently in development. It is massively multiplayer. It is persistent. Examples of other massively-multiplayer games currently available are Everquest, Ultima Online and Asheron's Call.
In Atriarch, your Character can learn skills, go on quests, adventure throughout the world, become a merchant, solve puzzles, build an army, join a faction, construct a city, or strive to become an Atriarch. The possibilities are vast.
This all happens amidst an evolving plot line, an alien world, environmental conditions, politics, and cultural expectations.
In spite of that description, I said to myself, "Well shit, another UO/AC/EQ wanna-be MMORPG." I read on...alien world? Ok, a science fiction MMORPG...it's possible. Now days, MMORPGs seem to be a dime a dozen. And many have failed. So, I wanted to see what this game had to offer that the vast majority of other MMORPGs did not.
Since Atriarch is considered science fiction, how far into the future does Atriarch take place?
Atriarch takes place current day on a planet somewhere in our galaxy. The alien and organic world of Atriana is real and does exist. We just haven't found it yet
Umm...ok.
How does your Character advance in the game? Skills? Levels and Experience?
Atriarch will be a skills based game. Your character will advance through practice, use, apprenticeship, and quests. You will receive rankings, titles, badges and honors to show you relative mastery at various skills, including combat and trade skills.
This is very similar to UO, in that it is skill/rank based. In UO rank/titles has very little affect on your character, but skills are everything. In my opinion, level-based MMORPGs suck. Think about it. You aren't playing to GM sword fighting to defeat a dungeon...you're killing x amount of bats or rats or whatever the fuck else to achieve level 61 so that you can now proceed in killing x amount of ANOTHER type of critter to advance to level 62. Yes, I know I'm being narrow minded and maybe not looking into other aspects of level-based games, but these are how many games seem to operate. It's fun at first, but how many slugs can you kill before saying "this sucks."? (Fallen Age) Moving on...
I hear my character can spawn offspring? Is this true?
Yes, it is true. Each species will be capable of asexual reproduction to create one or more spawn. Your Character's spawn will be born in one of two forms. Either your spawn will be a new Character coming into the game (yes, that means another player), or you will be reborn as your spawn should your Character die.
Interesting (and original, from what I have seen). The FAQ also goes on to mentioning that if you die, you are reborn as your offspring, and inherit the belongings, land, armies, and power that you had before you died.
I have to admit, this was a shocker to me:
What happens to my character when I log off from the game?
Your character remains in the game.
Later, it explains:
There will be a lot of effective ways to protect your Character while you are offline. You can have personal bodyguards. You can set traps. You can log off in a safe city location. It is unlikely that your Character will die while you are offline unless you direct it to do some risky behavior in which case, yes, it could die.
Can you say, LAG? And get this:
Massively-multiplayer means that thousands upon thousands of people can play Atriarch at the same time in the same world. Atriarch will have one game world rather than multiple mirrored copies. We plan for everyone's Character will live and thrive in the very same world.
One world. One server (that's what it sounds like). AND, your character remains IN THE WORLD when you go offline. How they are going to manage thousands of characters in the game at ALL times (remember, your character stays when you log out) is beyond me. OSI can hardly manage to keep the lag down, and characters in UO are only present when the owner of the character is logged in.
Anyways, you can read the rest of the F.A.Q. to see more information regarding Atriarch. I also signed up for the beta testing. Will I play if I get accepted? Maybe. I figured I'd just sign up to keep my options open for right now. Judging by the FAQ, this could be a very unique and interesting game, but I assume we'll eventually find out for sure.
Remember, many MMORPGs are created. Few succeed.
Cya later. |
^ top-Some People Have Too Much Time On Their Hands.
[Nieves] August 31 - 12:35 PM EDT | Ever wonder how often you get loot while fishing?
Well, go check out what the Statistic Fishing Guru at FCB.com has "fished" up.
Yah, funny. I know.
Hasta. |
^ top-Cause I am Cool Like that Part 2
[Nieves] August 31 - 11:48 AM EDT | I told Silk how bad his Character Creation section sucked and gave him some tips on the different character templates.
Wouldn't you know it? An hour later, he made the changes and even gave me props (link backs) for the information.
And to think, I dissed him and all in that email.
You should've seen it, it was ugly.
(Seriousely Silk, thanks for not telling ME *I* suck and taking the information to heart. BORIQUA FOREVER!)
Hasta. |
^ top-Upgrading Windows.
[Nieves] August 31 - 9:36 AM EDT |
Windows 95 users who have not upgraded their Winsock to
Winsock 2 may see an error message with the updated client.
This may not be the case once the patch is reverted out (a
revert patch went up today), but it will be necessary again once
the patch is put back in. The error message will say: "missing
winsock32.dll”
Here's how to fix it:
- Go to
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/bin/W95ws2setup.exe
- Download file to your desktop
- Double click on W95ws2setup.exe
- Click Ok
- Winsock2 will be installed, you should restart your computer
after the process finishes
Everyone should update their Windows software. Just go to: Windows.update.com and download any and all of the recommended patches. Even if it takes forever, it's worth it.
Hasta. |
^ top-Patch? What Patch?
[Nieves] August 30 - 4:59 PM EDT | We don't need no steenkin' patch.
Login Server Issues
We are currently experiencing difficulties with the login servers. This may affect the ability for players to log into the game. We are aware of the issue and are working as quickly as possible to resolve it. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Login Server Update
Due to the issues with the login server, the latest patch will be reverted at 4:30 PM CDT. This revert will not result in lost play time. As a result of the encryption within the last client patch, players attempting to use UO Assist while playing Ultima Online may have received an error message reading "IGR time limit has been reached". Reverting the patch may temporarily resolve this issue; however, once the patch is reapplied, UO Assist will most likely not work properly until the program has been updated
by its parent company.
Hasta. |
^ top-More on UOA
[Kaara] August 30 - 2:51 PM EDT | This in from tugsoft:
UPDATE August 30, 2001 -- All non-OSI shard keys have been disabled. I am tired of getting flak from people that think it is somehow Tugsoft's duty to provide service on non-OSI shards so the gift has been removed. Do not email anything positive or negative about this choice unless your intent is to make sure UOAssist never supports non-OSI shards again. If you have legit OSI accounts as well you'll need to remove all non-OSI server keys or you will not be able to use UOAssist on the OSI shards either.
You can read more on their page here. Non OSI shards are not being supported anymore it seems.
|
^ top-Using Scrolls
[Nieves] August 30 - 2:39 PM EDT | The use of an earthquake scroll is still a bug. [It's] Been around a while, but use of a bug, no matter how trivial, is still a bug. I don't recommend it, and I will make sure that the GMs know now to tell players that they should [not] be using bugs of any fashion.
My contact at OSI resurfaced and answered my question about this EQ scroll thing being a bug or not. So, to all of you that emailed or posted in the forum that a GM or Support/Help@uo.com said it was ok to use a scroll to gain skill: THEY ARE WRONG!
Do it at your own risk. Hopefully, GMs and OSI Community Reps. will be on the same page about this now.
Anyone else want to doubt me? Didn't think so.
And I thought it was going to be a slow news day.
Hasta. |
^ top-Important News From a Reader
[Nieves] August 30 - 2:03 PM EDT | Today's Patch, according to W., disabled UOAssist.
Either Tugsoft will get a patch out quick or OSI will do a revert.
::holds comment::
Hasta. |
^ top-Question and Answer Period.
[Nieves] August 30 - 1:52 PM EDT | Um...guess what?
I have scheduled the UO Powergamers interview for September 28th. This means that I need you to start collecting the questions that you, the fansite's staff, and/or the fansite's readers are most interested in regarding the topic you chose.
Kerowyn
And know what else? You the readers get to choose some of the questions. What I need is for you, the readers, to start posting in the forum, or emailing me, questions you would like asked.
UOPG will get to submit up to 20 questions. They will answer roughly half of them. Which is fine by me. That is surely better than nothing. UOPG's updaters will choose the best questions you, the readers, can come up with and we will fill in the gaps if we don't get a full 20.
Who says I don't care what 'yall' think?
I WUVS ALL OF YOUS! Especially you, you and you in the back over there! YAH YOU!
But I am still sore at OSI. BRING BACK REWARDS BIYOTCHES!
Hasta. |
^ top-Patch!
[Nieves] August 30 - 1:38 PM EDT | We will be releasing a client patch on Thursday, August 30th at
approximately 1:30 pm CDT. This patch contains the following changes: We will be releasing a client patch on Thursday, August 30th at approximately 1:30 pm CDT.
This patch contains the following changes:
- 2D Gameplay window can now be resized without restarting the client
-When in a party in 3D, the player's status bar will have heal/cure buttons
- Improvements to the "Last Shard Used" button functionality in the 3D client
- The character creation templates have been revamped
- Many crashes and other bugs have been addressed in this patch
- Book crash fixed
-Players are not always put in Britain when not using Advanced creation
mode. They are put in a random starting city.
- No notoriety queries in Trammel
Er...um...well, I will, um...there is a problem here. Houston (Austin), there is a problem here. I don't know what it is yet, but this seems like something bad is going to happen. Anyone guess what it's going to be?
-Increase in maximum number of starting stat points.
So, will they sneak something else in on us?
All I ask is that the Siege Changes don't hit untill next Friday. It's a long weekend, and a Powergamer can get alot done in 3 days.
UPDATE: I added a few items that was missing in the original patch list. I KNEW it. They trying to sneak some stuff in on us.
Hasta. |
^ top-Neverwinter Nights Update for August 30, 2001
[Nieves] August 30 - 12:02 PM EDT | There is SO much information over at NWNVault that I could make posts for the day or so.
I highly recommend everyone that has not been to the NWNVault do so and read up.
Some of the highlights include:
Their explanation of how they will be implementing sounds, that you can indeed add your own sounds, some tips on using external sounds, and some software they use to create and manage sounds within the game.
A scripting 'University' so you can learn how to use NWN's scripting engine.
Featured Function Tips of the day. This is where they take a scripting function and explain it's use and samples on how it can be used.
Featured Spell of the day. Where you get synopsis to D&D spells. Here is something alot of you Ultima Online players aren't aware of. There are literally thousands of spells in the D&D world. A few years ago, they released a 4 Volume set of spells for the game. And that was just for the Wizard class. A couple of years after that, they released the Clerical Spell set. And they have since added ALOT more spells since then.
I wonder what spells they will allow in the game and if they will allow us to add new spells with the scripting engine. Anyone got an answer to that? If yes, email me.
I remember in a campaign Vasilius ran, he decided he would get cheeky with us and introduce a completely "alien" element to our adventures.
People had been disappearing from an area north of this village. We were to go investigate what the heck was going on. We set up camp near where these "monsters" had been seen.
One of our members saw these large, spider like things coming through the brush and placing "eggs" near our encampment.
My Elven, Archer-Blade Singer was in the tree watching what was going on. I had already called to the group to be ready when, suddenly, she heard movement to her left and a hissing sound. She looked and there was a big black, long head with long silvery teeth bearing down at her through the branches. I was like "wtf is this thing?" When Vas told me it had an inner mouth that shot out at me I called him all sorts of entertaining names. I fell backwards out of the tree as it "spit" at me and my Elven Chain started to smoke. I rolled out of the way as it jumped down after me and shot at it's legs keeping it from coming after me. That's when I was told my Elf was in extreme pain and there was smoke coming from her chest. She threw off her elven chain, shot at the "thing" and decided she needed to leave. Now.
I told my party we needed to go NOW and grabbed one of my fellow adventurers. I had never left my party behind...but I knew this was a lost cause.
Luckily, we only lost one of ours. The Dwarf wasn't happy of course. But oh well.
The rest of us lived. When we got back near the village, we told them, they needed to move.
We never did go back to that village or forest.
I still hate you for that Vas. Bastage.
Hasta. |
^ top-Thanks Nieves!
[Kaara] August 29 - 7:00 PM EDT | I don't know how I could give myself a better introduction than Nieves has already.
As Nieves has already said, I am formerly from UONewbie and was very happy to still be involved in the community with everyone here at UOPG. I will mainly be cruising the forums and updating the news.
*whew* Okay my first post-a-phobia has passed... Feel free to drop me a line!
|
^ top-OH HOW I HATE YOU!!!!
[Nieves] August 29 - 6:02 PM EDT | This following was just posted to FYI:
---
Since we began activating the Veteran Rewards system, we have been carefully
monitoring the usage and performance of the Veteran Rewards hardware. The
release has gone smoothly thus far, but we have found some connectivity
issues with the rewards server. As more shards get rewards and the server
is
accessed more, these connectivity issues will result in packet loss,
creating longer wait times for the rewards gump to appear, and for the
reward selection to take place. If more shards are activated and the problem
is left unfixed, it could eventually result in packet loss on the servers
themselves, creating lag on the shards.
To resolve this problem before this happens, we will be temporarily halting
the activation of Vet Rewards, and re-evaluating the current schedule for
release. As previously scheduled, the system was successfully activated
on
the Pacific and Lake Superior shards today, but we were unable to activate
them on Siege Perilous at this time. Shards that have previously had Vet
Rewards activated will not lose the ability to choose those rewards, but
the
system will not be activated on any new shards until this is resolved.
The connectivity fix is receiving top priority, and we anticipate that this
will be resolved soon. We will post a new schedule as soon as the problem
has been resolved.
---
Until tomorrow... :)
Kerowyn
UO.com Content Editor/Writer
Origin Systems
kerowyn@uo.com
::THROWS HIS KEYBOARD ACROSS THE ROOM::
Hasta. |
^ top-Because I am cool like that.
[Nieves] August 29 - 4:12 PM EDT | Welp, I managed to snag Kaara from the now defunct UONewbie.
Kaara plays on the Catskills shard (I see Updater's eyes lighting up now) and has been playing UO for years (longer than me even). Her essays and news reports were always solid. Additionally, I think her insight into the female side of Powergaming will be a positive, new and different addition to our "staff". ::blinks at the stares::
Don't worry all you hard core "ME MACHOMAN" Powergamers. It's ok. Don't be threatened. It's just a girl for goodness sake. And girls are good things. Really.
Also, she is a roleplayer at heart, but she knows ALOT about powergaming and grandmastering skills. So don't give her a hard time or I will have to come to your house with the rest of the updaters and kick your ass.
Please welcome her aboard and make her stay here at UOPowergamers.com a good one.
If I get a chance to talk to her, I will get another female Updater on here. That girl is slippery to catch. Must be all those Maps and Musical Instruments she keeps playing with. I will find you Ms. N. Just you wait!
Note to Redrum: Since I have been around, I have had two female updaters. You never had any.
Makes you wonder doesn't it?
Hasta. |
^ top-Vet rewards!
[Phazer] August 29 - 3:33 PM EDT | Vet rewards are now active on the Lake Superior shard! yay!
"This account is 24 months old"
-phazer |
^ top-Vex Clears Up The Craftable Changes
[Nieves] August 29 - 9:33 AM EDT | People always tell me that cutting and pasting news isn't news. That they can go to other places to get the same things we post. But where else can you get such great commentary? Moving right along...
Stratics has posted some answers to Craftables. Vex of the OSI dev team was so kind as to answer alot of them. I will highlight some of the more notable questions and answers.
PLAYER: Will any other carpentry or other craftables be added along with these changes if they go through?
VEX: That is still up in the air at this point. The overhaul itself means a complete regression test for QA, and right now we might not have any spare bandwidth for any new items. However, this system will make expanding and adding on to the crafting system much easier to code and test in the future.
I give them 3 months at most for new craftables to start entering the game. Anyone want to take odds?
PLAYER: Will the metal working choices default to not having to click the color metal if you only have one color in your pack? Same with tailoring and the cloth in your pack?
[...] As far as color goes, when you attempt to create an item, the system will automatically use the color of cloth that you have the most of. So, if you have 200 yards of blue cloth and 150 of uncolored, the item will be made with the blue cloth. This way, you still don't have to target the material. Also, it should be easy enough to control the color of the resulting item just by juggling stacks of cloth in and out of your backpack.
There is more detail in the answer but the above caught my eye. Personally, I would think they could "code" it in where you could get a list. Or, to keep it at a KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) level, they could just leave it where you pick the cloth. Of course, we can all get around it by just having the appropriate cloth color in our bags and leave the other cloth in a chest.
PLAYER: And you left out Cooking, If Crafting is going to be overhauled, then this is the time to overhaul cooking as well.
VEX: I'm still working out the details of how to do cooking properly, but I do want to get it on the list. Sannio thinks we should introduce "a cookbook" as cooking's tool, and I wanted to use the frying pan graphic. Of course, we could do both -- all crafting skills that use tools now use multiple tools.
Argh, Cooking? Give me some cooked fish steaks and I am happy. Well, in Ultima Online anyway. This is the one thing I don't like about the changes: having to use special "tools". The Tinkers benefit the most because they get to make all these neat little things for everyone else. I tell you, it's a Conspiracy. The Tinkers are starting to take over the world. They already own Siege Perilous. Your shard is next.
PLAYER: This would also be the time to make paper, books, spell books, blank maps, and blank scrolls craftable.
VEX: I'm still not sure about how many new items we can get in at this point, but these are good ideas. I am not promising anything, but I will keep this in mind.
Oh hell no! Don't just keep it in mind. Make it HAPPEN! I would love to be able to make my own blank scrolls, maps, and spell books. That would just RULE!
It would give Lumberjackers more of a reason to exist (someone has to get the wood right?) than to beat on poor defenseless mages.
PLAYER: Since all targeting is getting rid of I guess we won't be able to copy books by inscribing anymore.
VEX: Targeting is getting rid of where feasible. Book copying will continue to use the old interface, where you invoke Inscription from the Skills Window, target the book to copy, then target the destination book. You'll also have to target a container for tinker traps.
HAH! No exploits for JUUS!
PLAYER: Is the chance for exceptional items the TOTAL chance, or the chance to make something exceptional IF one makes the item in the first place?
In other words...
Does 50% and 5% mean
50% failures
45% success
5% exceptional
... or...
50% failures
47.5% success
2.5% exceptional
(5% chance only for success results)?
VEX: The first one. Actually we've decided to add a third line to that display:
Failure Chance: 50%
Standard: 45%
Exceptional: 5%
This should make the meaning more clear, since the percentages will add up to 100%. 50% of attempts result in failure, 45% in normal success, and 5% in an exceptional item.
Oh, how freaking quaint. 5% for exceptional? Bite me.
PLAYER: With regards to scrolls not stacking: I noticed that the scrolls don't stack properly when I inscribe using my faction character. When I inscribe using my mule, they stack fine.
VEX: This is a side effect of the prompt to make the scroll a faction item. It actually has to keep the scroll separate until that prompt is answered. I believe I can fix it so that if you don't imbue the item, it will be stacked with any other like items.
Ah HAH! More Factions Bugs! GO GET EM ADRICK!
PLAYER: While these new changes seem long overdue, they don't include any changes that UO-Assist hasn't already done for the last year. Well, with the exception of the target metal type.
VEX: UO Assist is not an OSI product and not all players purchase it. We can't allow the existence and capabilities of UO Assist to influence how we modify the UO interface.
Erhm...want to save time and money OSI? Start including UOAssist as part of Ultima Online's CD and support it in house (hire those guys that create UOAssist; they do great work). UOAssist OWNS JUUS!
PLAYER: I saw the option to 'repair' for smithing but didn't notice the new repair option for bowcraft/fletching (bows, etc.) or the repair option for tailoring (clothes, leather armor). Any plans to implement one?
VEX: This is up in the air, and really depends on what the rest of the team thinks. (Thanks, Evocare, for thinking this overhaul was a good idea in the first place!!)
What's there to think about? JUST DO IT! Repairing clothes/armor and bows would rule. Also, can we have Composite Bows now?
PLAYER: Are there any plans to incorporate secondary skills into the crafting process? Integration of Taste ID for Alchemy, Arms Lore for smithing/tailoring. Lumberjacking possibly for bowcraft/carpentry. (wood comes from somewhere)
VEX: I can't answer this right now. Calandryll has hinted at some special crafting stuff for upcoming scenarios, though. The thought is on our minds. :)
ACK! Pure merchants classes!? I.E.-My alchemist would have to take up a stupid skill that noone uses just to be an alchemist? BLEH! OMG! And lumberjacking on my Smith? BLASPHEMY! ARMANI DOES NOT CUT WOOD! Not for Joe Schmoe and definately not for you. ::sighs::
PLAYER: I see the tinkered golden goblet in the screen shot. This item is currently 'rare'. Not much of a question, but since you are destroying this rare, why not make some other rares craftable too?
VEX: Actually, that is the goblet you can tinker currently, made out of verite. It looks a bit distorted because it's at high zoom-in with the Third Dawn client.
See, there it is! Tinkers are going to take over I tell you!
I could go on for the next hour entertaining you with lots of neat commentary, but someone has to finish this project I am working on. And it's why I get paid anyway right?
The best thing I like about the whole Craftable Changes is less time to make things. Can you say a full Keg in 1/2 the time!? Thank you UOAssist and OSI for these changes!! Well, most of them.
Damn Tinkers.
Go ahead and head over to Stratics for the rest of Vex' answers.
Oh let me leave you with a quote from Vex: "In other words, I understand that the barriers in place for crafting suck, and make the process tedious. But those barriers need to be there. The real challenge to the UO Live team is to transform those barriers in a manner that make the game more fun and makes them seem less like ugly obstacles. :)
Hasta |
^ top-UO Faire 2001
[Phazer] August 29 - 5:20 AM EDT | The "Online Worlds FanFest" webpage is now online..
We are pleased to announce that the Online Worlds FanFest registration page is now available. We apologize for the delay and thank you for your patience. You can find complete information on the FanFest as well as register for the event by visiting http://www.onlineworldsfanfest.com.
|
^ top-My Reward: DAoC Beta Account
[Ian] August 28 - 8:17 PM EDT | To say this is a good game does not really do it justice. You'll have to forgive me as over the last week, I've fallen helplessly addicted to a game called, Dark Ages of Camelot. I'm sitting here trying to figure out what to exactly say about it. I'm rarely at a loss for ideas so I'll figure it out as I go.
I am playing what is for all intents and purposes, the "Next Big One." EQ, your daddy just got home, and he's pissed that you were bad. For reference let me put it like this. Before Lum sold out and went to work for a company that any of us would go work for ourselves, he stated that DAoC is "Like EQ, except without all the parts that suck." That, in a nutshell, describes this game. Since I hate nutshells, let me describe it in more detail.
For starters their NDA (non discloture agreement) pretty much tells you everything you need to know. Outside of letting people who shouldn't be in the beta play the beta *cough* there isn't anything they won't allow us to tell you. That means that they KNOW they have a kick ass product. And let me tell you boys and girls, they do. What is good about the game? Oh I don't know let me name a few.
1) The best, most abolutely real graphics you have ever seen grace your computer. (Screenshots do not do justice to actual gameplay. You will just have to take my word on that until you play it.)
2) Quest engine that not only works, but is somewhat fun and beneficial to your character.
3) Being a newbie in DAoC is not daunting whatsover, but still challenging enough to not insult your intelligence.
4) Grouping in DAoC is an absolute must.
5) Easy to use interface. Gumps are readily accessibly. After an hour of playing this game you will be almost completely familiar with how to use the interface, and hot keys.
6) All the send, tell, say, group, chat, options you can ask for in a game making grouping extremely easy for those that have the gumption to actually get on and communicate with other players.
7) Monsters that completely own all of humanity. My friends you all by now know, I pvp. It is the reason I play any game, but the pvm is incredible. Very easy to tell which monsters are right for you and which aren't. Monster bashing is a requirement to gain experience so I would have to get used to it anyway.
8) Penalty for death. This is something I actually like. They have a unique death system where if you die, you must either be rezzed or release to a "bind stone" which will take you back to the place where you last, "bound." When you do this a grave erects and you must go back to your grave and "pray" to regain half the experience lost. After you do this it's really not a huge loss, but enough of a distraction and time killer that you will tread carefully the next time.
9) Character and classes are so many I can't even begin to list them. There is so much diversity in this game that you can literally never get bored of playing a character not to mention that each one is vital to a group and will become crucial to pvp warfare.
10) The game is designed for the sole purpose of inter realm, pvp warfare. Enough Said.
That's 10 just off the top of my head. I could go on for hours about the game and I most likely will in the weeks to come. Something else to consider is that it's still in Beta, and the game is only going to improve. Wow.
I must say that for the most part people are pretty cool. You get your snobby ass veterans that don't want to talk to you but whatever.. They'll be kissing my ass all the way to Hybernia and Midguard wanting me to help them when the game goes live and pvp warfare is in full swing in October.
Do yourself a favor. Read up on this game.
If you really want the nitty gritty and a better overall explanation of the game read this interview. |
^ top-The mystery of powerhour is solved!
[Phazer] August 28 - 8:15 PM EDT | For those of you who haven't figured it out yet, OSI posted a current powerhour reset schedule.
Normally, the first hour that each character is played on any given day allows that character a special possibility of some bonus skill point advancements, and this time is known to many players as the “Power Hour.” The Power Hour time frame should reset each day at midnight, related to the shard’s local time. Currently, however, all North American and European shards are incorrectly resetting their respective Power Hour times based on Midnight GMT. (Please note that Power Hours are still occurring properly for all shards, albeit off-schedule.)
We are working to resolve this situation. In the meanwhile, we ask that players who enjoy managing their time around the Power Hour schedule to please refer to the chart below. This chart shows when Power Hour is currently resetting on all shards.
East Coast Shards: 7:00pm EST
AOL Legends, Atlantic, Catskills, Chesapeake
Central Shards: 7:00pm EST
Great Lakes, Lake Superior
Siege Perilous Shard: 6:00pm CST
West Coast Shards: 4:00pm PST
Baja, Napa Valley, Pacific, Sonoma
European Shards: 12:00am GMT
Europa, Drachenfels
Asian Shards: 9:00am JST/KST
Hokuto, Yamato, Asuka, Wakoku, Izumo
Arirang, Balhae
Formosa
|
^ top-Crafting System Overhaul!!
[Gator] August 28 - 12:53 PM EDT | WOW!!
Crafting System Overhaul Aug 28 2001 11:56AM CST
Several updates and changes will occur that will eventually affect all of Ultima Online’s crafting systems. The goals of these changes include: creating a consistent interface for all crafting skills, allowing the player to understand a greater level of detail about his crafting activities, greater CPU efficiency, and adaptability & expandability as crafting systems are modified at later dates. The following skills will be affected by these changes:
Alchemy
Bowcraft/Fletching
Blacksmithy
Carpentry
Cartography
Inscription
Tailoring
Tinkering
The specifics are listed below.
All crafting skills will be able to be invoked by double-clicking a related tool. All tools must be equipped or in the player’s backpack in order for them to be used.
Bowcraft/Fletching will use “Fletcher’s Tools” (this tool will appear as the “arrow fletching” graphic).
Cartography will use a “Mapmaker’s Pen” (this tool will appear as the “pen and ink” graphic).
Inscription will use a “Scribe’s Pen” (this tool will appear as the reversed “pen and ink” graphic).
All materials must be in the player’s backpack for them to be used. No materials will need to be targeted. Instead, they are searched for in the player’s backpack whenever a crafting attempt is made.
Some item skill requirements may change slightly.
All crafting skills will use a universal menu system. This menu system will be similar in both the 2D and 3D version of the UO client.
The “gump” window will be 50% transparent, with a dark background and bright text.
The top bar of this window will show the skill name.
The left bar of this window will show:
A “Last 10” list. This list will display the 10 most recent usages of that skill, allowing quick access to those usages.
Up to 10 categories of items which that skill may create.
The main area of this window will show:
A selection list, one item per row.
Two buttons per selection:
“Make Now”: left-click to attempt to create the respective item immediately
“More Info”: left-click to bring up a “Details Window” related to the listed item.
The item’s name (note: the graphic for that item will not display here, but will display in the “Details Window”).
Up to 10 items per page, up to 10 pages per category.
A “Notifications” area will show information that would normally appear in the “system message” area of the gameplay window.
The “Buttons” area will display a subset of buttons appropriate to the skill/tool being used.
“Exit”: appears on all skill menus. Left-click to close the menu. (Note: any menu window may be still be closed by right-clicking that window)
“Make Last”: appears on all skill menus. Acts as if “Make Now” was clicked on the first item in the “Last 10” list.
“Metal Selection”: appears only for skills that use ingots as components for craftable items.
Players may choose which metal color to use. This will eliminate the need for players to specifically target materials, and eliminate the possibility of using the wrong metal type.
The system will only consider metals of the selected color in metal-using crafting attempts.
A “Details Window” will indicate if an item retains the color of the metal used.
“Mark Item”: appears for most skills; controls the automation of Maker’s Marks on crafted items that allow for such marks. Left-clicking this button will toggle through three options:
“Do Not Mark”: the Maker’s Mark will never be put on crafted items while this is selected.
“Always Mark”: the Maker’s Mark will always be affixed to exceptional-quality crafted items while this is selected.
“Prompt for Mark”: the player is prompted for a Maker’s Mark whenever an exceptional item is crafted while this is selected.
“Repair Item”: appears only on the Blacksmithy menu. Players may left-click this button, then target a weapon or piece of armor to attempt to repair that item.
“Unravel Item”: appears only for Blacksmithy (as “Smelt Item”) and Tailoring (as “Unravel Item”) menus only.
Allows blacksmiths to smelt weapons and armor down into ingots.
Allows tailors to disassemble leather armor back into cut hides.
Quantity Selection: appears only for items which may be crafted in bulk.
Turning logs into boards
Making arrows and crossbow bolts
Selections
“Make 1”: create only 1 of the selected item.
“Make 10”: create (up to) 10 of the selected item.
“Make 100”: create (up to) 100 of the selected item.
“Make All”: create as many of the selected item as available materials allow.
When using a craft, the crafting window will close, the creation will be attempted, and the crafting window will reopen.
Upon re-opening, the crafting window will display the results of the crafting attempt.
The window will include the details of any success or failure messages. |
^ top-Not all French people are bad.
[Nieves] August 28 - 12:37 PM EDT | A press release:
DuelField beta test : end of subscription
There's only one week left for gamers wanting to subscribe to DuelField's beta test to do so. The deadline to register has been set to Friday August 31st 2001 at midnight (GMT+1:00 ). The beta testing period will last around 8 weeks. A thousand gamers will be selected at first in September. Then, others will be invited to take part in the phases that will follow.
Sismoplay invites the last-minute testers to register at once at
www.duelfield.net.
----------------
Céline VARENNE
Public Relations
SISMOPLAY
www.sismoplay.com
www.duelfield.net
-----------------
Someone tell me what they think about Duel Field. I have no time to test another game right now :(
Bleh.
Hasta. |
^ top-More Treasure Hunting Information From The Experts.
[Nieves] August 28 - 11:39 AM EDT | If someone loots my from chest in Fel, they DO go gray and cant recall. Little Ol Mule Boy has several non-murder kills to verify this. Usally I cast para, pump the spawn until an OL or two is out, then inviso, and let Fattie do my work for me. Other than that, very nice essay. Yes the level 3 loot is inane and wortless. Decoded maps are newbified. They stay in my pack and are with me when i rez. Only DECODED.
Tattereds stay on the corpse and prolly are stealable.
Also, the Treasure Island east of Brit with spots 7-16 on it(numbers
from the stratics map archive) is heavily camped by reds in Fel. Bring lotssa of friends if you are going to dig here.
Mule Boy, THB
Chesapeake
Thanks for the information Mule Boy.
Those reds on that island sounds like B*C on Great Lakes Felucca Horseshoe Island. Go there to do a treasure map, expect to get ganked and looted. As they like to say: "nothing personal, just business".
Hasta. |
^ top-Updates
[Nieves] August 28 - 11:26 AM EDT | I removed the image and my last update as it seemed to be cluttering the page a tad. Ok, alot. I also updated my last update (that's still up) with what happened with Frenchy.
Thanks to Silk for the plug this morning.
I got two more essays from Phazer to put up. I hope to have those up by Saturday morning.
Also, a guildmate of mine told me how badly our Character Creation Section (specifically the mages) sucked. I told him to give me a write up and he's working on it.
I think I got a "financier" for the UOPG T-Shirts. Hopefully that goes through and you will see T-Shirts available here on UOPG.
More goodies for you in the future.
Now, if I can just convince other folks to turn in some updated information that's been promised I will be really really happy.
No pressure, really.
BTW: The crown of Super Powergaming goes to Vasilius. 4 Days and a character with GM Wrestling, Evaluate Intelligence, and Music exists. All using legal methods. He just doesn't stop when he starts. The guy is an Ultima Online Playing Fool. And he's all OURS! MUHUAHAHAHA.
Give Vas his props.
Oh, no offense to Epyon as the deposed King of Powergaming. I am sure Epyon will give Vas a run for his money. All Epyon needs is time and opportunity.
Any bets on who stays on top?
I love friendly rivalries. Don't you?
Hasta. |
^ top-I am ok now.
[Nieves] August 28 - 8:18 AM EDT | Really.
Warlord and I are doing what we have to do to take care of ol' Frenchy there. I am sure he will appreciate it when Tripod does their job and pulls his plug.
Got to love the Internet.
On to another topic.
Seems Teak isn't happy with my busting him out yesterday. Well, I am sorry.
Sorry that you feel that way.
You see, people think they can get away with anything on the Internet. Eventually, you WILL get caught. That one time you think you can be rude and arrogant and not feel the consequences WILL be the one time you run into someone that can have an impact on you. If you make that bed, sleep in it. It's yours. Deal with it.
It all goes back to what I have been saying for over a year.
Play Nice.
Be respectful of your fellow players. I am famous for my total lack of respect and trust in a few people on Great Lakes. But do I treat them with disrespect in game? No. If they are in my way, I remove them (think: guild war). If I cannot remove them, I move on.
Words are powerful. I know. Look what it can do here on UOPowergamers. Hell, look at what Lum The Mad can do. Lum can say the world is flat, we are the center of the universe, and the sky is falling and someone will believe it. But someone in game calling me a newbie or saying they "own" me after ganking me with 5 of their buddies? Not. Nowadays, I do a number of things to avoid my personal frustration.
We can go talk about newbies in Felucca. I do what my buddy Loki does: Hunt them down and kill the lot of them 1 at a time. Or, most likely, I will go back to my virtual house, log out of my virtual world, and go do something else.
Anyway, I am rambling.
The point is. Play Nice. You never know who you might run into in game.
UPDATE: The perpetrating site is gone from the Internet. He also emailed me and apologized. Gotta love it.
Hasta. |
^ top-Damn the French! (Well, at least one of them)
[Lawyer] August 27 - 6:43 PM EDT | Well whaddya know? I check my wonderful UOPG email today and find this very informative message from a loyal fan. He seems to have found an Ultima Online website masterpiece. It seems that this guy, myself, and Warlord from www.gameterror.net had the same idea, at the same time, only he is about a half a year late. That is his original work, because... he says so. I am sure Warlord would have to disagree, considering he did all of the imaging.
Its amazing how fucknuggets feel the need to rip off popular UO fansites. I guess they cant fathom the idea of someone visiting their ripoff and us, then noticing it looks almost the same. I mean damn, its pretty obvious who the shithead is, whether or not the page is in another language or not. What really amazes me is that "copyright" is plastered all over the page... hell, just right click, you will see what I mean. Copyrighted my ass.
I want everyone to do me a favor and tell him how much he sucks, mmkay?
freddubeoct@hotmail.com
Oh yeah, Conan:
Embrassez mon âne vous morceau pathetic de shit et essayez au moins de créer votre propre website. Baisez-vous. |
^ top-New spell damage data!
[Phazer] August 27 - 6:24 PM EDT | I just finished testing most offensive spell damage vs 0 and 100 resist. Check out the full results here.
| Spell | 100 Resist | 0 Resist | | | Min | Avg | Max | % Resisted | Min | Avg | Max | | Magic Arrow | 3 | 5.72 | 12 | 66% | 6 | 8.88 | 12 | | Harm | 5 | 10.92 | 22 | 56% | 10 | 14.56 | 19 | | Fireball | 6 | 12.1 | 21 | 46% | 10 | 16 | 22 | | Lightning | 3 | 15.88 | 28 | 38% | 6 | 16.48 | 28 | | Energy Bolt | 13 | 26.84 | 39 | 24% | 17 | 30.5 | 41 | | Explosion | 13 | 26.14 | 36 | 24% | 19 | 31.46 | 39 | | Flamestrike | 16 | 34.7 | 46 | 12% | 32 | 37.4 | 47 |
Have fun interpreting these numbers however you wish ;).
-phazer |
^ top-I don't normally post here, but...
[P-Nut] August 27 - 4:06 PM EDT | Vet rewards are in on Chesapeake. Booooyah. Thank you.
blata. |
^ top-Treasure Hunting Changes.
[Nieves] August 27 - 12:25 PM EDT | As some of you might be aware, Treasure Hunting got a host of "little" changes, that when added up, change the way we play our Treasure Hunters.
Which also means, I get to change the information within UOPG's own Cartography and Tips page. Whee!
Anyway, here is a summary of those changes with some you might not be aware of.
Treasure Maps now are identifiable by their name.
Level 1 - Plainly Drawn
Level 2 - Expertly Drawn
Level 3 - Adeptly Drawn
Level 4 - Cleverly Drawn
Level 5 - Deviousely Drawn
Neat, huh?
I have yet to trade decoded Treasure Maps with anyone. I am not sure if that was even in this patch. But I say this: If it has, protect your maps. I don't believe them to be a Newbie Item (correct me if I am wrong Blackheath/Magellan) and they can be stolen by thieves/PKs. Be careful in Felucca.
Oh, as a side note, I have seen level 4s go for 35k and level 5s go for 45k. Greedy motherf...dangit!!! Ok, no f word. But you get what I mean. Anyway, I will never buy a map from people like that. Continuing on...
You now have the ability to destroy the chest when you are done with your "dig". BUT, the chest must be COMPLETELY empty in order to do this. A pain, but worth it. The way you do this is by double clicking your shovel, then targeting the map, and finally targeting the chest. It's EVERY Treasure Hunter's responsibility, in my not so humble opinion, to destroy their chests when they are done with their hunt. One day, you will get to a spot where a chest wasn't destroyed and curse and moan at the last Treasure Hunter that was there.
If you do not want the scrolls/gems/regs and anything you consider junk that is in the chest, bring an extra bag and dump the items into that bag. Just leave the bag there. The next hunter or a passerby will thank you for the loot later.
Also, you can no longer put things into the chests. This makes it more of a pain to spawn monsters, but not impossible. Take items out one at a time. Take gold 10 at a time. Ok, 100-1k at a time. Leave a shield for last if you can. Drag that shield across the chest. It won't move, but it "triggers" the spawn check for the chest. Blackheath did that this weekend and seemed to work fine.
Now, here is the most interesting part. The loot for level 4 and 5 chests is insane. I pulled out 4 power/vanq weapons out of ONE level 4. Two of them silver. Now before you get all excited. Realize this: 2 of those weapons were Pickaxes. In fact, on subsequent level 4 and 5 hunts Blackheath and I completed, we pulled 2 more Vanq Pickaxes. Sick, I know. OSI needs to take Pickaxes and Crooks out of the rotation for Treasure Chest spawns. All I am going to do with my supremely accurate, durable silver pickaxe of vanquishing is give it to my smith so he can go dig up ore. What a waste of a potentially good item. The loot is broken to a point. Some Treasure Hunters will say the loot is now more "balanced". They worked hard to get there. And believe me, getting to the ability to dig up a level 4 is a pain in the rump. I hate making maps with a passion. Moreso than mining. And I am famous for my hatred of mining. But, does it have to be that easy? I don't know. Granted, having 4 Lich Lords spawn on you in one spot isn't fun but a Bard will laugh and make the Lich Lords do the "JU WANNA FIGHT? FIGHT HIM, NOT ME!?" dance. And if you can't have a bard, running to a boat and using it as a fort isn't that hard to do either. It's all about checks and balances, and although it's going to prove profitable for me, I feel it's just a tad too much.
Hopefully it will drive the price of Magic Items down, but I doubt it. Ultima Online players are greedy. And they will try to cash in.
By the way, the loot in the Level 3s I completed this weekend was pathetic. The most expensive thing I got out of them was the gold. No bull.
Also, you can now achive 99.5 Cartography by doing world maps. (No, wait, it's 98.5. No, it's, 99.5 again! ARGH!)
Very nice. Very nice indeed. That is until you do all those maps for a few power hours. THAT could make you want to quit Ultima Online.
Some tips as a Treasure Hunter.
1) Check the surrounding area to see if someone else is doing a chest. We had a group running around from the monsters they were spawning from a Level 2 chest. I sort of laughed at them because my T Hunter owns Level 3s solo. But it got annoying when they were intefering with my own hunt. In other words, be courteous to your fellow hunters.
2) Kill off your damn spawn. I hate logging into Macy's (The Tower) with a Dread Spider, Lich and 2 Fire Elementals sitting there waiting for my smith to come out. And everyone knows Liches like to open doors. I can only say "I ban thee" so fast. Asshoes.
3) Have someone hang around your chest if you are in Felucca. People are famous for coming up and taking your stuff and running away. I wish they would make it so someone taking something from your chest gets flagged like a thief. Grey and can't recall. Yeah, steal from this! If you do have folks hanging around and they take something, and you have a bard around, don't be afraid to provoke on that grey. He earned it.
4) Invisible spells and items are your friend.
5) Empty the chest and destroy it.
6) Smelt anything that's smeltable into ingots. It's free, and it's worth it.
7) PUT YOUR FREAKING WORLD MAPS IN A BAG AND THEN PUT IT IN A TRASH BIN!!!!
You have no idea how that irks me to no end and finding World Maps all over the place stacked as high as the top of that bank. That is irresponsible. You must realize that when you come into an area the game has to load every single item that is in that area. That means LAG for alot of folks.
People like Teak in Trinsic, Great Lakes, Trammel Facet, just needs to learn not to do that. (Yes, BH, I said his name. He's still at it. The little bastard. And my friends have seen him do it as well.)
If you are hiring a Treasure Hunter, that little irresponsible jerk is not one to hire. Feel it idiota. Get an attitude with me in game, will you? Dammit.
I don't think I can go another week without the F word. My eyes are starting to hurt with the stress from within my brain.
Hasta. |
^ top-Back so soon?
[Eric] August 27 - 11:59 AM EDT | I said I'd pop in with some news when time permits. Anyways, UO Stratics posted a link to this interview that was held by http://www.siegeperilouswar.com. It's an interview they had with Evocare, the Lead Designer for UO. He touches on many of the most common questions that players would generally ask a staff memeber of OSI, given the chance. Here's a clip of that interview...
2. What, in your opinion, makes PvP combat fun?
It is our belief that on the whole, players interested in PvP want an outlet for competition that pits their knowledge, tactical decision-making abilities, and strategic choices against those of their opponents. When implemented properly, these qualities lead to a heart-pumping experience that leaves the victor with a powerful sense of achievement, and the defeated with the belief that the next time they meet, the outcome will be different. =]
Many of you will agree that this is NOT how the PvP combat system is within Ultima Online. The "When implemented properly" implies that OSI has yet to properly implement the ideal fun PvP combat system, I assume. If the Lead Designer knows the definition of fun PvP combat, one would hope OSI will eventually come close to providing that for its players. This struck me as interesting...
14. Other than a retooling of the system, what sort of incentives will be added to participate in PvP combat?
I’d venture to guess that some sort of dueling system, where players can reasonably control the conditions and level of risk involved in a fight, would encourage more players to take a stab (no pun intended) at PvP on some level.
I could see that being a pretty good addition to the game, but I highly doubt OSI has touched on that idea quite yet. Anyways, go ahead and check out the rest of the interview.
As for vet. rewards...yahoo. You can expect me to be logging in on Friday. Aside from house refreshing, I really haven't logged in for the past month or so. Hopefully that will change this Friday.
Cya later. |
^ top-FINALLY!
[Nieves] August 27 - 11:15 AM EDT | After monitoring the Veteran Rewards on the Napa Valley shard over the weekend, we have determined a tentative release schedule for the system on the rest of the production shards. We are targeting to activate the Veteran Rewards system on each shard at some point during the day designated below, which means that players should not expect the system to be active immediately following their scheduled morning maintenance. Please note that this schedule is subject to change, and may be extended should any unforeseen issues arise with the rewards system.
All dates listed are Central Daylight Time.
* Monday, August 27th: Chesapeake and Sonoma
* Tuesday, August 28th: Yamoto and Atlantic
* Wednesday, August 29th: Pacific, Lake Superior and Siege Perilous
* Thursday, August 30th: Baja, Catskills, Izumo and Wakoku
* Friday, August 31st: All remaining shards
Figures, I have to wait till Friday for Great Lakes rewards. Oh well, as long as it hits.
Watts, get your prose ready!
Thanks Keo for the information!
Hasta. |
^ top-Smoke Break
[Nieves] August 27 - 10:28 AM EDT | Aight, I ain't got much time so...
Before I begin: Netscape sucks. Just thought I would share that with you. I get a new computer, but I can't use anything but Netscape. Yah, right. Dangit.
Let's start shall we?
These are comments made by Adrick in various threads.
All things considered the monsters are dropping the exact same loot they always have for reds they are just dropping 3x as much for blues (spending power wise) which is all that really matters.
I wonder if this is better for the Blues or the Reds. You can't recall on Siege anyway. Also, from what I understand there is no gating into Dungeons. If the Blues are getting much more loot, they become tastier targets for Reds. And, as everyone knows, the absolute best loot in the game is, on average, carried by Players. Heck, the silver broadsword of vanquishing my PvMer uses was "acquired" from a player that lost it at the City of The Dead. Poor guy...anyway, as always, I digress.
"...because it will cause those reds to stop PVM, and concentrate on killing blues" - why isnt this happening now? shops charge 3x for everything after the change there wont be any difference in spending power. I could see this argument if prices werent dropping.
As always, people have to complain about something. "I can't get better loot from monsters because I am red". Well, damn, if you want more loot go kill some players. It's not like you have to worry about statistic loss anyway right? But, of course, I am sure what I just said will cause some people to stand up and say: "NIEVES YOU ARE ADVOCATING MORE PKING!!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE AGAINST IT!". Actually, I am not totally for nor against PKing. My point is: I just wish you would all quit bit...er, complaining and start being positive in your criticism. Also, come up with a freaking solution (dang Gator, I used an F word. Sorry)! A complaint without a solution is just a bit...er, someone whining.
It not fair to say we dont care what you think [...]
If we didnt care what the playerbase wanted there wouldnt be these boards and there wouldnt be any changes coming to siege.
Other than not having a contact at OSI to confirm bugs (dangit), OSI's team of folks are doing the best job they have ever done. And it takes alot for me to say that. Everyone knows I hate OSI. Well, except Cynthe. I want to marry her. Anyway, again, I digress into something else.
OSI has gotten some positive changes to Factions, Precasting is back (sort of), Mages got their spells beefed up (Harm hurts dangit), Siege is becoming the hard shard (again), and Rewards has actually been released. You have no idea how hard it is to not want to grab a few things on Napa Valley. But, I resist. Really, I do.
Give OSI a chance. They are listening. I see it in what's been done.
Right now my primary focus as a designer is to fix bugs - i don't pick and choose bugs I fix and I enjoy fixing them all. Why do I enjoy it? because as a player it was the single most frustrating experience for me playing a game.
If there was a prize for Player or Dev Team Member of the year, Adrick would get my vote. Why?
For a long time, he used to bit..er, harp and moan about the problems with Ultima Online and it's insurmountable list of Bugs. He was one of "us" and then got a change to be one of "them". I am sure there were many that figured he would turn his back on us and forget who he was. Know what? He's stayed the course. He's stayed true to who he is. He probably still isn't happy with some things within Ultima Online or OSI for that matter. But he puts up. And that's what is important. He hasn't forgotten where he came from. He's visits the same boards and STILL posts and comments as he did in the past. Plus, he has the ability to take REAL concerns and solutions to the right people to get them fixed. Heck, he fixes them!
What amazes me is now he's on the other side and, I think, realizes how petty the naysayers can be about Ultima Online. Whine this, and whine that. He has to hear it from us, the bastages, that don't know any better. Who has the hard job? The people maintaining and fixing Ultima Online? Or we that pay to play it? Think about that for a second.
....
....
Ok, let's continue now.
So, to Adrick, I hold up a cold one and say: "thank you". Keep the ship sailing.
And for those thinking I am biting on Adrick's gonads to get some cool points, I hold up a finger Eminem Style just for you.
The man deserves the praise he's getting from me. Don't dilute it with petty BS.
Hasta. |
^ top-When Hosts Go Down....
[Gator] August 27 - 9:48 AM EDT | Man this sucks,
As you can see, UONewbie is no longer working. Early Wednesday morning all UOGuilds and UOGuilds related sites went down.
My email no longer worked, and I never got warning or notice that this was going to happen. 3 days later I've lost faith that the servers are coming back. Unless the UOGuilds servers return, UONewbie will not.
UOG was our last chance at free hosting. I always claimed that I wouldn't invest money into UONewbie, because the service we gave the community was great enough. I'm not going to expect people to give money either. Not only that, with the sudden departure of UOGuilds, I couldn't retreive any of the recent updates to the guides, as well as ALL the news over the past year. Since news was updated and stored server side, I never downloaded it.
I've changed the nameservers back to the company where I bought the domain in the first place. They offer a small amount of space if they can plaster their banners all over it. It's just not worth rebuilding. I can't imagine how much traffic we lost after being down for 3 days, and quite frankly with classes coming up once again I'm not sure I would have the dedication to rebuild it.
It's an unfortunate way of closing, since I didn't intend it and I didn't want anything like this to happen.
I'd like to thank all the updaters who helped make the site what it was, and I'd like to apologize about the way it has gone down. I've still got my fingers crossed that UOGuilds will in fact come up, but even if it does, how much damage will have been caused? UONewbie wouldn't have been around without your help, and I greatly appreciate that. I'd like to extend even greater thanks to Kaara, who was with the site for almost as long as it was up, and who stuck with it the entire time, through it's ups and downs.
As for the content, it will stay down. As almost every guide was written by myself except for one, I'm not willing to let it become outdated on any other site. I have yet to find a site that agrees with the same principles as I do, and therefore I don't deem any home good enough for my guides. I'm not going to re-post them on UONewbie, because the site must either be active or non-existant. As it cannot be active, it will not exist.
Once again, Thank You very much for all your help and time you've invested into the site, and maybe we'll see it come up again sometime in the future.
Regards,
Scott, AKA. Swissie
scott@thebrilliant.net
If this were to happen to us, I dont even know where we would start. Lets pray that UOPG keeps going strong.
Later |
^ top-FYI
[Nieves] August 27 - 9:43 AM EDT | About the Faire:We are still working to complete the official Online Worlds FanFest 2001 website, along with the registration page, Host application page and session schedules, and anticipate that it will go live early next week. In order to ensure that people still have plenty of time for the early registration price, we will be extending the early registration schedule.
Thank you for your patience, and we'll have plenty of FanFest details available next week!
Good. Get the site up.
Also, at Stratics they have posted some comments by Adrick. Since I don't have time for a proper update at the time you can go on over and read about it.
You know me, I will have comments to Adrick's brand of wisdom. What may surprise alot of you is that what I have in mind is actually positive.
Note to Watts: Rewards is still up. Got it ready yet?
Hasta. |
^ top-Popping in for a moment.
[Eric] August 26 - 5:01 PM EDT | Hey everyone - I realize I haven't been around much in the past 2 weeks be it on the front page or in the forums. I've been busy in and out of town, and the time to spend on UO or updating UO news is quite limited at the moment. ;) My apologies for this to all of you, but especially to Nieves and the other [active] updaters. Nieves has done a hell of a lot for this site, especially during times when the majority of the updaters have been fairly inactive. I of course can't go on without mentioning Gator as well, who lately, has put forth nearly equal time and effort. With the recent addition of Phazer, UOPG skill information is finally being corrected and put up-to-date. You guys kick ass. Don't assume I'm excluding the other updaters, because I'm not. Everyone needs their break from UO and UOPG, but you've all put forth an outstanding amount of effort at one time or another.
No, I'm not saying goodbye to UO or UOPG if it sounds like I'm implying that. I am however, taking a break to concentrate on some RL issues, which hopefully everyone will understand. Despite that, I'll probably still pop in every once in a while if I happen to come across some news that hasn't been mentioned yet.
Anyways...Some UO news maybe?
To give you all another quick update. We're finalizing testing on the first part of the scenario. Right now, we're waiting for a patch to clear QA before we can build/patch the last scenario patch. All of the content is done for the patch (there is a LOT btw ), we just have to put it together and test it. Unlike server publishes, client patches are the one aspect of working on multiple projects that do affect each other since we can't build two patches at the same time, otherwise the second patch would revert out all of the stuff in the first one.
As soon as this patch is released, we'll build the scenario patch and then we'll have a pretty clear idea when the scenario will start.
-Jonathan "Calandryll" Hanna
Designer, Ongoing Content
It sounds like OSI has a larger scenario in store for us (hopefully more than orcs running around killing people). All we can do right now is just wait, and hope that vet. rewards are published to a shard near you, shortly. Stay tuned, as I'm sure there will be a lot of shouting and excitement by Nieves once vet. rewards hit all of the shards.
Bye for now. |
^ top-Phazer Does UOPG Skills
[Nieves] August 25 - 12:23 PM EDT | Go to the Skills Pages, and then Email Phazer and tell him how much he rocks.
He updated most of the Skills from Anatomy-Parrying. It just took me a month to get the on the site.
You can send me hate mail for that.
Aight Phazer, where are the rest of them!? ::cracks the whip::
Hasta. |
^ top-Contest
[Nieves] August 25 - 11:46 AM EDT | I am considering having a contest.
Actually, 2 of them.
Here is what I am looking for:
Someone to write up a Siege Perilous Guide. Granted, with the new changes coming, this will take awhile to do a write up on.
I will take submissions in the Forum. When you create your essay, submit it as a post then email me a link. Be prepared for the UOPG Forum Denizens to critique and they will be the frontline judges. I will ask the Updaters to see which one is the best (grammer, tips, correct information) and that is the winner.
The second contest is a Factions Essay. A guide to being in a specific Faction, their weaknesses and strengths. Best Templates for each of the following classes: Thief, Mage, Fighter AND Mule. Also, how to fight with those classes. Taking a city, keeping it, etc. Also, the benefits of having higher titles, etc.
You will also be required to submit your Factions essay to the Forum for review with an emailed link to me.
What are the prizes? We will let you know in the future. Right now, it hinges on the UOPG T-Shirt, or alot of gold (FYI: 100k is NOT alot of gold to me).
Most likely it will be the T-Shirt. And it WILL be kick ass. Gawd I wish I could show you what we are doing behind the scenes here. But I want to do this right this time :)
Email me and let me know what you think of the contests.
Hasta. |
^ top-A semi-good read.
[Nieves] August 24 - 1:45 PM EDT | The Night talks about being an Assassin.
It's not a bad read. Just ignore the following statement:
I read Stratics several times a day. It is THE complete source of knowledge in the game, because it is
forged BY players, and FOR players.
Obviousely, there is a flaw in that statement. Can you guess why?
Hasta. |
^ top-Pop-up Ads Suck
[Nieves] August 24 - 12:38 PM EDT | Yah, you see them every once in awhile. I wasn't aware that Pop Ads would pop up when coming to UOPowergamers until Watts, bless his heart, told me about it. I told him "no, can't be happening", he said: "bullshit, check your shit". So I did.
After some investigating, the Pop Up Ads have been coming up every 20th page view or so. (LUCKY MR. 20 YOU ARE THE WO/MAN!). Again, I didn't know that was something that happens on a normal basis.
Now, is it my host's fault that I wasn't aware? Or mine because I visit our "Host Forums" as often as you see me in the UOPG Chat Room (which I hope to change soon. I promise)? It doesn't matter.
The fact is, they are there. And I don't like them. But, I don't have to like them, and neither do you. They are helping to pay my bandwidth and my hosting fees. With the deal I have with my host I don't pay anything out of pocket. Unlike other sites, I am a lucky website owner. I don't pay anything for what you see here. I don't make anything either (which would be nice) but I don't complain as it works for you the readers. Right? Right.
If you noticed, other sites have had to "beg" from the public to help them pay the bills and keep the sites you know and love up and operating. Well, the network I am on isn't doing that well revenue wise and is doing some aggressive haggling so people like me don't have to shell out the big bucks to keep the site up. If you see Pop Ups come up, or more of those space hogging banners that totally destroy the beauty of a decently designed website, don't be upset with us. It's something we have to do.
The beauty of UOPG is it's content, the writers that entertain you, and the frequency we update the front page and it's content. Ok, alot of the content is out of date, but we are trying. Real lives have a tendency of getting in the way of things. Bastards. Anyway, I digress.
We give you a pretty site to view just so it's not only informative but, you know, entertaining to the eye.
We don't have as many little neat features other people do (Pendejo, I hate you SILK! J/K Much love to you and great work man!) . But that's not the point of UOPG anyway. Our focus is to inform and every once in a while try to entertain. Even if we suck at it. We try.
Without going into a State of UOPG address, I will summarize here.
1) Bear with the big ass ads. Especially the pop ups. They are here to stay (for now I hope). It pays the bills. Click on a few of them. Heck, buy something. It goes to a good cause. Really.
2) UOPG's content is getting a major update soon. Believe it dammit.
3) UOPG is getting a MAJOR facelift. MUCH love and hugs and kisses go out to Warlord. NO Warlord, I don't do johnsons. See Redrum for that. Homosexual that he is. But, don't be mad if you have to wait in line behind Watts. Red's got it like that.
4) We are going to the UO Faire. If anyone wants to put a few people up for a couple of nights in Austin, we would be much obliged. Just a place to sleep. The dog house works for that crazy marine, Gator. I will take the couch thank you. You know how spoiled us Army pukes were/are. While we are at the Faire, we WILL convince Cynthe, Adrick, and Cal the Pal that we are worthy enough of a CONSISTANT direct line with SOMEONE at UOPG so we can get good, and correct, information out to you. If not, I got a Vanq War Hammer for dat arse.
5) If my network don't start turning a profit soon, I got to come up with my own revenue base to help support the cost of operating UOPG. And it's NOT cheap. I was hoping to start a capital base with the UOPG Store, but it's not happening. I guess the T-Shirt Store will have to get created as promised (damn me) and hopefully that will create the capital base needed to support the fees in the future.
If I had a few million in the bank (just 2, I am not greedy), UOPG would be it's own network on it's own server. Hell, I would invite other people to come play with me and have some fun. Hey, I am cool like that. People like this I would charge triple, just because I can be vindictive like that. Someday, remind me, I want to just let loose about that. Someday.
Anyway, that's it for now.
Enjoy your weekend.
I got lots of work to do myself. Pray for me.
NOTE: Gator, two posts today, no F-Words. ::head twitches a bit:: Must-control-the-urge!
Hasta. |
^ top-Rewards Info
[Nieves] August 24 - 8:37 AM EDT | Here's the latest update on Veteran Rewards (posted to FYI):
---
Due to widespread network issues, the Veteran Rewards server was unable to communicate with the Napa Valley shard for much of this afternoon. We have resolved this issue, and will be bringing the Napa Valley shard back up with the Rewards system active in just a few minutes.
Due to the high number of accounts simultaneously logging in and checking their account age, the server may become backed up, and the gump may take up to 5-10 minutes to appear. We anticipate this time will shorten considerably once the initial rush is past. Players are being asked to please wait patiently for the gump, rather than log in and out repeatedly.
IMPORTANT: Rewards are chosen per account, not per character, and are not transferable between shards once chosen. Do not accept a reward on the Napa Valley shard if you do not play on that shard regularly.
---
Kerowyn
UO.com Content Editor/Writer
This is posted mainly to give people information in case they are wondering what happened with the Rewards System on Napa yesterday. When I logged in last night, it was fine. My update (scroll down) was submitted after the date on the above email.
I wonder if Adam Ant got a Ethereal Mount. Would make it really interesting wouldn't it? GM Stealther with a mount. Joy.
Hasta. |
^ top-We Have A Winner!!
[Gator] August 24 - 7:17 AM EDT | Last nights guest update was Paladin, congrats to War Child for guessing the right answer in the forums. 5k will be delivered to you on a shard of your choice. Be prepared folks because I am gonna try to pull one of these every week. So stay tuned.
I read something scary over at uodotcom this morning. Basically a player was wheeling and dealing into some high dollar rare items. Anyways, he was told to vist a web page where a listing of the rare were available. Needless to say after visiting this site, his system crash, and his account was hacked for all its worth. A few players took a closer look at the source code of the web page. Basically the web page automatically started a download sequence all the while tapping into this and that and sending account info to a ICQ user. Luckily they got the bead on this person. The story cant be told on having a good firewall and virus files all up to speed. And watch out for shady folks, especially ones that tell you go to a site to see their items.
This off topic, but has to be told. This week I have been pulling the 5am showtime at work and I have been hitting up the Wendy's on base for breakfast at about 6am. This morning I pull up to the window. This "woman" speaks to me the standard speil, "Welcome to blah blah blah blah....". I am like Good Morning Maam, Can I get blah blah blah." Pull up to the window, the "woman" was a MAN!!! ACK!! I mean really what can you do in that type of situation, it was a complete accident that this guy sounded like a chick, and I addressed him as such. Now I probably got some loogy in my Bacon Egg & Cheese Biscuit and all because this guy most likely audtioned for the Vienna Boys Choir. Sheesh!! Dave don't put chick sounding dudes on the DRIVE-THRU!!!
So got a Loogy in your Bacon Egg & Cheese Biscuit?
Later |
^ top-Hmmm...I want this, and this, and this and ths....
[Nieves] August 23 - 9:03 PM EDT | 
Need I say anything?
Hasta. |
^ top-Guest Updater
[Gator] August 23 - 8:49 PM EDT | Now I am going to provide an update to you presented to me by a Updater of Olde. The FIRST person that can respond with the correct answer in this forum post, will get 5k on any shard. So get ready...
I just want to make a comment about the Ever Quest "quest system." First, the bonafides: I beta tested the game, I played the game at release, I just finished playing it for 3 MORE months with the expansions in place. I will now describe for you a quest that I undertook for a ghoulbane, a sword that procs DD for undead [that is EQ speak for the sword randomly casts an undead only direct damage spell when you swing it].
This one is ludicrously easy. I saddled up my level 49 wizard friend and he teleported me across the land to talk to people and kill a total o |
|
| |
