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September 2002 News:
|
^ top-This Is Not Ultima Online
[Nieves] September 30 - 10:16 PM EDT | I don't know about any of you, but this is not my idea of Ultima Online.
We were told we had to wait 'our turn' and 'get in line'. Fucking eat me.
Bullshit lame ass way of playing a game.
You can have your fucking Queens. I will play with the Ant Lion.
For those of you that want to solo the Ant Lion. Don't. Bring a friend. Bring a fast weapon if you are a meleer. If you look at the guy saying "Smile at the Camera". That's me. You can't beat that thing alone or with a slow weapon.
What he does is come up, pummel you a bit, throw a green glob and greater poison you. Then start digging. If you can 'interrupt' it from digging, you can keep it up and keep fighting. If you can't, it goes below and comes back up. Usually underneath you or it up where it first went down (if you are moving about). You are best moving about if you don't keep it from digging. What it will do is come up, hit you, then you "auto defend". So in effect, he gets a freebie on you.
The loot sucks. About 100 gold. Anywhere from 1-10 random colored ore (highest I saw was copper) and some bone pieces. I hear you can get skeletal corpses but I haven't yet.
Loot sucks, but a challenge to fight solo.
Anyway, back to Ant Lion hunting.
Hasta. |
^ top-UOPG Question Of The Week
[Nieves] September 30 - 8:59 AM EDT | I found this on Stratics and it looks like it would make some good discussion on our parts.
In regards to Combat:
1) Could this aspect of the game be more intuitive?
2) Can we improve the PvP balance of this aspect of the game?
3) Can we improve the PvM balance of this aspect of the game?
4) If this is an underutilized skill or item can we make it more competetive or more interesting and thus make it into a more viable gameplay option?
5) Is there a way to make this aspect of the game more fun?
6) Can we simplify the inner workings of this feature so that the players' mental models of the feature will more closely match the actual design of the feature?
-Fertbert
Well?
Hasta. |
^ top-Beetle Bug and Bag Warning
[LadyGrania] September 29 - 11:31 AM EDT | OK, Nieves and I tested out the previously reported beetle bug.
We learned: TARGET THE PERSON NOT THE MOUNT!
If you target the head of the beetle it ends up on the ground. If you target the back of the beetle it ends up back in the giver's pack.
This is also true in pvp or anywhere you would target someone. You must target the character not the mount they're riding.
The bags of sending are pretty damned cool for resource gatherers or gold farmers. Drop stuff in the bag and it runs off to the bank without you having to move a muscle.
Problem: NPC's would love to buy it from you as if it were a regular bag. Be careful!
That's all the info I have.
Have a lovely day!
LG |
^ top-Beetle Bug
[Nieves] September 28 - 7:45 PM EDT | Excuse the Pun:
Markee Dragon: BTW. Info you may want for your news page. I found a bug with gold checks and beetles. If someone is mounted on a beetle and I hand then a check it drops to the ground below them and is covered by the beetle. I had this happen twice to me. very bad bug.
Yeah it is...
You have been warned.
Thanks to Markee Dragon for the information.
On a 'related' note, see the new banner to the left? The one selling UO Gold? The more you buy, the more you sponsor UOPG. Make a purchase, get yourself some UO Gold, support UOPG, life is good.
Hasta. |
^ top-Farfenugen!
[Nieves] September 27 - 10:30 PM EDT | Beetles own.
Straight from the Tamer's Forum:My beetle can kill a daemon with a little healing and btw its 29.1% taming is minimun u need. oh and once ive got my beetles resist to GM then im gonna try it on elder gazers"
Also: "I think its kind of nice that they put in a pet that can be useful to ALL classes. Its not just for tamers like a Fsteed. Its not geared for warriors like a swampy... Heck this may even make some fel dungeons playable for those who liked to hunt there. No recall out made it hard for many to hunt there who previously had. Now some may venture into shame with their beetles (and tamers with a mare or drake) to hunt the poison eles, bloods, EGs, etc again. They won't be faced with the futile hardship of how to get out once they fill up"
-Elyssar, Stratics Mod
Hmm...
BTW: Anyone thought about those Bracelets of Binding really hard yet? "Yeah biyotch, you are going to die!"
"oh fuck, here come three more!"
Sends an ICQ: "dood! USE YOUR BRACELET!"
-poof-
"Thanks man! That was close".
I am sure you can think of other uses for it...(that's if they don't have an aggressor type flag set up for it)
Hasta. |
^ top-Gardening Has A New Resource Bearing 'Thing'
[Nieves] September 27 - 1:45 PM EDT | There is a new resource now available to gardeners and players, called thorns. Those sweet little resources will spawn random piles of each regs simply by planting a thorn in a brown patch of dirt. The same dirt you fill your plant bowls with. So if you run out of regs and out of charges in your arcane suit, just find some brown stick your thorn in some dirt and you're ready to go. [...]
The stacks of assorted regs will start appearing within seconds in the area where you planted the thorn. On her first attempt, Devil Woman received 7 stacks of regs: 2 of sulfurous ash and 1 each of nightshade, black pearl, spiders' silk, blood moss, and garlic for a total of: 32 ash, 18 pearl, 12 moss, 18 garlic, 11 spiders' silk, and 15 nightshade.
The thorns can be obtained through cross-pollination of 4th generation plants. They are bright green resources and therefore come from bright green plants. The confirmed plats producing them are the bright green barrel cactus and the bright green snake plants.
I found this information at UOTreasure Hunters. They have an image of the thorns there.
Much love to them for the info. Er...Agh! Another website to read. ::sighs:: -Makes Bookmark-
Hasta. |
^ top-Stand In Line, Get a Turn
[Nieves] September 27 - 11:32 AM EDT | That's right, you TOO can be the next one to get a turn to get a shot at the Solens!
Line right up!
Thanks Jade for this lunch time's laughter.
Hasta. |
^ top-TBoDs Baroken
[Nieves] September 27 - 7:18 AM EDT | Well it seems everyones suspicions that something was broken with TBOD's is true. Currently the system does not look at what type of leather a BOD is and treats regular, spined, horned, and barbed deeds as the same. So hold on to those non-regular leather deeds everyone and wait for a fix!
-Orion,
UOCompendium
The kind of leather used for tailoring bulk order deeds should have an influence on the rewards. At the moment, however, that does not seem to be happening. We are, however, aware of the situation and are looking into the problem. My best advice right now is to keep doing what you're doing and focus on the regular leather bods. Alternatively, of course, you could allow your character to raise in skill and store the deeds with the higher level leathers required. Good luck!
Safe travels,
Greywolfe
Er...
Aight.
And...
There is a legal term in the USA called, "BAIT AND SWITCH"... Are you all familiar with that term? For those of you that are not, let me explain.
Tell it to us Big Daddy!
Note, when you read the above linked article, take note of this
Hasta. |
^ top-A Story About The Solen
[Nieves] September 26 - 3:59 PM EDT | Constable Holser reporting, sir.
I started my investigation in Vesper, as I had heard rumors of an "anthole" in the vicinity. I took the Kings road toward the mountain of Covetous, but before I got to the crossroad which branches to Britain or Minoc, I was set upon by a number of Worker Solen, and Warrior Solen.
The Worker Solen were quite inept in combat, and posed little threat. I searched their corpses and found little but a patch of Zoogi fungus and a bit of gold.
The Warrior Solen were more of a danger. They too were not particularly adept at combat, though they have an acid sac which can be dangerous when broken. As the Solen flails about, some of it's natural acid leaks onto the ground. Prolonged exposure should be enough to kill a man rapidly, I should think.
I explored the area around where I was assaulted, and found one of these "antholes". There were creatures of every type and description around the hole, so I quickly dived through the hole before any of them could notice me.
As my eyes adjusted to the low-light in the anthole, I saw a series of interconnected tunnels. I went about exploring the area, trying to find the source of the Solen. I came across a large chamber with piles of cocoons.. I tried to open them with my blade, but there were too many warrior Solen about for me to get that chance.
As I continued my exploration, I came across a number of fortune seekers, who were literally waist deep in Solen corpses. This was, no doubt, due in large part to the 3 tamed dragons they commanded. They set about commanding the dragons to kill anything with more than 2 legs. Needless to say, nothing withstood their assault.
I continued into another passage where there were other types of large insects, including a light blue variety of beetle. The beetle itself was unremarkable, save that several of the fortune seekers had managed to clamor onto the back of them and use them as mounts.
Additionally, there was some sort of Ant Lion creature which would burrow into the ground, and then resurface next to whatever victim it so desired. It did not look like a seriously dangerous creature.. but I was unable to fight one due to the 3 dragons.
I continued deeper into the anthole, and came across another hole leading down. On the lower level I found more of what was on the upper level. Mostly Warriors, and the occasional Beetle. As I mapped the area, I stumbled across a large chamber.. and in this chamber, a large, horned Solen which I later discovered with the Queen.
Perhaps most interestingly was the Solen Queens ability to speak our language. She bid me welcome, and asked me to assassinate her competitive queens so that she would become matriarch of the Red Solen tribe. She also insisted that I collect 50 Zoogi Fungus and return to her.
In her instructions, she had mentioned another Solen tribe, though I do not know where they are, or what they are called, or even what they look like. I plan to investigate this matter when I am finished with my report here.
Havig reached the lowest level of the anthole, I decided to return to the surface via the same method I had entered it.. which was a far trickier proposition that I had imagined. As I climbed through the tunnel to the surface, I was got lost in a maze of tunnels, and I emerged from the anthole in Trinsic.
The scope of the Solen Antholes is quite extensive.. if they branch from Vesper to Trinsic, they most likely branch all over the kingdom.
I do not think that the Solen are an immediate threat to Britannia, and I do not believe that they have any interest in attacking Britannia.. not at present. They seem to be caught in a civil war. Even if they were to attack, our warriors are far superior in tactics and quality to theirs. Their tunnelling ability would be a great tactical advantage, as would their numbers.. but I have yet to see any Solen who was adept with Magic.. a serious disadvantage.
-Vax Holser
Hey, call it lame, but it's well written and informative.
Hasta. |
^ top-Greedy Pixel Crack Whores
[Nieves] September 26 - 3:48 PM EDT | As some of the other folks are already answering in this thread - that hasn't been decided yet. At this moment we don't have definite plans to continue creating new items, and we may simply add extra reward choices to be used on the previous year lists... but a year is a very long time, and there's no telling what will happen once the 6th birthday comes around!
My recommendation? I would simply use your picks now and enjoy the new items for the next year. Whether we add new choices for 6th year or not, you'll get at least one more reward choice then to use on those choices.
But ultimately, it's your decision on whether or not to wait. :)
__________________
Cynthe
Community Manager
ORIGIN Systems
She's right. Decide now because you don't know. Personally, there are plenty of choices. And how many more new freaking Rewards do you need? I think what they have is enough.
Designing Rewards takes away valuable design and programming time that could go to more important things. You know, like Age of Shadows.
As Cynthe said, simply adding additional choices every year would be best. And it's really easy to code.
accountname_rewards_choices = 0;
If accountname_age >= 12 months and accountname_age < 25 months
{
acountname_rewards_choices = accountname_rewards_choices + 1;
}
endif;
Well, ok, it's not THAT simple. The code above would need a bit of refinement because you got to ...hmmm... a Case statement would probably better...er...let me shut up. Sorry.
Anyway, quit complaining. Pick your damn Fire Cloaks, Robes, wear it with your Fire hats and sandles and be happy.
Happy 5th!
Hasta. |
^ top-I Couldn't Sleep
[Nieves] September 25 - 11:24 PM EDT | So I did some reading.
Orion posted some interesting news concerning the avatar art.
My frustration and reason for this posting today, comes after a comment made by Evocare at the Ianstorm Dev Chat, concerning the Avatar art. please, allow me to go into the chat log, and c/p the exact quote:
In reply to:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Evocare* The wearables/avatars have undergone another round of tweaks, and are nearly complete, we expect to patch them out around the launch of AoS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
this quote has caused myself, and several others who I have spoken to, some concern. The Artwork was specifically promised sometime ago, to not be released as part of Ultima Online: Age of Shadows, and even more recently, we were told they were to be patched in by years end.
Which Tajima replied: The updated 3D avatar and wearable art has been integrated into the AoS test plan, and will be released out around the launch date for that expansion.
We apologize for the delay, but we have had a number of issues to work through with this technology, as well as many other initiatives to address.
-Tajima
In other words, "Yes, it will be released within the Age of Shadows box"?
BTW: The UO.com thread that was discussed in was locked after Tajima made a post. I have yet to find a follow up on it.
All you Avatar Junkies: Ph33l ][t. Instead of 29.95 for your art, you will probably have to fork over 40.00.
C'mon, say it with me: "Sometimes, I hate this fucking game".
Edit: OH! Wait a minute!
 |
An excerpt from where I found it:... saw this on stratics. According to the face, this char is using the new 3D avatar art. Also she seems to wear a studded tunic also in the new look.
Last official word was, that they'll release the new art with AoS. And that will be around christmas.
I always hate it, if they advertise with non-in-game graphics.... ppl will only be disappointed, because they game doesn't look like the same in the ad and on screen and they'll have to wait 4 months for the update....
Gotta love it.
Hasta. |
|
^ top-Powergaming Scenarios
[Hennarr] September 25 - 5:49 PM EDT | | I don’t know if it is because this scenario took so long to be patched in, if I’m still hung-over from last night, or if the scenario is actually shaping up to be a bit exciting and fun, but I am finding myself a tiny bit optimistic about it. I never cared about the scenarios, but this one seems to have some potential. For that reason, I’d like to spread as much information as possible to the UO PowerGamers, and ask you guys for some help. We should be powergaming these scenarios as well as we do everything else, and instead of having to sift through tons of threads all over the place, it might be a better idea to condense it into one. Go here to see the information/spoilers I’ve gathered so far, and then post your own info or correct any errors in the thread so that we all can powergame the hell out of this scenario. |
^ top-Well What a Gift!
[LeallaRBP] September 25 - 5:06 PM EDT | I open my email and read the subject line.
Check out your UO birthday present!
Greetings Citizens,
In recognition of your loyalty and dedication to Ultima OnlineTM, we're giving you a Buddy registration code**. It is our way of saying
"thanks" for helping us reach this exciting milestone, our 5-Year
Anniversary! Over the years many of you told us that your best
moments in UO were shared with friends and family who you introduced
into the game. So please take this opportunity to bring another one
of your friends into BritanniaTM to join in your adventures-- on us!
New Account Creation Code: xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx
And, thanks for making this the best five years ever!
- Your Ultima Online Team
All I have to say is thank you OSI, there's nothing like receiving a gift you have to pay for yourself!
Oh and BTW.......that Lil code was useful on Lake Austin, thanks
Till Next Time...
Lealla |
^ top-Beetles, the new r33t backpack
[Hennarr] September 25 - 2:08 PM EDT | | Still needs to be 100% confirmed, but it seems that Beetles will not teleport out of Felucca dungeon or T2A areas with you if they have anything stored on them. You need to use the context menu after clicking on the bug to open the bag - lots of other context menu things as well with this scenario, such as talking to the "quest queen" and using the binding bracelets. Considering it will be a week before any player can bond to their Beetle, can't report on how any of that stuff works in relations to the ability to store stuff in the Beetle's ass. It does seem likely that people won't be able to jam good crap in their Beetle and then do any kind of escape/suicide tricks to get themselves and their Beetle out of the Felucca dungeon areas. Hooray for getting that one right, but I still would like some information about whether or not you can even put a powerscroll in one. It seems too easy to get a powerscroll, run off, pop off your beetle, shove the powerscroll up its ass, hop back on, and have a powerscroll relatively locked away unless someone gets you off the bug and kills and loots it. |
^ top-Sannio's Day.
[LadyGrania] September 25 - 1:16 PM EDT | This was posted in the Online Community Section today.
My take on it:
Sannio's day... "basically I just wander around and bullshit with anyone who will tolerate me"
|
^ top-OH NO!
[Nieves] September 25 - 12:32 PM EDT | The 5th Year Anniversary Cakes (yes Cakes) that you get as a 'present' are not newbified! BE WARE OF THE THIEVES! And don't die with them! Someone will loot them...or they will decay!
The end is near I tell you!
Of all the stupid fucking things....
Cakes!?
Update: WTF!? YOU CAN'T EAT THE FRIGGIN CAKE!? I mean, c'mon! I can't have my cake and eat it too!? LAME!
Hasta. |
^ top-Stat Gains Are Too Slow
[Nieves] September 25 - 10:24 AM EDT | No shit.
But at least Mr. Tact is doing something about it:
So, if I may summarize:
1. Stat gains of 6 per day is too slow
2. Stat gains are broken
3. Stat gains are too hard to understand
To which I reply:
1. Evo has stated several times he's not completely happy with the gain rate, and wants to bump it up into the range of . . . I believe 10 points per day was the number bandied about. You can probably reasonably expect to see this with the launch of AoS, if not sooner. (We'll be keeping the 30-minute timer for the foreseeable future, though.)
2. I have completely rewritten how stat gains work. This should eliminate the "stuck stats" problem. This will be put into production with week 2 of the event (aka tomorrow on LS, Thursday worldwide).
3. The new stat gain rules work like this (in a nutshell; expect to see more formal documentation later):
- Does my skill affect a stat that is eligible for a gain?
- If so, pick one and try to gain.
Chance of gaining a stat point: 100 - the stat value, capped at a minimum chance of 5% for stats 95 and up.
MrTact
Hey Teich, mind telling me about stuff like this when it hits? Kthx.
Hasta. |
^ top-Giant Beetle Statistics
[Nieves] September 25 - 9:51 AM EDT | Some preliminary testing for the stats on the new giant beetle rideable monster.
First off, ANYONE can ride it, I have not tested the taming minimums, so if someone has that information please reply with it.
These statistics were taken from a lore test of 6 different tamed beetles.
Category/Lowest/Highest/(Average)
Hits: 300/300/(300)
Stamina: 100/103/(101)
Mana: 500/500/(500)
STR: 300/300/(300)
DEX: 100/104/(101)
INT: 500/500/(500)
Armor: 60/60/(60)
Wrestle: 87.4/87.5/(87.4)
Tactics: 86.0/86.5/(86.1)
Resist: 68.8/68.9/(68.8)
Anatomy: 7.9/31.5/(14.9)
The beetle take up 3 control slots, has a built in backpack that you can access from the context menu (cannot be accessed by double clicking like a pack horse).
The beetle must be beaten into submission before it can be tamed. Among the people I saw in the tunnels trying to tame them, they were not able too. Not sure whether it was just for being in the tunnels, or if the massive creature spawn was the cause.
If anyone has any further information on these please send it in.
Just something I forgot to mention:
The Beetles do not have a pack instinct.
Nym Whisperwind.
Thanks Nym.
I wonder if the Taming Archive has that info yet...Oh, and it's ok Ree, you can use the information for your guides. I don't mind. Hell, don't even link back. I don't care. Believe it or not, some of us do this for the sake of the players and not self-recognition.
Anyway...
The Beetle's back pack would be cool for hide gathering, gold farming, or hell, holding looted corpse items (think Power Scrolls).
Hasta. |
^ top-New Rare In The Game
[Nieves] September 25 - 7:04 AM EDT | However, at the last minute we discovered an art error that caused part of the new ethereal mounts to appear as opaque in the 3D client. After discussing several possible resolutions, we decided to simply alter the hue for the five new 4th- and 5th-year ethereal mounts rather than delay all the rewards for both clients—yes, a fifth ethereal mount has been added (as a 5th-year reward choice)! The unicorn, ki-rin, ridgeback, swamp dragon, and new beetle have been changed from the standard dark ethereal hue to a darker ghostly hue with light grey accents. A patch will be released tomorrow afternoon that will alter the colors of the new ethereals to fix the art problem mentioned above. But, as the patch will not be active first thing tomorrow, there will be a few hours on Lake Superior when players who choose ethereals will see the problem first hand, finding that small parts of them will appear as opaque. If you choose a new ethereal 4th or 5th year Vet Reward mount early tomorrow morning on Lake Superior, know that it WILL CHANGE to the darker color with light grey accents after the patch is released later on in the day!
Note: Please don’t go to Lake Superior and choose an ethereal tomorrow morning just to see this effect, as that reward will count toward your total number of rewards, and you will not be able to trade it in for another on another shard!
Are you paying attention? All existing Ethereals have just become a sort of rare. You won't get the 'ghost' type Ethereals on future selections anymore.
Is Nievesy Pooh going to be picking any of the new Ethereal mounts? Hell no. Why? What benefit do they give that I don't already have with current Ethereal mounts. Oh yeah. It's new. It's exciting content. I can look cool in a pixelized world riding something I hated the look of in the first place.
Eat me.
Now, the expanded Skill Cap? Fuck yeah. (Kudos to OSI for this reward).
Skill scrolls have been used. Training commences in T minus 2 days.
Oh yeah, you can read the rest here.
Hasta. |
^ top-State Of The Service
[Nieves] September 24 - 9:16 PM EDT | First off, an apology: I have been letting the boards go by the wayside for about 3 weeks now, and I'm sorry. I have been busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest, as you will see.
So . . . a few weeks back we had a server move. That had unanticipated ramifications to the service, which I discussed extensively in my previous post entitled "state of the service," and will not rehash here. This is still affecting some players (if the connectivity and tech boards are any indication), but most of the fallout of that move has, er, fallen out.
At this point in time, it appears all the shards are once again able to connect to the housing system reliably. We had a couple of weird days with Pac, but managed to get this fixed around the time of the first week of the event.
As this is the main reason we pushed back Phase III of housing, you can expect that we will be getting it back on track soon. Since technical issues are no longer a gating factor, the only thing keeping us in a holding pattern at the moment is the number of changes hitting the shards currently. Event 5, vet rewards, lots of new players . . . I am reluctant to switch on a major housing change while all this is going on. Don't expect to see Phase III rolled out any earlier than the last week of the event, and we may delay it until the week after that. However, I think it's safe to say we would prefer not to push it out any further than that.
The zero-damage spell bug is still outstanding. It's high in the queue (although not number 1), but I expect to have some time to look into it this week. I'm not anticipating a speedy resolution, unfortunately :-(
I have no joy for the sailors of Britannia (please don't say "We're used to it"). The serpent pillars issue is still not getting the attention it deserves, and it's a ways down the priority list. It's not just AoS development, there are still a number of burning issues that have to be dealt with daily, and I can't justify taking time away from those problems to look into the pillars. Still no ETA, although I will promise you that when time opens up to investigate further, you will be the first to know. Sorry, guys.
There are still some Siege issues outstanding. I know Vex fixed the stealing in dungeons bug, and the "can't gain past 10.0" bug. I believe these are in week 2, but I can't find proof of that right this second and it's very late, so there isn't anyone here I can ask . . . I have been looking into the "gain skills too fast" bug, but nothing conclusive on those yet. I'm not anticipating a fix for this until the last week of the scenario, or thereabouts.
As I've mentioned in other posts, I did a change a while back to fix the "stuck stats" bug, and I'm very excited to say this will be rolled out with week 2 of the event. We've been seeing a lot of GM calls on stat gain issues lately, hopefully this will solve the problem for lots of people. (Simple explanation for how to manage your stats under the new system: turn up stats you want to gain. Turn down stats you want to lower. Lock stats you want to stay the same. Crazy, huh?)
Since I know you are all burning to know, AoS development is proceeding apace. FertBert and I are cranking on our obligations, since a lot of what we work on are the "building blocks" that let the designers create the really interesting stuff and we don't want them blocking on us. It's a very ambitious and exciting release, and I wish I could talk about half the things that are going into it . . .
Finally, we have hired a new server programmer. Watch for her introduction in a Comments from the Team -- coming soon to a web browser near you! I hope you will all give her a warm welcome, and please try to avoid barbecuing her for at least her first couple of board posts ;-) As always, any mistakes, problems or general screwups are my fault, so please direct all flames to me . . .
MrTact
As I said before: Mr. Tact for Community Coordinator.
Hasta. |
^ top-Well, I Asked...
[Nieves] September 24 - 5:24 PM EDT | And she said no.
This is actually one we've answered quite a few times - I'm afraid a pre-UOR shard is not going to happen.
__________________
Cynthe
Community Manager
ORIGIN Systems
Hasta. |
^ top-Get ready crackheads pixel love is coming..
[Carthax] September 24 - 12:42 PM EDT | New patch just now...
Here's what I leeched, because we here at UOPG like you to have the full story, not some half arsed cut and paste from the ever so cryptic OSI, like other sites that shall remain nameless.
Exchanging version information with patch server
Received file name "lbr2d_win32_3-0-8q.rtp" of length 276613
Received file name "lbr2d_win32_3-0-8q.pat" of length 14
Getting required files
Using existing file "lbr2d_win32_3-0-8q.rtp" of size 276613
Processing files
Applying patch patch\lbr2d_win32_3-0-8q.rtp on path .
From the patchlog..
CLILOC49.ENU
Applying MODIFY File Patch for 'CLILOC49.ENU'
Writing New File
Verifying - Passed!
Deleting Old File
Dark Gray Cloak
Dark Gray Robe
Ice Green Cloak
Ice Green Robe
Ice Blue Cloak
Ice Blue Robe
Jet Black Cloak
Jet Black Robe
Ice White Cloak
Ice White Robe
Fire Cloak
Fire Robe
Decorative Shield
Hanging Skeleton
Ankh
Runebook Dye Tub
Reward Statuette Dye Tub
Ophidian Statuette
Reaper Statuette
Mongbat Statuette
Ethereal Unicorn Statuette
Ethereal Ki-Rin Statuette
Ethereal Ridgeback Statuette
Ethereal Beetle Statuette
Ethereal Swamp Dragon Statuette
Monster Statuettes
Ethereal Steeds
a dark gray robe
a dark gray cloak
an ice green robe
an ice green cloak
an ice blue robe
an ice blue cloak
a jet black robe
a jet black cloak
an ice white robe
an ice white cloak
a fire robe
a fire cloak
Gazer Statuette
Fire Elemental Statuette
Wolf Statuette
deed for a decorative shield wall hanging
deed for a hanging skeleton decoration
deed for a stone ankh
Happy Birthday! Thank you for celebrating 5 years of glorious adventure with Ultima Online Happy Birthday! Thank you for celebrating 5 years of glorious adventure with Ultima Online
|
^ top-More Pixel Crack a Commin
[LeallaRBP] September 24 - 12:00 PM EDT | Yep that's right folks, hurry on over to your favorite Banksitter and get your order in.
From the update center over at UO.com
We have released a client patch today, on Tuesday, September 24th CDT, that contains the following changes:
Both 2D and 3D clients
Support for new vet rewards ridables.
WooWoo!
Till Next Time...
Lealla |
^ top-Adrick Speaks About Factions.
[Nieves] September 24 - 6:32 AM EDT | Read about it here.
Then give your comments here.
Also, you can look to see some Age of Shadows stuff listed above.
This is the one post that caught my eye: The faction changes he mentioned in that post are ones we have been asking for on the uo.com boards since factions began, the only way we get it is in an add-on we have to pay for...... OSI screw up and make us pay for it to be fixed, cute.
Note: Because Pop Up Ads suck, you have to hit back when you get to the above links.
Hasta. |
^ top-Stratics Murderer Forum
[FrozenFire] September 23 - 2:59 PM EDT | I thought this was an contradiction if there ever was one: Stratics and Murderer in the same sentence? But apparently it's all good. After reading this post on our forums, I have to admit I may have been too quick to judge.
If the Stratics Murderer Forum can convert even one player to enjoying, or at least understand, the feluccan way of life, its a huge success.
Thanks to Cecilia of Baja for digging out this post from Stratics.
|
^ top-While on the subject on telling it like it is. . .
[FrozenFire] September 23 - 11:59 AM EDT | Wouldn't it be nice if OSI started telling the players "like it is" too? Frankly, I am tired of being told time and time again how "smooth", "exciting" or "great" this or that in UO is. Whenever OSI mentions something thats not positive (rare enough) they always speak cryptically about "issues".
I do not like being half lied to, and, surprise, noone else does either. Tell us straight "like it is". Openly admitting mistakes also means assuming responibility for them, and thats something Ill respect any day. Thats why I welcomed the way MrTact handled the TestCenter housing debacle.
Trying and failing is fine. As long as you don't try to cover it up. Honesty is a virtue. At least it says so on my virtue gump. Spread the word. |
^ top-The Samurai Cuts It Up
[Nieves] September 23 - 10:14 AM EDT | Two words:
"quit or shutup."
-dies laughing- ...
You got to read the rest of it. OSI gets schooled by the Samurai of UOPG.
Scroll down to ShinHiryuKagetsu's post.
For the record, his math is wrong. UO has 208,000+ subscribers (that's before the Lake Austin newbie char madness). And there is a difference between a 85 Char you buy from OSI and a GMed out char you buy on EBAY. At least one, at one point, was earned by someone.
Hasta. |
^ top-40 Bucks For AoS
[Nieves] September 23 - 10:06 AM EDT | At least that's what they tell me.
Um...right.
Hasta. |
^ top-Telling it like it is. . .
[FrozenFire] September 21 - 8:38 AM EDT | Sunsword is back as producer of "UO Live" (what do all those fancy titles really mean anyway?) and wants the players to "tell it like it is". Well if he'd head over here instead of staying in the fervent sycophant heaven that make out the uo.com boards he'd get some real feedback.
Its like this. . .
The tip of this iceberg can be found drifting here. So head your Titanic over there and do your damage. |
^ top-Cynthe Speaks
[Nieves] September 20 - 3:50 PM EDT | Let me get some tissue.
And if you go here, you might need it too.
(And no, not just for my potty mouth!)
Hasta. |
^ top-Powergaming 2.2k
[Nieves] September 20 - 9:13 AM EDT | Buy a Tamer.
Buy a Scribe Mage.
Buy a Smith.
Tame 5 Frenzied Ostards and use the Tamer to farm gold. Buy a large house.
Buy regs and ingots while still in newbie status.
Get a boat.
GM out the Scribe Mage. Kill folks. Earn loot.
Put the Tamer in Factions, farm the fuck out of silver. After a month, drop the Tamer from Factions.
GM out the Smith (add hiding and magery). Get the BoD system rolling. Get some Runics. Put the Smith in the Faction of your choice. Sell the blessed runics for an insane amount.
Get some other tamer friends and hit the Champion spawns and farm the scrolls. Sell the scrolls at the Bank or on EBAY.
6x120 the Scribe Mage (think: rewards).
Take that account, sell it on EBAY.
Rinse, repeat.
The poor man's way:
Get a 50/50 cartographer, camp the map makers, use your newbie status to buy up scrolls like mad, and then buy and/or place houses, sell on EBAY. Rinse repeat.
Note: Newbie characters have auto respawn of vendors. Remember that when you create a new account. Makes resource shopping so much easier on your home shards.
Kthxbye.
Hasta. |
^ top-Meerkat Speaks
[Nieves] September 20 - 8:56 AM EDT | Stolen from Ianstorm:
Personally, I feel that this is a poorly thought out idea that plays solely to the generation of players who demand instant gratification in all they do. In their other games they use cheat codes to reach God mode...in UO they can just shell out $30 and bypass the messy necessity of actually working to develop a character.
This is nice for short term enjoyment of the game, but it is a well known fact that things you have to work for mean a lot more to you. A player who spends hours building his character not only develops an attachment to that character but also to the game itself as he learns its intricacies. Building a character demands commitment which in turn often results in long-term playing of the game, since so much has been invested in it. The investment of money is quickly forgotten and its importance diminished...but long hours exploring the world of Britannia and killing mongbats, then lizardmen, then orcs and so on ...will never be forgotten and give a dividend of true players who love this game. Those early days of danger keenly felt as we explored and died when the world was new to us are times none of us will ever forget. Had we simply bought competent players, I seriously doubt that our feelings would have the same depth and probably many of us would not be here at all.
The instant gratification players rarely stay long...they are quick to hop from game to game with the goal of "winning" it and when boredom takes over---as it always does---they move on to the next challenge. When using cheats (and I consider buying a premade character a form of cheating, sorry), challenges are few and boredom is frequent. Is this the atmosphere you wish to create for UO? A transient group of players coming and going every few months while the large player base of veterans becomes more and more disillusioned and disenfranchised is what I see on the horizon should this plan become a reality.
Yes, I'm a vet since Nov. '97 and I'm not going to say just because I worked my tail off gaining skills over the years everyone should have to...but I am saying that it contributed a great deal to my enjoyment of the game as I grew more competent and gained more pride in my character. It was something I created and worked hard for and five years later I'm still here because it means something to me!
In every RPG..single player or multiplayer, character development is an essential component. It requires strategy and hard work and usually a lot of dying but makes the game a personal quest. Can you imagine starting out any game with a powerful team? How interesting would that be? For a player used to playing in God mode it might be the norm, but it is not the way of RPGs..nor should it be a part of UO. Some things are intrinsic to a game and should remain that way if it is to retain its soul.
There are many players of games out there...face it, we can't attract all of them...this isn't Quake or Halflife ...and it shouldn't try to be. Perhaps the kinds of players who want swift player development so they can get done here and go on to the next game aren't the ones we need in the UO community. Maybe they are better off in a different kind of game. And maybe we should quit trying to lure them in and focus on players who are willing to put effort into this game with some notion of long term commitment. In the long run UO and its players will come out ahead.
Well said Meer.
Hasta. |
^ top-"I Apologize".
[Nieves] September 20 - 7:56 AM EDT | …The "it's not a mirror" post was a mistake on my part and one that I've learned a great deal from.
I'm only going to address it this once so we can get it out of the way. I apologize. It was a mistake.
We all make mistakes, and the best we can do is learn from them and avoid making them in the future.
I can only hope that you remember the many good things I was able to accomplish before I departed OSI, such as improving house security (lockdowns) and adding skill locks. During my tenure I was also able to greatly improve the publish process and service quality. "Patch day" lost a great deal of its dreadful reputation because of the process I was able to get in place.
Again, I can only acknowledge the mistake and endeavor to earn your trust. I'm confident that my actions and the performance of the OSI Team will back that up.
There's a lot of great stuff coming up for UO and I look forward to being a part of it.
--SunSword
First Mr. Tact. Now Sunsword.
Will 2003 be a much better year for UO? Will we give a shit after this week's bullshit?
I might have to stick around and see. Might.
Hasta. |
^ top-If You Don't Know.
[Nieves] September 19 - 7:43 PM EDT | Mount Fatigue is in on Lake Austin....
Hasta. |
^ top-Oh OSi...?
[Nieves] September 19 - 4:47 PM EDT | New shard+advanced char 'system' = $$.
Thank you OSI's Marketing Department. Thank you for your short sightedness and ignorance.
Hasta. |
^ top-Credit??
[LadyGrania] September 19 - 1:47 PM EDT | Credit?
Did I read tht right?? Nieves and Reeda are bickering over credit??
Pardon my naivete, but I thought sites like UO Powergamers and The Taming Archive were about bringing information to the players. Seems to me, we've succeeded on that point.
While the chart that was posted on the front page did link back to The Taming Archive and my cut and paste to the forums did not (my aplogies for the oversight - I didn't realize it was done for credit), it seems it still informed the players! Did it not serve it's purpose?
Good grief, what big heads we have here.
I tell you what...ya'll quibble over who did what. I'll still find and bring information to the players and readers. (I'll try to remember it's done for credit).
Oh, and one last thing.. Feel free to copy and paste anything I write if what I write is informative and helpful. And if it makes you feel good, take the credit for yourself, I don't care.
LG |
^ top-Oh SURE!
[Nieves] September 19 - 12:04 AM EDT | Lealla gets interviewed by UOStratics!? Mhm...I see how it is. Interview only the non-controversial folks right??
Just kidding.
Awesome Lealla.
I told you how it would go didn't I? And now, it's paying off.
Congratulations.
Hasta. |
^ top-It's all too easy damnit!
[Carthax] September 18 - 7:56 PM EDT | Valour virtue and the new scenario hit my shard today, I thought cool, maybe a chance to get rid of the altar gimps..WRONG. I do one spawn at terra keep, not exactly busting my hump either, and I'm lvl 2 valour already?!? Tip for the day on that one, EQ in heavy spawn and wait for others to kill the stuff for you. You'll get Valour gains spamming you up nicely. I figure one maybe 2 more spawns and I can go back to hiding around the altar. This really needs to be addressed ASAP. Risk VS Reward remember that novel idea? Looked good on paper didn't it.
When is OSI going to realise that players want challenge in this game? Why do you play? The latest in r33+ pixel crack or because you like a challenge? Every scenario, every patch I pray for something truly worthy of some synapsys firing, but what do I get? More of the usual crap that spews forth from the collective minds of a group of people that would be lucky if they could program thier own VCRs. The one crowning moment for them would have been the puzzle thingos (thats the technical term for them) during the gargoyle scenario, at least that made me buy a bottle and settle in for the night knowing that I had some hard thinking ahead of me.
Shall we mention the Ants scenario? No let's not, exp, exp, corp por...next! Oh and there's some lovely crack for all you addicts out there. I know it's early days yet but pink mushrooms and shit?...I don't know. Tip for Solen Warriors..don't stand in the acid when you loot them, I found that out the hard way. Other than that it's a no brainer. |
^ top-Nieves Gets Into Trouble
[Nieves] September 18 - 6:57 PM EDT | I used to have respect for UO Powergamers, since they at least tried to have accurate information, unlike certain other "mainstream" sources. But, you know what? Not anymore.
Earlier this month, someone (either on the forum or in an email) copied and pasted an older version of this chart and passed it on to the UOPG staff and it made front page news. I didn't have a problem with that, since they at least linked to where they found the information.
So the other day, they update their melee skills page and guess what appears right at the top of it? You guessed it, the same chart that was previously headline news. Only this time, I didn't receive a link. I was a little pissed, but I calmly emailed them yesterday morning pointing out that if they're going to copy and paste, they need to give credit to the people who originally did the legwork.
I figured that 24 hours should be plenty of time for them to fix the mistake. So I check today. Well, they added the link pointing to my chart saying that "You can also find the above information here at the Taming Archive" and followed it up with "The information was initially gathered from the UOPG Forum".
I just want to say, Nieves, you got a lot of balls making it sound like you did the initial work (which guess what? comes from MY forum, not yours) and that I have a copy of your chart, which was mine to begin with. If anyone has something they would like to say to Nieves, feel free to drop him a line.
Reena Dae
What is it Reena Dae is talking about? Here I will show you:
Excuse me, but I emailed her back already about the situation and what I
would do.
From the latest version of the Melee Guide (http://www.uopowergamers.com/s-melee_pub16.shtml):
[Information Gathered from: Sarix, Old UOPG Guide, Old Phazer Skills Guides,
personal experience, UOStratics, UOPG Readers, and other sources.
You can also find the above information here at the Taming Archive. The information
was initially gathered from the UOPG Forum here. ]
Both instances of the word "here" are links.
This morning's update: http://www.uopowergamers.com/index.shtml#newsitem1032360420,91267,
Here is what I told Reena:
> Actually, that chart was gathered from the UOPG Forum. Here is where I got it from:
>
> http://uopg.falsehope.com/viewthread.php?tid=1951
>
> As far as I was concerned, I had given proper credit to the person that got the information and posted it to UOPG's forum. Had I known you had such a page so similar I would've linked back to you as well. How would I know yours was the source? Could I have looked? Yes, but I didn't think your Taming Archive had such information.
>
> Additionally, I want to note the bottom of the skills page: "Information Gathered from: Old UOPG Guide, Old Phazer Skills Guides, personal experience, UOStratics, UOPG Readers, and other sources."
>
> I am sorry if you are disappointed by it but I would've hoped you yourself would've asked where it was I got my information as opposed to a blatant accusation.
>
> As a courtesy, I will add that you can also find the same information on your site with the link you just provided.
>
> Additionally, I will be posting a Monsters Skills and Stats page to UOPG in the near future. I want to note this was gathered by a different player and sent to me as an Excel File with Averages (5 samples taken with an average). As a courtesy for that set of data, I will also link your site that has similar information for additional player research and information.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Hasta.
As I told her, I didn't notice the similarities in the information within her Taming Archives and what was posted there. I gave credit where I thought it was due.
If you note in the thread I got the information from, I made that original post on UOPG on the following date:
"[Nieves] August 1 - 12:56 PM EDT
For all of those who wonder what to hit and when. "
So it's been out there for a while.
I am sorry she is upset. She made her grievance known, I edited my page and linked back to the Taming Archive. Credit has been given, The Taming Archive linked. What more is it that I can do?
Hasta.
So, I lose respect with Reeda because I didn't give her 'enough' credit for something I found in the UOPG Forum and had posted on the Front page a month ago which was reposted to the UOPG Forum by Grania?
I played nice. I could've said: "shut the fuck up and get over it bitch. I got it in the UOPG Forum, how the fuck am I supposed to know you had the same shit? I mean, I have been to your website like 5 times since I have known UO existed!? FUCKING PUHLEASE!"
But no, I played nice. I linked her. I explained the situation. Not enough.
Edit: http://www.uopowergamers.com/a-aug02.shtml Look for August 1st towards the bottom.
I initially linked to the Taming Archive in that post. But it was not linked in the melee page nor in the forum thread. I first saw it in the UOPG Forum. It was an oversight. Sue me. I had forgotten about that Table or that there was an actual link to the Taming Archive in the original post. Grania reminded me of it by reposting it. The Melee page was born. I added it to the UOPG Melee Page. Ree bitched. You see the result.
Wahfuckingboo.
Anyway, whatever. In an hour, it won't fucking matter. Why? Because I got more important things than to worry about someone crying over a fucking table of data that ANYONE, with some time and effort, could've gathered themselves. Sorry to ruin your whole life.
Have a good night.
Hasta. |
^ top-Nail, Meet Coffin
[Hennarr] September 18 - 6:14 PM EDT | We, the actual gamers who play UO, have seen many things that have completely and utterly outraged us. We’ve seen the most unique, ground-breaking, “deep” MMORPG experience continually dumbed-down and altered to fit into a new market. We, the serious gamers, the ones who have supported UO from the beginning and have gotten hopelessly hooked on the systems that were with UO when it launched have constantly been cast aside for the concerns of a vocal minority and a marketing team that is apparently out of touch with computer game players (and the game obviously, I love how they put Taste ID on one of the templates for sale). What we see now is by far the most massive fucking outrage I’ve ever fathomed OSI could perpetuate on what was once the MMORPG by which all others were judged. UO’s gameplay didn’t have a renaissance with UO:R, it had a fall. We are now seeing the first phase of the collapse of the game UO, and it’s alteration into something very different.
I write a lot of rants where I curse and bitch about things, it makes me feel better about continuing to pay for a game that has been heading down a road I’m not interested in traveling on. If not for my friends and my guild, which I now realize could have been made in any other MMORPG, I’d be long gone. It is that way for many of the actual gamers who play UO. All these “exciting” changes to the game bore me. The only things I love in UO were created by the original OSI team, the skill system, the housing, the guild system, and the handful of positive, very few and far between good tweaks to those systems. This is not the best time to be playing UO. Sure the BOD system is nice, but it had to be created because OSI destroyed the most vibrant, realistic, and rewarding player craftsman-driven economy ever in a MMORPG. It’s sickening to remember how a hardworking player merchant could have a robust virtual store selling their wares to other players. Now we have player vendors full of BODs. For me, and the bulk of UO players, re-hued bullshit, scenarios, and so on are worthless. We play UO for the basics of UO and the people we’ve met while playing. With the ability to fucking pay OSI to get a rather developed character, OSI has taken the largest steaming, festering dump on everything that is UO.
I really want to avoid just listening to my impulses to write “fuck OSI” a million times and just updating with that. It’s awful hard. The last few years, the hottest topics that got everyone screaming, even the shut-in losers who are now apparently the main force in the UO playerbase if you look at their official boards, were the things like Ebay and the ability for a player to BUY success in the game ruins the game for everyone else and that with powerhour and stat-gain tricks the ideas of accomplishment and “work” that is extremely important in a MMORPG were all but gone from UO. We all fell for it too. We all believed that Publish 16 and GGS were introduced to bring UO back to its roots. To make having a powerful character feel like an accomplishment and something that kept you paying your ten bucks to keep the character “alive”. Well, it’s pretty fucking clear why stats are so hard to gain now; they were planning on releasing “UO Power-Up!” where you just have to pay thirty bucks to get a solid character with maxed out stats. Or you can be a chump and actually play the game. Why bother now? Any sense of accomplishment in comparison to other players is over. End of story. I love the tagline, “get more out of the game”. Is that an inside joke at OSI about getting more money out of the game? I fail to fucking see how BUYING your accomplishments in a game from the company that runs the game means you get more out of the game! Isn’t it clear to anyone who isn’t dragging their knuckles that this means you’ll be getting less out of the game since we can now not even play the fucking game and simply buy powerful characters?
I know, the skills levels aren’t maxed out, but those are still reasonably easy to gain in, and starting off with your skills at 85’s and 70’s makes it a hell of a lot easier to build a “finished” character. A 85/85/85 tamer with maxed out stats for sale from OSI is unbelievable! UO Power-Up! makes Ebay and power hour look like a joke now. You thought the sense of accomplishment that was the staple of UO was pretty much dead, and Publish 16 and GGS were going to help bring it back to life? Nope, OSI just stomped on the neck of player accomplishment, and immediately devalued everything players have worked on for years to literally nothing. Your characters mean nothing now, the money you spent to work your skills and stats was a waste. This isn’t UO Power-Up!, this is the largest UO Fuck-Up! I’ve ever seen. OSI, why don’t you telegraph how screwed you think UO is a little more? I’m sure gold, housing, and rares will all be put up for sale. Just dial the number and press 2. One of the additional things that made UO magic and unique was the idea of your make-believe shit having a real life value. We’re seeing that removed so OSI can milk its playerbase like never before, while destroying all the factors that make UO a game worthy of being played and addicted to.
People love to shout that the sky is falling, that UO is going to be roxxored by the upcoming competition. This is the first coffin nail. It’s finally happened. Any serious gamer, any player who plays UO for the game UO, instead of living in a fantasy land where you’re always powerful and untouchable by other players, has to be livid about this. If UO is your social crutch, if you live your life on UO message boards, if you’re more concerned with how perfectly your fantasy house is decorated and how syrupy sweet your myUO sig pic is, then I’m sure you don’t care about this. More money for OSI in the short term, may the actual game be damned. I’m a gamer; I want to play a game. I want challenge and I want a sense of accomplishment out of my monthly fees. Instead I’ve seen the best MMORPG turned into some kind of insane experiment for social derelicts and people who don’t get the “game” part of computer games. With bullshit infomercials parading around as “interviews”, I refuse to believe the lies anymore. I refuse to believe that OSI is doing ANYTHING to “fix” UO or anything to make the experience more fun for gamers. It is clear that with the UO Fuck-Up! program, a new era is upon us. Start watering your virtual plants and get some puppy and kitten pics for your board sigs, UO the game is dead. UO, the virtual playground for losers with too much money to spend on make-believe shit is born. I hope someone puts it out of its misery soon.
-Hennarr
Go here to comment, flame, and cry. |
^ top-Sunsword Comes Back
[Nieves] September 18 - 4:20 PM EDT | FINALLY! I can talk about it!
Hail, and well met! My name is Anthony Castoro, also known as "SunSword," and I am very excited to return to Origin as the new Producer of Ultima Online. No doubt many of you may recognize me as a former Lead Designer on Ultima Online. Over the next few weeks, I will be taking up the reins from Bryan "Tajima" Walker, who will be moving over to the critical role of "Director of Studio Operations."
For those of you who don't know me, I've worked in the computer game industry for about 6 years on a variety of games including Cybermage, AH-64D Longbow, Wing Commander 4, Ultima Online, and most recently as Lead Systems Designer on Star Wars Galaxies. I've worked my way up from within the industry starting as a QA tester, then a customer support representative, a game designer, and as a lead designer (twice).
In that time, I've found that one of the things I most enjoy about working in the game industry is the people. I love working with a team to create something. I love interacting with players to hear their thoughts (and gripes!) about their favorite games. And I particularly enjoy helping people figure out how to solve problems. And that's what I'm here to do.
Many things have changed since I last worked on Ultima Online. I got married. UO grew a third dimension. I bought my first house (in real life :)). UO surpassed 200,000 active subscribers. Several new games were launched. Many other games were cancelled. And I became a father.
Amongst all of these changes, one thing has remained constant: the UO community remains strong and vibrant. And it is on the strength of this community that I was able to make the decision to leave the Star Wars Galaxies project and return to Origin. UO has a life of its own and I cannot deny the appeal of working on a project with such a dedicated fan base. There are great things already in development here and, even though I have only been back for a few days, I am extremely impressed with the Origin Team's talent and dedication.
I have a lot of catching up to do, but rest assured, you'll be hearing more from me soon.
Anthony "SunSword" Castoro
Producer, Ultima Online
But is it too late?
Hasta. |
^ top-Oh Gawd
[Nieves] September 18 - 1:03 PM EDT | Please tell me this is a joke.
Edit: And it doesn't look like it. The links work and UO.com has a link to it from their front page.
Why stop at 85 at the high end in the skills? Why not just give me a GM for 50 bucks?
So, now, the feeling of accomplishment of having a character you built is now gone.
Is this money going to go to have better customer service? Does it go to getting more dev team members to help fix bugs?
And finally, why even have Stratics, UOPG or like sites anymore? You can just fucking buy a character.
You know what OSI? Motherfuck you.
Edit: A special note to UOStratics and Ianstorm. I laugh at you. Here are your 'heroes' now.
Hasta. |
^ top-UO 5th Year Anniversary
[Nieves] September 18 - 12:23 PM EDT | AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 18, 2002--ORIGIN(TM), an Electronic Arts (Nasdaq:ERTS - News) development studio, today announced the five-year anniversary of Ultima Online (UO), marking the event with discounts of the latest version of UO and by unveiling a new U.S. shard, an area within the game, where players can get in on the ground floor to begin a brand new adventure. In addition, ORIGIN is launching a retrospective five-year anniversary Web site that will feature original UO art and special moments shared by UO players worldwide. Plus, the anniversary will signal the launch of an in-game presentation of the five-year veteran rewards, which delivers to players collectible items in recognition of their length of citizenship in the game.
Well, well, well, now you know when the 5 year vet rewards will be released.
[...]
In celebration of five years of excellence, ORIGIN is launching a special UO retail promotion. From September 20-30, 2002, fans will be able to buy the latest installment of the game, Ultima Online Lord Blackthorn's Revenge, at a 50 percent discount. Participating retailers include Electronics Boutique, GameStop and Amazon.com.
Interesting.
Additionally, ORIGIN is debuting a new U.S. shard for the first time in four years. The shard, called Lake Austin, will open on September 20, 2002. Access to the new shard will initially be limited to new accounts activated between September 20th, 2002 and October 20th, 2002. After that, the shard will be available to all UO players. The most exciting aspect of the new shard is that it will offer players nearly 10,000 houses -- a feature unique to Ultima Online. These new housing options will significantly add to the fun factor of the game.
Oooh.....
Think Cartographers people. Let the house buying on the shard and selling on EBAY begin!
BTW: It's unique to UO for only a little while longer...
Ooh Age of Shadows blurb: The next version of UO, Ultima Online: Age of Shadows(TM), is due out in February 2003 and will allow players to design and build their own houses. Additionally, the game will introduce two new professions and an exciting new realm to explore and settle.
You can read the rest here.
Thanks to Tal of UOLS.net for the link.
Let me say something: New US Shard = some good. Actually, lots good. Kudos to OSI. 100 Nievesy Cool Points.
Hasta. |
^ top-From Regulus To Finster
[Nieves] September 18 - 10:42 AM EDT | Thanks for the hook up last night. You got us through a bad night with that fire at the complex. It's appreciated.
Hasta. |
^ top-UOPG Publish Update - 09/18/02
[Nieves] September 18 - 9:47 AM EDT | Added a line to the Melee page noting The Tamer's Archive.
Added Frozen Fire's UOAssist Essay to the Essay's Section.
Hasta. |
^ top-GM Anat + GM Eval > Than GM Wrestling
[Nieves] September 17 - 10:08 PM EDT | That's what people are saying....
Hasta. |
^ top-Respost: In Control
[FrozenFire] September 17 - 4:32 PM EDT | Playing a game to the limit means that there can be no weak links. Assuming, you have know your templates and tactics, the only thing between you and r0xx0rhood is connection, right?
Not quite. Knowing what to do when, doesnt mean much if you cant pull it off with your game controls. Anyone who has pvp:d can relate to healing the wrong target and dieing because of it. UO is not exactly known for its smooth interface, and although it has improved over the years, there is still much to do. Perhaps the most important step any UO player can take to improve the interface, is to upgrade the account with UO Assist.
This is the program that had features such as Arm/Disarm and Target Self/Last Target bound to keys, way before OSI added similar functions to the client. If you are into pvp, and you do not have UOA, stop reading now, head over to Tugsoft and download the trial. The trial is free, but if you want to keep using UOAssist after the trial its $15. Considering we all pay $10 each month, thats the best UO-related investment you can make.
Now that you have UOA, we can move on. UOAssist strength is that you can hotkey almost any command (you can even record a set of commands into a macro and bind a key to execute it all in one). This is especially useful to drink potions, arm certain weapon combination for example. Simply using a spell or skill can be done just as well with the normal UO game controls.
If you are anything like me, youll want 10-15 UOA commands, 25-30 spells and perhaps 5 skills on hotkeys. The problem is, where do they all go?. Keyboards only have 12 function keys. Well UOA has some predefined hotkeys, like Insert/Delete, Home/End, PgUp/PgDn and various alt/ctrl combinations of these. But the thing is, to eliminate game controls as your weakest link, you must be comfortable with the controls. And I dont like ctrl+Ins very much.
My personal settings have evolved a few times, and I recently redid my configuration again. To give you an idea on how to configure, Ill share my new configuration here:
First off, I use the mouse in my right hand. Which leaves my left hand free to use the hotkeys. I feel most at ease on the left half of the key board- Also, I dont really like the function keys, at least not those on the right half. I also want to separate offensive and defensive commands to minimise the risk of healing my enemy or blasting myself when Im redlined. Ive used the keys on the left half (in combinations with ctrl/alt) in earlier configurations for voice commands (bank guards, recdu/recsu etc) as well as to bring up gumps like the Paperdoll, Radar and so on. Well no longer, those are now all moved elsewhere. Instead I use those keys (1-6, Q-Y, A-G, Z-B along with control for my offensive spells. Then, I set up basically the same keys for defensive moves with alt combinations. That yielded me roughly 40 keys to use, heres how I decided to configure them:
Ctrl+/Alt+
1 Explosion/ Disarm (UOA)
2 E-Bolt / Arm (UOA)
3 Flame Strike/ Arm1 (UOA)
4 Mind Blast / Arm2 (UOA)
5 Mana Drain / Arm3 (UOA)
6 /Disarm Left Hand (UOA)
Q Poison /Target Self (UOA)
W FireBall / Drink Gheal (UOA)
E Harm /Drink Gcure (UOA)
R Mana Vampire / Drink Trefresh (UOA)
T /Protection
Y /Reactive Armor
A Paralyze / Heal
S Lighning / Cure
D Magic Arrow / Greater Heal
F Meteor Swarm / Invisibility
G Chain Lightning /Magic Reflect
Z Weaken /Strength
X Clumsy /Agility
C Feeblemind / Cunning
V Curse /Bless
B Reveal /
Whats missing? The obvious candidate is Last Target. I have a three button mouse so I bound Last Target to the middle button. Its that important to me.
Other than that, I had a few more options with Alt+ because I use my thumb to press ctrl/alt and when I press alt, I can reach a bit further to the right confortably. I also made a point of making the buff/debuffs being in the order of SDI (Strength/Dexterity/Intelligence), as well as being tied to the same keys for both ctrl and alt. Ie, weaken is ctrl+z and strength alt+z, clumsy/agility goes to x etc. Buff spells cast so quickly, that if you get into a buff/debuff duel youll need to be real fast to come out ahead. Earlier configurations Ive used, have always been lacking in this one.
Odd keys:
After experimenting a bit I found out that UO allows tieing macros to the key between ”Shift” and ”Z”, but they wont save. Same thing with the key to the left of ”1”. After some rechecking with UOA I found out that I could tie UOA macros to the ”key left to 1”. So I promptly tied the Use once agent (to blow up pouches and break para), as well as bandage self to the ctrl/alt kombinations with that key. I use the Tab to toggle war/peace.
So I now have most of my combat related macros set up, and I still have the function keys left:
/Ctrl+ /Alt+
F1 Recall/ Mark/ Unlock
F2 Teleport /NightSight/ Magic Trap
F3 Gate Travel /Resurrection/ Telekinesis
F4 Hiding /Wall of Stone/ Monochrome ;)
I decided to make F5-F8 individual for each character. So My disarm theif would have a few macros for stealing and disarming and so on.
F9-F12 are not really favourite keys for me to use in fast situations (I need to move my hands too much back and forth when reaching for these, which makes for more missed keys), so I put the slow summoning spells there, along with some field spells. Using control on this side of the keyboard is a bit awkward, but work; alt on the other hand is really messy so I decided to not use those combinations:
Ctrl+ / Alt+
F9 Blade Spirit /Poison Field
F10 Energy Vortex /Fire Field
F11 Summon Demon /Energy Field
F12 Dispel Field / Paralyze Field
All other macros, mostly voice commands, some skills, a few spells and opening gumps, were moved to my PC-Dash. The PC dash controller, made by SAITEK, is a secondary keyboard, which connects along with the normal keyboard cable. The great thing about it, is that it lets you tie all sorts of weird keyboard combinations to a single key on it (like ctrl+alt+shift+7 - try doing that one with one hand). However, the downside is that the feeling of its keys is pretty sloppy, and it cant hold all my commands on it. I never liked switching back and forth between the PC-Dash and the key board in a fight. More often than not I had to look at my hands whenever I switched, and thats never a good thing in PvP. So my idea is to keep all nice and slow playing commands on it and focus on the real key board when I need to get the hell out of Dodge. As most of you wont have one, you might have to prioritize between your combat macros.
How you choose to configure your game controls is up to you. Everyone is different; I like to have a lot of commands available, or, my playing style means I may not be using the same commands as often as you do. Think before you assign your commands. I always placed my most important spells/commands where I was comfortable reaching them. I gave some thought to matching the buff/debuff spells on the same keys, making it more natural to find them. This is just to give you some ideas on how you can improve your own configurations and push your playing that much further.
Share your own thoughts and ideas on how to configure the game controls in our Forum. |
^ top-Scnario Info
[Nieves] September 17 - 3:57 PM EDT | From Tal of UOLS.net:
New Monsters:
a black/red solen worker
Relatively weak, about Orc Level
Black bugs in Fel, Red Bugs in Tram
Low Fame Karma
Fully bardable
Unknown if they possess a weakness to Slayer weapons (none was seen in 4 testers)
Loot: ~100 gold, 1-6 zoogi (mushrooms/fungi), random gems
== SUGGESTED TACTICS ==
For Mages, Explosion/E-Bolt works wonderfully, laying most of these out in one. For warriors, just wade in... they don't hit hard.
== SPECIAL LOOT ==
Zoogi - Mushrooms/Fungi. Pure speculation as to their use, stolen from the patched files. "After you have 25 zoogi and you have located the queen solen, you give her the fungi and she gives you a quest. This Quest will give you items like ?Powder? which might charge the bracelets of binding."
Somebody email me some nice 3d pics of these guys at uols@uols.net
a black/red solen warrior
Medium Strong, about Elemental/Deamon Level
Black bugs in Fel, Red Bugs in Tram
Low Fame Karma
Fully bardable
Unknown if they possess a weakness to Slayer weapons (none was seen in 4 testers)
Loot: ~100 - 300 gold, ~3-13 zoogi (mushrooms/fungi), random gems
== SPECIAL ATTACK ==
Warrior Ants will emit globs of acid at players, and if you continue to stand within this acid damage will rapidly excalate.
== SUGGESTED TACTICS ==
Keep your distance, and make sure to stay mobile. Closing to melee with these critters could be deadly! As they die, they will occasionaly explode in a pool of acid. Allow the acid to recede before approaching, as you could kill yourself after the fight is over! Remember, staying close is deadly!
== SPECIAL LOOT ==
a picnic basket: filled with a bottle of wine and wheel of cheese
Powers: none known
Approximately Glacial Staff rarity
== SPECIAL LOOT ==
bracelet of binding
Powers: Unknown at the moment.Gems, Arcane Gems, and some spell combinations have been attempted to charge the item. Speculations from the patch files are that: "Powder, recvd from the queen solen, will allow you to charge these braclets. Afterwards, using the braclet will summon the player to its matched mate."
Attempting to use the item without charges produces the following message: "The bracelet glows black. It must be charged before it can be used again".
Approximately Orc Mask rarity
The best places to find solen appears to be Trinsic, Yew, and Cove FORESTS (not towns), though sightings have been found just about everywhere. The respawn rate is rather slow, so if you see corpses, give it a good 10 minutes before you expect more.
He has pics of it here (yes you need a UO.com account).
Additonally, they have arrows on your Status Gump:
And the Valor Virtue seems to be active.
Also within the UO.com link above, it seems that flowers have been replaced. Is this an attempt to remove the 'bouncing' affect of Rubberband Flowers in UO? I hope so.
Anyone have anymore info, please leave your notes in the forum.
Hasta. |
^ top-Own!
[Nieves] September 17 - 1:39 PM EDT | OSI HEARD MY CRIES ON SUNDAY!
Yes! Er...um...OSI Sucks.
You bring up the Context Menu and set it to the option you want. It then stays that way for all your pickaxes and shovels until you change it again. Very nice. Hopefully it doesn't permanently turn off the Mining Stone ability as a side affect of implementing this 'feature'. Not that I care for myself since I don't care about Mining Stone (I don't know why my smith read that damn book!).
(This is live on Lake Superior for now).
Thanks to Jade for the hard work.
Hasta. |
^ top-Why Break It Down, When Someone Else Does It?
[Nieves] September 17 - 12:21 PM EDT | Yeah yeah, I read Tajima's scripted "chat".
Well, Orion at UOCompendium was kind enough to point out some things I saw.
Interesting. I mean, are there only a few people in the world of UO that 'see' these things screaming out at us?
Oh, and the Gardening System is NOT the best thing to ever hit Ultima Online. That would have to go to the Bulk Order System. That is a Work of Art. Kudos to Hanse. Nearly flawless in design (if you don't include the problems with Runics and Factions <-- and I believe that's Adrick's problem, not Hanse), and other than the "full pack bug" to get better rewards when the Tailoring BoDs hit, I think it was flawless in implementation. Personally, I don't think the "bug" was a problem with the BoD system entirely. More a problem with the way your backpack weight limit is/was managed. And they fixed that quick didn't they? See, I can be positive.
And, again, I put to you all that if they can create the Gardening System and the Bulk Order System, they can do ANYTHING in Ultima Online. You know, like fix all the fucked up bugs (like they did up above), implement everything advertised on the UO:R, UO:3D, and UO:LBR boxes, fix the Guildstone System, implement the promised, updated 3D Avatars, and have good customer service?
(Sorry. You know the F word had to be in there somewhere right?.)
Oh wait, they can't do any of that. Age Of Shadows is the priority. Gee, thanks.
Any bets these 'fixes' or 'promises' will be in the Age Of Shadows box? Any bets I will have to pay for a new CD Key for each of my accounts?
Here is what's sad: we continue to keep these people employed. And I continue to use my sponsor's money to keep UOPG up. Be glad I care about the players and the UO Community (contrary to popular belief). Otherwise, UOPG would've gone * poof * ...
Hasta. |
^ top-Origin Marketers Incorporated
[Nieves] September 17 - 11:25 AM EDT | | "Electronic Arts is taking product placement to the extreme with its next big online PC game offering, The Sims Online. The company announced today an interesting product placement deal with fast-food chain McDonald's and Intel that will see their respective products going beyond the standard "ad in the game" mentality. EA will allow players of this online people simulation game to buy McDonald's Kiosk and sell fast food for cash. Simil |
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