The Lack of Communication from Broadsword is Disheartening: New Legacy

...but we have a 1 day Summer Solstice festival today (2 weeks after the actual Summer Solstice) where everyone can get some totally useless decoration; assuming they are on the east coast and can miss work to attend.

 

I don't know what to say at this point that wouldn't be a rehash of what I've already said. There was a comment in another thread about people leaving because this forum was nothing but people beating a dead horse. However, that's the problem there's nothing to move the conversation forward (e.g., an update and transparency regarding the development roadmap).

Karyn said:

I don't know what to say at this point that wouldn't be a rehash of what I've already said. There was a comment in another thread about people leaving because this forum was nothing but people beating a dead horse. However, that's the problem there's nothing to move the conversation forward (e.g., an update and transparency regarding the development roadmap).

But what do we have to do to get the conversation going forward? We’ve all stated how any kind of communication helps, but it seems we never get one. 

NL to me is just an awful idea and I hope it goes away. After a year they wipe all progress? Are they serious? It's like they have no idea about the community at all. Wish they would have just updated the 2D client or fixed bugs or something, Just my 2c...

MacroPlanet said:.

But what do we have to do to get the conversation going forward? We’ve all stated how any kind of communication helps, but it seems we never get one. 

We, as players, can do nothing to move the conversation forward at this point. Everything requires communication from the Developers regarding the current state of the game and the future roadmap that adds value.

M&G have zero value because they provide nothing of substances - we need a regular cadence of developer updates. People will complain because something isn't being implemented how they want it to, but that's part of any MMO. The Newsletters are nothing but fluff and have gotten to the point where you can tell they're done haphazardly and provide no value. We, as players, aren't the customer here; we're the commodity (shareholders are the customer). However, like any good crop, it needs to be tended and cultivated - that isn't happening here. 

UO desperately needs some change in communication and transparency or it will continue to wither on the vine. The sad part is that the effort to implement this is minimal.

I absolutely agree with your statement about how no value is brought to this game and that's what's so concerning. There are probably several people in this world that would be the perfect fit for that position.

Look at Everquest, for example. The game is almost just as old as UO and yet the amount of love and attention the game get is unmatched for an older MMO. The fans communicate to the developers and the developers engage back. They constantly release great content for the retail version and constantly new content for the classic progression version. I know it's probably not fair to compare the two for several reasons, but it stands out to me of what UO could be like if we had that same love.

The problem is, that it feels like there will never be change at this point. Once Mesanna leaves, does Broadsword just close the servers? Surely she see us in here begging for any kind of communication on the state of the game.

It's so frustrating.

To play devil’s advocate, I don’t blame them for the radio silence because they would just get trolled or personally attacked viciously. A bit of a no-win situation: if you say you have nothing to show for New Legacy, then you’ll get criticized. If you do show incremental progress, you risk showing things that haven’t really been finalized and yet more trolling. Better to wait for the biggest bang for your buck, so to speak.

That said, with NL there has been a missed opportunity to professionalize the team’s relationship with the community by showcasing updates, providing a roadmap, etc. I think it’s unfair to expect developers, who are technical people, to interface with customers. Better to let someone who’s trained in that fill that role, but I don’t think the team is ramping up in that direction.

I’m hoping to be surprised by NL, and hopefully the team takes this feedback constructively as evidence of how passionately people feel for the game.

loop said:

To play devil’s advocate, I don’t blame them for the radio silence because they would just get trolled or personally attacked viciously. A bit of a no-win situation: if you say you have nothing to show for New Legacy, then you’ll get criticized. If you do show incremental progress, you risk showing things that haven’t really been finalized and yet more trolling. Better to wait for the biggest bang for your buck, so to speak.

That said, with NL there has been a missed opportunity to professionalize the team’s relationship with the community by showcasing updates, providing a roadmap, etc. I think it’s unfair to expect developers, who are technical people, to interface with customers. Better to let someone who’s trained in that fill that role, but I don’t think the team is ramping up in that direction.

I’m hoping to be surprised by NL, and hopefully the team takes this feedback constructively as evidence of how passionately people feel for the game.

Do you still go to work when customers are mean? Maybe if Mesanna is too sensitive she should seek different employment 

Kind of proves my point, Grimbeard. More communication would be great, but I don’t know that the quality of communication on this forum lends itself to constructive conversation. 

loop said:

Kind of proves my point, Grimbeard. More communication would be great, but I don’t know that the quality of communication on this forum lends itself to constructive conversation. 

It would be better for the team to provide updates through their website posts or newsletter, which have been lacking.

I totally agree there are many ways that involve no interaction with the players 

loop said:

Kind of proves my point, Grimbeard. More communication would be great, but I don’t know that the quality of communication on this forum lends itself to constructive conversation. 

It would be better for the team to provide updates through their website posts or newsletter, which have been lacking.

This is why the M&G and updates via the forums are not the path forward to increasing communication. The dev team has shown that they do not take criticism the best (which I can completely understand, not everyone likes constructive feedback nor knows how to deal with non-constructive feedback). A particularly frustrated section of the player base is more than happy to take advantage of that. 

I will disagree with you a bit on NL, they may not have much to show, but they do have a roadmap and SHOULD have a clear understanding of the goals of these system changes. They should most certainly be discussing those at a high level. Look at D4 and the information they were pumping out via developer updates. We had a pretty good idea of what was going on with development and the end goal. Plus, not everything is about NL, what is going on with the Prod environments, and what are the plans for improvements (if any)? There is a ton of things of substance to talk about.

"to be fair, 

let us ask some rhetorical questions,
who is the NL game for?
is it for you the current subscriber who is already paying their subscription?

or are they making something to attract new people or very very old players who played back in the day?
if the answer is the latter, they don't really need to tell you f all 
"

Yoshi said:

"to be fair, 

let us ask some rhetorical questions,
who is the NL game for?
is it for you the current subscriber who is already paying their subscription?

or are they making something to attract new people or very very old players who played back in the day?
if the answer is the latter, they don't really need to tell you f all 
"

To be fair, this isn't just about NL as I stated in the last line of my post. You're right, they don't owe me "F all" as you so eloquently put it, but I expect a certain level of communication and stewardship from a service that I'm purchasing. 

Removed

Karyn said:

loop said:

Kind of proves my point, Grimbeard. More communication would be great, but I don’t know that the quality of communication on this forum lends itself to constructive conversation. 

It would be better for the team to provide updates through their website posts or newsletter, which have been lacking.

This is why the M&G and updates via the forums are not the path forward to increasing communication. The dev team has shown that they do not take criticism the best (which I can completely understand, not everyone likes constructive feedback nor knows how to deal with non-constructive feedback). A particularly frustrated section of the player base is more than happy to take advantage of that. 

I will disagree with you a bit on NL, they may not have much to show, but they do have a roadmap and SHOULD have a clear understanding of the goals of these system changes. They should most certainly be discussing those at a high level. Look at D4 and the information they were pumping out via developer updates. We had a pretty good idea of what was going on with development and the end goal. Plus, not everything is about NL, what is going on with the Prod environments, and what are the plans for improvements (if any)? There is a ton of things of substance to talk about.

Good point. Yeah, I wouldn’t want to compare UO to something as titanic as D4, but there are definitely other old MMOs that are chattier — EverQuest, LOTRO… It’s always made me feel a bit sad that UO never experienced a resurgence the way OSRS did.

The state of MMOs is pretty dismal. Part of me dreads updates as the business standard barrels toward predatory monetization. At least UO has been somewhat restrained in this regard, and NL seems to be a good faith effort to create a new experience.

"there are definitely other old MMOs that are chattier — EverQuest, LOTRO…"

My point exactly. We can't say that communication from the team doesn't happen because it's an old game with no news to share. Plenty of other older MMO's are getting a lot of attention from their developers and quite often.

UO's problem at this point is Broadsword.

MacroPlanet said:

As passionate Ultima Online players, we eagerly awaited the promised alpha release of the New Legacy shard from Broadsword. With the middle of the year now behind us, the absence of any communication regarding the shard's progress has left us hanging in uncertainty.

Transparency and regular updates are vital in any community-driven project, and Broadsword's silence on the matter has left many of us feeling disconnected and disheartened. The anticipation for New Legacy was palpable, with players eager to dive into the revitalized world of Britannia. However, several months have slipped by without a single word from the development team.

While we understand that game development is a complex process with unforeseen challenges, a simple update or acknowledgment of the situation would go a long way in fostering trust and maintaining enthusiasm among the dedicated Ultima Online community. Clear communication is the cornerstone of any successful project, and it is disheartening to witness the lack thereof.

We recognize that crafting an exceptional gaming experience takes time, effort, and attention to detail. Nevertheless, a brief post or message providing insight into the delays or revised timelines would demonstrate respect for the community that has supported Ultima Online over the years.

As passionate players, we eagerly await news of the New Legacy shard's progress, keeping our fingers crossed for a forthcoming update that will reignite the flame of anticipation within our hearts. Let us hope that Broadsword heeds our call for open communication, bridging the gap between expectation and reality, as we embark on this exciting journey into Britannia's new era.

Why does this read like it was written by ChatGPT? lol

MinocMiner said:

MacroPlanet said:

As passionate Ultima... Demonstrate  Britannia's new era.

Why does this read like it was written by ChatGPT? lol

Agreed, that soundex like chatgpt

It's hilarious how anything that was well written is considered an AI prompt.

Please, back on topic. These are the conversations that we need to have.

What was the topic again?

“ I think they have actually bitten off more than they can chew 

Let us consider these things
They already supposed to be maintaining 2 clients and are doing such a bad job at both of them that people having to use a 3rd party one.

they already supposed to be maintaining 2 rule sets, siege perilous and normal shards. Yet every single publish they introduce a new item they seem to have some kind of problem with it not being siege blessable or it being blessed on siege because they forgot to remove bless on siege or something 

now they will be trying to maintain a 3rd rule set…”

Email the EA dude ask for an update k , ty