Satisfaction in game

With the general discussion being seemingly an endless complaint jar, I'm curious...

What in game are you happy with and enjoy?

Have a few friends still playing that I enjoy seeing.  Other than that, it's fading fast.

Uriah_Heep said:

Have a few friends still playing that I enjoy seeing.  Other than that, it's fading fast.

Same here, but they are playing less and less, and so am I! I was hunting beacons, but now that is half broken, so, THEN, I was doing some treasure maps, to pass the time, but now ALL of my Trove and Hoard(93%) maps turned into Cache maps. 

WornOutYourTool said:

With the general discussion being seemingly an endless complaint jar, I'm curious...

What in game are you happy with and enjoy?

Consider this: Perhaps "general discussion is a seemingly an endless complaint jar", because, wait for it, there is A LOT to complain about. But not much to "praise". 

I've been gone for a few months, but am coming back from a busy summer, started playing again, got a couple of posts to catch up on... Saw your post, and thought I'd start here, whilst I think a couple of things ingame could do with a slight change, I'm overall not that negative about the game.

• Scope of content is great, it has amazing content.
• PvP is great.
• Champion Spawns are great.
• Felucca is great.
• Siege Perilous is great.
• Many many of the systems are superb. The new Treasure Hunting system, Taming system, the entire BOD system, Lot of the older quest stuff, VvV, Crafting in general, Trade Routes. Gathering skills.
• Lot of the Templates are fun - Tamers, Mages, Bards, Rogues, Warriors etc.
• PvM content is ok, but I won't go to Trammel to do it, and I prefer solo stuff myself.
• The maps, graphics, and design are lovely in Classic mode.

So in general, I like the way the game is designed, and a lot of the systems - However there is the one huge drawback that is negating so much.

It's the RNG - and the Loot Tables. Now Kyronix posted a good thread re what do you like Lootwise - and to my annoyance, I have not responded yet, my life got unbelievably busy, but the truth is, the answer is so indepth, I could write a thesis on it.

Crafting - sort of becomes pointless, the systems are great, the results are meaningless.

Treasure Hunting - I like the new system, but players are moaning about the Loot. I've not played for the Loot for years, so it makes no difference to me.

Everywhere, players are moaning about the Loot - YET - we all have a different opinion of what makes good loot or not - and that in itself is the crux of the problem.

On one hand, we all want different loot, on the other, the RNG is giving us such random stuff, we cannot find a use for it ourselves, or believe anyone else could ever find a use for it - when maybe they could. The issue is, matching an item, with the person who wants it - is basically an impossible task. This is why in my opinion, we need a bit more customisation, or a different approach than the current huge meaningless RNG splurge of stuff that doesn't match.

• With a current Resist Cap of 70 - finding so many items with Double or Triple properties in Resists becomes a waste to most players, the item becomes almost worthless, and there are so many of these, we are trying to balance off about 20 to 30 different properties on our Suits, and when 2-3 mods go into 1 area, you are losing out in others. One idea of mine for a solution to make Loot more viable again - is to increase the Resists Cap from 70 to 100. Don't make the actual resists any more powerful than they already are, just pro rata the current mechanism up to a new 100 Resist Cap. This would make more use of current Loot properties, and make more of it seem to have more point again. You could really be in a situation again, where you chose between Resists or additional Properties.

• All the Negative Properties on Items - are exactly that, they are a Negative, they are a waste of a property. Antique, Brittle, FC-1, Irreparable, Unwieldy, Massive, Mage Armour, Use Best Weapon Skill, the double/triple resist boosts when not required to meet the cap, Dexxer and Mage properties being mixed in together (who really wants 10SSI mixed in with 15SDI?). The point here is, I've listed about 10+ Negative issues out of about 80 odd Properties when we are trying to build suits to optimise say 30 odd Properties.

The entire RNG is against every single one of us. We are never personally going to find what we want, and no-one will know what we want or consider good, so we will never find it amongst the 1 Trillion (what we consider) Trash items out there. It's an exercise in futility, leading most to just give up and say all the Loot is crap.

All of the above issues with Loot, negate an entire games-worth of great content to quite a large degree.

I love to come home, I love to relax and play a bit of UO for the content, then eventually, the entire mess with the Loot gets me down. I collect Legendary items, I give up, I unravel them all, then I get optimistic again, then I unravel them all again. PvM has very little meaning to me, because the Loot has no meaning to me, for the reasons I have mentioned above.

How to fix it?

Give Crafting more customisation on Looted Items?

Let me write my thesis on what makes a good item?

Get rid of some of the Negative Properties, give us a better chance?

Try and make the Matching of Properties better for the most popular Templates? Even create certain sets that have a certain set of properties towards certain popular Templates? (Much more powerful than the current weak as anything ones that exist ingame atm) - OR just boost them all tons.

Get rid of the bloody RNG?

Oh there is a lot of things I like about the game, but I just came back a year or so ago. The Taming changes are nice, had fun during last years holiday content, and housing. I have met a lot of great people.

The things that are incredibly frustrating are the bugs and change just for the sake of change(Treasure hunting). Does anybody test things before pushing it out just to maintain schedules? I won't even get into the unattended "players".

Why in a game this old should I have to buy all these separate upgrades, you would think my monthly subscription would cover it. Why don't the devs spend a few minutes on the forums and in game DAILY to get the pulse of the people. Don't tell me they are busy fixing bugs. 

The over moderation on these forums is also crazy. They wonder why no one comes here. Its the same 30-40 people posting and they are dropping. Lighten up a tad.

This could be a great game again. Its still good, but the amount of old and new bugs are killing it. 

Same old problem few people post a positive review. Most only spend the time to write something  if they want to bitch about something.

Tim said:

Same old problem few people post a positive review. Most only spend the time to write something  if they want to bitch about something.

I think UO would have had a much larger starting population if the first review in PC Gamer was not so bad.

I have fun everyday.  Play solo, in a group. Play deco, do BODs, build pets.  Many things to do. Many things I have never done.

I can only speak for myself.  I've recently come back to UO after a very long hiatus (8 or 9 years).  In that time I've tried dozens of 'modern' MMOs, including Shroud of the Avatar--still have hope for it.  I came to the conclusion that none of these gave me anywhere near the fun and satisfaction I had experienced in UO.  Now that I'm back, I'm surprised and impressed with the changes.  I'm actually having FUN again!  I hope UO lasts for another 20 years!

I love every minute I spend in the game, and at my age, with few commitments, that's a lot of minutes.

Is it perfect? heck no! but what is? 
I play my own game, alone or with friends, and don't worry too much about what other people are up to unless they directly affect me.

I do a wide variety of things, and in a wide variety of places, regularly visiting all facets. I can look at a treasure map for anywhere in game and tell you how to get to the location.

Having logged in to another forum at 8am many times and found that someone 5 hours west of me, ie at 3am, is also logged in. I don't question the dedication of the team.

Having tried to track down a lost > in a page of html, or a lost penny in a balance sheet, I don't question that they are trying to fix bugs, once they can manage to find them.
Recently there was a water leak in the street outside my home. It took them half an hour to fix it
And 4 weeks to find it! 

There's a saying that's probably too old, Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes

I try to practice that. I wish a few others would.

Petra_Fyde said:

There's a saying that's probably too old, Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes

It's not too old for me, hehe.  I'm 63 and have been gaming since the beginning of gaming.  I've also been a developer for 40+ years and I can't even imagine the code base for UO.  But I do know for certain that I experience less bugs and irritations than any other MMO I can think of...

Obviously, being old as dirt, I have not figured out the quote function on this forum, but it is only my 2nd post 8-)

There's an old saying. It goes something to the effect that you can't please everyone all of the time. This is especially true in a customer service type setting such as this.

There are things I absolutely can't stand, things I would like to see changed and things I would like to see brought back but in the end, I can always find something to happily occupy my time. There are multiple things I haven't even done yet and I've been playing 20 years.

At this moment my biggest peeve is the economy and the vast difference between crafted and loot gear but it won't stop me from playing.  

My most positive review has to be the taming changes. It was an absolutely brilliant change that deserves the biggest pat on the back to whoever thought this up.

Urge said:

There's an old saying. It goes something to the effect that you can't please everyone all of the time. This is especially true in a customer service type setting such as this.

For sure, just as I talk to people and read forums I got the impression that a lot of people flat out hate the game.  So was thinking "damn they're miserable... Why are they even here?". 

I'm here for fel life, crafting and uo lets me have freedom to do silly things/help players.

Love it despite lack of polish.

Agree with Tyrath  and Petra. Ive been playing for 20+ years and lately as retired. So lots of hours.  Ive been sniffing on most things and there are enough cherries to pick to have fun most every day. Guild life , guild hunts and guild shop always. Global events are great . Right now its castle building , decorating, t-hunts and  fishing that is  my focus. I dont enjoy taming but im glad others enjoy it and keep on playing. The diversity makes UO great!

i like almost everything in the game. could things use tweaks or bugfixes here and there? sure. doesnt kill my enjoyment of whats there at all though.

I enjoy playing most days.  Like Tyrath I've taken nearly five years off in average six month breaks. One break lasted two years. So my twenty years old account has fifteen veteran years.

I would like to see a year of the developers squashing bugs and finishing systems that have been long neglected.  There's a ton of house tiles missing from the customization tool.  There's a ton of artwork that needs polishing.

My turn.

TLDR:
I've had a love affair with Sosaria since 1997... it is a lifestyle, not just a game. Without it, I don't think I'd be where I am today.


~~~~~

Being a "Mac Goddess" in print/publishing/marketing - I didn't think PeeCees could do anything but calculate a spreadsheet, until my sister showed me Sosaria (she was cow-tipping) and explained that the other toon on the screen was her husband (who was on deployment somewhere in the middle of the ocean, and his toon just got butchered by a rat). I was amazed. She let me log into her account, and Kirthag stepped away from the Empath Abbey as a Tailor - only to be quickly slain by some passing PKer (red!) RP-ing an orc on Atlantic. He continued to res-kill me for about 10 minutes as I kept reporting the murder and screaming at the monitor as my sister kept laughing at me. I decided then I was gonna get my revenge on all orcs.

It is an event I will never forget - it was Friday night (I know it was Friday because my sister initially wanted to drag my butt to town for dancing) November 14, 1997. I was hooked and played that entire night on her account. Later, when sis wasn't around, I would log into her account on my new Kirthag and train with people at the "All Yew Need (AYN)" guild house in Yew. I found this new passion, which helped to pull me out of the depression of divorce and loss, to explore this online realm. I created my own account in 1999, and at that time settled in Napa (for a much better ping to Hawaii than Atlantic shard provided).

The internet boomed, and I changed my career to more web-related than print-related; all because I learned this crucial lesson: A computer is not defined by its OS, but by what it can do - which is limited only by one's lack of imagination. (Yes, UO taught me this.)

I made awesome friends and enemies (you all know who you are), rode the gamut of emotional connections (RP'd weddings, families, RL deaths, wars), held several accounts (at max I had 12 accounts running), lead several guilds (5th Co. of Yew, Bringers of Light, Napa Valley Merchant's Association), amassed unspeakable amounts of pixels (and lost even more), moved shards (Atlantic to Napa to Pacific), explored facets (still prefer Felluca), bemoaned changes (loss of Bounty System, loss of Seers, Trammel, AoS), exalted in victories (slaying that AW for the first time was exhilarating, finally GM-ing Blacksmithing after 10 years!), assisted communities (Napa Roleplayers, Red Eye Tavern Story Nights, Stratics)...

And it continues.

                  And I hope it continues. 

~~~~~

It's not easy explaining this passion to people who were not involved in the early days of UO. For many of us, it is not just a game - it has become a part of our daily lives. We laugh when we read the, "You know you're addicted to UO when..." posts, but they are really true - and it has all surpassed addiction to become a lifestyle. And no, we are not part of the general  "gamer lifestyle" that permeates the /r or 4chan worlds - we are a class unto ourselves. Participating in UO for 20-some years is not just a passing phase or something you just do to kill time. I know people who would plan work meetings and family gatherings around UO events - myself included. This isn't "just a game" for entertainment - and this is what confounds people who don't know. They see video games, we see common human activity with purpose.

Ever log in to UO sitting in an LAX terminal waiting for your delayed flight? Yeah, that's me - laptop plugged into the wall siphoning free wifi from Starbucks, sitting cross-legged on the cold terminus floor, and moving pixel-resources from my chest into a trade window for a friend in need. Or how about sitting at the truck-stop diner with your laptop and hotspot, logged-in to UO just to bank-sit with another person who is distraught over yet another extended deployment of her new husband in Afghanistan? Or maybe that was me sitting in the park with a pad of paper and pencil since my laptop's battery died, but I'm penning another itinerary for an event, writing another short story for a story-night, or sketching another character pic requested by a friend.

Do I play other games? Sure I do, and they are just that, games. My iPhone has all sorts of quick little games (TsumTsum anyone?) and even that short-lived UO game (what was it called again?!). I contributed greatly to SotA (even when I really couldn't afford to, but I still believe it could be a wonderful game) and am looking forward to budgeting my time to jump in there again (when I have my gaming rig set back up). I've got a paladin in WoW, a ship in EVE, another warrior in ESO, and I believe my bunny-eared knight is still in RO2. But, those are games which can be easily left behind should someone ping me and ask for some help in UO. At a moment's notice, if my laptop is nearby and I have wifi, I'll be logging into UO for something. 

I think this is why we are all so interested in the development of systems that run this world, and why some of us get really impassioned when something goes terribly wrong or wonderfully right. This puts a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety on the shoulders of people employed by Broadsword - on one hand it is a job, but they are also part of the community and they also have emotional stake in what is happening for it is not just a paycheck to them, but part of their lifestyles as well. Particularly for those who have been involved the longest. I give kudos to Kyronix who replies and I understand why Bleak remains silent. I sympathize with Mesanna who has to juggle all this, and I wonder about all the other devs (some who are no longer involved with the workings, but still login to UO).

At the same time as a customer, I get frustrated - then reconsider my verbose fingerings on the keyboard when something doesn't go exactly how I want it to... for if I were in their shoes (and to an extent, I was for a while - albeit not with Broadsword), I would still have to deal with the issues in a way to please the participating customer, or I wouldn't be doing this anymore and I'd be stuck looking for a new job (hmmm....).

~~~~~

I digress.

There will ALWAYS be Kirthag in Sosaria, so long as the servers are live. I just cannot picture her being in any other world (and she's tried, believe me). Could get close with Diablo (Sonya is a very close representation of Kirthag from her early D&D days circa the 1980s) but the guided game-play can only entertain me for so long.

I need the sandbox world.
I need my custom home building.
I need the community I love to hate to love.
I need to go kill all the Orcs around Yew.

Cornfellow said:

Petra_Fyde said:

There's a saying that's probably too old, Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes

It's not too old for me, hehe.  I'm 63 and have been gaming since the beginning of gaming.  I've also been a developer for 40+ years and I can't even imagine the code base for UO.  But I do know for certain that I experience less bugs and irritations than any other MMO I can think of...

Obviously, being old as dirt, I have not figured out the quote function on this forum, but it is only my 2nd post 8-)

I feel like he does, I just came back about 6 months ago after a 10 year break from UO in which time I have played many many other MMO's none of them are as satisfying to me as UO.

Kirthag said:

My turn.

No kidding, post of the century right here.  You need to run broadsword

Always been a character builder myself. I have too many characters on too many shards on too many accounts. Now I'm anxiously waiting for the new commission vendor that was announced. If it turns out well I might focus on building a shop. So I'm having fun gathering as much stuff as I can!