What you want for the "biggest update ever"

I was thinking about that and..

- Full high res art rework to 2d client
- A new integrated 3rd party client (remove uoassist bring a new program, have a lot of 3rd party program with open code, broadsword can start from that)

How about a date?

I would like it to be a consensual pvp switch made in Felucca.

If it is turned on, you can get 115-120 powerscrolls, if it is turned off
you can only get 105-110 powerscrolls.

Make it like the Ant pit, you have to choose sides before you go in.

No free accounts can go in.

Now pvp'rs can show off their skills to us Trammelites and show us how
fun pvp is, and land the big scrolls!

Just thought about this, constructive criticism is welcome.

Uh, let's tone down the hype train a bit... The developer's never said biggest update ever. Take a deep breath.

From the January 2020 newsletter:
"To build on that legacy and bring Ultima Online to the largest audience ever, the team is in the early stages of designing and building our biggest and boldest endeavor in over a decade!"
https://us9.campaign-archive.com/?u=17d7bd79de495239fca33bcf5&id=bf45620e43

Again, biggest and boldest endeavor in over a decade. Not expansion, etc. And largest audience.

It's probably a mobile port. That's not something I'm advocating for, but that is realistically where the market is. 

EA CEO Andrew Wilson had an earnings call in early May that Venturebeat reported on. In that call he said that EA would be bringing out 14 titles by end of fiscal year 2020 (March 2021). Two of those titles are mobile ports of "existing top ip", I believe through an EA partner.

Not sure if Ultima and DOAC would count as "top ip", but having a partner (Broadsword) working on bringing both the games they manage to mobile would fit with that schedule. It's probably some other "top ip", but the EA release plan is intriguing.    

Arroth_Thaiel said:

Uh, let's tone down the hype train a bit... The developer's never said biggest update ever. Take a deep breath.

From the January 2020 newsletter:
"To build on that legacy and bring Ultima Online to the largest audience ever, the team is in the early stages of designing and building our biggest and boldest endeavor in over a decade!"
https://us9.campaign-archive.com/?u=17d7bd79de495239fca33bcf5&id=bf45620e43

Again, biggest and boldest endeavor in over a decade. Not expansion, etc. And largest audience.

It's probably a mobile port. That's not something I'm advocating for, but that is realistically where the market is. 

EA CEO Andrew Wilson had an earnings call in early May that Venturebeat reported on. In that call he said that EA would be bringing out 14 titles by end of fiscal year 2020 (March 2021). Two of those titles are mobile ports of "existing top ip", I believe through an EA partner.

Not sure if Ultima and DOAC would count as "top ip", but having a partner (Broadsword) working on bringing both the games they manage to mobile would fit with that schedule. It's probably some other "top ip", but the EA release plan is intriguing.    

Nice idea too

how are you going to port uo to mobile? too many buttons. i agree tho i dont think uo is considered a top ip. im sure they are thinking stuff like madden and fifa.
as stated in other threads stepping into felluca IS a pvp toggle. i will never understand why people just want to take more and more pvp away. it dosnt make much sense, how about instead of taking things out of the game and screwing it over further you just make a tram only server where there just isnt a fel. just make it so u cant transfer to or from that server so all the afk scripting that will assuredly happen to farm scrolls doesnt make it back to the normal shards. then all these ppl who complain about scrolls for pets can go to "watered down uo server" and not have to worry about being killed by players.

but i mean we are talking about something they posted in january and most of it looks like its already in, just some store items and a couple vet rewards. this is june..... they havnt posted an update on any of this stuff in 6 months? how about a bi weekly or at least monthly update on this stuff? make the players feel like you give a damn.

We'll see, porting to another platform would be a huge endeavor.

The DAOC team was talking about a Steam release and a classic sever for DAOC. Maybe BS will combine efforts and open Classic servers to coincide with a Steam release for both their games!

Nah, probably not.

I'm going to stick with my original guess from another thread

1. Steam and/or mobile
2. Playable Orcs! (It's probably not playable orcs, but I'm going with that anyway!)

it cant be classic because they dont even know where to begin with making a classic client they basically already stated that before. cant find source code or some such nonsense. freeshards do it all the time but the owner of the ip cant figure it out? plz.

mobile i just dont see as even remotely likely  like i said too complex of a game for a phone how are you going to play a mage on a phone.... u need like 20 macros

easy way to end all the speculation, would again, be  update your community more than once every few months. thats crazy.

I would be happy to see a new version of the Enhanced Client with all of that interface and everything BUT, using the Graphics of the Classic Client....

I just hate wholeheartedly the Enhanced Client Graphics....

drindeth said:

it cant be classic because they dont even know where to begin with making a classic client they basically already stated that before. cant find source code or some such nonsense. freeshards do it all the time but the owner of the ip cant figure it out? plz.

mobile i just dont see as even remotely likely  like i said too complex of a game for a phone how are you going to play a mage on a phone.... u need like 20 macros

easy way to end all the speculation, would again, be  update your community more than once every few months. thats crazy.

This.
Soooo much this.
At this point I couldn't care less, just like the acct page announcement, something promised and never delivered.  This will be the same.

This whole year will have been a wash, with absolutely nothing new to show, except for some new artwork maybe inserted into the old holiday routines.

Townie said:

Mesanna did say that it was not a steam release during a meet and greet. Maybe she was lying who knows but if it's not steam it really makes me wonder what else can bring the game to its largest audience.

Mobile would be a disaster.

Actually, what she said was that Steam was not the big announcement. She did not say that UO would not be released on Steam.

Once again, BS is a fairly small company and since they are talking about releasing DAOC on Steam, UO is probably going to be released on Steam as well. 

I personally think there is a big something, and that something will coincide with a Steam release. Not much point in putting UO in front of the largest audience ever and not having something new and shiny to catch their attention.

As for what that big something is, who knows. We'll find out soon enough. However, what the development team considers a Herculean undertaking due to UO's old code, might not turn out to be such a big thing to us players.

Tamp the hype down, maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised?

P.S. At least we can move past the posters screaming that EA isn't on Steam. 🙂 

jelinidas said:

How about a date?

I think in one of the M&G's they mentioned something about the announcement coming after Pub 109, which is scheduled for June/July. Pub 109 is supposed to have the unified quest system and most of the holiday content (pumpkins, huntmasters, artisan festival). So, looks like the holiday content will arrive a publish early this year, leaving the rest of the year for getting started on whatever it is they are up to....

And no, before anyone says anything, the Dev team never said anything about the announcement in March. They said in January they were starting, starting, to design and build this endeavor and that Pub 108 was coming in March. These two pieces of information were immediately misread by a "reporter" as the biggest thing evah coming in March. People have been whining ever since. It was........Fake News! 

I want a High Seas Champ Spawn and a 5 slot Grizzled Mare.

Classic (Pub 16) Shard. EA saw the success of WoW Classic, and couldn't ignore it, especially knowing they own such an iconic/legendary IP.

Grace said:

I would like it to be a consensual pvp switch made in Felucca.

If it is turned on, you can get 115-120 powerscrolls, if it is turned off
you can only get 105-110 powerscrolls.

Make it like the Ant pit, you have to choose sides before you go in.

No free accounts can go in.

Now pvp'rs can show off their skills to us Trammelites and show us how
fun pvp is, and land the big scrolls!

Just thought about this, constructive criticism is welcome.

Sounds great.  Should post it here: https://forum.uo.com/discussion/6707/pet-only-powerscrolls#latest

That thread has turned to a place the idea would fit.

Can anyone explain to me exactly what is the big deal about UO going to Steam? (Imagine I'm a player that has only ever played UO and has no clue what Steam even is.)

the May Newsletter had an article, Descent by Malachi.




this is the last part of the article. Sounds like upcoming anniversary content. 

when I read about the biggest and boldest endeavor, I thought maybe we would get to travel to where the Titans came from. But first we have to defeat the fellowship and this article mentions the Blackrock Tetrahedron is coming... So it will be up to us to defeat the evil looming over Moonglow.

(I'm actually surprised this article was in the newsletter and not posted to the webpage)

Marge said:

Can anyone explain to me exactly what is the big deal about UO going to Steam? (Imagine I'm a player that has only ever played UO and has no clue what Steam even is.)

Many years ago you had to put a game on a shelf in a store in order for people to buy it. If you made a game, but didn't put it in a store, no one would know the game even existed, let alone be able to buy it. That is where UO is right now. The modern game stores are all digital and UO is only in one of them (and Origin is a smaller kind of side store off in an alley somewhere). There isn't even a hint out there that UO exists. No one is going to accidently stumble onto UO.com. 

So, in terms of gameplay a Steam release of UO wouldn't be that big of a deal. UO would still be UO. However, Steam is a huge market (125 million users) and UO would appear in Steam's search engine. Therefore, people might actually see UO! Hard to play a game you don't know exists and you don't have a chance to find. Anyway, the big deal with a Steam release would be actually putting the game on modern store shelves (digital marketplaces).

When I imagine UO going to Steam, I picture a flood of complaints about how buggy it is

Steam reviews would not be good! Careful what you wish for!

I honestly don't care whether UO is on Steam or not. In fact, I'd prefer if they'd wait and fix a ton of bugs in the EC before releasing to any new audience at all.

However, bug fixing doesn't get people all excited and Steam seems the most viable path to get to the "largest audience ever".

Mostly though, it's fun to stir the pot........ 

I'm really enjoying UO at the moment, they've put so many positive beneficial changes in over the last 2-3 years, they've pulled the gameplay up quite a few notches, I can list a ton of stuff that have improved gameplay.

I'm out there with my guild active, just having fun.

So like others say, be careful what you wish for, don't pressure them, don't go too hard on them, and I say this because, we've just had 4 months out due to Coronavirus and their timetable and schedule for the year may be completely screwed up. So I'd say, don't rush them into releasing something half baked just to keep a few loud voices happy.

They've been really quiet recently, it's either because they are all out in the garden sunbathing like me, in which case fair do's to them, or they've been head's right down working bloody hard - would be nice to think that's the case, but it probably isn't!

If they put UO on Steam - great, if Steam give UO bad reviews - then Steam is history and irrelevant. If Steam is just another selling platform, how much does it cost for a company like UO to use, is it worth it for them? Of course they want UO in good shape before they put it onto Steam, and quite frankly, they are getting bloody close.

Another direction they have been going in, they've really been strengthening the Classic Client, which is the bedrock of UO. It can almost work entirely without UOA, maybe they build all the features in, have them all working, and can then switch off the 3rd party apps, and go onto Steam, maybe they are putting their house in order for that.

Maybe they tidy the clients up more.

Maybe they put UO available onto Mobile apps, that would be incredible.

But honestly, I'm in no rush - I'd rather they did it properly.

UO on mobile would be impossible. imo. Think about how much is on the screen that you need access to and how fast you need access. Imagine moving all the contents of a bag to another bag. PVP on mobile.... champ spawns on mobile..... the crafting gumps.... etc.

What I want: Is for the Devs to DO THEIR JOB, and ban the scripters/RMT people. You know who they are, I know who they are, THE DEVS know who they are. So why won't they do anything about it???? By allowing, yes allowing, these people to run rampant, they simply feed the conspiracy theories. As well as "shoot the finger" at those of who DO abide by the rules!:) There is even one people are discussing that the UO "swag shop" is run by a RMT person. I am NOT saying that is the case. I am just showing the types of conversations that are being discussed.

dvvid said:

UO on mobile would be impossible. imo. Think about how much is on the screen that you need access to and how fast you need access. Imagine moving all the contents of a bag to another bag. PVP on mobile.... champ spawns on mobile..... the crafting gumps.... etc.

I play on a touchscreen tablet, it isnt an issue. 

Android and ios compatability is.

dvvid said:

When I imagine UO going to Steam, I picture a flood of complaints about how buggy it is

There are zero significant bugs in this game that a Non UO player would even detect. They're known because of the long term players.

Garth_Grey said:

dvvid said:

When I imagine UO going to Steam, I picture a flood of complaints about how buggy it is

There are zero significant bugs in this game that a Non UO player would even detect. They're known because of the long term players.

Uh, no. I had two friends try out UO when EJ released. After about a week the bugs were driving them nuts and one actually said to me over voice chat "This game is terrible." He meant, 'it's broken', as he actually liked UO itself, the underlying gameplay, the world. He couldn't stand the bugs.

Some vary obvious bugs to new players that I heard about constantly:

1. Container's lose their contents 90% of the time when you scroll.
2. NPC's lose all their clothes, then get them back again as you walk around.
3. Corpse's lose all their clothes, then get them back again as you walk around.
4. Mobile bars jump position constantly, so you frequently target something you didn't want to.
5. Ghost mobs and ghost players end up all over, so you never know where something actually is.
6. The filter on the mobiles list doesn't work.
7. All-names only works intermittently.
8. The UI locks don't always work, so mis-clicks move or remove UI elements.
9. The main backpack is way bigger then it appears.
10. Opening a container will frequently cause it to open directly underneath another container, making it inaccessible if that other container is the main backpack.
11. Containers overlap when tiling making most of their contents inaccessible.
12. Neither containers nor most gumps remember position, so everything must be repositioned every time you log in.

This is a short list from memory. There were more.

All of these bugs have been around for years and reported multiple times. The team has not addressed them.

Before anyone says "Use the CC", both my friends took one glance at the CC and said "I won't play the game if I have to use that". Literally, wouldn't even try the game if it was CC. I'm actually up to 6 people now who have 0 experience with UO, who won't touch the CC, but would give the EC a try if it wasn't a bug infested mess. That's anecdotal, but it's my experience. No, I'm not trying to turn this into CC vs. EC. I played CC for years, it's fine. Just a total non-starter for most of the people I know. Now they've heard what a mess the EC is, they just won't play UO.  

Yeah, if UO goes to Steam the reviews are going to be brutal.

Arroth_Thaiel said:

Garth_Grey said:

dvvid said:

When I imagine UO going to Steam, I picture a flood of complaints about how buggy it is

There are zero significant bugs in this game that a Non UO player would even detect. They're known because of the long term players.

Uh, no. I had two friends try out UO when EJ released. After about a week the bugs were driving them nuts and one actually said to me over voice chat "This game is terrible." He meant, 'it's broken', as he actually liked UO itself, the underlying gameplay, the world. He couldn't stand the bugs.

Some vary obvious bugs to new players that I heard about constantly:

1. Container's lose their contents 90% of the time when you scroll.
2. NPC's lose all their clothes, then get them back again as you walk around.
3. Corpse's lose all their clothes, then get them back again as you walk around.
4. Mobile bars jump position constantly, so you frequently target something you didn't want to.
5. Ghost mobs and ghost players end up all over, so you never know where something actually is.
6. The filter on the mobiles list doesn't work.
7. All-names only works intermittently.
8. The UI locks don't always work, so mis-clicks move or remove UI elements.
9. The main backpack is way bigger then it appears.
10. Opening a container will frequently cause it to open directly underneath another container, making it inaccessible if that other container is the main backpack.
11. Containers overlap when tiling making most of their contents inaccessible.
12. Neither containers nor most gumps remember position, so everything must be repositioned every time you log in.

This is a short list from memory. There were more.

All of these bugs have been around for years and reported multiple times. The team has not addressed them.

Before anyone says "Use the CC", both my friends took one glance at the CC and said "I won't play the game if I have to use that". Literally, wouldn't even try the game if it was CC. I'm actually up to 6 people now who have 0 experience with UO, who won't touch the CC, but would give the EC a try if it wasn't a bug infested mess. That's anecdotal, but it's my experience. No, I'm not trying to turn this into CC vs. EC. I played CC for years, it's fine. Just a total non-starter for most of the people I know. Now they've heard what a mess the EC is, they just won't play UO.  

Yeah, if UO goes to Steam the reviews are going to be brutal.

Going to completely disagree.

The obvious answer to all your problems is use Classic Client like you said.

Reviews on Steam would mean nothing to UO. It's like Apple trying to judge the Beatles. It's in a league of its own.

I just had a look at Steam, and amongst its Best Sellers is Titanfall, now I was really looking forward and excited about this game, it had the best ever graphics on the planet and promised so much. Then it came out - zero content... Complete abysmal failure and disappointment.

Graphics aren't everything, and to console players who are into Titanfall, they could not comprehend the adjustment probably. But to most younger generation gamers coming through on mobiles who are used to Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, Clash of Clans, many other more basic Mobile App games, they really get it. It fits their expectation of game graphics and content.

Cookie said:

Going to completely disagree.

The obvious answer to all your problems is use Classic Client like you said.

Yeah, it was so obvious they just decided not to play UO at all.

Arroth_Thaiel said:

Garth_Grey said:

dvvid said:

When I imagine UO going to Steam, I picture a flood of complaints about how buggy it is

There are zero significant bugs in this game that a Non UO player would even detect. They're known because of the long term players.

Uh, no. I had two friends try out UO when EJ released. After about a week the bugs were driving them nuts and one actually said to me over voice chat "This game is terrible." He meant, 'it's broken', as he actually liked UO itself, the underlying gameplay, the world. He couldn't stand the bugs.

Some vary obvious bugs to new players that I heard about constantly:

1. Container's lose their contents 90% of the time when you scroll.
2. NPC's lose all their clothes, then get them back again as you walk around.
3. Corpse's lose all their clothes, then get them back again as you walk around.
4. Mobile bars jump position constantly, so you frequently target something you didn't want to.
5. Ghost mobs and ghost players end up all over, so you never know where something actually is.
6. The filter on the mobiles list doesn't work.
7. All-names only works intermittently.
8. The UI locks don't always work, so mis-clicks move or remove UI elements.
9. The main backpack is way bigger then it appears.
10. Opening a container will frequently cause it to open directly underneath another container, making it inaccessible if that other container is the main backpack.
11. Containers overlap when tiling making most of their contents inaccessible.
12. Neither containers nor most gumps remember position, so everything must be repositioned every time you log in.

This is a short list from memory. There were more.

All of these bugs have been around for years and reported multiple times. The team has not addressed them.

Before anyone says "Use the CC", both my friends took one glance at the CC and said "I won't play the game if I have to use that". Literally, wouldn't even try the game if it was CC. I'm actually up to 6 people now who have 0 experience with UO, who won't touch the CC, but would give the EC a try if it wasn't a bug infested mess. That's anecdotal, but it's my experience. No, I'm not trying to turn this into CC vs. EC. I played CC for years, it's fine. Just a total non-starter for most of the people I know. Now they've heard what a mess the EC is, they just won't play UO.  

Yeah, if UO goes to Steam the reviews are going to be brutal.

Most of what you listed can be explained...I"ve had too much wine or I would try lol..I'll pick one though..Incoming Names..on the fastest computer with the EC client, this still doesn't pick up everyone. It especially doesn't pick up anyone running a speeder hack. The server/cheater is simply too fast for your client to process correctly.

To reach the largest possible audience UO would need to go web based.  Being web based they get players on Mac, Chromebook, Linux, iOS, Android, and Windows.

I'm just ready to see it already, get the disappointment over and behind us, and move on