Britain Banks in the News letter#8

Drakelord 2021-04-23 20:50 #0

[quote]Looking to live, I would like to talk about Britain Banks. The original intent to decorate these banks and have the contest was to get people out of Luna and bring life back into a once busy town. With all the changes in the game the banks have remained unused except for the Spellweaving Circle. I want to remove all decorations from all banks on all shards. Before I make any final decision on this I am willing to hear your comments as to why it should stay. I have gotten several emails and comments regarding building additional things to banks that was not part of the original design. With all that being said I look forward to hearing your comments.[/quote]

Long ago, back 2015, I ask for a moongate to be added to want I did Years ago on Sonoma Main Brit bank, I was turned down. I gave up on the moongate, also the sorcery tower on monnglow when speaking to @Mesanna when I asked to have the banker returned. Today I really do not care, I am turning 70 this month and I may have a few good years of playing left. So for all concern, you have my blessing to tear it all down at the Brit bank. Go ahead and move the Spellweaving circle to Luna, then we have even less traffic there. But if you put a moongate at the NOW Brit bank and keep that circle there would be more traffic. Your choice.

Cookie 2021-04-23 22:25 #1

I'll start, even though I'm a Felucca player, and am not interested in Britain Trammel or even Luna.

(Although of course I do use Brit Trammel for Town Buff, Clean-up points, Silver Merchant, Arcane Circle).

On Europa, Britain Bank really was a still quite a useful and highly used hub, a meeting of a great group of players every Thursday that chatted, and welcomed new players, etc. I'll let them speak, as they would know more, but the point is, everyone on Europa knows about this set-up, and it is still highly used.

I think this particular move hit their set-up quite hard, and everyone noticed it. It was a genuinely still highly used feature of Europa.

Or, I don't mind if you knock it down, and even delete Trammel, and bring them to Felucca, that would be cool also. 🙂

Pawain 2021-04-23 22:40 #2

With all the things players ask for regularly, why did this come up to the top of the list for developers time? Does this include some shards that have decorations in Luna also?

Please put a gate in Britain on each shard. Put it near the bank or in Brit commons.

Lord_Nabin 2021-04-23 22:48 #3

"Before I make any final decision on this I am willing to hear your comments as to why it should stay."

Why it should stay? I would rather hear from you why it should not stay. Really no reason for this change was given.

It was a fun challenge for the community and adds a little personality to each shard. So what brings up the need now?

*Taps his book twice and recalls to the next location*

Arroth_Thaiel 2021-04-23 23:03 #4

If they are going to remove all that stuff at the Brit bank, they should get rid of the moongates at the bank and move the Luna moongate out to it's moonstone circle while they are at it.

They could also remove the Spellweaving circle from in front of the Brit bank and place an arcane circle in an Arcanist's guild in say Moonglow? You know, the city of magic... Maybe have some NPC's around the circle and maybe give an NPC some gold to get the level of focus you want....

The bank artwork did add life to the cities, but it didn't really mesh with the original art that well. Maybe more thematically consistent worldbuilding could be implemented to make the cities a little less sparse and more fleshed out. (Hasn't happened for 23 years, I'm sure it's just around the corner!)

Arnold7 2021-04-23 23:17 #5

Is this different on every shard? Players meet at Luna and British banks on my shard. British bank has some odd stuff crafters can use on the roof but no excessive decorations on the ground level. Just a couple benches and some plants. Don’t really see any reason to change anything. Like that there is a moongate at the British bank in trammel. Felucca bank just has some horses on the top and generally looks like an abandoned building. Don’t think anyone meets at the felucca bank but don’t go there very often so they might.

Bilbo 2021-04-24 01:10 #6

IMHO Bonnie, @Mesanna, @Mesanna1 ; is just trying to show everybody who is really in charge. There is no reason what so ever to do away with the deco except out of pure spite. A moongate should have been placed at Brit Commons on every shard.

Fortis 2021-04-24 01:26 #7

yeah so many things to fix in this game....looks like a waste of time decorating brit banks lol

Seth 2021-04-24 02:31 #8

No legacy shard shall replace all these true "historical" /monuments left by past players who kept UO alive for 24 year. When we travel between shard, the decor is what differentiates between one and another.

I know its out of topic and housing is related to $ and sub. But a barren land, after say another 10 years, when there are even fewer players, all shard will reverted to almost clean state. All the real Ultima Online legacy is lost forever. imho NLS is just a taste of a legacy system, not a real legacy.

This is why I am not keen to see issues related to "deleting" items anymore, IDOC, etc. I am simply not interested in picking up a Cameo, or Crimson belt from a player who is gone and erased forever. Why do you need to keep doing this?

We are no longer in 1999, its 2021 and please look at all the shards not just the few populated ones.

It will be a joke when a reporter come in here to do screenshots and say... wow, you have a very clean shard, looks the same after 24 years. Nobody played this game?

Fortis 2021-04-24 02:58 #9

never played a game you get 20 years farming stuff from someone quitting in 2 minutes to 6-7 peoples with multiple accounts auto scripting barrel and they all shards all day...

Protector 2021-04-24 03:42 #10

In the first place, people gather in Luna because there are many convenient facilities. There are blacksmiths, garment shops, craftsmen, carpenters, architects, magic shops, stables and inns in the immediate vicinity of the bank, and it takes less than a minute to get to all the facilities from the bank.

On the other hand, the Britain is dotted with stores on a vast site, and it takes time to move. The area around Britain Civic Square, just east of Brit Bank, is packed with convenient facilities, but it is not well known and no one is there.

If you want to revitalize the Brit Bank area, you need to integrate convenient facilities. At least you definitely need a stable. No one doesn't use pets!

If the stables as a building are difficult, simply install a connecting pillar in the immediate vicinity of the Brit Bank. At least several times more convenient than spellweaving circles!

Minerva_Foxglove 2021-04-24 06:38 #11

Cookie said:

I'll start, even though I'm a Felucca player, and am not interested in Britain Trammel or even Luna.
(Although of course I do use Brit Trammel for Town Buff, Clean-up points, Silver Merchant, Arcane Circle).
On Europa, Britain Bank really was a still quite a useful and highly used hub, a meeting of a great group of players every Thursday that chatted, and welcomed new players, etc. I'll let them speak, as they would know more, but the point is, everyone on Europa knows about this set-up, and it is still highly used.
I think this particular move hit their set-up quite hard, and everyone noticed it. It was a genuinely still highly used feature of Europa.
Or, I don't mind if you knock it down, and even delete Trammel, and bring them to Felucca, that would be cool also. 🙂

We meet every day 7 to 8 CET..year after year after year..

pop 2021-04-24 13:11 #12

Minerva_Foxglove said:
We meet every day 7 to 8 CET..year after year after year..

Not only is the Europa W. Brit bank daily gathering a great way to ask questions and seek help, but it is a fun and relaxing social time (even for those who just want to listen, like me).
🙂

Cinderella 2021-04-24 15:46 #13

I love how each of the banks have their own personal look to them.
And I think they should stay the way they are.

The one thing that keeps being brought up at meet & greets
is that there are a few shards that don't have a moongate there.

Arirang (has a mooongate, but it takes you to Britain counselor's guild)

Formosa

Lake Austin

Mizuho

Napa Valley

Sonoma

The people who did the designs didn't know that you could request one there.
And when it was brought up at a meet & greet in 2015 by Darkstar
requesting one for Sonoma... she was told that the original designer had to request it.
so Darkstar gifted Drakelord a 6 mo game time code to get him to come back, so he could request it. But then Mesanna changed her mind and said that it had to be in the original design.

============

I love how the bank is decorated on Sonoma
and I don't support Drakelord demanding a moongate or delete it.
Yes, I would like to see a moongate there, but don't want to see the decorations taken down.

when I come to WBB I love being able to go up the stairs.

Long time ago, when I first started, I picked up anything and everything off the ground to make gold. I picked up some crates in Luna and then came back here to Brit bank. I had a rune to the roof and put a bunch of my stuff in the crate. And when I tried to open the crate, it killed me. I had no idea that it was a trapped box. And I couldn't get off the roof, because it wouldn't let me on the teleporter, because I was dead.

At the time, the shard was very busy & you couldn't ask for help in General Chat. They trash talked each other and if you asked for help they would call you a newb or noob. So i had to watch as my body decayed and I lost everything because I couldn't get off the roof. I couldn't use help stuck, because it would tell me that I was already in a city.

I would hate to have to go through something like that again. I almost quit because of it.
I would hate to see new people have this happen again too

====================

I don't get the need to run everyone to a certain bank to hang out.
when I first started, everyone was hanging out at Haven bank & then after it was destroyed
people were hanging out at Luna and Britain.
the reason you don't see anyone hanging out there now, is that we are out doing stuff.
we have so much stuff to do...
while I'm out doing the "Where is Yukio" quest, my husband does tmaps.
people are out doing pirates & merchant ships
we don't have time to bank sit any more.

but you are right, we need to start doing stuff in the decorated areas

Pitr 2021-04-24 17:23 #14

Dear Mesanna, I disagree with you.
I believe we should respect the work that some veterans and past devs/EMs have put in the decoration of each bank.
Some aren't with us anymore and that is their Legacy.
Respecting the layers each generation of players, devs and EMs left behind is a sign of respect and gratitude... it got us here.

Pitr 2021-04-24 17:27 #15

Seth said:

No legacy shard shall replace all these true "historical" /monuments left by past players who kept UO alive for 24 year. When we travel between shard, the decor is what differentiates between one and another.

I know its out of topic and housing is related to $ and sub. But a barren land, after say another 10 years, when there are even fewer players, all shard will reverted to almost clean state. All the real Ultima Online legacy is lost forever. imho NLS is just a taste of a legacy system, not a real legacy.

This is why I am not keen to see issues related to "deleting" items anymore, IDOC, etc. I am simply not interested in picking up a Cameo, or Crimson belt from a player who is gone and erased forever. Why do you need to keep doing this?

We are no longer in 1999, its 2021 and please look at all the shards not just the few populated ones.

It will be a joke when a reporter come in here to do screenshots and say... wow, you have a very clean shard, looks the same after 24 years. Nobody played this game?

Exactly.

DJSandman 2021-04-24 20:29 #16

Protector said:

In the first place, people gather in Luna because there are many convenient facilities. There are blacksmiths, garment shops, craftsmen, carpenters, architects, magic shops, stables and inns in the immediate vicinity of the bank, and it takes less than a minute to get to all the facilities from the bank.

On the other hand, the Britain is dotted with stores on a vast site, and it takes time to move. The area around Britain Civic Square, just east of Brit Bank, is packed with convenient facilities, but it is not well known and no one is there.

If you want to revitalize the Brit Bank area, you need to integrate convenient facilities. At least you definitely need a stable. No one doesn't use pets!

If the stables as a building are difficult, simply install a connecting pillar in the immediate vicinity of the Brit Bank. At least several times more convenient than spellweaving circles!

There is a Stable in the Common area. 1/2 screen east

AtomicBetty 2021-04-24 23:34 #17

All the banks look awful

have you guys seen Europa what a disgusting mess of a bank.

Count me in Favor of those that would like to see the decoration gone.

Seth 2021-04-25 01:17 #18

@Mesanna

We understand that the small team is busy working on the NLS.

If they have spare time, could they look into the piling bug list? These are really the ugliest bunch and a behemoth mess.

I don't see why bank decors should overtake so many concerns become no. 1 priority, important enough to take a section in your newsletter.

There are still so many things to do and if NLS is not an excuse then please also look into the emails that I forwarded you. Please address those bugs, thank you!

Minerva_Foxglove 2021-04-25 06:35 #19

Europa Bank started to look like that when this program went live. It looked just fine before. The moongate dissapered , most of the old deco gone..we got fish tanks(!) on the roof and bright carpets .Most likely its unfinished.

Cookie 2021-04-25 08:23 #20

AtomicBetty said:

All the banks look awful
have you guys seen Europa what a disgusting mess of a bank.
Count me in Favor of those that would like to see the decoration gone.

We know it's a mess, that is the issue.

It wasn't, until a couple of weeks ago, when it was all taken down, and replaced with that.

Logically I was thinking they needed the space for new content, which would have been fair enough. If there was a decent reason for doing it - np, like it was causing server lag.

But it did used to look good, and was highly used, it was a complete hub of a highly active community that helped our server a lot, they have been displaced imo. I can't completely speak for them, I don't know all the facts, I'm not part of that community as such - they are not as vocal as me though - and I really think someone should say something.

Our whole shard has noticed the negative effect though.

On Europa sadly, I just don't think they realise how much it was used.

Yoshi 2021-04-25 10:56 #21

“ removing them will fix a bug
https://forum.uo.com/discussion/8608/enhanced-client-graphic-glitch-with-water-on-brit-bank-atlantic#latest “

keven2002 2021-04-25 11:51 #22

If you are going to remove the decorations from Brit Bank also please remove Brit commons because that's even less used than the bank. Please return that to the way it was as well since it's not bringing people to the town. It's a pretty big waste of space.Thanks.

Goldie 2021-04-25 16:26 #23

hi, just my thought on this brit bank discussion.
I don't mind the stuff at the bank, I go to brit bank when I want my bods, arcane circle when I have that skill on and I like the moongate that it has, I'm talking about Siege shard.

My thought about what she said about removing or reason to keep, maybe she wants to know what items are liked, in a round about way. So in order to add said items to the new shard they are building. Why else out of the blue would this be brought up.
The New Shard is top of their minds, an 80% of the time project for them, right now give or take a percent, but a big priority 🙂

Please dev open concept champ spawn please 🙂 no tiny dungeon please 🙁

Drakelord 2021-04-25 22:52 #24

Cinderella said:

I love how each of the banks have their own personal look to them.
And I think they should stay the way they are.

The one thing that keeps being brought up at meet & greets
is that there are a few shards that don't have a moongate there.

Arirang (has a mooongate, but it takes you to Britain counselor's guild)
Formosa
Lake Austin
Mizuho
Napa Valley
Sonoma

The people who did the designs didn't know that you could request one there.
And when it was brought up at a meet & greet in 2015 by Darkstar
requesting one for Sonoma... she was told that the original designer had to request it.
so Darkstar gifted Drakelord a 6 mo game time code to get him to come back, so he could request it. But then Mesanna changed her mind and said that it had to be in the original design.

============

I love how the bank is decorated on Sonoma
and I don't support Drakelord demanding a moongate or delete it.
Yes, I would like to see a moongate there, but don't want to see the decorations taken down.

when I come to WBB I love being able to go up the stairs.

Long time ago, when I first started, I picked up anything and everything off the ground to make gold. I picked up some crates in Luna and then came back here to Brit bank. I had a rune to the roof and put a bunch of my stuff in the crate. And when I tried to open the crate, it killed me. I had no idea that it was a trapped box. And I couldn't get off the roof, because it wouldn't let me on the teleporter, because I was dead.

At the time, the shard was very busy & you couldn't ask for help in General Chat. They trash talked each other and if you asked for help they would call you a newb or noob. So i had to watch as my body decayed and I lost everything because I couldn't get off the roof. I couldn't use help stuck, because it would tell me that I was already in a city.

I would hate to have to go through something like that again. I almost quit because of it.
I would hate to see new people have this happen again too

====================

I don't get the need to run everyone to a certain bank to hang out.
when I first started, everyone was hanging out at Haven bank & then after it was destroyed
people were hanging out at Luna and Britain.
the reason you don't see anyone hanging out there now, is that we are out doing stuff.
we have so much stuff to do...
while I'm out doing the "Where is Yukio" quest, my husband does tmaps.
people are out doing pirates & merchant ships
we don't have time to bank sit any more.

but you are right, we need to start doing stuff in the decorated areas

SO it happen to you as well? That was why I wanted steps

Aenvar 2021-04-26 00:19 #25

Very interested in knowing what the big motivation is behind removing all custom banks. What purpose does it serve? How does it help at all? At the moment it makes every shard unique, even if it's a ghost city.

Does that hurt anybody? Hard to believe.

MissE 2021-04-26 00:35 #26

Pawain said:

With all the things players ask for regularly, why did this come up to the top of the list for developers time? Does this include some shards that have decorations in Luna also?

Please put a gate in Britain on each shard. Put it near the bank or in Brit commons.

Yep let's just get the priorities straight here. Don't worry about all the bugs, all the cheaters, the most boringly grindingly content ever, we shall carry on about the banks. Great stuff.

Leave the arcane circle and put a moongate that can be used BOTH ways in Brit itself. Needs a decent local tithing place too. Other than that don't really care anymore. I am still waiting for my prize from the 16th anniversary that was NEVER given out although announced with such fan fare.

Seems to be a theme with this producer, give out prizes and either take them back or never give them out at all.

Seth 2021-04-26 05:32 #27

No, let's worry about the bugs first. Deco doesn't need much worry.

Re. Newsletter, it says,
"With all the changes in the game the banks have remained unused except for the Spellweaving Circle."

WBB spellweaving circle has never work on my shard for years, even before 2017.
https://community.stratics.com/threads/newbie-spellweaver-question.385583/

Not everyone is aware of such bug... and perhaps it does not work like this on many shards. So in conclusion.

With all the changes in the game the banks have remained unused except for the Spellweaving Circle.

There is absolutely no reason to visit Britain or any of the banks. Their vendor shops are still better, marked a rune for all of them for recall there directly for bribing.

I don't even see many players bank-sitting at Luna in other shards except Altantic - which I think most of them are busy shard transferring in and out. Some of them could be vendor searching as well.

P.S. I just sent another bug report about the circle and and results are the same.

RonFellows 2021-04-27 00:33 #28

Lots of lazy deco scattered around the shards. Most of it does not fit the aesthetic of the surroundings. I would be in favor of removing Luna and Britain deco if it were up for debate. I asked about the phone booth in Britain on Atlantic one time @Mesanna ;said she likes it so it stays.

I think the bottom line is they are going to do what they want regarding this. @Drakelord ;has been asking about Britain gate for 6 years & moonglow NPC's for longer. It feels like they continue to deny him out of spite at this point. Guy has been around since the beginning and subs at least 5 accounts. He has kept people active on Sonoma which is otherwise a mostly dead shard. He designed the original brit bank in 2015 and is an asset to the player community.

Throw the guy a bone. A moongate and an NPC doesn't hurt anything.

Quintus 2021-04-29 16:41 #29

Guys,

Im a Long time player since the games launch. I have 2 accounts but not much time to play these days. That said, when the bank customizations happened, I thought it was going to be a yearly event where players could submit their designs and the winner gets to have it displayed for a year. I also thought its popularity would lead to changes to other banks in the game too. Vesper bank has been prettied up over the years as well, I believe by player governors.

So why not make it an annual even or bi-annual event and pretty up the banks around the game? All players can submit designs for both summer and winter for the various seasons. I think this could be fun and would spawn some traffic to all the banks.

As for the gate, I find the Brit gate on ATL to be very convenient. My go-to when I get in game is to recall to WBB, check if theres any holiday gifts displayed, then hop the gate to luna or wherever. I honestly dont know why this is such a debate about the gate. Put one at all the banks on all the shards, why not.

Anyway, thats my 2 cents from an old timer lol.

Pawain 2021-04-29 23:40 #30

Ones that would be no fun if the complainers here took over.

Seth 2021-04-30 00:21 #31

At some point it's better to agree to disagree, vote our individual stand and move on. Someone has to make the difficult decision.

Seth 2021-04-30 10:12 #32

Seth said:

WBB spellweaving circle has never work on my shard for years, even before 2017.
https://community.stratics.com/threads/newbie-spellweaver-question.385583/

Not everyone is aware of such bug... and perhaps it does not work like this on many shards.

P.S. I just sent another bug report about the circle and and results are the same.

Ref. above, the issue is resolved

Britain Banks in the News letter#8

Related Discussions