A Statement to Broadsword and the Classic experience

Ahua · November 21

@KroDuK

you make good points, and I've heard people complain similarly on Atlantic about the huge guilds: when they decide to do an event or a spawn they just get everything while everyone is scrambling to land just one hit.

But we didn't go to the moon because it was easy... a balanced classic UO or UO inspired gameplay has never been achieved, in any game, we would know about it, I assume you're also a old timer.

I can speak as both a designer and a philosopher here, the IP's own original mechanics, allow for it to be possible and fun, and very much balanced. Like you would not even get one complaint, I could guarantee it.

Its so hard not to talk about it and subsequently ruin the mystery...

Its a very, very complex design that clearly does not belong on the public forum. My goal here is not to pinpoint all those issues or pitfalls. I would just like to see minimal compassion, humility in the face of a whole playstyle that has been ostracized and fractured but that did exist, gloriously so. People that also got ganked, also got abused by hackers, also couldn't access dungeons sometimes. But still enjoyed it all, in retrospect, 25 years later. Enough to care by walking forward in the spotlight to say "yay". I could not let this thread end like this, it might end, but not like this.

Ahua · November 21

There is still so much content I have yet to see, even some expansions I have yet to buy, enough for me to enjoy Atlantic for a long time ... I'm truly impressed with such a small team.

So I'd double down and say that if it takes potential investment away from production shards, its all the same bad idea. Which sadly reduces its chances of becoming reality drastically.

Its just one opportunity among many others... all I can say is that this one contains magic and could become as big a revolution as U4 was to RPGs.

Lord_Nythrax · November 21

They spent five years working on that fugly seasonal shard with the bad portraits and the game fell apart so badly that the official clients became semi-abandonware in the interim and third parties effectively took control of client development.

Please no more kook projects, just work on the game.

Ahua · November 21

not one constructive phrase... so New Legacy wasn't for you. If you have grudges you can take them to another thread, this thread will not suddenly cause the devs to create a new shard as I'm pretty sure no thread caused New Legacy. They will do whatever they want and can do, like every studio ever, you certainly won't get anywhere with such an attitude.

I personally loved every moment I spent on New Legacy, even the portraits, its meant to be old school and bring back old Ultima IP. I absolutely love the idea and execution, and I'm glad they did it, it felt like a gift made just for me. I'm also using the enhanced client and I'm not having any problems playing the game as intended. Also got a few hotfixes since I came back, so I'd say its going along as planned.

Seriously the only thing that was lacking on New Legacy was the community, it felt like a single player experience for me, and is literally the only negative point imo.

KroDuK · November 22

I was having way more fun on the 4th coming NMS revolution server than playing NL. (the NMS server has like 13 players)

NL left such a bad taste in my mouth.. knowing the same dev are dealing with official UO for soo many yearsss.. To me, it brang back all those bad memories and let down since ~2006.

But yeah, the key to success here would be AoS era, but u address stuff instead of making it 20 time worst.. When u have the money from the succesfull product that is UO.. you could work on a passion project à la NL but for what u want a full loot classic SANDBOX shard, that would kill the illegal servers.

We just dreaming tho.. They can't even deliver the part one of the CC FPS and window size upgrade that was promise to us for summer 2025.. they legit went radio silence.. wich is a shame.

Edit: to me NL is for UO what DBZ Evolution is for DBZ:

Ahua · November 22

I don't think we should exclude much content from classic, as long as its cannon I guess, and it should be also deployed in a way that is cannon too. These are details honestly, the core mechanics is what matters. I like all expansions but some things don't make sense for classic, economy is the most complex subject. It takes a whole village to raise a child, and it takes a whole team to raise a village. So this is not something they can whip up together in a few weeks anyways, it has to be precise and moderated at first. So these details would fall into artistic liberty of the people in charge.

I hear you, but I have a completely different perspective on it, as I'm sure we all do.

If you talk like this (saying their ideas is crap without anything constructive) to people, who clearly work hard (I can tell I've been a dev for 20 years now)... why do you think they don't reply anymore? You should act like your age. This stuff is hard, working with older technology is even harder, then the whole thing has an inertia of its own you can't really let go once the gears are in motion. Have a little compassion, sit, look in the mirror and speak like you would love to be spoken to.

Just leave your grievances in their respective threads and we'll coexist just fine. You made your point, and I agree there are great things about AoS that would fit a classic shard. And remember its not about picking a moment in time, its about the structure itself.

Lord_Nythrax · November 22

Ahua said:

If I stick to NES again to remain concise, Exodus had you only save at the inn in LB's castle (an actual save like Zelda), if your whole party died, you had to take up an older save point, effectively losing a lot of time. You could also lose gear or temple/magic if you chose to res instead of reloading. It was risky.

Then in Quest of the Avatar, they I think intentionally moved to passwords, if your party wiped it was game over and you had to use the last code, lots of lost time.

Then in Warriors of Destiny, still passwords, if you did res you would lose experience, penalty scaled with karma.

By the way, there has never been an Ultima game with password saves. Not on home computers, not on console, not even in weird Japan-only ports.

Ahua · November 22

Oh you are probably right I just pulled from old memory, the point was there were penalties, and losing progress or time was the standard. But at that point it wasn't you die you start over completely, but dying still had consequences. It could have been more forgiving like Zelda, but they intentionally designed it this way.

KroDuK · November 22

Ahua said:

And remember its not about picking a moment in time, its about the structure itself.

You lost track of reality while typing your post.. this part proving it. The structure we (you and I) talking about is risk vs reward and the moment in time is the key moment to the solution.. Full Loot is a niche to a niche.. let's rebuild the main structure before working on a niche for the niche... what the actual team is doing via NL.. I understand your POV, but look in that mirror without pink glasses son.. I already done that from my part.

Just to give you a small example of the mirror activity i've done.. if they bring AoS and artifact.. do it.. WITH RNG ROLLS ON ARTIFACT.. so in 10 years we might have one perfect artifact.. great for sandbox. You LIMIT THEM in numbers we don't need thousands of OP and OP'ers artifact on top of limiting their OP'ness without limiting their potential... just a few of them per POI with random rolls on them. TADA! yearssss of content.

Another dumb example.. for champions that should have been done in the early 2000.. some champ should drop more of certain PS.. like the harder one should have higher roll for better PS.. so Piper ain't the go to for most people. TADA! Multiplication of real optimize POI!!

I got a shit load of solution like that.. cuz unlike you I did what u want me to do but without pink glasses on and a functionning brain, with tons of top tier experiences.

If u want me to rub *snip*'s back, before feeding them solution.. try again. or change something from the formula.. I know what part I would change personally.

PS: I realise you just fishing for solution for NL.. the answer to that problem is *12 inch in front the screen*
Give us part one of CC upgrade that was promise for summer 2025, before asking for anything else. It's give/give.. We (me and myself) still hvn'T receive a thing.. other than slapss in the face.

PS2: if the dev ego gets in their way to do a good job cuz they are hurting to come ask for answers.. the problem is not on me.. but on that EGO, that shouldn't even exist in the first place.

Y'all acting like UO was too old to be popular and gets hundreds of thousands of real players.. when in fact this is his strong point.. Tonsssss of dead content cuz of *snip* and being able to run on a toaster!!!!!! Just make a good product instead of making it worst since ~2006.

Edit: btw the solution u fishing for about NL is f'ing RP.. dev more RP tools for the full loot NL.. it gonna add a meaning to the frustration, theorycrafting and limit it. But again.. u'd ask how.. wich is a huge problem, want us to do it for you? Cuz I for sure, won't feed anything for NL.. *whisper* the Legacy part!!

Ahua · November 22

What you are missing isn't rose glasses, its a little compassion. You skipped that part probably intentionally, its ok I forgive you.

I do think your ideas have merit, I've thought about those you mentioned too when replying to you and considering AoS (they're obvious). Its easy to find the solutions from outside, when nothing has any lasting consequences on the rest of your or your coworker's lives or player base. But I'm reading around here and it seems every single thing they attempt is bad, according to a few louder people who also flame those who attempt to remain positive. But they are still here, playing and hoping (obviously). Would be hard not to argue that if they are still here, it is because the devs do some things better than free shards. If you pay for a service you're not fully happy about, and you still chose to pay while free options exist, its because you do appreciate many things.

Sometimes, especially during transitions like this, devs need fans to focus a little bit more on those aspects to really keep a good flow and not always be second-guessing. I did not attack the content of your posts, but the way you vehiculate them. You think they did not read your posts and slapped you in the face? I can tell you they did read them, every single one. All my dev friend without exception do, I do not miss a single post by one of my fans, even if it means I'm going to sleep very little, not a single one ever. But sometimes I cannot reply, focusing on that instead of continuing to design is often a very bad idea. In this particular context they'd spend more time wondering if they are catering to the right people than actually developing.

It seems to me like you'd only be happy if a dev posted a video of himself crying on the floor, stuck in a dark void of despair. What good would that do to us? 0.

This isn't such a mainstream game anymore, and you don't have rose colored glasses you have brown colored glasses, and a lot of pride, which I'm not going to assume is warranted or not. It's kind of paradoxical if you ask me.

It shows you have not sat in a designer's seat, while its leaking customers, while you attempt to fix problems and others pop up, when what you thought would be your best decision turned out to be snubbed because of other issues you are perhaps temporarily powerless about and people can't let it go.

I agree that communication is key, but honestly I have been around, and I've hardly seen better in the same context. Look at the UO forums, every UO forum actually, they are quieter than ever, only a few vocal people remain arguing about actual gameplay and the future, rest is item and event questions. One of hand you look at your numbers and think its ok, its holding, or maybe slightly better so you get a little motivation, then on the other hand you get very vocal players complaining about specific issues that you try to fix, while ending up unable to take the time to communicate why you skipped or were unable to apply certain fixes without wasting time.

Compassion means being able to switch seats, for a moment, then coming back to yours and focusing on that lowest common denominator of that shared passion. You clearly have a passion for this game, so do I, so do they. I would never ask you to pat anyone on the back arbitrarily, but to speak like you would like to be spoken to, if you were in that seat and things looked that bleak.

Niche of a niche, is pretty much where we are at right now.

I also see on the broadsword website that they are fully committed to financial and state transparency. Why do you think we don't get this direct transparency?

Because of ego? ridiculous... imo its just because it would hurt more than it would help, objectively. And how do you feel about that? Are you happy or can you have compassion and understand that maybe you should express yourself differently?

Maybe you're a much better UO player than I am, I've been away too long to argue that, but you've got your nose dug so deep into the niche of the niche that you only see a few feet in front of you.

At least I got you to share a few constructive opinions, so its all good.

Grimbeard · November 22

Ahua said:

What you are missing isn't rose glasses, its a little compassion. You skipped that part probably intentionally, its ok I forgive you.

I do think your ideas have merit, I've thought about those you mentioned too when replying to you and considering AoS (they're obvious). Its easy to find the solutions from outside, when nothing has any lasting consequences on the rest of your or your coworker's lives or player base. But I'm reading around here and it seems every single thing they attempt is bad, according to a few louder people who also flame those who attempt to remain positive. But they are still here, playing and hoping (obviously). Would be hard not to argue that if they are still here, it is because the devs do some things better than free shards. If you pay for a service you're not fully happy about, and you still chose to pay while free options exist, its because you do appreciate many things.

Sometimes, especially during transitions like this, devs need fans to focus a little bit more on those aspects to really keep a good flow and not always be second-guessing. I did not attack the content of your posts, but the way you vehiculate them. You think they did not read your posts and slapped you in the face? I can tell you they did read them, every single one. All my dev friend without exception do, I do not miss a single post by one of my fans, even if it means I'm going to sleep very little, not a single one ever. But sometimes I cannot reply, focusing on that instead of continuing to design is often a very bad idea. In this particular context they'd spend more time wondering if they are catering to the right people than actually developing.

It seems to me like you'd only be happy if a dev posted a video of himself crying on the floor, stuck in a dark void of despair. What good would that do to us? 0.

This isn't such a mainstream game anymore, and you don't have rose colored glasses you have brown colored glasses, and a lot of pride, which I'm not going to assume is warranted or not. It's kind of paradoxical if you ask me.

It shows you have not sat in a designer's seat, while its leaking customers, while you attempt to fix problems and others pop up, when what you thought would be your best decision turned out to be snubbed because of other issues you are perhaps temporarily powerless about and people can't let it go.

I agree that communication is key, but honestly I have been around, and I've hardly seen better in the same context. Look at the UO forums, every UO forum actually, they are quieter than ever, only a few vocal people remain arguing about actual gameplay and the future, rest is item and event questions. One of hand you look at your numbers and think its ok, its holding, or maybe slightly better so you get a little motivation, then on the other hand you get very vocal players complaining about specific issues that you try to fix, while ending up unable to take the time to communicate why you skipped or were unable to apply certain fixes without wasting time.

Compassion means being able to switch seats, for a moment, then coming back to yours and focusing on that lowest common denominator of that shared passion. You clearly have a passion for this game, so do I, so do they. I would never ask you to pat anyone on the back arbitrarily, but to speak like you would like to be spoken to, if you were in that seat and things looked that bleak.

Niche of a niche, is pretty much where we are at right now.

I also see on the broadsword website that they are fully committed to financial and state transparency. Why do you think we don't get this direct transparency?

Because of ego? ridiculous... imo its just because it would hurt more than it would help, objectively. And how do you feel about that? Are you happy or can you have compassion and understand that maybe you should express yourself differently?

Maybe you're a much better UO player than I am, I've been away too long to argue that, but you've got your nose dug so deep into the niche of the niche that you only see a few feet in front of you.

At least I got you to share a few constructive opinions, so its all good.

Keep 8n mind that particular troll doesn't even play

Ahua · November 23

@Grimbeard

yeah I'm just figuring this out... I assumed since he was here, he must be paying for an account?

Grimbeard · November 23

Ahua said:

@ Grimbeard

yeah I'm just figuring this out... I assumed since he was here, he must be paying for an account?

Yes to quote him "to help make game better "

Ahua · November 23

a game he does not recognize... while accusing others of shady logic and design fishing? yup... makes sense.

KroDuK · November 23

Ahua said:

What you are missing isn't rose glasses, its a little compassion.

Thank you, your opinion is noted.

Drago · November 26

Cookie said:

I remember one of the Devs saying at the meet and greet, if there was one thing they could do differently about the past, it would be the Fel/Trammel split - and centring so much of the reward in a risk free environment ever since then. I agree with this. The whole point of UO was lost, and it became a shell of itself.

What you and every other nostalgic induced person seems to forget is.... that in 1997, we had no other mmo. UO was it. We didn't know any better so we accepted it and dealt with the douchebags who PK'd at crossroads , or stayed hidden near door to your house hoping you'd show up and then kill you and ransack your house.

Should they have done pvp 'area's instead of fel/tram? Maybe, maybe the server infrastructure wasn't designed for that so they had to make a mirror world. But then we'd have posts complaining about no housing spots.

People don't have patience nor want to deal with that anymore. You have options now with gaming. There is zero fun in losing progression in a game now...and thats what 1997 UO had, chance of losing hours of time you put into a game.

Ahua · November 26

I don't think anyone would actually go back in time with the hackers as you said who would actually do much worse, wait until you went to sleep then used flour sacks to gate under your house and empty it without even needing to kill you. I got my house emptied 3 times, and my account hacked twice. Bad time? For me, nope, because without that huge risk, that huge loss, I would not have pulled tight like this with those who helped me defend myself and my progression.

Making friends was always, to me, what its all about. Which is why I make great friends playing live D&D... players can pick to be negative alignment, and because of this, organically we pull together to defend ourselves, which make us combine our strengths and really learn to appreciate and depend on each other. It creates that ancient tribal or township feeling, which we all grew to appreciate beyond any physical or digital "reward".

It is also kind of useless to think back about the whys of Trammel and UO... what is done is done, player base is completely different now. Also I'm appreciating much of the new content, and QoL changes and new systems... there is no reason not to have them.

You are right in all you say, but you'll find a huge portion of players still enjoy older games, in which you lose time. All my favorite games, every single one has mechanics in which you can "lose" a lot of time, but you're playing, are you really losing? Not in my mind.

My own characters were deleted when I came back 15 years ago. When I subbed back to UO, I lost ALL my time and rares. (I got an e-mail from support saying they needed room on their servers from EA, not kidding) and I'm having fun starting completely over. If you were right, I have options so I can rage quit. I would have preferred to be hacked, so at least I can blame it on someone. Regardless...

With that logic someone could think the RNG is too steep for dragon eggs and they're losing time after a while they're unable to get it. Lost time is lost time, even if its not a death or a penalty. Where does it end? When we get a game where you can only go UP, and where you become superman as quick as possible ? Honestly think about it... for me that is not a fun game, I don't see the challenge, only entertainment for my ego. But I don't judge, I've also enjoyed super-hero games... its just this is Ultima. Broadsword now not only handles modern UO, but the whole IP, and its a valid appeal to bring it up.

I'm replaying SP Ultimas right now, and let me tell you, it makes me "lose" a lot of time. Do I want to play something else because I have options that allow me endless giant step progression? nope.

I knew it was a major reason, people don't like to lose time generally so they would like death to be balanced, but I never thought it could become an entire argument for absolutely no negative consequences ever. That would be to me the opinion of a thin slice of end-game players, that only enjoy the end-game.

I don't even think most people in the gaming world would agree to no consequences if we polled to remake or remaster old games. All my favorite games to this day, have a risk of losing time for various rewards.

I've always said UO was kind of 4d chess, lol... imagine a game of chess where no players can lose. Game lasts 3 hours, you lost, did you really lose 3 hours? Or was the game fun while you played?

No in fact each loss makes you better, you learn, if you have fun, you don't lose time unless you convince yourself you did.

Of course argument that falls flat is someone cheats, but that is beyond the scope of this thread.

We cannot go back, but we can recreate that experience some of us crave, without removing anything from modern players (given a separate fund stream, which is next to impossible in today's world).

Please rest assured, the level of support for this thread indicates it will soon die. I am old and wise enough to read the room.

It is only a dream. But one I hold dearest among all games, among all RPGs, among all MMOs.

I would love to see Broadsword make an attempt, because I feel like they truly love the IP, proof was in New Legacy for me. And the argument can stop there.

Which is why I came in wanting to add my "yay", that's it, I just say yes, I would pay for this.

For many of us, even if we got hacked and ganked and abused so often, the friendships we created through necessity to defend ourselves were all worth it, and then some because I would do it all over again without hesitation. And we don't say this while still charmed by the "nostalgia" as many of you say... we say this 25 years later, in retrospect, as gamers with options.

If we get it, good... if we don't, I still helped fund modern UO through my subscription, in this situation, nobody loses time or money or otherwise.

All you need to understand is that players not wanting to lose any progression, is quite new in the gaming world. Then, you can say that is your preferred design. Your opinion is as valid, all gamers opinions are valid when we talk about games.

Thalon · November 26

I am a veteran player and an original beta tester. I get where MacroPlanet is coming from, but I disagree with most of what he says.

MacroPlanet said:
I want this post to be as organized as possible to state a claim that I truly believe would only benefit the future of Ultima Online. UO players not in these forums and not playing the official shards want a true classic experience. We need a new "Renaissance" but with a more classic experience.
...

I was very happy as a player when Trammel was created, as before then, most my characters were sub-optimal templates that included fragments of smithing, lumberjacking and camping so they could stay out in the wilderness away from town and the reds. I still participated in red-hunts with my guild through Mondain's Legacy and I still make regular trips to felucca with many of my characters.

MacroPlanet said:
Old-School Players: A Lost Legion Worth Recapturing
Ultima Online’s golden era forged a passionate community of players who fell in love with its unforgiving, open-ended sandbox. Many of us “veterans” drifted away over the years as the official game changed dramatically – “imagine you fell in love with chess in 199x, and now in 2023 the same game has been transformed into like… spades”, as one player vividly described the modern UO experience .
...

I enjoyed the changes in the game from Second Age through Mondain's Legacy. Yes, changes over the years require adjustment. Age of Shadows was fun, but when Samurai Empire released, all my guildmates from templates that could cross-heal to use Sampires. I highly approved the treasure hunting changes in publish 105 even though it meant I had to revamp my templates.

MacroPlanet said:
Ultima Online: New Legacy – Missing the Mark for Veterans
When Ultima Online: New Legacy (NL) was announced, many veterans dared to hope it would be the official classic-style server we’d begged for. Unfortunately, NL has not met veteran expectations. By the developers’ own admission, “there is no magic dial to turn back UO to a specific era… so in short, no, this is not a 1:1 recreation of a classic UO server” . Instead of the 1997-style ruleset we yearned for, NL delivered a heavily reimagined experience. It introduced a seasonal shard that wipes after a year, with characters forced to transfer off at season’s end . For many of us, that was a deal-breaker.
...

I think Broadsword did a good job with the New Legacy Shard. I think it allows new or returning players a good way to get a basic template ready for the live shards without excessive grind. I played this season and I intend to give the next season a try.

Using 3rd party shard is a personal preference and very much subject to the player. Very few of my guildmates from the 1990s and 2000s still log in...I doubt they are playing on those shards.

KroDuK · November 26

Thalon said:

I think it allows new or returning players a good way to get a basic template ready for the live shards without excessive grind.

Let's slap an advanced character token on the first sub, after 2 yrs hiatus or on brand new.

Let's work on prodo.. so much stuff could be done.

Ahua · November 26

You mean EA could have given me an "advanced character token" when they admitted to deleting my characters for a few megabytes of space? ._. -.-

The support e-mail ended with "there is nothing we can do about it".

I could use that right now lol.

Thalon · 4:21AM

So much could be done...but how many players would like any given change and how many would hate it?

On production shards, I think Broadsword is better playing it safe, keeping the change limited. Players have established characters with specialized equipment. I saw a thread on the Discord channel last month asking if additional perks should be added for casters that use actual reagents instead of LRC suits and the poll had players arguing both ways. My only thought on that poll was existing game mechanics already give an advantage if your character doesn't use LRC armor. If a given piece of armor doesn't have the LRC property, it can have a different property like casting focus, additional resist, damage eater or something else helpful.

New Legacy provides the developers with the chance to try something different without upsetting players with established character builds based on long established templates. I would love to see some new mechanics tested there.

As far as an advanced character token or other long term subscription benefits, yes, it would be nice. We are all subs here or we wouldn't be able to post....but I won't hold my breath while waiting.

Ahua · 4:44AM

Exactly this... as you said the gameplay is now very complex and balanced for production shards, we've acknowledged it requires the full current team to maintain it. Of course I'm also open to testing new mechanics on NL.

So the only way this project would take hold is if some generous benefactor somehow pulls the right strings and hires a parallel yet compatible team.

Why do I feel each word I add, the less chances of it happening?

But who knows... some certainly owe me that.

*coughing spell*

Ahua · 6:56PM

This thread has about done its course, with very little support... I am forced to see the mirror of the whole situation. Our shards are like nations, and all we have is dividing concepts, that keep us apart.

Like in the world, cultures are so different its going to be hard just to find something that truly brings us together, except I guess the love for the IP (or the love of humanity in the mirror), but that is a given. This is not enough.

I really feel like its time to, at least do the first step, at least start on the path to re-unify.

I think only Broadsword can do this at this point. If nothing is done, then we will keep dividing, the shards will keep breaking into more shards, more sub-cultures, more niches until it is all unmanageable.

I thought New Legacy was meant to do that, but we're forced to accept when people are done with their progress and objectives, they once again split, divide to their home shards.

I submit that the Ultima games are all about world peace, about a moral basis, about ethics, about a unifying concept for the whole of humanity. Some might think I'm being cheesy here, but I'm not really. Anyone with literary background can appreciate the structure of the legend of the Holy Grail built in the story of Ultima 4-9. It point to one single, unifying place.

Mute we stand on the cold plains of Wiltshire.

The opposition is great, the profit is also unsurprisingly great in division. We know.

We are patient, and all we can ask is, can it be done?

https://youtu.be/lIZOhN-svFY?si=qc-_gQTiYJsTXUMH

Lokea · 8:58PM

Ahua said:

I submit that the Ultima games are all about world peace, about a moral basis, about ethics, about a unifying concept for the whole of humanity. Some might think I'm being cheesy here, but I'm not really. Anyone with literary background can appreciate the structure of the legend of the Holy Grail built in the story of Ultima 4-9. It point to one single, unifying place.

I don’t think you’re being cheesy at all, but I’m one of those who played and loved the original Ultima games.

The problem is that UO has become more of an item-collection game for many people. Many people are doing the Umbrascale event, just as they did Rifted Crown and others, because they either want a certain item to show off in their keep or castle, or they want a certain item they can sell for a plat or more (which could be used to buy a keep or castle or buy more rare items).

I was quite shocked when I came back after being gone for over a decade, and seeing a lot of people selling stuff for a billion in gold or more, and seeing the ridiculous prices for housing on Atlantic (which is its own problem solved by moving to another shard).

I’m not saying that people didn’t use to put a lot into collecting items, we did have the banking and house storage upgrades added many years ago after all. But I’m seeing people who are obsessed with a specific hue of a specific item and that seems crazy to me that they will spend billions on a single item because it has a color that few people have, not because it looks cool. It was not always that way in the early days with the hues, etc. Yes, there would be rares, but not to the extent there is now where people are collecting dozens or hundreds of an item because they want the whole collection, and they literally have houses that are nothing but storage.

We used to get a single item from a token or ticket and we were happy, but it’s not enough now. We’ve become The Sims Online in a way, I get that unique and rare hues appeal to a lot of players who are collectors, and I get that they are easier for the devs to do than making distinct items (versus variations) but it’s not something pulling in new users (if only we could get Sims players to take a look at UO we might pull in a bunch of them).

I think NL appealed to many of us because it was simple and took us back to simple times. Because of housing limitations and how items in NL wear out, and the simplicity of armor and weapons, and the lack of 28 years worth of items, we spent less time worried about items and more on playing (then again there is a bias that those interested in events were going to be drawn to NL). A lot of times on NL I was fighting a mob with weapons that I had just looted from the last mob, versus production shards where we spend a long time searching for the right ring or bracelet or spend tens of millions creating a single piece of armor.

I don’t know how we get back to some form of our roots. I think NL had the right idea to get players back to a simple land mass and simple weapon and armor system, and simple housing, but that can’t work on production shard.

The Ultima IP still has some areas that are untouched or could be expanded upon (let’s resolve or retcon Paws once and for all!) but that’s tough with a small team, and I wouldn’t mind seeing the focus be on quality of life and new players for the next year or two.

Lokea · 11:19PM

I would add something else - UO’s strengths have always been based around two major things that make it unique, and that do bring people together.

1. You can be anything you want. You can mix-and-match skills and make some very interesting and unique combinations that you won’t find in any other game. So of course that creates some very unique player groups within UO, who are going to have very different views on what UO is and isn’t or what it should be. You have crafters who rarely fight, you have people who spend all of their time working on their houses, you have people who spend much of their time PVPing, you have people who spend much of their time in events, people who spend their time just hanging out with other people. Some of these groups have no interest in the back-and-slash fighting that’s associated with RPGs, and outside of UO may not play other games (or it’s mobile/phone for them).

The devs have to balance between those groups. And I know that’s a weird point to make about something that unifies people, but it’s true, our diversity has always been our strength - most other games will force your characters and your playing into specific classes and styles, but not UO. And that’s probably why UO players in real life are so diverse - I’m not joking when I say I know many UO players who do not consider themselves gamers, but who put in more time per week than a teenager with a PlayStation or Xbox. And you see it with so many female players versus other MMOs, and you see it in the ages of players from middle schoolers to retirees who are into their 70s (as we’ve recently been reminded of due to the loss of some beloved players)

2. Housing. I think we’ve already mentioned it in this thread and it’s been mentioned many other times. It’s probably why UO is still alive here in 2025 - people who would have a hard time parting with homes they’ve owned for many years, even decades. We are getting improvements next year, so it’ll be interesting to see.

I would love for the ability to live in towns (and forego vendors, or maybe limited to one). I do think we are very scattered. I think New Magincia had more potential than people realize but I don’t think it was enough. I think New Legacy actually touched on this a bit with how they laid out housing ares, but I would like more work on that - perhaps have some NPC facilities and a town square every so often amongst the NL housing areas. Or a transfer portal.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

A Statement to Broadsword and the Classic experience

Comments