Why did you used to hang out at the Britain Bank? [Insert Your Answer Here]
Maybe if we all pitch in, we can give Mesanna and the dev team a list of reasons for why people used to hang out at the West Britain Bank. Not sure what they can do with such a list, but for the rest of us, at least it's a little bit of nostalgia, right?
I'll kick things off with a few reasons for why I used to like to visit the WBB. I know I haven't been playing as long as a lot of other folks. I started right after the Samurai Empire expansion was released, near the end of 2004 and played on Great Lakes. I vaguely remember there being an invasion in Britain not all that long after I started playing, so in addition to just learning how to play UO, I was also discouraged a bit by other players from going to Britain with my absolutely brand new and mostly useless characters. I hung out in Haven most of the time and it was several months before I even discovered Luna. I can remember trying to help a little bit with the invasion, but it was mostly beyond my abilities. I was very happy when it was done and I could finally experience crowds at the WBB.
Anyway, I digress. Below are some of the reasons why I used to visit the WBB
- To get my pets rezzed.
- To gawk at all the better-dressed, better-equipped players.
- To eavesdrop on conversations.
- To rummage in my bankbox and act like I knew what I was doing.
- To see which guilds were recruiting.
- To see if anyone had dropped something interesting on the ground.
- To see if anyone was hosting an interesting activity and putting up gates to help you get there.
- To see if anyone was selling a plot.
- To see what people were trying to sell to anyone who was interested.
I had so very little gold, I never went to Britain looking to actually buy something from someone else. But it was always fun to see who else was around and what they were talking about. This was before we had guild chat and years before we had global chat. Britain was just the place where you went to see and be seen, I guess. Maybe people who had more invested in the game can speak to why the WBB used to be important to them.
I'll kick things off with a few reasons for why I used to like to visit the WBB. I know I haven't been playing as long as a lot of other folks. I started right after the Samurai Empire expansion was released, near the end of 2004 and played on Great Lakes. I vaguely remember there being an invasion in Britain not all that long after I started playing, so in addition to just learning how to play UO, I was also discouraged a bit by other players from going to Britain with my absolutely brand new and mostly useless characters. I hung out in Haven most of the time and it was several months before I even discovered Luna. I can remember trying to help a little bit with the invasion, but it was mostly beyond my abilities. I was very happy when it was done and I could finally experience crowds at the WBB.
Anyway, I digress. Below are some of the reasons why I used to visit the WBB
- To get my pets rezzed.
- To gawk at all the better-dressed, better-equipped players.
- To eavesdrop on conversations.
- To rummage in my bankbox and act like I knew what I was doing.
- To see which guilds were recruiting.
- To see if anyone had dropped something interesting on the ground.
- To see if anyone was hosting an interesting activity and putting up gates to help you get there.
- To see if anyone was selling a plot.
- To see what people were trying to sell to anyone who was interested.
I had so very little gold, I never went to Britain looking to actually buy something from someone else. But it was always fun to see who else was around and what they were talking about. This was before we had guild chat and years before we had global chat. Britain was just the place where you went to see and be seen, I guess. Maybe people who had more invested in the game can speak to why the WBB used to be important to them.
Comments
I used to share the grass opposite the bank entrance with another tamer called Celle.
Always wondered what happened to her.........
1. Shopping / trading with other players. No longer needed with vendor search.
2. Seeking services from other players. No longer needed with general chat.
3. Proximity to a more complete array of vendor services. Somewhat obsolete due to Luna.
4. Population ("you go there because other people go there"). There's something to feeling like you're in a living world. Vendor search and general chat means player density needn't be as concentrated as it once was.
5. Socializing. Today, I mainly socialize via guild chat or discord.
I currently use WBB for:
1. Nearby tinker shop.
2. Moongate on Atlantic.
3. Spellweaving circle.
4. Trash chest.
I wasn't playing when the WBB decoration contest was underway. If the intention was that decorations themselves would bring people back to WBB, without consideration of function or the larger context of why people gather where they do, then I think the effort was misguided.
When I first came back to the game, I did find the decorations off-putting. Now I see the decorations as a vector for making shards more unique, but with some shards having moongates or ugly decorations things can be controversial. It would have been better not to have them at all in the first place, in my opinion, but I fail to see what the problem is now and why the sudden interest in removing them.
"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."
So, maybe she could just use a list of reasons why Britain was a "once busy town" and why the WBB was probably the most-used bank on each shard.
This is Origin...it's not horrible
This one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0Ftun1Pt48
Sadly, you only hear this on Felucca now.
ESRB warning: Some Blood. LOTS of Alcohol. Some Violence. LOTS of Bugs
Lol yeah, then there will be a rebellion
ESRB warning: Some Blood. LOTS of Alcohol. Some Violence. LOTS of Bugs
for
Treasure Hunters
The AOS expansion was probably the first in a line of game enhancements that began to remove WBB importance. Luna created a better hub by placing many vendors within close proximity as well as centralized NPC shops and moon gate. Adding features like global chat, New Magincia pet stalls, and vendor search only further take away the need for player base's need to gather in a central location to trade, and socialize. Combine that with a smaller population, third party voice servers, and generally more content to occupy players' time and WBB day in the sun is all but over.
Leave the decorations as they are and devote your resources to things that matter. People will continue to use the spell weaving circle in limited fashion and no one will be butt hurt over things staying in place. If you want some bonus points put a moon gate next to the thing on shards where it is missing instead of getting indignant when someone asks you at a meet and greet for the thousandth time if you will.
WBB is dead. Long live WBB!
Never be afraid to challenge the status quo