Rediscovering Old Places in UO

MacroPlanetMacroPlanet Posts: 105
edited January 2023 in General Discussions

So this took place in 2000 on Napa Valley. Trammel was just introduced through Renaissance, however me and my friend never bought the expansion (at the time) and just stayed in Felucca for quite awhile. All the action was there anyway, as you all know. I had a house just north of the city of Minoc so I spent a lot of my time running to and from the bank of Minoc and to my house. Running into all types of people of course; lots of miners and some PK's that ran around that area. For awhile I told myself that I was going to protect the miners as best as I could, because the mine just outside of Minoc was a hot spot for new miners which naturally brought in a lot of the PK's to grief them. I couldn't really hold my own just because I was new to the game and didn't understand the mechanics that well, but I was dedicated.

Eventually I discovered that you could poison your weapons and to me that was an absolute game changer. Eventually I was able to raise my swordsmanship up high enough to start fending for myself and these helpless miners. I came across a house that was right next to the bridge connecting Minoc to Vesper, right next to the Minoc mountain. It was an improperly placed house on a hill but the coolest thing about this house is that they were selling deadly poison and that's when I realized how much more damage I could do. I believe the person there would also apply the poison to my weapons too, which was nice. For the time that I spend on Napa Valley, that house was my go to for any armor, weapons and deadly poison. It was such a convenient considering it was right next to the area I was trying to fend off PK's and where I lived.

At some point I left OSI (around 2003) and Napa Valley (2008). The shard is not very populated but it stills feels like home to me. After returning to OSI in 2008, I moved on to Chesapeake and eventually Atlantic.

However, just recently I decided to go back to Napa to check things out and to see some old stomping grounds. 

To my surprise I discovered this:

The house that I frequent still stands in 2023. Not sure when it was placed, but to my knowledge it's been there since at least 1999. So many memories rushed back to me. I even found some books in the inside of the house (it's a public house) that are messages from people that play(ed) on Napa dating back from 2007 and 2017. I left a message in there as well dated at 2023.

It just blows my mind that this game--and this house to me--has so much history still packed in it. I love that some places still exist inside of the game that were player controlled. I have no idea if this player still plays anymore (SUMMER of Napa Valley), but i just loved seeing this old house. Improperly placed and loaded with memories.

I'd love to hear some of your stories about rediscovering something years or decades later that still exist within the game. Feel free to share!

Comments

  • keven2002keven2002 Posts: 2,240
    edited January 2023
    This is why I don't really mind running the trade runs for Krampus as it instantly sends me back to pre 2000 back when almost every square of Felucca was populated /useful and I actually had to run a lot of places. Same thing with killing skeletons for bones for Halloween in Britain GY; that was my stomping ground on ATL back in the late 90's / early 2000s! I always like to run around there to see what houses are still there in Fel (I remember I used to have a tent placed like 1 screen over from the GY... now that's old! lol). I eventually placed a house right in back of the GY which I had for quite a while and would PvP from there which was great fun.

    I also got a little bit of that feeling while fighting in Deceit for the archlich event (and 3 kinds before that) when I would go into the level 4 crypt where lich lords spawn. I remember going there with my silver vanq sword (fel) risking it all trying to kill lich lords which were pretty nasty back in the day (probably similar to the paragon LL now).

    The nostalgia UO brings back when I play in certain areas is really the only reason I still subscribe because it's a game I've known for well over half my life. I still get a kick going to random places and killing a lich / dragon and thinking back when UO first launched and how hard it was to kill those things; especially a dragon. Now I'm able to kill a dragon in 2 swings but still makes me think how hard they used to be 20+ years ago.
  • MacroPlanetMacroPlanet Posts: 105
    edited January 2023
    keven2002 said:
    This is why I don't really mind running the trade runs for Krampus as it instantly sends me back to pre 2000 back when almost every square of Felucca was populated /useful and I actually had to run a lot of places. Same thing with killing skeletons for bones for Halloween in Britain GY; that was my stomping ground on ATL back in the late 90's / early 2000s! I always like to run around there to see what houses are still there in Fel (I remember I used to have a tent placed like 1 screen over from the GY... now that's old! lol). I eventually placed a house right in back of the GY which I had for quite a while and would PvP from there which was great fun.

    I also got a little bit of that feeling while fighting in Deceit for the archlich event (and 3 kinds before that) when I would go into the level 4 crypt where lich lords spawn. I remember going there with my silver vanq sword (fel) risking it all trying to kill lich lords which were pretty nasty back in the day (probably similar to the paragon LL now).

    The nostalgia UO brings back when I play in certain areas is really the only reason I still subscribe because it's a game I've known for well over half my life. I still get a kick going to random places and killing a lich / dragon and thinking back when UO first launched and how hard it was to kill those things; especially a dragon. Now I'm able to kill a dragon in 2 swings but still makes me think how hard they used to be 20+ years ago.
    I've been going back to Felucca a lot more lately just because they're still so much there and the memories are almost too much to handle at times. I just came across where an old friend of mine had their house placed just north of Minoc. There was a spot, right next to his house, that you couldn't really see, but it was a small hill that you could run up if you knew about it. Seeing it and walking up it just reminds me back in 1999 discovering it for the first time and how cool we thought we were.

    Same as you, part of the reason I still subscribe is because of the nostalgic trip I get from the game. As well as it's really a unique MMORPG in 2023 and I don't want to lose my house. :)
  • A few years ago, I spent several weeks going around marking runes in every single town. Every rooftop, top of wall, & hidden area that could still be accessed I marked (often with the aid of the remaining rune libraries). Hundreds of runes. It was a lot of fun. I discovered quite a few places in towns that most people have forgotten about or don't know exist.

    I also still go randomly wandering around UO especially late at night when I really do not want to "do" anything but am not ready to go to sleep.
  • SethSeth Posts: 2,904
    edited January 2023
    I think classic houses that are around for say X years or more deserves to be "free". It should not need a paid account to avoid decay. 

    I dislike idoc and feel that it accelerates the death of this game.
    If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 
    ESRB warning: Some Blood. LOTS of Alcohol. Some Violence. LOTS of Bugs
  • RorschachRorschach Posts: 519Moderator
    Some non topical bickering has been removed.
  • SkettSkett Posts: 1,453
    We had 6 houses fall on Pac today 
    not junk accounts that had vet rewards and placed years ago 

    ya the lights are getting dim 
  • BenBen Posts: 246
    edited January 2023

    It just blows my mind that this game--and this house to me--has so much history still packed in it. I love that some places still exist inside of the game that were player controlled. I have no idea if this player still plays anymore (SUMMER of Napa Valley), but i just loved seeing this old house. Improperly placed and loaded with memories.

    I'd love to hear some of your stories about rediscovering something years or decades later that still exist within the game. Feel free to share!

    Memories. We all have a few. This flash is now dated, but still brings a tear to the eye about the early days of UO. A Dog.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKc7r4UGRuE&t=144s
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