Perhaps the road to help repopulate Felucca might come from "killing" Ghost Cams and the likes ?
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Comments
This thing started back in 1998/99 - way before power scrolls - when players in a single facet were so crowded a small prefab house (7x7 tiles) cost well over 5million gold. Large towers, keeps, and castles were sold via Ebay for _very_ lucrative prices ($5000 for a large tower - sheesh - and that was "affordable" for Napa). A cry for a new area for houses was the loudest cry, ever. Forget PKing and raids. It was the HOUSE.
Yes, there was cheating, looting, thefts, scams, ghost-cams (even back then - they lived at Yew Gate*), and stalkers. And definitely pvp/pking. Mobs were not the top monster, another player was. It was a wild land, a bad land, a place where you MUST have friends along for a run between Yew and Brit, or a dungeon crawl through Shame, or anything away from the Guard Zones.
And the players would congregate - form squads - guilds. Guilds would war, get ganked, get stalked. House wars were had. Camping an enemy's guild house, even their private houses, was the new PK-ing guild's past time. It would start as consensual PvP guild wars, but would grow into something else. Noto-killers were rampant. Being a Lord or Lady meant you were at the top of your game - or you lost it, badly. Res-killing was a growing thing - and some PKers thought it grand to sit at your house and res-kill you after slaying every healer within 5 screens.
Them were wild days.
Before power scrolls, the bloodshed was personal. People took offense to it, a lot of people, and cried to the gods.
And it wasn't just things happening with UO - but influences outside of the game itself that brought about changes. UO was alone in the MMO world to start. The first REAL successful game to break into the internet which was, in and of itself, also a wild land. As other game developers got sophisticated, and in some ways copied the UO model (Everquest, then WoW - and both had non-consent pvp to start - they just lacked housing), there was competition for the attention of the Paying Subscriber.
I believe Everquest was the first to kinda do away with non-consent PvP - that is where my evil sister went, abandoning me to the wilds of UO for her tree-jumping cows. WoW instanced their dungeons and non-consent areas, while UO kept it all open sandbox. Paying Subscribers started to budget their monies - and subscription changes were made. EA noticed.
So, the developers had to find a why to keep subscriptions, and they looked at all the forums and found the biggest issues...
1. Real Money Transactions OUTSIDE of UO
2. housing availability (tie)
2. pking (tie)
3. non-consentual pvp
Not too long after Trammel was live, Ebay became a bannable offense. To Ebay even resources would mean you would lose all related accounts. That threw a lot of merchandisers for a loop - a serious loop. Some people had quit their "day jobs" to totally live off of UO (this is what helped spawn the idea of Second Life) - and they made a pretty decent living from what I've read.
But the MMO market continued to grow. New games were coming out almost weekly, and Blizzard took the hard stance with WoW players.
More "care bear" games came out that...
1 - were more enjoyable to the growing numbers of online gamers
2 - are easier to learn and master without a huge investment of time
3 - looked prettier, which also drove the hardware market (graphics cards, better monitors, more ram, etc)
4 - are more suited to the solo player
MMOs took a turn and became places where you didn't need the community much anymore. Many MMOs actually encourage solo play now. And players, themselves (and most of the people posting here) interacted less and less as communities and more like individuals who are just wanting to "win the game" by having all the stuffs and killing all the mobs and doing all the contents.
So my loooong post sums it up as such - UO is past its prime. It has the ONE single feature every other game has been striving for for years... that is Custom Housing. Only one other game has homes; and we shouldn't be surprised that this game's creator is behind it (SotA); but to stay streamlined with its 3D houses and still deliver a fast game, the homes are not custom and decorating is no where near as individualistic as UO is.
So UO has "crappy art" - there is no other system deliverable over the internet with housing as ours. Get used to it. It is not just a nostalgia factor.
But I digress.
Felucca.. the blasted land... the root of all evil and the bane of every blue - is an aspect of this game that should NEVER be removed. Without Felucca, there might be instanced dungeons (wait, there are) in Trammel. Power Scrolls are not just available in Fel... get a binder and combine your itty-bitty scrolls into those more powerful ones. That is just "stuff", pixels on a screen.
Felucca is a mindset. It is not just risk and reward; is not just nostalgia. There is danger, there is risk, and there is reward - why else would it be there? Consider it a huge dungeon... just like any other dungeon. There were times "Ghost Cams" would hang out in Shame... it is a typical style of play and one that would be hard to get rid of. It is a common tactic in war to send out scouts - be they hidden by skill or by death - a clairvoyant could speak with the dead... isn't that a Necro skill? This is a common thing, and using game mechanics with outside chat is not necessarily cheating. Ghost Cams have been around since 1997.. even during beta if memory serves.
Players in UO just seem to want all the stuffs and play all the contents without any of the risk from the unnameable AI.... another player.
There are areas of WoW players will never discover because of their play-style choices. Certain classes are not allowed in certain areas - and that is by design of the Blizzard gods. Wait, we have that in UO too.. Wind is for mages only....
"Is not fair only mages can go into Wind and reap karma and fame with fighting demons there! I want my Tinker to go there and get fame and karma, too!!!"
That is what a lot of these posts sound like. And yes, it is silly.
So the ONLY thing "blue players" in UO "hate" about Felucca is the fact that 120s drop there? Well... would you expect to find the Stygian Dragon roaming around the woods of New Magincia? No... that dragon belongs in the Abyss. Legendary scrolls belong in Felucca. You have other mechanics to get a 120 in the Trammel ruleset. Just Do It. The monopoly on power scrolls? Sorry, there is no monopoly. Just lazy players who won't get binders to combine their lesser power scrolls - a game mechanism the devs created as a result of the cry against the... powerscroll monopoly. *cough*
*afterthought*
TBH, Felucca is a reminder of how this game started, and the dream that is Sosaria. A wild land, untamed, with risk around every tree. Where players hunt out the most challenging of creatures known to man....
... another man.
*Yew Gate. Someone wonders why that is a thing.
Well, when Felucca was the only land, the Reds and Grays couldn't bank... except for at the Empath Abbey. It was there that the NPC bankers would get close enough to the outer walls that a Red or Gray could bank without getting guard-whacked. Of course, there were those who would "patrol" the area and kill any Reds/Grays they saw without parlay... and those Reds/Grays would run to the Yew Gate to attempt escape.
And there, at the Yew Gate, would sit a "Ghost Cam" of some guild or another, and they would send the word via pigeon (ICQ) that a certain Red was running the gate - and people would appear... and that Red would scream to the winds for assistance... and more people would appear. Or turn it around... a Blue would be banking at the Abbey, and a Ghost Cam would alert the Reds.. particularly if the Blue was a Lord or Lady - and Glorious/Dread were so much sought after - for noto-killing was serious business back then.
So, it was simple geography. The gate was close enough to the only bank available for certain players to use.
And the battles were glorious!
And old enemies have ancient grudges and long memories with established habits.
kirthag.blogspot.com
Just put some bloody Powerscrolls in Trammel somewhere so we can end all of this for pity's sake. Even if they are just 105s that's enough to satisfy me. It beggars belief when developers ignore the cries of their player base because they think they know best
Im sorry but you don't. Put some scrolls in Trammel as a test, and watch the population of Felucca fall even lower..just to prove the point.
And there aren't loads of 110/115s to buy either. There are hardly any scrolls available on some servers mainly because they are owned by a select few, who also have no need to sell them. I was listening to one Pvp'er in chat who had transferred from another shard saying he had brought with him 5 full books of 120 PS...
Agree in putting scrolls in Tram in some other way other than some grindy quest.
Also there is no such thing as a monopoly on scroll markets, anyone can go do them on almost every single shard at any time. The only shard that you might need to go off peak is atl, no other shard has people on most of the time. I have sampires on like 7-8 US shards and I can solo spawns all day everyday, but its boring to me to do it over and over.
Its all just a video game, if people get this heated over it, maybe you should find something better to do with your time.
Amazing. *Bows*.
And, by the way, I have been meaning to pay respects to EM Malachi for a long time. Their storytelling is very strong, and I actually really enjoy reading their new snippets and chapters.
Of course there aren't....
Because those few players who hold tight the MONOPOLY of powerscrolls, keep those lesser scrolls to bind them into 120s and then sell them for outrageous prices...
It is amazing to me how there might be some UO players disputing how there is no Monopoly of Powerscrolls in the hands of a few....
The clear sign of that is the HIGH, outrageously HIGH prices of Powerscrolls !!
Which it means, that their availability is scarce because the largest majority of players does not have access to them, regardless of how and why this might be.
Make Powerscrolls spawn also on Facets other then Felucca, hell, use the current ongoing changes to Treasure Hunting by making 105s and 110s spawn in ALL facets' Chests, not just in those in Felucca, and make 115s and 120s spawn in Treasure Chests in Felucca and THEN we will see their availability increase and, thus, their prices to go down to more reasonable figures....
And why would this happen ? Because the current Monopoly that few players hold tight on Powerscrolls would no longer exist, thus "freeing" a large availability of Powerscrolls.
And this would help fight the iper-inflation of Ultima Online....
At least, that is the way I see it.
If you get raided constantly, join a guild. Make a guild. Go to a dead shard and farm away.
Actually playing with others will cut into profits but it can be fun.
It's not that hard.
This could happen IF AFK scripted Ghost Cams or EJ free, hidden characters were made NOT possible to monitor multiple areas....
But as it is now, where players can be spotted easily through such AFK scripted ghosts/EJ hidden characters, and then through discord or other Comms several PvP players be summoned to Raid, I do not see how that can happen.... players CANNOT go do them "like that"..... because the moment they try, chaces are that they get spotted and raided.....
It is my understanding that I hear that there is PvP Guilds who even "keep an eye" on low population Shards' Champ Spawns and have their AFK scripted Ghost Cams/EJ hidden characters also there, and log in their PvP Raiders right at first signs of other players' presence at those locations..... on low population shards !! I have heard of quite a number of players doing Champ Spawns on low population Shards AND getting raided there !!
To go back to the OP, I say take away FOR GOOD to players the ability to AFK run scripts of Ghost Cams and/or EJ free hidden characters and THEN we can talk perhaps about how players might "have a chance" at playing the powerscrolls Champ Spawns content....
Besides, I understand that such AFK scripting is against UO's TOS..... so why is it still possible ?
At least, that is the way I see it.
WTB a Cameo, Slither, Invasion Spellbook or many many many other unique Trammel items for 10 million please.
Oh, I can't?
It is amazing to me how there might be some UO players disputing how there is no Monopoly of Trammel Artifacts in the hands of a few....
"The clear sign of that is the HIGH, outrageously HIGH prices of Trammel Unique Items !!"
Which it means, that their availability is scarce because the largest majority of players does not have access to them, regardless of how and why this might be. I personally refuse to go to Trammel, because of the outrageous, rampant scripting, cheating, multiboxing, greed displayed at events, and general gutter like behaviour of many Trammies.
Make Trammel Unique Artifacts spawn also on Facets other then Trammel, hell, use the current ongoing changes to Treasure Hunting by making these Artifacts spawn in ALL facets' Chests, not just in those in Trammel, and make Trammel Artifacts spawn in Treasure Chests in Felucca and THEN we will see their availability increase and, thus, their prices to go down to more reasonable figures....
And why would this happen ? Because the current Monopoly that few players hold tight on Trammel Artifacts would no longer exist, thus "freeing" a large availability of Trammel Artifacts.
And this would help fight the Hyper-inflation of Ultima Online....
At least, that is the way I see it.
And by the way, I think Feluccan's get so tired of saying it, we get so weary, there is no monopoly... It is a complete figment of your imaginations...
#1- I could stand and fight. (I will most likly be killed)
#2- Make a run for it. (Still most likely be killed) or
#3- Try to hide. (Guess I would most likely be killed lol)
The point is I like to explore Fel a little and I will continue to do so if the risk is not too great and it is not since most people are doing Pirate stuff of T Hunter stuff.
Some things to help you when you go to fel.
#1- Don't take anything with you that you do not mind losing.
#2- If you afraid of losing someting make sure you insure it.
#3- If it cannot be insured but you are afraid of losing it then see #1.
Also if you do want to go do a spawn plan it and invite a couple of trusted friends to assist you, it will go much faster. Have a protector and that way you will double you PS Drop.
Make it a Guild event or hire a red to assist and protect, he will get half the scrolls for protecting the group.
I wish I could create a guild to do spawns on my shard but I work at crazy hours. But someone else can do it if they have the time.
I apoligize for the long post, I hope it was helpful.
Your point has been noted many times here. The Devs are aware of the issue, so constantly brining it up every day may also be a moot point. If you feel you are a disadvantage playing in Fel I suggest don't play in fel until the problem as YOU see it is fixed. Also maybe you should e-mail the Dev team directly in sted of posting the same problem over and over in this forum. As I see it you may have better results that way, in my opinion of course.
And also by the way maybe the reason not many raise their voice could mean it is not a huge issue, or that they report the issue to the Dev team and give them time to do something about, which may take a great amount of time since the are trying to work on more pressing issues.
To keep this thread open lets keeps this discussion civil.
I think some pro-PK people are missing the point. There is a perception of a monopoly on power scrolls. Perception is more dangerous than facts.
If enough people believe their imaginations that there is a monopoly then they will act like there actually is a monopoly and voice their displeasure of it on forums.
Telling Trammies to skill up so they can take on Reds in Fel is self serving. You want people to change their play style so they will go to Fel and you can fight them. That is not going to happen. They will get on to forums and complain.
Personally, I avoid going to places in Fel where there is a big chance of encountering a red, because fighting other players is not my play style. Yes, I miss out on events and spawns. But I would rather miss out on those then have some Red spoil the game for me.
"Spoiling the game for others" is not a point for you to miss.
We all know about the cams. The problem is they HAVE to catch them performing an action. If they start banning just for being logged in and standing somewhere, there goes half of luna bank too. The team has never said if they can detect 3rd party apps so nobody really knows.
Another thing is the guilds that run cams are not on 24/7. The vast majority of us are are grown up enough now to have some sort of job and or outside life. You probably can spawn untouched. It's just a matter of finding the times to do it.
popps said:I am surprised to notice that only few have clearly spoken against what is, to my understanding, a clear violation of Ultima Onlne's Terms of Service (TOS).
Popps , to me, scripting in Trammel wiped out the game economy. Duping, Events with 100m items being given away for free - etc etc. Once we've had to learn to accept all of this, and learn to play, adapt to it, a little bit of spawn camming on top in Felucca, is really just the icing on the cake - it makes no difference to me, I've already been forced to accept it all.
You are completely correct, in a perfect world, it wouldn't all happen, but it does, and there is not much anyone can do about it without spending more time than it is worth. I've had to adapt my mindset, and playstyle, to do what I enjoy, regardless. It is very possible.
The thing about spawn camming, whilst yes, it is a negative thing, and a few of my guildmates would even agree with you - and we are a spawning Feluccan guild - is it has pro's and con's. The pro's include - the very fact it is happening, and that players care about it, means the content is highly active, and sought after - this is far better than the dead cycles we have seen in the past. Lets just enjoy the fact the content is active.
TimSt said:
Telling Trammies to skill up so they can take on Reds in Fel is self serving. You want people to change their play style so they will go to Fel and you can fight them. That is not going to happen. They will get on to forums and complain.
Personally, I avoid going to places in Fel where there is a big chance of encountering a red, because fighting other players is not my play style. Yes, I miss out on events and spawns. But I would rather miss out on those then have some Red spoil the game for me.
"Spoiling the game for others" is not a point for you to miss.
I am not telling anyone to do anything, if you don't want to go there, fine, as everyone has said, there are plenty of other ways to get them, they are very cheap to buy, in comparison with the Trammel unique artifact drops. One spare cameo can buy you a shedload of 120 scrolls. As can 1 Trammel Event drop.
You are quite right - I avoid going to places In any Trammel facet, many of us also choose not to go to Trammel events, or Shadowguard, or Doom, because of the facet it is held in - and we are penalised.
If you guys want fairness and equality re powerscrolls, I want it across the board, so my playstyle isn't being punished, and everything is just given to players who go to very little effort for it, when I am playing the full game content against other players, and competing properly for my rewards. It's already bad enough in my opinion.
Sorry I lost the quotes in editing.
Everyone complains about everything though. It's the new way of life in the digital era.
Same could be said for trying to change a 15 year old champ system that has worked just because everything in game has increased in prices.
I don't and can't understand the mentality that players have no fear when encountering a mob that can deal 200 damage in one hit but can't stand the thought of facing another player.
Doesnt matter how much you argue, some people will like Felucca, others prefer Trammel
Doesnt matter what you introduce or try to police in the game, unless its is actively policed/controlled people will cheat or find a way to abuse the rule set
I found a guy botting his animal taming in Trammel, so i used the fact he wasnt there to move his character out of the safe area into a load of silver serpents, as my ticket request with UO remained un-answered
So if they are relying on the community to police cheats/scripters etc, then maybe having the option of ticketing this and enabling you to kill the suspected scripter or whatever without penalty in either trammel or felucca could be an option.
Would obviously need some thought or this in itself would be open to abuse
This is hardly about complaining "per se" but more of a real, tangibile problem for me....
Being a returning player with a Tamer and several untrained "Legacy" pets in the stables, I have, if I wanted to train them all as one would imagine considering every single of them has a history for me since I choose it and tamed it back in the days, a need for a huge number of 120s....
An almost impossible task to achieve, if I had to purchase all of the 120s that I would need to train them all up....
So, I would like to earn them on my own but, given the status quo and the extreme high likeliness to get Raided, I guess it is not worth the effort to work up a Spawn up to the Boss to then loose all of the work done to some Raider.... better just not start it in the first place....
Grind some absurd Spawn in Trammel to get a rare drop that sells high ?
To alienate myself from playing UO because of the absurd grinding and quit again ?
I came back to ENJOY the playing, not to alienate myself from playing again because of absurd grinds and then quit playing once again....
So, I see myself with no solution to this problem.
One could be finding others to do Champ Spawns but with the current low number of players and many players mostly wanting to do things in UO solo, that's also a quite difficult thing to succeed in.... and even if I was to find some players willing to do some Champ Spawns together, this would be for just a few times, while instead, considering the high number of 120s I would need if I wanted to train all of my pets up, I would have to do it over and over and over....
So, as I said, I see myself with no solution to this problem other then perhaps just pick 1 or 2 pets and train them if I either find the gold to buy the 120s I would need for them or the people to do a few spawns together until I earn the 120s I would need on my own, and leave all of the other pets there in the Stables, untouched....