can we get an age of shadows inspired legacy server?
I am here requesting a new shard be developed loosely based on the Age of Shadows expansion. Age Of Shadows has been the foundation of which Ultima Online has been built the last 16 years with most of it's features still functional in game today yes some has changed and been altered and new things added over the course of 16 years but the game at its core is still built on the same AoS model. Because of the fact many components of UO are still the same today as they were 16 years ago makes AoS the most logical choice for a new shard to be based upon, not to mention UO hit it's peak during the AoS expansion era which has carried gameplay for 16 going on 17 years now thats a 17 year window that players have enjoyed the game during that time span 17 years of old veteran players that may have quit due to changes they didn't like or simply took a break only to come back to see their friends have moved on or found it to difficult to get back into due to over complicated changes. This is a 17 year window that the game should attempt to capitalize on by putting the developmental time in to providing players the opportunity to take it all back to the start of Age of Shadows. Current players like myself are increasingly frustrated with a lot of changes that have occurred lately this is a chance for UO to fix some of the things that have destroyed the community aspect of UO players past and present long to play the game when it was group oriented just a bunch of people going out hunting monsters and collecting gold no one was overpowered on a sampire or had 5 slot pets that eliminated the need to group to do content. Crafters were vital members of the community providing some of the best equipment available.
If we have any hope of attracting actual new players this is the best chance we got. Making a legacy AoS server will drive nostalgia in veterans and intrigue new players, the idea of a fresh start and new economy 15 years after the last server was launched (Origin) is critical for the game and finally with Endless Journey this provides the perfect Trifecta to lure players to Ultima Online. New players need to log in for the first time and see hundreds (thousands?) of players starting out at the same time they need to randomly encounter people while running through the woods or adventuring into dungeons and actually see people enjoying the game. They need to see a vibrant world filled with other fellow adventurers not log into any shard but Atlantic and feel like they are in a single player game. Players will get hooked on UO by actually playing with other people just like everyone here did the development team just needs to provide the server that will bring together new, returning and current players together so people can start friendships that will last a lifetime or reconnect once again with long lost guildmates. I am not trying to imply it will be necessarily easy to accomplish but I don't feel it would be overly difficult or time consuming to have a functional AoS era inspired server up and running.
I think the best way to launch a legacy server would be to break it up into updates. Going back through the publishes and determining what changes have happened that have no impact on the Age of Shadows feel (there is a lot) like gold changes, veteran rewards, virtue system, vendor search heck even city elections *as long as no trade deals* to name a few that can stay in the game. Figure out what critical features would need to be restored or removed to fit the timeline which would be things like the loot system, skills, landmass and playable races and removal of VvV. Next if any major systems were to require substantial reworking but not necessarily needed upon launch of a server could be considered 'update' patches a month, year or even 5 years after the launch of servers things like Bulk Order Deeds and Factions obviously BOD's would be pretty important to get in but it makes a lot of sense to have a delay between features as it will allow people time to enjoy the game without feeling overwhelmed trying to do everything at once. And finally compile a list of smaller changes that have happened over the years like changes to skills or casting focus and poison immunity, weapon swing speeds, spell changes and other smaller issue's that the devs can fix over time whether in a main update or just slowly over time with regular shard updates. This way would allow the dev's to have a playable server online quicker and then be able to provide content updates for current shards to keep everyone happy before going back and working on secondary system updates for legacy so the time between updates is hardly noticed.
Anyways this is getting long so I will end with this. We players deserve the chance to see if a legacy server can bring back lost friends and even attract new players. I know some will want to go even further back then AOS and I hear that but that is an entire remaking of the game as everything has changed. Let's pull from the almost 17 years UO has been influenced by the AoS style and show broadsword that legacy servers can thrive. The game deserves the chance to see if a legacy announcement can generate genuine interest in it once again. We've waited long enough to get a legacy server as we sat by watching friends and foes fall off due to changes over the last 17 years we absolutely deserve the shot however long it may be to bring those friends back. Friendships made in UO are the best kind and I hate to say it again but we do deserve that chance to play this game once again with all our friends that have quit for various reasons over the past 16 years! @Mesanna @Kyronix @Bleak ; Please take a shot on legacy server playing with old friends and meeting new players should be a top priority for the game.
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Comments
"Legacy code" doesn't exist and freeshards don't run real UO code, so don't point to them as any sort of example.
This issue has been litigated far too many times, always with the same result.
This is not only a great idea, that should be very heavily considered, its about the only thing that could save this game.
You cant tell me that player run servers can handle implementing these very rulesets, and coding but our actual uo programmers cannot? Laughable and ridiculous.
This isnt stratics Dot, go back where you can delete our posts and maintain posts about the things you and your chosen 8 players can do as you please.
Please Mesanna, consider this. This needs to happen.
The implemention would be no more difficult then any major publish. Diffence this one would actually bring players back, unlike any of the recent publishes that allow you to play pirates with AI. How many returning players have cited that for thete return?? Less than 10, guaranteed.
Every time this idea gets shot down we lose potentially hundreds of players returning, and thousands in revenue for a dying game.
Quit being Obtuse Warden. Andy dont like it.
If I wanted to play on a densely populated shard I would.
I have no problem finding people to play with if I want to.
If you can't find anyone to play with maybe the problem isn't the population level of your shard.
Or is your problem you can't find enough people to PK in fel?
This argument has gone around many time and alway the same answer from Broadsword (NO) so why are you wasting your time?
But even if Broadsword had the old code for your AoS shard would you want if locked down at that point? Or would you want them to keep updating it with bug fixes and events?
From all appearances they are struggling with keeping 2 rule sets going and you want them to add a 3rd?
Never be afraid to challenge the status quo
It isn't my opinion, it's stated fact from the developers. A legacy shard, from any era, isn't in the cards.
Your lack of knowledge about UO isn't surprising. Freeshards don't run UO server code, they run on platforms coded in this millennium. Their systems can be reconfigured far more easily than 22+yo spaghetti. You might want to at least do a little bit of research so that you're not so obviously speaking out your posterior.
UO's six devs do not have the bandwidth to take on a 3rd ruleset, nor does Broadsword have the extra funds to pump into such an endeavor. (only two out of those six officially code) EA holds the purse strings and is notoriously stingy, go petition them to invest a few mill into a speculative venture. We'll wait.
BTW, I'm not a Stratics mod. I don't have that kind of patience for idiocy.
p.s. You might want to actually understand that scene. The irony is delicious.
The Devs have stated over and over again that it is not feasible for them rewrite the game’s code to make a “legacy server”.
Player-run free shards are not sanctioned by EA/Broadsward and pointing to them every time people don’t like what Official UO is doing only harms those of us loyal to the actual game.
"Insanity is a naturally occurring mutation; humanity has just managed to perfect it." -- JMK [[me]]
Sam/pire - template comprised primarily of the BUSHIDO (aka way of the SAMurai) and NECROMANCY (the "pire" comes from the Vampiric Embrace spell).
The Bushido skill was not available until the Samurai Empire expansion which was released in 2004. Age of Shadows came out in 2003. There for we had a glorious year before the birth of the Sampire. There may have been a vampire-warrior template before SE but it was not a sampire. Also I believe skill boost items may have been added later, but I'm not 100% on that.
Vic you actually surprised me not knowing this, because I always thought you'd been playing long than I. Also you always seemed very well studied in Ultima Online history and lore.
Never be afraid to challenge the status quo
Make a guild that uses GM armor only and then when you can show us battles of hundreds of accounts, come back and show us.
Reflections of the past are always rosy. That time period was horrible.
Never be afraid to challenge the status quo
Never be afraid to challenge the status quo
So you want to drop down to 4 land masses: Tram, Fel, Ilshenar and Malas and you want to do away with Samurai Empire • Mondain's Legacy • Kingdom Reborn • Stygian Abyss • Time of Legends and HighSeas, any and all updates after 2003 AoS launch and you think this will bring back old players. What is it about AoS that makes you think that it will revive UO. And you also understand that there was no EC back then so the only client will be the CC.