Question about all the new topics
So...I am logging in randomly to check updated posts (good reads). I notice people posting about fix this, fix that, etc. Are these forums a platform that will get things done in game through input? All the topics I see have been talked about to death on all the other forums. I am in no way downplaying anything here, just wondering if this forum, since ran through UO.com, will actually make a difference when it comes to input. Thanks in advance.
Comments
There's never any harm in posting things that you feel need fixed/tweaked or whatever as long as they are done in a professional manner, good input is always welcome no matter the platform and I'm sure they will be more then happy to keep adding things to that ever-growing list of things that they need to look at
Also remember that the next publish is the big bug squash publish, so the more bugs that you report, the better that publish will be.
I for one am very excited!
It doesn't even have to be 20 year old code! Look at the glorious plethora of bugs Frontier Developments releases into the wild every time they patch Elite Dangerous. That game is only 3(4?) years old!
More seriously, I think every development team working on large games, especially those that are multiplayer, go through this. The games themselves are just so complex now, with so many interactions, you almost have to expect it.
I'm just happy UO is still even able to turn itself on. I keep waiting for the servers to give up and the patch screen to just say..."I'm done."
ya I do feel for the devs trying fix this old clunker
As far as reporting bugs your best bet is to post them over in the bug forum and/or e-mail them to us directly at the email addresses linked above, or use the in-game reporting methods. When submitting bug reports it is imperative that you provide as much detail as possible. We need to be able to reproduce the issue exactly as it happened to you in order for us to isolate the problem, fix it, then verify that it's fixed. If you submit a bug report, you likely won't receive a response (unless we need more information) but rest assured it gets logged into the system for investigation and future fix. The schedule of that fix depends largely on the severity of the issue.
As far as feature requests, this is what comes up most often at meet & greets and via e-mail and usually go along the lines of "I want X new thing or I think Y should work this way". Those too get logged into our system and when we plan out future publishes we take those requests into consideration while debating the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and risks of such a change or feature. If you want to learn more about SWOT analysis you can check out the HBO series Silicon Valley's hilarious rendition!
Finally we have feedback. This is usually sent in via-email or we hear it directly on TC1 when we release new features. The most helpful feedback articulates a position and provides some context for why you feel the way you do. More detail is always better, as it's often challenging to execute on "This sucks! You don't play the game you lazy devs!" and in the end doesn't help anyone and makes us less inclined to listen to what you have to say.
The forum also plays a valuable role here because it allows more detailed discussions on higher concept feature requests or feedback (such as the recent mining/lumberjacking discussions and the idea of powerscrolls as they relate to pets). Again, articulating your position is always going to help us see your point of view and take that into consideration when we make a decision.
I'll also add, that while we've all got a pretty thick skin, game devs are people too. Remember to always consider the person on the other end of the screen and we're all passionate about Ultima Online. Sometimes things won't go they way you expect and things won't go the way we expect, but we should expect respect! While we can't respond to every thread and every request, at least one of us reads all of them and player's perspective always finds its way into our daily conversations.
So ask away, find those bugs, send in your feedback and we'll see you in Britannia!
Thank you and the entire team for giving us yet another way to communicate with you! I'm diggin it!
Please make the Grizzled Mare a 5 slot mount, it's incredibly rare and deserves it. Some of us have been waiting a long time for this simple addition.
How dare you turn this around on me lol. I will @name you next time, something I did regularly on Stratics too....to no avail....but perhaps things "will" be different here....hrm
Please make the Grizzled Mare a 5 slot mount, it's incredibly rare and deserves it. Some of us have been waiting a long time for this simple addition.
One major cause of a weak and dead economy is too few players on most shards. External to the game itself, somehow enticing a large number of new players to come and try out UO is one solution. In game, consolidating very low population shards would be another (at the risk of vehement protest by existing players who love their shards).
Going past the "more players per shard" option, a long-term problem is items from monster drops are viewed to be as good or better than crafted items. The devs have tried various ways to address this:
- the BOD system, giving crafters something to do besides sell to fellow players
- the imbuing system, allowing crafters to customize their work in a controllable fashion
- the vendor search capability, actually allowing players to find what is being proffered
#1 is not a solution to a dead economy. It is very useful and popular, but is a surrender to the concept of making crafters' goods desirable. Nevertheless, I believe the BOD system should stay. Even a healthy economy could not support a large number of crafters who like using their skills. Supply >> Demand. That said, it could be tuned. Something that frustrates me about BODs is their total randomness. I'd like to see BODs for a certain skill to be allowed to scale to a character's current ability. A new blacksmith in training, but past New Haven, would much more benefit from "make 20 bone harvesters out of iron" (33 base skill) than "make 15 dread swords out of dull copper" (75 base skill). Once a player reached 100 skill, item level would once again become random. Or the player could shut off the level-scaling at any time (so BOD-gatherers could continue what they have grown accustomed to.)#2 helps a lot. I'm sure there are ways to improve it, but it already allows, for example, a skilled Blacksmith or Tailor to design whole armor sets balancing item properties with certain overall goals. If there is a problem, it is player ignorance, or even an attitude of, "I don't care. Monster drops are good enough."
#3 is also extremely beneficial. To help the economy, it might somehow favor exceptionally crafted goods over monster drops.
Another unpopular, but I think useful, idea is to simply make monster drops less powerful. There is currently little desire to use crafted goods. The goods of high-end crafters should not be dwarved by random monster drops and artifacts. While a crafter might enhance a random monster drop, it's sort of like helping your competition. A balance here is admittedly tricky. A player who likes PvM should be rewarded and be able to find really nice items. This is especially true on the many shards with low populations and few active crafters selling to players. Yet there still should be a perception that exceptionally crafted items are as good or better than what may be obtained via hunting. How vet rewards should be balanced is yet another permutation. The overall goal, though, is to make high-end crafted stuff perceived as very desirable. Of course, they already are, but the perception doesn't seem to match the reality.
Part of this post is driven by a positive anecdote from this morning. On Sonoma right now, two crafters have for sale Gargish armor sets mostly tuned for LRC. My new Gargoyle there lusts after either, but he needs 30,000 gold for one and 50,000 for the other. The more expensive one has additional value in that it adds a Gargish ring and bracelet, both with +13 magery and +13 mysticism. Just about perfect, with more Magery skill than a human's 20 JOAT. Add in a +10 Magery spellbook, and he could even Recall effectively. (His template doesn't offer any means of long distance travel; Mysticism is his only magic.) I'd like to thank both crafters for their work, and I'm about to go back in game to earn the gold to buy a set.
AFAIK the original work began in 1995 and there was a playable alpha in April of 1996. I wonder how many people remember what computers and gaming was like at the time.
On top of that, when EA realized how big UO(and MMOs in general) were going to be, they stripped the Ultima IX team for people to work on UO. The IX team was not happy and both projects suffered.