To the Grinch that stole UO Christmas
I am horribly disappointed that a 23 year old tradition has been broken. In the past when new gifts could not be created, we were at least given repeats of the year before. It couldn't have been too horribly difficult to reactivate an already written code. You had time to create spawns and other new items. Did you just wake up and decide to play the role of Grinch this year, or was it laziness that stole our Christmas? I love and look forward to the UO Christmas season all year. I have an entire museum in game dedicated to Christmas!
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High Council Sage
Ancient Conclave of Wisdom
ICQ 248-636-691
Discord Lord Nabin#5433
lordnabin@yahoo.com
Now, would it have been that difficult or complicated to pick a couple of these items and put them as 2020 Holiday Gifts ?
I mean, how many new items are we getting in between the Ice Dungeon and the Artisan Festival ? Ten ? If they were 8 and 2 were given as 2020 Holiday Gifts, would it have been such a big deal?
This thing to me looks as inexplicable as the persistance, despite players' continued requests, not to want to reduce Bulk Order Deeds Books count to 1 item and to help players with their storage issues by introducing Weapons Racks and Armor Armoires which could hold 500 items like Jewellry boxes but count as 1 item.....
If there is new stuff which can help players enjoy the game more, why not make it possible ?
There is always new stuff, new items added with any new event and, of course, as people get the new stuff it adds up..... space keeps running out.
Yet, to players' requests for help to increase their storage capabilities, little comes....
The Bank and House storage increase is still at +60% which it was done YEARS ago (in 2010 with the High Seas Expansion.... that is some 10 Years ago folks !!) ..... yet, over these years, HOW MANY new items have been added to Ultima Online for players to collect and store ?
When was the last time that we so items be made stackable ?
Yet, there is LOTS which still cannot be stacked and even those which can be stacked, have issues where sometimes they refuse to stack (take seeds just as 1 possible example whereas they only stack inside a seeds box but not if they are in a container.... or fish steaks which also sometimes do not stack... and so forth)
I simply do not get it.
Even if you take the 10days period it would still be ready for 25th dec (the xmas tradition in U.S., here in my country we get gifts on the 24th)
ESRB warning: Some Blood. LOTS of Alcohol. Some Violence. LOTS of Bugs
There are now several threads here on the subject. Has the dev. team not responded to it at all?
The newsletter wasn't out until the 9th of December though. If it had been out before the 1st, at least we would have known before opening up our accounts.
I'm disappointed just like most others we didn't get something cool to commemorate the holidays but honestly I'd rather not have some recycled token from last year with the same junk that didn't have anything usable (at least previous years we had recipe book / jewelry box) just for the sake of seeing a token in my pack say "2020 Holiday Gift Token".
That said, the Dev team says we aren't getting tokens this year so it's time to move on and focus on one of the events that are live. I'd be more concerned about what's on the docket starting next month when all 3 of these events are over. For anyone who forgets, we had an 8 month span this year without any new content...that seems like a bigger issue to me than a holiday token.
I sure hope that future new content will be less of a repetitive grind that gets old and tedious after a while... and more about actual, interesting gameplay....
Does it have to be either interminable grinds OR handouts from a clickie ?
There cannot be instead some way in between which would take interesting, enjoyable and entertaining gameplay ?
Seriously if grind is the problem just move there. Handled.
*Tips his glass and takes a long draft of Good Old Moonglow Red.* *Winks*
High Council Sage
Ancient Conclave of Wisdom
ICQ 248-636-691
Discord Lord Nabin#5433
lordnabin@yahoo.com
A little less ego-thinking, know-it-all and rumbling compared to others who aren't so "great" and the UO-life would be a whole corner easier
(Ein bisschen weniger Ego-Denken, Besserwisserei und Rumprollerei anderen gegenüber die halt nicht so "toll sind" und das UO-Leben wäre ne ganze Ecke einfacher)
On a lighter (and a little more seasonal) note... anyone remember when Test Center was Xmas themed years ago and there were reindeer etc etc for like the whole month? I think we should bring THAT back! I'd probably play there for a majority of the month!
I average 1 Statue drop every 3, more often 4 spawns and I got so far like 65 Statues.
That means, that I have done about 240 ilshenar Spawns..... moreless....
And that Spawn, is always the same....
Is this a reasonable and enjoyable gameplay mechanics if I may ask ?
I did not enjoy it, honestly, I may have the first few times but, after like doing it 10 or 20 times, it became quite old....
I did it just because I wanted to get those Statues as a set which I will never even be able to do since there is 64 Statues in a set of which 8 are of a rare Hue. A rare Hue of which, in 65 drops, I did not even get a single one..... so, after all that effort and time spent I will not even be able to have a complete set.
Others may think that this is acceptable and enjoyable gaming, I happen to think otherwise and would like to see gameplay that was less grinding and more feasible...
My point being, that if a player, after doing some repetitive 240 something spawns in a short time (which makes it feel the stress and the tediousness even more...) still is not able to reach the goal of having a set of whatever that Spawn drops, a limited Event spawns, mind you, not a permanent and persistent one, then, at least to my opinion, something is wrong with the way that such content has been released to players.
What would your idea of 'interesting, enjoyable & entertaining gameplay' be? Give us an example.
I make things not a grind by ringing the changes and doing different things. As an example, training taming on polar bears can be a grind, unless you ring the changes by breaking off and training on something aggressive for a while as a break. I trained on all kinds of things, scorpions, giant spiders etc, which also taught me, the player, the art of lead-taming.
Training weapon skills on a golem or wolf spider is a grind, not to mention not cost-effective. I trained by killing stuff of the right difficulty, which also got me resources like leather etc and gold to boost my bank balance.
Current events, I spend a little time collecting and filling bods, a little time killing with my warrior gathering imbuing resources, a little time on my tamer, gathering different resources, a little time on either warrior or archer in Ice and if I've a decent sized amount of time left, a little while running trades for Krampus in vague hope I might get the spiked whip recipe drop which I missed out on last year. I don't spend enough time on any one activity for it to become a grind.
If you have 65 statues, why don't you look to trade the dupes for the ones you need if you really want the full set? Otherwise why are you doing something you don't like (it's just a collection, the statues don't do anything to further your gameplay).
I've done that with every single treasures of the event I can remember. I like to collect the plate sets so I do the spawn to collect them but also look to trade pieces for the plate. Sometimes I'll offer a 2 for 1 or I'll save other pieces in hopes to trade 1 for 1 to someone else in need.
Frankly, the rare hue has been made too rare, to my opinion. Not having received even 1 of them with 65 drops and a whole month of doing this Spawn daily, some 240 times, seems to me excessive to be honest.
Take the Shadowguard Cameo as an example.
That is quite a rare drop likely rarer then getting a Statue at the Ilshenar Spawn BUT, number 1 it is a persistent Spawn so, players can do it at their best convenience when they want AND, most importantly, it is not the only 1 drop there, there is other items, not as rare a drop, but other items which players can still get when working that Spawn.
With the Ilshenar Spawn, instead, it is a combination of things which all works against the player, to my opinion.
Number 1, it is a limited time Event which it means, that the player has to keep doing it over and over and over no matter how repetitive and tedious it might be if they want to try get that set of Statues before the Event is over.
Number 2, the amount of statues has been made, to my opinion, given the life of the Event and their rarity as a drop (my experience, but other players told me the same thing, was 1 drop every 3, more likely 4 Spawns done) too large.... 4 types of Statues in 2 Versions and 8 Hues makes a total of 64 Statues of which, 8 are also a much rarer drop as the other 56....
All this, the limited time of the Event, the large number of statues to collect and their rarity as a drop all combined to force a player who wanted to get the set, to have to work this particular Spawn over and over in too short a time.
Of course that a player can then get stressed out and alienate from wanting to play the game.... especially, if after all this work and dedication, they cannot even reach their goal to get that full set of Statues....
Content can be made difficult, to require work but up to a point, to my opinion, eventually, the player needs to have a possibility to get satisfaction for the work and the dedication.
As I said, to others it might be acceptable and understandable that, after a whole month of work and some 240 Spawns done, give or take, the goal of putting together a set of 64 Statues has not been met, I happen to think otherwise and consider this as not fun nor enjoyable.
It is work and time, a lot of work and a lot of time spent, ending up in failure as the goal of collecting all 64 statues was not met.
I could understand if I ended up with 1 or 2 missing but honestly, ending up with 10 missing of which 8 are all the rare Hue type I do not think it as acceptable.
Over 65 Statues, I should have gotten at least some of the rare Hue type and not none at all....
In the three days left 'till the spawn ends on the 19th of course things won't change, the game is over as it is, I guess.
My answer to that problem is rather less politically correct and I will refrain from posting it.
The lastest complaints about not having Holiday gifts for the 1st time in many Years being only the most recent example of this....
It is not just me collecting stuff in Ultima Online, there is lots and lots of players doing the same....
I wish they would give us this as a clicky, the week of Christmas.
North Pole Elf of Sonoma
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the reason that most people are upset about no christmas gift...
2020 has been such a bad year, because of covid.
Christmas 2020 has been cancelled in real life.
Holiday traditions is what makes the holidays merry.
And taking away a tradition, makes it less jolly.
I'm usually the "elf" who passes out gifts,
but this will be the first year that I can't do that.
to some, it may be just a gift...
but to others, these gifts are wonderful.
Its awesome to spread christmas cheer,
just by having someone walk through your christmas wonderland.
Would be easy to do.
Last time I checked lots and lots of players also have a sampire... but we all know your stance on that
For your reference... https://forum.uo.com/discussion/7872/unbelievable-sampire-can-kill-faster-then-the-time-to-cast-word-of-death-wow#latest ;
ESRB warning: Some Blood. LOTS of Alcohol. Some Violence. LOTS of Bugs