Ultima Online has a streamer problem

Lord_Frodo · March 2023

Here is the major problem with watching a video is that everything happens so fast that you go that was fun but what the hell happened. most of the stuff that I took a peek at the screen was so cluttered with spells and everything else I just left. I play play styles that take very few key strokes because in the heat of battle I tend to hit the wrong key, I use the KISS formula when playing UO.

AmberWitch · March 2023

KISS?

Edit: NM, got it. lol

AmberWitch · March 2023

Might be fun for us all to get in one discord channel one night and just listen to ourselves and each other. Bet it would be hilarious.

Jepeth · March 2023

Sarkon said:

Absolutely. A good streamer can make anything interesting. I’ve watched Waffles and he’s a very likable fellow. His UO content is very good, but I wouldn’t watch hardly anyone else play the market in UO. Commentary and community makes things like that watchable. That’s the problem and point I was making. UO needs more streamable content. You can’t just rely on a personality to get it done. A point comes when actual content needs to be available for the everyday player. Not just the brand new or endgame. That bridge is what will attract players. A dungeon revamp maybe where your skills are capped, but rewards are nice…maybe could shake up some templates to farm in certain areas. Personally, in a game like UO, I don’t want to see Sampires or common templates. I like seeing the weird and creative stuff (even though Sampires were weird and creative at some point.). The road less travelled has always appealed to me, but we don’t get to see that much anymore.

I think these are good ideas if later any folks read this thread and are considering getting into streaming the game. I, also, really like seeing different templates in play. Or experiments and theorycrafting. This stuff is happening everyday in UO, no one is putting it out there.

The next big UO Streamer: a min/maxing theorycrafter with a good radio voice.

Jepeth · March 2023

AmberWitch said:

Might be fun for us all to get in one discord channel one night and just listen to ourselves and each other. Bet it would be hilarious.

It's happening already! I've been fortunate enough to do a couple hunts with really, really large groups coordinating via discord voice chat, running through all kinds of content. It's hinged, of course, on the few folks who coordinate everything and go out of their way to invite new/off sharders like myself to participate. These people, like a good streamer, end up being the lynchpin of their communities.

I think I could also write an essay called Ultima Online has a Discord Problem one day with similar themes as this thread, but we'll save that for later.

EpicLuteGaming · March 2023

One thing I hope the devs and anyone reading this takes away from this post is that if you want people to represent your game you have to support them and the journey they are on. No one wants to do this for free or for the love of a game and do it with a value that will be entertaining and help with growth. It is just too demanding.

Grimbeard · March 2023

EpicLuteGaming said:

One thing I hope the devs and anyone reading this takes away from this post is that if you want people to represent your game you have to support them and the journey they are on. No one wants to do this for free or for the love of a game and do it with a value that will be entertaining and help with growth. It is just too demanding.

I'd comment but jebby would get mad

EpicLuteGaming · March 2023

Grimbeard said:

EpicLuteGaming said:

One thing I hope the devs and anyone reading this takes away from this post is that if you want people to represent your game you have to support them and the journey they are on. No one wants to do this for free or for the love of a game and do it with a value that will be entertaining and help with growth. It is just too demanding.

I'd comment but jebby would get mad

let it rip sir

Jepeth · March 2023

EpicLuteGaming said:

Grimbeard said:

EpicLuteGaming said:

One thing I hope the devs and anyone reading this takes away from this post is that if you want people to represent your game you have to support them and the journey they are on. No one wants to do this for free or for the love of a game and do it with a value that will be entertaining and help with growth. It is just too demanding.

I'd comment but jebby would get mad

let it rip sir

Good word choice for the kinds of thoughts coming from him.

JohnKnighthawke · March 2023

AmberWitch said:

KISS?

Edit: NM, got it. lol

Only the best metal band ever.

Hide your heart, hold on tight, say your prayers, 'cos there's trouble tonight. When pride and love battle with desire, better hide your heart, 'cos you're playing with fire.. Uh uh uh uh uh. Hey, hey hey. Do do do do do do do do do.

Pure Byron, dude.

Yoshi · March 2023

“UO players are physically unattractive (the demographic), that may be why they don’t attract high viewers like games with attractive players”

Lord_Frodo · March 2023

AmberWitch said:

KISS?

Edit: NM, got it. lol

KISS stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Tyrath · March 2023

Yoshi said:

“UO players are physically unattractive (the demographic), that may be why they don’t attract high viewers like games with attractive players”

That is NOT a LIE!!!

Jepeth · March 2023

Tyrath said:

Yoshi said:

“UO players are physically unattractive (the demographic), that may be why they don’t attract high viewers like games with attractive players”

That is NOT a LIE!!!

No, no. Everyone knows UO players are only ugly on the inside.

I'm sure after 25 years of being hunched over our computer screens our skin is clear and wrinkles unnoticeable.

dvvid · March 2023

I’d like to try streaming but it’s a world I know barely anything about. Maybe I should try though. Hmmm

Grimbeard · March 2023

Jepeth said:

Tyrath said:

Yoshi said:

“UO players are physically unattractive (the demographic), that may be why they don’t attract high viewers like games with attractive players”

That is NOT a LIE!!!

No, no. Everyone knows UO players are only ugly on the inside.

I'm sure after 25 years of being hunched over our computer screens our skin is clear and wrinkles unnoticeable.

So off topic is ok when you decide? Did i miss your post where you said you were going to start streaming to fill the gap ?

Jepeth · March 2023

Grimbeard said:
So off topic is ok when you decide? Did i miss your post where you said you were going to start streaming to fill the gap ?

Fella, you want to pick a fight with me, I suggest you take it to DMs. Off topic in a light-hearted manner is one thing, your non-stop vitriol towards the game and how it chokes out every other thread here is another. As I've said three times now, if you want to do that go start your own threads, or unsubscribe your accounts. Either way: take a hint.

Jepeth · March 2023

dvvid said:

I’d like to try streaming but it’s a world I know barely anything about. Maybe I should try though. Hmmm

I've seen the thoughtful help you give to folks on the various discords, I think you'd be great at it!

gay · March 2023

UO doesn't have a streamer problem. Retail UO has a streamer problem and it's for a good reason, there is next to zero community left on the majority of the servers, and the content remaining is botted into oblivion. So yeah, we could have a streamer go into idk underwater boss, or the roof, maybe even peerlesses, or hell stream an event once a week, but nobody wants to see that. There is very little in retail UO that is engaging anymore without actual community.

I'm not even going to get into the weirdness that surrounds streamers in retail UO either, but I will say that there was a guy streaming on Sonoma for a while, started up a community and a guild, but it was ultimately for naught as they got griefed into quitting the game almost completely by some low skill PK guild on the server. That guild setup EJ accounts to act as cameras at every single dungeon entrance and entrance into T2A, at all of their houses so they'd know then those people logged in, and had two bots running 24/7 scouting champ spawns. They also used his stream as a way of hunting them down, not in that he streamed them doing felucca stuff, but that while he was online and streaming, it meant that more of them were online doing stuff as well.

Now, I'm all for the idea that if you enter felucca you risk being attacked, killed and losing stuff. But when you're dedicating these sorts of resources to track and hunt down players who largely are legitimately new to the game, to what end is it done? That sort of malice just damages what community you have left on your server. I've experienced this first hand from the perspective of the PK, and looking back I can recognize the damages my actions to various servers from this sort of playstyle and while the younger me was having fun, the older can look back and regret those actions because I would rather those servers still have active and thriving communities rather than a couple scrolls and some loot I never used.

dvvid · March 2023

Jepeth said:

dvvid said:

I’d like to try streaming but it’s a world I know barely anything about. Maybe I should try though. Hmmm

I've seen the thoughtful help you give to folks on the various discords, I think you'd be great at it!

Thanks for saying so!

Larisa · March 2023

I honestly didn't read any of this post...but I will! I just have one question...

I used to stream on Twitch AGES ago....I used OBS....I just logged into my Twitch account for the first time in forever and noticed that they now have their own streaming software.

Does anyone know if the Twitch streaming service is better, the same or worse then OBS?

This thread had me contemplating streaming again so I am just wondering if it's worth getting the Twitch service or just sticking with OBS.

Thanks in advance!

gay · April 2023

Larisa said:

I honestly didn't read any of this post...but I will! I just have one question...

I used to stream on Twitch AGES ago....I used OBS....I just logged into my Twitch account for the first time in forever and noticed that they now have their own streaming software.

Does anyone know if the Twitch streaming service is better, the same or worse then OBS?

This thread had me contemplating streaming again so I am just wondering if it's worth getting the Twitch service or just sticking with OBS.

Thanks in advance!

Idk anything about twitch's software but fairly certain OBS is the de facto standard still.

Arnold7 · April 2023

Would rather play than watch UO played by someone else. UO is confusing to watch when it’s being played by someone else. Most streamers I have watched don’t do a good job of explaining what is going on and what they are doing. It can be done in an interesting way but only a few players can do that.

dvvid · April 2023

I think maybe a good way to go about steaming would be explaining what you doing, talking about what you think or feel about different aspects of the game along the way, and communicate with whoever is watching / answer questions if you can. Someone might find that interesting and/or helpful.

Kittie · April 2023

Larisa said:

I honestly didn't read any of this post...but I will! I just have one question...

I used to stream on Twitch AGES ago....I used OBS....I just logged into my Twitch account for the first time in forever and noticed that they now have their own streaming software.

Does anyone know if the Twitch streaming service is better, the same or worse then OBS?

This thread had me contemplating streaming again so I am just wondering if it's worth getting the Twitch service or just sticking with OBS.

Thanks in advance!

OBS is the free way to do it, Twitch has their own and again, it’s free. I use Streamlabs OBS. It costs roughly $23 each month but offers a LOT more to streamers. In addition, if you decide to do more than just do a basic stream you may want to look at additional things to add to your streaming. Roughly, you’ll spend about $50 a month minimum, but in my opinion, well worth the investment. If you decide to use it also for YouTube, add in another $25 for video editing software per month, provided you don’t use any of the add on packs.

Camera does make a difference, so I would look into 4K cameras. Currently I have a Sony ZV-E10. It’s been great. A RODE mic is not bad, but I have other mics as well. Get yourself some good lighting too. A cheap ring or box light will be sufficient. And a good headset will help. I love my Razer headset, there are other options, but it’s always been good to me.

Hope this helps!

Smoot · April 2023

lets be real, its because most UO players are old. and ugly. myself included. not popular streamer quality. and why stream if your not trying to gain an audience? 40 year olds streaming for like 3 viewers of a low population game isnt something many people would want to do.

Jepeth · April 2023

Smoot said:

lets be real, its because most UO players are old. and ugly. myself included. not popular streamer quality. and why stream if your not trying to gain an audience? 40 year olds streaming for like 3 viewers of a low population game isnt something many people would want to do.

So, as mentioned.. The point of this thread was not to tell players to be Twitch streamers. That's up to them and whether or not they are the right type for it. My post and our discussion was was attempting to advocate that our dev team include streamers in their overall strategy for the game. Whether or not someone is "pretty" enough is... immaterial ?

Lord_Frodo · April 2023

Arnold7 said:

Would rather play than watch UO played by someone else. UO is confusing to watch when it’s being played by someone else. Most streamers I have watched don’t do a good job of explaining what is going on and what they are doing. It can be done in an interesting way but only a few players can do that.

AMEN

Lord_Frodo · April 2023

Jepeth said:

Smoot said:

lets be real, its because most UO players are old. and ugly. myself included. not popular streamer quality. and why stream if your not trying to gain an audience? 40 year olds streaming for like 3 viewers of a low population game isnt something many people would want to do.

So, as mentioned.. The point of this thread was not to tell players to be Twitch streamers. That's up to them and whether or not they are the right type for it. My post and our discussion was was attempting to advocate that our dev team include streamers in their overall strategy for the game. Whether or not someone is "pretty" enough is... immaterial ?

We have a hand full of people trying to maintain/bug fix/new content and you want them to take the time to stream stuff. What is it exactly do you want/need them to tell/show you.

Jepeth · April 2023

Lord_Frodo said:

Jepeth said:

Smoot said:

lets be real, its because most UO players are old. and ugly. myself included. not popular streamer quality. and why stream if your not trying to gain an audience? 40 year olds streaming for like 3 viewers of a low population game isnt something many people would want to do.

So, as mentioned.. The point of this thread was not to tell players to be Twitch streamers. That's up to them and whether or not they are the right type for it. My post and our discussion was was attempting to advocate that our dev team include streamers in their overall strategy for the game. Whether or not someone is "pretty" enough is... immaterial ?

We have a hand full of people trying to maintain/bug fix/new content and you want them to take the time to stream stuff. What is it exactly do you want/need them to tell/show you.

?

Where in these posts did I say I wanted the dev team to stream stuff?

I pretty clearly laid out some easy suggestions the team could do to help out streamers who want to take the game on, that’s it. Community outreach.

Frodo, have you sat down and watched a streamer? Patrick or Kittie? And if not a UO streamer, then any of the other hundreds of thousands on the platform? Cause what I’m seeing here is that you don’t quite grasp the point. This isn’t about tutorials!

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