Voodoo Stats
Posted November 30, 2000 - 10:37 AM PST by Beldin
I'm not going to get into a lot of detail about the pro's and con's of OSI latest Stat change ideas. In all honesty I haven't put enough thought into what I think about the specifics. And the reason for that is simple, cause it's either never going to happen or if it does happen I can completely change my stats in a matter of hours as can most people who have been playing this game for any length time.
Lets examine OSI reasoning behind this. They admit right off the bat the reason is life is just to hard for the newbie and new players may stop sending them money if they don't make the game easier. They of course go on to try and placate us veteran player by telling us all about how diverse we can now make our charactors blah blah blah.
The real issue here is simple more and more OSI is catering to the new recuit desperatly trying to cling to each new $10's a month. When all they really need to do is stop driving real players out of the game.
Bottom line for this if you have maxed stats which everyone does you get 100 hit points. Fine whatever the good players will still be good player, bad players will still be bad players it will just take an extra hit to kill them.
Beldin Street Urchin of ReD Planet
Hey Adam...you GOT to look at this.
Posted November 29, 2000 - 2:43 PM PST by Nieves
CHECK THIS OUT!
Look at the table and look at what happens when you have 75dex/75str/75 int. Anyone see what I am seeing? Thought so :)
Hasta.
Back Lash Rebirth of PK's
Posted November 28, 2000 - 1:14 PM PST by Beldin
Pk's make a turn back from the brink of extinstion. Despit the many things that have been thrown in there way the player killers of Ultima Online are beginning to make a come back.It was not so long ago that many cried out that the days of danger and fear was at an end. Osi added to stat loss a new set of punishments to make life even harder for would be Pk's. The anti marco code made it almost impossible for reds who took stat loss to rebuild there charactors. Also added to the game was a no recall for agressor rule. Which is perhaps the most unrealistic element of the game. When would anyone commit a murder and then hang around waiting to be caught for a few minutes. Now we all have or various agrugments for why these rules are unfair, and many believe a red would soon be a thing of the past.But some how, desipt these harsh rules, the Pk's of Sosaria have begun to make a come back. Several guilds on a number of shards have sprung up with the purpose of making room for the role playing pk. By selectively killing there victoms these pk's are able to keep there kill count low enough so that if they are killed in battle they can quickly work off there time and return to game intact. Most notably is GUL in it's various incarnations on several shards. Started by Adam Ant GUL fights to protect the lichs and red mages. By setting up a set of standards, rules of conduct and providing a way for reds and blues to exist in one dungean(wearing the blood drenched bandana) the members of GUL are if not liked, atleast respected for what they bring to the game. There is another type of Pk that is making there presence in UO known. I have met many people lately who have begun to play evil charactors for no reason other than they feel the void that was left in the aftermath of trammel. They missed the excitment of looking over there shoulder, of worring if there life and belongings would be sweeped away. They decieded fill that void and to start down that difficult path of surviving in a game were the rules are heavily stacked against them. I think I speak for many of us who love this game when I say reds have a much needed place in UO. I tip my hat to all the players out there who against all odds and reason play evil charactors. Keep up the good work all you Player Killers out there, for every so called innocent you kill you can chalk one up for the underdog. Beldin Street Urchin Red Planet
Ultima Online Player Identification (UOPID)
Posted November 22, 2000 - 10:02 PM PST by Adam Ant
Okay, First Cardinal Fear was cloned, then Mishra and now me!
Yes, there is another Adam Ant running around Napa (probably some goodie two shoes or something!)
Anyway, I think the time has come for a unique identification number associated with each player so those unscrupulous players cannot harm our good name (or help it, depending on your karmic alignment ;))
What we need is a UOPID (Ultima Online Player Identification,) that cannot be spoofed, and one that uniquely identifies every player.
At first blush you might think that the number would be long and ugly. Well, trust me when I say there are other numbering systems that can represent very large numbers in a compact form. For instance *puts on math hat*, a large number like 9,782,368 can be represented in base 36 as 5to4g. That’s not too bad now is it!
I have mocked up a sample graphic showing one possible implementation.
--Adam Ant
Durnic's comments on Angel Island
Posted November 21, 2000 - 3:03 PM PST by Adam Ant
This is a great idea, Aura is a peacfull guild focusing mainly on pvp and events, I have had bad experiences with pk's as have members of the guild but we agree that the current system is unfair to pkers who pay their bills like any other player. This system will also introduce quite a few new trades if implimemted effectivley like the smugler, who could buy up reggs and weapons on the main land for normal prices and sell on at big profit (but with risk of loosing life) Could it be made possible torist attraction? how about a part of the island with docks (still no rune marking though) so that players could pay other players to ferry them accross to the island, for a look and taunt at the people who killed them :). Any way the jist is that pk's no mater how annoying or skary are a part of the uo world and add to it in a special way. Do you remember the first time you were trying to walk allong a rode in felucia when the name "BlAck Hack yoU" appers at the side of the screen? well for me it was a rush. and the feeling when you kill him later!!! hehe
Good luck I want a free rune to the enevitable glitch point on the island where it is possible to mark:)
Durnic (GuildMaster, aura)
Drachenfells
An Angel Island supporter writes...
Posted November 20, 2000 - 11:27 AM PST by Adam Ant
Hey, i would just like to say that i think angel island is THE best idea i have ever heard for PKers.
i think that it should be implimented NOW.
i want to see it in action, i am sure it would make the land of Britannia a much better place, making it possible to ROLEPLAY an evil person. Rather than making sure that you have to kill in seconds to avoid the dreaded stat-loss, people would now be able to reoleplay an evil person, adn it would give the PKers out there something to grump about that is actually interesting ( rather than statloss)
I would be soreley tempted to become a murderer if it didnt mean throwing away a years work.
p.s please start a kill Trammel campaign, you would have my backing 100%
WHAT HAVE PEOPLE DONE TO SIEGE! that was THE place to go to roleplay evilness.ITS GONE!
Gullian [ HCF ]
BV is moving to another host...
Posted November 18, 2000 - 7:12 AM PST by Adam Ant
I just found this post over on the Battle Vortex Network.
Congratulations Fear, you deserve it brother!
--Adam Ant
------------------
The Battle Vortex Network is packing up and moving to a new host. Crossroads Gaming Network has taken BV under their wing and we should be live in the next few days. Atomic Rhino and BV are parting on good terms and we wish them well in the future.
During this time BV may act strange as the DNS change makes its way through the internet. Once this move is completed, we will likely have to hook all kinds of things back up again such as Webmail, Message Boards Etc. I hope this will be fairly painless and I also hope this will be the last move we have to make for awhile.
There will be new message boards, and yes you will have to re-sign up, but you will be allowed to select your own password. These boards do both linear and threaded, and I hear they are faster then UBB and wwwthreads. We will see when the time comes I suppose. Everyone that has Pop3 bv.com mail accounts will have to get their new passwords from me. The webmail will not be affected.
Thanks to everyone in advance for their patience, and I hope everyone will enjoy the new service with Crossroads.
-NF
Like that shield ur carrying eh?
Posted November 17, 2000 - 4:47 AM PST by Nieves
It won't help you when me and my 10 buddies gank you. Good ol' OSI slipped another one in on everyone.
Sonoma players who participate in the Order/Chaos system should be aware that the system is currently active on that shard, on both facets. The system was activated during testing of the Faction system and it was our intention to disable it prior to this most recent publish. However, as it was our original plan to re-enable the Order/Chaos system on the Trammel facet of all shards, we will be leaving the system in place on the Sonoma shard.
Don't complain or cry, you decided to enter in the "age old conflict" between Blackthorn and Lord British and, as their soldiers, are in constant, open conflict. Should've read up on it before signing up. If you don't like it...
If you are active in the Order/Chaos system and do not wish to participate in Order/Chaos wars on Trammel, you should speak with your Guildmaster as he or she may remove your guild from the system.
Hasta.
Angel Island discussed at UO World Faire!
Posted November 15, 2000 - 11:29 AM PST by Adam Ant
I'm not a murderer, nor do I enjoy being murdered, but I have NEVER felt stat loss was fair at all. The game should be enjoyable for all, and not just some. If they're going to bother putting in a murderer system, why botch it with a system like that? ... Angel Island sounds like quite an interesting place. I'd probably make a murderer just to explore there, have fun, and experience Angel Island. I'm always looking for new things to do. I hope OSI sees the potential in this idea. Seeya.
Angus Demonheart - Chesapeake
-----------
Aye Angus, I too hope OSI will move forward with Angel Island.
I heard from two separate sources that the Angel Island proposal was brought up at the Ultima Online World Faire.
*crosses fingers*
--Adam Ant
Locking Karma
Posted November 13, 2000 - 7:53 AM PST by Adam Ant
Stratics talked with Sage at the World Faire this weekend and found out some great news about Karma. From the sounds of it one of the features of Third Dawn will be the ability to Lock Karma!!! Of course, there will be limitations to this, but this is definitely great news for those of us who enjoy both adventuring AND playing evil characters. For example, if you are an Unscrupulous character and you go out and kill some orcs or rats, you will no longer raise in Karma if you don't want to!
As more details become available on this issue I'll make sure to let you know! Thanks to Sage for filling us in!
My apologies to Adam
Posted November 12, 2000 - 5:03 PM PST by Nieves
So many things are going on in the world of Ultima Online and I have let you down. Please don't pk me next time you see me.
A new 3D Client is in the works from OSI. Don't believe me? Go check out Lum and Stratics. I could link all the articles, but that's like work, and we can't have that can we?
Hasta.
Reminder about Monster Blocking
Posted November 7, 2000 - 7:51 AM PST by Adam Ant
This was posted on FYI As a reminder to the players, "monster blocking" is considered to be an exploit and can result in GM intervention. Monster Blocking is defined as using items such as boxes or chests to block a monster or player into, or out of, a certain area thus allowing for easier combat. For more information on this topic, please refer to the Support Pages at support.uo.com. Thank you.
Faction System Murderer Reprieve
Posted November 3, 2000 - 6:40 PM PST by Adam Ant
The following was just posted to In Development on the UO.com website: The faction murder reprieve will be a one-time reduction in the various types of murder counts that a murderer may have accumulated. This reprieve will be given only when a murderer who has not previously received a faction-related reprieve first joins a faction. The reprieve will carry the consequence of regaining all of your prior murder counts should the character become labeled as a murderer once again (i.e.: they get 5 or more short-term counts). This reprieve will only be offered for one month after it is published, after which the reprieve code will be disabled. To get the reprieve, the murder must join the faction (as described in the faction system document) through the faction stone. Note this means murderers will not be able to join the Council of Mages or True Britannians factions unless they are part of a guild whose guild leader is able to get to the faction stone and join the faction. Murders who have more than five short-term or long-term murder counts who receive a reprieve will be set to four short-term and long-term murder counts and automatically become "blue". Murderers whose "ping-pong"counter is 4 or greater will have that counter set to four. The system will retain the previous short-term, long-term, and ping-pong for these characters and should a reprieved murderer become a murder again, all of these counts will be set to their original numbers
You have been warned
Posted November 2, 2000 - 8:58 AM PST by Adam Ant
Calandryll Posted the following on the UODiscussion Forum
Illegal 3rd party programsI’d like to take a moment to address some of the concerns that I have seen regarding the recent third party program detection system. While I will not say how the system works exactly (for the obvious reason that we do not want to tip off those who are cheating), but I would like to dispel some of the rumors I have seen floating around.
We have checked and re-checked our detection system and feel confident that the system on the live shards is only logging true offenders. As I have stated many times…we are committed to removing from Ultima Online those players who choose to cheat. We even went so far as to put up a warning on the website, these boards, and the log-in message reminding people that using unapproved UO third party programs could result in an account suspension. Those who choose to continue using these programs are the targets of this detection system.
- We are not scanning hard-drives. The system does not need to look at the hard-drives in order to detect the third-party program.
- We are not banning people for using approved third party applications (such as UOA) or firewall programs.
- The system is not auto-banning players. Each and every case is being reviewed at length by our account administrators.