Xander - Hi all and welcome to our first ever Ultima Online Celebrity Chat
Xander - this is a new forum where we will bring to you player celebrities from various shards, websites, and types of gameplay (both rp and pvp)
Xander - so that you can ask them any question related to UO
Xander - the way this will work is similar to UOHOC
Xander - only when it is your turn for a question, we will set voice to you
Xander - and allow you to speak with Xena yourself
Xander - Please dont abuse this =P

Xander - Tonight our guest is Xena Dragon
Xander - Xena, why dont you begin by telling us some of your history with the game

XenaDragon - Thank you Xander, I will.
XenaDragon - As most of you are probably aware of, I am currently the webmaster of UO Stratics
XenaDragon - where I manage a team of about 50 people who bring you day-to-day news
XenaDragon - but most of all where you are able to find anything you might want to know about the game itself
XenaDragon - I have been playing UO since the early beta's in 1997
XenaDragon - And slowly but surely managed to work my way up to where I am now
XenaDragon - So, bring on those questions, and let's have some fun tonight !

Xander - go ahead and ask your question Necros
XenaDragon - Hi Necros ;)
Necrosis[KoC] - Any ETA on the interface patch OSI has coming out? And do you know if we will have a testable pre-release version to play with?
Necrosis[KoC] - hi
Necrosis[KoC] - :P
XenaDragon - Ah
XenaDragon - A good opportunity to take away some myths
XenaDragon - I am not a developer, nor do I work for OSI.
XenaDragon - So as far as pathes and dates are concerned, your guess is as good as mine.
XenaDragon - patches even
Necrosis[KoC] - I know you're close to them though so I just though you might have heard something...
Necrosis[KoC] - hehe
XenaDragon - Currently I am using the Beta client to test the new interface and other neat stuff
Necrosis[KoC] - Is that downloadable anywhere?
XenaDragon - But only because I was able to register the moment the beta.owo.com website opened.
Necrosis[KoC] - ahhhh i c
XenaDragon - You should have a look there, I don't know if it is still open though.
Xander - thank you for your question, Necrosis =)

Sie_Ming - Xena, how about telling us a little about how you got started with Stratics
XenaDragon - Hi Sie Ming
Sie_Ming - (oops, forgot to say hi)
XenaDragon - Ok, as I was playing UO in the beta and in the beginning of the game I was in search of data, like most players.
XenaDragon - Back then there were three major sites that had that data, the Crossroads of Britannia, the UO Vault and UO Stratics.
XenaDragon - The first two had lots of news and the third had all the numbers.
XenaDragon - Soon I found myself frequenting Stratics more and more as I'm the kind of person that likes to get to the bottom of things
XenaDragon - I think in April 98 I dared to send Den, who was webmaster of UO Stratics, some corrections
XenaDragon - He appreciated the input and asked if I would keep sending him info when I found an error on his pages.
XenaDragon - Well, one thing lead to another
XenaDragon - First I managed the Item Catalogue, and slowly but surely I started to edit pages on other topics
XenaDragon - Stratics began to grow, Middle Earth was added, Asherons Call and ofcourse Everquest
XenaDragon - Den started to take care of those sections more and more
XenaDragon - And with a bit of pain in his heart he let go of UO Stratics
XenaDragon - From that moment on, I think it was november 98, I've been taking care of UO Stratics.
Sie_Ming - Thanks for the answer, very interesting
Xander - thank you for the question

XenaDragon - Hi there Eternam
aa-Eternam - hi :)
XenaDragon - What's your question ?
aa-Eternam - anyways, okay, how does one get on the stratics team?
aa-Eternam - ie, i see only 1 baja specific person
aa-Eternam - and atlantic has like 4-5
XenaDragon - That all depends on what your ambitions are
XenaDragon - As for shard news reporting, you would need to send an email to one of our shard news managers
XenaDragon - In fact, for a lot of shards we can use some good reporters
aa-Eternam - where would i find this link?
XenaDragon - http://uo.stratics.com/uossteam.htm
*XenaDragon feels like a walking URL library sometimes*
aa-Eternam - hehe you sound like xander
*XenaDragon chuckles*
aa-Eternam - oh yea, what shard do you play on?
XenaDragon - I hop on and off a lot of shards
XenaDragon - But mostly I am on Drachenfels and Atlantic
aa-Eternam - okaly... ill send an email to you guys and hopefully ill get a chance to be on the stratics team :)
aa-Eternam - au revoir
XenaDragon - and ofcourse if a new shard opens somewhere (Like Siege Perilous) I'll spend some time there as well to taste the atmosphere
XenaDragon - You do that
Xander - thank you for the question et

Xander - a quick note...feel free to ask any questions related to UO you might have
Xander - be it Xena's feelings about the macro policy to has she ever been a pk
Xander - =)

Sie_Ming - I have some questions about the programs you've written...
XenaDragon - Ah
XenaDragon - Go on
Sie_Ming - First of all, anything new in the works (or that you think might be a fun project)
XenaDragon - I have some ideas, but sadly have not had the time to actually work on it
Sie_Ming - can you share the ideas with us?
XenaDragon - A little one that is almost finished is UO Book, that will allow you to create in-game books from textfiles on your PC
Sie_Ming - Wow, that's something that has been needed for sometime. (your idea, or do you take suggestions?)
XenaDragon - Another one is a tool that will help you with typing texts, it's similar to the Doskey utility
XenaDragon - But that's still on the drawing board
XenaDragon - Players send me their ideas ofcourse, a lot of stuff in the Magic Tool comes from player ideas
XenaDragon - Does that answer your question ?
Sie_Ming - I heard somewhere that OSI stopped the 3rd party program (or at least have quit adding to it) did they give a reason for that?
XenaDragon - ok
XenaDragon - I was quite surprised when I heard that
XenaDragon - Just as the program finally came into swing it was stopped.
XenaDragon - Only a handful of programs has been approved and I know there were lots more sent in.
XenaDragon - I don't have a clue why it was stopped, and personally I think it's bad.
Sie_Ming - I'm sure that disappointed alot of programmers (and players)
Sie_Ming - Thanks for answering my questions
XenaDragon - You're welcome :)

Fake_Lord_British - Do you associate ofter with UOSS members?
XenaDragon - Heh
XenaDragon - You mean do I talk with them about non-UO related things ?
Fake_Lord_British - Yes
XenaDragon - Yes, we talk a lot actually.
XenaDragon - We have lots of ways to speak with each other.
XenaDragon - We email ofcourse, but we also meet in private IRC chat, ICQ chats and we have a private messageboard
Fake_Lord_British - Also, what other things do you enjoy besides UO?
XenaDragon - As far as hobbies are concerned I enjoy reading anything SF related and I wouldn't miss a Babylon 5 episode for anything
Fake_Lord_British - And other Ultima games?
XenaDragon - I played them all, from Ultima I until VIII
XenaDragon - And right now I'm enjoying Alpha Centauri and Populous. I kinda like the strategy parts of those games.
Xander - thanks for your question Fake LB

ghyde - When T2A came out, what did you like/dislike about it?
ghyde - And did you participate in the beta-test for it?
XenaDragon - hi ghyde
ghyde - Hi Xena
XenaDragon - Yes, I was in the Beta for T2A
XenaDragon - WHat I liked most about the Beta was the cooperation between players
XenaDragon - everybody stuck together, there were a few PKs in (or outside) Delucia, but the players formed teams and fought them
XenaDragon - We had some great battles there
XenaDragon - As for the final T2A, I liked the spawn rate
XenaDragon - In fact, I still do, I do all my hunting in T2A
XenaDragon - The thing that I disliked
XenaDragon - Is the horrible terrain and the lag that comes with it
ghyde - It does seem odd, though, that some locations in T2A seem completely blocked off or very difficult to access.
XenaDragon - If you are in an are with lots of trees you really notice the delays, and I have a screaming fast machine
XenaDragon - Well, the blocking I can live with, it's supposed to be harsh land
ghyde - What do you like most about UO, generally speaking?
XenaDragon - Don't get me started on that ;)
XenaDragon - There is little I dislike
*ghyde laughs*
XenaDragon - Really, this game has got me hooked for more than 2 years now, and I don't think I will be bored soon
XenaDragon - It's the diversity that really attracts me
XenaDragon - I don't think that there is a skill that I've not mastered in.
ghyde - Of course, being from Australia, I can only hope that OSI bring on an Australian server.
ghyde - But I can put up with the lag and all that comes with it for the time being.
XenaDragon - No commment on that, not my department ;)
XenaDragon - Thanks for your questions
Xander - thanks for the question, Ghyde

XenaDragon - Hi Fett
Fett - Hello!
XenaDragon - What's your question ?
Fett - I have a couple question for you
XenaDragon - shoot
Fett - What percent of the UO population do you think is actually women?
XenaDragon - A relatively small percentage
XenaDragon - I think 10 to 20 percent
*Fett likes that answer*
Fett - What do you think about unattened macroing?
XenaDragon - I think it sucks
Fett - Why?
XenaDragon - Because I strongly believe that getting to GM levels is part of the adventure
XenaDragon - There are two stages in a skill
Fett - But what about something as boring as let us say...fishing?
XenaDragon - If you find it boring then don't do it
Fett - :)
XenaDragon - Or do it occasionally if you need food
XenaDragon - and slowly see your skill raise
XenaDragon - The people that macro the most are the ones that will be bored most easily
Fett - Fett is proud of his macroing.....er just kidding
Fett - Also
XenaDragon - I have macroed very little and I believe that that is why I am still enjoying the game so much
Fett - What do you think about Murderers, and the new, well it was new logn ago system that was put in place for Murderers?
XenaDragon - I think murderers are an essential part of the game
XenaDragon - I've been killed a fair amount of times, but everytime I enjoyed the chase and the kill in the end
XenaDragon - What I dislike is the "U SUK" at the end though
Fett - Do you think the Murder system that was added long ago, is better than the one before it?
XenaDragon - Yes, notoriety was a nice try but did not really cut it.
XenaDragon - There were too many blue killers around
Fett - Now before I ask my next question
Fett - Have you ever been a major thief?
*XenaDragon chuckles*
XenaDragon - Like I said before, I've been master in most skills
XenaDragon - In fact, one of my role-play stories on my website is about my thief character
Fett - Ah, then I can ask you this in hopes of getting a non-biased anwser
XenaDragon - sure
Fett - What do you think abou thieves, especially the new system that was put in place with having to join the thieve's guild and such?
XenaDragon - I think that that was a much needed change
Fett - And making it so Murderer's can't thieve
XenaDragon - newbie thiefs were really becoming a pain in the ass
XenaDragon - As for thiefs not being able to murder, I'm not so sure that that was the right thing to do
Fett - Ah good
XenaDragon - I think being a murderer has a lot of penalties
XenaDragon - And if you want to be a murdering thief that should be possible
Fett - Thank you for your time
*Fett bows*

XenaDragon - Hi there
Myrmidon| - Hi.
Myrmidon| - What's your stance on UO server emulators? Do you think they pose a threat to OSI if subscribers host their own customized shards to the public instead of playing on OSI's official shards? Or could they never amount to the real thing because of the lack of implemented features?
XenaDragon - I will have to give two opinions here
XenaDragon - Personally I think it's great to have people create worlds of their own
XenaDragon - Kudos to the GM's of these shards for ceating them and keeping them up
Myrmidon| - Yes, I agree. It's a hobby tinkering around on my own customized shard, but I never think it could amount to the vast amount of people on UO.
XenaDragon - As for my professional opinion: As per the TOS, player run shards are not allowed
XenaDragon - That's the reason why UO Stratics does not report on those shards.
XenaDragon - I don't think those 'small' shards will pose a real threat for OSI, but I can understand why they are drawing the line right at the beginning.
Myrmidon| - Ok, thanks for the responses. :)
XenaDragon - You're welcome

Ensign - Hi...
XenaDragon - Greetings
Ensign - Uhm.. I didn't expect to get to ask this question =)
Ensign - When do you expect do the downfall of UO? Real soon or a bit later?
XenaDragon - Hmmm
XenaDragon - That's a tough one
XenaDragon - I think (sad as it may be) that money dictates what will happen to UO
XenaDragon - If the playerbase is large enough, the shards will be open.
XenaDragon - The biggest threat to UO
XenaDragon - will be UO2
Ensign - Not Middle Earth?
XenaDragon - No, look at Everquest
XenaDragon - Everybody said EQ would be the downfall of UO
XenaDragon - Yet lots of players sticked with UO
XenaDragon - I think a lot of those are real Ultima fans
Ensign - True...
XenaDragon - and will not change games, but will upgrade to UO2
Ensign - Do you or did you play other games like EQ or Underlight, or even the Realm?
XenaDragon - I played the Realm for a while
XenaDragon - Never tried EQ or any other MMORPG
Ensign - One more, if that's ok?
XenaDragon - sure
Ensign - How do you play UO, like a Powergamer or like a roleplayer?
XenaDragon - That depends on who I am with actually
XenaDragon - When I am around people I usually roleplay
XenaDragon - I like that a lot
XenaDragon - WHen I am alone I just try out lots of stuff and keep a real close look on all the numbers
Ensign - ... like most roleplayers do =)
XenaDragon - That ofcourse helps me a lot with maintaining UO Stratics
Ensign - Ok, thanks for answering....
XenaDragon - You too are welcome

Xander - Well, this wraps up our UOCC chat for tonight
Xander - I'd like to Thank Xena for her time
Xander - and all of you for coming
Xander - the logs will be posted tomorrow
Xander - I'd like to let you all know that #ultima-online runs 24/7 on irc.stratics.com
Xander - there is always someone here
Xander - it is a great place to chat with ppl from other shards
Xander - and share information
Xander - we've even had dev team members drop by occasionally
Xander - once again, thank you all