Aesop - Good evening and welcome to our 20th Ultima Online Celebrity Chat. UOCC is
Aesop - a forum wherein we bring to you celebrity guests from the UO community,
Aesop - ranging from website administrators, OSI personnel, counselors, seers, and
Aesop - even roleplayers and PKs from your own shard!
Aesop - They drop by to answer your questions about UO, their experiences in it,
Aesop - and about their own contribution to the community.
Aesop - Our system is similar to
Aesop - the UOHOC chats. All you have to do is /msg a designated question taker
Aesop - with your question or comment.
Aesop - However, when it is your turn, rather then a moderator pasting your
Aesop - question in the chat, instead we set +voice to you and allow you to talk
Aesop - with the celebrity guest yourself! Please /msg or /query Amber, Aaron, Milamber,with your questions.
Aesop - Tonights guests will be Melantus, Online Community Coordinator, and
Aesop - Calandryll Manager of Community Services. While we are waiting for
Aesop - questions lets listen as our guest introduce himself..
Melantus - hi all
Melantus - I'm Melantus as Aesop just said
Melantus - I've been involved with UO since it's pre-alpha days. I'm happy to be here so lets get started :)
Melantus - oh forgot to mention that I'm the Community coordinator for UO. you might have seen my name on the boards
Calandryll - I'm Calandryll, I manage the community services department
Calandryll - basically that includes community relations for UO and ORIGIN and the Event Programming team (IGMs) for UO
Calandryll - I've been playing UO since the second day of release and started with OSI in April '99

Aesop - Okay lets get started.
Ilya - Alright.
Aesop - Go Ahead Ilya.
Amber - Ok Ilya
Ilya - This questions to either of you. Im the community coordinator of Shadowbane Stratics. Nice to meet you. Will either of you be playing or at least beta testing Shadowbane? If so, I'd really like to know your names... (For non-aggressive purposes of course). But seriously, how do you think UO will stand against the massive invasion of games such as Shadowbane, Anarchy Online etc.?
Calandryll - Hehe, good question. First, easy answer, yes I plan on playing it, I am a huge fan of MMORPGs and am really looking forward to playing the new ones.
Ilya - Are either of you awaiting the beta?
Calandryll - I haven't signed up for it, not sure it would be cool to beta a game as a competitor :)
Ilya - Alright
Calandryll - I'm not big on playing betas anyway to be honest, I didnt beta UO either.
Amber - ok thanks for that Ilya:)

Aesop - Go ahead with your question morituri..
morituri - ;)
morituri - hi, i was wondering why osi was putting item bless deeds in rewards. lots of pvpers are gonna have blessed vanq weapons and those who arent going to be able to pay for them won't have a chance against them, what is the point of letting the chance to players to get an unfair advantage?
Calandryll - I've seen a few people mention that on the boards and I do understand the concern, but
Calandryll - if a vanq weapon gives one such an advantage in PvP that you cannot defeat them, then its the weapon that needs looking at
Calandryll - if you cant beat someone with a vanq weapon, then the fact that it is blessed is not much of an issue
Calandryll - since they wont die anyway right?
morituri - i got a blessed weapon right now
morituri - i still die, sometimes
morituri - its really unfair especially for mages
morituri - just imagine a gm lumber anatomy sword tactic
morituri - against a mage
morituri - i mean hmm
Calandryll - so the advantage then is you dont lose it, but its not like you can res and get right back in the fight without armor and hitpoints
morituri - with vanq blessed
morituri - is this realistic?
Calandryll - if you dont have armor and healing, you'll get killed pretty easily if you res and try to fight again quickly
morituri - i dont think its a good idea seriously
Calandryll - its an advantage, i wont argue that, but i dont see it as overwhelming
Calandryll - having said that, i have read the posts about it and we have talked about it
morituri - the purpose of the reward program is to "reward the players", osi should seriously think about designing new items
Calandryll - we are :)
morituri - i know..
morituri - but including items
Amber - okies thanks Mori
Aesop - Thx Morituri
Melantus - I think the main concern is that players will be using more powerful weapons they wouldnt normally use in a battle, with factions (if they are blessed). That is something to consider, and we can deal with that if we see an imbalance

Aesop - Go for it DrTito..
DrTito - Hey! I'm concerned about a few of the changes you have suggested for siege
DrTito - Especially Rate over Time!
Melantus - ok
DrTito - Many of the players on siege like it because it allows you to GM skills that are really hard to GM on other servers
DrTito - More importantly it keeps away people who aren't dedicated to playing on siege
DrTito - Many people are worried that the more people who come, the quality of the community we have will go down
DrTito - All the rest of the changes i'm all for though, as is everyone else i've talked to.
DrTito - Especially lowering regeant prices...
Melantus - those are good points, and one of the reasons why its still in concept. mainly its just an idea right now, and we want to hear feedback about it.
DrTito - Well you got mine. Keep RoT or at least some form of it :)
Melantus - if you have any ideas about RoT, either with - without- or something in between, then feel free to send those ideas to me
DrTito - [email protected]?
Melantus - yes :)
DrTito - will do. thanks for your time
Melantus - no problem
Aesop - Thank you DrTito =)

Amber - ok shoot :)
Thorin|OGD - Hi
Calandryll - hello
Thorin|OGD - I was wondering: What have either of you done to involve the UO community actually in game?
Calandryll - Well most of our work is out of game, helping with in-game issues...but
Calandryll - i've visited player-run towns, taverns, etc...places where community seems to foster.
Thorin|OGD - As in informing people in game, and not leaving information only to those who read message boards
Calandryll - Ah
Calandryll - We've thought of ways to inform people in-game, like the windows that appear in log-in
Calandryll - but often, players see them as intrusive
Thorin|OGD - Well
Calandryll - so we stick to the website and the log-in server message
Thorin|OGD - what about using the voting system when you ask for player input
Calandryll - I'm not a big fan of polling, and I'll explain why
Calandryll - Polls never give the full information, unless you post the entire design doc (which then you may as well have people read the site)
Amber - ok thanks Thorin for your question :P
Calandryll - I prefer the message boards and e-mail. In a lot of ways, they are like a focus group, which is used more often than polling in most businsess
Melantus - polls also cant give feedback if asked for more details, unless a new poll is done
Calandryll - If you want to chat with me about polling, i'd be happy to talk about it more in e-mail
Calandryll - exactly

Aesop - Go Ahead Ima =)
ImaDufus_LSR_Pac - Cal, I herd you are in charge of the event team
Calandryll - yup
ImaDufus_LSR_Pac - Can you give some more details on the team, what they do, who they are
Calandryll - sure
Calandryll - Eidolon is the Lead Event Designer
Calandryll - and Augur and Grom are our Event Designers
Calandryll - basically they are in charge of the events in the game
ImaDufus_LSR_Pac - Also, how many IGMs are there per shard/global region?
Calandryll - right now, we are not running as many events as we would like, but I hope to change that
Calandryll - we have 3 IGMs here in the US, and a couple of others overseas
Calandryll - the official title is Event Designer :)
ImaDufus_LSR_Pac - Ahhh
Aesop - Thx Ima =)

Aesop - Go ahead Vennt
Vennt - Thx
Vennt - I would like to know whether the team recognises any problems with UO's economy, and whether there are any plans to deal with it
Melantus - that is a concern of ours...
Melantus - we have come up with a few ideas, but I would like to have more input on this.
Melantus - we will hopefully be able to look closer at this in the future, but we cant do that in the immediate future unti9l some other things are taken care of
Melantus - but yes we do know it needs more attention
Vennt - ok, thanks
Melantus - your welcome :)
Amber - ok

Amber - ok shoot :)
DougButabi - Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
* Amber pokes Doug *
Amber - oh good lord
ImaNnoying_LSR - Yes, hello.
DougButabi - Are therea ny plans for a 2nd SP shard?
DougButabi - Should it become more popular with the updates
DougButabi - For us European players the high ping rates can be annoying...
Calandryll - Anything is possible of course, but right now, we dont have any plans to open another Siege Shard
Calandryll - We really have to see how well the changes do as far as increasing its use
DougButabi - Well, please don't make it toooo easy :), leave us some challenege
Calandryll - of course!
Aesop - Thx Doug =)
Amber - Thanks Doug :)

Aesop - Go ahead Moleculor.
Moleculor - From about 6PM to 6:30PM CST today LS was having some of the same problems it has been (the log on screen of death (meaning that it hangs, hangs, hangs, hangs, etc.)) Why? What's happening with this Shard???
Moleculor - (*gasp* it's my first chat and I get to ask a question...)
Amber - lol
Melantus - LS is still under close attention until we have all the upgrade hardware ready
Moleculor - ah ok...
* Moleculor sighs *
Melantus - I'll have to check with the lead programmer, but until the hardware part is fully done it might behave like that. We are sorry for the trouble
Amber - Thanks Mileculor
Aesop - Continue!
Aesop - You got more =)
Moleculor - uhhh.. which one? i asked three
Aesop - Hehe..ask one of the 3..
Moleculor - Would it be possible to up the AI associated with BS and EV? I cast an EV two squares from a wraith the other day (with about TWENTY skels and zombies nearby) and it just sat around for a while, then wandered off...
Melantus - thats the one...
Aesop - *grins*
Moleculor - :)
ImaNnoying_LSR - A good one at that.
* Moleculor blushes *
Melantus - I'm not sure that is really an AI issue, but perhaps something else. I can ask the lead designer about it
Amber - lol thanks

Amber - ok shoot Dari :)
Darius1 - why does it seem that all creatures look the same, but have different color i.e imp-mongbat, shadow fiend-water elentals?
Calandryll - because they are. :) Because UO is sprite based, it would take very very large downloads to add a new monster
Darius1 - oh
Darius1 - thx
Calandryll - so we hue them to make them look different. The real differnce is in how they act though
Calandryll - Going up against an Imp is very different than a mongbat :)
Aesop - Thx Darius.

Aesop - Go Ahead Windmage.
WindMage - With the introduction of trammel, there has been an obvious weight-shift to the pvp- faction of each shard, many pvp+ players feel we have played the game as it was ORIGINALLY designed (3 year vets) and now we are getting the shaft for having not adapted to the more "roleplaying friendly" side of the game...are there any current plans as a community relation person to involve us in the community of ultima online?or are we a people of the pa
WindMage - I mean, the vet rewrds are to benefit people who have been paying customers for a long time, yet the things that really count, the day to day gameplay, seem to be shafting some of these high paying customers who have been pvping and pking since day one of the game, now that game is being changed towards more of a punishing atmosphere.
WindMage - not to be a whining pk stereotype
WindMage - but someone has to play the devil
Melantus - we definitely want to make Felucca more interesting and fun...
Melantus - part of felucca is pvp
Melantus - I'm interested in hearing ideas about felucca including pvp feedback
WindMage - ok...i may have a few i could email ya
WindMage - it just seems to lack a parallel atmosphere that trammel has been given through game support
WindMage - in game support, that is
Melantus - that would be good. I dont really have more info on that subject but I do want to hear ideas and feedback on Felucca. We have a lot of potential I think with Feluvcca :)
Melantus - Felucca rather
WindMage - ok thanks! <---happy Crashapeake player
* Mag smiles *
WindMage - Thx for your time.
Calandryll - Also, the new dungeon was added to Felucca only...and dont forget about Factions
Amber - Thanks WindMage :)

Amber - ok gfi Dar
Amber - Dont need to + you ;)
Amber - rofl
ImaNnoying_LSR - Heh
Dariuas - Go ahead Dar
Dariuas - Thanks!
Dariuas - Hail Melantus, and Calandryll, Curiously enough I have gandered at your well built messageboard
Dariuas - and I have seen posts of ideas to add to the Vet rewards, such as A death shroud, and other such items.
Dariuas - Are items like that taken into deep consideration? Or just to outlandish to be considered?
Dariuas - another example, a pure white dye tub.
Calandryll - yes. we wont be able to do most of the ideas though of course as there are so many, and some of them are simply not possible (like the ones that require new art), but Sage and I are talking about the rewards a lot
Calandryll - The pure white dyetub is probably not going to happen as frankly, we are not happy with the way it looks
Dariuas - what about the ice?
Dariuas - Auctally scratch that
ImaNnoying_LSR - It is rather...Ugly, and so in the Ice Tub. =)
Dariuas - When should we know the final set of rewards?
Calandryll - Not sure about Ice
Calandryll - Not sure, but hopefully soon
Calandryll - Sage and I have a meeting tomorrow about it
Dariuas - very good!
Dariuas - many thanks kind sir!
Dariuas - Thanks Dariuas
Aesop - ....
Aesop - No comment..
Amber - twit

Aaron - What type of background in education and experiences did you receive in preparation for your job at OSI?
Amber - rofl
Melantus - I've been playing computer games for years, and tried to be involved with their communities to some degree. I worked as a desktop tech before I got the job here. I think just my own personal interest in this field has helped a lot
Melantus - I like knowing stuff about computer gaming :)
ImaNnoying_LSR - Jesus that was a long one. =P
Calandryll - I have a degree in marketing, but truth is, not much of what i learned in marketing applies to community relations
Calandryll - I've been playing computer games for what seems like forever and never thought i'd atually get a job working with them :)

Aesop - Go Ahead KingJames.
KingJames_GL - ok
KingJames_GL - I would like to know if it is possible for a felucca/trammel facet gate becuase the use of moonstone is getting annoying and basically everyone is sick of having to kill a pesky lizardmen for a stone to get either home or go meet friends.. are there any plans of such to change the use of moonstones?
Melantus - right now there arent any plans to change it. that is part of the dynamics of the facets. we dont want it to be extremely easy to do facet travel. Not overly hard, but not just like stepping into a permanent gate either
KingJames_GL - hello?
Aesop - Thx KingJames =)

Amber - ok shoot :)
Heav-powerhour - ok
Heav-powerhour - well a suggestion may be
Heav-powerhour - take stat loss out of felucca because
Heav-powerhour - the only ones left in felucca are "pks" and "pvpers"
Heav-powerhour - and now people that need to train and get there guys good without dieing by pks
Heav-powerhour - are in trammel
Heav-powerhour - so this would just make felucca more enjoyable for pvps
Melantus - part of the question might be why are so many people in trammel as opposed to felucca? It might be that taking stat loss out doesn't encourage anyone to come to felucca that isnt already there...
Melantus - but when we are looking at Felucca and how to improve it, we are certainly open to the ideas of those that play on it
Melantus - thats why I like to discuss it on our boards, and get some good feedback
Heav-powerhour - and i gurantee the players that played back in the Antis vs pk wars
Heav-powerhour - would love to see them come back
Calandryll - Also, not everyone on Fel is a PK or Pvper, many folks still have houses on Fel. There are lots of opportunities for people to be involved in PvP like guild wars and the upcoming Faction System
Heav-powerhour - well is factions going to come out anytime soon?
Heav-powerhour - i know its been in discussion forever
Melantus - yes, well there is a lot to that issue including combat and how it can become more interesting. its a big picture to look at and can be complex. however I like getting ideas from players about it.
Calandryll - it's code complete and its in full testing right now
Heav-powerhour - and this is how i see
Heav-powerhour - factions
Heav-powerhour - just one big rez kill fest
Melantus - which might take a little extra time, but its a big complex system :)
Melantus - its all something we will keep a close eye on
Heav-powerhour - everyone is looking for those kill points so they sit in the healer shop and rez kill
Heav-powerhour - (atleast on test)
Melantus - thats some good input, thanks for those questions
Amber - ok thanks Heav :)

Aesop - Go Ahead Infrared.
Infrared - woohoo
Infrared - I have 2 questions. First of all, a Clarification please. With rewards,
Infrared - if lets say in a year I reach my 3 year aniversary, will I get a chance to
Infrared - pick another reward from the 3rd year vet list? Second Question, How intense
Calandryll - :)
Infrared - are discussions when setting priorities on features?
Calandryll - ok 1st, question 1: yes you will, the system is ongoing
Calandryll - as for the 2nd question...the discussions are very intense and include people from many departments, including Development, Support, Community, etc.
Calandryll - We try to look at the service from many angles when making priority decisions

Aesop - Thank you for attending tonight's UOCC. Remember, UOCC occurs every other
Aesop - Monday night at 7pm CST. The log of tonight's chat will be posted on
Aesop - http://uohoc.stratics.com.
Aesop - Please feel free to join us here in #ultima-online at any time of the week
Aesop - for help in game, the latest UO news, or just to chat. Have a nice evening.
Aesop - Please email [email protected] with suggestions for future guests or topics
Aesop - Thank you all and Good Night :-)