Is Bones dead?

Obviously it's been a long time since there's been an update here. A lot has happened in some ways though... I haven't been playing UO for quite some time now, though I still have my account and characters. There was a period of time, more than a year long, in which I only rarely played my own characters and instead acted as a seer. There have been small hints on this site before that I was doing that, but I never said anything concrete until now because while acting as a seer, we weren't supposed to advertise it, and additionally I didn't want to get bombarded with e-mail and ICQ messages asking for things.

Why am I saying these things now? Well, because quite frankly, I haven't been acting as a seer in a long time.. not since late summer last year. Officially I still am one, just on hiatus.. but will I ever go back? Not likely, and chances are I wouldn't be taken back simply because there's few who remember me (I think almost all of the original seers and IGM's have moved on to other things, and I've been completely out of the loop, not even receiving e-mail updates). There's much more to it than that, but this is all I feel I should say right now. But never-the-less, I just thought I'd come clean and post an update here. I feel I owe that to all of you, since apparently my comics still have an audience, much to my surprise!

Lots of things have changed in my life during the time I was in UO, and since I've stepped back from it... I got a good job, a new house, several new hobbies... Life's been good, but I also haven't had quite the same amount of time to devote to online games.. And in the realm of computer games, my more recent and on-going obsession has been Tribes.

Additionally, I got dropped from Questgate (this site's old host) twice, lost some news updates, re-arranged a few things, etc... So this site is still more or less intact with most of the content here, but a few updates were lost.

Anyway, the point of this message, as obscure as it is, is that updates here are extremely unlikely in the future, but I think there's a lot of good material here, so I have no intention of taking the site down. I still have a lot of fond memories of UO and my comics, and I'm glad that people still enjoy them to this day.

I noticed today that several of the other comics authors have not fared as well, considering their sites have vanished completely... and those that remain have suffered the same fate as mine.

Delusion, one of my friends from UO and a fellow UO-comics author wrote some very good words that I think describes very well how a lot of the seers and comics authors felt, and why they eventually moved on... To read it, check out the "Killed on Sight" website, and read the essay.

Thanks for reading, and maybe I'll post more in the future.

See ya 'round the net.. :)

(BTW- the pic on the right is of me and a friend in our crusader armor.. it was taken on the 4th of July weekend in '99)

The Lawsuit Over?

The lawsuit may have ended, but the conflict continues. In the original GameSpot Article, it was stated that an agreement (a settlement actually) was reached in which each said pays their own legal fees, neither side admits guilt or liability, and OSI pays $15,000 to a museum as a contribution. A Follow-up Article was posted that shows that even though the lawsuit has ended, the conflict continues... verbally and textually.

Some people have accused OSI of being under-handed, of acting shamefully throughout this whole fiasco. And even though I'm surprised by the bluntness of their statement the other day, I have to agree with their stance. Is UO buggy, and far less functional than many people wished? Of course it is, but many of us continue to play it and enjoy it. Not everyone thinks it's a fully broken product, just because of certain problems or issues. And not everyone misunderstood the package labelling. Certainly it is necessary to be sure that OSI is aware of these issues, but the lawsuit wasn't the right way to go, IMHO. The only ones who won this battle were the lawyers, not the defendants or plaintiffs.

Delays, Comics, etc..

I finally got around to completing a new comic strip! I jsut couldn't leave the lawsuit alone, especially when you consider that I've had an on-going pseudo-plot here based on it. So check it out!

Well, as you can see, little has happened here in quite some time. I really need to try to get some more comics done. But anyway, to give you an idea of what I've been up to, aside from my day job, I've continued to work on my home business (The Dragon's Hoard Armory), as well as design a website for someone (Heirloom Legacies, carvedboxes.com), and I've also done some work on AT-Robots. Anyway, please feel free to stop by these sites and take a peek. Also, if you have any comics to submit, or any ideas for comic strips (good ones, that is), please feel free to drop me a line. I think it's mostly a lack of inspiration that's holding this site back, more than anything else.

Words, words words...

Well, things have been REDICULOUSLY slow here lately, as you can see. This of course includes the comics. However, I'd like to make one slight little comment here.. I just ready something that Richard Garriott wrote concerning religious symbolism and the like (you can read it HERE). I just want to say- Go read it! I'm in complete agreement, and I think he did a great job of describing it in a way that matches my own feelings and beliefs. Perhaps this is part of the reason I got drawn into Ultima the way I did, because my outlook on life is the same as the original creator.. Even if I haven't managed to get rich off of it or get my own brand-new castle (geezz.. I both love and hate this guy!) :-)

Back from the dead?

Don't worry, I still exist! I'm sorry for the lack of updates. But my new job has left me with little spare time to think about UO. Also, there was a period of time in which I couldn't even get into the administrative functions of this site, due to hardware transitions being made by my host. But that's all fixed now, and I'm starting to get settled in with my new job/lifestyle, so I hope to get things flowing again soon. If anyone has any ideas for issues that I can address here, I'll listen (I read all my mail, even if I don't reply, except for spam of course).

Back from the 'Fest

Well, I had a good time at the Renaissance Festival. It was nice to see that the weapons shop had higher prices on the same items than I charge at The Dragon's Hoard Armory. However, as you can see in the picture, I now have a halberd (a model that is not in my own catalog, since if it were, I'd get it wholesale!). :-)

Renaissance Faire!

Tomorrow I will be going to the Maryland Renaissance Faire, so if any of you plan on going, you may see me there. We really should organize group outings to these things.. :-)

GM Lockdowns

A note about this was posted on the vault while I was gone for the weekend, but I figured it was worth mentioning again here. As was said before, it should be considered a must-read for anyone planning to set up a player-run establishment with GM assistance. I have it on good authority that the information contained within is quite accurate... so here it is: http://www.crpgtavern.com/kazolas/deskofkazola.html .. Enjoy!

Here, There, Somewhere...

I'll bet many of you have been wondering where I've been. :-) One of the things that has been keeping me from frequent updates of this site is a project that is now going online. Please stop in and see it for yourself, and maybe even place an order or three... It is "The Dragon's Hoard Armory", my new home-business as a reseller of decorative and battle-ready swords and other medieval and/or fantasy weapons and accessories.

Also, I'm going in for a job interview this week, and may be starting a new job. Things may continue to be a little slow here for a while, but I don't intend to let the site grind to halt. Once things settle down a bit, I should be able to finally get things running smoothly. Thanks, and once again, please visit the Armory! :-)

Balance

Where only order or only chaos reigns, there is no balance... :-) I've written a new article, "Combat Balance", so please check it out if you're interested. I hope the guys at OSI like it. :-)

It's all coming together

I've been getting information from reliable sources now that seem to indicate that GameSpot did NOT pressure OSI into making the change. However, it also appears that OSI did not consult with key people within their own company, specifically those who were actually doing the work on the fiction and dealing with the players. The change was made for logistical reasons and for public relations, without much concern for how the players would react. Some of this new information comes from the same sources as that which caused me to jump on this issue in the first place, and I believe my sources to be truthful and trustworthy.

I've heard from sources on both sides that GameSpot *asked* OSI if they knew about the Z.O.G. acronym, and several people involved were actually surprised at how strongly OSI reacted to the question. Those involved with the plotlines in UO were simply given the order to make the change without being consulted first. Seers, GM's, and myself, based on the information available at the time concluded that OSI was being pressured inappropriately by GameSpot. This appears to be incorrect, and I am therefore now offering an apology to GameSpot for the allegations that I have made here on my site. It seems that a large misinterpretation is all this was, based on vague and ambiguous information that seemed to hang together at the time.

However, the lack of consultation within OSI with those who were directly involved with the fiction and the players I find very disturbing. It is my hope that the outcry generated on my site and elsewhere in the Ultima community will demonstrate to them that rash decisions are not the way to go. Dealing with a situation cleanly and efficiently is worthless if the decision is an uninformed one, whether the end result was a positive one or a negative one. Apparently they only looked up the historical significance of "Z.O.G." without taking any other facts into account on the issue. Next time, I sincerely hope they at least talk to their own people, and try to research the matter fully.

(I've moved the previous update that was posted here to yesterday's news, since it did actually get posted yesterday, about an hour before midnight, and I didn't want todays readers to read semi-conflicting information that appeared to be posted at the same time)

What to believe?

Anyway, this situation with the Zog Cabal has really exploded all over the place. The vast majority of us seem to feel that OSI has taken it all too seriously and over-reacted by deciding to remove all mention of "Zog" in the fiction. But what about the allegations of GameSpot's actions? Rumor or fact?

So far I've heard things from a few directions... Many reputable sources are in conflict. However, I've always felt Designer Dragon to be level headed, and to the best of his knowledge, he says there was no pressure placed upon OSI. I'm inclined to believe him, but at the same time I know he can't say anything that the PR guys would be unhappy with. Were the GM's who have spoken on the issue wrong? Maybe they were just being cynical out of frustration. The GM's are human, afterall, and aren't always told what's going on at OSI (they sometimes learn it from us first!), and they aren't always instructed in what to say and what not to say. They are "customer support" after all, a lower echelon in the company heirarchy. Maybe it was I, and the others who have spoken to a few people at OSI who were the ones who misunderstood. It's possible that any one of us who has been outraged actually inadvertently created a scandal that never truly existed. But then again, maybe it was based in actual events, but different than what we interpreted them to be.

Quite frankly, I try not to take anything I hear at face value. Everyone lies or at least stretches the truth at one time or another, for a variety of reasons. More often than that, they might simply be misinformed or have misunderstood something. This whole issue of inappropriate pressure placed upon OSI might just be a rumor that started with just such a misunderstanding. Admittedly, my own site is probably responsible for unleashing all of the havoc. Don't get me wrong, there would still be an outrage, but the allegations towards GameSpot may have first hit the public through me. So who's right? What happened? I don't know. However, I did finally get a response from GameSpot to the nastygram I sent them on friday in a moment of anger over what I had heard. You can see it HERE.

Whatever the catalyst was for OSI to make it's decision regarding "Zog", hopefully in the future they'll do a little more research (they might have acted differently if they knew "Zog" was a real name) and take into consideration how the loyal fans will react to blatantly rewriting game history that goes back over 15 years. Perhaps I should reword that. They almost certainly took the fans into account [Update (Aug 18): Apparently they didn't take anything into account except PR and logistics], but underestimated the outcry, and felt that a plot element is less important than a handful of customers. I'm sure there are some who are quite happy with OSI's decision and feel that the fiction is a small price to pay.. but I must remind you, "Zog" is a *REAL* name. Zog is a valid and legitimate first-name in some countries. The "Zog Cabal" were simply evil characters who were following in the footsteps of a historical character named Zog (and "Cabal" is appropriately used because they were a secret organization working against the government). What if the character that the Cabal was following was named "Bob" (and thus was the "Bob Cabal"), and some obscure neo-nazi organization that committed a few murders coined an acronym spelled "B.O.B." that was somewhat demeaning to a particular religion or race. You'd realize that "Bob" as a name, and "B.O.B." as a phrase used by extremists are two seperate things. Would you truly try to lobby for the name "Bob" to be stricken from the story? Probably not (though I know there are some who probably would). The main reason "Zog" is getting treated harshly in comparison is because it's a name we're not used to, and thus sticks out. Those who were of the mindset that "Zog Cabal" was anti-semitic probably never knew this, and only knew of the "Z.O.G." acronym... Or if they did, it was inconsequential to them because of how rare the name "Zog" is to most of us. Even so, I can still understand OSI's desire not to exclude or alienate anyone, but I often get the impression that they aren't very good at picking their battles. :-) But as I've said, the point is moot, the change has been made. I hope we can move on, take our losses, and put this behind us.

Zog may be dead, but we're being haunted...

Just as I posted the message below about laying it to rest, I noticed an interesting post in today's update on the front page of Crossroads of Britannia, in which GM Ja allegedly confirmed the story that GameSpot has acted inappropriately. The post also made the point that "Zog" is a perfectly legitimate Albanian first-name. Maybe all the NPC's in UO that are named "Clinton" should be destroyed too, because the president might get offended. Or better yet, Maybe Jews should be eliminated from the player-base so that "Zog" can be put back in to avoid offending the Albanians... Silly, eh? You can't please everyone all of the time. Destroying your own artistic creations rarely solves anything. Anyway, I'm personally still going to take a step back now, as I've poured my heart into this issue for several days now and am feeling a bit drained. However, I will try to continue to post information that becomes available.

By the way, to the right is a screenshot of a protest on Friday night that resulted in some minor telestorming. It is not the same one that was mentioned in the post on CoB. I believe it to be the first protest that was held though. This protest was held on Catskills at the main gate of Trinsic.

Laying Zog to rest

From what I understand, there is little evidence to corroborate the rumors, so until someone does a deeper investigation, I'm going to put aside the issue of GameSpot's alleged actions. However, the loss of a well established plot element and name for the antagonists I find most regrettable. I hope we can get things back to normal, since the point is moot. *sigh* [at this point Bones leans back in his chair, and takes on a pensive expression, wondering how many enemies he's made at OSI and GameSpot] :-)

One Zog didn't exist

I just got sent a correction. The character played by Gary Oldman in The Fifth Element was named Zorg, not Zog. That sounds right to me now (it's been a while since I last watched the movie).

And the Zog goes on...

I've been told that this whole Zog fiasco has started an outrage on the message boards. I may have to go see for myself. I'm curious to see what sort of protests may even be happening in-game. I just want to encourage everyone who wishes to have a protest to try to do so peacefully. Don't turn it into a PK fest or start blocking off places. Thanks. :-) (No, I haven't been a saint at such things either, but still, keep it benign please?) :-)

The e-mail has continued to pour in. Thanks everyone! I just wanted to say that even though I'm not getting the chance to reply to most of the messages I'm getting, I am reading them all (some of you may have seen your information included in the updates here as evidence of that).

More Uses of "Zog"

Apparently "Zog" is a much more common name than I had even originally realized. Some people were kind enough to send in some more instances of the name that they have seen. One is King Zog I of Albania(1929). I've also been told that the name has been used in comic series such as "B.C." and "The Far Side". Additionally, one of the dragon masters in Lunar for Sega CD was named Zog.

Also, I have been told that the correct wording of one of the quotes I used is: "I don't agree with what you have to say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it." I thought I remembered the word "death" being in it, but wasn't sure enough to include it.

Thank you everyone for the continued support via e-mail... I'm glad to see that there are many that feel as I do (some even more so).

More Tid-Bits

[some of these are after-thoughts, and some are from e-mail replies I sent]

I've been told that there are other uses of the name "Zog" out there that you may find interesting, such as the name of one of the bad guys in The Fifth Element, and also a wax for surfboards "Mr. Zog's Sex Wax". Also, it looks like the Z.O.G. acronym may actually have been coined as early as the 70's. This wouldn't be the first time that OSI has chosen a "controversial" name either, as the "Hellspawn Exodus" in Ultima 3 of course is named after something from the bible. They didn't know what the word meant or where it came from at the time, they just thought it sounded neat and used it. Heck, even "Lord British" sounded a bit weird to me the first time I heard it... I'd have thought people in the UK might have had a field-day with that one too. :-)

Also, I was discussing in e-mail a little of how I appear to be treading on the rights of GameSpot while defending the rights of OSI... Well, of course there's a little bit of a paradox here. Let's say for the sake of argument that OSI refused to change the name. If I defended their right to name their antagonists what they wish, then I'd be putting aside GameSpot's right to choose what to publish. If I defended GameSpot, then I'd be putting aside OSI's right to choose. Sometimes one persons rights get trampled in favor of another. In a one-on-one battle of rights, someone often has to lose. We've even seen it happen within the Ultima fiction in the previous Ultima games. The Avatar sometimes has to favor one virtue over another in order to get something done. This is just one problem with having a world populated with people of differing opinions and thoughts. And yet, it's those differences that keep the world interesting.

Revisions

I made a few minor revisions (clarifications, rewordings, etc) to the rant below:

More on the Zog Cabal

I first want to start off by saying thank you to everyone who wrote to me concerning this fiasco with the "Zog Cabal". Not only did I receive positive feedback, but also some interesting hate-mail as well. I'm serious about this; I'm glad to see people standing up for their opinions and beliefs, one way or the other. I went into this knowing that I would likely receive comments from both sides, and that I may lose a few readers. But what is the point of having a forum to express your opinions if you're afraid to do so? At the top of this page I have a quote that reads, "You have enemies? Good, it means you've stood up for something at least once in your life." I don't always live by those words however. In the real world I often avoid arguments and debates, since I realize that my ability to cause change is limited, everyone else is entitled to their own opinions, and it is often a source of unnecessary stress. However, in the Ultima community I find it somewhat easier to be vocal. Perhaps because I am passionately involved in the community, and perhaps it is somewhat due to the anonymity afforded by the written word over meeting face to face.

It was truly not my intention to offend anyone with my words, and I apologize to those who may have been offended. I will not however apologize for my opinions and beliefs. Unfortunately some people took this a bit personally, and resorted to making personal attacks and accusations as a form of rebuttal to my rant, which is the most disappointing aspect of it. However, some of it may even have been justified. For instance, I was accused of not backing up my statements with facts... that is true, but I'm not out to slander anyone either, which is why I used the word "allegedly" twice. I try not to report heresay as fact. I acted on the information available. I realize that people are often more vocal when angry, which I know has impact on the hate-mail I received, but also should give some understanding of my actions here.

Those who disliked what I wrote I think also misunderstood the point I was trying to make. I'm not being insensitive to who and what they are or how they feel. I know what it is like to be deeply offended or in passionate disagreement with something. At the same time, I often feel that some incidents and some concepts should be left in the past, and are best forgotten. Also, this situation struck a chord with me, as "political correctness" I find very unsettling. And going even further, many people try to excersize some sort of control over the outside world in exchange for a certain level of persecution and/or oppression they've percieved in their lives, and look for offense where they can, thus perpetuating their own pain and suffering. While such things bother me deeply, they weren't the true focus of my rant. The actual purpose of my writing was to express my discontentment with what I viewed to be unethical behaviour on the part of GameSpot, no matter how justified the cause might have been. How can a news source be considered unbiased and impartial if it intentionally influences that which it is reporting on? How can it be trusted if it walks all over someone? Granted, OSI allowed it to happen. Granted, OSI might have made the change anyway. If OSI had made the change of their own free will, uninfluenced, I'd be a lot happier, but still on the unhappy side (I find it distressing that it is easier to destroy and/or rewrite the fiction (an artistic expression), than it is to stand your ground and risk losing a few customers because a name reminds them of something that offended them, even though I might have made the same choice). But what I came to hear about GameSpot's alleged actions made me angry. I have a passionate belief in freedom of expression.

I once heard another quote, of which I don't remember the exact wording, but it went something like, "I may hate what you have to say, but I will fight to defend your right to say it." To that end, I believe it is up to the consumer to decide what he or she is exposed to on their own. If you feel offended by something, don't expose yourself to it! There's no need to squelch it completely, and ruin it for those who don't have a problem with it. If you don't like GameSpot's published material, then don't read it. If you don't like the fictional storylines and characters in Ultima Online, then don't play it. If you don't like my opinions on my own web site, then don't come here. It's as simple as that. By trying to erase someone's opinions, someone's fiction, or someone's expression, you are treading on their rights.

Take the KKK for instance. Most of us disagree with their beliefs, myself included. However, they have just as much of a right to their own opinions and activities as we do to ours, as long as no one gets hurt. I rememeber a while back that there was a website that was posted by a neo-nazi organization, and their web-host decided to shut them down. A *huge* letter campaign was begun by people all over the world petitioning that the site be permitted to continue. Most of these people were opposed to the beliefs contained on the site, but they were still defending their right to express their own views.

Magazines, web sites, and games are wonderful things in that you can simply ignore them if you don't like them. I can respect OSI's decision to attempt to not turn away any customers if they can help it, I am just sincerely disappointed that it had to happen at the expense of long-running fiction and history within the game series. I'm even more disappointed that the decision was not self-induced, but was rather precipitated by other people's efforts to squelch it, whether it was from GameSpot or from anonymous tips, or from customers. I'm sorry if any toes were stepped on, or if I caused any pain. In the longrun, no true harm has been done to anyone. Sometimes a controversy will bring out the best and the worst in each of us. I wish you all well, whether you agree with me or not. It's not my position to tell you what to think or what to believe. My highest ideals are, and always have been, right to live, right to choose, right to express, and free will. To that end, you must choose how to live your own life, what to express, and what to expose yourself to. If you're unhappy, maybe you've made a bad choice somewhere. I know I've made some real grand mistakes, how about you? :-)

Oh dear, that came out much longer than I anticipated...

Zog Cabal continued

I made some slight revisions to yesterday's Zog Cabal rant.

The Zog Cabal is no more...

[Note- (8/15/98) For those who aren't sure what the "Zog Cabal" is, it's the center of the on-going storyline and quests that have been going on weekly in-game for over 4 months, and is based on something that happened in an early Ultima game, and is thus part of Ultima history]

Lord British Spake

Well, the speach came and went... It was a bit dissapointing in that quite a few "children" were spamming left and right, not even allowing the seers and counselors that were present to be heard. When the speach got underway, spamming, and the bad timing control of the speach resulted in most of it being unreadable. 2 to 5 lines would be spit out of the crest in rapid succession, and then a long pause would be felt before such another burst would ocurr. Perhaps some of it was due to bandwidth being eaten by all that spam. I'm not sure... Either way, I didn't get to read it until I extracted the following transcript from my log...

Hail citizens, friends... Fellow Britannians. 'Tis with an angry heart that I speak with thee tonight. For We Have Been Betrayed!!! The entire realm.. every living creature, great and small... Betrayed! We face dangers each day. We are not cowards to cry out at the first sign of hardship. But the Zog Cabal hath gone too far! By attempting to cast the Armageddon spell, they have shown their true face. They mean ill to the entire realm. To each and every one of us. Though their motives remain a mystery, there can be no doubt as to their willingness to try again. And with any future attempt, the Zog Cabal will at best learn better how to correct their mistakes... at worst, render Britannia a total wasteland. With this dread knowledge comes responsibility. Responsibility that none dare ignore. The Zog Cabal and every being who claims membership with this fell company are enemies to us all! Thus I ask all Britannians to aid in the search for the Zog Cabal. Seek ye any sign. Any clue. Aught at all which may assist us in finding the lair or leaders of the Zog Cabal. Any member of the Cabal who is captured should be brought to the Court of Truth in Yew where they will be thoroughly questioned. With the Virtues to guide us, I will have every Zog Cabalist brought to justice! Their fates will be tempered by Honor and Compassion, but they will threaten our lands NO LONGER!! Suffer not the indignity of such vile fellows and ye will be stronger for it. Allow them to persist and prosper, and we all weaken. I wish now to speak of another matter. One of different focus but of no less importance. With the earthquakes brought on by the Zog Cabal, we have discovered a new land. As yet only a brave group of six adventurers hath been sent to explore this uncharted wilderness, including CrawWorth, who hath long been a warrior of high virtue. Wish He and the five who follow him much luck as they venture into the unknown. To that end, I ask all stalwart warriors, mages of renown, mapmakers of great skill, healers, rangers, scribes... Many art needed, yet I have full confidence that greater numbers than are required will be willing to volunteer. To that end, I ask all stalwart warriors, mages of renown, mapmakers of great skill, healers, rangers, scribes... As word of their findings wends it's way back to us, it hath become clear that more exploration will soon be necessary. To all of ye, I offer my deepest thanks. Allow them to persist and prosper, and we all weaken. Many art needed, yet I have full confidence that greater numbers than are required will be willing to volunteer. Fear not if ye are unable to join these early explorers. For if all goes well, any who wish it will be allowed to aid in the eventual expansion of our realm. A bulletin board will be posted to allow ye application for early exploration of the new lands. Seek ye secure.owo.com/beta and utter the code "noneshallpass". I give my personal thanks to all who accept this duty. And also to all who possess the desire to accept, yet were not called upon to such office. Thank ye Britannians! And Fare Thee Well!!

Lord British Speaks

Lord British will be speaking tomorrrow (monday) night... Check out this Town Cryer article to read about it in detail.

New Editorial

I've added a new editorial which you can see HERE. It's actually an e-mail that was sent to me, which I found to be an interesting read. So go check it out!

Etc etc etc

Well, I hope you will all bear with me a little longer. I've been spending huge amounts of time away from my computer for the past week and half or so... not something that happens to me often. :-)

The small business venture (more of a hobby actually, but one that should pay for itself and even earn me some cash) is coming along nicely, it's getting close to being ready. I'm still waiting for the applications to arrive for the state permits, the credit service (so that I can take credit card payment from customers), and the wholesale catalog. However, I've already taken care of name registration, zoning, county liscense, and the bank accounts, as well as partially completing the website. When it's all ready, I'll post links here... I think many of you may find it interesting.

UO: The Second Age

Well, here it is... they're starting to post details about "UO-Gold". You can check out the official website HERE. So far there isn't a huge amount of detail, but they seem to be slowly adding to it.

DC-Area UO-Player Gathering

I forgot to mention last week that yes, I do plan to be there for the DC-area player gathering. Dlome requests that if you're interested in going, please RSVP to him at [email protected]. Thanks!

Bones in UO

I get asked questions a lot about what shard I play on, when/where I play, what my character names are, and what style of play I use. Well, here are a few answers:

• Bones tends not to play UO the "normal" way with "normal characters". I'll leave it to your imagination to figure out what that means. Many have already figured it out, or have been told through the grapevine. There are hints to this all around my website, if you think you're up to the challenge of figuring it out. :-)

• When Bones does play normal characters, it's often a newbie character with no combat skill or magery. This is because it can be a pain to train-up characters on multiple servers, and I don't play these characters enough for them to get trained by experience, and newbie warriors and mages aren't worth anything in today's Britannia. These characters are usually named "Bones". These characters tend to originate in Britain, but may travel to the various player-run towns etc.

• Bones' main character, the one with decent ability and money, is on Atlantic. This is the character I started at the beginning of the full release of the game, but never once has this character been a grandmaster of anything other than spirit speak and fishing. This character's name is "Brother Bones", and he resides in and around Britain mostly.

• Bones spends far more time on Chesapeake than on Atlantic or any other shard, but usually not as "Bones". Even then, I don't play for 40 hours a week like I used to in the fall.

• Bones does not spend time in-game to make the comics. The comics are done completely through FUSE and tricks with a graphics-editor.

• Bones usually does not log in just to meet people, unless they're close friends or there is a particular reason.

• There are other characters in the game named Bones. Many other players have used the name. Don't confuse them with me. :-) My characters will almost always be dressed in a royal blue (though not 100% of the time)

• Bones is NOT a GM! There used to be a GM Bones. It was not me. He has moved to another section of OSI, last I heard, and is thus no longer a GM. Hopefully, in time, the confusion will subside. Also, I think some of the confusion about this also stems from just how little understanding the average UO player has about what GM's, counselors, and seers are.

• Bones is often very slow to respond to e-mail of a non-urgent nature. Sometimes questions even get overlooked.

• Bones is not the codex of ultimate wisdom, and thus can not answer all your game questions. Most of your questions about the game mechanics should be asked of an on-duty counselor.

• You can see some of the basic appearances that Bones has had by viewing The Many Faces of Bones. The one listed as the "monk" outfit is how my newbie characters will tend to look.

Updates

Sorry for the lack of updates here and on the comics page. I've been rather busy as of late, and thus have had little time to think about rants or comics ideas. One thing I've been doing that has been consuming my attention is that I'm starting a home-based business... It's sort-of my way of making a certain hobby pay for itself and perhaps generate a little profit too. As soon as it's ready, I'll post a link here so you all can come and check it out, and perhaps place an order or three. :-)

DC-Area Player Gathering (from Dlome)

Hail to everyone interested in the DC Player Luncheon! I have now confirmed a date and other necessary information for the luncheon! The finalized details are:

Who: UO Players including THREE (or more) seers.
What: DC Player Luncheon (near DC)
When: Sunday August 16th, 1998 AD 1 pm - 4 pm est
Where: Champions Billiards Cafe
How: Directions are as follows:

From Baltimore/points north of DC :
Take I-95 southwest to the 495 west(stay right on 95! ;) ) 495 to the Rockville/355 exit. Aprox. 5 miles you will pass Randolph road on your right side. 1/2 mile up on the right will be Computer City.(cant miss it) across the street on the Left is a shopping center with a CompUSA. drive around it on the right and underneath of it you will see Champions Billiards Cafe..you have arrived. 8)

From Virginia/points south of DC :
Take I-95 north to 495 west. 495 to 355 west toward rockville. 8)

From 270 N/points toward Frederick:
Take 270 south to Montrose road east. aprox 3 miles and you will reach 355 make a Left. 1/2 mile up on the right will be Computer City.(cant miss it) across the street on the Left is a shopping center with a CompUSA. drive around it on the right and underneath of it you will see Champions Billiards Cafe..you have arrived. 8)

From DC.
Take Wisconsin Ave north which is 355....keep going..8)

That should be easy as it gets...the place is really easy to find....
Additional Info:
Champions Billiards Cafe, as the name suggests, offers billiards and FOOD. (note the cafe part of the name =) ) Food will be handled on an individual basis: you bring money, you buy the food you want. :) In addition to eating and talking, I expect that we may hold a pool competition...

Also: I am getting maps to the location ASAP. If you need maps, or have any further questions, please email me at [email protected]