TC1 Has Been Updated
Jeremy Dalberg
28 Sep 2007 19:11:12 EST

Test Center 1 has been published with the following:

• You will get less credit towards the new dungeon drops if you are hidden when the monster you are fighting dies.
• You will get no credit if you are more than 16 tiles away from the monster when it dies.

Interesting New Information on UO Accounts Registration Page

Hello Everyone….

Most interesting things are happening in the world of Britannia. Our ever alert and wondrous readers have discovered some thought provoking information.

Thanks to Orcs who posted first about this on U.Hall . The following additional information is now appearing on the uo.com registration pages.

Ultima Online 7th Character Slot | Not Registered
Ultima Online Housing and Bank Storage Upgrade | Not Registered
Ultima Online 10 New Roleplay Faces | Not Registered

According to information in this post, Jeremy Dalberg will discuss the “10 New Roleplay Faces” soon. The other two, at this point, are still unknown but great fun to speculate about.

What do you all think? Would you be willing to pay for a 7th Character Slot? Should it come free with Stygian Abyss? What kind of character would you make with your 7th slot or do you even use all you have available to you now?

What about the housing and bank storage? Would you pay to expand your storage capacity? What would you do with the extra storage room? Is it needed?

Oh isn't it great fun to think about what this might mean. If you want to add your thoughts, please visit the U.Hall thread 7th Char Slot, Upgraded Storage, Bank & House, 10 New Faces? started by Orcs. Thanks to Orcs and all of our readers!!

On August 24, 2007, the Opening Ceremonies were held in the Catskills Relay for Life 2007. Over the next month, events were held each Friday night and all proceeds from the events were put into the American Cancer Society Fund. The ladies of the Council figured if we could raise $200 and raise awareness, we would have succeeded in our mission.

The participation from the Catskills Community was astounding to say the least. The donations to the item auction literally poured in to the point that two auctions had to be held to sell everything (over 800 items total). Monetary donations poured in as well. Six blaze Cancer Support Sashes were put on a vendor for 5 Million Gold each and sold within the first day. Other Cancer Support Sashes were sold on another vendor netting just shy of 17 Million Gold. Other sashes were handed out for donations at the various events bringing the total just from sashes to ~26 Million Gold.

People turned out en masse to support each event and donate and share their stories. We spent much time as a shard together laughing, crying, and supporting each other. Just a few of the many stories we heard (with names removed):

“This has touched my heart and my mother's as well. Cancer has touched my life too many times, my grandfather passed away from it and my mother found it in time to get it removed, loosing her ovaries in the process.”

“I lost my mother to cancer. There is a hole in my heart that will never be filled. She was my best friend and I miss her so badly. I live in her house and I keep expecting to see her around every corner.”

“My best friend died to breast cancer. She was my biker buddy, my sister. She found it too late. She never got to see her first wedding anniversary. Her picture sits beside me where I can see her daily but I miss her.”

“Both of my parents were just diagnosed with cancer.”

“A dear friend’s husband was just diagnosed this week with pancreatic cancer.”

And on the stories went showing how this horrible diagnosis has touched almost everyone. This truly crossed all barriers of race, religion, sex, guild, alliance and age. I don’t think any of us have ever been more amazed or touched more deeply by what happened here this past month.

So what did we do? And I mean WE as a community. While it’s true that the Relay for Life Council and the Order of the Dragon Alliance coordinated these events, make no mistake, this COMMUNITY did this. Each and every one of YOU made this happen. When the final accounting is done, the total gold raised for the American Cancer Society is:

456,145,244 UO Gold

We are estimating that, once this is converted, the donation should be in the neighborhood of $1020. After the donation is made, I will scan the receipt and post it so everyone can see the final total and what YOU did.

Now, as for the challenge part of this post. If this is what ONE shard can do, what more can ALL the shards do? The 2007 Catskills Relay for Life Council hereby issues a challenge to each shard in Sosaria to get involved in their own communities. One of our mottos has been, Let’s Make the “C” Word No Scarier Than the Common Cold. Together, the UO Community can make this happen. You CAN make a difference!

FoF: Festivities and Feats
Jeremy Dalberg
28 Sep 2007 19:50:08 EST

In this week's Five on Friday, get the goods on the Anniversary event!

September 28, 2007

"How big of a luck bonus is the UO Logo statue supposed to give?"
It depends - if you're new to UO, welcome, you lucky devil. if you've been fortunate enough to play UO for ten full years, why, then you are very lucky indeed.
--
"What does the ankh necklace do? Is it just for show?"
As a number of alert players have pointed our, should you visit one of the Shrines of the Virtues and meditate (chant a mantra) there, you will receive a system message having to do with that virtue. But what does it mean?

The ankh will give a bonus to one or more of the 3 regeneration stats that will last for 1 hour. The bonus can only be activated once per day. Each of the shrines will give a unique bonus combination to regeneration stats based on the virtue for that particular shrine (this is based on the 3 principles).

Each principle is related to a regeneration stat as follows:

Truth - Mana Regeneration
Love - Hit Point Regeneration
Courage - Stamina Regeneration

Each virtue will give the following bonus to regeneration stats as follows:

Honesty +2 Mana Regen
Compassion +2 HP Regen
Valor +2 Stamina Regen
Justice +1 Mana Regen, +1 HP Regen (50% chance to get one regen bumped up to +2)
Sacrifice +1 HP Regen, +1 Stamina Regen (50% chance to get one regen bumped up to +2)
Honor +1 Mana Regen, +1 Stamina Regen (50% chance to get one regen bumped up to +2)
Spirituality +1 All Regens (25% chance (3 independent rolls) to get each regen bumped up to +2)
Humility +3 Random Regen

--

"How is the drop rate for these items determined?"

The event uses the Guaranteed Reward Point system, which was created for the Treasures of Tokuno event:

• This system keeps track of the monsters you kill in the event area and gives you an increasing chance to get a special loot drop as you kill more monsters.
• The loot will appear in your backpack.
• Monsters that have higher fame increase your chances faster. (Keep in mind that monsters in Felucca give 30% extra fame.)
• Higher luck will improve your chances for a loot drop.
• The overall loot drop chance for this event will be lower than ToT, as we are planning for it to run for quite a while - very possibly permanently.
• Your points DO NOT reset if you log out - no marathon hunting sessions required!

Keep in mind that at no time is a drop guaranteed, it simply becomes more and more likely - so some people will get lucky and get them quickly, and some people will be unlucky and take longer.

--

"Why did my Doom stealable decay when I locked it down?"
This one has been around a while now - first let me repost the Known Issue report:

The brazier from Doom, the tanned hide from Doom and the broken chair from Ilshenar will display the auto-lockdown message when you attempt to lock them down but do NOT actually lock down. Until further notice, if you have one of those that's not already locked down, please place it in a secure container or your bank box.

I don't have a definite ETA on a fix for this, but Wilki's come up with one and it's in QA's hands now. When they get done banging on it we'll get it out!

--

Kingdom Reborn Focus Group
As we've mentioned a couple of times recently, we have a small horde of developers working on KR at the moment. We'd love to get some folks together to talk about it and take a look at some of our early plans. Our beta testers were awesome, but the majority of them have wandered off since, well, we're not IN beta anymore, and so we need to swell their ranks.

I'll post specific details on how to apply and what exactly we're looking for on Monday - however, if you had a forum account for the KR beta, and would like to participate in this focus group, please log on to your account at forums.eamythic.com over the weekend so that you don't show up as inactive. (You don't have to post or anything if you don't want to - just log in.)

--

Town Hall: Anaheim(ish)
Our last Town Hall of the year is at Dave and Buster's in Orange, California, on October 13th. If you're in the area, please Posted to RSVP and come see what we're up to!

--

Fansite News
Not precisely fansite news, but since we're feeling old-school this week, here's an interview with the creator of Ultima: The Ultimate Collector's Guide, a resource for all things Ultima.

--

If for some reason you didn't get or couldn't read the newsletter that went out earlier this week, it's been archived here. Have a good weekend, everyone, and happy hunting!

- Jeremy

September 28, 2007

"How big of a luck bonus is the UO Logo statue supposed to give?"
It depends - if you're new to UO, welcome, you lucky devil. if you've been fortunate enough to play UO for ten full years, why, then you are very lucky indeed.

"What does the ankh necklace do? Is it just for show?"
As a number of alert players have pointed our, should you visit one of the Shrines of the Virtues and meditate (chant a mantra) there, you will receive a system message having to do with that virtue. But what does it mean?

The ankh will give a bonus to one or more of the 3 regeneration stats that will last for 1 hour. The bonus can only be activated once per day. Each of the shrines will give a unique bonus combination to regeneration stats based on the virtue for that particular shrine (this is based on the 3 principles).

Each principle is related to a regeneration stat as follows: Truth - Mana Regeneration Love - Hit Point Regeneration Courage - Stamina Regeneration

Each virtue will give the following bonus to regeneration stats as follows: Honesty +2 Mana Regen Compassion +2 HP Regen Valor +2 Stamina Regen Justice +1 Mana Regen, +1 HP Regen (50% chance to get one regen bumped up to +2) Sacrifice +1 HP Regen, +1 Stamina Regen (50% chance to get one regen bumped up to +2) Honor +1 Mana Regen, +1 Stamina Regen (50% chance to get one regen bumped up to +2) Spirituality +1 All Regens (25% chance (3 independent rolls) to get each regen bumped up to +2) Humility +3 Random Regen

"How is the drop rate for these items determined?"
The event uses the Guaranteed Reward Point system, which was created for the Treasures of Tokuno event:

• This system keeps track of the monsters you kill in the event area and gives you an increasing chance to get a special loot drop as you kill more monsters.
• The loot will appear in your backpack.
• Monsters that have higher fame increase your chances faster. (Keep in mind that monsters in Felucca give 30% extra fame.)
• Higher luck will improve your chances for a loot drop.
• The overall loot drop chance for this event will be lower than ToT, as we are planning for it to run for quite a while - very possibly permanently.
• Your points DO NOT reset if you log out - no marathon hunting sessions required!

"Why did my Doom stealable decay when I locked it down?"
This one has been around a while now - first let me repost the Known Issue report:

The brazier from Doom, the tanned hide from Doom and the broken chair from Ilshenar will display the auto-lockdown message when you attempt to lock them down but do NOT actually lock down. Until further notice, if you have one of those that's not already locked down, please place it in a secure container or your bank box.

I don't have a definite ETA on a fix for this, but Wilki's come up with one and it's in QA's hands now. When they get done banging on it we'll get it out!

Kingdom Reborn Focus Group

I'll post specific details on how to apply and what exactly we're looking for on Monday - however, if you had a forum account for the KR beta, and would like to participate in this focus group, please log on to your account at forums.eamythic.com over the weekend so that you don't show up as inactive. (You don't have to post or anything if you don't want to - just log in.)

Town Hall: Anaheim(ish)

Fansite News

If for some reason you didn't get or couldn't read the newsletter that went out earlier this week, it's been archived. Have a good weekend, everyone, and happy hunting!

- Jeremy

Test Center 1 has been published with the following:

• You will get less credit towards the new dungeon drops if you are hidden when the monster you are fighting dies.
• You will get no credit if you are more than 16 tiles away from the monster when it dies.

VOICES Editorial: Community Management - Is It Really That Tough?

U.HALL Discussion Thread

INTERVIEW #1: Alyra, Lineage II Community Manager - NCsoft

INTERVIEW #2: Clint Worley, Producer - EverQuest

INTERVIEW #3: Greg Wiatroski, Lead Developer - Toontown

Community Management - Is It Really That Tough?

Many times in our lives, we often find ourselves in a position to question another's abilities at their jobs. Whether it's the waitress in our favorite restaurant, the guy at the movie ticket counter, or the mechanic in the auto-repair shop. But what makes us think we have the knowledge or right to question them? Have we done their job? Is it mainly based on what we expect, regardless of what we do or do not know? Or maybe it's just human nature?

Regardless of why, the fact exists that we are constantly questioning the abilities of others to do their jobs. And it's no different in an online community where people are put in positions of public relations, communications, moderation, etc.

It's a known fact that when we don't have to look another in the eye, we're not as gentle as we would otherwise be with our words, sarcasm, and downright criticism. It's far more difficult to be mean and hurtful in person (well, for most people it is, anyway), than via text on some message board where you'll never have to face the other individual and see the hurt, anger or frustration in their eyes.

Okay, yeah... I'm a girl, and that's my take on it.

But really... am I so far off in my assessment of why we are more harsh online than we are in person?

Let's talk about our online communities for a minute. I'm a gamer, and I've been involved in several online gaming communities over the years. Most are title-focused, like for Everquest II and The Sims Online, and others are made up of gamers that wish to speak more about day-to-day topics such as religion, politics, families/pets, and their favorite laundry soap. No matter what, though, it's real people being real with each other.

"I try to understand the user's point of view. Something that the team perceives as a minor bug could be ruining someone's day. We do listen to feedback and we try to address as many concerns as we can. We have to balance this work with new content development though." ~Greg Wiatroski, Toontown

And when the Community Manager, Public Relations Coordinator, Forum Administrator/Moderator, etc., doesn't perform as expected by one or all, the community is quick to jump on them. In some cases, I've seen community members demand that the Community Representative be forced to resign! In some rare cases, that may not be too far off the wall. For instance, in February of this year there was a rather large controversy involving EVE Online, wherein developers were accused of utilizing their Dev Powers in-game to further theirs and their friends' characters. While CCP acknowledged that there were some issues, which were addressed and corrected, the discussion was quick to turn awry from focusing on the issue to pointing fingers at who was really at fault. In one post, Kieron, Community Manager for EVE Online, stated:

"In both cases, these accusations were recently brought forward when a player revealed the identity of numerous CCP employee characters. Since these play characters are known to belong to CCP employees, they will be removed from the game. Many of them have been around since the creation of EVE and it is most unfortunate that these developers are now forced to end their relationships with their in-game friends, but that is our policy when the anonymity of staff members has been compromised."

Was that a fair response to players' concerns over developer misconduct? We may never know, as the community will only ever see half of the story (the other half being behind the scenes at CCP). The full community discussion can be found here, and an article by ShackNews on this topic can be found here. Read through it all and judge for yourself... was CCP right or wrong in their handling of the issue, and was the community fair in their assessments and demands for more information and action? Read what transpired and judge for yourself.

Another high-profile issue involved Anarchy Online, and the wildly unpopular "Clan Bannings of 2006", wherin many Clans were banned for a variety of alleged misconducts. However, there was a very large outcry of "Foul!" by the player base on the topic, and one community member went so far as to create a YouTube video dedicated and addressed directly to FunCom about the unfair tactics used by whomever was responsible, including specifically addressing the issue and asking why:

"Funcom we fought for those towers. You even wrongly banned clan leaders, even when they did NOTHING. Why would you do this?"

The complete video can be found here. Watch and read the comments... then decide, was FunCom right or wrong in their handling of the situation?

Regardless, these are two isolated incidents. For the most part, people get outraged at a lack of information or communication. Rarely do we see such controversial issues the likes of EVE and Anarchy Online presented. So, why do we do this? We do realize that the Community Rep is our messenger, and not the decision-maker... at least, in most cases. And, even so, it is always a team of individuals involved in whatever has caused us such angst in our gaming lives. So... why do we criticize, complain, and overall make our Community/Public Relations folks out as the enemy in our gaming lives?

Some may speculate that it's the community representatives' jobs to take the abuse that is dealt out. In other words, they opted to be in the position they're in, and therefore they need to take the good and the bad with it. As a result, when the community isn't happy, then the representatives can and will hear about it - loud and clear. Some members feel it is their duty to the rest of the community to make it painfully obvious that there is some discontent amongst the gamers. Whether or not they were asked to.

"I wouldn't say that we as developers don't take the feedback personally, because we do! I would say however, that the players dont always know every angle behind many of the decisions that are made, so it can at times be very frustrating with such a limited view of each individual decision."~Clint Worley - Producer, EverQuest

But really, what is it? Frustration at our lack of ability within the game we play? Do we feel that if only the developers would give us what we want, we would be better equipped to succeed? In other words... are there those among us that believe it is the game's fault that they fail, or is really a faulty system provided to us to work with? Should games be developed with easy success goals? Or should players be given more opportunity to win within the models provided?

Or is everything pretty much fine where they stand, and some people need to just "get a life"?

If you look around the various threads in your own community, you might just find that while not always on the mark, most of our Community Representatives in the industry are fairly active in their respective areas, and quite often reliable with their information. Sure, on occasion, you'll see the dreaded "I am unable to share any information at this time" or "I have nothing to say on this subject", but that's par for the course, isn't it? Really, the CR's are there to bridge the gap between the community and the developers, and they are given limits as to what they can tell us. But what about the developers themselves? Many of them lurk, if not actively participate, in their title's forums - and not only on the "official" forums. So they're up to speed with what's going on out there and the general feel of the players.

Is there a reason answers aren't given to the questions, then?

"We do visit all product-related sites, but communities that allow rampant bashing and flaming make it very difficult to gather feedback due to the amount of constructive feedback and moderation being almost nil. Forwarding player feedback is very important to me, but it does need to maintain a certain level of maturity and constructiveness in order for me to do so." ~Alyra - Community Manager, Lineage II

If you talk to the people responsible for sharing information with the communities, they'll tell you that it's largely a production-based decision. In other words, since whatever they're working on isn't released or tested internally yet, they're not quite prepared to release information. Something may change from now until then, and so sharing information at this point would be largely unproductive for both sides. Sadly, though, many people prefer not to accept this reasoning, and demand information regardless - usually with the promise "I won't hold you to it!". Uh-huh. Riiiight.

So where does that leave us? Two sides of the same coin who essentially want the same things, but with differing opinions on how to achieve those mutual goals. What do we do? Communicate more? Have more understanding for each other? Continue in this wacky, but apparently working, relationship and hope that in the end, there are no hard feelings?

Often, this weird circling we do, like virtual vultures, is positive for everyone in the end, as it gives us as players a chance to focus on the "dead" aspect of the game and point to it for everyone else to see, and it gives developers an area to focus on either for a fix - or a total replacement. Such as the player-vs-player model in many games. They will typically go through a large overhaul at least once in the game's life - and that is largely due to the outspoken nature of the communities who tend to know so much about how a combat situation should work within that specific title.

But in the end, is it worth it? Not only for us... but for our developers, community relations team, etc. Do they feel rewarded at the end of the day, and do we feel that we've succeeded in being heard and effecting change in choice of entertainment? Is the passion we all have for this industry enough to keep us plugging along each day?

Some say yes... and I know I couldn't trade it for the world. The people, the players, the developers, representatives, and liaisons... it's all worth it at the end of the day. I've met some amazing folks along the way, and that alone is priceless.

Special thanks to the following for taking time to answer some questions in order to help with the writing of this article, and give insight into the lives of our representatives and game developers:

INTERVIEW #1: Alyra, Lineage II Community Manager - NCsoft

INTERVIEW #2: Clint Worley, Producer - EverQuest

INTERVIEW #3: Greg Wiatroski, Lead Developer - Toontown

The beginning of Autumn and the anniversary of UO go hand in hand each year.

The birthday celebration this year gave us a spectacular fireworks display in Luna. Crowds gathered, merriment was in the air, even a little battling took place near the Luna moongate.


















There were more than fireworks as we all know. I have noticed many heritage token gift choices showing up in home decor this week.

On the subject of home decor, traditionally I decorate at least one of my homes for autumn this week. Part of that tradition is going To The Farms to harvest my own wheat for Fall displays.
From the Brit bank take the road going south, then west past the Warriors Guild and Sosarian Steeds Stable. The road will fork and at the fork read the sign and it will direct you To The Farms.



Returning home with my wheat I started decorating to experience attacks, or what I thought were attacks on my house.






To my delight the fireworks had moved to one of my Luna houses and I had an amazing display for hours. I liked the black spires most, they had that "Beam Me Up Scotty" feeling to them.

Autumn is here and Halloween is just a month away so tis the season to decorate. If you have an Autumn or Halloween design you would like featured in the News send a screenshot my way.

I could not write about the 10th anniversary without mentioning the increased activity in the dungeons. Four hours straight I spent killing beasts and not a single arti. Last night I was on the Catskills Shard interviewing a character that just had gotten the UO Statue and I hit it increasing my luck by the hundreds. I think I will have to get myself one of those! Looks like back to the dungeons for me.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY UO

Posted to uoherald.com:

Scam Warning
Jeremy Dalberg
08 26 Sep 2007 13:14:14 EST

I've gotten word that some people are claiming to be me and giving a gmail address and asking for various information from players. This is NOT me - please do not be fooled. Any request for information via email from an employee is going to come from an @ea.com address. (that's jdalberg AT ea DOT com for me)

Welcome Back to Britannia!
Jeremy Dalberg
25 Sep 2007 20:56:41 EST

All citizens of Sosaria are invited back to Ultima Online to help us celebrate its 10th anniversary. Check out the Kingdom Reborn client, join in the celebration, and receive your gifts - everyone is welcome!

The Time For Homecoming Is Now!

Return to Britannia and experience all that Ultima Online has to offer!

Here's how:

• Re-install Ultima Online™, using your game disc, a friend’s disc or downloading it here:
• If you need to re-install the game, you can download it here:
• 2D Client
• Kingdom Reborn Client
• Start the game and log-in with your name and password.
• In most cases you’ll find your characters and property waiting for you. (We can’t guarantee all the in-game possessions will still be available, but in most cases they will be.)
• Been awhile since you've played? Click here for the UO New Player Guide, which will help you jump right back into Sosaria.

Former players in good standing will be able to log in and play Ultima Online using their former account names and passwords. This "free period" will last from September 25, 2 a.m. PST to until October 9, 2 a.m. PST.

If you are a former player, we hope you come back to Britannia to experience all that's new in Ultima Online.

If you are a current subscriber, we hope you'll remind friends who happen to be former players that this is a great chance to discover Ultima Online again.

FAQ

Q: I would like to re-activate my account. How can I do that?
A: Follow these easy steps:

1. Go to www.ea.com and click on the Login link in the upper right hand corner of the screen. This will take you to the EA.com login page where you can enter your account name and password.
• Note: If you're already logged in to EA.com or Pogo, you can skip this step.
2. Once you're logged in, you'll return to the EA Homepage and you'll see Welcome at the top of the screen. If you don't see this Welcome message, you will need to attempt to log in again.
3. Click on the My Account link in the upper right hand corner of the screen and you'll be prompted to log in to the My Account page with the same username and password you've just used.
4. Click on the Subscription Info tab and then click the Re-activate your Subscription link next to the game you'd like to reactivate.
5. Follow the prompts and select the method of billing you'd like to apply to your account.

Q: I forgot my account name. How do I get that?
A: If you've lost or forgotten your account name for Ultima Online, Click HERE.

Q: I forgot my password. How do I get that?
A: If you've lost or forgotten your password for Ultima Online, Click HERE.

Q: After I return, I’d liked to upgrade my account to play Mondain’s Legacy. How do I do that?
A: Head over to www.uogamecodes.com and buy yourself an upgrade code.

Relay for Life Closing Ceremonies
The Order of the Dragon Alliance would like to invite you to join us for the Catskills Relay for Life closing ceremony on Thursday, September 27th at 8:00PM EST. The ceremony will be held at Lord British's Castle in Tram in the Gardens where the opening ceremony was held. In case you didn't get to make it to the opening ceremony and need a ride, gates will be provided from Luna bank starting at 7:45PM EST and last until 8PM.

We ask that each person who plans on attending bring a candle, lantern, or torch to be held in honor or in memory of a loved one throughout the ceremony.

At the end of the ceremony there will be three short walks along a lighted path to represent the struggles that we have all overcome, or are currently facing. The first walk will be a survivor walk, lead by Adriana, Poison Ivy, and Anne Nomilly. The second walk will be the caretaker's walk, lead by Satria. The final walk of the evening will be to honor or remember any friend or family where cancer has touched their lives.

Champions for the Cause Champ Hunt
As a last bash, exciting ending to the Relay for Life Fundraiser, we would like to invite everyone to join us for a Champions for the Cause Champ Hunt on Thursday, September 27th immediately following the Closing Ceremonies.

The information you need for the Champ Hunt is as follows:

1. Gates to the designated location will be opened at the end of the Closing Ceremonies. We are keeping the exact destination a surprise. *winks*
2. ANY scroll that drops in your pack is yours to keep!
3. Anyone who wishes can be protected by Anne Nomilly. Any and ALL scrolls received by the Protector will be distributed to those participating at the end of the evening. All 110’s will be laid on the ground for any who need them to take. Any 115’s or 120’s will be called out and rolled for by those participating. You do NOT need to be protected to participate in the Champ. Everyone is welcome. However, in the interest of fairness, only those protected by Anne will be eligible for the rolling at the end.
4. Please be aware of anyone around you, or you yourself, going grey. At events like these, accidents happen. If you go grey, please run out of the area and hide until you are blue again. Otherwise, you are subject to attack by other players’ summons.
5. Area effect weapons are not advised. These can hit other players by accident and cause you to go grey. See information point #4.
6. We are asking that all gold that drops from the Champ at the end be allowed to be collected by the Relay for Life Council as the final donations to the American Cancer Society Fund. As stated in point #2, the scrolls are yours to keep as our way of saying thank you for the wonderful support we have received from you all.
7. We ARE expecting that some seasoned Fel players will bring their reds along. Remember, just because someone is Red does not mean they are evil. This is a good chance to get to know some of these wonderful people who have made such a large contribution to this fundraising effort and they are coming along to help.
8. If you are in Factions, please be advised that the horrible “bene acts” issue may rear its ugly head when needing a rez. We will attempt to rez you or get you to the nearest altar and then back but you may want to ask a Faction buddy to come along just in case.
9. The plan is to run the spawn multiple times so be conscious of the grey gate that opens on the altar and don’t go through it. You do NOT get a warning asking if you want to go through. If you run through the gate by accident, you can exit the Star Room via the blue gate and then make your way back to the spawn.
10. As always, remember, this is Fel. Please do not bring along anything that is not blessed or insured that you can’t afford to lose. Relay Council Members will bring along extra bandages and supplies but we can’t guarantee we will have everything. We will certainly try our best!
11. Please remember to repair your armor fully before coming to the event. Nothing is worse than being in the middle of fighting and getting the message that something is severely damaged.

Come celebrate the hard work and the love that has poured out over the course of this Fundraiser. It’s time to blow off some steam and have some FUN!

Posted to uoherald.com:

A Message From the Producer
Chris Rabideau
25 Sep 2007 19:14:41 EST

Citizens of Britannia,

At this point in time, I know that very few of you know who I am. I haven’t as yet been able to post a proper introduction, so I thought now, at the celebration of UO’s 10th Anniversary, would be a great time to do so.

My name is Chris Rabideau. I took over as Producer of UO (from Aaron Cohen) about a month and a half ago, and I’ve been running like a freight train in the red ever since, getting myself caught up on the current state of UO, the objectives moving forward and, of course, the development team responsible for taking care of this magnificent game. Moving forward, I plan to spend more time getting to know you all – UO’s community and the real reason for UO’s success.

Introductions aside, what this post is really about is the fact that TEN YEARS have gone by since UO opened its servers for the first time to the gaming public. TEN YEARS of continued dedication not only from the Many souls who have worked on this game since its early development, but also from the many, many players like you who have graced Britannia with your presence over the years.

UO is without question the longest-standing MMO to date, and, even to this day, one of the most successful. Players all over the world, from Japan to the U.S., enjoy this wonderful game. With seven retail expansions under its belt, not to mention countless free updates (such as Kingdom Reborn), UO has shown no signs of slowing down either in popularity from its players or in continued support from EA and its development team.

So from all of us on the EA Mythic UO development team, to all of you - we stand, salute, and we give our humble thanks for 10 truly wonderful years. We look forward to many, many more!

Thank you,

Chris Rabideau

ll Origin you are on notice that on the 6th of October the entire shard will be celebrating! Come join in one or more of the day’s festivities and enjoy old and new friends, new places and old places experienced in new ways.

Schedule of Events (all times are Central Time Zone)

• 10AM – 11AM Naked Dungeon Crawl Fel Despise
• 11:30AM – 12:30PM Golem Fights Fel Fighting House
• 1:00PM – Final Winner Jousting Tournament Fel Fighting House
• 7:00PM Deal or No Deal by Whispering Rose Radio, Venue TBD

At 10:30AM PDT, the 2D client will be updated to version 6.0.3.1, which contains the following:

• Fixed unused tiles in front of dungeons

Posted to uoherald.com:

2D Client Patch vers. 6.0.3.1
Jeremy Dalberg
25 Sep 2007 14:32:39 EST

At 10:30AM PDT, the 2D client will be updated to version 6.0.3.1, which contains the following:

- Fixed unused tiles in front of dungeons

This slogan was suggested by Samaira. Samaira has won 500k and the honor of having her slogan represent Oceania! Well done Samaira, and thanks to everyone for voting! Here were the total scores from the voting:

UO Oceania News Reporter

The day was as any other for Tinks; stealth into CoM base, steal a sigil, evade a CoM player and run back to Minax base. It was on her second run that things changed drastically.

Tracking is only a hit and miss skill for Tinks but today she was lucky and detected a CoM member and they were coming her way, most likely locked on to her with tracking as well. She moved to the corner of the Inn and prepared to mount Whisper2 in case a hasty exit was needed. To her dread, a CoM came visible beside her so close she knew it was not an accident. Tinks sighed audibly and surrendered to her fate. She waited to be blasted and wondered where the second (there is always a second) player was hiding.

To her total amazement, the CoM player simply said “Hi, I have something for you”. Tinks thought to herself, “yes, I bet you do”, thinking a poisoning or flame strike was seconds away but instead the lady CoM called out “Dru, come here!” “Dru!”

Suddenly another CoM appeared and Tinks began to experience that old sinking feeling and started to think maybe she should make a run for it. Lady CoM simply introduced the new arrival as Lady Druidess, someone that would know more than most about faction play. And just like that the Lady CoM recalled and left Tinks with a most fascinating interview.

The interview began with the basic introductions, which were awkward as Tinks doesn’t like to stay visible for long and is not the “interviewer” in the family. (Is it just me or does Tinks look really small and vulnerable in that picture.) But Lady Druidess was quick to put Tinks at ease and the interview proceeded.

How long have you played UO?
I have played UO on my main account for 121 months.

What do you consider your home shard?
I have always played Lake Superior from the time the shard first came up. Before that I played Great Lakes.

What keeps you playing UO?
The friends I have made here. I play UO for the people I have met. Some were worth knowing, Others were not but I have made some good friends.

How did you start playing Factions?
I started playing in Minax as a faction thief because on dial up a thief could take his time.

At this point the conversation became sort of a training session for me with suggestions and supportive advice for my faction play. I was trying hard to keep focus on the interview and take in all the advice. Truth be told, the more we talked, the more I became intimidated. At one point, I mounted my ethy just to gain a bit of stature. It was painfully obvious that my attempts to play and knowledge of faction play was feeble next to the experience and knowledge of this player.

I spent a fair amount of time being a lone member of factions and trying to keep factions alive. When you are outnumbered or out skilled, being the underdog, you become smart. You have to and you need to remember that it isn’t about winning but about having fun.

Now that was something I could understand and appreciate.

What do you think of the new templates, soul stones, etc.?
I don’t care for them too much, but they have advantages and take part of the work out of it.

What is your favorite type of character?
Without a doubt, a mage. I have both male and female characters.

Pure mage or necro mage, spellweaver?
Pure mage.

What do you think killed factions on LS?
In my honest opinion, one faction holding a monopoly drove the others out.

What do you think we can do to revive factions on LS?
That would take a major re-work of the factions systems.

Like?

• Adding siege aspects. Factions should be able to declare a siege, fortify controlled cities.
• Make crafters useful in factions. Put them to work building the defenses, make them a bit less likely to be killed.
• The bases need to all be out of towns. It is impossible to heal a red faction member in a guard zone without getting whacked.
The sheriff should be able to toggle the guard zones in controlled towns so that they can either be like Buc’s Den where reds can run and control a town or be more traditional with guard zones.
• Commanding lords must be able to control their membership. They need the ability to kick bad players, bad guilds and trouble makers.

Thanks to the "lady CoM" and to Lady Druidess. I look forward to more discussions of factions and what they can be.

It has been a couple months since I visited the popular blighted area home of Lady M and a constant hunting grounds for a large number of Great Lakes players.

From all the screenshots that come my way each week from this location for the Obituary Column I was shocked to see only four players hanging about. I informed the four that I wanted to do a run for a story and King Kong hurried to get the keys.

I was hoping some of the names I see often in screenies would show up before we went up the tree like, Princess Amara, Spanky, Cobra, Edda, Fats, and Vasco but it was a slow night it appears.

King Kong, Lord Oberon Greybeard, Sinn, Dead Ned and Lady Lava were the entire party, with only one pup. We went up the tree at 9:03pm and finished at 9:40pm.





Before I could finish taking screenshots of the group we were up the tree. Quicker than I could say "stop" the first death took place and it was Sinn. Poor girl, the only photo I have of her she is dead with purple hair a mess and booty up.



King Kong holds the record for most deaths on this run, lol. I stopped counting after five. Lord Oberon Greybeard and myself were the only ones that did not die. That is pretty good considering Oberon is on dial up. His pup Logrus did die three times however.

I was so busy ressing players and healin the pup I had no time to take screenshots. It was a real challenge and great fun fighting with this small group for forty minutes.

Lord Oberon walked away with taint, and Dead Ned a Totem of the Void as loot. Minor ingredients for Sinn and I. King Kong (and I quote) said, " I got crap! "

Thank you again folks for the run and for any player that has never been to this spot to hunt.... almost all the players there are friendly and are willing to help you, explain the quest and go with you as you do it.



As I was leaving, my party and I exchanged thank you's and Creepster finally woke up and asked what was going on. We tried to party him earlier but he was no responding. When he found out we went up and I was writing a little piece on it he voiced he was disappointed he would not be mentioned on Stratics. I laughed and informed him I have seen his name and dead body many times on Stratics in the Obituary Column.

While traveling on my way to visit with the leaders of the KCS Alliance at King Richards Tower, located outside of Umbra City; I decided to took a scenic route and wander through the country side (as most reporters love to do) to take notes of the changes in scenery that are happening in today's fast paced Sosarian World.

During the stroll through the fantastic country side, I came across an establishment which I had never seen before. Having wandered slightly south from the road that leads west out of Umbra City and almost to the door of King Richards humble abode, I found myself almost up to the corners of the an Elven Camp of Briggands in the dessert area near Gravewater Lake.

Seldom have I chosen the path of dry and arid wastelands where only the hardiest of souls dares to take up residency. Having scorpions, snakes, vampire bats, and the ever-so dreaded Sand Vorticies for neighbors is not my idea of home and they make terrible traveling companions in my opinion. I prefer my steed and a summoned swarm of natures furies or two for companionship one these solo excursions.

I digress.

The building that I happened upon through divine coincidence is a vast sized reading library of the stories and details of the history of the Sosarian Society from its infant years up through to the present time. One could spend countless hours reading the tales of lore and vicariously living out the tales of daring due of the warriors that have come before us to tame the lands and repel the numerous hordes of monsters that besieged our cities.

The Library at TBA is decorated with indoor landscaping that leads one to forget that just outside the doors are hioreendous poisonous beasties that while not that strong, they do carry a poisonous bite which can make one ill if they do not pay attention from time to time as the snakes are oft to find their way into the library.

All visitors to the Library are encouraged to make their own contributions to the legend and lore of our great society. Consider it an interactive Reading Library where your bit of historical knowledge and tale telling is wanted and needed for others to partake of. It is a virtual buffet of word smithery, if you will.

The TBA Reading Library is located at the coordinates "13o-33N -27o-8E" and is a must stop for any citizen or adventurers of these great lands we humans and elves have chosen to inhabit upon the Sosarian lands.

I must forgoe my musings of this wonderful language labor of love that Smitty (the proprietor,) and Miss Paula and Miss Cellia the librarians, have commenced to bring about for the good pleasure of all who wish to know of our roots, beginnings, and how we have arrived at the state of being we find ourselves in.

Put down yer swords, bows, and spellbooks my friends and take a bit of time to peruse the wonderful offerings that the TBA Reading Library has to offer.

As always, Edgar Graye, your faithful reporter of all things Sosarian.

Auction of the Heart, Take Two


Due to the overwhelming amount of donations we received for the Relay for Life Auction, we ran out of time on Friday Night before we ran out of items!

Therefore, we will be holding another auction to finish up on Wednesday, September 26th beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. There will be runes dropped all week and gates from Luna beginning at 7:00 p.m. As you can see from the list below, there’s quite a bit left to be auctioned and we thank each and every donor. Please come ready to bid and we’ll move this along as quickly as possible.

With the help of the donors and bidders, and everyone who’s participated in these events, we are very close to closing in on the 500 Million gold mark. With your help, we should be able to send in a donation of at least $1,000 to the American Cancer Society! And YOU guys all made it happen!

In addition to the items listed, there are 7 “Secret Purses” left to be auctioned. While we can’t assure you of the order, the items left to be auctioned, in addition to the purses, are:

120 Tailor Scroll
120 Meditation Scroll
110 Anatomy/Healing Package
110 Resist/Med/Eval/Wrestle Package
115 Bushido Scroll
2 Dreadhorn Mushroom Package
115 Stealing Scroll
115 Discord
110 Archery/Tactics Package
110 Focus/Chivalry Package
115 Wrestling Scroll
6 Eternally Corrupt Trees, different colors
115 Stealing Scroll
Peerless Deco kit including Grizzled Skull Collection, Parox Dinner, Corporeal Brume Statue, etc.
Set of 19 Birthday and Holiday Bells
"Fun Set" Tome of Enlightenment, Fountain Deed, Coupon for Free Hair Styling
25 Ingenious TMap Package
Ethereal Horse
Darkened Sky
House Deco Kit w/ Fountain, Potted Tree, etc.
Tome of Lost Knowledge
Pet Set - Parrot, Pet Ball, Talisman of Clean Bandie Summoning
Winds Edge
Personal Bless Deed for Lorg Grog
Storm Grips
Swords of Prosperity
Fishing Set - Fishing Pole crafted by Lord Grog and Talisman with Deep Sea Serpent Protection
Deco Kit - Apple Tree, Aquarium, etc.
Serpents Fang
Pkg of Four Trophy Deeds
Pkg of Three Trophy Deeds
Elfen Leaveweave Gloves/Legs Set
Myrmidon Armor Gorget/Gloves Set
Travesty Deco Kit
Collectors Armor Set - Various Pieces
Token Set - Shadow Item, Spring Decor, UO 8th Anniversary, Soul Stone Fragment
Clothing Set - Five Elf robes and one Reward Color Pink Sandals
Doom Arty Deco Set including Lamp Post and both Egg Cases
Swordsman Kit - 115 Swords, Blade Dance, Blaze of Death, and more
Purple Pack - Robe of Equinox, Purple Rune Book, and more
Bard/Tamer Pkg - Alacrity Scrolls for Vet and Music, Pads of Cu Sidhe, Gwenno's Harp
Paragon Gold Tome of Enlightenment
Aquarium and Five Origami Set
Blessed Robe Set - Gold Robe, AOS Robe and Blessed Robe
Black Blessed Robe and Kashimino Set
Set of 10 Tokuno Minors (3 Sets of these)
Horselord
Mage Set with Nystul's Wizard Hat, Boomstick and Robe of the Equinox
Holiday Deco Gift Package - Stocking, Cards, Etc. (includes a White Holiday Card)
Deco Kit with Painting, wines, 8 Crystal and 10 Shadow deeds and more
Cursed Hunter's Headdress
Five Vet Reward Statuette Pkg.
Set of Ilshenar Marties
Hooded Robe of Umbra and Shadow Black Royal Leggings
Book of Truth/Redeemer Set
Takuno Stealables Deco Package
Cursed Spirit of the Totem
Fishing Set with Ship and Fishing Pole with Luck
Bow Set with 1 Composite and 2 Magical Shortbows
Fencing Kit - 115 Tactics Scroll, Flesh Ripper and more
Martie Gift Pack with 8 various Marties
Weapon Package with 8 Martie Weapons
Valorite Heater Shield Spell Channeling, NO -FC, with HCI
Cursed Legacy of the Dread Lord
Romance Set with Valentines, White Clothing Crafted by Relay for Life and Two Wedding Bands
Peerless Set including TWO Hair Dyes (Light Purple and Green) 9 items total
Parrot with Oak Perch
HUGE PvP Starter Package - 110 Mace/Bushido/Chiv, Alacrity Scrolls for Chiv and Parrying, Verite Dragon Barding Deed and MUCH more
Deco Set including Fountain, Friends of the Library Chair 10 Items Total
Sword of Justice Set - Undead and Repond
Gold Mark Scroll
Blackrock Infected box with Black Rock (Small and Large Pieces)
Set of "Green" Clothing

All Shards to be Published
Jeremy Dalberg
24 Sep 2007 20:25:17 EST

All shards will be published with the following during their next regular maintenance:

- A number of interesting and useful items will now drop in the anti-virtue dungeons of Britannia. The items will drop using the Treasures of Tokuno drop system (meaning the more you kill, the more likely it is that you will get one of these items as a drop.)

• Katrina's Crook
• Jaana's Staff
• Dragon's End
• Sentinel's Guard
• Lord Blackthorn's Exemplar
• Helm of Spirituality
• Gorget of Honesty
• Breastplate of Justice
• Arms of Compassion
• Gauntlets of Valor
• Legs of Honor
• Solaretes of Sacrifice
• Ankh Pendant
• UO Logo Sculpture
• Map of Britannia

- All characters more than 30 days old will recieve some anniversary goodies in their backpacks or bank boxes. (Should you not have room to accept the goodies, you'll get a warning when you log in, and the gifts will be deposited on a following login.)

• Added UO-Assist importing (using the Vendor Agent).
• Some speed enhancements to the "My BODs" section.
• Added 2 new columns to the My BODs list: LBOD Info (lists an LBOD for an SBOD), and LBOD Rewards (the rewards from the LBOD).

AMSTERDAM - The free online development game Metaplace will give the existing market of online worlds a big boost by letting users worldwide connect their creations. Raph Koster, the creative mind behind games like Ultima Online and Everquest, said so on his weblog wednesday.

Users of the internet program can conjur a virtual world within minutes without any knowledge of a programming language.

Templates

Metaplace offers a platform for laymen as well as people with programming experience. Laymen can edit existing templates and add building blocks, while experienced programmers van build a world from the ground up.

Because all action takes place via standard internet technology, it is possible to integrate external applications in the games. Weblogs, a link to a web shop, it will all be possible according to the spiritual father Koster.

Universe

"It is also possible to connect any world with another world and thus build an enormous virtual universe", according to Koster.

At this moment there are a number of popular online games such as World of Warcraft and Second Life. Koster says to the BBC to see "an enormous potential", but blames the industry "conservatism because of high investments".

Koster: "We want to see tens of thousands virtual worlds, so that lots of special material will appear. That is the only way to help the medium on it's way."

Game Worlds

Areae, Koster's company and developer of Metaplace, thinks a large variety of game worlds will be created. Amongst others chatrooms, educational environments, shoot-em-ups and role-playing games.

As soon as a user goes online with his world, it will receive it's own internet address and other users can rate the virtual world using stars.

At this moment people can sign-up for the test phase. In the spring of 2008 Metaplace will definitively go online.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Metaplace.com!

It has been incredibly hard keeping quiet about this for a whole year. Everyone here on the team is really excited about what we're making. And we're really honored to get to launch this site as one of the TechCrunch 40.

Right at the outset, when we launched the original Areae, Inc. website, we told everyone that we were out to reinvent virtual worlds, and to make them work more like the Web does. We also told everyone that the cartoon on the website was our business plan. It's been amazing to watch the speculation out there about what exactly we meant, but now you know: we meant it completely literally. Metaplace works how the web does, just about top to bottom.

Our goals are sort of idealistic. We think there are all kinds of things on the Internet that would be improved if anyone could have a virtual place of their own. Right now, there aren't enough good games, for example, and they all seem to be about elves in tights or soldiers in battle armor. Metaplace allows more diversity. Right now, there are lots of people who want to use virtual worlds for research, or education, or business, but it's just too darn hard to get one going. Now you can create a world in just a few minutes and start tailoring it to your needs. Basically, we wanted to democratize the process of making online spaces of all sorts.

House of Commons Chat from Thursday, September 20 Available

The text log from last Thursday's House Of Commons (HoC) Chat on Stratics' IRC Channel has been posted onto our HoC Archives page. You can find it and all of the 113 UO HoC chats we have sponsored at this link:
UO HoC Chat Logs

VOICES Editorial: Does The KR Client Get An Unfair Shake

U.HALL Discussion Thread

Does The KR Client Get An Unfair Shake

If a nonUO player were to troll the boards over recent weeks they might think that the new "KR Client" was the worst thing ever done to UO given the negativity in some of the posts being made. Of course, a person who views the big picture also realizes two other important facts. First, a small fraction of the gaming population actually posts to forums. Second, while there are definite exceptions, many of the most vocal posts on any topic are made by the highly vocal minority asserting itself. If the views were actually those of the silent majority, most games would implode after only a few months since if the majority really viewed things as dire as some posters make them out to be, they wouldn't keep paying to play.

So while I start my editorial from the premise that a great deal of the negativity on forums comes from a very small percentage of the customer base I do think that the complaints about Kingdom Reborn are worth talking about. Why? Because KR did have some serious issues when it launched. It had some very awesome things about it but the issues made it very hard to replace the 2D client for most players. Since players have long memories and don't forgive mistakes easily, launching anything UO related that isn't completely ready can have lasting negative affects even after the issues are fixed. On the flipside of that argument, player involvement does help ferret out changes that just weren't obvious when development is going on isolated from the players or that didn't come to light when there was a relatively small tester base.

Regardless of how we got here... and regardless of whether launching KR with all its early issues was a good or a bad thing... we are where we are and we move forward from here. Players always have the final veto because they can always cancel their accounts if they don't like the direction of a game. But I contend that you would be making the wrong decision if you did that with UO today because KR has reached the point it is a viable client and it has even more improvements on the way.

I don't dispute that when KR launched it was laggy (and on older machines it still is). I don't dispute that 2D runs faster than KR so for PvP its probably still advantageous to use 2D. But since PvP is only done regularly by a very small percentage of the customer base making it as fast in PvP as 2D isn't the right priority for limited development dollars.

I do, however, dispute those that say KR is an unusable client or that it sucks or that its worthless. The KR client, in its current state, is a good client and it is on the cusp of being a great client. Many of the bugs have been fixed (yes, there are still a few bugs or UI improvements that are needed, as of the writing of this article with things like circle of transparency, the map, hunting for Tmaps and even a lurking crash bug or lag issue or two) and it makes the client a very viable option for PvE/PvM (Player Versus Environment/Monster) focused players.

Looking at it objectively, KR offers a number of things over the 2D client:

• Improved graphics is the most obvious one but that isn't a reason to switch in and of itself because we all felt the graphics were good enough to keep paying our monthly feel else we wouldn't be here debating how good KR is. Improved Graphics is really a selling point to get new players into the game which helps us all by having more life on the servers and more people to meet and even more PvP.

• Improved chat system. UO was in desperate need of getting its very antiquated chat system more on par with the modern standard of MMOs. Friends Lists.. Tells.. A stand alone chat box that you can move around.. are all staples of MMOs that UO was missing. Is it revolutionary? No. But it was a useful addition for all of us veterans and a useful tool to make the game more competitive in the marketplace

• Improved Paperdoll and Improved Backpack. Yep, the old ones worked. The new ones work better. They offer more options and more usability and again, they help market UO to new players. The backpack options can be very helpful. I personally like the "old" style free form backpack and I use that most of the time but there are times a list or slot version is very helpful.

• Improved health bars. I suppose this is a point of debate. There are bound to be some that don't like them but I have found the health bar system in the KR client to be very nice and very helpful more so than I ever found the 2D versions to be. As much or more information, more reliably updated in a more compact space is value added whether you are hunting orc or a peerless boss or fighting other players.

• The Map - Again, the reality was that UO was sorely out of date with its mapping functionality. While I realize the maps still need a bit more work having a much more modern MMO mapping system is another great selling point and, for veteran players, the Waypoint system is a cool addition.

• Crafting Improvements - If you are a crafter, the KR client is a big help. The improvements to the system make playing the client the right move even if thats all you use it for. It is clear thought and effort went into making crafting a better process.

• Hotkey bars and Macros - I saved this feature for last in my list but it is certainly the most positive one in all of KR in my opinion. The improved macro system coupled with the hotbars (that you can add more of.. grow or shrink in size.. assigned key combos to and drag around your screen to wherever you want them). If you were an active Pvper, you already had a mess of macros and hotkeys using tools like UO and the old macro system. Many PvE players had a set of them as well. The new system allows you to do even more and once you learn it you can make some very powerful macros.

Is UO a brand new game because you get KR? Nope. Stygian Abyss is what gives you the new content and new places to go and items to collect and skills to learn. But KR definitely does modernize the client and brings it more on par with other MMOs by offering newer graphics and the standard features MMO players expect. And there is alot more that I didnt talk about not the least of which is UI skinning. That has no real in game value but it creates a more personal connection to the game by letting players customize their UI graphics. Perhaps giving players that ability could be step #1 towards creating some tools players could download and let them create graphics for new items that they could submit as part of a contest and thus get players even more involved in the content of the world of UO.

In closing, if you had a bad experience with the KR client a couple months ago.. welcome to the club. I, just like you, had a slew of poor experiences when it first launched. My guild UI got into a hung state and even a reboot didn't fix it. I crashed a variety of times. It was slow to respond even on a fairly modern PC. So, I put it on the virtual shelf and beyond patching it each week, I didnt touch it for a few weeks. Lately I have taken it down and begun overcoming all the muscle memory that I had for the 2D client by setting up KR like 2D. I invested the time to learn the new features and how best to use them. And while 2D still remains faster when it comes to PvP, the KR client is a much stronger client for dungeon crawls, crafting and pretty much everything else in game. It does still need work. It isnt perfect. But it has made great strides.

I would encourage you to update your copy and give it a test drive. Set aside an hour or two where all you do is setup your macros and hotkeys etc. just like you were used to them in 2D. Once you do that, take it out for a drive in a dungeon and see how you like it. If your guild has an expert in the client you can do what we in The Syndicate are doing which is to hold classes for our members on our Ventrilo server (and recorded for those that cant make it to listen to later) on all the basics. Learning the idiosyncrasies of a new client, with friends, is often less stressful. Give KR another test drive. It is vastly improved over where it was even a few weeks ago.

-Sean-
-Dragons-

• Kingdom Reborn New Player Guide Introduction
• Getting Started: Character Creation
• Introduction: Gwen Tutorial
• Skill Training & New Player Quests
• Where to Now?
• Combined Glossary & FAQ's
• Skill Training & New Player Quests: The Warrior/Fighter
• Skill Training & New Player Quests: The Spell-Caster
• Skill Training & New Player Quests: Trade/Crafter

  And don't forget our original User's Guide Manual as well!

• UOKR User's Guide

~Joshua Rowan
UO Stratics Managing Editor
http://uo.stratics.com

Welcome to the second edition of our new weekly feature where you get to know a little about the people that make Stratics work. For this interview we have chosen my colleague in General and Community News, Larisa; who also happens to be a shard reporter for Origins. Larisa is a valued member of the G&C team and a major reason you all see the news quickly.

Meet the Stratics Staff: Focus on Larisa,
UOStratics General and Community News Reporter
Origin News Reporter

Hi all! I guess it's time to get to know the real me huh?

Well..my real name is Lauri. I am not married….I have two beautiful daughters, Amber age 6 and Taylor age 4, the loves of my life. I am a stay at home mom.

How long have you been playing UO?

My main account just turned 4 years old not too long ago.

Why did you start?

Funny story! I was in a second hand store and saw Blackthorn's Revenge on the shelf for $8! I thought…ah, it looks pretty good I’ll get it…and here I am!

What do you consider your home shard?

Origin will always be my home shard...I started on Napa Valley though.

What is your favorite type of character to play?

That's a hard one to answer....I don't really have a favorite...but the two I play most are my Archer, Devious Desire, and my tamer, Maharia.

Larisa and Watchertoo visit for a moment at Larisa's castle.

Do you PVP and or PVM? What is your favorite, what do you like, not like?

I do a bit of both actually…though the only PvP I see is at Yew gate, which I loathe with a passion, but I do it on occasion. I enjoy PvP even though I get ganked A LOT! It’s just part of the game. PvM for me is usually peerless runs or Champ spawns. I consider champ spawns PvM because it’s basically just killing a bunch of monsters..if a red or reds happen to show up and I get a bit of PvP in, that’s great too!

Do you play factions?

Unfortunatly factions are non-existant here on Origin…though I do have fun stealing sigils from time to time.

Do you play the KR client or 2D?

I play 2D…I would like to be playing KR, unfortunately my computer won’t run it.

When did you join the UOStratics team and why?

It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve been a part of Stratics. During part of the Inu Event when we had to kill that ??? thing down in Terra Keep….I had quite an experience there and wrote up a little story on it. A few days later Ghost Writer asked if I’d ever thought about being a reporter…which I hadn’t! But he said he liked my writing and I should apply…so I did!

What was the hardest part of working for UOStratics?

The hardest part for me has been learning HTML! Honestly…the people I work with and for are awesome and VERY helpful, writing is a part of me, I love to write so that part is easy.

What has been the best part of working for UOStratics?

Bringing the news to everyone, finding news and reporting it, covering stories. That’s fun.

What excites you, or worries you, about UO’s future?

I see a future for UO….though I’m not sure what kind. I love this game and I think KR was a good idea. It has potential and they have been working hard to make it playable and enjoyable for everyone. I’m not being a fanboi here, I really do believe that KR is going to be awesome and I see the light at the end of the tunnel, though I’ve said before, it’s a very LONG tunnel.

What keeps you playing UO?

Friends. That is my number one reason I stay. I love the people I play with. The game has never gotten boring for me. I like UO because it’s so diversified. One day I can kill liches, the next I can fill bods, and later that night go kill a few people. I am not limited as to what I can do and that’s awesome for me.

What would you like to see changed/improved?

Oh tough question. I wasn’t around for Pre-AoS but I’ve heard that AoS is what ruined a lot of what made the game. Since then, the game has been item-based, not skill based and I think that’s where a lot of our problems come in. No one has skill anymore, they hide behind armor and/or pets. It’s all about who has the 300 billion gold suit, who can hit their macros faster, who can chug pots faster. SOMETHING needs to be done about game balance, item intensities, item properties. I’d like to be able to do what they do on Seige and just put on some crappy looted armor, a GM weapon and go. I know that will never happen, but I think the whole system needs to be looked at.

What do you see as UO’s biggest challenge?

Making the players happy. That has got to be the number one toughest thing that EAMythic has to do.

The next amusing comment came from one of the first fighters while in the ring. " I don't wanna die ! " was yelled out by Saphire as she ran the ring wild.







With P.E.T. fights no longer happening it is great for those that like this type of thing that Rachel and friends have started up a new PVP fight club. The staff is dressed in red with aprons of black created by Rachel. It was a refreshing change to see human blood rather than poultry red at CFC.



Kain was the ring master for the nights event. Trivia was played in between fights and gift bags were handed to all that attended. Not only that 5 and 10k checked seemed to fall from the sky on all the benches.



Hektor, known as a great fighter, and Saphire were the first fighters to kick off the grand opening of this event and they gave a great show. This was one of many future grand fight PVP nights to come.

UOForums Interviews Noxin from Noxins.net.

Noxin was kind enough to answer our questions our users submitted.

Here's our interview with Noxin.

1) I was curious how much Flash experience you have behind your belt, and what proggy you use to open up the monster animation from the UO file.

I've actually been doing the whole flash thing for about 4-5 years now; my initial reason for wanting to learn was simply seeing the excellent UO related flash movies that were floating around at the time, after a few months fiddling I was more than capable of putting together basic animation and throwing on some sound effects. But I wasn't satisfied, static animation, while entertaining is simply making a ton of pictures and putting them all together in a slideshow, a monkey can do that. However, flash has its own coding language, actionscript, it was this that I committed myself to learning to use and trying to use to create more interactive, entertaining and unique flash.

My arsenal of graphical applications for UO is actually quite large.

InsideUO. If something's in the files, InsideUO can find it for you. It's the best way to get at the sound effects and tile art.

UO Super Viewer and Creature Edition (UOSV, UOSVCE) are 2 of the greatest programs ever made if you have any interest in making UO animation. They extract and build sprites for both players and creatures. Prior to UOSV, we used to have to build the player sprite with 8-9 layers, hand placing and moving each piece of clothing on each frame. It's the reason why those older flash movies you might have seen, all have very limited movement and often make do with just a robe.

UO House Builder , I think Kurgan made this one, and it's awesome for building scenery and large background images, before I found this I had to boot up and log into a private server and actually build scenery in game to screenshot. Photoshop is the middle step in the process, everything these apps provide are best edited with it, unfortunately this is where you have to start spending silly amounts of money too, registering photoshop will set you back a lot, so you might be better off finding a freeware application like Irfanview or Gimp .

2) Back in April you reckoned on 2/3 month time frame for your UO CCC project.Hows that progressing?

It's nice to know other people are interested in this idea, for those who have no clue, the CCC, is the Character Control Center, an idea I had whereby you could input all the essential stats and details about your character and save them to the remote database, the application itself would then be able to give you calculations and information as it relates directly to your characters. Things such as regen rates, taming control, damage inflicted, etc. Then you could see the results any changes you made to that character on the fly.

I then expanded on this idea to include every item that character wears in its suit, and then every item you might want to try on, to let you see directly what impact things like swapping 2 pairs of arms would have in.

Ironically when explained to a friend, he just replied with a link to the WoW armoury system, which does exactly those things for WoW players.

After a bit of brainstorming, I expanded it further still, into a cross-shard trading platform, allowing you to inspect the gear of fellow players and see if any of them would suit your character, and if so, if it's for sale, which shard it's on, and contact details for the owner, along with a central auction system and such.

Unfortunately it's on hold at the minute, it's all great in theory, and while I'm sure it'd be really popular, it's also a lot of work, so I'm picking at it slowly when I get the urge. It also gives me time to see how UO itself gets through these current trying times.

3) Do you see the planned Customized UI as an encouragement to switch to UOKR ?

Heh, nope.

I think it's great that customization options are presented to players, if I were attracted to KR I'm sure I could knock up some wonderful stuff, it's right up my alley. However, KR doesn't appeal to me in the slightest at present. I doubt it ever will really, I see it more as an obstacle the game needs to get past rather than the shining beacon of hope I initially expected.

More questions and answers can be found here at UOForums.

Thanks to Noxin for the interview.

Adam
UOForums.com

Posted to uoherald.com's Five on Friday:

FoF: Fixing Follies
Jeremy Dalberg
21 Sep 2007 22:07:02 EST

"Why can't Powder of Fortification be used on the new items dropping in the dungeons on Origin?"

We intend for these items to drop for a while, but don't want to flood the market with them - making them unfortifyable means that they will, eventually, get destroyed if used, and you'll have to return to the dungeons and hunt up more. Otherwise, we'd have stacks of them lying around the bank within a relatively short time.

This is not a precursor to taking out Powder of Fortification, as some people are speculating - doing that would require extensive changes to items and crafting to make it actually work. This is just a means of managing the rarity of these particular items in the game.

"What's the deal with all the no-draw tiles around cave entrances in 2D?"

It's an art bug related to the patch yesterday - we've got a fix for it and will be rolling it out early next week.

HoC chat correction:

Last night, in response to a question about the container views in KR, Derek said, "Containers in KR have three possible views: list, grid, and freeform (legacy.) In the options you can set the default view." The first half of that is correct - the second is, actually, not. Turns out the option to set the default inventory view was created but never actually put on one of the options menus - so that should be a bug we fix in forthcoming weeks. (You can, of course, switch views on any given container using the button on the top bar of the container, and the UI will remember how you set your main pack.)

"Why can't I repair my Divine Countenance?"

There are a number of types of items (including the bear mask, the tribal mask, and the deer mask, and the artifacts made using those types) that are not able to be repaired at the moment. This is a bug - an oversight, really - and is something we'd like to get fixed. (See also the question about the Spirit of Totem, Here

"What happened with the Siege Blessing fix?"

So... the unblessing publish went live, without any particular fanfare, over maintenance on a Friday... two weeks ago. This was not on purpose, and I apologize to all the Siege players for it. The code got activated accidentally with an emergency publish we'd put up (to stop Atlantic from crashing, actually) and by the time we realized it'd gone live, it was much too late to fix it. What this means is as of right now any of the formerly blessed combat items that could be turned in to the Item exchange NPC are now unblessed. They can, however, still be turned in - we'll be leaving that NPC up for a while, so if you'd rather have one of the tokens instead of the unblessed item, hit that link and follow those instructions to take care of it.

I apologize again to our endlessly-patient Siege ruleset players for the mixup and the shoddy communication. At least we FINALLY got some of those items out of circulation!

Town Hall: Anaheim(ish)

Our last Town Hall of the year is at Dave and Buster's in Orange, California, on October 13th. If you're in the area, please RSVP and come see what we're up to!

Fansite News

UO Forumswhich is celebrating their 5th anniversary on the 24th, has done a lovely interview with Flash artist and UO player Noxin of Noxins.net - read it Here!

If you missed out on the Stratics House of Commons chat last night, you can read the transcript Here

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Jeremy

Forum Registration Now Working

Since the move to the new forums, users that tried to sign up for accounts may have noticed that they never received a verification email for their new account. This was due to a glitch when we moved which has now been resolved.

If you have not received a verification email by now, feel free to go ahead and re-register your account. You should receive the email within a few minutes.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused users. Thanks for understanding.

For Kaldor! Sol Sil Eth, Sol Lat Eth

The good ol' days.


Bagball in Nujel'm...back when Cal was a cleric (!!!) Well, it's a woman's perogative to change her mind, right?


A guild hunt to Khaldun...


Intimidating Trinsic...


Intimidating Trinsic some more...


And plain ol' rubbing their faces in it.


More peaceful times at the Festival of Tales...


And Serpents Hold market (complete with EGM!)


The Moot


Teaming up with LB to battle Vesper


Torturing Olk...


Jordan Jurrel and the duel for Lady Caroline's honour


Teaming up with Vesper...


And pwning loyalists in Serpent's Hold


And who could forget Boner?

As for me... I was always a bit of a rude 'un.










Annnnd mine and Glor's favourite target - Chiv!

Special thanks go to all the Kaldorians who put pictures on their f4g.net forum.

I will be sad to see A^K disappear - Callum

Chesapeake is Up
Jeremy Dalberg
20 Sep 2007 23:54:35 EST

7:37PM PDT - We're bringing Chesapeake back up. We are not 100% certain of its stability, but we can't reproduce the crash at the moment (despite diligent efforts) so we're going to let y'all beat on it for a while. Please consider it high-risk play this evening, and be cautious.

Well done to the winners! Below is the full list of the entrants and their guesses. The "Variance" is how far off the correct number they were.

Here is the text log of tonights House of Commons Chat with the UO Development Team on our IRC channel:

Log for Ultima Online HOC on 09/20/07

<@Brannoc> you may begin sending questions to [QT]Phineus by using /msg [QT]Phineus My Questinon here

<@Lieal> Welcome to today's House of Commons chat with the developers of Ultima Online!

<@Lieal> To submit a question type /msg [QT]Phineus My question here! - questions sent to the developers will not be answered! We'll be doing a general chat today so any questions on the game are welcome. Multiple submissions of the same question will not increase their likelihood of being answered.

<@Lieal> We'll begin with a brief introduction from our guests and then jump straight into the questions. The full logs will be available at http://uo.stratics.com shortly afterward.

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> Hey, all, I'm Jeremy, your community manager

<@Leurocian> I'm Leurocian Lead Systems Designer for all things UO :)

<@SupreemEA> Hey guys, Derek here, I'm a lead engineer on the UO team.

<@Lieal> *Magnus* Question: The new items on Origin and TC1 (That seem to be Virtue based.). Are they going to be permenent or are they only for the next couple weeks/months, once they go live?

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> The new items will be around for a while - we haven't decided for certain if they will be permanently available in this form or not, but they should be up long enough for most people to get a fair crack at them.

<@Lieal> *DermottLS* A while back Wilki started a thread asking about BODs, is there any update that can be given on the outcome of that thread?

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> That's something we've been mulling over, but there aren't any changes on the schedule in the immediate future.

<@Lieal> *Magnus* Question: Can we get some information about what is coming up in future patches for Kingdom Reborn? Last HoC you said dances were coming, how long until they and the other great features you have planned are going to go live?

<@SupreemEA> We have lots of plans for the KR client. First of all we are working on fixing tons of bugs. We have finally nailed down the cursor disappearing bug which should go into the next patch.

<@SupreemEA> There's a ton of general UI improvements being worked on. Lots of polish for the existing UI elements. We are also working on making the UI fully customizable including the scripting side of it.

<@SupreemEA> Finally we have decided to provide a legacy art option. This will allow users to use the old art for the game. This option does not include terrain, mobs, and some other miscellaneous stuff.

<@Lieal> *Atoyota* My question, Has the new facelift made existing populations more active and helped to bring back old players as well as new ones?

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> We've really just started advertising KR - you may have seen the banner ads on various sites lately - and we have a number of plans to encourage folks to come back as we continue to work on and improve the new client.

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> So the effect is really just beginning to show

<@Lieal> *[MMOGMedia]Viceroy* Do you think we might ever see a day where there is consistency in terms of item properties given to crafted weapons? For example if I craft two iron katanas that they have the same exact properties?

<@Leurocian> Since we have plans to improve crafting with Stygian Abyss - as we've already hinted at during recent Town Halls - it seems reasonable that way may revisit other areas of crafting as well for improvement. No promises on this, but what you're asking is a good suggestion.

<@Lieal> *Freja* I like KR and try to use it. The reaction from everyone I know is that they won't use it. Why do you think this has happened?

<@SupreemEA> First, you guys demand nothing but perfection from us and that is good. However, the legacy client has had 10 years of love put into it. Tack on the additional features of third party programs like UOAssist and that makes for a really big challenge for us.

<@SupreemEA> I personally love the KR client and it is really getting solid. Alot of players might have tried the client in beta and decided that it wasn't very good. I encourage these players to try the client again now since so much has changed since then.

<@SupreemEA> Finally, I have to say that we aren't done yet. The development team here is commited to making Kingdom Reborn the best UO client ever!

<@Lieal> *Magnus* Question: Can we get some more information on what we will be getting for the tenth anniversery?

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> Log in to test center - or origin - and hang out in some of the original dungeons for a while :) Also, there will be gifts handed out the day of, but I want to save *something* as a surprise!

<@Lieal> *[UORadio]DJLebowski* ok, I want to know what the developers are doing with the 2d cleint, with all the focus on the new KR, will they still keep up with the 2d? Dont you guys think that cutting out the 2d will result in less people play?

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> The 2D client itself isn't getting actively worked on at the moment - KR needs more love right now - but we are certainly making 2D-playable content. 2D should continue to be a perfectly viable choice for a good long time.

<@Lieal> *[UORadio]DJCrest-OnAir* For me it seems that since R.Garriott left the game it has not had a clear direction or strategy how it should be - often changing intentions and neglecting aims from earlier devteams - Is there something like an essay or an description summarising the general bases and intentions of Ultima Online compared to competitor games?

<@SupreemEA> The development team of UO has certainly undergone many changes since its inception. I do feel that the current team does have a good handle on what needs to be done. We want to ensure the future of UO by making the KR client awesome, we want to continue to bring you guys live event type stuff *cough* Halloween *cough*, and we want to continue to bring you guys new content that doesn't deviate too much from the fiction of the Ultima worl

<@Lieal> *Admiral_Ruffie* Jeremy, how would you characterize EA management's support for UO in light of Darkscribe's departure?

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> While we were all sad to see Darkscribe go - he's been an incredible asset to the team - both EA's overall support, and the EA Mythic studio's support, has not wavered a bit. Chris Rabideau (who is shy, but will poke his head out soon) is a competent, experienced producer who continues to help the team do great things for UO.

<@Lieal> *Dor* Are there any plans to return active support to those historical portions of UO which now lie neglected? (i.e. 'blessed' establishments and so forth) I've had no success this year, with requests to replace stablehands and other functionality

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> Some programs are gone, never to return - some may come back in altered form. We are not currently blessing any new establishments - however, if you have issues with maintenance of an existing one, shoot me an email (jdalberg at ea) with the details, and I'll see what I can do.

<@Lieal> *[UORadio]AngelFire* is the KR client ever going to be stand alone where the automap and uoassist functionality are incorporated without having to use the extra programs

<@SupreemEA> Between UOAutomap and UOAssist, there are a boat load of features. It has always been our goal to bring you all the functionality that exists in these two pieces of software. We are continuing to work on this. I'd like to think that within the next few months we should have *most* of the features available in these programs in KR.

<@Lieal> *Kayne* I know you cant specifically talk about it but alot of people are fed up with cheats and scripters, the community really needs to see some action is there someway we can get to know more than "we are working on it"

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> Not until after the fact - and sometimes, not even then (depending on the action we take.) Sorry! I know that's not terribly satisfying.

<@Lieal> *Admiral_Ruffie* Is Chris Rabideau the new producer of UO, and if so, what is his vision for the development of the game?

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> He is, and you should see an interview with him coming out in the near future, courtesy of our friends at UOForums.

<@Lieal> *athos_uo* The diminishing return of mana regeneration propaety was introduced. How is the decimal fraction like 1.9 or 5.5 treated by return? Is this valid or simply omitted? Can you make the formula open to public? Omitted or valid makes much difference for us. Or please give us the calculating tool for diminishing returned mana regeneration.

<@Leurocian> Per Wilki: Basically, whatever the fraction is, it rounds up that percentage of the time. So, if it's .65, 65% of the time it gets the next whole number up. So, 1.65 would be 2 65% of the time, and 1 35% of the time.

<@Lieal> *[UORadio]DJDeadeye* What was the reason to make it illegal to make ranged attacks from boats offshore?

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> Any time you can attack but not be attacked back (say, by critters/players without ranged capability) is a BAD THING. Fun, but bad :)

<@Lieal> *[UORadio]Crest* Why did you copy so much features for the KR-Client from other games (like the Bag-slots) instead of creating new and unique features - it is that wha UO was always about. E.G. the Bag Slots - this is a big loss for UO in my eyes - to be able to position items freely in a bag made UO unique - even if its a pain for devs ;)

<@SupreemEA> First, containers in KR have three possible views: list, grid, and freeform (legacy) In the options you can set the default view.

<@SupreemEA> The little round button near the top left corner lets you switch views on the fly.

<@SupreemEA> Second I do feel that there are some new concepts in the UI for KR. For example, the ability to spawn as many hotbars as you want, resize them, assign keys to items all without having to go to the options menu is definately cool. The macro system is also an original design that takes the best from the 2d client, some new games, and adds a new flavor to it.

<@Lieal> *SahraSwift* We're getting new items appearing in the anti-virtue dungeons for the 10th anniversary... but so far things have been silent as far as a story to explain their sudden appearance. Will this be changed before all shards get this pub?

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> it's a party! you don't need *reasons* to party!

<@Lieal> That is all for the questions! Now a few final words before our guests leave.

<@Leurocian> Take care, everyone! And a happy soon to be 10th Anniversary for Ultima Online!

<@Jeremy_EAMythic> Thanks for coming out, y'all - if you have questions that didn't get covered, please send them in via the Feedback forms on uo.com, and I'll try to get them in an upcoming 5 on Friday!

<@SupreemEA> This was fun. Catch you guys later. See you in Britannia!

<@Lieal> Thanks for joining us here on Stratics for another great Ultima Online chat! Be sure to come by next time, the logs will be up on http://uo.stratics.com shortly.

Origin Back Up
Jeremy Dalberg
20 Sep 2007 19:43:02 EST3:23PM PDT

- All better now, sorry for the hiccup!

Chesapeake is Down - UPDATE
Jeremy Dalberg
20 Sep 2007 18:48:46 EST2:30PM PDT

Chesapeake is still down, still investigating. Sorry for the lack of detail - will post more when I know more.

Posted to uoherald.com:

2D Client Patch vers. 6.0.3.0
Jeremy Dalberg
20 Sep 2007 17:32:12 EST

At 1pm PDT (8PM GMT) on Thursday, Sept. 20, the 2D client will be updated to version 6.0.3.0. Notes after the jump:

Added art for new items

Updated Clilocs

Posted to uoherald.com:

Origin to be Published
Jeremy Dalberg
20 Sep 2007 17:04:31 EST

At 1pm PDT (8PM GMT) on Thursday, Sept. 20, Origin will be published with the following:

A number of interesting and useful items will now drop in the anti-virtue dungeons of Britannia. The items will drop using the Treasures of Tokuno drop system (meaning the more you kill, the more likely it is that you will get one of these items as a drop.)

Katrina's Crook

Jaana's Staff

Dragon's End

Sentinel's Guard

Lord Blackthorn's Exemplar

Helm of Spirituality

Gorget of Honesty

Breastplate of Justice

Arms of Compassion

Gauntlets of Valor

Legs of Honor

Solaretes of Sacrifice

Ankh Pendant

UO Logo Sculpture

Map of Britannia

TC1 has been published with the following:

NOTE: Certain items will cause cliloc errors and/or use placeholder art until the next client publish. This is normal - please do not report clilocs/broken art as a bug.

A number of interesting and useful items will now drop in the anti-virtue dungeons of Britannia. The items will drop using the Treasures of Tokuno drop system (meaning the more you kill, the more likely it is that you will get one of these items as a drop.)

• Katrina's Crook
• Jaana's Staff
• Dragon's End
• Sentinel's Guard
• Lord Blackthorn's Exemplar
• Helm of Spirituality
• Gorget of Honesty
• Breastplate of Justice
• Arms of Compassion
• Gauntlets of Valor
• Legs of Honor
• Solaretes of Sacrifice
• Ankh Pendant
• UO Logo Sculpture
• Map of Britannia

Posted to uoherald.com:

Chesapeake is Down
Jeremy Dalberg
20 Sep 2007 13:44:13 EST

Chesapeake is down at the moment - we're investigating. News when I have it!

After the usual opening statements and introductions, Governor Winfield started into the first of several ceremonies he had planned for the evening. He first acknowledged that Lord Eoin Smithson, the caretaker of Gryphon Hall, has offered it as as a PaxLair Statehood location, so that it can be used for official purposes, including as a courthouse. He then proceeded to name Eoin as the Statehood Quartermaster, in charge of making, repairing, and procuring arms and armor. Eoin is a smith and carpenter of great renown, in addition to his other fine crafting skills.

Lady Katherine was invited to come up next. Her guild, The Museum of the Virtues (MotV), had petitioned to join the Statehood Alliance. Governor Winfield graciously extended an invitation to join, which was rapidly accepted.

Mayor Ga'kuct of PaxLair City came forward to perform a ceremony of his own. In keeping with his job as Mayor to maintain the balance of neutrality in the city, in what seemed to be a surprise invited the Paladins of PaxLair (PxP) to be a citizen guild of PaxLair City. Lord Elijah Cross accepted on behalf of his guild brethren.

Deputy Mayor Phoenix of Dragons Watch came up next to talk about the events that she and NANOC are hosting in the realm. The Amazing Race will be held on Thursday evenings and again on Sundays. There is already a thread on this forum for more information.

Mayor Gareth of PaxOku inquired if anyone knew anything about the authors of a 2-book story entitled "PaxLair and the Fiefdom". Anyone knowing anything is invited to contact Mayor Gareth. He then gave Mayor Ga'kuct a gift from PaxOku in the spirit of diplomacy: a green club engraved "Ga'kuct's Diplomatic Clomper".

Governor Winfield introduced the special guest for the night's meeting: Nexus Point, the new guildmaster of the United Tamers of Britannia (UTB). In addition to bringing words of greeting, he talked about his goals for building his guild, forging new friendships, and strengthening existing ones.

Governor Winfield had one last ceremony to perform, as he had announced that his quest to find a Chief Justice for the Statehood had been completed successfully. Lady Kathleen was sworn in as the new Chief Justice and will be responsible for overseeing court cases that may arise.

Governor Winfield also quickly recounted his encounter with Lord British the week before. Although our King has been absent from his kingdom for many years, he still found kind words to say about PaxLair and remembered his visit to the city years before. He wished continued success upon the city and its citizens, hoping that he will be able to see the city's 20th anniversary 10 years from now.

Niallis came forward during the general announcement time to announce that she is planning to reinstate the monthly archery contests at the Red Wolf Cafe. They should begin in October, with more information being posted soon.

Governor Winfield called the meeting to a close, after which many of the attendees toured the Gryphon Hall facilities and gathered for drinks and fellowship in the tavern area.

TC1 Has Been Published
Jeremy Dalberg
19 Sep 2007 19:34:10 EST

TC1 has been published with the following:

NOTE: Certain items will cause cliloc errors and/or use placeholder art until the next client publish. This is normal - please do not report clilocs/broken art as a bug.

- A number of interesting and useful items will now drop in the anti-virtue dungeons of Britannia. The items will drop using the Treasures of Tokuno drop system (meaning the more you kill, the more likely it is that you will get one of these items as a drop.)

• Katrina's Crook
• Jaana's Staff
• Dragon's End
• Sentinel's Guard
• Lord Blackthorn's Exemplar
• Helm of Spirituality
• Gorget of Honesty
• Breastplate of Justice
• Arms of Compassion
• Gauntlets of Valor
• Legs of Honor
• Solaretes of Sacrifice
• Ankh Pendant
• UO Logo Sculpture
• Map of Britannia

Rachel of the Chicken Fight Club along with many others were shocked two weeks ago when they arrived on fight night only to be unfriended and no fights scheduled.

The only clue they had at that time was the messages Sammy left on the house signs of the two P.E.T. buildings.
The signs informed that both accounts with houses were up for sale," I got to go, no more uo, luv yea GL " and " Good luck in life ".

Sammy was a very active player of Great Lakes not to mention active and helpful on the boards. Several times over the past months she did hint that she may need to leave the game.
It appears that she left abruptly as gold checks were left on the vendors of the fight club.

P.E.T. library is loved and used by many and at this time you can still access the library.

Rachel informed me that a handful of players are trying to keep the P.V.P. fights going and are organizing a fight for Sept. 21st, this friday. More on that later.

Our best wishes go out to you Sammy and the good luck on lifes journey.

House of Commons Chat With the Developers of Ultima Online

Please join us on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, for a House of Commons chat with the developers of Ultima Online. The chat will begin at 5pm PDT /7:00pm CST /8:00pm EDT / Midnight UTC/GMT in the #StraticsHoC channel on Stratics IRC.

You can connect to one of our IRC servers through the use of your favorite IRC client or you can visit our new Downloads section to choose a suitable client. Connect to irc.stratics.com port 6668 or whichever server is closest to you:

• stratics.frws.com port 6668, USA - Colorado
• irc.gamers-irc.org port 6668, USA - Colorado
• irc.glowfish.de port 6668, EU - Germany
• stratics.afraidyet.net 6668, USA - Atlanta

You may also connect through our handy Java link which may be found right here. You must have Java installed to use this which can be downloaded from the Java homepage.

How to ask questions at the chat: Type /msg [QT]NICKNAME and your question. Please send questions only to the QT's (moderators) because questions sent to anyone other than the QT's will not make it into the lineup.

General chat relating to Ultima Online will take place before, during, and after the chat in room #Ultima-Online.

We hope to see you there!

CREATION Guild has been merging and growing the past month and one of the reasons are the guild events being held, many with big cash winner rewards.

Guild scavenger hunts, trivia, dungeon leather gatherings, fashion shows all turned into guild events. The GM will even create spur of the moment events for the guild. For example the GM will go to a certain location and start to give hints to that location until someone finds her and the reward is a million dollars. Now that is what I call high end hide and seek!

Last week CREATION held a design contest and the outfits were featured in one of the members vendor house on the vendors. Members had the opportunity to view the entries and votes were cast.




*The five finalists *

After the first and second place winners were announced the crew went to The Zento House of Fashion to strut their stuff on the catwalk. The first place design will be part of the permanent collection on view at The Zento House of Fashion on the second floor guild display area.


*The winning design by Lady Raevallyn modeled by Aerelynn*


*second place winner BILLYDKID*

As the folks of CREATION went from floor to floor in the fashion house checking it out the GM of CREATION Lady Raevallyn started doing a strip tease in the style of an old burlesque number. Maybe it was the sight of the catwalk, maybe fashion overload. It could even be the fact her design took first place. We will never know for sure but that girl really worked the crowd up and was begging for a pole. Needless to say there is no such thing in a house of fashion.






To learn more about this fun loving group go to .....

http://creation.guildplex.com/main.asp

Please join us on Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2007, for a House of Commons chat with the developers of Everquest Online Adventures. The chat will begin at 5pm PDT /7:00pm CST /8:00pm EDT / Midnight UTC/GMT in the #StraticsHoC channel on Stratics IRC.

You can connect to one of our IRC servers through the use of your favorite IRC client or you can visit our new Downloads section to choose a suitable client. Connect to irc.stratics.com port 6668 or whichever server is closest to you:

• stratics.frws.com port 6668, USA - Colorado
• irc.gamers-irc.org port 6668, USA - Colorado
• irc.glowfish.de port 6668, EU - Germany
• stratics.afraidyet.net 6668, USA - Atlanta

You may also connect through our handy Java link which may be found right here. You must have Java installed to use this which can be downloaded from the Java homepage.

How to ask questions at the chat: Type /msg [QT]NICKNAME and your question. Please send questions only to the QT's (moderators) because questions sent to anyone other than the QT's will not make it into the lineup.

General chat relating to Everquest Online Adventures will take place before, during, and after the chat in room #everquest.

We hope to see you there!

Kayhynn

We have received this from our Network News Staff at Stratics.com:

House Of Commons Chat With the Developers of Everquest

Please join us on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007, for a House of Commons chat with the developers of Everquest. The chat will begin at 5pm PDT/7pm CST/8 pm EST in the #StraticsHoC channel on Stratics IRC.

You can connect to one of our IRC servers through the use of your favorite IRC client or you can visit our new Downloads section to choose a suitable client. Connect to irc.stratics.com port 6668 or whichever server is closest to you:

• stratics.frws.com port 6668, USA - Colorado
• irc.gamers-irc.org port 6668, USA - Colorado
• irc.glowfish.de port 6668, EU - Germany
• stratics.afraidyet.net 6668, USA - Atlanta

You may also connect through our handy Java link which may be found right here. You must have Java installed to use this which can be downloaded from the Java homepage.

How to ask questions at the chat: Type /msg [QT]NICKNAME and your question. Please send questions only to the QT's (moderators) because questions sent to anyone other than the QT's will not make it into the lineup.

General chat relating to Everquest will take place before, during, and after the chat in room #everquest.

We hope to see you there!

Vote for Oceania's New Slogan!

The time is upon us to vote for Oceania's New Slogan! Several weeks ago, we invited you to submit your suggestions for UO Oceania's new forum slogan. Here were the top entries:

• We have other shards do our beta testing.
• Oceania: first in line, the rest are in the far queue.
• You don't need to know the details of our operation.
• Aussies couldn't give a XXXX about anything else.
• A dingo stole my Orni!
• The Most fun you can have in the Bush!
• Football, meat pies, kangaroos and duelling scars.

CLICK HERE to vote for your favourite slogan of those above.

Voting closes Tuesday 25th September.

UO Oceania News Reporter

Vanna, the hostess of mondays nights at Ice Castle sat in her villa of whites surrounded by fountains of blue several weeks ago pondering the coming of Autumn.


*Vanna in the lap of luxury sitting in her well appointed villa*


She went full throttle to kick off Monday Night Madness this past monday after the summer break. Not only did the season start out with the popular Chests of Doom and Delight, Vanna decked the halls of the castle in autumnal joy.



Many of the trivia questions of the evening were Fall related and there was a virtual Fall feast of food stuffs to nosh on as the game rolled on.

Of course Vanna died as she always does in the most delicate ladylike fashion.



Ahhhh...then there was Fall fashions in earth tones and colors that of changing leaves.









Even I got out of by black and grays for the night.





It was FlapJack that was the true entertainment of the evening. It takes two to tango and the patrons are a big part of that duo.
FlapJack lost and gained an item more than any single patron I have witnessed at this game and I have been attending since the beginning.
This added great amusement to the event and everyone joined in the harmless kidding of poor FlapJack.





MOA's Monday Night Madness crew did a great job as always.
Tomorrow night 9/17/07 is Casino Night at Ice Castle. Check the calendar for times in your area. Gates will be provided at major banks as always.

Lady Luck may be on your side !

For the first time in many weeks the evil Shadowlords have started to loosen their hold on the entire kingdom.

For the first time in many months actually the Council of Mages have taken the Shadowlords off guard and snuck into to capture Skara Brae, Minoc and Moonglow!!!

Following their lead the true Britannians also threw the Shadowlords off guard with a suprise capture of Brittian and Maginica!!!!

The true Britannians and the Council of Mages have gathered strength and now a raging war has begun! How will this three sided play turn out?
The forces of Minax have all most completly desinagrated and there are rumors that TB and COM are about to become ALL powerful!!! SL is strongly defending there remaining towns and have plans to quickly regain there lost territory...

Time will tell.

The only reason I am calling this "official" is because I have a larger number than usual screenshots for the column as Stratics was down last week. Enjoy.





Sammy






Jim






Killed by her own rune beetle




Lanstarr




Minnesota being ressed by two lovely ladies


Lord Thorn






Vanna dead again


Princess Amara