Aesop - Good evening and welcome to our 17th bi-weekly Ultima Online Celebrity Chat. UOCC is a forum wherein we bring to you celebrity guests from the UO community, ranging from website administrators, OSI personnel, counselors, seers, and even roleplayers and PKs from your own shard! They drop by to answer your questions about UO, their experiences in it, and about their own contribution to the community.
Aesop - Our system is similar to the UOHOC chats. All you have to do is /msg a designated question taker with your question or comment. However, when it is your turn, rather then a moderator pasting your question in the chat, instead we set +voice to you and allow you to talk with the celebrity guest yourself!
Aesop - Please /msg or /query Destiny or TheMag_Eu with your questions.
* Destiny Tackles everyone
Aesop - Tonights guest is Zamboni Driver, from the online trading/merchant site Tradespot
Aesop - While we are waiting for questions lets listen as our guest introduce himself..
* Aesop nudges Zamboni
Zamboni_Driver - Howdy everyone! Thanks for coming to play with me
Zamboni_Driver - Don't know what to say about myself - you probably know me from either Tradespot
Zamboni_Driver - or from the Merchant guide here at stratics
Zamboni_Driver - Let the inquisition begin!

TheMAG_Eu - Go ahead Pharcyde
Pharcyde - Ahh ok thanks
Pharcyde - Zamboni please explain what happened to your first UOtrading site :)
Zamboni_Driver - Ahh, the good old Trading Post
Zamboni_Driver - Well, the Trading Post fell down when the-egg.net, our host, was hacked by an ex employee
Zamboni_Driver - we were going to start up with another host
Pharcyde - ouch
Zamboni_Driver - but we were approached by UO Market about a merger
Zamboni_Driver - we merged with UO Market, which later became Tradespot
Pharcyde - ok thanks :)
TheMAG_Eu - Thenk you for the question
Pharcyde - thenk you!
Pharcyde - :P

ThorinewB - Oh my turn!
* Aesop nods
ThorinewB - Hi Zamboni
Zamboni_Driver - howdy!
ThorinewB - I was wondering, how have you been affected through your UO times by PKs
ThorinewB - As a Merchant
Zamboni_Driver - Actually, I had a lot of fun with PKs in the old days
Zamboni_Driver - My merchant life started out in Orc Valley - the V shaped valley SE of Yew
Zamboni_Driver - A friend and I had a tent in the very corner of the Valley, which was frequented by PKs
Zamboni_Driver - We managed to make treaties with most of the PKs in the region - 2 screens around the tent were a safe shopping zone
Zamboni_Driver - I've also *cough* acquired some items from PKs in the past
ThorinewB - :)
Zamboni_Driver - I look at it as circulating the merchandise :)
Zamboni_Driver - Since the new rep system, however, PKs have pretty much been insignificant
ThorinewB - So you took up problems in-game, rather than whining on message boards, good job
Zamboni_Driver - thanks :)

PeonII - Hi zam
Zamboni_Driver - hi!
PeonII - K..... I was just wonder.... What do you feel that the UO economy has become since the big dupe rush stuff
Zamboni_Driver - I think that duping is a big problem, but not as big as people think
Zamboni_Driver - it certainly has added gold into the economy
PeonII - I know people who have 40 mil
Zamboni_Driver - but the real problem with the UO economy is the total lack of money sinks
PeonII - Any ideas how to stop it
Zamboni_Driver - well, OSI jumps on duping bugs as soon as the pop up
Zamboni_Driver - and lately has been good about banning dupers
Zamboni_Driver - it's really tough to ban without proof, tho
PeonII - Exactly..
PeonII - But now days everyones buying stuff
Zamboni_Driver - and some people have made a lot of gold without duping
PeonII - 3 mil no problems
PeonII - I know
Zamboni_Driver - I think the best solution is to add money sinks into the game - give people something to buy
PeonII - You know if OSI is gonna do that?
Zamboni_Driver - If OSI added a whole bunch of expensive luxury items, you'd see the money drying up
Zamboni_Driver - not to my knowledge - one of the editorials that I did for stratics contains some suggestions
PeonII - It just pisses me off when I go out and work for 100k bust my butt, and some moron has 40 mil duped
PeonII - and just buys at his leisier
PeonII - Leisure
Zamboni_Driver - i understand completely
PeonII - And last thing
Zamboni_Driver - sure
PeonII - Do you think OSI should eliminate the stat loss
PeonII - on reds
PeonII - and allow pking like it used to be?
PeonII - In dread days
Zamboni_Driver - nope - i think that stat loss is a nice balance in the game
Zamboni_Driver - in the old days, there was no risk for reds
Zamboni_Driver - it was pure reward
PeonII - I know
PeonII - Dont you think
PeonII - should be less of a penalty
Zamboni_Driver - with stat loss, it means that when you kill a PK, they stay dead
Aesop - Thx for your question PeonII =-)
PeonII - should make it for blues too if ya ask me :P really balance it hehe
PeonII - :P
PeonII - Yea im talking too much
Zamboni_Driver - i think the penalties are fine - keeps people honest. There are outlets for PvP that don't require killing innocents
PeonII - unvoice me
PeonII - :)
* Aesop chuckles
* Destiny Tackles Peon

LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - Hi
Zamboni_Driver - hi :)
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - I love you zamboni, I love tradespot too
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - I have a question
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - um
Zamboni_Driver - thanks! pick up your 50gp at the door :)
* Aesop laughs
* TheMAG_Eu grins
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - How does it feel when people use your name to scam?
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - and they make false icqs and scam people
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - with your name
Zamboni_Driver - I've never been shy regarding my feelings about scammers
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - Have you ever scammed anyone?
Zamboni_Driver - I think that, by far, scammers have done more damage to UO than anyone else
Zamboni_Driver - no - as all good merchants know, honesty is far more profitable
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - I beg to difer
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - I think the hackers ruined tradespot somewhat
Zamboni_Driver - that's allowed
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - alot of people will not do deals over TS
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - due to peoples accounts getting hacked
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - do you agree?
Zamboni_Driver - I have nothing but sympathy for those that get hacked, but that's really avoidable
Zamboni_Driver - you just have to follow the "do not accept files from anyone" rule
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - yeah
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - ok
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - keep doing.. whatever it is that you do
LaKKiN|Sr33p1ng - ... and i'm spent
Aesop - Thx for your question LaKKin =)
Zamboni_Driver - :)

ThorinewB - Heres one more
ThorinewB - What Shards have you played, and did you ever try Siege Perilous?
Zamboni_Driver - heh, ok
Zamboni_Driver - I play mainly Atlantic (where I started), yamato and hokuto
Zamboni_Driver - I played SP when it first came up, before they wiped it
ThorinewB - Yea that was the best :)
Zamboni_Driver - I spent a lot of time in that first week and never really got back into it
ThorinewB - That happened to my whole guild
Zamboni_Driver - I have "broker" characters on just about all shards - most are just brokers, tho, and don't adventure
ThorinewB - Do you think they should have wiped it?
Zamboni_Driver - well, as much as i loved the bard that i made in that first week, i can see why it was unfair
Aesop - ack
Zamboni_Driver - OSI really scaled back advancement
Aesop - Lagged
Zamboni_Driver - and anyone who made a character that first week had a huge advantage
ThorinewB - hehe
Zamboni_Driver - like me.. heh
ThorinewB - Well I disagree
ThorinewB - Because anyone who came afterwards could still work skills fast
ThorinewB - with RoT if someone comes over a month late
ThorinewB - it takes a whole month more to gain skills and be competative
Zamboni_Driver - yah, i wasn't happy with the wipe either - but what can you do?
ThorinewB - I guess
ThorinewB - Thanks Zam
TheMAG_Eu - Thank you ThorinewB for the question

TheMAG_Eu - Ok one from me: how did you came up with the idea of a tradingsite ?
Zamboni_Driver - i must confess that the idea wasn't mine in the first place :)
Zamboni_Driver - The Trading Post was started by Sarcasym and Boot
Zamboni_Driver - I was looking for a host for my Merchant Guide and they were looking for a "name" to bring in some people
Zamboni_Driver - So I jumped on board
Zamboni_Driver - I think one of the problems with UO is no good in-game communication system
Zamboni_Driver - so people need an out-of-game forum for discussion and trading
TheMAG_Eu - Well.., i think ICQ mostly caught up that
TheMAG_Eu - and the board forums
Zamboni_Driver - Yah, but you can't really auction anything off over ICQ - you don't reach a wide audience
TheMAG_Eu - do you think ppl will step over to an ingame system if it would be created ?
Zamboni_Driver - to a limited degree
Zamboni_Driver - If you want to leave messages when you're offline, you need to an out-of-game forum
* TheMAG_Eu nods
TheMAG_Eu - Thank you..

PeonII - Hm
PeonII - his isp went poofta
PeonII - I'll just wait ;)
Zamboni_Driver - ack
Zamboni_Driver - lost conn :P
PeonII - hi zam
PeonII - I saw :)_
PeonII - It's me again the blabber mouth...
PeonII - K.... about the duping again
PeonII - If you were to receieve duped gold
PeonII - Could you, Tell the difference, Get in trouble for having it, Be harassed by Gms, etc?
Zamboni_Driver - Well, if you have strong suspicions that you're receiving duped gold, you might not want to make the trade
Zamboni_Driver - I don't have access to OSI's tracking methods, so I'm not sure how they can tell what gold is duped
PeonII - How can you tell though, what if its only 100k or so that you're selling a ermm...statue or something for
Zamboni_Driver - If you're getting a bank cheque, you're probably safe
PeonII - See I'm kinda of afraid to make trades cause I don't wanna get banned for selling my stuff
PeonII - Ok...
PeonII - You can unvoice me again now ;) im done:)
PeonII - thanks
PeonII - hmmm
Zamboni_Driver - hmm indead
Zamboni_Driver - indeed
PeonII - now that everyones gone, zamb -- you think the new pvp system is balanced
PeonII - Between war hammers, mages with spell books in order to cast, ect
Zamboni_Driver - i doubt that PvP will ever be completely balance - it moves in cycles
Zamboni_Driver - spell books are good, though - i was never a fan of precasting
PeonII - I see....
Zamboni_Driver - as for war hammers, yah, they're a bit rough right now
PeonII - Hmm
Zamboni_Driver - but i'm sure that when archer mages come back, they'll rule PvP (for now, anyway)
PeonII - alrighty,,,, Just wanted to get a educated well thaught opinion from someone with greater experties than I
PeonII - thanks
Zamboni_Driver - heh.. my pleasure
Aesop - Thx Peon for your questions..

Merrick[OES] - oh me now
Zamboni_Driver - hi Merrick
Merrick[OES] - What do you think about the nerfing of Mages, and the suprising godliness of macers? i.e. breaking shields in one hit?
Zamboni_Driver - Well, first let me say that I don't think that mages have been nerfed
Zamboni_Driver - they may not be as effective in PvP as the used to be
Zamboni_Driver - but they are well balanced in both PvP and PvM
Zamboni_Driver - macers have a tough time in PvM, because the weapons are so slow (most of them)
Zamboni_Driver - Breaking shields is a nice touch
Zamboni_Driver - but is still only good against shield users
Merrick[OES] - Well, I know that in pvp, it's been fine until that patch, and then I fought a macer after the patch and died in two hits
Zamboni_Driver - not very useful against mages
Zamboni_Driver - you just have to change your tactics
Zamboni_Driver - don't melee with them :)
Merrick[OES] - hehe
Merrick[OES] - i learned that quickly :)
Zamboni_Driver - as i said earlier, i think the best PvP class right now is the archer mage
Zamboni_Driver - the changes to archery ranges and shooting while moving have made it a very strong class again
Zamboni_Driver - of course, all my old archers gave up the skill.. heh
TheMAG_Eu - Thank you merrick
* Merrick[OES] nods

TheMAG_Eu - Zambone: how much money did you approx made in uo, or is it uncountable ?
TheMAG_Eu - ;)
Zamboni_Driver - well, it's countable
Zamboni_Driver - and it's a pretty big number
Zamboni_Driver - somewhere in the 8 digit range - let's leave it at that :)
* TheMAG_Eu shrugs...
TheMAG_Eu - there goes my max of 50k in bank ;)
TheMAG_Eu - Was this one one shard or devided over several ?
Zamboni_Driver - divided over all of them - when i was brokering, i was picking up gold just about everywhere
Zamboni_Driver - and i do a fair amount of shard exchanging, to help people move around
Zamboni_Driver - i try to keep my funds diversified :)
TheMAG_Eu - Ah :), and do you shard cross a lot of money you make ?
TheMAG_Eu - or almost none to keep it in the flow ?
Zamboni_Driver - i cross shard a lot of it - ideally, gold moves in all directions
TheMAG_Eu - heh
Zamboni_Driver - one of the big problems that duping has caused is that a couple of shards, pac and chessie, just go one way
* Aesop has a question
Zamboni_Driver - everyone wants to dump pac and chessie gold, but no one wants it
Aesop - =-)
TheMAG_Eu - Too bad some shards went that way
Zamboni_Driver - so the exchange rates for those shards are particularly harsh
Zamboni_Driver - yah

Aesop - Have you ever sold your gold on an online auction site such as Ebay for real life profit?
Zamboni_Driver - yah, i've been selling gold on ebay since about January
Aesop - making a bundle?
* Aesop grins
Zamboni_Driver - not a bundle, but enough money to keep me in potato chips and beer :)
* TheMAG_Eu grins
Aesop - Those are the main UO food groups.. *chuckles*
Zamboni_Driver - the market was pretty good until about 2 weeks ago, when people started dumping a ton of gold into the system
Zamboni_Driver - it's a bit slower right now and will probably be very slow after housing comes in
* Aesop nods
Zamboni_Driver - whenever that may be :)
Aesop - Hopefull *soon*!
Zamboni_Driver - heh, yah
Zamboni_Driver - lots of people are eagerly awaiting castle day
Zamboni_Driver - it will be interesting when 500 people try to place castles in 15 spots on each shard
* Aesop laughs

TheMAG_Eu - ThorinewB: Your turn :)
ThorinewB - me again?
ThorinewB - k
Zamboni_Driver - ThorinewB, it feels like it's just the two of us in here :)
Zamboni_Driver - i guess everyone is shy tonight!
ThorinewB - Us and Peon
ThorinewB - would be better to get a decent PvP balance and leave it at that rather than change the system constantly and make players constantly change character skills
ThorinewB - I think thats what I'm saying
Zamboni_Driver - the problem is that there's never really been a good balance
Zamboni_Driver - OSI's goal has been to make all skills playable
Zamboni_Driver - in the beginning, there were about 3 fencers on each shard, because the skill was so weak
Zamboni_Driver - and archery, swords and maces ruled
Zamboni_Driver - of course, there were also the 80 point fireballs and the insta-kill harm wands
Zamboni_Driver - every time OSI tweaked a skill, it put the rest out of balance a bit
Zamboni_Driver - and it's never been able to achieve a perfect balance
Zamboni_Driver - one option, as you suggest, would be to just say "oh well, let's just leave it like it is"
Zamboni_Driver - OSI has decided to keep tweaking though - certainly makes life more interesting :)
ThorinewB - Makes it interesting
Zamboni_Driver - i have to admit that once my characters become fully formed, i get bored of them a bit
ThorinewB - But it gets boring constantly working to raise skills and compete
Zamboni_Driver - with the skill lock system, it's not too hard to change skills
Zamboni_Driver - for me, anyway, i like it better
TheMAG_Eu - Thank you ThorinewB

Zuran - Hiya Zamboni
TheMAG_Eu - Go ahead zuran
Zamboni_Driver - hwody!
Zamboni_Driver - err
Zamboni_Driver - hi
Zuran - My question is, Do you feel that you would ever run out of things to do?
Zuran - Is there a point you get to where there is nothing else TO do>
Zamboni_Driver - If there is, i haven't hit it in almost 3 years of playing
Zamboni_Driver - when i get bored of a character, i try something new
Zamboni_Driver - i have a bard, whom I still love to play
Zuran - Really? Is that just down to your profession, or is that expanding into differnet branches of UO?
Zamboni_Driver - different branches
Zuran - So you have sampled them all by now?
* Zuran smiles
Zamboni_Driver - nope
Zuran - What do you have left to do, or that you would still like to do?
Zamboni_Driver - still haven't made a GM smith or done much physical crafting
Zamboni_Driver - the new faction system, if it ever gets running, could be fun
Zuran - Will you always come back to merchandise?
Zamboni_Driver - coming from a merchant perspective, i'd love to be in charge of city finances
Zamboni_Driver - i think so
TheMAG_Eu - hehm figures ;)
Zamboni_Driver - that's the one constant in all my play
Zuran - Okay, Thanks
Zamboni_Driver - np :)

TheMAG_Eu - Zamboni_Driver: how many houses do you own across all shards ?
* Zamboni_Driver takes off his shoes
* TheMAG_Eu grins
Zamboni_Driver - somewhere around 20, i think
TheMAG_Eu - eek
Zamboni_Driver - most on atlantic and yamato
TheMAG_Eu - still own those ?
Zamboni_Driver - yah
TheMAG_Eu - all small or variable sizes ?
Zamboni_Driver - variable - nothing bigger than a tower
Zamboni_Driver - towers are my favourite house type, then large bricks
Zamboni_Driver - i like a lot of the new designs
TheMAG_Eu - Ok, following on that: did the 1 house per account per shard block you much as a merchant ?
Zamboni_Driver - if i place houses in the new lands, i'll probably be placing mostly small marbles in good shop locations
TheMAG_Eu - ah
Zamboni_Driver - fortunately, it was timed well with secure house trading
* TheMAG_Eu nods
Zamboni_Driver - it pretty much destroyed our ability to broker house sales
Zamboni_Driver - since you can't get more than one house per week
Zamboni_Driver - and you can't hold more than one house at a time
Zamboni_Driver - i was already set with my own houses, though, so it didn't really hurt me
Zamboni_Driver - i also have more than one account, so it's not so harsh
TheMAG_Eu - Ok, thank you
TheMAG_Eu - Go ahead zuran
TheMAG_Eu - Hmm
Aesop - Unattended macroing!!
* Aesop laughs
* TheMAG_Eu grins
TheMAG_Eu - ok, i'll ask his question then
Zamboni_Driver - heh
TheMAG_Eu - How much would you sell your account for ?
Zamboni_Driver - Heh.. right now, it's not for sale. To get me to sell it, someone would have to make a ridiculous offer - and I mean truly ridiculous, in the low 5 figures
TheMAG_Eu - ;)
Zamboni_Driver - I've seen accounts sell for $2000-$4000 that aren't anywhere nearly as well stacked as mine is :)
TheMAG_Eu - heh
TheMAG_Eu - Man who became rich of virtual merchandice
TheMAG_Eu - ;)
TheMAG_Eu - ok thank you, that was it
Zamboni_Driver - okie dokie :)
TheMAG_Eu - Go ahead
Zamboni_Driver - hi Jonci

Jonci[LS] - Hiya Zamboni
Jonci[LS] - You were talking about how you've tried many things in UO. Ever tried Role-playing?
Zamboni_Driver - yes, but not in the traditional sense that you may mean
Jonci[LS] - How so?
Zamboni_Driver - when I play my merchant, i completely play a merchant - I have a code of honesty, but the main goal is "buy low, sell high"
Zamboni_Driver - I try to stay as in character as possible
Jonci[LS] - Ever tried anything other than a merchant?
Zamboni_Driver - on the other hand, you don't find me saying "thee" or "thou" too often
Zamboni_Driver - yah, i've played lots of other characters
Zamboni_Driver - but i haven't done much role=playing with them
Jonci[LS] - You don't find that many role-players that do say thee and thou
Zamboni_Driver - yah, i know
Jonci[LS] - What do you think is the better role-playing shard?
Zamboni_Driver - i think different shards have different pockets of RPing
Zamboni_Driver - on Atlantic, you want to hang out at the Serpent's Cross tavern
Zamboni_Driver - on other shards, the Orcs rule the roleplayers
Zamboni_Driver - i have to admit, i've always wanted to try roleplaying an orc
Jonci[LS] - I've heard some shards are more into PvP than role-playing, while others are the opposite.
Zamboni_Driver - I did participate in a pirate raid on oasis once that was lots of fun
Zamboni_Driver - I think that most shards have some of each
TheMAG_Eu - Thank you Jonci[LS]
Aesop - Thx for your question Jonci

Zamboni_Driver - Well, the eeevil moderators are telling me to wrap things up
Zamboni_Driver - and to throw in some plugs :)
Zamboni_Driver - so here we go:
Zamboni_Driver - For all your trading needs, visit Tradespot - we have trading pages for every shard as well as a Trade question and answer page, a general discussions forum and a forum for reporting scammers
Zamboni_Driver - If you're looking for info on running a vendor, check out The Merchant Guide here at Stratics
Zamboni_Driver - there's also a price guide there in the "setting prices" chapter
Zamboni_Driver - and if you want to see some examples of setting up vendors and shops, feel free to drop by my shop on atlantic or yamato
Zamboni_Driver - on Atlantic, the shop is just over the bridge, west of vesper bank
Zamboni_Driver - the two vendors on the steps are the famous "Marlenes" from the Merchant guide
Zamboni_Driver - on Yamato, my shop is the first one west of the main entrance to Trinsic
Zamboni_Driver - hmm.. i think that's enough plugs for now - if you have any questions in the future, you can always email them to me at [email protected]
Aesop - Thank you to our guest Zamboni Driver for Coming!
Aesop - Thank you for attending tonight's UOCC. Remember, UOCC occurs every other Monday night at 7pm CST. The log of tonight's chat will be posted on .
Zamboni_Driver - my pleasure
Aesop - Please feel free to join us here in #ultima-online at any time of the week for help in game, the latest UO news, or just to chat. Have a nice evening.
Aesop - Please email [email protected] with suggestions for future guests or topics
Aesop - Thank you all and Good Night =)
Aesop - Zamboni may be around after the chat to chat with everyone =)