Castle, Tower, Brick, Patio IDOC and various thoughts

[Vitiek]

Hello!

I'm an old Napa Valley veteran and long time UO lover. I started playing on this server a few weeks back, and so far am having a blast. However, after partaking in both PvP and PvM as well as browsing the forums, I just thought I'd share a few thoughts I have on this shard.

For a seasoned veteran, staying alive and making money isn't too difficult, but advancement seems to be capped relatively quickly. This is kind of concerning, especially for new(ish) players, for shard longevity I feel. It seems, to me, this shard can be split up into three distinct categories:

1.) The New Players - New players who don't have a history with Ultima Online and are playing this game through either word of mouth or by random chance.

2.) UO Veterans, but with no established history on this server (I probably fall into this one here)

3.) Shard veterans who are insanely rich and/or bored with nothing to do as a result of a dwindling population.

Now while I respect everyone in #3's ambition, I feel it presents a pretty daunting atmosphere for groups #1 and #2 to feel that they have a shot in hell to be able to compete. Group 3 is so well established with resources, gold, relationships, real estate, etc. that they have such a strong stranglehold on the economy, IDOCs, PvP, PvM, and overall shard direction. It creates an invisible ceiling for the other players (at a pretty quick start) to advance, and could be driving factor of why there's a lot of new player turnover.

Now, is the group #3's fault? Not really. If you put yourself in their shoes, making money and doing IDOCs is probably one of the last things left available to you that presents an ongoing challenge. Afterall, what is the point of playing UO with no challenge? However, because of the desire of group 3 to keep up with entertaining value for them, it sort of reinforces the challenges of the other two groups, and (in my opinion) hurts the shard overall.

Solutions?

Well, that's kind of a tricky subject, since obviously group #3 has worked their asses off to become as rich/powerful as they are, and to enact some sort of socialist wealth spread would be demeaning to their years of efforts, but I think even some/most people in group 3 would say having more entertaining value/activity at the cost of amassing more pointless wealth to them would be a tradeoff they'd take in a heartbeat. This brings me to my point about the IDOC!

I noticed one day that a large group of houses (castles, towers, patios, etc.) went from Greatly Worn to IDOC (in danger of collapsing). If you run north of Minoc, just past the stablemaster, you'll find a large span of houses that are all close to collapsing (shared refresh times?). Now, I'm not sure if someone owns these and will refresh them, but I think it could be a good chance for newer/ish players to get a piece of the action, rather than keeping this information secret amongst the megarich/megabored IDOC community in group 3.

If I had to estimate when they were going to fall, I would say roughly between 5am-10am CST (Central Standard Time) on Feb 26th, but that could be way off, it's just an educated guess, as I don't bother IDOC'ing with precise accuracy.

Anyway, as this is an open forum, please leave your thoughts about the first half of this post! I will try to post some pictures/directions when I get a chance. Please, though, try to keep it civil and constructive is all I ask. Thank you for reading and best of luck to everyone!

[Capitalist]

ah I forgot to refresh these! Thank you!

Edit: What's your name in-game? I'd like to offer you a monetary reward for reminding me.

[Vitiek]

ah I forgot to refresh these! Thank you!

Hehe, glad to be of service!

Even if it turns out to be bust, I was hoping to hear some thoughts from the playerbase (groups 1, 2, and 3) if possible concerning the first half of my post. I know that the issue of automated quests/events seems to be a hot topic (as evidenced by the huge thread), but I feel that thing is something is worth some debate as well.

[Rik Smits]

First off, welcome to the shard! I think you left out a group though, I've been here almost a year now and have a few pieces of real estate, but I am by no means mega-rich. I just don't have the time or desire to get there, nor do I have the time to stalk IDOC's like others do. Sure I have stumbled upon them and been able to grab some stuff, but not without at least 10 people around to do the same. The IDOCers have it down to a science and with team work are very effective. Unfortunately that is a close knit group, so good luck becoming part of that, and good luck starting a new IDOC crew, probably won't happen.

I agree though it is daunting and discouraging as a new person here to find out the entire map is taken up with vets having in most cases 15 houses across their 3 accounts. Yes there are plenty of small spots available for newbies but its not the same as knowing you may be able to grind out for a larger deed and have a shot of placing somewhere. If I had it my way I think there should be a limit of 1 maybe 2 houses max per account, 15 is just crazy, but again, that will never happen. You are expressing valid concerns that have all been heard before and you will probably be told to pick yourself up by your boot straps and get to farming and you can have any house you want, but I hear ya!

[Patek]

tl;dr - UOSA is really fun, just stick at it and get involved as much as possible (IRC, PVP, IDOCs, events etc).

I've been on the shard for about a year now and can sympathise with OP's position as I was there myself. I played UO back from 97 through and including UO:R and it was definitely a shock going from where I was when I quit to starting from essentially scratch on a fresh server with new people. UOSA in my opinion is kind of a server of extremes - the PVP'ers are really good compared to OSI, the farmers are more efficient, skills gain is refined to simple systems, PKs are ruthless, the vets are well known and rich, IDOCs are intense, but be honest I think its simply a matter of interpretation as to whether this is frustrating or something to be excited about. I really like UOSA and the structure of it, it's simply a different beast to the OSI days and should be approached with that in mind:

PVPers being highly skilled - means more of a challenge (hence more excitement).
Farmers are more efficient - means less time grinding for GP.
Skill gain is refined - means less time grinding before you can get into the game.
PKs are ruthless - means more of a challenge and makes farming/PVM that bit more nerve racking.
Vets are well known and rich - means that you know who you want to buy off rather than OSI days of houses/items belonging to people you'll never know.
IDOCs are intense - means crazier events because the whole server gets on board (most big IDOCs arent secret at all and everyone is encouraged to join in).

I found the best way to learn the ropes on how UOSA operated was simply to throw myself into it. I began skilling up characters using guides, reading the forums to see what was happening and set myself specific goals in game (like GM'ing a certain skill, buying a house, learning how PVP differed from UO:R etc). I'm really enjoying the server and hope it keeps going for a long time. Admittedly I've been lurking a bit over the past year as work has gotten in the way (hence the low forum post count), but I've been in game regularly fiddling around and reading the forums as much as possible and hope to start ramping up the game time more this year.

I felt the same wall with players that had been playing for a long time that OP does, but I found that wall was far more created by myself rather than by them. Everyone I've talked to on the server, regardless if they're a first year vet with 100+ million in stuff or not, have been friendly and more than happy to help and answer any questions - all you have to do is ask . Getting more money might seem daunting too, but there are plenty of ways that are no where near capacity to make lots of money (provoke, tame, craft etc). As for breaking into group #3 I think its simply a matter of putting the hours in, chatting on MIRC, PVPing, going to events or even running small ones yourself.

Either way I hope you're enjoying your time in UOSA as much as I am. Stick to it, get involved and remember its about enjoying the journey as much as the end result.

Hope to see you on the field!

[Capitalist]

going to events or even running small ones yourself.

Worked for AshBorn regarding #3.

[Grimoric]

I agree though it is daunting and discouraging as a new person here to find out the entire map is taken up with vets having in most cases 15 houses across their 3 accounts.

I do not think this is the issue, the problem is all players that left and started play on another server and now just refreshing their homes here one time every week. They hold like 70% of the larger houses "Castles and Keeps" in this state.

The norther Minoc "Minoc Flatland Mines" have been IDOC in many loops in my short time here, it does get refreshed within the last six to seven hours. I know at least three other large areas working like this.

Players that have left will fail someday and we will get some land back. If we get all land back then we would see a collapsing house market and the "shard vet" players would not have anything to do, so they need to refresh the houses for "older" friends to keep the price up. I wonder what would happen if we disallowed refreshing on other people accounts and made them go [condemned] after eight weeks of inactivity. That gives a player a chance to go on holiday for ten weeks before a house disappear. (If we even want this, it might kill our server than it does look empty.)

Then we have the rares market. It is in my guess that five to six people togheter are owners of all server births, it will always be like that on a old shard. It where like that on OSI servers to.

The problem is with T2A era is then you build up all your skills and got your weapon, armor and a fine houses you need, then is not so much left to do in the game. It is here the IDOC, RARES and PK/Ganking come into the game.

If we look back then Cave got banned, we had a little circulation on the rare market with all of his items.

if you need a small house spot, I have made you a list in this threed. --> viewtopic.php?f=8&t=57207

[Roden]

Welcome aboard, Vitiek. I'm in the same boat. I originally started here two years ago but only played for a few days that time, I recently returned this month and it's been a lot of fun.

I too had similar concerns when I started, but my problem was more orientated towards how I was going to spend my time here (considering my lack of time these days). I've been focusing on enjoying the world and community above all else. I done the whole rares scene back on Europa, it was fun at the time but nowadays I hate hoarding/collecting stuff (I try to keep my personal possessions to a minimum in RL also - not that I'm frugal or anything - far from it). I quit Europa around the time a guy called "Hemisphere" had started hoarding and showing off literally every true rare at the best vendor spot in AoS, I remember doing a similar thing a few years before that (albeit on not such a grand scale), it just made me more miserable than anything else.

The way I'm playing UO these days is quite different, I consider it my "retirement account". I'll have a couple of standard PVP characters, hally mage/dexxer etc. But the rest of the templates I'll be really creative with - and set myself challenges - perhaps a no recall char for example, who also can't use gates (sort of like Skyrim with no fast travel). Or a zero macro character who gains skills naturally. At least this way the world remains fun and interesting to me, and I get to see/experience a lot of different things. Gold is important and I hope to get a castle one day (having never had one before), but it's not the priority. I guess it's slightly RP, but I'm not taking it that far (I don't talk to NPC lizardmen or anything!).

As UO is one of my favourite games, the least I can do is have a decent account in it's best era that I can log into every now and again. 14 day IDOC seems a bit harsh to me, my holidays are often longer than 2 weeks, but I guess the Internet is always around these days, or I'll live out my bank in the future..

Hope that helps somewhat And eh, I would personally avoid handouts, unless you personally know them. But that's just me...

[Budner]

I've been here for a little over 4 years. Never wanted to own a castle, and haven't owned a keep for more than a week.

At one time I had 15 houses across 15 characters on 3 accounts - all brick/patio/tower - but now I just own 4 (2 nice towers that I'll probably never sell and two very special smalls worth more than most keeps). Real estate is cheaper now than it's been in at least a year if not 2 years.

In the past month I created my first GM miner, GM blacksmith and GM fisherman. It's amazing how vast the content of this game is.

Don't let anyone get you down, and don't get too caught up in housing. It'll come your way.

All new players are welcomed, please let me know if you need anything.

[Ohm]

Now is the time to farm gold!
Not too many PKs running around these days.

Also heres a guide to getting a perfect IDOC timer: viewtopic.php?f=72&t=50766

[Happy Gilmore]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfYJsQAhl0


Nice Job Vitiek, only thing that comes from posting idoc on forum is waiting another 2 weeks for it to fall.

You know what it takes to get in group 3......TIME and EFFORT. Standing at bank spamming guards while you waste time macroing med by drinking ale dont count.

Because of IDOC groups, PLAYERS current large houses have value. So maybe we should stop for a second and thank the current IDOC guilds for making our homes have value. And for the new people starting, one of the best things in UO is working, farming, and crafting to save up to buy your first house. By posting this all you did is save the housing of some NON-PLAYERS for another 2 weeks.

[Grimoric]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hfYJsQAhl0[/youtube]


Nice Job Vitiek, only thing that comes from posting idoc on forum is waiting another 2 weeks for it to fall.

You know what it takes to get in group 3......TIME and EFFORT. Standing at bank spamming guards while you waste time macroing med by drinking ale dont count.

Because of IDOC groups, PLAYERS current large houses have value. So maybe we should stop for a second and thank the current IDOC guilds for making our homes have value. And for the new people starting, one of the best things in UO is working, farming, and crafting to save up to buy your first house. By posting this all you did is save the housing of some NON-PLAYERS for another 2 weeks.

The norther Minoc "Minoc Flatland Mines" have been IDOC in many loops in my short time here, it does get refreshed within the last six to seven hours.

There is someone that does let them go IDOC everytime just for the fun of it, they have full controll.

[Happy Gilmore]

[/quote]
There is someone that does let them go IDOC everytime just for the fun of it, they have full controll.[/quote]

Sure ill play there game then, they will eventually lose.

[Vitiek]

Some really great discussion, thanks guys! It's great to hear other opinions on the matter. Though, I think my point may have been convoluted a bit in my long wall of text. To address what Happy Gillmore wrote, my point was not that I was wanting to be jump started into a veteran status with millions of gold, it's more of a concern for the new to semi-new players who feel the same way I do (that we're light years behind and it may make them too demoralized to continue playing, hence making the overall population smaller).

I know posting opinions isn't going to change much, but if nothing else, it might spark some ideas that may or may not catch the attention of the admins for the betterment of their shard. That's all.

In any case, I appreciate everyone's contribution and thanks for the warm welcomes

[Menkaure]

I'm the poorest vet on the shard