Reflections after one day in Ultima Online

[MikeNH311]

I will be looking for a new shard starting tonight. I have been playing on your shard for all of one day, and have encountered several people who wished for nothing more than to help a new player like myself find their way in this somewhat confusing and intimidating game. To those (few) people I met: Thank you.

I was killed by 3 different players whilst in a city, and under protection of the town guard. That's great, PvP can happen anywhere, wonderful-no complaints from me. However, if you are never safe anywhere, and even towns cannot protect you from players who are unbelievably better than your character, then why bother playing? While this may sound like your typical "lol, n00b" story, I ask you: Why do you bother discussing how to attract new people to your shard when the vast majority of players on it clearly want the opposite?

I read the rules, and followed them to the letter. I read through some guides, and even perused the forum before creating a character-all to familiarize myself with what I thought would be a community of people excited to see fresh faces in their game. Instead I was killed at the closest healer as soon as I resurrected.

I play video games with three friends, all of whom were excited to play UO again and to get on an active shard. Unfortunately I have had to tell them that this shard would not be the fun experience we were looking for, and that in fact the other players would ruin the game itself just as with any other MMO. If all that people on this shard want to do is kill people new to the game then...okay? We will find somewhere else to play.

Bottom line: Your shard is not very welcoming to new players who are trying to get a feel for the game. I ask for no changes to be made, and I don't want my inventory and money back. What I want is for someone to seriously explain why you don't want new players to join?

[Orion GM B^D]

Before you quit, why not give some players here a chance to help you and your friends out a little bit?

I'll be the first to offer you and buds a place to macro safely and without being bothered. I normally don't lend such
offers, but I think you haven't given this shard a fair chance.
Make no mistake, this is a TOUGH shard sometimes, but you just have to be a bit smarter and deliberate with how you
play here. Nothing that can't be accomplished with a bit of knowledge of UOSA.

Feel free to shoot me a pm if you want a safe place to macro and give UOSA another chance.

[Mens Rea]

And I will teach you how to call the town guards and/or how to not attack people who will kill you in town.

All you have to do is ask and I'll help you out.

[MikeNH311]

Smart and deliberate go out the door when you get followed by people from the time you log in to the time they kill you over and over again within guarded areas? Why bother starting a new game unless you know someone as powerful as yourself who can just hand you everything they need?

I appreciate your help, and want to continue playing on this shard. But I can't mentally justify not being able to go to the bathroom while my character is at the bank for fear of his untimely death/looting.

[Drunk'n Disorder]

Smart and deliberate go out the door when you get followed by people from the time you log in to the time they kill you over and over again within guarded areas? Why bother starting a new game unless you know someone as powerful as yourself who can just hand you everything they need?

I appreciate your help, and want to continue playing on this shard. But I can't mentally justify not being able to go to the bathroom while my character is at the bank for fear of his untimely death/looting.

What you said here doesn't entirely make sense. As long as you are blue, just call guards and whoever is attacking you will die instantly. Otherwise, you may have committed a criminal act and went grey, or attacked a grey. If you do either of these things you can be freely attacked inside town. If you went grey or attack a grey and they res kill you, wait two minutes before ressing again. This cooldown time will make it so they can't attack you again.

[Chicanery]

Smart and deliberate go out the door when you get followed by people from the time you log in to the time they kill you over and over again within guarded areas? Why bother starting a new game unless you know someone as powerful as yourself who can just hand you everything they need?

I appreciate your help, and want to continue playing on this shard. But I can't mentally justify not being able to go to the bathroom while my character is at the bank for fear of his untimely death/looting.

What you said here doesn't entirely make sense. As long as you are blue, just call guards and whoever is attacking you will die instantly. Otherwise, you may have committed a criminal act and went grey, or attacked a grey. If you do either of these things you can be freely attacked inside town. If you went grey or attack a grey and they res kill you, wait two minutes before ressing again. This cooldown time will make it so they can't attack you again.

You can kill people with-in the guard zone multiple ways even though they are blue.

Mike, the easy and straightforward answer is that this shard has a very difficult, straining, and aggravating learning curve. If your friends play with you, that will significantly help you guys get over the curve faster due to obvious reasons.

I can't specifically provide you with an accurate reason why people are discouraging you from playing, but my best guess is that individual had no idea you are new.

If you decide to continue playing, I encourage you build relationships with people who are willing to help you out, and let them help you power-game yourself to GM in a safer environment (with-in a house).

[Rextab]

You should really give the server another chance. There are a lot of people willing to help out and really care about the health of the server. You've had a few respond to you in this very thread.

This is how UO was. If you weren't paying attention, you could get killed in town. Usually it is no big deal, just run to the healer and res and be on your merry way.

[Mens Rea]

Smart and deliberate go out the door when you get followed by people from the time you log in to the time they kill you over and over again within guarded areas? Why bother starting a new game unless you know someone as powerful as yourself who can just hand you everything they need?

I appreciate your help, and want to continue playing on this shard. But I can't mentally justify not being able to go to the bathroom while my character is at the bank for fear of his untimely death/looting.

With respect, if this is your position then Electronic Arts introduced a whole new world called trammel. You cannot be attacked or harmed without your consent. Bank-sit all day long.

Meanwhile, the rest of us will use our rectal tenacity to hold it in until we can log out at a place of safety.

No risk, no windfall.


Best wishes on your endeavours,

Mens Rea.

[Patek]

People killing you in town when you're at the computer is pretty much impossible (unless you flagged as grey doing something naughty) and if you want to macro just don't do it sitting at Brit bank, do it in a different town, somewhere with less foot traffic or in a house. Anyway, you had a bad experience with the vast minority of the server, so don't go classifying all of us with them. I've never town-killed someone macro'in, I help all the new guys I can and go out of my way over and over to get them started asap and enjoyin themselves.

This server has a lot to offer and the community is very helpful to new people. I think the biggest obstacle to new people starting is their nervousness at getting involved in the community more than the cut-throat nature of things. If you hop on IRC and ask questions, you'll most likely get multiple people willing to help and get you set up as well as give you advice on the best way to go about things.

We'd very much like you and your friends to join the server and join in on the fun - you just have to be prepared to die a lot . I've died hundreds of times getting to where I am since I joined and I'm still lovin' it here, it's just how you approach it. The server is tough, but that's the fun. Games these days are all too soft with stuff like keeping your things when you die, making it impossible to die in certain areas, safe hunting areas etc. Time to play a hard game that will give you back what you put in - not just be a mindless click-on-the-monster experience.

My suggestions would be get in contact with NEW, NIP or NHG to meet people and have a supporting group when you're logged in. On top of that, get in the forums, start chatting away on IRC and asking questions like a madman cause its the only way you'll learn. If you have any questions feel free to PM me on here or on IRC, im happy to help in any way.

At the end of the day,
Wanna do PvM? sounds good, join one of the starter guilds and watch out for PKs.
Wanna do PvP? sounds good, ask in IRC and you'll have people willing to teach you up.
Wanna craft stuff? sounds good, read the guides, buy a vendor house and get selling.
Wanna skill up quickly? sounds good, check the forums and IRC for advice on how to.

Wanna play a game thats a challenge, not a mindless, skill-less, snooze filled click-fest? sounds good, log back in, pick up a sword and get to it.

[Mulahey]

This sounds exactly like someone spoiled by today's oversimplified and infantile gaming industry. No offense but UO is not your average "pick up and play" kind of game. It has a steep learning curve but once you overcome that a whole world of wonderful things will open up to you. Trust me. I've been there too. The thing is you seem to be annoyed by things like being killed afk at bank when in fact, you should have a completely opposite attitude that makes you look at these things as a source of power that drive you forward and make you learn from them. It is all part of learning proccess and if you fail to see the elementary things like the inevitable death every once in a while, maybe you have to start there. So slap yourself on both cheeks (the ones on your face for Chumbucket's sake!!!) then focus some more, maybe study forums even more and give the world of UO another chance. You will be rewarded by an absolute gem of an online game in one of the best game worlds and mechanics ever created in online gaming industry. Oh... and looking forward to kill ya ingame!

[MikeNH311]

Thanks to everyone who offered me a free handout to get me to stay on this shard.

Unfortunately nobody here answered my question. Why bother discussing expanding your game when new players are chastised, insulted (Thanks Mulahey! I am indicative of an entire generation of loser video game players and you are better than I), and driven out of the game itself? Why bother inviting new players in?

Given the amount of people I witnessed killing me in town and other places, it doesn't seem like the majority of players want anyone new involved in this shard. In that case it is easier to go somewhere else.

Like I said it isn't the game itself that is ruining the experience-its the players. As with all other MMO's and online communities, its the people-not the game-that ruined my experience.

Please don't patronize me "This game is rlly hrd lolz newb" because I played it years ago and understood it then. I chose this shard because it is supposed to be welcoming to new players. I want to play the game, kill dragons and giants, not log off for 30 minutes hoping that same guy isn't still standing there so he can keep killing me.

[Drunk'n Disorder]

Unfortunately nobody here answered my question.

Again if you're standing in guards and you're awake at the keyboard, type "guards" and hit enter to avoid dieing to most attacks inside guard zone... Now there are certain techniques to kill people inside guards who are not afk but they are not worth doing to res kill someone. If you attacked a grey in town, wait two minutes before ressing to avoid him being able to kill you again.

The guard zone provides a huge amount of safety when you are present at your computer. I disagree with your assertion that it's not possible to avoid being killed there.

Also so about the assholes. They want more players but they are choosey too

[Boomland Jenkins]

Thanks to everyone who offered me a free handout to get me to stay on this shard.

Unfortunately nobody here answered my question. Why bother discussing expanding your game when new players are chastised, insulted (Thanks Mulahey! I am indicative of an entire generation of loser video game players and you are better than I), and driven out of the game itself? Why bother inviting new players in?

I'm sorry to hear you had a rough first impressive of Second Age. However, the freedom offered in UO is second to none compared to any other games, and yes, that includes darker side of gaming (griefing).

As for people answering your question, you need to realize, you were killed by a few players, not every player. What I saw in this thread is a handful of our players trying to keep (through assistance, offering items, a safe place to idle, or just advice) a new player on the shard. The question you're asking in your OP is directed at the couple of people that gave you grief.

Any shard you play on is going to have people doing evil things. That's UO. Will the majority of the shard be like that? No. Is the majority of UOSA like that? No. Did you happen to have bad first impression here? It certainly sounds like it, but remember it's a first impression.

[SighelmofWyrmgard]

MikeNH311,

I remain grieved that a small segment of the player-base continues to exploit the flaws of the era-accurate ruleset, and in ways that drive away new players.

Dn'D suggests that the jerks are elitist: they aren't; merely bored, talentless and malicious (bored and malicious because they are talentless: personally, considering real-life and real-life interests, several MMOs and single-player games, I've got millions of things to do that are all a million times more entertaining and rewarding than town-killing new characters in a 'dead' MMO; way to lower the bar for the species, guys!).

I did respond in order to offer an answer to the question you posed: it isn't the shard (as in the Administration) that is intentionally driving new players away; the well-known exploitative mechanics are era-accurate, and era-accuracy happens to be UOSA's sole mandate.

I happen to agree with UOSA's vision that the t2A era represents the 'best' era of UO but, really, all this means is that post-1999 EA/OSI continued to be simply too lazy and/or negligent and/or greedy to refine their product to include proper controls against non-consensual PvP, as well as mechanical exploitation: the product, even in its 'best' incarnation, is flawed; it is neither licit, nor even possible, for UOSA to retroactively correct those flaws; any such 'fixing' would require a violation of the era-accuracy mandate.

UOSA will, as has been demonstrated on numerous occasions, address abuses of shard mechanics and/or UOSA-policy, and this is how it should be.

I am sure this sounds like a lot of, "like it or lump it" rationalization: I have to confess that much of it is; this era of the game promotes much in the way of despicable and malicious behaviour, combined with anonymity, and there are players who exploit those facilities ruthlessly.

Jessica Rabbit said, "I'm not bad; I'm just drawn that way": UOSA is charged with faithfully replicating UO:t2A, warts and all.

I would like to enjoin you to 'shrug it off' and step-up to the challenge: surviving, and succeeding, here does require some small investment of effort.

SS

[Capitalist]

This sounds exactly like someone spoiled by today's oversimplified and infantile gaming industry. No offense but UO is not your average "pick up and play" kind of game. It has a steep learning curve but once you overcome that a whole world of wonderful things will open up to you. Trust me. I've been there too. The thing is you seem to be annoyed by things like being killed afk at bank when in fact, you should have a completely opposite attitude that takes makes you look at these things as a source of power that drive you forward and make you learn from them. It is all part of learning proccess and if you fail to see the elementary things like the inevitable death every once in a while, maybe you have to start there. So slap yourself on both cheeks (the ones on your face for Chumbucket's sake!!!) then focus some more, maybe study forums even more and give the world of UO another chance. You will be rewarded by an absolute gem of an online game in one of the best game worlds and mechanics ever created in online gaming industry. Oh... and looking forward to kill ya ingame!

My man!