Completely new UO player

[DemiAlex]

Hey everyone.


So I'm very, very interested in starting Ultima Online for the first time. The last Ultima game I played was I think Ascensions, or one of the ports which shifted from 2d to 3d gameplay. I recently bought Ultima 7 on GOG.com and was completely blown away by the amount of content there was.

Now, I regrettably and unfortunately was unable to experience the glory of Ultima Online in it's golden days, and have heard a lot about how drastically the game has changed from it's release to it's current build.

This is a rather vague question, but what was the main reason people left UO? What was the biggest change that was implemented that "killed the game"?

Are there still a number of people who still play UO? I would very much like to get into UO as it seems like my type of mmo (Content > Visuals), however is it worth it?

Considering the numerous changes UO has gone through, what makes this server stand out from the rest/retail server?


I was thinking about starting from the retail client, however Pandora has it's own allure that is quite captivating so I'm currently stuck between which one to start off with.

[Angel0178]

This is a rather vague question, but what was the main reason people left UO?
I honestly can not answer this question for the simple fact that Pandora is literally the first online game I ever played. However i am sure that some of the other players can answer.

What was the biggest change that was implemented that "killed the game"? I have heard players that tell me that they mostly quit before Samurai Empire was released. Now, whether or not that had to do with the bringing in the whole Japanese I do not know.

Are there still a number of people who still play UO? I would very much like to get into UO as it seems like my type of mmo (Content > Visuals), however is it worth it?  Do you mean on this shard in particular or UO in general because this is not an OSI shard.

Considering the numerous changes UO has gone through, what makes this server stand out from the rest/retail server? AS far as I know, this is the only free shard that has graphics and animations that the OSI servers have. There is a fairly friendly and very helpful staff and player base. We also have a working world chat system, a complete (again, as far as I know) imbuing system where you can customize your armors magical properties, and very helpful guilds. Konstantine and Vorspire are constantly placing new abilities, armor, pets, etc into the game to keep it interesting.

I hope you do decide to join us and if so, when you get on, if you are interested in finding a guild to help you get started, the New Player Alliance is always looking for new players. Just pm Michael Helmsley (thats me) when you and if you decide to join Pandora

[blindead]

I would say Renaissance was what killed UO... Birth of trammel like a magnet has sucked in everything. all the new coming users, old users' wealth and items... everything. No more dangers, pretty much no more pvp + messed up in-game economy.... what this has caused was reduction of player-to-player communication and what fun is an online game when you just solo everything?

i think that's when most players actually left UO as far as user stats go.

[Horns Nigel]

As a long time Vet, I left simply out of sheer boredom.
The thing I really like about this shard is that it brings me back to a time in the game that brought me here in the first place.

As long as we can get occasional updates with new items, crafting and monsters I am good forever.
This shard is so much better then any I ever played before that I just cant see myself ever leaving for something else....Nigel

[Horns Nigel]

More thoughts on this subject...
Yes, I also did not care for the Samurai update at the time, It did nothing for my style of game play and just added to my state of boredom at the time.

There are a ton of advantages to our shard over the pay shards, Mike mentioned many, but I would also like to mention the support not only from Kon and Vor, but from all the other players, I did not get any where near the support in my many years on a pay shard.

The player base here in general are all about the game, many are long time vets from the old days, but there is also a large base of players who never played or who are returning after short stints on the pay shards.
This creates a base that is helpful and also one of the most creative groups I have ever seen, just go tour some of the homes throughout the shard if you want a taste of that, its amazing.....

I also believe you could not find a better shard for new players, several guilds including NPA, SoP and SOUL to mention a few cater to new players and are more then eager to assist with all of a new players questions and needs.

Lets face it, the learning curve for UO is long and demanding, all us know what it took to stay with it in the beginning, but if you do I think you will find it an extremely rewarding experience.
If you can find a balance with this game versus a complete and total addiction to it as I myself have, you will be better off, or be prepared for your significant other ringing your ears on a non stop basis...lol

There is an old UO player who once posted the following on a website:  "My wife told me that shes had it and that its either UO or her?  His response was Damn im gonna miss that gal ! "  LOL....

Anyways, I am always here to help as well, just look for Nigel Horns and drop me a line, be glad to give you a free tour of the shard....Nigel

[Angel0178]

Blast you, Nigel. I LOLed at that one. My wife actually got me started playing, and regrets the decision on a daily basis

[Dwarvey]

LOL....Nigel. I can almost relate to that. My Wife is a Facebook game player where I do the MMOs, but it's the same durn thing. We are both grinding our games to get what we want, or to help someone else get what they want.

My kids however always ask the same question when I'm not on the computer. "Is the internet down?"

[Horns Nigel]

LOL, im glad we all can relate...Nigel