Release 59 Instructions

But wouldn't it defeat the whole purpose of doing this if that's not expected to change?

 

I already see a change on the overworld.

 

It's an interesting psychology because you cannot steal anything from anyone in game, and you cannot fight anyone who is not flagged in game, so there is really like, NO REASON to lock your doors. All it does is not allow other players to marvel at your handiwork in collecting interesting items.

But... to each his own.

 

Yes, I understand you want to see other players, and that's perfectly valid for many people. There are plenty of others who do not want to see other players. To me, this was one of the most amazing and wonderful features of SOTA, that made it truly unique from other online games I've played. >I< got to freely choose how much or little of other people to see. Now that choice has been taken away, and I find that very unfortunate. SOTA is a "boutique" game. I don't expect it to ever have millions of players, or even hundreds of thousands. So I understand the need to increase the number of active players, and I welcome that, because I'd prefer the game survived. I even think the ability to have the mixed mode available is a good idea. I just think the implementation of it was horribly flawed in that it is forced on everyone instead of it being a choice. I.e., it could have been handled in a way that would address the problem for the majority of players and allow those who want their privacy to keep it.

 

I understand, I get it. But you do realize that more people probably complain the other way that "Theres nobody playing... the world feels empty". You only have to see that it turns people off from playing what is, essentially, an MMO.

At the end of the day, none of us will still be able to enjoy this game if we don't get more players. So I see this as a necessary evil for a feature, that, let's face it, wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire.

 

Sure, and again, as I've said, the way in which this was done could have been done in a better way. Get rid of party mode, add mixed mode, make it default for everyone. Leave solo mode alone. I doubt most people would have ever changed off the default, but it would have kept the unique feature of SPO available to those few who wanted it.

 

You can change when you get there.

• Open Multiplayer in Towns & Outskirts: To better increase the connectedness of the world we have made it so that players now automatically join an Open Multiplayer instance when entering towns, overworld, and the Outskirts maps (Solace Bridge Outskirts, Highvale Outskirts, and Blood River Outskirts). This change will give players more opportunities to see and connect with each other and help with the many in-game events the community runs. NOTE: Your selected mode will automatically re-enable when you return to other scenes.

Yes the changes are very drastic. I hear that it is upsetting for some players. Did this stop you from playing other games you have played? The difference with this game at this point is that things will be changed as the Devs try out things to find what is working. If it does not work then they can adjust it as we provide them constructive feedback with good suggestions. They are trying to turn things around here. So IMO yes change hurts sometimes and causes worries and frustrations but we will see what happens from them as we watch for the effects.

 

Incorrect. POTs are *forced* multiplayer, period.

Yes, it has.

The point is there was a very simple and elegant solution that would have provided this mode to all players *without* destroying SPO. This feedback was provided to the devs on QA long before R59 went live, and their response was to lock the threads and ignore it. Take that as you will.

 

Reasons were detailed in other threads so they don't need to be rehashed here. Personally I compromised by moving my properties to another town where walled property still looks nice with the local aesthetic (I previously was holding two town lots and two village lots as farmland at the entrance of Magna Planitia where giant stone cubes would have looked horribly garish in the open plains setting), so while I may not be contributing as much cosmetically to the world now to secure my privacy, at least I'm not leaving completely or making it look stupid in adjusting to this change either.

 

Yes you are right and I was wrong about the changing.

 

Perhaps they should shut down three quarters of the towns. Now that would go a long way towards making the game feel populated. The logic behind dragging people who prefer to play alone into the multiplayer environment against (obviously) their will escapes me. Perhaps we should require attendance at several parties a month or face dire consequences. Sarcasm aside, honestly what is gained here other than some false representation of people drawn to the game for this communal environment?

 

It was not that the game really was empty, just ignorant people felt it was cuz they do not consider, think, realize that people are in other modes. I play in private mode just to assure myself instance master cuz not being instance master sucks. But, like the way all things are going nowdays, cater to the ignorant. This will allow them to stay ignorant and never challenge themselves to think or observe or ask questions and listen and grow knowledge.

 

@DarkStarr,

So how do we avoid the above while also offering consensual PVP?

BAD ASS Bosses that have BAD ASS loot that force the players to build a BAD ASS party, to take them down...

Jack up a boss HP and DPS so high that if you don't learn dodge and tactically use your roll keys, your BBQ...

Build bosses that the PVP and the PVE crowd can appreciate and respect... Something that you and your team have to work to kill... I mean really work for... Force cohesion and planning...

(EXAMPLE)
I'll tell part of the story, and he can pick up the rest...
I didn't know who he was... He was just another guy to me, but the night I met @Lazarus Long, I was sitting in a shack, simultaneously running 3 separate parties from a command center, calling out, on TeamSpeak, heals for the healers to target, tactically positioning archers, mages, and melee members of each group at Vertas Pass back when the spawn was torture.
Laz can tell his part and what he saw that night if he wants to.

This is what we need to offset and avoid the above quote from happening @DarkStarr ... Something so fierce... It scares the hell out of you... No matter who you are...

*EDIT*
My idea of a BAD ASS boss...
Two humanoid NPC's... Taller than any other... Both with melee and magic attributes, that do trick moves against each other in a deep dark chamber, so much that they are a joy to just watch from a safe distance. Their spar with one another gives them strength... It's as if they are training... They guard something precious, in a sealed vault... They alone know it's secrets, and those secrets unlock advanced attributes and skills as they demonstrate in their spar.
They wont attack you, unless you disturb the chamber that they guard, but when they attack, they unleash the full fury that their advanced training affords them.
They can wield any weapon, and have many elaborate in their inventory, they cross heal, they spin, they jump, they blink, they create an arena of deception and chaos, to confuse their rivals, they use every dirty trick known and unknown to obliterate their foes.
And once they have... They KEEP the spoils of battle... Your armor, your weapons, your reagents, whatever you brought into battle with you... They keep it... There is no free pass with this adversary... This one is real... With real consequences... But the rewards are boundless.

 

Has anyone seen the POT Castle Lot or Keep deeds? I looked at a couple different Crowns vendors and haven't seen any.

 

Your response is the whole idea behind my post...
We need to get a think tank started up... We got a lot of talent right here in the community with probably over 500yrs experience cumulatively.
Who knows gaming better than lifelong gamers? No one...

@devilcult, there are balances that have to be considered with every suggestion we make... As you just pointed out in my post, and your right, who would go to that boss? Probably just as you said... No one... Who wants to loose their stuff and get their ass kicked 85 times out of 100? You're right...

I've dealt with Port for several years now, as many have in this community, and what I have found used, by many in this community, is a proposal style suggestion, with pros and cons attached for the dev team to look at... The best person I have seen in the community to work up that type of presentation is @Winfield. That dude will make a piece of PAPER tired with all the breakdowns that he puts into an idea... I would suggest that you and your team go to @Winfield to help construct a comprehensible outline to send to Port... They gotta see facts and figures @devilcult, and a logical argument to justify implementation. It takes a little more than a phone call.

I'm happy to help whoever needs help with ideas, and if you go that extra mile to submit a logical argument, you can bet I'll be right there beside you, applauding you and your friends, and acknowledging your successful breakthroughs.

Let me know what I can do to help with your ideas.
I cant just pick up the phone... I wish it were that easy. It's not... I get sent to the corner more than anyone I know.

@DarkStarr, disregard my comment above. @devilcult shot it down and I concur. Bad idea.

 

I feel like you kinda cherrypicked the part that supports your stance, he also said it ruined the intensity of the game and that if he had to do it all over again he would not have made trammel/felucia.

 

Wow what a difference! Prior to this release, any time I walked up to my humble 4- story ornate garden home/shop, I had to stand and wait 10-60 seconds for it to load. A few times it never did. Today, as I was running down the walkway from the Oracle to my home, I could already see my roses had loaded and by the time I got to my front walk, everything was loaded and I could go in.

GREAT job on this (and so many things) team! I am constantly amazed at the amount of work that goes into each release. This one is incredible!

 

It's not a popular stance but one we happen to agree on. I had an entire guild of friends who quit UO within the first few months because of that reason. I hated that part of the game and truly think UO is still here after 21 years because they split PVP. And I am hoping that our Devs continue on the path they have chosen to let PVPers do what they like to do and the rest of us not have to participate.

 

I am not arguing that trammel/felucca didn't save UO, I'm just saying that the actual guy responsible for it said it had some negatives and he would have done it differently if he had to do it over again and he still thinks that would have been successful.