Changes after Phase 3

Nexus Graveheart · Post by **Nexus Graveheart** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:11 pm

Post Phase 3 changes:

Ok, so you guys said that most customs would be removed with Phase 3 of the move to change the shard into a more OSI replicated one. Here are some of my questions:

1. Will supreme creatures be eliminated?

2. Will masterpiece resources be eliminated?

3. Will the monster AI be enhanced or dehanced (Or will it stay the same)?

4. Will any custom rewards from previous events be removed? Or will they be retained as rare items?

5. WILL THE AOV SHARD HISTORY BE REMOVED? (this is a big issue for me, as I am at heart an RP enthusiast)

6. Will we be re-imbursed for high-end items lost during this shift? (This won't affect me much, but I know that many players base their pride on the amount of candy they can stack on their roofs)

7. Will changes from events be retained (such as map inclusions, lore, and items)?

8. What will happen with Demitel and his minions?

9. Will we lose our custom tames?

10. And lastly, will we get custom event arcs that are independent of OSI?

I am sure to come up with more questions, but these are what come into my mind at the moment. Items are not a big deal (at least to me), but I know that they are a big reason why people come and go. So, if you guys know, can you give us a basic idea on what we can expect when the final push is finished?

Know that I support this change, and I'll continue to play here until it is no more.

If this thread is premeditated and should not be posted, then go ahead and delete it.

Thank you,
Nexus Graveheart

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:26356

Red Squirrel · Post by **Red Squirrel** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:27 pm

1. Will supreme creatures be eliminated?
Most likely not but they will most likely be renamed. We're thinking "Blackrock Infected Creatures" or something to that extent

2. Will masterpiece resources be eliminated?
It will be greatly revamped but probably still exist. With the new property system it will be easier to control as we will be able to apply global caps to properties.

3. Will the monster AI be enhanced or dehanced (Or will it stay the same)?
The AI will most likely stay the same, but might be tweaked here and there. The chivalry part of it needs some work and so does the ninja/samurai part of it. But in general it will be the same engine.

4. Will any custom rewards from previous events be removed? Or will they be retained as rare items?
They'll most likely be removed but replaced. We're thinking something like replacing them with equivalent item + decent chunk of gold, followed by a huge auction.

5. WILL THE AOV SHARD HISTORY BE REMOVED? (this is a big issue for me, as I am at heart an RP enthusiast)
Most likely not. We will even try to fit the revamp into the lore. (probably be part of that ongoing blackrock event)

6. Will we be re-imbursed for high-end items lost during this shift? (This won't affect me much, but I know that many players base their pride on the amount of candy they can stack on their roofs)
They'll most likely be removed but replaced. We're thinking something like replacing them with equivalent item + decent chunk of gold, followed by a huge auction.

7. Will changes from events be retained (such as map inclusions, lore, and items)?
Not 100% sure what you mean by this one.

8. What will happen with Demitel and his minions?
Not sure yet, but we may add those bosses as mini quests in dungeons or keep it as one system. They'll most likely stay but the items may change.

9. Will we lose our custom tames?
Custom tames may be removed but we will replace them, most likely with a pet of choice with max stats.

10. And lastly, will we get custom event arcs that are independent of OSI?
We don't plan to follow OSI as much as far as events go, so that's where we'll be able to go way custom such as add new events like bomberman, pet tournements etc. This is an area we can keep on adding to.

I hope this answered all your questions and concerns.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:26357

Nexus Graveheart · Post by **Nexus Graveheart** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:44 pm

Well, regarding number 7, that you weren't sure on....what I meant was things like the Demitel Palace, the custom arenas, etc. Including all changes that are AoV changes that don't involve balancing player interaction. Things like Brunus's books of lore, the circle of elements near the mall, the roulette, etc.

And your last answer was different from my expectations. I was thinking about story arcs, not so much PvP/PvM events. Things like invasions and such that could change the course of the UO timeline. Like the old undead invasion of Trinsic or the newer invasion of Skara Brae by the ophidians. These sort of events help build a community.

But it would be folly to constrain ourselves to only invasions, there must be large, puzzling stories that take players on exciting adventures to places they may not ever go to. But I'm treading on an entire new thread there...

Thanks for answering my questions Red...I'll likely have more in the future.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:26358

Red Squirrel · Post by **Red Squirrel** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:00 pm

Most of those will probably stay. THere's no official plans mind you, but I can almost guarantee the roulette will stay. If anything, the casino will finally get more toys to play with (probably after phase 3). We also plan to have an automated auction system. This should give a better value to gold too.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:26359

Death · Post by **Death** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:49 pm

Nexus Graveheart wrote:Post Phase 3 changes:

Ok, so you guys said that most customs would be removed with Phase 3 of the move to change the shard into a more OSI replicated one. Here are some of my questions:

1. Will supreme creatures be eliminated?

2. Will masterpiece resources be eliminated?

3. Will the monster AI be enhanced or dehanced (Or will it stay the same)?

4. Will any custom rewards from previous events be removed? Or will they be retained as rare items?

5. WILL THE AOV SHARD HISTORY BE REMOVED? (this is a big issue for me, as I am at heart an RP enthusiast)

6. Will we be re-imbursed for high-end items lost during this shift? (This won't affect me much, but I know that many players base their pride on the amount of candy they can stack on their roofs)

7. Will changes from events be retained (such as map inclusions, lore, and items)?

8. What will happen with Demitel and his minions?

9. Will we lose our custom tames?

10. And lastly, will we get custom event arcs that are independent of OSI?

I am sure to come up with more questions, but these are what come into my mind at the moment. Items are not a big deal (at least to me), but I know that they are a big reason why people come and go. So, if you guys know, can you give us a basic idea on what we can expect when the final push is finished?

Know that I support this change, and I'll continue to play here until it is no more.

If this thread is premeditated and should not be posted, then go ahead and delete it.

Thank you,
Nexus Graveheart

Great post, let me shed some light on some of your questions (My answers likely differ from red's as we have different thoughts and ideas concerning many changes. Ultimately, the final decision will likely be a combined decision between the both of us and any other future developers of AOV):

1. Will supreme creatures be eliminated?

Not entirely. I have a plan to move them to a blackrock infection system to follow more closely with Ultima lore (Supremes will be blackrock infected beings very similar as they are now, cept they will drop a chest of random goodies).

2. Will masterpiece resources be eliminated?

Ideally, resources will be deleted from the shard and replaced with a point system. Reason being is they take too much item count (Especially for the ones that are never used) and the current system is a task to maintain for drops. Masterpiece system is planned to be disabled while we work out the bulk of the new server, although it's a great system and we do not want to remove it entirely. It's too much work to concentrate on when there's bigger fish to fry for the shard. If all goes well, it will be converted into a point system that is automatically tabulated when you kill certain monsters. This removes the rarity of obtaining some bonuses and is easier to maintain for developers.

3. Will the monster AI be enhanced or dehanced (Or will it stay the same)?

Enhanced. There are still some areas we will be adding perks to the ai. These are primarily in the chivalry and ninjitsu areas, although a nice goal would be to have every standard spell a players can cast, a monster can cast (Granted, only the smartest monsters would use the high end stuff). The AI on AOV is very advanced and most players enjoy fighting monsters with a variety of attacks that will throw a curve at them.

Magic INTENSITY, however, will be significantly lowered for most monsters (Intensity refers to how quick a monster will cast spells on you). These are planned to match closely to OSI monsters so nothing is too overpowering. Wicked bad comboes are reserved for tougher monsters/bosses, not every day creatures like rat mages.

4. Will any custom rewards from previous events be removed? Or will they be retained as rare items?

Many will be kept as rare items as a large percent of these items are decoration. Any item that would give an unfair advantage will be considered for removal (Although only a few of those are floating around and many were already removed). Pretty much any event item with a tag label will remain as it explains its origin. So those Easter egg trophies that are dated will most likely remain for example.

5. WILL THE AOV SHARD HISTORY BE REMOVED? (this is a big issue for me, as I am at heart an RP enthusiast)

Well seeing as the game is Ultima Online, we want to use more story lines that deal with classic characters such as Lord British, Blackthorn, Dawn, etc etc. However, some of the custom things such as Demitels we wouldn't want to lose either but depending on which portions we keep, they may remain in the game in some way, but the original lore might be changed around to match (For example, a Demitel boss might just be a nuissance to Sosaria that has a bounty on its head). The main point is to keep the lore consistent so that everything ties together.

6. Will we be re-imbursed for high-end items lost during this shift? (This won't affect me much, but I know that many players base their pride on the amount of candy they can stack on their roofs)

We wouldn't want to revamp the server and delete everyone's stuff just like that. Of course that would not be fair. However, in order to revamp, stuff must be changed around. We are still talking about ways to reimburse players. So far, we have been thinking of reimbursement along the lines of a gold VS rarity of item to be removed ratio. Gold will have a much higher value and purpose on the new shard as AOV will have an auction system which recycles items in the game and allows you to use your gold to buy anything from dyes to resources to artifacts. Reimbursement is a tricky subject as we need to find a viable solution that works for the vast majority.

7. Will changes from events be retained (such as map inclusions, lore, and items)?

Some of the custom changes may be removed while others may remain and serve as custom quest locations. I plan on doing a continuation to the "Magincia Mystery" scenario when the new revamp is complete (Unless OSI messes up that area) so there's still use for the structures. I guess it all depends on what fits and what doesn't. Magincia being destroyed naturally has room for structures. Customs events such as CTF and pvp tourneys are built in green acres which is designed for that purpose so there's no worries about that changing.

8. What will happen with Demitel and his minions?

They will remain in quest form I think. AOV plans to have quests for "mini-bosses". You can think of it as being similar to peerless but not as hard (In fact, many can be soloed such as a spider boss). These involve small arenas you can bring a varied group of players in. There's a lot more bosses that were designed that never made it to age of valor (Many that were planned for demitel's dark palace) so this would be a good time to bring them out.

9. Will we lose our custom tames?

Just like custom artifacts, many of the tames will be re-evaluated or removed. Of course, it wouldn't be fun to remove all of them as custom pets can be fun to have around. All OSI standard pets will be added to the new server (Yes, greater dragons will be around too) as well as some old and new customs that are just as balanced as any custom artifact we re-add. If we have enough custom space left, we are thinking about potion recipes to change dragons into different types, where they keep their stats but change their abilities and damage. This is just a prototype example but something we would like to add to gives tamers something to purchase and craft. Also, any pet that is removed is planned to be replaced with a pet bonding deed (If we can accurately calculate this), allowing you to gather a new pet and bond it right away. "Enhanced" pets will likely remain, such as the enhanced abilities of fire steeds and reptalons using spellweaving (Though they may be altered).

10. And lastly, will we get custom event arcs that are independent of OSI?

Many of our events will be custom. They are easier to make because we can just let our creativity roam. I've got a few up my sleeve that I'm sure players will enjoy. Some OSI events will make their way on the server too (Such as the slime or ophidian invasion events) as those are pretty fun and not too demanding. They will likely stray from OSI in some ways. Some events may change stuff on the server (Such as a huge meteor landing) but nothing too drastic.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:26363

Mika · Post by **Mika** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 1:44 am

What is this auction system I keep hearing about? Well, I get the auction part... what I dont get is the item recycling part... all I can think of there is recycling the loot that decays on a corpse that we didnt want in the first place... just a few little clues about this recycling if ya would

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:26367

Red Squirrel · Post by **Red Squirrel** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:30 pm

We're thinking more along the lines of idocs. Rather then have ALL items fall to the ground, maybe only 10% of them will, the rest will go to the auction. I have a base system in mind where each item type will have a gold value in game that will be influenced by player trends, so the start price will usually be around that area then part of the auto event system the auction will run and people will bid "live" on items. Not yet sure how the bidding will work but I want to make it where people just say a price, they get a gump to confirm, and it's put in, then if nobody bids for like 1 minute, the highest bidder gets the item. Something like that anyway.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:26378

Death · Post by **Death** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:59 pm

Mika wrote:What is this auction system I keep hearing about? Well, I get the auction part... what I dont get is the item recycling part... all I can think of there is recycling the loot that decays on a corpse that we didnt want in the first place... just a few little clues about this recycling if ya would

As red said, a random portion of IDOC drops may be removed and claimed by the auction house (This makes IDOCs still worth camping, but some items will be recycled). From the recycled items, either staff or the system will filter out the good stuff and put it up for auction. So any runic gear, resources, decorations that fell from that house will show up on the auction system, giving everyone who participates an opportunity to purchase the item. The beauty part about this system is for IDOCs that are not claimed and fall without anyone knowing about them. Items will be gathered from it and stored in the auction house. Also, certain items that decay may also be claimed by the auction house (Such as rarer woods) that are not collected by players and just left to sit on the ground.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:26380

jrhather · Post by **jrhather** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 4:17 pm

Red Squirrel wrote:We're thinking more along the lines of idocs. Rather then have ALL items fall to the ground, maybe only 10% of them will, the rest will go to the auction. I have a base system in mind where each item type will have a gold value in game that will be influenced by player trends, so the start price will usually be around that area then part of the auto event system the auction will run and people will bid "live" on items. Not yet sure how the bidding will work but I want to make it where people just say a price, they get a gump to confirm, and it's put in, then if nobody bids for like 1 minute, the highest bidder gets the item. Something like that anyway.

not a command like [auc that would bring up a gump menu where things can be selected, described, etc?

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:26396

Red Squirrel · Post by **Red Squirrel** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 5:00 pm

Nah thinking of making it an actual live auction where you have to show up for it. Though that could change, I might make it more ebay style where they last for so many days and people can bid any time.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:26402

ggkthx · Post by **ggkthx** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 7:33 pm

More e-bay style seems way better. *shrug*

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Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 7:16 pm

jrhather wrote:
Red Squirrel wrote:We're thinking more along the lines of idocs. Rather then have ALL items fall to the ground, maybe only 10% of them will, the rest will go to the auction. I have a base system in mind where each item type will have a gold value in game that will be influenced by player trends, so the start price will usually be around that area then part of the auto event system the auction will run and people will bid "live" on items. Not yet sure how the bidding will work but I want to make it where people just say a price, they get a gump to confirm, and it's put in, then if nobody bids for like 1 minute, the highest bidder gets the item. Something like that anyway.
not a command like [auc that would bring up a gump menu where things can be selected, described, etc?

ok this is like a year later but this is what should hapen its been a year and still hasnt happend.. it should be the [auc auction it wouldnt be fair if you couldnt make the acuction so you can get anything

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:32068

Death · Post by **Death** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 8:10 pm

newguy wrote:
jrhather wrote:
Red Squirrel wrote:We're thinking more along the lines of idocs. Rather then have ALL items fall to the ground, maybe only 10% of them will, the rest will go to the auction. I have a base system in mind where each item type will have a gold value in game that will be influenced by player trends, so the start price will usually be around that area then part of the auto event system the auction will run and people will bid "live" on items. Not yet sure how the bidding will work but I want to make it where people just say a price, they get a gump to confirm, and it's put in, then if nobody bids for like 1 minute, the highest bidder gets the item. Something like that anyway.
not a command like [auc that would bring up a gump menu where things can be selected, described, etc?

ok this is like a year later but this is what should hapen its been a year and still hasnt happend.. it should be the [auc auction it wouldnt be fair if you couldnt make the acuction so you can get anything

Live ebay like auctions are also an idea. There could be two different kind of auctions: player auctions and salvage auctions.

Player auctions would be a 24-7 trade/auction system

Salvage auctions would be auctioning off deleted/recycled items that are not claimed and would have a set date and time so that everyone is aware that there is a large auction about to take place.

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Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 8:11 pm

when do you actually think this will start to happen

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:32078

Death · Post by **Death** » Sun Jan 17, 2010 8:16 pm

newguy wrote:when do you actually think this will start to happen

Not for awhile. Vendors and the forums are already available for trading and selling so it's not a high priority.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:32081

Trill · Post by **Trill** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:22 am

I for one think a new reward other than gold should be what equals taking away our hard earned items. When i do champs or Anakin i never pick up the gold that's how much gold means to me.

And as for the auctioning part wtf about the players who don't give two shits about hoarding gold?

It seems as if all of the shards badass content will be nerfed to fuck or removed. Just so you can go closer to OSI, ?????? WHAT THE FUCK FOR! if i wanted an OSI shard guess where i would play!!! OSI!!!. You wanna be closer to OSI? Scratch the whole fucking revamp they wouldnt give players items and kewl content than say later on oh ITS TO MUCH where gonna take it away. They wouldn't remove all the players shit from them and say heres a bunch of worthless fucking gold.

Basically the revamp from what i see equals taking all the kewl trammy content the fuck out of the shard, and leaving the whole shard with nothing to do. YEA lets remove half the good shit that our players love, and seeing as this shard is 90% trammel ruleset this will leave them with nothing to fucking do!

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ggkthx · Post by **ggkthx** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:55 am

:

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Trill · Post by **Trill** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 10:04 am

Lol bubbles get on aim you fuck

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Death · Post by **Death** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 5:02 pm

Trill wrote:I for one think a new reward other than gold should be what equals taking away our hard earned items. When i do champs or Anakin i never pick up the gold that's how much gold means to me.

And as for the auctioning part wtf about the players who don't give two shits about hoarding gold?

It seems as if all of the shards badass content will be nerfed to fuck or removed. Just so you can go closer to OSI, ?????? WHAT THE FUCK FOR! if i wanted an OSI shard guess where i would play!!! OSI!!!. You wanna be closer to OSI? Scratch the whole fucking revamp they wouldnt give players items and kewl content than say later on oh ITS TO MUCH where gonna take it away. They wouldn't remove all the players shit from them and say heres a bunch of worthless fucking gold.

Basically the revamp from what i see equals taking all the kewl trammy content the fuck out of the shard, and leaving the whole shard with nothing to do. YEA lets remove half the good shit that our players love, and seeing as this shard is 90% trammel ruleset this will leave them with nothing to fucking do!

Let's all breathe for a second here......

The plan is to catch up with OSI content and revise to OSI systems. This means that stuff like damage, spells, and OSI items will be accurate (for the most part). We are concentrating on what OSI offers FIRST before we even CONSIDER adding or revising any customs. On top of which, adding in OSI stuff will allow us to branch into customs (for example: OSI ML quests will allow us to create our own).

We are not planning to go "strictly OSI", yes, that would be BORING. OSI is a guideline to keep the shard on track to both improve and add what's missing and to also create a point where customs don't overrun the shard. A completely OSI shard is boring and pointless. A completely custom shard is too chaotic and unfamiliar to attract a wide enough audience. We are aiming to be in the middle, offering OSI but better AND enough customs to keep things interesting but not overpowering.

The shard content is not getting removed, it's getting revised. If you don't like the revisions, then that's your own opinion and we can't change that. Content only gets removed if it's the worst case scenario where there is absolutely no way to change or incorporate it into the shard. If we do, in fact, remove something, it will probably return as an event item or an event.

As for removing everything and leaving players nothing to do, I have no idea how you have come to draw such a conclusion. We constantly talk about exciting new systems we want to add to the shard as well as all the fun quests and bosses we can implement when we have a solid system coded. In fact, there's a huge post in the GM section right now with a bunch of ideas floating about. The 10% custom is to keep us from going overboard, and is just a guideline. With ML being fully implemented, we won't even reach that 10% in most cases.

The custom systems that are currently implemented aren't planned for removal. AOAs are planned to stay, masterpiece system will likely evolve into imbuing when the time comes, the khaldun stealables are staying as well as the dye system which will be getting some improvements. They will not stay exactly as they are and there will be changes. Change is part of the game, you must learn to adapt. Anything we implement will involve some kind of change that will either be accepted or denied by the players and is subject to personal opinion.

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Red Squirrel · Post by **Red Squirrel** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 6:17 pm

In fact we have a pretty neat plan for AoAs, but I'll leave it at that, since it's not in rock yet.

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Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 6:20 pm

are you saying that some of the items we earned will be exchanged for gold! whats the use of having gold when you have every item like what filth has?

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:4121, old post ID:32162

Red Squirrel · Post by **Red Squirrel** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 6:25 pm

None of this has been determined yet, that was just a possibility, and that's only if said item is removed. There are no plans to remove any items at this point. That will be during the last stage. Most likely, items that are removed will simply be replaced with an equivalent item.

I personally want to avoid doing too many changes or removal of existing items but in some cases it may need to be done. There are lot of very early implementation items that are still out there and should not be.

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Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 6:40 pm

what type of items are these...

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Red Squirrel · Post by **Red Squirrel** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 6:48 pm

Like I said, nothing has been determined yet, so we have not decided on any specific items that need to be changed/replaced/removed.

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Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 6:59 pm

hmmm ok from my point of veiw this shard is great as it is with good items players and staff the revamp is just a bonus

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