List of Suggestions

[d.]

Here are some suggestions I have come up with that I think would be great for the server. Some of them are from other games and some I developed on my own. I will break them down into several sub categories with full explanations. I will add to this list if I come up with any other ideas.


GOLD SINKS- One of the major problems with UO is that people can just farm up gold and end up spending very little except for buying things off other players. This doesn't actually get rid of any of the gold because it just transfers it, and thus inflation occurs. This throws prices out of whack and makes it hard for newer players to buy items off vendors and makes for stagnant economies. Gold sinks are implemented systems designed to deflate the economy through many activities. These systems can add a new level of depth to the server while also helping keep the economy healthy.
1) Create a "taxation system" for housing. Luna taxes would cost a lot, so in order to have a luna house you'd have to be willing to keep paying to be there. Other places would have lower taxes. Would be based on both location and size of house and stories etc.
2) Increase the cost of insurance. Really, the 'value' that you get from insuring your suit is off the charts. If insurance was raised drastically it wouldn't really hurt players because it would still be extremely worthwhile.
3) Create a "Guild Incentive" program in which any player in a guild can "tithe" gold for their guild (through a gump perhaps from [guild or something.) This could allow all members of a guild to collectively work towards things (I am not sure what they would be yet, but perhaps you guys can help think of ideas for the rewards.)
4) Have Insurance for murderers cost double what it does for everyone else. It only makes sense. Murderers clearly enjoy fighting people, so their insurance should cost more.
5) Customized faction resource vendors (in depth description in content section.)
6) Additional variety dealer items (in depth description in content section.).

CONTENT- We all love and play AOV because the customized content is great. I, and other players, really enjoy the open minded approach the staff take to implemented new content and really care about what the player base wants. This next list is just misc. things that could be implemented that I think would add a lot of depth to the game play of UO Valor.

1) We have talked about working on developing factions for a while. Here are a list of things that could be done:
a. Create custom faction artifacts that could be purchased with silver from a custom faction vendor (the vendor could be placed like other faction vendors in a controlled town by the finance minister.)
b. Edit the items sold on the normal faction vendors. Make the ore vendors sell ingots of every color (just like submersia used to.) Have other vendors sell all the other types of other resources. This would drastically promote factions (which have always been dead on valor for the most part.) Also, these vendors selling all of the different resources would be another excellent gold sink that could really help the economy.
c. If 'instances' are ever implemented like some people have talked about, create faction-only instances that have improved loot. Other faction-only quests could be implemented as well. This, like the resource vendors, would promote factions.

2) Create a "duel" rating system as well as a "global pvp" rating system. These systems would be rather pointless if it was just kills and deaths per person. I think a better approach would be to have a level system much like the duel system on UO hybrid. It includes the kills/deaths stats, but the levels and ratings are based on all of your opponents levels. Examples would be: you gain a % to your next level based on the level of who you defeated. If they were low level, you would gain only 1-2%. If they were several levels higher than you, you could gain much more (depending on the difference.) Likewise, losing to someone who is a much higher level than you would result in you losing only a very small amount of level. If you lost to someone way under your level, you would lose a lot. Overall, the system was a blast on Hybrid when I used to duel a lot on there (maybe 6-7 years ago.)

3) To simply add more content to the game that would also act as a gold sink. They would be high priced and would not affect actual game play and give anyone an advantage. The items would simply be for practical and/or fun uses that people could spend extra gold on. The following items could be added to the variety dealer:
a. Sex change deed.
b. Self-repair deed. This deed would add +5 self repair to any item. This would allow players to not have to deal with the hassle of repairing their gear. The reason why this seems reasonable is that the self repair stat doesn't affect actual game play and give anyone an advantage in PvP or in any other respect. It just simply saves individuals the hassle of repairing gear. This deed could cost a large sum of gold.
*SUB NOTE- Item Bless deeds should never be sold for any reason. Insurance is a fantastic gold sink and blessing a whole suit greatly reduces people's want and need for gold.*

4) Implement a Poker system. People love poker and I have loved playing it on many UO servers. It can be a fun way to hang out with other plays and compete with them. The "house" can take a very small % of the pots to act as a gold sink.

I am sure I had other ideas in my head prior to actually taking the time to type out this list. If I can remember anything else or if I come up with new Ideas I will post them. Please, everyone, let me know what you think of these ideas.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37094

[geezushhchrist]

I agree to everything you said even though I do not farm gold unless it is absolutely necessary.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37096

[d.]

I agree to everything you said even though I do not farm gold unless it is absolutely necessary.

That's exactly my point though. With creating a bunch of strategic gold sinks as well as implementing new guild goals and new items that can be attained by gold, it will give people a reason to want gold, will reduce gold, and will overall make for a better economy on the server.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37097

[geezushhchrist]

I do not know if you can gamble millions of gold away at the casino but that could be another gold sink. And it would make people more active because they would have to kill champs and such and then PvPers would be more active.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37098

[d.]

I do not know if you can gamble millions of gold away at the casino but that could be another gold sink. And it would make people more active because they would have to kill champs and such and then PvPers would be more active.

I'm pretty sure you can gamble 1 mil checks at the casino, but the odds aren't worthwhile. Also, that is completely voluntary and not necessary, where as things like houses and item insurance are widely used and arguably necessary. Those types of golds sinks would be very effective.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37099

[geezushhchrist]

If I would have to pay rent on my house I might get rid of my house XD. On a side note, I have like 500 powders of translocation I can give you.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37100

[Blackadder]

I'm not against gold sinks, but found they rarely work in the long term....
There are only a handfull of vendors on this server, so unless we have a large influx of players it isnt worth trying to bring their prices down......

One thing i have began to notice with this server is because of the lack of vendors the game forces you to adapt and morph your chars into a position where they can aquire the items you would normaly buy.......
This is not a bad thing...
On my time on osi servers there were so many vendors and so many guilds gathering the stuff you needed ingame that i became lazy and just bought it...

At the moment farming gold on this server is realy just a status thing, there is no where to spend the gold.....

Someone mentioned a resource vendor in another thread (apologies, cant remember who)
Now that would be a decent way of disposing of gold...
I have had 2 quests for bloodwood boards, first one was for 825 and this one i'm doing now is for 935.....
All well and good but its taking hours and hours and hours to gather these boards, even on an elf lumberjacker who gathers in fel.......
It took me 2 evenings, a few hours each time and i only have 350 bloodwood boards, i have 1000's of the others just seems bloodwood is hard to find.....

Another suggestion is to make the donation rewards a bit more tempting....
Red has already said he is 1k in the red with server costs etc.....
Before i found this server i was trying to reactivate my 2 osi accounts...luckily for me their tech support is as much use as tits on a fish...
So i dont mind donating to keep the place active and running, but feel there are only so many ethy horses you can have, not realy into house decorations etc....
Although i have already sent a donation (the seahorse is brilliant, although at first i thought i made a mistake) i would like to see items added to the donation reward list....
Top of my list would be a Stat Scroll, No doubt others have their ideas too...
But that might kickstart people into making the odd donation, which would be used to upgrade the servers, which benefits us all.....

Just my thoughts...

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37104

[d.]

At the moment farming gold on this server is realy just a status thing, there is no where to spend the gold...

That is exactly my point. Gold is hardly used for much on the server and people have no "need" for it except for insurance and resources to do things like craft potion and tithe for chivalry. The sinks cause a need for gold while also making it harder to hoard it. The other implementations such as guild objectives, poker, and possible gold-based arties make it so gold would be something people want, not just something people hoard.


As for donations: Donations should be useful items but never items that are too good. People who donate should never have huge advantages over non-donators. Really right now donations just make things easier. For instance, the portable forge makes mining easier. Non donators can not get a portable forge but they can use a fire beetle, so they don't really lose out too badly.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37105

[Blackadder]

People who donate should never have huge advantages over non-donators

I agree about not having an advantage, but in the same breath this is a free server for us to play on and it costs real money and peoples real time to upkeep, so in my eyes a donation here and there shouldnt hurt anyone, and giving something that can be found in game already as a reward for donating does not give anyone an advantage


Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37106

[Mika]

I agree with everything here except for maybe the gold for any colored ingot idea. There is a reason that it really does deserve to be removed and why there wasnt a big fight in having it removed and replaced with a rather shitty sash. It was very OP and game breaking. Me and Plastic both used to say that from the get go. So when even the only people using them say its broken and OP.. there is probably a reason why this sort of thing should no longer be around. When I got the Oracle from Plastic and already had 250 million gold in my bank, things got retarded and completely out of balance. It really did ruin the game, even for me. So I really think purchasing ingots with gold from an NPC should be avoided. Purchasing them with silver however could work. Also, some new players may with to make their fortune by mining and selling ingots... Sucks if they dont, but implementing said system would prevent them from doing so, if they had wanted to.. Different strokes for different folks.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37107

[d.]

I agree with everything here except for maybe the gold for any colored ingot idea. There is a reason that it really does deserve to be removed and why there wasn't a big fight in having it removed and replaced with a rather shitty sash. It was very OP and game breaking. Me and Plastic both used to say that from the get go. So when even the only people using them say its broken and OP.. there is probably a reason why this sort of thing should no longer be around. When I got the Oracle from Plastic and already had 250 million gold in my bank, things got retarded and completely out of balance. It really did ruin the game, even for me. So I really think purchasing ingots with gold from an NPC should be avoided. Purchasing them with silver however could work. Also, some new players may with to make their fortune by mining and selling ingots... Sucks if they don't, but implementing said system would prevent them from doing so, if they had wanted to.. Different strokes for different folks.

I also had the oracle. I did not complain about it being removed because I staff said that there would be some form of custom resource vendors put back into the game. The reason this new system would be better is that it gives everyone the same opportunity to buy colored ingots.

I completely agree it was unfair when only 2 people could access the vendors via oracles. But really, if you felt it was too game-breaking, doesn't it just mean the ingots were under priced? If they cost x10 more, would people still buy them? x100? Somewhere there has to be a level in which it is 'fair'. It is not really the mechanic that was an issue. It was the fact that colored ingots were fairly cheap and that only a few people could access them.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37108

[Mika]

Yes, perhaps if they were priced much higher. I have met some UO players whose only interest is mining and/or crafting. Some just enjoy mining and selling their ingots. I dont get it either, not my thing. But the vendor prices would need to be high enough that they could work their trade and peddle their wares without being forced by an NPC to keep their prices lower than they would have normally.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37109

[Blackadder]

When my wife played on the osi servers she just used to like tailoring, and selling the stuff, be it resources or the armour she made.
It wasnt the gold she was after, it was her way of unwinding from work...
I can spend hours and hours in this game and not actualy do anything constructive, thats the draw of UO, it sucks you in because of its vastness and variety of things you can do....
I dont mind the mining and lumberjacking, but can only stand a few hours at a time...

I keep wanting to put a vendor in my house to get rid of all the bits i find, but there arent enough new players who would make use of it....
Established players wont have much call for standard loot items......

I made a fortune on osi vendors and my prices were crazily cheap...
It was funny realy, i would sell something for say 20k and then would see my item appear on a luna vendor at 2.5million.....
9 times out of 10 the item was still there after a month.....
Never could figure that out, but i suppose it shows how screwed up the economy was/is on osi shards.....

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37110

[The Dr Thunder]

There is something in game that has the potential to be a gold sink, random arty deeds. However, they have such a low rate of getting a decent arty no one is willing to buy them. Perhaps if the price was less, people would see the risk as acceptable. No one wants a 15million gp lesser TOT.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37111

[d.]

There is something in game that has the potential to be a gold sink, random arty deeds. However, they have such a low rate of getting a decent arty no one is willing to buy them. Perhaps if the price was less, people would see the risk as acceptable. No one wants a 15million gp lesser TOT.

I agree. I should have mentioned this when I was listing the additional items that could be on the variety dealer. But 15 million is kind of silly in my opinion, as there are very few artifacts that are that sought after.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37114

[The Dr Thunder]

I have 2 more suggestions to increase the playerbase. They will get denied, but I will post them nonetheless.

1) Househiding. Its a newbs way into fel pvp. Yeah, it sucks. It is frustrating. But... I remember the better part of whole afternoons spent on Demise either inside or outside a house waiting to cast Flamestrike in unison with other guildmembers. Househiding and gate pvp were fun for awhile. It should at least be an option for players on Valor.

2) Put guard areas back in Fel. It gives newer players a "safe base" to experiment with pvp. When I was on Demise, I had a stealther to check spawns, T2A, and I always checked Brit Gate. It was fun to watch the newbs and some not so newbs fight then run to the guard zone. Most of the time I just watched the silliness, but if some of my friends were there I would join in. Either way, it was a reason to log on. It was cheap pvp, but there was always people doing it so SOME people must like it.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37120

[Death]

I do apologize for the lateness in posting any thoughts on the suggestions provided. Been very busy and haven't had a chance to do so until now. Hopefully Red will post his thoughts as well at a later date and time.

GOLD SINKS- One of the major problems with UO is that people can just farm up gold and end up spending very little except for buying things off other players. This doesn't actually get rid of any of the gold because it just transfers it, and thus inflation occurs. This throws prices out of whack and makes it hard for newer players to buy items off vendors and makes for stagnant economies. Gold sinks are implemented systems designed to deflate the economy through many activities. These systems can add a new level of depth to the server while also helping keep the economy healthy.
1) Create a "taxation system" for housing. Luna taxes would cost a lot, so in order to have a luna house you'd have to be willing to keep paying to be there. Other places would have lower taxes. Would be based on both location and size of house and stories etc.
2) Increase the cost of insurance. Really, the 'value' that you get from insuring your suit is off the charts. If insurance was raised drastically it wouldn't really hurt players because it would still be extremely worthwhile.
3) Create a "Guild Incentive" program in which any player in a guild can "tithe" gold for their guild (through a gump perhaps from [guild or something.) This could allow all members of a guild to collectively work towards things (I am not sure what they would be yet, but perhaps you guys can help think of ideas for the rewards.)
4) Have Insurance for murderers cost double what it does for everyone else. It only makes sense. Murderers clearly enjoy fighting people, so their insurance should cost more.
5) Customized faction resource vendors (in depth description in content section.)
6) Additional variety dealer items (in depth description in content section.).

There are some good ideas which I will briefly go over:

1) Taxation is probably a bad idea. Players should feel free to place their homes in any area they choose. If they wish to have it closer to a town or in a field somewhere, that's up to the individual. There are better spots with more 'perks' which is a different topic though.

2) Insurance costing may actually change in the long run. It may change to be based on properties like OSI currently does but I think it is better to provide affordable insurance to younger players. Not everyone is a veteran so what may cost pennies to some, may cost a fortune to others.

3) I like the guild incentive program. This was brought up ages ago when players mentioned the ideas of guild towns. Some ideas that were thrown around included spending large sums of gold to add items to your guild town region (a town region being reserved land purchased by the guild). Items like guild statues, banners, a town clock maybe who knows. It's a huge system but would be interesting to provide the players of AOV someday.

4) I can see the double insurance for murderers. I personally would like to see murderers go back to an old school UO system. Back then, being a murderer was a tough job. You got absolutely no perks. You paid a real price back then. Of course, people are essentially murderers here because they like the thrill of PVPing everyone. So if murderers are going to have any more penalties for being a murderer, then there would need to be a pvp system which takes place of what they currently appeal to.

5) I would personally like to merge factions into a whole pvp everywhere system. This would be an AOV hybrid system involving a set of organized rules for faction battles. Part PVP, part factions, all facets. This would take a lot of time to code so it would have to be done in stages so hopefully we can start things in baby steps one day.

6) I have the ideas laid out for the variety dealers. My idea involves wandering merchants, peddler of wares, thieves, etc. Basically they would never be in the same spot on the map and would involve exploring the lands. Each would have some individuality in what they are selling and won't stick around for long (They may even migrate further down a path for a while). It's part of making the world feel more interactive, while providing something all players can make use of.

CONTENT- We all love and play AOV because the customized content is great. I, and other players, really enjoy the open minded approach the staff take to implemented new content and really care about what the player base wants. This next list is just misc. things that could be implemented that I think would add a lot of depth to the game play of UO Valor.

1) We have talked about working on developing factions for a while. Here are a list of things that could be done:
a. Create custom faction artifacts that could be purchased with silver from a custom faction vendor (the vendor could be placed like other faction vendors in a controlled town by the finance minister.)
b. Edit the items sold on the normal faction vendors. Make the ore vendors sell ingots of every color (just like submersia used to.) Have other vendors sell all the other types of other resources. This would drastically promote factions (which have always been dead on valor for the most part.) Also, these vendors selling all of the different resources would be another excellent gold sink that could really help the economy.
c. If 'instances' are ever implemented like some people have talked about, create faction-only instances that have improved loot. Other faction-only quests could be implemented as well. This, like the resource vendors, would promote factions.

2) Create a "duel" rating system as well as a "global pvp" rating system. These systems would be rather pointless if it was just kills and deaths per person. I think a better approach would be to have a level system much like the duel system on UO hybrid. It includes the kills/deaths stats, but the levels and ratings are based on all of your opponents levels. Examples would be: you gain a % to your next level based on the level of who you defeated. If they were low level, you would gain only 1-2%. If they were several levels higher than you, you could gain much more (depending on the difference.) Likewise, losing to someone who is a much higher level than you would result in you losing only a very small amount of level. If you lost to someone way under your level, you would lose a lot. Overall, the system was a blast on Hybrid when I used to duel a lot on there (maybe 6-7 years ago.)

3) To simply add more content to the game that would also act as a gold sink. They would be high priced and would not affect actual game play and give anyone an advantage. The items would simply be for practical and/or fun uses that people could spend extra gold on. The following items could be added to the variety dealer:
a. Sex change deed.
b. Self-repair deed. This deed would add +5 self repair to any item. This would allow players to not have to deal with the hassle of repairing their gear. The reason why this seems reasonable is that the self repair stat doesn't affect actual game play and give anyone an advantage in PvP or in any other respect. It just simply saves individuals the hassle of repairing gear. This deed could cost a large sum of gold.
*SUB NOTE- Item Bless deeds should never be sold for any reason. Insurance is a fantastic gold sink and blessing a whole suit greatly reduces people's want and need for gold.*

4) Implement a Poker system. People love poker and I have loved playing it on many UO servers. It can be a fun way to hang out with other plays and compete with them. The "house" can take a very small % of the pots to act as a gold sink.

I am sure I had other ideas in my head prior to actually taking the time to type out this list. If I can remember anything else or if I come up with new Ideas I will post them. Please, everyone, let me know what you think of these ideas.

1) Briefly talked about ideas for the faction system to be converted into a PVP everywhere faction hybrid between members of a faction. It would be cool to be able to choose a member of Ultima's history to be your diety (For example, a chaos faction with allegiance to Exodus and Minax or an order faction with allegiance to Lord British, Dawn and Shamino).

I personally, am not in favor with faction artifacts. Instead, I think faction bonuses might be a better idea. Based on your rank in your faction, you can purchase bonuses for your EXISTING artifacts with your faction silver. For example, you could use silver to upgrade the MR bonus on your rune beetle carapace to 4 or 5. This bonus could only apply during faction battles.

2) It would be great to have leader boards and stuff for the event system as well as a potential pvp everywhere system. Would have to find a good formulation though.

3) Gold sinks have always been a part of UO as well as stockpiling items. Community collections will help get rid of a lot of gold and items/resources while at the same time, will provide players with something they can use.

4) Poker system can probably be added. Chances are there's probably one already coded we can use.

Archived topic from AOV, old topic ID:6237, old post ID:37151