Ultima Online Storm Chat 12
Date: February 26, 2004
Topic: General Discussion
Moderated by: Kehleyr
* Hanse rolls in a cartload of dead and bloated mongbats.
* Hanse puts on some large, thick, rubber gloves.
* OSI_Speedman wonders what Hanse is doing with dead mongbats
* Hanse removes a mongbat corpse with a slight squelching noise and loads it into a small catapult.
* Hanse pulls a lever and flings the corpse at the crowd where it lands with a squishy slap.
* [IS]Peaches ducks
Hanse - sorry, no ducks in my cart... :)
Kehleyr - if you have questions.... Our question takers tonight are: Peaches, Silverfoot, Ouch, NickLong and Pittminion. They are easily recognised by the [IS] in front of thier names.
[IS]Peaches - lolol
* Hanse dodges the thrown tomatoes.
Kehleyr - We will be starting shortly
Kehleyr - meanwhile, enjoy Hanse's evil mongbats
* Hanse pokes a dead mongbat with a stick.
Hanse - they're only evil in smell...
* Hanse hears a squeek.
Hanse - ah, he's not quite dead yet...
* Hanse thumps it.
Kehleyr - Welcome to the 12th UO StormChat! Thank you to everyone for joining us tonight!
Kehleyr - I will be your moderator in TrinityX and Ian's absence... Lucky you! ;)
Kehleyr - This chat will be moderated, general chat can continue during in #ultima-online. To submit a question, please /msg one of the question takers listed in the channel topic. Please do not message myself, or anyone from EA: Origin, they will be ignored.
Kehleyr - Our question takers tonight are: Peaches, Silverfoot, Ouch, NickLong and Pittminion. They are easily recognised by the [IS] in front of thier names.
Kehleyr - Tonight's topic will be: General Discussion. All inappropriate questions will be ignored!
Kehleyr - *Theowulf* Question! The feature of a 'Unified PvP system' was mentioned for the next expansion. Does this mean one common ruleset regarding player interaction accross all facets, or will we still have multiple PvP rulesets (i.e. Fel/Tram)?
Hanse - Ah, that is Adrick's baby!
Hanse - We have a convoluted system of checks for combat related actions (spells, damage, targeting, etc).
Hanse - This is due to hero/evil, factions, guilds, chaos/order, etc...
Hanse - So, when we said there'd be a "unified pvp system", that means we're going to simplify the rules in the code so we can do more with pvp balance-wise.
Hanse - Also, that may mean some systems may get rolled together to simplify it more.
Hanse - Sorry to sound sketchy...but Adrick has a better idea of what exact plans we have than I do, at the moment. I meant to review those docs today, but I was swamped with other work.
Kehleyr - *Zilor* Will there be housing in the new Expansion?
Hanse - We're not planning to do housing in the expansion. It will be an Ilshenar-type expansion. This is subject to change, of course.
Kehleyr - *ghyde* OK what can you tell us about the next expansion for UO, if anything, and the "unified PvP" that was also rumored to be in it?
Sannio - It's too early in development to give out all the details of the expansion.
Sannio - I'll relate some basic details, for those who haven't heard about it...
Sannio - An Asian theme, two new professions, no new housing locations but new customization themes, and a new land to adventure in.
Sannio - That and the PvP updates we mentioned earlier.
Kehleyr - *JustaGirl* Will we be seeing new wall types (ie the walls in doom) Maybe a darker feel?
Hanse - Actually, the expansion does mention more housing decorations.
Hanse - I haven't seen an exact list of those decorations.
Hanse - I was in charge of adding the last few graphics (as well as drew some) in the last two expansions.
Hanse - So, we really don't know at this time... It could be walls, fish tanks, more fountains, anything... with the asian theme, it may be along those lines...
Hanse - The walls in Doom and Umbra are simply re-hued existing walls, though. They aren't available to be used in housing. We'd have to add new artwork to get that to work.
Kehleyr - *Arislan-TC* Is there any information on who is leaving the dev team with the move to Redwood Shores, CA? Conversely who is staying with EA?
MrTact - It's too early in development...
MrTact - But seriously
MrTact - We've really just started that whole process. I will say that almost everyone on the dev team is getting an offer to be moved.
MrTact - The executive team has been very adamant about their support of UO and their desire to see us all continue on in Redwood Shores, which was one really positive thing that has come out of this (for me, at least)
MrTact - As for the end result, many of us will be travelling out there soon to look at housing options, see the EARS campus etc. etc.
MrTact - So it will probably be about two weeks before we can answer that question definitively.
Kehleyr - *Bilbo* I Think i heard in an interview with Sunsword before AoS came out that there are over 100 diffrent artifacts that spawn in Doom right now there are around ~60, also in a later Dev Chat I heard mentioned that others would be added later to keep things fresh, any ideas if there will be new items spawning for thiefs or at Guanlet?
Hanse - As with any system (bod's, skills, magic, loot, creatures), each one has folks demanding our attention.
Hanse - We do want to do more rares, but do not have anything planned.
Hanse - Most likely, we wouldn't keep it limited to Doom, if we did more, though.
Kehleyr - *Bilbo* Are there any plans to bring back the Event Modorators at this time?
Sannio - Yes, we have plans to bring back the Event Moderators, but I don't have any details (such as a schedule).
Sannio - There's still some things that have to be worked out, but we're looking forward to delivering "hand crafted" events once again.
Kehleyr - *Hotaru-Chan* How will the relocation of OSI team members affect the over all production of UO? Can we expect a schedual of updates like sunsword had mentioned, or will the relocation put a kink in those plans?
MrTact - You can expect that it will have at least some impact, yes.
MrTact - The ideal circumstance would be that everyone ends up moving, in which case it'll just be a speedbump.
MrTact - If more people opt to stay in Austin, or whatever, then some hiring and ramp-up time will have to be factored in.
MrTact - Pretty much what you would expect, I guess.
Kehleyr - *Allworth* Has there been any Investigation into the abundance of client crashes that happen in Doom?
OSI_speedman - I know that Fertbert is trying to set aside some time to look into this
OSI_speedman - It's definitely high up on our priority list
Kehleyr - *JoO* What can you tell us about "Regents" and the various messages found in the latest patch. IE Doom will become a pvp zone in 60 minutes.
MrTact - We live to torment you
Hanse - Tis a figment of your imagination... Pay no attention to the man behind the curtains...
OSI_speedman - Apparently Ferrets power the game... I wonder who put that in?
Kehleyr - *DevinWoods* Is it safe to assume that between now and the release of the next expansion it is likely the publishes will be focused on bugfixes only? In other words, are there plans for new content before the expansion's release?
Hanse - The designers work on content docs for the game for areas of the game we're passionate about.
Hanse - IF we get time to develop them, convince management, etc... we sometimes slip in new content.
Hanse - Other than that, we sometimes are specifically given content for publishes (which, has not occured yet...due to obvious hiccups)...
Hanse - So, I can say almost certainly.
Hanse - I can't comment on what will go in, though.
Kehleyr - *Einstein* Is there any progress vs Speedhackers, script looters, and other cheaters?
OSI_speedman - Short answer is yes
OSI_speedman - I have a fix ready to be tested to address speedhacking
OSI_speedman - It's currently in Publish 24, but the release date for that is rather sketchy
OSI_speedman - As for script looting, it's on the radar
Kehleyr - *Zilor* Will there be any new items to craft for Carpenters, Tinkers, Alchemists, and Inscribers in the next expansion?
Hanse - Last I heard...yes...
Hanse - I can't comment on what yet, though.
Hanse - I can comment it should be extensive.
Kehleyr - *JustaGirl* Sannio.. Your house located in Fel on Chesapeake.. Its so empty and lonely.. I am more than willing to give it a good home! Care to sell it?
Sannio - It's true that my official OSI account owns one house on Chesapeake, but it's not for trade or sale.
Sannio - I'm just the caretaker for Mazrim, an evil fellow who needed some help maintaining his large tower while he was on vacation.
Sannio - Mazrim is the one true owner of that building, sorry. :]
Kehleyr - *thestarrmachine* Question: Will there be a new client within the next year? If so, 2D or 3D? If not, has it been discussed? Is it even really possible? What are the dev team's opinions on the idea of a new client?
MrTact - Why art thou asking me?
MrTact - T'is no good in arguing with the inevitable.
Sannio - Oooo colors.
Kehleyr - *Balif-SP* With the location changes and everything, will pub23 and 24(which I believe contains the long awaited siege resist bug fix :p ) be pushed back as far as release dates
MrTact - That is a complicated question to answer.
MrTact - We are working on getting character transfer on public test centers right now.
MrTact - That got derailed by a couple of days for obvious reasons, but I think we will be back on track tomorrow.
MrTact - We may well be able to release publish 23 in March, which is our goal.
MrTact - We are also going to ATTEMPT to squeak out one more small publish before the move, but I think everyone's a bit iffy on that.
MrTact - That would probably end up being nothing more than a few high-profile bugfixes.
Kehleyr - *VIVIsectVI* Will we see pet dye tubs on shards other than Test?
OSI_speedman - probably not
OSI_speedman - Not everyone likes the flash of neon that you see when you log in :P
OSI_speedman - While you're there, check out the Mysterious Dark Father of Pet Bonding :)
Kehleyr - *Zilor* Will the Factions and Order-Chaos system be removed with the addition of this Unified System?
Hanse - We haven't decided what systems will go where, yet. I've seen grandiose plans on Adrick's dry-erase board, but like I said earlier I haven't seen the docs yet.
Kehleyr - *BA_Barrackas* SunSword stated that the upcoming expansion was a "small step" (or words to that effect) in plans that EA have for UO's future. Are there any details
Hanse - Yes...
Hanse - We have a long term plan for the game...
Hanse - Some of those plans seemed right to roll up into the expansion instead of releasing later.
Hanse - The major one was PvP. We thought it could not wait.
Hanse - We're looking to prepare with the expansion (and it's not much of a small step) for our long term goals.
Kehleyr - *Dolgorath[ATL]* Are there any plans to make it so that Runic Sewing Kits can craft magic hats in the future? Thanks!
Hanse - An interesting idea...
Hanse - It's possible something in the expansion may help, but I don't see runics being applied to cloth-based items in such a way. Maybe...something ancient? :)
Kehleyr - *thestarrmachine* Will there be any artwork upgrades for models and/or terrain in the near future?
Hanse - Artwork upgrades...
Hanse - It takes 1050 pictures to make up all the animations for a single piece of art.
Hanse - That means your hair, your goatee, your dagger, your shoes, etc... we have rendered 1050 pictures for each different one
Hanse - So, as you can see, it's a major undertaking and only weapons (since the beginning of UO after beta) have been added.
Hanse - To do this, it will be a large patch or a CD...we're opting on the expansion on this one...
Kehleyr - *LordTennfan* Will pvp house hiding and the faster casting cap be put in before the next expansion?
Hanse - I'd like to see these changes before the expansion. I have a good grasp of both issues and we'll see what can be done.
Hanse - Opinion: if I had my way, first thing...but we'll see
Kehleyr - *Farquhar* Are you guys willing to relook at the mana consumption rate for paladins. Close wounds costs 1 less mana then greater heal yet heals 10 less dmg at highest karma level. Remove curse costs 9 more mana then curse which means it can not be used defencively, and cure costs 10 mana compared to cure for mages which is 6. For a warrior with extremely limited mana pool, this seems a little backwards. Can we get it reworked so a paladin dooesn't
Hanse - Send specific balance information to hanse@uo.com or adrick@uo.com... We do want to look over balance info for the expansion that you feel is unbalanced.
Hanse - and/or
Hanse - preferably...and... :)
Kehleyr - *DarkChronus* Are there still plans to give 2d users updated art on some things like clothing? Or make new art for 2d users in the next expansion? (I thought I read somewhere that you were trying to find the original tools)
Hanse - Clothing, weapons, armor, etc... It's being considered. I found the original tools, already.
Kehleyr - *GSG8* Will there be any new artifacts associated with the new expansion?
Hanse - We have not decided that yet.
Kehleyr - *wilki24* What was behind the decision to give the expansion an Asian theme?
Sannio - There were a few things behind that choice.
Sannio - UO has long been considered a "medieval fantasy" setting, but if youlook harder you'll see some middle-eastern flair in Nujel'm, some Roman/Greek columns in locations like the Gargoyle city in Ilshenar, and a smattering of other cultures here and there.
Sannio - It's important that you don't keep recycling the same look and feel for your new ideas, and over time we've seen things like Dragon Armor come into the game to add some extra spice.
Sannio - We want that spice to be a bit more significant with the next expansion, and we know that an Asian theme will be well-received, worldwide.
Sannio - There's more to it than that, but the two biggest reasons are probably variety and appeal.
Kehleyr - *Redlow* Are there any plans to revamp skills that never have or no longer serve any purpose? (ie: item id)
MrTact - We are planning for a skills overhaul, but that's way off on the horizon.
MrTact - Some of those skills will be removed and some will have additional content added to make them useful again, but they will not be left in the game with nothing to do.
Kehleyr - *MSGuildmaster* I was wondering if you could give us any insight on what will be done to balance a heavily unbalanced PvP system at this time
Hanse - PvP towards magical properties is the major complaint we have right now...second to insurance...
Hanse - We're looking at changing the way faster cast and faster cast recover works. It may be a reduction in time, but still useful or something else. We haven't decided yet.
Hanse - As for insurance, that's Adrick's area. I'd need to check what ideas and solutions he's come up with to know for sure what we intend to do.
Kehleyr - *phantus* Will there be new quests in the expansion as well or is that something that is no longer being pursued?
MrTact - We are pursuing it much the way a thirteen-year old boy pursues the object of his affections at a school dance
* Sannio laughs
MrTact - We sort of hang out against the wall ... glance in that direction ... look away suddenly if we see her looking back
MrTact - We really want to beef up the quest system & start churning out quests but that's not part of the expansion AFAIK
MrTact - (Hanse, please feel free to jump in & say that I'm mistaken on that if I am)
MrTact - Anyway ...
Hanse - Uhm, no...you're spot on... :)
MrTact - That may happen as part of the ongoing live publishes, but as with all of our live plans, it depends on what happens with staffing up after the move.
Kehleyr - *Bilbo* Will the new expansion have a Mongbat based only champ spawn where each level has more diffucly Mongbats ending with the elusive Mongbat Lord?
Hanse - Of course! The mongbat lord's minions are 5 harrowers, ya know... and there's the super power of the mongbat lord to eat little mongbats and spit bones out for insta-kills....
Hanse - but don't let that bother you! the loot is... *cough* ...mongbat themed loot! yeah! that's the ticket!
Kehleyr - *Red_Falcon* I was wondering if the lamp room exploit would be fixed anytime soon, as it is getting out of hand on all shards?
Hanse - Mail bugs to uobugs@uo.com, please... I've heard this before, but have been assured it isn't happening. We need a detailed steps of how to re-create the bug, of course.
Kehleyr - *Mekere* Any chance that there will be enhancing for Bowyers or possibly introducing Runic Fletcher's Tools?
Hanse - There's always a chance. I'm afraid I personally am leaning towards the last skill that widely uses ingots, tho... *coughs*
Kehleyr - *Bell_of_Ygg* Would it be possible to implement a ridable drakes? They're more balanced than nightmares and it looks neat!
MrTact - We don't have any plans to introduce new ridables at this time, sorry.
Kehleyr - *Eirik_Bloodhand* Is UO going to become more item based, or will it return to a more character skills based game?
Hanse - We are planning long-term and partially in the expansion for more skill-based.
Hanse - Although, we may introduce on both sides of the fences new content that applies to both.
Hanse - The plans are long-term and subject to change, of course. We would like you to have more decisions in your gameplay, though. That means we lean towards skill.
MrTact - Hmm, according to the PVP community the game is already 100% item-based, so technically it CAN'T get any more so . . .
Hanse - I pvp.
Hanse - I have seen superior weapon/armor/jewelry outfits beaten by better skill.
Hanse - I do realize that the fast cast/recover is unbalanced, though. It's something we mean to look into.
Kehleyr - *Navarone* have you guys ever consider to make footwears as part of armor that will have properties too?
Hanse - No, the system is balanced for armor only, right now. We're not looking to introduce more complexity into the system.
Kehleyr - *Caelan* When the EM's come back, who will replace kieron? Will you guys rehire? Also, with the change of locations for you guys, will this effect the EM's too?
Sannio - We'll have to see what happens with the EM staffing when/if they come back.
Sannio - They actually didn't work in the building. They "telecommuted" to their events, so the change of locations shouldn't have much of an impact on that kind of team.
Kehleyr - *Peaches* Give us a mongbat recipe!
Hanse - It's a family secret! These in the cart were just a little too ripe, though...
* Hanse flings another bloated mongbat at the crowd from his mini-catapult.
Kehleyr - And that ends our 12th UO StormChat!
Kehleyr - I'd like to give a thanks Sannio, Hanse, AviStetto, Speedman and MrTact for joining us tonight and answering our questions.
OSI_speedman - Thanks all
Sannio - Thanks everyone!